Controversial S#!T

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."

The 45-year-old man who stole and destroyed a Jackie Robinson statue in Kansas pled guilty on Thursday to multiple charges, including theft, and is now facing over 19 years behind bars!

Remember, the large Jackie statue was stolen on January 25 from a youth baseball park in Wichita, KS ... only to be found burned and destroyed days later at a nearby park.

Multiple people were captured on surveillance video taking the statue, but only one person, Ricky Alderete, has been arrested and charged.

10:30 AM PT -- It happened -- Shaquille O'Neal just took his beef with Shannon Sharpe to the mic ... dropping a diss track amid their internet feud.

Forget Drake and Kendrick Lamar, there's a new beef taking over -- Shaquille O'Neal vs. Shannon Sharpe ... with the NBA legend sending shots at the NFL Hall of Famer for claiming he's "jealous" of Nikola Jokic.

Abby Lee Miller is blaming her time behind bars for the reason she's confined to a wheelchair these days ... suggesting she was punished for her celebrity status.

The "Dance Moms" star stopped by Bethenny Frankel's "Just B" podcast ... where she touched on her time in prison, having previously been convicted of bankruptcy fraud. As Abby put it ... she wasn't able to get access to her meds while incarcerated, allegedly on purpose.

Abby says she was "punished" in prison -- adding that's why she is now in a wheelchair. She says ... "That's why I'm in a wheelchair, because in prison I was punished and taken off all my medication, cold turkey."

The real-life woman behind the villain in "Baby Reindeer" -- who's portrayed as a stalker -- just went on TV to deny how she was depicted ... insisting she only sent a few emails.

Fiona Harvey appeared as a guest on Piers Morgan's show Thursday -- and of course, he had a lot of questions for her ... especially now that she's coming forward to reveal she's the one Richard Gadd based his Netflix character Martha on ... who's shown as a terror.

While a lot of people had already ID'd her online, this is her first public appearance after 'BR' aired -- and she's outright denying she harassed or stalked Rick as severely as he claims and only saw him two or three times.

Ann Coulter's using race as a distinguishing factor in the voting booth ... telling former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy he wouldn't have gotten her vote 'cause he's not white.

The controversial conservative media personality hopped on Ramaswamy's 'Truth Podcast' -- posted Wednesday -- for a discussion about nationalism and national pride ... and, Coulter decided to kick off the segment with her controversial comment.

After a warm intro by VR, AC tells him she agreed with him more than any other candidate on the campaign trail, adding ... she still wouldn't have voted for him 'cause he's Indian.

Matt Rife says getting canceled is the least of his worries -- 'cause it's not a real thing in his eyes ... and he'll joke about what he wants, although DV seems to be off the table.

The comedian did a sold out show this week at the Hollywood Bowl, where he was hop-scotching through material and touching on some polarizing topics ... like trans jokes, etc. While he was going, he reportedly said he wasn't afraid of backlash anymore, noting it washes away.

MR is said to have been going back and forth on things that were okay and weren't okay to talk about in public and is quoted as saying, "What am I gonna do? Get canceled? Cool, I’ll do another Bowl show, awesome."

Cardi B thinks anyone who's offended over her not being able to ID the designer of her dress is faking outrage ... and she's got an explanation for the brain fart.

ICYMI ... Cardi had a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights stare when Emma Chamberlain -- representing Vogue -- interviewed her on the carpet Monday ... and came up empty-handed on the designer's exact identity, and referring to them only by their ethnicity.

The dress was put together by Chinese designer, Sensen Lii of Windowsen -- but Cardi wasn't able to come up with the name in the moment ... referring to them as "Asian and everything."

It's starting to heat up as we hurtle toward summer, and we've got more hot takes to boot. Check out the best from the Wednesday that was!!!

On "TMZ Live," Charles and Courtney talk about Kim Kardashian controversially saying "Free Everybody" in response to pro-Palestine protesters.

Our "TMZ on TV" crew reveals Tom Selleck's not actually in danger of losing his ranch despite his claim to the contrary.

And, "TMZ Sports" shakes their heads along with Dana White who caught a FedEx employee carelessly chucking packages into his truck.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

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.

A racist posterboard featuring images of LeBron James and monkeys was somehow put on display at a school art exhibition over the weekend ... and officials are now investigating how in the world the offensive piece was allowed to make it there.

The project -- a parody of a cereal advertisement called "Monkey Premium" -- was done by a New Hartford Central School District student in New York ... and then showed off in a school gymnasium at the New Hartford Festival of the Arts event on Saturday.

It had a headline of "Eat Monkeys, Jump Like Monkeys!" ... with a picture of James mid-flight in his Lakers uniform next to a bowl of cereal.

Michael Douglas doesn't get the need for intimacy coordinators ... calling the new production protocol unnecessary for sex scenes, which he used to handle by himself just fine.

The actor made his stance clear in an interview with Radio Times, as reported by The Telegraph ... where he accused Hollywood execs of making a power grab with the implementation of intimacy coordinators, who come on set/tell actors how to fake do it.

He says ... "It feels like executives taking control away from filmmakers -- but there have been some terrible faux pas and harassment."

7:58 AM PT -- Kim Kardashian's full remarks on this topic are more nuanced than this clip suggests. She reportedly later said this ... "I sympathize with the people of Israel and with those in Palestine. I sympathize with everyone. All we want is for everyone to feel safe and free."

Kim added she has friends on both sides of this conflict, and that she talks to her kids about it too. Kim says she tells them, "Feel safe. And be good people and treat them with the same respectful way that you want to be treated. These are definitely scary times."

Kim Kardashian is catching flak for speaking up on the Palestine-Israel conflict and taking a both-sides approach -- a moment that was caught on camera thousands of miles from home.

5/8 5:55 AM -- Jamal Murray's punishment was announced on Tuesday ... and while he avoided any suspension, his outburst set him back a huge chunk of change.

The NBA fined the guard $100k for "throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play," according to Joe Dumars, Executive VP and Head of Basketball Operations.

Jamal Murray melted down on the Nuggets' bench during their blowout loss Monday night ... hurling not only a towel onto the floor during game action -- but a full-on heat pack too!