Celebrity Health

Finally, a politician is going to bat for pro athletes who wanna use weed -- saying the NFL and NBA are treating players like 2nd class citizens for taking away their rights to get high (medically).

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) says it's about damn time league commissioners acknowledge that marijuana is BETTER for treating the "really terrible pain" pro athletes endure.

"It's much less damaging than the opiods, the painkillers, the shots, the pills ... and it's time professional sports stops punishing them but works with them."

Congressman Blumenauer says 2/3 Americans have legal access to medical marijuana -- so to ban NBA and NFL players is basically treating them like "second class citizens."

BTW -- shout-out to the great people of the 3rd District in Oregon, your rep is the COOLEST DUDE EVER.

We also spoke with ex-NBA player Al Harrington -- who's actively lobbying the NBA to lift the weed ban -- and asked if there's been any progress since he spoke about the issue with ex-commish David Stern.

The death of "Always and Forever" singer Keith Wilder came as a shock to his family ... because he looked great and was full of energy in the days leading up to it.

Keith's family tells TMZ ... he was dancing, laughing and in great spirits from Thursday through Saturday last week while his niece was in town for her birthday. We're told they hit up a concert Friday night and went out for a late dinner Saturday night ... and everything seemed fine.

The family says Keith woke up Sunday morning like normal but took a nap later on ... and didn't wake up. They're now waiting for autopsy results.

We're told Wilder had a massive stroke 4 years ago that left him with limited mobility on his right side ... but he had regained his health. His wife says despite his passing, the fam's blessed they got 4 extra years with him because the stroke was so bad.

Wilder died last Sunday, leaving behind his wife and 4 kids. He was 65.

RIP

Zahn McClarnon, who has a reoccurring role on the second season of "Westworld," sustained a very bad head injury earlier this week that landed him in ICU and caused production to stop ... sources tell TMZ.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us, Zahn fell at his home and hit his head. We're told the impact caused serious trauma and he was rushed to the ICU.

Our sources say Zahn is still in the hospital but is "on the mend."

TMZ broke the story -- production on the HBO hit was stalled after a cast member suffered a medical emergency off set -- but the actor's identity remained a mystery.

Zahn is known for his performance as Hanzee Dent on "Fargo," and his long running stint on "Longmire."

As for production on "Westworld," as of the time this story posted, it's still suspended.

Deshaun Watson has broken his silence on his devastating season-ending knee injury -- saying he knows it's all part of God's plan.

The Houston Texans rookie QB phenom tore his ACL during Thursday's team practice -- which SUUUUUCKKKKS for football fans ... especially in Houston.

"They say you never miss it until it's gone and even though it's not gone for long, I already miss it," Watson wrote.

"Yesterday I felt like I let my teammates, my fans and my family down. However, as a child of God, I understand that everything happens for a reason. He DON’T make mistakes!"

Watson thanked all his fans, teammates and other pro athletes who reached out and offered support -- saying, "I am humbled and can only say thank you from the depths of my heart."

"I promise that I will continue to work diligently so that this team can one day bring a championship to Houston, and when I return, I will be better, stronger and more focused than ever before! Now the grind begins."

Beyonce and Pharrell fans can geek out on some pretty cool items now up for auction ... and in the process, can help a super worthy cause.

Bey donated her iconic wide-brimmed black hat from the 'Formation' tour to help raise money for The Lung Transplant Project ... which raises awareness and money to reduce transplant waiting list times. And the Beyhive will love this -- the hat's autographed and signed "All my love."

Pre-bidding's available now at the Heritage Auctions website, and the live bidding goes down Monday. We're told the hat alone could fetch up to $2k.

Pharrell kicked it up a notch with not one but TWO adidas Originals. The first pair has the hit-making producer's John Hancock with an inspiring message. The second pair will be custom-made for the winning bidder.

Awesome!!!

2:58 PM PT -- Prince's rep has now confirmed to TMZ that Prince was involved in a traffic accident and was struck by another vehicle while driving to his college campus. His rep adds, "he is now resting at home and thanks everyone for their well wishes."

Michael Jackson's oldest son, Prince, was taken to the hospital by ambulance Thursday morning after laying his chopper down on a slick Los Angeles street ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the 20-year-old tell us, Prince was riding in light rain when he lost control of his bike. He was banged up enough that an ambulance was called and he was taken to a nearby ER.

MJ's son was lucky ... no broken bones, so after doctors checked him out he was released.

Prince was good to go and actually went right to Loyola Marymount University and made it in time for class.

Bobby Slayton has cut a deal with the caretakers he believes are responsible for his wife's death ... according to new legal docs.

We broke the story ... "The Pitbull of Comedy" and his daughter, Natasha, sued a doctor and a nursing facility for negligence while treating his wife, Teddie Lee Tillett, who died in March 2016.

According to the docs, the sides have reached a settlement -- the Slaytons get $150,000 and in exchange, he'll release the healthcare workers from future claims. A judge still needs to sign off on it ... but both sides have agreed.

Natasha is a member of the girl group G.R.L.

David Foster kept it light at a cancer fundraiser, telling the crowd his songs have a label ... "pussy music."

David was performing at the Yescarta fundraiser on the Sony lot in Culver City over the weekend, when he told the audience the label fits because his music helps produce untold numbers of babies.

He's not lying ... tracks that Foster produced or wrote include Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," and his "Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire."

Steven Tyler and Pia Toscano also performed, but their metaphors were all above the waist.

Wendy Williams fainted in the middle of her show Tuesday morning ... and it happened live on the air.

Wendy was dressed up as the Statue of Liberty for her show, but her Halloween costume got the best of her about 48 minutes into the show. Right in the middle of a sentence ... she stuttered, then got wobbly on her feet before collapsing to the ground.

Wendy's show airs live on the East coast ... so when she passed out, producers quickly cut to black and then a commercial.

When they returned Wendy explained she overheated from her costume. We've learned the fire department responded to the studio. Unclear what her condition is, but she was alright enough to finish the show.

A "Days of Our Lives" set designer suffered severe brain injuries when hundreds of pounds of lighting gear came crashing down on her ... according to a lawsuit.

Karla Bergstrom is suing Sony -- distributors of the long-running NBC soap -- claiming the company hired a bunch of negligent set builders whose shoddy work resulted in her traumatic accident.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Bergstrom says the workers were lowering a 400-pound bar of stage lights back in 2015, but failed to give anyone a heads-up. She says the grid came down on top of her, causing her head injuries.

LFO singer Devin Lima's prognosis has taken another scary turn -- the football-sized tumor doctors removed was malignant.

A rep for the group tells TMZ ... Devin will begin chemotherapy in the next week or two. When doctors removed the tumor -- along with his kidney and adrenal gland -- on Oct. 19, Devin was hopeful the mass was benign, but a biopsy proved otherwise. In fact, the band says he's stage 4.

Devin is home now, but we're told he'll be going back to return to the Florida hospital soon for treatment. As we reported, the tumor was wrapped around his adrenal gland and pushing against all his organs, even his heart.

Devin's bandmate, Brad Fischetti, shared the sobering news with fans.

Good news for Zach Miller ... the emergency surgery to repair an artery in his left leg was successful -- and it seems like his leg will be saved.

The Chicago Bears tight end damaged an artery when he badly dislocated his left knee during Sunday's game against the Saints. It was so bad, ESPN says he was in danger of losing his leg.

But now the Bears have issued a statement implying Miller is out of the danger zone.

"Miller sustained a serious injury to his left knee and immediate evaluation from our medical team on site rushed him to nearby University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC) for urgent vascular surgery to repair a torn popliteal artery."

"Successful surgery was performed immediately on Sunday by the UMC vascular surgeons to stabilize his injury."

"Zach remains at UMC, along with Bears medical personnel, where he will stay under further evaluation."

Selena Gomez's best friend, Francia Raisa, didn't know if she'd survive donating a kidney to her BFF ... which really hit home when she had to write a will.

Francia and Selena told "Today" the donation process had to be sped up because Selena was in such dire straits she couldn't even open a water bottle. What normally takes months was done in days.

Selena also thanked Francia for volunteering her kidney without being asked ... once she found out she was a blood match, which is extremely rare.

The horrific leg injury Chicago Bears TE Zach Miller suffered on Sunday was so bad, surgeons were scrambling to "save his leg" ... according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Miller badly dislocated his left knee while trying to catch a TD pass in the 3rd quarter against the New Orleans Saints. He came down on the leg wrong and Miller knew right away the injury was bad.

Now, Mortensen says Miller suffered damage to an artery in his leg -- and vascular surgeons have been called in to repair it.

"Dancing with the Stars" front-runner Lindsey Stirling is in excruciating pain after suffering a devastating injury that could knock her off the show.

'DWTS' sources tell TMZ ... Lindsey was badly hurt Sunday in rehearsal practicing a rapid dance move and was rushed to a hospital. We've learned she suffered a blunt rib injury and possible separation, and the pain's so immense it could force her to bow out of Monday's show.

Lindsey's dance partner, Mark Ballas, went to the hospital with Lindsey, and she asked him what would happen if she's unable to perform Monday. It's crushing ... he tells Lindsey she'll have to forfeit.

A Sephora cosmetics store in Hollywood cared more about peddling lipstick than the oral health of customers, and now a woman is stuck with a lifelong disease ... according to a new suit.

A California woman claims she visited the store in October 2015 and sampled a lipstick from one of the "common use" tubes on display ... and ended up with herpes on her lip. She says the infection was diagnosed by medical pros and she claims she never had herpes or cold sores before this Sephora visit.

According to the docs ... Sephora failed to clearly warn the woman and other customers of the risk of getting herpes or other diseases from trying on the lipstick samples. She says if she would have known ... she would've avoided them like the plague.

The woman claims other lipstick companies have proven methods of avoiding herpes exposure -- like individual samples or assistance from trained professionals -- but Sephora cared too much about making a quick buck to bother.

She's suing the cosmetics chain for the emotional distress over an "incurable lifelong affliction" she says she now has to deal with as a result of using its lipstick samples.