Famous Food

Ex-NFL star Thomas Jones says he's off Papa John's pizza for life -- not only because of the n-word scandal ... but also 'cause he thinks their pies taste like ass.

"Never in my life [will I buy Papa John's pizza again]," Jones told us in NYC ... "I never ate Papa John's anyway. It tasted like -- I don't know if I was eating the box or the pizza."

"It was terrible," he added.

Of course, there's been a huge backlash against the company ever since reports surfaced that founder John Schnatter used the n-word on a company conference call.

The pizza company is scrubbing John's image from all marketing materials, Schnatter has stepped down as chairman ... and the University of Louisville is removing "Papa John's" from the stadium name.

"I'm glad he resigned, fired ... whatever," Jones says. "I could care less what happens to him."

By the way, Jones says he's fully moved on from his football career and is now focusing on taking over Hollywood as an actor and producer.

Common says there's now a zero-tolerance policy for using the n-word ... so he's not surprised former Papa John's founder John Schnatter is out of a job.

Here's the thing ... Common says he doesn't f*** with Papa John's anyway ... nonetheless, the decision to axe him was the right thing to do.

Boris Becker -- who was recently caught flashing a fake diplomatic passport in order to evade a multi-million dollar debt -- is now at Wimbledon ... which begs the question, who's paying for this?!

Remember, 50-year-old Becker was declared bankrupt in the U.S. in 2017 after racking up a "historic debt."

Then, last month, officials say Becker was flashing a fake passport from the Central African Republic, which was so bad it didn't even have the signature or stamp of the foreign minister.

The theory is Becker essentially thought the document was a "get out of debt free" card -- but it wasn't.

Now, Becker is at Wimbledon ... where everything's expensive -- except the traditional strawberries and cream snack (which runs about $3.20).

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has some words for folks confronting Trump associates in public -- especially at restaurants -- and it starts with c ... CHIIILLLLL OUT.

We got President Trump's Press Sec. Sunday in D.C., where we asked if the country should simmer down with all these restaurant run-ins lately. She says it'd be great if that would happen, and not just for liberals ... sounds like she's talking to conservatives too.

If you've been living under a rock these past few weeks ... Trump staffers have been getting accosted at eateries, and elsewhere, left and right. Sarah was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in June, and former EPA chief Scott Pruitt was asked to resign while dining.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was also screamed at by protesters while eating at a Mexican restaurant last month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell got a taste of that as well this weekend while leaving an eatery in Louisville, KY.

Anthony Bourdain's will surprised lots of people when it was revealed he died with around $1.2 mil in assets, because everyone thought he was way richer ... turns out, he was.

We obtained a copy of Bourdain's will, and it appears he created a trust outside the will which contained an undisclosed amount of assets. It's very common for rich folk to create trusts outside of their will ... partly for tax purposes and partly for privacy.

As we reported, the will discloses Bourdain left behind $425k in cash, $250k in personal property, $35k in brokerage accounts and around $500k in royalties and residuals.

The will lists Ottavia Busia-Bourdain, his estranged wife, as trustee. The will was signed in 2016, after they had separated.

Bourdain committed suicide last month in France.

The reigning women's hot dog eating champion, Miki Sudo ... couldn't care less about getting equal coverage as men, she just wants the bread -- and we mean money, not buns.

Miki won her 5th consecutive title at this year's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest -- but tells us she doesn't make nearly as much money as 11-time men's champ Joey Chestnut. He reportedly earned $225k one year from competitions, appearance fees and endorsements.

To be frank about it (LOL) ... Miki says she'd like a piece of that pie too.

Miki also has some gripes about people who dog her for not eating more weiners this year than she did last year. She downed 37, as opposed to 41 in 2017.

Human garbage disposal Joey Chestnut says he feels like pure trash after scarfing down 74 HOT DOGS on July 4th ... but he ain't about to retire anytime soon!

Of course, Chestnut set a new world record at the 2018 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest -- but tells TMZ Sports, his body is paying for it 24 hours later.

"It's not pretty, bro. There have been some double-flushers."

And at 34 years old, Chestnut says it's becoming tougher for his body to recover from the constant gluttonous abuse ... pointing out pain in his throat, jaw and stomach.

But don't even think about retirement -- at least not until he gets the championship matchup he's been dreaming about for years ... against former world champ, Takeru Kobayashi.

"Before I retire, I want Kobayashi to come back ... and I want to end things on my own terms against the best."

Hot dog scarfing legend Joey Chestnut is already preparing his body for war -- officially cutting off solid foods so he can be ready for the July 4th eating competition at Coney Island!!!

"I've already stopped eating," Chestnut told us Tuesday in NYC ... "No more solid food. Probably get a little sugar, maybe a little liquid amino acid but I'm gonna be empty and loose and ready to just tear it apart."

Chestnut owns the record for the famous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest -- at 72 dogs! -- but he's confident this is the year he shatters that number!

"Hopefully I can break it! I feel like I can do it. I know that if I find that crazy rhythm in the beginning I can do it."

Joey's biggest competition is Carmen Cincotti -- who turns 25 on July 4th. He wolfed down 60 dogs during the 2017 competition and experts say he could be the one to unseat the legend.

Michelle Obama + Kerry Washington + Spago = Biggest Power Lunch in Hollywood!

We got the former First Lady and the ex-"Scandal" star leaving the Bev Hills hot spot Thursday afternoon -- eat your heart out, Shonda Rimes.

The meeting is more proof Michelle's instantly become a big-time player in showbiz ... on the heels of the Obamas' deal to produce content for Netflix.

We asked Kerry if Michelle got her to sign on the dotted line for a project. Her answer was coy, and therefore ... interesting.

More evidence they were trying to keep the meeting on the DL -- they pulled the classic Hollywood move of leaving through separate exits. Michelle went out the front door, interestingly ... while Kerry slipped out the back.

YG's gonna be a modern-day Jack Sparrow ... now that's he's commandeered a yacht for his new album listening party, and there's only one way fans can climb aboard.

The rapper's teaming with Postmates delivery service for his yacht party presented by WAV ... fans will vie for 400 spots on the boat by competing in a tech treasure hunt.

It starts by entering "Stay Dangerous" -- the title of YG's album -- on the Postmates app. That unlocks the exact location and time for the yacht pop-up party. The first 400 get a ticket. All we know is the party goes down Thursday, somewhere in the San Francisco area. Oh, and it's 21 and over.

Ben Trinh, head of entertainment and influencer marketing for Postmates, tells TMZ no artist has ever thrown an album listening pop up on a yacht before, so they brought the idea to YG and created an intimate experience that is exclusive to the postmates audience.

YG's album doesn't drop 'til August 3, and features artists like 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Nicki Minaj, so those that do get a lucky spot aboard YG's yacht party are getting a helluva preview.

With Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy stepping down, the most important issue in America right now is -- what's Ruth Bader Ginsburg eating today?? This according to Keegan-Michael Key.

We asked Key, of "Key & Peele" fame, just how big a deal Justice Kennedy's retirement announcement really is, and his resounding answer ... IT'S A BIG FREAKIN' DEAL. Keegan and his wife were strolling Rodeo Drive when he broke it down for us.

First off ... he's concerned about how the Court's 5-4 decisions play out in the future -- which is why he's also extremely concerned about RBG ... and her diet.

Fact is, at 85, she's now the oldest Justice ... and, with her decisions leaning liberal -- if she leaves while Trump's in office, the Court could be far more conservative for decades to come.

McDonald's is revamping breakfast by ripping off a famous "Seinfeld" episode -- and the guy who wrote it says he deserves a piece of the pie ... er, muffin.

Spike Feresten wrote "The Muffin Tops" for season 8, and Wednesday -- the same day Mickey D's announced it's selling the best part of a muffin -- he told us he's got no beef with the golden arches. Well, as long as the check's in the mail ... as they say.

Seriously, though ... Spike hasn't gotten a dime, and says it just seems right for McDonald's to cough up some dough -- for him AND Jerry Seinfeld -- since it's clearly jacking their ingenious breakfast invention.

Yu Darvish -- who's in a $126 MILLION contract -- completed his first minor league rehab start this week ... and celebrated by spoiling BOTH TEAMS with a very expensive Ruth's Chris steak dinner.

The Chicago Cubs had sent the pitcher down to the Class A Affiliate South Bend Cubs to help him work his way back from a triceps injury ... and, Monday night, he took the mound with a bunch of guys who make WAY less cash.

In fact, most of the players only make around $45k per year (and that's if they're playing consistently for the entire year).

So, Yu -- being the generous rich dude that he is -- pulled out the checkbook and bought a massive spread of steak, salmon, sides and some bomb ass cookies for his team and the opposing West Michigan Whitecaps.

Total bill for it all had to be pricey ... a steak from the fancy spot runs about $50 a pop, while the fish costs about $30 a piece.

As for the minor leaguers ... Whitecaps reliever Max Green took to Twitter to thank Yu for the meal afterward.

"What a guy!"

Claudia Jordan just took the Red Hen controversy with Sarah Huckabee Sanders to a new level ... shaming the woman over her weight as justification for her getting booted.

We got the ex-'RHOA' star arriving at Catch in WeHo Monday night, where we asked for her take on Trump's Press Secretary getting kicked out of the Virginia restaurant because she's the White House mouthpiece. Claudia gives a pretty kosher response ... at first.

Mark Cuban has high praise for the restaurant owner who kicked Sarah Huckabee Sanders out of her restaurant over the weekend, while Donald Trump went on a rant claiming the eatery is filthy.

We got Cuban leaving Nate 'n Als Sunday in Bev Hills and, although he thinks it's good the restaurant owner took a moral stand, he worries it could become a slippery slope and other owners could deny service based on race or sexual orientation. The good news ... under federal law, an owner can't discriminate based on race. The laws governing sexual orientation are dicier.

On the other side ... Donald Trump -- the man who praised Kim Jong-un -- excoriated the restaurant by tweeting, "The Red Hen Restaurant should focus more on cleaning its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I always had a rule, if a restaurant is dirty on the outside, it is dirty on the inside!"

10:00 AM PT -- Her dad, Mike Huckabee, just weighed in on the incident by tweeting ... "Bigotry. On the menu at Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington VA. Or you can ask for the “Hate Plate”. And appetizers are “small plates for small minds”

8:45 AM PT -- Sanders just said, "Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so"

A restaurant owner in Lexington, Virginia kicked Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her party out of his restaurant ... on moral grounds.

The waiter at The Red Hen said, "I just served Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a total of 2 minutes before my owner kicked her out along with 7 of her other family members."

Others say the owner didn't want Huckabee Sanders in the restaurant out of "moral conviction."

This is the second time this week someone from the Trump Administration was drummed out of a restaurant. Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was booted from a Mexican restaurant near The White House.