TMZ Live

The guy who helped invent Jelly Belly jelly beans is going full Gene Wilder in these dark times -- promising to give one lucky person their own candy factory if they play his game.

David Klein has kicked off a Willy Wonka-esque treasure hunt that's open to anyone in these 50 states, and he's got the ultimate grand prize ... a professional shop to churn out treats.

Klein explained some of the parameters of the contest Tuesday on "TMZ Live" where he also said that whoever wins the whole enchilada -- one of his actual operating candy factories -- will also get candy-making lessons in a university setting ... plus, his own expertise in running the biz.

There's one catch ... in order to play, ya gotta pay $50 and you're automatically entered into the ultimate factory lottery. As for the hunt itself, yes, there is a "gold ticket" component involved, and if you find it in your state ... you'll win $5,000 guaranteed.

The details are probably best explained by DK himself from the site he launched just for this new venture.

As for why he's doing it, Dave says it's his way of helping people get their minds off all the turmoil in the country.

Sure, we'll take a little sugar high for now. Why not?!

Tiffany Haddish wants to be just like Tyler Perry ... because she's ready to start her own production studio!!!

The actress and comedian joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked her if she's got aspirations to be like Tyler and one day start a movie studio in her name.

Tiffany says she would love to follow Tyler's lead and tells us he's actually been teaching her how to start a studio from scratch. Tiffany's already got a name picked out, and it's pretty catchy and appropriate.

As you know ... Tyler just officially reached billionaire status, thanks in large part to owning Tyler Perry Studios, so his words of wisdom carry serious weight.

Speaking of billionaires, Tiffany tells us she's been hanging with other members of the triple comma club, and picking their brains about business. Smart woman.

Chasten Buttigieg's coming out experience didn't get off to a good start, but thanks to his parents it turned out well, and speaking of things working out ... he's focused on the bright side of his husband's unsuccessful presidential bid.

Mayor Pete's husband joined "TMZ Live" to tell his story about confiding in his family that he was gay, the difficulty and pain that followed ... and the life-changing call from his Mom that helped them heal.

Chasten tells us he's thankful for his parents' allyship, and describes what has to be done to make sure people like him are protected and supported ... something he says he's striving to do for others.

As for his famous hubby and the disappointment of not becoming the Democratic nominee for Prez ... Chasten says it was a bummer, but it's not all bad.

He points out that they've been able to regain a little anonymity in their lives while still focusing on their dreams and goals, and reminds us that they are both still very young ... and the future is bright.

Of course, Chasten believes the outlook will be much better if a certain person is elected president in November ... you can probably guess who, but watch the clip anyway.

Black Americans are in the midst of 2 pandemics -- COVID-19 and the systemic racism that took root 401 years ago ... so says civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

Ben joined "TMZ Live" on Thursday and didn't mince words ... saying there's a hypocritical justice system when it comes to how Black Americans are treated, and the fatal shooting of Dijon Kizzee in L.A. is just the latest evidence.

Kizzee's family has hired Crump, who says he's assembling a "dream team" of attorneys to push the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. for more evidence. As you know, home security footage shows deputies firing on Kizzee at least 15 times as he was running away from them.

Crump finds Kizzee's death especially outraging because Kyle Rittenhouse killed 2 protesters in Kenosha, and was still able to walk right by police while brandishing his firearm.

He says it's a clear sign of the systemic racism Black Americans have faced since 1619 ... the first year African slaves were brought to American soil. You've gotta see his take on what he's now calling "COVID-1619."

Crump, who also reps Breonna Taylor's family, is baffled by the fact the L.A. County Sheriff's deputies were not wearing body cams ... but he's thankful that, especially in L.A., cameras are always rolling.

Taryn Manning is so sick and tired of the Karens of the world ... she's ready to play one in an effort to bring their racist behavior to a screeching halt.

The "Orange Is the New Black" star hopped on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss why she's embracing the villainous role in director Coke Daniels' new film aptly dubbed "Karen White" ... about a racist white woman who terrorizes her new Black neighbors. Yeah, sounds painfully familiar.

Taryn says she actually wants you to hate her in the film, not only because it means she did a great acting job -- but because she's hoping it shows how desperately society needs to change and embrace racial equality.

Coke says his script will dig deep ... in an effort to better understand the psychology behind people who act this way in real life. Don't get it twisted, he's not trying to justify the behavior -- he wants to illustrate how outrageous micro-aggressions can lead to racism and violence.

David Arquette's professional wrestling career has been both mocked and admired, but above all else, it's been bloody hard work ... and he says it's coming to an end soon.

The actor's journey as a pro wrestler began way back in 2000, but as he points out on "TMZ Live" ... he didn't have a clue then about what it actually took to be successful.

Fast forward a couple decades, and a battle-worn David is flying higher above the wrestling ring than ever before -- even at 48 -- thanks to a commitment to various types of training and a devotion to the sport he's loved for a long time.

David says he's still an actor, though, and despite his remarkable comeback -- which is the subject of his new documentary -- he claims he's calling it quits soon.

That's probably a good thing, because as you may recall ... David was badly injured in a bloody match in 2018, and damn near died in 2019 after continuing to dish out and take beatings in the ring.

Arquette's daughter Coco wasn't too pleased with all of this, but he tells us she's come to accept and understand it more after seeing the documentary ... which he calls a "love letter to wrestling."

Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter, Dr. Bernice King, is convinced that modern-day policing is structured after brutal slave tactics used for centuries in this country ... and needs to be completely uprooted if there's ever going to be progress.

Dr. King appeared Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and she says the shooting of Jacob Blake yet again proves Black lives don't matter to a majority of police officers in the U.S. If they did, we wouldn't see so much unhinged violence against them.

She says it's clear the systemic racism built into slavery is still alive and well today in how cops and the criminal justice system view African-Americans ... as bodies, as she puts it. It's not an easy thing to change either ... Dr. King makes that clear as well.

She adds it is crucial to keep our eye on the prize -- and part of that means keeping things peaceful. She discourages rioting and looting, just like her dad.

Speaking of him, she drops a quote of his that's just as timely now as ever .... and it basically gets to this point -- the longer we ignore this, the more it'll persist and worsen.

Leslie David Baker -- best known for playing the lovable grouch, Stanley, on "The Office" -- has witnessed the rise of racism along with the surge of the Black Lives Matter movement ... and he's speaking out about it.

The veteran actor joined "TMZ Live" Monday to address how his 'Office' spin-off project led to him becoming the target of hateful attacks, because at the same time ... he's been a vocal supporter of BLM.

Leslie says much like Black athletes being told to "stick to sports," racists began coming out of the woodwork to tell him to "stick to acting" and bombarding him with other vile messages ... and he's had enough.

The actor's urging everyone, including other minorities in entertainment, to call out racism when they encounter it ... because he says ignoring it only protects the bigots and allows the hate to continue.

That's exactly what Leslie's been doing -- he's sharing examples of what he believes is growing racism in this country, to raise awareness and motivate everyone to help put an end to it.

Lupe Fiasco says there's a lot of blame to go around in addressing Chicago's surging crime beyond bad apple cops ... according to him, gun control laws are just as much at fault.

The Chicago-raised MC came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to address the historic number of shootings happening in the Windy City in recent weeks. He told us ... yes, some policing tactics hurt more than help, but he thinks the issue is much deeper than that.

Lupe, who has multiple family members in law enforcement, says there are too many differing POVs on how to uphold the peace, and adds cops using gangster's methods -- like blatant brutality -- isn't helping matters.

He says police officers should be setting the standard in how to treat one another, but that's just not happening right now ... and it's just adding to the city's chaos.

Another issue he sees is the "gang problem," as he puts it. Too many factions have splintered off and are running amok, and he says the other part of the equation is the guns that end up in gang members' hands.

Scholar Eddie S. Glaude Jr. says starry-eyed Americans who now say they want equality will NEVER achieve it ... without accepting the truth about the country's roots in racism.

Glaude -- an author and Professor of African-American Studies at Princeton -- joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to address the major problem with our nation's history ... essentially, that it's not told honestly.

The professor cites several examples of systemic racism and injustices that are far more recent than slavery, yet are sugar-coated or downright omitted when teaching Americans about their past.

Glaude says it all manifests itself even today in something he calls the "value gap" ... which is the belief that white people are more important than others.

Again, he points to specific things happening right now that make him feel that "value gap" still isn't being addressed -- and believes that will crush any progress toward racial equality.

The good news ... Glaude believes there's positive momentum along with the Black Lives Matter movement, and offers a James Baldwin quote about hope that sums it up perfectly.

Howard University's president says Sen. Kamala Harris can have a huge impact on students at her alma mater ... where majoring in political science is the hot, new thing on campus.

Dr. Wayne Frederick joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us how Kamala's political rise, from poli sci major at Howard to Joe Biden's running mate, is inspiring students from all backgrounds to get involved in politics and affect change.

Kamala, who graduated from HU in 1986 and added economics to her double major, is the first HBCU grad to run on a major party's ticket ... along with being the first Black woman and person of Indian descent.

Dr. Frederick says Kamala's one of the reasons why the second most popular major for incoming freshman at Howard is political science. It helps to have a role model.

The HU Prez thinks Kamala's influence will extend far beyond minority students ... telling us why she can also inspire white students to get involved in the political process, even if they never step foot on an HBCU campus.

It's not politically one-sided either ... Dr. Frederick also explains how Kamala is helping HBCU grads play a role on both sides of the aisle.

If and when a coronavirus vaccine is rolled out, there will be people who refuse to take it for various reasons, but a Stanford Law School professor says such refusal will have consequences.

Hank Greely will appear on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... he's an expert in public health law and says people who refuse to take the vaccine could -- repeat COULD -- be denied the right to enter their workplace or their school.

Fact is ... there will probably be 3 groups of people who will refuse the vaccine -- the anti-vaxxers, the people who want to turn the vaccine into a political issue, and people who are afraid to take the vaccine because they worry it was rushed and not properly tested.

If the FDA, NIH and others show the phase 3 studies were thorough and established both safety and efficacy, Professor Greely says it will be hard for people to make the case they can refuse the vaccine and not be barred from work or school.

It's dicier, the good professor says, if phase 3 studies are less than thorough.

Andrew Yang is a big fan of Sen. Kamala Harris as a candidate, but more importantly, as a person ... and says they bonded early, when he was a political unknown.

The former presidential candidate joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and heaped tons of praise on Joe Biden's running mate, telling us what separated Kamala from the pack.

Andrew says he first met Kamala early on in the Democratic primaries and they forged an instant bond on a number of non-political issues they have in common.

He added ... there was something else about the VP candidate that really impressed him. Andrew says Kamala was always warm and friendly, which stood out to him because no one knew who the hell he was early in the Democratic primary races.

Andrew says that taught him a lot about his then-opponent's character, which is why he thinks Kamala makes a great veep.

Andrew's ready to go to bat for Biden and Harris at next week's Democratic National Convention, and broke some news about the event.

Rep. Jim Clyburn's adamant that President Trump is dead serious about remaining in office -- whether or not he wins the election -- and says it's not out of the question that military leaders will have to remove him from The White House.

The South Carolina congressman and third-ranking Democrat in the House made headlines this week when he responded to Trump's call to delay the November election by saying ... "I feel very strongly that he is Mussolini. Putin is Hitler."

Clyburn's sticking to that, and in our "TMZ Live" interview he compared Trump's tactics to those of a fascist leader ... who wants to remain that way for life. He says there have been talks about Trump refusing to leave, and there will be more as the election gets closer.

He points out Trump has already stated this in the past "jokingly," but Clyburn believes he means it ... and history has shown what can happen if it's not taken seriously. Coincidentally, Trump just tweeted a campaign video suggesting he's not joking either.

So, what happens if Trump loses, but refuses to accept it? Rep. Clyburn admits he doesn't have the answer yet -- it would be unprecedented after all -- but it's clear ... lots of people on the Hill are plenty worried.

Clyburn tells us he believes government officials and military leaders have already seen how Trump has misused and abused his power -- with his use of force to dispel peaceful protesters in Lafayette Park for a photo op coming to mind -- so they'll be ready.

Sharon Osbourne says seeing is believing when it comes to paranormal activity and other-worldly beings ... she wants to believe we're not alone, but needs her own hard evidence.

Sharon joined us on "TMZ Live" and we wanted to know if she's a UFO believer like her son, Jack.

While Sharon says she's seen our footage of a possible UFO over the skies of Long Beach -- lots of folks reported seeing something flying over L.A. too -- she tells us why the video alone is not enough to convince her 100 percent.

Sharon's getting the hard sell on UFOs back at home ... the famous family has a new show on Travel Channel, "The Osbournes Want To Believe," where Jack tries to convince her and Ozzy about the existence of aliens, Bigfoot, poltergeists, haunted dolls and other strange beasts.

Barstool Sports guys Dan "Big Cat" Katz and PFT Commenter are putting their bodies through the wringer, but this time ... their shenanigans are all about helping children.

The "Pardon My Take" podcast hosts hold a fundraiser like this every year -- something they call "Grit Week" -- but due to the pandemic, they had to get creative with their grittiness this year.

So, the fellas decided to put themselves to the test to show their commitment to the charity drive for the Children's Miracle Hospital Network ... with a full 24 hours of beer and hot dogs.

Starting Wednesday morning, PFT drank a beer every hour and Big Cat downed a dog ... and they live streamed the whole thing for their massive podcast audience.

The obvious questions are how'd they hold up, and which was worse -- the nonstop alcohol or the processed meat? We'll let them explain ... sounds like they're both in bad shape, but maybe Big Cat's worse off thanks to a questionable hot dog decision.