Viral

Timothée Chalamet se mueve por la película biográfica de Bob Dylan como una "piedra rodante", encarnando al famoso cantautor en las primeras fotos del set.

El actor llegó a las calles de Nueva York para rodar escenas de la nueva película "A Complete Unknown" el domingo, y ya podmeos verlo interpretando al diez veces ganador del Grammy, con bufanda, gorra, mochila y guitarra incluida.

Timothée se ve un poco angustiado en estas fotos... tal vez es un momento emocional en la vida del legendario cantante, y sin duda, uno que Timmy está llevando a cabo de manera impecable.

También filmó una escena a principios del fin de semana, en la que aparece al lado de una calle con un café en la mano... una gran defensa contra cualquier noche fría en Nueva York.

Hay que reconocer que el actor tiene el físico para interpretar de manera convincente al mítico trovador.

Pero, Timothée no es el tipo de actor que se basa solo en la apariencia. Nos informan que ha estado tomando clases de guitarra durante un tiempo en preparación para el papel, mientras que también está listo para cantar como Dylan en la próxima película.

Sabemos que tiene talento para interpretar a Bob -basta con ver "Wonka" para comprobarlo- y la leyenda de la composición, Hans Zimmer, elogió las habilidades musicales de Chalamet. En nuestra opinión, todo un elogio.

Por cierto, hay que reconocer que Chalamet no se ha dormido en los laureles: "Dune: Parte Dos" ya está llegando al medio billón de dólares en la taquilla mundial y los críticos parecen amar la película también.

Timothée Chalamet's rockin' around the Bob Dylan biopic like a rolling stone ... embodying the famous singer-songwriter in the first pics from set.

The actor hit the streets of NYC to shoot scenes for the new flick "A Complete Unknown" Sunday, and he's already got the 10-time Grammy winner's style down -- scarf, cap and rucksack at the ready with a guitar tucked safely in his hand.

TC's lookin' a little distraught in these pics ... perhaps an emotional moment in the legendary crooner's life -- and, no doubt one Timmy's pulling off flawlessly.

He also filmed a scene earlier in the weekend -- appearing on the side of a street with a coffee in hand ... a great defense against any chilly night in New York.

One big takeaway from the new photos ... Chalamet's got the Dylan look down -- not totally a surprise given the similar features of the two megastars.

But, Timothée's not the kind of actor to bank on looks alone ... the dude's reportedly been taking guitar lessons for a while now in preparation for the role while he's also all set to sing as Dylan in the upcoming flick.

We know he's got the pipes to pull off a performance as BD -- just watch "Wonka" to see for yourself -- and composing legend Hans Zimmer even praised Chalamet's musical chops. Some damn high praise if you ask us.

BTW ... gotta give it up to Chalamet for not resting on his laurels -- "Dune: Part Two" is already coming up on a half-a-billion dollars at the global box office ... and critics seem to love the flick too.

Another day, another Boeing problem -- this time a United Airlines flight had a huge chunk of the plane ripped off in the air ... and, yikes.

The flight took off from San Francisco Friday afternoon and ultimately landed safely at its final destination in Oregon ... but once the aircraft arrived, it was discovered a panel near the bottom of the plane got torn off mid-flight, exposing the underbelly of the aircraft.

The photo of the damage -- taken after the 737 plane successfully landed -- is startling ... you can see the guts of the plane inside ... with a bunch of plane parts fully exposed.

You can also see where the panel itself broke off ... there's a clear tear in the material -- which, again, is alarming, to say the least ... especially with everything that's been going on with Boeing lately, and there's been a lot.

While reports say all passengers in this incident were safe -- it, unfortunately, marks the latest Boeing mishap to occur in a relatively short window. Remember, Boeing planes -- some of which have been on UA flights -- seem to be falling apart all over the world.

One plane lost a wheel last week, and another Boeing plane had flames shooting out of one of the turbine engines while up in the sky ... and had to make an emergency landing.

Of course, there's also the LATAM Boeing flight in Australia that briefly started to fall out of the air ... although, now, they seem to be suggesting that was user error.

That doesn't make things much better though ... especially after a door blew off earlier this year on yet another Boeing plane. And let's not forget ... there's still this whole whistleblower saga going on.

Remember, John Barnett died this past week while in the middle of a retaliation lawsuit against Boeing -- this after he alleged they'd been cutting corners on safety measures for years. Cops say it appears he took his own life ... but his attorneys have been calling BS.

Bottom line ... it's choppy waters for Boeing these days.

As for today, UA says ... "We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service. We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred." The FAA says it'll investigate too.

Madonna called out a woman in a wheelchair for not standing up at one of her concerts -- and while everyone gave her s*** for it ... the lady herself really isn't sweating it.

Vanessa Gorman -- who was the woman Madge called out in Vancouver last month -- tells TMZ ... she was pretty shocked by the concert callout at Rogers Arena -- 'cause she says she was in a bright pink wheelchair and figured Madonna could see it clear as day.

She also says she initially didn't think that Madonna was talking about her when the singer asked why she wasn't standing -- but when it became clear, she was kinda star-struck ... which you can see in this video from her angle, obtained by TMZ.

Watch ... Madonna is seen singling out Vanessa -- who was seated on the floor right by the stage. While the spotlight was technically put on her, Vanessa says she was unfazed by the attention ... and responded by simply shouting her love for the singer. So, no outrage.

Looking back on the exchange, Vanessa -- who is a paraplegic from a motor vehicle accident in 1999 -- doesn't think Madonna was being mean ... defending her idol by saying it was clearly a mistake. For anyone wondering, she is absolutely not offended by the situation.

She adds ... "Some people are in wheelchairs and can stand -- she had no idea I was paralyzed."

The fan applauds Madonna for apologizing right away and into the mic so that everybody could hear it. FWIW, Vanessa says that she went on to enjoy the rest of the concert.

Unfortunately for Madge, this was just the latest headline her world tour has made in recent months. Remember, Madonna was called out by Luther Vandross' estate after the singer was mistakenly included in the AIDS tribute that plays during her performance of "Live to Tell."

This is the definition of life imitating art, only here ... it's from Larry David's world.

Check out this defacement job that happened on a billboard on the corner of Centinela Ave. and Santa Monica Blvd. here in Los Angeles -- where an advertisement for Susie Essman's Caftan from "Curb Your Enthusiasm" went up sometime this past week in an homage to the show.

If you're unfamiliar, her Susie character from 'Curb' started her own business and threw up a billboard to advertise it -- which got vandalized on TV with people drawing penises around her face ... something that delighted LD.

As it turns out ... HBO commissioned an exact replica of this fake TV billboard to go up in real life as well, and to nobody's surprise -- it was also defaced, just like on 'CYE.'

If you're wondering who's responsible for the tag job ... we have an answer. There's an activist art collective called INDECLINE -- and they say they're the ones who pulled this off. We're told this went down early Friday morning ... and they even filmed themselves doing it.

The reason ... they say they were just fulfilling a wish from none other than 'Curb' star Jeff Garlin himself ... who responded to someone this week after the billboard went up and wrote, "Someone should put a d*** up there. Maybe two." Welp, that's exactly what INDECLINE did.

The collective tells TMZ, they give Larry a lot of credit for forming their sense of humor and sensibility ... so they feel they were paying homage to him by carrying out this stunt.

They add, "A few nights ago, we watched in awe as one of our favorite pastimes, 'billboard liberation, was incorporated into the latest episode. We received a flood of texts and DMs about the existence of the billboard in Los Angeles and even saw that Jeff Garland was on Instagram calling for it to be altered."

INDECLINE goes on ... "So, as a thank you to Larry David, for his contribution to the field of art imitating life, we give you our contribution to the practice of life imitating art."

The obvious question is ... are cops gonna look into this? We're told by law enforcement sources that, at this point, nobody has called in just yet to report a crime -- so as far as they're concerned ... there's not much to do about this for now.

BTW, these are the same guys that did the naked Trump statue years ago ... so there you go. They're known for stuff like this -- and they didn't disappoint here either.

El tenis de Carlos Alcaraz es simplemente irresistible y claramente algunas abejas pensaron lo mismo, ¡porque un enorme enjambre lo obligó a salir de la cancha en medio del partido!

El segundo mejor tenista masculino del mundo salió a la cancha el jueves para enfrentarse a Alexander Zverev durante el BNP Paribas Open en Indian Wells, pero más bien terminó luchando con una nube de abejas cuando el partido estaba empatado 1-1.

Echa un vistazo al video, Alcaraz trata de ahuyentar algunas de las molestosas criaturas cuando se da cuenta de que el problema es mucho más grande de lo que pensaba.

Carlos Alcaraz mantiene la calma por un momento mientras el oficial de línea lateral le explica la situación a la audiencia, pero el zumbido de las abejas alrededor de su cabeza resultaron ser demasiado para la estrella española.

Ahí el tenista comenzó a agitar su raqueta salvajemente antes de correr hacia el túnel por donde salen los deportistas. También se subió la camiseta sobre la cara para protegerse y digamos que fue todo un espectáculo, como algo salido de "Sleepy Hollow".

Al final, parece que Carlos sufrió algún daño de todo esto. Su agente dice que recibió una picadura en la frente, aunque no está claro el alcance de la herida.

En última instancia, parece que todo el mundo terminó relativamente bien porque el juego continuó justo después de las 5 PM PT, después de que un individuo totalmente desprotegido fuera a aspirar el enjambre de insectos con un aparato. ¡Valiente!

Carlos Alcaraz's tennis play is sweet like honey ... and clearly, some bees thought so too -- 'cause a huge swarm forced him off the court!

The second-best men's player in the world took the court Thursday to take on Alexander Zverev during the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, but ended up contending more with a cloud of the dastardly drones when the match was tied 1-1.

Check out the video ... Alcaraz tries to simply swat a few of the irksome creatures away from his face before realizing his bug problem's a whole lot bigger than he thought.

CA keeps his cool for a bit while the sideline official explains the situation to the audience ... but the bees buzzing around his head proves to be too much for the Spanish star.

Carlos starts swinging his racquet around wildly before running toward the tunnel away from the court. He also pulled up his shirt over his face to protect himself -- and let's just say, it was quite a sight ... like something out of "Sleepy Hollow."

In the end, it sounds like Carlos took some damage from all this -- his agent says he got stung on the forehead during the melee, although it's unclear to what extent he was hurt.

Ultimately, it seems like everyone ended up relatively OK ... 'cause play continued just after 5 PM PT with Carlos soldiering through his injury -- after a totally unprotected individual went around and vacuumed up the insect swarm on the camera, all by themselves. Bold!

La saga de Kate Middleton continúa. Debido a que el Palacio de Kensington decidió mantener su foto editada en Instagram, la plataforma le está advirtiendo a la gente que se trata de una imagen fraudulenta.

Instagram le da dado una cachetada oficial a su foto del Día de la Madre, la que se supo que estaba súper editada, con una bandera que le permite a los usuarios saber explícitamente que la imagen no es auténtica y que deberían tener cuidado con ella.

Su post de Instagram ahora dice: "Foto/video alterado. La misma foto alterada fue revisada por verificadores de hechos independientes en otro post".

Una descripción adicional de la alerta dice que el verificador de hechos encontró que la foto había sido editada de una manera que podría inducir a la gente a error, pero no porque se mostrara fuera de contexto. En otras palabras, ¡esto se cocinó en un laboratorio!

El verificador de hechos en que se basa IG (Meta) para sacar estas conclusiones es una empresa llamada EFE Verifica, una organización española que se especializa en este tipo de cosas.

Por cierto, Instagram no es la única empresa que se está distanciando de la foto de Kate. La agencia de noticias francesa AFP (un actor muy respetado) salió públicamente a decir esta semana que no consideran que el Palacio de Kensington sea una fuente confiable.

El director global de AFP dijo que iban a examinar seriamente cualquier cosa que les envíe Kensington en el futuro y también enviaron un aviso a sus equipos a nivel mundial.

Es un gran golpe a la reputación del Palacio de Kensington, sin duda, y el hecho de que aún tengan esta imagen manipulada es sorprendente, especialmente con todas las reacciones, teorías conspirativas y especulaciones sobre el paradero y estado de Kate.

El Palacio aún no ha respondido a las preguntas sobre esto, a pesar de que todo el mundo se les ha acercado para que hagan más comentarios. Pero por supuesto, este enfoque de meter la cabeza en la arena parece estar encabezado por el propio príncipe William, quien sigue con sus deberes reales como si nada hubiese pasado.

De hecho, Bill estuvo junto a Youth Zone el jueves, una organización que ayuda a los niños más desfavorecidos, con los que fue visto haciendo galletas. También aludió a Kate diciendo que su esposa era la "artística" de la familia en alusión a las decoraciones.

William ha estado haciendo un montón de cosas toda la semana, y aún no ha abordado lo que pasa con Kate. Francamente, no está claro si alguien le ha preguntado.

Si su actitud es una indicación de algo, parece que el equipo del Palacio de Kensington está siguiendo su ejemplo, pero Kate-Gate no va a desaparecer.

The Kate Middleton saga continues -- in light of Kensington Palace choosing to keep their fake photo of her up on Instagram ... the platform is now warning people, this is fraudulent.

IG has officially slapped the Mother's Day picture seen 'round-the-world -- which has since been revealed to be heavily edited -- with a flag that explicitly lets people know the picture ain't authentic ... and that users would be wise to be cautious with it.

The disclaimer on her post now reads, "Altered photo/video. The same altered photo was reviewed by independent fact-checkers in another post."

A further description of their decision to label her picture with this explains that the fact-checker found the photo had been edited in a way that could mislead people, but not because it was shown out of context. Translation ... this thing was cooked up in the lab!

The third-party fact-checker that IG (Meta) is relying on for this conclusion is a company called EFE Verifica -- which is a Spanish org that specializes in this sorta thing.

BTW, Instagram is not the only company that's distancing itself from Kate's pic -- French news agency AFP (a well-respected player) came out publicly this week to say that they do not consider Kensington Palace a trusted source.

AFP's global news director said they were going to heavily vet anything that Kensington sends their way going forward ... and a notice has been sent to their teams globally.

It's a big hit to the reputation of Kensington Palace, no doubt -- and the fact that they still have this doctored image up is astounding ... especially with all the backlash, conspiracy theories and speculation that has followed on Kate's whereabouts and condition.

Of course, this head-in-the-sand approach -- remember, the Palace has yet to address more questions about this, despite everyone having reached out for further comment -- seems to be spearheaded by Prince William himself, who's continuing on like nothing's happened.

In fact, Bill was on hand Thursday for more Royal duties with the OnSide Youth Zone -- who help disadvantaged kids -- and here, he was seen making cookies with youngsters ... and he actually alluded to Kate, saying his wife was the "arty" one as he botched icing decorations.

He's been doing a bunch of work-related stuff all week, and has yet to address head-on what's up with Kate ... frankly, it's unclear if anyone's even asked him.

If his attitude here -- namely, to ignore and power on -- is any indication ... it seems the rest of the Kensington Palace team is following his lead, but Kate-Gate ain't going away.

A college student who's been missing since Friday -- this after getting asked to leave Luke Bryan's Nashville bar -- wandered the streets aimlessly ... now seen on surveillance video.

22-year-old Riley Strain was in town last weekend, visiting with friends from the University of Missouri for a convention in Nashville -- and they went out drinking Friday night ... hitting up Luke's famous 32 Bridge bar, where cops say he got kicked out after being overserved.

Strain reportedly told his friends he'd just walk the 5 blocks back to their hotel and meet them there afterward ... but his buddies say he never turned up, having totally vanished.

Now, the police are on the case ... and they're asking the public to help locate Riley since he still hasn't turned all these days later. Nashville PD also posted some surveillance video that was captured that night, which they say shows Riley stumbling around all by himself.

The guy's said to be well over 6 feet, so he's hard to miss -- and in these videos, you see him cruising the streets almost without much direction or purpose. In one video, you see him cross the street alongside a group of people ... and he comes across as out of control.

In another video, you can see him running, and even falls briefly. On its face, it appears he's under the influence -- which his why him going missing like this is all the more horrifying.

As for Luke himself ... he's addressed this story, taking to social media to write, "Y'all This Is Scary. Praying For His Safe Return." LB also noted his bar was cooperating with the authorities in their investigation, while also sending their thoughts and prayers to his fam.

The story has started to get national attention, and billboards in the area have already gone up advertising his disappearance. His parents have said they're incredibly worried about his well-being, calling this whole ordeal an utter nightmare. There's no question, it 100% is.

The Missouri teen who got her head slammed into the ground during a fight has suffered severe brain damage -- and now, her family is asking for help.

The 15-year-old's loved ones have started a GoFundMe for her, and they've revealed her name as Kaylee ... with them noting that she's battling for her life as she remains hospitalized in critical condition following last week's incident.

According to the GFM -- which is aiming to raise $120,000 to help cover her mounting medical costs -- the brawl left Kaylee with major brain bleeding and swelling.

They also say she suffered a skull fracture and frontal lobe damage as well -- noting she's just at the start of what they consider to be an uphill battle of recovery.

Her family doesn't explicitly say it ... but it sounds like she might not be conscious.

Remember, Kaylee was seen alone and convulsing on the ground as the scuffle continued to play out around her -- which included several other teens throwing punches at one another. According to her family ... EMTs eventually arrived on the scene and rushed Kaylee to a local hospital in St. Louis, but it seems like the damage might've already been done by then.

As we reported ... the teen girl who assaulted Kaylee was arrested on a first-degree felony charge -- but the case is currently being handled by the juvenile court system due to the perpetrator's age.

However, we've learned she could be tried as an adult ... depending on how a court hearing plays out in a couple weeks. If Kaylee's condition worsens, it could spell bad news for the culprit in question too.

La adolescente de Missouri que se golpeó la cabeza contra el suelo durante una pelea ha sufrido graves daños cerebrales y ahora su familia está pidiendo ayuda.

Los seres queridos de la chica de 15 años comenzaron un GoFundMe para ella y han revelado su nombre como el de Kaylee, señalando que está luchando por su vida y que permanece hospitalizada y en estado crítico tras el incidente de la semana pasada.

De acuerdo con el GoFundMe, que tiene como objetivo recaudar $100.000 para ayudar a cubrir sus crecientes gastos médicos, la pelea dejó a Kaylee con una hemorragia cerebral importante e hinchazón.

También dicen que sufrió una fractura de cráneo y daños en el lóbulo frontal, dando a entender que este es solo el comienzo de lo que podría ser una batalla cuesta arriba para su completa recuperación.

Su familia no lo dice explícitamente, pero parece que podría no estar consciente.

Recuerden, Kaylee fue vista sola y convulsionando en el suelo mientras la refriega continuaba a su alrededor, la que incluyó a varios otros adolescentes lanzándose golpes entre sí. Según su familia, los paramédicos finalmente llegaron a la escena y se apresuraron en llevar a Kaylee a un hospital local en St. Louis, pero parece que el daño podría haber estado hecho para entonces.

Como informamos, la adolescente que asaltó a Kaylee fue detenida por un cargo de delito grave en primer grado, pero el caso está siendo manejado por el sistema de tribunales de menores debido a la edad del autor.

Sin embargo, hemos averiguado que ella podría ser juzgada como un adulto, dependiendo de cómo se desarrolle una audiencia en la corte en un par de semanas. Si la condición de Kaylee empeora, podría significar malas noticias para quien resulte culpable.

Un propietario de un yate en California ha amenazado de muerte a un trabajador, y su enfrentamiento ha sido grabado por las cámaras, captando un gesto de desnudez muy grosero.

Échale un vistazo al clip, todo se desarrolla cuando el empresario de San Diego -Ajay Thakore- pasa por el elegante Marriott Marquis Marina en su rara $4.5M Tecnomar para Lamborghini 63 yate para recoger a uno de sus empleados, pero las cosas se calientan cuando el trabajador del muelle Joseph Holt le dice que no puede estar allí.

Thakore, el CEO de la empresa de publicidad médica Doctor Multimedia, enloquece con Holt a lo grande, y comienza a lanzar amenazas como: "Te mataré, sabes que te mataré, te mataré".

Y no se detiene ahí, Thakore no encuentra nada mejor que bajarse los pantalones y hacer un "saludo frontal".

La única represalia de Holt fue un tirón de orejas, y más tarde le dijo a CBS8 que era todo lo que podía hacer para mantener la calma y evitar la escalada de la situación.

Holt dice que partes del altercado no fueron capturadas por la cámara, y añade que Thakore no solo amenazó con matarlo, pero también afirmó tener conexiones que podrían arruinar totalmente su vida.

Holt también dice que Thakore sacó billetes de $100 y se los arrojó, incluso tirando algunos al agua.

Por cierto, Thakore ha dado marcha atrás desde el feo intercambio, ahora dice: "La interacción que se produjo ayer fue lamentable. Lo que comenzó como un malentendido menor se convirtió en una discusión, y pido disculpas por mis acciones y para aquellos que fueron testigos del desafortunado intercambio".

Uno de los empleados de Thakore afirma que todo comenzó porque otros trabajadores del muelle le impidieron abordar el yate.

La saga de Kate Middleton continúa y ahora Stephen Colbert se está inclinando por un nuevo rumor y es que el príncipe Guillermo podría estar teniendo una supuesta aventura.

El anfitrión del "Late Show" habló de la realeza durante su monólogo de apertura el martes y abrazó por completo la infundada especulación e insinuación de que tal vez Bill la esté engañando, un rumor que ha estado circulando desde hace un tiempo en los tabloides, etc.

La supuesta "otra mujer" en cuestión es Lady Rose Hanbury, la marquesa de Cholmondeley, que lleva años en la órbita íntima de Guillermo y Kate como amiga.

Como hemos dicho, esto nunca se ha confirmado, pero se ha hablado de ello durante mucho tiempo, y ahora, en medio de la misteriosa ausencia de Kate, se ha puesto en marcha nuevamente con algunos sugiriendo que tiene algo que ver con el motivo por el que Kate Middleton ha estado fuera de los focos últimamente.

Colbert no parecía muy interesado en conectar los puntos, pero estaba feliz de burlarse de los titulares que han teorizado sobre esto, haciendo bromas a costa de Will y Kate.

Incluso se burló de un informe que sugiere que Kate se habría enfrentado a su marido por esto y que el príncipe supuestamente "se habría reído" y le habría dicho que no es nada.

Como informamos, William ha mantenido la calma y continúa con sus deberes reales mientras Kate sigue recuperándose de su cirugía abdominal a puerta cerrada. Aunque se han podido ver destellos de ella por aquí y por allá desde su procedimiento en enero.

Por supuesto, su fallido intento de Photoshop el fin de semana, que ha asumido explícitamente como su responsabilidad, solo añadió más leña al fuego sobre lo que realmente está pasando con ella.

El hecho es que casi nadie cree que la foto haya sido tomada cuando el Palacio de Kensington dice, y con este nuevo rumor circulando, Will y Kate solo tienen otra capa más con la que lidiar mientras la gente sigue analizando teoría tras teoría.

A California yacht owner's vicious beef with a dock worker has reached death-threat levels -- and their exchange was caught on camera and included a nude, and very rude, gesture!

Check out the clip ... it all unfolds when San Diego entrepreneur Ajay Thakore swings by the swanky Marriott Marquis Marina in his rare $4.5M Tecnomar for Lamborghini 63 yacht to pick up one of his employees -- but things boil over when dock worker Joseph Holt tells him he can't be there.

Thakore, the CEO of medical advertising firm Doctor Multimedia, flips out on Holt big time ... and starts spewing threats like, "I will kill you, you know I will kill you, I will kill."

And it doesn't stop there -- as Thakore's pulling out of the harbor, he drops trou to make a full frontal salute in Holt's direction. Stay classy, San Diego!

Holt's only retaliation was flipping the bird, and he later told CBS8 that was all he could do to keep his cool and avoid escalating the situation.

Holt says parts of the altercation were not captured on camera, and he adds ... Thakore not only threatened to kill him, but also claimed to have connections who could totally mess up his life.

Holt also says Thakore pulled out $100 bills and tossed them at him, even chucking some in the water.

BTW, Thakore's done some backpedaling since the ugly exchange -- he now says, "The interaction that occurred yesterday was regrettable. What started as a minor misunderstanding escalated into an argument, and I apologize for my actions and to those who witnessed the unfortunate exchange."

FWIW ... One of Thakore’s employees claims the whole thing began because other dock workers blocked him from boarding the yacht.

The Kate Middleton saga continues -- and now, Stephen Colbert is leaning into a new salacious rumor ... namely, that Prince William might allegedly be having an affair.

The 'Late Show' host made the Royals one of his topics on Tuesday night's opening monologue -- and he completely embraced unfounded speculation and innuendo that Bill is, perhaps, cheating ... a rumor that has been floating around for a while in tabloids, etc.

The alleged "other woman" in question is Lady Rose Hanbury -- the Marchioness of Cholmondeley -- who's been in William and Kate's inner orbit, as a friend, for years.

Like we said, this has never been confirmed ... but it's been gossiped about for a long time -- and now, amid Kate's mysterious absence, it's kicked into high gear again ... with some suggesting that it somehow has something to do with why KM's been out of the spotlight.

Colbert didn't seem all that interested in connecting the dots -- but he was happy to poke fun at the headlines that have theorized this ... cracking jokes at Will and Kate's expense.

He even made fun of a report that suggested Kate had confronted her husband about this ... to which the Prince allegedly "laughed it off" and said it was much ado about nothing.

As we reported ... William has been keeping calm and carrying on with his Royal duties as Kate continues to recover from her abdominal surgery behind closed doors -- although, slight glimpses of her have been seen here and there ever since her procedure in January.

Of course, her failed Photoshop attempt over the weekend -- which she has explicitly taken the blame for -- only added more fuel to the fire on what exactly is going on with her.

Fact is ... hardly anybody believes the picture was taken when Kensington Palace says it was -- and with this new affair rumor now making its way into the mainstream ... it's just another layer that Will and Kate have to combat as people keep digging into theory after theory.