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Barack Obama revealed when he was a kid, he once responded to racism with violence ... by popping his own friend in the nose.

The former President was speaking with Bruce Springsteen on their new Spotify podcast, "Renegades: Born in the USA," and amid a wide-ranging conversation about their lives, politics, music and race ... Obama recalled the incident with a classmate.

He says the kid was a friend he played basketball with, and one time they got into a fight and his friend called him a racial slur ... different from the n-word.

Obama says he doesn't even think his schoolmate knew what the word meant -- just that it was meant to be hurtful -- so he "popped him in the face and broke his nose" while they were in the locker room.

Obama says his friend asked him why he did that, and he told him ... "Don't ever call me something like that."

According to Spotify ... Barack and Bruce have been friends since they met on the campaign trail in 2008. The Prez awarded the famous singer the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

With Chris Harrison stepping aside for Matt James' "After the Final Rose" ceremony, it's up in the air who will fill his shoes -- but we've learned it might be someone outside the franchise.

Sources directly familiar with the production tell TMZ ... ABC appears to be seeking someone who's not part of 'Bachelor' nation to replace Harrison for the swiftly-approaching shoot. That means no former bachelors, bachelorettes or their suitors ... no matter how popular they are.

Essentially, our sources say producers now seem to have their sights set on someone without ties to the series -- but who's still part of ABC's talent pool. That said, they did make a run at one alum.

We're told Rachel Lindsay -- the first Black 'Bachelorette' -- was asked to take up the mantle, but she declined. She's publicly suggested they consider FS1 sports analyst Emmanuel Acho -- who's not only Black, but also outspoken on issues of race. Let's face it, that's going to be a major topic when cameras roll for 'ATFR.'

Despite Rachel's endorsement, Emmanuel's rep tells us no one's reached out to them yet.

Fans have also been clamoring for Tayshia Adams -- the second-ever Black 'Bachelorette' -- to step up in Harrison's place. She's been vocal about the show's racism controversy lately, but producers have not tapped her

It's unclear if ABC's specifically looking for a POC for this gig -- but all signs seem to point to that being highly considered. It's gonna be a sensitive episode ... not just because of the Harrison fallout, but a potential faceoff between Matt and Rachael Kirkconnell, who's rumored to be the winner.

Chrissy Teigen has no regrets about requesting a Twitter unfollow from President Biden because she's a realist, and figures the Prez doesn't run the account anyway.

We got Chrissy leaving E Baldi in Beverly Hills shortly after she lost her @POTUS follow, and she reiterates what she tweeted about feeling free ... but this time without all the profanities. Sorry.

She concedes it's all in good fun though, and not like she really thinks Biden was scrolling through his feed and reading her tweets in the first place. In fact, she doubts he even knows about the whole follow-unfollow saga.

Either way, Chrissy says she adores the Prez and suggests the fact he's in office has made her a different person on the social media platform ... much more peaceful.

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star Sheree Whitfield is free to love whoever she wants ... now that the guy she wants is free from prison!

Sheree's boyfriend, Tyrone Gilliams, tells TMZ ... he was released from prison in Kentucky last week and ever since then he's been spending lots of QT with Sheree. We're told they've mostly been spending time in Philly ... going out and enjoying cheesesteaks, naturally.

We're told Sheree's helping him acclimate back into life on the outside ... which includes helping him catch up with the latest technology.

True 'RHOA' fans know Tyrone and Sheree dated briefly nearly a decade ago, but he cut off contact when he realized the feds were going to indict him in a wire fraud case. Tyrone was ultimately sentenced to 10 years back in October 2013.

They reconnected around her birthday in 2016, and decided to start dating again -- which meant communicating as much as possible, and Sheree visited him in prison.

Things went south, though, in 2018 when Tyrone says he lost an appeal ... so they stopped dating.

Now that Sheree's single and he's scored an early release -- due to COVID spreading in prison -- he says the time was right to rekindle that old flame.

If JuJu Smith-Schuster had it his way, he would NOT leave Pittsburgh in free agency this offseason ... the star receiver tells TMZ Sports he wants to be a Steeler for life!

"At the end of the day, I want to have my legacy in Pittsburgh and retire there," the 24-year-old says. "I don't want to leave."

Smith-Schuster's rookie contract is expiring this offseason ... and he's expected to test the open market, even if the Steelers make him a preliminary offer.

The wideout could command HUGE dollars from teams like the Jets, Patriots or Dolphins ... but he made it clear to us while shopping out in L.A. this week he's hoping the Steelers come close to matching a big deal from other teams.

In fact, when we asked if he could see himself in a Chargers or Rams jersey in 2021 ... JuJu told us straight up, "Not right now. Until I actually get let go, other than that, I'm Pittsburgh for life."

Smith-Schuster started his career with a bang with the Black and Yellow ... recording over 2,300 yards and 14 TDs in his 1st two seasons.

But, injuries, diminished play, a public feud with former teammate Antonio Brown and controversy surrounding pregame dancing TikToks have most believing Pittsburgh will let him walk in the offseason.

As for if his QB could be out in Pitt as well ... Smith-Schuster says he's hopeful both he and 38-year-old Ben Roethlisberger find a way to return to the Steelers.

Before this little lad set his sights on a career in the television industry, he was just a tiny tot looking to the sky in Toronto, Canada.

This cute kid in overalls was born into a famous family but soon claimed his name for himself after finding his stride as a television writer, producer, director and star of his own comedy show -- which also features some of his relatives. This hilarious series finished its 6th and final season last year ... just before winning a record number of Primetime Emmy Awards in a single year.

Travis Scott's whipped up another frenzy over the launch of one of his new projects ... this time it went down in front of a newsstand.

The rapper surprised fans Tuesday by announcing a pop-up shop in WeHo to promote his new "i-D Magazine." As you can see ... it drew a HUGE crowd clamoring to see him, and maybe get an autograph.

Eventually, Travis had to be escorted from his excited fans by security to his getaway ride ... but not before hyping them up one more time.

The shop was apparently selling limited edition Cactus Jack merch to go with the 'Utopia Issue' magazine collab with Spike Jonze and Robert Rodriguez.

As you may recall ... Travis was promoting another one of his Cactus Jack projects -- a combo meal at McDonald's -- back in September when he drew another massive crowd that nearly mobbed him before he was whisked away.

Elijah McClain was dealt with in a severely uncalled-for manner by Aurora, CO cops and paramedics -- so says an independent panel investigating the 23-year-old Black man's death ... and now his family wants the officers criminally charged.

Elijah's father, Lawayne Mosley, and the family's attorney, Mari Newman, joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to discuss the findings of a commission gathered by the Aurora City Council.

Newman says the commission determined cops did everything wrong during the 2019 incident ... starting with having no legal reason to stop and frisk Elijah, not to mention later detaining him in a chokehold.

As for the paramedics, the commission found they gave Elijah way too much ketamine to sedate him, and ended up putting him in a coma ... before he later died.

Newman says Aurora PD tried covering up their mess after the fact -- another finding she says the panel discovered and made clear in its 157-page report.

Elijah's dad says the commission's findings are just the start, because his family wants justice. They'd like to see the officers criminally charged for Elijah's death -- plus, they've already filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city and the police department.

There's another update for this case ... the fact that the firing of three Aurora PD officers last year was upheld a just couple weeks ago by the city's Civil Service Commission. When the Chief of Police spoke about their actions at a presser, it was clear she was sickened ... they photographed each other mockingly reenacting a chokehold during a memorial for Elijah.

None of the Rochester police officers suspended over the death of Daniel Prude will face criminal charges ... a grand jury just declined to hand up an indictment.

New York Attorney General Letitia James expressed disappointment in the decision, and slammed the system as a whole saying ... "Current laws on deadly force have created a system that utterly and abjectly failed Mr. Prude."

She claims her office presented the most comprehensive case it possibly could and added ... "I know that the Prude family, the Rochester community and communities across the country will rightfully be disappointed by this outcome."

As we reported, 7 Rochester cops were suspended in September after video was released of the 41-year-old Black man being detained on March 23, having a hood placed over his head, and then pressed down on the ground.

Prude was held there for 2 minutes until cops realized he was unconscious. He was taken to the hospital and placed on life support, but died a week later.

The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, caused by "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint" and noted "excited delirium" and PCP intoxication as contributing factors.

NY AG James says on that fateful March day, Prude "was in the throes of a mental health crisis and what he needed was compassion, care, and help from trained professionals. Tragically, he received none of those things."

She adds ... "The criminal justice system has frustrated efforts to hold law enforcement officers accountable for the unjustified killing of unarmed African Americans."

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren also expressed outrage, saying the grand jury decision is "hard for many of us to understand." She says the City needs to work on policy reform to "correct the inequities in the system."

Clive Davis -- the music mogul who molded the careers of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Kelly Clarkson and many others -- has been diagnosed with Bell's Palsy ... TMZ has confirmed.

According to his rep ... Clive is currently being treated with antibiotics and steroids but he is expected to make a full recovery within the next 6 weeks. Bell's palsy, which is muscle weakness that causes part of the face to droop, has so far not affected Clive's speech.

Clive, who is famous for his Grammy parties, had originally planned a pre-Grammy gala party over Zoom slated for next month ... but those plans will now move to later this spring, according to ShowBiz 411, which first reported the news about Clive's diagnosis.

For the young kids out there ... Clive Davis is a HUGE deal in the biz. On top of discovering Whitney, he also founded Bad Boy Records with Sean Combs.

The pesky murder hornets that made it to North America last year are NOT all dead and gone -- in fact, a battle's being waged to contain the danger.

We spoke to renowned Washington state beekeeper Ted McFall Tuesday on "TMZ Live" about the new Discovery Channel documentary, "Attack of the Murder Hornets." He says enough have made it over here now to the point that different nests have developed.

Pros like Ted are addressing the crisis now ... however, he fears if they don't get it under control quickly, the U.S. honeybee population could be in serious jeopardy -- which eventually impacts our food supply too.

You might not realize it, but honeybees are a HUGE part of what keeps a lot of our crops growing at the rate they do. Murder hornets can easily wipe out colonies of bees, and that's why they're such a menace.

You'll recall, scientists in Washington state set out on a weeks-long mission late last year to snatch up as many murder hornets as they could find in one woodsy section of Washington, right on the Canadian border.

They thought they'd gotten them all in that one fell swoop, but had to go back later to retrieve a lot more of these hornets ... including hundreds of queens!

Turns out, those weren't the only ones out there -- and now, a black (and yellow) cloud hangs over the area.

Chrissy Teigen's Twitter dreams came true when she got a follow from President Biden, and now they've come true again ... because he clicked "unfollow."

Let us explain -- the popular supermodel tweeter pleaded for a follow from Biden on his inauguration day, and hours later ... she was one of only 11 accounts @POTUS was following. The rest were all his family and staff.

Chrissy was thrilled, but apparently ... since January 20 she has not felt like she can be her Twitter self with the Prez keeping an eye on her feed. So on Tuesday, she made this request -- "In order for me to flourish as me, I must ask you to please lord unfollow me. I love you!!! It’s not you it’s me!!!!"

Almost immediately afterward, @POTUS was no longer one of her followers, and Chrissy replied ... "b***h f**k s**t suck the d I am FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Zachery Ty Bryan struck a plea deal in his domestic violence case ... and it looks like he won’t do any time behind bars.

The "Home Improvement" star pled guilty to 2 misdemeanor counts -- menacing and assault in the fourth degree -- for his arrest in Oregon last year after an altercation with his girlfriend.

According to legal docs ... Bryan's 2 felony charges -- strangulation and coercion -- along with several misdemeanor charges have been dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Bryan's sentence includes 3 years probation during which he must complete a batterers intervention program.

Ahmaud Arbery's mother just filed a bombshell federal lawsuit, alleging the men charged in her son's death were in cahoots with local law enforcement.

Wanda Cooper is suing Greg and Travis McMichael and William Bryan -- the 3 who've been charged in connection with Ahmaud's killing one year ago Tuesday  ... as well as a number of police officials in Glynn County, and the county itself ... all of whom she says violated Ahmaud's civil rights.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Wanda recounts the events of Feb. 23, 2020 ... claiming Ahmaud went out for a jog that day, only to be targeted by the McMichaels and Bryan, who she alleges were deputized by Glynn County PD, and says Greg McMichael even had a police-issued revolver.

With those firearms -- including the revolver and a 12-gauge shotgun carried by Travis McMichael -- Wanda claims the men chased Ahmaud down on a "gut feeling" that he might be involved with recent break-ins in their neighborhood ... and then murdered him in cold blood.

Once Travis McMichael shot at Ahmaud point-blank range with his shotgun, Wanda alleges he uttered the words, "f***ing N***er." The aftermath, she alleges, is just as disturbing.

Wanda claims there were efforts by Glynn County and Brunswick County prosecutors -- as well as other officials involved in the initial investigation -- to sweep the incident under the rug, as she says Gregory McMichael had once been employed by the local police force as well as by the D.A.'s office. She says if it wasn't for the video of Ahmuad's death being leaked, it's possible nobody would've ever known or believed what happened to her son.

Ahmaud's mom alleges multiple causes of action ... including excessive force, conspiracy to violate Ahmaud's civil rights, conspiracy to obstruct justice, a failure to properly train officers, and several others.

Dr. Dre seems to be letting out his frustrations over his pending divorce with Nicole Young in his music -- and he's not being very subtle about it either.

A new track was previewed Monday night by DJ Silk, which features Dre and Aftermath pal KXNG Crooked. Dre drops some explicit lyrics about his estranged wife and their nasty divorce proceedings.

Dre raps ... "Trying to kill me with them lies and that perjury // I see you trying to f*** me while I'm in surgery // In ICU death bed on some money s*** // Greedy bitch take a pic // Girl you know how money get."

As we've reported ... Dre went right back to the studio after being released from his recent health scare -- suffering what could've been a fatal brain aneurysm.

Silk only played a few bars, so it's unclear if Dre makes any other references to the divorce or Nicole on the track.

Dre and Nicole's legal war hasn't seen a pause whatsoever since she filed for divorce last summer -- most recently she filed a motion asking for access to their home amid suspicions of a mistress, and was granted temporary spousal support ... a one-time payment of $2 mil.

Here's a verrrry good girl with a little extra pep in her steps ... she was born with 6 legs but veterinarians say the pooch is miraculously beating the odds.

This newborn Aussie-border collie mix named Miracle but who also goes by Skipper was born in Oklahoma City and taken to a vet after she was rejected by her mom. Vets at Neel Veterinary Hospital say she's nothing short of a miracle because she's survived longer than expected. The pup was 4 days old at the time the pic was taken.

And get this ... the vets say Skipper has duplicate organs basically from her waist down, and they're all functioning. There's no published research showing another dog with this condition born alive.

Skipper has congenital conjoining disorders called ... monocephalus dipygus and monocephalus rachipagus dibrachius tetrapus ... that's science talk for 1 head and chest cavity but 2 pelvic regions, 2 lower urinary tracts, 2 reproductive systems, 2 tails and 6 legs, among other things.

All things considered ... Skipper does have some positive signs going for her. The vets say her organs appear to be in great condition and she's peeing and pooping like a normal doggy, She's also very strong and growing appropriately so far.