Viral

An Applebee’s franchise executive had a bright idea on dealing with inflation ... pay employees less.

Wayne Pankratz -- a bigwig at American Franchise Capital, which owns and operates 50 Applebee’s locations throughout the Midwest -- spewed his corporate fat cat vision to his colleagues over an email, which leaked and has since gone viral.

In the memo, Pankratz muses that the higher gas prices being felt across the country could actually benefit their Applebee’s business -- namely, by forcing more people into the workforce out of desperation, which he thought would be great to exploit in lower wages for new hires.

Yep, it’s as bad as it sounds ... take a look for yourself -- he says as much clear as day here.

There’s more ... the guy goes on to describe much of their employees as “paycheck to paycheck” people -- and that too, he says, can help them in putting a little extra squeeze on their hourly rate. Since their disposable income would be depleted amid these higher prices, he theorized their Applebee’s restaurants would likely see an increase in applicants, who would be more likely to take less money than other hospitality jobs that might pay better.

Pankratz also gives the federal government a shout-out for finally putting an end to all the stimulus checks, which he believes has also forced people back to working for a living ... and which he also sees as a pro for his would-be plan.

It’s a bizarre economic philosophy, and it has NOT been well-received online ... frankly, people are tearing into this dude and Applebee’s by extension. Both his investment firm and Applebee’s corporate office have distanced themselves from him. Pankratz has reportedly been placed on leave, and each org has said his thoughts don’t represent their values.

Bill Maher went in hard on "toxic masculinity" ... saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a prime example of ... be careful what you wish for.

Nope, Maher's not trashing The Ukrainian Prez ... quite the opposite. He says Zelensky is living proof women actually want some of that masculinity in their men. He points to various polls and social media with an undeniable conclusion ... women, and some men find him incredibly hot.

As the "Real Time" host puts it ... the lesson from this war is that "the world needs grown-ass men!"

Bill's not saying toxic masculinity is always a good thing, but he is making a case that a little -- maybe a little more than a little -- is sexy and, indeed, essential.

His overarching point ... he says there's been such a push by women to make men more like them, the men are emasculated and women no longer are sexually attracted to them. He points to studies showing people having sex is at a 30 year low.

He uses an ad the Obama Administration put out to push Obamacare, and, well, you just gotta watch ... it's kinda brutal.

Bill says Zelensky is sexy because of comments like ... I don't need a ride, I need ammo.  As he says, when there's an invasion, you want a little big d**k energy.

It's a super interesting case he makes ... that some attributes traditionally characteristic of men are now problematic ... as he says, "It's like men were born wrong."

Popeyes has spoken ... condemning hateful language and offering up support after a racist customer went viral for hurling slurs at employees at one of its joints in Florida.

A rep for Popeyes tells TMZ ... they're disgusted over the video, adding Popeyes has zero-tolerance for this kind of hateful aggression at its restaurants. They're also working with the owner ... offering support and providing assistance to make sure employees feel safe.

The Popeyes rep goes on to say they'll review ways to better respond to negative and harmful customer interactions.

ICYMI, a video made rounds on social media of a white guy at a Popeyes in Okeechobee, FL. ... the dude is caught on camera, hurling racial slurs and threatening to lynch a Black female employee.

Doja Cat's music career is dead ... thanks to Twitter.

Well, that's what the singer and rapper's claiming, at least, after going toe-to-toe with the Twitter mob over a canceled concert in Paraguay. Her first mistake was hopping online after playing Lollapalooza in Brazil Thursday night.

Doja copped to not putting on "a good enough show," but promised she'd do better Friday night. Well, her fans in Paraguay got all butt hurt because she'd never tweeted them over missing a festival show there earlier this week. Mind you, that concert was canceled due to a deadly storm and flooding ... so, certainly not DC's fault.

Anyway, Doja's response to the ridiculous outrage was "I'm not sorry," and that ignited the Twitter war with fans and even journalists in Paraguay. She eventually fired back, "I moved on I'm just gonna let everybody be mad" ... and changed her Twitter handle to "I quit."

Then she rage tweeted, "I can't wait to f***ing disappear and I don't need you to believe in me anymore." She added, "I'm a f***ing fool for ever thinking I was made for this this is a f***ing nightmare. Unfollow me."

Doja topped it off by declaring, "This s*** ain't for me so I'm out. Y'all take care."

BTW, she's supposed to hit the road with The Weeknd this summer in North America ... so, we seriously doubt she's done done -- but, way to go, Twitter. Ya happy now?

Empower Field at Mile High Stadium -- the home of the Denver Broncos -- caught on fire on Thursday ... and images from the scene are alarming.

No word on what caused the blaze ... but Denver Fire says suite and third-level areas of the stadium seats underneath John Lynch's spot on the Ring of Fame were affected.

Several sections of the stadium were destroyed ... but luckily, DFD says the fire has since been put out, thanks to sprinklers and brave firefighters.

Huge clouds of smoke are filling the Denver skyline ... with several witnesses posting their views of the fire.

Mile High opened in 2001 ... and has hosted Broncos games, concerts and soccer matches. It could become one of the game locations for the 2026 World Cup.

"I want a beer" ... a simple and direct request, but a damn amazing one because it was uttered by a paralyzed man who's communicating for the first time in months, thanks to a life-changing brain implant.

In a testament to the power of science, and beer -- researchers in Switzerland outfitted a 36-year-old ALS patient with a chip in his brain, which allows him to spell out sentences one letter at a time, and he used it to order up a cold one.

On top of a brew, the guy also asked caregivers for a head massage from his mother, curry and soup fed through tubes, and wanted to rock out to the band Tool. In his words, he wanted it "loud."

The good folks doing the amazing research over at the Wyss Center in Geneva say it's the first instance of someone with no voluntary muscle movement being able to communicate.

The ALS patient, who consented to the brain implant back in 2018 when he could still use eye movement to communicate, is now completely paralyzed. The chip allows him to signal "yes" or "no" to a series of letters and spell out commands at a rate of one character per minute.

That means it took him more than 10 minutes to order a beer, but we're thinking he'd say it was well worth the wait.

Knicks owner/Hawks superstar Trae Young continues to TORCH New York, and then rub it in their faces ... and last night was no exception -- Ice Trae was as cold as ever, dropping 45 points and telling a heckling fan to "hold that L."

Young and the Hawks visited the world's most famous arena ... to square off against their Eastern Conference rival, the Knicks, and Trae more than lived up to his nickname.

The game was back-and-forth throughout the first half, and the faithful at MSG were letting Trae hear it all night.

At one point, while Trae was walking to the corner, comedian Roy Wood Jr. (who was sitting courtside) recorded video of an exchange between Young and some Knicks fans who'd apparently been trolling the hooper.

In the video, you can see Trae walking in the fans direction to cover Immanuel Quickley ... when he suddenly walks right up to a fan and says "Ayy hold that, hold that. Hold that L."

Of course, the rivalry between Young and Knicks fans dates back to last season's playoffs ... when Trae and his Hawks eliminated New York in 5 games in the first round.

Young averaged close to 30 points and 10 assists ... and played even better at the Garden than he did at his home arena, prompting Knicks fans to chant "F*** Trae Young" whenever he touched the ball.

Super Knicks fan Spike Lee had a front row seat for Trae's brilliant performance ... and the film director didn't look too thrilled as he watched Young torture his squad.

Humiliating Knicks fans wasn't all #11 did last night -- Trae hit Knicks big man Taj Gibson with a sick crossover before nailing a sweet pullup midrange jumper, and the crowd ate it up.

The Orlando Pride is saying a big sorry to its fans ... after it forced a group of its supporters at its home stadium to take down a banner that had the word "GAY" painted on it.

The National Women's Soccer League team issued the mea culpa on Tuesday afternoon -- explaining it erred when it forced the removal of the sign at its home game on Saturday.

If you missed it, a Pride support group called the "Black Swans" attempted to hang the sign at the team's home game against Washington on Saturday, in what appeared to be a clear effort to oppose Florida's controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill.

The Swans, though, said the team made them take it down for "political reasons" -- something they said they were furious over.

But, the Pride "deeply" apologized for the action this week ... saying in a statement it screwed up.

"The organization admits it wrongly focused on signage policies and procedures, instead of allowing the important meaning of this message," said the Pride, who actually have 49 rainbow seats set up in their stadium to honor Pulse nightclub victims.

"It is a privilege and duty to create a safe, inclusive environment at Orlando Pride matches, and the Club deeply apologizes for violating that trust through this incorrect decision."

The team added the Swans will be allowed to hang the banner -- or something similar to it -- at home games moving forward if it wants.

Machine Gun Kelly's turning hotel bellmen into tour roadies and proving the ol' show biz adage is true ... even in the face of a deadly storm in South America.

Yeah, the show totally went on for MGK Tuesday night just outside the lobby of his hotel in Paraguay ... where the rocker set up giant speakers, cranked it up to 11 and grabbed a mic. Fans had swarmed the building after his scheduled concert venue was flooded out, forcing promoters to pull the plug on the show.

Megan Fox was right by her fiance's side when he came out to greet the fans, and then decided to give 'em a mini-concert.

Paraguay was rocked by a storm that tore roofs off buildings and had rivers overflowing their banks. Five people reportedly died and more than 80 were injured in the severe weather.

The so-called "gay" dog that was given up by its owners over perceived homosexual behavior now has a new home -- and that pad is very LGBTQ-friendly ... as is his new name!

North Carolina's Steve Nichols tells TMZ ... he and his longtime partner, John, adopted Fezco Tuesday after hearing the story about him getting abandoned by his former human parents ... all because they caught him humping another male pooch.

Nichols says they felt an immediate connection to Fezco, as he explains both he and John have faced discrimination in their own lives. So, they applied ... and were actually chosen.

Now, get this ... Nichols says they've actually gone ahead and rebranded Fezco with a new doggy tag, now calling him "Oscar" instead of his old moniker. We're told they chose that to honor the Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde -- who was also gay.

It's probably for the best, because Nichols tells us his new pet was apparently not well taken care of by his previous owners ... saying the dog wasn't neutered, and had heart worms -- which he's taking care of now by sending Oscar straight to the vet, where he'll be for a bit.

Nichols says the application wanted to make sure that whoever would embrace Oscar would be committed to nursing him back to health, and both he and John certainly are. Word of Oscar's availability came courtesy of WCCB's Morgan Fogarty, who broke the news.

Looks like Oscar will have some company ... the couple already have a furry friend named Harry, who's a Terrier-Chihuahua mix. They expect their two boys will get along just fine.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez may soon be the new owners of a massive estate in Bel-Air -- but they're still humble in their dining choices -- grabbing McDonald's while out for a drive.

Ben and Jen hit up the golden arches for lunch ... for a little value meal on the same day we broke the story of their huge pending purchase, a more than $50 MILLION estate in ritzy Bel-Air.

J Lo was riding shotgun as Ben pulled up to the drive-thru Saturday at a Mickey D's in Beverly Hills ... and she was seen chowing down on one of those famous burgers, fries and washing it down with a fountain drink.

Ben grubbed down too ... possibly with a Big Mac, we can't really make out his sandwich in the photos.

TMZ broke the story ... Ben and Jen spent a couple hours at their new mansion over the weekend, so it appears they went from their $50 million+ home to the home of the $1 menu ... or vice versa.

You get it, right? Gotta save up when making big purchases!

The Academy is finally trying to do right by Rachel Zegler ... not only inviting her to be at the show ... but to present one of the night's Oscars.

A report says the "West Side Story" actress was recently contacted and offered the gig -- of course, the series of events over the last few days to get to this point have been awkward ... to say the least.

As we reported, the 20-year-old Best Picture star spilled the details Sunday, replying to a comment from a fan that was excited about her Oscar debut.

In response, Rachel wrote, "I'm not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend's flannel." She later added, "I hope some last-minute miracle occurs and I can celebrate our film in person but hey, that's how it goes sometimes, I guess."

It's still unclear what the mix-up was ... seeing as costar Ariana DeBose is nominated and predicted to win Best Supporting Actress, the movie is up for Best Picture and Steven Spielberg is up for Best Director.

Jordan Hook, the victim in a viral Tesla stunt, says the crash isn't just taking a toll on himself and his car, it has his neighbors scared too, and it's time for the perp to fess up.

He says whoever was behind the wheel needs to come back and take a look at who they've affected ... grousing someone shouldn't just walk away from a wreck that bad.

Check out the vid ... the Tesla launches in the air as it approaches the street ... straight out of an action film. On its descent, the car hits a couple of trash cans and a car, before crashing into the back of Jordan's Subaru.

Jordan started a GoFundMe to help get a new car ... and he's already raised thousands ... but it hasn't all been roses -- internet trolls are now taking aim at him.

Jordan says he's been viciously attacked online ever since the fundraiser began ... people have been sending him direct messages claiming he's a horrible person for taking money from donors when insurance is going to cover the loss. Fact is, Jordan has no idea if insurance is going to cover any of the damages.

The largest donation he's received so far comes from YouTuber Alex Choi ... who ironically filmed the Tesla crashing into Jordan's Subaru. The video now has over 1 million views ... and Jordan's not happy about it, saying Alex misrepresented a lot about what went down.

One of the most famous Marilyn Monroe images, painted by the late great Andy Warhol, is going up on the auction block, and it's expected to set a pretty amazing record ... as in $200 million worth of amazing!!!

You heard that right ... Christie's auction house in London is putting the painting up for auction in May, and the expected 9-figure price tag would make it the most expensive piece of 20th-century art ever sold.

If things go the way Christie’s thinks it will ... the sale would top the value of Picasso's piece, "Women of Algiers," which fetched $179.4 mil about 7 years ago.

This particular Warhol is known as "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" -- there are 5 other versions in this Monroe series, each in a different color.

It comes from a collection owned by Swiss siblings, and all the proceeds will go to their Thomas and Doris Ammann Foundation, which benefits children causes.

If the painting goes for $200 mil ... it will nearly double Warhol's previous auction record -- $105 million for a painting called "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)."

Already, the buzz about the Marilyn auction has brought back interest in all things Warhol, and his Netflix doc is trending again.

Instagram model Liziane Gutierrez is doing her part to help the people of Ukraine, with boots on the ground to help the military deliver medicine and medical equipment to hospitals in need.

Gutierrez tells us she connected with a charity group shortly after the war started, and arrived in Poland last week. Over the weekend, she made the trip to Chervonohrad, Ukraine -- about 2 hours away -- and has been working with the military to deliver the vital supplies to hospitals.

As for what the shipments include -- Liziane says it's everything from pain meds to syringes and even an ultrasound machine -- all from Austria.

She says the hospitals are still fully functioning, for the most part, but the city streets of Chervonohrad are entirely empty -- as most residents have fled.

Michael Bublé may be best known for his vocals, but now he jokingly says he could ditch his singing career for TikTok ... after newfound success on the app.

The Canadian singer joined "TMZ Live" and talked about working on his upcoming 11th studio album and  ... a possible TikTok career!

Michael has had worldwide success since dropping his debut, self-titled album in '03. In January, he dropped his single "I'll Never Not Love You" ... which is a sequel to his 2009 hit "Haven't Met You Yet."

So far, he's sold 75 million albums, but he believes his latest one "Higher" is his best one yet. Although the album is slated for Friday, Michael is very excited about another hobby he's seemingly mastered overnight -- TikTok.

He tells us, he loves interacting with fans on the app, but it's more important for him to try to get more followers than his wife ... only partially joking. Back in September, he got an impressive 31.5 million views on his first video, after his wife convinced him to join.

Bublé has garnered 1.7 mil followers and 14.7 mil likes ... but, insists his wife is still winning the competition. Luckily though, he knows quite a bit about winning ... with 11 Grammy noms and 4 wins since '08.

As for "Higher", Michael says he got the help of some famous friends … including Paul McCartney, who gave his blessings for him to cover his song -- "My Valentine." Paul ended up working on the entire album and being accredited as a producer.

MB says Paul came to play, and he simply "has the ability to take good and turn it into great."