Joni Sledge Died at 60 From Natural Causes
Joni Sledge, one-fourth of Sister Sledge, died from a preexisting medical condition ... TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell us there was no foul play, and the 60-year-old singer's cause of death will be listed as natural. Joni was found dead in her Arizona home on Friday.
A publicist for the disco greats said Joni had not been ill recently. It's still unclear what the fatal condition was, but we're told an autopsy was not necessary because her doctor signed off on "natural causes."
Joni and her sisters had huge hits in the '70s with songs like "We Are Family" and "The Greatest Dancer."
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Jared Fogle's Prison Attacker I Beat His Ass Because Pedophiles Made Him a 'God'
Jared Fogle is treated like royalty by fellow child molesters in prison, and that's why he got the crap beat out of him ... so says the inmate who handed out the beating.
Steve Nigg -- the 61-year-old who attacked Jared last year in a Colorado prison -- wrote a letter, obtained by TMZ, saying Jared was disgustingly revered as an almighty figure among pedophiles in prison.
In the letter, Nigg says "Jared is their hero," and "You would not believe how arrogant Jared was. He hired bodyguards and the other child molesters looked at him as if he was a god." That changed, briefly at least, when Nigg left Fogle with a bloody nose, swollen face and scratches on his neck.
Fogle's doing 15 years for child porn and crossing state lines to pay for sex with minors.
As we reported ... Nigg ultimately was moved to an Oklahoma prison. Nigg says he's since "lost good times (time off his sentence) and spent many months in the hole, plus the loss of commissary and email."
Still, he says ... "I have no regrets."
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Prince William Check My '90s Dance Moves in the Club! (AWESOME VIDEOS)
BEST dance moves from a future King ... EVER ... goes to Prince William in this video.
Wills raised the roof like he was straight outta Buckingham, or just the '90s, during a ski trip to Verbier, Switzerland with some buddies. Kate can rest easy, her Prince was thot-free while starting a personal dance revolution ... around 10:30 PM.
He saved his best moves for "I Got 5 On It" ... but stayed on the floor for some EDM too.
He's still not quite in Prince Harry's class when it comes to partying, but well played, Wills.
Hand him the crown, already.
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The Bachelorette Meets Her Guys ... One's 'Ready to Go Black'
Right after Nick Viall's 'Bachelor' season wrapped, Rachel Lindsay's 'Bachelorette' season began -- and one of her suitors is already getting racial.
Rachel -- the first black Bachelorette or Bachelor -- met her contestants after Monday's finale, and a white guy named Dean decided he wanted to let her know he's down with interracial dating, but watch ... he wasn't nearly that smooth about it.
Rachel's reaction was a classic fake smile -- and Dean's exit ... super awkward.
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'American Gods' Star Hey Samuel L. Jackson You Think There's No Racism in England?
Samuel L. Jackson's got it twisted if he thinks a black British actor doesn't understand a brotha's struggle ... so says "American Gods" star Ricky Whittle.
The British actor was arriving at LAX Monday -- flanked by co-star Ian McShane -- and we asked him for his take after Samuel went on "Ebro in the Morning" on Hot 97 and wondered what "Get Out" would have been with an "American brother" instead of Daniel Kaluuya, a British actor.
Check it out ... Ricky doesn't lay into Samuel but does make a compelling case.
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Kanye West Tragic Death of Cousin's 1-Year-Old
Kanye West suffered a family tragedy Monday when his cousin's 1-year-old son died suddenly.
The cousin, Ricky Anderson, works at Kanye's label, GOOD Music, in L.A. We're told the child, Avery, died in his sleep. There was no previous sign of illness or distress.
Ricky wrote, "Today was the worst day of my life! I lost my lil man and gained an angel! Rest in Paradise!!! I love you man."
Avery had just celebrated his 1st birthday.
RIP
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The Kardashians The Gang's Back Together For Movie Night
Kim, Kanye, Kourtney, Kylie, Tyga, Caitlyn and even reclusive Rob all did movie night Monday in the Valley ... the first time they've been all spotted together in public for a while.
Their film of choice -- "The Shack" -- about a man who loses his daughter and then gets an invitation to meet with God.
Kris, Kendall and Khloe weren't there, nor was Scott Disick or Blac Chyna ... but, hey, someone's gotta stay home with the kids.
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'Manchester by the Sea' Star Yeah, I Got an Oscar Nod But Who Knows If the Ladies Love Me?
The teenager Casey Affleck watched over in this year's Oscar-nominated "Manchester by the Sea" had 2 girlfriends in the film ... but uncertain if that translates to real life.
We got Lucas Hedges -- who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor -- who tells our photog he can't really measure his love life in the wake of his hit movie quite yet. Something about how he's not a normal 20-year-old anymore ... whodathunkit?
He also speaks to the controversy over Casey winning Best Actor, despite being accused of sexual harassment by 2 women a few years ago. Sounds like Lucas has his back.
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El Chapo I'm Going Stir-Crazy in Solitary Put Me with the Other Guys
El Chapo's lawyers claim their client is being treated inhumanely by essentially locking him up in solitary confinement and throwing away the key ... and they want him moved to the prison's general population.
Chapo's lawyers say the conditions are horrendous ... he's confined to a closet-sized cell 23 hours a day, 5 days a week. Weekends are even worse ... he's in his cell 24 hours a day. He never sees daylight unless he passes by a window when he meets with his lawyers.
As for the one hour when he gets out ... Chapo gets to run on a treadmill or ride a stationary bike in a cell with a cadre of guards.
Chapo is fed through a slot in his cell door. He complains he can't sleep because the lights are always on and he shivers because the AC is cranked up too high.
And the famed escape artist says he can't tell if it's day or night because the clock he bought at the commissary was confiscated.
Chapo's lawyers have just filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, in which they're asking the judge to order their client moved to general pop at the Metropolitan Correctional Complex in NYC.
It's a risky request because Chapo could be targeted by other inmates looking for notoriety.
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'The Bachelor' Nick Gets On One Knee ... 4th Time's a Charm!!
Nick Viall handed out his final rose on "The Bachelor," and even got on one knee for the lucky lady ... now the dude's FINALLY engaged!
Nick chose Vanessa Grimaldi Monday night as the winner of his heart, and the moment he proposed to her was pretty emotional ... considering his bad streak on 'Bachelor' shows.
It's interesting ... Vanessa seemed pretty unsure throughout the finale on whether she was ready to accept a ring. But that all went out the window when Nick popped the question.
As for 25-year-old Raven ... we gotta say, she took her rejection pretty well. In fact, Nick seemed to be crying a lot more than her.
Anyway ... here's to Nick. Hopefully this one works out, bud.
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Danny Amendola Smokin' Hot Bahamas Trip ... With Ex-Miss USA
Danny Amendola's having a phenomenal offseason ... chillin' in the Bahamas with his beauty queen girlfriend and a bunch of other hot people ... including Jesse Metcalfe.
The New England Patriots WR has been dating Olivia Culpo, the 2012 Miss USA champ for about a year ... and what better way to celebrate than a tropical vacation?
Other attractive people on the trip include Jesse's actress fiancee, Cara Santana, models Devon Windsor and Nicole Harrison, DJ Rascal and more.
Chillin' with models ... the Patriot way.
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Ice T and Treach We Roll with Snoop On Trump Gun Video
Ice-T thinks Snoop walked right up to the line with his music video pointing a gun at a Donald Trump clown-like character, but his buddy Treach thinks it's all in good fun and definitely fair game.
The rap icons were cruising Monday night in New Jersey when they talked to us about the video.
They're both super interesting. Ice-T does think it would be different if someone did the same thing to Obama when he was in office and he explains why. For his part, Treach thinks the gun gag is just part of the Trump circus.
And Treach thinks there's some hypocrisy with people who are outraged by the video.
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Kate del Castillo Send My Hologram to Mexico! I Won't Go Due to El Chapo
Kate del Castillo's fear of an El Chapo related backlash, and possible jail time, is forcing the actress to bail on her Netflix event -- but a hologram might save the day.
Sources close to the Mexican soap opera star tell TMZ Kate will be skipping the Netflix premiere down in Mexico City for her new show "Ingobernable." We're told she's still worried Mexican cops will arrest her to grill her about Sean Penn's infamous interview with El Chapo ... which she arranged.
We're told Netflix honchos are looking into the cost of creating a Kate hologram to attend the event. If that doesn't work out, she's also planning a Q&A via Skype -- but that's as close as she'll get to the border.
As we reported ... Kate was wanted by the Mexican government for possibly getting illegal funds from El Chapo as payment for brokering the Penn sit-down.
Coincidentally, Kate plays the Mexican First Lady who allegedly kills the President in "Ingobernable."
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Boosie Badazz's Cousin In NFL Draft 'I Don't Give a F*** Who Drafts Him'
You'd think rap superstar Boosie Badazz -- a Louisiana legend -- would want the New Orleans Saints to draft his college football superstar cousin, right?? Wrong.
"I don't give a f**k about the Saints."
Turns out, Boosie's cuz is Cameron Sutton -- a projected 2nd round pick who killed it as a cornerback at Tennessee. Dude's good.
So, when we saw Boosie at LAX we asked if the family's pulling for a certain team to draft the kid.
"It doesn't matter. We don't give a f**k about the team. It's about the MONEY, man."
Boosie even dishes out some financial advice ... including the one baller exception Cam's allowed to make after he gets that first check.
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Billy Bob Thornton Don't Stop Hubby Tattoos, Angie ... Just Get Creative
Billy Bob Thornton doesn't think Angelina Jolie should stop getting tattoos that tie her to her exes -- 'cause she can always rework 'em ... like she did with his.
We got BBT Monday in Bev Hills, where he gave us his advice on what Angie should do with her huge back tatt, which was supposedly meant to "bind" her to Brad Pitt ... prior to the split.
She's already removed and replaced her infamous "Billy Bob" arm tat from when they were together, but the Brad ink's gonna be more complicated to put in her rearview.
Not to worry though -- Billy's got a solution.
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Eva Longoria Like Fine Wine
Eva Longoria can still flaunt what her mama gave her -- 42 years ago, mind you -- as seen from the front, back and side.
Yes, 2 days before her 42nd bday ... Eva blessed us doing a photo shoot in L.A. while sporting a couple of one-piece swimsuits, and some seriously badass stilettos.
Happy birthday, Eva! Thanks for sharing your gifts.