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Tony Rock is ripping the white "Big Brother" houseguest who casually used the n-word in conversation ... setting the record straight on who can and can't use the racial slur.

We got the veteran comedian at LAX on Thursday and our photog asked him about Luke Valentine getting booted from 'BB' for dropping an n-bomb on the live feed.

Tony says no one named Luke Valentine should ever say the n-word ... and his rule of thumb is to refrain from using the slur unless you are a person of color.

Chris Rock's brother also finds it interesting Luke was so quick to apologize ... he says that should be a sign Luke should have known better in the first place. He also feels it's a trend whenever people or companies offend Black people.

Tony's fascinated by the reaction from Luke's fellow white houseguests to having the n-word dropped into a conversation ... he says the virtue signaling is in full effect.

Johnny Hardwick, known for playing Dale Gribble on "King of the Hill," has died.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they were called to Hardwick's Texas home Tuesday for a welfare check and discovered his body. We're told Hardwick was pronounced dead at the scene ... and no foul play is suspected. We don't yet know the cause of death.

Johnny started performing stand-up comedy in 1990 in Texas, eventually landing his first stand-up appearance on "The Jon Stewart Show" a few years later.

Most remember Johnny from his work on the long-running animated sitcom, "King of the Hill" ... playing Dale, the conspiracy theory-obsessed friend of the show's lead, Hank Hill.

Dale took on just about every job imaginable -- tackling gigs like exterminator, camp counselor, bounty hunter, and, of course, propane salesman.

Johnny lent his voice to a whopping 258 episodes of the series. FYI, "King of the Hill" aired 259 episodes in total.

Johnny was with the show from the beginning, portraying Dale on the first episode that aired in January 1997 ... and stuck with the series until its final episode in 2010. He was also listed as returning for a revival of the show, although it's unclear if he ever recorded for it.

Apart from the show, Johnny would cover songs on his YouTube channel ... donning his character's signature orange hat and shades, performing just like Dale would on the show -- and making references to the character's "pocket sand" attack move.

Johnny was 64.

RIP

"The Bear" stars Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri know a thing or two about cooking, thanks to their hit show, but they didn't put any pressure on the chefs feeding them on a recent night out.

Jeremy and Ayo grabbed grub at the new Italian joint, Funke, Wednesday night in Beverly Hills ... hugging outside the spot while they waited for their rides at the valet.

Seems like the 2 had a great time ... but it's gotta be a little surreal to hit up restaurants after delivering some killer performances as chefs at the fictional Chicago beef shop-turned-fine dining establishment.

BTW, Jeremy's asked about any tips he could give Funke's chefs ... but the guy's dishing out no notes, it was all fantastic!!!

As we reported, Jeremy's been having quite the hot boy summer on the heels of his divorce from Addison Timlin in May ... we've seen him grabbing lunch with friends and even showing off his bod on a morning hike.

Taylor Swift wrapped up the final night of her L.A. shows with a bang -- tons of stars showing up to watch her perform, and a big reveal onstage to stir up Taylor's diehard fans.

SoFi Stadium was packed to the brim Wednesday night for her 6th and final concert, but it wasn't just your regular Swifties in the crowd -- because A-listers like Sydney Sweeney, Emma Stone and Karlie Kloss were rocking out to her hits all night long.

That's not all ... Adam Sandler, Sadie Sink, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kerry Washington, Hilary Duff, Jason Bateman, Miranda Cosgrove, Halsey, Miles Teller, ex-NFL star Andrew Whitworth and Becky G showed up to jam out.

Even John Krasinski and Emily Blunt headed to Taylor's sold-out show for a date night ... but it certainly wasn't a quiet place at SoFi.

Taylor took some time out of Wednesday's show to announce the release date for her "1989 (Taylor's Version)" album ... which obviously drove fans crazy.

As we reported, celebs have been showing up at her L.A. shows over the past week, including folks like Flavor Flav, Kevin Costner and Vanessa Bryant with her daughters.

You'll recall, Taylor kicked off her "Eras" tour back in March in Arizona, and has been crossing the country with her 3+ hour setlist. L.A. is, technically, the end of her U.S. leg -- she's going international next year -- but she's now added a few more U.S. shows for late 2024.

So, we're saying there's still a chance if ya missed her this time.

As for her overseas shows ... she's starting 2024 in Tokyo, and then globetrotting to places like Australia, France, Spain, Ireland, Germany and the U.K.

Jeff Lewis wants to let everyone know he was just havin' some fun when he called his pal Kyle Richards a "lesbian on Ozempic" ... unclear if she's realized that though, because she's leaving his messages on read!

We got Jeff at the Rockefeller Center in NYC Wednesday after he caused some buzz on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" with the comment.

Jeff makes it clear, he was only joking, and tells us he wanted to poke fun at the rumors about Kyle and country singer Morgan Wade dating -- something Kyle's denied quite a bit.

Despite it obviously being a goof, Jeff fills us in on some potentially troubled waters -- he shot her a text and she still hasn't responded. 👀

As we reported, Jeff drew some big laughs when he cracked wise about his friend ... Heather McDonald also jumped in, saying being gay is a side effect of the medication.

Zendaya still has her late "Euphoria" costar Angus Cloud on her mind ... sharing a photo of the mural his friends painted in his honor.

The actress posted a photo of the Oakland mural on social media Wednesday ... and her IG story also featured what appears to be another nod to Angus.

Zendaya is seemingly referencing Angus' death with another post showing a street sign painted to read "NO LOVE FADES" ... it's posted on her story before the Oakland mural honoring Angus, and it appears to be from a nearby location.

While it's unclear if Zendaya visited the mural or his Oakland stomping grounds in person, the painting has become a central gathering place for folks wanting to pay their respects to Angus.

TMZ broke the story ... some of Angus' friends in Oakland came together in the wake of his death to paint the mural, and it's since been the site of a candlelight vigil.

As we first reported ... Angus died last Monday at his family's home in Oakland, CA, where his mom called 911 to report a potential overdose.

In a heartfelt IG post the day after Angus' death, Zendaya said she would cherish every moment they shared.

'Big Brother 25' contestant Luke Valentine created a pretty tense situation after dropping the N-word mid-conversation with some fellow houseguests.

Luke was seen chatting on the live feeds early Wednesday morning with contestants Jared, Cory, and Hisam when he said, "We were in the f****** (inaudible) room, n****." Realizing his mistake immediately, Luke tries to correct himself by saying "dude" ... and laughs it off.

Cory and Hisam immediately tense up, and rightfully so ... Luke looks over to Jared, who's Black, before apologizing. It seemed to tick off Cory and Hisam, who definitely didn't laugh with him -- instead, they step out, leaving Luke alone with Jared.

Surprisingly, Jared doesn't seem all that concerned with the apparent slip-up -- it's possible he wanted to keep his cool for gameplay purposes -- later telling Luke, "I don't give a f***," in response to the slur.

White folks dropping the N-word on 'BB' has become a reoccurring theme ... it's happened quite a bit over the years, especially in 2018 when houseguest Kaitlyn said it while quoting Drake's "0 to 100."

BTW, producers just warned the cast about their language after 2 contestants were worried their tans would make them look "ghetto."

CBS has threatened to kick people off the show for situations just like Luke's ... but it's unclear if he'll be forced to pack his bags anytime soon.

Dr. Terry Dubrow experienced a medical emergency that could have gotten very bad, very fast ... but fortunately for him, his wife was by his side.

Dr. Dubrow tells TMZ ... last Thursday night, he was chowing down with his wife and son at The Ivy in L.A. ... when he suddenly began slurring his speech. Although it happened for less than a minute, Heather Dubrow wasn't going to let it pass. She told their son to call 911 ... which pissed off Terry because he says he felt fine.

Paramedics arrived on the scene, took Terry's vitals and said he was A-OK. Heather wasn't satisfied and insisted they take him to the hospital -- Terry refused and hopped out of the ambulance. Embarrassed by the whole situation, he called an Uber to take him home.

Terry received a flurry of calls from his doctor buddies during his car ride -- after Heather filled them in on the situation ... which convinced him to make a pit stop at the hospital.

Doctors ran a series of tests, and discovered Terry experienced a transient ischemic attack, or TIA. TIAs are described as a brief blockage of blood flow to part of the brain, which can temporarily cause stroke-like symptoms. They're typically transitory and don't cause lasting damage.

Doctors also discovered Terry had a patent foramen ovale, or PFO, which is a hole in the heart that didn't close the way it should after birth. Doctors told Terry a blood clot passed through the PFO, traveled to his brain and caused the TIA.

Terry's medical scare is almost identical to that of Hailey Bieber. You'll recall, Hailey was rushed to the hospital in March 2022 after also experiencing stroke-like symptoms.

Fortunately, doctors fixed Terry's PFO on the spot and now he's fine. In fact, he's already doing high-intensity workouts and is cleared to perform surgery.

Even one of the most famous athletes on the planet can geek out over celebrities -- 'cause Aaron Rodgers was giddy as hell after meeting Liev Schreiber at New York Jets camp ... calling him the "f***ing voice of God!!"

The "Ray Donovan" actor/"Hard Knocks" narrator made a rare appearance on the HBO series Tuesday night ... dropping in via helicopter to hang out with the team during practice.

The most excited player was easily Rodgers ... who told Liev he's a huge fan of his filmography.

The quarterback lost his mind to his teammates after greeting the movie star ... telling them to go say 'sup.

"He's the guy who narrates 'Hard Knocks,'" Rodgers told everyone who was willing to listen.

Rodgers even begged his offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, to go introduce himself ... saying Schreiber was "nervous" and wanted to hang out with the players.

"Just say 'hi,'" Rodgers told coach. "Just be nice. Look at him, he got all dressed up for it. He looks great."

"Don't be an ass****," he added.

Schreiber's spot on the show was pretty hilarious ... as he narrated the whole thing, explaining he wanted to drive to practice, but producers thought the helicopter would be more dramatic.

One lucky Mega Millions ticketholder just became a billionaire -- yes, billionaire! -- overnight after winning the biggest jackpot in Mega Millions history.

The identity of the player is still a mystery, but the person just pocketed an eye-popping $1.58 billion from a ticket reportedly purchased from a Publix Supermarket in Neptune, Florida.

Tuesday night's winning numbers were 13, 19, 20, 32, 33, and the Megaplier was 14.

Now the fun begins for the Mega champ, who gets to choose between receiving the massive payout in annual installments or in one huge lump sum of cash worth about $783.3 million. Not a bad choice either way you cut it.

Before this child actor with her pink visor on backwards turned into the talented actress and singer she is today, she was just goofing around with her dad at his office and growing up in sunny Los Angeles, California.

Perhaps she's most known for her starring role on Nickelodeon's iCarly with other child stars like Nathan Kress and Jennette McCurdy, but she was also the little sister of "Drake and Josh" and loved nothing more than playing pranks on set.

Need one more clue? Her "iCarly" days were so iconic they were recently turned into a reboot!

Rachel Leviss hasn't shown face for the next season of "Vanderpump Rules" -- and based on where she popped up Tuesday, that's not likely to change as filming continues.

The reality TV star -- who was at the center of last season's cheating scandal, aka 'Scandoval' -- surfaced at a Massage Envy in Tucson, AZ around noon -- where she was chatting with a front desk attendant, seemingly chatting about some services for herself.

In these images, obtained by TMZ, you can see she's not really trying to go incognito ... but we're told she was somewhat soft-spoken while interacting with the employee, and trying not to draw attention.

That's a tall order when you were the biggest thing on reality TV for several months.

We know Rachel has family there, so presumably she's staying with them right now ... on the heels of checking out of a mental health facility, where we're told she'd been for 100 days.

Considering RL was by herself for this outing, with no cameras around and no sign of any other 'Vanderpump' cast members ... this supports the growing sentiment Rachel's probably skipping out altogether on filming Season 11.

Production has been underway since June, and we're already into August ... with the rest of the cast ensconced in whatever storylines have cropped up at this point. As we reported -- several cast members are feeling like it's a no-go for Rachel, and that they won't see her.

That's definitely crappy for Bravo, which almost certainly wanted her to be in the mix to keep the drama going -- but there's no telling what this season is shaping up to be with her MIA.

In the meantime, Rachel's doing what's best for her.

LL Cool J's involved in multiple celebrations this week to commemorate hip hop's 50th anniversary -- a full-circle moment for the legendary rapper who always knew rap music was going places!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught Uncle L out Tuesday in NYC, where he expressed gratitude his chosen profession blossomed into one of the biggest cultural phenomenons ever witnessed.

LL's "Rock The Bells" tagline isn't just the name of his SiriusXM radio show and festival ... it's a cut from his debut album "Radio," released all the way back in 1985!!!

That predates social media, podcasts, streaming ... virtually everything hip hop is known for these days, but despite the changing landscape, LL is still keeping his skills sharp for the booth and the road.

He tells us he's geeked over his upcoming tour with The Roots, which he describes as mixtape-type show that lasts a few hours, with plenty of special guests!!!

Former child star Austin Majors died as a result of a fentanyl overdose ... in a trend that's become all too common.

The ex-"NYPD Blue" actor's autopsy results were released Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office -- and his cause of death is attributed to fentanyl toxicity. The manner is listed as accidental, and the place of his death reads ... "residence."

Remember, Majors passed away while staying at a homeless housing facility in L.A. back in February -- and we were told at the time that fentanyl was suspected to be in play.

It's a tragic end to Majors' story ... who was a successful actor in the early years of his life. He famously played Theo Sipowicz on the famed ABC drama series, starring in 48 episodes.

In addition to "NYPD Blue," Majors had worked on other big shows like "Providence," "How I Met Your Mother," "ER," "Hercules," "Threshold," "According to Jim," 'NCIS,' "American Dad!," "Desperate Housewives" and others. He'd also been in a handful of memorable movies.

His acting career appears to have slowed down in the late 2000s ... Majors doesn't have credit post-2009. The family released an emotional statement at the time of his death, remembering the best parts of his life.

The statement read, in part ... "Austin was the kind of son, brother, grandson, and nephew that made us proud and we will miss him deeply forever."

Majors was just 27.

Kevin Costner and his daughter hit up Taylor Swift's SoFi Stadium concert Monday, and it's safe to say, when she sang "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," they were experiencing 2 very different emotions!

Kevin and 13-year-old daughter Grace Avery were in a luxury suite as Taylor sang one of her most famous breakup songs -- Grace Avery was jamming to the song, singing along and dancing, while her more subdued dad took in the lyrics with an ever-so-slight grin.

It had to register ... Kevin's wife, Christine Baumgartner, has filed for divorce and it's become an all out war. Kevin just got Christine out of the house after a legal battle, but there's still a huge conflict over how much money she'll get in child support, not to mention that it seems she's going to challenge the prenup.

And there's this ... Christine was vacationing in Hawaii with Kevin's [former?] pal Josh Connor. Although our Christine/Josh sources say there was nothing romantic going on, our Kevin sources say he's "none too pleased" about it.

So, safe to say, the "Yellowstone" star saw the true meaning of art imitating life!

"The Bachelorette" alum Kaitlyn Bristowe is opening up about her split from Jason Tartick ... and she's hinting at the possibility of a second chance between them.

Kaitlyn shared her post-breakup thoughts Monday at LAX, admitting she's holding up alright in the days following their called-off engagement ... and says it's been easier because they have so much respect for each other.

She was asked who made the call to split up, and says it was a mutual decision ... but then quickly raises this interesting possibility -- she says all hope for reconciliation isn't lost, and the door "isn't permanently closed."

As for their 2 dogs, Ramen and Pinot, Kaitlyn says she'd take full ownership if it was up to her ... but admits she and Jason are happily co-parenting the pups, for now.

You'll recall, Kaitlyn and Jason announced their breakup Sunday on social media, saying they'd called off their engagement after 4 years together.