TMZ Live

Master P says no one should be behind bars for low-level marijuana offenses, and he's not just blowing smoke ... he's actively trying to get people freed from prisons across the U.S.

The music icon joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and told us about his upcoming benefit concert for Friday's "Cannabis Freedom Day" ... and why more states need to change their drug laws.

Master P says there are way too many people locked up for possession of as little as $5 to $100 worth of pot -- in his home state of Louisiana and elsewhere -- and he says it's unfair and is wreaking havoc on entire communities.

To bring awareness to "Cannabis Freedom Day," Master P's No Limit Reunion Tour is performing in Norfolk, VA ... where he's taking the stage along with Mystikal, Silkk, Mia X, Fiend, Mr. Serv-on, Choppa Style, Mercedes and Juvenile.

Master P says he wants to put more pressure on states, like Louisiana, to follow California's lead and release people incarcerated for cannabis convictions while changing laws in the process. There have been over 60,000 people released in Cali, and with weed becoming decriminalized in 34 states, Master P wants to see more offenders get a second chance.

Rick Ross has a parade of hot wheels rolling into the Atlanta area this weekend -- hosting a massive car expo at his own crib ... and hyping it up as a come one, come all extravaganza.

The Boss gave us the scoop Wednesday on "TMZ Live" about the car and bike show going down at his Fayetteville, GA estate Saturday ... where he'll not only be showing off his own luxury/novelty vehicles -- including a tank and firetruck, among dozens of other sweet whips -- but actually scoping out tons of others that'll be on display from different owners as well.

It's essentially going to be the automobile event of the year -- at least from what Renzel is describing to us here -- and indeed ... RR says he might be looking to buy himself.

If you follow Rick on social media ... you're probably well aware of his eclectic collection, so this type of get-together makes sense for the guy. As he explains to us, this is gonna be a who's who of car aficionados -- with gear heads from all over the world -- but not just that ... there'll even be a chance for some friendly competition and prizes!

Watch how Rick breaks down the contest ... he says he's going to extreme lengths to make sure it's fair and credible -- and even shows off what's up for grabs, besides bragging rights.

Congress is holding a hearing about unexplainable objects in the skies from experts who say they are baffled .... finally, after over 50 years, our government is taking UFOs seriously.

A House panel is hearing from experts Tuesday on 144 UAPs -- Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, aka UFOs. This comes after years of silence, cover-ups and retribution against Defense Dept. officials and others who dared to express the belief ... something is out there.

Rep. Andre Carson expressed a sentiment shared by many experts over the years ... that UAPs represent a serious national security threat and must be treated as such.

Carson echoed what TMZ presented in a FOX Network documentary ... profiling Navy pilots who said they were hesitant to even report these UAPs because they feared they'd be laughed at and viewed as wackos ... possibly compromising their position in the military.

Carson said, "For too long, the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis. Pilots avoided reporting or were laughed at when they did. DOD officials relegated the issue to the backroom or swept it under the rug entirely, fearful of a skeptical national security community," Carson said. "Today, we know better. UAPs are unexplained, it's true. But, they are real. They need to be investigated. And, any threats they pose need to be mitigated."

The Pentagon's UAP Task Force released a report last year, concluding more than 140 objects they analyzed could not be explained.

Pentagon officials say the number of UAPs has now surged to over 400 since last year's report was published.

Originally Published -- 8:34 AM PT

The black family targeted by a young white boy who showed up at their front door with a whip are afraid it could happen again ... telling us the cops never seized the weapon.

Dee and Carissa Nash -- who captured the shocking incident on their home surveillance -- joined "TMZ Live" Monday. They tell us the 9-year-old boy had been aggressive toward other kids recently, but had for the most part, not directly gone after their daughter.

Obviously, that changed ... when the boy showed up on their front doorstep with a whip, smacking the door and allegedly doing damage to their car.

The Nash family -- who lives just outside Dallas -- called the cops, but tell us officers never confiscated the whip, and wouldn't talk to the young boy directly without his dad present. When Dee decided to take matters into his own hands, and talk to the boy's dad, the man pulled a gun and fired a shot, leading to his arrest.

'Bling Empire' star, Kane Lim, says he's not really here for all the drama, but he might have some convincing to do ... on not one, but two reality shows.

Kane Lim joined TMZ live Friday, and talked about the new season of the hit Netflix show, "Bling Empire" ... as well as joining the cast of "Selling Sunset".

Kane tells us, he's finding himself in the middle of a lot of heat from folks on social media ... stemming from 'Bling Empire's new season. Regardless, he says he's just rolling with the punches and hopes he'll warm up to people on the Internet.

Kane also acknowledged his arch-nemesis, Dorothy Wang, who is on "Bling Empire" now ... and as expected, he didn't give her glowing reviews.

In case you didn't know, Kane recently joined The Oppenheim Group as a real estate developer ... so he'll be making appearances on "Selling Sunset."

Tiffany Haddish says she's a coy person, so she's really trying hard not to spill the beans about a rumored music project with Beyonce ... but there's a lot of smoke that could lead to something fire!

The "Girls Trip" star joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and hinted at an upcoming collab with Queen B ... and even though she was coy and bashful about possibly getting in the studio with one of her music idols, there's enough between the lines to believe it may be happening, or it already went down.

Tiffany's been making new music with the likes of Trina and Jada Pinkett Smith, and we've been hearing she was also recruiting Beyonce, Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne to the project.

One thing is for certain ... Tiffany really admires Beyonce's work, and let's be honest, who wouldn't want to get with Bey in the studio?!?

It's interesting ... Tiffany says her original plan was to only use the music in movies and TV shows she's producing but not acting in, but she tells us why the financials might cause her to change course and drop the music publicly first.

Tiffany's a jack of all trades in Hollywood ... she just released a new book about bullying and being yourself, "Layla, the Last Black Unicorn," which she hopes helps kids who are going through some tough times.

Dr. Myron Rolle says it was always in the back of his head to become a neurosurgeon once his NFL playing career was over ... and he credits Ben Carson with planting the seed.

The football defensive back turned brain surgeon joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and told us how he made the extremely rare transition from the football field to the medical field.

Myron was always gifted in school, he spent a year abroad studying at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar after earning a degree as a star player at Florida State, but he says Ben's 1990 book "Gifted Hands" got him thinking about neuroscience.

Understanding careers in the NFL are fleeting -- Myron's lasted about 3 years after being drafted by the Colts -- Rolle says he always had it in his mind to have a plan for after football, and he became a neurosurgeon because he wanted to help save lives.

Myron's still got a connection to football ... telling us his work as a neurosurgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital allows him to operate on football players, and others, with brain injuries from concussions.

Myron says much of his success is also thanks to a mindset he developed from one of his FSU coaches, where the goal is to break large goals down to smaller tasks and get a little better each day ... and he's got a book coming out about it called "The 2% Way: How a Philosophy of Small Improvements Took Me to Oxford, the NFL, and Neurosurgery."

Gabriel Iglesias is gearing up for some record-setting gigs at his beloved Dodger Stadium, and, in the wake of the Dave Chappelle incident ... he's not worried about getting got by violent hecklers.

Gabriel, AKA Fluffy, joined "TMZ Live" to talk about being the first comedian ever to perform at the iconic home of the L.A. Dodgers, as a part of the "Netflix Is A Joke" 12-day festival.

Fluffy tells us he wanted to go big or go home, and sure enough ... this is the biggest venue he's ever played. He's filling more than 45,000 seats this weekend, making it the 3rd biggest comedy show ever ... and the biggest ever in Los Angeles.

Of course, the attack on Chappelle is on the mind of all comedians -- many are ramping up security measures -- but Gabriel says he's not worried at all.

He broke news with us about someone jumping on his stage last week in Seattle ... revealing his security team -- which he calls the best -- immediately took down the guy. But, "professionally," he says.

Brian Dunkleman says he was "suicide adjacent" after quitting his hosting gig on "American Idol" ... but looking back, he says his fears and depression were unnecessary, and he's finally in a great place.

Brian, who co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest in season 1, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us why he was in such a dark place when he left the smash hit show, and why he later found out things weren't as grim as he originally thought.

The way Brian tells it ... he was left twisting in the wind without a contract after season 1, and started abusing drugs and alcohol because he was severely depressed.

Brian feared he made a massive mistake when he quit the show to pursue an acting career, and the decision haunted him for years -- Howard Stern famously compared him to Pete Best, who left the Beatles before the band got huge.

But, BD says when he co-hosted the 'Idol' series finale (on FOX, anyway) back in 2016, he ran into one of his former bosses, and learned the network was going to drop him for season 2, anyway ... a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

Now, Brian says he's cleaned up his act, he's doing standup comedy and improv, and he thanks his new documentary on Amazon Prime, "Dunkleman," for helping him heal from past traumas ... which, as he explained to us, go way beyond 'Idol.'

Now, he's not only glad he never followed through with his darkest thoughts, but he also has an important message for anyone fighting to overcome depression.

Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, is here to clear up why the federal government seems to be pushing back on mask mandates that were set to expire.

The cabinet member formerly known as Mayor Pete came on "TMZ Live" and offered some much-needed clarity on the whole mask mandate confusion, particularly on planes -- namely, whether people still have to wear them.

As you know, a federal judge struck down the Biden administration's mask mandate rule for air travel earlier this month -- giving people the right to go maskless if they want -- but since then the DOJ has appealed the decision, and wants to make its case in court.

Of course, the reason people are scratching their heads ... if the federal mask mandate was going to end on May 3 anyway, why are Biden and co. trying to reinstate it?

As PB explains here ... it's not so much that President Biden wants to force people to mask up again, but more so -- trying to define and establish the federal government's legal authority on this sort of issue, which the judge kinda flouted with their ruling.

With that said, Pete says at this moment ... people do NOT have to mask up while flying, as long as the airline doesn't require it -- and none of them do, currently. As for ground-level public transit -- that's up to local, city or county policy.

Check out the full interview on Thursday's "TMZ Live," because we also grilled the Secretary on that infuriating issue affecting all of us ... gas prices!!!

After talking shop ... we kinda nerded out with Pete on his 2 babies, whom he welcomed to the world with his husband, Chasten, last year. We get into the nitty-gritty (and poopy) ... and it sounds like Pete's enjoying parenthood to no end.

Howie Mandel's happy to be out of his quarantine after getting COVID ... but says his time locked away drove him insane, and thinks being vulnerable about your mental health is important now more than ever.

Howie was on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk about his new show "Bullsh*t the Game Show" ... but before pitching his show, he opened up about his intense struggle with the virus ... which he contracted during his first public outing -- the Kids' Choice Awards.

He makes it clear ... the physical symptoms weren't bad, but the collateral damage to his mental health was real. Howie's a big proponent of talking about these struggles ... it definitely has helped him navigate troubled waters.

As for his new Netflix game show, Howie says he's been offered a bunch of game show hosting gigs, but this one checks all the boxes. It's not only fun, contestants can win a million bucks!

Antonio Brown just dropped his newest album, but he's already thinking about the next one -- the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout just revealed he only wants athletes featured on his follow-up project.

Brown -- who won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady in 2021 -- joined "TMZ Live" to discuss the success of his album "Paradigm" ... as well as what he's envisioning moving forward.

"The next album got to be with all athletes," Brown told Harvey and Charles. "We want to give every athlete a chance to be creative -- NBA, baseball, football players."

"We just want to give premier athletes the opportunity to express themselves, be themselves. I know a lot of players that do it on their own that may not put it out," Brown added.

AB's current album has features from some huge names in hip hop ... and the project has been doing well, with help from his friend, Kanye West.

Brown told TMZ Sports despite Ye not being featured on the album, Kanye had a significant hand in its production, with West overseeing everything and paying for a lot of studio time.

Of course, artists such as Fivio Foreign, DaBaby, Young Thug, and Keyshia Cole are all featured on the project ... but AB is eyeing names like Melvin Ingram, Shaquille O'Neal, Miles Bridges and Darren Waller next time.

Finally, AB admitted Shaq's success as an athlete and rapper helped motivate his side hustle ... and opened up about potentially working with him in the past.

"Absolutely, Shaq was the only athlete that made a successful album that actually went platinum," Brown said. "And he still was a great player."

"He changed the fact of athletes being one-dimensional."

Director Joe Berlinger says when it comes to serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a big part of his horrific rampage had to do with self-hatred and his inability to deal with his sexuality.

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday to talk about digging into the mind of the notorious Illinois serial killer for his new Netflix docuseries, "Conversations With a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes" ... and, as you might imagine, it's a frightening ride.

The film explores what made Gacy -- a birthday clown by day -- tick during his reign of terror in the 1970s. Berlinger says listening to Gacy's conversations with attorneys and cops ... showed how much the mad man blamed his victims.

He says the killings had a lot to do with Gacy's self-hatred, and inability to deal with his sexuality. As for why it took so long to catch him, Joe says society's prevailing attitudes toward marginalized groups, like the gay community, were a major factor.

On a personal note ... Berlinger admits he struggles to leave his work at home. He's been delving into the minds of murderers for decades now, and he told us why his Oscar-nominated doc, "Paradise Lost" -- about the 1996 slayings of 3 West Memphis boys -- was particularly difficult.

Joe says, "I was trying to have a tender moment with my new child, and I just kept flashing on the worst images of what happened to these children".

"Selling Sunset" has some fans begging for more ... more luxury homes, that is, and at least one cast member, Maya Vander, agrees -- but that's not the only reason she's having a hard time watching the new season.

Maya joined us Friday on TMZ Live and opened up about the trauma she endured when her baby was stillborn late last year.

She'd been expecting the whole time they shot season 5 -- which just dropped on Netflix -- so, now watching the show means seeing herself pregnant again.

She told us she hopes sharing the tragic story can help other parents dealing with similar losses.

As for the rest of the show's storylines ... Maya admits, there seems to be less and less real estate in a show that's all about selling real estate -- but, at the same time, she knows "drama sells" on TV.

Emmet McDermott's documentary -- #1 on Netflix right now -- exposes Abercrombie & Fitch's racist view of beauty, which he says was illegally applied to the company's hiring and firing practices.

Emmet joined us Thursday on TMZ Live to discuss his docufilm, "White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch" ... which features former employees revealing a toxic workplace that emphasized thin, white beautiful people as their vision of "All-American."

We're not just talking about the models -- Emmet says the company would phase out employees who looked "off-brand." He puts it plainly ... if you weren't good-looking or white, you're out.

The company even had a certain way for their employees to look, eliminating things -- certain hairstyles and jewelry -- it deemed to be associated with other, non-white cultures.

Clearly, A&F had crossed some legal lines when it comes to hiring based on race ... and it's made efforts to turn that around.

The company's current CEO, Fran Horowitz, posted a statement after the doc dropped, saying “We’re focused on inclusivity – and continuing that transformation is our enduring promise to you, our community. Always Forward.”

Killer Mike's having one hell of a 47th birthday -- celebrating another spin around the sun, and the fact he's getting paid to spotlight something he loves ... the growth of cannabis culture in America.

Mike joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to talk about his 4-part Vice TV docuseries, "Tumbleweeds With Killer Mike" -- but before we got into that he told us how he's toasting his birthday. You gotta see the clip, but let's just say it involves lots of marijuana and his wife Shay Bigga. It's hilarious.

As for Mike's new show ... 'Tumbleweeds' shows the rapper and activist traveling around the country, showing mary jane's economic impact in cities where it's been legalized.

He says one of his goals is to normalize the cannabis industry by showing the business opportunities it brings, and its positive effects on marginalized communities ... where people have been disproportionately imprisoned for marijuana.

The series debuts tonight on Vice, and you can tell Mike's excited about its potential to shift America's views on legalization.

BTW ... his group, Run The Jewels, will be back at Coachella for the 2nd weekend, and it sounds like he and LP are getting a lineup upgrade.