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Cardi B says it's hard to do TikToks, but she appears to be right in her element joining the latest craze -- the Silhouette Challenge.

The rapper shared her entry late Wednesday night, which starts with her walking into frame wearing a kimono with her hair in curls ... and revealing a stripper pole in the background.

As those who are familiar with the challenge know -- as a mash-up of Paul Anka's "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" and Doja Cat's "Street" plays ... the beat drops, screen goes red and it's sexy silhouette time.

Cardi, of course, was a stripper before she was famous, so even though she claims this challenge was challenging ... she nailed it.

JoJo Siwa's beaming after coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and she's giving a lot of credit to her "perfect, most beautiful girlfriend in the whole world."

The YouTube star revealed her recent decision to go public was a very scary thing, and talked about it Wednesday night on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

JoJo says working on a TikTok at the "Pride House" got her thinking about outing herself, and she decided to just go for it ... with some extra encouragement from her girlfriend.

She says she was FaceTiming with her GF when she posted that photo -- the one where she's wearing the "Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever." t-shirt -- and then went right back talking to her like it was no big deal.

Taylor Swift's new album is creating a major mix-up between folks looking for her tunes, and those looking to get their goblin on ... at least according to a fantasy park.

The owners of the Utah-based park called Evermore are suing Tay-Tay for trademark infringement -- claiming they own the rights to the name “evermore,” and saying Swift trampled said rights when she started selling merch with that branding to promote her album by the same name.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the Evermore park camp claims it's poured many millions of dollars into building the facility, branding and selling its own gear since the park was conceived in 2014 and, of course, when it opened in 2018.

The park owners say they've got 'Evermore' trademarked for a number of different purposes -- including clothing and other merchandise they sell ... all of which they claim was diluted once TS dropped 'evermore' in late 2020.

Evermore park brass alleges since the record came out, their search results are way down in Google, and that it's legitimately causing confusion in the marketplace ... which they say is hurting their bottom line.

They also allege Tay's team was aware that the trademark for 'Evermore' was snatched up, but proceeded with their own campaign anyway ... figuring they'd drown out the park.

Sean Penn's going full Sean Penn on a pair of anonymous whistleblowers who say they're part of his nonprofit helping in L.A.'s vaccination drive ... and are getting worked to the bone.

The Oscar-winner reportedly sent a 2,200-word internal letter to his CORE employees this week -- which was leaked to the L.A. Times -- and in it he unloads on them for remarks in the comments section of a recent NYT article about Penn/CORE's efforts at Dodger Stadium.

Penn reportedly went in on the 2 alleged CORE staffers who claim the work conditions at the stadium are exhausting, and possibly illegal ... as they allege they're barely getting breaks and grinding through near 24-hour shifts.

The Times says he referred to their comments as "shameful entries" and "obscene critiques." That was the kindest part, because Penn added ... "And to whoever authored these, understand that in every cell of my body is a vitriol for the way your actions reflect so harmfully upon your brothers and sisters in arms. I have taken counsel and here will refrain from using the words with which I would otherwise choose to describe the character of your actions."

Penn might have censored his language, but you can tell there's a Tom Cruise-esque rant simmering inside of him.

He did acknowledge some CORE workers might have been working longer hours lately, saying these are unprecedented times that call for extra manpower... and it was his call.

He also added this for any of his employees who are "predisposed" to complaining or "whining" ... "It’s called quitting. Quit for CORE. Quit for your colleagues who won’t quit. Quit for your fellow human beings who deeply recognize that this is a moment in time. A moment of service that we must all embody sometimes to the point of collapse."

Dave Chappelle once famously asked, "Where is Ja?!?" -- and for now, the answer is ... on the graduating side of Harvard's online program for biz wizzes.

The rapper and businessman posted the results for his enrollment at Harvard Business School Online Certificate Program ... and it says clear as day -- Jeffrey Atkins (Ja's government name) has successfully completed it.

Looks like there's a focus he was specializing in too ... Entrepreneurship Skills. The description reads ... "This certificate program introduces a framework -- People, Opportunity, Context, Deal -- to evaluate opportunities, manage start-ups, and finance ventures."

Ja Rule was humblebragging about the accomplishment, tweeting ... "I ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer buuuuut..." OK, we see ya, JR! And, we gotta say, the timing's kinda perfect.

Remember, Ja's got a few things in the oven on the tech and start-up front -- including a new app he's launching called Iconn, which facilitates celeb bookings. He gave us the rundown on it not too long ago, and even invited former Prez Trump to join.

No Proud Boys -- or Proud Boy hate-mongering -- is allowed though, as he made clear in our interview.

Jeff Bezos is letting go of the Amazon reins, day-to-day at least, and while he's not vanishing altogether from the office, it's clear his focus elsewhere.

Bezos' departure as CEO was announced Tuesday during an earnings call, and it was revealed AWS CEO Andy Jassy would take over as the main man of the e-comm behemoth sometime in the third quarter of 2021.

As for why he's stepping down ... Bezos wrote a letter to employees, saying running Amazon at large is exhausting and all-encompassing -- and he's got other projects he wants to go all-in on. He'll still have a hand on the wheel though, as executive chair of Amazon's board going forward.

JB added in his letter, "As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have."

For reference, the Day 1 Fund is JB's homelessness project; the Earth Fund is his climate change initiative and Blue Origin is his aerospace company. So yeah, Dude's still got a lot on his plate.

As for how this will affect the company's projected growth, the numbers seem to show stakeholders have faith. Amazon shares were trading higher in after-hours Tuesday. That shows how solid Amazon is -- Bezos has been in the captain's chair since '94.

Unclear if Jeff's stock options with the company will be affected -- which could change his wealthiest man on the planet status. He and Elon Musk have been swapping the 1 and 2 spots all year.

IT'S HAPPENING!!!

EA Sports just made every sports gamer's dream come true -- by officially announcing a reboot of its beloved college football franchise!!!

Of course, the "NCAA Football" series was a huge hit with fans for years -- but the game was discontinued in 2014 due to issues regarding using NCAA player likenesses.

A return was made possible in October 2019, however, when the NCAA board of governors voted to allow athletes to profit off their name/likeness ... with changes to be implemented as early as January 2021.

The video game company randomly dropped the major announcement Tuesday ... saying, "For those who never stopped believing ... College Football is coming back."

FYI -- the beloved series started off as "Bill Walsh Football" in 1994 and 1995 ... before taking on the College Football/NCAA Football name from 1996-2014.

Details have not been made available just yet ... but it's enough to get even the casual NCAA Football gamer pumped for the return.

No word on who the cover athlete will be -- or if there will even be one -- but Cincinnati Bengals star QB Joe Burrow is sad he won't be able to fulfil his lifelong dream.

"All I ever wanted was to be on the cover of this game and as soon as I graduate they bring it back," Burrow tweeted Tuesday.

The city of Hamilton, GA's still in shock by the absurdly racist conversation its ex-police chief had with an officer, so now the Mayor's taking action.

Mayor Julie Brown's office tells TMZ ... as the city begins the process of replacing ex-Chief Gene Allmond -- who resigned -- its major focus is how to reform the police department ... starting with proper training.

Mayor Brown's assistant, Buddy Walker, says the city plans to hire a sensitivity training company to meet with the whole force, and the training will be mandatory for whoever is hired as the next chief.

As we reported ... former officer John Brooks didn't know his body cam was on during a vile, racist conversation last year with Allmond. Brooks casually dropped the n-word, and made a lewd comment about Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. Allmond suggested slavery was a pretty good deal for Black people.

Brooks has since been fired.

The Mayor's office told us race will not be a factor in replacing Allmond or Brooks ... they just want the best candidates. For what it's worth, the small town's force is already pretty diverse -- we're told 2 of Hamilton's 3 current officers are Black.

The world's most famous groundhog just made its bold prediction for the rest of winter ... and it looks like we're in for a cold one, folks.

Punxsutawney Phil was awakened, once again, early Tuesday morning for Groundhog Day in Gobbler's Knob, PA and got put to work giving us a forecast for the rest of the season. Ol' Phil saw his shadow ... so, as they say, 6 more weeks of winter.

This year's celebration was a little more pared down compared to its usual gathering, which would include a way bigger crowd of in-person spectators.

Organizers of the annual event streamed it virtually for folks at home, but there was Phil's regular group of "Inner Circle" top hat buddies who attended -- most of whom were masked up ... carrying on tradition.

Now, the fact the woodchuck is expecting more cold days ahead isn't all that surprising ... the furry little bastards have predicted that 106 times over the course of a 135-year run that they've been looking to Phil for a weather report.

This year actually proves to be meaningful, especially up there in the Northeast -- where winter storm Orlena has covered several states in several feet of snow.

So yeah, Groundhog Day 2021 is pretty much spot-on.

The iconic Hollywood sign got a makeover, and though what went down is technically a crime ... it might be worth the time for supporting a good cause.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 6 people were arrested for altering the sign to read "Hollyboob" Monday. We're told police were notified of what was going on and tracked the group as they made their way down the hill and busted them.

Our sources say the group -- which we've learned includes model Julia Rose -- told cops they did this to raise breast cancer awareness ... but they will also be cited for trespassing before they're released.

Julia -- who's no stranger to breast-related stunts -- is currently with Hollywood police being processed. We got video of her being led away in cuffs, too.

The timing of the stunt is interesting. As you may know ... Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October, so it seems these folks are several months early.

Tiffany Haddish and Common's relationship is TikTok official -- 'cause the two of them were locking lips and bumpin' and grindin' on camera ... and we gotta say, it's hot!!!

The comedian posted a video Sunday to get in on the "Silhouette Challenge," which is where you appear at first covered head to toe in clothing ... only for the video to cut to that same person stripped-down, striking a sexy silhouetted pose -- all to the remixed tunes of Paul Anka's 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder' and Doja Cat's 'Streets.'

Tiffany's started out promising, and when it flashes to her as a shadow with a red background ... the temperature in the room shoots up. And even more so when Common makes a cameo.

Watch for yourself -- the couple is NOT shy about showing their affection for each other. They make out, grind ... pretty much almost everything short of third base and beyond. Don't worry, they keep it PG-13 -- but considering we haven't seen much PDA from them publicly, this is a big jump in their relationship.

Reddit users messed with the bull, now it gets ... the tarp. That's how the saying goes, right?

We kid, but in all seriousness ... check out what Wall Street's Charging Bull looks like right now in Manhattan's Financial District -- the bronze sculpture is completely covered in a blue tarp, from horns to hooves.

There's no official explanation out as to why this happened, but the reason seems to be obvious -- especially considering what's been happening with the stock market this past week.

Of course, we're talking about the frenzy with Gamestop, AMC and other stocks that were restricted on exchanges like Robinhood ... which was seen as a corrupt move by normies who were making a bundle against hedge fund managers trying to bet on shorts.

There was widespread outcry online, with folks accusing Robinhood of being in cahoots with these hedge fund runners -- something Robinhood denied, BTW. The chatter wasn't just digital though ... it literally trickled into the streets with protests over the weekend.

People gathered at the Bull with signage that read "TAX WALL ST TRADES" among other messages. There are even photos circulating that show the Bull getting vandalized with blue tape, with phrases like "#HoldTheLine" and "WBC" etched in in permanent marker.

Basically, there's been a lot of activity there these past few days -- and it looks like the authorities have responded in kind ... both with man power and now ... with plastic.

Anderson Cooper confronted a guy who used to legit believe the CNN anchor was part of an evil, devil-worshipping cabal that devoured children ... and got an apology out of him.

CNN ran a special report Saturday night, with Anderson in the driver's seat ... going down the rabbit hole of QAnon and its origin. If you aren't familiar, the QAnon conspiracy theory is multi-faceted and ever-changing -- and is what some of the Capitol rioters subscribe to.

Very long story short ... QAnon believers think high-level politicians (mostly Dems) and Hollywood folks are pedophiles, part of a child-trafficking ring ... who are out to control the world. They also believe Donald Trump was their savior, and was gonna expose it all.

Anywho ... in CNN's report, Anderson did an interview with former QAnon supporter Jitarth Jadeja, who was all in on it until 2019. Safe to say, it made for an awkward exchange.

Watch for yourself ... Jadeja literally says, "I apologize for thinking that you ate babies." He goes on to explain why Anderson was a focus in QAnon, and what was alleged about him among supporters. Anderson seems astonished to hear it first-hand ... rightly so.

Of course, AC goes out of his way to say that all of those theories are absolutely NOT true -- but really digs into why people are so inclined to buy into a bunch of bull crap.

Big tech is in the hot seat like never before -- and one company that deserves a chair in the front row is Instagram ... so says Lindsey Pelas, who accuses them of discriminating against women.

We talked to the mega social media influencer, model and actress -- who makes much of her living online these days -- and she tells us IG appears to have it out for females ... but goes easier on men, especially as it pertains to their bodies, and what they're allowed to post.

Check it out ... Lindsey explains this is all about censorship -- another hot button issue lately -- and claims IG's policies are unfair toward women in how much skin they can show on the platform, whereas Insta is allegedly way more lenient on guys baring it all. Lindsey likens it to digital cherry-picking ... which she says often ends with fellas being able to run wild.

There's another level here too ... erections and vaginas. Listen to Lindsey -- she says there's a disparity on what products are allowed and aren't on IG.

Anyway, back to her main point, which is this -- the power these big tech companies have at their fingertips got put on full display this week with the drama from Robinhood. Funny enough, LP says that saga ain't too different from what's going on in the camera app.

A police chief in Georgia has resigned and one of his officers was fired after video surfaced of an absolutely shocking, racist conversation in which they casually drop the n-word and say slavery met the needs of black people.

Hamilton Police Chief Gene Allmond and Patrolman John Brooks didn't realize Brooks' bodycam was recording during their racist conversation.

The patrolman talked about who he'd rather have sex with -- Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms or voting rights activist Stacey Abrams.

Then, as they repeatedly drop the n-word, the Chief discusses slavery ... "For the most part, it seemed to me like they furnished them a house to live in. They furnished them clothes to put on their back. They furnished them food to put on their table and all they had to do was f***ing work. And now we give 'em all those things and don't have to f***ing work."

The conversation took place last year ... just before a Black Lives Matter protest.

We got another UFO sighting on our hands here in L.A., folks -- but this one stands alone, as it offers some the best clear shots we've seen of what appears ... well, you make the call.

An eyewitness shot these photos last Saturday while heading south on the 101 Freeway, just outside of Thousand Oaks as she was approaching Westlake Village around sunset. We're told she was on her phone when she saw this thing hovering in the sky, flying in the same direction she was heading ... with a group of lights trailing behind it.

The eyewitness says she shot three consecutive photos as quickly as she could, and as you can see ... the unidentified object appears to have changed positions, both tilting ever so slightly and moving to a new spot in the sky. We're told this UFO was only visible for a few seconds, before it literally vanished into thin air. We know ... far-fetched, right?

That's what we thought too -- but we've been assured these photos are NOT altered, and they show what they show. We were skeptical -- thinking these could've been tweaked in Photoshop -- so we had one of our art gurus take a closer look to see what she thought.

Turns out, our own photoshop wiz seems to agree ... these don't look like fakes.

Our graphic artist tried an experiment with stock images of "glowing discs," "UFO's" and "flying saucers" ... to see if the images could be manipulated in a similar fashion as the tipster's photos. She concluded it would be hard to cut/paste these images with the exact angles of the tipster's images. So, these photos do appear to be legit ... or at the very least, probably not photoshopped.

We also reverse image searched these pics, BTW, and couldn't track down ANY that were exactly the same -- so again, it lends credence to the idea these were taken on the spot, without being doctored after the fact.

So, where does that lead us in the end??? Welp, depends on what you want to believe. On its face, this looks to be a straight-up UFO sighting. IF that is in fact the case -- who woulda thought Hollywood had it right all along in its depictions?!?