Gossip / Rumors

Ex-NBA star Jerry Stackhouse says claims that Michael Jordan would taunt him back in the day by singing Anita Baker lyrics to him are BS ... and he called the guy spreading the lies to rip him a new one.

We got Stack at LAX and asked about his former 76ers running mate Roshown McLeod's claim that His Airness had serenaded Jerry with some Anita Baker during an NBA game to throw him off.

Cool story ... but Stackhouse -- who had a reputation as one of the league's most terrifying players -- says the whole story is a Ryan Lochte (shame on you) ... and he had to call his boy and let him know.

Check out the clip ... and tell the truth, people.

Jon Jones is ALMOST out of Dana White's doghouse ... with the UFC honcho telling TMZ Sports he doesn't believe the ex-champ was using steroids ... but he did take SOMETHING he shouldn't have.

White joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (weeknights on FS1) -- and spelled out the latest with Jones and the failed drug tests that got him kicked off the card at UFC 200.

"He was accused of taking the drug that you take when you're getting off steroids ... and it's looking now like it's not the case. He did not take that drug. He took something else that had it in it."

White says he's not as pissed off at Jones as he was in the wake of the failed test -- but he's still upset.

"I'm a little happier now that he wasn't taking that drug and that I now believe that he wasn't taking steroids ... but still, you can't put anything in your body without notifying USADA or the Nevada State Athletic Commission."

Robert Griffin III is telling friends ... his wife was NOT blindsided by his decision to pursue a divorce -- insisting their marriage has been on the rocks for two years.

But it begs the question ... why would the couple then buy a house TOGETHER in April?

Ryan Lochte and his crew paid around $400 to the Rio gas station owner for a sandwich sign they cracked during their drunken escapade, and the amount of cash may actually help the boys.

Our guy in Rio got a pic of the damage, and all you see is a slight crack on the plastic cover of a sign on the wall outside the bathroom. Although cops talked about a mirror that was broken in the bathroom, we saw no evidence of this and someone who works there said the sign was the only thing damaged.

Lochte claims he and the other swimmers offered around $50 for the damage but the station wanted more. Our Lochte sources tell us he paid around $400.

Our sources say by extracting exponentially more than the damage warranted, with the help of a gun, that constituted robbery and therefore the police report was not false.

Cops in Rio are making things personal by claiming Ryan Lochte's teammates rolled over on him, and by dragging random women into the story ... according to sources connected to the swimmer.

Sources in Lochte's camp tell us the police news conference was full of lies -- including the bit about two female witnesses the cops said were hanging with the 4 U.S. swimmers. We're told that's absolutely BS ... and a personal attack designed to make the guys look bad, especially since some of them have girlfriends.

Lochte's camp also says there's no truth to the cops' claim one of the swimmers confessed to lying. We're told Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen all stand united on what went down, including the fact a gun was used to commit the robbery.

Avril Lavigne and Ryan Cabrera had the most romantic steak dinner you've ever seen 2 "friends" have.

The duo was spotted Tuesday night at STK Midtown in NYC, sipping rosé and chowing down on filet and foie gras. Witnesses say they were cozy, cuddly and even kissed a few times.

Avril's been adamant they're just pals. As we reported, Ryan moved in with Avril after she ended things with Chad Kroeger -- but only because his GF kicked him out. That's what friends are for, right?

With his marriage apparently over, Robert Griffin III has already moved on ... 'cause he's getting VERY close with a smokin' hot new blonde and TMZ Sports has the pics.

Griffin is currently separated from his wife, Rebecca Liddicoat, (they have 1 child together) ... with a divorce in the works.

But over the past couple of weeks, he's been out in public with Grete Sadeiko -- a 23-year-old Estonian-born track and field athlete who currently attends Florida State University.

In fact, the two held hands on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame during a recent trip to L.A.

There's more ... Grete has also been posting thinly-veiled messages to the Cleveland Browns QB on Twitter (as pointed out by our friends at BSO) ... even referring to him as her "baby."

On August 12th, the Browns took on the Packers in a pre-season game. Grete tweeted, "Good luck to my baby tonight!!! And then hurry home."

She included an emoji of a dog (Browns reference) and a football.

Most people thought Shemar Moore's cryptic words on karma were all about his ex co-star -- and nemesis -- Thomas Gibson, but Shemar's hinting it WAS aimed at a different "Criminal Minds" actor.

Shemar was out in L.A. when a photog asked if he was reacting to Thomas getting fired from "Criminal Minds" ... since they famously had beef on set. Check out the clip ... Shemar says people got it twisted -- denying he was throwing shade at Gibson.

The other prime suspect is Keith Tisdell -- a former friend and co-star who was recently convicted for stealing $60k from Shemar's charity. He definitely did NOT deny it was Tisdell.

As for his current feelings about Gibson? Shemar was polite, for sure, but still seems kinda icy.

Karma, bro.

Drake put the final kibosh on those bogus rumors Eminem was planning to drop a diss track on him ... by ripping the mic WITH Slim Shady.

Drizzy performed Tuesday night at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena -- and brought out the hometown hero to perform their 2009 anthem, "Forever."

And for the ultimate respect -- Drake even bowed and dropped heavy praise on Em.

Diss right here ... is all class.

Get your popcorn ready ... 'cause the Big Show vs. Shaq matchup is DEFINITELY going down at WrestleMania 33 ... so says the Big Show himself.

Last we heard, the two guys were down to square off -- but the WWE said the match wasn't officially set.

But that was 2 weeks ago ... and now Big Show says it's a done deal -- "That's confirmed."

The 7-footer says he and Shaq "got the ball rolling" at the ESPYs and now it's a sure thing -- but heavy promotion for the event won't begin until January, considering WrestleMania 33 isn't until April.

You gotta watch the clip ... Big Show says he's got all the respect in the world for Shaq -- "It doesn't mean I'm not gonna slap the crap out of him when I get the chance!"

Shaun White says he DID send a bunch of sexually explicit texts to the female drummer of his band -- but says the two were friends at the time ... and her allegations of sexual harassment are bogus.

We broke the story ... Lena Zawaideh is suing White -- claiming he bombarded her with inappropriate text messages during her 7 year stint in their band, Bad Things.

She claims some of the texts included photos of male genitals, female nudity and other graphic images.

White is now responding to the allegations with a statement issued through his attorney, Kerry Garvis Wright.

"Many years ago, I exchanged texts with a friend who is now using them to craft a bogus lawsuit."

"There is absolutely no coincidence to the timing of her claims, and we will defend them vigorously in court."

Beyonce fans desperately want to believe she has a secret Snapchat account, thanks to her mother ... but now Tina Knowles is doing her best to crush the Beyhive buzz.

We grilled Tina at LAX about a recent face swap video she posted ... which she claimed Beyonce created. Naturally, the first reaction was ... Bey's undercover on social media!

But check out Tina's explanation, and pretty strong denial. It actually might check out, since face swapping isn't exclusive to Snapchat.

Bottom line, the Hive's outta luck ... probably. Tina defnitely hedged a bit at the end of this clip.

12:35 PM PT -- Shaun has issued a statement vigorously denying the allegations.

The female drummer in Shaun White's rock band is doubling down in her lawsuit against the X Games star -- claiming he sexually harassed her for years ... and she has the text messages to prove it.

We broke the story ... White is being sued by Lena Zawaideh -- who formed the band Bad Things with White back in 2008. She was fired shortly after the end of their 2014 tour. She claims she hasn't been paid for some of her work.

In new court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Zawaideh claims she was subjected to the "darker, misogynistic personality" of White during her 7 years in the band.

Among the allegations, Zawaideh claims White sent her sexually explicit and graphic images of "engorged and erect penises" and forced her to watch sexually disturbing videos "including videos sexualizing human fecal matter."

One of the videos Zawaideh claims she was forced to watch was a couple killing a bear and then having sex on top of it.

She also claims White forced her to watch "Church of Fudge" -- a hardcore porn "involving a priest, a nun and fecal matter."

At one point, Zawaideh claims White stuck his hands down his pants, approached Zawaideh, and then "stuck his hands in her face trying to make her smell them."

She also claims he tried to kiss her on the mouth at a Halloween party in 2010 -- but she shut him down.

In her suit, filed by attorney Lawrance Bohm, Zawaideh claims White ran the band like a tyrant -- ordering her to cut her hair and wear sexually provocative outfits, despite her protests.

Johnny Depp could have saved the paint -- and the blood --- when he allegedly wrote the words "Billy Bob" with what was left of his finger on a mirror ... because Mr. Thornton says he never hooked up with Amber Heard.

TMZ broke the story ... Amber and her people claim in March, 2015 Johnny accidentally cut his fingertip off in the middle of an argument with Amber ... and did his artful handiwork on the mirror after accusing her of cheating with Billy Bob when they co-starred in the flick, "London Fields," which was set to be released in 2015.

Billy Bob tells us the cheating allegation is ridiculous ... "completely false."

Thornton says he never socialized with Amber off set, other than a cast dinner. Even on the set, he says he didn't hang with her ... he was mostly around members of the crew. He adds he didn't even have a friendship with the actress ... it was all professional, on the set, and that was it.

As for Johnny, even though they were on the same set, Billy Bob says they had no interaction ... did not even speak.

Billy Bob's been married to wife Connie Angland since 2014. He says he's talked to Connie about the story and assured her it was Johnny's fantasy.

The Kardashians say The Game's lying when he boasted he slept with 3 of them on his track, "Sauce" ... he's wrong about at least 2.

Sources close to the Kardashians tell us you can count out Kylie, Kendall, Khloe, Kourtney and Kris ... none of them had sex with Game.

The sources acknowledge Kim dated Game back in the day ... so that one's on the table for discussion, but that's it.

Khloe and Game have been pals for years, but the Kardashian sources are adamant ... strictly platonic.

That said, there's an interesting nugget. Game reached out to Kanye to get his blessing for the song, and Kanye said he didn't have a dog in the fight. Interesting ... Game didn't call Kim.

But ... we know Game sticks by his story. He nailed 3 of them.

What do Amber Heard and Tyga have in common? They both violated court orders to testify under oath in L.A. and both are outside the borders of the USofA.

Sources tell us ... Amber is still ensconced in London, even though she's been ordered to appear for her deposition in her domestic violence/divorce case Friday at 10 AM.

The consequences could be severe. Johnny Depp's lawyers have already asked the judge to prohibit her from testifying in next week's trial because she refused to go in the depo room last weekend and testify. Depp's lawyer, Laura Wasser, says Amber was crying and screaming in an adjoining room, refusing to sit and testify. The judge could also just dismiss the domestic violence case.

Heard faces some tough questions ... among them -- why she thinks cops and apartment staff never saw injuries to her face.

We know both sides have been trying to settle the case, but money is the sticking point.