Gossip / Rumors

R. Kelly's had enough with accusations he's holding women hostage to serve as his sex slaves ... straight-up saying it's all just a ploy to get into his pockets and tarnish his legacy.

R. Kelly tells TMZ ... allegations he brainwashed Joycelyn Savage and held her and others captive to be part of a sex cult is a false narrative conjured up by Joycelyn's father and mother who are sour after the singer turned down their services.

The singer tells us Joycelyn's father, Timothy, tried getting his attention through Joycelyn about herself and other relatives he thought could have a singing career. When that plan didn't pan out, Kelly says Timothy fabricated stories -- including sex cult tales -- and demanded money.

Kelly also points to Joycelyn's mother, Jonjelyn, getting upset Kelly's backup dancers didn't use Jonjelyn's dresses for his tour. Kelly says Jonjelyn owns a clothing boutique she was trying to get off the ground.

What's more ... the singer says Joycelyn's parents' claims their daughter was held against her will doesn't add up, since her mother had previously and on numerous occasions visited Kelly's place.

R. Kelly responded for the first time since new accusations surfaced alleging the singer gave a 20-year-old woman an STD and sexually abused an underage girl in the 1990s. For what it's worth ... Joycelyn's said plenty of times she's doing just fine. She even went on vacation in L.A. without Kelly.

As for the new campaign, #MuteRKelly ... the singer says people are misinformed, believing Joycelyn's parents' lies.

Joycelyn Savage, one of R. Kelly's alleged brainwashed sex slaves, is looking a lot more free ... while getting some R&R ... way cross country from R. Kelly.

We got Joycelyn coming out of South Beverly Grill in Bev Hills where she told us she was in L.A. on vacation. R. Kelly is still back in Chicago, where we saw them shopping several days ago.

Joycelyn's family has gone public claiming R. Kelly's been holding her and others captive as part of an alleged sex cult, but Joycelyn pointed out the obvious ... if that were the case, she wouldn't be flying solo in Cali. She's out here visiting a friend, who's standing next to her in this video.

Beyonce was not left shaking after her hair got stuck in a SoulCycle bike ... because IT NEVER HAPPENED.

Our sources say a story floating around that Bey's weave got tangled up in a bike back in February at the L.A. studio -- requiring staff to untangle her -- is a figment of someone's imagination. The story went on to say Bey had long braids at the time and she was so into the workout that the weave got caught in the wheel and she panicked.

Kind of hilarious and probably why Amy Schumer wrote a similar scene in her latest movie, "I Feel Pretty." But, bottom line ... it just ain't true.

What IS true is this -- Bey's hair getting stuck in a fan back in July 2013 during The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour at the Montreal Bell Centre. Ouch.

5/4 4:20 PM PT -- A rep for TUNES tells us Tekashi is full of it ... they reached a deal, and anything he's denying is a flat-out lie.

Tekashi69 isn't sweating losing a $5 million headphones deal ... because he says it never existed in the first place. Oh, and he thinks Kanye West is learning from him.

We got the "Gotti" rapper leaving a Chipotle in L.A. Thursday and asked him about the headphones company bailing on him ... but he tells us we got it all wrong. 6ix9ine claims he never spoke with anyone at TUNES Audio -- his name was just used for publicity. But ... he ain't mad.

The rapper also refutes being barred from the Barclays Center, but we double checked ... we're told he definitely won't be performing there June 8 due to an investigation of a shooting connected to his manager.

Finally, Tekashi69 gives us his thoughts on Kanye. He says he and Ye are on the same page -- when it comes to trolling ... and Kanye even learned a thing or 2 from him.

Pump the baby brakes on Blac Chyna -- 'cause she's definitely not pregnant right now, although that could change ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to Chyna tell us she is NOT currently pregnant with her boyfriend YBN Almighty Jay's kid, despite reports to the contrary. However, we're also told that she DOES want more kids in the future ... and isn't ruling anything out with YBN.

Chyna already has two kids of her own -- one with Tyga, and another with Rob Kardashian. If she got knocked up again ... it'd be baby number 3 for her.

Sounds like it's possible. Fact is, we're told Chyna is in love with the 18-year-old rapper, and IF she were to become pregnant anytime soon ... he's obviously first in the running as the baby daddy. As we've reported ... the couple's been seeing each other since at least February.

Prince Harry is a changed man inside and out thanks to his fiancee, Meghan Markle -- going from full-fledged bachelor life to living on a leash ... lovingly, of course.

We spoke with royal expert Katie Nicholl -- who's familiar with Harry's inner circle -- and she tells us Harry has kicked a lot of his old bad habits since getting with Meghan. We're not just talking food and lifestyle here -- though, that's part of it. It's more big picture.

Nicholl says Harry, for instance, will pass on tequila shots at a wedding now -- and even make excuses to call it an early night. He's also doing yoga with Meghan too, and eats clean with her. In other words ... Meghan's L.A. lifestyle is alive and kicking in London.

As Katie puts it ... Meghan has certainly "tamed" Harry. Nicholl spills even more tea in her new book, "Harry: Life, Loss, and Love."

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star Marlo Hampton says Kenya Moore is spreading lies and rumors by insinuating she's a call girl and prostitute when the real sham is Kenya's own marriage.

We spoke to Marlo after this week's 'RHOA' reunion show where the two went at it. For those who missed it ... Kenya accused Marlo of being a "trick" and taking $20k from a man named John to blackmail NeNe Leakes.

Marlo says Kenya's attack totally blindsided her because she wasn't prepared to defend herself against Kenya's BS, but it sure seemed like Marlo was prepared when she spoke to us ... she even challenges Kenya to take a pregnancy test.

Instagram model Deyana Mounira says she's the victim of a dog s*** lawsuit because she did nothing sexual to Hef, the dog, and claims this video proves Hef's owner actually sexually harassed HER.

TMZ broke the story ... Deyana was sued by Tony Toutouni, who owns the Russian royal terrier and claimed she sexually aroused his pooch by playing with the dog's genitals. The video posted on social media, by Deyana and Tony, had music over it -- but she's given us the clip with just the natural sound, and it's very revealing.

Deyana claims the man you hear saying things like, "just move your ass and let him just sniff it," and "f*** her" ... is actually Tony. She claims there was no professional photographer -- as Tony claimed in his lawsuit -- and he was the only one taking pics.

She claims Tony harassed her verbally and sexually during the shoot -- and also groped her while trying to get her into his room.

As for why she posted the video -- Deyana says she tried to make a joke out of it first, because she feared Tony would post it somewhere else before her.

She says, "I want the entertainment industry and the public in general to be aware of people like Tony who want to use you in every way they can including, but not limited to, sexual and inappropriate acts."

Tony's attorneys at Pirnia Law Group tell us, "No matter what took place in the photo shoot between Ms. Mounira and HEF, and no matter who instigated what exactly, the main takeaway is that upon leaving the shoot Ms. Mounira was explicitly told NOT to post any videos of HEF as it reflects poorly on my client who is a public figure."

They added, "If she was bothered by the actions of HEF or my client, why was she smiling and laughing in the video? Why did she stay at the shoot for hours after it was over?"

Tom Brokaw's firing back at one of his sexual harassment accusers, referring to her as a former colleague with a grudge who has had "trouble with the truth."

In an email reportedly sent to a few NBC News coworkers, the former "NBC Nightly News" anchor goes off on Linda Vester, who claims Brokaw acted inappropriately toward her more than 20 years ago.

Brokaw begins

by saying it's the first day of his new life as an accused predator, and slams the publications he feels are responsible, saying ... "I was ambushed and then perp walked ... as an avatar of male misogyny, taken to the guillotine and stripped of any honor and achievement I had earned in more than a half century of journalism and citizenship."

He says he's pissed off and hurt, and gives a detailed account of his relationship with Vester and adamantly denies any verbal or physical attacks on her.

As for the alleged kiss Vester claims he tried to force on her, Brokaw says ... "That move she so vividly describes is NOT WHO I AM. Not in high school, college or thereafter."

Brokaw continues, claiming he helped Vester land a job after the alleged incident and there were never issues between the 2. He suggests her claims are an attention grab, saying ... "Hard to believe it wasn't much more Look At Me than Me:Too."

As we reported ... Brokaw is facing allegations of misconduct by Vester and an anonymous woman.

Prince's ex-wife doesn't buy Sinead O'Connor's claims he was violent toward women and abused hard drugs ... because she never saw a shred of evidence to support that.

Mayte Garcia -- who was married to Prince from 1996 to 2000 -- tells TMZ he was never violent with her and she never witnessed him being violent with anyone ... man or woman. She also says he didn't do hard drugs while they were together, and she only saw him drunk once.

Garcia's very skeptical of Sinead's self-proclaimed close relationship with Prince ... telling us she seriously doubts she could have known more than she did.

Mayte has a problem with the timing of Sinead's allegations, too ... because Prince wasn't alive to defend himself.

Garcia admits she found the reports of Prince's deadly pill stash shocking and heartbreaking, because she knew him for years and didn't see anything like that.

Julius Randle says you can jam it with all the questions about LeBron James on the Lakers ... because there's one Lakers future he's much more interested in ... HIS OWN.

Randle is coming off a career season with the Purple & Gold, but being that he's a restricted free agent, there's no guarantee he'll be back in tinsel town next year.

Might be why, when we got JR out in Beverly Hills and tried to ask about the chances LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard might join the squad next year, Randle couldn't make himself give a damn.

"I got to figure out my situation first."

Makes sense, kinda pointless to recruit LeBron if you're gonna be on Utah, Brooklyn, or Portland ... all places rumored to be landing spots for Randle.

Johnny Manziel has made it clear he wants to play for the New England Patriots -- and on Wednesday night, he sent the team a reminder ... via his sweatshirt.

Remember ... Manziel previously told TMZ Sports he'd love to play for Bill Belichick, "I'll go to New England in a heartbeat."

Then, the Patriots reportedly met with 25-year-old Manziel at the Texas A&M Pro Day at end of March.

Next came the Spring League where Johnny put on a solid performance which left some NFL execs raving about his potential.

Fast-forward to Wednesday night ... when Johnny rocked the Patriots hoodie while his wife, Bre Tiesi, snapchatted away.

Now, with rumblings Tom Brady might retire (yeah right) the Patriots could be in the market for a QB ... and Manziel wants to make sure he's top of mind.

Kanye West certainly looks happy about his new music, but so far ... Charlamagne Tha God's the only person we know of who's heard it.

We got Kanye leaving his office in Calabasas with "The Breakfast Club" host Wednesday night, and asked if the 2 listened to Ye's new -- and highly anticipated -- album.

Kanye doesn't say much ... but the smile on his face speaks volumes.

Our sources tell us Charlamagne got to listen to a good portion of the album -- not just "some s**t" -- and was with the rapper to do an interview about it.

As we reported ... Kanye hit the mountains of Wyoming last month to work on the album with numerous other artists -- including Drake -- but everything's been kept under wraps since the creative process began last year.

The Weeknd was seen partying with a ton of hot chicks at Coachella ... but he isn't locked down by a single one.

Abel -- who headlined the festival on Friday -- was spotted with Chantel Jeffries, hanging out with Kendall Jenner and even being friendly with his ex, Bella Hadid. However, sources close to the singer tell us he's simply enjoying the single life ... and isn't serious with anyone.

Our sources say Bella was in the crowd for Friday's show and the two exchanged hellos, but any reports saying they swapped spit are totally untrue.

We're told after his performance Friday, Abel spent most of the weekend partying with his friends, family and the XO Crew.

Coachella is reviving an almost forgotten talent of Leonardo DiCaprio -- being able to mix former and potential current lovers alike in the same backyard ... just ask Rihanna.

Leo was seen hanging out under a cabana at RiRi's FentyxPuma Coachella party Saturday with 20-year-old Argentinian model Camila Morrone clinging to his neck in an affectionate manner. Leo and Camila have been rumored to be an item since at least December.

Rihanna was there, too, obviously ... making quite the entrance in her smokin' hot pink bodysuit. All we can say ... good Lordy ... we see you, girl!

Here's why their mutual company matters -- in case you don't remember, Leo and RiRi used to be a thing, if only for a short time. As we reported ... they were banging back in 2015 after getting hot and heavy at a Playboy Mansion party that January.

Eyewitnesses tell us Rihanna and Leo did, in fact, talk at her shindig -- but it was brief, and appeared to be mere pleasantries. Luckily for Leo, he's handled a very similar situation with his old flame before ... being under the same roof with her and then-GF Nina Agdal.

President Trump is, predictably, pissed about former FBI Director James Comey spilling the tea on an alleged "golden showers" convo they had.

Trump ripped into Comey Friday morning, calling him an "untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI." The Prez also said it was his "great honor" to fire Comey.

POTUS is on the attack because passages from Comey's new book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership," just came out ... and one includes Comey's claim Trump asked him to disprove the so-called Christopher Steele dossier. Specifically the part of it that claims Trump watched hookers urinate on a mattress.