Kids

D.L. Hughley is coming out swinging for Dr. Dre ... telling us Dre's daughter needs to appreciate the fact he "pushed" her to go to USC, and also that her dad can afford to LEGALLY grease the wheel for her.

We got the comedian at LAX, and our photog asked him about Dre deleting his post throwing shade at Lori Loughlin and all the other parents swept up in the college admissions bribery scandal.

D.L. says the rap mogul shouldn't apologize for donating $70 million to the University -- and adds even IF that helped his daughter, Truly Young, get in ... it's the least USC can do!!!

As for Truly saying her dad pushed her to attend SC ... D.L. says Dre's just being a good parent, and Truly has 70 million reasons to be grateful.

D.L.'s an expert on the topic ... his daughter's also at USC, and he's hustling every day -- he was just getting back from a gig -- to pay her tuition. College ain't cheap, even when ya do it all legal and stuff.

You gotta see his take on Dre's fam as a whole -- D.L.'s got a feeling Truly won't be its last Trojan.

Dr. Dre had good reason to delete his post throwing shade on Lori Loughlin and her daughters ... because, just like Lori, it looks like Dre was pushing his own daughter to become a USC student.

Dre's daughter, Truly Young, posted last May, "Dad pushing me to go to USC." Her expression seems to tell the story.

He caused a big commotion over the weekend when he posted a pic of him and his daughter holding an acceptance letter from USC with the caption, "My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time!!!"

Dre took the post down after getting a rash of criticism ... as we reported, he and Jimmy Iovine donated $70 MILLION to the University. They funded and created the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. It was established to promote entrepreneurship, computer science and engineering, audio and visual design, and the arts.

This is not to say Truly didn't get admitted on the merits, but it certainly casts a shadow given the enormous donation.

As for the comparison to Lori Loughlin's daughter, Olivia Jade, you'll recall she really didn't want to go to college, but her parents had a different idea. The feds say Olivia got in after her parents paid $500,000 ... making it seem like she was going to become a member of the crew team when, in fact, she had never rowed.

Tommie Lee shocked her closest friends when she showed up to court drunk ... they say she was in the process of getting sober before her recent relapse.

We broke the story ... the former 'Love & Hip Hop' star is back in jail for being wasted during a court hearing in her child abuse criminal case. We're told her BAC was 0.16 -- double the legal limit.

Sources close to Tommie tell TMZ ... she was trying her best to sober up in recent weeks, staying away from alcohol even though she was surrounded by vices. We're told Tommie was going out with friends who were drinking, and even stayed at a friend's house with a stocked bar inside, but she stayed off the booze.

But, Tommie fell off the wagon before last week's court appearance ... and our sources claim the stress of the case caused her relapse. She was indicted on child abuse charges earlier this year, and she's facing up to 54 years in jail if convicted on all 7 charges.

The wrestling ref who's threatening a lawsuit over the viral dreadlock-cutting incident is "blatantly racist" and has NO CASE ... so says Lil Jon ... who tells TMZ Sports the guy's claims are ridiculous.

High schooler Andrew Johnson -- who is black -- was forced to either cut his dreadlocks or forfeit during a December 2018 match. The story made international news .... and the ref was accused of being racist.

As we previously reported ... the ref, Alan Maloney, is claiming he's been defamed in the coverage following this ... and he's demanding $100,000 in damages.

Enter Lil Jon -- who has famously shown off his dreads throughout his career -- and he explains why Maloney's actions were inexcusable.

"Dreads are considered to be like a man's crown, that's a lion's mane ... it's sacred," Jon says.

"For this guy to be blatantly racist as he was on that one and to claim he can't get work or whatever, well ... too bad, you shouldn't have been an a**hole."

Maloney says he was strictly following the rules that prohibited wrestlers from having long hair ... but many people have called it a bogus excuse to cover up racism.

Lil Jon agrees with them.

Former "American Idol" contestant Chikezie Eze says his estranged wife disappeared more than a year ago and took their children ... but he's finally got the court's help trying to locate them.

Chikezie and his ex, Linda Iruke, have had their issues -- he filed for divorce from her last year shortly after she accused him of domestic abuse and threats -- but this is even more troubling.

Eze tells us Iruke completely vanished in early 2018 and cut off all ties with him and their friends, and even more concerning ... he says her family hasn't been able to contact her either.

According to new legal docs ... the court stated there is reason to believe the children have been "taken, detained, and concealed" and have authorized the L.A. County D.A.'s office to investigate and locate Eze's estranged wife and kids.

He's thankful to have this assistance, and tells us Linda's family -- especially her mother -- have been vital in convincing the court to take action.

Chikezie also has an emotional message for his son -- on his birthday -- and urges anyone who knows about his family's whereabouts to contact the D.A.'s child abduction unit.

Akon's ready to show off the most prized artist on his roster ... his own son!!!

The singer tells TMZ ... his 15-year-old son, Jahvor -- aka Jah -- is getting ready to drop his first EP with some major help from his favorite producer. Akon tells us Jah will appear on his Konvict label sometime in June. We got a sampling from one of the tracks, called "Locked Away" and it features, of course, Akon.

Goes without saying ... Jah's got his pops' voice.

Ya might be thinking ... Jah's song is about his dad doing time behind bars back in the late '90s and early 2000s, but you're dead wrong. Akon tells us, "My son wrote the chorus and his verse to symbolize how a kid could be mentally 'locked up' and can't escape the inevitable ways of the streets [and] becoming a product of the environment."

Deep stuff.

Akon's kids are incredibly talented. His other son, Ty Pittman, was recently featured on MattyBRaps' "Let's Dance" track. It's already racked up over 500k views on YouTube.

As for Jah ... Akon says he's aiming for a June release because that's African-American Music Appreciation Month.

Jordan Belfort could have been linked to Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman and the other parents caught up in the college bribery scandal ... but he didn't take the bait.

The real-life "Wolf of Wall Street" was at LAX when we asked him about the admissions scandal involving schools like USC, Harvard, Yale, UCLA and Georgetown, and turns out ... he has a wild personal story about it.

Belfort tells us his son was applying to Georgetown and somehow, a shady character got his number and tried to rope him in ... but he and his son declined. He says the scheme went far beyond the old "wink wink" days of buying your kid's way into college with a donation too.

As for who was behind the recruitment process, Jordan speculates it could have been one of Rick Singer's "finders" ... but he's not certain.

As for Singer -- the ringleader of the scandal -- Belfort has some predictions on the legal ramifications of his crooked scheme ... and it goes beyond jail time.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are planning a family vacation with one goal in mind ... healing their damaged relationship.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... the fam's first order of business when Travis gets a break from his Astroworld tour next week is a family trip with no distractions -- so they can focus on spending time together with baby Stormi.

As we reported ... Kylie, Travis and Stormi went to dinner as a family Thursday night, the first time we've seen them all together since the billionaire accused the rapper of cheating. We're told the parents' relationship is getting back on track after an epic blowup, but a family vacay will go a long ways towards mending their wounds.

What's interesting ... they chose to chow down at Sweet Chick, a restaurant which is co-owned by Nas. It's super popular, and it's a scene. Paparazzi are almost guaranteed, so it's clear they wanted to be seen.

Kylie and Travis are serious about the "no distractions" part of the trip ... we're told they're clearing their schedules and asking a travel agent to find a beach in another country, where they can relax in peace.

Looks like Kylie's already looking forward to enjoying some family fun in the sun.

YG and his baby mama are back at it -- the couple's expecting their second child together, and TMZ's learned their daughter is going to have a little sister!

Sources close to the rapper have confirmed with us ... YG's baby mama, Catelyn Sparks, is pregnant with a baby girl. We're told she's due this summer ... sometime in July.

The 2 have one child together already -- their 3-year-old little girl named Harmony.

YG and Catelyn have a couple of baby registries, like most expecting parents -- at Buy Buy Baby and Target -- and it's pretty much what you'd expect ... strollers, pacifiers, baby bottles, a rubber duckie -- you get the picture.

One more fun fact -- we're told DJ Mustard's baby mama, Chanel, who's also pregnant and due very soon, has been Sparks' companion to several maternity classes -- and that's ON TOP of each already having 3-year-old girls. We know the fellas like to hang out together too.

Best wishes to both sets of moms and dads!

Drake and his baby mama get along great and co-parent like champs, but they're not on romantic dinner date terms ... despite a video she posted that made it seem like they are.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Sophie Brussaux has been hanging out with a Drizzy doppelganger lately, and it was no accident she shared a quick shot of the guy on social media last week ... just hours after she attended Drake's Paris concert.

We're told those around Sophie believe it was a calculated move to gain some clout by making it seem like she and Drake break bread together. It worked too -- several media outlets reported Drake had dinner with Sophie that night.

Our sources say that's definitely not the case, and confirm the dude in the vid is just a bearded, light-skinned look-alike.

It's interesting, because as we reported ... Drake rolled out the red carpet for Sophie in Paris by granting her an all-access VIP pass, and they've had a positive relationship for their son, Adonis.

Seems unnecessary for her to pretend it's more than that. Then again ... gotta get them likes!!!

Shaan Patel's not shocked or outraged by the recent college admissions scandal, and says the ultimate fallout will be more people -- yes, even the filthy rich -- opting to take a legal route to higher scores.

Shaan's company, Prep Expert, really took off after he appeared on "Shark Tank" and convinced Mark Cuban to invest. On Tuesday's "TMZ Live," he admitted the college entrance process has always been rigged to favor 1 percenters ... hence the $1,000/hr. he's gotten as a tutor!

He says the difference between the alleged cheating/bribery scandal and courses like his is simple -- results. Make that, LEGAL results -- and he claims to have the numbers to back that up.

Still, he doesn't dodge the notion that desire to get into name-brand schools -- like Harvard, Yale, USC and Stanford -- can lead to parents making shady deals.

Ya know, like allegedly paying $500,000 to have your daughters designated as recruits for the crew team ... when they don't actually row.

"Ray Donovan" star Marion "Pooch" Hall will not do any jail time for his alarming DUI ... which ended with him wrecking his car while his baby was in the back seat.

Hall struck a deal with prosecutors -- he entered a no contest plea to misdemeanor DUI and to child endangerment. For the DUI his sentence is 3 years probation and a 3-month alcohol program.

TMZ broke the story ... Hall was charged with felony child abuse and DUI back in October after a witness saw him driving with his toddler in his lap and holding the steering wheel. He blew a .25 ... more than 3 times the legal limit.

He eventually swerved off and smashed into a parked car. One eyewitness said he saw the child crying in the front seat and saw the car seat laying among the junk in the backseat. The car seat was not installed.

Still, he won't do any time for the child endangerment. The deal calls for Hall to complete a one-year parenting class, and if he does ... the charge will be dismissed.

This didn't appear to be an isolated incident.

The high school referee who told Andrew Johnson to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit is now threatening to sue ... claiming he's been DEFAMED and he's demanding $100,000 in damages.

The wrestling match made international headlines when Johnson -- who is black -- appeared humiliated when he was essentially forced to cut his hair during the Dec. 2018 match.

The ref, Alan Maloney, has not reffed a single high school wrestling match since ... and he's pissed -- claiming he did nothing wrong.

In fact, Maloney believes he was simply following the rules laid out by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ... and should NOT be subject to any sort of punishment.

In his letter, Maloney states his case ... saying Johnson's hair length violated the rules. Maloney claims he gave Johnson time to get a hair covering, but Johnson did not have one.

So, in accordance with NJSIAA policy, Maloney says "provided the wrestler with the time to correct the deficiency" -- aka, a haircut.

Once the video went viral, many people accused Maloney of operating out of racism and he feels the NJSIAA did nothing to correct the narrative.

Now, Maloney has fired off a letter to the NJSIAA saying he's planning to take legal action because he feels the association has participated in DEFAMING him, causing him to lose income and suffer emotional distress. He's claiming damages of $100k.

We spoke with Johnson's attorney Dominic Speziali who tells us, "To the extent that [Maloney] plans to file a claim as a victim in this incident is outright absurd."

Sherri Shepherd's hot take on the college cheating scandal is that the days of "white privilege" are over, and the parents who paid to get unqualified kids into college were just plain dumb.

We got Sherri Friday night in WeHo outside The Laugh Factory, and she went off on the difference between black and white parents. She even thinks white parents who got entangled in Operation Varsity Blues may have taken their cue from white sitcoms. She says such a storyline in black sitcoms is nonexistent.

Former Disney star Kyle Massey is being sued by a 13-year-old girl who claims he sent her sexually explicit photos and video which allegedly include shots of his erect penis.

The girl claims in the lawsuit she and her mom met the "That's So Raven" star at Universal City back in 2009 when she was just 4 years old. She says Massey maintained contact with her and held himself out as a father figure.

The girl says she had long been interested in pursuing an entertainment career and hoped Kyle would help.

She claims in December he spoke with the mother and invited the child to fly out to L.A. where he would take care of her and help get her an agent. He said the girl could stay with him and his girlfriend.

The girl and her mom claim days later, Massey began sending the girl "numerous sexually explicit text messages, images, and videos" including "a Snapchat image of Massey holding his penis with a corresponding text message that reads 'LOL/Just me messing with u LOL.'" She also claims he sent her video of his erect penis.

The girl is suing for at least $1.5 million.

UFC star Tony Ferguson pushed his wife, abducted their son and tore their house apart on several occasions ... this according to Tony's wife who says she's now afraid for all of their lives.

It's all spelled out in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... Cristina Ferguson says Tony has been "acting violent, paranoid and delusional for the past several months" and he needs help.

Cristina says Tony's behavior has been concerning for years -- but got significantly worse in 2017.

Since 2017, Cristina claims Tony has flown into manic episodes where he's destroyed property in their Santa Ana home -- including ripping off mirrors and dismantled appliances looking for tracking devices and cameras. She included pictures of the wreckage.

Cristina claims Tony has stated their 2-year-old son is Jesus Christ, that Tony is the "second Jesus Christ" and that she is a witch.

Cristina clearly believes Tony is suffering from mental illness that is causing him to be delusional and manic. She's tried to get him help over the years but his situation hasn't gotten better.

She claims Tony shoved her during a January 2018 incident and abducted their son during a March 7, 2019 incident.

"[His] erratic behavior is getting worse and more frightening. I am afraid that during one of [his] episodes [he] will kill me, our son and/or himself."

Cristina requested a domestic violence restraining order against Tony which was granted by the judge. He now has to stay at least 100 yards away from Cristina, their child and other family members.

She was also granted temporary sole physical and legal custody of their son. Law enforcement was ordered to remove their son from Tony's care and return him to Cristina.

Cristina has since issued a statement supporting Tony -- saying, he's a "good husband and good father to our son."