TMZ Live

Dr. Dre has no problem admitting it, he's a little hungover after celebrating his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance -- one of the best ever -- and he says the party is STILL going!!!

The D-R-E joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and, in his own words, he was still "buzzing" about what he, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar pulled off on Super Sunday.

First off ... that amazing performance. Dre says he went into rehearsals expecting the NFL to heavily censor the songs, but was pleasantly surprised that they only made "minor changes" -- among them, Kendrick's reference to specific L.A. gangs.

Dre says he gets why they called for that to be removed.

As for Eminem taking a knee as an homage to Colin Kaepernick -- Dre says that's something Marshall decided to do on his own, and he never heard the NFL say a peep about it.

After the show, Dre told us they were all feeling the love from roughly 70,000 fans inside SoFi Stadium -- not to mention the millions upon millions watching around the world.

He says he toasted their success with a dinner, and then went to his house to hang with friends ... including Don Cheadle and Mary J. BTW, he broke some big news about her!!!

And, then he gave us the scoop on his own personal celebration that involved a fast-food run. You gotta see this ... Dre says his trainer's gonna be pissed, but hey ... we can all agree the Doc earned himself a large order of fries. Right?

Tammy Faye Bakker, the subject of an Oscar-nominated film this year, was portrayed by the media as a clown and some even called her a crook, but they never talked about her compassion and, frankly incredible progressiveness ... which is best shown in an interview she did in 1985 with Steve Pieters who was struggling with AIDS.

Steve, incredibly, is still alive and jumped on "TMZ Live" Thursday to talk about that interview.

The AIDS activist and pastor reflected on his landmark interview with Tammy, which has been recreated in the 2021 movie "The Eyes of Tammy Faye".

Steve paints a radically different picture of Tammy Faye from the media portrait. The interview came at a time when many people with AIDS were treated inhumanely ... getting fired from their jobs, thrown out of their apartments, and disowned by their families. It's all the more impressive that Tammy Faye stepped in ... because she drew heavy criticism from fundamentalist Christians, some of whom said out loud AIDS was God's revenge against gay people.

The interview was actually done via satellite because there were fears that he'd be mistreated by the crew.

Steve says it was extraordinary for a televangelist to give such a positive, compassionate interview, during a time of fear.

As far as any backlash and cartoon-like depictions of Tammy, Steve says he doesn't think it was right or fair ... because the woman he knew was kind, loving and compassionate.

Speaking of cartoonish ... most people who watched the Tammy Faye/Jim Bakker saga thought she had a habit of crying so hard her mascara would run down her face like Rudy G's hair dye. The reality -- that never happened. 'SNL' depicted her that way in a few skits, and everyone turned it into fact.

Forget jinxes -- the mayor of Cincinnati is so confident the Bengals will beat the Rams in the Super Bowl this Sunday, he already started planning their championship parade!!

Aftab Pureval joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" before the city's big matchup against Los Angeles ... and he said he's been in constant communication with fellow mayor Eric Garcetti and having some friendly fun ahead of the matchup.

"We talked about maybe changing the name of Los Angeles to L-O-S-S Angeles," Pureval joked ... adding they even discussed putting a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame if Cincy pulls off the upset.

FYI -- Aftab has been successful in his bets with other mayors throughout the playoffs ... the Bengals defeated the Titans and Chiefs on their way to the Super Bowl, so he's already stacked up some bragging rights so far.

With all that success, it's no wonder Pureval is already figuring out all the details for the city's celebration ... and he ain't worried about potentially cursing the Bengals in the process.

Philadelphia Eagles safety Anthony Harris made 11-year-old Audrey Soape's night when he accompanied her to a daddy-daughter dance after her dad passed away, but the pro football player tells us it was also an incredibly "special moment" for him, too.

"I try to show fans my support whenever I can," Harris told Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live," adding ... "It just kind of unfolded organically. Over the past few years, they’ve been following my career since I was in Minnesota."

Harris -- the NFL's interception leader in 2019 -- says Audrey's dad and grandpa recently died ... so as the dance approached, the Soape family asked Anthony if he'd like to attend.

Once it became clear Harris' Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs, the 7-year NFL vet told Audrey he'd love to escort her to the dance in Texas.

"I thought it would be a great way to uplift her and utilize my platform I’ve been blessed with to try and brighten people's day and be a blessing to others," the safety told us.

Once they arrived at the dance (in style -- Harris rented a car with a driver), Anthony says he had a blast.

"It was a great event. There was a ton of kids there. It was really nice, really cute to see other fathers there."

Harris later continued ... "I was just all about having fun. The DJ was playing a little bit of the Disney music. I wasn't quite familiar with some of those songs but I had fun embarrassing myself trying to sing those lyrics."

"But the dancing was fun. And seeing the energy of the other young ladies there and the fathers, it was a great time!"

As far as senior influencers, AKA "Granfluencers" go ... Daymond John says it's a new day and age, because there's lots of money to be made on social media and they're taking advantage.

Normally, older folks jumping on a craze is usually a death knell, but the "Shark Tank" star says that's not the case for TikTok, and it totally makes sense seniors are suddenly taking the Internet by storm.

Daymond says users on social platforms tend to believe what more, let's say mature, content creators put out there ... because they have a lot of experience.

Of course, young folks on social media are still making a killing, but Daymond insists, when older people speak, folks will listen -- and if they're having a good time while they do it ... even better.

On top of that, he says don't forget ... older creators, and consumers they're targeting, have spending power on their side.

This makes sense why influencer squads like 'The Old Gays' -- aged 60 to 70 -- and 75-year-old 'Granddad Frank' have been able to rack up millions of followers on TikTok ... and tens of thousands in cash.

Chrishell Stause would love for her next boyfriend to be someone far from famous, but she says that's a tall order at the moment ... and she's gonna need help from her friends.

The "Selling Sunset" star joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" and we asked how the dating life's going on the heels of her most recent breakup, and if she's ready to try a different kind of relationship.

Chrishell says she'd prefer to date non-celebs and tells us whenever a friend tries to set her up with someone, her first question gets straight to the point.

As you know ... Chrishell is just over a month removed from the split from her 'Selling' co-star Jason Oppenheim ... after 5 months of dating.

Before Jason, she dated 'DWTS' pro dancer Keo Motsepe for about 3 months -- and, of course, she's now divorced from "This Is Us" star Justin Hartley.

So, trying a relationship with a non-celeb seems worth a shot ... and while Chrishell says she's very open to the idea, she tells us why it's not exactly simple for her to meet an average Joe.

BTW, she opens up about past relationships and much more -- including her struggles to make it from small-town Kentucky to TV fame -- in her new book, 'Under Construction.'

You could say Chuck Palahniuk saw the Chinese government's censorship of "Fight Club" coming ... because the new ending is closer to the original one he wrote 25 years ago.

The famed author -- who penned the OG novel that became the 1999 movie -- joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to give us his take on China removing the film's big explosive climax.

Chuck says it's funny to him that folks are up in arms over the censorship overseas because he's been dealing with his books being banned for a long time right here in the U.S. -- and he calls out Texas, in particular.

Ironically, Chuck told us China's version actually aligns more with the ending he wrote in the novel. Even more twisted ... he says overseas publishers have been editing his novel to make it more like the David Fincher movie.

So, yeah ... unfortunately, he's kinda used to people messing with his art.

As we reported, China released a new version of the movie, starring Brad Pitt and Ed Norton, that ends without explosions, killings and general chaos. Instead, it ends with an on-screen graphic that reads, in part, "The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding."

Byron Allen says losing Louie Anderson so closely on the heels of Bob Saget's death is a tremendous gut punch to comedians ... who were more like family than co-workers.

The TV mogul, who bonded with Louie over several decades, joined us on "TMZ Live" to take us behind the scenes of their most recent gig together ... the Byron-produced game show, "Funny You Should Ask."

Byron says Louie lived to make everyone laugh -- even when cameras weren't rolling -- and always preached kindness above all else.

There was one thing that especially stood out for Byron, though... he says every time they wrapped up their show, Louie would give him a hug and say "I love you. He would say goodbye to us as if it was the last time we were going to see him."

As we reported, Anderson died Friday morning after battling lymphoma -- and Byron explained why we've heard so many celebs -- especially comedians -- gushing about Louie and Bob.

He told us they're a tight-knit group, really a family, because they all came up together -- more than 40 years ago -- when no one knew their names.

Criss Angel could simply be celebrating his son's cancer going into remission, but instead, he wants to help other families feel the same hope and joy -- and he believes sharing Johnny's story is the best way to do that.

The famed illusionist got the great news Monday about 7-year-old Johnny, whose remission comes after he was first diagnosed at just 20-months-old. Criss captured much of his son's brave battle on camera, and joined us on "TMZ live" to talk about their new documentary "1095."

Criss tells us the 13-minute film documents the trials and tribulations his family faced with pediatric cancer ... and he knows it mirrors the experiences of so many other families. He says that's why he wants to use his platform to help people who are struggling but don't have the resources to raise awareness about this form of cancer.

Criss couldn't hold back tears as he admitted the ordeal has made him a different person. While he's still the same crazy guy onstage ... offstage he's focused on helping others in this dire situation.

After several streaming platforms rejected "1095" -- which is the number of days of chemo Johnny endured -- Criss simply posted it on his YouTube channel ... and we've included it above as well, so pass it on.

Fans from all over the nation are gearing up for what would've been Betty White's 100th birthday ... joining in on a challenge encouraging fans to spread the love to animals in need and donate to local orgs.

Brittany Vizcarra from Paw Works joined us on TMZ live to pitch the "Betty White Challenge." As you know, Betty was a fierce animal rights advocate who spent her adult life tirelessly working for animal rights orgs. Brittany says this challenge is about everybody doing more -- just like Betty -- by caring for abandoned and abused animals.

Paw Works is an animal rescue org that places unwanted animals in L.A. shelters into loving homes.

Since the Betty White challenge has taken off on social media, some orgs have seen an uptick in donations ... and with the help of people like Brittany, those donations are bound to pour in all over the U.S., as the 17th approaches.

Brittany says it's super simple to "be more like Betty" ... folks can volunteer, adopt, foster or find any other way to get involved.

It's a damn shame "Black-ish" is ending, because it sounds like Michelle Obama could have a permanent role on the hit show ... if you ask Marsai Martin, anyway.

The 17-year-old actress/director/entrepreneur and, as it turns out, interior designer ... was beaming about getting to work with the former First Lady on the episode which aired last week. Thursday on "TMZ Live" she told us it had long been a dream of hers, and other cast members, to get Michelle on set.

It's been said meeting your heroes can be disappointing, but Marsai says getting camera time with MO in the final season of "Black-ish" was a "surreal" dream come true.

Ya gotta see the joy on her face as she describes the experience, but we think she summed it up perfectly when she said it "felt like [Michelle] was an auntie" by the time they finished shooting the episode.

Btw, the show's got more big names lined up for its final episodes ... including Simone Biles, Magic Johnson and Babyface.

Fans have watched Marsai grow up on camera -- she started her role as "Diane" when she was only 9 -- and now she's got real pull in Hollywood ... enough to launch her own reality show.

It's called "Remix My Space with Marsai Martin" and it taps into her passion for design ... as we mentioned earlier.

On the show, she picks teenagers who've made an impact in their communities, and surprises them with personalized, stylish full bedroom makeovers. It's debuting Saturday on Discovery+.

Fat Joe says his famous friends are chipping in to make sure victims of that historically deadly Bronx apartment fire aren't left out in the cold -- but adds it's gonna take more than celebrities to get the job done.

Joey Crack joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us what inspired him to team up with NYC Mayor Eric Adams to help survivors and those who lost loved ones and property in the deadly blaze.

As we reported ... the inferno engulfed a 19-story apartment building in the Bronx, killing 17 people -- including 8 children -- the city's deadliest fire in more than 30 years.

Fat Joe says most of the people living in the building are immigrants, and they're now homeless amid freezing cold winter temps. He's used his contacts to help jumpstart fundraising, shouting out donations they've already received from Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, LL Cool J, Nas and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey ... among others.

It's the first big crisis for Adams, who took office on Jan. 1, and Fat Joe tells us why the new mayor can cut through political red tape to make a difference here.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger says there's something that's not being talked about much, but it looms as one of the biggest threats to our country ... if Donald Trump steals the 2024 Presidential election, it could well be the end of democracy in America.

The Republican Congressman from Illinois joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and we asked him about the GOP's full-court press to install lawmakers in critical states where the party could potentially certify an election for a candidate who actually lost at the ballot box.

Kinzinger says the scariest thing leading up to the insurrection was GOP memos exploring legal technicalities for states to certify elections how they see fit ... regardless of how citizens voted.

Rep. Kinzinger says he's trying to pass election reform, but Congress has so far come up short ... and given what he's watching in his own party, he tells us he's worried about the state of our elections moving forward.

Spice wants to show women how much can be accomplished on their own, and tells us making Grammy history with her debut album is a big step toward that goal.

The Queen of Dancehall is one of 2 female dancehall artists -- the other being Etana -- to be nominated for Best Reggae Album. That's a first for the Grammys, and on Tuesday's "TMZ Live" she told us about her rags to riches tale ... in life and the industry.

The title of her nominated album is "10" -- fitting because she says, "For the past 10 years I've managed myself. I've been my own record label, my stylist and everything, so I'm just super gleeful and excited."

Spice tells us she wants to show people it is possible to make dreams a reality ... "When one door closes you can open another one," she says.

This has been a huge year for the dancehall artist and "Love & Hip-Hop Atlanta" star.

She released her hit album back in August ... and a large part of that success came from the lead single, "Go Down Deh" ft. Shaggy and Sean Paul.

Folks in the music scene aren't the only ones who agree either. Just last month, the song even made it to former Prez Obama's 2021 playlist.

Spice says her slogan is "from homeless to greatness," and indeed she is living that out ... she told us she just bought a home in ATL and she has been doing extremely well for herself.

The LAPD officer who fired the fatal rounds in the Burlington Coat Factory shooting, killing the suspect and an innocent bystander, looked like he went rogue ... so says a retired cop.

Timothy Williams Jr., an expert on the use of force in policing and a retired LAPD detective supervisor, joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" and he broke down the police body cam footage in the fatal shooting ... and it's his opinion the shots were not justified.

The first thing that jumped out to Timothy ... the cop with the AR-15 appearing to act separately from the rest of the cops and gun down the suspect, even though other police in the group had less-lethal weapons.

Remember ... the suspect was wielding a bike lock and chain, bloodying a shopper and injuring others before cops arrived ... and Timothy says the use of force was warranted in this situation, but he thinks police didn't need to use lethal force and fire an assault rifle.

As you know ... the bullets from the AR-15 killed the suspect, as well as a 14-year-old girl who was cowering in the background in a dressing room. The walls in these kinds of stores are usually paper-thin, and the L.A. County Medical Examiner says a bullet struck her in the chest and killed her.

Neil deGrasse Tyson says the new NASA telescope observing the origins of the early universe isn't a shot across the bow at religion ... but being flexible is the key.

The famed astrophysicist joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked if the research being done using the $10 billion Webb space telescope could challenge the foundations of religion.

Neil says the telescope, which launched into space on Christmas, will be used to fill in some gaps with the big bang theory ... but he's not buying the argument that such research will clash with generations of folks who believe God created the universe in 6 days.

The way Neil sees it ... religious folks are becoming more flexible and looking at things in a more spiritual sense ... so new discoveries won't cut to the core of belief systems.