In The Field

A push from "Heated Rivalry" helped a real-life hockey player share his truth about his sexuality ... and now he hopes to be a source of inspiration, too.

After tuning in to the hit show about rivals-turned-lovers, Minnesota native Jesse Kortuem decided to pen his coming-out story earlier this month ... and it’s turning into a mission bigger than the sport.

We caught up with Kortuem in NYC on Wednesday to see how his message is being received.

Danielle Brooks is about to be up at the crack of dawn announcing those Oscar nominations ... and she’s already got some very strong opinions on who’s about to clean up!

We caught up with the actress at LAX Wednesday, and she made it clear her pick to dominate this year is "Sinners" ... saying she thinks the film could have its own "Moonlight" moment with a surprise Best Picture win.

You gotta catch the full clip ... Danielle goes hard for "Sinners," but she also name-checks another major contender that’s high on her list too.

Keegan-Michael Key is proud his comedy sketches with Jordan Peele are standing the test of time ... and he wants to reunite for more funny bits.

We got the "Key & Peele" star Wednesday at LAX and our photog asked him if he'd ever want to get the band back together with Peele to film new content.

Key says he loved working with Peele and he's open to getting back in the comedy lab and ... if it ever happens ... they would go back to their bread and butter -- sketches about the human condition that everyone can relate to.

Andy Serkis is dropping hints about the cast for a new movie in 'The Lord of the Rings' franchise ... and it sounds like he went to bat to get the band back together.

We got the guy who plays Gollum in the 'LOTR' trilogy at LAX on Tuesday and asked about the new movie he's directing and starring in, "The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt For Gollum."

Andy's reprising his role as Gollum and Ian McKellen is returning as Gandalf, with Elijah Wood expected back as Frodo Baggins ... and while Andy didn't want to give too much away as far as cast, he did go on the record saying he "loved" the OG cast, which also featured Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom.

"Owning Manhattan" star Jordan March is providing more clarity on his argument last month with his friend Ryan Serhant ... saying they aren't engaged in any drama ... it's just business.

We caught up with the reality TV star in New York City Wednesday ... and, we had to ask him about the blow-up between him and Serhant on a Manhattan street corner in early December.

Remember -- we obtained video of Jordan and Ryan arguing -- and Serhant told us it was just a disagreement between pals. However, he added there were legal issues involved, so he couldn't comment further.

Howard King, the attorney representing a family accusing Michael Jackson of abuse, spoke to TMZ after a dramatic day in court in their fight with Jackson's estate ... and he explained what caused the family's flip from ally to enemy.

Frank Cascio and his siblings reportedly settled for millions of dollars in 2020 with Jackson's estate amid allegations the late King of Pop sexually abused them as children. But in 2024, Frank alleged he signed the settlement under duress.

Today, the Cascio family was back in court with Jackson's estate, represented by attorney Marty Singer ... who claims the Cascios are trying to extort MJ's estate.

This presents a complete reversal from Frank's days as a staunch Jackson defender. So why the change of heart? King says years of therapy helped Frank stop drinking "the Michael Jackson Kool-Aid."

Bam Margera says he won't film any new stunts for a new 'Jackass' movie ... and even though he squashed his beef enough to get in the new flick, he's still pissed at Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine.

We got Bam at the Dream Hotel in Hollywood on Monday, and our photog asked him about signing a deal where some of his never-before-seen stunts get featured in the new 'Jackass' movie.

Bam takes us down memory lane and explains why his appearance is going to be limited to old content that's never seen the light of day ... safe to say there are still a lot of wounds there.

Leonardo DiCaprio might’ve been muttering insults under his breath at Nikki Glaser's Golden Globes roast -- but Sarah Silverman tells us there’s no debate ... she straight-up killed it as host!

We caught up with the comedy legend at LAX Monday, and she couldn’t stop raving about Nikki’s hosting gig the night before ... showering her with praise and saying she seriously raised the bar.

You’ve gotta catch the clip ... we also ask Sarah whether Nikki crossed the line going after certain people, and get her take on whether she thinks she'll be back to host again next year.

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Phaedra Parks -- who is also a lawyer -- put her legal analyst hat on for us ... weighing in on just what is going on in Nick Reiner's murder trial in Los Angeles.

Remember ... Nick's high-powered attorney, Alan Jackson, dropped out and is being replaced by public defender Kimberly Greene.

So far, Jackson's withdrawal hasn't been fully explained, but Phaedra offered a plausible explanation when we caught her at LAX Friday.

Ronnie Radke wants to be the guy to bring 'Catfish' back from the TV dead ... he says Nev Schulman would be the perfect guy to clear his name in his drama with Brittany Furlan.

We got Ronnie in Hollywood on Wednesday, and our photog asked him for an update on his restraining order against Brittany, which stems from her refusing to believe she was catfished by someone posing as Ronnie.

Ronnie says he's still jumping through hoops to prove he's NOT the guy who seduced Brittany online ... and the drama is wearing on him, so he's calling for backup.

Wack 100 inadvertently found himself to be the best peacemaker this side of John Cena regarding the whole Adin Ross vs. Doechii situation.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Wack out in L.A. on Tuesday as he cheered on his boy, Adam22 -- ahead of his boxing match with Jason Luv -- and got him to break down how he got involved ... after receiving a call from Top Dawg Entertainment boss, Anthony Tiffith.

Adin fired off the rails with obscenities towards Doechii after assuming he was being mentioned in her new song, and Wack -- who's cool with Adin -- mediated the situation with TDE and got the streamer to chill.

Jenny McCarthy is getting nostalgic over the show that put her on the pop-culture map, recalling her breakout moment on "Singled Out" at MTV ... a sweet throwback that hits a little different now that the channel’s gone dark.

TMZ caught up with Jenny McCarthy in NYC Monday ... and, while she’s clearly got nothing but love for her "Singled Out" career, she dropped a wild memory from the very start -- revealing that the night before her first day of filming back in ’95, she almost died.

Check out the full video ... 'cause Jenny details the time she burned down her hotel room ... a close call that could’ve changed a whole lot.

There are lots of celebs out there who're known for their wild wordplay, but some others are the strong, silent type ... can you guess who this straight shooter is?

We ran into -- well, up to -- this actor back in 2017 when he was leaving LAX ... and you already know we had plenty of questions for him -- but we didn't get a word out of him!

Remy Ma has big things popping in the new year ... including adding talk show host to her resume!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the "Conceited" rapper in NYC this week, where she humbly bragged about bossing up with her Remy Network -- and being a one-woman show when it comes to spoiling her 7-year-old daughter.

Remy just hosted a McDonald's-themed birthday party for her little mini-me ... amid her ongoing rough divorce with rapper Papoose.

Despite their rift, Remy tells us things, such as party-planning and spending Christmas together, are smooth sailing ... because all Pap has to do is show up!!!

Rich Paul wants to clear the air about his recent Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James take ... saying even though he'd want MJ to take a last shot over his bestie/top client ... the King is still 100% his G.O.A.T.

ICYMI, Paul and his "Game Over" podcast co-host Max Kellerman were talking hoop recently ... when the big-time sports agent revealed he chose His Airness to be the guy shooting the ball at the end of a game over Bron or Kobe Bryant -- saying there's "no question about it."

When we caught up with Paul out in Beverly Hills this week ... he said folks made it out to be like he was dissing LBJ in favor of MJ ... which was not the case at all.

The Backstreet Boys made the "right decision" not signing with Shaquille O'Neal back in the day ... so says AJ McLean, who tells TMZ Sports while he adores the NBA legend -- he doubts they'd have the same success had they inked a deal with him.

It's a wild story, but 100% true -- both BSB and *NSYNC used Shaq's Orlando studio to record some of their earliest music when he was a member of the Magic in the '90s ... and O'Neal has openly expressed his regret over not pouncing on the opportunity to work with the boy bands in an official capacity.

We caught up with AJ recently ... and asked a good ol' "what if?"