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Dr. Oz doesn't get testy when it comes to TikTok's latest so-called "Taste Challenge" ... he just laughs it off for what it is -- RIDICULOUS!!!

We got the doc out Wednesday in NYC and wanted to get his take on the new craze taking over the social media platform ... where guys are -- we're not kidding -- dipping their testicles into soy sauce to prove whether testes have taste receptors.

You gotta see Dr. Oz's reaction ... it's what you'd expect from any decent human being, especially one with a medical license. In fact, the good doctor dropped some knowledge on us about the dangers of pulling off the stunt. He also clowns whoever came up with the idea.

Netflix's doc about a Texas cheerleading program lacks professional shots of THE big competition, and that's the studio's own damn fault ... so says the gatekeeper to the event.

Varsity Spirit -- which is briefly featured in the docuseries -- tells TMZ ... they did, in fact, shoot down Netflix's request to film the competition with their own cameras, but offered a compromise they insist Netflix wasn't interested in ... event footage from Varsity itself.

ICYMI, the streaming giant's new docuseries, "Cheer," is all the rave ... but at one point -- SPOILERS AHEAD!!! -- producers switched to iPhones to capture the Daytona cheer tournament that their subjects, Navarro College's cheer team, work toward through 6 episodes.

The reason (per Netflix) ... Varsity denied them access to film on the grounds. No official reason was offered, despite Varsity somewhat alluding to it.

They spelled it out for us, however, and basically say they don't allow outside production teams to film during the proceedings, mostly to avoid unnecessary distractions for the athletes. As for why Netflix and co. allegedly turned down Varsity's own footage ... unclear.

There is good news though for fans of the breakout series -- there seem to be signs of future installments. Varsity tells us they've been in talks with Netflix since this little headbutt -- and apparently, the two behemoths have already discussed working together again.

The real-life stars of Netflix's "Cheer" documentary want to put their newfound fame to good use ... and they've got ideas for potential movie adaptions and pitches for music videos!!!

We got the cheer squad from Navarro Community College in Texas after they touched down at LAX and asked how they're feeling about going Hollywood.

Coach Monica Aldama is hoping their story finds its way into a movie script ... and she wants Sandra Bullock to play her on the big screen!!!

As you know ... everyone is raving about the super fun doc, and the cheerleaders are getting shoutouts from all types of celebs and athletes.

Jerry Harris tells us his favorite famous fan, and his answer might surprise you ... sorry, JJ Watt, being the best defensive player in the NFL just ain't cutting it for Jerry.

Speaking of sports stars ... these cheerleaders say people better recognize -- they are definitely athletes.

A music video makes perfect sense for the cheer squad ... and while Lexi Brumback wants to collab with someone from the EDM world, her peers are pulling for Drake.

There's no ignoring this elephant in the room, especially because he's taking over multiple rooms ... in a hotel!!!

Ya gotta see this unbelievable video of a wild elephant roaming around the Jetwing Yala hotel in Sri Lanka. As you can imagine, it gets a wide berth upon entering the joint ... no one's rushing him at the check-in line. Yes, he packed his own trunk ... and as you can see, used it to poke around the place.

Best of all, the full-grown Asian bull elephant, -- named Natta Kota by locals -- is a repeat customer!!! The hotel says he's been wandering in from time to time since 2013, spending days napping in the shade and stomping through the resort's walkways.

The pachyderm used to be a seasonal visitor, according to the hotel, stealing fruit from vehicles and grub from the kitchen -- but now he's got a permanent residence at Jetwing and he's left in peace.

No word if he's racking up rewards points, but he's definitely a bull (elephant) in a china shop. Someone's gotta pay for that lamp!!!

Michelle Obama is taking a wholesome approach to the new year -- clinging to the past by working out to songs that are a few to several years old ... most being curse-free.

The former first lady put out her 2020 workout playlist Sunday, and it features a bunch of oldies but goodies ... for millennials, that is. She's got songs on there that date back to 1990 all the way up to this past year. Most of her tracks are smack dab in the 2010s.

Mrs. Obama tapped stuff like "Feels Good" (1990), "Feelin' So Good Remix" (1999), "Lose My Breath" (2004), "A God Like You" (2011), "3005" (2013), "Lay Me Down" (2013), "Godspeed" (2016), "Slide" (2017), "Toast" (2018) and lots of other tracks spanning the decades.

SpaceX had a great day Sunday ... its Crew Dragon spacecraft performed flawlessly in a maneuver critical to manned space flight.

The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at around 10:30 AM ET.  The point of the unmanned mission ... to test the in-flight abort system. 84 seconds into the flight, when the spacecraft is 60,000 feet above mother Earth, the mission gets scrubbed and the rocket separates from the crew capsule, propelling it at warp speed away from the rocket.

It worked flawlessly, and it was a beautiful sight.

The crew capsule came down in about 10 minutes, parachuting safely to Earth so the folks at SpaceX in Hawthorne can study the data.

Bhad Bhabie is fixing her social media woes with some good old-fashioned retail therapy ... shedding dollars instead of tears.

The "Hi Bich" rapper announced last week she was taking a break from her social accounts thanks to some serious trolling. She wrote, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what for but whatever y'all are so angry at me for I'm sorry."

Our BB sources tell us she went right from her phone to the jewelry store, scooping up $65,000 in bling in one stop.

The rapper bought a $45,000 Rolex watch with a baby blue dial and 16.5 carats of colorless VVS diamonds. She also got 2 $10,000 diamond bracelets. In other words, she's iced out and then some. Nothing fixes the online blues like some real-life livin' and ballin', huh?

A family fell through the ice of a frozen lake in Big Bear this weekend, and the rescue footage is pretty wild.

The scary moment happened Saturday on Big Bear Lake, where a throng of ambulances, fire trucks and police cruisers blocked off traffic to save a family of 3 that had somehow made their way onto the frozen surface ... and fell in after the ice gave way.

We're told it appeared the group -- which we're told comprised of a mother, a father and their young daughter -- had apparently wandered out there despite signs clearly saying to stay off the ice. It's unclear how long they were immersed in the freezing water.

Luckily, they were all pulled to safety -- but the way it happened is nothing short of dramatic. Ropes with small flotation devices were tossed across until each one could catch it and be dragged to shore. The child was first, the mother 2nd and eventually the man.

Dr. Oz is firing back at Mark Wahlberg's cardiac arrest crack -- and as it turns out, the doc's actually got some jokes of his own ... plus nifty visual aides.

DO took to Instagram Saturday to respond to Mark's own video from a few days ago, where he accepted Oz's no-breakfast/one-legged push-up challenge and then joked the guy would probably need a defibrillator by the time Marky Mark was done with him in the gym.

Well, Dr. Oz seems to have one-upped him -- rocking real scrubs and showing off an actual defibrillator in what looks to be a real hospital ... not to mention giving a demonstration.

Oz even takes some shots at MW, saying he's probably used a fake defibrillator in front of the camera -- but in the real world, only one of 'em knows how to use it ... and it ain't Mark. He goes on to call out Mark's "full stomach" and show muscles ... doubting they work as advertised. It's funny, Dr. Oz is confident Mark will be the one passing out.

This is just the latest sling in what's become the weirdest/most awesome celeb feud of the new year. That said, we're ready to see some action here ... 'cause talk is cheap.

Well, here's the weirdest "bucking" thing you'll see all day ... a teacher cracking a joke about killing a puppy in order to motivate his students to win a vocabulary competition.

Woof!

A California high school teacher named Ryan Price at Buckingham Charter Magnet was trying to get his class fired up for the "Vocab Bowl" -- in which it was leading over some rival schools -- by bringing in a brand new mascot ... an adorable puppy named Buck.

Pretty awesome method of encouragement! Except ... Mr. Price then goes on a rant about doing your "bucking vocab" and issues a threat to the kids -- if they lose the Vocab Bowl, he'll "kill the dog."

The woman who infamously went on a racist and hateful rant outside a CVS store in L.A. will NOT face any criminal charges ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Heather Lynn Patton is off the hook nearly 4 months after she went on a hateful tirade threatening to kill black people ... and it was all caught on video.

After the LAPD opened an investigation, it was brought to the L.A. County D.A.'s Office for charge consideration but it was then kicked down to the City Attorney's Office.

We're told the City Attorney evaluated the criminal threats but ultimately they declined to prosecute her. As we reported ... the disgraced Hollywood costume designer dropped n-bombs and viciously screamed she wanted to kill black people.

Jeffree Star has confirmed what the Internet was speculating very hard about over the last 96 hours or so ... he and his longtime boyfriend, Nathan Schwandt, are dunzo.

The YouTube star and beauty influencer posted a video Saturday titled, "We Broke Up." Jeffree says he and Nate -- who first started dating in 2015 -- had, in fact, broken up ... this amid much chatter over Twitter and Instagram among their respective fans.

Jeffree says it's been a few weeks since they've split and goes on to say they're both in a state of shock ... adding that Nathan -- his soulmate, he says -- is "going through it."

As for a reason why they broke up ... Jeffree kinda dances around a hard point of contention, BUT he does get into Nathan's supposed dislike of the public spotlight JS often finds himself under and alluded to that as a part of why they started growing apart.

That said, Jeffree says they remain friends ... but now, it's time for each of them to focus on one another.

Dana White was so impressed with the way a female Best Buy staffer beat the hell out of a suspected shoplifter, he's flying her to UFC 246 and wants to HIRE HER!!

The footage of 24-year-old Summer Tapasa went viral in December when she confronted a man at a Best Buy in Hawaii who allegedly stole an expensive speaker and blocked him from leaving the store.

Tapasa parted ways with Best Buy after the incident -- but their loss could be the UFC's gain, because White tells TMZ Sports he's on a mission to bring her into the UFC fold.

"That's the kind of person I want working for me," White said ... "You're crazy Best Buy! You shoulda kept her! I'm gonna steal her from you now!"

White says he's flying Summer to be his VIP guest in Vegas for the Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone fight at UFC 246 ... and he's "dead serious" about possibly offering her a job during the event.

Matthew McConaughey is feeling alright, alright, alright ... because he's wearing a super comfortable looking outfit that looks awfully similar to your grandparent's bathrobe!!!

The Oscar-winning actor was spotted taking a stroll around New York City Friday ... and bringing a totally new meaning to casual wear.

It's a pretty warm winter's day for New York standards -- it's in the 50s -- but Matthew's one of the most famous Texans, so he's not braving the great outdoors in just any normal jacket. For what it's worth, dude's also got a shirt and pants underneath the furry garment.

Unclear exactly what Matthew is in town for -- there are rumors he's being eyed for the role of Reverse-Flash in the superhero series -- but he's definitely dressed for whatever occasion might come his way.

Imagine riding the subway to work on a totally normal morning ... and sharing your commute with the entire Toronto Maple Leafs roster!!!

That's exactly what happened on Thursday ... when Auston Matthews and his boys headed to their annual outdoor practice by using public transit.

It's become a tradition for Toronto to give the fans a cool, up-close experience at Nathan Phillips Square in the 6 ... and give subway-goers a ride they'll never forget!!

Maple Leafs star Mitchell Marner -- who just signed a 6-year, $65.3 MILLION with Toronto this past offseason -- was even signing autographs while hanging with the normies.

Of course, the boys ended up getting to the ice for a full day of practice ... which includes a 3-on-3 tournament for all the fans to watch. Cool stuff.

Kim Kardashian West got roped into an online food fight ... and responded by laying a plant-based smackdown on everybody.

Kim clapped back at all the internet trolls who mocked her for having an "empty" refrigerator and questioning how she could feed her 4 kids ... with a full tour of her MULTIPLE fridges and pantries in her home.

In the video, Kim starts by showing off a gigantic pantry loaded with jars of food, including a separate section for sprinkles for her frozen yogurt ... which goes well with the frozen yogurt machine she has tucked away.

Then Kim shows off the refrigerator that started all the commotion with fans (and haters), which contains various waters and milks ... but not any food. Turns out, it's because it's just her beverage fridge.

Kim's tour moves to her kitchen, where she reveals she does, in fact, have a lot of food for the family ... in a giant WALK-IN refrigerator. That one is loaded with fresh organic produce, more drinks, condiments and already-prepped meals for her and the kids.

So yeah ... nobody's going hungry in the Kardashian West household.