TMZ Live

Congressman Mike Quigley is applauding President Volodymyr Zelensky for standing up to Vladimir Putin, and says the Russians -- and maybe the world -- seriously underestimated Ukraine's leader.

The U.S. Rep from Illinois joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" after he'd witnessed Zelensky state his case to Congress for more military assistance to defend his country from Putin's invasion ... and came away impressed.

Rep. Quigley says Zelensky's courage has managed to unite NATO in only a few weeks, despite the fact Ukraine is not even a member nation, and he's proving Putin made a huge miscalculation by taking him lightly.

As we reported ... Zelensky made an impassioned speech to Quigley and hundreds of his fellow colleagues in Congress, pleading for the U.S. and NATO to help to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine in hopes of stopping the Russians from bombing civilians.

Rep. Quigley's Chicago constituents include a neighborhood known as Ukrainian Village, and he's had conversations with Zelensky prior to today's speech.

Tech entrepreneur Andrey Liscovich is fighting for his birthplace of Ukraine by giving up his life in Silicon Valley and getting civilian soldiers the supplies they need ... and it's so dangerous he's just written his will.

Andrey joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and tells us he and his colleagues put together the Ukraine Defense Fund, taking anything they can to help support the troops.

The organization has already raised $65k ... using the money to place supply orders worldwide, getting items shipped to Poland. They're also accepting supplies as a donation ... including medical supplies, body armor and clothes.

With over 100,000 volunteers joining the Ukrainian armed forces since the war began, the army doesn't have enough necessities to go around. He says, "You can imagine a guy ... coming in a sweater, getting an AK-47, and perhaps a few spare magazines and not get much besides that."

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is personal for Andrey ... growing up in Ukraine, he knew he couldn't sit on the sidelines while destruction plagues his people.

Andrey says he's even drafted a will on his laptop while the attacks rage on ... knowing these uncertain times are a matter of life or death.

President Biden's latest executive order is a big "W" for those in the crypto world, and a clear indicator everyone should, if nothing else, start learning what it's all about ... according to Daymond John.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" for his "Follow the Money" segment ... giving us his take on Biden's greenlight for feds to study risks and benefits of cryptocurrency. Daymond says the bottom line is ... it's really good news.

He says the news legitimizes crypto, and should get more people to invest. Even further, he believes Biden's interest in creating a digital U.S. dollar will protect all Americans.

Although, the prez did not announce any regulations of cryptocurrency ... Daymond says they'll be necessary to prevent investors from getting hurt or scammed.

Already, 16% of Americans have invested in crypto, and he says that number will increase greatly in the next 10 years.

Former CIA operative Ric Prado says killing Vladimir Putin inside Russia isn't as easy as Sen. Lindsey Graham makes it sound, but he adds ... there is an opening, if the oligarchs want him gone.

Prado, who has more than 20-years experience in in the Agency, broke down what he believes his former colleagues can do to help Ukraine beat back Putin's Russian army. Many people, like Sen. Graham, have said the best option is getting Putin out of power ... and Prado's all for it too.

But, as he explained Thursday on "TMZ Live" ... killing Putin is easier said than done. For starters, he says Putin is well protected and his inner circle will do anything to keep him alive, because they're as good as dead if he's ever assassinated.

Ric also says Russian civilians don't stand a chance against Putin -- they just don't have the weaponry -- but oligarchs have the resources and connections to make Sen. Graham's wish come true.

He says the economic sanctions are squeezing the oligarchs ... and he'd like to see one or more of Russia's 100 billionaires put a bounty on Putin's head just to stop their own economic bleeding.

Trent Hartsfield and his wife were supposed to permanently welcome a Ukrainian orphan to their family ... now he's in a terrifying race against time, as the brutal Russian invasion continues in Ukraine.

Trent joined TMZ live Tuesday from Bucharest, Romania -- he's flown there in hopes of finding 9-year-old Angelina, a little girl his family's trying to adopt as Putin's assault on Ukraine grows more and more brutal.

We spoke to Trent just hours after the Russians shelled a children's hospital ... putting him even more on edge. He says he and his wife fell in love with Angelina back in December when they hosted her for a month. They had to send her back in January, per Ukraine law, but they simultaneously started the process to permanently adopt her.

Once Putin declared war, Trent says he and his wife, Muff, were worried about Angelina's safety and lost all communication with her ... with the exception of one brief video call on Feb. 25.

Quite frankly, he's scared and devastated by the news out of Ukraine ... and wants to do everything in his power to bring Angelina back to the U.S. -- but, right now, it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

Trent says he'll start by going to the Romanian border with Ukraine in hopes missionaries and other volunteers can point him in the right direction.

Hundreds of American families in the process of adopting Ukrainian children are in the same plight as Trent, who says "timing is everything" in his search.

The mass exodus from Ukraine has created a crisis with the pets residents had to leave behind, but in the middle of Putin's brutal war, some Ukrainians have stepped up to save the animals.

Katya Kurletz is on the ground in Ukraine, leading the efforts to track down dogs in destroyed cities and transport them to safety in Poland and Romania ... and she joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to tell us about her dangerous mission.

In the face of constant fear of encountering advancing Russian forces, Katya says she and others are doing everything they can to save Ukrainian pets from the rubble.

Katya tells us there are hundreds of dogs being evacuated ... and her group, Transform a Street Dog, still needs help transporting dogs and cats and finding them new homes.

It's pretty scary .... Katya tells us she saw a Russian missile destroy an entire block, but she couldn't let it derail her mission, because the blast left more pets in need of her help.

We've seen upwards of 1 1/2 million people flee war-torn Ukraine, including the elderly, and it's sad to think about the pets ... but there are some good folks out there looking out for the animals.

Philanthropist Bethenny Frankel's effort to help displaced Ukrainians is raising huge amounts of money, and now she's focused on finding ways to distribute the aid, quickly and safely.

Bethenny was on TMZ Live Monday with a huge update -- her Bstrong initiative (in-partnership with Global Empowerment Mission) has received $25 million worth of aid donations and supplies, with another $10M given in cash ... and the total is still climbing!

She says the supplies are going to an undisclosed location in Ukraine -- kept under wraps for safety concerns -- and they're also operating out of massive warehouses in Poland and Hungary. The goal is to use these hubs for those in need and have them serve as a space for organizations to pick up supplies as needed.

She also tells us the $10M in cash will go towards refugee relocation ... saying it's not about keeping Ukrainians happy in their own country anymore. She says the goal is to get them out safely, which will be more accessible with the money raised.

Bethenny's 11-year-old daughter Bryn has been helping out too ... making artwork to raise some cash for the cause! She made an exclusive set of paintings depicting the Ukrainian flag, and NY Mets owner Steve Cohen bought 5 of 'em right off the bat!

Rep. Adam Kinzinger is on board with encouraging the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he admits America's leaders need to be very careful about how and where they say that.

The Republican congressman joined us Friday on "TMZ live," and we got his reaction to Sen. Lindsey Graham's controversial comments ... calling for Russians to kill Putin. He actually agrees with Graham about taking out Putin, but says he doesn't think the U.S. has to be the one to do it.

Kinzinger says the whole point of seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs is to push them toward taking out Putin.

Sen. Graham came under fire Friday after publicly pushing the notion of assassination.

However, Kinzinger did acknowledge words matter, and the last thing we want to do is stir up folks in Russia to rally against the U.S.

As far as other folks within the Republican party going after Graham for his comments, Rep. Kinzinger says he respects them too and adds ... it's good for politicians in the same party to have a mind of their own.

Ukrainian tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky is back in Ukraine, voluntarily returning to defend his homeland against Russia -- and his second mission is making his wife understand why he's chosen to do the first.

Sergiy was in Kyiv Thursday when he joined us on "TMZ Live" ... and explained the extremely difficult decision he's made to leave his wife and 3 young kids -- ages 3, 6 and 7 -- in Hungary while he takes up arms in Ukraine.

As you can imagine, telling his wife he was leaving safety to go to the middle of his war-torn country was not easy ... and you can hear the agony in Sergiy's voice.

Sergiy says his wife was mad when he told her he was going back to Ukraine ... but he understood there would be no way she could understand.

He says things were initially extremely icy between them, but they are communicating again, and now he's just hoping he'll be able to ask for her forgiveness one day ... in person.

You wanna talk about being torn in separate directions -- Sergiy tells us he's not sure he made the right choice in joining Ukraine's reserve army, but at the same time he says staying home with his family in Hungary wouldn't be the right choice either.

This is just a few powerful moments of our conversation with him -- but Sergiy also told us how he and other Ukrainians are feeling about the possibility of a ceasefire, and about Vladimir Putin.

Bethenny Frankel is commanding an army of her own -- hundreds of people tasked with saving Ukrainians as Russia invades their homeland, and how she does it is a remarkable lesson in efficiency.

The philanthropist and entrepreneur joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to talk more about her Bstrong initiative, which is raising millions and sending aid to the war-torn country. Bethenny had announced her partnership with Global Empowerment Mission, pledging $10 mil in food, medical aid and other supplies.

All of that aid's being boxed up in her South Florida warehouse ... but on top of that, Bstrong continues to raise even more cash -- more than $5 million -- to help fleeing Ukrainians at the Poland border relocate. As for how she's pulling off this extraordinary humanitarian effort -- Bethenny tells us it's all about being "efficient and lean," and knowing where help is most needed.

She adds, for anyone looking to donate their cash to her initiative, your money certainly won't go to waste 'cause her team is on the ground working.

It's no surprise Bethenny's among those leading the charge ... she says she's gotten lots of training in relief efforts for natural disasters, like tropical storms in Texas, the Caribbean and the Australian wildfires. She says her history of putting on big productions, with many moving parts, has helped hone her get-it-done mindset.

Ukrainians are fighting tooth and nail against Russian forces trying to take over the country, but it isn't just the military in the bunkers ... it's normal citizens too.

Journalist Terrell Jermaine Starr broke down this breathtaking -- and sometimes heartbreaking -- aspect of the Russian invasion when he joined us Monday on "TMZ Live." He's embedded with a group of volunteers in Kyiv who've answered the call to take up arms and battle the Russian superpower.

One important factor here ... as Terrell told us, these aren't trained soldiers, they're ordinary folks -- from shoemakers to lawyers -- fighting to preserve their freedom and sovereignty with little to no military training.

Starr has one of these volunteers with him in the car -- a guy named Andriy Koronenko -- who says the end game is fending off Russia and getting its soldiers the hell out of their borders ... but it's a daunting task for volunteer platoons.

Based on local reports, it would appear groups like these are actually finding success in certain confrontations. We've seen Ukrainians decimating a good amount of Russian tanks and, in some cases, wiping out entire convoys on the move.

As you know ... the government has told its citizenry to get creative on pushing back, which includes homemade Molotov cocktails they're encouraging folks to chuck at passing Russians.

Tristan "Mack" Wilds is sick and tired of the way the media and others unfairly profile black males, and he wants to blow these misconceptions to smithereens in a new Discovery+ show.

Tristan, who starred in "The Wire," joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk about the false stereotypes that have been attached to Black males ... false stereotypes like Black fathers leave their families, and they devalue Black women.

Tristan knows of where he speaks, growing up as a Black male in America and dealing with these damaging presumptions people make.

The Discovery+ show is executively produced by none other than Tina Knowles-Lawson, who had a strategy to get her message out. The strategy -- don't sell the show to a predominately Black network. Her reasoning is that white people are the ones who need education, so Discovery+ fits the bill.

It's interesting ... Tristan thinks the way the media has unfairly characterized Black men has spilled over into the problems of police officers profiling Black men -- the cops learn from the media and then perpetuate the false narrative.

The docuseries premiered earlier this month, and new episodes will air on Discovery+, every Saturday.

Stand-up comedian Earthquake has the biggest platform of his more than 30-year career, and he's giving Dave Chappelle all the props for giving him the big break.

Earthquake joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to talk more about his upcoming special, "Legendary" ... the first of Dave's 4-part series, "Chappelle's Home Team." He told us, he's flattered Dave "reached back" to give comedians like himself such a huge opportunity to reach a wider audience.

Of course, Dave sparked lots of controversy for Netflix last year after his special, "The Closer," pissed off LGBTQ+ groups and some employees at the streaming service.

Rather than shying away, Netflix is capitalizing on its relationship with Dave ... and Earthquake and other comedians are benefitting. Earthquake says it all started with a surprising call -- which he thought was a prank -- from Netflix execs.

Chappelle won't be doing any stand-up specials this time around, but he is executive producing all of them and recording intros for the comedians. BTW, Earthquake gave us some insider intel about the other comedians who will be featured.

Lee Asher is deep in the dog house, AKA "The Asher House" ... but wouldn't have it any other way, after quitting a 6-figure corporate gig to start his own animal sanctuary!!!

Lee stars in the new Animal Planet/Discovery+ show, "My Pack Life" ... and joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to explain why he turned his life upside down. He says the epiphany came when he thought about what he loved most in the world.

Watch the clip ... he says there were 2 things, in particular, that prompted him to quit his L.A. job, sell all his stuff and buy an RV. What happened next is an incredible adventure.

After traveling around the U.S. and Canada -- and getting 500 dogs adopted along the way -- Lee finally put down some roots in Oregon where his 'Asher House' is almost like Noah's Ark.

But, he says it's not just about the animals ... it's people who can change the world and help them. When people are happy, they treat each other better, and he wants folks to live with a purpose, he says.

He now has a whole pack of furry friends ... including 30 dogs, 2 donkeys, 2 horses, 13 pigs, 3 cows, 4 goats, 6 sheep, 4 alpacas and a parrot.

George Floyd's aunt, Angela Harrelson, knows his murder ignited a worldwide wave of activism, and she wants to make sure it continues ... as the federal trial continues for 3 ex-cops involved in his fatal arrest.

Angela joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," but on Tuesday she'd been in court to see ex-officer Tou Thao testify. He and fellow ex-cops J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane are accused of violating George's civil rights during the arrest.

She called it a triggering day -- having to see the gut-wrenching video again, as well as listening to Thao's testimony.

Unlike Derek Chauvin, Thao, Lane and Kueng did not have their knees on George's neck ... but Angela told us why she feels they still bear responsibility for his death.

Angela, who was extremely close to George, has also written a memoir, "Lift Your Voice: How My Nephew George Floyd's Murder Changed the World." As she explained, writing it was cathartic -- but it also gave her a chance to be a voice for George.

She says she's urging others to keep using their voices as they did during months of marches for equality and justice after George's murder. Angela's point is ... when you see something that isn’t fair speak up, because every person can make a difference.

We'd like to take a minute just sit right there, there's a reboot in town -- "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" ... and one of its stars says a lot's changed.

Jordan L. Jones plays the role of Jazz in the new show, "Bel-Air," and says it is drastically different in a great way. He joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to break down the advice he got from Jazzy Jeff, who originally played his character ... and his goosebumps moment with Will Smith.

As you've probably heard ... this "reimagining" of the '90s hit has all the same characters, but the twist is, it's not a comedy. It's based on director Morgan Cooper's short film from several years ago, and as Jordan explained ... they had a ton of creative freedom to put their own spin on it.

Of course, the OG actors came back to help guide and give creative direction. Jordan says it was a dream come true to get kudos from Will. In fact, he called it a "crazy" moment ... so, you gotta see him reveal exactly what big Willie told him.

The first 3 episodes of "Bel-Air" are already streaming on Peacock, and a new episode drops every Thursday. BTW, Jazzy Jeff also gave Jordan some solid advice about bringing his character back to life.