Amy Van Dyken USPS Apologizes Sorry We Blocked Disabled Parking Spot
U.S. Olympic legend Amy Van Dyken just got a full-fledged apology from the U.S. Postal Service -- after a USPS truck blocked her from parking in a disabled spot at her neurologist's office.
Amy -- who uses a wheelchair after suffering a spinal cord injury back in 2014 -- took video at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix ... showing a truck parked in the disabled space despite the fact there are BUNCH of other open spaces in the parking lot.
Now, we've learned the USPS has reached out to Amy to apologize calling the situation "absolutely unacceptable."
In fact, the USPS sent a statement to Van Dyken saying ... "The action documented in your video is against Postal Service policy and is absolutely not acceptable behavior."
"We sincerely apologize for your experience, and assure you we are looking into this situation to ensure it does not happen again in the future. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."
We spoke with Amy who tells us ... "I'm so thankful for their apology. It was amazing for them to reach out."
See also
Brad And Angelina No Peeing On Our Property
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's property is strictly a no pee zone ... just ask the guy who almost got arrested.
Our law enforcement sources say cops were called to the couple's Hollywood Hills home last week after their security guards noticed a man lurking in the bushes.
They thought they had a trespasser on their hands, so they detained him until the men in blue arrived.
Turns out it was just nature's call. The guy was homeless and in desperate need of a leak. He had no outstanding warrants at the time and no history of bothering the Jolie-Pitts. Cops looked at surveillance video and the story checked out.
We're told neither Brad nor Angie were home at the time.
On the bright side ... their water bill might be a little lower this month.
See also
'DWTS' Val Chmerkovskiy Sued by Girl with Down Syndrome
Val Chmerkovskiy is being sued by a 16-year-old girl with Down Syndrome, who claims the 'DWTS' pro caused her severe emotional distress by posting a pic that mocked her.
The girl claims in 2008 she was at a baseball game and someone took the picture of her drinking a soda. The guy posted the pic with the heading, "Everything that's wrong with America."
The pic became a meme in 2014, and Val posted it 3 weeks ago on Facebook. The caption on the meme read, "Letting your kid become obese should be considered child abuse."
The girl claims, thanks to Val and CBS News -- which also posted the pic -- the meme went viral and she's been humiliated. She says her mom sent several emails to Val asking him to take down the meme, and he responded with a post that read in part, "I am truly sorry for the lack of sensitivity ... You're handicapping your kid, and they're defenseless."
Val went on to criticize the girl's mom, saying, "They don't know better. That's why you're there."
The lawsuit essentially says the reason the girl has weight issues is because of her condition.
The suit alleges defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy.
The girl wants $6 million from Val and $600k from the photographer. She also wants $6 million from CBS.
See also
Coachella Sues We're Not Good with the Hood
The folks behind Coachella have issues with the hood ... which is why they're going to court to gripe about an urban version of the festival.
Hoodchella is set to go down in April in the City of Angels. It's being advertised as a 2-day festival featuring a bunch of DJs.
Coachella has certainly made a name for itself since it launched 17 years ago, and the people behind it say they own the name and changing a few letters isn't going to fly.
Here's what's strange. This marks the SECOND annual Hoodchella, and it doesn't appear the Coachella people objected the first time around.
But under the category "Better Late than Never," they've filed legal docs demanding that the folks behind Hoodchella change the name.
At least the hood version is a lot cheaper ... tickets are $20 a pop, compared to Coachella's $399 3-day pass, if you can find one.
See also
Paramount Pictures Parking PAs Sue ... You Grossed Billions But We Had To Crap In Our Cars!!!
A group of production assistants are going after behemoth Paramount, claiming they were forced to take dumps in their cars while working on some of the studio's highest-grossing blockbusters.
The class action lawsuit was filed by 4 NYC based P.A.s, who say they began working for the studio in 2010 and put in mega hours for films like 'TMNT,' 'Wolf of Wall Street,' "Noah," and "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon," which grossed more than $1 billion.
The group -- assigned to keep location shoots clear of pedestrians and cars -- claims they regularly put in 60-100 hours a week but never got overtime pay.
It gets worse ... they say they weren't allowed to leave their posts to get food or use the restrooms. Some say it was so bad they had to urinate and defecate into bottles and buckets in their cars.
We reached out to Paramount, so far no word back.
See also
Kia Hamster Actor Cops Plea in Fraud Case I Was Dancing While 'Disabled'
-
EXCLUSIVE
- 2 shares
One of the hip-hop hamsters in the famous Kia ads has just pled no contest to felony insurance fraud ... after taking disability money while dancing up a storm.
Leroy Barnes snagged California disability money between Sept., 2010 and Sept. 2011, claiming he couldn't work when in fact he was dancing in the Kia commercials.
Barnes had claimed in 2010 he was injured while working as a dancer and was struck by a piece of ceiling during sound check. As a result, he collected the disability for which he has been prosecuted.
Barnes was sentenced to 90 days of electronic monitoring and 400 hours of community service. He also has to repay $24k to the State of California.
The dancer's credits include dancing for Madonna, Chris Brown and Kelly Roland.
See also
Oscar Nominee Charlotte Rampling #OscarsSoWhite Backlash 'Racist to Whites'
Charlotte Rampling is one of the 20 white people nominated for an acting award at this year's Oscars ... and she thinks people who have a problem with that are racist.
Rampling -- who scored a Best Actress nom for her role in the movie "45 Years" -- told Radio 1 in France she finds the outrage over the absence of minorities to be "racist to whites."
In the interview, conducted in French, Rampling went on to say, "You never know if it was really the case, but perhaps the black players do not deserve to be in the final stretch."
Oscars : Charlotte Rampling et le "racisme anti... by Europe1fr
See also
Madonna I Wasn't Drunk Onstage And Here's the Proof ...
Madonna scoffed at reports she was drunk onstage over the weekend, and the smoking gun proving she's telling the truth is right on her feet.
Madonna performed in Nashville Monday night and laughed off reports she was loopy in Louisville.
She was convincing on that front, but pissed off the Nashville audience in a similar way she did in Kentucky ... by taking the stage more than 2 1/2 hours late.
Reba McEntire and Kix Brooks were in the audience and clearly frustrated while waiting for Madonna to arrive. Check out their tweets.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
1030 - still no Madonna ?? - hey it's Nashville!! We're on time!where the hell are you!!? pic.twitter.com/DpaiArhKaf
@KixBrooks
See also
Kiefer Sutherland Anybody Want a Lap Dance?
Kiefer Sutherland treated patrons at a famed Hollywood strip club to an awesome topless dance.
Sutherland hit up Cheetahs earlier this month and had an "I can do that!" moment ... ripping off his shirt and jumping onstage with the dancers.
It looks like he's wearing a t-shirt in the pic but that's not a sleeve ... it's a tat.
The pic was taken after Mr. Bauer took a bow.
As for the money on the ground ... Kiefer was awesome, but it was directed at the girls.
BTW ... it's the second most entertaining thing he's done. The first ... well, who can beat it?
See also
Norwegian Cruise Line 17 Cuban Refugees Lost at Sea ... Board Ship
A Norwegian Cruise liner got some extra passengers Thursday night, when a boatload of Cuban refugees were spotted drifting aimlessly in the Caribbean.
A passenger tells TMZ the boat made a sudden stop when the makeshift, raft-like vessel was spotted. The 17 people on board said they were from Cuba and had been lost at sea since December 24.
One of the women on the raft was pregnant. The people were hoisted up onto the cruise ship and taken somewhere away from the passengers.
The ship docked in Cozumel, Mexico Friday and it appears the 17 refugees were turned over to Mexican authorities.
We've reached out to Norwegian for comment ... so far, no word back.
See also
El Chapo Erectile Dysfunction Surgery On the Run
El Chapo came down from the mountains during his time as a fugitive to undergo erectile dysfunction surgery in Tijuana ... according to a Mexican newspaper.
Reforma claims sources close to the investigation told its reporter, Chapo received a testicular implant to improve blood flow ... just a stone's throw from the U.S. border.
The paper claims the surgery required anesthesia and an operating room and involved planting a prosthesis.
The report claims when Chapo was captured authorities found injectable testosterone, syringes, antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.
See also
NFL's Victor Cruz Pitches Tent In NYC Street ... Drivers Pissed
Here's a surefire way to piss off New Yorkers ... stop traffic in the middle of a busy day (on a super busy street) for a camping photo shoot in the middle of the street!!!
That's what NY Giants WR Victor Cruz did Thursday ... pitching a full-size camping tent in the middle of 6th Ave. for a funny photo shoot with celebrity jeweler Mr. Flawless -- and TMZ Sports has the footage.
Watch the video ... you can hear the pissed off drivers leaning on the horn while the two try to look comfy in their urban camping setting ... complete with firewood on the asphalt.
In their defense ... it's kinda funny and the pics will probably look cool.
See also
'Martin' Star Tichina Arnold Hell Hath No Fury ... Mass Texts Sex Tape
-
EXCLUSIVE
- 6.9K shares
Tichina Arnold, aka Pam on "Martin," hit the nuclear button on her 3-year marriage by exposing what she says is her husband's sex tape with another woman.
Sources very close to Tichina tell us she put Rico Hines on blast with a scathing group text to friends and family, saying ... "It's over between Rico and I. This is where I part ways and all bets are off." That's the tame part.
The bombshell? She claims he's been banging scores of women -- sometimes without protection -- and she has a sex tape to prove it. Her mass text includes the video and she said, "I can't for the life of me understand why Rico would video himself f---ing 'raw dog' ONE of his MANY extraneous whores that 'trick' on him for his money."
Hines is a former assistant basketball coach at St. John's University.
She also named 20 of the women, who she labels "extraneous Kim Kardashian wanna be's."
Tichina says she's concerned about STDs and plans to get tested. Her rep told People she's ending the marriage. It's unclear if she's filed divorce docs yet.
Hines tells us through a rep, "This is a private and deeply personal matter between my wife and me, and I do not want to comment any further at this time."
Justin Bieber Nearly Run Down In Close Call With Bikers
Justin Bieber could be roadkill right now after a dangerous close call with a pack of cyclists.
The 16 person group was cruising on PCH in Malibu Wednesday morning when Bieber stepped out in the path of bicyclists ... forcing them to swerve out of the way.
Sean Weide -- one of the bikers -- says he and his buddies were doing about 25 MPH when the Biebs popped out in the street flailing his arms. They missed him by less than 2 feet.
Weide says they were all pissed off at first, but when someone recognized it was Justin ... everyone was just happy they didn't kill a celebrity. Tends to wreck the vibe in the middle of a ride.
As for what the hell Justin was doing? Weide says they were so starstruck -- JB posed for pics with them -- they forgot to ask.
See also
Mack Wilds Champagne Celebration Interrupted by NYPD
Mack Wilds -- the "90210" dude who plays Adele's ex in the "Hello" video -- shut down traffic near Times Square after popping Belair bottles in the street.
Wilds and some friends, including NYC celebrity jeweler Mr. Flawless, chose a congested spot for the impromptu photo shoot ... the middle of 47th Street and 6th Ave.
Mack has something to celebrate. The song has gone 4 times platinum. The album is positioned to sell another million copies for the third week.
See also
Hollywood Animal Trainer Video of Vicious Tiger Whipping
PETA is blowing the whistle on celebrity animal trainer Michael Hackenberger by releasing a brutal video showing him whipping a tiger several times until it cowers on its back during a training session.
Hackenberger is the director of the Bowmanville Zoo in Ontario, Canada and his Hollywood credits include "The Interview," "Life of Pi" and "George of the Jungle," a Disney movie.
It's painful to watch ... Hackenberger appears to whip the animal about 20 times. At one point in the video, he admits PETA would burn his training facility to the ground if they saw his training techniques.
Hackenberger's denying PETA's claims ... he argues he was hitting the ground with his whip and that PETA sliced the video to make it look worse.
It's been a bad year for big cats.