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Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott just issued a mea culpa ... telling media members Thursday he's truly sorry for bringing up the 9/11 attacks in a motivational speech a couple years ago.

According to GoLongTD.com's Tyler Dunne ... McDermott's tone-deaf talk to his players happened during the Bills' 2019 training camp -- when he was trying to emphasize to his squad how it needed to communicate to come together.

"Sources on-hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001," Dunne wrote in a lengthy three-part piece about the coach that was published on Thursday morning.

"He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection."

When McDermott addressed the issue with reporters Thursday afternoon ... he didn't deny making the making comments.

"I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day," he said, "and I immediately apologized to the team." He added that his goal was to get his guys to understand the importance of "being on the same page."

ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg reported the coach also said he has plans to apologize to his current roster over the comments later Thursday.

"Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country's history," McDermott said, "but a day that I lost a good family friend."

He continued, "I'm not here to discuss the article that's out there and the things that are mentioned other than this right here, because this right here is very, very important to me and something I take very seriously."

Forest Whitaker's ex-wife, Keisha Whitaker, who he shares three daughters and more than 20 years of marriage with has died.

Forest and Keisha's 25-year-old daughter, True, shared the devastating news, writing, "goodbye mommy. I love you 4ever and beyond. the most beautiful woman in the world ... thank you for teaching me every single thing I know. I'll see you in my dreams and I'll feel you in my heart."

It's currently unclear how Keisha died.

Forest and Keisha tied the knot back in 1996 after meeting on the set of the 1994 film, "Blown Away" ... their other daughters are 27-year-old Sonnet and 32-year-old Autumn.

In an interview with Ebony years ago, Keisha said of Forest, “I had seen him in ‘A Rage in Harlem,'" and “Right away, I thought Forest had a gentle soul and a nice spirit.”

It was back in 2018 when Forest filed for divorce from Keisha after more than 20 years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split.

Keisha was only 51.

Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons is speaking out about multiple rape allegations made against him years ago ... and he's continuing to deny sexually assaulting anyone.

The music mogul opened up about the claims against him on Wednesday's episode of "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" ... saying, "I've never been violent to anybody" -- adding all his relationships "have been consensual."

He owns up to being insensitive and using "crude" language during sexual encounters over the years, but shoots down the notion he's been "forceful" with any past partners.

Further, he complains he's suffered greatly due to the allegations ... saying, "All my five charities have gone down." However, he applauds the #MeToo movement -- which fueled the heat on Simmons in 2017 -- by saying, "It's done a lot of great work for women. It sensitized men in ways they were not sensitized, and for that I'm grateful."

Simmons stops short of flat-out calling his accusers liars, and instead, suggests this is more about changing times and attitudes toward sex. He says he's had thousands of sexual partners over the years, but thinks it's not fair to compare the climate of today to how it was 40 years ago.

As we reported, multiple women came forward claiming Russell sexually assaulted them over the years. He was also sued by Jennifer Jarosik in 2018 over similar allegations -- but the case was dismissed months after she filed. Simmons maintained her allegations were "absolutely untrue."

By the way, Graham flew to Simmons' home in Bali -- where he's lived since 2017 -- to do the interview, but Simmons denies fleeing, saying ... "Because I left and I spend so much time here, people assumed that I really left and ran even though I'm back in America all the time."

Jamie Foxx is turning up his holiday celebration to 10 this year -- his mega-mansion should be visible from space, now that he's pulled out all the stops on Christmas decorations!

JF's sprawling Agoura Hills property looks like something straight out of a Christmas flick -- starting with the word "JOY" displayed on the guy's front lawn, shining bright for all to see.

His driveway is lined with lights, his front fountain has Santa and a snowman, and the estate even has some MASSIVE Christmas trees decorated to the 9's ... safe to say, there isn't much of Jamie's 20k-square-foot home not doused in the Christmas spirit!

As you know, Jamie was hospitalized back in April with his mystery illness, and he spoke out about that ordeal earlier this week at the Critics Choice Association Awards ... saying his life was almost cut short.

Chevy Chase is falling hard for the holidays, but not in a good way -- he tumbled off a stage during a 'Christmas Vacation' event, and despite Clark Griswold's smartwatch having some serious concerns ... he's doing fine.

Chevy was greeting fans Wednesday night at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY ... where they screened his National Lampoon holiday classic, but as you can see in this clip we got, the Q&A sesh got off to a rocky start.

For some reason, Chevy was rolled out onstage in a wheelchair, but quickly stood up and started walking toward the crowd ... before suddenly dipping out of sight, as he stepped right off the stage!

He eventually got up and back to his seat onstage with help from his wife, Jayni, and the Q&A's host ... and the whole room had a laugh when Chevy's smartwatch called him out for his tumble!

Folks in the audience told us he ended up doing the event with an icepack on his knee but still stuck around to snap some pics with fans and answer questions.

Sources close to Chevy tell us he simply misjudged the edge of the stage when walking out -- saying the stage lights on him blacked it out ... but he's doing just fine, apart from a bruised knee.

"Succession" star Alan Ruck might be out of the woods with cops for his pizza shop truck crash, but he's being dragged to court by the driver of one of the vehicles he collided with before driving through a building.

According to a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Horacio Vela says he was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Hollywood Blvd and La Brea Ave Halloween night. Vela claims Ruck was waiting directly behind him in his 2023 Rivian truck in the line of traffic.

Without warning, Vela says Ruck slammed into the back of his Hyundai while the light was still red, pushing him into oncoming traffic and causing Vela to collide with another vehicle.

As we reported ... Ruck's vehicle continued on, slamming into Raffalo's pizza and causing significant damage.

Vela says he suffered, "severe injuries and damages" as a result of the crash ... and was immediately taken to the hospital by ambulance to get checked out.

While he doesn't get specific ... Vela also states the crash left him with "property damage, costs of past and future medical care, pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, and other consequential damages."

Video from the crash showed Ruck's Rivian accelerate without warning while it was stopped at a red light, cops say he was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol ... and chalked the whole thing up to an accident.

We got Ruck out following the crash, but he didn't say much.

Tony Hawk has finally given a glimpse of his son Riley's October wedding to Frances Bean Cobain ... better late than never, right?

The pro skateboarder shared a pic on IG Thursday of the smiling newlyweds cozied up on their big night two months ago ... in honor of his "wonderful and talented" son's birthday.

Frances -- Kurt Cobain's only daughter -- is clearly a hit with the parents ... with Tony expressing gratitude that Riley had found the "love of his life."

The proud dad also gushed he was "inspiring his younger siblings by example" by choosing a "healthy, disciplined approach to adulthood."

"We had a blast at the wedding, and we love you, Riley!" he continued -- ending with a request for Frances to show the sweet wedding snap to his son cause he wasn't on IG.

TMZ broke the story, revealing their marriage certificate showed they exchanged vows on Oct. 7 in L.A. after getting a marriage license in Sept down in San Diego ... with none other than former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe performing the ceremony.

There's a good reason Taylor Swift called out Kim Kardashian in TIME over a now 7-year-old phone call with Kanye West -- it's an incident for which Kim still has not apologized ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Kim has never said sorry to Taylor over the notorious "Famous" phone call between Taylor and Kanye in 2016 ... the one Kim and Ye released, attempting to show Taylor was cool with the song's racy line about her.

Remember, at the time of the track's release, Taylor expressed outrage over Ye's lyric ... "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex // Why? I made that bitch famous." In response to Taylor's anger, Kim posted her version of the recorded phone call in an effort to prove Taylor understood exactly what the song would include.

However, the full unedited version of the recorded call eventually came out, and it became clear Kanye had not revealed he'd refer to Taylor as a "bitch."

Our sources say Kim's never apologized to Taylor for the call -- and even after the Time article, it's still crickets.

Interestingly, we're told Taylor would actually accept an apology from Kim on this issue, even all these years later, but only under one specific condition ... it would have to be done publicly.

As one source put it to us, a public shaming calls for a public "I'm sorry."

Our sources say Taylor still feels like Kim and Kanye were in the wrong ... and she was dumbfounded when Kim doubled down on her position even after the full, unedited version of their call got published.

From Kim's POV -- which she made clear in tweets at the time, and in subsequent interviews -- the fact Taylor was looped in on the song, period, vindicated her and Kanye ... but we're told Taylor's position has always been about the use of the word "bitch."

Kim downplayed that in a GQ piece ... saying all rappers use that term, and that it was NBD -- and while this might sound like a lot of hair-splitting ... we're told Taylor still feels she was seriously wronged in the framing of all that, something she touched on in her TIME interview.

Again, we're told Taylor is still willing to bury the hatchet with Kim -- who has since divorced Kanye -- but at this point, our sources say the 2 women have no relationship.

Even more context to all this is, of course, Kanye's infamous tirade interrupting Taylor's 2009 VMAs acceptance speech -- an old feud that got relitigated with the phone call saga in 2016 ... and is now being reopened yet again in 2023.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy took a low blow at former NJ Gov. Chris Christie in the latest Republican debate, essentially telling him to get out of the race and go stuff his face.

Ramaswamy fired off the remark Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama ... claiming Christie's only experience on the topic of foreign policy was shutting down the George Washington Bridge -- an infamous moment during his time as Governor.

That woulda been politics as usual, but then Ramaswamy took it to fat-shaming -- he added, "Just walk yourself off that stage, enjoy a nice meal, and get the hell out of this race."

The crack garnered some applause, but mostly a whole lotta booing.

His harsh words came after Christie jumped to fellow candidate Nikki Haley's defense -- Ramaswamy accused her of not knowing where specific provinces in Ukraine were if she was given a map.

Christie called her a "smart, accomplished woman," and blasted Ramaswamy for being, in his eyes, "the most obnoxious blowhard in America."

Frontrunner Donald Trump again wasn't in attendance for the 4th debate, but he grabbed plenty of headlines leading up to it.

Houston rapper Sauce Walka is free on bond after police say he attempted to flee at a crazy high speed ... only to find himself in the hospital after wrecking his car.

Harris County Sheriff's Office tells us deputies observed Sauce running a red light Wednesday night and attempted to pull him over -- but he darted away, eventually reaching a top speed of 130 mph during a pursuit that lasted just over 2 miles.

Cops say the rapper then lost control of his vehicle, crashed and ended up needing to be rushed to a hospital. We're told doctors treated him for non-life-threatening injuries.

Sauce was eventually released from the hospital, and booked into the Harris County Joint Processing Center for felony evading in a vehicle.

We're told Sauce was released on $15k bond, and has a court date this Friday ... which he doesn't seem to be worried about.

After getting sprung from jail, SW phoned his homie Sauce Money JC and described the incident as a "catastrophic accident,” but downplayed it by promoting his new music.

Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson making their first public outing since announcing they have a baby on the way woulda been spectacle enough, but their pal Taylor Swift joined 'em to really make a night of it.

The expectant couple and singer stepped out in NYC to support Emma Stone at the premiere of her new movie "Poor Things."

After confirming her pregnancy last month, Suki proudly showed off her bump in a white striped sheer-paneled outfit ... and a very casually dressed Rob was glad to let her get all the attention from photogs.

Taylor looked ultra glam in all-black as she arrived with the expectant parents.

S&R's big night out comes after Suki officially announced she was expecting at the Corona Capital Music Festival in Mexico -- following months of swirling speculation.

This will be the first child for both of them -- they've been dating for 5 years, and moved in together during the pandemic, while Rob filmed "The Batman" in London.

The man accused of going on a fatal mass shooting spree in Las Vegas is a college professor who may have been rejected from a job he applied for, while also claiming he cracked ciphers in the infamous Zodiac murder case.

67-year-old Anthony Polito was identified by police as the suspect who fatally shot three people and critically wounded a fourth during Wednesday’s rampage on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, ABC News reported, citing law enforcement sources.

CNN said investigators were looking into whether Polito was snubbed after sending in his resume for a position at UNLV, leading to the attack.

According to Las Vegas Metro Police, Polito was armed with a handgun as he entered the university's business school around noon and went floor to floor, shooting four people -- three of whom fatally.

The surviving victim was rushed to a local hospital and listed in critical but stable condition. Four other people were also treated for panic attacks.

An army of police officers quickly responded to the college, ordering all students and professors to shelter in place. Two university detectives ultimately got into a shootout with Polito, who was pronounced dead at the scene. It appears he was shot and killed by police.

Meanwhile, Polito reportedly maintained his own website, where he posted a 15-page document, claiming he decoded some of the Zodiac Killer's cryptic letters sent to the media about the late '60s and early '70s serial murders in Northern California. To this day, the Zodiac case remains unsolved.

Drake's latest Turks & Caicos vacation seems to include a blossoming romance with a bartender named Flacka, who's got the boy's nose wide open ... as he serenaded her in her off-hours.

On Wednesday, Drake and his crew hit an intimate beach club named Noah's Ark which reunited him with Flacka -- he's already nicknamed her “The Pride" of Turks and made sure to get additional face time with her at the bar.

Besides serving up cold drinks, she also helped Drizzy model his T&C-inspired Nike x Nocta drop in March ... and their friendship doesn't end there.

Drake previously shouted her out on his “Her Loss” track “P***y & Millions” and had no issues putting her all over his IG ... for his 144 million followers to see.

The evening ended with more canoodling -- a candlelit dinner where Drake sang his tune "Feel No Ways" ... leaving Flacka blushing!!!

They later posed for pics where she called him a "cutie" and Drake described her as "the one and only!"

Reality TV's biggest prize of $4,560,000 has officially been won ... as the winner of "Squid Game: The Challenge" was crowned.

SPOILER ALERT

Millions streamed the real-life game show adaption of the extremely popular Netflix show, and Wednesday night it all came to an end as the final 3 became one single champion. The three remaining contestants were all treated to a feast in their dorm -- consisting of steak -- before it was revealed only 2 of them would move on to the final game.

From there, the remaining 3 Mai Whelan (player 287), Sam Lantz (player 016), and Phill Cain (player 451) were narrowed to two in a game of chance where players selected a button to press ... green meant they got to choose one other player to bring to the final, red meant they were eliminated and grey was neutral. Mai got grey and Sam chose red which meant Phil and Mai moved on.

In the final game, Mai and Phil played "Rock, Paper, Scissors." Every time a player won the round, they'd select a single key from a box of several and attempt to open a lock.

SPOILER ALERT

After about a dozen rounds ... 55-year-old Mai, an immigration adjudicator from Virginia picked the winning key, opening the safe and taking home the $4,560,000 prize.

Tim Allen has found himself on the naughty list this year ... with Casey Wilson blasting him for acting more like The Grinch than his titular role in the TV series, "The Santa Clauses" while filming together.

Months after Pamela Anderson accused the actor of flashing her on the set of "Home Improvement," Casey has blasted him as "such a bitch" ... claiming working with him was "the truly single worst experience" she's ever had with a costar. Ouch.

She recalls shooting a scene in which her character confuses Santa for an intruder ... saying: "So I'm throwing things at him. [He] goes over to the producer who is standing four feet from me and goes, and I hear him, he goes, 'You gotta tell her to stop stepping on my lines.'"

Casey says that a producer turned to her horrified and relayed the message ... acknowledging that "everybody was walking on eggshells" around the veteran actor.

And that wasn't all ... as Casey claims when he was done "he was so f***ing rude. Never made eye contact, never said anything."

To mark his exit on the show, she says he announced he was leaving to everyone, picked up his Santa cape, dropped it on the floor and walked out -- with crew members scurrying to pick up the velvet cape.

Casey also alleges that a crew member told her she was seeing Tim "on a good day" -- adding one last damning statement: "He's a bitch."

Britney and Jamie Spears possibly reconciling is something Sam Asghari certainly has an opinion about, but getting him to share it ... well, that's another story, especially when the guy's got Christmas on the mind.

We got Britney's ex-husband out Wednesday in L.A., on the heels of our report about Brit warming to the idea of burying the hatchet with her old man after his recent leg amputation.

Keep in mind, Sam's the guy who once called Jamie a "d***" ... so, of course, we wanted to get his opinion on the potential father and child reunion.

Check out the interaction, for yourself -- Sam was happy to send season's greetings to the Spears fam, but beyond that ... well, you'll have to read his face.

He refused to answer questions about his ex-wife and ex-father-in-law ... and trust us, we tried every angle, including bringing up Britney and Lynne reuniting last week.

His shutdown might be a sign he's done talking about BS and her family drama, but more likely ... he and his ex have agreed not to speak about each other in public.

Remember, Brit and Sam filed for divorce earlier this year -- and late last month, we learned they were close to a settlement. So, it makes sense he's not looking to sink any ships with loose lips.