Twitter

Twitter is now on a rollercoaster ride, courtesy of its new owner Elon Musk ... and technology columnist Kevin Roose says the ride could lead to a whole new app within a matter of days.

Kevin joined "TMZ Live" to forecast the bird app's future on the heels of a wild weekend brought on by Musk himself -- his retweeting an unsubstantiated Paul Pelosi conspiracy theory is raising major concerns about how much misinformation he's going to allow.

Political consequences aside, Roose says there could be a lot of financial fallout from Elon's early moves.

He believes Elon's Pelosi tweet signals there will be a constant tug-of-war between Twitter being a free speech forum ... and one that regulates misinformation and hate speech -- and that battle will impact advertising revenue.

Kevin notes ... advertisers generally don't love placement next to toxic content, and after dropping $44 billion for the platform, Elon needs it thrive as a biz.

As for Twitter's employees ... Kevin says big-time layoffs are expected this week, and Elon's already booted all of Twitter's previous executives and board members.

Elon Musk used his new social media platform to perpetuate an unfounded conspiracy theory about the Paul Pelosi attack -- and he did it in response to Hillary Clinton, no less.

The Twitter chief replied to a tweet HC sent Saturday that condemned the attack on the Speaker's husband, while also calling out the extreme rhetoric of some Republicans and pundits ... which she believes is largely responsible for the incident.

Elon chimed in Sunday, saying there may be more to the story than meets the eye ... adding a link to a fringe site that uploaded a salacious article/headline regarding Pelosi and his attacker. It's based on a conspiracy theory that's caught fire in conservative circles.

The theory -- and the unsubstantiated article -- claims Paul's attacker was no stranger ... but rather, that they had a prior relationship and that things went south during a meetup. Again, there's been no evidence to support this claim whatsoever ... and yet, Elon leaned into it.

He has since deleted the incendiary tweet ... but the damage is done, because he's getting slammed left and right for putting out wild rumors -- this as the literal executive of Twitter.

One of the people who are tearing him to shreds over this is Jimmy Kimmel ... who wrote, "it has been interesting, over the years, to watch you blossom from the electric car guy into a fully-formed piece of s*** @elonmusk."

It's worth noting, for the record, that SFPD has characterized this as nothing more than a break-in/assault on Pelosi -- and they even say they witnessed the attacker, David DePape, strike Paul on the head with a hammer before they tackled and arrested him.

As we reported ... Paul made a secret call to 911 while facing off with DePape and spoke in code to the operator to not agitate the guy, while also relaying he was in danger. DePape allegedly asked "Where's Nancy?" several times ... but she wasn't home at the time.

A new report Sunday claims that DePape was also equipped with a bag of zip ties -- so who knows what more could've happened if Paul hadn't alerted the authorities when he did.

Speaker Pelosi, for her part, says her husband is recovering after undergoing surgery ... while also noting she and the rest of their family are traumatized. Reports have surfaced since saying DePape has shared far-right, bigoted conspiracies on his blog ... right up to the attack.

Elon Musk is about to throw down the guillotine at Twitter -- with layoffs expected to be announced soon ... this ahead of a crucial date when employees are due to cash in.

The NYT reports that EM may start getting rid of people as early as Saturday, with some departments due to get slimmed down more than others ... although it's unclear which ones are on the chopping block. It's also unclear how many workers, exactly, he's cutting loose.

What is reportedly happening, however, is Musk tasking managers with creating lists of subordinates they could do without -- and he apparently wants 'em gone before Tuesday.

The reason for that is interesting ... the Times says on Nov. 1, Twitter employees are apparently due to receive stock grants as part of their compensation packages. No word on what those stocks look like or how often they're dished out, but it seems Elon wants to avoid handing out any more than he needs to by trimming the fat before the deadline.

Remember, there were reports this month that Elon was aiming to reduce the Twitter workforce by as much as 75% ... but there's been conflicting accounts since, suggesting he was reconsidering. Twitter has about 7,500 full-time employees that span the globe.

While this is pretty serious news for the staff ... Elon's carrying on like usual, with a lot of deadpan humor. He tweeted Saturday that free speech was back now that people could say carbs are actually good. EM also said comedy is now legal on Twitter again -- and he even poked fun at the Twitter firing hoax last week that took some media outlets for a ride.

He clearly saw the joke in the names ascribed to the fake Twitter employees who pretended to be canned en masse. Now, though, it looks like some real job loss is on the horizon.

Watch out, Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush ... Troy Aikman showed he's still got magic left in his right arm -- knockin' down 12 beer cans with two, pinpoint 20-yard throws!!

The Dallas Cowboys legend hit a field in Texas to complete the feat -- and while he tells TMZ Sports the footage might not be "100 percent" real ... he did say the accuracy he showcased in the vid is legit!!

"That was my strength, you know?" the 55-year-old said with a laugh.

Troy performed the stunt in hopes of igniting a viral craze -- where people think of creative ways to knock down pyramids of EIGHT Beer cans -- that will benefit a great cause.

Aikman dubbed it the "#EIGHTBeerChallenge" -- and he said for every one person who participates in it, films it, and shares it to social media, he and his beer co. will donate $8 to Back On My Feet, an org. created to combat homelessness.

"It gives a chance for some of the homeless people in the community to be empowered," Aikman said, "and to get them back on their feet, being an active participant in society, doing a lot of different things."

Aikman said he's planning on showcasing some of the best vids of the challenge on his social media pages over the coming weeks.

No, Rahul Ligma is NOT among the Twitter employees axed by the bird app's new owner, Elon Musk ... some media outlets were simply duped by 2 men posing as laid off employees.

Two men carrying cardboard boxes appeared Friday outside Twitter HQ in San Francisco, claiming Papa Elon had just laid them off ... and despite some red flags, reporters were quick to run with what they thought was a big story related to Elon's big purchase.

One of the pranksters told reporters, including CNBC's Deidre Bosa, his name was "Rahul Ligma," which most folks versed in Twitter replies would know is a reference to an internet meme.

For the uninitiated -- we're looking at you, Deirde -- Ligma sets up a joke for "Ligma Balls." Lick. My. Balls. In addition to CNBC, Bloomberg ran headlines Friday saying laid off Twitter employees were leaving corporate with boxes in hand.

Another hoax victim was local TV news reporter Suzanne Phan of ABC7 Bay Area, who tweeted video of the media scrum with Mr. Ligma ... who told falsely told reporters he was fired during a Zoom meeting and didn't know where he would work next.

The pranksters littered their interviews with strange pop culture references ... "Ligma" was holding Michelle Obama's book as he exclaimed, "Michelle Obama wouldn’t have happened if Elon Musk owned Twitter."

Britney Spears was also name-dropped ... the pranksters claimed they were worried about the future of democracy and "celebrity conservatorship" with Elon owning Twitter. They also told reporters they drove Tesla cars and didn't know if they would be able to make any more payments.

There was tons of speculation about layoffs as Elon closed the deal ... but in reality, the only Twitter employees being axed, at least so far, are some execs who are going to make a killing off their departures.

Elon Musk officially took the reigns at Twitter on Thursday … as he closed his $44 billion deal for the social media giant, but then he quickly started to clean house.

In his first order of business as the company’s new CEO, Musk reportedly went on a firing spree, picking off at least 4 senior executives.

Among those canned were now former Twitter head Parag Agrawal, Policy executive Vijaya Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and top Legal and general counsel Sean Edgett. Security guards ushered one or more of the execs out of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, the New York Times reported.

The Tesla/Space X boss gave no formal reason for their removal... but it was no secret there was tension between Musk and the Twitter chiefs during months of legal wrangling that nearly derailed the sale of the company.

After inking the megawatt deal, Musk triumphantly tweeted late Thursday night, “the bird is free” seemingly a reference to him making Twitter an inclusive place for all voices and opinions. Twitter has received a rash of criticism for kicking conservatives -- including 45th President Donald Trump -- off its platform for allegedly disseminating misinformation and hate speech.

Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist, has promised to reverse Trump's "permanent ban" from the service. He also plans to foster his new open vision for the so-called "digital town square," which some critics say will only exacerbate the spread of fake news and poisonous content.

But, Musk hit back at his critics, explaining ... "In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost."

Elon Musk is officially Twitter's new daddy -- at least according to Elon Musk -- who says he hopes the platform will continue to be a digital town square for years to come.

The Tesla/SpaceX boss explained his reasons for the $44 billion purchase Thursday, saying, "There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide in our society."

He continues, "In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost."

He says, "That is why I bought Twitter. I didn't do it because it would be easy. I didn't do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility."

Elon's Twitter bio reflects his new purchase as well, calling himself the "Chief Twit." There's also a video that circulated this week showing the guy roaming about headquarters with moving boxes.

Like we said ... it closes the book on what turned out to be a bitter acquisition -- one that almost didn't happen when Elon threatened to pull out at the last minute. Remember, he said he felt Twitter wasn't giving him enough info on bots and spam accounts ... and that the value of the company might not have been as high as he was willing to pay at first.

In his mind, it gave him every legal reason to walk away -- but Twitter wasn't budging without a fight. The old regime took him to court and was dead set on holding him to the original terms, and as a trial loomed ... Elon blinked first and agreed to go through with it.

There's been a lot of talk about what Elon might aim to change at Twitter now that he's in charge. You'll recall, this all started with his gripes about free speech being severely limited on the platform -- and all signs point to him loosening the rules a bit as far as what's acceptable to tweet ... much to the chagrin of many critics, including current employees.

Speaking of those folks, there've been recent reports claiming that Elon plans to gut at least 75% of Twitter's workforce -- while also bashing a lot of them as left-leaning. There've been protests to push back on this, but at this point ... it's Elon's show, and he calls the shots.

Madonna apparently wanted credit for "paving the way" for a ton of modern-day artists to embrace their sexuality -- but the way she said left a very bad taste in Cardi B's mouth.

Madge pissed off Cardi this weekend with a passive-aggressive note she posted on her IG Stories -- one in which she celebrates the 30-year anniversary of her infamous "S.E.X." book, but in the same breath ... seems to take some shots at a select few ladies by name.

She describes the boundaries she pushed back then and how influential her book turned out to be in pop culture despite the backlash she endured, going on to say ... "Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP, Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball," adding, "You're welcome bitches 🤡"

That last part is what's pissing off CB -- 'cause she's on Twitter right now absolutely s****ing on Madonna for it. In one tweet, she says ... "These icons really become disappointments once u make it in the industry that’s why I keep to myself."

There are other tweets where Cardi expresses her anger over the fact Madonna felt the need to both ask for a pat on the back while also hurling what Cardi perceives as an insult.

It seems Cardi's catching a little bit of heat for being so vocal about her criticism of Madonna ... with some folks telling her to chillax -- but she's doing the exact opposite, digging her heels in and insisting on defending herself against anyone ... icon status or not.

For Cardi, it comes down to tone and she simply feels Madonna could've made her point without being rude. And as most people know, CB's not afraid to square up (digitally) against anyone these days. She's in constant feuds on Twitter, and now Madonna's on the list too.

Madonna versus Cardi B ... what a world!

Beyoncé fans are mad at Kelis for not getting as upset at 2 women playing with her hair as when she flipped her lid over Bey allegedly using her music without permission.

The latest Twitter fracas is underway now ... the Beyhive is seriously voicing their displeasure over a video the "Milkshake" singer posted that shows her having her braids felt up by a couple ladies in Singapore, where Kelis is apparently visiting at the moment.

The clip shows Kelis seated at an outdoor table with a friend, who's filming, when these two gals start to caress and feel on her braids ... without notice or permission.

Kelis is taken aback but rolls with it, playing with their hair in return, and kinda letting them have their way -- they seem pretty fascinated with her 'do. While she looks confused, it doesn't seem Kelis is all that fired up about the awkward encounter ... more so amused.

That's where Beyoncé stans are jumping in ... chiding her for not showing the same amount of gusto for these women as she did for Bey's sample in "Energy" from her new album ... which used a part of Kelis's hit song, supposedly without being properly cleared.

You'll recall, Kelis was very public with her resentment over that. She called it disrespectful/ignorant ... and suggested Bey was somebody in the biz who had no soul or integrity. It was harsh, but it worked -- because Beyoncé yanked the sample and reworked the song in the end ... just one of many problems she had with the roll-out at the time.

Now, in light of this latest Kelis news ... some are saying Kelis is "all bark, no bite" -- among other mean comments -- suggesting this is objectively more objectionable, and that she picks and chooses when to get angry ... and may have a problem with Beyoncé, specifically.

The Rock's new movie features a cameo from Henry Cavill's Superman at the end -- which looked like the headless horseman before the real McCoy got hired. Also ... spoilers ahead!

Per THR ... the last-minute addition was actually something WB and the creatives behind "Black Adam" -- Dwayne's debut superhero flick -- had conceived even prior to getting HC onboard, which manifested in them shooting the post-credits scene with a stand-in.

That body double, however, was reportedly silhouetted and obscured in post -- to where they entirely hid his face, only showing part of a guy in Superman's costume -- because they hadn't struck a deal with Cavill yet ... even though the intention was to bring him back.

They reportedly shot the scene in a matter of minutes earlier this year and did test screenings of it -- with the headless Superman at first -- to which fans responded incredibly positively. That confirmed to producers ... they had to get Henry, one way or another.

The DP who helmed 'BA' responded to the great feedback ... "Wow, this is 100 percent going to work. Now they need to figure out if they can get the guy with the head to be there."

If you haven't heard by now ... Cavill is returning to the DCEU for at least one more 'Superman' movie (and perhaps more) after a Herculean lobbying effort by The Rock.

Reports say he moved mountains to broker a deal to get everyone's favorite MoS back into the picture, despite pushback from some studio heads ... namely, Walter Hamada, who was dead set on moving on from the Zack Snyder era, regardless of fans who voiced otherwise.

Now that WH is outta there, though, it seems the new WB -- operating in conjunction with Discovery -- is willing to try Cavill one more time. No pumpkin noggin fill-ins needed either!

Billie Eilish might very well be dating The Neighbourhood's Jesse Rutherford -- and Twitter is in a tizzy over it ... calling out the big age difference as wildly inappropriate.

A video surfaced online this weekend that appears to show Billie and Jesse leaving a haunted maze at Halloween Horror Nights in L.A. Friday night ... and as they're exiting, you see the two of them hold hands and walk off with a group that's trailing them.

While you can't quite make out Jesse or Billie's faces too clearly in the video, there's no question this is them ... you see, the internet has already retraced their steps, and they were both out and about last night in the exact same clothes.

Based on pics that JR and Billie posted on their respective socials -- they're all wearing the outfits seen in the clip, as were the guys that Jesse was rolling with (Finneas included).

There are also photos of Billie hanging out with Jesse from back in August of this year, so it's possible they may have been romantic since then.

Whether it was then or now, though, the cat's kind of out of the bag at this point. And fans sure have a lot to say about it -- mostly bad things, BTW.

The reason this is picking up steam is because Billie's 20 years old and Jesse is 11 years her senior ... at 31. While that might not normally be a huge deal on its own, Twitter truthers are noting Billie and Jesse have actually known each other for a good long while now -- which, to them, makes this would-be relationship all the more problematic.

Additional photos of Billie and Jesse posing together at what looks like a Halloween party date back to at least 2017 ... when Billie was around 15 years old.

Point being ... a lot of people are cringing at the fact that Jesse knew Billie when she was underage, only to seemingly hook up with her in adulthood. Many are saying it's gross and creepy, but the reality is ... they're both adults now, and can do what they want.

Billie has been linked to a small handful of guys since blowing up and becoming famous -- but has never really embraced anyone super publicly. She has said she likes to keep her personal affairs -- including SOs -- private because of the frenzy that fires up when the world gets a taste of her love life.

Elon Musk is begrudgingly agreeing to keep his satellite internet service up and running in Ukraine ... while complaining about how much money is going down the drain to do it.

The Tesla chief aired out his frustration on Twitter Saturday over a decision to potentially yank Starlink access out of Eastern Europe, apparently because it's too damn expensive ... and costing him and his company, SpaceX, a fortune to keep operating free of charge.

CNN says SpaceX honchos recently wrote D.C. to tell them they'd soon ask the Pentagon to start picking up the tab on Starlink as it pertains to Ukraine -- this after already burning through $80 million on their own dime ... with a projection of $100 mil by December.

Despite this report, EM himself is doing an about-face some 48 hours later. Now, he's saying 'screw it' ... we'll take the L and keep up the handouts, even if it puts us in the red.

He tweeted, "The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free." In response to someone saying no good deed goes unpunished, he said good deeds should still be done.

It's unclear if Elon's being sarcastic here, but on its face -- it sounds like he and SpaceX are gonna bite the bullet on this and keep their satellites afloat as the war with Russia rages on. That's surprising, because lately ... Elon has been accused of being a Putin sympathizer.

A few weeks ago, he offered a would-be solution to the conflict ... and there were some concessions he suggested for Russia, which a lot of people weren't happy about -- including Volodymyr Zelensky, who fired back at Elon publicly for seemingly changing his tune.

The president posed his own poll, simply asking ... "Which @elonmusk do you like more?" The options being ... "One who supports Ukraine" and "One who supports Russia." The overwhelming favorite was the former.

Nicki Minaj and Latto are at each other’s throats ... arguing about which Grammy categories their songs belong in and there's nothing sacred in this war, as they're both putting private convos on front street.

Both rappers had been subtweeting each other for weeks about the Grammy's decision to move Nicki’s smash hit “Super Freaky Girl” from the Rap category to Pop, and Thursday night the feud erupted like a volcano.

As Nicki sees it, Latto should have spoken up in her defense ... seeing as how the Grammys left her record, “Big Energy,” in the Rap category, despite having the same bubbly pop sound.

Nicki then began to retweet Barbz who were dissing Latto's silence on the subject ... prompting Latto to tweet, she "can't win for losing." That's when Nicki posted a DM convo where Latto agreed with Nicki's viewpoints, but said she didn't like the fact Nicki put her in the beef.

Then the gloves really came off.

Nicki called Latto a "Karen" and "Scratch-Off" ... posted more DMs, including one where she turned down Latto's attempt to collaborate on the "Big Energy" remix.

Latto fired back, calling Nicki a 40-year-old bully, and uploaded a recorded phone conversation they had on the Grammy topic ... and you hear both women going at it!!!

Latto accused Nicki of having "only child syndrome" because, at one time, she was the only female rap star in the game -- to which, Nicki scolded her with, "You didn't do your research!"

As of now, there's no resolution, and fans don't expect one.

Some big rappers are starting to rail against the very social media platforms that boosted their celebrity -- a move that comes as Kanye West is flaming out on Instagram and Twitter.

"Drink Champs" has been teasing their Boosie Badazz episode for days, and the latest clip finds the Lousiana rapper clearly blaming IG for wrecking marriages and relationships.

Boosie says before social media, men and women had limited access to other people's lifestyles and arrangements, but now they're more tempted than ever to cheat ... given the number of opportunities at their fingertips.

Not to be outdone, Freddie Gibbs tackled social media's impact while on "The Breakfast Club," and said he doesn't believe in monogamy, so his polyamorous relationships are in good order.

On the other hand, he says social media culture makes people abandon their true character for clout. The Gary, Indiana-born rapper compares social media addiction to crack.

In fact, Freddie's new album, "$$$" has a track called "CIA" -- an acronym for "Crack, Instagram and AIDS" -- and says he aimed to showcase detrimental things in the Black community with this record.

Freddie also rivals Boosie for the title of rapper with the most Instagram accounts being banned ... so it's understandable they're calling for a changing of the guard.

Interesting that they're dropping these warnings amid Kanye getting restricted on social media for posting anti-Semitic remarks ... which included accusing Diddy of being controlled by Jewish people.

As we reported, LeBron James' just axed an episode of "The Shop" he shot with Ye due to the rapper allegedly spewing "dangerous stereotypes" during their convo.

No telling if he thinks he has a social media addiction or not ... but in response to IG and Twitter putting the clamps on him, Ye's revved up his Facebook account.

Memphis rapper BlocBoy JB sent out some alarming tweets last week, hinting he's navigating some troubled waters -- but now he's seeking treatment and opening up to TMZ Hip Hop about it.

We caught the Shoot Dance creator at LAX and picked his brain a bit regarding his soul-baring post. The Memphis rapper made it clear he was in dire straits ... flat out saying he wasn't going to "make it" if he couldn't get his mind right.

BlocBoy says his label, Interscope, hasn't reached out, aside from an A&R -- but he was forthcoming with us in revealing his music career isn't the cause of the pain.

He admits feeling the pressure of being the top provider in his circle, and having so many close friends die at a young age has been tough for him.

On the bright side, BlocBoy says his closest kin reached out following the tweet, which is great, especially since he really seems to gravitate toward loyalty.

It's been an amazing past few years for BlocBoy ... beginning in 2018 when he hit it big with his Drake-assisted "Look Alive" single.

The song would go on to sell 5x platinum ... predating the current Memphis rap boom highlighted by NLE Choppa, Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla and many more.

He also tells us there are plans for him to release a new project this winter ... but we need ya healthy first, BlocBoy!!!

Elon Musk has a great way to end his legal war with Twitter ... he's finally ready to close his OG $44B offer to purchase the company.

According to multiple reports, Elon's lawyers sent his proposal in a letter Sunday ... saying he "intends to proceed to closing of the transaction contemplated by the April 25, 2022 Merger Agreement" -- meaning he's looking to wrap up the deal at the original price of $54.20 per share.

Twitter responded to the news ... saying, "The intention of the Company is to close the transaction at $54.20 per share."

Sounds like a done deal, especially because shareholders had already put their stamp on the deal, and so did government regulators. As we reported, Elon proposed his big-ticket offer back in April ... only to reverse course a month later and attempt to torpedo the deal.

He claimed the company had not complied with its contractual obligation to hand over business info he'd requested, and complained that Twitter grossly understated the number of spam bots on its platform.

Twitter, of course, wanted to hold him to the deal, and filed a lawsuit hoping to force him to do so.