The TMZ Podcast

Kanye West and his family wanted to touch base with the man upstairs this weekend -- but it appears they were interrupted by the paparazzi ... which set Papa Bear off.

The rapper-producer was heading to church Sunday in L.A. with his "wife," Bianca Censori, and at least one of his kids -- 4-year-old Psalm. They were being hounded by photographers the whole time ... and at one point, Ye had to stop his car and deal with them himself.

It's unclear if this happened while he was going to church or leaving -- but, in any case, it got ugly on the side of the road ... where KW berated some of the paps tailing him.

In video, obtained by TMZ, you can see and hear Ye losing it -- yelling at the paps and demanding that they stop following him. He even used an expletive to get his point across.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they left him alone ... because photos later popped up that show Ye and co. at what seemed to be their final destination. In the lot of whatever facility they were at for church, Ye could be seen playing with Psalm ... who brought his bike.

Bianca, meanwhile, was standing right next to them ... and she had an interesting outfit on, as did Kanye. It seems like whatever service they were going to might've been themed, because others who were heading inside also appeared to be thematically dressed.

It's great to see Kanye doing the dad thing as he and Kim continue to coparent/blend families -- but it's a bummer that they can't do it without a lens in their face 24/7. Catch-22.

Prince Harry's legal war with the British press over alleged phone hacking is coming to a head this week when a trial is set to start ... and where he might even take the stand early.

The Duke of Sussex is reportedly expected to appear in a London court this upcoming week, and the word is ... he might even testify as early as Tuesday. The case being heard stems from a lawsuit he and others have filed against the parent company of the Daily Mirror.

This is just of a handful of publications he's suing ... all of which revolved around allegations of phone hacking, invasion of privacy and, effectively, spying on him and other members of the Royal Family dating back several years -- something PH is trying to rectify now.

The Daily Mirror case is going to be hashed out in court first, and Harry's likely testimony could actually be historic -- as he'll be the first senior Royal (or ex, rather) to testify in court as a witness offering evidence like this in a long time.

The last time it happened was way back in 1891, when King Edward VII (before he was actually king) testified in a slander case.

What Harry's suing over, in this particular case, is 33 of 150 stories about himself that the Daily Mirror published between 1995 and 2011 -- a period of time from which he claims these stories were produced via illegal tactics in Britain ... like alleged phone hacking, etc.

The Mirror has actually conceded in court docs that Harry and co. have a point about some unethical tactics they've employed over time, but they haven't fessed up on these specific stories he's citing. As such, he's dragging them into court to have it heard before a judge.

You'll recall ... Harry showed up across the pond back in March for another case he's pursuing against yet another tabloid parent company -- namely, Associated Newspapers, which publishes and distributes the Daily Mail, among other publications.

In that case, Elton John is a plaintiff as well ... as are other celebrities taking up Harry's cause in solidarity.

Like we said, he's suing a bunch of them -- and seems determined to take them all down ... one by one. If he's testifying for the Daily Mirror case, presumably he'll testify in others.

All eyes on Harold. 👀

Former "American Idol" winner Samantha "Just Sam" Diaz says their unglamorous return to singing in New York City subways for money isn't the final chapter -- instead, the bounce back is underway.

Just Sam joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and told us why winning a show like 'Idol' isn't always all it's cracked up to be ... especially under some very unique and onerus circumstances.

While lots of folks, Sam included, look at 'Idol' as a potential golden ticket to fame and fortune ... the non-binary singer says the reality is quite different.

Sam says a perfect storm resulted in their returning to their subway roots to make cash. They won 'AI' at the beginning of COVID, and the pandemic made it virtually impossible to get into the studio and record. Plus, glossing over contracts and blindly signing didn't help either.

Despite initially feeling embarrassed by reverting back to subway busking to eat and pay bills ... Sam says last month's headlines actually helped, because tons of big name artists are reaching out and showing love.

Now, Sam says they have a few collabs in the works, and they aren't afraid to go a different route to make it in the music biz.

Danny Bonaduce is going under the knife ... set for brain surgery in the wake of a serious health scare that's left him unable to walk or balance.

The actor and radio host tells TMZ ... after seeing hundreds of doctors for a mystery illness, in March he was finally diagnosed with hydrocephalus ... a neurological disorder caused by a buildup of liquid in the brain.

Surgery is set for Monday, and the hope is it can alleviate the symptoms.

Last April, "The Partridge Family" star began battling the mystery illness after his wife noticed his speech was off and he lost the ability to walk or balance. He was hospitalized for 5 days and underwent a battery of tests. Doctors ruled out a stroke, but couldn't come up with a diagnosis.

While Danny says no one knows for sure how he got in such bad shape, he wonders if it's related to all the wear and tear he's put his head through over the years ... like taking guitars to the face and boxing Jose Canseco.

Danny says the surgery will drain the liquid from his brain through a shunt.

In the meantime, Danny's been doing his radio show from home.

Of course, Danny acknowledges there's always a chance the surgery won't fix everything ... but it sounds like he's going into the operating room with the right frame of mind.

The shocking death of Ms Jacky Oh! is not only affecting "Wild 'N Out" fans, but it's also impacting NFL players like Odell Beckham and Keenan Allen ... who are mourning her passing.

As we reported, Ms Jacky Oh! (real name Jacklyn Smith) died on Wednesday in Miami, but the details surrounding her death are not yet clear. A since-deleted social media post claimed she was having "mommy makeover" surgery.

Beckham -- who recently signed with the Ravens -- paid tribute to the former "Wild 'N Out" star on his Instagram story by sharing her family's statement and a photo of her and her kids.

"Rest Easy Angel," OBJ wrote in the post on Thursday.

He also said on Twitter, "Don’t take this life for granted, we’re here for the blink of an eye. Y’all plz love on your loved ones while they’re still here."

OBJ knows Smith through Lauren Wood, mother of his 1-year-old son Zydn, who was a former "Wild 'N Out" star.

In fact, Smith and Wood recently took a girl's trip to Belize to celebrate Lauren's birthday.

"We are in Belize!!! It's my best friend's birthday -- Lauren," Smith said on a YouTube vlog while on vacay.

Smith also attended Beckham and Wood's baby shower.

"This hurts so bad," Wood said in an IG post on Friday. "When I lost you I also lost the version of me when we were together. Our banter. Our humor. Our dynamic. So unique to us."

"I can't imagine this life without you. It just got a lot more darker and lonelier. I'm having a really hard time saying goodbye and accepting this grave reality."

Wood added, "I look forward to the moment we get to experience each other again. You will forever be in my heart. Connect to my soul, sister."

Los Angeles Chargers receiver Keenan Allen was also heartbroken over her sudden death ...  revealing Smith is the reason he met his wife.

"Damn man! Truly an angel," Allen said on his IG.

"Jacky introduced me to the wife I have today. Praying for your babies and DC! It’s all perfect timing even though we don’t understand. God is in."

Smith is survived by her three children.

Former "Wild 'N Out" star Jacky Oh! -- who's also DC Young Fly's longtime partner -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us she died Wednesday in Miami. We don't have details yet about the cause of her death, but a since-deleted social media post claimed she was in Miami to undergo a "mommy makeover."

Jacky Oh!'s real name was Jacklyn Smith, and she and DC met in 2015 ... the same year he made his premiere on MTV's hit show "Wild 'N Out."

Jacky was already being featured as one of the show's "Wild 'N Out" girls at that point.

Jacky was no longer on 'WNO' ... she'd gone on to launch her own lip gloss line called the J Nova Collection.

Of course, DC is still one of the show's biggest stars, and we're told he was actually in Atlanta shooting new episodes when he got the tragic news about Jacky's death.

The "Wild 'N Out" social media page posted about Ms Jacky's death, writing, "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jacklyn Smith, known to the world as Jacky Oh, a talented Wild 'N Out family member whose impact will be forever treasured and missed. Jacky Oh was a loving friend and beloved colleague of the Wild 'N Out cast throughout five seasons."

They continue, "More importantly, she was a tremendous mother to three beautiful children. The BET Media Group extends our condolences to the Smith family, DC Young Fly, B Simone, Nick Cannon and all friends who loved and cared for Jacky Oh during this difficult time."

Although Jacky and DC never married, they remained a couple and had 3 children together -- daughters Nova and Nala, and their son Prince was just born last year.

Jacky was just 32.

Tom Sandoval couldn't contain his anger during the "Vanderpump Rules" reunion, even offstage ... losing his cool when producers blocked him from chatting with Raquel Leviss off camera.

During Part 2 of the 'VPR' reunion, Tom goes off on producer Patrick McDonald, demanding he gets a break to have a private convo with Raquel. He says, "I want to talk to her, like, I don't want a camera in my f**king goddamn face. You're not understanding."

The producer tells him he's able to take a lunch, alone, but says the cameras have to be rolling if any castmates are gathered or talking to each other ... which seems to only upset Tom even more, as he stormed around and yelled, "I'm done filming. I need a break from filming."

TS wasn't taking no for an answer -- he continuously pushed for alone time and threatened to take off his mic.

He angrily added, "I don’t feel relaxed, she doesn’t either. We have to watch what we f**king say. Like, I don't want that!"

It's interesting ... minutes prior to the meltdown, Tom had a one-on-one, on-camera conversation with Raquel, who watched Part 1 and 2 of the reunion from her trailer ... chatting about their cheating scandal and how things played out so far with his ex Ariana and the entire cast.

So ya gotta wonder, what TS might want to say to Raquel that he couldn't say with cameras rolling or other folks around.

The final part of the reunion airs next week, and it's bound to be just as explosive -- Raquel finally gets to address the cast directly for the first time ... and vice versa.

The "Vanderpump Rules" reunion has made something very clear -- it's not just Tom, Raquel and Ariana who have been deeply impacted by Scandoval -- as Scheana Shay made very clear.

Part 2 of the reunion special ran Wednesday night, where the cast continued to discuss the affair and the explosion it's caused in all of their lives. At one point, Scheana Shay -- who was extremely close with both Sandoval and Raquel -- completely loses it.

Shay says she feels abandoned by two people who she truly trusted, and finds herself experiencing total breakdowns at different points in the day.

To make matters worse, Shay says her emotions have impacted her ability to be a good mom -- and even her daughter is experiencing severe emotional trauma because of the events with Tom and Raquel.

Tom apologizes to Scheana, but the words seem to ring hollow. As for Raquel, she was unable to listen to Scheana's issues up close and personal, as she had a temporary restraining order against her at the time of filming after Scheana allegedly attacked her after learning of the cheating.

As we reported, the restraining order was eventually dismissed -- but clearly, there was some serious damage already done -- restraining order or not.

Kim Zolciak has taken a good parenting course in the midst of her nasty divorce -- kind of ironic given the trash-talking between her and Kroy Biermann that has to be adversely affecting their 4 minor children.

Kim completed a mandatory course in Georgia -- the "Navigating Family Change Seminar" -- which she took and completed last Thursday. She filed a certificate of completion with the court, obtained by TMZ. There's no record Kroy has completed the course, at least not yet.

The object of the course is to soften the blow of divorce for the sake of the children. Thing is ... this divorce has been like nuclear war, with Kim accusing Kroy of being a pothead, demanding he drug test and submit to a 5-panel hair follicle drug screening, and demanding he not cut or remove any hair until the screening is complete.

Kim is asking for primary physical custody, and that's a signal the divorce is nasty. Typically, when the parties get along they ask for joint custody. Kroy has gone in even harder, asking for sole custody of their kids.

The estranged couple has had plenty of financial struggles, including home foreclosure and delinquent tax bills. Kroy has claimed Kim is essentially a gambling addict who is so drawn to betting she doesn't properly take care of their kids.

Kroy has asked the court to order Kim to submit to a psych exam, suggesting her alleged gambling addiction is symptomatic of a mental health problem, such as depression, narcissistic personality disorder or ADHD.

Safe to say Serena Williams' 5-year-old daughter is a big fan of "The Little Mermaid" ... Olympia LOST IT after she got a Halle Bailey "Ariel" doll, and the entire adorable reaction was captured on video!

The video, which was shared on Olympia's Instagram, shows dad Alexis Ohanian handing his daughter a package from Amazon.

"Momma and poppa wanted to get this for you," Ohanian said.

When Olympia realized it was Bailey as Ariel, she (literally) jumped for joy ... and started screaming hysterically.

"Yay! 'Little Mermaid!'" Olympia yelled. "Thank you!"

Olympia explained it was her first LM doll ... and even broke down how she was going to play with Ariel for Mom and Dad.

The 2023 live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" has been a hit at the box office ... with Bailey recently celebrating the movie being number one in the world.

The movie reportedly grossed over $164 million globally over Memorial Day weekend, according to Deadline.

Of course, Olympia also made news a few days ago, losing it when Serena told her she was going to be a big sister!

The 23-time Grand Slam champ said Olympia had wanted a baby brother/sister ... and she's finally getting her wish.

Something about the new live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" isn't sitting right with singer Paloma Faith ... who says the movie's plot is a really hard one to explain to her kiddos.

Paloma took to social media over the weekend, first congratulating Halle Bailey for her performance in the new Disney flick -- before dragging the story's main focus, saying "I don’t want my kids to think it’s ok to give up your entire voice and your powers to love a man."

She added, "Wtf is this s***?! Not what I want to be teaching next gen women at all.” Of course, she's referring to Ariel giving up her own voice to become a human to be with her love interest, Prince Eric.

For those unaware, it's the same trope that was used in the original 1989 version, so it seems Paloma might've forgotten the story before watching this new adaptation.

However, Halle told Edition earlier this year that her new version "definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy ... It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants.”

The makeup artist who gave Ursula her look in "The Little Mermaid" says the blowback he's gotten from members of the LGBTQ community is ridiculous ... that only someone from that community should have been tapped for the job.

Peter King, a seasoned makeup artist, has been under fire from some LGBTQ members, who groused Melissa McCarthy's sea witch character -- inspired by drag queen Divine -- should not have been done up at the hands of anyone outside the community.

King went on the offensive, saying, "I find that very offensive. Why can't I do as good a job as a queer makeup artist?"

Mr. King is seasoned at his craft, doing makeup for "The Lord of the Rings," "Star Wars: Episode VIII -- The Last Jedi, and "Spider-Man." He said, "I personally don't get it. Yes, I'm very old now, so that's fine, I get that too, but you know, a makeup artist or makeup designer could design makeup, they don't have to have an attachment to the nature of what they're doing."

Meanwhile, the #1 film this weekend -- expected to top $120M -- had a famous guest in one of the theaters ... Halle Bailey, who posted video of herself in disguise taking in the action.

And, speaking of action, a fight broke out at one theater ... unsure what it was about, but fists were flying -- adult fists -- which is crazy, right?

A sign of the times.

The "Vanderpump Rules" reunion wound up as expected for Tom Sandoval ... he was turned into a human piñata by fellow cast members angry over his affair with Raquel Leviss, which, as everyone knows, destroyed his longtime relationship with Ariana Madix.

Part 1 of Season 10's reunion kicked off Wednesday night as Bravo host Andy Cohen sat down to hash it all out with the entire cast of 'VPR' -- Tom, Ariana, Lisa Vanderpump, Lala Kent, Scheana Shay, James Kennedy, Katie Maloney and Tom Schwartz.

Interestingly, Raquel was squirreled away in a private room watching from a TV monitor because, at the time the reunion was shot, she had a restraining order against Scheana, who allegedly punched her during an argument. The order has since been dismissed.

With the cast seated around Andy, the insults began flying almost immediately ... and as usual, Tom was the primary target, but Lisa was clearly in his corner.

In one back and forth, Ariana voiced her disgust at Tom for cheating on her, saying, "I think he caused the divide in the relationship because he was f***ing other people.”

Lisa stopped Ariana and asked, "Other people is very different [than just] Raquel."

Ariana replied, "He’s f***ed more than Raquel.”

Then Lala jumped in, calling Tom "a dangerous human being." But Lisa again ran to Tom's defense, dismissing Lala's statement as "ridiculous." Lala responded, "I didn’t ask for anyone else’s opinion."

James had several fiery exchanges with Tom, labeling him a "clown" and mocking him as he cried while apologizing to Ariana. At one point, James, who was once engaged to Raquel, left his seat and got up in Tom's face, leading to both men almost coming to blows.

After Andy calmed the situation down, he asked Tom the most pivotal question of the night: Why didn’t Tom come clean to Ariana about his affair with Raquel from the get-go?

Tom said, "I was obviously scared to. Also she was going through a lot during that time, and I didn’t want to add anything," referring to the death of Ariana's grandmother.

The rest of the show was more of the same ... meaning Tom playing the piñata and his detractors hitting him with sticks, but in a verbal -- not physical -- sense, of course.

Round 2 of the 3 part reunion will kick off next Wednesday at 9 PM ET. Bring the popcorn.

Former "American Idol" winner Samantha "Just Sam" Diaz is living a bad case of deja vu ... singing in New York City subways for money.

Just three years removed from winning "Idol" in 2020, the non-binary singer says they're back to showing off their pipes in subway stations ... making a living off the cash and coins folks leave in their donation box.

Just Sam is documenting the full circle moment on social media ... posting clips on Instagram showing themself covering different songs in NYC subway stations.

In a since-deleted caption, Sam says they were embarrassed to be reverting back to subway singing after winning the famous reality singing competition.

According to The Sun, Sam's deleted caption said, "Back in 2021, I was super embarrassed to be going back to the trains. I didn’t want people to know that I legit needed the money. I didn't want people to know that it wasn't optional. I was disappointed in myself for allowing myself to fall so low after winning Idol, but then I had to take it easy on me and remember that I started my journey with Idol at 20 years old."

Sam won "Idol" at the height of the pandemic, during a 2020 season that went remote midseason, and contestants performed while isolated. Sam beat out runner-up Arthur Gunn to win the show's 18th season.

Kanye West and Gap are still beefing in the wake of their failed partnership ... and now things are getting nasty in the form of a $2 million lawsuit.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Gap wants Kanye to foot the bill for any damages it might incur in a lawsuit it's facing ... because Gap feels Ye and his company are responsible for putting them in this mess.

As for that mess -- Gap is being sued by Art City Center, a company that says it owns a building in downtown L.A. that was leased to Gap as a storefront for Kanye's Yeezy clothing line.

Art City Center says the building underwent a ton of unapproved alterations when Gap was hawking the Yeezy collab in 2021 and 2022 ... and the company is suing Gap over the cost to restore the premises. So, Gap is, essentially, trying to pass that buck to Kanye.

In the suit, Gap says its contract with Kanye called for Gap to not be held liable for any claims like this that might be brought against them.

Gap is going after Kanye for more than $2 million ... which includes the amount the company thinks it's about to get dinged for over the Yeezy store -- plus a little extra for Gap's attorneys' fees, of course.

As we reported ... Kanye pulled the plug on his partnership with Gap back in September, claiming the company double-crossed him with empty promises.

We reached out to Kanye's camp ... so far no word back.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are ready to spend the rest of their lives together ... TMZ has confirmed they're engaged!!!

The billionaire popped the question while sailing around Europe on his new $500 million superyacht, which includes a sexy homage to Lauren, and she said, "Yes." Page Six was first to report the news.

Of course, Lauren's answer should come as no surprise ... the two have been absolutely inseparable since they started dating back in 2019, following Jeff's divorce from his wife of 24 years, MacKenzie.

Jeff looks to have spared no expense on an engagement ring, which Lauren proudly showed off Sunday aboard Jeff's yacht. As you can see, the rock on Lauren's finger is HUGE!!!

Still, no matter what Jeff dropped on an engagement ring, it's just a drop in the bucket to the Amazon founder.

It seems Jeff and Lauren actually got engaged last week, because she was photographed Wednesday with a ring on THAT finger, but it was twisted so the huge rock was hidden on the inside of her hand.

Congrats!!!