Weird News

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o claims he's a victim who fell for someone's "sick joke" ... and he's really embarrassed over the scandal that's erupted over his not-really-dead girlfriend.

Back in September, Te'o told multiple media outlets that his girlfriend Lennay Kekua had died after a bout with cancer ... hours after his grandmother passed away. The story was so emotional, it helped catapult him to fame.

But earlier today, a story broke that Lennay was a fiction -- which means she never died because she never lived. Question is ... was Manti in on the hoax?

According to Manti ... the answer is no. The football star now says:

"This is incredibly embarrassing to talk about, but over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her.

To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating.

It further pains me that the grief I felt and the sympathies expressed to me at the time of my grandmother's death in September were in any way deepened by what I believed to be another significant loss in my life.

I am enormously grateful for the support of my family, friends and Notre Dame fans throughout this year. To think that I shared with them my happiness about my relationship and details that I thought to be true about her just makes me sick. I hope that people can understand how trying and confusing this whole experience has been.

Fortunately, I have many wonderful things in my life, and I'm looking forward to putting this painful experience behind me as I focus on preparing for the NFL Draft."

Are you buyin' what he's sellin'?

Notre Dame superstar linebacker Manti Te'o -- a 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist -- may have helped to trick the media into believing he had a girlfriend who died back in September ... when in fact, she never existed ... this according to Deadspin.com.

The tragic storyline captivated the nation during Notre Dame's incredible 2012 season -- with countless stories from dozens of major media outlets detailing how Manti persevered after the death of his GF Lennay Kekua and had the season of his life.

Problem is, according to Deadspin, there is no hard evidence proving Lennay Kekua ever existed ... and no official records confirming a person by the name of Lennay Kekua passed away when Manti claims she died.

According to Deadspin, Manti and "Lennay" communicated through social media sites ... but the report suggests that "Lennay" was not a real person -- her account was controlled by someone purporting to be her.

Deadspin says the photos "Lennay" used to identify herself on social media sites were of a Southern California woman who has never met Manti Te'o.

The article also suggests Manti has a connection with the person suspected of acting as "Lennay" on Twitter -- and even goes as far to suggest Manti was in on the hoax because he knew the sob story would generate publicity.

FYI -- Manti is expected to be a high pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

So far, Manti has not commented on the story. We also tried to reach out to Manti -- but our efforts have been unsuccessful.

2:26 PM PT -- Notre Dame has released the following statement ...saying Te'o is merely the VICTIM in the hoax and not a participant. Here's the statement:

"On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te’o and his parents that Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia."

"The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. While the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception to entertain its perpetrators."

But something doesn't add up ... because Te'o's father had gone on record during the season saying Manti told him he and the GF would often meet up in Hawaii.

So was the father lying? Or was Manti lying?

First he sharts ... and now Al Roker is urinating all over the "Today" show -- figuratively speaking (actually, the sharting was real).

Roker groused to a reporter that our story on Al pooping his pants at the White House should not have blown up the way it did because it was old news.

But as Al explained ...he spoke about the sharting incident on the "Today" show several days before and nobody cared -- it was only when the story appeared online that anyone noticed.

In so many words ... he's saying the "Today" show is irrelevant.

A new member of the Kardashian family has emerged in L.A. ... he's Armenian, he wears designer clothes, and he wants to be famous ... but despite all the K-qualities, he's NEVER been invited to a single family function.

His name is Ron Kardashian -- a self-described "life coach" and personal trainer who claims to be Kim's 3rd cousin. Problem is ... Kim, Khloe and Kourt say they've never heard of him.

Sources close to the famous Kardashians tell TMZ ... there IS an off-chance Ron shares a bloodline, but they definitely don't consider him family ... 'cause they've never met him.

Ryan Gosling could've ... and SHOULD'VE ... been a member of the Backstreet Boys -- this according to actual Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean.

FYI -- McLean and Gosling go WAYYYY BACK ... they were friends when they lived in the same apartment building when Backstreet was first getting together ... right around the time Gosling joined the "Mickey Mouse Club."

Gosling recently gave an interview saying he used to tell A.J. he didn't think the band had a shot in hell of making it big, 'cause it seemed like a New Kids ripoff ... obviously, Gosling was wrong.

When BB blew up, Gosling says he tried to reach out to A.J. (probably to kiss his ass and beg for a job) ... but McLean never returned his calls.

But this weekend, A.J. says it MUST have been a misunderstanding -- insisting he never INTENTIONALLY blew off The Gos ... he just doesn't have Ryan's digits.

In fact, A.J. says he wants Gosling to join the group -- saying Ryan not only has a killer voice, but he's damn handsome to boot (duh).

We're guessing Gos will probably turn down the offer ... he's doing pretty well on his own.

Say goodbye to "Grumpy Cat" ... 'cause last night, his iconic look of curmudgeoness was overtaken by Tommy Lee Jones ... who was apparently unamused with the jokes at the Golden Globes.

TLJ pulled a "not impressed' look of his own while Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig were cracking jokes during the presentation of the Best Actress in Comedy or Musical award.

Some say Tommy was "in" on the gag ... others say he was just being a grumpy old man.

Bottom line -- his "not amused" face has taken off in Internet-land ... and has already become a popular meme on sites like Reddit ... a la McKayla Maroney and the aforementioned "Grumpy Cat."

So ... congrats?

Stevie Wonder obviously didn't see the letters from the State of California -- 'cause he's been slapped with two separate tax liens ... accusing him of owing a staggering $40 to the government (that isn't a typo).

TMZ obtained the liens against Stevie ... and hilariously, the collection costs and penalties are higher than the tax bill itself -- $98 in total, almost two and a half times the tax amount.

All told, California says Stevie's gotta pay $138 ... which he probably earned in music royalties in the time it took you to read this post.

Joan Rivers just posted this picture on her Twitter page with the following caption:

"Who am I? Anne Hathaway getting out of a limousine."

Marilyn Manson has a rule -- if you lie to the media and say you're engaged to him ... he'll sue your ass.

TMZ has learned ... Manson has sicced his lawyers on self-proclaimed "rock vixen" Seraphim Ward -- claiming she leaked FALSE stories to various media outlets saying Manson asked for her hand in marriage last year.

Even though Manson's team NEVER confirmed the story, a bunch of major outlets ran with it anyway, since Ward used to date one of Manson's bandmates and she seemed to be credible.

But Marilyn wasn't amused because it was totally untrue ... and now, the rocker's lawyer has fired off a letter to Ward, demanding an apology for all of the lies she's spread about him -- including public statements she made accusing Manson of being a racist, Nazi sympathizer.

In his letter, obtained by TMZ, Manson makes it clear ... he has had "no romantic or other association" with Ward ... EVER. He believes she spread the lies in a cheap attempt at publicity.

Manson's lawyers warn if Ward continues her campaign of lies, they'll sue her ass 'til it hurts.

We reached out to Ward for comment -- so far, no word back.

It was like 1965 all over again last night, when Keith Urban and John Travolta joined forces to knock out a live performance of the Beatles classic "Yesterday" at a hotel party in Bev Hills ... and it was all caught on tape.

Al Roker's crazy pants-pooping hijinks have impressed the master of all things dung ... and now Johnny Knoxville says he's inviting the weatherman to SHART in the next "Jackass" project.

Knoxville -- who has featured several real-life crapping scenes in his "Jackass" flicks (including the infamous poo-cano) -- was in L.A. last night when we told him about Al's dirty little secret.

"That makes my day," Knoxville said ... adding, "If Al Roker ever wants to shart in 'Jackass,' he's more than invited."

Roker hasn't been shy about his little slip -- going on "Dateline" and "Today" to talk about the time he tried to fart at the White House ... and crapped himself instead.

After hearing about Musburger's barrage of compliments (he encouraged kids to learn how to play QB so they could also score chicks like Webb) ... Katherine tells us, "I laughed hysterically. I was flattered ... and slightly embarrassed ... but I thought it was the funniest thing ever. I never expected that."

She adds, "I've been reading on Twitter that Musburger had backlash that he's 'Creepy' ... if I were to see him I would say, 'I don’t think you're creepy at all!'"

Webb tells us the exposure has been great for her social media presence -- "I had 2,300 followers on Twitter yesterday ... in the past 24 hours, I have gained over 125,000."

When you undergo gastric bypass surgery, NEVER TRUST A FART -- and Al Roker learned that lesson the hard way ... at the White House.

Roker -- who got his stomach stapled in March 2002 -- shared his most embarrassing moment on "Dateline" last night, saying he was covering an event at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave a month after his operation ... when he felt the urge to let one rip.

Roker said, "I probably went off and ate something I wasn't supposed to. And as I'm walking to the press room, [I'm thinking] well, I gotta pass a little gas here. I'm walking by myself. Who's gonna know? Only a little something extra came out. I pooped my pants."

Roker said he beelined for the restroom to dump his underwear in the trash -- and proceeded to go commando the rest of the day.

Is winning the Super Bowl, as a rookie quarterback, enough to make Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll get a tattoo of Russell Wilson on his arm?

Tattoos of quarterbacks is a hot topic since it was discovered yesterday that Rex Ryan, head coach of the hapless New York Jets, has a tattoo on his arm of his wife ... wearing nothing but a Mark Sanchez jersey.

We posed the question to Carroll today as he gets ready to take on the NFC East champion Washington Redskins tomorrow. His answer was short, sweet and to the point.

NY Jets head coach Rex Ryan just unveiled a bizarre tattoo that tells Mark Sanchez ... your QB job is 100% secure -- and also my wife totally digs you!

Sexy Rexy was spotted on the beach in the Bahamas with a tattoo on his right arm of a woman -- who looks a lot like Rex's wife Michelle Ryan -- wearing a #6 Jets jersey ... aka Mark's jersey.

After the Jets' horrendous season there's been talk that Sanchez could be traded ... so the ink could simply be a vote of confidence.

But the bigger issue ... why in the world would Rex use his wife to send that message?? Or maybe she's actually into Sanchez?

All fair questions ... considering Rex and Michelle's alleged fetish history.

We don't know if the tat is permanent, but it's worth nothing ... no Tim Tebow ink.

UPDATE: Upon further review the woman seems to be "Tebowing" (she also seems to be wearing no underwear). So ... mixed message?

Snoop Lion's ridiculous red track suit/fur coat ensemble got us thinking -- Black guys get a pass when it comes to outrageous fashion ... but they ain't alone!