Viral

Amerie was jokingly compared to a Kardashian sister -- and despite the obvious playful intent ... the internet is NOT playing when it comes to this side-by-side.

A tweet went viral Saturday, with a user posting Amerie's 2005 music video for her hit single "1 Thing," which was featured on the "Hitch" soundtrack back in the day. His caption is what set all the outrage off, writing ... "Kourtney Kardashian had the block hot with this hit."

Pretty innocent, right??? Eh, apparently not ... folks were jumping down this dude's throat in fierce defense of Amerie, with a lot of people echoing the same sentiment ... namely, don't do her like that. And, by that, they seem to mean ... don't compare her to a Kardashian.

Of course, you can see what the guy was going for -- because, yes, in this specific video (and perhaps more generally) mid-2000s Amerie does, in fact, bear a passing resemblance to Kourt, especially in some of these shots. You might even call them doppelgangers. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Unclear what all the online hostility is toward the juxtaposition ... but a lot of Twitter users seem to have found this "disrespectful." There may be a race element at play -- Amerie is Black/Korean, while Kourtney is white/Armenian. Plus, the Kardashians have a history of being accused of cultural appropriation -- Black culture, specifically -- so that might be a factor.

And yet, in spite of all the people who took this a little too seriously ... some are taking it in stride and running with the joke -- noting the two ladies have some striking similarities (especially when compared to young Kourtney). So, a mixed bag of reactions, it seems.

At any rate, the one thing people appear to agree on is this ... Amerie was a major trendsetter in her day, and apparently hasn't gotten the attention/notoriety many believe she's due.

She's got four studio albums out, and despite reports in the early 2010s that she was working on a 5th, it never seems to have come to fruition -- and Amerie kinda fell off the music scene after that.

That's not to say she's not doing anything productive these days. Amerie has quite a popular book club that she's started -- this after publishing a NYT bestseller herself -- and she's plugging along with that pretty nicely ... plus, dealing with family life and her kids.

Gervonta Davis just, miraculously, walked away from a plane crash relatively unscathed -- and it sounds like what's hurting him the most in the aftermath are his feet ... and his caboose.

The professional boxer went live Saturday to document a terrifying encounter he says he and his crew had just gone through after boarding a private jet ... which apparently failed to properly take off and crash landed back down to the airport grounds it was trying to leave.

Thankfully, it doesn't appear the aircraft got very far up before coming back down to Earth -- because Gervonta and co. seemed more or less okay ... with their health and bodies intact.

That's not to say Gervonta wasn't feeling some hurt afterwards -- on his live feed, he noted that his booty was aching like no other ... this while he wrapped his feet in gauze. He's pretty jovial about the whole thing, which is great to see, but this could've easily been way worse.

GD also gets some shots of the downed plane, and it sure looks like something went wrong internally. There were also fire engines that showed up on the scene to evaluate the damage and tend to anyone's injuries. Again, though, most everyone seems to be fine ... which is absolutely incredible, because it appears there were even children aboard, based on a photo Gervonta posted shortly before getting on. His video doesn't capture any kids, though.

It's unclear what exactly caused the malfunction -- but you can hear Gervonta and his friends speculate on what happened ... seems like there might've been some overheating of some sort. They also appear to be discussing some of the flight maneuvers the pilot(s) were using in the air ... and the group seems to think that may have attributed to it going down.

We're trying to get a hold of Gervonta's team for more answers.

OnlyFans banning hardcore content will bite 'em in the ass, 'cause it's a tell-tale sign of selling out ... so says a guy whose porn star fiancee cleaned up there once upon a time.

We got "No Jumper" podcaster/host Adam22 Friday in L.A. and asked for his thoughts on OF nixing explicit material going forward ... something his baby mama, Lena the Plug, was posting on her own page in recent months -- and who often features Adam in her shoots.

Adam says it's a shame OnlyFans is getting rid of their best feature ... he seems to think it might be the end of the platform as it once was -- while also speculating that another competitor can swoop in right now and pick up all the creators who might jump ship.

The dude also tells us it's a mainstream move to bow to their corporate partners ... calling it exploitative to have built a rep on sex content, but then turn it off on a dime when they feel pressure from up high.

He calls it soaking in the clout, only to pull the rug out from under-sex workers ... which he considers screwed up, to say the least. Bottom line -- Adam thinks OF will become just like any other premium content platform now ... like Patreon or any number of sites like it. And, he suggests that he and Lena (plus thousands of others) might take their business elsewhere.

Now, we should make a point of clarification -- because while straight banging won't be allowed on OF anymore ... it seems people can still get naked on there if they so please.

Mississippi health officials seem to be dumbfounded they have to say this, but they're doing it regardless -- because people are dumb ... ingesting a livestock drug to battle COVID.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs had to say as much this week during a press call, where he and others were forced to address the soaring number of people there who are apparently ingesting ivermectin at an alarming rate ... all in an effort to ward off the virus.

Local reports say that the majority of poison control calls in Mississippi lately -- a whopping 70%, no less -- are related to folks calling for advice after having taken ivermectin as some sort of COVID remedy. Supposedly, these are people looking for alternatives to the vaccine.

BTW, this drug is usually for livestock (like cows/horses) ... and it's made to fight off parasites that grow in their gut, like worms and whatnot. There have been instances where humans have also been prescribed ivermectin for similar purposes, but in way smaller doses.

As Dr. Dobbs notes in his remarks, taking ivermectin straight out of a box you might find at an animal feed or farm supply store can be VERY toxic and even kill you ... so, it goes without saying, that he doesn't recommend it -- and instead, suggests people just vaxx up.

Speaking of these stores, a photo was circulating this week purportedly showing a shop in Mississippi hawking ivermectin ... and apparently encouraging customers to stock up. It's unclear how exactly this quack treatment started making the rounds, but it looks like many are well aware of it, and a portion of them are even giving it a go with bad results.

Even the FDA had to step in and say something about this ... they tweeted out a direct warning against taking ivermectin, wisely noting that we humans are not cows or horses.

The Taliban is rubbing America's nose in the mess left behind in Afghanistan -- and they're doing so with a massive troll move ... recreating an iconic war photo, for their own purposes.

A Taliban military unit that calls themselves the Badri 313 Battalion put out a ton of propaganda footage this week -- showing a bunch of these guys rocking what appears to be American uniforms and gear left behind in the chaos from the past few weeks.

They're out there patrolling the streets in fatigues that are eerily similar to what U.S. soldiers have worn in the area ... only now, the Taliban seems to have gotten ahold of it. The B313B boys also have rifles in hand, and they're also using jeeps that seem to be American too.

That's not the worst of it though -- in what appears to be a total F-U to the USA, the battalion also posted a photo of them raising a Taliban flag ... in the same style as the shot of American troops raising the U.S. flag atop Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima during WWII.

There doesn't seem to be a caption attached, but the message couldn't be more clear ... they see this as them claiming victory in the region, which is exactly what this pic has gone on to represent in our history. It's a slap in the face, really ... an audacious one at that.

BTW, what you're seeing here as far as artillery and weaponry and whatnot being used by the Taliban is just a taste of what's said to be part of a total estimate of about $28 billion worth of gear we'd sent to Afghan army forces dating back to the early 2000s.

Kanye West is sending smoke signals that he's zeroing in on his album release, by posting a pic of the house he grew up in.

Ye displayed a photo of his childhood home on the South Side of Chicago. You'll recall, it's the house he bought last year for $225,000.

As for the clue -- well, the album is titled "Donda," an homage to his late mother, so it would seem he's telegraphing the album is, at the very least, top of mind.

The album was supposed to be released last month, but that date was moved to early August but still, no album. Fact is ... that's SOP for Kanye.

For whatever reason, Kanye scrubbed his entire Instagram page ... so all you get is the house photo. It's unclear why he did this ... maybe to really profile the pic and send some sort of message that the album is near.

He's been tinkering with the album ever since the first unveiling at the listening party in Atlanta for friends and fam back in July.

The first listening party broke the Apple Music Global Livestream record with 3.3 million viewers.

Kim has been really supportive ... showing up at both listening parties and wearing the same color outfit as her estranged husband.

They also had lunch together this week, so it seems the divorce is super amicable.

Mike Richards is already out as "Jeopardy!" host, but he'll still get some TV time ... because the few episodes he shot are going to air as scheduled, TMZ has learned.

Production sources tell us ... Mike shot 5 episodes Thursday before stepping down as the new daily host, and all of them will air beginning September 13.

We're told this decision was made by Sony Studios execs for a couple of reasons -- first, to keep the continuity of the show and honor the contestants ... and second, because one of these contestants was on an incredible hot streak before "Jeopardy!" went into its most recent hiatus.

This contestant, Matt Amodio, has won 18 in a row and racked up $574,801 in prize money -- good for third all-time -- so he's obviously one of the contestants on Richards' first episode ... and possibly beyond that.

So, despite Mike's controversial exit from hosting, we're told it was a no-brainer for the honchos to air his episodes. However, our sources say "Jeopardy!" may display some sort of disclaimer at the beginning of his shows to explain why he is no longer host.

A motorist in New Jersey lost control of their car and put a quick scare into the fast-food patrons at a Wendy's as the vehicle came smashing back to the ground ... just feet away from them.

According to South Brunswick PD ... the wild incident went down Monday when the car -- a Toyota Corolla -- launched over a berm, and surveillance cameras captured it flying through the air across the parking lot before clipping an Audi waiting in the drive-thru line.

A second camera shot shows the end result, as the vehicle then crashes into the Wendy's and hits an outdoor table right next to a table where a family was eating.

Thankfully, cops say there were no serious injuries. That's pretty hard to believe when you see the damage, which forced the Wendy's to close up shop for now.

According to reports ... the driver may have suffered a medical issue that caused the freak accident, and a child in the Audi was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

NBA center Meyers Leonard says he's spent the past 5 months out of the spotlight and working firsthand with the Jewish community ... dedicating his time to being a true ally after hurling an anti-Semitic slur in March.

The 29-year-old has not spoken publicly since apologizing for his hurtful language on a Twitch live stream ... but in his time away, he says he's made every effort to learn from his mistake and understand its significance.

"This was not something prescribed or forced upon me," Leonard said on Instagram. "It’s something that I felt and knew in my heart was right to do, which is why I chose to do it privately."

Leonard says he's discussed the beliefs and history of the community with Jewish leaders and friends ... and was troubled to hear how anti-Semitic actions and views have caused so much harm over time and in the present.

"I'm committed to being an ally," he said.

"A true mistake and extreme ignorance is how this all began for me, but growing from this is a part of the journey."

"Again, I'd like to say how truly sorry I am to those who were hurt by my word. I take full ownership of my ignorance and will continue to do better through my actions. I'd also like to say how grateful I am for all of the love, compassion, and forgiveness that the Jewish community has graciously shown me."

As we previously reported, Leonard spoke out about hateful speech at an Anti-Defamation League conference earlier this month ... something he's grateful to have been a part of.

He also got emotional in a speech to Jewish kids at a temple in Florida back in June ... sincerely apologizing for using the word.

A young Yankees fan was drilled in the forehead by a Giancarlo Stanton home run ball on Thursday ... but fortunately, the kid seems like he's going to be OK.

The scary scene all went down during New York's game against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium ... when Stanton hit a laser beam to right field.

The ball was absolutely crushed -- it left the park in less than 3 seconds -- but on its way down, it collided with a kid's face.

You can see in the broadcast footage, the Pinstripes fan tried to get his glove up to make the grab ... but the ball still found its way right to the top of his dome.

Video, though, later showed the fan was luckily able to shake off the knock ... and eventually, he was rewarded with a ball from one of the umps on the field!!

Sad and infuriating news out of SeaWorld where a 6-year-old female orca is dead, and the embattled San Diego marine park says it has no clue why.

SeaWorld says the orca, named Amaya, died unexpectedly Thursday with her animal care specialists by her side. The park says she'd shown signs of illness on Wednesday, but at this point they don't have a cause of death ... and won't until a post-mortem exam is complete, and that could take several weeks.

A spokesperson for the park said animal care specialists and veterinarians began treating Amaya immediately on Wednesday, but "despite her care team’s efforts, Amaya’s condition continued to deteriorate. Her death was sudden and unexpected."

The spokesperson described Amaya as "one of the most playful whales in our pod" and that she loved "interacting with her animal care specialists."

SeaWorld's no stranger to controversy over the treatment of its whales and other animals. According to the non-profit Whale and Dolphin Conservation USA ... at least 49 orcas have died at SeaWorld's 3 parks.

The park also came under heavy fire when the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" was released -- and the public pressure led to SeaWorld nixing its breeding program.

The documentary largely focused on the struggles of Tilikum, a male orca that died at 36 in 2017.

Amaya was crucial in helping the park research how a calf develops ... albeit in captivity.

Meek Mill's diving skills need some work. Check that, lots of work.

We're told the "Dreams and Nightmares" rapper took the plunge Wednesday night after he rented out DreamWorks Water Park ... the biggest indoor waterpark in the U.S., located at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ. Meek's clearly not ready to take his talents even to a high school swim meet.

All good though ... 'cause Meek flashed a grin ear to ear after coming up to the surface ... laughing off his attempt at gracefully diving into the massive pool.

Meek rented out the space to celebrate rapper Vory's 24th birthday. He's currently signed to Meek's label DreamChasers and Vory's one of the featured artists on Kanye West's "Donda."

Shohei Ohtani says he was unbothered by the accent Jack Morris used on the broadcast during one of his at-bats Tuesday ... saying, "I'm not offended and I didn’t take anything personally."

"He is a Hall of Famer," the Angels superstar said of Morris through an interpreter on Wednesday night. "He has a big influence in the baseball world. It's kind of a tough spot."

If you missed it ... Morris -- a Detroit Tigers analyst -- was suspended indefinitely Wednesday after he made offensive comments during Detroit's tilt with L.A. on Tuesday.

Just before Ohtani -- who is Japanese -- stepped to the plate in the 6th inning, Morris used an accent that many felt was mocking Asians.

"Be very, very careful," Morris said on the broadcast.

Morris eventually apologized three innings later ... but Bally Sports Detroit ultimately still decided to suspend him, calling the remarks "insensitive."

The Tigers, for their part, backed the decision, saying, "We are deeply disappointed by the comments made by Jack Morris during the broadcast."

If you're thinking of freaking out on a plane, hope you're flush with cash, because freak-outs don't come cheap. Some off-the-rails passengers have been fined and the total is now more than a million bucks.

The FAA just hit a milestone (a bad one) in the total amount of penalties they've dished out thus far in 2021 ... there have been 3,889 reports of unruly behavior this year, and many of these ridiculous passengers have been socked with huge fines.

Most of the in-flight eruptions involve disputes over mask-wearing. There are also a bunch of alcohol-related disturbances. For example ...

-- A JetBlue passenger was fined $45,000 for throwing objects, including his carry-on at other passengers, lying on the aisle floor, and then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt.

-- A Frontier Airlines passenger was socked with a $30,000 fine after trying to gain entry to the cockpit by assaulting 2 flight attendants, threatening to kill one of them, and demanding they open the door.

-- A JetBlue passenger was fined $17,530 for failing to comply with the mask mandate, vaping on the plane and drinking alcohol not served by the airline.

-- An Allegiant Airlines passenger was fined $10,500 for refusing to wear a face mask and then urinating on the bathroom floor, which leaked into the galley.

Turns out a lot of these passengers got dinged for bringing alcohol on board -- which is a no-no -- and then getting belligerent.

The fines we were provided are all hefty -- starting at $7,500. On top of that, some passengers have been charged with crimes.

It's gotten so bad, flight attendants are now duct-taping out-of-control passengers to their seats.

Ric Flair says he is NOT a train ridin', oral sex givin' son of a gun ... telling TMZ Sports the viral photo making rounds has to be some other guy -- 'cause it ain't him!!

Here's how we got here: A pic began trending on Twitter on Wednesday ... which appears to show a man with light, slicked-back hair ... *clears throat* pleasuring a woman.

People were quick to say the guy in the photo was 72-year-old Flair ... with the jokes coming in left and right.

Welp, we made some phone calls ... and Ric himself tells us the guy in the pic is NOT him ... and for what it's worth, he hasn't been on a train in a while.

We wanted to show the photo ... but Harvey wouldn't let us. So, go search on Twitter.

The Nature Boy has made headlines recently for REAL things that actually happened -- the wrestling legend has parted ways with WWE after a lengthy relationship.

Flair has kept busy in his time since ... but not in *that* way.

The alligator handler who got mauled by the creature she's paid to control suffered a damaged tendon and multiple fractures -- and while the pics of her injuries are gnarly, she's already smiling.

Lindsay Bull tells TMZ ... she was discharged from a Utah hospital Tuesday after she was admitted following Saturday's incident. The gator's powerful jaws broke her thumb and wrist ... in addition to the tendon damage.

As you can see, Lindsay's gashed hand was bleeding heavily while she lay in her hospital bed Saturday -- but now she has it wrapped in a big cast, and she says she's going to be alright.

As we reported ... the alligator attacked Lindsay in front of paying customers who rushed in to help, with visitor Donnie Wiseman heroically jumping on the gator's back to prevent it from drowning her, or ripping off her arm, with a terrifying death roll maneuver.

Lindsay says she's planning to talk to Donnie soon and she's already spoken with some of the folks who were on the tour when she was attacked, and made some dinner plans.

Despite the vicious attack, Lindsay tells us she has no hard feelings toward Darth Gator -- yes, that's his name -- and adds it's like her firstborn son.

Shane Richins, the owner of Scales and Tails Utah, tells TMZ ... Lindsay's training helped preserve her limbs, because she went into the enclosure after the animal chomped down on her hand and let her body go limp as the gator went into the roll.