Gossip / Rumors

We just got off the phone with Debbie Rowe ... who stopped laughing long enough to tell us the story out that she's engaged is "ridiculous and not true."

E! just ran a story saying Rowe is engaged to former Michael Jackson confidante/former gay porn producer Marc Schaffel, noting the big ring on her finger.

Rowe -- who was married to Michael Jackson -- tells us they're "just friends" and have been friends for years but they are "absolutely, positively not engaged."

Zac Efron's friends are "worried sick" about the actor ... and none of them believe Zac drove to downtown L.A. in the middle of the night to get sushi -- they say there's no doubt he's fallen off the wagon again.

TMZ broke the story ... Zac ended up in an area of downtown L.A. that turns dangerous late at night, with transients and drug dealers out in force. Zac told cops his car ran out of gas, his "bodyguard" got attacked and when he went to help he got socked in the face.

Cops are skeptical, and it's echoed by Zac's friends. As one friend put it, "Zac's a loner. He goes out rarely and the idea of him driving for miles to go to some sushi restaurant in downtown L.A. after midnight is preposterous."

Several of Zac's friends tell us the so-called bodyguard is not a bodyguard at all. We've confirmed he's a convicted drug dealer who has been spending a lot of time with Zac recently ... despite warnings from friends.

There were a number of reports Zac went to rehab twice last year to kick his cocaine habit. But sources now tell us ... Zac NEVER went to rehab. Both times he went to a friend's house outside California and received private therapy --- but that's it.

Zac has lost friends in the last few months because they became frustrated that he was slipping off the rails again.

Zac Efron mysteriously ended up in a bad area of downtown L.A. just after midnight Sunday ... and ended up getting violently socked in the mouth by a sketchy transient ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We're told cops were on patrol under the Harbor Freeway when they saw Zac and a man he identified as his bodyguard. Cops saw Zac and the other guy in a full-blown melee with at least 3 other people.

After breaking up the fight, cops questioned Zac. He told them they had run out of gas and were sitting in the car. Zac said while waiting for a tow truck they threw a bottle out the window -- he never said what was in the bottle -- and it smashed on the pavement near a group of transients.

Zac said the transients confronted him and the bodyguard because they believed the pair hurled the bottle at them. Zac says 2 of the transients attacked the bodyguard and when Zac got out of the car to help, he got cold cocked in the mouth. Zac said, "It was the hardest I've ever been hit in my life."

You'll recall ... Zac mysteriously broke his jaw in November, saying he slipped on a pool of water in his home. Zac was in rehab twice last year for cocaine abuse.

The area where this occurred is rough. Cops are on high alert for drug deals and gangs. One source says Zac was "obviously intoxicated."

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... no one was arrested because they viewed it as "mutual combat."

We contacted Zac's rep ... so far no comment.

Pastor/rapper Mase is a fake who has committed blasphemy by using the holiness of the church to advance his very unholy rap agenda ... so claim many of the worshipers at his house of worship.

Some of the worshipers tell TMZ ... they believe Mase is living a double life, spending as much time in the studio with hardcore rappers as in the church. And they say his messages from the pulpit drip in hypocrisy, because what he raps about is exactly the opposite.

One of the things that set parishioners off ... the TMZ story that Mase -- who built both his church and his fortune on his marriage -- secretly filed for divorce in January and then withdrew the legal docs a few weeks later.

Some of the parishioners tell us Mase has been going on and on about the virtues of marriage even after the TMZ post, never addressing his own failures ... and they're fed up.

There's talk now about refusing to fund the church ... that's how bad things have become.

And something new to piss off worshipers ... Mase is featured on a new song -- "Tricky Situation" -- about a man who brags about banging a woman who's already engaged.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have separated ... in the hoity-toitiest of ways.

Gwyneth just announced the split on her website Goop, titling it, "Conscious Uncoupling." She says "It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate."

Gwyneth says, "We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separate, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate."

That sounds more like divorce than separation.

It's interesting ... in March, 2013, TMZ broke a story Chris made an offer on a Brentwood home. His people told us it was for him and his band mates, but Gwyneth got involved and killed the deal, claiming there was mold.

And this is curious ... at the end of last month, they bought a $14 million Malibu estate designed by one of the most famous architects in California history -- John Lautner. Look at the gallery. It's a pretty masculine house, which suggests this is where Chris will live.

Gwyneth says she and Chris will now set off to "uncouple and co-parent."

And that's the goop.

The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" did a cameo in Lady Gaga's new music video -- but two prominent cast members are missing ... and it was NOT Gaga's decision to keep them out ... the women opted out themselves.

Brandi Glanville and Joyce Giraud are conspicuously absent from the video, "G.U.Y." ... and rumors swirled they had been banned by Mother Monster herself.

But sources close to the shoot tell TMZ the rumors aren't true -- Gaga wanted the ENTIRE cast for the shoot ... but Joyce and Brandi took a pass because they had previous commitments.

Gaga's rep confirms to us she extended the invite to the entire cast.

The music video is bizarre ... with images of Michael Jackson, Jesus, Gandhi and Lady G as a feathery bird-woman. But when the Housewives show up -- pretending to play musical instruments -- it's classic over-the-top Gaga.

Shaquille O'Neal is under investigation by Atlanta Police ... after a man claims the ex-NBA star punched him at Turner studios last year ... though Shaq claims the two were simply horsing around.

Jennifer Tilly says most of her Hollywood friends are philanderers ... but adds the situation isn't as dire as Cameron Diaz thinks.

We got Jennifer last night -- sans poker-playing long-time partner Phil Laak -- and asked her what she thought of Cameron's observation ... everyone will be cheated on at some point in their life.

Jennifer says it's definitely more likely than not ... but sets the percentage at less than 100.

White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses admits ... it looks pretty incriminating -- carrying his luggage on the streets of D.C. after announcing he's quitting.

Our photog Colin did a masterful job -- we think -- getting the downlow on the resignation. Bill shoots down rumors he butted heads with Michelle Obama over sugary and buttery desserts -- he says they were more like partners in crime.

Bill doesn't seem to think you need butter and sugar for deliciousness ... Hmmm.

Bill's official reason for resigning in June -- he wants to spend more time with his husband in NYC .

Good job, Colin.

Karrueche Tran didn't dump Chris Brown because of the girl he allegedly banged in rehab -- sources close to the model tell TMZ ... she dropped the hammer on their relationship because he refused to stop texting his army of jump offs.

There's been speculation that Karrueche pulled the plug when she found out he had hooked up with another girl in his facility at the beginning of March -- but we're told the break-up preceded that ... We're told Karrueche ended things after she visited Chris in rehab the month before.

Sources tell us ... Karrueche saw Chris' phone during her visit -- and it was filled with inappropriate texts from other girls. It was the last straw. We're told Karrueche was especially pissed because she'd been nothing but supportive to Chris throughout his ordeal, even going to court with him.

Lance Bass isn't sure if he'll see a gay president in his lifetime, but he thinks there has definitely been a little same-sex lovin' in the Oval Office at some point.

Our photog caught up with Bass after his gig judging the Queen of the Universe Pageant and asked him the stereotypical gay-themed question (memo to photogs: Lance can talk about other things).

But the always-entertaining Bass made it fun ... saying the odds are at some time in history "someone in the White House has slept with the same sex."

He then jokingly added, "I'm looking at you, Roosevelt." Which raises the question ...

Just like her beloved chimpanzees ... Jane Goodall is throwing crap at the wall -- at least that's the word from people who witnessed Michael Jackson's relationship with Bubbles.

Several people who were with Bubbles on almost a day-to-day basis tell TMZ ... MJ adored the chimp, and treated him like a member of his family -- and the notion that he or anyone around him brutalized the chimp is garbage.

We're told the Michael Jackson Estate has recognized how much the singer loved Bubbles by contributing money to the sanctuary where the chimp now lives.

Bubbles, we're told, was almost joined at the hip with Michael, mimicking him and various others at Neverland. We were told one story where Bubbles got down on his knees after seeing one of the maids and started dusting the floor. The whole slave labor thing aside, Michael proudly hugged the chimp.

And Michael actually made Bubble's his plus one at his lawyer John Branca's wedding. Bubbles showed up in a tux to cheer on Branca -- who now runs the MJ Estate.

A broken arm ... a snapped pinkie ... and evidence of extreme torture -- just a few of the injuries suffered by one of the men allegedly beaten by Floyd Mayweather's crew ... and TMZ Sports has the X-rays.

We broke the story ... two men have lawyered up, claiming Mayweather ordered them to be beaten to a pulp recently because he suspected they stole jewelry from his Vegas home.

One of the victims had X-rays taken after the alleged incident and they show a variety of painful injuries, including:

-- Broken right pinkie
-- Severe swelling of the left hand
-- Broken left ulna
-- Cracked right ulna
-- Multiple fractures in left hand that required pins to reset the bones

We're told the left arm was so badly broken, doctors drilled into the bone to attach a titanium plate so it would reset.

The men claim Mayweather was present during the attack, but it's unclear if the boxing champ actually participated in the beating.

The world's leading chimp expert says Michael Jackson's famous pet monkey Bubbles was brutalized at Neverland and she blames MJ.

Jane Goodall dropped the bombshell leaving an event in Washington, D.C. ... saying Bubbles was BEATEN while in Michael's care.  She doesn't say who beat Bubbles, but she does say she confronted MJ and it "ticked him off."

Our photog was clearly caught off guard and didn't ask the circumstances surrounding the alleged beating.  La Toya's ex-husband, Jack Gordon, claimed the singer did indeed abuse Bubbles, saying, "I saw Michael punch Bubbles, kick him in the stomach.  Michael used to say, 'He doesn't feel it.  He's a chimpanzee.  I have to discipline him.'"

Various people in the MJ camp denied the claims, and there are stories that Bubbles was actually treated like a hairy king, eating at the dining room table with MJ and having free access to the fridge for Haagen-Dazs fixes.

FYI -- Bubbles -- now 30 -- is alive and well  ...  living in a Florida animal sanctuary.

Don't count out Michael Vick just yet -- the guy could still be a STARTER in the NFL, so says the former Governor of Pennsylvania ... who says he wishes Vick well after his stint in Philly.

FYI -- Vick is a free agent and there's rumors that he's accepted the fact he might have to resign himself to being a backup if he wants to keep playing in the league.

But ex-Gov. Ed Rendell is taking issue with that ... telling us the guy could still be the #1 for a handful of teams including the Jets, Raiders and Vikings.

His sports knowledge is actually pretty damn impressive for a politician (especially when he starts talking about the 76ers).

A man has come forward claiming he's the real father of 31-year-old Brandon Howard -- NOT Michael Jackson -- telling TMZ, Howard warned him earlier this week the DNA story would be breaking ... and told him it was phony baloney.

65-year-old Augie Johnson tells us, he fathered Brandon during his relationship with Brandon's mom, Miki Howard in the 80s -- and has remained a central figure in Brandon's life.

He tells us, he was in the delivery room when Brandon was born and even brought Brandon to recording studios as a child. We've seen multiple family photos of them together.

Augie says they're so close ... Brandon called him days before TMZ broke the story about the DNA test, telling him, "Don't worry about this stuff. You are my dad."

Augie insists his son had nothing to do with the DNA stunt -- telling us the "greedy people" around Brandon are the masterminds.