The TMZ Podcast

Simon Cowell's gearing up to search high and low to discover the next One Direction -- and one former boy bander has a few ideas about how Simon can make lightning strike twice.

O-Town member Erik-Michael Estrada joined us on "The TMZ Podcast" ... and said one of the most important factors in forming the perfect modern-day boy band is diversity.

He pointed out while bands in the '90s and '00s -- like his and Backstreet Boys -- were quite diverse, bands before them were frustratingly either R&B or pop ... there was no in-between.

The video showing Diddy's hotel assault of Cassie isn't only fueling public outrage -- high-ranking NYC politicians want him to suffer one immediate consequence ... TMZ has learned.

Leaders in Diddy's hometown are turning on him, with several NYC council members encouraging Mayor Eric Adams to revoke the Bad Boy Records founder's symbolic key to the city.

Council Member Sandy Nurse tells TMZ … "Mayor Adams should immediately revoke Diddy’s key to the city. As an abuser, Diddy lost his right to have such an honor and should be held accountable for his actions. Mayor Adams should set the example and take it away."

11:30 AM PT -- A source familiar with the situation tells TMZ … Cam'ron's rep was fully aware and briefed about the segment and topic ahead of his interview on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip.

9:53 AM PT -- Cam'ron isn't apologizing for his behavior during last night's wild CNN interview.

On his "It Is What It Is" sports show he cohosts with former Bad Boy rapper Ma$e, the Harlem rapper said CNN only contacted him to talk BS, so he gave them just that -- a BS interview!!!

1:13 PM PT -- A rep for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts tells TMZ ... "This hotel is no longer under IHG management, and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage."

10:56 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... there is no record cops can track down as it pertains to this 2016 incident at the InterContinental, so it doesn't appear to have been mentioned to cops in a police report, or otherwise reported to the authorities.

In terms of cops opening a case on this now, LAPD tells TMZ ... For cases before January 2020, it's a 3 year statute of limitations -- and after January 2020, it's 5 years. In other words, there's no chance cops will dive into this specific incident for potential criminal charges at this point, at least as far as the LAPD is concerned.

Diddy brutally beat up his ex-girlfriend Cassie at a hotel in L.A. 8 years ago -- something she detailed in her lawsuit ... and which we're now seeing for the first time on camera.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are still on speaking terms as they go through whatever they're going through -- they briefly reunited for the sake of their kids, but they're still not under the same roof.

The couple was photographed together for the first time in well over a month Thursday evening, coming together for a school play starring Ben's kid, Fin.

We're told Ben and Jen arrived separately, but both showed up with flowers for Fin ... and they didn't keep their distance. They were chatting it up with each other ahead of the play.

Tinker Bell's not getting the boot from Disneyland -- even though a crap ton of people are under the misconception she is ... all 'cause of baseless fan theories that have run amok.

You may have heard about this in recent weeks -- namely, reports that have suggested that the live version of the Tinker Bell character at Disney parks in the U.S. was persona non grata going forward ... and that they were putting her on the shelf for being "problematic."

This all stems from a NYT story that detailed an internal study Disney did a few years ago analyzing which of their characters didn't hold up to modern-day standards ... and Tink was one, as their own people felt she wasn't a good role model for girls in the 21st century.

Oprah Winfrey is acknowledging the role she played in toxic diet culture -- and she's now trying to rectify that ... by embracing weight loss drugs.

The talk show legend opened up about her influence in the weight loss industry during a 3-hour live special for WeightWatchers this week -- and she owned the fact that she'd been feeding into this unhealthy trend for quite literally years.

Oprah says ... "I want to acknowledge that I have been a steadfast participant in this diet culture. Through my platforms, through the magazine, through the talk show for 25 years and online. I’ve been a major contributor to it."

6:36 AM PT -- Looks like Craig David's gonna have to wait even longer to get back on stage -- 'cause Lovers & Friends pulled the plug on its big festival less than 24 hours before doors opened.

Craig David's gone from getting it seven days a week to abstinence 365 days a year ... opening up about celibacy on "The TMZ Podcast" -- saying he's now on top of his game creatively.

Craig -- famous for writing the intimate anthem "7 Days" -- says he still is celibate ... adding he decided to do it because he wanted to "park" sex in favor of spirituality.

Craig David ha pasado de hacerlo siete días a la semana a abstenerse los 365 días al año, y el cantante y compositor se abrió sobre su celibato con "The TMZ Podcast" y nos dijo que su creatividad está en la cima en este momento.

Craig, famoso por escribir el himno íntimo "7 Days", contó que todavía es célibe y añadió que decidió hacerlo porque quería "aparcar" el sexo en favor de la espiritualidad.

Y aquí la bomba, Craig dice que no se ha echado un polvo en más de dos años, un poco sorprendente, ya que en su momento escribió una canción sobre hacer el amor prácticamente todos los días de la semana.

Britney Spears got into a huge fight with her boyfriend Wednesday night, and she ended up out of control, crying, possibly cut, and almost driven away in an ambulance ... TMZ has learned.

Britney got to the Chateau Marmont late Wednesday night with boyfriend Paul Soliz ... and there was some sort of disturbance and someone called police, claiming a woman matching Britney's description was harassing and threatening hotel employees and guests. Officers showed up shortly after 10:30 PM, but they saw no signs of trouble and left.

We're told Britney and Paul retreated to a hotel room around 11 PM where they continued partying and drinking. While they were in the room they ended up getting into a huge altercation that we're told turned physical, according to sources, and Britney may have hurt her leg.

Britney Spears ha vuelto a atacar a su hermana menor Jamie Lynn Spears, llamándola "zorra", mientras habla y habla sobre otras cosas que simplemente no tienen sentido.

La estrella del pop publicó un par de videos que ya borró en sus historias de Instagram el martes, desde el asiento de pasajero de un carro con otras tres personas, incluyendo lo que parece ser su asistente, o al menos eso es lo que Brit describe.

Las imágenes son extrañas. El grupo está subiendo por la ladera de una montaña, siguiendo un Jeep que parece estar llevándolos a algún lugar remoto. Britney y el grupo dicen que van a montar a caballo, que si es exacto, coincide con otros post suyos de principios de semana.

Britney Spears is back to attacking her little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears -- out here calling her a "bitch" ... this while going on and on about things that just don't make sense.

The pop star posted a few since-deleted videos to her Instagram Story Tuesday, which features her in the passenger seat of a car ... with three other people with her, including what appears to be her assistant -- at least that's how Brit describes her anyway.

The footage is strange ... the group is going up the side of some mountain, following a Jeep that seems to be leading them somewhere remote. Britney and the gang say they're going horseback riding -- which, if accurate, jibes with other posts of hers from earlier in the week.

Melissa McCarthy is making it clear there is no beef between herself and Barbra Streisand after the latter's Ozempic ask -- and Barb herself is also issuing an apology over it.

After Babs caught some heat for asking if Melissa had shed some pounds thanks to the weight loss drug ... a photog caught up with the actress on the street in L.A. Tuesday -- where she said she still has love for the superstar.

MMC made it clear it was NBD at all saying ... "I think Barbra is a treasure and I love her." She even waved off the photog's question on whether she thought Barbra was out of line.

Melissa McCarthy está dejando claro que no hay ningún problema entre ella y Barbra Streisand luego de que la cantante le preguntara si ha estado tomando Ozempic, y la propia Barb está compartiendo una disculpa por su comentario.

Después de que Babs recibiera algunas críticas por consultar si Melissa había perdido algunos kilos gracias al medicamento, un fotógrafo se encontró con la actriz en la calle en Los Ángeles el martes, donde le dijo que aún adora a la superestrella.

Melissa dejó claro que no era un gran tema diciendo: "Creo que Barbra es un tesoro y la amo". Incluso se desentendió de la pregunta que le hizo el fotógrafo sobre si pensaba que Barbra se había pasado de la raya.

Alec Baldwin got into a dust-up with an anti-Israel protester in NYC ... smacking away her cell phone after he was provoked by her.

The actor was talking on his mobile phone inside a Manhattan coffee shop when a pro-Palestine agitator started video recording him with her own phone while clearly trying to get his goat.

Check out the footage posted to X Monday night ... the woman starts needling Alec about his upcoming trial for involuntary manslaughter after he was charged in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the "Rust" film set.