Archive for category: SLIDER

David Ortiz broke his silence with the media since being shot in the Dominican Republic, and he gave an emotional interview … acknowledging he almost died there.

The former Boston Red Sox slugger spoke with Univision in a sit-down that aired in Spanish on Saturday, answering a number of questions related to the scary incident in his home country this past June — when he was ambushed and shot in the back at a club.

Big Papi described the initial feeling of the bullet going in, saying he felt a stinging sensation … adding that in the first five seconds, he felt like he was in a living nightmare. He said the shooting made him disheartened, as he has no problems with anybody.

Ortiz went on to explain that he never lost consciousness en route to the hospital, but said he experienced something he’d never quite felt before … trying to survive for his life.

He says he’s never had his life threatened before, and that him sitting with his back to the street and no security around should be an implication … he’s not someone who’d ever think he was in danger. Then came the question about who did it … and why.

Ortiz says he has no idea why anyone might’ve wanted to kill him, again reiterating that he has no enemies … and no issues with anybody (especially criminals) that would make him worry.

Big Papi also touches on a rumor that Dominican drug lord Cesar Emilio Peralta might’ve been the one who ordered the hit, but he again came back with uncertainty … saying he couldn’t think of any reason why that would be the case — if, in fact, it is.

As we reported … authorities in the Dominican Republic have made several arrests in connection to the shooting, including the alleged shooter himself. Cops say that Ortiz was not the actual target, and that the hit was a case of mistaken identity.

Ortiz is unclear on that himself, but one thing that clearly hurt him as he was in the hospital … people apparently suggesting that he deserved what he’d gotten. He tears up as he recounts the recovery process, saying that at one point he was in a coma … and almost died.

Luckily, Big Papi is getting better each day. He threw out the first pitch at a recent Sox game — and seems to be doing well following multiple life-saving surgeries.

Adele is throwing in the towel on her marriage … because the pop singer just filed for divorce.

According to court records, Adele filed to divorce her husband, Simon Konecki, on Thursday after more than 7 years together.

The divorce filing was a long time coming for Adele … as we previously reported, back in April she announced that she had separated from her hubby.

Adele and Simon have one child together … and her reps previously said that she and Simon were “committed to raising their son together lovingly.”

Adele and Simon kept their relationship mostly out of the spotlight since starting to date back in the summer of 2011. She gave birth to their son, Angelo, in October 2012. They tied the knot in a very secret ceremony, and she didn’t confirm the union until 2017.

The last time Adele and Simon were seen in public was earlier this year in January, when they surfaced backstage at an Elton John concert at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Adele and Simon arrived to the show together.

Adele’s been having lots of fun without her hubby this year … hitting up a gay bar in New York City with Jennifer Lawrence, and kicking it in L.A. for an entire weekend with Drake.

Antonio Brown is being sued by a woman who claims the New England Patriots star WR sexually assaulted and raped her during 3 separate encounters … this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

The woman behind the lawsuit, who identifies herself as Britney Taylor, says she was hired by Brown as a personal trainer. Taylor claims the first incident happened in June 2017 during a training session when “Brown exposed himself and kissed [her] without her consent.”

Taylor then describes a second alleged incident … “Later that month, Brown, while positioned behind her, began masturbating near her without her knowledge and ejaculated on her back.”

Taylor claims the first incident occurred at Brown’s home in Pittsburgh and the second incident occurred at Brown’s home in Florida.

According to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, Taylor claims Brown bragged about the incident to her in “profane and angry text messages.”

Several months later, the accuser claims Brown reached out to her to express contrition and “begged forgiveness.”

Taylor claims Brown begged her to continue training him — and after initial hesitation, she ultimately agreed.

However, the woman claims nearly a year later — on May 20, 2018 “Brown cornered [her] forced her down onto a bed, pushed her face into the mattress, and forcibly raped her.”

The woman claims she tried to fight back but Brown was “too strong and physically overpowered her.”

In the suit, the woman claims she screamed and cried throughout the entire incident — repeatedly shouting “no” and “stop.”

Brown refused to stop, according to the suit, and penetrated her, the woman claims.

In her suit, Taylor describes herself as a “28-year-old world class gymnast” who competed at “elite levels of international competition.”

In her suit, Taylor claims she met Antonio Brown while they were both student athletes at Central Michigan University where they participated in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group.

In her suit, Taylor says she wants compensation for “physical injuries, pain and suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety, loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, and emotional pain and suffering.”

In fact, Taylor claims she was so traumatized from the alleged incidents she “had near-daily panic attacks, frequent suicidal ideations, and insomnia. She has also lost a remarkable amount of weight — 30 pounds in one month — due to stress.”

She also wants punitive damages — though she does not specify an amount.

Taylor has issued a statement through her attorney saying, “As a rape victim of Antonio Brown, deciding to speak out has been an incredibly difficult decision.”

“I have found strength in my faith, my family, and from the accounts of other survivors of sexual assault. Speaking out removes the shame that I have felt for the past year and places it on the person responsible for my rape.”

“I will cooperate with the NFL and any other agencies; however, at this time, I respectfully request that the media please respect my privacy.”

We’ve reached out to Brown’s camp for comment — so far, no word back.

The lawsuit comes in the wake of a wild couple of weeks for Brown — who was released by the Oakland Raiders on Saturday morning after feuding with the team’s general manager over fines.

Brown recorded a phone conversation with head coach Jon Gruden — who didn’t see, to know he was being recorded — and posted it on social media.

Hours after Brown was released, the New England Patriots swooped in and signed Brown to a 1-year contract worth up to $15 million, with a $9 million signing bonus.

Pats head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday morning he signed Brown in the hopes of having the same success he had when he signed Randy Moss back in the day.

So far, no comment from the Patriots on the lawsuit.

Queen Latifah says Nicki Minaj will probably come out of her recently-announced “retirement” — but before that, she just needs to live some life first.

We got the iconic femcee Sunday heading into a reception hall in North Bergen, NJ for Treach’s wedding, and right before she made it inside … our photog broke the news to her about Nicki abruptly announcing her retirement from rap this past week.

At first, QT couldn’t believe it — but when we explained why Nicki was doing it — to start a family with her fiance, Kenneth Petty — the Queen was totally down with NM’s decision.

Queen Latifah suggests that Nicki deserves this, as she’s been in the game for a long time now. Then she drops a bit of knowledge on us, saying once you’re a rapper … you’re always a rapper. Short story long, she thinks Nicki will make a comeback … one day.

It’s unclear if Nicki’s serious about her retirement, as we’ve been told by people close to her that her team was blindsided by the news. The retirement also flies in the face of studio time and collabs Nicki’s already got lined up, so the whole thing’s a little hazy right now.

Chester Bennington‘s widow is moving forward with her life because we’ve learned she’s now engaged … and at the same time she’s honoring her late husband with some pretty noble work in the field of mental health.

Our sources tell us Talinda Bennington got engaged in April to a Los Angeles County firefighter.

We’re told Chester’s relatives are super supportive of Talinda’s new relationship. They think her fiance’s a good guy and they’re especially pleased he’s involved with Chester and Talinda’s kids. The family thinks Talinda’s fiance will help provide stability for the children. We’re told the kids are happy, especially because it makes their mom happy.

TMZ broke the story … Chester took his own life in his Palos Verdes home back in 2017, while Talinda and their children were out of town.

Talinda has now made mental heath her life’s work to honor her late husband. She’s the executive director and co-founder of 320 Changes Direction, a mental health awareness org created in honor of Chester.

Dog the Bounty Hunter is about to be a first-time viewer, just like Joe Q. Public, of his new reality show … and he nearly broke down as he told us why.

We spoke to Duane “Dog” Chapman on “TMZ Live” about Wednesday night’s debut of “Dog’s Most Wanted” and he broke some interesting news. Dog says he has NOT seen the final edit of the of show — which is not his normal process.

Dog said he usually weighs in on edits of the show, but after his wife, Beth Chapman, passed in June … things changed for him.

Dog says it was too difficult to watch footage of Beth, and therefore … he stayed out of how the show was cut. As far as what’s documented though — Dog tells us the show captures Beth’s final days before she passed away in June, including one final ass-kicking moment in the field.

We also asked Dog for an update on the break-in at his Colorado storefront last month, in which crooks made off with some of Beth’s personal belongings. The investigation is ongoing, but he opens up about what local police begged him to do … or NOT do.

As we reported … Dog had a hunch the crime was an inside job based on what a psychic told him, who claimed she’d spoken to Beth from the great beyond.

He admitted it wouldn’t be pretty if he ends up getting a hold of the culprits.