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Jerry Jones took a unique path to respond to LeBron James' very public criticism of the Dallas Cowboys owner's controversial 1957 photo ... choosing to do nothing but shower the NBA star with praise.

Jones was asked Friday about Bron's Wednesday comments during his weekly radio hit on the K&C Masterpiece show on Audacy's 105.3 The Fan ... and instead of revealing his thoughts on it all, he opted to simply compliment the Lakers forward.

For roughly two minutes, Jones called James an amazing person ... saying the basketball player is "an absolute great ambassador for sport" who he respects more than possibly anybody else in the world.

Jones added that it "made buttons pop off my vest" when James previously identified as a huge Cowboys fan.

But, when it came time to address James' comments, the 80-year-old sidestepped.

"I'm just giving him due," Jones said. "I'm just giving him due there. Certainly, he has influence, and just because of all of the above. His accomplishments, how he's utilized his sport and how he's utilized his platform. How we have done it. He has enhanced basketball, he's made a lot of people a lot of money. But, I hope I have too."

Jones -- who did admit to hearing James' remarks -- would not say if he had any interest in meeting with James over it all. He was not pressed further about the issue.

As we reported, LeBron sounded off on reporters earlier this week following a win over the Trail Blazers ... chastising them for not asking him about the 65-year-old photo showing Jones as a teenager standing with a group of white classmates who were trying to prevent six Black students from entering an Arkansas school.

James wondered why they had asked him so much about the Kyrie Irving drama earlier this year -- but were silent about Jones.

Kanye West's antisemitic ranting is now on the White House's radar ... and President Biden is not only calling him out, but also anyone who does NOT speak out against Ye.

The prez doesn't mention Ye by name, but it's clear who and what he was referring to Friday morning when he tweeted, "I just want to make a few things clear: The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure."

The tweet comes immediately on the heels of Elon Musk shutting down Ye's Twitter account because he posted a graphic combining a swastika with the Star of David. He also ranted all day -- on Twitter and on "Infowars" with Alex Jones -- about loving Hitler and Nazis.

President Biden's tweet also adds what seems like a shot at Donald Trump. He said, "Instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity."

Remember, Trump's been widely criticized for having dinner last week with Ye and white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago.

Even Sen. Mitch McConnell, a former Trump ally, condemned him by saying, "There is no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy."

Balenciaga is tossing out its massive suit against a marketing agency that it claimed was to blame for its recent controversial photoshoots ... and instead is doing a 180, focusing on organizations that benefit the protection of kids.

President and CEO Cedric Charbit released a statement Friday on social media ... saying "Balenciaga has decided not to pursue legal action" -- ditching the $25M lawsuit against North Six from earlier this week.

Balenciaga instead seems to be pivoting from attack mode ... saying the company's "current process for content validation has failed" and adding it's going to be starting up an image board -- tasked with evaluating all aspects of content going forward.

The company says it's also working with an agency to better assess its projects, amongst other company-wide changes.

He says the company's put aside a "significant fund" for grants to go to orgs that benefit the protection of children ... ending by apologizing for what went down and adding Balenciaga doesn't tolerate "any kind of violence and hatred message."

As we reported, Balenciaga came under fire for a series of shoots -- one where children held BDSM-themed bears, and another featuring what appeared to be legal docs related to a Supreme Court case dealing with child pornography.

Balenciaga came for North Six, a company that was involved with one of the photoshoots, with the big lawsuit ... but a source connected to the shoot told us North Six wielded no creative power in the project and claimed it wasn't ultimately responsible for any harm to Balenciaga's reputation from the controversy.

The man who fell off a Carnival ocean liner and treaded water for 20 hours before being rescued literally swam with sharks and miraculously survived, but there's one big mystery -- how many drinks did this dude consume before going overboard?!?

James Michael Grimes had an amazingly entertaining chitchat Friday on 'GMA,' where he described the harrowing experience last week in the Gulf of Mexico.

He concedes he had been drinking the day of the fall, although he can't remember how much he had. He remembers downing a few, and winning one in an air guitar contest.

The 28-year-old told a family member he was going to the bathroom, and that's the last anyone saw of him. He doesn't remember going to the bathroom, falling off the ship or hitting the water.

The first thing he recalls is that he was in the ocean with no boat in sight. He was actually passed out in the water after the fall. Unreal!

James was treading water in an area known as a feeding ground for sharks, and it appears he encountered at least one. You gotta watch the video and hear how he survived that.

Eventually, he saw a freighter and swam with the little energy had left ... heading toward the vessel. When a Coast Guard chopper lifted him out the water, the first thing he did was warn one of the military guys he was naked!

Kanye West is back in Twitter's doghouse for spreading more antisemitic hate ... but this time his account was PERSONALLY suspended by the platform's new CEO -- Elon Musk.

The rapper ran afoul of Twitter's policy against inciting violence after posting an altered image showing the Jewish symbol of the Star of David with a Nazi swastika.

Elon wasn't having it, tweeting a reply to Ye early Friday ... "I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended." Kanye's tweet was swiftly removed ... it's not clear how long his suspension is for. His account was suspended once before in October (pre-Musk) after he posted antisemitic remarks.

Kanye's final tweet -- one of Elon getting hosed down by Ari Emanuel -- to which Elon called "fine" and said, "Frankly, I found those pics to be helpful motivation to lose weight!"

Before his latest Twitter drama, Kanye appeared with white nationalist Nick Fuentes on Thursday's "Infowars" show hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Ye praised the Nazis and Adolf Hitler, seemingly in the throes of a mental breakdown.

During their bizarre discussion, Jones tried to denounce the Nazis, but Kanye wouldn't let him, insisting, "They did good things too, we are gonna stop dissing the Nazis." And, before a commercial break, Kanye shockingly admitted, "I like Hitler."

Kim Kardashian had a very noticeable sidekick missing as she hit her first night of Art Basel celebrations ... she stepped out without Balenciaga.

Kim was among a slew of celebs -- including Madonna, James Blake, Travis Scott, Rande Gerber, Serena Williams, Khloe Kardashian and Leonardo DiCaprio -- to hit Miami for the annual art show which brings out huge collectors, stars and billionaires alike.

Of course, Kim's almost always decked out in the most recent Balenciaga gear at major events like this, but it was very clearly missing from her look. Instead, she wore a Vex latex top and vintage pants with Dior sunglasses ... and still looked hot as ever as she left dinner at Gekko with owner David Grutman and Jonathan “Foodgod” Cheban.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim cut any plans to work with Balenciaga in the future after the brand launched a controversial BDSM-inspired ad campaign with kids. Our sources said Balenciaga had offered Kim a campaign for 2023, but she turned it down.

Offset is finally ready to return to rap, he hit the stage in Miami for his first gig since Takeoff was shot and killed -- and he honored his fellow Migos member during the Miami performance.

Cardi B was with her husband at E11EVEN Thursday night for the club's Art Basel bash.

Although, Offset was back doing what he does, he immediately set the tone ... telling the crowd, "We're doing this for my brother, for Takeoff ... let's do this s***!"

Off the stage, Offset and Cardi seemed to be having a blast, dancing and drinking throughout the night -- and Chance the Rapper was also in the building to see Offset do his thing.

Offset tossed dollar bills up in the air, too, as he performed hits like Migos' "Bad and Boujee" and "Clout" ... his collab with Cardi.

As we reported, Offset broke his silence on the loss of Takeoff a couple of weeks back ... writing about the "unbearable" pain he's been left with since the rapper's death.

Cardi also spoke out about Takeoff, saying "I am heartbroken but I am grateful for all the precious memories we got to share while you were here with us."

No, Drew Brees was not struck by lightning despite a scary video that appeared to show he was ... the NFL legend said Friday a bolt never touched him, and he's doing fine.

Brees relayed the message in a text to ESPN Saints reporter Katherine Terrell ... just hours after footage surfaced seemingly showing the ex-New Orleans quarterback in danger.

In the clip, which was apparently shot while Brees was filming a commercial for the sports gambling platform PointsBet in Catatumbo -- an area in Venezuela known for its consistent thunderstorm activity -- you can see a lightning bolt making a beeline for Brees' back.

The footage shows the bolt cracked onto the ground, sending the 43-year-old former football player and others scurrying away from the scene in a hurry.

It's unclear if it was all fake, staged or edited ... PointsBet refused to confirm or deny the situation in a statement released Friday morning.

"We are aware of the media coverage regarding PointsBet brand ambassador Drew Brees," the org. said.

"We are in communication with Brees' team and will continue to monitor events throughout the coming hours. At this stage we will not be making any further comment."

Brees, meanwhile, had tweeted earlier this week that he was "excited to be flying to a top-secret location later this week to shoot the new promotional video for @PointsBetUSA."

We've reached out to reps for Brees for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Cynthia Bailey and Mike Hill are signed, sealed and divorced -- less than 2 months after announcing their split, they've hammered out a settlement ... TMZ has learned.

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum and the Fox Sports anchor wasted no time putting together the divorce agreement -- a Fulton County court judge signed off on it Thursday ... so they're both officially single.

The exes hit their 2nd anniversary back in October -- without celebration, we should say -- and then a few days later announced they were breaking up. In the divorce docs, obtained by TMZ, Cynthia says the marriage is irretrievably broken with no shot of reconciliation, and she accuses Mike of "inappropriate adulterous relations."

As for Mike's side -- he's choosing to remain silent, saying he will not file any response to the allegations. He actually signed the divorce agreement first, on October 20, and Cynthia signed on November 1.

The now-exes made it easy to go their own ways because they never intermingled their finances, taxes or property during their 2 years together.

They had 2 separate homes, which each will keep. They didn't have kids together, and they've agreed neither will pay spousal support. Mike didn't even retain a lawyer!

Cynthia and Mike threw a big lavish wedding, back in 2020, at Governors Towne Club in Georgia -- and the party was featured in season 13 of 'RHOA.'

Formula One will NOT be making a return to China in 2023 -- the series just announced it has pulled the Chinese Grand Prix due to Covid-19 difficulties.

China recently implemented strict guidelines and lockdowns as part of a "zero-Covid" approach ... which has resulted in public protests.

China has since reportedly announced a plan to loosen its protocols by reducing mass testing in the coming days ... but F1 decided it was best to start its search for a replacement host ASAP.

"Formula 1 can confirm, following dialogue with the promoter and relevant authorities, that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix will not take place due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the COVID-19 situation," F1 announced Friday.

"Formula 1 is assessing alternative options to replace the slot on the 2023 calendar and will provide an update on this in due course."

The April 16 event at Shanghai International Circuit was set to be F1's first return to China since 2019 ... and would have been Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu's debut home race of his career.

David Archuleta says dozens of fans walked out of a recent show of his after he spoke about being queer ... a moment he believes drives home just how important it is to continue to tell his story.

Archuleta arrived in Los Angeles Thursday, just hours after wrapping a stop on his Christmas tour in Utah, where he says fans bailed during a break in the performance where he talked about his recent journey coming out.

In fact, he even shared an email from what appeared to be a manager of the venue where he sang ... expressing their disappointment over his decision to talk about his sexuality.

Part of the email read, "I do not believe that, that concert was a setting for that to happen. We have some very upset patrons that I will dealing with today. I would hope in the remaining concerts, that would not be allowed and just allow them to have an awesome Christmas experience."

David said he could feel the tension in the crowd when sharing his story, and he was disappointed to see some fans leave, but that won't stop him from sharing his experience, because he knows the message could help save lives.

Archuleta -- who placed second behind David Cook in season 7 of "American Idol" -- grew up in a strict Mormon household, and says he had to keep his sexuality a secret. At one point, David says he contemplated taking his own life.

Jay-Z got a taste of what NFL ownership would be like on Thursday night -- sitting alongside Robert Kraft in the New England honcho's suite for the Patriots' 'TNF' game ... while rubbin' elbows with star players after the contest as well.

HOV hit Gillette Stadium for the Bills' dominant 24-10 win over the Pats from start to finish -- with cameras capturing him chillin' with Kraft for the entirety of the night.

Unclear what Bob and Jay talked about -- but seems safe to say the potential of the rapper eventually owning the Commanders came up.

As we reported, Jay-Z has been very interested in putting in a bid for Daniel Snyder's Washington team ... taking a secret dinner with billionaire Jeff Bezos in L.A. last month to talk about the logistics of it all.

It's unknown yet if Snyder has any interest in selling to the two titans ... but at least two star Buffalo players made it clear they'd welcome Jay to NFL fields with open arms.

Josh Allen and Gabe Davis were both spotted showing big love to Jay-Z in a stadium tunnel following their win. And, afterward, Allen joked with media members about being kind of starstruck over it all, saying, "I'm not sure he knew exactly who I was.''

Hollywood is back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., where President Biden's finally getting to entertain a foreign dignitary -- French President Emmanuel Macron -- as well as famous supporters.

Thursday night marks the return of swanky state dinners ... as the COVID pandemic forced Biden to cancel such events for the first 2 years of his administration, but the celebs are flocking back to the White House. No shocker.

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are in the house, along with Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jennifer Garner and Ariana DeBose.

Apple CEO Tim Cook scored an invite too ... he's having a pretty loaded week, just yesterday he was meeting with Elon Musk at Apple HQ in Cali, smoothing things over with Twitter.

All the pomp and circumstance is for France ... Biden's working to repair the U.S. relationship with the European power.

These celebs are among 300 guests at the black-tie dinner, with folks dining on the best cheese America can offer Macron ... plus Maine lobster, beef with shallot marmalade and triple-cooked butter potatoes.

There's live music too ... Dr. Jill Biden booked Grammy-winning musician and composer Jon Batiste, in part because he's from New Orleans, which Jill notes "has been shaped by both French and American culture."

Comedian and actor Affion Crockett thinks Will Smith has another Oscar contender on his hands for his work in "Emancipation" ... and says it would be unfair if the "mistake" of slapping Chris Rock leads to award season snubs.

We got Affion Thursday at LAX, where he told us about getting to see Will's slavery-era drama, and he's certain the movie will be in Oscar contention, and ditto for its lead actor.

As you know, Will's 10-year Oscars ban doesn't prevent him from getting nominated or even winning -- a fact Affion thinks Academy voters should keep in mind, because he sees Will's "Emancipation" performance as "masterful."

As for that beyond infamous Oscars slap of Chris ... Affion's genuinely shocked the world's still focusing on it now that it's over 8 months later.

Despite that fact, he thinks there's a shot the Academy could reevaluate that 10-year ban.

FYI, Affion's also dealt with stage stormers before ... as we reported, he was performing in Florida last year when a woman charged onstage to criticize his act.

Brad William Henke, a former NFL player who later got into acting and appeared in "Orange Is The New Black," has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

Brad died in his sleep Tuesday, according to sources connected to his family. The cause of death is unclear.

Brad's most famous for playing one of the prison guards in 'OITNB' -- and he's in the scene where one of the show's main characters, Poussey Washington, is killed off -- one of the biggest scenes in the entire series.

He also had roles in TV shows like "Justified" and "Lost" ... appearing in movies including "Pacific Rim" and "World Trade Center."

Brad started acting after retiring from the NFL in 1994, hanging up his cleats due to ankle injuries. He played his college ball at the University of Arizona before being drafted in 1989 by the New York Giants.

A defensive lineman, Brad also played for the Denver Broncos and got on the field in Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers.

Brad first got into Hollywood by acting in commercials, then he started landing TV guest spots on series like "ER," "Arli$$," "Nash Bridges," "Silk Stalkings" and "Chicago Hope."

With over 100 acting credits to his name, Brad also appeared in "CSI," "Judging Amy," "Crossing Jordan" and "Dexter" ... among many others.

His manager, Matt DelPiano, tells us, "Brad was an incredibly kind man of joyous energy. A very talented actor, he loved being a part of this community….and we loved him back. Our thoughts are with his wife and family.”

Brad was 56.

The infamous Creel House from "Stranger Things" is changing hands ... TMZ has learned the owners of the home already have a buyer.

Our real estate sources tell us the homeowners accepted an offer Wednesday -- the last day for bids to be submitted for the Georgia estate -- and the home is under contract. The place went on the market with a $1.5 million asking price just over a month ago. The agents are being tight-lipped on the buyer's identity.

The Victorian-style "haunted house" is featured in "Stranger Things" season 4 as the Creel family home and Vecna's lair in the Upside Down ... and it was originally built way back in 1882, but it's undergone extensive renovations.

The main house has 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms ... and there's a separate guest house in the backyard of the one-acre lot.

The property is in Rome, GA and it was once a very successful bed and breakfast before its Netflix fame.

Producers for "Stranger Things" used exterior shots of the home, plus some of the interior ... and the house was also recreated on a sound stage near Atlanta.