Celebrity Health

MMA legend Tito Ortiz -- who's currently running for political office in Huntington Beach -- says he's convinced COVID-19 is part of a liberal conspiracy to take out older people.

The 45-year-old UFC Hall of Famer -- who's on the ballot for Huntington Beach City Council -- spelled out his theory during an interview with the "I Only Touch Greatness" podcast.

We should say the podcast dropped on Thursday -- presumably before President Trump revealed that he and Melania have tested positive for COVID-19.

Still, here's what Tito said ...

"It's all a political scam," Tito explained ... "I just shake my head about it because there’s been a lot of people who’s lives have been taken away because of it."

Tito says he's convinced COVID was created by man and is being weaponized by the "the left."

"Once again, it's population control by the left," Tito says ... "They’re trying to take out all of the older people who are getting social security and so forth."

Tito insists it's just his opinion -- "I'm not stating as a fact."

He continues about the origins of COVID -- "It was made by a man, it's a man-made virus and people need to understand that facts behind those things."

Tito -- a staunch Trump supporter and wearing a Trump shirt during the interview -- says he hopes POTUS makes China pay for releasing the virus on the world.

Ortiz also said he believes COVID will "go away" after the election on Nov. 3rd.

Trump's doctor just revealed the President is being treated with an experimental drug that uses antibodies to try to attack COVID-19. The treatment was administered through an IV.

Biden, who shared the debate stage with Trump this week, has tested NEGATIVE for the virus ... according to his campaign.

10/2 -- According to reports, Ivanka Trump, Barron Trump and Jared Kushner have all tested negative.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have both contracted the coronavirus.

The President broke the news with a tweet -- at nearly 1 AM Friday in D.C. -- saying ... "Tonight @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER."

The alarming news comes hours after we learned one of the President's aides, Hope Hicks, had tested positive. Hope had been traveling on Air Force One all week with POTUS ... going to and from the presidential debate in Cleveland ... and also to his rally in Minnesota.

The impact is far-reaching. Trump came into contact with numerous people over the last 5 days, including Joe Biden on the debate stage, and his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. And, then there's his treasury secretary -- someone who frequently meets with the president -- who had a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Vice President Pence has tested negative, but there's still a window of risk since he's been in contact with Trump over the last week.

Trump was not feeling well on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News, so it's also unclear how long Trump has been COVID positive.

Furthermore, what's unclear -- who gave the virus to whom? Did Trump contract the virus from Hope Hicks or vice versa, or did they contract it from someone else?

There's no good time to contract the virus, but it comes at a particularly critical time for the President ... less than 5 weeks before Election Day. We don't yet know if he and Melania are experiencing symptoms, but the First Lady tweeted that they are "feeling good."

Trump has made no secret of how much he hates wearing face masks, and has done it in public very rarely since the pandemic began.

The last time we saw him wearing one in public was a week ago at the public viewing for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg outside the Supreme Court.

During the debate on Tuesday night, he did pull one out of his pocket as he claimed to have no issue with wearing face coverings. It's worth noting, at 74 years old he is in a high-risk category for COVID-19. Melania is only 50.

As you know, Trump has logged a lot of miles this week -- traveling with his inner circle of aides and attending large scale events. Once contact tracing is done ... it's possible a large number of people will need to be tested immediately and quarantined.

So far, the administration is saying the Prez and Melania will remain in their White House residence while they quarantine. It's unclear how long that will last, but typically doctors recommend 14 days.

And, if you're wondering ... the next presidential debate is exactly 14 days away.

President Trump has been in close, maskless contact with many, many people -- in his administration and otherwise -- over the past several days ... people he may have exposed to the coronavirus.

As you know ... POTUS and First Lady Melania tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday night and Trump says they've begun their quarantine and recovery process.

Still, Trump contracting the virus now has everyone tracing his steps the past week. Even though he didn't test positive until Thursday, he could have been contagious for several days prior. As we reported, his adviser Hope Hicks tested positive hours before Trump, and they had traveled together.

But, let's go back ... to Saturday 9/26, when Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett and walks right next to her as both are not wearing masks.

On Sunday, Trump holds a conference meeting at the White House and later goes golfing at the National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

Monday's a big day -- the Prez meets with reps from Lordstown Motors out of Ohio on the South Lawn of the WH, as well as 2 members of Congress. Later, he's in close contact with VP Mike Pence, members of his administration and Congress, and state officials during a conference, coincidentally, about COVID test kits.

Then, of course, Trump travels with Melania and family to Cleveland on Tuesday for the first presidential debate. Though members of his family are seen wearing masks, Trump is not. Hope Hicks was among the team that traveled with Trump for the debate.

Now, several people, including VP Pence, Barrett, Joe Biden and his wife have tested negative -- but that doesn't mean everyone's out of the woods because the virus has a gestation period.

On Wednesday, Trump travels to Minnesota for a private fundraiser and an outdoor rally. Again, Hicks is with him. At the rally, Trump tossed out hats to the crowd. Yikes!

On the return trip, Hicks reveals she feels ill and isolates herself on Air Force One. Despite her illness and close proximity to Trump, the President flies to his Bedminster, NJ resort Thursday for a private fundraiser. Several aides who were in proximity to Hicks scrap plans to accompany him.

Meanwhile, Ivanka -- who also had close contact with her father, FLOTUS and Hicks -- heads to Charlotte to meet with supporters. Soon after, it's revealed Hicks has tested positive ... as well as POTUS and FLOTUS.

Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, said Friday they've tested negative.

A season-ending injury can't stop Von Miller from reppin' his favorite brand ... with the Denver Broncos LB getting a sick custom Carhartt walking boot!!

The NFL superstar went down with a devastating ankle tendon injury in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans ... requiring surgery to get back to 100%.

The 31-year-old showed how he's dealing with the bad news on Friday ... revealing a personalized Carhartt boot to help him through the tough time.

Now, Miller's love for the company is the worst kept secret -- the guy LOVES to rep the brand while farming his chickens ... and now he can keep it going during recovery.

It's been pretty positive for the Broncos lately -- Denver just beat the NY Jets on Thursday Night Football to get win #1 on the season.

Seeing Miller have some fun with his injury has to boost the spirits a bit, too.

"Knowing him, he'll be able to go right on through this and hopefully not miss a beat."

Jerry Jones doesn't seem worried about Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis ... he said Friday he's "very confident" POTUS will get through it all just fine.

In fact, the Dallas Cowboys owner says he's pretty sure #45 will still be able to do his job effectively over the coming days.

"No one in the world has the ability to handle this COVID any better than the office of the President of the United States," Jerry told 105.3 The Fan.

"I'm very confident that he'll be able to continue governing. I'm sure that he has anticipated this. Knowing him, he's the hardest worker you've ever seen."

Donald announced Thursday night he and Melania tested positive for the coronavirus and have already begun quarantining.

Trump is said to be only experiencing "mild" symptoms ... and he, too, seemed confident he'd beat the virus, adding in his official announcement, "We will get through this TOGETHER!"

Jerry and Trump have been friendly for years ... so Jones' support for the president comes as no surprise.

Tennessee and Pittsburgh will NOT be playing in Week 4 ... after one additional player and team staffer in the Titans organization tested positive for COVID-19.

The matchup -- originally scheduled to take place in Tennessee on Sunday at 1 PM PT -- becomes the first game to be pushed back due to the coronavirus this season.

The league released a statement Thursday, saying, "The decision to postpone the game was made to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel."

"The Titans facility will remain closed and the team will continue to have no in-person activities until further notice."

As we previously reported ... the Titans shut down their team facility after 3 players and 5 staffers tested positive earlier this week ... and announced it would not reopen until Saturday at the earliest.

There were hopes of pushing the game back until Monday or Tuesday ... but after the news of another player and staffer testing positive, the league had no choice but to push it past Week 4.

The league says the makeup date will be announced shortly.

Adjust your fantasy lineups accordingly ... and get better, Tennessee.

Tough break for Cody Garbrandt -- who's officially out of his flyweight championship fight at UFC 255 after suffering a freak injury to his arm.

"No Love" was initially scheduled to take on flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event on Nov. 21.

It was supposed to be Cody's first fight in the flyweight division. He had previously held the title in the bantamweight division.

"I tore my bicep on Monday," Garbrandt said on his Facebook page.

"The UFC decided to replace me but told me I’ll face the winner."

Figueiredo will now face #4 ranked flyweight fighter Alex Perez instead. Perez is on a 3-fight win streak, including a victory over Jussier Formiga at UFC 250 back in June.

Garbrandt added, "Time to heal and stay ready. Control what you can control in this life. I always count my blessings when negative things arise. #gratitude."

No word on when Garbrandt will be cleared to return to action -- but we're hoping for a speedy recovery.

Consequence thought Lupus predominantly affected Black women ... but then the disease knocked him on his ass, and now he's letting men know they should be aware too.

The NY rapper tells TMZ ... his knowledge about the autoimmune disease didn't go beyond its impact on women. That all changed when he was diagnosed around 7 months ago.

Consequence says he first felt pain in his neck while giving his 9-year-old son a piggyback ride. A physician prescribed a muscle relaxer, but as time went on it got worse. He thought he'd have time to recover when the pandemic hit -- instead, Consequence says he suffered immobility and weight loss, and couldn't figure out what was wrong.

He told us the hardest part came once he was diagnosed, because his son thought he might have to say goodbye to Dad.

Consequence also suffered diabetic complications -- he says he went from Type 2 to Type 1, and has been taking insulin for about 2 months. He adds, his weight got down to a debilitating 105 pounds.

President Trump's close aide, Hope Hicks, has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus after flying on Air Force One this week with the Prez.

Hope's positive COVID-19 test comes on the heels of her traveling to and from Tuesday's debate in Cleveland -- as well as a roundtrip flight to Trump's Wednesday rally in Minnesota ... according to a Bloomberg News report.

The report says she is experiencing symptoms now ... however, there's no indication POTUS has contracted the virus.

Hope is working for Trump again as a "counselor to the President" after previously serving as his communications director, and working on his 2016 campaign.

We reached out to the White House, and deputy press secretary Judd Deere would not comment about Hope or the President's health. He did tell us, "The President takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously."

He continued, "White House Operations collaborates with the Physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible both on complex and when the President is traveling."

Amazon is dropping some alarming stats and, in case you were wondering, life on the frontlines ain't easy for their employees ... nearly 20,000 of whom they believe caught COVID-19.

The shipping giant made the revelation Thursday in a report about its testing policies and how it's responding to the health crisis. Amazon said between March 1 and September 19 ... 19,816 employees were either presumed or confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. That's out of their roughly 1.37 million staffers at Amazon and Whole Foods Market.

While the number is startling, Amazon says its rate of infection among employees was way lower than expected. The company noted it could have reached 33,952 sick workers if its infection rate ran parallel to the general population.

BTW, the stats don't include third-party delivery drivers.

Amazon says it's currently conducting thousands of tests daily at its warehouses and by November they could be doing as many as 50,000 tests per day in 650 facilities.

Get a load of this ridiculous lawsuit -- Tamron Hall's being sued for a whopping $16 million after telling a mom during a nationally-televised episode she wouldn't want her own kid to hug the mom's unvaccinated son.

Jeanine DiAngelo just sued Tamron individually and on behalf of her son, claiming they were embarrassed after Tamron compared her son to a "leper" during an episode about vaccinations that aired on ABC back in September 2019 ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, DiAngelo claims Tamron said she would NOT let her son anywhere near DiAngelo's son much less hug him because he's not vaccinated. DiAngelo says Tamron violated NY law by discriminating against her and their religious beliefs.

What's more ... she claims Tamron wasn't prepared for the segment ... arguing Tamron's lack of education on the topic caused her and her son to suffer colossal emotional distress.

Thing is ... the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said, should parents choose NOT to vaccine their kids, they should be prepared for the risks and responsibilities that come with that. One of those risks ... parents with kids that ARE vaccinated are probably told to stay clear of kids who aren't.

DiAngelo's suing Hall, Disney and the production company for $16 million in damages. For what it's worth ... Tamron did hug DiAngelo's son.

FILE UNDER -- things you should NOT do during a pandemic!

Here's video of Tampa Bay Lightning players completely ignoring COVID-19 guidelines ... passing around the Stanley Cup to fans and allowing them to drink from it.

Yeah, not ideal.

Just hours after the team had its parade to celebrate its championship win over the Dallas Stars -- Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov took Lord Stanley to Tampa streets.

And, in a complete brain fart given the state of the coronavirus, they gathered in crowds of mask-less people ... and poured booze from the top of the trophy into people's mouths.

Obviously, it's a big no-no during pandemic times ... but even if COVID-19 were under control, it's probably not the most sanitary thing to do.

We've reached out to the Lightning over the videos ... but so far, no word back yet.

Meanwhile, it doesn't seem like the Lightning players -- who were all locked away in the NHL bubble throughout their playoff run -- have plans of stopping their party anytime soon.

Killorn got on the mic and shouted out Florida governor Ron DeSantis for opening up bars to allow celebrations to continue.

Love the enthusiasm ... but guys, please be safe!!

Diego Maradona says the "Toy Story" jokes stemming from his COVID mask are NOT funny ... and now, the soccer legend is firing back at his critics in a scathing social media post.

Maradona stepped out to coach his Argentinian soccer club this week in a huge face shield that covered the top of his head to below his chin ... and he quickly became the subject of Internet memes.

People poked fun at the face covering ... calling the 59-year-old everything from an astronaut to Buzz Lightyear.

But, Maradona says the mask is NOT a laughing matter ... adding he's using it to make sure he stays safe and coronavirus-free.

"It is the same that some doctors use," Maradona said Wednesday. "I did it out of obligation, and out of respect for all those who died from COVID."

Of course, Maradona's health problems have been well-documented ... he's battled breathing and heart issues throughout his life, as well as a much-publicized addiction to cocaine.

Maradona also famously needed medical treatment at the World Cup in 2018 ... after his body apparently couldn't handle the rush of all his animated celebrations.

Maradona is healthy now ... and taking all the proper steps to keep it that way -- including sanitizing his hands repeatedly during games.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend just suffered an unimaginable loss ... their son has died.

Chrissy shared the devastating news Wednesday, saying their son, who they'd named Jack, couldn't survive complications. Chrissy said, "We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before."

Teigen was recently hospitalized for severe bleeding during her pregnancy and revealed their baby boy was in the "danger zone." In her post, she said, "We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough."

She continued, "We never decide on our babies’ names until the last possible moment after they’re born, just before we leave the hospital. But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack. So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever."

Jack was the couple's third child ... they have a daughter, Luna, and a son named Miles.

Chrissy ended her post saying, "We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things we’ve been able to experience.  But everyday can’t be full of sunshine.  On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it."

Bonni Lou Kern -- one of the original 'Mickey Mouse Club' Mouseketeers in the '50s -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Bonni died Monday in Wooster, Ohio ... according to the Wayne County Health Dept. We're told she died of natural causes.

As a Mouseketeer, the very first episode of "The Wonder Mouseketeers!" was named after her -- titled, "Save Bonni Lou Kern!" -- in which the other Mouseketeers help her out because she's caught in a fishing net.

Bonni appeared alongside famous Mouseketeers like Annette Funicello, Judy Harriet and Eileen Diamond, and was also seen in the film, "Save the Wonder Mouseketeers!"

According to her family ... Bonni was given the Mousecar Award, the highest award Disney gives out, as well as the key to Fantasy Land.

She went on to be known as Bonni Carr after marrying Harold "Bud" Carr in the late ’60s in Hawaii -- and is survived by 3 daughters, 6 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Bonni was 79.

John Wayne Bobbitt -- yes, that John Wayne Bobbitt -- is facing the very serious reality of losing another body part ... this time, his left foot.

If you need a reminder -- Bobbitt's name became notorious in 1993 when his wife Lorena cut off his penis while he was asleep and threw it out her car window. He got it reattached successfully, but for more on that story ... look it up.

As for his current foot problem ... John tells TMZ he was working construction in Buffalo in 2013 when he stepped on a nail, which went through his boot and punctured a toe on his left foot. He says it became infected a couple months later.

Bobbitt says he got treatment at 2 different hospitals, but a doctor later diagnosed him with osteomyelitis -- an infection of the bone in his left foot.

We're told John has been aggressively treated with antibiotics, but the infection never fully healed. Now, he says he's back in a hospital in Las Vegas, and as you can see for yourself ... it doesn't look good!!

Bobbitt says doctors are telling him the bone is so infected they need to determine whether or not to amputate.

JWB's got his fingers crossed for the left foot decision, especially because -- get this -- he already lost a toe on his right foot last year! He says that little piggy was also infected after an accidental cut.

We don't believe in curses, but ... damn.