TMZ Live

Jenifer Lewis is calling on Congress to open an investigation into the death of Kendrick Johnson -- a 17-year-old black boy -- whose body was found rolled up in a gym mat years ago.

"The Mother of Black Hollywood" author and exec producer of the Starz documentary "Finding Kendrick Johnson" joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and shared why she thinks his case is so important.

Jenifer told us, "This is the most important film I’ve ever worked on. What this family has gone through is unspeakable but we must speak it so the public knows the truth."

The controversial death was ruled "accidental" by the state of Georgia, although Kendrick's family hired a forensics specialist who said his death was caused by "non-accidental blunt force trauma." The case was closed, but reopened in March ... we're told the doc sheds light on new evidence in the case.

Jenifer's clearly outraged by the lack of action on the part of law enforcement, saying, "You know how much evidence the FBI has to have to storm somebody’s house with guns AK- 47s out? And then when they got in there and saw that it was an FBI agent, it was just pushed under the rug, just pushed under the rug. Another Black kid. So what?”

The actress also talked about her special connection to filmmaker Jason Pollock after his 2014 Michael Brown doc, since she grew up in a small town just outside of Ferguson ... and she now wants the people in Washington to do something about it.

Gene Simmons is selling his Las Vegas home overlooking the strip for $13.5 mil -- turning a massive profit if he sells -- but he doesn't want just any knucklehead to live in it.

The "Kiss" Frontman joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked why he decided to sell his beautiful estate and why the price has been reduced -- originally listed as $14.95 mil.

The 11,000-sq-ft home has 6 bedrooms and has many unique features -- including a courtyard, private oasis and 11-seat theater. The singer says he bought a half-acre lot next door and planted 137 trees, so it's really like no other property seen in Vegas nowadays.

Simmons stressed that Vegas is the perfect place to live with no income, state or local tax. So, why in the world is he selling it?! He says his family doesn't want to deal with the Vegas heat or any strippers -- for that matter.

His family might share an unpopular opinion, because in recent years out-of-state buyers have flocked to Vegas, and as far as the prices of homes? Soaring!!

In fact, Simmons says he could really sell the home for nearly double its price, but insists that he doesn't just want any random knucklehead living there. Instead, he wants to meet the next tenant and for them to enjoy living there.

Daymond John says Playboy is making its best move in years by joining forces with Cardi B ... because she'll bring her legion of young fans to the iconic brand, while also making much-needed changes to it.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and we got his reaction to Cardi coming onboard with Playboy as its first-ever creative director in residence.

Daymond says the move makes sense for Playboy on several levels as they move away from traditional print magazine and focus in on a digital rebirth -- he envisions Cardi breathing life back into a brand with a following that skews much older.

Cardi says her new role with Playboy is a "dream come true" ... and Daymond tells us why he wants to see more of those dreams becoming a reality before deciding if Playboy is a worthy investment.

Travis Scott has locked himself away in his Houston home, still devastated by the events that took place one week ago ... according to his attorney.

Ed McPherson joined "TMZ Live" Friday to talk about Travis and what happened at Astroworld. While McPherson says there's still a lot of work to be done in terms of the investigation, he remains adamant Travis had no clue as to the dire circumstances -- 8 people dead -- continued to perform.

McPherson tells us Travis is devastated, especially because the tragedy happened in his hometown of Houston, and he has not left his home there since.

Travis was supposed to perform in Vegas this weekend -- a show he's since canceled -- and a petition is growing online to stop his headline event at Coachella next Spring.

Ed says performing is the last thing on Travis' mind right now. He wants to give the families of the victims time to grieve, and has set up an email account through his team for them to reach out to him when they're ready. He's promised to pay funeral costs for the 9 people who died as a result of the show.

Critical Race Theory has folks all riled up, often for the wrong reasons -- so here's a breakdown of what it is, what it isn't and where it should be applied ... courtesy of Michael Eric Dyson.

The esteemed academic and author did a PSA of sorts with us Monday on "TMZ Live" over this hot-button issue that is quite literally swinging elections, as we just saw in the Virginia gubernatorial race a week ago. The problem -- folks seem to be misinformed about it.

You can find any number of interviews where people who claim to hate CRT can't actually articulate what it is. That ... or they think it all boils down to making white kids feel guilty as inborn oppressors/racists -- and pegging Black kids as perpetual victims, even today.

Michael says that's far from what CRT is, and definitely not what's being taught in schools right now. You gotta watch how he explains it, because it's nuanced and might take a couple listens to truly understand what he's getting at here.

First, he insists Critical Race Theory is something that's discussed and studied at the college level -- and is NOT being taught to kids in primary school anywhere.

What he says IS being taught to kids -- or at least what some districts are trying to do -- is a retooling of the history curriculum that's more inclusive of the roles African-Americans and other POC have played in making the country what it is today.

If that type of conversation is something parents would still be apprehensive about, even after understanding the distinctions -- well, that's a whole other debate ... but in Mr. Dyson's eyes, it's not radical ... and all it requires is some empathy and understanding.

Michael tackles these issues and so much more in his new book, "Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America" -- but he shoots down the notion advocates for the broadened history curriculum want kids to feel guilty about anything.

However, he does acknowledge these topics are not all cozy, and will require white folks to examine their privilege and act consciously if the nation is going to achieve true equity.

Britney Spears could make more money than she ever did before if she decides to get back in front of crowds, but it's a double-edged sword ... so says Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and painted a picture of Britney's potential earnings if she reverses course on her feelings about performing.

Remember ... folks close to Britney have told us she might never take the stage again, no matter what shakes out with her conservatorship.

Daymond says Britney would be turning down a fortune in Las Vegas, or on the road, if she holds firm -- but he knows there are potentially serious drawbacks to her being back under the bright lights.

Daymond's making some good points -- there are a lot of things off the stage that come along with a Vegas residency, and they definitely take a toll on mental health ... obviously, an important factor for her.

Meghan Markle should go by her U.S. family name the next time she decides to wade into U.S. politics by cold-calling members of Congress ... so says U.S. Rep. Jason Smith.

The Congressman from Missouri joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked what he made of Meghan dialing up Senators to lobby for paid family leave and introducing herself as the Duchess of Sussex.

Rep. Smith says he has no issues with her getting involved in American politics, seeing as she's an American citizen -- but he says she needs to leave her ties to the Royal Family out of it, for a few reasons.

The big beef Rep. Smith has is the Royal Family is traditionally neutral when it comes to politics across the pond ... so Meghan using a royal title to wield influence in America doesn't sit right with him.

While some think Meghan is just using her celebrity to lobby for something she believes in ... Rep. Smith says that's fine, as long as she uses the thing she was known for before marrying Prince Harry and having children.

"Former 'Suits' star Meghan Markle" doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Plus, the Congressman did admit he has a slight royal bias.

There's some key differences to look for when checking a gun for live ammunition or dummy rounds ... and it sounds like it should be pretty hard to screw up ... at least in theory.

Steve Wolf, who has been working in SFX and props in films for several decades, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and literally showed us what the armorer on the "Rust" set should have been looking for.

As Steve explains, it's pretty simple to spot the difference with the naked eye ... dummy rounds have a dimpled primer on the bottom, something live ammunition does not.

Steve says there's another way to check what is going into a gun ... shaking and listening for sounds.

He says the dummy rounds are loaded with BBs and the live rounds are filled with gunpowder ... and the dummy rounds make a distinct noise when shaken and the live ammo is basically silent.

The distinctions are important ... there was a fatal shooting on the "Rust" set ... and now lawyers for the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, are suggesting someone placed a live round in a box of dummy rounds ... and that live round bullet killed Halyna Hutchins.

Hannah's lawyers said she spun the revolver before the fatal shooting ... but it sounds like Steve is saying she should have noticed the live round, based on how the bullet looks from the bottom.

The armorer also claims she didn't know there were live rounds on the set ... despite what we first told you ... the gun from the shooting was allegedly used for off-set target practice with live rounds.

Tennis legend Mardy Fish says he might not be alive if it weren't for his wife ... crediting her with getting him out of a really bad place with his mental health struggles.

Mardy joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and got real with us about some of his bouts with anxiety, which became so overwhelming at one point he pulled out at the last minute from a big U.S. Open match with Roger Federer .... years before professional athletes opened up about their mental health struggles.

The way Mardy tells it ... his better half, Stacey Gardner, was able to pull him out from a dark place and change his perspective with some sage advice at a moment when he was having panic attacks every single day. The epiphany gave him the strength to withdraw from the 2012 U.S. Open match he was supposed to play. Instead, he faced the media and was candid about his issues.

Mardy went on to champion mental health and how it affects athletes in particular, who traditionally were trained to bottle up their emotions because it was viewed as weakness.

Mardy, who was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder, is now mentoring young tennis players dealing with some of the same issues he went through ... and there's a new Netflix documentary on his journey, "Untold: Breaking Point."  He's also the captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Rock icon Todd Rundgren is about to get what some call the ultimate honor in the music biz -- induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame -- and he couldn't care less, because he says the institution's a total crock.

Todd won't be saying (or singing) "Hello It's Me" to his fellow inductees -- who include Jay-Z, Tina Turner, Carole King and the Foo Fighters -- this weekend in Cleveland. He joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to explain why he'll be a no-show and ripped the Hall for even existing.

The way Todd sees it, halls of fame make way more sense in the sports world ... where it's all about competition, but that's just not how he views the music industry. The legendary performer and producer says, for him, music's not about being #1 -- it's just about making tunes his fans can enjoy.

Todd also echoed some of The Weeknd's complaints about the Grammys -- telling us the Rock & Roll HOF needs to be more transparent about how its "fan vote" really works. Check out the interview ... he says he, and his fans, got burned badly the first time he was up for induction.

That being said, now that TR's finally made it into the HOF, he doesn't wanna hobnob with millionaires at the induction ceremony. Instead, he wants to celebrate with real fans -- he feels the HOF honor is more for them, anyway -- which is why he'll be onstage, performing in Cincinnati.

President Biden is dead wrong about the effectiveness of community policing and the need to bolster police numbers and budgets ... at least according to author Derecka Purnell.

Derecka, who has a new book on abolishing the police, joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and laid into the Prez over his pro-police rhetoric during Thursday's Biden Town Hall.

She says Biden's trying to distance himself from the 1994 crime bill, but is regurgitating some of what she sees as the same failed policies this time around ... and she's not buying what Biden's selling in terms of community policing.

The way Derecka sees it ... community policing doesn't work like most folks might think, and she says the fatal interaction between Derek Chauvin and George Floyd is a perfect example of why it doesn't make much difference if cops know those in the community they're policing.

Derecka is a bit of an expert on the topic ... she's got a new book out called "Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and The Pursuit of Freedom."

President Joe Biden has taken heat for his comments this weekend that he wants to spend MORE on policing -- not defunding the police as some have advocated -- and one of his top advisors says if Biden had his way several years ago, Alton Sterling would be alive today.

Cedric Richmond was on TMZ Live Thursday to outline the Prez's agenda when it comes to improvements he wants to make in training American police forces. Biden recently raised eyebrows among supporters when he said he did not want to defund the police, but instead, build them up.

Richmond says Biden wants to put more money behind cops, but spend it on things like body cams, better training and even mental health experts within departments.

Richmond tells us community policing -- where officers take the time to meet and learn about members of a community -- can potentially be life-saving ... using the killing of Alton Sterling as an example of a life that could have been spared with better policing.

Rick Ross says that his weed-smoking and overall health have changed for the better -- and it's all because of a hemp business he's gone all-in on ... which sounds revolutionary.

We got Renzel on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk shop about his latest business endeavor -- a company he calls Hemp Hop ... which, as you can probably tell, is a play on "hip-hop." It's a CBD biz, that also dabbles in hemp products ... especially when it comes to toking.

Check out the interview to see what we mean here -- RR tells us that ever since he ditched tobacco-laced blunt wraps and swapped them for hemp papers and other CBD spinoffs ... he's seen vast improvements to his well-being, visibly notable in his dramatic weight loss.

Rick explains why this new source is a miracle-worker ... beyond just blazing up. He's right, BTW -- CBD is used for so many things these days -- and is a great alternative medicine.

Speaking of healing ... Rick says the CBD products that Hemp Hop offers has even helped him with seizures he's suffered from over the years, so you're hearing it straight from the man himself -- this stuff works, and he's got it available to the masses with this new upstart.

Speaking of being a boss ... we had to ask about Rick setting his son up with his own Wing Stop franchise -- which is an empire that runs in the family ... one that Rick's been invested in for years and years now.

He tells us he's just trying to get his boy into the habit of running things early -- and what better way than getting him on the ground floor with something that's already in Ross's portfolio.

Jay Caspian Kang sees a big problem with lumping every Asian American into one big group ... he says the practice leaves a huge number of folks behind.

The author joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us about some of the topics he explores in his new book, "The Loneliest Americans," and why there are inherent problems in putting too many people in the same bucket.

Jay says the Asian American community is extremely diverse, but that same diversity becomes diluted when they're taken as a whole ... and the ones who get left behind or forgotten are those with the fewest resources.

The solution, Jay says, is getting back to celebrating diversity ... and understanding just how different people can be within larger groups, like the Asian American or LGBTQ+ communities.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has turned his pizza obsession into a money-making machine ... revealing his One Bite frozen pies are flying off the shelves -- with nearly a quarter-million sold in just weeks!!

Of course, Portnoy became an extreme pizza savant about 5 years ago ... after a debate with a coworker over what food they could eat every day for the rest of their lives.

To prove his side of the argument, Portnoy started consuming pizza daily ... which led to making popular videos ranking 'za joints all over the country.

"El Pres" joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" to discuss his decision to join the pizza industry himself ... saying Stoolies have been asking him to start his own brand for years.

"When you're doing it organically for 5 years, you start to build trust," Portnoy said Thursday. "I don't want to say it was a logical step, but a lot of people were like, 'Hey, you should do your own frozen pizza.'"

"So, it was a while in the works. We finally got it out, and I don't want to say anything surprises me, but I think last call about a week and a half ago we sold close to a quarter-million of these things throughout Walmart. They're flying."

The new 'Halloween' flick features a frighteningly inspired performance from James Jude Courtney, who leaned on an old friend/real-life murderer to pick up tips on playing the legendary villain behind the mask.

The "Halloween Kills" star joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to reveal part of his process to portray Michael Myers -- something James has done more than anyone else -- and it was downright chilling.

He told us he prepped for one of his very first killer roles by living in a psych ward with paranoid schizophrenics who had killed people ... but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Later in his career, James says he lived with a guy who had done hard time for murders -- he'd been a hitman -- but apparently wanted to moonlight as an acting coach.

James told us his killer roommate actually critiqued one of his movies, and told him how to make his character more believable, more realistic. That sounds great for James' acting career, but there's still the matter of actually LIVING under the same roof as a cold-blooded killer!!!