Da Brat is going to bat for Jermaine Dupri ... she sees a silver lining in his controversial comments about today's female artists, even though he said they sound like "strippers rapping."

Da Brat was at LAX Tuesday when a photog asked about Jermaine stirring up controversy and firing up Cardi B ... DB says his hot take is part of a master plan to start a discussion that's a long time coming.

In case you missed it ... last week Jermaine said Da Brat paved the way for women in the rap game, but when he was asked about his favorite contemporary female artists, he said the industry is filled with the same content from different voices, and they all sound like strippers.

A$AP Rocky's human rights are being violated by Swedish officials who have been holding the rapper in jail for nearly 2 weeks ... so says members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Members of the Caucus, including Hakeem Jeffries and Andre Carson, along with Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who is part of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, will stand on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday and demand A$AP's release from a Swedish jail.

As TMZ reported, A$AP is being held while prosecutors decide whether to charge him for aggravated assault. A$AP and his crew did indeed attack a man on the streets July 1, but only after the man harassed and physically attacked A$AP and a bodyguard and allegedly grabbed a woman's butt. In fact, A$AP tried to diffuse the situation, to no avail.

TMZ broke the story ... A$AP was being held in horrid conditions. A U.S. Embassy official said the jail smelled like a toilet. It's unclear if A$AP has been moved since our report.  

Rep Jeffries says the detention is proof the hip-hop police is not just a U.S. phenomenon.

'Bachelorette' reject Luke P. feels used by the show and Hannah B., because we're told viewers did NOT hear a conversation that ultimately sent Luke reeling ... which led to him calling her out and allegedly slut shaming her.

Luke was dumbfounded after Hannah B. told him she had sex with another guy in the Fantasy Suite. He squarely showed disapproval, implying she wasn't the right kind of woman for him.

Folks in Luke's world tell TMZ ... he was reacting to a conversation he had with Hannah B. at a bible study during the Hometown episode, where she suggested to him she wasn't open to having sex in the fantasy suites. We're told her comment was on Luke's mind when she blurted out she indeed had sex, and that's why he reacted the way he did on camera.

We're told Luke is upset producers did not air the full bible study convo, which would have put his comments on Monday night's show in context. He comes off as a heel.

Our Luke sources say he's had hell to pay in the last 16 hours ... he and his family are getting skewered on social media and his Christian faith is being weaponized against him.

Luke, meanwhile, has already filmed the 'Tell-All' episode, and we're told it didn't go well ... with Hannah and the other guys ganging up on him. That said, our sources say he's been met with love and support from his local community ... and he's moving on.

Tom Brady's back under center ... in a smoldering beach make out session with his supermodel wife, Gisele! 

TB12 loaded up the family and flew to Costa Rica for their annual offseason beach vacation -- where the couple proved they've still got that fire 10 years after they tied the knot! 

38-year-old Gisele showed off her legendary physique in a pretty tiny bikini -- while 41-year-old Tom didn't look too bad either! 

In fact, Brady looks like he's made some gains in the gym since those infamous dad-bod pics from last summer. 

Maybe avocado ice cream is worth looking into after all!? 

Of course, Tom is on a ticking clock when it comes to his vacation ... the New England Patriots report to training camp on July 25 -- only 9 days away. 

Kellyanne Conway is taking President Trump's feud with the Democratic Congresswomen to a whole new level ... angrily barking at reporters that POTUS is sick of the America we live in today.

Trump's aide was talking to reporters Tuesday in D.C. about the President's insistence that his tweets demanding Congresswomen, like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, go back and fix the countries from which they came.

Conway responded to a reporter's question by demanding to know the reporter's ethnicity -- then dropped some spin on him, claiming Trump was doing the same ... simply referring to the Congresswomen's ethnicities. But, then she got heated.

Conway sneered at the reporter and shouted, "A lot of us are sick and tired of this country, of America coming last! To people who swore an oath of office."

While she might have stumbled through the sentence, her message was clear -- Trump's fed up, and thinks the Congresswomen aligning against him are un-American. 

Trump's critics will say his tweets and Conway's statement are obvious examples of dog whistling. If true, it's the angriest dog whistle we've seen yet from the administration. 

Harry Styles just pocketed $6 million ... because we've learned he just sold his Hollywood Hills home.

Harry bought the house a few years back for around $6.8 million, so in reality he's taking a loss, but at least he unloaded the crib.

The house has been for sale for around a year. He initially listed it for $8 mil but there were no takers.

As for why Harry's selling ... he thought he'd be spending more time in L.A. but that's not the case. He's not buying another house in the City of Angels.

The house is gated, modern and has great city views. It's 4,400 square feet strong ... and has 4 bedrooms and 6 baths.  

R. Kelly was in court for his bond hearing, shackled at the ankles and wearing an orange jump suit ... and will remain behind bars for the time being.

Prosecutors argued against his release ... saying he's a danger to the community, especially to minor girls. They claim the risk of obstruction is real and ongoing, and also heightened by his fame and power. Prosecutors are also saying he has the "unique ability to influence and intimidate witnesses and victims, and that continues to this day."

They added an emphatic, "It's who the defendant is," after alleging that he's sexually assaulted the alleged victims hundreds of times. 

Kelly ultimately pled not guilty and was denied bond.

The prosecution also argued there's no question R. Kelly is the person in the videos they've obtained -- which appears to be a reference to the alleged sex tapes at the center of the probe. They're claiming that electronic monitor and home confinement is not enough for Kelly ... going on to say he can "entice girls to his own doorstep." 

Meanwhile, R. Kelly's lawyer, Steve Greenberg, fired back to defend his client, saying Kelly has already surrendered his passport, and noted the guy doesn't like to fly ... so he's not a flight risk. Greenberg also says that, to his knowledge, Kelly didn't miss any court dates in his 2008 trial. Speaking of that trial, Greenberg responded to allegations that the case was rigged, saying R. Kelly faced a jury of his peers, and not a bench trial.

Meek Mill is back in court trying to get his conviction overturned from over a decade ago -- and he might have a shot based on who's on the bench ... a whole new set of judges.

The Philly-bred rapper is appearing Tuesday in Pennsylvania Superior Court, asking for his 2008 conviction on gun and drug charges to be tossed out based on shoddy evidence that was initially used by a cop who has since been revealed to be crooked.

Not only that, but even state prosecutors have recommended he get a new trial ... and did NOT oppose his release on bail after he got thrown back in prison for a few months in late 2017.

You'll recall ... Genece Brinkley, the judge who initially sent Meek to prison all those years ago, sent him back to the slammer in November 2017 after she found he'd violated his probation -- sentencing him to 2-4 years behind bars ... an incredibly harsh punishment.

Meek's legal team believes this stemmed from a long-standing vendetta the judge has against the rapper ... partly because he laughed at her prior suggestion of him doing a remake of Boyz II Men's "On Bended Knee" and giving her a shout-out.

After a lot of public outcry and petitioning by movers and shakers in and around the city ... Meek was finally released, much to the chagrin of Judge Brinkley.

Luckily for him, she isn't hearing his request this time around -- Meek is coming face-to-face with a panel of judges, who will decide whether the OG case from 2008 was legit or not.

Stay tuned ...

The criminal investigation into Ezekiel Elliott over his Las Vegas altercation with a security guard is officially underway, TMZ Sports has learned. 

A rep for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. tells us ... they were contacted by Kyle Johnson, who claims he was the victim of a battery committed by the NFL star. 

"This incident is under investigation," the spokesperson confirmed. 

We reached out to Zeke's camp and a rep told us, "No comment."

As we previously reported, 19-year-old Johnson has stated he was going to file a police report over the May 19 incident at the Electric Daisy Carnival when Elliott knocked Johnson to the ground during a dispute in the parking lot. 

At the time, police officers working at the event detained the Dallas Cowboys running back and placed him in handcuffs -- but he was NOT arrested because Johnson told them he did not want to press charges. 

At the time, cops described the incident as a "battery" -- since Ezekiel clearly used his body to push Johnson into a metal gate, ultimately knocking him to the ground. 

Johnson publicly demanded a "sincere" apology from Zeke -- and said if he didn't get it, he would explore his legal options. 

Elliott and his reps have accused Johnson of running an extortion scheme -- implying Johnson was more interested in getting money from Zeke than getting justice. 

R. Kelly didn't buy an acquittal in 2008 by paying off the alleged child victim and her family ... so says that family.

Attorney Christopher Brown, who represents the family, tells TMZ ... the claims made by Michael Avenatti suggesting the victim did not testify in the trial because the family received a $2 million payoff for their silence are "false and have no basis in reality."

Brown adds ... "The victim and her family have been contacted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Chicago and are cooperating with the investigation of R. Kelly."

As we reported ... Kelly is due in court Tuesday for a bond hearing in his federal sex crimes case. On Monday, Avenatti -- who says he reps 3 of the alleged victims in the new federal indictments -- alleged Kelly got off in his 2008 child porn case by paying the family off.

Avenatti called the 2008 acquittal bogus, saying ... "R. Kelly bought his acquittal. He bought this victim and their parents and ensured that the truth was never told to that jury in 2008."

The family clearly refutes these allegations.

As we reported ... Kelly was arrested last week in Chicago and is facing federal charges for multiple sex crimes including child pornography, racketeering and obstruction of justice.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thinks President Trump is splitting hairs by saying he doesn't have a racist bone in his body -- 'cause he's got plenty of other bigoted body parts.

We got AOC Tuesday roaming the halls of Congress on Capitol Hill, just a day after she and 3 other Democratic congresswomen publicly rebuked Trump, again, for telling them to go back and fix the countries "from which they came." 

With the House of Representatives now preparing a resolution to formally condemn his racist remarks ... the Prez defended himself, saying, "Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show “weakness” and fall into their trap."

Our photog asked the NY Congresswoman about the "racist bone" comment, and she says he's got a lot more problems in that department than just his bones. Watch.

She also gets into the delayed roll-out for the new Harriet Tubman $20 bill design -- which many people thought Trump's cabinet was responsible for slowing, but it's since been confirmed as something that was never gonna happen in 2020, even on Obama's watch. 

WWE wrestler Jeff Hardy was passed out in a public stairwell and reeked of booze before cops arrested him Saturday ... this according to new police docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... Hardy was busted down in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this weekend for allegedly being drunk in public -- and was eventually released on less than $200 bond.

Now, we've obtained police docs that say Hardy admitted to drinking vodka before cops found him passed out in a stairwell.

Hardy was facing a misdemeanor charge of public intoxication -- but we've now learned Jeff ain't facing more trouble in the case.

Court officials tell us ... because Hardy paid a $153 ticket for public intoxication, his case is considered closed.

Of course, there is a small chance Jeff could fight the ticket in court later this month ... but doesn't seem that'll be likely, considering he's not facing a conviction on his record.

41-year-old Hardy has been 1/2 of the famous Hardy Boyz tag team in the WWE for years.