Gossip / Rumors

Ben Higgins is back on the market, and he's already going out with another "Bachelor" hottie ... but it's not what you think.

Ben went to a Bryan Adams concert Saturday night at the Greek Theater in L.A. with none other than "Bachelor" alum Ashley Iaconetti. She was on Chris Soules' season right before Ben's ... famous for her celibacy.

Eyewitnesses tell us Ben and Ashley were definitely there together, and seemed pretty friendly ... sans PDA, though. We're told they were chatting it up, just not exclusively.

Sources close to Ben cleared up the confusion easily ... they're just friends. The 2 "Bachelor" stars are launching a radio podcast together this week, "Almost Famous," and went to the concert with other folks from iHeart Radio. They've also been promoting their new gig ... so it makes sense they'd be hanging out.

As we reported ... Ben and his ex-fiance, Lauren Bushnell, officially called it quits last week.

As for Ben and Ashley ... it's strictly business.

Mathew Knowles has some insider info that should get the Beyhive buzzin' ... about how much longer we have to wait 'til Beyonce has her twins.

Bey's father came on "TMZ Live" and we asked him to give us a ballpark figure on when the twins will be delivered. Like, should we order a bouquet now ... or hold off a few days, maybe weeks?

Mathew answered ... and seemed pretty confident.

You may recall ... Beyonce and Mathew went through a rough patch before reconciling last year. As for recent reports he's NOT in the know about her pregnancy ... he denies that, and certainly SEEMS to be in the loop.

Magic Johnson will keep LaVar Ball in line while Lonzo is tearing it up in L.A. ... so says former Lakers coach Byron Scott who tells TMZ Sports Magic is too tough to fear the Balls.

It's the million dollar question right now ... is Lonzo's basketball artistry worth having to deal with LaVar every day? Scott said yes when we talked to him, and the reason he gave us was 6'9".

"If he's there at the #2 sport you gotta draft him. Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and Jeanie Buss are very strong minded people. I think they can handle Mr. Ball and his big ego."

Here's the thing, Scott ain't exactly a fan of LaVar, who he said is "sticking his foot in his mouth" when it comes to his son's playing career, but still thinks Lonzo's the best option for the Purple & Gold.

... unless the Celtics take him first.

Katy Perry ain't playing ... and don't let the title, "Swish Swish," fool you -- it's totally a diss track about Taylor Swift. Or at least that's what her fans want to believe.

Just a sample of the viciousness:
Your game is tired,
You should retire
You're 'bout cute as
An old coupon expired
And karma's not a liar
She keeps receipts

And the chorus:
Swish, swish, bish
Another one in the basket
Can't touch this
Another one in the casket

Death blow! Okay, Tupac and Biggie it ain't. But pretty decent response to "Bad Blood."

Chris Cornell was not depressed or in a suicidal state the evening he died ... this according to his wife.

Sources who spoke with Chris' wife Thursday morning tell TMZ, Vicky Cornell spoke with her husband during soundcheck before he took the stage in Detroit and after Wednesday night's show. According to our sources, Vicky says Chris was NOT in any way, shape or form in a suicidal state. She doubled down and said there were no signs he was at all depressed.

We're told Vicky tried reaching Chris in his hotel room early Thursday morning but he was not answering. She became concerned and asked someone to call hotel security. That's when Chris' body was discovered.

Vicky told people Thursday morning he was devoted to his kids -- ages 16, 12 and 11 -- and she didn't believe he would take his life.

That said, law enforcement says Chris' death is an apparent suicide, which raises the question about whether he'd fallen off the wagon.

The NFL is disputing Gisele's claims that Tom Brady secretly suffered a concussion during the 2016 season ... saying there's no evidence the Patriots QB suffered any sort of head injury.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy just issued a statement saying, "We have reviewed all reports relating to Tom Brady from the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants and certified athletic trainer spotters who worked at Patriots' home and away 2016 season games as well as club injury reports that were sent to the league office."

"There are no records that indicate that Mr. Brady suffered a head injury or concussion, or exhibited or complained of concussion symptoms."

"Today we have been in contact with the NFLPA and will work together to gather more information from the club's medical staff and Mr. Brady."

"The health and safety of our players is our foremost priority and we want to ensure that all our players have and continue to receive the best care possible."

Shaq says the Lakers shouldn't let LaVar Ball scare them off from taking Lonzo Ball with their #2 pic ... 'cause despite the media circus that follows the Big Baller, his kid's game is "fabulous."

The Big Diesel hasn't always been the biggest fan of the Ball clan -- he publicly dissed the price of Lonzo's new shoe ... saying $495 was way too much for kids to pay.

That was then ... because O'Neal had nothing but kind words to say about Zo when we got him out in NYC, telling our guy he's not sure what the Lake Show will do with the pick, but Ball isn't a bad idea.

Howard Stern returned to the airwaves Monday and he was pretty dumbfounded -- why all the fuss over a day off?

The self-proclaimed "King of All Media" addressed what many considered a controversial day off last week. You'll recall the Internet went into a frenzy Wednesday when Stern was a no-show for his SiriusXM radio show.

There was a bunch of speculation as to why Stern took the day off, including a death in the family. Fans were stunned ... claiming Stern's NEVER taken a day off before.

But the shock jock addressed the subject head-on Monday ... clarifying that it wasn't a personal day. It was a sick day.

Valentina Shevchenko is no Ronda Rousey -- and won't be disposed of in the 1st round ... so says Amanda Nunes.

Nunes is facing "Bullet" at UFC 213 -- and after things got physical at the big UFC announcement last week, we wanted to know if Amanda was planning a quick beatdown of her new rival.

"I think it's gonna be a battle," Nunes told us outside of Katsuya in Hollywood. She also predicted the fight will go the distance.

Nunes and Shevchenko fought back in March 2016 -- Nunes won that fight in a decision.

Since that fight, she destroyed Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey with 1st round finishes. In fact, 4 out of her last 5 fights were 1st round victories.

Are the 49ers trying to sabotage Colin Kaepernick?

It's possible ... according to FS1 star Joy Taylor who says it seems like much of the bad info hitting the media about CK is coming from his old employer.

Taylor went viral on social media this week for taking a strong stand for Colin on "Undisputed" with Skip and Shannon ... saying the QB is being blackballed by NFL owners for being a social justice crusader.

In fact, Taylor says it's not just that Colin's getting the cold shoulder ... but it seems someone is trying to spread false info about him to scare potential suitors. Joy says it seems that info is coming from Santa Clara.

Taylor says there is one way Colin can fight back and it's the only way to truly set the record straight.

Phaedra Parks is blasting 'RHOA' producers for feeding her lies and firing her when she called them out ... which has ruined her rep and led to daily threats and bullying.

Sources close to the ex-Housewife tell us she's mad as hell, because she claims a producer gave her the B.S. story she told to Porsha Williams about Kandi Burruss -- the whole drugging and raping thing.

The producer didn't necessarily tell her to repeat it with cameras rolling, but we're told Phaedra explained the producer's role during the reunion show. She's also angry because that was edited out of the reunion to make it look like she acted alone.

We're told the way Phaedra sees it, she was fired in retaliation for throwing producers under the bus.

Phaedra's been getting online threats, and as we reported ... at least one fan wants her to face even more punishment. We're told her office is also getting bombarded with hate mail, and her kids are getting harassed.

Scott Disick's shaking off his friends' concerns he's fallen off the wagon ... partying again with a roster full of babes!!!

Scott hit up Nobu Wednesday night around 9 PM and left shortly after 11 with a crew full of blondies. There's a chick who looks like his rumored boo -- British model Ella Ross.

As we reported ... his friends are worried sick he's fallen off the wagon and gone back to his hardcore partying all over L.A. to get back at Kourtney Kardashian for banging a 24-year-old model.

Before last night's festivities ... Scott was at TAO on Cinco de Mayo and The Peppermint Club Monday night.

If the Clippers wanna win next year, they GOTTA trade Blake Griffin ... so says current NBA player (and former Clippers teammate) Jared Dudley.

Dudley isn't just a sharpshooter for the Phoenix Suns, he's a league expert -- so when we got him leaving Warwick in L.A. we asked what Lob City needs to do to avoid getting punked in the playoffs.

His answer? Trade Blake Griffin ... and Dudley explains why it's the perfect move.

By the way, Dudley played with Griffin in '13-'14 -- meaning he probably won't be invited to the team reunion dinner now ... which would never really happen because they didn't win anything.

It was Way Back Wednesday for Zach Randolph -- who rocked a Portland Trail Blazers hat to the club last night ... despite the fact he's still technically on the Memphis Grizzlies.

Randolph becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season -- and there's a buzz he could head to Miami or Denver ... or maybe even strike a new deal with the Grizzlies.

So, is the Trail Blazers hat he rocked to Warwick in Hollywood on Wednesday a clue ... or a throwback?

Remember, he played with Portland from 2001 to 2007 and became a superstar there while playing with guys like Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells and Damon Stoudamire ('memba the Jail Blazers?).

Or maybe he just liked the hat with his outfit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has 2 priorities -- letting the world know he had nothing to do with James Comey getting fired, and also ... playing hockey.

Putin delayed one of those to talk about the other with CBS News, saying there's no reason to think Comey's firing will disrupt U.S.-Russia relations. He got all constitutional, saying President Trump's action was "in accordance with his law."

And then he said ... it's hockey time!!

Putin does love stuffing a stat sheet when he hits the ice, but his invitation to CBS seemed odd.

Scott Disick's new lady friend had a really hard time finding her ride Tuesday night -- but luckily Scott's private driver happened to be Johnny on the Spot and whisked her away ... maybe to Scott's.

Scott's rumored boo -- British model Ella Ross -- simply could not find her Uber after leaving Avenue in L.A. -- going left, right and around to find some kind of help getting home.

Then, out of nowhere, Lee Weaver appeared and offered Ella a ticket out of the paparazzi chaos ... for a price, of course. Turns out the dude is Scott's personal driver ... and he says something that may be a clue as to Ella's final destination.

The whole thing seems too perfect to be a coincidence.