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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's new flames are more intertwined than they might've realized -- Julia Fox and Pete Davidson once played Barbie and Ken ... for a photo shoot, that is.

Pete's Paper Mag 2019 cover story is resurfacing amid news Ye is now dating Julia ... who actually posed opposite PD for the spread. They weren't interviewed together or anything -- it was Pete's show, and she just assisted as his photogenic (plastic) counterpart.

The story doesn't explain how Julia came to be recruited for the project -- but it does mention she's from NYC, just like Pete, and that she starred in "Uncut Gems," which was produced by Pete's friend Sebastian Bear-McClard. Presumably, they run in the same in the circles ... or did, back in the day.

Speaking of circles, Paper Mag is the same outlet that featured Kim posing butt-ass naked a few years back ... when she "broke the Internet." So, this all connects in a very weird way.

Some are running wild with conspiracy theories about how this all appears planned and/or concocted somehow, arguing there's no way each couple shares this history by coincidence.

Scary scene at Mac Jones' home earlier this week ... a dinner made for the Patriots quarterback caught on fire -- but, thankfully, his girlfriend was able to put out the small inferno.

The wild scene was all captured on Jones' in-home Furbo camera on Monday ... showing Sophie Scott scrambling to douse a sheet tray that had burst into flames.

In the video, posted by Scott on Tuesday night, you can see Jones' GF raced through the kitchen with the hot plate all while screaming Mac's name.

Fortunately, she was able to get a sliding glass door open and chuck the pan onto the lawn -- avoiding catastrophe.

Scott joked about it all afterward ... saying, "It's okay to laugh (everythings ok) I shared because I'm dying laughing about what the Furbo catches."

Sophie said there was no second attempt to make dinner -- the couple, who have been dating since 2019, safely ordered takeout instead.

Good call.

A group of rowdy Canadians are gonna have to find another way home after partying their faces off aboard a flight from the Great White North to Mexico ... which got out of control.

Check out this video ... it's a bunch of what appear to be 20-somethings throwing down in the cabin of a Sunwing Airlines plane as they jet down to Cancun for New Year's Eve. This was shot a day before NYE, BTW, so they've been there almost a full week now.

As you can see, it's pure mayhem in the aisles ... with folks smoking vapes, drinking booze and hoisting each other up for a little crowd surfing in the tightly packed area. Of course, nobody seems to be wearing masks ... or abiding by any sort of protocol whatsoever.

Indeed, it looks like a college frat party -- and if you're wondering where the flight crew was and how they could let things get this out of hand ... word is, the attendants actually gave up trying to establish order with this raucous bunch, and hid away toward the front and/or back, letting the passengers have their way -- this per local reports, citing a union rep.

There's also this ... a lot of these airplane partiers are apparently somewhat famous, as some of them have been described as social media influencers or reality TV stars in their homeland -- although, no specific names have surfaced just yet.

The bad behavior didn't go unnoticed in the end ... in fact, it's actually being thoroughly investigated by the Canadian federal government, with its own Minister of Transport explicitly calling for accountability against these folks -- calling their actions "unacceptable."

Sunwing itself has also launched an investigation ... and took further steps to punish 'em all, by canceling their flight back to Montreal which was scheduled for Wednesday.

In addition to being left stranded south of the border, the unruly crowd also faces potential hefty fines -- up to $5,000 for each violation -- and if they do this again on a returning flight home ... they could even get jail time, as Canada is super strict on COVID rules these days.

As you might imagine, cases are sky-high up there right now ... just like elsewhere across the world -- and the government has advised people to avoid international travel if they can.

Not saying this would solve the problem here, since the mob clearly overtook the situation. But ... maybe the Canadians can take some pointers from American flight attendants, who've been getting resourceful, of late, to restrain disorderly dissenters in the skies.

Lassie lives!!! Or at least the spirit of Lassie lives on in a German shepherd named Tinsley -- the pup not only survived a car accident but helped flag down first responders to rescue his hooman!

Cops in New Hampshire say they got a call around 10 PM Tuesday for a loose German shepherd on a highway near the NH/VT border. When officers responded, the dog refused to come close to them, and it ran away. Cops followed the dog, who led them to the scene of a nasty crash.

It turns out Tinsley and his owner had been in a terrible truck accident. Tinsley was able to escape, but police realized 2 other people had been ejected from the truck and were seriously injured.

Cops called for an ambulance, and all involved were taken to the hospital for further treatment.

George Floyd's young niece is on the mend after what seems like a targeted attack on family members in his hometown of Houston.

Four-year-old Arianna was struck with a bullet in her torso Saturday while she slept in her bed at home. The bullet was fired by an unidentified suspect, or suspects, who opened fire into her family's house ... according to Houston's ABC13.

She was taken to a hospital where she underwent surgery and was stabilized. Arianna's father says she suffered a punctured lung and liver, as well as 3 broken ribs, but she's recovering.

As for who might've done this ... no arrests yet, and cops aren't saying anything about possible culprits -- however, Arianna's family tells ABC13 they know the shooter ... but, for some reason, they believe the incident was "just a coincidence."

Apparently, Arianna had attended some protests last year to honor her slain uncle. She's technically his great-niece ... being the daughter of his niece, Bianca, whose mother is George's sister, LaTonya.

A golfer in Australia is now in the market for a new driver ... 'cause a giant crab destroyed his on the course.

For real.

The crazy scene happened Down Under recently ... when a golfer stepped away from his bag for just a few moments and returned to find a massive robber crab hugging his clubs.

Video of the scene is wild -- you can see in the footage, the guys were stunned as the crab had its pinchers all over the golfer's TaylorMades.

"Hello, buddy!" One of the golfers said to the tiny beast. "What're you stealing?! What're you stealing?!"

Eventually, the men tried to shake the thing off the clubs ... but check out the clip, the crab wouldn't let go!

The crab ended up holding on so tightly, it snapped the shaft of the guy's driver. And, because nobody wanted to lose a digit, it also ended up stealing one of the club's headcovers too!!

"Just let him have it, mate," one of the golfer's said. "He's beaten us."

Jody "Babydol" Gibson -- a former madam who operated a massive network of prostitutes in Hollywood throughout the '80s and '90s -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops got a call Sunday from a family member and responded to Jody's Yucca Valley home around 11 AM, and she was pronounced dead on the scene. We're told she appears to have died in her sleep, and no foul play is suspected.

Eric Markel, her husband of 12 years, confirmed her death, and told us Jody's death is a bit of a mystery -- he explains she was not battling any known illness, but she had suffered dramatic weight loss of late. He says she'd dropped down to about 87 pounds.

Markel believes it's highly relevant that they were in the middle of a nasty lawsuit regarding the sale of their home -- he told us he thinks she died of "exhaustion" from the turmoil.

Gibson, infamously known as "Sasha of the Valley," did prison time in the early 2000s after being convicted of felony pimping in L.A. -- with prosecutors at the time alleging she ran one of the biggest escort services in town ... something JG herself eventually copped to in books and otherwise. She's said to have had upwards of 300 women working for her.

Babydol was sentenced to 3 years behind bars after going to trial but ended up just doing 2. Her trial had Hollywood buzzing because her black book allegedly listed several big-name celebs -- from sports, politics and entertainment -- as clients.

Her life story is pretty fascinating ... she came to L.A. in the early '80s seeking stardom via a music and modeling career -- with the latter taking off first and becoming her main bread and butter.

Soon, an agency she'd started began turning into an upscale hooking hot spot.

While she was running that biz, Jody had a couple of on-camera appearances ... showing up in a B-movie horror flick called "Evil Laugh," and a guest spot on the talk show "Up All Night." Later, she was featured a handful of times on "Larry King Live," "The Playboy Morning Show" and other one-off variety shows/docs.

Over the course of her life, Jody was not shy about sharing her journey ... and ended up becoming somewhat of a beloved pop culture icon. She was 64.

A famous Argentinian DJ claims he's been receiving death threats and nasty insults this week ... after he says fans believe he was the reason Lionel Messi came down with COVID-19.

DJ Fer Palacio -- who has over 1 million followers on Instagram -- posted a video message explaining the situation on Sunday ... saying soccer aficionados are blaming him for Messi's positive test after the two were spotted partying together late last week.

"I am a trend on Twitter because Messi tested positive for COVID-19," the DJ said.

"They relate this to me saying that I infected him. They have even called me 'murderer.' I have a lot of very bad private messages."

The 31-year-old, though, implored fans to stop ... saying it's just not possible for him to have given the soccer superstar the virus -- because he doesn't have it.

"Yesterday I got tested because I have to travel to Uruguay," he said showing a picture of a negative COVID test, "and I do not have COVID-19."

Messi, meanwhile, is isolating away from his Paris Saint-Germain team ... after the squad confirmed on Sunday he and three of his other teammates had the virus.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner appears to be in good spirits following the diagnosis ... sharing a few encouraging words at the beginning of the new year.

"I can only give thanks for everything that I had to live in this 2021," Messi said on social media. "Even more so when many people had a really bad time because of the s****y virus that never ends."

Chase Stokes is hopscotching around Florida having a grand old time as he enjoys the single life -- and his latest stop was Miami, where he rang in the New Year looking free and loose.

The "Outer Banks" star hit up the E11EVEN nightclub Saturday with a group of pals, where they ended up in the DJ booth overlooking the rest of the crowd below. Just like his stop in Orlando ... remember, Chase partied it up there as well. Anyway, he had a lot to fuel for his good time in the 305.

Apparently, CS had a good amount of grub nearby while he raged -- burgers and fries, it seems -- and even started tossing out burger patties to clubgoers, according to eyewitnesses.

He was also pretty popular with the ladies that night ... we're told a swarm of female fans were seen trying to get at the dude in his sectioned-off area, but it's unclear if any were as successful as that woman from last week.

You'll recall ... Chase looked to be sucking face at a lounge in Orlando, and actually left with the lucky lady by night's end.

This, of course, all comes on the heels of his split with 'OB' costar Madelyn Cline ... who's been seen out lately with DJ Zack Bia out here in L.A. -- apparently, after splitting up with Chase around Thanksgiving weekend.

The Omicron/Omarion jokes have reached the source -- and the man (not the variant) is here to set the record straight about the difference between himself ... and a new strain of COVID.

The B2K singer/dancer took to TikTok for the start of 2022 with a PSA of sorts -- three of them actually -- for New Year's Rockin' Eve, which are all about how he is NOT the Omicron variant ... despite his name often getting confused for it, and some apparent bad reactions from fans.

Omarion starts his first video by simply saying ... he's Omarion, an artist, and not Omicron ... which means if you run into him on the street, you don't have isolate afterward -- nor do you need a negative test to dance to his music. 😂

His second vid is pretty similar -- but this time, he notes ... yeah, you probably shouldn't touch or get too close to him in general ... but that that rule has nothing to do with him being able to give anyone COVID.

And finally ... Omarion gets (kinda) serious, by reading a letter he says his lawyers wanted him to spell out as a result of "confusion" on the internet. He again says he's Omarion -- the singer and entertainer -- and NOT the variant ... so keep the DMs chill and respectful.

A news anchor made a reference to her Asian heritage during a New Year's broadcast, which drew the ire of what sounds like a good old-fashioned Karen ... who called in to complain.

Reporter Michelle Li of NBC affiliate KSDK in St. Louis posted a video of herself listening to the disgruntled viewer at home, who seems to have phoned the station to criticize Li's mention of dumplings while she was talking about go-to New Year's Day grub.

Li was plugging food like cornbread, black-eyed peas, pork and other greens -- delving into the metaphysical significance of each ... kinda like an astrology reading of sorts.

Once she'd finished, she added a fun line ... "I ate dumpling soup. That's what a lot of Korean people do." She later wrote, "It's subtle but people do notice! Something small but representation matters... we are not all eating cornbread, my friends... though it is delicious."

Apparently, though, that quip pissed off one woman who dialed in and left a VM ... saying she didn't appreciate Li's explicit mention of her culture, calling it "very Asian" while adding ... "She can keep her Korean to herself."

The argument this woman was making ... a white anchor plugging food that they/white people liked to eat on NYD, specifically, would be considered offensive -- and this lady was speaking about a hypothetical double standard she preemptively perceived.

There was something strange appearing in the sky over Tennessee ... and it prompted an eyewitness' super funny reaction to the prospect of UFOs.

Check out this wild, hilarious video obtained by TMZ, which appears to show multiple lights in different formations high above Memphis.

We're told this was shot a couple days ago, on Dec. 27, in the evening ... and you can see the lights forming a line and a triangle.

The eyewitness who shot the video is beside herself ... "Y'all, what is that y'all?!? Y'all what the f*** is that?!? Oh my God, y'all!!!"

It's unclear what we're seeing here, but they don't appear to be planes ... and it's the latest in a string of unidentified objects being spotted in our skies.

Earlier this month, we obtained video of a swarm of lights darting around the airspace above Chino Hills, CA ... looking like giants orbs in the heavens.

And, there was also the pilot who recorded what appeared to be a fleet of UFOs over the Pacific.

The Dept. of Defense is launching a new UFO task force ... and it would be hilarious if this Memphis eyewitness narrated all their evidence.

This is sure to kick up some dust among hip-hop heads -- just a year after learning of MF DOOM's death, it would seem the internet has decided that 50 Cent is ... well, greater.

You might've seen DOOM trending Saturday, and that's largely 'cause it's been 365 days since the world found out the enigmatic MC -- who was legendary in the underground scene throughout the 2000s -- tragically had passed away on Halloween 2020, this per his widow.

But that's not the only reason folks were talking about him -- some Twitter users appear to be fiercely debating who the better artist is between MFD and the one and only Fitty ... this after somebody held a rap G.O.A.T. tournament bracket -- and asked who'd beat who.

The OG poster of the bracket/poll says ... "First hot take of the year: In terms of greatness: 50 cent > MF Doom." They tweeted this in response to people being dumbfounded that 50 had overtaken DOOM in a head to head ... taking 70% of the vote out of about 100 people.

The reactions ... very mixed, and very polarized. On the one hand -- some simply won't accept that 50 Cent is the better rapper between the two ... noting DOOM is by far the superior lyricist, rhymer, beat selector and all-around creative if you look at 'em bar for bar.

On the other hand -- it seems even more people say he actually is ... on account that 50's got waaaay more mainstream hits than DOOM -- and has more name recognition. Not to mention his skills ... he, too, is solid on the mic.

While hardcore fans choose sides ... there's another take that's perhaps more nuanced. Fact is ... these 2 guys are totally different stylistically, and comparing them is ... weird. They're both great in their own right, especially depending on what you might wanna listen to!

FWIW ... 50 didn't seem to respond to the news about DOOM's passing last year (RIP, BTW), but he did respond to Eminem's homage to fallen legends (including MF) just earlier this year ... and seemed to dig the fact he'd gotten name dropped in the tribute.

Plus, they're both New York cats ... so ya gotta figure 50 knows about DOOM. After all, the guy's earned the title of your favorite rapper's favorite rapper -- he's that iconic/influential.

With all that said -- we gotta pose the question for those who know both of these fellas' music well and might have something to say ... does 50 Cent actually have MF DOOM's number in a would-be Verzuz???

Paul McCartney is filtering out bad vibes in 2022, and ushering in wacky fun ... and he's doing it with the help of a new group he's discovered that may rival his old ensemble.

This Beatle is ringing in the new year by introducing the masses to a band he says he stumbled upon at his NYE bash ... which goes by the name of Linstrom. They're a heavy metal folk music act, consisting of 4 artists with very different faces ... and a boozy manager.

As you can probably tell -- they're all PMC, who seems to have discovered Instagram's many facial filters ... and is going to town with them.

Check it out ... Paul trots out his made-up band members, including Olga (apparently the frontwoman), an angelic anonymous keyboardist, Trinket the bass player, Mac the boorish boar-ish drummer and one final guy who says he handles the business end of things.

He's obviously having a grand old time with the goofy in-app feature ... almost like he's a freakin' kid again.

In real music news, Paul had himself quite a year ... and was eager to recap it on Friday. He put out an album, a couple books and was featured in a couple big documentaries -- plus other stuff, too.

With the tragedy at the Naples Zoo, it's heartening to know one of the rarest tigers in the world was born at the London Zoo, and to celebrate, the zoo has started a naming contest.

The baby is a Sumatran tiger ... they are few and far between ... an endangered species.

The cub came into the world on December 12 ... and the birth was recorded on a "cubcam" in the enclosure.

You gotta watch ... the cub's mom, 10-year-old Gaysha, is seen cleaning her baby and then watching it take first steps.

There are only around 300 Sumatran tigers in the world, so this birth is a big deal.

The ZSL London Zoo wants people to throw a proposed name in the hat -- from regulars at the zoo to strangers, all suggestions are welcome.

The birth announcement comes just a day after a horrific event at a zoo in Naples, Florida, where a custodian went rogue and apparently stuck his hand in a tiger's cage, either to feed or pet the animal. The tiger, Eko, clamped onto his arm, police were called and they ended up shooting and killing the tiger.

H&M's store in NYC has been shut down while the clothing retailer investigates a disturbing photo claiming to show hoodies crawling with dozens of tiny bugs.

Twitter user @Madesonee_ posted the photos Wednesday, explaining, "I work at the H&M in the Oculus at World Trade & today a customer discovered lice on a rack of hoodies."

The 3 images showed a close-up of several light-colored hoodies covered with insects.

She continued, "They're not closing the store nor are they notifying employees of the problem. The section was just blocked off."

It apparently didn't take long for H&M brass to find out about the post, because they released a statement hours later, reportedly saying, "Out of an abundance of caution we have closed the H&M store at Westfield World Trade Center in order to investigate fully."