Opinion

Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau is laying out the keys to victory for President Biden, at least when it comes to debating Donald Trump ... and it's more about demeanor than policy.

Jon joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to share some insight on how Biden is most likely preparing for Thursday's presidential debate, and what it's going to take to have a successful night.

With all the concerns, valid or not, about Biden's age, Jon says POTUS needs to bring the energy on stage ... and be forceful in everything he says.

The Caitlin Clark racism narrative is largely fake news ... so says Dan Dakich who tells us the hate towards the number one overall pick is pure jealousy!

Clark's been gettin' beat up since her WNBA debut last month -- we all saw what Chennedy Carter did to the Fever superstar last weekend -- so we asked Dakich, a former Indiana Hoosier player and coach, if it's just basketball ... or something else.

"Of course, she's being targeted," Dakich, host of Outkick's "Don't @ Me" told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (prior to the Olympic team snub).

Julia Louis-Dreyfus disagrees with her former costar Jerry Seinfeld on comedy turning too politically correct -- saying that stance usually set off alarm bells for her.

The actress sat down for an interview with the New York Times published Saturday where they asked her about remarks her longtime pal Jerry Seinfeld made ... when he called out the "extreme left" for ruining comedic television.

JLD says she's not in line with Seinfeld one bit ... saying certain comedies and dramas from years ago just don't work under modern scrutiny anymore -- and, being sensitive to that changing taste isn't a problem.

Ray J thinks his sex tape with Kim Kardashian altered the course of porn history, but some in the game say otherwise ... highlighting Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton as the OGs.

You may have heard Ray's hot take this week -- namely, that his sex tape with Kim from 2007 paved the way for OnlyFans and the adult entertainment industry at large -- but Riley Reid, a bona fide OF star these days, is kinda crapping on his opinion.

Riley -- who has over 2 million followers -- tells TMZ ... yes, Ray and Kim's sex tape was influential at the time, but she actually gives more credit to Pam and Tommy Lee's sex tape -- which was stolen and illegally released -- a bit more historical credit in this regard.

Rebel Wilson's blasting the idea of determining casting by sexual orientation ... saying straight actors should be allowed to play gay characters and vice versa.

The actress sat down for a chat on BBC Radio 4's "Desert Island Discs" -- a talk show that includes music the celebrity guests find personally significant -- when Rebel's sexuality came up.

The funny woman reflected on edgy jokes she's told in the past, adding she thinks she's gotten away with it because she is gay -- something it appears she kinda agrees with because then she mentions actors playing only characters who align with their own sexuality ... something she blasts.

William H. Macy's taking a strong stance against violence -- in movies and television, that is ... claiming it's negatively impacting the entire world, and being pretty dang earnest too.

The actor discussed his feelings about violent cinema during his appearance on fellow actor Brett Goldstein's "Films To Be Buried With" podcast ... saying he thinks the senseless violence in film cheapens each death and downplays human life in general.

Macy says, "I swear to God, you kill one person, there's nothing more dramatic than that. You kill 18 people, it's just porn. The only thing you can do to make that more dramatic is kill 18 more."

Kristen Stewart says "Barbie" alone can't undo ancient systems of oppression ... arguing Hollywood's allowing only a few female creators to make an impact.

The actor-turned-director appears on the cover of this month's Porter magazine ... and, she came out firing in the cover story -- calling H'Wood phony and blasting the industry for elevating a few female stars in the studio system.

Stewart says there's a process of checking off boxes, as if when studios fulfill a few requirements, the patriarchy will be thoroughly done away with in the industry. Here, KS name-drops Robbie and Maggie Gyllenhaal -- claiming studios like to make one of their films to pat themselves on the back and call it a great day for diversity.

Cardi B is taking heat for blanking on the designer of her epic Met Gala gown right when it mattered most -- but Ayra Starr says don't judge, because it's impossible to always be perfect in the heat of the moment!

TMZ Hip Hop ran into the Afrobeats superstar Wednesday in Bev Hills, and she understood where Cardi was coming from -- the "Wap" rapper couldn't recall who put together her ridiculously huge and long gown when she was interviewed entering the Met ... and she felt the wrath of a former Vogue exec.

Ayra's no stranger to events like the Met Gala, and says no preparation can save you when your nerves take over.

Tiffany Haddish unloaded on campus protesters across the country who are speaking out about the war in the Middle East -- and she's doubling down ... offering up other solutions.

The comedian was in NYC Monday, where we caught her in the street for a quick stop-and-chat -- and Tiffany expanded on her thoughts from this weekend ... where she was filmed at a Netflix Is a Joke event discussing the ongoing demonstrations at universities everywhere.

If you didn't see that ... well, her remarks are pretty interesting -- 'cause she basically telegraphed her true feelings about all these protesters and their disruptive methods.

There were a lot of reactions to this weekend's episode of "Game of Thrones" ... shocking, violent, traumatizing ... but the chick who plays Queen Cersei tells TMZ the ep was nothing short of "beautiful."

Looking less like a sociopathic power-hungry killer ... and more like an overalls-wearing hipster, Lena Headey hit up The Grove in L.A. yesterday when we talked about Sunday's infamous "red wedding."

Headey didn't seem bothered by the fact the throat-cutting wasn't as realistic as it could've been ... instead she praised the show as a thing of beauty.

Word is ... something HUUUGE is gonna happen in the next episode -- so don't be that person who whines about spoilers the next day ... and get caught up!!!

"Game of Thrones" is portraying throat-slashing ALL WRONG ... so says a forensic expert from the O.J. Simpson murder case -- and he outta know.

**SPOILER ALERT -- IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED ... but you should probably watch it asap **

When Catelyn's jugular was sliced at the Red Wedding in last night's episode ... her blood SHOULD NOT have cascaded out of her neck ... it should have sprayed like a hose from 1 or 2 important veins.

At least according to Dr. Michael Baden -- a board-certified forensic pathologist who was a defense witness at O.J.'s trial and also worked on the government investigation into the JFK assassination.

"Just by chance I walked in during the scene when everyone was being killed," Baden tells us ... explaining, "Blood doesn't come out like that."

"If cut deep enough, the right and left carotid artery will spurt a few feet, just like a hose .... not this broad blood-flowing out like a waterfall from the whole neck."

He adds, "There would have been squirting from the right or left carotid artery, carotid arteries spurt.”

Baden also says ... the victims wouldn't have died so quickly ... because death from a throat slashing, "takes much longer than that."

... and now you know.

Matt Damon and Michael Douglas getting naked in jacuzzi was a glorious occasion ... at least according to Prince von Ahole who can't stop gushing about the A-listers stripping down while filming "Behind the Candelabra" inside his digs.

As TMZ first reported, Zsa Zsa Gabor's hubby struck a deal with the people behind HBO's Liberace-themed movie to film in his mansion for a few weeks, in exchange for a $70,000 payday.

Now that the movie has aired -- and we've seen what went on behind closed doors -- our photog had to ask ... what was it like to have the celebs running around naked all the time?

Michael tells TMZ ... Dina was violent as Lindsay was growing up, and it left an impression. Michael claims when Lindsay was 4 years old, Dina was arguing with his mom and Dina allegedly smashed a phone across grandma's face, requiring six stitches.

And Michael says, on another occasion -- when Lindsay was a teenager -- Dina went nuts on Michael, flew over two beds to get to him and accidentally knocked herself out.

Michael adds it was Dina's idea to leave Lindsay in Hollywood at a very young age, even though LiLo had a stalker.

As we reported, some members of Lindsay's family tell us ... Lindsay believes her current predicament is the result of Michael's craziness.

After ripping the reality cast for being "a different species of Italian," we asked Steve what he thought about Obama giving the "JS" crew a shout-out during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.