TMZ

Jussie Smollett says the truth will set him free — literally — as he ramps up for a second round of fighting criminal charges in Chicago. The ex-‘Empire’ star was leaving LAX Tuesday when a photog ran into him and asked to see how he’s holding up. His lawyer says he’s a tough cookie, but Jussie laughs it off — it’s pretty clear he’s going through it, and seems to think at least that much should be obvious. Of course … we’re talking about Jussie getting re-charged for allegedly lying to cops about the hate crime he claims was perpetrated against him by MAGA-hat wearing thugs — this after the State Attorney’s Office dropped the original 16 charges against him a year ago. He’s pled not guilty again, and his legal team has filed a motion for the case to be dismissed over double jeopardy — which basically means you can’t prosecute someone over the same offenses twice. Jussie and his lawyer talk about that, plus other possible defenses. The photog asks point-blank … which is it gonna be, JS — telling ’em you didn’t do it, or hope double jeopardy saves ya? Watch … Jussie says there’s only one thing he can count on. Spoiler … he’s gonna stick to his story, lock stock and barrel. Read Full Article

The 10th Democratic Presidential debate’s just moments away from kicking off and a long list of celebs are already backing their horse before the first issue is raised on stage. We did a little digging ahead of Tuesday’s South Carolina debate, and Federal Election Commission filings reveal one candidate flexed his muscles most … when it came to celebrity donations in January — Pete Buttigieg: – Jesse Tyler Ferguson ($2,800) – Chloe Grace Moretz ($500) – Thomas Lennon ($500) He got another $3,000, BTW, from Thomas last year. As for frontrunner, Sen. Bernie Sanders: – Simon Helberg ($1,500) – Rashida Jones ($1,000) – Danny DeVito  ($100) Danny’s a serious Bernie Bro too … he also gave him $2,700 last year and even appears in one of his campaign ads. Repping for Sen. Elizabeth Warren: – Sally Field ($1,000) – Lily Tomlin ($275)- William Baldwin ($200) – Yvette Brown ($328.56) Honorable mention: Adam Scott and Elizabeth Banks didn’t plunk down anything in January, but each donated $2,800 to Warren’s campaign in December. Not to be forgotten, Joe Biden got donations from Jean Smart ($340) and Josh Gad ($250) — while Sen. Amy Klobuchar got some love from Sarah Jessica Parker ($250). Read Full Article

If you’ve ever wondered how Amazon can get packages to people so damn fast, get a load of this … it might just answer your question. TMZ got footage of a remote location just east of L.A. where the online retailing giant stashes hundreds of delivery vans … literally at the ready in a hillside dirt parking lot. Check out the clip, it’s an impressive sight … rows upon rows — each at least 100 deep — of vehicles parked side-by-side. BTW, this isn’t Amazon going rogue and plopping its fleet in a random open space — like much of L.A.’s real estate lately … Jeff Bezos is paying for this space. Although, he didn’t buy this one yet … Amazon’s just renting. Ya gotta figure Amazon has similar hidden storage spots all over the country. Naturally, that might lead to more criticism of Bezos himself, who’s been grilled lately for not being quick enough to offset Amazon’s massive carbon footprint on the environment. Ya still gotta give him credit for recently starting a new Earth Fund with billions of dollars of his own cash. That said, some are still waiting on him to ditch gas-guzzling rides, and go full electric — or finally start drone deliveries. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Read Full Article

POP QUIZ — How many Chick-fil-A sandwiches does it take to fill up 7’5″ NBA star, Tacko Fall?!? WE’RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT BECAUSE WE SHOT TACKO FALL AT CHICK-FIL-A! Fresh off an 18-point, 20-rebound game for the Maine Red Claws (the Boston Celtics’ G-League team) … we spotted the most likable guy in pro sports getting some grub at the airport in D.C. And since we’re fascinated with all things Tacko, we had to ask the 24-year-old what the standard Chick-fil-A order is for someone of his stature. So, make your guesses now … 5 sandos? 8? 27? Dude’s not only huge but he burns a ton of calories moving up and down the court. Shout out to Fall who couldn’t have been nicer to our photog, and took a bunch of pics for the Chick-fil-A staffers who recognized him at the restaurant! BONUS — We also spoke with Tacko about his plans to get back to the Association … and if you ask us, it couldn’t happen soon enough! #Tacko4Life #TackoTuesday #TeamTacko Read Full Article

Remember the guy who split Tyson Fury’s face in half back in Sept. and came thiiiis close to upsetting the Gyspy King? That fighter is Otto Wallin — and he tells TMZ Sports he did a MUCH better job fighting Tyson Fury than Deontay Wilder and deserves a rematch before Wilder gets his 3rd crack. “I’m the guy who landed the most punches on Fury, ever,” Wallin tells us … “I cut him. I gave him 2 cuts. One above the eye, one on the eyelid, and it was a grueling fight.” “He had to really dig deep to get the win in our fight. It was a good fight, good performance by me. Good performance by Fury.” Wallin is right — he battered Fury so effectively, the ringside doctor almost stopped the fight because the gashes on Tyson’s face were so big and bloody … there was concern about longterm damage. After they fought, Fury admitted he “couldn’t see” out of his left eye for the majority of their fight. In the end, the fight was decided by the judges and Fury won by unanimous decision — resulting in Wallin’s first-ever pro defeat. Wallin believes he DESERVES a rematch simply because he came MUCH closer to defeating Fury than Wilder … telling us, “It would be awesome to get another shot. And I think I can do better.” Wallin was a 10-1 underdog going into that fight — but his performance was widely praised by boxing critics. He’s set to fight Lucas Browne on March 28th and a dominant victory could put him back in the mix for a title shot. As for Fury, he needed a total of 50 stitches to close up his wounds from the Wallin fight — but the scars didn’t seem to bother him one bit in the Wilder rematch, which he won convincingly. Read Full Article

Post Malone proved he can read a crowd … busting out an awesome custom tee honoring his late pal, Mac Miller, which got concert-goers on their feet and 100% amped. The singer was performing Monday night at the PPG Paints Arena in Mac’s hometown … and he came out wearing an oldie but goodie that was custom-made to pay tribute to the rapper — who tragically died of an overdose about 2 years ago. It’s a white T-shirt that’s been decked out to read “RIP Mac Miller” with super-dope designs and airbrush lettering. Post originally started wearing the shirt shortly after MM passed. Sounds like it was a good move to don it yet again in the Steel City, ’cause we’re told the audience went crazy — the energy in the place exponentially jumped, especially when Post and his shirt got splashed across the big screen monitors behind him. The crowd was definitely into it — you can hear them helping Posty sing along to his own tune … even though it doesn’t appear he attempted to cover a Mac Miller song while up there. Probably better that way, no one could do it quite like the man himself. Of course, Mac’s death affected PM immensely … we got him out not too long after and he was pretty emotional on camera. Good to see Mac’s still in his thoughts. Read Full Article

Another parent involved in the college admissions bribery scandal is going to be locked up for a while … this time it’s an heiress to the Hot Pockets fortune, who pled guilty to trying to cheat her daughters’ way in. Michelle Janavs was just sentenced to 5 months in prison for paying $100,000 to the scheme’s mastermind, Rick Singer, to help her 2 daughters cheat on college entrance exams … and agreeing to pay another $200k for one of her daughter’s to be set up to look like a beach volleyball recruit to get admitted to USC. Before hearing her sentence, the judge made it clear Janavs had caused harm to the U.S. system of higher education … and prosecutors blasted her, claiming she held an “attitude that she is untouchable” and “no one could stop her.” Her lawyers asked for no jail time, but the judge wasn’t buying it. Prosecutors didn’t get nearly what they wanted …  they recommended 21 months, calling her one of the “most culpable parents” charged in the case who refused to accept responsibility for her actions until months after she was busted. Unlike other parents who pled guilty right away, she was also hit with a money-laundering conspiracy charge. Her defense team went to bat for her, though, arguing for more than 45 minutes that she’s a “generous and selfless” person who’s “the rock of her family.” It also mentioned a time she dressed up as “The Candy Monster” while visiting kids to talk about childhood hunger. Janavs’ lawyers had previously suggested she’s just a loving and devoted mother who fell victim to Singer … and pointed to her history of philanthropy and devotion to her family in urging the judge to not send her to prison. In the end, however … it didn’t work. The Hot Pockets heiress now joins several other parents to receive time behind bars in the scandal, including Felicity Huffman … who got 14 days in her deal. Others have received sentences ranging from probation to 9 months behind bars. Of course, the most notable case still pending is Lori Loughlin’s … she and her husband are still fighting the charges. Read Full Article

Grammy-winning singer Duffy is emerging from years of obscurity to make a startling revelation — she’s been trying to recover after getting drugged and raped. The “Mercy” singer said she was finally ready to discuss her virtual public disappearance since 2011 when she’d released her second album. She says, “The truth is, and please trust me I am OK and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days.” Duffy, who had not posted anything on IG since 2017, doesn’t lay out exactly when the crime happened or where. But, it sounds like more details will be coming shortly. The singer says she discussed the ordeal with a journalist, and the interview will be coming out in the following weeks. Duffy said, “If you have any questions I would like to answer them, in the spoken interview, if I can. I have a sacred love and sincere appreciation for your kindness over the years. You have been friends. I want to thank you for that.” Duffy, of course, won the best pop vocal album Grammy for “Rockferry” in 2008. That same year she was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Mercy.” As for why she didn’t express her grief through music — Duffy said, “You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain? I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes. I asked myself, ‘How can I sing from the heart if it is broken?’ And slowly it unbroke.” Read Full Article

Well, this is one way to get kicked off the airwaves … ESPN Cleveland radio host Tony Grossi has been suspended indefinitely for using profanity when talking about Baker Mayfield … calling the QB a “f**king m****t” (derogatory slur for a little person) on a hot mic during a livestream. The talent on TheLandOnDemand were discussing quarterbacks on other teams during a break … when Grossi chimed in with “Who do we got? A f**king m****t.” YIKES. Grossi was immediately suspended for the comment … and has since released a statement apologizing to Bake, the Browns and the little person community. “There’s no excuse for using that language in any context,” Grossi said. “It was said without malice but also without thought.” Of course, it’s no secret Grossi and Mayfield ain’t gucci — they’ve had their fair share of spats in the QB’s short time in Cleveland. Remember the “Jesus, Tony!” incident?? Grossi acknowledged the beef in his apology, saying “It is well known that Baker and I have had our differences, and in the course of this experience, I’ve had to question my role in the erosion of the relationship.” “I have always endeavored to report and comment on him and the team fairly, and am shaken by these events.” Read Full Article

Tokyo 2020 could be CANCELED over the coronavirus — so says a senior Olympic official who says postponing or moving the games to another country is probably out of the question. With 80,000 people reportedly infected with the virus — and 2,600 deaths — people are concerned a massive international gathering like the Olympics could accelerate the spread. And, with the Games set to kick off in late July, athletes and fans want to know if there’s a backup plan. Enter Dick Pound — a senior member of the International Olympic Committee — who told the Associated Press a total cancelation IS on the table. “In and around that time, I’d say folks are going to have to ask: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident about going to Tokyo or not?'” Pound said. And, if officials determine it’s too dangerous to move forward, “You’re probably looking at a cancellation.” That being said, Pound is urging athletes to continue training as usual — because the current plan is to HAVE the Games in Tokyo as scheduled. “As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo. All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.” The Olympics have only been canceled in modern history as a result of war — the Games were called off in 1916 for WWI and both the 1940 and 1944 Games were axed because of WW2. There was a scare about the Games in 2016 because of the Zika virus outbreak at the time, but the event ultimately went on as planned. Read Full Article