Famous Food

LeBron James celebrated his 35th year on earth in grand fashion.

LeBron's party was swanky -- black tie and gowns. It started at the famed Sunset Tower hotel on the Sunset Strip, and some of LeBron's teammates, including Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, Jared Dudley, Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma. Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley and 2 Chainz were also front and center, along with LeBron's wife, Savannah.

LeBron was smokin' a huge stogie and chowin' down on a 3-layer cake, along with his guests.

That wasn't the end of the evening. The group moved the party to Crazy Girls strip club in Hollywood. Savannah joined LeBron and crew for some late-night fun.

As all the holiday food comes your way over these next couple weeks, feast your eyes on what presidential candidates (past and present) chose to eat on the campaign trail.

Everyone enjoys themselves a corn dog, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Rick Perry. But, don't forget about the turkey leg -- a holiday classic -- which is right up Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang's alley. Can you tell? Looks like they couldn't get a big enough bite.

Of course, pork chops was another favorite of candidates over the past few years. Folks like Kamala Harris, John Delaney and others made sure to get in some big bites when they could.

Nick “Swaggy P” Young took his new fiance out for a fancy dinner Saturday night ... it's the first time we've seen them since he popped the question on XMAS day.

Nick and Keonna Green hit up Craig's in WeHo and they were in high style as they left the restaurant ... a doggie bag was in the free agent's hand.

Nick made it clear ... the ring was super expensive, although he was mum on exactly how much it set him back. One sweet note ... his son helped him pick out the bling.

Nick proposed on XMAS morning with some help from Nick Jr., who filmed the whole thing.  Check out the video ... Nick grabs the huge ring box, walks over to Keonna and makes it clear ... the proposal was "way overdue."

The couple has 3 kids together ... Nick Jr., Navi and 6-month old Nyce.

Lil Pump is spreading holiday cheer for the people who need it most ... one corn dog at a time.

The rapper was out in Los Angeles Wednesday, hooking up the homeless with hot meals, cold drinks and warm clothes for the winter.

Lil Pump hit the streets of Skid Row, serving up corn dogs, turkey dogs, cheese dogs, french fries and lemonade ... and passing out jackets, pants and socks to 600 people.

Pump teamed up with a couple of companies for the good deed ... joining forces with My Friends House Foundation, Hot Dog on a Stick and his buddy, RD Whittington, the owner of luxury celeb car company Wires Only, who dropped $7,000 on the charity event.

If the carnival fare sounds different as far as givebacks go ... that's because we're told Lil Pump and RD wanted to pass out food that was nontraditional, so mission accomplished there.

Welcome to the league, rooks!

The Seattle Seahawks' defensive back core held its annual rookie dinner Monday night ... and a pair of first-year NFLers were hung with a $17,500 check!!!

The booze-and-steak-filled night all went down at Daniel's Broiler in Bellevue, Wash. ... and according to some of the vets, it was the most expensive rookie dinner in a while.

The receipt is absolutely nuts ... the guys bought a TON of expensive food and alcohol, piling up $11,000 worth of Louis XIII alone.

There was also Wagyu steaks, lobsters, calamari and all the fixin's ... and in total, the bill came out to $17,579.10!!!

As for the guys who whipped out the credit cards for the check ... Ugo Amadi and Marquise Blair were saddled with that task -- but neither seemed to be too pissed (at least judging by the videos we've seen).

Of course, perhaps they should've been ... neither is signed to that big of a contract -- Amadi is on a 4-year, $3,165,196 deal, while Blair inked a 4-year, $6,236,648 one.

But, hey, at least the vets seemed to appreciate the gesture ... with second-year corner Tre Flowers saying, "I been waiting on this day for a year lol."

The rookie dinner is nothing new in the NFL -- it's been going on for decades ... with Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson previously telling TMZ Sports he had to pony up some major dough when he was a rookie in 2001.

"The late Junior Seau and the veterans hazed me by taking me to dinner and spending $18,000 of my money!" LT said.

Popeyes isn't the only chicken joint with problems ... the Colonel had a bit of a situation on his hands in Wisconsin this weekend when a woman called cops from the drive-thru.

A woman in Waukesha dialed for police Saturday after her sandwich was made wrong and the staff allegedly gave her attitude. According to reports, the lady told police the KFC crew tried making her another one, but that she didn't feel comfortable and wanted her money back.

Sure enough, officers responded to the fast-food chain and found the pissed off customer plopped in the drive-thru line. Apparently, they told both her and the KFC team to work it out among themselves ... as their beef clearly wasn't an emergency and just civil.

The fact cops showed up at all has gotta mean the situation was tense, 'cause there's no way an officer of the law would get sent out for something like this. Or so we thought.

Of course, this comes weeks after the renewed frenzy at Popeyes restaurants across the country, with wacky customers desperately trying to get their hands on their famed chicken sandwiches. Some of those incidents ended in beatings, and in one case ... death.

How does someone with such talented thumbs BUTCHER a sandwich so badly?!?

That's the question we've got for Ninja whose attempt to make a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich was as pathetic as a 40-year-old trying to play "Fortnite" for the first time.

Ninja -- real name Tyler Blevins -- teamed up with Bon Appetit food director Carla Lalli Music for a YouTube segment about cooking without visual aids.

He tried hard ... but Tyler couldn't figure out how to properly slice the bread and then cut the avocado STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE THROUGH THE PIT LIKE A PSYCHOPATH!!!

The craziest part, Ninja actually has real restaurant experience ... he worked at Noodles & Company where he prepped noodles for 3 years!

In the end, Ninja managed to put together an edible sandwich ... and despite the avo mishap, it actually looked sorta delicious.

A banana duct taped to a wall -- which sold for over $100k on behalf of a renowned artist -- is now in the belly of another man ... but apparently, it's no big deal. We think ...

Performance artist David Datuna took the bold step Saturday afternoon of EATING the super expensive Musa plant down at the Art Basel gallery in Miami -- which an art collector in France recently bought for a whopping $120,000 from artist Maurizio Cattelan.

Datuna literally walked up and stripped the brown, aging banana from the wall it was taped to and peeled it open in front of lots of shocked onlookers ... who couldn't believe it.

On Instagram, he called his performance "Hungry Artist" and posted some aftermath footage of what appears to be gallery personnel sitting him down to take his info. Based on what we can tell, this is actually a no-no ... the banana is NOT supposed to be tampered with ... although the fruit itself is allowed to be replaced on a continuous basis as needed.

It's a little confusing, but basically ... the French art collector owns the "idea" of this art piece, so whether the banana itself sticks around or not doesn't affect its value. She still has the certificate of authenticity, so she's still got $120k worth of banana art to her name.

Still, it doesn't seem like the folks who work at the gallery were all too thrilled with Datuna's stunt. In footage of the incident -- obtained by TMZ -- you can hear Datuna joke about heading to jail ... but according to reports, the guy hasn't been arrested or charged with anything yet. We're told the gallery is considering pursuing a complaint though.

BTW, the banana has reportedly already been replaced. File this one under ... forbidden fruit.

Papa John's founder John Schnatter might be scarfing down even MORE pizzas -- he's officially heading for the bachelor life after his wife of 32 years filed for divorce.

Annette Cox filed the paperwork Thursday in Kentucky, saying her marriage to John is "irretrievably broken." According to the docs ... she says they separated back in April. They've been married since April 1987.

In her divorce petition, Cox points out she's self-employed but adds John is not employed. It plays like a shot, but those are just the facts. As we've reported, he was ousted from his pizza company last year following the n-word scandal.

According to docs, Annette and John already have a property settlement agreement, and she just wants the judge to sign off on it. They own several homes, including million-dollar pads in Utah, Florida and Kentucky. They also have 2 kids, but they're adults ... so no child support issues.

Schnatter's worth an estimated $500 mil, even after the fallout at Papa John's. We don't say we saw the divorce coming, but the man did say -- during a recent, bizarre interview -- he'd eaten 40 Papa John's pizzas in 30 days. Just sayin' ...

Divorce is just the start of his legal troubles ... Schnatter's also suing the creative advertising firm, Laundry Service, and its parent company because he claims it leaked the audio that led to him losing his PJ's gig.

John claims a "secretly-taped meeting led by Laundry Service in May 2018" resulted in the news story alleging he used a racial slur ... which he calls false reporting.

Quavo is living the dream -- turning Instagram mockery into cold, hard cash, baby ... courtesy of the Popeyes chicken sandwich craze.

We got the Migos rapper and his GF, Saweetie, in WeHo Thursday night as they left the GQ Men of the Year Awards After Party ... and we had to ask him about his group jumping into the fast-food game.

Quavo explained how Migos' partnership with Uber Eats came about, telling us it all started with a video he posted back in August ... when everyone was losing their minds during the first round of Popeyes mania.

Quavo says someone -- besides his fans -- must have taken notice of his joke about selling the chicken sandwich out of his trunk ... because a few months later Migos was on the menu!

If ya missed the news ... you can now order 4 different combo meals off the Migos Menu from Popeyes, but only through Uber Eats.

Kid Rock's saying good riddance to his hometown restaurant because he's sick of people labeling him a racist -- due to his Oprah rant -- and he's taking a parting shot at Al Sharpton on his way out.

The rocker announced he's not going to renew his licensing agreement next year for his Made in Detroit restaurant at Little Caesars Arena -- effectively closing one of the signature dining spots at the home of the Pistons and Red Wings.

The news comes on the heels of Kid's drunken rant about Oprah last week at his Honky Tonk bar in Nashville. Some people in the crowd, and many others who saw the video, took it as a racist diatribe -- and he even acknowledged that during the rant, but insisted it's not true.

KR says he still has love for Detroit, but he learned long ago to "go where you're celebrated, not tolerated." He adds, "I guess the millions of dollars I pumped into that town was not enough."

He's certainly not been celebrated since his verbal attack on Oprah, and organizers were planning to protest at his restaurant Wednesday before his decision was announced.

As for being called a racist, Kid Rock says ... "I may be guilty of being a loud mouth jerk at times, but trying to label me a racist is a joke, and actually only does a disservice to the black community, which I have supported my entire life."

He also sent a personal message to Sharpton, with whom he's been beefing for years -- "PS - Hey Al Sharpton, you or your cronies will never beat me you tax evading, race baiting clown!" Kid also threw in a "Trump 2020!!" for good measure.

Guess it really is "so cold in the D."

Andrew Yang celebrated opening a new office with a never before seen method in politics ... MUCH to the chagrin of his campaign manager.

The trending presidential candidate has stayed in the race with some unconventional ideas ... but this one takes the cake. He christened the new digs in New Hampshire by spraying whipped cream into the mouths of supporters on their knees.

To put it politically -- the optics are very interesting here.

Check out the vid ... the Yang fan in a MATH ("Make America Think Harder") hat clearly eggs on the Democratic hopeful, even insisting to Yang's resistant campaign manager, Zach Graumann, that the questionable celebration is "just a joke."

Andrew gleefully partakes, but then makes the jaw-dropping display even more baffling by declaring ... "That's a full-service presidential candidate!"

Yang goes on to say the whipped cream shot is how you open an office in style, then sprays it into the mouth of ANOTHER kneeling supporter ... before Graumann pulls him away.

R. Kelly, Kodak Black and Michael Cohen are spending their first Thanksgiving behind bars, and they're about to find out what Suge Knight and Bill Cosby already know -- turkey day is mostly plain and dry.

TMZ's obtained prison menus from across the county, and locked-up celebs are being treated to your typical Thanksgiving spread ... turkey, stuffing, gravy and pie.

Here's a breakdown of their turkey day options:

Kelly at MCC Chicago:

-- Turkey, cornbread stuffing, brown gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls or whole wheat bread, pecan pie or whole fresh fruit

Kodak at FDC Miami:

-- Smoked turkey, cornbread dressing, macaroni & cheese, green beans, potato salad, dinner rolls and holiday pies

Cohen at New York's FCI Otisville:

-- Turkey roast, bread stuffing mix, baked sweet potato, green bean casserole, turkey gravy, dinner rolls or margarine patty, fruit and holiday pies

Cosby at Pennsylvania's SCI Phoenix:

-- Roast turkey, bread stuffing, whipped potatoes, gravy, green peas, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie with whipped topping

Suge at San Diego's Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility:

-- Roast turkey, green salad with dressing, seasoned chicken, cranberry sauce, yams, mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, vegetables, cake and cornbread

And, if you care what Fyre Festival (dis)organizer Billy McFarland will be chowing down on at Ohio's FCI Elkton:

-- Turkey roast, baked ham, soy hot dog, mashed potatoes, corn, cornbread dressing, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, fruit and pies

Hollywood seems eager to give back this year ahead of another Thanksgiving where their own bellies are sure to be full -- with some even heading back home to help others.

Celebs like T.I., Big Sean and the Kardashians were out in force this week as well as last, handing out grub to those less fortunate in anticipation of Turkey Day -- and they seemed to make a point to head to their stomping grounds to give back to their communities.

Sean, for example, was in River Rouge, MI Tuesday -- just outside his native Detroit -- where he was handing out frozen poultry at a high school. It's his 7th year doing it with his non-profit ... an event he's dubbed the Annual All-Star Giveback: Thanksgiving Edition.

Tip did something similar, arriving in Atlanta Tuesday for his own annual giveaway, except his gifts seemed to have a bit more green in them than maybe your standard food basket.

Then, we have the Kardashians -- Kim, Kourtney, Kris and Corey Gamble, specifically -- who came out together over the weekend to a food bank in L.A. to do pretty much the same.

As you know ... 21 Savage got in on the giving as well -- but he busted out the hot meals right on the spot for about 300 families at a YMCA down in DeKalb County, GA.

21 Savage is putting smiles on faces and food in the stomachs of people not nearly as fortunate as him.

The rapper helped serve an early Thanksgiving dinner to 300 families in need Tuesday night at the DeKalb County YMCA center in Stone Mountain, Georgia ... throwing on a red apron and making sure everyone got a hot meal.

21 Savage calls DeKalb County home ... and his mother, Heather Joseph, joined him as they helped serve plates full of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, mac and cheese and, of course, gravy.

Savage is a fixture in the community -- organizing school supply drives and teaching youth the basics of money -- and his Leading By Example Foundation put on Tuesday's event.

Papa John's founder says his former pizza chain ain't the same without him -- but the way he got to that conclusion is a little troubling ... and kind of a heart attack waiting to happen.

John Schnatter sat down with WDRB in Kentucky to discuss how his life's changed since getting ousted from the company last year following his n-word controversy. The big takeaway -- he's pigging out on PJ pizza, and bitter as hell about his exit.

Schnatter says he's eaten more than 40 pies over the last 30 days to sample how the taste has changed since he's left. According to him, they simply don't have the same magic as when he was in charge.

He goes on to say he feels his coworkers were out to get him last year by allegedly releasing audio of him saying the n-word in a private conference call. He also vows for a day of reckoning -- but more importantly, he weighs in on Shaq being hired.

As we reported, the big man was tapped to join the Papa John Board of Directors this year. Despite Schnatter's firing for shamelessly using the n-word -- he says he's a fan of Shaq getting involved ... with a caveat.

Warning to Schnatter: If the bitterness in your heart doesn't kill ya, your clogged arteries might. Lay off the pizza, bruh. We get your point ...