Religion/ Spirituality

Gillie Da Kid says the moment he washed his late son's body -- in tradition with Islamic faith -- was his lowest moment in life, but he also says enduring the tragedy officially took him to adulthood.

The "Million Dollarz Worth of Game" co-host made the emotional confession Tuesday while appearing on The Pivot podcast.

His son, 25-year-old rapper YNG Cheese, was shot and killed in Philly back in July. Before his death, Gillie says he thought he understood the concept of being a man ... taking the reigns, providing for his immediate family and even supporting several non-relatives.

But, he says going through the body-washing process opened his eyes, "and that day, I became a man."

Gillie also tearfully thanked fellow Philly rapper Freeway for standing by his side, and helping him through what he calls the hardest thing he's ever had to do. Despite the unimaginable grief, he's confident he sent his son off the right way.

Sylvester Stallone met one of his biggest fans during a family trip to the Vatican ... the Pope!!!

The 'Rocky' star spent his Friday touring Vatican City, and was actually granted an audience with Pope Francis, who went full fanboy ... telling Sly it's an honor to meet him because he grew up watching the actor's movies.

The video of their interaction is awesome -- Sly was bold enough to shadowbox the Pope, who even threw a few left hooks himself. Seriously, it's almost like the Pope is more thrilled about the meeting than Stallone.

The whole thing was a family affair ... Sly also introduced the Pope to his wife, Jennifer Flavin, and their three daughters, Sophia, Scarlet and Sistine. You'd think the pontiff might have been impressed by Sistine's name, but was more focused on the movie star of his younger years.

Sly went to the Vatican last September too, when he got to hold the keys that open every door in Vatican City, including the Sistine Chapel, and this time he got to meet His Holiness.

5:32 PM PT -- Danny Masterson suena confiado de que conseguirá la anulación de sus sentencias en el proceso de apelación.

Uno de los abogados de Danny, Shawn Holley, dice a TMZ: "Durante los últimos meses, un equipo de los mejores abogados en apelación del país ha estado revisando las transcripciones del juicio, y han identificado importantes cuestiones probatorias y constitucionales que abordarán en los tribunales de apelación estatales y federales."

Holley continúa: "Los errores que se produjeron en este caso son sustanciales y, lamentablemente, condujeron a veredictos que no están respaldados por las pruebas".

"Y aunque tenemos un gran respeto por el jurado en este caso y por nuestro sistema de justicia en general, a veces se equivocan. Y eso es lo que ocurrió aquí", agrega.

El abogado concluye: "El Sr. Masterson no cometió los delitos por los que ha sido condenado y nosotros, y los abogados de apelación, los mejores y más brillantes del país, estamos seguros de que estas condenas serán anuladas."

Danny Masterson finalmente ha recibido su condena a 30 años en prisión, después de meses de ser declarado culpable de dos cargos de violación.

La estrella de "That '70s Show" fue sentenciado el jueves por un tribunal de Los Ángeles. Enfrentaba 30 años de cárcel después de ser declarado culpable de dos de sus tres cargos, por lo que la sentencia no es tan sorprendente.

Como informamos, fue declarado culpable de estos dos cargos en mayo. Se le acusó por primera vez en 2020, cuando tres mujeres declararon que los incidentes se habían producido entre 2001 y 2003, mientras él trabajaba en la serie de comedia.

Recordemos que Masterson tuvo un juicio en octubre pasado, pero terminó nulo un mes más tarde después de que el jurado no pudiera llegar a una decisión. El equipo del actor intentó que se desestimara, pero finalmente fue juzgado de nuevo y condenado.

Su abogado, Philip Cohen, nos dijo tras la anulación del juicio de Masterson que el caso "no trataba de otra cosa más que de la credibilidad de las tres denunciantes y que la credibilidad sólo se podía determinar comparando, contrastando y centrándose en las declaraciones en constante evolución de las mujeres."

Danny Masterson has finally been sentenced, months after he was convicted on 2 rape counts, to 30 years to life behind bars.

The "That '70s Show" star was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in a Los Angeles court. He was facing 30 years to life after being found guilty on 2 of his 3 counts ... so the sentence isn't all that surprising.

As we reported, he was convicted on the 2 counts in May, but the jury was hung on the 3rd count. He was first charged back in 2020, with the 3 women saying the incidents went down between 2001 and 2003 -- as he was working on his comedy series.

Remember, Masterson had a trial last October, but it ended in a mistrial a month later after the jury was unable to reach a decision. The actor's team tried to get it dismissed, but he was eventually retried and convicted.

His attorney, Philip Cohen, told us after Masterson's mistrial that the case was "about nothing other than the credibility of the three accusers and that credibility could only be determined by comparing, contrasting and focusing on the ever-evolving statements given by the women."

After being found guilty, we learned Masterson wasn't put in lockup with the general population at the L.A. County Men's Central Jail -- where he's been awaiting his sentence -- but instead was in "administrative segregation" ... where high-profile inmates like O.J. Simpson and Suge Knight have stayed in the past.

Jalen Ramsey might be down after suffering a serious knee injury this offseason, but his faith clearly hasn't waned ... 'cause the Dolphins star just got a huge, new torso tattoo to honor his belief in his religion.

Andres Ortega and his Onder Ink team -- Abrianna, Allan, Sarahi and Gerardo -- flew down to Miami this week to put the tats on the cornerback ... while he continues to recover from meniscus surgery.

The new ink features several religious components -- including a bible with a sword, fruit, and a lamb.

There's also a lion, a warrior and a toy soldier -- items Ortega says Ramsey wanted to represent his role as a protector.

In total, the artwork took about eight hours to complete ... and Ortega tells TMZ Sports the football player ended up super happy with the finished product.

In fact, Ortega says Ramsey's looking for him to come back soon to tattoo a couple other things on the final bit of open space on his stomach.

UFC fighter Natan Levy is hoping bullies everywhere take serious note of his recent beatdown of an internet troll ... saying on Tuesday he wants anyone who's even thinking of spewing hate speech going forward to know "words have consequences."

Levy absolutely mauled a smack-talking social media user named Ben recently ... after the guy had defended noted antisemite Nick Fuentes in an exchange on X.

Levy, who's Jewish, met the dude at his gym and pounded on him for several minutes -- forcing the guy to tap out.

Eventually, he got Ben to say on camera following the sparring sesh that six million people were murdered in the Holocaust -- an atrocity Ben didn't previously acknowledge.

When Levy joined Harvey and Charles on Tuesday's "TMZ Live" to talk about it all ... he said he was pleased with how it turned out with Ben -- and now, he wants others to keep the incident in mind before they hit their keyboards with similar nonsense.

"The big lesson I wanted to teach this guy -- and hopefully everybody who is watching -- is words have consequences," he said. "Actions have consequences."

"If you say something, you better stand behind it," he added, "'cause this hate turns into hate in the real world. So we need to cut it off."

Jay-Z's giving the world a first look at his new film "The Book of Clarence," but we're only seeing a small part of the journey -- Hov's promised the movie's gonna be stuffed with hidden meanings for fans!!!

The film is set in biblical times and drops in January 2024 with an ensemble cast of LaKeith Stanfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor and more, but Jay is adamant it's not going to be a preachy experience, telling Vanity Fair he doesn't want the audience to “immediately just focus on the religious aspect of it, and not the human story.”

Jay says he and director Jeymes Samuel are always looking for fresh ways to retell traditional stories and Jay's attention to detail may be the deciding x factor.

Like their previous film, "The Harder They Fall," Jay and Jeymes plan on keeping audiences on their toes by stuffing the movie with Easter eggs, like they did in "TFTF" when they hinted "Book Of Clarence" would be coming next!!!

“I have a thousand stories to tell, so that’s why I can kind of lay Easter eggs in each one” ... Jay assured.

J. Cole fans are rejoicing ... the Dreamville rapper's unexpectedly delivering a pair of new verses for Gucci Mane and Burna Boy, and it's a truly holy moment for some!!!

The Dreamville rapper showed his versatility with the features that dropped Friday -- Gucci's track, "There I Go" sports a bouncy beat produced by Mike WiLL Made-It designed for clubs and radio, and Cole flexes on a bed of money to drive home the point!!!

Burna opted to recruit Cole for a more reflective verse on his, "I Told Them..." album.

Cole compares himself and Burna to "Shaq and Kobe winnin' a ring" on the song, "Thanks" ... and also takes credit for fathering a few other rappers' styles along the way!!!

It may sound like bragging but Top Dawg Entertainment's Reason flat-out referred to Cole and Kendrick Lamar as "gods" in terms of their musical greatness while speaking Friday on "The Breakfast Club."

Reason recently predicted Cole's next album, "The Fall Off," would make him a bigger artist than Kendrick ... creating more controversy for himself in the wake of his public spat with his label over claims they didn't create enough hoopla around his new album.

Bradley Cooper might be under fire after portraying Leonard Bernstein with what some are calling "Jewface" ... but some of the biggest Jewish organizations have no qualms with it.

The American Jewish Committee tells TMZ ... BC's look in the trailer for the upcoming biopic, "Maestro" -- where he's wearing an enlarged, prosthetic nose -- isn't offensive, adding, "We do not believe that this depiction harms or denigrates the Jewish community."

They say they're agreeing with Bernstein's kids, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina -- who said on X Wednesday that their pops had a big nose and "our dad would have been fine with it."

The Anti-Defamation League is echoing these opinions, telling us, "Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that."

As we reported, some folks online have skewered Cooper and co. for playing into the "Jewface" trope.

Mark Jackson ain't sure what's next for him following his abrupt exit from his role as ESPN's top NBA color analyst ... but one thing he does know is he has no hard feelings toward the man who's replacing him -- Doc Rivers.

We caught up with the former Golden State Warriors head coach out in Beverly Hills on Friday ... and despite being let go from ESPN just a couple weeks ago, he was in great spirits.

While he said he doesn't know if his next career move will include coaching or broadcasting ... he told us he's confident it'll be a good one for him regardless.

"It's going to work out," he said. "Figuring it out now. But the next move will be my best move."

"Excited about what God has for me," he added.

As for Rivers, who will replace Jackson on ESPN's top broadcast team alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke, Jackson says he hopes for all kinds of success for the guy.

In fact, he said he's actually spoken with Rivers recently ... and there's no beef whatsoever.

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson says she's been iced out of network TV amid her campaign ... but says moving to TikTok has done wonders.

Williamson, formerly known as the "spiritual advisor" to Oprah Winfrey, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday, chatting about not being able to bring her campaign to TV. She says she eventually realized the social media app would bring a lot of power to her cause.

She says the platform's been a great way to reach young U.S. voters ... and according to her, there's a shocking difference in intelligence on TikTok compared to on big news orgs.

As for the old stigma that young folks aren't rocking the vote, she says that's BS -- and tells us exactly why.

For those unaware, Williamson is 1 of 2 Democrats -- RFK Jr. being the other -- running against current prez, Joe Biden ... and since the DNC doesn't normally hold debates when a current president is in the mix, her campaign has been crucial to getting the word out.

She also wasn't welcomed into the race by her fellow Democrats, and staffers from her 2020 campaign didn't think she should go for it, but her move to TikTok is seemingly helping.

Williamson has raked in over half a million followers -- the most on the app compared to other candidates -- and since making the switch, she's been polling above 20% with voters under 30.

Tim Tebow's former Florida teammate took drastic measures to confirm he was really saving himself for marriage ... 'cause Brandon Spikes claims he would randomly show the quarterback pictures of naked women to see how he'd respond.

Spikes -- who played alongside the Heisman winner in Gainesville from 2006-09 -- went in depth about the media obsession with Tebow's virginity during the Gators' dominance in the mid-2000s ... and he revealed he did some questionable investigative reporting of his own to prove the guy was, in fact, sex-free.

"I just wanted to see if he was real," Spikes said on Netflix's "Untold: Swamp Kings," according to the New York Post.

"So I would like, you know, maybe have a picture, a nude picture on my phone or something and show it to him just to see how he would react."

The stunt didn't go over too well with Tebow ... and Spikes explained his response led him to believe the whole thing was really true.

"He was like, 'Come on man! Like, you really get a man uncomfortable!'"

"And I was like, 'Oh, he's serious.'"

Tebow's virginity was a major storyline throughout his college and pro career ... and he went on to marry former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters in 2020.

Mike Posner says the emotional pain he's dealing with now is all part of life's plan to teach him lessons in order to learn and grow and then pass his knowledge along to others.

The singer joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and we asked him how things are going after he recently got brutally honest with one of our photogs ... saying he was embarking on a spiritual warpath to deal with some life challenges.

Mike says he's doing better now and his latest challenge helped him change and grow for the better ... just like a lot of the hurdles he's faced in life and in his career.

He tells us he's grateful for his life in general and all the highs he's experienced -- like Grammy nominations -- and, with that, he's also grateful for all the pain as well.

In Mike's case, there is another silver lining with life's hardships -- they can make for great music, as he points out ... art is a great outlet for sadness, depression, rage, anger and fear.

For Mike, life's teaching him what he needs to learn in order for him to teach others ... and he's got an opportunity coming up to do just that ... with a curated trip to Iceland.

Mike Posner says he's going through some challenges in life, but he's using the bad times to work on becoming a better person ... telling us he's embarking on a spiritual warpath.

We got the singer at LAX and he told our photog he's a troubled man these days, though he's determined to spin the curveball life's throwing at him into a positive.

Mike says he knows a lot about darkness and waking up feeling like there's no point to life, but the thing is ... he says challenging times are what make folks grow, and growth doesn't happen when it's smooth sailing.

For Mike, many of his accomplishments have been tough ... just listen, he's absolutely convinced he will come out a stronger person once he navigates this storm.

Mike's climbed mountains and walked across the freakin' country ... and he says they were both extremely hard and awful journeys, but they made him learn and grow.

Tory Lanez is starting to feel the gravity of his 10-year prison sentence -- after believing the system would do right by him, he's now turning to God to for strength.

Tory's defense attorney, Jose Baez, tells TMZ his client is feeling pretty low right now after having the book thrown at him. We're told Tory is having a hard time processing the sentence, but Baez also says despite that ... Tory's made it clear to him he's going to remain strong and deal with his time behind bars as best as he can.

Jose says Tory is leaning on his faith in God, the support of his friends/family and the indignation his supporters around the world are expressing -- many of whom are loudly lamenting the stiff punishment.

Baez says Tory was hoping the judge would show mercy -- especially with the number of people who went to bat for him in court, including some celebs. We're told the reason there's so much outcry for Tory is because he was genuinely loved in the community ... as he'd done a lot to give back over the years.

In the meantime, Baez insists an appeal is coming.

Jamie Foxx is apologizing for anti-Semitic remarks he made on social media about Jews killing Jesus ... while making a cryptic reference to being betrayed by a "fake friend."

The actor posted a message on Instagram Saturday, saying, "I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post."

Jamie continued, "I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent. To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with "they" not anything more."

He went on to say, "I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended."

As you may know, Jamie posted his controversial remarks on Instagram Friday, stating, "They killed this dude name Jesus… what do you think they’ll do to you?" The message was soon deleted, but not before users took snapshots and posted them to social media.

Jewish groups spotted the message and started spreading it online, which caught the interest of Jennifer Aniston. The actress was thought to have liked Jamie's post, but later clarified that she hadn't and was horrified by his words.

Jennifer said, "I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds – I do NOT support any form of antisemitism. I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind. Period."

Meanwhile, Jamie recently broke his silence about his major health scare in April, which landed him in the hospital for a little over a month. He's recently been seen around Chicago doing some fun activities as he recovers from his medical condition, which has not been publicly revealed. Jamie personally thanked his family and friend in a video posted online.