You Might Want to Rethink

A woman who dined at a fast-food restaurant says when she ordered some fried chicken, the restaurant threw in the towel.

Alique Perez posted photos and video -- from Jollibee restaurant in the Philippines -- of the "meal" she got ... and it's just gross.

She wrote, "Just something that frustrated me this late. We had Jollibee delivered via grab. Ordered chicken for my son, while I was trying to get him a bite, I found it super hard to even slice. Tried opening it up with my hands and to my surprise a deep fried towel."

She asked the right question ... "How the hell do you get the towel in the batter and even fry it!?!?"

For its part, the restaurant seems to be taking it seriously, saying it closed down the location for 3 days to “thoroughly review its compliance with procedures and retrain its store team.”

It then tried delivering a testimonial ... “Jollibee has carefully developed and complied with food preparation systems to ensure that we deliver excellent quality products and customer satisfaction. We will continue to endeavor to deliver on the high standards we have set for ourselves and franchisees,”

Billy Baldwin isn't sweating Gavin Newsom's refusal to fully reopen CA -- saying vaccine rates need to go up ... and that, eventually, we'll all have to play ball to get back to normal.

We talked to the actor Saturday in Bev Hills, where our photog asked what he made of Gov. Newsom's apparent backtracking on his June 15 date ... which is when he was supposed to lift all COVID restrictions, but clarified he wouldn't lift the state of emergency just yet.

Many are taking that as Newsom going back on his word -- but according to Billy ... it probably won't make a big difference in the short term. He says people are already out and about, and things are looking a lot like they used to now more than ever.

He also makes this point ... if ya want things to truly get back to normal faster than Newsom's timeline, the only way to do it is to get vaccinated ASAP -- there's no other way around it. He makes an even better point about holdouts and what lies ahead. Watch.

BB clearly doesn't get the outrage over requiring vaccines, when we have a long history of doing exactly that in schools and elsewhere for kids. So, in his mind, one more can't hurt.

Elon Musk appears to be in the crosshairs of a notorious group of hackers who are responsible for some of the biggest digital breaches/leaks in modern history.

The Tesla CEO is the subject of a new video posted by Anonymous -- a coalition of self-described freedom fighters who use the "V for Vendetta" Guy Fawkes mask as their logo ... and who've caused a lot of grief for different orgs over the years, including Scientology, PayPal and others.

In their latest offering ... they're going after Elon, claiming the power he wields over cryptocurrency markets -- and the cavalier way he wields it -- has gone far enough ... especially as it pertains to Bitcoin, which has reacted wildly to Elon's words of late.

Anonymous claims that even though Elon has positioned himself as concerned about the environment with Tesla's pivot away from Bitcoin, he doesn't practice what he preaches within the company itself -- hurling many allegations against him and Tesla's practices at large.

Anonymous goes on to take even more shots at Elon personally ... saying he suffers from a superiority/savior complex -- noting he once dubbed himself the "Emperor of Mars" -- and that he's actually hurting working-class people and their prospects by his constant crypto trolling.

There's a lot to unpack here ... but the bottom line is, Anonymous seems to think Elon isn't a friend to the common man -- something they consider themselves to be -- and because of that ... they seem to be issuing a warning. As to what that is ... it remains to be seen.

Anonymous has famously disrupted computer systems from large corporations, as well as municipalities -- especially following police-involved deaths like Michael Brown and, recently, George Floyd, whom they vowed to avenge by "exposing" MPD's alleged misdeeds. They've also been involved with spurring noteworthy social movements like Occupy Wall Street ... not to mention partaking in high-profile leaks, especially surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.

Katt Williams has a challenge for all comedians who are griping about the state of comedy in 2021 because of so-called "cancel culture" ... do better, be better and be funnier.

The legendary comic dished his thoughts on the much-discussed topic with Joe Budden, and he basically suggested that the outrage over society and audiences in 2021 being too woke or sensitive for comedy to function properly (or as it has in the past) is mostly bologna.

Check it out for yourself ... 'cause he gives a pretty nuanced breakdown of what he thinks people are actually mad about -- namely, that comedians are being forced to evolve with the times.

Katt says that certain words and/or subjects are being rightly called out as inappropriate or off-limits -- and he explains that, in most cases, that's probably fine ... because the point of comedy isn't to offend, but to entertain the most number of people possible.

He also notes all that's happened over the years and with the advent of social media is that more people have been allowed to join the conversation ... and as a result, can speak up on things they might've always found objectionable -- whereas, before, they had no platform.

It's a pretty fascinating take ... which actually mirrors what Seth Rogen said on this not too long ago to The Independent -- when he said, yeah ... some jokes have aged poorly, and rather than be mad at being called out about it, he said just own and adapt accordingly.

Of course, not everyone agrees with Katt and Seth when it comes to this. Many comedians have railed on what they consider overly-sensitive tastes these days ... including one Billy Crystal, who recently called comedy today a "minefield" that he doesn't recognize anymore.

Bill Maher murdered last night with a hilarious take on the latest Jan 6 conspiracy theory ... that the insurrectionists were actually Democrats dressed up as Trump supporters to make the Prez look bad.

The "Real Time" host barely held it together with his show-and-tell ... beginning with a well-worn MAGA hat, followed by a MAGA hat with enhancements!

Bill just lost it with the meth teeth ... but there was more -- so much more, ending with the ladies getting some bling that might send shivers down the spine of the former VEEP.

It was hysterical ... Bill says the getup was courtesy of George Soros's home costume dept. As for who worked the sweatshop -- well, Bill and Tim Robbins, of course.

Then there was a book, instructing rebellious Dems on how to purchase a fake flag or 2.

Maybe the best ... the cleverly misspelled sign falsely ID'ing the rioters.

In all seriousness, 73% of Republicans actually believe this ... that what you saw on TV was a frame job by left-wingers. And, of course, they all think the election was rigged.

LeBron James getting smashed by the Phoenix Suns does NOT affect his legacy ... so says Ohio governor John Kasich, who tells TMZ Sports the Lakers star is still "the king."

Kasich was candid with our photog out in Beverly Hills on Friday afternoon ... explaining this week's Lakers playoff exit means NOTHING for Bron.

"He's the greatest, you know," Kasich said. "He's the king."

Kasich went on to say the first-round bouncing doesn't affect James' claim to "G.O.A.T." status over Michael Jordan either.

In fact, Kasich tells us LeBron's window for winning titles is still WIDE open!

"He's not done yet," the 69-year-old politician said. "Nope, not yet."

As for what needs to change next year ... Kasich stated the obvious -- Anthony Davis needs to get healthy, and the Lakers need to get those two more help.

Zayn Malik got into a heated confrontation with a man outside a Manhattan bar in which a homophobic slur got thrown around ... and Zayn ended up shirtless.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Zayn was smoking a cig outside Amsterdam Billiards Club in the East Village after 2 AM when a group of guys came out of Little Sister Lounge next door and an altercation ensued.

We're told the guy in the video going after Zayn tried to pick a fight ... and tempers were definitely flaring, as you can see.

In any event, the guy lunged at the former One Direction star, and allegedly called Zayn the homophobic f-word ... and Zayn hurled back some insults.

Though the argument came very close to a physical confrontation, we're told no punches were ever thrown and police were not involved.

The former NASA astronaut commanding the first civilian crew to the International Space Station is feeling good about the so-called space tourists, because they're handling zero gravity better than him!!!

Michael Lopez-Alegria, the decorated astronaut with 2 NASA records for spacewalks, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday to tell us how he and his 3 crew members handled their first weightless training flight.

It's pretty funny ... Michael says he was the one who felt the worst, while the philanthropists and entrepreneurs had a blast doing somersaults and backflips while they were experiencing zero gravity.

Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe are the 3 men who've dropped $55 million each to punch their tickets to the ISS and, so far, they're making their commander proud.

Axiom's Ax-1 mission -- the first private mission to the ISS -- blasts off in January with Michael at the controls. He admits he'll have a "tough needle to thread" during the 10-day mission with space newbies ... since he's their commander, but also ... kinda their tour guide in orbit.

It's a new challenge, for sure ... even for a guy who's logged more spacewalks than anyone else in history.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!

Two obsessed fans smashed into Neymar as he walked off the Brazil team bus in Rio de Janeiro ... and footage shows the superstar limping away.

The whole situation is absolutely ridiculous and completely unacceptable.

Here's the deal ... Neymar and his teammates had just finished a training session in Rio on Thursday leading up to Brazil's World Cup qualifier on Friday against Ecuador.

When they arrived at the team hotel, there was a large group of fans waiting for the team -- which is pretty common.

But, two fans got through security and sprinted at Neymar -- eventually knocking right into the 29-year-old at full speed!!!

Security raced over to pull the fans away -- and it looks like one of them made off with one of Neymar's shoes.

After the incident, it looks like Neymar limps into the hotel -- though it's possible he's just walking gingerly because he has no shoes on!

The team has yet to give an update on Neymar's condition -- but the entire world is watching.

A military veteran's mic was intentionally cut off while he delivered a moving speech acknowledging Black Americans' role in creating the Memorial Day holiday -- and folks are justifiably outraged.

The American Legion of Ohio is upset about how retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter was treated during his speech Monday during a Memorial Day ceremony at an Ohio cemetery.

Kemter was about halfway through his speech when he started discussing how freed Black enslaved people were involved in an early event honoring Civil War dead.

At that moment, his microphone was cut off and he tapped it and requested for it to be turned back on ... but it didn't happen. The Lt. Col. powered through without the mic, and he delivered his message about Black history.

Kemter says he initially thought it was a glitch, but later learned the organizers did it intentionally because he refused to modify his speech. According to organizers, Kemter's discussion of Black history "was not relevant to our program for the day."

The vet says he's disappointed they chose to censor him, and the Ohio American Legion has his back. The org wants the event organizers who cut Kemter's mic to resign ... and they've also warned of disciplinary action.

Honestly, the disrespect shown to Lt. Col Kemter reminds us of this classic "Forrest Gump" scene where his mic was cut as he spoke about the Vietnam War.

While the 'Gump' scene played funny in the movie -- no one's laughing about what happened to Kemter.

Turns out Johnny Manziel really WAS raking in 5 figures signing autographs after his Heisman season ... 'cause the ex-college superstar is admitting to making at least $33k off his signature before suiting up for Texas A&M in 2013.

Remember, the NCAA launched a massive investigation into claims Manziel was making dough signing memorabilia (a no-no for college athletes) while in Miami for the 2013 BCS National Championship game ... but found zero evidence of the QB getting paid.

Johnny Football is now coming clean about the whole ordeal ... breaking down the entire thing with Barstool Sports' "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast.

"This guy comes up behind me, he's like, 'Yo, how would you wanna make 3 grand?'" Johnny said. "I turn around, I'm like, f*** yeah, bro!'"

Manziel said he had about $65 in his bank account at the time and wanted some extra cash ... so he followed the guy to his condo to sign "probably 10,000 pieces."

But, it didn't stop there -- Johnny says another dude approached him and said he was getting royally ripped off (which, uh, yeah, he definitely was) ... and offered him a sweeter deal -- $30k!!!

"So, this guy's pretty much, 'All right, go to this room at the Fontainebleau. All this stuff will be in there laid out. When you're done, just send me a picture of all of it. I'll give you the code to the safe, the money will be in there,'" Johnny says.

Pretty sketchy, right?? But, Johnny says he didn't care ... 'cause he was finally making some money ... and has no regrets over the serious NCAA violations.

In fact, he says he went back several more times over the next few months to get some more coin.

"We went 9-4 the next year, so if the NCAA wants to take my f***ing 9-4 season away, my Chick-Fil-A Bowl against Duke, f***ing blow me," Manziel said.

So ... does this mean Manziel's Heisman could get taken away like Reggie Bush's?? Johnny's adamant he didn't break any rules until AFTER he won the trophy.

"I never took a dollar until after I won the Heisman, and I think my statute of limitations are up. So, you can blow me again!"

You've heard a lot about "Karens" over the past year -- very little of it good -- and the name's bad rep seems to have reached new parents, who want nothing to do with it.

Indeed, the name "Karen" has apparently plummeted in popularity among newborns who were popped out in 2020 -- this according to new data from the Social Security Administration, which tracks this kind of stuff.

HuffPo outlines it well -- citing a massive drop-off, from #660 on 2019's list to #831 for 2020 ... falling a whopping 171 slots. That's the lowest ranking "Karen" has had in this country since 1927 -- so yeah, it's obvious the name has taken a big hit of late.

Per the numbers, only 325 Karens were born last year compared to 439 in 2019 -- which might not sound like crazy numbers to begin with, but the percentage is what's interesting.

Frankly, Karen is an antiquated name these days, anyway, and it's been on a steady decline since the '60s when Karens were a dime a dozen ... clocking in its highest rate of 33,000 newborns in '65.

Still, some are blaming the new dip on the outrageous public acts of so-called "Karens" over the past year and change -- women caught up in dubious acts of insensitivity, idiocy and/or straight-up racism.

No matter how you look at it ... Karen does carry a certain connotation in 2021, and it looks like soon-to-be parents realized that last year and adjusted accordingly.

Mets star Marcus Stroman is NOT happy that a quip was made about his du-rag during a TV broadcast Tuesday ... with the pitcher saying the comment had "racist undertones" to it.

The remark went down during the 4th inning of the Diamondbacks' broadcast of the Mets-DBacks game ... when color commentator (and former World Series-winning manager) Bob Brenly threw a jab over Stroman's visible head covering.

"Pretty sure that's the same du-rag that Tom Seaver used to wear when he pitched for the Mets," Brenly said.

The comment was met by immediate backlash on social media ... with many finding it to be very offensive and racist.

And, when Stroman took to Twitter after the game ... he clearly agreed.

The 30-year-old starting pitcher retweeted outrage from several people ... and added in a tweet of his own, "Onward and upward...through all adversity and racist undertones. The climb continues through all!"

Stroman later added in a tweet that if he had openly criticized Brenly over the comment, "media will turn this against me somehow."

Brenly has yet to comment on the issue. Stroman, meanwhile, has since promised to launch a line of du-rags following the incident.

Stroman took the no-decision in the Mets' 6-5 loss Tuesday to the DBacks ... throwing 6 innings while allowing just 3 earned runs and 7 hits.

He was also involved in an altercation with Arizona 2nd baseman Josh Rojas in the 5th inning that led to benches clearing ... though, thankfully, cooler heads ultimately prevailed.

Clay Aiken knows what it's like to go from beloved celeb to despised politician -- by half of the public, at least -- and he's not sure The Rock or Matthew McConaughey are up for it ... so he's sharing his experience with political haters.

As you may know ... the former "American Idol" sensation ran for a North Carolina Congressional seat in 2014, and though he won the Democratic primary, he got beat pretty soundly in the general election by the Republican incumbent.

Clay joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday to share just a slice of what the experience was like, and it doesn't sound pleasant ... and definitely not something a couple of universally cherished actors would want to go through.

Ultimately, he thinks neither Rock nor McConaughey will opt to run, like Caitlyn Jenner already has -- but Clay's adamant she's already experiencing the blowback ... just for different reasons.

As we reported ... Bill Maher blasted the stars running for office or considering it, and though Aiken's not nearly as blistering with his take, the 2 seem to be on the same page -- just don't do it if fame's what matters.

BTW, Clay's still taking on political and social issues ... on his podcast, 'How The Heck Are We Gonna Get Along.'

Millennia-old human remains have been discovered mere feet from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's estate ... and all signs point to them being early inhabitants of the area -- we mean the bones, not Meghan and Harry.

The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office confirmed some veeeeerrrrry old bones were recently found buried on a neighboring property next to the couple's Montecito home ... this while construction crews were busy working on a landscaping gig.

The bones were buried three feet under the earth, and at this point ... it's suspected they might belong to a young indigenous person, perhaps someone from the Chumash tribe -- which has ties to the Santa Barbara area dating back thousands of years.

Authorities actually think the remains may be 11,000 years old. So yeah, we're talking way before any Euros came washing up onshore and wreaking havoc.

The Sheriff's Dept. notes they're consulting forensic anthropologists to make sure what they think it is is actually right ... which, if true, could potentially turn into a good old-fashioned fossil dig. The Chumash people are also being looped in, it seems, but have yet to comment.

The Oakland A's have FIRED the food vendor responsible for serving its minor league players meals that look WORSE than the Fyre Festival, the team announced.

Look at these terrible meals -- this is the crap players, coaches and staffers in the A's minor league system were served up during recent road trips ... and the players couldn't take it anymore!

Photos of the insultingly bad meals were posted on the Twitter page for the Advocates for Minor Leaguers group -- a watchdog group for minor league players.

The group explained, "Players in the Oakland A’s organization shared these photos of their recent post-game meals. No employer would serve these meals to employees they care about. Why are the A’s serving them to their future Major Leaguers?"

Great question, right?!

Enter Dave Kaval, president of the A's ... who claims the team was PISSED when it found out about the food situation -- and insists team honchos took immediate action.

"This was totally unacceptable," Kaval said ... "When we found out several weeks ago we terminated the third party vendor."

"We apologize to our players, staff, and coaches. We will redouble our efforts to provide the best options for our team at every level."

Note to players, if the team ever tries to screw you out of food or bottled water in the future, you know who to call ...