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Jeremy Lin is going to bat for J.J. Redick after he was caught on video using a Chinese slur ... saying he's 100% convinced J.J. didn't say mean to use the anti-Asian C-word in a hateful way.

Redick dropped the slur in a commercial for NBA China that was released over the weekend -- clearly saying, "I wish all of the NBA ch**k fans of China a very happy Chinese New Year."

The whole thing was puzzling -- leaving many wondering why the hell J.J. would use that word in that context.

But Jeremy -- the NBA's first full Chinese/Taiwanese-American player -- says he spoke at length with J.J. over the phone, and "I truly believe he didn’t say a racial slur and that he has a great deal of respect towards Chinese people."

Lin acknowledges the word should NEVER be used, but says all the "hateful language" J.J.'s getting from fans needs to stop since it was an accident.

Redick released a lengthy apology on social media Sunday night, saying -- "I ask your forgiveness ... I am so sorry for upsetting anyone."

"I was intending to say 'NBA Chinese fans' but it sounded weird in my mind so I changed it mid-sentence to 'NBA fans in China.' It came out the wrong way."

"That is not a word in my vocabulary but I now understand how it sounds on the video."

Survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week are crying out for something to be done about it ... and thousands have gathered in support.

Emma Gonzalez, a senior at the Parkland, FL school, gave a passionate speech at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale Saturday ... calling out for gun control in the wake of the massacre by Nikolas Cruz that left 17 people dead.

Emma blasted the treatment of her fellow students following the shooting, statements by President Trump and other politicians, and the NRA ... before leading chants of "We call BS!" Check out her full speech below.

Meanwhile in Miami -- less than 50 miles away from the site of the school shooting -- one of the region's largest gun shows is also going down. More than 140 vendors were reportedly at the Miami Gun Show Saturday morning, selling a variety of weapons ... including AR-15s.

As we reported ... Cruz used an AR-15 bought from a local gun shop to carry out his attack.

Jamie Foxx was NOT having it when he was asked about Katie Holmes on ESPN -- and straight-up walked away from the camera during the live interview.

Foxx was on "SportsCenter" talking with Michael Smith -- and everything was cool when they were talking about the All-Star Celebrity Game during NBA All-Star weekend in L.A.

But when Smith asked if Foxx prepared for the game by hoopin' around with Katie Holmes -- Foxx took off his headset and walked away ... refusing to even acknowledge the question.

Foxx and Holmes have been VERY private about their relationship -- refusing to "go public" despite the fact everyone seems to know they're together.

Sen. Marco Rubio is getting called out over gun control -- in the wake of the Florida shooting -- in a way that would make Frances McDormand extremely proud.

Three billboards are parked near the senator's office in Doral, FL ... each clearly referencing Wednesday's school shooting in Parkland ... and asking Marco Rubio why there's been no gun control reform.

The billboards replicate the Oscar-nominated film, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" ... where Frances' character puts the heat on a sheriff to solve her daughter's murder.

The real-life trolling of Rubio was organized by the activist group Avaaz, whose deputy director Emma Ruby-Sachs says, "Florida has notoriously lax gun laws, and Rubio, who is supported by the NRA, has never attempted to reform them."

Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda has a pretty clear New Year's resolution: scaring the living hell outta his translator!!

Since the calendar hit 2018, Kenta's been on a tear messing with his language bro, Will, in the most hilarious ways possible.

On Thursday, the Japanese star punk'd him with a jump scare (again) ... but his best work had to be the classic water bottle coin trick (c'mon, bro ... that one was obvious).

Will's being a great sport through it all ... probably 'cause he's plotting a mistranslating scheme for when the season starts up again.

Serena Williams surprised a group of young black girls with a private screening of "Black Panther" on Thursday -- telling the crowd, "This is a huge moment for us and for black people."

Serena and her hubby, Alexis Ohanian, organized the event in San Fran with roughly 40 members of the youth group Black Girls CODE -- which provides technology education to African-American girls.

The twist, the girls had NO IDEA Serena was going to be in the theater to watch with them -- and when she walked in the room, the crowd went nuts!! It was awesome!!

"We've never had a superhero movie," Serena told the group ... "So, we're so excited. I feel like I've waited my whole life for this."

By the way, Serena says the whole thing was Alexis' idea ... but jokingly added, "It was my idea, too."

DON'T TRY TO CATCH A FALLING KITCHEN KNIFE ... or you could slice your tendon open like ex-Detroit Lions tight end Joe Fauria.

You remember Fauria ... he blew up a few years ago over his awesome TD dances (including the legendary 'NSYNC "Bye Bye Bye" celebration).

But he wasn't dancing yesterday -- when he tried to grab a falling knife. The good news, he grabbed it -- the bad news, the blade ripped through two of his fingers, severing a tendon in the process.

The 28-year-old ex-UCLA star went to the hospital where he got stitched up and bandaged.

Fauria issued a statement on the whole thing -- "PSA: do not attempt to catch falling kitchen knife. The 'catch everything' motto is great for football. Not so much for life."

Tiger Woods is still going strong with reported GF Erica Herman -- judging by the fact they just had a fancy dinner date at the hottest sushi joint in L.A.

The two were spotted leaving Nobu in Malibu on Thursday evening -- hours after Tiger wrapped up his first round at the Genesis Open in the Pacific Palisades.

Tiger didn't hit great at the tourney -- yet still managed to finish his first round just 1 over par.

He didn't appear to be in the best mood on the way out of Nobu -- but at least the company was good!

Woods and Herman have been linked together since October -- when they were spotted together at the President's Cup.

Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo choked back tears while delivering a powerful speech at the vigil for those lost in the tragic shooting at his H.S. alma mater ... and he's calling for the government to make a change.

Rizzo -- who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL -- addressed the crowd mourning the 17 people killed in Wednesday's massacre ... promising to do whatever he can to help his community.

"I've been very impressed with talking to the students and how they're taking care of each other and how they're coming together," Rizzo said.

"I want you to know that you're not alone in your grief."

Rizzo added "I'm a baseball player, but I'm also an American, I'm a Floridian, and I'm a Parklander for life."

"While I don't have all the answers, I know that something has to change before this is visited by another community and another community and another community."

We also talked to PGA golfer Nicholas Thompson -- who was born and raised in the area, and graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas H.S. -- about the impact the shooting has had on his family, and how he plans to help the community heal.

Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux have separated, and all signs point to divorce.

The couple issued a statement saying they are separating. According to the statement, they made a mutual decision at the end of 2017 to split. The statement reads, "We are two best friends who have decided to part ways as a couple, but look forward to continuing our cherished friendship." These are not words of a couple that hopes to stay married.

Jennifer was just at Amy Schumer's wedding Tuesday and Justin was nowhere to be seen. He was in New York over the weekend when Jennifer turned 49, which she celebrated with her gal pals in Malibu.

The couple became engaged in 2012, 7 years after her split from Brad Pitt. She married Justin in 2015. TMZ broke the story about their wedding at their Bel-Air estate, which was super secret.

On Wednesday -- Valentine's Day -- Justin was seen packing a bunch of luggage and other items in an SUV outside the NYC apartment he and Jen shared.

Jennifer recently told Architectural Digest about the difficulty of remodeling their Bel-Air mansion as a couple, saying, "I figured out that immediately saying 'No!' to any suggestion is not the most collaborative move."

They have no kids.

Nikolas Cruz -- the alleged shooter who killed 17 people at a Florida high school -- casually blended in with fleeing students while making his getaway ... then stopped at Subway for a drink.

Law enforcement says Cruz entered a nearby Walmart shortly after ending his shooting spree and went inside to order a drink at the Subway inside the store. He then left the store on foot and walked to McDonald's, where he laid low for a few minutes ... before taking off on foot.

Cops caught up with Cruz about 40 minutes later and arrested him.

5:45 PM PT -- Tambor's responded, saying he's disappointed in the handling of these "false accusations" against him by Amazon and more so Soloway, and claims in his 4 years of working with her on "Transparent," the accusations were never revealed to him or discussed directly. He says he will continue to vehemently defend himself.

He adds ... "I can only surmise that the investigation against me was deeply flawed and biased toward the toxic politicized atmosphere that afflicted our set." He also says the "biggest heartbreak" is that the show is now in jeopardy.

Jeffrey Tambor is officially off his award-winning show, "Transparent" -- Amazon Studios announced the firing after investigating the sexual harassment allegations against him.

Amazon didn't release the results of its internal investigation, but easy to read between the lines ... since they canned their star. Tambor had previously claimed he was quitting the show after his former assistant and a co-star accused him. He later backed off that, but it's a moot point now.

"Transparent" showrunner Jill Soloway said, "We are taking definitive action to ensure our workplace respects the safety and dignity of every individual, and are staking steps to heal as family."

1:29 PM PT -- Cruz confessed to the shooting and told cops he was hiding extra ammunition in his backpack, this according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press.

Nikolas Cruz -- the 19-year-old man accused of murdering 17 people at his old high school in Parkland, Florida -- appeared in court for the first time Thursday.

Cruz, accompanied by two attorneys and several police officers, remained silent while his charges -- 17 counts of premeditated murder -- were read aloud. Cruz will be held without bond.

As we reported ... Cruz threatened 9 months ago to carry out a mass shooting ... posting a comment on a YouTube video about the Texas University clock tower shootings, saying "I am going to [do] what he did." He also said he wished "to kill as many as I can."

Amy Schumer pulled a Jennifer Aniston and secretly married her boyfriend, Chris Fischer, Tuesday in Malibu with only about 80 people in attendance.

Schumer tied the knot overlooking the Pacific in an off-white dress. The bridesmaids wore pink, as did her pal, Jennifer Lawrence, though it doesn't appear J Law was part of the bridal party. Other stars reportedly there included Aniston, Larry David, David Spade and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Tupac had "Dear Mama." Kanye had "Hey Mama."

Lonzo Ball has "LaVar."

The Lakers rookie (and part-time rapper) just dropped his new mixtape, "Born 2 Ball" -- and it ends with a brand new heartfelt song called, "LaVar" ... a lyrical tribute to his father.

During the 3 minutes and 15 second track, Lonzo calls out the haters and professes his love for his dad.

Lonzo says his dad is one of the hardest working people he knows who's always had his back since day 1. He also shouts out the Big Baller Brand and mentions that LaVar has been busting his ass to make the brand blow up.

He also says he doesn't get why so many people hate on BBB.

Ball also shouts out his brothers -- saying they're all three "killers" on the court.

To be honest, the track is pretty touching.

President Trump addressed the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and vowed to make America's schools safer by tackling mental health issues.

Conspicuously, he did NOT mention gun control issues during his speech Thursday morning. The President called the shooting an act of hatred and evil. He promised the nation's young people and parents he would meet with officials to make school safety a top priority.

Trump had tweeted early this morning, "So many signs that the Florida shooter [Nikolas Cruz] was mentally disturbed" -- and he stuck to that Thursday, saying he was committed to improving mental health programs.

Worth nothing ... almost exactly a year ago, Trump signed a bill revoking gun checks for people with mental illness.

Trump's refusal to discuss gun control or gun safety reforms was glaring. Shortly after his speech, former President Obama tweeted about the need for "common-sense gun safety laws."