The Wendy's in Atlanta -- where a man who fell asleep in his car and essentially received a death sentence by cops -- has been burned down, during a night of protest and civil disturbance.
A video posted on Twitter shows the beginnings of the blaze ... you hear the man shooting the video say, "Look at this white girl. Look at the white girl trying to burn down the Wendy's. This wasn't us."
The fast-food restaurant became a flashpoint Saturday for protests against police brutality and racism.
As TMZ reported all day Saturday, cops got a call that someone in line was sleeping and partially blocking the drive-thru. Cops arrived, and the situation escalated to where Brooks grabbed one of the officer's tasers and began running. As he ran, he appeared to vaguely point the NON-LETHAL weapon behind him, and that's when Brooks was shot 3 times.
Fire at Wendy's on University Ave in southwest Atlanta raging. A night to remember in Atlanta: Rayshard Brooks shot by an officer, the chief of Atlanta police resigned, and protesters stormed the interstate. Now, fire. #AtlantaShooting#AtlantaProtestpic.twitter.com/Fgjq7jhDiZ
The cop involved in the shooting was fired overnight, and the other cop assisting was put on administrative leave. This, as the Police Chief submitted her resignation.
A little perspective ... so in Minneapolis, a call over what at worst was passing a counterfeit bill turned to a brutal murder. And in Atlanta, sleeping in the car ended with death. And, check out the video of a violent confrontation that started with a call that someone might have been smoking weed in a car.
Cities and counties can ban all sorts of police techniques, but until there is a cultural shift, built from the ground up in these departments, where de-escalation becomes the guiding light, this insane violence will continue.
Jason Derulois feeling accomplished -- and full -- after eating 20 burgers in 2 hours ... and now he's challenging The Rock to a hot dog eating showdown on the Fourth of July!!!
The "Cats" star and "Swalla" singer just set the stage for what could be the biggest celebrity culinary face-off of all time ... calling out The Rock and prematurely declaring victory if they go dog-for-dog on Independence Day.
Jason's fresh off a pretty impressive start ... he challenged himself to eat 22 burgers in 2 hours to celebrate reaching 22 million followers on TikTok -- yes, this is what goes down on the app.
While Jason came up a little short on his burger binge -- eating 20 burgers instead of the full plate of 22 -- he says it made him realize he could be a pretty darn good competitive eater.
Jason's got his work cut out for him -- The Rock is known for his epic cheat meals when he's not getting shredded in the gym -- but he says one of his hidden talents is his massive appetite. Gotta feed that anaconda!!!
2:30 PM PT -- The GBI just released the surveillance video. Unfortunately, the initial attempt to arrest Rayshard and the scuffle happened just off-camera, on the left side of the screen.
UPDATE
However, the video clearly shows Rayshard start to run away from the officers. He does seem to hold up a yellow object, presumably the stolen taser, and point it at the cop closest to him. It appears that's when the other officer, further away, opened fire on Rayshard.
In another development, ATL Mayor Bottoms just announced the police chief has handed in her resignation -- amid demands by the GA NAACP -- and the Mayor also is demanding the immediate firing of the officer who fired the 3 shots.
UPDATE
1:14 PM PT -- The head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation just said his dept. will release the Wendy's surveillance video later Saturday. He acknowledges Brooks was shot while fleeing the officers with taser in hand. The G.B.I. official did not initially say Brooks had his back to the cops, but eventually conceded that, though he did say the surveillance video shows Brooks extended his arm holding the taser behind him, somehow pointed toward the cops. The case will be presented to the D.A., but already the head of Georgia's NAACP is demanding the resignation of the police chief. Remember, this started as a call about Brooks sleeping in his car -- THE OPPOSITE OF A VIOLENT OFFENSE. And presumably, the 2 cops knew the weapon in Brooks' hand was a non-lethal taser. Yet he was shot -- possibly 3 times -- and killed.
A 27-year-old African-American man was shot in the back and killed by Atlanta police Friday night, after someone complained he was sleeping in his car at a Wendy's drive-thru.
TMZ obtained video of what went down around 10:30 PM ... cops got a call that the car in which the man was sleeping was blocking other cars in line. The other customers could still pick up their food ... they just had to go around him to the window.
According to the police report, 2 officers tried placing Rayshard Brooks under arrest -- after they say he failed field sobriety testing. In the video, you can see the officers wrestling with Rayshard on the ground for nearly 30 seconds.
When Rayshard stood up, cops say he had taken a taser from one of the officers -- the other cop opened fire with his taser, and Rayshard started running away. Both cops started chasing him from behind ... and within seconds 3 shots were fired at Rayhsard.
He was taken to a hospital where he died during surgery.
Additional details surrounding the shooting are unclear. The GBI said one of the APD officers suffered minor injuries ... he was treated at the hospital and released.
Several bystanders witnessed the incident and were enraged and yelled at the cops moments after the shooting.
This is reportedly the 48th officer-involved shooting the GBI has investigated this year.
Starbucks is now saying "my bad," and will allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter attire ... after getting intense backlash for banning it.
The coffee store giant announced Friday morning it's reversing its policy prohibiting workers from wearing anything highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement. And, to take things a step further ... Starbucks will distribute 250k BLM themed t-shirts to its employees.
The move comes just days after Starbucks said it feared employees wearing BLM attire could be misunderstood by customers and incite violence. But, after customers called for a boycott, Starbucks is now saying it hears their employees and supports them standing up for justice.
Starbucks announced, "Together with our Black Partner Network, we've designed a Starbucks t-shirt for every U.S. and Canada partner to express our solidarity during this historic time. Until these arrive, we’ve heard you want to show your support, so just be you. Wear your BLM pin or t-shirt. We are so proud of your passionate support of our common humanity."
It should be noted ... Starbucks hands out pins and special attire to celebrate LGBTQ rights and marriage equality even though there's a policy in place against wearing personal, political or religious attire.
It's not the first time Starbucks has been schooled on racial equality. You'll recall back in 2018 the coffee chain closed its stores for anti-bias training after 2 African-American men got hauled off to jail for hanging out and waiting for a friend inside a Starbucks in Philly.
The incident created an uproar and triggered protests.
Ever wanted to stuff your face with a burger filled with cotton candy and Cracker Jacks!?!?
Us neither ... but a South Carolina minor league baseball team is giving you the opportunity to do it anyway -- and it looks as gross as it sounds!!!
(COUNTERPOINT: The person editing this post -- a proud junk food-aholic -- disagrees and thinks the burger looks BOMB AS HELL!! Put it in my faaaaaaace!!!!!).
Here's the deal ... the Charleston RiverDogs have been doing some awesome things during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering food for their community while also providing meals for the needy.
This week, in an effort to spice up their takeout menu at the ballpark ... they concocted a hamburger nobody was asking for -- and they seem proud as hell of it.
The burger features a bun, special sauce, an Angus beef patty, a rich slathering of cotton candy ... and it's all topped off with some flavored Cracker Jacks.
Yeah, ew.
(COUNTERPOINT: Inject this straight into my veins!!!!!)
If that somehow intrigues you ... the team says it'll only cost ya $12.99 -- and hey, it even comes with truffle fries!!!
We'll pass on that one ... but if you don't -- get the dentist appointment ready STAT!!!
(COUNTERPOINT: A cavity is a small price to pay to taste MANNA FROM HEAVEN).
Kylie and Caitlyn Jenner got all gussied up to grab a meal together ... and it looks like they made it a table for 4.
Kylie and her friend, Harry Hudson, were joined by Caitlyn and her friend, Sophia Hutchins ... and the ladies all looked super fashionable Wednesday night as they were spotted leaving Nobu Malibu.
The chic yellow duster really made Kylie stand out, while Caitlyn's dress was also a bold choice ... with some 'Tiger King' vibes.
It's been a while since we've seen Kylie hanging with her dad, but it didn't take long for them to meet up after California lifted its stay-at-home restrictions and restaurants have opened back up.
While dinner with her youngest daughter is notable, it would be a much bigger deal if Caitlyn and Khloe were out together. You'll recall ... they don't see too much of each other these days.
The real question here though is who paid for dinner -- the parent ... or the nearly-Forbes billionaire child? Our money's still on Dad.
2:42 PM PT -- Faith Stowers -- the former black cast member on 'Vanderpump Rules,' who set into motion the mass firings handed down by Bravo this week -- tells us while she's glad Lisa spoke up on the issue of racism ... there's another person in the 'VR' world she has even more respect for.
UPDATE
First off, Faith tells us that even though Bravo did the right thing by firing Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni ... she notes nobody from the network hit her up personally to get more details about her story, which sorta kicked this whole thing off.
UPDATE
That's pretty telling in and of itself -- but moving on ... Faith goes on to say she gives Lisa props for speaking out on the problem among her staff so eloquently, even though she didn't mention Faith by name.
UPDATE
Someone who did remember to reach out to Faith ... one Lala Kent, whom Faith says made the big gesture despite some bad blood between them in the past. Watch -- sounds like it's all water under a bridge now.
UPDATE
12:27 PM PT -- Lisa Vanderpump is giving her two cents on the 4 cast members from her show that were given the boot over past racist remarks and behavior, and her message is ... our company is better than that, lemme show ya.
UPDATE
The restaurateur and TV personality released a statement over the goings-on at Bravo these past couple days -- including the firing of Stassi Shroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni -- and she reflects disappointment, but also hopes for better.
UPDATE
Lisa says, "As we’ve seen such devastating sadness that has played out globally, we all have a part to play to create a kinder, more just society. My hope is for this generation to treat each other with respect and humanity, and realize that actions have; and should have, consequences." She prefaced that by saying she couldn't have spoken more on this issue until final decisions were made, which they obviously were on Tuesday.
UPDATE
She adds, "I love and adore our employees and I am deeply saddened by some of the lack of judgment that has been displayed. As many of you know, after watching me for 10 years, I have always been an equal rights activist and ally - my family, my businesses and I condemn all forms of cruelty, racism, homophobia, bigotry and unequal treatment. We’ve never tolerated it in the workplace or our lives." She also says the show only shows off a small fraction of her workforce, which she says is way more diverse ... and something she plans to show off in future seasons.
UPDATE
Lisa ends by saying, "The world needs to move forward with a kinder generation. Everybody deserves to feel safe, heard and appreciated in their communities."
Lisa Vanderpump's signature L.A. eatery is boarded up and now covered in spray painting that seems perfectly timed ... now that Bravo's fired 4 "Vanderpump Rules" cast members over racist behavior.
Check out these photos of Lisa's PUMP restaurant in West Hollywood -- where a lot of her fellow cast members work and mingle on her reality show. As you can see, it's been heavily tagged with Black Lives Matter.
It's some of the best-timed graffiti ... considering Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni were just canned by Bravo this week over resurfaced comments and acts that reeked of racism.
It appears the tagging, and boarding up, happened before the news came down Tuesday about the 4 cast members getting fired. BLM graffiti's been popping up all over L.A. during the George Floyd protests.
Of course, LV did NOT fire Max or Brett after learning of their old, bad tweets -- some of which used the n-word multiple times. During last week's reunion show, she basically forgave them, saying everyone's made mistakes ... and that if she fired everyone who'd screwed up, no one would be working.
A few days later, Bravo stepped in and yanked the 4 cast members, anyway.
Kendall Jennerand Devin Bookerare still going strong -- hitting up the most expensive sushi spot in town Monday ... just weeks before Devin has to get back to work!
The two rolled through Nobu in Malibu and left in the same SUV -- roughly one month after they were spotted on a road trip together in Arizona.
They both looked really good. In fact, Kendall walked out of the restaurant like she was strutting down a fashion runway.
But, here's the twist ... with the NBA announcing its plan to resume the 2019-20 season at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida starting on July 31, it seems they'll have a forced separation.
Devin's Phoenix Suns will be included in the NBA's 22-team plan -- in which players and staff will essentially live in a bubble environment as they play out the rest of the season and playoffs.
Teams are expected to arrive in mid-July.
Only essential people will be allowed in the bubble -- players, staff, coaches and family members. Everyone will be required to undergo thorough COVID-19 testing.
Since Kendall isn't family, it's likely she won't be allowed inside ... and if the Suns catch fire, they could be in the bubble until mid-October!
The good news for Kendall ... there's a very low chance they'll even make the playoff portion of the bubble much less the Finals.
As we previously reported, Kendall and Devin began hanging out at the beginning of the quarantine ... and Kendall has since shot down the notion they're just friends.
One McDonald's drive-thru employee made the wait for a Big Mac pretty entertaining for some customers when he unleashed a performance of Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande's smash single.
Someone in line was blasting "Rain on Me" in their car speakers loud enough for the employee to hear ... and he took full advantage of the moment. In the video, the drive-thru employee gives customers everything from leg kicks to spins and even a hair flip.
We're told the employee is Gavyn Brewster from the UK -- who also performs as Diana D -- so if Lady Gaga and Ariana are looking for a back-up dancer ... look no further.
"Rain on Me" has been massively successful, making it's debut at #1 on The Billboard Hot 100 last week ... and the official music video already has close to 90 million views.
As for the McDonald's employee ... there's nothing like a captive audience.
Here's video of Conor McGregor eating bees straight out of a jar ... all while saying what everyone else is thinking -- "WHAT THE F**K IS THIS?!?!?"
It's unclear why the UFC superstar decided on the unique snack Monday morning ... but the video of his chow down is pretty wild.
Check out the jar the Champ Champ opens up ... it's straight-up dead bees -- and on the label, it says they're flavored with macadamia nuts from Australia and Jamaican pepper.
You can see in the clip ... Conor ain't exactly stoked to taste the insects -- and when he accidentally drops some on his stomach, it'll send a shiver down your spine!!
It's also pretty hilarious when he asks his infant son if he wants a piece of the snack ... 'cause Baby McGregor wants ZERO PART of it all!!
As for how they tasted ... it didn't seem too awful -- at least judging by Conor's reaction -- 'cause after he finished chomping down, he had a very "meh" reaction.
There's a bees-spiders-Anderson Silva joke in here somewhere ... but we're kinda too grossed out right now to make it. Sorry.
Elon Musk will tell ya, making history makes ya hungry ... which is why when bad weather scrapped his SpaceX launch earlier this week, he worked up a big burger-sized appetite.
The SpaceX honcho hit up Five Guys with his 2 bodyguards for some tasty burgers Wednesday, not long after the attempt to launch 2 NASA astronauts to the International Space Station got postponed ... until Saturday at 3:22 PM ET.
Les Hatter, Five Guys' VP of Operations of the Central Florida franchise, tells TMZ … Elon stopped at a location in West Melbourne -- which is about 45 minutes from the Kennedy Space Center, where the launch will hopefully happen for real this time.
Conveniently, there's a Tesla supercharging station less than 100 feet from the front door of the fast-food joint ... which had to have made parking a breeze for the electric vehicle company boss.
We're told, Musk sent his guys in to order the food while he stayed out front and chatted with some guests as they were coming and going.
As for what they got -- a round of Little Cheeseburgers (don't let the name fool ya, they're quite hefty), fries and a drink ... and got 'em to go.
As you know, SpaceX is trying to become the first commercial aerospace company to send humans into Earth's orbit. The mission is dubbed Demo-2, and SpaceX's Crew Dragon will take off from the historic Pad, 39A, which famously launched Apollo 11 in 1969 ... en route to the first moon landing.
The 2 veteran astronauts on this mission are 49-year-old Robert Behnken and 53-year-old Douglas Hurley, and it should take them about 19 hours to travel from Florida to the space station ... God willing, and weather permitting.
Lady Gaga and Postmates are teaming up to celebrate her highly-anticipated new album ... and the partnership could really benefit the World Central Kitchen.
So, here's the deal ... Lady Gaga's finally dropping "Chromatica" at midnight tonight. Yes, it was supposed to be out around 7 weeks ago but it got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And, to celebrate the release, LG and Postmates will donate up to $100k benefiting celeb chef José Andrés' charity, the World Central Kitchen.
Here's how it'll work ... for every order made on Postmates from Friday through Sunday, Postmates and LG will donate $1 (maxing out at $100k) going directly to the WCK.
As you know by now ... Andrés' organization aims to feed more than 250,000 meals each day to those hardest hit by the pandemic. The chef's restaurants have been feeding people throughout the country, since at least April, for either a nominal fee or free to those who can't afford it. If enough people order through Postmates to hit the $100k mark, it'll be the second time WCK's received a $100k donation. You'll recall HQ also made a huge donation.
And, get this ... Postmates customers who use the code word "CHROMATICA" will also receive free delivery beginning Friday through Sunday.
Lisa Vanderpump's famous restaurant was the scene of an alleged intruder up to no good ... but some quick-thinking eyewitnesses called cops who foiled the would-be burglar's act.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the L.A. County Sheriff's West Hollywood station got a call Sunday night around 7 PM for a possible burglary in progress. Our sources say deputies arrived within minutes and detained the suspect.
Our sources tell us cops spoke to reps for the WeHo joint and they decided NOT to press charges on the suspect. We're told the joint's GM decided against pressing charges because no real damage was done.
Lisa's husband, Ken, tells TMZ ... "He was desperate for a Pump-tini. We can’t blame him."
Sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... a man wearing a blue face mask and a backpack parked himself in front of the main gate and pulled out shears to try and cut open the heavy-duty blue chain lock.
We're told when he was spotted, the alleged suspect put the shears back in his backpack and stood there as if nothing was amiss. The witnesses snapped a pic of the man.
Our sources say the 3 people who witnessed this called police, who descended onto the scene in 7 police units and a helicopter. We're told the man had been seen in the area before, and it's probably what triggered such a large response.
Lisa and her husband, Ken, were NOT at the restaurant at the time of the incident. As you're well aware by now, the restaurant's been closed since California's shelter-at-home orders were implemented.
Looks like that Pump-tini or Pump-kin spiced old fashioned is gonna have to wait, eh? It's gotta suck for the Vanderpump's, though. First the Ferrari incident, and now this.
A wet market in New York City has taken its internal filth and left it out for the masses -- with an unattended dumpster full of chicken parts that was literally seeping blood into the NYC sewer system.
The gross-out spectacle was filmed out near Queens recently by the animal rights nonprofit, NYCLASS, and it's just the latest example of our domestic one-stop-shop slaughterhouses/live animal factories that are all around us ... and apparently have been forever. This particular wet market might just take the cake, though, as far unsanitary conditions ... 'cause this footage is gnarly.
You see a dumpster bin that's absolutely packed to the gills with trash bags, which are probably full of cut-up animal parts ... especially chickens -- one of which you can see popping out toward the top with its legs and feathers exposed ... and flies hovering above.
Not only that, but take note of the blood coming down from the dumpster and flowing down the street into the sewer drains like a mini river. We're told this dumpster belongs to the wet market in question, and that the place was closed when this was filmed.
What does that mean, exactly? It means the dumpster has been left out there and possibly contaminating its surroundings for a good minute now -- and nothing's been done about it.
It goes without saying, this is a massive public health risk.
We've seen several of these wet market operations all over the country, especially there in NYC -- where a few local legislators are trying to get them shut down with a new bill that was recently introduced. If it passes, these unsanitary live animal shops disappear.
While the issue is being taken up in the Big Apple, you gotta wonder why it's not being discussed on a national level yet? This is, supposedly, how coronavirus got started, right? For whatever reason, most politicians don't want to touch this. So, why is that?
2 Chainz is having a little trouble at the office ... one of his ATL restaurants is closed again -- shut down by cops for violating COVID-19 guidelines.
The rapper's popular joint, Escobar Restaurant & Tapas, was ordered to close its doors just Monday night after Georgia State Police paid the restaurant a visit. According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, officers say they drove by and "noticed that the location was rather loud, busy, and occupied to be operating as a restaurant at that time of night."
As you can see from some of the videos posted to the Escobar Instagram account, the place was PACKED. You can see people dancing, ordering bottle service, smoking hookah with virtually no social distancing happening. As the night continued, you can even see a long line start forming outside the entrance.
Cops say police arrived and "spoke to the manager before shutting the location down as it was violating executive orders regarding protocol issued due to COVID-19."
As we reported ... 2 Chainz initially said his restaurants would open when Georgia allowed limited-service back in late April. But, the rapper changed his mind -- opting to feed the homeless instead -- and said they'll wait it out a little longer before bringing back his staff.
Several weeks later, Georgia updated its restaurant reopening guidelines ... limiting dine-in service to 10 patrons max per table and allowing 10 patrons inside per 300 square feet of public space. This is all in addition to social distancing too.
As you probably know by now ... when 2 Chainz reopened earlier this month, it appeared the joint was packed to the max. Seems cops weren't gonna let it fly this time around.
To mask or not to mask -- Staten Island shoppers are beyond debating that issue ... instead they're just shouting rule-breakers right out of stores.
It was straight-up mob justice when a woman went shopping for groceries this weekend without wearing a face covering. You can see in the video, she tried to stand her ground. Tried.
Eventually, a handful of her very loud fellow shoppers -- who were wearing masks -- let the woman know what time it was ... time to get the hell outta the store.
No Karens needed here to call cops, cause you can tell ... Staten Island doesn't play. For the record, NY Gov. Cuomo ordered face masks to be worn in public in all places where social distancing is not possible. That includes stores, public transportation and even busy sidewalks. Makes sense as NY state was the epicenter of COVID-19 ... with more than 23,000 deaths.
As the Governor put it, "How can you not wear a mask when you're going to come close to a person?"
Someone might wanna ask Staten Island Suzy that before her next trip to the grocery store.
