Michael Rapaport's had it up to here politely trying to ask the youth -- and their parents -- to stay indoors ... he's demanding it now, and with some cuss words to spare.
The actor and sports fanatic hopped online Tuesday with a VERY blunt PSA ... except, it ain't anywhere near as calm and collected as some of the others you've seen from your fave celebs over the past few days. Mike's getting nasty, and maybe rightly so.
"GET YOUR F****ING KIDS INSIDE!" -- it's a message to the parents of teens and young adults (probably dumb college kids, mostly) who either still live at home or rely on their parents for dough. In any case, if parents have some authority -- MR wants them to flex it to the fullest extent so their children stop infecting everyone else.
Check out the full 2-and-a-half minute message yourself, 'cause we really can't do it justice. Mike -- never one who's at a loss of words -- finds just the right ones to describe thedummies who disregard social distancing and quarantining ... and insist on partying.
It's kinda crazy -- he says he was asked by the powers that be to do a kosher PSA like most everyone else has been doing ... but he said screw that, and did one that'll resonate and accurately reflect society's outrage. BTW, his message applies to more than the "s**t-stained" kids he's talking to -- anyone screwing around with this outbreak needs to listen up.
Luka Jovic -- a star striker for Real Madrid -- broke quarantine last week in order to see his model girlfriend ... and now, officials say he's facing jail time for the reckless move.
Jovic, along with the rest of his teammates, were advised to stay in two-week isolation in Spain earlier this month after a Real Madrid basketball player tested positive for coronavirus.
For good reason, there have been more than 2,800 deaths and 40,000 cases in Spain alone since the pandemic began.
But, Jovic reportedly broke quarantine in order to fly back home to Serbia to see his pregnant girlfriend, Sofija Milosevic, last Thursday ... and now, authorities in his homeland are PISSED that he didn't isolate properly.
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President Aleksandar Vucic has reportedly claimed the 22-year-old soccer star is under investigation ... and could face time behind bars for the move.
Serbian prime minister Ana Brnabic reportedly added after learning of the incident, "We have negative examples of football stars who earn millions abroad and when they come back to Serbia, they don't self-isolate as is obligatory."
For his part, Jovic has called the whole thing a misunderstanding, saying he wasn't aware of Serbian's quarantine policy ... and claims he even tested negative for COVID-19 twice.
"While in Spain, I tested negative for coronavirus, and I decided to travel to Serbia to help and support our people and be close to my family, in agreement with my club," Jovic reportedly wrote on social media.
"When I landed in Serbia, I again tested negative for coronavirus. I am very sorry that some people did their job unprofessionally and did not give me the correct instructions on how to behave in self-isolation."
"In Spain, I was allowed to go to a pharmacy and a supermarket so I could get the groceries I needed, which is not the case here. I apologise to everyone if I have endangered them in some way and I hope that together we can manage to overcome all this."
Jovic signed a 6-year deal to play for Real Madrid in 2019. He and Milosevic have reportedly been dating for less than a year.
Two airline pilots in Southeast Asia abandoned airship after hearing they had potential coronavirus-infected passengers aboard -- and their escape is bonkers.
The video, shot Friday, shows the AirAsia pilots -- moments after they landed in New Dehli, India -- popping out of the cockpit window and getting down to the tarmac that way ... rather than go through the cabin with the rest of the crew and passengers. The reason for their hasty, and awkward, retreat -- there was a rumor they had a couple sneezy travelers.
Check it out ... one pilot opens up a hatch and slithers through, safely making his way onto the airstairs before helping his buddy out. They were acting pretty caj about it, but c'mon ... this ain't normal.
Apparently, word started circulating mid-flight about suspected cases of COVID-19 in the first row -- so it looks like the pilots didn't wanna chance being anywhere near those seats. As it turns out, nobody was actually infected -- AirAsia says the passengers were screened and tested negative. The plane was fumigated and cleansed too.
Knowledge is power, and for a little while, it'll also be free ... so long as you use the online company hooking up parents with a homeschooling curriculum.
That's right -- panic-stricken moms and dads scrambling to keep their children learning and up to date in their academics, now have a free option for online education from a company called Calvert.
While several millions of households are dealing with closed schools due to the coronavirus ... Calvert is offering its online homeschool system for free for the next 3 months. Starting Tuesday night, Calvert will allow parents to sign up and use their services to teach their kids.
Calvert tells us it started with a 30-day free trial -- but, presumably, because of the overwhelming amount of new users ... they decided to extend that through July. At that point, parents will have to pay.
The company offers K-12 course bundle packages that normally go for anywhere from $1,300 to $2,800 for a whole year. The higher the grade level, the more subjects there are to dive into and study.
The best part -- for parents who suddenly have to become teachers (ain't so easy, is it?) -- the whole thing is planned out for you, just plug in and follow along. Some manual grading might be required here and there, BTW. Old school, baby!
8:27 AM PT -- So, this is alarming ... Donald Trump said Tuesday he really wants to get people out of their homes and back into life as we knew it. His comments are getting perilously close to urging Americans to ignore doctors and scientists, all of whom seem to be saying we need these drastic measures until the virus subsides. The irony, of course, is if Trump gets his way, we'll clearly have way more deaths than if we were isolated from each other ... and what does he think will happen to the economy then?
UPDATE
This will put a smile on President Trump's face ... the Lt. Gov. of Texas says to hell with social distancing, because old folks should risk death by COVID-19, so the economy can start recovering.
Yes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Tucker Carlson Monday evening, "Those of us who are 70-plus, we'll take care of ourselves, but don't sacrifice the country. Don't do that. Don't ruin this great American dream."
Patrick, who acknowledged he is a grandfather, was 100 percent echoing the President's sentiment during an earlier briefing on coronavirus. Trump says he's strongly considering ending social distancing after just 2 weeks.
POTUS stressed he wants to get America back up and running. Of course, the problem with that is several hundred Americans could be dying EVERY day at that point ... due to the spread of the virus.
That would seem to be an odd time to stop doing what every scientist says will prevent the virus from spreading and killing more people.
Still, if the President proceeds ... you can count in grandpa Patrick, who says he's willing to risk dying -- "We can't lose our whole country, we're having an economic collapse."
Therapists aren't going to stop putting patients on the couch due to the coronavirus outbreak -- they just have to find creative ways to do it ... billing included.
TMZ spoke with a number of therapists and patients across 3 states, and what we're hearing is that one-one-one sessions continue to be the norm during the outbreak. However, with the mandate for social distancing ... those appointments have moved to digital platforms.
As the "Peanuts" character, Lucy, would say, the doctor is still in -- but she's having phone convos or video chats with patients from home.
The biggest hurdle with the new format comes down to money. Shrinks are still charging top dollar even if all the communication is virtual -- but we're told some insurance companies won't cover telemedicine methods.
One option for patients appears to be going through a company called Doxy.Me, which lets doctors and patients hop into a private chat while honoring HIPPA.
That's one loophole, and a necessary one. Obviously, there's been plenty of upheaval in society that might prompt one to seek professional help -- as we did recently with Dr. Philon "TMZ Live."
Our sources tell us some therapists are simply playing a good samaritan and only charging patients their out of pocket co-payments, if their insurance won't cover video or phone sessions.
It's a nice gesture ... not everyone's doing it though.
UFC star Henry Cejudo could get a job at Auntie Anne's when the whole coronavirus thing ends ... 'cause the dude is a PRO at turning people into human pretzels!
Triple C hit up the TMZ office (before the pandemic, calm down) and took our TMZ Sports producer, Lucas, to "Fight School" ... our new Snapchat show hosted by UFC superstarPaige VanZant!
It's technically called the Suloev Stretch -- a pretty sick submission move only ever executed by a small number of UFC stars like Zabit Magomedsharipov and Aljamain Sterling (they did it in the same night!).
But, Cejudo hopes to put the move on Jose Aldo when they clash later this year -- and with the help of PVZ and our human crash-test dummy, Lucas, he showed us how it's done!
And, Henry not only demo'd the move on Lucas, he let Lucas try it out on him -- and it's hilarious!!
Kim Kardashian West says Taylor Swift has left her no choice but to set the record straight about the phone call between Kanye and Taylor that led to years of conflict.
Over the weekend, unseen footage from the 2016 call leaked online. In the call, Kanye tells Taylor about a song he's working on -- that he later released as "Famous" -- with lyrics about Taylor. Swift seems nervous to hear what Kanye has to say ... but calms down after he tells her the lyrics are simply, "I feel like Taylor Swift might owe me sex."
When Kanye did release "Famous," the final lyrics were different, West rapped, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. I made that bitch famous." The song reignited the feud between Kanye and Taylor, with the main source of contention focusing on the word "bitch."
At the time of the song's release, Taylor's rep allegedly told EW, "Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric."
On Monday, Taylor broke her silence on the unseen footage, saying about the video, "proving that I was telling the truth the whole time about **that call**" ... she then goes on to say it was edited and put her, her family and fans through hell for 4 years.
Clearly, Taylor's message didn't sit well with Kim ... "@taylorswift13 has chosen to reignite an old exchange - that at this point in time feels very self-serving given the suffering millions of real victims are facing right now ... because she continues to speak on it, I feel I’m left without a choice but to respond because she is actually lying."
"To be clear, the only issue I ever had around the situation was that Taylor lied through her publicist who stated that “Kanye never called to ask for permission...” They clearly spoke so I let you all see that. Nobody ever denied the word “bitch” was used without her permission."
Kim continues, "In her statement when her team said she “declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message." The lie was never about the word bitch, It was always whether there was a call or not and the tone of the conversation."
Kim -- who posted parts of the video back in 2016 after the song's release -- also says she never edited the footage.
Kim also defended Kanye recording the call without Taylor's permission, saying, "Kanye has documented the making of all of his albums for his personal archive, however, has never released any of it for public consumption and the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied and forced me to defend him."
As for whether or not the back and forth will continue? Kim says she's done speaking on it ... your move, Taylor.
It's not just defiant beachgoers and people in parks drawing the ire of public officials for ignoring coronavirus guidelines -- Mormons are too, by the hundreds.
Utah state leaders -- including Senator Mitt Romney -- are under fire, along with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after a large crowd of Mormons flooded the parking area of a terminal at Salt Lake City Airport Sunday to welcome back around 1,600 missionaries.
The missionaries were returning early from the Philippines due to the global pandemic, but instead of arriving and going straight to their pickup rides and heading home to self-quarantine -- as advised by The Church -- a huge welcome party gathered to greet them and cheer their return.
As you can see ... no one is maintaining 6 feet of separation, or even 6 inches in many cases.
We're told those members who gathered ignored The Church's instructions for families to stay in their cars. The Church even tried to coordinate with the airport to lead missionaries to the parking lot, but that's where things went south ... because the greeters just gathered in the parking area.
We're told several of the missionaries' family members did follow guidelines, but clearly ... way too many did not. Romney, who is Mormon, has since rebuked their actions.
The missionaries are now under a 14-day self-quarantine, but so far, none has been tested. It's unclear if the large group of greeters are all quarantining as well.
As we've reported ... it's been a challenge from coast-to-coast, to keep people from ignoring the CDC and state orders to stay home and practice proper social distancing.
California even took down volleyball nets in an attempt to deter groups coming together in the sand, but unfortunately, it seems no matter what the government, health officials or even churches advise ... some Americans still ain't listening.
Well, the L.A. Rams 2020 season is already off to a bad start -- they just revealed the new Rams logo ... and people hate it!
Unclear why the NFL franchise decided for a massive rebrand -- most people liked the old logo -- but alas, here we are. Rams COO Kevin Demoff explained the team wanted a new look that represented the "vibrant sunny optimism of Southern California life."
The final product ... it's not horrible, it's just not great. Maybe it'll grow on people?
In a super dramatic video reveal, Demoff told fans the franchise has been working on the project for YEARS -- even including Nike and Riddell helmets to pitch in.
"Over the past few years, we have listened to you at training camp practices, at tailgates at The Coliseum and in focus groups about your memories of the Rams, about your passion for our heritage," Demoff said.
"We have studied every look of the L.A. Rams over our history -- the blues, the yellows the whites, the helmets and the ram horns for inspiration."
Demoff said the goal was to "weave together this history into a new modern look for the L.A. Rams, respecting our past and representing our future."
The problem ... the new logo is underwhelming. There's nothing special about it. Search the hashtag "RamsLogo" on Twitter. Good luck finding anyone with positive commentary.
In fact, one user says it looks like the Rams stole the Firefox logo.
@ciisumworld -- "Why? I’ve been fan since 98’ and I would have to say I am pretty disappointed. #ramslogo
@deanfense12 -- My thoughts on the new rams logo. Super bowl loss to NE hit them hard. #LArams#ramslogo.
@Cianaf -- 1. These look like they were made for a PS3 game in the 00s. 2. Am I the only one who thought the Rams old branding was classic and didn't need to be changed?
By the way, Roddy White warned us just how bad the reaction to these would be ... when we got the former Atlanta Falcon at LAX a few weeks ago, he clowned ALL OVER the leaked images.
With the coronavirus spreading by the day, you'd think people would think twice about having kids right about now -- but it's full steam ahead for Hollywood on multiple fronts.
Several different stars over the past couple weeks or so have been either announcing pregnancies or announcing the births of their new children -- and while some have expressed concern over the global pandemic ... most seem to be simply overjoyed.
The latest baby news came from Meghan McCain, who told the world she had a bun in the oven on Sunday ... and coronavirus was certainly on her mind as well. In her Instagram post, she wrote ... "I consulted with my doctors and they advised me that for the safety of our baby and myself, I should be extra vigilant about limiting the amount of people we come in contact with." She also says she'll be doing 'The View' from home via satellite.
Of course, Amanda Bynes just said she was pregnant as well ... and didn't utter a peep about coronavirus concerns. And yes, the big kahuna was Katy Perry -- who debuted her baby bump in a music video in epic fashion. And that was just two weeks ago when this craze was picking up.
Other celebs have actually welcomed new family members into their household during peak coronavirus fears -- including Mike Epps and Hasan Minhaj ... who proudly showed off their newborns on social media over the past couple days ... no real mention of coronavirus in their captions or anything.
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Now, to the new parents' credit ... they were getting busy months ago at least 9 months ago, before any of this coronavirus news was known. So, not much they can do but see it through and hope for the best -- especially since babies have such weak immune systems.
For all those hopeful parents-to-be though doing some family planning right now ... yeah, you might wanna put a pause on that if you can. Tough days ahead are on the horizon 😟
The Big Apple doesn't want its residents banging like rabbits during the coronavirus outbreak -- so it's got a set of strict (and graphically specific) guidelines on how to get it on during these contagious times.
The NYC Health Department posted recommendations over the weekend on how folks can have sex, while keeping the risk of catching COVID-19 low. For starters, they say sex with another person probably isn't a good idea right now ... so, they suggest masturbating.
If you are going to have sex with someone else, they have recommendations on who to bang first. The department says if you must, sleep with someone you live with, and try NOT to screw anyone outside the household if you can help. They also say limit the number of partners you're hooking up with ... which probably means no orgies either. Aw, man!
The most graphic suggestions come in the form of rim jobs (anus to mouth contact) and oral sex too. They say don't eat ass right now -- it probably ain't safe -- and if you're gonna get slurped up by a partner ... use a condom or a dental dam to reduce saliva swapping.
The Health Dept. also notes ... if your partner's not feeling well, skip the sex. And, for all the online daters, keep the interaction there for now too. What a time to be alive!
4:18 PM PT -- It's back to the drawing board in D.C. for Congress -- with Senators failing to pass a stimulus package bill with a split vote of 47-47 Sunday ... this after the House already sent a version of the bill along and suspended their session in hopes the Senate could get it done.
UPDATE
Welp, amid fears of U.S. Representatives having to come back to D.C. to draft up a new bill and take a new vote again ... President Trump offered up a temporary remedy for everyone scared of catching coronavirus. During Sunday's press briefing, he said his administration wouldn't be opposed to let people work from home ... as in vote.
UPDATE
The question was lobbed to the Prez in the wake of Rand Paul and others quarantining after Paul's coronavirus diagnosis, and DT said it straight up -- he'd be cool with a temporary measure of voting remotely, not necessarily needing bodies in D.C. to do it.
UPDATE
That would solve the quorum problem for House members, a good amount of whom would have to be back in D.C. otherwise in order to get any official business done.
UPDATE
Unclear if Trump and his administration would have the final say over this -- it's probably a resolution that'd have to be written in Congress and voted on -- but it doesn't sound like he'd make a big fuss if both houses decided to go this route. Desperate times ...
There is a quiet panic going around behind the scenes at the House of Representatives because some members tell TMZ they sounded a warning 3 weeks ago about the Capitol being unsafe but they weren't heeded ... and now some fear they have the coronavirus.
The members we spoke with -- who only wanted to talk on background -- tell us, about 3 weeks ago when the problems associated with coronavirus started blowing up they began talking about limiting or excluding visitors from the Capitol.
It was an especially busy time, because the House was putting together spending bills and people were flying in from all over the country to lobby members. There were also lots of visitors who came by and interacted with a number of members. We're told the hallways were packed.
One congressman told us, "No one took this seriously. Leaders from both sides initially said they didn't want to panic people. We're told the leaders ultimately consulted the Congressional doctor, but as one congressman said, "He was scared to make a decision because he was afraid he would trigger a national panic."
A congressman we spoke with says he believes he has the virus and is exhibiting mild symptoms and he has self-quarantined. He also says, "I think lots of us [representatives] are going to get it."
The House is currently not in session, but there's a big problem. The Senate is in session and is hopefully going to pass a relief bill soon. The House members have gone home, and the only way they can approve the bill without flying to D.C. is if the vote is unanimous.
If one member wants to vote no on the bill, the traditional solution would be for members to fly to D.C. to cast their votes. But, putting 435 people on airplanes -- especially when there's fear some of the members have or were exposed to the virus -- it's super risky. We're told there's talk of flying 40 at a time or figuring out some way of keeping people away from each other.
No decisions have been made on what to do if the vote is not unanimous.
As for the other chamber ... as we reported, Senator Rand Paul has tested positive and incredibly he was at the Senate gym today swimming. The fact the Senate gym is open when gyms across the country have closed because a gym is a breeding ground for the virus ....well, it's just baffling.
Joshua Tree's campgrounds may be closed -- but people are still visiting in droves during the pandemic ... which is pissing off a lot of the locals, who are shooing the masses away.
The national park closed its gates Saturday to campers and vehicles wanting to pull into their lots for some desert fun -- but because the area is still open to hikers and bikers ... a bunch of Angelenos and others made a mass exodus to the Coachella Valley-area grounds this weekend.
That caused a bit of pandemonium for some of the locals who live right nearby, including 15-year resident Carrie Dagher ... who tells TMZ she's been in full chase-off mode with out-of-town dopes who keep wandering onto her property, apparently thinking it's God's land.
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Not the case, according to Carrie ... who says she's literally confronted and driven about 100 different people who unknowingly crossed her front and back yards while exploring the area. Her property and others can stretch anywhere from 1 to 3 acres, so it's understandable a mistaken trespass might happen here and there. That's not the only problem though.
Carrie also tells us some would-be campers have even tried pitching a tent right in her front yard, which she quickly put a stop to as well. Lawn chairs and picnics have also been attempted on her property -- it seems people either don't know or don't care.
The bigger issue, though, is that because of the massive amount of cars coming to the area -- not to mention all the people they're transporting -- Carrie says these bored city-slickers are actually ruining the land with constant traversing, contaminating the rich soil specifically.
BTW, Joshua Tree is far from the only hiking hot spot people want to get to right now -- the Runyon Canyon trail in the heart of L.A. is also drawing hordes of bodies ... most of whom are NOT maintaining any sense of social distancing as they shuffle past each other.
Snitches (or good citizens, really) have been tagging Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti to notify them of the bizarre scene, in hopes of getting these public places shut down to avoid further spreading of the coronavirus.
Until then though ... it looks like the people are restless!
Escort services are getting crushed by the coronavirus pandemic -- business is drying up, but there's one city that is, so far, immune to the drop-off.
Across the country, most escort services are telling us their clientele is scarce, and the future looks grim with 4 whole states under "stay home" orders. Let's face it, not too many options for places to take a date these days.
One Las Vegas escort service tells us it has zero business right now amid a state-widenon-essential business shutdown. Not to mention, social-distancing -- standing 6 feet away from your date isn't much of a date. As a result, the service is shutting down for 3 to 4 months.
Ditto in NYC, where at least one service is closing down until further notice. In Chicago, we're told biz dropped a whopping 80 percent for one escort service ... and that was before Friday, when the whole state of Illinois shut down.
That's not to say customers aren't willing. We're told some regulars in Chi-town have reached out complaining of boredom. One even promised he'd sanitized his apartment and had a warm meal waiting.
These are desperate, stir-crazy times.
Except in Miami, apparently ... where one escort service tells us it's had NO downturn. We were also told their employees weren't taking precautions due to the virus. Coronavirus, that is.
9:59 AM PT -- 3/22 -- Smart Works has updated its homepage to remove the word "Royal" and "HRH." The magic is officially gone.
Meghan Markle's pivot away from Royal life is in full swing -- 'cause a charity she partners with has dropped any mention of the word when describing her ... except on their homepage, where it probably matters most.
The charity is called Smart Works -- a non-profit org based out of the U.K. that provides professional interviewing clothes to low income women who need it for job interviews. Meghan's been their official patron for a while -- and until now ... has always been referred to as "Our Royal Patron" as well as "Her Royal Highness," or "HRH" for short on their site.
It's true ... if you go and click on Meghan's official bio at Smart Works right now, they have indeed dropped all "Royal" and "Highness" terms in talking about Meg. Going forward, it looks like they're just referring to her as "Our Patron, The Duchess of Sussex." Hey, at least she kept that.
The only problem ... on their homepage, as of Saturday, it looks like they still call her 'Our Royal Patron,' and even 'HRH.' If you click on that, it takes you to the page where they've ditched 'Royal.' Seems somebody fell asleep at the wheel in the digital scrubbing.
That said ... the day they officially split from the Royal Family is March 31, which was announced in their transition statement earlier this year. So, someone's got at least until then to get it fully right over at Smart Works 😅
