Kids

Michael Jackson is a lot like the pedophile neighbor featured in "Abducted in Plain Sight" ... at least according to the victim who spoke out in the Netflix documentary.

If you haven't seen it ... Jan Broberg Felt tells the horrific tale of being kidnapped TWICE and raped multiple times by her neighbor, Robert 'B' Berchtold. She was a pre-teen and teenager during her ordeal, and she sees obvious similarities between how Berchtold got away with molesting her and what Jackson's alleged victims describe in "Leaving Neverland."

Jan says B and Jackson were both beloved -- MJ on a much larger scale, obviously.

She says no one in her Idaho community wanted to believe that someone so charismatic could commit such despicable crimes -- and admits she personally thought the exact same thing about Jackson.

Jan thinks all of these new documentaries shedding light on celebs and non-celebs accused of pedophilia are long overdue, adding that no one should be able to get away with harming kids.

The Jackson estate has repeatedly dismissed Wade Robson and James Safechuck -- the accusers in 'Neverland' -- as proven liars.

Remember the high school wrestler who was forced to cut off his dreadlocks before a match back in December?

Yeah, well, Andrew Johnson just placed 3rd in his district -- qualifying for the prestigious regional championships ... which means he's one step closer to making the N.J. state tourney!!!

Johnson's story made national headlines back in December when a referee told him his hairstyle violated high school wrestling rules ... and he needed to chop his locks or forfeit the match.

The 16-year-old junior reluctantly agreed to cut his hair -- and still won the match -- but he was visibly devastated.

Footage of the incident went viral -- and Johnson sat out of the next wrestling event because he was overwhelmed by the media attention.

The good news ... he eventually got back on the mat and returned to form -- securing 3rd place at the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics District 29 tournament in New Jersey over the weekend in the 120-pound division.

After the district tourney, Andrew told NJ.com, "I tried to block everything out and just wrestle."

One of the cooler parts of the story ... Johnson's little bro, Nate -- a freshman -- finished second in the tourney and will also advance to this week's regionals.

"We're both moving on, so we're ready," Andrew said.

Their mom, Rosa Johnson, also weighed in -- saying, "Our family has just rallied around them and kept them focused."

"We've tried to protect them. They've worked really hard for this and wanted to keep them focused."

As for the ref who forced Johnson to cut his hair 2 months ago ... TMZ Sports has learned Alan Maloney has not officiated since the incident, and the NJSIAA is still investigating.

Jenna Dewan's boyfriend is stepping up to the plate, proving he's daddy material by enjoying/surviving a day at Disneyland with her 5-year-old girl.

The actress hit up the Happiest Place on Earth Saturday with BF Steve Kazee and Everly, her daughter with Channing Tatum. Everly got the cush stroller ride around the park with potential-future-stepdad Steve on push duty.

Jenna, Steve and Everly seemed to have a great time riding rides and goofing around, and looked totally comfortable with their new family dynamic ... in the wake of Jenna and Channing's split.

That's not to say Channing and Jenna can't get together from time to time for the sake of their daughter -- they did exactly that this past Halloween, posing together for a selfie while taking Everly trick-or-treating.

Successful post-divorce co-parenting has become a thing in Hollywood -- Chris Pratt and Anna Faris most recently got it down pat ... and Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow have been at it for years.

We're all here for this trend.

Kim Kardashian is shooting down any notion that her 5-YEAR-OLD daughter, North West, has a serious boyfriend -- or as she puts it ... the kid is 5. Duh.

KKW was leaving the Hollywood Beauty Awards Sunday night at Avalon, where our photog asked if Consquence's 7-year-old son, Caiden, publicly courting North should be taken seriously. If ya missed it, Caiden's been putting on a full-court press ... on social media, anyway.

Caiden -- who has his own IG page -- has been posting tons of photos of himself buying gifts for North, including one where he's got her wrapped under his arm with the caption ... "Boo'd Up." They even went on a play date with her brother, Saint.

Put the emphasis on "play," based on what Kim told us about her first born and Caiden. Sorry, rom-com lovers ... those V-Day shots of the lil Casanova with a Tiffany & Co. bag are just good fun.

Kim did get serious about one thing -- her security. Check out the tension between some autograph seekers and her hired muscle.

Cops nabbed a guy they say pulled the home invasion that forced Magic Johnson's daughter to run for her life.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD identified the suspect after reviewing surveillance video from the neighborhood where Elisa Johnson's friends were renting a house back in December.

We broke the story ... 2 armed men got inside the home and started terrorizing Elisa's friends, holding them at gunpoint and making off with a Rolex, cash and electronics. She was able to escape out of a sliding glass door at the back of the home.

Our sources say the suspect is a 25-year-old man with a long rap sheet. In fact, we're told he was at his parole office when cops picked him up. He's now facing multiple robbery charges for the home invasion and is being held without bail. We're told the 2nd suspect remains at large.

As we reported, Elisa -- who appears on her brother EJ Johnson's E! reality show -- ran down the street and knocked on neighbors' doors, until she got someone to call 911.

6:44 PM PT -- R. Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg tells TMZ ... "I am unaware of any 'special' grand jury being convened to look into R. Kelly. There is no record of any such proceedings, and no need for them. The report is false."

A grand jury has been convened to hear evidence against R. Kelly in the wake of a new sex tape that reportedly shows him having sex with a 14-year-old girl -- and some of his alleged former victims might've been the reason a jury was formed so swiftly.

Sources connected with the Cook County State Attorney's investigation tell us a number of women who claim to be victims of R. Kelly were recently flown out to Chicago to watch the sex tape Michael Avenatti handed over to prosecutors.

Avenatti says the tape clearly shows R. Kelly having explicit sex with the girl. CNN -- which saw the tape -- described lurid details, including R. Kelly allegedly urinating on the minor.

Our sources say that these women -- some of whom have never surfaced -- were brought in to watch the new tape to see if anything looks familiar ... including the setting, surroundings, location and, of course, the identity of the 14-year-old.

The tape, and possible witnesses who can contextualize the video, may be enough for a grand jury to indict.

Don't worry ... this didn't end like the Harambe situation, but it did get extremely tense.

An 8-year-old girl in China was rescued by a courageous security guard who hung upside down in the giant panda living space ... pulling her to safety. And, all the drama was caught on video.

The girl reportedly fell backward off a fence last weekend, dropping more than 6 feet into the enclosure at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Check it out -- the panda bears approach the girl as the guard attempts to pull her up with a bamboo pole to no avail ... and the crowd begins to really panic. He eventually ditched the pole and stretched upside down to reach the girl with his bare hands ... and pulled her up to safety.

Three pandas -- which aren't always super cuddly and friendly -- were creeping closer at the time, but never got to the girl. They seemed more curious than vicious.

Wanna see the best high school dunker you've never heard of??

Good ... 'cause cameras captured Eric Gaines in a regional championship game this weekend -- and the dude can FLY!!!!

He's just 6'1", 140 pounds ... but 18-year-old Gaines took over for his Lithonia H.S. squad in a game in Georgia this weekend -- dunking on EVERYBODY.

Gaines threw down a few monster slams that woulda made Zion Williamson jealous ... even, at one point, cocking back a tomahawk that he slammed on some poor kid's head.

Bad news for Eric ... Lithonia still lost the regional championship game he was playing in, 61-59, in overtime.

Good news for Eric ... we're pretty sure you're gonna see him on a DI court sometime soon.

Gaines -- who's still a junior -- says he's got an offer from Georgia State ... but has been hearing from other schools like Georgia and Florida State as well.

Criss Angel's mind was blown when he heard Make-A-Wish wanted to grant his son his ultimate fantasy after wrapping up cancer treatment.

Criss tells us ... the Foundation granted his 4-year-old son, Johnny Crisstopher, a big wish after battling leukemia over the last 3 years.

Criss says Johnny's now in remission. Awesome news!!!

You see ... the famous illusionist has been granting Make-A-Wish requests for years -- 50 requests and counting, not to mention the boatload of money he's raised for the Foundation. He received the Magical Wish Maker of the Year Award back in 2010.

Fast forward to now ... Make-A-Wish helped arrange for little Johnny to meet Ryan from Ryan ToysReview -- the 7-year-old boy who has amassed 27 BILLION views on YouTube reviewing toys.

The Foundation flew Ryan and his family out to Vegas where the magician was throwing a huge party to celebrate his kid ending cancer treatment. Looks like the kids had a blast in the superhero-themed bash where Johnny looked pretty star-struck meeting Ryan.

Criss -- who has a new show "MINDFREAK" at Planet Hollywood in Vegas -- says he's now planning an event with help from Gary Oldman, Imagine Dragons and other celebs to raise $5M from one of his shows ... with proceeds benefiting the fight against pediatric cancer.

Blac Chyna's response to her mother accusing her of being an unfit parent can be summed up in just 4 words: new number, who dis?

Sources close to Chyna tell TMZ ... BC and her mom, Tokyo, haven't seen each other in at least 2 years so it's impossible for her to have a clue about how she parents Dream ... much less who should have custody.

TMZ broke the story ... Tokyo told us Rob Kardashian deserved to get custody of Dream until BC gets her s*** together. She thinks Chyna's series of bad choices -- as in this, this and this -- show she's not mommy material right now. So much for blood being thicker than water.

Ironically, our sources say Chyna thinks it's Tokyo's bad life decisions that drove a wedge between them years ago -- although they wouldn't say exactly what Tokyo did wrong ... in her daughter's eyes.

We're told Chyna's not the least bit worried about her mother's opinions, because she provides for her 2 kids, protects them and hires round-the-clock nannies to help care for them.

Sometimes it's GOOD to defy your parents -- just ask Patrick Mahomes Sr. who says he REALLY tried to get his son to give up football back in the day to pursue other sports.

THANK GOD HE DIDN'T LISTEN!!!

Pat Mahomes Sr. made the shocking revelation to us ... saying he was convinced Pat had a better shot at going pro in baseball and basketball -- especially since the Univ. of Texas was recruiting him to play DEFENSE!!

"They were recruiting him as a safety. And, I was telling him, 'Why don't we quit this and let's just concentrate on the other two?'"

"I said, 'We're just wasting time with this football thing.'"

Pat's suggestion wasn't exactly misguided ... the elder Mahomes was an MLB pitcher for more than a decade -- and says his son showed clear talent to be a future pro in BOTH baseball and hoops.

But, the QB didn't listen to Sr. ... and said, "Dad, I want to be out there with my teammates. I want to be out there with the guys I've been playing with forever."

Turned out to be a pretty good decision ... Mahomes starred at Texas Tech -- and is the best young quarterback in the NFL right now.

BUT ... it does make ya wonder -- what IF Mahomes had decided to step off the gridiron and focus solely on the other two sports??

Something tells us we'd be seein' a whole lot of this in the NBA right now ...

Chris Cornell won a Grammy Sunday nearly two years after his death ... and his children accepted it on his behalf with a heartfelt message about their father.

Cornell's two kids -- his son, Christopher, and his daughter, Toni -- took to the stage at Staples Center after their dad had been awarded the Grammy for Best Rock Performance for his song, "When Bad Does Good" ... his third Grammy win ever.

Christopher spoke first, reading from a statement that read in part ... "I never thought we'd be standing here without my dad. I'm sure he would be proud and honored. He was known for many things. He was a rock icon, the godfather of grunge and the creator of a movement."

Christopher added ... "While he touched the hearts of millions, most importantly he is known for to us is for being the greatest father in our ear."

His sister finished up the speech, saying ... "His voice was his vision and his music was his peace," adding ... "This is for you daddy and we love you so much." Chris' family walked the red carpet together before the show, and put on a united front for the cameras.

TMZ broke the story ... Chris was found dead in Detroit in 2017. A coroner ruled his death as a suicide by hanging.

He was 52.

Kristoff St. John will be laid to rest next to his late son ... sources close to the family tell TMZ.

"The Young and the Restless" star will be buried at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California ... in a plot right beside the grave of Julian St. John, who tragically died by suicide in 2014.

We're told Kristoff's autopsy has been performed and his body's been released to the family, but it's unclear when his funeral will be held. His cause of death is still unknown.

We broke the story ... one of the actor's friends found his body at his San Fernando Valley home Sunday. Paramedics pronounced St. John dead at the scene but said there was no foul play ... though one source tells us alcohol may have been a factor.

We were also told Kristoff had checked himself into UCLA Medical Center in January for depression issues ... and had just been released a few days before his death.

His depression was linked in part to his son's suicide. Kristoff was hospitalized and placed under psychiatric evaluation after allegedly threatening to kill himself with a gun in 2017, right around the 2-year anniversary of Julian's death.

Kristoff was 52.

The wife of the retired soccer player who has been locked in a bitter divorce just got a restraining order against her estranged husband, after claiming he's been stalking and harassing her.

Sarah Jones claims in legal docs Jermaine Jones has been following her around town, despite an agreement they struck last December to stay away from each other.

Sarah filed for divorce last month ... this after he accused her of having a sexual relationship with David Charvet. David denies they had such a relationship, saying they were just friends.

Sarah claims in the docs, Jermaine has followed her to a market where she was shopping and then followed her car after she left, showed up at the Soho House where she was having lunch and sent her numerous "inappropriate, antagonistic and degrading messages."

Sarah says in the docs, "I believe Jermaine has acted this way to harass me, control me, intimidate me and disturb my peace of mind. I am scared of Jermaine's stalking behavior, Jermaine's monitoring my movements, Jermaine's harassing messages and Jermaine showing up at locations right when I am there."

Wyatt Oleff isn't old enough to drive, but he can already afford any car he wants ... because we've learned the kid actor is raking in six figures for his next movie role.

Wyatt, who is playing young Stanley Uris in "It: Chapter Two," could make up to $500,000 for his work ... this according to Wyatt's minors contract, obtained by TMZ. That's a fat paycheck for anyone, but especially for a 15-year-old!

According to the docs, Wyatt is pocketing $150,000 in base pay, and has a chance to earn another $350k depending on how well the sequel does at the box office.

Of course, Wyatt will also get an on-screen credit during the movie's opening titles. Translation: the kid's a star, baby!

He's reprising the Stanley Uris role he played in the 2017 "It" reboot ... which, by the way, was a massive hit. It earned $327 million at the domestic box office, and $700 mil internationally.

Those numbers add up to the kid having a real good shot at his $350k worth of bonuses for the sequel.

Wanna see an NFL superstar get dominated by a bunch of kids in dodgeball??

Good ... 'cause Antonio Brown took on a park full of children Thursday -- AND GOT DESTROYED!!!

It all went down at the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica ... where the Steelers receiver decided to pop by for some talks, laughs and competition.

AB spoke with the kids in a classroom -- one of his powerpoint slides read, "Shared Goals! Shared Victory!" -- and then he posed for some pics.

But then, they all went out to the blacktop ... and it was game on.

Brown decided to go one vs. everyone -- and seemed like he might hold his own.

But, the kids started firing away ... and yeah, it wasn't long before AB was relegated to the sidelines.