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Rapper Stallionaires Pooch tells us he and Tiffany Haddish are an item after they did dinner together this week ... but Tiffany doesn't exactly see it the same way.

We talked to Pooch outside The Henry restaurant Thursday in WeHo ... and he was pretty confident he's got a new lady. He says he knew his charm was what hooked Tiffany, adding he's a respectful dude and knows how to treat a woman right.

Tiffany, however, doesn't appear to be taking their connection as far as Pooch is ... she tells us, "Well, I don’t think one dinner counts as dating. Does it?"

Well, to her point ... Pooch did get a little dodgy when we asked how long they'd been in a relationship. Watch the video -- he also wouldn't say if he's the man Tiffany's been praying for -- something she talked about on "The Tonight Show" back in January while discussing her recent DUI arrest in Atlanta.

While Tiffany and Pooch aren't on the same page about their relationship status ... we gotta give him some props for getting the first date with her. As for a second date? Well, Tiffany will ultimately decide just how charming he is or isn't.

Chris Rock might have a lot going on right now, but that hasn't stopped him from takin' a trip to the movies to watch a flick.

Chris showed up by himself Thursday at the AMC Boston Common in MA -- the day after his first standup show since the Oscars. Chris got some popcorn, a hotdog and a water bottle to fortify him as he watched a film ... sorry, we don't know which one, though we're guessing it wasn't "King Richard."

The other dude in the pic -- Gerard Cole -- asked Chris for the photo, and Chris happily obliged.

As we reported, Thursday night was Chris' 2nd show at the Wilbur Theater in Boston ... fans were more rowdy than usual, with several getting kicked out. Some even shouted "F*** Will Smith," which Chris shut down right away.

Charles Barkley better keep his head on a swivel -- Shaquille O'Neal says he'll follow Will Smith's lead and slap the hell outta his TNT co-host ... dropping the playful threat in a hilarious freestyle rap.

The Big Aristotle made the comment at his surprise belated birthday party at Steak Market in Atlanta on Wednesday ... when the crowd of about 250 people asked him to get up to the DJ booth and give them a set.

The NBA legend ended up grabbing the mic and spitting off the dome for about 10 minutes instead ... name-dropping his "Inside the NBA" friends and referencing the infamous Oscars moment in the process.

"Tomorrow I'm on TNT, with f***ing Kenny, with f***ing Chuck, I might Will Smith his ass I don't give a f***," Shaq raps.

Unlike the real interaction, everyone loved the reference ... cheering and laughing after Shaq dropped the line.

Now, Shaq and Chuck have had a playful rivalry for years ... with both Hall of Famers going back and forth at every possible opportunity.

O'Neal was letting the insults fly on more than just Barkley, though -- he even brought up LeBron James while dissing a dude's hairline ... which was a crowd favorite as well.

The whole bash looked fun as hell -- it was sponsored by D'usse, so you know the adult beverages were flowing.

Celebs like Bobby Valentino and 2 Chainz were also in attendance ... as well as a tiger.

As for Shaq's birthday, it was March 6 ... but hey, better late than never!!

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul certainly know how to discuss sensitive topics ... injecting a little humor and a lot of salesmanship into the Will Smith/Chris Rock brouhaha.

We got the "Breaking Bad" stars Wednesday at Chateau Marmont in WeHo ... and they were quick to say lots of stuff can be settled over a bottle ... a bottle of Mezcal.

Yeah, and here's where the salesmanship comes in ... Mezcal is Aaron and Bryan's label. For the uninitiated, it's kind of like tequila, but as Aaron says, it's not tequila.

As for their feelings about the slap, the apology and the fallout, Aaron and Bryan trod lightly, which is what some other celebs are doing as well ... however a number of celebs have come out swinging, railing at Will for ruining the Oscars.

Chris Rock is locked and loaded for the kickoff of his comedy tour, arriving at the venue in Boston and looking like he's ready for funny business.

We got photos of Chris arriving at the Wilbur Theater in Beantown, looking pretty stoic and clearly knowing ... millions and millions of folks are waiting for him to take the mic and say SOMETHING about that slap.

Chris' "Ego Death Tour" is all the rage ... all 5 nights at the Wilbur are not only sold out ... tickets are being scalped at a king's ransom -- some going for over $1,000.

Chris has not said anything publicly about the incident and has not publicly accepted Will Smith's apology. We know as of Tuesday night the 2 had not spoken, so it doesn't appear Will picked up the phone to privately apologize.

As for whether Chris accepts Will's Instagram mea culpa ... don't count on it. His brother, Tony Rock, has scoffed at Will's apology, and based on everything we know the 2 brothers are in lockstep.

As we reported, there's a lot of smoke that Will's tirade goes way beyond a hair joke. Back in 2016, when the Smith's called for a boycott of the Oscars because of a lack of inclusiveness, they asked Chris to join the boycott, but he declined ... and ever since there's been beef between them. Chris' jokes about Will and Jada at that ceremony further cemented their divide.

Chris Rock has his feet firmly planted on Boston soil, as he prepares to kick off his "Ego Death Tour" ... and you better believe there won't be an empty seat in the house.

A photog asked Chris as he was leaving the airport if he could ask a few questions, but the comic was mum.

Chris is one of the biggest comedians in the biz, but after the slap, everything's gone up several levels. All of his 5 shows in Beantown are sold out, and tickets are being scalped for a king's ransom ... and we're not talkin' "King Richard."

Tony Rock, Chris' brother, made it clear, he thinks Will's apology to Chris was BS, says he did NOT approve of it.

It seems from everything we know Chris doesn't approve either, because he hasn't said a word about it since Will posted his regrets. As for why ... well, for starters, you'd think when someone assaults someone else, the aggressor might pick up the phone and deliver a personal apology rather than telling it to the world.

Diddy had said Chris and Will spoke and buried the hatchet, but multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that's just not true. They have not spoken.

What everyone wants to know ... will Chris address the attack Wednesday night at his show.  We'll let you know as soon as it goes down.

Julian Edelman got in on the jokes after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars ... by using the viral moment to reference Tom Brady's fight with retirement -- and it's pretty good.

Edelman posted the hilarious meme on his Twitter page ... poking fun at the fact his good friend, Brady, was retired for just 40 days before deciding to rejoin the Buccaneers.

You can probably guess by now, but in the meme, Tom Brady's name is edited onto Smith ... and the word "retirement" is on Rock -- in other words, TB12 is slapping retirement in the face.

Brady, who played 22 seasons in the NFL, announced his retirement in early February but did a 180 nearly a month and a half later ... telling the world he was returning to play.

While Jules' joke is far from controversial, Rock's quip about Jada's hair has sparked debate on whether he was in the wrong.

As we reported, Rock claims to have not known about Jada's battle with alopecia ... and Smith has apologized for the slap.

The situation between Smith and Rock is far more complex, but Tom and Julian's relationship appears to be going strong as ever, despite the two no longer being teammates.

Late-night talk hosts are sinking their teeth into Will Smith's slap heard-round-the-world, with some going harder than others ... and at least one didn't really bite at all.

Jimmy Fallon opted to tread very lightly, but Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel took much more direct approaches -- so, we'll start with them.

JK recapped the entire saga well... sprinkling in light jabs toward Will, like joking that while he hoped to be invited back, he also might be waiting for the Academy in the parking lot if he doesn't get the call.

Colbert was even harsher... taking a bunch of shots at Will and his movies (calling those flicks the worst thing he's ever done aside from this), and also criticizing Oscars producers for letting Will give a long acceptance speech without much consequence at all.

Seth Meyers didn't hit the subject himself, but instead, let one of his writers, comedian Amber Ruffin, do a bit in which she recounted the horror of watching it go down with flowery prose and poetic language.

Not nearly as funny as the first 2 guys, but an interesting way to dissect it.

James Corden, meanwhile, found a very creative way to analyze the whole thing ... invoking 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' -- the smash-hit Disney song from "Encanto" -- but applied it to Will/Jada.

It was pretty funny, and made for quite the musical number ... which is right in James' wheelhouse. Dude loves to sing and dance -- and he didn't miss the opportunity here.

Finally, there was Fallon ... who clearly did not want to get into it very much at all -- not even saying Will Smith or Chris Rock's name, but glossing over the moment almost entirely and pivoting to Russia news.

That might have to do with the fact that Jimmy is known to have a close relationship with Rock -- dating back to his 'SNL' days -- but as a late-night host, also wants to have Will on as a guest ... so it's possible he's opting to stay on the sidelines.

Most of the hosts said the obvious ... that violence is unacceptable, and considering the serious nature of the situation -- it's cool they found a way to break it down with some humor, which is what they're paid to do.

Will, meanwhile, has since apologized to Chris ... but CR himself has been mum following the whole thing.

The Academy is investigating -- although it's fairly clear what happened here -- and it remains to be seen what, if any, consequences Will may face.

Ricky Gervais couldn't stop himself from joining the Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars drama, and seemingly backing Chris ... tweeting a clip from "The Office" that pokes fun at alopecia.

Gervais retweeted the clip Monday from his David Brent account -- his character on the OG British version of the show -- and it shows David trying to win over his employees by taking them out for drinks at lunchtime.

Ricky's full line in the scene shows him joking about Alcoholics Anonymous, saying "I know someone who is an alcoholic and it is no laughing matter - particularly for his wife. And, she's got alopecia. So ... not a happy home life."

Now, it's not like Ricky captioned it with anything about the Oscars, but it's clearly the only relevance ... coming the day after Rock dropped his "G.I. Jane 2" quip at Jada Pinkett Smith -- who as you know has alopecia -- and, thereby, triggering Will's now-infamous slap.

Jada had announced last year she shaved her head after being diagnosed with alopecia. As TMZ reported ... Rock did not know she has the condition.

It's interesting that Ricky's sounding off about the incident -- he's hosted the Golden Globes 5 times, and always roasted celebrities left and right ... yet no one ever laid a hand on him.

Cedric the Entertainer made Will Smith the butt of a joke at an Oscars after-party ... keeping Jada Pinkett Smith's name out of his mouth, and warning Will impersonators.

The joke is all on video, and it's great ... just watch Cedric do his thing. Maybe Chris Rock could take a few pointers.

While Cedric doesn't mention Will, Jada or Chris by name ... it's obvious what he's referencing here ... everyone saw what happened at the Academy Awards, and this is an after-party.

In a truly shocking moment, Will Smith just smacked Chris Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith at The Oscars.

Chris was up on stage Sunday presenting for Best Documentary, but before he started naming the nominees ... he was firing off zingers to the crowd, and eventually landed on Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Chris made a comment about Jada's shaved head ... saying he couldn't wait to see 'G.I. Jane 2' -- which got some groans from the crowd, to which he just sorta shrugged off.

Chris didn't think he'd crossed a line, but Will clearly did ... because he stormed the stage and literally socked the dude in the face. A stunned Rock exclaimed, "Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** outta me."

The American broadcast on ABC muted, and even froze, but in other countries it continued ... and Will shouted "Keep my wife's name out your f****** mouth" twice to Chris.

Chris eventually gained his composure again and carried on with handing out the Oscar, but the room was left tense with a sense of unease.

Jada has been public with her alopecia diagnosis for a good while, documenting her struggle with hair loss.

As of now ... Will and Jada are still sitting in the crowd.

Jake Paul wants in on the Will Smith vs. Chris Rock feud -- the YouTuber-turned-fighter is offering both actors $15 MILLION to take their beef to the boxing ring!!

Shortly after the slap heard around the world went down at the Oscars, "Impractical Jokers" star Sal Vulcano joked about how much the Most Valuable Promotions founder would cough up to get both legends in the ring for an epic event for the ages.

The 25-year-old fighter -- who previously offered Pete Davidson and Kanye West $30 milli each to face off in the ring -- delivered on his new proposition late Sunday night ... claiming he already has $30 million set aside for a Smith vs. Rock bout.

"I got $15m for Will Smith and $15m for Chris Rock ready to go," Paul tweeted ... adding he already has a date in mind.

"Let’s do it in August on my undercard."

FYI -- The biggest Pay-per-view ever is 4.6 million buys for Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

A Will vs. Chris fight would undoubtedly be successful, but don't hold your breath on it ever happening -- after all, both guys have all the money in the world and it would be quite the height/weight disadvantage for Rock ... but Jake's got the financial backing to make it happen.

The entertainment world wasn't the only one shaken up by Will Smith's Oscars slap on Sunday night -- notable sports figures, including Deion Sanders and Patrick Mahomes' wife, also couldn't believe what they saw.

Just minutes after Will smacked Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards over a joke the comedian made about Jada Pinkett Smith ... Sanders commended Rock for taking the blow.

"Chris took it like a STANDUP GUY LITERALLY!!! WOW WOW WOW!" Sanders said on Twitter, before adding, "Lord help us please help us Love each other especially in front of company."

Brittany Mahomes, meanwhile, chastised Smith for letting his anger turn into physical violence.

"You. Don’t. Slap. Someone," the Kansas City star quarterback's wife wrote on Twitter.

Others in the sports world commented on Will as well ... with Steph Curry even cracking a joke on social media over it.

The Golden State Warriors point guard made the quip while praising the Stanford women's basketball team for its big victory on Sunday night.

"This was loud!!!" Curry wrote. "Like that slap on that other channel."

New Las Vegas Raiders star Chandler Jones made a 'Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air' jab after seeing the on-stage swing ... writing on Twitter, "Got in one little fight and we all got scared."

NBA star Bradley Beal added, "Smack the taste out his mouth," while Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson wrote on Twitter in disbelief, "He slapped that boy fr ? Or I’m trippin."

Will Smith's slap heard-round-the-world seems to have Hollywood kinda split on whether it was right or wrong -- but there's one person who's firmly in the guy's corner ... his son.

The entire world seems to have reacted to Will's violent behavior, and celebrities are no exception -- with several high-profile stars weighing in online ... and some even defending WS and Jada Pinkett by extension, including Nicki Minaj.

The rapper had a lot of thoughts on the matter, writing ... "You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a “little joke” at her expense. This is what any & every real man feels in that instant. while y’all seeing the joke he’s seeing her pain."

She adds, "Imagine what it must feel like to be losing your hair to the point where you have to shave it bald. You think that’s easy to deal with for anyone?"

So, clearly ... Nicki is team Will/Jada. But, there are far more who condemned the assault -- including Judd Apatow, who was emphatic. Judd wrote, "He could have killed him. That's pure out of control rage and violence. They've heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshmen in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind."

Others seemed to be either baffled or amused by what had occurred ... Billy Eichner, Jodie and Conan O'Brien fall into that category. But, the most telling response came from Will and Jada's own flesh and blood.

Jaden Smith sounded off in the aftermath, writing ... "And That's How We Do It," apparently co-signing what his old man had just done.

It would also seem that Jada herself appreciated Will getting up there -- because as soon as the broadcast went to break ... a photo shows Chris Rock leaning down from the stage trying to talk to both of them, with none other than Denzel Washington standing in between them.

In the pic, you can see Will and Jada holding hands ... appearing to put on a united front.

There's also a lot of chatter today about "toxic masculinity" and whether Will is a personification of that. Many feel he is, but there seems to be an opposing group who say he was simply doing what a good partner/man should do to defend his woman.

Jim Norton has some simple advice for Russell Westbrook in his war against heckling fans ... telling TMZ Sports if the Lakers star wants the trolling to stop, then he has to play better.

We spoke with the comedian -- who knows a thing or two about getting an earful from fans -- and he tells us the best way for Russ to shut 'em up is to elevate his game.

Of course, it's been a rough year for Westbrook in his first season with the Purple and Gold ... and spectators (L.A. especially) have been giving the former MVP a hard time.

Russ' numbers have dipped -- he's struggled to shoot the ball from the perimeter and at the free-throw line and is among the league leaders in turnovers.

Most recently, Russ pled with fans to stop calling him the name "Westbrick" ... saying he often let it slide, but it's to the point where he wants it to die.

But, even that didn't stop fans from rolling up on Brodie in the street -- A fan recorded himself telling Russ he wants him to play better, but the All-Star guard wasn't feeling it all.

Jim tells us Russ needs to start going back at fans in a war of words -- encouraging the baller to "attack these losers" who are yelling at him.

Jim said there are plenty of nights in his industry he doesn't bring it, so he never gets mad at fans for heckling him if he deserves it.

"Well that's why I said, 'play better,'" Morton says, "because if I'm on stage, there's plenty of nights when I suck."

"I kind of know when I suck. So if I'm having a really bad set and someone yells, 'you suck,' then I'll address it, and I'll be mean to the person."

LeBron James was a big winner Saturday night ... singled out for his work in a big-budget movie -- cause he won some Razzies!!!

LeBron was bestowed with the honor of "Worst Actor" Saturday during the 42nd annual Golden Raspberry Awards celebrating the worst in movies.

LeBron's trophy was an acknowledgment of his work in "Space Jam: The Legacy," in which he played himself ... well, sorta.

But wait, there's more. LeBron also won for "Worst Screen Couple" and "Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel."

Fear not, LeBron, because worse movies were made ... like "Diana the Musical" on Netflix, which snagged Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actress and Worst Director.

While it was a common theme in the show, the "Space Jam" remake wasn't quite as popular as "Diana the Musical" scooping up five trophies.

Jared Leto also scored with Worst Supporting Actor in "House of Gucci."

And, get this ... there was a special category for Bruce Willis ... Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie! It's for "Cosmic Sin" ... in case you're interested.