TMZ

A white lady approached a Black woman selling hair products to see if a drug deal was going down, and then suggested she scram … and, of course, she’s being called the new “Karen.” Check out this encounter from TikTok user @prettii_tb, who posted this clip a couple days ago out of Sacramento, CA — in the Natomas neighborhood. It appears Pretti was attempting to buy some hair products from the woman on the bike … who was hawking her goods — extensions and the like — from a basket, and seemed to be making her sales on the go. The transaction was interrupted by this so-called “Karen” … who asked what the heck was going on, and who also went on to say this looked like a good old-fashioned dope drop. That was not the case, as the woman on the bike calmly and politely explained. You gotta watch this interaction — the Black woman making the sale had every right to go off if she wanted … but she kept her wits about her and broke down in detail what was happening. The white lady says she’s just giving her a “heads up” that what she’s doing looks a certain way to certain people in the neighborhood, and that the cops might be called if she’s not careful. The Black woman welcomes it, though, insisting she’s doing nothing wrong. It’s just another case of someone making assumptions and poking their nose into someone else’s business, unsolicited. And, if this woman really did think something sketchy was going on … she coulda called the cops and let them deal … as the bike vendor rightly pointed out. Read Full Article

R. Kelly is facing new allegations in his criminal case out of Chicago — which is about to go to trial next month — including claims that he sexually abused a male minor … whom he’s said to have met at a McDonald’s. Prosecutors in Kelly’s federal sex trafficking case filed the bombshell Friday, seeking to enter new evidence they say supports their accusations of a slew of new crimes they insist Kelly committed … including alleged abuse of a male under the age of 18 in the 2000s. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kelly met a 17-year-old boy in 2006 at a McDonald’s … whom they say Kelly then invited to a party at his Chicago residence. The kid went with his parents, but the feds say Kelly told him to swing by next time by himself … and, apparently, the 17-year-old did — at which point, things allegedly turned sexual. The feds say that upon returning visits to Kelly’s place — and under the guise of trying to help jumpstart the boy’s singing career — Kelly began a sexual relationship with him. Soon after that, prosecutors claim the 17-year-old intro’d Kelly to yet another minor male — who was either 16 or 17 at the time — and they say Kelly sought to sexually abusing him too. It wasn’t until years later, it seems, that something materialized between the second John Doe and Kelly, so say the feds. They say Kelly did, in fact, begin a sexual relationship with him as well — but that he allegedly would command the guy to have sex with women in his orbit … and allegedly filmed a lot of those encounters. There are new Jane Does sprinkled in the filing as well, BTW … on top of the ones he’s already alleged to have trafficked. The McDonald’s thing is interesting … we know he’s a fan of the Golden Arches. He went there for after posting bail and (temporarily) being sprung from jail more than 2 years ago. There are even more accusations the federal government wants permission to support with new evidence it says it’s obtained … including the claim that someone on R. Kelly’s successfully bribed a Cook County official for inside info on the case back in 2019. Allegedly, that CC official took $2,500 from this Kelly team member … as well as a burner phone so they could communicate. The official is said to be a clerk … but is unnamed. A judge has yet to rule on what Uncle Sam wants — namely, to submit this new evidence they say they have, to have it looked over, which they hope leads to even further charges filed against the singer. This trial is supposed to get underway in about 4 weeks. R. Kelly has other legal trouble in other states … but the federal case seems to be the one that’ll get started first. He’s been given more time to secure and confer with new attorneys in the wake of much of his old legal team jumping ship in the past several months. Read Full Article

‘X-Men’ Star Alexandra Shipp is praising Sean Penn to the skies, saying she’s down with his demand that no one be allowed on a movie set who is not vaccinated. We got Alexandra at LAX Friday and asked about Sean refusing to step foot on any set where unvaccinated people are allowed in. She thinks Sean’s a hero and is saving lives. Sean has said he won’t return to the set of his new production, “Gaslit,” until the entire crew gets the shot.  The movie is modern day version of Watergate … Sean plays Attorney General John Mitchell, who played a pivotal role in the scandal. Penn represents a growing number of people who are sick of the unvaccinated calling the shots.  It’s become infuriating for some that mask and other mandates have been imposed on the vaccinated because of those unwilling to get a COVID shot. France has an interesting solution … anyone who isn’t vaccinated by September won’t be forced to get a shot, but they’ll be barred from restaurants, concerts and sporting events. Sounds like a good plan. Read Full Article

Jonathan Lipnicki is putting his MMA skills to good use … trying to prevent more anti-Semitic attacks from happening in the L.A. area by escorting Orthodox Jews to temple. We got the “Jerry McGuire” star in the Fairfax District near The Grove Friday, where he and fellow actor/martial artist Remi Franklin were on the ready to help worshipers safely enter and leave temple. Jonathan and Remi organized after an attack last May … where a group of pro-Palestinian men attacked Jewish diners outside Sushi Fumi. Remi says there have been a slew incidents, where people have tried running over kids and shooting them with paintballs.  The attackers, who follow the Nazi playbook with various slurs, target Orthodox Jews who go to temple on Saturdays, because they typically don’t carry phones so they can’t call for help. Read Full Article

Actor Mike Mitchell, who appeared in “Gladiator” and “Braveheart,” has died … TMZ has learned. Mitchell’s rep tells TMZ the actor/bodybuilder died Friday on a boat in Turkey. The family says they believe he suffered a death from natural causes, although they weren’t more specific. The rep says, “It was very hard to believe … The sudden death of an international actor we managed, an honest person, a real actor, a true friend, my dear friend, has saddened us deeply. I’ve always been honored to be your manager. I wish patience to you wife, dear Denise Mitchell, and your children. Getting to know you and gaining your friendship is invaluable. Sleep in the lights. RIP.” Mitchell started out as a bodybuilder and rose to the top … he won Mr. Universe along with numerous World Fitness Federation’s Fitness World Championships. Mitchell competed for a bunch of titles, including Britain’s Strongest Man.  He won 5 Masters Mr. World titles along the way. In 2010, he was given the WWF’s highest honor … the Living Legend Award. As for acting, he got a big break in 1994 that has shades of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He got cast in “Braveheart” because of his imposing physical presence. He went on to appear in “Gladiator,” “The Planet,” “One Day Removals,” “City of Hell,” “Life on the Line” and “Emmerdale.” Mike suffered a serious setback in 2006 after winning his 5th World Fitness title — he was stricken with a serious heart attack. He lived on a boat in Turkey with his wife. Mike was 65. RIP Read Full Article

A snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo has COVID … and zoo officials are worried about an outbreak among the cats. A 9-year-old snow leopard named Ramil caught the attention of zoo staff Thursday, after noticing the cat had a cough and runny nose. The COVID test came back positive, confirmed by 2 labs. They’re doing another test, but the staff expects the result to be the same — positive. Here’s the problem … Ramil shared an enclosure with 3 other cats — a female snow leopard and 2 Amur leopards, all of which have been exposed to COVID. So, the 3 big cats are in quarantine now, although real talk — they’re always in quarantine. In this case it means the public won’t be able to go near. Fortunately, Ramil’s symptoms haven’t gotten worse. Zoo staff is mystified as to how the cat caught the virus. Zoo keepers must wear masks if they’re not vaccinated. Eight gorillas caught COVID in January, though none were symptomatic. Scientists have known for months that cats can contract COVID. Most cases are not serious, but snow leopards are fast dwindling in population. Estimates put the number of wild snow leopards at 4,000 to 6,500. The Zoo has actually tried an experimental vaccine manufactured by Zoetis, an animal health company that in the past was a division of Pfizer. Ramil was not vaccinated. Read Full Article

UPDATE 12:19 PM PT — Shah’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, tells TMZ … “The reality is — she is totally innocent.” The lawyer calls the government’s latest claim “absurd,” and says it comes after a nearly decade-long investigation and a related trial in which Shah’s name was never mentioned. Chaudhry says … “This is just their latest made-up allegation, and like all others, totally unsupported by evidence.” Jen Shah’s fraud case just went from bad to worse, because the feds have lumped her into a group of suspects with “greater culpability” in the telemarketing scheme that allegedly targeted elderly people … and accuse her of being one of the leaders of it. According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ … “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star is one of 6 people in the U.S. Attorney’s “Tier A” category for the alleged crimes. The prosecutor claims these people — 2 of which have already been sentenced to 78 months and 60 months in prison in the case — were more “senior participants” in the scheme and continued to participate in it even when they knew criminal charges could be coming. The U.S Attorney says the Tier A suspects were “responsible for orchestrating the broader scheme” and that Shah specifically “obtained leads directly from lead sources and provided them to, among others, coaching sales floors operated in Utah and Nevada.” Shah and her assistant, Stuart Smith, are also accused of owning and operating a sales floor in Manhattan that was a major part of the alleged telemarketing scheme … and Smith is in Tier A as well. As we reported … Shah was arrested in late March for allegedly targeting and scamming people — “vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people” — out of their money. She pled not guilty and was released on strict conditions. We reached out to Jen’s attorney … no word back. Originally Published — 10:32 AM PT Read Full Article

Rapper Blueface won his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship exhibition match Friday night against TikToker Kane Trujillo, but it was anything but a total crowd-pleaser, because one disgruntled fan jumped in the ring swinging … and all hell broke loose. In what was billed as a battle of the influencers, Blueface crushed Trujillo … winning a lopsided victory by decision. As he celebrated — hand up in the air — the fan jumped the ropes and, it looks like one swing made contact with the rapper. Blueface went ballistic as security swarmed the ring, tackling the jerk, but that didn’t end the craziness. The rapper continued swinging and was held back as cops appeared in an attempt to control the situation. The attacker was dragged out of the ring and eventually things calmed down and the fights continued as fans watched on FITE TV. As for who got the worst of it … it’s still Trujillo. Blueface barraged him with punches … his right hand was definitely on point. As for the other influencers on the exhibition card … YouTuber and TikTok star DK Money vs. Nick Ireland, and a TikTok battle between Evil Hero and Dakota Olave. Read Full Article

Here’s the first look at Derek Chauvin behind bars since he was sentenced for murdering George Floyd, and he looks … well, sleepy with a measure of defiance. TMZ’s obtained Chauvin’s first mug shot in prison … a place he’ll call home as he serves his 22.5-year sentence. He kept a stiff upper lip as he mugged for the camera in his orange standard issue. He also looks like he’s struggling to keep his eyes open … he looks out of it. We’re told the Minnesota Department of Corrections snapped the new mug shot June 28 … just 5 days after his sentencing. As you know … Chauvin was found guilty of 2nd-degree unintentional murder, 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter … but the 2nd-degree conviction is what sticks. The former Minneapolis police officer learned his fate 2 months after the verdict. Read Full Article

Morgan Wallen explaining on ‘GMA’ his rationale behind using the n-word is gibberish … so says the NAACP Nashville chapter president. Sheryl Guinn tells TMZ … she believes Morgan’s sit-down with Michael Strahan is the result of Morgan being sorry not for what he said but for getting caught using the racial slur. She says it’s a travesty Morgan never thought about the meaning behind the hateful word. What’s more … Sheryl says his white privilege was on full display for never caring to learn the hurt that word causes. And, she’s is dismayed by Morgan trying to contextualize the word … saying he used it in a “playful” way. Sheryl does believe Morgan can turn things around … and she has a punch list. According to Sheryl … Morgan can make amends by addressing serious issues, like inequality. Morgan broached the subject a bit when he told Strahan “it would seem” country music has a race problem … though he hasn’t thought about it too much. Sheryl says he can start in his hometown of Nashville … where Morgan is hugely influential. The NAACP honcho says while Morgan’s at it, he should encourage his community to get vaccinated. Less than 40% of Nashville got the shot … and it’s devastating marginalized communities. She says he can also take up other issues … like speaking out against voter suppression. Read Full Article