Fired

Waffle House fired viral employee Rockstar Riley for "repeated violations" of company policy, TMZ has learned.

As you know, RR's viral video about the restaurant chain blew up on social media ... but Waffle House tells TMZ he got the axe for filming content at work.

The company told us in a statement ... "Waffle House ended its employment relationship with Mr. Riley following repeated violations of Company policy prohibiting unauthorized filming of promotional media content on Company property."

Sid Wilson appears to be making his Slipknot exit Instagram-official ... changing a key line in his bio following the band's split with its longtime DJ.

Wilson's Instagram bio previously identified him as being with the Slipknot "gang since 1997." Now, the wording has been changed to "1997-2026" -- a pretty telling update following his departure from the band.

The change comes just weeks after TMZ exclusively reported that Sid is permanently booted from Slipknot.

The viral Waffle House employee who laid down a track as sweet as the company's syrup says he's now been fired ... and he's asking fans for help.

Here's the deal ... Rockstar Riley -- who made headlines for rapping a song about Waffle House -- has set up a GoFundMe ... telling fans he was fired from his job after 20 years.

Riley says he poured everything into the gig ... and calls management's decision "painful, disappointing, and honestly hard to process."

Riley tells TMZ ... he was contacted by the area manager a couple days after sitting down for an interview with us and shooting a music video for the song -- and he was told to delete all the content he did on social media while wearing his Waffle House uniform.

08/14/2026 6:29 PM PST -- Slipknot released the deleted statement on their music festival Knotfest's Instagram.

Sid Wilson's officially out of Slipknot ... or at least he was for a hot minute -- before the band deleted their social media post announcing the news.

Here's the deal ... the group's official Instagram account put up a simple black and white post which reads, "Effective immediately, Slipknot will no longer be associated with Sid Wilson. We wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Then, for reasons unknown, the band took the post down a short time later ... so it's unclear where they stand with Sid.

Miss North Carolina USA winner Brittany Boltinhouse says she isn't sorry about using the n-word in the past ... even if she had to cough up her crown.

In a new interview with Daily Mail, the scandalized pageant queen was asked if she thought she should apologize for using the slur, but she doubled down, saying ... "No. Not at all."

She told the outlet she felt like she was "unfairly targeted," saying ... "It's a constitutional right, it's your First Amendment right to express yourself ... and I feel like I was ripped of that as a proud American."

Ryan Clark is pushing back on the idea he wasn't forced off the air after learning ESPN had fired him ... saying he asked if he should be done for the day and was flatly told, "Yes."

The former NFL star clarified Wednesday how his final "NFL Live" appearance ended while quoting a TMZ Sports post about his abrupt exit, writing ... "I wasn’t forced? 'I ask, should I be done now?' The answer was 'yes.'"

As we reported ... Clark learned during a commercial break Monday that he was part of a mass layoff at ESPN -- and he never returned to the broadcast.

Ryan Clark was let go by ESPN yesterday in the middle of a live show ... and TMZ has learned how it all went down.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Ryan was going to be notified on Tuesday that he was part of a mass layoff, but on Monday ... the network was made aware that a report was about to drop about the former NFL player being laid off. The report was going to be published while Ryan was filming "NFL Live" and a call had to be made ... how should he find out?

We're told ESPN honchos decided to get ahead of the news and tell Ryan during a commercial break, rather than him see an alert on his phone.

Ryan did not come back on the air after being informed he was being let go ... obviously, the news rattled him, and we're told both Ryan and ESPN agreed it was better not to return.

Cam Newton is out at the World Wide Leader ... the latest casualty in a round of cuts that claimed the jobs of some of the most prominent figures in sports media.

The former NFL MVP was laid off this week, according to TMZ Sports' sources ... a surprising move from the powers that be in Bristol.

Newton was only with ESPN for a few years -- he signed on in late 2024 -- but found success opposite Stephen A. Smith during the NFL season, where he was SAS' main debate partner on "First Take."

Newton was elevated into the premiere spot after Shannon Sharpe parted ways with ESPN last year.

Ryan Clark is sending some words of encouragement to all his coworkers getting axed from ESPN ... saying he hopes they all land on their feet -- while admitting he knows exactly what they're going through.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back and ex-ESPN talent went to X to share his kind message on Tuesday ... saying, "Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN."

"So many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you’re feeling right now. My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!"

Ryan Clark was doing his job when he found out he no longer had one -- the NFL player-turned-ESPN analyst disappeared from "NFL Live" mid-show after a report was published stating he was impacted by a round of layoffs at the network.

The Athletic dropped the news on Monday, stating the former Steelers defensive back was being let go ... but there was one problem -- the network wasn't planning to break it to Clark himself until Tuesday morning.

With the cat out of the bag and Clark's phone likely blowing up over the development, producers elected for a lengthy commercial break.

Scott Pelley is opening up about his dramatic exit from CBS News ... and he’s not holding back on the emotion, comparing his firing from "60 Minutes" to his spouse being murdered.

In a new interview with The New York Times, the longtime news veteran became visibly emotional while discussing how he is feeling after being axed from the network last week -- saying at an emotional level, "it's like your spouse was murdered."

The news of Pelley's termination followed a sweep of lay-offs, which he refers to the internal shake-up as a "Black Thursday" moment ... saying the sudden departures of longtime colleagues -- many of whom he’s worked alongside for decades -- left him devastated.

M.I.A. says Kid Cudi didn't have the guts to fire her directly ... claiming she found out she'd been dumped from his tour when her son called from school and told her she was out.

The "Paper Planes" artist revisited her fallout with Cudi during an appearance on the New York Times' "Popcast," claiming the two still haven't spoken about her removal from the tour. M.I.A. says she never received a call from Cudi or his team and even tried to speak with him after the controversy erupted, but says he wouldn't meet with her.

According to M.I.A., she was in another state when her son called and casually broke the news ... saying, "My son called me from school. He's like, 'Oh, I guess you're coming home.'"

Vasana Montgomery is taking responsibility for her past use of a racial slur after being removed from the "Love Island USA" villa after old videos resurfaced online.

"I take full responsibility for what I said and understand why it has hurt and upset people," Montgomery wrote in an Instagram Story Wednesday.

Montgomery said videos from her teen years recently resurfaced and acknowledged using the slur. "I want to address a couple videos from my teen years that have recently resurfaced," she wrote. "In those videos, I used a racial slur. There is no excuse for it, and I am deeply sorry."

Steve Shirilla's contract for his teaching job has not been renewed, TMZ has learned. And Steve tells us he's the one who wanted out.

He told TMZ ... "I wouldn’t resign a contract with them for the simple fact of how they handled this situation… the school and the diocese showed their true colors…"

Steve also says, "I’m done talking about this or anything that’s not about the injustice my daughter has been put through my only focus is her."

Remember, Mackenzie Shirilla's dad had been put on leave after the Netflix documentary "The Crash" dropped ... because of comments he made about his daughter smoking weed.

A North Carolina police officer is out of a job after shocking doorbell camera video captured a violent arrest that sparked outrage in his community.

The footage -- recorded outside a home in Shelby, NC -- shows an officer struggling with a woman before taking her to the ground and repeatedly striking her during a confrontation. The video has since spread across social media ... fueling protests and calls for accountability.

The woman in the video can be heard questioning why she's being detained and insisting there's no warrant. Moments later, the situation turns physical ... with the officer appearing to throw multiple punches.

A TikToker’s reportedly been sacked for praying that Pam Bondi is suffering from her thyroid cancer.

A user with the now-private account @glitterandcrossbones posted a video of herself praying to “Mega Lord Jesus” that the former Attorney General suffers and ends up with a hole in her throat, saying … “Please let Pam Bondi’s throat cancer be the worst case of cancer anybody’s ever seen.”

The internet seems to have identified her as an assistant vice president at Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, based on a screenshot of her supposed Facebook profile and her now-deleted Linkedin.