"Every major American company does business in China and it's not fair to act like LeBron's gonna save the world."

That's Charles Barkley staunchly DEFENDING LeBron James and the comments he made about the NBA's issues with China ... telling TMZ Sports Bron's getting done DIRTY.

Of course, LeBron has been taking a TON of heat for condemning Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey for posting a pro-Hong Kong tweet and creating an international incident. LeBron says Morey wasn't educated on the topic before weighing in on the issue publicly.

People were hoping LeBron would go after China for attempting to quash free speech and punishing people who criticized the government. But, that didn't happen.

Enter Barkley ... who put it this way -- "I thought everybody was really unfair to LeBron."

"Everybody does business in China. Every American company does business in China. Why should LeBron not be able to protect his financial interests?"

Our photog, Charlie, challenged Barkley, telling him people looked up to LeBron as a warrior for free speech, democracy and social justice ... and they were disappointed to see him go after Morey instead of China.

"Everybody don't have to pick every battle to fight," Barkley explained ... "LeBron is passionate about the things he wants to be passionate about. We don't get to tell him what we want him to talk about."

Barkley says it's obvious LeBron is protecting his business interests in China, and he doesn't fault James ONE BIT for it.

"Why do all these other companies get to invest in China and LeBron doesn't have to protect his business interests?!?"

In the end, Barkley says LeBron's an "amazing guy" and "respects the hell" out of him.

Gervonta Davis is officially off the hook in his ATM assault case -- after officials say the boxing superstar made things right with his alleged victim ... using cold hard cash.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... 24-year-old Davis allegedly got physical with a man at an ATM at an upscale outdoor mall in Virginia on Feb. 17. And, when cops arrived, the situation got even CRAZIER.

Cops say Gervonta "directed derogatory and offensive language" at them ... and pics obtained by TMZ Sports show a clearly heated Gervonta speaking with one of the officers.

Davis was later charged with one misdemeanor count of assault -- and was facing up to 1 YEAR in jail for the crime.

But, a court official tells TMZ Sports the charge was formally dismissed on Monday ... saying Davis reached a deal with prosecutors.

According to the official, Davis agreed to write the alleged victim a check for injuries suffered in the incident. Officials would not say how much Gervonta forked over. But, in exchange, prosecutors dropped the charge.

It's good timing for Gervonta ... the Floyd Mayweather protege has seen his stock soar over the past year -- and at 22-0, he's in line for some BIG MONEY fights.

Cuba Gooding Jr. can claim he never grabbed a server's butt at TAO Nightclub, but she says there's video to prove she was assaulted by the Oscar winner.

Natasha Ashworth says she was working at TAO in NYC in the early morning hours of Oct. 24, 2018 and she was serving Gooding's table at the club. In a lawsuit filed Monday in NYC, Natasha says he asked her, "Do you want to see my impression of a penis?"

She responded, "No," but according to her ... Gooding drank from his glass, and began spitting liquid out of his mouth. Natasha says she just walked away from him.

But, according to the suit ... they ran into each other again near the end of her shift, around 4:20 AM -- and Gooding allegedly used his right hand to pinch Natasha's right buttock. She says she told him, "Don't touch my butt." She claims he replied, "Aw, that's no fun ... and I didn't, I touched your back."

Natasha says she grabbed Gooding's arm and told him to leave. In the suit, she says a club promoter who was with Cuba urged him to stop, but the actor pushed the promoter out of the way. She claims Gooding went to a manager, attempting to explain away his contact with Natasha as innocent.

She claims Gooding stormed out in a huff and said, "You don't have to worry, because I am never coming back here again." In docs, Natasha says there are surveillance videos -- from 2 angles -- that capture the alleged butt grab.

Natasha is suing Gooding for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Her allegations first came to light last week when Gooding was marched into court where NYC prosecutors slapped him with 2 new charges of forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree.

Cuba's attorney, Mark Heller, tells TMZ ... the lawsuit "is a welcomed confirmation of the money grab that clearly was the motivation for the accuser’s accusations."

Lori Harvey -- Steve Harvey's daughter -- allegedly smashed into another car and attempted to flee the scene, but cops nabbed her.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Lori was cited Sunday night for misdemeanor hit and run and delaying a police investigation in Bev Hills. Our sources say witnesses told responding officers they saw Lori texting and driving when she slammed into a Prius and tipped over her Mercedes G-Wagon on its side. Doesn't sound like anyone was injured.

We're told cops quickly showed up on the scene, and found Lori a short distance away ... walking down the street. Our sources say she even FaceTimed her dad, Steve, at one point while dealing with officers.

We're told Lori was not taken into custody -- she got a ticket for the offenses and was free to go. Cops say alcohol was not a factor.

Hours earlier, Lori posted videos at Nobu in Malibu. All of this, of course, follows rumors that she and Diddy recently split, after folks noticed she stopped following him on IG.

Singer Maggie Rogers wasn't having it when some morons in the crowd wanted her to take her top off ... telling them to STFU!!!

The incident went down over the weekend at The Moody Theater for Austin City Limits Live. She ended the show with an encore of her most popular track, "Alaska," and, as is her custom, gives a moving preamble for what she calls "the most vulnerable part of the set."

Then ... the hecklers came out of hiding. Watch the vid ... you hear Maggie get interrupted by obnoxious concertgoers before you hear someone yell "Free the nips." The 25-year-old singing sensation didn't skip a beat and immediately called out the hecklers for their sexist comments.

The next day ... Maggie said she was "stunned, furious, fuming" and confused over the incident. And, she made it crystal clear that "there is no space for harassment or disrespect or degradation of any kind at my show. be kind to each other out there." Words to live by.

BTW ... Maggie's singing career catapulted about 3 years ago when Pharrell listened to her track, "Alaska," which was a homework assignment she was asked to prepare for her class at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU.

Tupac Shakur is still with us ... but he's not hiding out in Cuba, he's just been living the thug life in Tennessee.

A white man named Tupac A. Shakur was arrested this weekend after allegedly threatening cops with a knife.

Johnson City Police say officers responded to a call Saturday about the 40-year-old Tupac, who had warrants out for his arrest, and when they tried to detain him cops say he turned toward the officers with a blade in his hand.

Shakur was busted after a brief struggle ... and cops say they searched him and found a syringe and multiple baggies of meth. Tupac was booked on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, simple possession of meth and unlawful drug paraphernalia.

Getting arrested is about the only thing this dude has in common with the real Pac ... but it's still pretty wild to see the name on a license, let alone a mug shot.

The white Tupac's being held on $18,000 bond ... no word if Suge Knight is gonna bail him out.

Suge Knight could be in prison for the rest of his life, but he doesn't want to go out a broke man ... so he's entrusting Ray J to cash in on his name.

Sources close to the former Death Row Records boss tell TMZ ... he's signed over his life rights to Ray, with the expectation he'll make the right decisions with Suge's story and make some money for him and his family while he's behind bars.

We're told Knight's been friends with Ray J for decades and trusts his business acumen and ability to choose the right projects for film, TV, book publications and more.

Our sources say a documentary on Suge and his famous record label is already being developed ... as well as a project about Tupac Shakur and there are discussions of bringing Death Row back.

On the latter, we're told it's a longshot that would require additional investors ... but Suge's letting Ray take the reins on exploring the venture.

Of course, all of this is huge for Ray J and his bank account too ... which is a nice follow-up to the lucrative $1 million deal he inked in August to get people to invest in the weed biz.

Looks like he's now in charge of 2 major enterprises -- not to mention side hustles in the headphones and scooter industries ... so business looks good.

Suge, meanwhile, is serving hard time for at least the next decade. As we reported ... he struck a 28-year plea deal in his murder case last year, but got credit for time served and with prison overcrowding, he could be released in a little more than 10 years.

Oscar De La Hoya is being sued by a woman who claims the boxing legend sexually assaulted and battered her during a booze-fueled 2017 hookup ... and the allegations are graphic.

The woman who filed the suit uses the alias "Jane Doe" to protect her identity -- but describes herself as a licensed vocational nurse who met Oscar in 2016.

In her suit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Doe admits the two had an ongoing consensual sexual relationship, but says things went awry in Nov. 2017 when he invited her over to check out his new house in Pasadena.

Doe claims Oscar had bottles of alcohol and "a bag of what appeared to be cocaine" in his kitchen when she arrived -- and she claims it became clear, he was on a mission to get wasted.

After Oscar became intoxicated, she claims the boxer invited her to the bedroom to hook up -- and during the encounter, he asked if she was down to "experiment" sexually.

Doe claims she declined various unusual requests and Oscar became frustrated -- but things came to a head when he "ultimately held her down with one arm while forcefully trying to insert his fist into Plaintiff's vagina."

In her suit, Doe claims she "repeatedly said no and demanded that De La Hoya stop. However, De La Hoya overpowered her and suddenly and forcefully pushed his hand and fist into Plaintiff's vagina."

Doe claims she screamed in pain and yelled at Oscar -- but he just laughed and told her to take a shot of alcohol. The woman claims she refused the booze and angrily left the house.

After the incident, Doe claims she "felt extreme swelling and pain for which she was prescribed medication at urgent care."

She also "sought treatment with a Doctor of Psychology and Certified Sex Therapist who diagnosed Plaintiff with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder arising from the sexual battery by De La Hoya."

The woman does not say in her suit if she ever filed a report with police.

Doe claims she still suffers from extreme distress, humiliation, indignation and outrage -- along with depression, anxiety and related symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.

In her suit, filed by attorney Greg Kirakosian, Doe is demanding unspecified damages for sexual assault, sexual battery, gender violence, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

We reached out to multiple people in De La Hoya's camp multiple times -- so far, no word back.

If half of Hollywood's elite were in Rhode Island this weekend for Jennifer Lawrence's wedding, then the other half was almost certainly at Andrew Watt's birthday party in L.A.

TONS of celebs were out in force Saturday night to attend the musician/producer's 29th born day at an exclusive house party in Benedict Canyon, where it basically became a parade of star power for the young and famous as folks made their way home one after another.

Justin and Hailey Bieber were there, as was Camila Cabello (sans Shawn Mendes), Jared Leto, Miguel, Diplo, Brooklyn Beckham, Josie Canseco, Kaia Gerber, Kelly Osbourne, Travis Barker, Luka Sabbat, Jasmine Tookes and lots of other whipper-ish snappers.

Adam Levine was there too, BTW -- he performed on stage, alongside the Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins and Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Andrew performed as well ... rocking out on the guitar, and having a ball doing it.

During the show ... Adam belted out Prince's "Purple Rain," with the birthday boy himself helping out as well. Safe to say, the live entertainment was second to none.

Oh, and Lori Loughlin's daughter, Olivia Jade, showed up with her boyfriend -- which is ... interesting. Felicity Huffman's off in prison -- where her mom may very well end up by the end of her trial -- and OJ's out doing her thing. Keepin' that same energy, we see.

Anyway, it was definitely a hodgepodge of A-listers -- but it looks like everyone was having a good time. And, it was quite the opposite from the elegant affair across the country.

JWoww hired a home improvement contractor to lay tiles at her Jersey mansion, but she kicked him out for being high as a kite ... this according to a new lawsuit.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... JWoww hired Anthony Dai to do some work on her home, but when he got to the job site she claims he was clearly under the influence. JWoww says the contractor was so impaired she asked him to leave when he finally showed up at 10 PM.

And, get this ... JWoww claims the contractor was so out of whack, he left behind his cell phone and wet saw.

In the suit, JWoww claims she gave the contractor a $1,250 check upfront and purchased the tiles herself, but she stopped payment on the check due to his failure to get the job done.

According to the docs, it was apparently too late -- the dude cashed it -- and the check cashing company sued her for the money.

"Shahs of Sunset" star Mike Shouhed is dumbfounded as to why his longtime friend and costar, Reza Farahan, is taking their beef to the next level by threatening to sue him.

We got Mike out at Equinox in L.A. Friday afternoon and asked about Reza firing off a cease and desist letter, threatening to sue if Mike doesn't stop selling t-shirts with Reza's face.

Quick backstory ... on the last season of 'Shahs,' tensions were running high between Mike and Reza, and they had several heated arguments. One of their biggest issues is the fact Mike's been hawking t-shirts on his website for 3 years ... and one of them has Reza's mug and the words "Reza is My Homeboy."

Reza's known about it, but now that they've been at each other's throats ... he sent the letter claiming Mike's merch sales violate Reza's rights to control the marketing of his own likeness and image.

Mike posted the letter on Instagram with the caption, "Guess he's not my homeboy! lol ... this is what happens when dudes got his panties in a bunch!"

Mike tells us he started selling the shirts as an homage to his friends on the show and he gets EVERYONE'S permission before pimping the shirts. His best explanation for Reza getting lawyers involved -- pettiness.

Mike says he's not trying to go back and forth on social media, and instead says he'll just lawyer up too.