Politics

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a man of many hats -- and heading into the weekend, he put on his wings and picked up a wand to play a musical cupid for none other than Matt Iseman.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, showing the former Mr. Olympia doing his best conductor work Friday out in Austria ... where he's there for a mix of business and pleasure. As you can see, he was leading a band and singing a tune, with a lot of people around.

We're told this was actually at a pre-party ahead of the Hahnenkamm Races -- a major skiing event out there that they do annually ... and which draws big crowds across the world.

Anyway, while Arnie was doing his thing with the band ... Mr. Iseman -- famous for hosting "American Ninja Warrior," not to mention winning the "New Celebrity Apprentice" with Arnold in 2017 -- was also there enjoying the fun ... but then, things turned romantic with his GF.

Our sources say Matt accompanies Arnold for pretty much all his appearances -- remember, he was just hosting this big auction for that troublesome watch -- and he MCs those too.

That's probably why Arnold helped him propose to criminal defense attorney Britton All ... who was clearly not expecting to get engaged right then and there. Arnold was obviously in on it. Oh, BTW ... John Kerry was in the mix there too -- like we said, a who-who type shindig.

Malia Obama has come a long way from her childhood days in the White House ... 'cause she's now walking the red carpet at Sundance as a straight-up filmmaker.

The 25-year-old daughter of former president Barack Obama made her debut on the red carpet at the Park City, Utah annual event Thursday night.

Malia looked just stunning in her light blue button-down shirt, gray overcoat, gray scarf, black pants and shiny brown boots.

The former first daughter showed up for the premiere of her new short film, "The Heart," which she wrote and directed under the name Malia Ann. Turns out that Ann is her middle name, which appears in the credits.

Malia has said the movie is about "lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things."

Sounds like a winner to us! Let's hope the Sundance jurors and audiences think so, too, when they go vote for their favorite flicks in each category.

As a side note ... Malia was just 10 when she moved into the White House during her dad's 8 year tenure as the 44th President of the Unites States from 2009 to 2017.

Malia Obama ha recorrido un largo camino desde sus días de infancia en la Casa Blanca, pues ahora está caminando por la alfombra roja de Sundance como una verdadera cineasta.

La hija de 25 años del ex presidente Barack Obama hizo su debut en la alfombra roja en el evento anual de Park City, Utah, el jueves por la noche.

Malia estaba deslumbrante con su camisa azul claro abotonada, un abrigo gris, bufanda gris, pantalones negros y botas marrones brillantes.

La joven cineasta acudió al estreno de su nuevo cortometraje "The Heart", que escribió y dirigió bajo el nombre de Malia Ann. Resulta que Ann es su segundo nombre y es el que aparece en los créditos.

Malia ha dicho que la película trata sobre "objetos perdidos y gente solitaria y el perdón y el arrepentimiento, pero también creo que se esfuerza por descubrir si puede existir ternura y cercanía en estas cosas".

Se escucha como una ganadora para nosotros. Esperemos que los miembros del jurado y el público de Sundance piensen lo mismo cuando voten por sus películas favoritas.

The cast of "The American Society of Magical Negroes" all seem to be in agreement that white people shouldn't say the title in full -- and that goes for our own camera guy too.

David Alan Grier made that perfectly clear in a walk-and-chat we did with him Thursday at LAX -- where he was on his way to Sundance to screen his and Justice Smith's new dark comedy ... which is sort of a goofy spin on 'Harry Potter,' but with historical racial tropes.

Just watch the trailer to get the gist of what it's actually about -- it's pretty self-explanatory -- but on the issue of saying this film's title in full ... DAG is on the same page as Justice. Namely, he also thinks whites should steer clear of letting it come out of their mouths.

You'll recall ... JS -- who's the lead star of the flick -- told us exactly that yesterday at the airport, although you can tell he's totally joking. Ditto for Dave ... or so it seems?!?

Check out this back-and-forth he has with our photog ... let's just say, it's a bit awkward.

Kid Cudi is telling all on his mended friendship with Kanye West ... and explaining exactly why he ended up forgiving the guy after an ugly falling out.

The rapper hopped on Apple Music's Zane Lowe podcast and got into the topic in depth -- explaining he and Ye are, in fact, cool now .... noting it's because Kanye sincerely apologized to him -- which is major, as he doesn't easily dish out mea culpas.

KC adds that working with someone shrouded in controversy is complicated ... but at the end of the day, he considers Kanye his brother -- and it's always siblings that hurt each other the most ... but he'll always have his family's back.

Plus, he says fans love the two of them working together ... and Cudi's well aware of that.

You'll recall ... Kanye and Cudi feuded through all of 2022 and most of 2023 -- Ye was fuming when Cudi remained pals with Pete Davidson as he dated his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

In return, Cudi labeled him a dinosaur in the music industry and swore he'd never work with him again. At the time, it certainly felt like things were over between them ... for good.

But, through much reflection, Cudi tells Zane here that he wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for Kanye ... cause he championed him in his early career ... doing him huge favors such as paying for his "Day 'n' Nite" music video when he had no record deal.

He's also adamant that there's a good man underneath Ye's shocking behavior and abhorrent rants ... admitting he might not be able to bounce back from some stuff he's said, but he's praying for him.

Una foto de Donald Trump provocó una tonelada de especulaciones sobre su salud en Internet, pero ahora, TMZ tiene algo de claridad.

Así es la cosa, Trump estaba saliendo del juicio por difamación de E. Jean Carroll el miércoles en Nueva York cuando levantó la mano para saludar a sus fieles seguidores que estaban estacionados fuera de la corte, y algo de color rojo brillante llamó la atención de los fotógrafos.

Es difícil distinguir exactamente lo que es, pero algunos pensaron que parecían ampollas o llagas de algún tipo, y por supuesto, Internet se volvió loco lanzando teorías, la mayoría afirmaba que estaba sufriendo problemas de salud graves.

Curiosamente, salió de la corte más tarde el mismo día y la supuesta mano roja se veía normal.

De todos modos, hemos hablado con algunas personas y fuentes vinculadas a la campaña de Trump que nos están contando una historia diferente de lo que la gente cree que vio en la foto original. Nos dicen que lo único que aquejaba a Trump ese día era un simple corte con papel y que accidentalmente esparció la sangre por su mano. Sí, eso es lo que el campamento de Trump está diciendo.

Si bien puede sonar difícil de creer, en realidad podría ser la verdad. Considerando que salió con la mano aparentemente limpia y en buen estado.

A propósito, el ex Presidente fue visto en público el jueves y no había señales de cualquier enrojecimiento en su mano derecha por lo que pudimos ver. Como informamos, asistió al funeral de su suegra con Melania y su hijo Barron jueves por la mañana.

Estamos en la recta final de la campaña republicana y cada pequeño detalle va a volver loco al público, especialmente viniendo de Trump.

A photo of Donald Trump's hand sparked a ton of speculation about his health on the internet ... but now, TMZ has some clarity -- at least from Trump World's POV.

Here's the deal ... DT was leaving the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial on Wednesday in NYC when he raised a hand to wave to his loyal followers who were stationed outside the courthouse ... and something bright red caught the attention of photogs.

It's hard to make out exactly what it is -- but some thought it looked like blisters or sores of some sort ... and of course, the internet went crazy with theories when they saw it, with many attempting to diagnose the former Prez with just about every ailment under the sun.

Interestingly, he surfaced from court later the same day on Wednesday ... and the so-called red hand was a little more normal-looking that time around. It was very, very weird.

Anyway, we talked to some folks and sources tied to the Trump campaign are telling us a different story than what people think they saw in the OG pic. We're told the only thing that was afflicting Trump that day was a simple paper cut, and he accidentally spread the blood around his hand. Yep, that's what the Trump camp is saying here ... just a little nick.

While that might sound hard to believe, it might actually be the truth -- again, DT came out with his hand seemingly cleared up and free of any abrasions ... so maybe it was just blood.

BTW, he was out again in public Thursday ... and there was no sign of any redness on his right hand from what we could see. As we reported, he attended his mother-in-law's funeral with Melania and his son Barron Thursday morning.

We're in the home stretch of the Republican campaign now ... every little detail's gonna drive the public freakin' crazy -- especially for a guy who loves talking about his hands like ex-POTUS.

Hay una cosa muy extraña sucediendo a lo largo de la frontera sur. Los migrantes que intentan entrar en Estados Unidos con sus perros se ven obligados a dejarlos atrás y eso está creando una crisis totalmente diferente.

El reportero de FNC Matt Finn está en el terreno de Eagle Pass, Texas, y se unió a nosotros el jueves en "TMZ Live" para revelar lo que está viendo y cómo él y otros equipos de televisión se están involucrando y haciéndose cargo de algunos perros ellos mismos.

Matt dice que toneladas de migrantes están intentando cruzar la frontera con sus perros, solo para que les informen que no pueden llevar a los cachorros con ellos a los centros federales de procesamiento, lo que resulta en cientos de perros callejeros vagando por la frontera.

Estas circunstancias dejan a los perros con necesidad de comida, agua y refugio y Matt dice que las tropas de la Guardia Nacional están cuidando de algunos de ellos. Él y su productor han ayudado también.

Algunos perros tienen garrapatas, pulgas y gusanos y Matt nos dice que al menos un veterinario en la ciudad está cuidándolos pro bono.

Matt ha visto esta tragedia antes en otras áreas de la frontera y ha conseguido realojar a un puñado de perros.

There's a crazy thing happening along the southern border -- migrants attempting to enter the United States with their dogs are forced to leave them behind, and it's creating a whole other crisis.

FNC reporter Matt Finn is on the ground in Eagle Pass, Texas and joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to reveal what he's seeing firsthand ... and how he and other TV crews are getting involved, and taking some of the dogs in themselves.

Matt says tons of migrants are trying to cross the border with their dogs, only to be told they can't bring the pups with them to federal processing centers ... resulting in strays roaming the border.

The circumstances leave dogs in need of food, water and shelter ... and Matt says troops with the National Guard are taking care of some of the doggos ... and he and his producer have helped out too.

Some dogs have ticks, fleas and worms ... and Matt tells us at least one vet in town is caring for them pro bono.

Matt's seen this tragedy play out before in other areas along the border ... getting a handful of dogs rehomed.

Donald Trump's taking a break from his legal issues to support Melania as she lays her mother to rest in Florida.

The former prez stood somber Friday morning next to his wife and their son Barron -- the whole family was dressed in Black as they attended the funeral for Amalija Knavs in Palm Beach.

Melania's dad Viktor remained glued to her side as they followed the casket out of the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, ready to lay Amalija in her final resting place.

As we previously reported ... the former First Lady announced her mother passed away last Tuesday It's not clear exactly how she died, but Trump told a crowd on New Year's Eve his mother-in-law had recently fallen "very ill."

Trump also called the night Amalija passed a very sad one for the family, while adding she "has just gone to a beautiful place in the sky. She was an incredible woman, and will be missed far beyond words!”

The leading Republican presidential candidate is clearly prioritizing his family's mourning -- he's off the campaign trail after dominating the Iowa Caucus, and also skipped the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial in NYC to be at the funeral.

One other takeaway from Thursday's service ... Barron's really grown up in recent years and is the spitting image of his father, when he was young. Check out the pics, especially the one where he's extending a hand to support Dad.

"The Daily Show" has been in a state of flux since Trevor Noah stepped down more than a year ago ... but it sounds like the uncertainty might be comin' to an end.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Comedy Central told TheWrap the network was getting ready to reveal the show's "next chapter" ... and then promptly left fans on the edge of their seats -- saying the announcement's coming NEXT week.

This comes on the heels of an Emmy win for 'TDS' ... taking home Outstanding Talk Series at the awards show on Monday -- though even during the win the show's unresolved host issue took center stage.

Roy Wood Jr., a longtime correspondent of the show, expressed his displeasure with recent choices ... mouthing "Please hire a host" multiple times while TN lifted the award in triumph -- pretty funny parallel when you see the clip.

Noah left the show back in 2022 ... giving fans a tear-jerking goodbye when he signed off. A rotating panel of hosts has taken over in the weeks and months since -- and clearly, it's had its ups and downs.

Wood Jr. left the show back in Oct. after he was seemingly passed up for the full-time hosting gig ... no word on if he'd be open to a reunion with his former employer.

Kanye West already tried apologizing for his rabid antisemitism -- but it seems he feels he didn't stick the landing, 'cause he recently did another one ... which was MUCH longer.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the controversial rapper got some camera guys together to shoot a lengthy apology video several weeks ago -- and we're told it ended up running about 40 minutes ... with Ye talking straight to the camera.

We're told in no uncertain terms, Ye was "rambling" and at times it was impossible to decode what he was saying.

One more thing about this apology ... our sources say whatever was shot is supposed to be released sometime ahead of his new album, "Vultures," which is scheduled to drop Feb. 9 -- this after several delays dating back to late last year.

A couple interesting things about this ... for one, Ye already issued an apology over all his antisemitic language -- dropping a statement that was written in Hebrew right after Xmas.

You'll recall, it was a very generic mea culpa, which read in part, "I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused."

The problem ... many felt it wasn't sincere, and more importantly a lot of people thought it might've actually been generated by AI. In fact, we did some digging and that may well be the case. Bigger picture ... most just weren't buying what he was selling.

Now, we have word about this ... and it sounds like if he proceeds, we'll be hearing/seeing this new apology in due time. However, based on what we're hearing about it so far -- it seems like this one might've been a little clunky as well.

The other mystery here is how exactly the album is going to come out. As far as we know, he doesn't have any major distribution deal in place ... so who's gonna listen to this???

Kanye West ya intentó disculparse por su rabioso antisemitismo, pero parece que siente que no fue suficiente, así que recientemente hizo otro... y MUCHO más largo.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que el controvertido rapero tiene algunos amigos operando cámaras para filmar un video de disculpa largo hace varias semanas, y nos dicen que terminó durando unos 40 minutos, con Ye hablando directamente a la cámara.

Nos dicen muy seguros que Ye estaba "divagando", y que a veces era imposible descifrar lo que estaba diciendo.

Una cosa más acerca de esta disculpa, nuestras fuentes dicen que lo que se rodó se supone que debe ser puesto en libertad en algún momento antes de su nuevo álbum, "Buitres", que está programado para lanzar 9 de febrero - esto después de varios retrasos que se remontan a finales del año pasado.

Un par de cosas interesantes acerca de esto... por un lado, Ye ya emitió una disculpa por todo su lenguaje antisemita, dejando caer una declaración que fue escrita en hebreo justo después de Navidad.

Como recordarán, fue un mea culpa muy genérico, que decía en parte: "Me disculpo sinceramente con la comunidad judía por cualquier arrebato involuntario causado por mis palabras o acciones, no fue mi intención herir o faltar el respeto, y lamento profundamente cualquier dolor que pueda haber causado".

El problema es que muchos sintieron que no era sincero, y lo más importante, mucha gente pensó que en realidad podría haber sido generado por IA. De hecho, hemos investigado un poco y puede que sea así. La mayoría simplemente no estaba creyendo lo que estaba diciendo.

Tenemos noticias al respecto... y parece que si sigue adelante, oiremos/veremos esta nueva disculpa a su debido tiempo. Sin embargo, basado en lo que estamos escuchando hasta ahora, parece que este podría haber sido un poco torpe.

El otro misterio es cómo exactamente el álbum va a salir. Por lo que sabemos, no tiene ningún acuerdo de distribución importante en su lugar, así que ¿quién va a escuchar esto?

Justice Smith está orgulloso de su nueva película que cuenta con un gran elenco afroamericano, pero le está advirtiendo (en broma) a la gente blanca que eviten el uso del título completo de la película.

Encontramos al actor en el aeropuerto de Los Ángeles el miércoles y le preguntamos sobre su nueva comedia titulada "The American Society of Magical Negroes", y él (en broma) le recomendó a los blancos acortar el título a simplemente "American Society", aunque, de nuevo, está totalmente bromeando.

Si aún no conoces la película, aquí te la resumimos: un hombre llamado Aren (interpretado por Smith) se une a una sociedad secreta de negros que utilizan la magia para mantener a los blancos felices, y, por tanto, dóciles. "También la protagonizan David Alan Grier de "El color púrpura" y Nicole Byer de "Good Burger 2", entre otros.

La broma de Smith coincide con la que dice su personaje en el tráiler de la película, cuando le dice a su mentor que deberían plantearse cambiar el nombre de su organización por el de "The American Society Of Magical Black People". La vida imitando al arte.

De todos modos, Justice nos dice que hay un cierto nivel de verdad en la sátira que se representa en su película y dice que se burla del tropo del "negro mágico" que ha impregnado las películas que representan a personajes negros a lo largo de los años. Si no sabes lo que es... mira el tráiler de arriba.

Smith dice que viajará mucho para la nueva película, incluso al Festival de Cine de Sundance, donde se estrenará. De hecho, Justice tiene dos películas que se estrenan allí este año "American Society" y "I Saw The TV Glow".

"The American Society Of Magical Negroes" se estrena el 22 de marzo, pero tal vez sea mejor comprar sus entradas en línea que gritar el nombre en la taquilla.

Justice Smith's proud of his new movie that features a prominently Black cast ... but he's warning white people to avoid using the movie's full title -- or else they're getting side-eyed.

We got the actor out at LAX Wednesday and asked him about his new comedy titled "The American Society of Magical Negroes" ... and he (jokingly) recommended whites shorten the title to simply 'American Society' ... although, again, he's totally kidding around.

If you haven't heard about the movie yet, here it is in a nutshell ... a man named Aren (played by Smith) joins a secret society of Black people who use magic to keep white people happy -- and therefore docile. "The Color Purple" star David Alan Grier and Nicole Byer from "Good Burger 2" also star in it with him ... among others.

Funny enough -- JS' joke matches one his character says in the film's trailer ... when he tells his mentor they should consider changing the name of their org to "The American Society Of Magical Black People." Life imitating art, baby!

Anyway, Justice tells us there's a certain level of truth to the satire that's depicted in his flick ... and he says it pokes fun at the "magical negro" trope that's pervaded films depicting Black characters through the years. If you don't know what it is ... see the trailer above.

Smith says he'll be doing a ton of traveling for the new movie ... including going to the Sundance Film Festival where the movie's set to premiere. In fact, Justice's got two movies premiering there this year ... 'American Society' and "I Saw The TV Glow."

"The American Society Of Magical Negroes" gets its wide release on March 22 ... but maybe buy your tickets online instead of shouting the name at the ticket window.

Nikki Haley said America has never been a racist country -- but Whoopi Goldberg would beg to differ ... and she's ready to list the ugly receipts that prove the exact opposite.

The talk show host tackled this topic on "The View" Wednesday -- this a day after the Republican presidential candidate went on FOX News to rebuke the notion that America is a racist nation ... but in the same breath, denied the U.S. has ever that problem.

Of course, that's a ridiculous statement ... and just factually wrong. Not only did we have slaves in this country for a good long while -- but America was a segregated nation through much of the 20th century as well. Basic history ... but NH seems to be trying to blur it.

Welp, Whoopi wasn't having any of Haley's obfuscation ... and she unloaded on her in no uncertain terms in an impassioned speech as she was intro'ing this topic at the table.

Check out what she has to say for yourself -- she says all the lynching of Black people over the years wasn't carried out by them ... but by racist Americans, and you can tell she's outraged by Haley's attempt to downplay this country's past.

The reason this latest slip-up from her stands out is the fact that just recently suggested the Civil War was not really about slavery -- something she tried to clarify after the fact ... but raised a lot of eyebrows when she said it.

Things didn't get better when she further tried distancing herself from those remarks at a Republican town hall ... using the old "I have Black friends" line to defend herself.