Holidaze

Ben & Jerry's is yet again putting down the scooper and picking up a megaphone on 4/20 to tell people about the injustice people of color experience over weed arrests.

The famous ice cream company followed in their own footsteps on both Sunday and Monday, with two timely posts about the unofficial holiday ... pointing out that, yes, minorities -- specifically, black people -- are disproportionately punished over having herb.

B&J come with some stats ... pointing out African-Americans are 264% more likely than white people to be arrested for cannabis possession, even though they use at similar rates. They write, "Cannabis is legal in 33 states, but hundreds of thousands of people are still arrested for possession every year — a disproportionate number of them Black. This #420, get the facts then join us and @aclu_nationwide to take action to pass the MORE Act."

Just the day before, they put up another informational post, which noted that white folks are the ones who seem to be profiting the most on the legalization of weed ... something they say isn't right. Their messaging here is clear ... POC are getting left behind on this issue.

Of course, Ben & Jerry's conducted a very similar campaign last year, again pointing that despite weed being legal in 33 states now -- it's black people and other minorities that are constantly getting busted for it. A year later, they're hammering their point home twice as hard.

This time, they're also championing a piece of federal legislation they're hoping gets signed into law. It's called the MORE Act -- Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement -- and just as the name describes, it's aimed at getting weed drug offenders out of prison.

Jim Jones is blazing it up on 4/20 and you can join his smoke session ... everyone's invited, including celebrity guests like Fabolous, Jadakiss and Kevin Hart!!!

Jim's celebrating the stoner holiday with a couple virtual smoke outs, and you can burn with him and his celeb friends on Zoom when the clock strikes 4:20 PM on the East Coast and West Coast.

The "We Fly High" rapper is hosting the smoke sessions with his business partner, Alex Todd, and they're also celebrating the one-year anniversary of their luxury cannabis brand, Saucey Farms & Extracts.

Anyone can join the smoke sesh on Zoom, and there's also a fundraiser in the online chat for COVID-19 relief efforts so you can get two birds stoned at once, or something like that. All the money raised will be used for masks for the homeless.

Jim's supposed to be joined by celeb guests like Kevin, Jadakiss, Fabolous, N.O.R.E. and more ... and they're gonna be answering questions from fans and giving away Saucey merch, plus tickets to future Jim Jones and Dipset shows.

BTW ... Kevin's not gonna be smoking, but still ... 4/20 BLAZE IT!!!

Pastor Tony Spell held an in-person Easter service, as promised, and says he had more than 1,000 faithful parishioners there ... defying Louisiana's Governor and potentially spreading the coronavirus.

The minister was fired up for his flock Sunday at Life Tabernacle Church, and though he's previously been arrested for doing this -- he opened church doors again to his congregation, but also posted his service live on social media.

Spell claims he had 1,345 in attendance -- which he says is higher than his usual turnout. We say claims, because the congregation was rarely shown. We don't know if it was intentional, but the camera never showed more than a couple of rows of pews.

Most of the shots are of him on stage preaching from the pulpit. You see a few others on stage around him as well ... keeping somewhat of a distance. Although, the congregation was hidden from camera view, you can hear there are way more than 10 people present. The state guidelines call for gatherings to be 10 or less, and they have to maintain 6 feet distance.

One brief shot of the pews showed at least a dozen or so people, who don't seem to be socially distant.

Spell brazenly referenced the CDC's guidelines while preaching about a victory march for Jesus.

Not really shocking from the man who told us his parishioners would be happy to die from COVID-19 if it meant they could attend church in-person.

As we reported, police said they did not intend to break up the service or arrest Spell on Easter -- but would instead monitor the gathering and use it to build a case against him for the District Attorney.

Andrea Bocelli is hoping his powerful voice can lift spirits around the world amid the coronavirus pandemic -- and he's performing live from hard-hit Italy.

The world-renowned singer is in il Duomo di Milano -- that city's iconic cathedral -- for a concert that will be livestreamed. You can see it here, starting at 10 AM PT.

The Easter event, dubbed "Music for Hope," comes as the country around Bocelli is still reeling from an astounding number of COVID-19 cases. Italy and the United States have each suffered more than 20,000 deaths during the pandemic.

Bocelli will be accompanied by pianist Emanuele Vianelli -- but Bocelli says he's not viewing this is a typical performance. It's clearly more spiritual to him. As Bocelli put it, "It will not be an actual concert, but an occasion to pray together through music.”

He added, "It will be a sacred singing, because as we are taught, ‘those who sing pray twice’. It will be an invitation for everyone to join in the prayer."

Joel Osteen's highly-anticipated virtual Easter Sunday service, featuring some big names chiming in remotely, is underway.

The event's going down from Joel's Lakewood Church in Houston. Joel's preaching from the church with no congregation -- but he'll get some assistance from Mariah Carey and Tyler Perry.

As we first reported ... Mariah reached out to Joel about a special tribute to medical professionals and first responders as they battle in the frontline to battle COVID-19. We're told she's going to sing her song "Hero" via webcam.

Joel asked Tyler to share some inspirational words to help the massive congregation -- nearly 5 million last weekend -- through the pandemic quarantines. Joel told us Tyler recorded a 5-minute clip doing just that.

Kanye West and his Sunday Service Choir were supposed to perform as well, but that fell through on Friday. We were told the problem was social distancing the large number of singers and still capturing their harmonics.

Vanessa Bryant is managing her family's first Easter without Kobe and Gigi like a champ -- in fact, she and her kids are already getting a head start ... with cuteness to spare.

VB posted a super-sweet video Saturday showing her help 3-year-old daughter Bianka and her little sister, 9-month-old Capri, open a giant Easter egg with goodies inside -- sent to them by the florist to the stars, Jeff Leatham. It's adorable ... you see Bianka closing her eyes as she tries to crack it open with a mini hammer, but that shell's thick as hell.

Mom had to step in eventually and help her break a big enough hole to see what was inside. After LOTS of confetti-pulling, the mother-daughter duo found the treat ... chocolate!

BTW, Capri was definitely feeling the festivities ... she was giggling through the whole thing. What she mighta been thinking ... "When's my turn, MOM?!?" Good stuff.

No sign of Natalia here, but ya gotta figure she's around for the holiday too. The Bryants are devout Catholics and Easter's the holiest day of the year for the faithful.

As for the egg-cracking, it's usually a little kid thing to do anyway.

This marks the first Easter the Bryants have celebrated since Kobe and Gianna passed, and it's great to see Vanessa staying true to the fam's tradition. Last year, she was helping Bianka with another egg-tivity as well. Good on her for keeping their spirits up.

Madison Beer opened up about a scandal she says has been dogging her for years -- but she's ready to let it go and own the mistake, for which she won't be shamed over anymore.

The singer penned a powerful note Sunday -- making mention of the fact it's International Women's Day -- and basically said she's done being belittled over old private photos and videos she sent to a significant other in her teens ... which have apparently resurfaced as of late.

She writes, "when i was around 14 and exploring my body & sexuality, i sent very private snapchat's of my body to a boy i really liked at the time. i sent these, at 14, thinking i could trust the boy as we had known each other for years & shared feelings for one and other."

Madison continues, "but of course he shared it with all of his friends." She goes on to describe how the pics and vids have popped up over the years, which she says were discussed among her contemporaries, friends, family members and even music execs.

Welp, Madison says she's finally ready to forgive herself ... and more importantly, to let herself move on and not let the incident have power over her anymore. She writes, "so today, on IWD i am going to free myself of this weight i carry."

Madison ends her wise words with some advice for other young people -- remember she's just 21 -- which entails not letting one's mistakes define you, or keep you in fear.

Newsflash to piss off most guys out there -- Kevin Hart is off the hook for finding the perfect Valentine's Day gift, and same goes for his wife, Eniko.

We got that straight from Eniko herself Thursday in Bev Hills. Now, the fact she was shopping on Rodeo Drive might make ya think she was doing the last minute V-Day thing -- like you probably will be at some point today. Not so!

We asked her if this fictional Hallmark holiday Valentine's was gonna be extra special ... being their first since Kevin's horrific car accident. Eniko nonchalantly said they're "Just hanging out. Nothing extravagant."

She says they're not even doing a fancy dinner out!!! We even pressed her about gifts, and watch her response ... it's gonna be a low-key, no-frills night at Casa de Hart. As for why -- Eniko says they gave plenty a couple months ago.

We also got an update on the Harts' friends Rebecca Broxterman and Jared Black, who were in the car with Kevin during the crash. As we first reported, none of the involved parties are filing lawsuits.

Eniko confirms it -- the near-tragedy's changed nothing between all of them.

Tank says some good old-fashioned bedroom lovin' is more than an acceptable gift from a woman come Valentine's Day -- but there's a catch ... it's gotta have a kick to it.

We got the R&B singer heading to Delilah in WeHo Friday night for Michael B. Jordan's birthday party, and as he was walking by with his wife, Zena Foster, our photo asked if sex counts as a solid V-Day present to reciprocate a man shelling out for his gal.

In other words ... is sex just as thoughtful as flowers, chocolates or any other item a guy might buy his significant other for the holiday? According to Tank, hell to the yes.

Check out his answer ... he says "cookie" is pretty much always the ultimate pay-off for a man -- and sure, he's probably right there. BUT, he says a big gesture from a man's gotta be met with just as much ... um, let's just say vigor and passion on the other side.

Punxsutawney Phil isn't going anywhere, except maybe back in his hole on Groundhog Day to signal 6 more weeks of winter ... so says the congressman representing the city of Punxsutawney.

Rep. Glenn Thompson tells TMZ ... PETA calling for the famous Pennsylvania groundhog to be retired and replaced by an AI robot is crazy and goes against something he strives for -- job creation.

Thompson's half-joking about supporting Phil's right to work like any other resident of Punxsutawney, but he's serious about what the groundhog means to the city and its economy ... and calls PETA's suggestion "crazy" and misguided.

The animal rights organization argues groundhogs -- which are mostly solitary animals -- are subjected to "great stress" during the February 2 tradition and claims an artificially intelligent robot that could actually predict the weather would be better for all parties.

Andrew Kimmel is finally saying "gracias" after his nightmarish trip to Mexico went viral ... telling us he's getting ready to make a movie about his wild 24-hour adventure.

Andrew, a TV and digital producer in Los Angeles, was on "TMZ Live" Monday to download us on his scary excursion to Cabo ... telling us movie offers are rolling in, and one project is already in the works!

When you see Andrew lay out the horrific trip -- which started as a simple one-day, year-end trip from L.A. to Cabo to maintain his American Airlines status -- it's easy to see why Hollywood wants to turn his story into a script. It's got tons of juicy themes like seedy bars, scammers, corrupt cops, bribery, jail, romance, and eventually ... a happy ending!!!