Los Angeles New Year Off To A Shaky Start ... 4.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits!

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Superstitious Los Angelenos are pulling out their hair right now ... because a 4.1 magnitude earthquake just rocked the city.

The quake's epicenter hit just off the coast of Palos Verdes at 8:27 AM PT today, but folks all the way up in H'Wood and Pasadena felt a bit of shaking.

As with most earthquakes, it stopped as quickly as it started, but it's a jarring way to wake up people sleeping off late-night revelry.

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THE OCEAN IS NO JOKE

Some wild natural occurrences have battered SoCal recently with huge waves bouncing over a seawall in Ventura last week, injuring eight and causing dozens to flee.

Unclear how much, if any damage, was done by our New Year's tremor, but it was nothing compared to the devastating quakes felt by Japan yesterday.

Three powerful, successive earthquakes hit the island nation on New Year's Eve with the biggest reaching a 7.6 magnitude.

Roads and bridges sustained major damage while tsunami warnings were quickly issued by the government. More than 97,000 people were forced to evacuate according to Reuters.

Lots of earthquakes in the past couple days ... hopefully the chaos dies down for the rest of 2024.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Hot and Heavy Midnight Make Out Happy New Year to Us!!!

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce started 2024 off with a bang ... or at least a steamy kiss in a now-viral video sweeping social media.

The songstress and the NFL star grabbed each other at midnight with Taylor wrapping her arms around Travis' neck and pulling him in close for a smooch.

While partygoers around them noticed the two going at it, the happy couple seemed too preoccupied with one another to care.

It's not clear exactly where the lovebirds rang in the New Year, but it's likely they stuck around Kansas City after Travis' game against the Bengals.

As we previously reported ... T-Swift pulled up to Arrowhead Stadium solo Sunday afternoon to cheer on her beau, a common occurrence these days.

Taylor has become a staple at Chiefs games since she and Travis went public back in September. She's even traveled to the frigid Northeast to take in a couple games this season.

As for what the pair's plans for the new year might be, that's anyone's guess. We know Taylor and Travis wanted to spend the holidays together after being apart for Thanksgiving, and T-Swift's got shows in Japan coming up in February.

In the interim though, Tayvis seems content on enjoying their time together ... and each other's mouths as well.

Happy kissing, you too!

Kelly Clarkson Helps Couple Marry At Vegas Show ... Still Believes in Love Despite Ex Drama

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Kelly Clarkson's Las Vegas residency won't last forever, but she left her fans with one heck of a memory ... a wedding ceremony mid-show!

The "Stronger" singer stopped by a pair of men in the audience during her New Year's Eve show who asked her to bear witness to their union.

One of the men said he and his partner had been together nearly 15 years and were ready to tie the knot.

During this story, their officiant came down and Kelly handed the mic over to him ... and he didn't miss a beat, launching into a quick ceremony.

The happy couple said their "I do's" and, by the "power of Kelly Clarkson's show" the officiant proclaimed them married.

Kelly didn't stop there. The "Since U Been Gone" songstress shook hands with the couple's parents and congratulated them on the marriage as well.

It's good to know Kelly's opinion on love hasn't soured given her contentious divorce from her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.

Though the two settled their divorce in 2022, Blackstock overcharged Kelly when he managed her career, and the judge ruled he owed her about $2.6 million in November.

The only question now ... how's Adele gonna top this?!?

Monica Appears To Faint At Houston Concert

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out cold!!!

Scary moment for singer-songwriter Monica on Saturday night ... the "So Gone" singer appeared to pass out during her show in Houston.

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EARLIER THAT NIGHT

TMZ's obtained video from one concertgoer first showing Monica, bleach blonde hair cascading down her back, belting out "Angel of Mine."

Later, a figure with those same light locks appears passed out at the side of the stage with a member of the crew quickly carrying them away from the spotlight.

And, then there's this ... several fans took to social media and alluded to some kind of incident at Monica's show in The Bayou City.

One X user asked "What happened to Monica at the Houston concert??" while another added, "The Houston streets are talking! They’re saying Monica left in an ambulance after passing out by the stairs."

Monica is no stranger to health issues. She's often talked about her mitral valve prolapse, a heart condition she was diagnosed with at 18 which impedes the flap between the upper and lower chambers of her heart from closing properly.

She's also suffered from, and been hospitalized for, high blood pressure in the past, a condition she's said she's worked hard to control, and she's had multiple surgeries for endometriosis.

43-year-old Monica has several shows coming up in the American Southeast on her tour ... perhaps heaping extra stress on the star's plate.

We've reached out to Monica's reps for comment. Get well soon, Monica.

'BH 90210' Star Ian Ziering Comforts Weeping Daughter After Scary Attack

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I got my priorities straight!!!

Ian Ziering jumped right back into parent mode after his donnybrook with a bunch of L.A. biker thugs, dashing over to his weeping daughter to console her.

TMZ has obtained more video showing the aftermath of Ian's terrifying New Year's Eve attack in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard, where the "Beverly Hills, 90210" star went toe to toe with the group of bikers, duking it out with them.

Check out the new footage ... the helmeted gang of assailants is mostly sitting on their choppers in the street, blocking traffic. Their leader, wearing a blue shirt and a head mask, lumbers across the road, pointing at the bikers and barking orders. The large man then climbs onto his own bike and takes off with his underlings.

In the midst of this, Ian runs across the boulevard to his 10-year-old daughter, Penna, who is clearly upset and crying. Like a doting dad, Ian wraps his arms around the girl and kisses her on her head, asking her if she's okay. Beside the shock of it all, Ian and Mia seem physically fine.

Police are now investigating the crazy brawl after an official report was filed with Ian's name listed as the victim.

TMZ broke the story with a video that captured the frightening ordeal. In the clip, the bikers are riding past Ian's car, possibly clipping it and sparking the confrontation. Ian exchanges punches with one of the bikers before he gets jumped by the other assailants. The whole thing turns into an all-out fight, and not a single bystander jumps in to help Ian.

By the way ... no one's been arrested yet. Stay tuned, though.

John Mayer to Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen Cat Got Your Tongue???

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John Mayer destroyed Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on CNN's New Year's Eve show ... turning them into laughing hyenas as cat butts populated his side of the screen!

John joined the 2 best friends on the broadcast from a cat cafe in Tokyo. JM never made clear why alcohol mixes with felines, but even if he did it would not have made a difference.

Anderson couldn't hold it together, as John used his deadpan humor at the Cats in the Box Cafe to render the 2 hosts unable to carry on a convo.

Maybe part of the reason is that CNN seems to have changed its "no drinking" policy because the 2 ACs were taking some pretty serious shots every hour.

A good time was had by all.

'BH 90210' Star Ian Ziering Viciously Attacked by Bikers in L.A. ... Jumped in NYE Street Brawl

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6:19 PM PST -- We're told an official report has been taken, and it lists Ian as the victim. Police have not yet made any arrests and are still investigating the incident.

5:33 PM PST -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they're aware of the incident and speaking with the parties involved. No word yet on if there will be any arrests.

Ian Ziering got jumped by a bunch of bikers running amok in Los Angeles -- a horrific moment caught on camera ... and one helluva lousy way to end his year.

The 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star fell into the crosshairs of several assailants Sunday who were cruising down Hollywood Blvd. on a variety of motorized mini bikes and weaving in and out of traffic ... including, it seems, Ian's vehicle -- which we're told may have been hit.

You can see Ian hop out of his car after one of the bikers seemingly catches his attention, possibly from a collision ... and the altercation erupts in a violent brawl, all seen on video obtained by TMZ.

Check it out ... Ian starts wailing on the guy in question, but soon -- he gets ganged up on by the others ... who begin to whoop on him mercilessly as he tries to make a run for it. Like we said, the cilp is absolutely bananas ... especially considering this a well-known actor.

We're told this beatdown ended with Ian getting back in his car and driving off ... ditto for the bikers, who got the hell out of there. It doesn't appear cops were called -- so you could say it was left in the streets. Not to make light, but this pretty is 'Sharknado'-coded, no?

We've reached out to his camp for comment ... so far, no word back. Here's hoping he's alright -- and if not, someone get Fin Shepard on the horn, STAT, to start kicking ass!

Timothée Chalamet 'Wonka' Back at #1 to End the Year ... Box Office Boom in '23!!!

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Timothée Chalamet is entering 2024 as king of the box office -- marking the end of what's been been a pretty damn good year in terms of ticket sales at the movies. Go figure!

The actor's latest offering, "Wonka," returned to #1 this weekend -- this after claiming the same spot two weeks ago when it first debuted and slipping to #2 last week after the release of 'Aquaman 2,' which technically came in first ... but still underperformed by a lot.

Those woes continued this week, with 'A2' slipping to second and Timmy's film retaking its position as top dog to end 2023 -- raking in about $24 mil through Sunday ... and bringing its total domestic haul to about $142 mil, and its worldwide gross to a whopping $387 mil.

Considering this thing only cost about $100 mil to make, that's a helluva good return. And considering WB has 3 films in the top 5 slots this weekend, we're sure they're happy too.

If you're wondering what 2023 has been like, generally, at the box office well ... movie fans might be in for a pleasant surprise -- 'cause as it turns out, theaters cleaned up quite a bit.

This year saw a domestic box office gross of over $9 billion -- which is actually great compared to recent years post-pandemic ('21's $4.3B & '22's $7.3B). Now, it does pale in comparison to what theaters used to bring in -- see 2019's domestic haul of $11.4B -- but still solid all things considered, and presumably an encouraging sign that theaters ain't dead!

Of course, there's a select few films we have to thank for this result ... especially "Barbie," which was the highest-earning movie this year by a long shot. Other honorable mentions go to 'Super Mario Bros.,' "Oppenheimer," 'Across the Spider-Verse,' and some Disney additions.

As far as superhero movies, though ... those, by and large, turned out to be major stinkers.

So what have we learned about getting asses in seats going forward? Big IPs are winners, and so are splashy biopics. Now, it seems like folks might be tired of seeing capes and tights, though ... so less of that and newer (familiar) wells of content might be the ticket.

Here's to more popcorn in the new year. 🍿

Timothée Chalamet 'Wonka' vuleve al número 1 al final del año... Boom de taquilla en 2023!!!

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Timothée Chalamet está entrando al 2024 como el rey de la taquilla, marcando el fin de un año bastante bueno en términos de venta de entradas en el cine. Y no es para menos...

Su última película "Wonka" volvió al número 1 este fin de semana, después de ocupar el mismo lugar hace dos semanas cuando se estrenó en cines y de caer al número 2 la semana siguiente tras el estreno de "Aquaman 2", que técnicamente quedó en primer lugar... pero aun así tuvo un rendimiento muy inferior al esperado.

Los problemas continuaron esta semana y "Aquaman 2" cayó al segundo puesto, lo que le permitió a Timmy retomar su posición de liderazgo de fin de año, recaudando unos 24 millones de dólares hasta el domingo y elevando su recaudación nacional a unos 142 millones de dólares. A nivel mundial, la suma es de 387 millones de dólares.

Teniendo en cuenta que solo costó unos 100 millones de dólares hacerla, es un buen rendimiento. Y teniendo en cuenta que Warner Bros tiene 3 películas en los 5 primeros puestos este fin de semana, estamos seguros de que también están contentos.

Si se están preguntando cómo fue el 2023 en general, pues fue muy bueno.

Este año la taquilla nacional recaudó más de 9.000 millones de dólares, una cifra excelente en comparación con los años posteriores a la pandemia ($4.300 millones en el 21 y $7.300 millones en el 22). Ahora bien, palidece en comparación con lo que los cines solían recaudar (véase la recaudación nacional de 2019 de 11.400 millones de dólares), pero sigue siendo sólida en general y una señal alentadora de que los cines no están muertos.

Por supuesto, hay unas pocas películas a las que tenemos que dar las gracias por este resultado, especialmente a "Barbie", que fue la película más taquillera de este año con mucha diferencia. Otras menciones honoríficas son para "Super Mario Bros", "Oppenheimer", "Across the Spider-Verse" y algunas adiciones de Disney.

En cuanto a las películas de superhéroes, sin embargo, en general estas resultaron ser un fracaso importante.

Entonces, ¿qué hemos aprendido del éxito de este año para el futuro? Las grandes películas son las ganadoras, al igual que las biopics. Sin embargo, parece que la gente está cansada de ver capas y mallas... así que menos de eso y más contenido nuevo (familiar) podría ser.

Salud por más palomitas en el nuevo año. 🍿

Gypsy Rose Back Home in Louisiana ... Misses Out on Taylor Swift Meeting & Chiefs Game

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard is back home in Louisiana ... making it official, she'll miss out on a possible meeting with Taylor Swift after sources close told us she was asked to leave the state of Missouri.

Sporting a New Orleans Saints jersey, Gypsy posted a short video Sunday thanking fans for their support across her platforms on social media. Gypsy says it's nice to be home, and enjoying a day outside celebrating her freedom.

Already a marketing whiz, Gypsy announces she's got a lot of big things on the way, including her upcoming docuseries on LifeTime and her recently released ebook ... which she calls a reflection on everything she learned during her time behind bars.

TMZ broke the story, Gypsy and her husband had planned on attending Sunday's Chiefs game in Kansas City where she had hoped to possibly run into Taylor Swift -- who is likely to be in attendance cheering on boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

That plan was sidelined Saturday, as sources close to Gypsy tell us her parole officers wanted her out of the state ... unclear exactly why, but our sources say local officials contacted the parole team to tell them they wanted her out of MO stat.

It's possible they felt Gypsy's presence in Missouri could pose as a safety risk, especially if she had plans to attend a game with tens of thousands of others.

Regardless of the change in travel plans, Gypsy still looks happy ... and she's clearly wheeling and dealing. As we told you, she's already gained more than 4 million followers on her Instagram page -- with other profiles continuing to grow.

Gypsy Rose vuelve a su casa en Luisiana y se pierde el partido de Taylor Swift y los Chiefs

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard está de vuelta en casa en Louisiana, haciéndolo oficial... se perderá un posible encuentro con Taylor Swift después de que fuentes cercanas nos dijeron que se le pidió que abandonara el estado de Missouri.

Luciendo una camiseta de los New Orleans Saints, Gypsy publicó un breve video el domingo agradeciendo a los fans por su apoyo a través de sus plataformas en las redes sociales. Gypsy dice que es bueno estar en casa y disfrutar de un día al aire libre celebrando su libertad.

Gypsy anuncia que vienen un montón de cosas grandes en camino, incluyendo su próxima docuserie en LifeTime y su libro electrónico recientemente publicado, el que ella llama una reflexión sobre todo lo que aprendió durante su tiempo entre rejas.

TMZ publicó la historia, Gypsy y su marido habían planeado asistir al partido de los Chiefs del domingo en Kansas City, donde ella tenía la esperanza de encontrarse con Taylor Swift, ya que probablemente esté presente animando a su novio, Travis Kelce.

Ese plan fue dejado de lado el sábado, ya que fuentes cercanas a Gypsy nos dicen que sus oficiales de libertad condicional la querían fuera del estadio, no está claro exactamente por qué, pero nuestras fuentes dicen que los funcionarios locales se contactaron con el equipo de libertad condicional para decirles que la querían fuera de MO stat.

Es posible que sintieran que la presencia de Gypsy en Missouri podría suponer un riesgo para la seguridad, especialmente si tenía planes de asistir a un partido con decenas de miles de personas.

Independiente del cambio en los planes, Gypsy parece feliz... y está claro que está haciendo lo suyo. Como te contamos, ya tiene más de 4 millones de seguidores en su página de Instagram y otros perfiles siguen creciendo.

John Legend Covers '21 Questions' Twitter Has Field Day w/ Jokes 😅

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John Legend got onstage with 50 Cent to do his best version of Nate Dogg -- and while he certainly dished his own twist ... not everybody's feeling it, and they're letting him know too.

The singer celebrated his 45th birthday Thursday in NYC -- where he and Chrissy Teigen hired Fitty to perform, with the rapper doing his classic "21 Questions" live in front of a crowd. At first, it was just 50 Cent handling the hook and verses ... but JL eventually jumped in.

Very impromptu, John grabbed the mic from 50 and started belting out the chorus ... singing, "Girrrrl, you seem to love me now // Would you love me if I was down and out."

Looks like John kept singing while 50 continued to rap -- and in the moment, everyone seemed to receive it pretty well ... cheering on the bday boy and giving him props.

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Unfortunately, it was a bit of a different reaction on the old bird app (now X) ... 'cause folks saw this clip and roasted the hell outta John -- some kinda meanly, others more lovingly.

You can hop into the trend to see what people had to say ... but essentially, the jokes amounted to John sounding more like a church crooner than an R&B stud with his take on the famous hit. As someone put it, "John legend made it sound like a negro spiritual."

Like we said, it's all in good fun ... but let's just say his version certainly took people aback.

No harm, no foul -- dude was just having fun, and Fitty seemed to appreciate the assist. Happy birthday, Mr. Legend ... here's to more soulful renditions in the years to come!

El Presidente de Argentina se besa apasionadamente con su novia en el escenario

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El nuevo presidente de Argentina es un tipo duro, pero no tanto como su novia, con la que estuvo acariciándose y besándose en el escenario delante de todo el mundo... y todo quedó en video.

Javier Milei aterrizó el viernes en la ciudad de Mar de Plata para asistir a la obra de teatro en vivo de su novia, la actriz Fátima Flórez, que al parecer se llama como ella, "Fátima 100%". El presidente se subió al escenario mientras la gente estaba aplaudiendo y felicitó a la actriz él mismo.

Después de lanzar un discurso sobre los tiempos difíciles que Argentina está a punto de entrar en el arranque de su presidencia -que acaba de comenzar a finales de este año- besó Fátima apasionadamente.

Empezaron con un simple besito, pero rápidamente la cosa se puso caliente. La multitud podía verlo todo y los vitoreaba y silbaba. Una vez que terminaron, Fátima dijo unas palabras, agradeciendole a su novio para posteriormente salir con él del lugar.

No es la primera vez que la pareja se muestra así de cariñosa en público, de hecho suelen hacerlo siempre, lo que concuerda con la personalidad de Javier en general, un poco salvaje.

Su victoria presidencial fue vista como un cambio de juego, pero sobre todo porque es un poco como Donald Trump, en que su objetivo es desregular gran parte del gobierno de Argentina y el anillo en una nueva filosofía económica. Básicamente, él quiere hacer Argentina autosuficiente y magra.

Él cree que ya está en camino de hacer precisamente eso, hace unas semanas, devaluó la moneda de Argentina por la friolera de 50%... Javier dice que esto va a ayudar a estabilizar su economía a futuro.

Ha sido un mandato un poco torbellino hasta ahora y no ha hecho más que empezar. Abróchense los cinturones.

Argentina's Prez Javier Milei Steamy Make-Out Sesh with GF ... Onstage After Her Play!!!

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Argentina's new president is a handful, but not nearly as much as his hot girlfriend -- who he was feeling up and locking lips with onstage in front of everyone ... and it's all on video.

Javier Milei touched down Friday in the city of Mar de Plata to catch his actress GF Fátima Flórez's live play -- which is apparently named after her, "Fatima 100%." Anyway, afterward ... the prez hopped onstage while people were applauding, and congratulated her himself.

After launching into a speech about the hard times Argentina is about to enter as he kicks off his presidency -- which just started late this year -- he smooched Fátima ... passionately.

They started with just a peck ... but quickly launched into full-blown tongue wars, showing off a ton of PDA to the crowd as they cheered and whistled. Once they were done, Fátima said a few words of her own, thanking her BF and then leaving with him shortly afterward.

This ain't the first time the couple has shown affection in public like this -- they actually tend to do it all the time ... which jibes with Javier's personality in general, AKA a lil' wild.

His presidential victory was seen as game-changing -- but mostly because he's a bit like Donald Trump, in that he's aiming to deregulate much of Argentina's government and ring in a new economic philosophy. Basically, he wants to make Argentina self-sufficient and lean.

He thinks he's already on course to do just that ... a few weeks ago, he devalued Argentina's currency by a whopping 50% -- which Javier says is going to help stabilize their economy.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind term thus far ... and he's just getting started. Buckle up!

Dave Chappelle hace más chistes sobre transexuales en su nuevo especial de Netflix

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El nuevo especial de Dave Chappelle en Netflix es más de lo mismo en términos de apuntar a las personas transgénero. Sin embargo, está ampliando su alcance hacia las personas con discapacidad también.

En su nuevo show, "El Soñador", Dave sale a bromear sobre las personas trans de nuevo, esta vez contando una historia elaborada sobre el compromiso de Jim Carrey en el set de "Man on the Moon" y explicando cómo eso le recordó a las personas trans de hoy.

Tendrás que ver el especial para ver cómo conecta los puntos, pero básicamente ve paralelismos en lo comprometido que estaba Jim fingiendo tanto como lo hace la comunidad trans.

Ese fue el primer gran chiste que contó Dave, y aunque prometió dejar de hablar de los transexuales justo después, procedió a hacer aún más chistes sobre ellos durante el resto de "The Dreamer". Bromeó sobre escribir una obra acerca de una mujer trans cuyo pronombre era "n****" y que muere de soledad porque los liberales blancos no saben cómo hablar con ella.

Luego continuó diciendo que si alguna vez lo encarcelaban, esperaba que fuera en California, donde podría identificarse como mujer y ser encarcelado con mujeres, donde luego dijo que haría que otros reclusos le "chuparan esta polla de chica que tengo", sin tener que dar explicaciones.

Esos fueron sus chistes trans... pero también se fue en contra de las personas con discapacidad -incluyendo al ex-congresista Madison Cawthorn- y dijo que iba a empezar a burlarse de ellos porque "no son tan organizados como los gays" y le encanta "golpear hacia abajo".

Hubo mucho más... incluyendo sus pensamientos sobre la bofetada Will Smith/Chris Rock en los Oscar, aunque esa parte se siente bastante suave en comparación con esto.

Dave incluso nombró a Lil Nas X hacia el final de su set de una hora, diciendo que LNX se enfrentó a él por no estar en un video musical suyo, a lo que Dave terminó reflexionando acerca de que todos los niños en la escuela tenían un sueño, y Lil Nas X quería ser el gay más gay del mundo, deslizarse por una barra de stripper en el infierno y chupar el d*** del diablo.

De hecho, suena bastante incendiario, pero parece que Dave estaba yuxtaponiendo el "sueño" de Nas X con el suyo propio... que es un poco el tema principal de este especial, que se puede llegar a lo grande.

Aunque los chistes contra los transexuales suenan mal, no parece que estén provocando la misma tormenta de fuego que provocó su especial de 2021 hace dos años, cuando fueron casi el centro de atención. Será interesante ver cuáles son las consecuencias, si las hay, una vez que la gente lo vea por sí misma.

Una cosa que Chappelle NO aborda en este especial es algo que hizo en la vida real no hace mucho tiempo... la guerra Israel-Hamás. Parece que esto fue filmado mucho antes de todo eso.

Dave Chappelle More Trans Jokes in New Special ... Disabled, LGBTQ+ Ones Too

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Dave Chappelle's new Netflix special is more of the same in terms of targeting transgender people -- but he's expanding his reach on marginalized people, roping in disabled folks too.

In his new show, "The Dreamer," DC comes out swinging right out the gate to joke about trans people again ... this time telling an elaborate story about meeting Jim Carrey on the set of "Man on the Moon" and explaining how that reminded him of trans people today.

You'll have to watch the special to see how he connects the dots -- but basically, he sees parallels in the very-committed pretending Jim did in that movie and the trans community.

That was the first big joke Dave told, and while he promised to stop talking about trans folks right after ... he then proceeded to make even more cracks about them throughout the rest of "The Dreamer." He joked about writing a play about a trans woman whose pronoun was "n****" and who dies of loneliness because white liberals don't know how to talk to her.

He then went on to say that if he ever got incarcerated, he'd hope it'd be in California -- where he could identify as a woman and be imprisoned with females ... where he then said he'd make other inmates "suck this girl dick I got," without having to explain himself.

That was the gist of his trans jokes ... but he also jabbed at people with disabilities -- including a crack at ex-Congressman Madison Cawthorn -- and said he'd start making fun of them because "they’re not as organized as the gays" and he loves "punching down."

There was a lot more material, of course ... including his thoughts on the whole Will Smith/Chris Rock Oscars slap -- but all of that felt pretty tame compared to this stuff.

Dave even name-dropped Lil Nas X toward the end of his hour-long set -- saying LNX confronted him for not being in a music video of his ... to which Dave ended up pondering something to the effect of ... out of all the kids in school who had a dream, Lil Nas X wanted to be the gayest gay in the world, slide a stripper pole in hell and suck the devil's d***.

Indeed, it sounds pretty inflammatory -- but it seems Dave was juxtaposing Nas X's "dream" with his own ... which is kinda the running theme of this special, that you can make it big.

While the anti-trans jokes do sound bad, they don't appear to be kicking up the same firestorm his 2021 special did 2 years ago ... when they were almost the entire focus. It'll be interesting to see what the fallout is here, if any, once people watch it for themselves.

One thing Chappelle did NOT address in this special is something he did in real life not that long ago ... namely, the Israel-Hamas war. Sounds like this was filmed well before all that.