Celebrity Health

James Michael Tyler -- famous for playing Gunther on "Friends" -- has died.

The actor's rep tells TMZ ... JMT passed away peacefully Sunday morning at his home in L.A. -- this after battling stage 4 prostate cancer.

His family says ... "The world knew him as Gunther (the seventh "Friend"), from the hit series "Friends," but Michael’s loved ones knew him as an actor, musician, cancer-awareness advocate, and loving husband."

They add, "Michael loved live music, cheering on his Clemson Tigers, and would often find himself in fun and unplanned adventures. If you met him once you made a friend for life."

James first revealed his cancer diagnosis earlier this year -- which stunned fans, as he'd just appeared in the reunion special and made no mention of it. He later clarified why he hadn't gone public at that time -- saying he didn't wanna be a downer for the special moment.

He was first diagnosed with cancer in 2018, and kept it private for 3 years.

James has acted in several big shows over the course of his career -- including "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "Scrubs," "Modern Music," "Just Shoot Me!" and others ... but his biggest claim to fame is the long-running sitcom, where he played a worker at the Central Perk cafe.

He starred in 150 episodes of "Friends" over the course of its 10-year run ... and is absolutely beloved by the fan base. James is survived by his wife, Jennifer Carno.

James Michael Tyler was 59.

Kyrie Irving has some in his corner who are willing to go to war for him over his vaccine stance -- and we mean that literally ... 'cause they were doing just that this weekend.

A group of protestors hit the streets Sunday to advocate for the Brooklyn Nets star, who's sidelined right now since he's not vaccinated ... which is preventing him playing with the team whatsoever, due to NYC's vaccine mandate and the team's wider policy.

Well, these folks think it's BS -- and apparently were itching to get inside to let Nets officials know first-hand, 'cause they were attempting to storm the Barclays Center's front entrance ... shortly before tipoff against the Hornets.

Check out this footage ... demonstrators clashed with security, and bowled over barricades.

It sounds like the chaos only lasted for a short time, and eventually ... cops and security got it under control. So, it appears to have been a flash mob type deal. Still though ... pretty damn intense for however long they were there. Things escalated quickly, as you can see.

Meanwhile, it doesn't seem Kyrie is caving to the pressure -- he's been mostly laying low since making his POV clear ... namely, that he's against mandates, not vaccines.

A pharmacist denied a guy ivermectin, despite the man having a doctor's note, and put his foot down ... saying they're not giving the drug out for COVID purposes, period.

No word on where this happened or when, but it seems somewhat recent. Check out the video -- you see the patient trying to pick up his prescription of ivermectin, which the pharmacist flat out refuses to fill ... noting it's not FDA approved for the virus.

The customer is adamant that it was prescribed to him by a licensed physician, and that the pharmacist is breaking the law by overriding his doctor's orders -- but the pharmacist tells him to kick rocks, and to complain to whoever he feels he needs to complain to.

While the pharmacist does recognize it is a legit drug approved for certain things -- like parasitic illnesses -- it has NOT yet gotten the official green light by the feds ... something the man tries to push back on by saying it's an "off-label" treatment.

The pharmacist won't budge, though ... and the video cuts out before we can see how this headbutt ended. Presumably, the man left that location empty-handed ... but it brings up an interesting dilemma.

For starters, it's unclear how the pharmacist even knew what the guy needed ivermectin for -- there's no indication if the Rx noted it was for COVID, or if the pharmacist simply assumed/deduced it. The man sorta gives it away by not pushing back on his premise.

There's also the issue of whether a pharmacist can legally do this -- refusing to fill a prescription -- and the answer is yes ... in some states, that is. California is one example.

Ed Sheeran is hitting the pause button, because he says he's tested positive for COVID-19 ... which disrupts a few things in his immediate future.

The singer made the announcement Sunday on Instagram, writing ... "Hey guys. Quick note to tell you that I’ve sadly tested positive for Covid, so I’m now self-isolating and following government guidelines."

He adds, "It means that I’m now unable to plough ahead with any in person commitments for now, so I’ll be doing as many of my planned interviews/performances I can from my house. Apologies to anyone I’ve let down. Be safe everyone x"

It sounds like the guy will be well enough to carry on with some scheduled responsibilities -- of which we're sure there's quite a few, seeing how Ed's new album is due out next week.

Speaking of one of those commitments, 'SNL' just announced yesterday that Ed would be the musical guest alongside host Kieran Culkin for Nov. 6's episode -- but it's unclear if he'll be able to make that or not ... it's 13 days away, and he could presumably be well by then.

Ed is also supposed to be appearing on "The Voice" this week as a musical mentor -- but they seem to have taped his segment well before this diagnosis. No word if he was planning on making an in-person visit as well -- but if so, that's almost certainly off now.

Kane Brown hurt himself while performing live in Tennessee, but he carried on anyway and finished his show like a trooper ... because, hey, sometimes it be like that, right?

The country star was in Memphis Saturday night, belting out songs at the FedEx Forum -- when, at some point, he hopped down to the lower front stage area ... and appears to have twisted his ankle pretty badly, to the point that he had to hop down completely.

You can see he's in serious pain as security attends to him ... this while the band continued playing for a solid 30 seconds or so. Eventually, they stopped -- as it was clear Kane wasn't coming back on stage anytime soon.

The guy had to be helped up and escorted around -- but he didn't pull the plug on the concert ... quite the opposite, KB got himself together and went back up there anew.

It sounds like the rest of his set was a little choppy at times -- some folks claim the guy was stumbling a bit up there after deciding to push forward, and was even tearing up at one point ... so say some eyewitnesses. Still, despite that, Kane did indeed tough it out to the end.

The ankle injury was about as bad as it sounded and looked to spectators, because Kane took to IG afterward and filmed his foot ... which was swollen like a balloon.

There's another tour stop that he's supposed to be at tonight, and some fans were wondering if the event was canceled over this -- which is reasonable ... the dude's legit crippled, it seems.

Alec Baldwin was filming a scene for a movie that required someone to fire a gun loaded with blanks, but when the gun discharged either shrapnel or a bullet hit 2 people on set ... one of whom had to be airlifted to a hospital.

Our sources tell us the incident happened Thursday on location in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Alec is filming a new western he's starring in called "Rust" at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a movie ranch.

We're told Alec was filming the scene when someone pulled the prop gun's trigger. It's unclear if the person who loaded the gun mistakenly placed bullets inside, or if something was lodged in the barrel that hit the director as well as the director of photography.

Our sources say the director was hit in the clavicle, but the DP wasn't so lucky ... she was airlifted and rushed to a hospital. As for Alec, we're told he was not injured.

Earlier Thursday, he posted a pic of himself in character on the set. After the accident, we're told production shut down for the day.

Local sheriff's deputies are on the scene already and they've launched an investigation.

Jamie Lynn Spears says she went through hell when pregnant at 16, and her parents and team were a driving force behind her misery ... pushing adoption, abortion and going to great lengths to hide her from the public.

We've obtained several snippets from Spears' upcoming book "Things I Should Have Said" where she lays out the events that followed her telling her parents and management she was pregnant in 2007.

In one passage, Spears says people from her inner circle, "... came to my room trying to convince me that having a baby at this point in my life was a terrible idea … 'It will kill your career. You are just too young. You don’t know what you’re doing. There are pills you can take. We can help you take care of this problem … I know a doctor,'" adding, "everyone around me just wanted to make this 'issue' disappear."

Jamie Lynn says flatly, "...everyone was certain that termination would be the best course of action."

Spears says her phone was taken away to stop her from communicating with people outside her immediate circle ... the goal being to keep everything on the down-low.

Jamie Lynn claims she wasn't even allowed to tell Britney she was pregnant, saying, "I needed her more than ever and she wasn’t able to help me in my most vulnerable time … To this day, the hurt of not being able to tell my sister myself still lingers.”

At one point, Jamie Lynn says she and her dad Jamie got into a fight over the unborn baby, "slinging words and tossing insults" when he pushed adoption.

Spears says eventually her team made an exclusive agreement with OK! Magazine to break the pregnancy story, and give them the first images of Jamie Lynn's baby.

Jamie Lynn says she and her mom went to some cabin in where she thought was Connecticut to hide until the article came out. The two spent Thanksgiving there together, where "Momma wore her disappointment like her favorite jacket."

Jamie Lynn has come under a lot of heat lately from Britney fans who feel she's taking advantage of Britney's current situation to make a buck off the book, but if the snippets we've obtained are any indication ... she's also got a lot to say about how she was raised and her parent's tactics.

The book comes out January 18, 2022.

We talked about it on the latest episode of the TMZ podcast.

Queen Elizabeth's condition is a mystery ... and there are now allegations the Palace lied about it to keep everything under wraps.

The Queen was back at Windsor Castle Friday after being hospitalized for an undisclosed condition. The palace says doctors have a "preliminary investigation" underway to get to the bottom of the Queen's ailment.

As for the lie ... the Palace said Wednesday the Queen had canceled a trip to Ireland after doctors ordered her to get some rest. They had strongly intimated the problem was just that, the 95-year-old Queen had been working too much.

There was no mention that she was actually hospitalized until Thursday, after The Sun broke the story. At that point the Palace fessed up and acknowledged it.

Great news for "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan ... the wrestling legend has been discharged from the hospital following emergency surgery, the wrestler announced.

"After 2 nights in the hospital and emergency surgery yesterday, guess who just came home? Thank you to the amazing doctors and nurses at Kershaw County Medical Center which is now, MUSC," Duggan's wife, Debra, wrote on Instagram.

As we previously reported, the 67-year-old WWE Hall of Famer underwent the emergency surgical procedure on Wednesday in a South Carolina hospital.

It's not clear what medical condition the docs were treating.

Thankfully, the surgery was successful ... and after recuperating for a night, Hacksaw was allowed to go home.

FYI, It's not the first time Jim has dealt with health issues over the past few years. Back in 2018, he spent time in the ICU after his heart went into atrial fibrillation (aFib), an irregular heartbeat that can lead to a bunch of serious heart-related health issues.

At the time, Duggan told us he feared he was going to die ... and felt fortunate for doctors who he said saved his life.

Duggan ended his post by thanking the hoards of WWE fans, family and friends who reached out and showed love to the wrestler while he was recovering.

"Thanks to Brittani for wheeling Jim out! Thank you for your prayers, vibes, texts, calls and messages. Now home to fully recuperate."

During his days in the ring, Hacksaw was one of the biggest wrestlers in the world ... even winning the first-ever Royal Rumble in 1988. Duggan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.

It's been over two months since the Olympics, but Simone Biles says she's still dealing with the "twisties" ... adding that she's straight-up "scared to do gymnastics"

Biles was hit with the issue in Tokyo in July -- explaining to her followers at the time that a mental block was preventing her from controlling her body while doing her most famous mid-air stunts.

Biles pulled out of multiple events due to it all ... though most figured she'd be able to return back to normal after a break.

But, in an emotional interview Thursday morning with "Today" show host Hoda Kotb ... Biles said she still can't fly through the air like she used to.

"It's not the same," the 24-year-old said, fighting back tears. "To do something that I've done forever, and just not be able to do it because of everything I've gone through is really crazy because I love this sport so much. It's hard. I'm sorry."

She added, "I'm still scared to do gymnastics."

Biles has been performing in the Gold Over America Tour the past few weeks ... though she said she's kept her routines simple and has avoided any twisting.

The gymnastics legend, though, said she's sure her tricks will "come back" eventually ... telling Hoda in the meantime she's happy to "be a leader for the survivors."

"I'm happy to be a voice for them," Biles said. "We go through our own things. It's hard."

Charles Barkley says there's no bad blood with Kenny Smith after their passionate debate over Kyrie Irving's refusal to get vaccinated ... telling TMZ Sports everything's cool between them.

We talked to Chuck outside LAX on Wednesday ... and asked the Hall of Famer if he was beefin' with The Jet after the 2 buddies got into a heated conversation on "Inside The NBA."

"Me and Kenny are great. We’re great," Barkley said, adding, "We can be different, it's all good."

If you missed it, Smith -- who is vaccinated -- basically said there's nothing anyone can do to force Kyrie to get the jab ... because the NBA All-Star is clearly willing to accept the consequences of not being vaxxed.

But, Barkley wasn't hearing it ... and the almost always light-hearted and jovial former NBA MVP vehemently disagreed with Kenny's take on Irving.

So, fans wondered ... could the friends be on the outs? Thankfully, Barkley set the record straight.

Chuck also doubled down on the vax, again pleading with the unvaccinated to get the shot.

"They do have the right, but this is not about the right for you. You’re trying to take care of other people. You do have the right not to get vaccinated, but that's selfish in my opinion. I wouldn't want to get somebody sick."

Barkley's message, in closing ... get the damn shot.

Jamal Murray is letting Denver Nuggets fans know their boy is almost back -- posting footage of him completing a dunk six months after ACL surgery!!

The NBA star tore his ACL in his left leg when he drove by Golden State Warriors' Andrew Wiggins in April -- ending his season.

Murray had ACL surgery right after ... and is showing major progress 6 months later by posting a video on his IG of him completing a dunk.

The 24-year-old guard posted video of his journey back on Wednesday ... showing him on crutches following the surgery before fast-forwarding to the new footage of him jumping straight up for a dunk.

Murray appears to land back on the hardwood with no issue ... which is awesome to see.

Definitely a good sign for Nuggets fans who are anxiously waiting for their star to return ... but they might have to wait a little longer as he makes his way back to 100%.

"That’s the biggest thing for me coming back, is having confidence in it," Murray said this week.

"That’s just going to come with time. And I can’t rush time."

Luka Doncic hasn't played a minute of the 2021 season yet, but the Dallas Mavericks star is already making highlight plays ... by donating Jordan shoes and other merch to children at local hospitals!!!

The 22-year-old wanted to give back to his new home ahead of the new campaign, so he put together goodie bags filled with the sneaks, hoodies, socks, bags, letters and signed photos for 80 kids at Children's Health in Dallas and Plano.

On top of the swag, Luka also provided a "Luka and Bobi" coloring book, which features a story of his friendship with teammate Boban Marjanovic, as well as individual-sized pizzas with pepperonis in the shape of his #77 AND dessert to kids and staffers throughout the hospital.

Luka spoke about the gesture, saying he wanted to hand deliver the gifts to all the kids, but wasn't able to due to health and safety concerns.

"I really wish I could have been there to meet and talk to the kids but hopefully this surprise brought a smile to their faces and encouraged them to stay strong," Doncic said.

"I just want all the kids and parents to know I'm thinking of them!"

The kids certainly felt the love ... and the pics and videos from the big surprise will warm your heart.

Awesome stuff, Luka.

WWE legend "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is hospitalized, and needs emergency surgery, his wife announced on Wednesday.

Hacksaw's wife, Debra Duggan, announced the troubling news on social media, writing "Back where we don't want to be. Please pray for Jim and his doctors as he has emergency surgery this morning. Thank you"

Some of the biggest wrestlers in the world have shown love for Hacksaw. Hulk Hogan, Jim's longtime buddy, wrote "Love you my brother, praying for only perfect health HH"

FYI, Duggan was one of the biggest wrestling stars of his era ... and actually won the first-ever Royal Rumble in 1988. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by "The Million Dollar Man," Ted DiBiase, in 2011.

67-year-old Duggan has battled health issues over the last few years. Back in 2018, Jim was hospitalized in the ICU after his heart went into atrial fibrillation (aFib), which is an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, strokes, and other serious heart issues.

At the time, Jim told us he feared he was going to die ... expressing incredible gratitude for the doctors who saved his life.

"My main concern, I have 2 daughters and my wife, I just wanted to survive it. Thankfully, it looks like I'll be able to," Duggan said in 2018.

Now, Duggan -- whose medical condition is unknown --  is back in the hospital, awaiting surgery.

Chris Brown has entered the Kyrie Irving COVID-19 vaccine saga ... calling the NBA star a "real hero" for refusing to get the jab.

The musician -- who has been tight with Uncle Drew for years -- sang Irving's praises as he remains banned from Brooklyn Nets practices and games for being unvaccinated ... posting to Instagram on Wednesday to share his two cents.

"I stand with my brother," CB said. "WHOEVER DON'T LIKE IT ... Go live your damn life."

"IT'S HIS CHOICE AND A DAMN GOOD ONE"

Of course, Irving is adamantly against getting vaccinated to be able to play this season ... despite reports claiming he is NOT anti-vax, but standing up for people losing their jobs over vaccine mandates.

Irving has been bashed left and right for holding firm on his stance ... with NBA commish Adam Silver even publicly calling for him to get vaxxed so he can get back to hooping.

Breezy -- who's previously taken issue with Juvenile's pro-vaccine remix of "Back That Azz Up" -- wants it known he's not siding with the criticism.

Dick Vitale says cancer will not get in the way of his passion for college hoops -- explaining in an emotional video he's still planning to call games despite chemotherapy treatments.

The legendary broadcaster revealed his lymphoma diagnosis earlier this week -- and said Wednesday he's been prescribed steroids and six months of chemo to try to eradicate it.

But, Dickie V -- who's been providing commentary on games since the 1970s -- made it clear he's going to do everything in his power to stay on the air during the treatment process.

"They're going to try to plan the chemo so I can be free to do some games," Vitale said. "Which I've got to do -- that's my best medicine of all."

The 82-year-old says he's been overwhelmed by the amount of love he's received since announcing his diagnosis ... nearly breaking down in tears while thanking everyone for their support.

"I'm going to beat it because I got a great team," Vitale said. "Great family, my second family ESPN, all my colleagues have been so kind and so good and I have a great team of doctors who are all involved."

He then guaranteed that he will win his battle with the disease ... adding, "Take that to the bank. There's no doubt in my mind."