Religion/ Spirituality

Draymond Green had a secret weapon up his sleeve this championship season ... spiritual guidance from none other than the iconic Deepak Chopra!

And now their journey together -- which was filmed over the course of a few months -- has been turned into a new TV show on Prime Video called The Sessions: Draymond Green.

TMZ Sports talked to Gotham Chopra, one of the 4x NBA champ's other spiritual advisors, and Deepak's son, about 32-year-old Green's journey.

"When athletes physically hurt themselves, you tear an ACL or your rotator cuff or whatever, there's a very clear, you see the doctor, you get the scans, okay got it, you have the surgery. There's a roadmap," Gotham says.

But, what's the course of action when you're dealing with mental or emotional issues? Unfortunately, there really isn't a well-known plan in that circumstance.

"Fortunately, it's become destigmatized -- athletes have mental or emotional breakdowns and they're dealing with the pressure or the media or losing, etc. and they just need help. Where do they go? Historically, you don't talk about it, let alone treat it."

Gotham says Draymond -- who was going through some stuff on and off the floor -- realized he could better harness his emotions (a difficult line to toe because that's partially what makes DG special on the court) ... and thankfully Green had the courage to seek guidance.

The episodes will show Green as he learns to meditate ... and goes through a bunch of other treatments.

Ultimately, the hope is other people, not just athletes, open up to the possibility of working on mental health and spirituality.

"It's not just athletes. We all lived through 2.5 years of a pandemic. We've all lived on Zoom calls. We're all dealing with the same sets of issues. Elite athletes on the biggest stage is great for television, but I think it's actually relatable," Gotham says.

"What happens when your young daughter gets sick? What happens when your career gets derailed by something outside your control? These are actually relatable things, and these tools of going inward and finding some silence, they're helpful to everybody."

FYI, Draymond also worked with spiritual healer Devi Brown ... who works with Deepak.

Green's clearly pumped for the show -- which is out now -- to be seen by his many fans ... and anyone who may be struggling.

Pope Francis may be hanging it up soon -- stepping down as the leader of the Catholic Church -- at least that's the buzz in and around the Vatican.

There's some unusual activity going on ... and the backdrop to all of it is the Pope's frail health. He's been confined to a wheelchair recently ... the result of debilitating knee pain.

The Pope also just canceled a trip to Africa scheduled for next month.

What's fueling the resignation rumors is a meeting of cardinals that the Pope just scheduled ... it's highly unusual.

Pope Francis assumed his role back in 2013 and has instituted a series of reforms, which include a new constitution.

What's especially interesting ... Pope Francis's predecessor, former Pope Benedict, resigned in 2013 ... he says it was based on deteriorating physical and mental health.

And, there's this ... back in May, during a meeting with bishops, Pope Francis addressed his knee issues, saying, "Rather than operate, I'll resign."

Johnny Depp's fans not only have love for the actor ... they're showering his lawyer with the highest honor in the land ... pushing for her to become the first woman Prez!

Depp fans have plastered Camille Vasquez's name on everything from hats to shirts ... with the words "Camille Vasquez for President" emblazoned on the items.

The t-shirts are going for a reasonable $8.50. The hats are pricier ... retailing for $30 a pop.

And, get this ... there's even an apolitical prayer candle with Vasquez's name that's being hawked.

As you know, Camille became a household name by successfully repping JD, clearly outlawyering opposing counsel.

Johnny's certainly down with his lawyer's skills, because she's representing him again ... this time with attorney Benjamin Chew in another lawsuit against Johnny involving an alleged on-set assault.

Priscilla Presley, the ex-wife of Elvis, says she wasn't in on any convos leading up to the recent booting of impersonators from Las Vegas wedding chapels ... in fact, it's all news to her.

We got Priscilla in WeHo as she was leaving The Ivy, and she made it as clear as she could -- "That has nothing to do with me."

PP actually looked pretty shook up (sorry, had to do it) when our photog told her what was going on, like she was unaware of the corporate decision.

As we've been reporting ... Authentic Brands Group, which handles all licensing of Elvis' likeness and merchandise, fired off cease and desist letters to Las Vegas wedding chapels last month -- warning them about unauthorized uses of "The King."

Luckily, it seems Priscilla and Elvis impersonators -- who are understandably stressed -- might not have much to worry about. ABG released a follow-up statement Friday, calling the entire thing a miscommunication.

They apologized their talks with "a small number of Las Vegas-based chapels" caused concern, and say they are actively working with them to make sure Elvis' name, image and likeness are keeping up with his legacy.

Sorry, impulsive lovebirds -- looking at you Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker -- you're gonna have to help falling in love without Elvis Presley, because corporate is blocking those famous Las Vegas chapels from using his image.

In a move that's gotta have the Vegas wedding biz all shaken up ... Authentic Brands Group is playing the Scrooge, if you will, of love. The company, which handles all licensing for the Elvis estate, fired off cease and desist letters last month to all Vegas chapels.

Make no mistake, quickie nuptials are big money makers for Sin City -- generating about $2 billion each year -- and city officials say "The King" plays a role in a significant number of those ceremonies.

Just ask the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Barker ... who threw their own Elvis-themed "wedding" back in April. Yes, it turned out they did it just for the pics -- a sort of dry run for their actual wedding(s) -- and the camp of it all, but you get the point. Who doesn't love Elvis-hosted love???

The answer is, apparently, Authentic Brands Group ... which basically said it's now or never for the chapels to knock off all unauthorized use of "Presley's name, likeness, voice image, and other elements" of The King's persona because all of that stuff is trademarked.

If you're wondering ... any Elvis-themed stage productions are still in the clear -- live performances with impersonators are protected under Nevada's right of publicity law.

Josh Duggar was just slammed by his sister and brother-in-law ... calling his prison sentence for child porn God's vengeance.

Jill and Derick Dillard posted, "The Bible clearly states that God effects justice and vengeance through the governing authorities. Though some believe Josh should have received a greater sentence and still fewer believe he should have received a lighter sentence, God has carried out his vengeance today for his unspeakable criminal activity."

Jill and Derick says 12 years, 7 months behind bars and 20-years probation thereafter is the only way Josh can rehabilitate himself, "to the point he can safely live in society again."

They went on ... "Hopefully, Josh can actually begin to get treatment and begin to work toward a lifestyle where he is less likely to reoffend. If for nothing else, the notoriety of this case has hopefully contributed to the deterrence of potential offenders and will help protect children by decreasing the demand for' child pornography."

Josh's lawyer, Travis Story, tells TMZ they will fight the conviction on appeal.

An Indiana Pastor attempted to come clean in church about adultery he'd committed 20 years ago, only to have the congregation turn on him when the woman called him out -- revealing she was just 16 at the time of their encounters.

Pastor John Lowe of New Life Christian Church in Warsaw, IN stood in front of his church Sunday to reveal he was stepping down after confessing to cheating on his wife with one other person many years ago. Lowe was met with forgiveness and applause ... but then a woman and her husband walked up to the altar and addressed the congregation.

The woman revealed she was the one Lowe cheated with, but claims she was just 16 at the time when Lowe had sex with her on his church office floor, taking her virginity.

The age of consent in Indiana is 16.

The stunned congregation looked on as the woman continued, saying the affair went on for 9 years and pleading for Pastor Lowe to tell the truth.

Once the woman and her husband left the stage -- people in the audience began to shout at Lowe, to tell the truth -- and he ultimately fesses up, saying the woman was, in fact, only 16 when he had an affair with her.

Gospel music royalty Yolanda Adams has nothing but love for Kanye West after he recently cleaned up at the 2022 Billboard Awards with 6 Gospel trophies.

We linked up with Yolanda outside SiriusXM Monday in NYC, and picked her brain about Ye taking home the artist, album and song trophies in both the Top Christian and Top Gospel categories

Despite not having a parental advisory sticker, ‘Donda’ was received as more of a hip hop album, but Yolanda (Billboard's Top Gospel Artist of the Decade in '09) says she loves Ye’s music, even if it doesn't cater to traditional church.

Given his age and longevity, Yolanda feels Ye's pulling in a new generation of young listeners who might not know about his past Gospel synergy -- like his 2004 hit "Jesus Walks," which he and Yolanda performed together that year at the BET Awards.

Yolanda's also putting a spotlight on the church with her role in the new BET+ series "Kingdom Business" -- a scripted drama that goes behind the scenes of the gospel music industry.

Nancy Pelosi won't be receiving the body of Christ anytime soon -- at least not her in hometown -- as one of the holy shot-callers there says it's a no-go ... all over abortion.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone -- who's a major decision-maker for all things Roman Catholic in and around San Francisco -- threw down the hammer on the House Speaker this week ... saying she's banned from receiving Communion anywhere in town, on his orders.

His rationale ... Pelosi's continued support of abortion is a grave sin under Catholic law, and because she continues to double down and get more "extreme" in her stance, Cordileone says he has no choice but to nix her from the sacred sacrament -- which is a big deal.

For those who practice, receiving Communion is a highlight of going to church ... as it represents Jesus' actual body, and eating it translates to one becoming one with JC.

Cordileone goes in hard against her, writing ... "I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion "rights" and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance."

He adds, "I have accordingly sent her a Notification to this effect, which I have now made public." Unless Catholic priests go rogue, they have to uphold his rule -- the Catholic church adheres to the hierarchy quite strictly, and hardly anyone gets out of line with this stuff.

The passenger who landed a plane after the pilot lost consciousness says he was "calm and collected" ... in no small part because he was about to become a father.

Darren Harrison spoke to Savannah Guthrie on "Today" ... and explained with all the buttons and gadgets on the control panel, it all came down to common sense.

The emergency was even more harrowing than first reported. The 39-year-old said after the pilot became incapacitated, the Cessna began to nose-dive at a high rate of speed.

Harrison was cool as a cucumber, saying, “I knew if I didn’t react, then we would die."

As he put it ... “I was pretty calm and collected the whole time because I knew it was a life or death situation. Either you do what you have to do to control the situation or you’re gonna die.”

Harrison, who works at a flooring company, said his wife, Britney, who was 7-months pregnant with their unborn daughter, was his inspiration. He also said there was an element of divine intervention, telling Guthrie “the hand of God was on that plane."

As he said, “I was climbing to the front and that plane was in a dive. I was just looking going, ‘I can’t die today. Britney’s pregnant, I’ve got a baby on the way — not today. Today’s not my day."

As we reported, Harrison contacted the tower operator who help guide him down to the runway, where he made a perfect landing ... just incredible.

Another mass shooting appears to have happened just a day after one claimed the lives of 10 people on the East Coast -- now, it's occurred in California ... at a church, no less.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office broke the news Sunday, reporting several units were responding to a shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, CA. They say one suspect was detained at the scene, and a possible weapon was also recovered.

So far, they're saying six people total were shot -- 4 of whom are in critical condition, and one with minor injuries ... a 6th person was pronounced deceased on arrival. All the victims are adults, authorities say, and the ones still alive are being transported to a local hospital.

No other details have emerged just yet, but the roads around the church have been closed off as first responders flocked to the shooting site. Unclear what the motive is at this point.

In any case, it's another sad day in America ... this literally just 24 hours after 18-year-old Payton Gendron allegedly shot upwards of 13 people, killing 10 of them ... a majority of whom were Black. Authorities say they suspect it was a racially-driven attack.

The shooter is also believed to have livestreamed the rampage. Gendron pled not guilty to first-degree murder -- he's due back in court on Thursday, and is currently on suicide watch.

Justin Bieber didn't waste time addressing the mass shooting in Buffalo while performing there this weekend -- right off the bat, he spoke on it ... making for a moving night.

The singer was in town Saturday as part of his Justice Tour, taking the stage at KeyBank Center just hours after a man allegedly gunned down at least 10 individuals in what clearly appears to be a race-driven attack ... but even amid the bloodbath, JB called for peace.

He posted a few videos showing him talking about the massacre at a few different points in the concert, including right before he took the stage ... where he went into prayer with his team.

After that, Justin went on to perform to a packed house ... full of people who were ecstatic to see him. It sounds like before he dove into any music, though, there too he took a moment to acknowledge the tragedy ... and even called for a moment of silence from the crowd.

As you can hear, there were still a few people hooting and hollering even during this solemn period, and Justin kinda called 'em out in his caption -- asking why they couldn't respect it.

In any case, he wasn't done addressing the shooting ... at another point in his show, he stopped to discuss people's obligation to continue to have conversations about racism ... as a means of stamping out the hatred in some folks' hearts and bringing them to the light.

He's pretty eloquent in his comments here ... and you can tell this is coming straight from the heart. The audience seemed to appreciate him being honest and poignant with them ... but when he actually started singing, they lost it -- per usual.

When it comes to the fight over abortion, imagery is all-important, and protesters took that to heart Wednesday night when they wore 'Handmaid's Tale' costumes and took it to the home of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

A small group of pro-choice demonstrators made their way to Falls Church, Virginia to make their feelings known about the SCOTUS draft opinion that would squarely overturn Roe v. Wade.

One of the protesters made a point of distinguishing ACB's choice to give birth to 5 kids from other women, claiming her devout Catholicism skewed the way she looks at the law, saying, "Not everybody wants to have 5 kids, or 4 kids or 1 kid."

There have been other protests at the homes of justices. Demonstrators showed up earlier this week at the homes of Justices Kavanaugh and Alito, as well as Chief Justice Roberts.

It's unclear if the draft opinion -- which has the sign-on of 5 justices -- will be the one that becomes the decision of record, but there's evidence it indeed will be. There has not been a subsequent draft circulated among the justices since the February draft -- this according to Politico -- and that is a strong indication the February draft may be close to the final version.

Ex-WWE and AEW wrestler Brian Kendrick is explaining his motivation behind spewing a wildly controversial conspiracy about the Holocaust a decade ago ... saying he was trying to "create a buzz" and become a villain.

The 42-year-old -- who was canned just one day after signing with Tony Khan's promotion back in February -- issued another apology for his hurtful comments on the "Duke Loves Rasslin" podcast this week ... saying at the time, he did not care if he offended anyone with his "horrific" words.

"When it gets thrown back in your face, one -- it's embarrassing, but two -- you start to reflect, you're forced to reflect on it," Kendrick said on Wednesday.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being so cold-hearted and trying to profit off of tragedy, I suppose it's what it was. I was trying to gain off of others' tragedies by making conspiracy to create a buzz for myself to gain some sort of bookings."

"It was a terrible idea and even if it hadn't affected anybody, it's still just horribly embarrassing. I am sorry for anybody -- to people I hurt, for making light of stuff that happened to them or their family. I hope you accept that."

As we previously reported, Kendrick claimed sometime between 2009 and 2011, to believe the Holocaust was "overblown and the Red Cross stated it was only 250,000 Jews who were killed and the number was blown up to justify the creation of Israel."

Shortly after the old clips resurfaced, he lost his job.

Brian isn't just sorry -- he says he's been working with The Survivor Mitzvah Project, which is a charity that supports elderly Holocaust survivors ... and is focused on becoming a better person.

Kanye West is getting dragged to court over one of his songs on "Donda" ... because a pastor in Texas claims Yeezy sampled his sermon without his permission.

Ye is being sued by Bishop David Paul Moten, who claims Kanye filled out the song "Come To Life" with audio of Moten's own religious speech.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Moten claims his sermon is used for 70 seconds of the 5-minute, 10-second track ... which is more than 20 percent of the song.

Moten says his voice and sermon are used in the song intro and looped throughout the song ... and he says it's the latest example of Kanye and the music industry "willfully and egregiously sampling sound recordings of others without consent or permission."

The pastor is also suing UMG Recordings, Def Jam Recordings and G.O.O.D Music ... and he's going after all of them for damages.

Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston seem to have an unbreakable bond ... so much so, Aaron says choosing his newborn kid's godfather was a no-brainer.

We caught up with Aaron Wednesday at LAX and asked about him naming his best friend and "Breaking Bad" costar godfather to his newest addition, baby Ryden.

Aaron says Bryan's a beautiful man who's more than deserving of the title he and his wife bestowed on Cranston.

As far as what it takes to be a godfather, Aaron tells us Bryan's gonna be on diaper duty ... and don't get him started on burping little Ryden.

Of course, it's no surprise ... Bryan and Aaron are partners in crime on and off-screen ... nice to see the longtime friends grow tighter through each milestone.

In case you didn't know, Aaron and his wife, Lauren Paul, tied the knot back in 2013. They became first-time parents in 2018, when they gave birth to their daughter, Story Annabelle Paul.