Controversial S#!T

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 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!

3:52 PM PT -- 50's attorneys, Reena Jain and Blank Rome, tell TMZ … "Despite being given ample opportunity to retract a false and malicious retaliatory accusation, Ms. Narvaez has shamefully chosen to interfere with her 11-year-old son’s relationship with his loving father by falsely calling him a 'rapist.'"

They add, "The motivation behind this appears to be Ms. Narvaez’s unfortunate entanglement and misguided loyalty to Mr. Combs, who we believe to be underwriting this attack and whom Mr. Jackson has been warning Ms. Narvaez and others about for many years."

50 Cent's through trolling his ex, now he's brought lawyers into it, and he's suing Daphne Joy for publicly accusing him of rape and physical abuse.

In docs filed Monday, and obtained by TMZ, 50 blasts Daphne for her Instagram post from March 28, where she made the allegation behind his lawsuit -- and he says she only did it because it came out that he was going to seek sole custody of their son, Sire.

50 says he only made that decision about Sire after Daphne was labeled a "sex worker" in the Rodney Jones lawsuit against Diddy -- and he claims she retaliated with the open letter to him, posted on IG.

The Indianapolis Star columnist who had a cringe-worthy exchange with Caitlin Clark at her Fever introductory news conference last month has reportedly been suspended over the bizarre encounter.

Longtime journalist Bob Kravitz -- who used to work for the Star -- said the outlet hit Gregg Doyel with a two-week ban in the days following his strange April 17 interaction with the WNBA player.

Kravitz did not specify when exactly the punishment began for the reporter ... although he noted Doyel's last Star piece -- a Colts-related article -- was published on April 29. Kravitz added that Doyel is expected to return from the ban on May 13.

Khloe Kardashian says she was on the fence about picking up her newborn son when he was on the verge of being delivered via surrogacy ... and her doc was willing to help.

The youngest Kardashian sister was on the SHE MD Podcast this week, where she was talking to OBGYN of the stars Dr. Thais Aliabadi and women's advocate influencer Mary Alice -- who host the pod and who brought on Khloe as their most recent guest.

Khloe talked about welcoming her second child with Tristan Thompson -- a boy named Tatum -- for whom they used a surrogate ... and whom Khloe says she had mixed feelings about as the pregnancy was ongoing, including her being torn about going to get him right away.

Kim Kardashian was the butt of a lot of jokes at a roast that was supposed to be all about Tom Brady -- with a not-so-welcome reception too ... but, in fairness, she took it in stride.

The reality star was one of many of celebs on hand Sunday night for Netflix's "The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady" -- and when she was eventually introduced by Kevin Hart and co. to come up to the podium to say a few words ... people didn't seem happy to see her.

The clip's going viral ... a cascade of boos greeted Kim when she got onstage and started her monologue -- which was taking aim at Kevin ... but she couldn't even get the words out.

Aaron Hernandez ended up being referenced at least a couple different times during Tom Brady's roast -- and not in a flattering way either ... which is why his ex-fiancée is pissed.

The late Patriots star's partner Shayanna Jenkins -- who's also the mother of his only child -- tells TMZ she's disappointed in the fact that her deceased fiancé was the butt of multiple jokes during the Netflix program ... which ended up making light of his sad story.

She says, "It’s sad that I’m trying to raise my children in such a cruel world."

Kim Kardashian fue el blanco de un montón de bromas en un roast que se suponía que iba a ser acerca de Tom Brady -con una recepción no tan calida- pero, para ser justos, ella se lo tomó bastante bien.

La estrella de reality fue una de las muchas celebridades que estruvo el domingo por la noche en el especial de Netflix: "The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady", y cuando finalmente fue presentada por Kevin Hart para subir al podio a decir unas palabras, la gente no parecía feliz de verla.

El clip se está convirtiendo en viral, una cascada de abucheos recibió a Kim cuando subió al escenario y comenzó su monólogo - que estaba dedicado a Kevin- pero ella ni siquiera pudo decir las palabras.