The fact cops were all over Juice WRLD multiple times -- including an NYC bust last year -- pisses off his friends, who think cops were merely profiling a 20-year-old rich black man who dares to fly on private jets.

Sources who regularly interacted with Juice and were close to him tell TMZ ... all of the run-ins he had with cops are more than suspicious. The fact feds just happened to show up at multiple airports where he and/or his private jet were searched is enough for Juice's inner circle to believe this might well have something to do with race and rappers.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Juice got arrested in 2018 at NYC's La Guardia Airport after officers responded to a call for "prohibited items" found inside one of his checked bags. We're told the items included a small amount of marijuana and bottles of codeine cough syrup.

Fat Joe won't get in between Nick Cannon and Eminem's fresh rap beef -- even though he helped start it -- but what he will support ... a good, old-fashioned battle of the bars.

We got Joey Crack in NYC Tuesday and asked for the man himself to weigh in on how this war of words is unfolding between NC and Slim Shady. After all, he did let Em get on his track, "Lord Above," and throw the initial barbs about Nick's baby mama, Mariah Carey.

In his feature, Eminem says he tried warning Nick about Mariah before the "Wild 'N Out" host "got his jewels clipped" and goes on to say Nick is "p***y whipped" ... not to mention calling him out by name. It all dates back to a decade-old beef Em seemed eager to revive.

Now, back to Joe ... the guy actually tried claiming innocence with us, saying he's nothing more than a bystander here who's worked with and respects both guys. FJ tells us he bears no responsibility -- even though it was his song that kicked this off.

Antonio Brown is going off -- again -- blasting everyone from Ben Roethlisberger to the "racist" NFL and even knocking the XFL in the process.

It all started with AB trying to point out the NFL's inconsistency when it comes to the way different players are treated in the wake of negative allegations.

Brown alludes to his former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate, Anthony Chickillo -- who was arrested this year for allegedly attacking his girlfriend.

Chickillo (who is white) was placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List and missed 2 games -- but was allowed to rejoin the team once prosecutors decided to drop the case.

The NFL is still actively investigating -- and Chickillo could face discipline in the future, but for now he's active and playing ... and AB is upset.

"Guess all mighty @nfl can hold players out against there will no criminal charges pending nothing but A Caucasian player gets a domestic go to jail still out there playing targeted hate against us everywhere my peeps."

Of course, Brown hasn't played since Week 2 as the NFL investigates rape allegations made by his former trainer, Britney Taylor.

The flaw in Brown's comparison is AB is a free agent and teams can sign him if they want -- but so far, no one wants to take the risk.

During his Wednesday morning Twitter sesh, Brown also addressed Ben Roethlisberger -- retweeting two people who brought up Ben's sexual assault cases.

AB didn't comment specifically on Ben's legal issues but did engage one critic who wrote, "Ab a real loser. Big Ben made that bum. Soon as Ben was done with him he was out the league."

Brown replied, "Check his stats before I came n I was done with that loser long time ago."

Yeesh.

When another person suggested AB should join the XFL, the WR shot that down hard too.

"No way," Brown wrote ... "they run the media they set me up clowns."

Chris Brown just introduced the world to his new baby son ... Aeko Catori Brown.

CB posted the first pic of his and Ammika Harris' new son Wednesday on Instagram. He simply captioned it with his son's name. Ammika posted the same picture on her Instagram Story and captioned it, "Forever won't be enough with you."

As we reported back in November ... Chris welcomed his second child with his ex. At the time, both of them posted cryptic messages on social media alluding to the birth of their child.

Chris had posted a pic of himself smiling and looking down at something off-camera with the caption of the date ... 11-20-19. We now know he was proudly looking down at Aeko. Ammika had also alluded to the child's birth on her Instagram Story, writing ... "I was in love, when I first saw you."

This is CB and Ammika's first child together. It's Ammika's first child and CB's second child. He has a 5-year-old daughter named Royalty with Nia Guzman.

Pro golfer Tommy Gainey -- famously known as Tommy "Two Gloves" -- was arrested in a major prostitution sting in Florida ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 44-year-old was 1 of 124 people busted in an undercover investigation in Polk County, Florida dubbed, "Operation Santa's Naughty List."

According to officials, Gainey was arrested for soliciting a prostitute -- and is facing a 1st-degree misdemeanor solicitation charge.

The sting op was a 6-day investigation using undercover detectives to target prostitution, human trafficking and child predators.

Cops say they used Internet advertisements to arrange meetings between the detectives and suspects.

Officials presented a "Naughty List" showing all 124 people arrested -- Gainey is on the board.

Jail records show Gainey was booked on Dec. 8 and was released on Dec. 9 after posting bail.

Sheriff Grady Judd explained the situation moments ago ...

"He's married. He told us he was here for a charity golf event and it was supposed to be in the next morning tee off. He didn't make it. He was a scratch."

Judd added, "We charged him with soliciting. He missed his tee time the next morning."

Gainey has been a pro golfer since 1997 and joined the PGA Tour in 2008, where he gained notoriety for wearing gloves on both hands, unusual in the sport.

He's never won a major tourney but he's become a fan favorite for the way he dresses and plays -- in particular, he has a unique swing.

Gainey has had major sponsors over the years -- from Under Armour to Adams Golf and A.O. Smith.

Lizzo's mic cut out repeatedly at a big gig in Indianapolis, but she didn't just get named Entertainer of the Year for nothing ... and made sure the show went on.

The "Truth Hurts" singer was the headliner Tuesday night at the 99.5 ZPL Jingle Jam at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but midway through her second song, "Cuz I Love You" ... technical glitches made things less than good as hell.

Lizzo's wireless microphone went silent and she didn't know it, and for some reason ... nobody alerted her until she'd powered through the rest of the track unaware nobody could hear her.

Before going live on one of the most-watched daytime talk shows, this curly girl was tearing it up in New Jersey. The former high school cheerleader was discovered while performing in her senior high school play, "The Ugly Duckling."

She's since had a stellar career that included a long run on "All My Children." She ultimately married her costar and they had 3 beautiful children. She's been the cohost of a syndicated morning talk show since 2001. She and her hubby started their own production company and in 2014 she was named one of the most powerful people in media.

President Trump's reelection campaign apparently likes to think of their boss as an equal to the destroyer of worlds, the villainous Thanos ... but the 'Avengers' character's creator is NOT having it.

A Twitter account managed by Trump's reelection team posted a super-produced clip in which DT's head is superimposed over Thanos' body from 'Infinity War' ... and he snaps his Democratic enemies -- who just introduced articles of impeachment -- to dust.

They captioned the post, "House Democrats can push their sham impeachment all they want. President Trump's re-election is 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲." Funny, right? WRONG ... so says the comic book writer and artist who brought Thanos to life back in 1973. He ain't laughing.

Jim Starlin -- the creator of Thanos -- says he finds it pretty disturbing that Trump's goons are comparing him to a mass murderer -- Thanos literally goes around blowing up planets in "The Avengers." He says, "How sick is that? These are sad and strange times we are going through. Fortunately all things, even national nightmares, eventually come to an end."

Starlin also said he felt violated by the creative hijacking, and said DT has an infantile ego.

Funny enough ... the scene of Thanos snapping that Trump's team used in their hypercut is actually from the part where he dies in the final movie. Spoiler alert ... Tony Stark ends up with all the Infinity Stones, and then snaps Thanos and his henchmen to oblivion.

Tyler, the Creator's new piece pays homage to himself, his alter ego and his latest album ... and it's helping a celebrity jeweler close out the year with a bang.

The eccentric rapper's chain features a pendant of IGOR -- the alter ego he debuted this year -- and it's dripping in a variety of diamonds. Blue, black, white and even chocolate and cognac diamonds, to be specific!

It's made out of 18k gold and comes with a shiny "T" clasp for the chain and "IGOR" emblazoned on the back.

The jeweler, Ben Baller, points out the intricacies of the piece ... including how the gradient levels of brown match Tyler's IGOR's skin tone when the light hits it, and how you can make out the curvature of the nose.

Baller's clearly proud of his handiwork -- which he says is his final piece of the decade -- and Tyler is too. Good reason for pride all round ... the thing cost $275,000!!!

Soledad O'Brien was right about President Trump getting impeached -- and now, she's here to collect on her bet ... which we'll have to pay her back for later.

We got the veteran TV journalist Tuesday at LAX, and our photog recalled she'd placed a bet with our D.C. guy about whether the Dems would actually go through with impeachment.

You'll recall ... Soledad and our boy pinkie promised on a whopping 5 bills -- dollar bills -- with Soledad taking the over/under on the House pulling the trigger. Obviously, she won and we lost. Pelosi and co. intro'd 2 articles ... abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Fast-forward to Tuesday ... and our cameraman in L.A. was desperately trying to pay up on behalf of his TMZ coworker. Sadly, he came up short by a buck so -- and Soledad wasn't trying to get paid in parts. Don't worry ... our man in D.C. will pay up, SO!!!

Just for kicks, we asked if Soledad wanted to run another bet on whether the Senate would convict -- but she pumped the brakes on that one. It ain't happening, she says.

Rep. Karen Bass has bad news for President Trump if he wins a second term, and especially if the Democrats take back the Senate -- more impeachment, baby!!!

The U.S. congresswoman -- whose 37th district includes parts of L.A. -- was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday, shortly after the House announced the articles of impeachment. Dems in the House allege Trump abused his presidential power and obstructed justice, regarding the whole Ukraine thing.

Two questions we just had to get off our chest. First, if Trump wins reelection next year, does that definitively confirm the American people just don't give a crap about this?

Check out Bass' answer -- she's pretty optimistic about another opponent being able to win, and she's hoping her party can whip up national enthusiasm toward that cause.

Secondly, we asked if Trump does win again -- and if Dems win enough seats to take control of the Senate -- would they try impeaching him again? It's allowed ... there's no double jeopardy in impeachment.

The female reporter who had her butt slapped by a man live on-air while she was covering a River Bridge Run in Georgia on Saturday is pursuing sexual battery charges ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to a police report obtained by TMZ Sports, WSAV's Alex Bozarjian was reporting from the River Bridge Run in Savannah, Georgia when a runner named Tommy Callaway "approached from behind her and smacked her on the buttocks."

Bozarjian describes the incident as a "smack and grab" -- "advising that he also grabbed her buttocks in the same motion."

Bozarjian says she felt a "sharp sting" and it caused her to pause during the live broadcast -- which you can see in the video.

The 23-year-old -- who was later outraged by the actions, calling them on social media "violating" and "embarrassing" -- says Callaway reached out to her station a few hours later to try to apologize ... and offered to come to the station to do it in person.

Bozarjian says she has not spoken to Callaway -- but the phone calls and messages were relayed to her.

For his part, 43-year-old Callaway has lawyered up -- and his attorney issued this statement.

"While we regret the situation, Mr. Callaway did not act with any criminal intentions."

Cardi B knows how to make an entrance ... especially at a courthouse where she's facing multiple criminal charges.

The rapper arrived in Queens Tuesday for a hearing in her strip club beatdown case, and was dressed in a large feather/furry coat with a long train dragging behind her. In other words ... fashion gala-ready fab!!!

She appeared to be in good spirits too ... she was flashing smiles for fans waiting nearby on the courthouse steps. It was a flashy entrance for a very brief and uneventful hearing where the next court was set for January.

Cardi pled not guilty in June to new charges, including attempted assault in the 2nd degree. Before that, she was indicted on 12 charges, including 2 counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious physical injury.

As we reported ... this all came after Cardi rejected a plea deal in the case -- she was initially charged with just 2 misdemeanors for allegedly ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders who are sisters -- Jade and Baddie Gi -- back in August 2018.

Cardi's beef with the women allegedly stems from her belief Jade -- who's now Tekashi 6ix9ine's girlfriend -- slept with her husband, Offset.

Jade's been back in the picture recently too -- she put Offset on blast for allegedly slipping into her DMs and posted what she believes is video evidence.

Andy Dick was sentenced to 14 days in jail for his sexual battery case, but is already out after only serving one night behind bars.

Dick was hit with 2 misdemeanor charges for the incident -- one for sexual battery and one for simple battery. A judge ordered him to complete community service, which he failed to complete, so he got the 14 days in L.A. County Jail.

Lucky for Andy, he only had to serve one night -- checking in on December 6 and out on the 7. He caught the break due to jail overcrowding.

We broke the story ... the troubled comedian was charged after a woman filed a police report claiming he squeezed her butt twice as he walked past her on a sidewalk in April 2018.

As we've reported ... this isn't the only recent legal problem for Andy. He pled not guilty to one count of misdemeanor sexual battery for allegedly groping his Uber driver, also in April 2018. The male driver claimed Dick reached over from the back seat and grabbed his crotch.

Andy was involved in a bizarre street fight with an Uber Eats driver in October as well, which resulted in him being slammed to the ground and his head hitting the pavement. However, because he allegedly started the altercation by trying to take some food from the delivery guy ... he was named a suspect in a battery investigation.