Howie Mandelis taking coronavirus panic to the next level, or maybe we're all just not up to his level -- either way, he's prepared for a day on the job. At 'AGT' or Chernobyl!!!
The famous germophobe clearly isn't taking any chances with the deadly virus, and pulled up Tuesday to set rocking a full hazmat suit, gloves and, of course, a gas mask. Keep in mind, "America's Got Talent" shoots in Pasadena, CA ... not Wuhan.
But ya know Howie -- better safe than sorry. He's ready for COVID-19, plague or, more likely, a day's worth of jugglers, puppet acts and singers.
Howie's head-to-toe precautions make Rep. Matt Gaetz look pretty soft. Remember, the FL Congressman showed up on the House floor last week wearing a gas mask during a vote for coronavirus funding. It looked extreme, but Mandell just put that to shame.
As we first told you ... the coronavirus scare has crept its way to 2 of the most popular shows on TV -- "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" -- so it makes sense Howie would take this approach.
He's not one for simple handshakes under the best of conditions.
4:08 PM PT -- Organizers have just made the push to October official, saying, "At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns."
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They continue, "All purchases for the April dates will be honored for the rescheduled October dates. Purchasers will be notified by Friday, March 13 on how to obtain a refund if they are unable to attend."
Travis Scott, Rage Against the Machine and Frank Ocean will be legends of the fall -- Coachella and its headliners are moving to October due to the coronavirus crisis.
TMZ has confirmed agents for several acts booked for Coachella have been told the new dates are the consecutive weekends of Oct. 9 and Oct. 16. The festival's promoter, Goldenvoice, is in the process now of informing reps for all the acts. The official announcement will likely come once that's done.
The massive music festival was originally scheduled for the weekends of April 10 and April 17, but it's now going the way of several other festivals that are either postponing or pulling the plug altogether.
South by Southwest canceled last week, as did the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Even live touring legend Pearl Jam just announced it would postpone its upcoming spring dates.
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County music fans gotta change their travel plans too -- the Stagecoach festival is postponing from April 24 to October 23.
All of this comes on the heels of other major shifts due to coronavirus fears. TMZ broke the story ... Justin Bieber is moving several of his stadium tour dates to arenas to ensure they can fill the venues, even with reduced ticket sales amid the crisis.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!!! Even during a worldwide Coronavirus scare ... so says wrestling superstar-turned-Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, who tells TMZ Sports his band ain't canceling their tour.
The music industry has taken a hit in recent days thanks to the disease ... with huge festivals like SXSW and Ultra (canceled), Coachella and Stagecoach (postponed) deciding to switch up the plan.
On top of that, Pearl Jam has postponed the spring dates of its North American tour ... so when we saw Jericho at LAX on Monday ... we had to ask if his shows were going on as scheduled.
"Why wouldn't they?" Jericho tells us, adding he's not looking to cancel "unless the cops tell us we can't."
FYI -- Fozzy has a huge following ... and the band's biggest hit, "Judas" has more than 35 MILLION views on YouTube.
The band is set to go on a tour through the States starting next month ... and will go through the end of August.
Jericho calls the Coronavirus "mass hysteria" ... and it's clear he's ready to rock out for all those dates.
Billie Eilish kicked off her Where Do We Go? tour by giving her fans quite a shock -- a rare display of her body ... to go with a powerful message.
The 18-year-old singer's well-known not just for her music, but for her habit of wearing baggy, oversized clothes to cover up ... and her first tour stop Monday night at Miami's American Airlines Arena was no different.
EXCEPT ... during a short video interlude between songs, Billie appeared on a screen in a dark tank top as she spoke to the crowd about the opinions people have of her.
Then, near the end of the vid, she took off the tank top to reveal just her bra ... and it was met with screams and cheers.
Here's what Eilish had to say in the video during the big reveal ... "You have opinions, about my opinions, about my music, about my clothes, about my body. Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it, some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me, but I feel you watching, always."
She added ... "The body I was born with, is it not what you wanted? If I wear what is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I'm a slut. Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge it, and judge me for it. Why? We make assumptions about people based on their size. We decide who they are. We decide what they’re worth. If I wear more. If I wear less. Who decides what that makes me? What that means? Is my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?"
Billie's famously avoided showing skin during her career because she's never wanted to be judged off of her body, but shortly before she turned 18 she revealed she wanted the option to flaunt her body and "look desirable." She said ... "I'm gonna be a woman. I want to show my body."
This isn't the first time Eilish has ditched the baggy wardrobe, though ... shortly after her 18th bday, she shared some bathing suit shots while on her Hawaiian vacation.
Megan Thee Stallionis all smiles just days after her EP dropped ... and she's adamant it'll hold her fans over until THE BIG ONE drops.
We got the Houston rapper out over the weekend leaving Coach in NYC and she tells us it's been nothing but love since she dropped her 9-track EP, "Suga," on Friday. She's adamant it's gonna hold her fans over until her big album drops.
When that'll happen is unclear. Remember, Megan's label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, went to court and filed a motion to try and stop her from releasing her new music ... but in the end, it was Megan who notched the W in that battle.
BTW, Megan also had some strong feelings about Coachella after we asked her about the festival's uncertainty. Pretty clear where she stands. Problem is ... best-case scenario for Coachella now is a delay until October.
Nicki Minaj's husband finally got his ducks in a row on the West Coast -- getting himself registered as a sex offender, and looking kinda ticked off in the process.
Kenneth Petty is now entered into the California Megan's Law database, which tracks sex offenders in the state. We don't know exactly what day he was registered, but it was clearly very soon after his arrest on Wednesday last week -- so a matter of days, really.
He's listed as 5'9", 170lbs ... and has a Bev Hills address. Check out his booking photo too -- Ken doesn't look very happy to be in custody.
TMZ broke the story ... KP was initially picked up by cops after a traffic stop last year in Bev Hills -- prosecutors say that's when they discovered he was registered as a sex offender in NY, but not yet on the books in California.
He was charged by the L.A. County D.A. for not registering ... before the feds arrested him last week for the same crime. While the L.A. County charge has been dropped, Petty will be back in court next month for the federal case -- and he has to wear an ankle monitor until then.
He also has to keep his nose clean substance-wise -- one of the conditions of his bond is no drugs, including legal weed.
Petty's sex offender status stems from a 1995 NY conviction for first-degree attempted rape.
City Girls member JT is tasting freedom ... because we've learned the rapper is outta federal custody after spending the last part of her sentence in a halfway house.
JT was officially released Friday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons tells TMZ. Remember, she'd been in custody since June 2018 after turning herself in on identity theft charges.
As you can imagine, JT's grateful to be home ... posting a ton of selfies Saturday and saying it's the first time she's woken up in her own bed in 2 years!
JT's not completely outta the woods, because legal docs show she's on probation for a year.
According to the terms of her supervised release, JT has to take a drug test within the first 15 days, and she can't have controlled substances or a firearm ... aaand she has to perform 200 hours of community service.
JT went to prison just as the City Girls were getting super famous ... and her counterpart Yung Miami hooked her up with some custom bling as a welcome home gift.
Yungblud isn't ready to hit the panic button over coronavirus and pull the plug on upcoming gigs -- including a couple at Coachella -- but the decision might soon be out of his hands.
The British rocker was out at the L.A. Zoo Sunday for an Australian wildfire event, and when we ran into him, we talked about COVID-19's impact on the music biz. Specifically, we asked if the new superbug could be a death knell to live music events.
Fact is, several artists have canceled upcoming shows because of coronavirus, and a few major music festivals have already gotten the ax as well.
Well, check out what YB has to say about it ... he tells us he doesn't believe this is the end of times, and thinks we as a society just need to adjust and get used to dealing with coronavirus.
As far as him yanking future performances, Yungblud says he ain't gonna do it -- at least not yet. He gives kind of a corny justification, but hey ... the guy's got music in his heart.
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Pretty brave of him, especially considering he's got a couple shows scheduled overseas later this month -- and then a string of shows here in the U.S., including Coachella.
Thing is ... he might not wanna stop playing, but the powers that be may very well start halting public events like music festivals the way things are going. In the meantime, Yungblud suggests folks get their hands on some homemade hand sanitizer -- AKA really hard alcohol -- while ya can.
Tee Grizzley says he no longer has beef with Eminemand Royce da 5'9" ... and he's chalking it all up to a classic case of a misunderstanding.
Here's the deal ... Tee Grizzley blasted Royce after he revealed he'd advised Eminem to hold off on collaborating with the up-and-coming Detroit rapper until TG had another hit to his name.
Now, Tee Grizzley says he talked to Royce and smoothed things over ... and he wants to do the same with Em.
As you know ... Royce said he convinced Eminem to not work with Tee Grizzley just yet, so Em wouldn't get credit for helping TG blow up. Royce and Em were gonna sit back and wait, and then Tee Grizzley took a shot at Eminem.
The diss -- "I run Detroit, n****s talkin' 'bout Eminem. Talking that s**t, I kill you, him, and him."
Royce says Em was pissed Grizzley burned a bridge he didn't know he had ... but Tee tells us, it's all a big misunderstanding and he's got nothing but love for Eminem and hopes they eventually collab.
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.
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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.
2:57 PM PT -- Another source close to the couple tells us the two are simply coparenting and support each other as friends. The source says Travis and Kylie are not currently linked romantically.
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scottare officially a thing again ... and they have been for several weeks now.
Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... Kylie and Travis are back together romantically but they're not quite ready to put a title on their relationship, even though they regularly sleep under the same roof, share a child and don't see other people.
Our sources say Kylie and Travis both benefited from last year's breakup ... the time apart was good for both parties because they needed some space. Remember, their initial relationship in 2017 moved very fast because she got pregnant with Stormiright after they first started dating at Coachella.
Fact is ... Kylie and Travis work well on several levels ... in addition to a strong family bond, they both lead full and successful professional lives.
Coachella's fate appears to be hanging in the balance as the county it sits in just confirmed its first case of coronavirus.
Riverside County public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser made the announcement Sunday, saying RC is under a public health emergency because of a patient who's considered a "presumptive positive for coronavirus" after being tested by the Public Health Office.
Even more alarming ... the hospital this person is being treated at -- Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage -- is a mere 25 minutes from the Coachella festival site in Indio, CA. So, very close to home.
Kaiser says his team is assessing whether the infected individual has been in contact with others and whether more people might've been exposed. He also says no decisions have been made on the safety of future public events, and that he'll evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
As of Thursday, Kaiser had said he had NOT instructed the honchos running Coachella or Stagecoach to pull the plug -- but in light of this new development, that could change.
Riverside is the latest county in SoCal to declare a public emergency -- Orange and Los Angeles counties have already done so, as a handful of confirmed cases have been discovered in both.
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If Coachella -- which kicks off its first weekend of festivities on April 10 -- is indeed canceled, it'll be a huge blow to the music community. Headliners like Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean were announced this year, and tickets have already gone on sale.
And, of course, in light of SXSW being axed just last week because of the coronavirus ... it feels like it could very much become a reality here on the West Coast too. We've reached out to Goldenvoice -- the company behind Coachella -- for comment ... no word back yet.
3:48 PM PT -- The woman who DaBaby struck over the weekend has lawyered up, and it sounds like they're ready to have a chat with DB.
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Attorney Matt Morgan tells TMZ ... "Morgan & Morgan has been retained to represent the interests of Tyronesha Laws. Ms. Laws has received DaBaby's Instagram message. We look forward to speaking with Mr. Kirk."
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Yeah, you know it's serious when government names start getting thrown around. Luckily, DaBaby's already made it clear he's more than ready to talk.
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12:09 PM PT -- DaBaby just issued a mea culpa to the woman he hit, implying he thought the gal was a dude ... and couldn't tell the difference because she was shining a light on his face at incredibly close range.
He goes on to acknowledge he was wrong in any case, noting that having flashing lights in your face is part of the biz and something he signed up for when he got in the game. That said, he offers an alternative to bopping him with a phone for next time ... zoom mode.
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It also sounds like DB is trying to get ahead of possible coming repercussions for this, sending a message directly the woman, that he's willing to apologize and talk privately ... and make things right by whatever means necessary.
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10:46 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the victim in this case told cops that DaBaby got the wrong person when he smacked her, because she explained it was the woman next to her who had hit DaBaby first -- but received none of the retaliation.
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We're also told when deputies arrived on the scene, DB had already left the venue. Our sources say the officers who responded did not notice visible injuries on the victim, and we're told she refused EMS attention when asked if she needed treatment.
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Lastly ... our sources say this gal was given a form she can submit to the State Attorney's Office if she wants to press charges and pursue the case further. Unclear if she plans to do that or not though.
DaBaby brutally assaulted a fan Saturday night as he made his way to the stage, and the crowd was so enraged at him the show ended before it began.
The rapper was at Whiskey North in Tampa for his "Up Close N Personal" tour when a woman waved her phone in his direction, presumably to get a pic. Check out the video ... you see DaBaby unload on her.
Folks at the concert tell TMZ ... after the initial shock subsided, the crowd started booing the rapper. DaBaby and his crew left without performing a single song. Check out the strike from a different angle too, BTW. It's a straight up open palm slap across the face.
You can hear people shriek in horror as DB calmly walks away, and the crowd around the woman bend over to help her. Eerily to similar to another incident DaBaby's bodyguard was involved in back in September ... when the guy KO'd a girl, whom he thought was a guy.
Now, DaBaby has spoken on this. He went on his Instagram story to share a video of the incident, saying, "who know shawty government name so my lawyer can get active."
Cops showed up -- responding to a 911 assault call -- but no arrests were made.
DaBaby's had his share of problems recently. He was recently accused of beating up and robbing a guy in Miami. The battery charges were dropped but he's still under the microscope for robbery -- he allegedly jacked the guy's cellphone, credit card and cash.
Lil Baby's concert Saturday night ended abruptly after gunshots rang out and at least one person was injured.
Check out the video ... you hear the shots and then the panic in the crowd. The rapper was performing at the Bill Harris Arena in West Birmingham, Alabama when someone in the crowd began firing rounds. Some fans hit the floor ... others ran out of the venue.
At least one person was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The person's condition is not known.
What we do know is this ... there was some sort of physical altercation before the shots rang out, so it appears this was targeted.
Talib Kweli's been engaging in an online war with racists, bigots, Nazis and Russian trolls, and he's not backing down ... because he says it's empowering to put them in their place.
The rapper and activist tells TMZ ... combating Nazism in the Russian hip-hop scene is just the tip of the iceberg -- he says the racist trolling online goes way deeper and darker than that, but he's up for the challenge.
Talib feels certain world leaders -- Putin and Trump among them -- are coddling racists and allowing their message to spread. He says racist behavior on social media can't just be dismissed as harmless trolling, because it enables more racism ... and he's out to check it.
Kweli concedes many people aren't up for battling bigots because it's too stressful, but the good news -- he makes it clear it doesn't stress him out at all ... he loves it.
The rapper says the feeling he gets when he's able to correct a racist liar or get Nazis' accounts taken down is nothing but empowering ... and his fans are joining the charge.
Talib adds the reason he's fighting the good fight is to follow in the footsteps of past brave leaders like MLK and Malcolm X ... who weren't afraid of death, but knew what was worth dying for.
Jamie Foxx isn't about to let a little thing like the coronavirus stop him from interacting with his loyal fans ... that said, he's also NOT not going to wash up after touching 'em.
The renaissance man was at the Sunset Room in Hollywood for entertainment promoter and entrepreneur Dave Brown's 50th birthday party, where Jamie was standing next to the man of the hour when his and Kanye's song "Gold Digger" came blaring through the speakers.
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Of course, Jamie got on the mic for a bit -- but celeb publicist Domenick Nati caught the funniest thing on video right afterward ... JF's apparent germophobia in full flex.
Watch ... Jamie seems to reach out to someone right below him in the front row and grabs a hold of them for a sec. They stay touching for a moment before Jamie pulls back and almost immediately turns to his buddy right next to him for a favor -- a safety sterile-squirt.
Jamie's pal had a mini bottle of hand sanitizer on him -- a rare commodity these days -- and hooked his homie up with a little dab. Jamie spread it around all over ... up, down and around town.
Later, he spoke about the coronavirus -- saying something that sounds like, "If you got the cure, come see me." Noted, Jamie. In the meantime, get this man some more Purell.
