RIP

Korn co-founder James Shaffer got real with us Wednesday about addiction, the difficulty of staying sober on the road, and the tragedy that befell Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

We got James at LAX and asked about temptations when a band is touring, and he says it's a constant problem. James, who has been sober for a dozen years, says he still feels the pull of addiction when others around him want to party with drugs and booze.

He says rock stars always have folks offering stuff, and that makes sobriety difficult.

Our photog asks about Taylor Hawkins' recent death, and James says he's still heartbroken over it, and feels enormous sympathy for Taylor's family and Dave Grohl.

James has an interesting take on how his fellow musicians can manage the pull of addiction as well as mental health struggles ... by creating a community within his profession. James says musicians are sensitive people, so getting support from like-minded people is essential for the well-being of his community.

Daymond John is offering financial aid to the family of the security guard killed in the Buffalo shooting ... reaching out after discovering the guy was a big fan of his.

The son of Aaron Salter Jr., the retired police officer who was working security at the supermarket where the tragic shooting happened, tells TMZ ... Daymond recently called him and struck up a conversation, getting emotional and offering to help with funeral expenses and other bills.

Daymond told Aaron Salter III he saw some photos online of the guy's dad posing with cardboard cutouts of the "Shark Tank" star ... and it turns out watching "Shark Tank" was a family affair in the Salter house.

Aaron, who is being hailed a hero for likely saving the lives of others in the attack, was also an inventor like Daymond ... and his son says DJ told the family his heart goes out to them and he wants to help in any way possible.

When Aaron's son relayed funeral details, Daymond offered to help cover the cost and told the family someone from his camp would be in touch.

We're told Daymond got emotional as the conversation continued ... Aaron's son could hear the pain in Daymond's voice, and towards the end of their talk Daymond offered to help the family with anything they need in the future, urging them not to hesitate.

Aaron's son says his dad was a huge fan of Daymond's and is looking down now, super proud.

Daymond's offer to the family is in addition to a visit from President Biden ... we're told POTUS spoke individually with 9 family members, shaking hands and expressing condolences.

The Buffalo Bills and NFL are teaming up to contribute $400,000 to local relief efforts in Buffalo ... after a mass shooting on Saturday left 10 people dead and several others injured.

"On behalf of the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund, we are most grateful for the generous contributions from the Buffalo Bills Foundation and the National Football League Foundation that will allow us to create real change and emerge from the darkness of this heinous act," said Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

The $400K donation will be divided up amongst several groups ... with $200,000 going to the Buffalo Community Response Fund, and the other $200,000 going to various nonprofit orgs working on relief efforts.

"This Fund is a partnership to build upon the collective desire to take action and to work together as a community to address immediate needs, long-term rebuilding and systemic issues that continue to marginalize communities of color," Dedecker added.

We've already seen members of the Bills org. -- like defensive back Micah Hyde -- literally, step up to the plate by donating proceeds from his charity softball game to the victims of the tragedy.

Hyde hosted the event at Sahlen Park, a minor league baseball facility, where he announced a huge $200K donation.

And, Josh Allen is also involved. The star quarterback said the team planned to meet to discuss further ways they could help the innocent victims and people in the community who are hurting.

The partnership between the Bills and the NFL is certainly a big step in the right direction.

Former Kansas Jayhawks soccer player Regan Gibbs died on Monday ... and her husband has since been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with her death.

The Lawrence Police Department in Kansas says officers were called to Gibbs' apartment at 7:26 PM on Monday ... when they say they found 26-year-old Chad Marek and a "mortally wounded" Gibbs.

Cops say Gibbs -- a former Jayhawks women's soccer goalkeeper -- was declared dead on the scene, and added Marek was arrested a short time later on suspicion of murder.

Police say "domestic violence is being investigated as a contributing factor" in Gibbs' death.

Marek and Gibbs had just gotten married last fall. Gibbs was just 25 years old when she died.

KU women's soccer head coach Mark Francis mourned the tragedy in a statement released by the school on Tuesday, saying, "Our soccer program is heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss of Regan."

"She was a tremendous teammate and young woman, and touched so many during her time at Kansas."

Gibbs played for KU from 2015 to 2018 and had the lowest goals-against average by a first-year goalie in Jayhawks history. The Washington native was also a part of two teams who made NCAA tournament runs.

"We are devastated to hear about the loss of former KU student-athlete Regan Gibbs," Jayhawks AD Travis Goff said.

"Our KU family sends our love, support and prayers to Regan’s family, friends and former teammates as we all mourn her loss."

A GoFundMe has been launched in Gibbs' honor -- with family and friends writing in the fundraiser, "Regan had a precious soul and she was loved by everyone who knew her."

"She is leaving behind her mom and four younger sisters who are heartbroken by this tragic loss."

The China Eastern plane that went up in flames in March after nosediving out of the sky and right into a mountain may have, in fact, been a deliberate act ... this per a new report.

Black box data from the downed Boeing 737-800 -- crashing somewhere in the mountains between Kunming and Guangzhou -- indicates no mechanical malfunction ... but rather, points to someone torpedoing the plane themselves, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The outlet, citing U.S. officials with knowledge of the investigation, says it'd been relayed to them that the plane "did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit" -- at least that's what the preliminary assessment of this tragedy suggests thus far.

The fact that there's no indication something was wrong with the machinery has led regulators to look to the actions of the pilot manning the aircraft ... and although it seems likely they may have caused the "near-vertical" descent, WSJ notes officials aren't ruling out the possibility of somebody storming the cockpit and taking over the controls themselves.

With that said, China Eastern seems to have suggested no such storming took place -- their own investigation revealed an emergency alert to that effect was NOT sent as the passenger jet went down.

While all signs seem to point to the pilot, the airline said premature speculation could be detrimental to the investigation and to the air travel industry at large. Still, it appears this may be the most plausible explanation ... there've been ZERO bulletins issued addressing any structural problem from Boeing, so there's nothing wrong with their product.

As we reported ... the plane went into a complete freefall pitch from 29,000 feet in the air and went straight down for nearly 2 minutes -- pulling up briefly -- before ultimately slamming against a mountain range and killing all 132 people onboard.

Tragic news in the boxing world ... undefeated fighter Musa Yamak died during a match on Saturday -- after he suffered a heart attack in the ring and collapsed to the mat.

The awful scene went down in Germany ... when Yamak was in the middle of his fight with Hamza Wandera.

Yamak had reportedly taken at least one big blow from Wandera in the second round ... and as he was coming out of his corner for the third round of the scrap -- he stumbled, and eventually crumpled to the ground.

Trainers and other medical personnel on the scene rushed to his aid -- but, sadly, Yamak later passed away.

He was just 38 years old.

Turkish official Hasan Turan mourned the death in a social media post hours after the tragedy ... saying, "I wish God's mercy on the deceased ... my condolences to his sad family and fans."

Yamak -- who turned pro in 2017 -- had built an impressive resume in his career, starting 8-0. In 2021, he gained notoriety after winning the WBFed International title.

The families of the victims killed in the Buffalo massacre are getting a lot of help in the wake of this tragedy -- both on the crowdfunding front ... but, possibly, on the civil side too.

Fundraisers have been organized in the aftermath of Saturday's mass shooting -- which claimed the lives of 10 people after 18-year-old Payton Gendron opened fire in a supermarket in an attack that was rooted in racial hatred.

One of the campaigns was organized by Keith Blakely, CEO of OnCore Golf Technology, and has already raised around $100k.

Blakely tells TMZ ... the money came in over the course of a few days, with more than 1,400 donors making contributions ranging from $5 to $5k. Blakely says the $100k goal seemed like a tall order at first, but now ... he's aiming to give each family $10,000.

Blakely says he's teamed up with the Mayor's Office to help distribute the money ASAP. He tells us celebs have chipped in, but won't say who ... but he tipped his hand and said athletes have really stepped up.

Other GFMs have been started ... one for the Tops store, another for the slain security guard, yet another for victims' families and a 4th for resource deliveries to victims and members of the community who might be affected.

While all that dough is great, there might be an even larger amount on the horizon thanks to Ben Crump and his team ... he's already been retained by the family of Ruth Whitfield -- one of the oldest victims killed in Saturday's massacre.

Sources tell us Crump is looking to represent as many families as possible ... which we're told may include suing the gun manufacturer of the weapon used in the attack ... an AR-15-style rifle with a high capacity magazine.

Bob Saget's wife, Kelly Rizzo is celebrating what would've been her husband's 66th birthday ... sharing a recent photo of the two with a sweet message.

Kelly shared a pic of the two celebrating Bob's birthday one year ago in Mexico with the caption, "Happy Birthday, my Love. I miss you beyond words."

She continued, "I pray he can see all of the love he’s already getting from around the world today. Honey, everyone loves you so damn much. Everyone wants you to know how important and special you are on your special day, and we ALL celebrate you."

Of course, this post comes 4 months after Bob was found dead in his Ritz hotel room in Orlando Florida. Authorities believe he suffered from a brain bleed after hitting his head, most likely on the hotel bed's headboard.

Kelly and Bob tied the knot back in 2018, since his death, she's been very open in talking about her grief and their relationship.

The man responsible for slaughtering 10 people at a Buffalo grocery store left no question ... his attack was racially motivated, as evidenced by the hateful messaging emblazoned on his gun.

18-year-old Payton Gendron descended on the Tops store with a black Bushmaster XM-15 assault rifle littered with  racist language -- "N****" on its' barrel, "Here's your reparations," "Dylan Roof," "John Earnest" and "SYGAOWN."

"SYGAOWN" is an acronym for "Stop Your Genocide Against Our White Nations." As you probably know, Dylan Roof is the man who killed 9 black worshipers at a South Carolina Church. Earnest killed one woman and shot 3 others in 2019 at a synagogue in San Diego.

Lil Keed complained to his friends and family he was suffering from serious stomach pain in the days leading up to his death ... with things getting so bad he had to go to the hospital.

Multiple sources close to Keed tell us ... the YSL label rapper had his battles over the years with alcohol and drugs, but had been clean and sober of late. We're told last week he began experiencing severe stomach pain and went to an L.A. hospital to get checked out.

From there, our sources say things got worse, and Keed's organs -- his liver and kidneys -- started failing ... leading to his death.

As we reported, news of his death shocked the hip hop world over the weekend when his brother, Lil Gotit, posted, "Can't believe I seened u die today bro I did all my cries I know what u want me to do and that's go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers Naychur and Whiteboy."

While Keed is a YSL rapper, he was not named in the recent indictment with Young Thug and Gunna.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office is expected to do an autopsy this week.

The late Tupac Shakur's last studio album "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and it's being pushed into the digital world.

That means creating an NFT -- non-fungible token -- from the original artwork ... a controversial piece depicting Pac as Jesus Christ wearing his crown of thorns while nailed to the cross. The parental advisory sticker infamously covered his pelvic area.

Released on November 5, 1996, nearly 2 months after his murder, Pac recorded the album under the alias Makaveli ... unleashing some greatest hits material such as "Hail Mary" and "To Live In Die In L.A." -- and fueling rumors he was still alive in the process.

Riskie Forever designed and sold the painting Tupac handpicked to be the album cover back in 2015 ... but crypto/NFT wallet manager Zelus helped him recover the art, and auction house Heritage Auctions will sell it to the highest bidder.

The auction goes down starting today through June 18 in Dallas at 445 Park Avenue and fans will also have a chance to win up to $100,000 through sweepstakes on the MakaveliArt.com website starting today all the way to June 5.

Mike Tyson will host the painting Tuesday on a special episode of his "Hotboxin" podcast, where he will also run through some of his cherished Tupac memories. They enjoyed a long-running friendship during the course of Pac's life, whose last moments were spent attending the Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon fight on September 7, 1996, in Las Vegas.

Iron Mike tells TMZ Hip Hop: "This episode was cool to shoot. Having the opportunity to honor Pac and have this painting here with us was awesome. It's by far the most iconic hip hop album artwork of all time."

Riskie, an iconic hip hop artist, was initially propositioned by then Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, who later introduced him to 2Pac -- and commissioned Riskie to create the album cover.

Cleveland Browns fullback Johnny Stanton is praising his primary care physician, Dr. John Cheng, for sacrificing his life in the Laguna Woods shooting ... honoring the man for his heroic actions.

Officials say 52-year-old Cheng was killed as he tried to stop the gunman who opened fire at the Geneva Presbyterian Church on Sunday. 5 others were injured in the shooting ... and cops say if Cheng hadn't taken action, there would have been "numerous additional victims."

Stanton -- who grew up in California before reaching the NFL in 2018 -- paid tribute to Cheng on Twitter minutes ago ... after realizing Cheng is the man who helped him out with regular checkups over the years.

"I just found out the person killed in the Laguna Woods shooting yesterday was my primary care physician, Dr. John Cheng," Stanton said.

"Absolute hero," Stanton added. "He attacked the gunman and helped save so many in that church. I just wanted his name to be known."

"He will be missed."

Kevin Samuels' family says an imposter is behind a GoFundMe created to raise money for his funeral expenses, and even though they were offered the cash ... they won't accept the money.

Social media was buzzing after the fundraising page popped up, many calling Kevin's family hypocrites for seeking financial help ... as he always preached a message of financial independence without handouts.

However, a source with direct knowledge tells us they reached out to Kevin's family to verify the account and learned the family did NOT create it ... so GoFundMe scrubbed the fundraiser from its platform.

Not only that, our sources say GoFundMe offered Kevin's family the few hundred bucks raised on the fake page ... but they refused to accept it, so it was returned to donors.

TMZ broke the story, the woman Samuels was with desperately tried to save his life -- performing CPR as she dialed 911 -- but unfortunately, he didn't make it. It's believed Kevin suffered a heart attack.

"Friends" actor, Mike Hagerty, died after having a strong, adverse reaction to an antibiotic in the hospital, which caused him to lapse into a coma ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Mike tell TMZ ... he got an infection back in April in one of his legs. He ended up recovering, but still wasn't feeling 100%.

We're told he was about to start filming the 2nd season of "Somebody Somewhere" but his energy level was still really low ... so his doctor sent him to the hospital to get checked out.

Sadly, things took a turn for the worse. He was given an antibiotic and he had a terrible reaction  ... causing him to have a seizure and go into a coma.

As we reported, Mike passed away last week in the hospital. It wasn't COVID-related ... Mike had tested negative. Mike's "Somebody Somewhere" co-star Bridget Everett announced the news of his death.

Mike is most well known for his recurring role on "Friends" ... as well as his character in HBO's "Somebody Somewhere." He appeared in lots of other shows ... including "Boston Legal," "Cheers," "Glee," "CSI," "Seinfeld" and so much more.

Rapper Lil Keed, a rising star from Atlanta and member of Young Thug's controversial YSL label, is dead ... according to his reps and family members.

His brother, Lil Gotit, said, "Can't believe I seened u die today bro I did all my cries I know what u want me to do and that's go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers Naychur and Whiteboy."

Complex first reported the death after getting confirmation from Keed's reps.

Although the "Trapped on Cleveland 3" rapper was signed to YSL, he was not part of the recent indictment in Atlanta that led to Gunna, Young Thug and 26 other YSL associates getting arrested on RICO charges.

After the raid and arrests, Keed posted an impassioned declaration about his label, insisting YSL was not a criminal organization ... as the Fulton County D.A. has claimed in the 56-count indictment.

Lil Keed recorded many popular songs, including "Snake," "She Know" and "Wavy (Remix)." Keeds garnered plenty of success from his own albums and mixtapes, as well as being featured on tracks with artists like Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Chris Brown, Future, Zaytoven and Lil Yachty.

Offset, from the popular rap trio, Migos, took to his IG story and said, "Damn twin rip."

Rapper Taylor Bennett wrote on his IG, "Keed you are the new sound of music surpassing hip hop and all genres."

Quana Bandz, Keed's GF posted a heartbreaking tribute mourning his death on IG saying, "I love you sooooo much baby🥺 what I'm post to do with out you😤 I can't breathe right sleep right nothing. I don't even wanna talk to nobody. Keed I can't take this why you leave US bru."

Keed leaves behind his GF, Quana, and their daughter Naychur.

He was 24.

A tragic end to what was supposed to be an exciting stunt -- after a father miscalculated his cliff jump -- leading to his death as his family watched in horror.

The video is tough to watch, you see the man take a leap from the 100-foot cliff in Spain. Clearly, he knows something is wrong quickly, letting out a scream before clipping the jagged rock and hitting the water ... you hear the woman recording yell, "Oh my God!"

According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, the woman recording was the man's wife -- his son was also present -- and they had rented a boat for the day to tour the rocks on one of the Malgrats Isles by Santa Ponsa.

The report says authorities were called to the scene shortly after the accident, and they were able to locate the man's body.