You Might Want to Rethink

Jimmy Kimmel's late-night sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, is in the doghouse with a rescue agency that says two pups he adopted ended up at a shelter, but he says the whole ordeal started with a misunderstanding within his family.

Mutt Scouts, a dog rescue group based in SoCal, tells TMZ ... Guillermo adopted two chihuahuas -- Chase and Rey -- back in 2021 when they were just puppies. He was stoked about the addition to his family, posting pics of them on IG soon after getting them.

However, Mutt Scouts says they recently got a call from an animal shelter in the L.A. area ... saying the dogs were surrendered to them by an unnamed woman. The shelter called Mutt Scouts because both pups were microchipped and registered to the org prior to Guillermo adopting them.

Mutt Scouts provided TMZ a copy of the contract Guillermo signed before adopting -- which says the rescue would be the first point of contact to help rehome the dogs if he no longer wanted the dogs or couldn't care for them.

The org took to social media this week to call him out, and some 'Kimmel' fans were pissed and noted Guillermo's past post with the dogs is no longer on his page.

Guillermo tells TMZ ... this all started when he was asked to take care of his grandmother's large dog because she's battling dementia. At the same time, he went in for knee surgery ... so his stepsister had to watch Chase, Rey and grandma's big dog.

He says his stepsister panicked the big dog was going to harm the two chihuahuas, and that's when she decided to take them to the shelter. When Guillermo found out, he says he immediately told her she'd make a big mistake. He knew they should have gone to Mutt Scouts and says he contacted the group on Friday and said he "was sorry from the bottom of his heart."

Mutt Scouts tells us they hope Guillermo's case is a teachable moment for anyone looking to adopt a pet. It's standard procedure for adopted animals to be returned to the rescue agency if the owner can longer care for them.

Chase and Rey are now with Mutt Scouts, which is hoping to find a new home for them. Mutt Scouts tells us Guillermo made a $5k donation to help them care for the pups in the interim.

Jennifer Connelly (in the '90s) was way more attractive than Zendaya is today -- and she was considered pretty mid on the hotness scale ... so suggests this weekend's Twitter doofus.

Here's the deal ... a troll on the bird app has everyone fired up over a ludicrous tweet he posted Friday -- in which he tries to shade Zendaya by comparing her to Connelly ... but he inadvertently shaded JC too in the process -- and folks are stunned by his measuring stick.

This fella writes, "Any zoomer who thinks right pic is above average attractive doesn't understand that in the '90s, a '7' looked like left pic." In his tweet, he's got a photo of young Connelly next to an unflattering pic of Z ... so already, Sun Optimist is off to a biased start.

He ends with this wild statement, "'Above average' meant something else back then. There'd be like ten girls as or more beautiful than Connelly working at every chain restaurant."

In other words, this guy is saying that young women in the '90s were simply much prettier, on average, than your everyday hottie in 2023 -- and he's using Jen as an example ... by claiming you could find a million Connellys anywhere in America back then. Again, he's also saying Jen wasn't even considered a true dime in this regard ... a few notches below, in fact.

Two things ... he's a jerk for pitting these two beautiful women against each other -- but also ... a lot of people think he's dead wrong about Connelly, specifically. Many say, she IS a 10!

Zendaya is no slouch either, of course, so his entire premise is absurd. In a follow-up tweet, he says the modern "zoomer" thinks heavier-set women are the cream of the crop ... so he clearly has a bone to pick with the conversation about modern beauty standards, etc.

Not to fan the flames on this or anything, but considering Zen and Jen are knockouts in their own right ... we are somewhat curious who the public considers the lovelier dame here.

Tommy Lee is stirring up controversy on his social media page ... because he reposted a transphobic clip from far-right news network OAN.

The Mötley Crüe drummer posted the One America News Network clip on his official Instagram account Friday afternoon ... and it's being met with mixed reactions from celebs and Average Joes.

In the clip, OAN anchor Liz Wheeler is going on a rant about transgender, transracial and transabled people ... trying to get a rise out of folks with a segment light on facts and heavy on drama ... ticking off all the things she fantasizes could happen down the road.

Tommy added the caption, "Where does it end people?!?!"

The post quickly caught the attention of Questlove, who replied ... "Oan tho? #unfollow."

Tommy's friend, Criss Angel, rushed to his defense ... commenting, "100%."

The rest of the replies and comments are mostly from people condemning Tommy, but he does have some supporters out there.

OAN is known to stoke controversy ... and the network has been dropped by most major cable carriers in the United States.

LaRussell has zero fear of AI rap recordings blocking his shine amid his breakout season ... and that's because he's confident AI can't recreate the human experience!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Oakland rapper on the music video set of his "Hell of a Feeling" collab with Symba ... who stressed to us why both hip hop culture and the Bay Area need the track.

The thought of AI made LaRussell LOL as we gauged his thoughts on the industry's hotly debated topic ... and turns out he has no concerns, despite major labels putting up roadblocks!!!

Universal Music Group recently sent out demands to Spotify, Apple Music and all the top streaming services to block AI companies crawling their platforms ... and Drake was none too pleased hearing his AI mimicked vocal rapping Ice Spice's hit "Munch."

LaRussell makes his bread as an independent artist and thinks AI can only increase his cash flow if used correctly.

Bhad Bhabie is really in love with her BF ... she even got his name tattooed on her chest.

TMZ obtained photos of Bhad Bhabie's new ink, which reads "Le Vaughn" in red cursive script, on the left side of her chest ... between her shoulder and breast.

Bhad Bhabie, aka Danielle Bregoli, didn't stop there ... she also got "1111" tattooed in red ink on her neck to cover up a previous tattoo, just above her boyfriend's name, in another nod to her man.

The "1111" tattoo appears to reference Le Vaughn's birthday, because he posted a pic of Bhad Bhabie's new ink on his social media with the caption "Scorpio 11:11 iykyk" ... Internet slang for "if you know, you know."

Bhad Bhabie's boyfriend also got her first name and middle name tattooed on his neck ... he went with black ink and cursive script letters spelling out "Danielle Marie."

It's interesting ... Bhad Bhabie's been defending their relationship and the tattoos on social media, saying ... "I love that man whether y'all like it or not, yall gonna talk regardless."

Remember ... Bhad Bhabie celebrated her 20th birthday just three weeks ago, twerking and lap dancing on her mother during an intimate gathering at her home.

So, what ever happened to professional courtesy?

Carmen Canovas Cervello, yes, a nurse, was snorkeling in the Maldives when a 220-lb, 8-foot-long nurse shark attacked her and left a gnarly, 6-inch wound as a souvenir.

The video is crazy ... you see the shark circle her before it sinks its chompers in the snorkeler, right in her shoulder and upper back.

So that's actually not the craziest part ... Cervello goes to shore, gets the wound cleaned, and jumps back in the ocean for a second swim!!!

Her friend, Ibrahim Shafeeg, an underwater photog, is the one who shot the footage. No excuse to miss a shot!

BTW ... they knew these waters were shark-infested but, hey, you take your chances. Fact is, most nurse sharks don't pose a danger, unless they're provoked.

Lolo Jones has some strong (albeit playful) words for Shaquille O'Neal after the NBA legend called Angel Reese LSU's G.O.A.T. ... telling TMZ Sports Diesel had to be "high" when he made the statement.

Jones -- who starred for LSU's track team before competing in BOTH the Summer and Winter Olympics -- got wind of O'Neal referring to Reese as the greatest athlete to ever come out of Baton Rouge on his 'Big Podcast' this week, and she vehemently disagreed with her fellow Tigers alum.

In fact, she seemed to think Shaq wasn't in his right mind since undergoing surgery last month.

"Shaq knew what he was doing," Jones said. "Shaq's just bored. He's coming off hip surgery. He's chilling at home. I think Shaq, honestly, is high on some pain medicines. The list is so big with LSU."

Jones -- a decorated hurdler and bobsledder -- feels Shaq was trying to stir the pot by saying Reese is LSU's top-ranked athlete ... knowing that it makes for good "water cooler talk."

"So, for Shaq to have the audacity to say 'she's the best ever,'" Jones continued, "I'm like, 'Bro, chill on the pain meds,' because that list is arduous. So long."

Jones -- who won three NCAA titles and earned 11 All-American honors as an LSU Tiger -- said she wouldn't put herself at the top of the list of the university's G.O.A.T. athletes.

But, don't get it twisted -- Lolo told us she isn't disrespecting Reese ... saying, "We're not hating on Angel. We love to see it. She's cooking. Let her keep cooking. But I'm telling you, LSU track and field is the powerhouse for that university."

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without their star center when they face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA's play-in tournament game on Tuesday ... 'cause the team just suspended Rudy Gobert one game for punching his teammate.

Gobert -- who swung at Kyle Anderson during a timeout in Sunday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans -- will rejoin his teammates for the remainder of the Wolves' play-in tournament run and beyond.

It's a big blow to Minnesota -- the Wolves gave up four first-round picks for the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 ... and will be tasked with trying to upset a hot Lakers team that has seemingly figured things out just in time for the postseason.

Gobert was sent home from Sunday's game ... and apologized for his actions shortly after.

"Emotions got the best of me today," Gobert said. "I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organization and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate."

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wolves believe Gobert's punch was not intended to hurt his teammate ... but considering he struck Anderson in the chest, they were left with no other choice.

The report also says the whole thing started after Anderson called Gobert a "bitch" repeatedly.

The Dalai Lama, in all his wisdom, is rolling out a much-needed apology ... after getting dragged online for bizarrely asking a child to suck his tongue at a recent event.

That's right, the religious leader is saying sorry after his problematic request at the city of Dharamshala in February, with his office issuing a statement saying he's apologizing "to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused." Words, not actions, BTW.

His people say DL "teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras" ... but many online have called BS on any playfulness going on here.

The whole thing was caught on video -- the boy kindly asks if he can hug the 87-year-old, but it quickly becomes an uncomfortable watch. The Dalai follows it up with a kiss on the lips -- which you'd think is as bad as it could get ... that is until he asks the boy to "suck my tongue."

This isn't the first time the Nobel Peace Prize winner has faced controversy -- he apologized back in 2019 after talking about the possibility of a female Dalai Lama succeeding him ... saying she "should be more attractive."

Some online have called for him to be stripped of his title, but it doesn't look like a change is coming this time around.

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Lots of folks who watch "Succession" had Sunday night's episode ruined by the Los Angeles Times ... and they're pissed at the newspaper for spoiling a huge plot twist.

For those who have seen the episode already, or don't care to have the hit HBO show spoiled, click here to continue reading.

Sources at CNN tell us Don's hot mic moment wasn't exactly what it seemed. We're told the mic caught his conversation with the show's producer about how best to introduce Jon Stewart.

As it was scripted, Don referred to Stewart as a "comedian and host," but during the soundbite ... he and co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins were telling the producer it's more fair to label him an advocate for veterans' rights. We're told none of them realized viewers were hearing their convo.

Don Lemon stepped in it again Monday, apparently making what he thought was an off-mic remark about Jon Stewart and then, after an awkward pause, backtracking big time.

Don threw to a clip of Jon Stewart interviewing U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in which Stewart challenged what he called extreme waste in the DOD's $850 billion budget. When Hicks took issue with the waste allegation, Jon shot back ... "I can't figure out how $850 billion to a department means that the rank and file still have to be on food stamps. To me, that's f***ing corruption."

The video of the interview stayed up but the audio cut out, and then you hear Don, apparently talking to his cohosts not realizing his mic was hot, saying, "He gets a lot of leeway with the comedian thing, though." It seems he was talking to his co-anchors and got caught on air.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Don tried to recover, saying Stewart is so much more than a comedian. He repeated that again.

Rudy Gobert hit the showers early on Sunday ... the Timberwolves big man was sent home after throwing a punch at his teammate, Kyle Anderson, during Minnesota's game against the Pelicans.

Gobert threw the punch during a time-out late in the second quarter when the Wolves were down by 12. Minnesota officials announced after haltime Gobert would miss the remainder of the game against the Pelicans following the heated exchange.

Gobert and Anderson had been jawing back and forth at each other during a team huddle ... when Rudy stepped toward Kyle and punched him in the chest.

Anderson went after Gobert after the punch was thrown ... but his teammates held him back before the situation escalated.

It's unclear if Gobert will face any discipline ... but if the T-wolves or the NBA decide to reprimand the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, it could have huge implications for them in the play-in tournament.

Elon Musk appears to be flip-flopping on whether Twitter considers NPR to be state-run media -- although it's unclear if he's gonna take that label off their account.

The Twit-in-Chief was directly asked about this by an NPR reporter this week ... and when he was shown the hard numbers on where NPR gets its funding -- with only 1% of it coming from the U.S. government, and a majority of it coming from donors -- he relented a bit.

According to the journo -- citing an email exchange he says he was having with Musk personally -- EM apparently didn't understand the difference between public media and state-sanctioned media ... and replied, "Well, then we should fix it" as it pertains to NPR's status.

Musk then supposedly asked for the breakdown of their finances, which the reporter says was provided to him ... to which Musk then apparently responded, "The operating principle at new Twitter is simply fair and equal treatment, so if we label non-US accounts as govt, then we should do the same for US, but it sounds like that might not be accurate here."

Earlier in the day, Musk said NPR's new state-affiliated media label --  which Twitter has yet to remove -- seemed "accurate." But now, based on this new reporting, it sounds like he's not sure. Musk reportedly told this reporter Twitter would mull over a final decision.

Of course, NPR is not state-controlled media -- unlike the ones in North Korea, China and Russia ... it's a nonprofit news org that operates independently and has provided accurate reporting for years. In light of Twitter's designation, NPR has stopped tweeting altogether.

Jorge Masvidal apparently doesn't want to wait 'til Saturday night to fight ... 'cause he nearly came to blows with someone on the streets of Miami on Friday morning.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the UFC star outside of the UFC 287 weigh-ins at the event's host hotel ... and you can see in the footage, he was clearly enraged at someone.

It's unclear exactly who the 38-year-old was quarreling with -- but one witness tells us the person yelled at Masvidal, "You're a clown."

The video shows Masvidal repeatedly trying to go after his heckler ... although he was constantly held back from exploding on the person. He eventually walked away from the scene before things got physical.

Masvidal tipped the scales at 171 pounds at the Friday morning weigh-in in preparation for his Saturday fight with Gilbert Burns. It's not known yet if this video was taken before or after the ceremonies.

Of course, this is not the first altercation Masvidal has been involved in this week in the leadup to the Burns fight ... he and Kevin Holland got into a heated spat on Wednesday at the UFC 287 host hotel as well.

Monica put a damper on her "Goonica" nickname, and a few fans' chances of landing more punches during a fight that erupted at her show.

The star singer was recently in D.C. for the R&B Experience Tour, and was bringing the house down with her hit ballad, "Why I Love You So Much" ... when she noticed the brawl breaking out in the stands right in front of her.

A confused Monica wondered what about her quiet storm classic could prompt people to fight and demanded they stop ... even offering to buy them a drink to cool them off.

“I ain’t singing 'Knuck If You Buck' baby, calm that s*** down,” she told the rowdy bunch, referencing Crime Mob's 2004 fight-starting record.

The bribe didn't seem to work and Monica suggested they take the scuffle outside ... and cleverly dropped her fan-favorite song "So Gone" to celebrate the fans' exit from the venue.

Monica has long been accused of having a thug side ... and did her best to explain the nickname to Stacey Abrams and Ciara last year during election season.

Lizzo and Jack Black's cameos in the latest episode of "The Mandalorian" is a casting choice 'Star Wars' icon Billy Dee Williams can get behind -- and he gives us his thoughts as to why the team picked them for the series.

ICYMI, spoilers -- Lizzo and Jack can be found in Episode 6 of the Disney+ series' third season ... appearing in a scene as the queen and king of Plazir-15. And, of course, people went nuts.

Billy tells us he's backing the choice wholeheartedly -- pointing out how franchises are always coming up with new ways to grab a younger audience.

He sees it as good business and understands what the crew was thinking with Lizzo and Jack, even if die-hard fans of the series are the ones marking it as a dumb move.

It's debatable, but some online think the two just aren't believable in the 'Star Wars' universe ... because of how recognizable they are. The franchise has had a slew of cameos in the past, but some fans seem to have had enough -- looks like Billy sure hasn't.

BTW -- Christopher Lloyd also popped up in the same episode, but people weren't as concerned with an unscheduled visit from Doc.