Controversial S#!T

Aaron Rodgers just unloaded on a reporter who said the QB does not deserve the MVP award this year ... calling the journalist "an absolute bum."

The Packers superstar ripped Chicago media member Hub Arkush for nearly two minutes on a conference call Wednesday -- just 24 hours after the reporter said Rodgers isn't his 2021 MVP because he's a "jerk."

"I think he’s a bum," Rodgers said of Arkush. "I think he’s an absolute bum."

"He doesn’t know me. I don't know who he is. No one knew who he was probably until yesterday’s comments."

If you missed it, Arkush said Rodgers wouldn't get his MVP vote this year because of the quarterback's COVID vaccine drama and his offseason gripe with Packers brass.

"I don’t think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team, and your organization and your fan base the way he did and be the Most Valuable Player," Arkush said on Chicago's 670 The Score.

Rodgers clearly wasn't happy to hear the comments ... saying, "His problem isn't with me being a bad guy or the biggest jerk in the league 'cause he doesn't know me."

"His problem is I'm not vaccinated."

FYI, the NFL's MVP is selected by 50 voters, including Arkush -- and it's supposed to be based solely on players' performances during the regular season. Rodgers is favorite to win it this year, despite Arkush's opinion.

For his part, Arkush actually apologized for his comments earlier Wednesday -- but not for blasting Rodgers. He said he's sorry for simply disclosing his voting plans.

Billie Eilish will fill a headliner spot at this year's Coachella -- making her the second out of three names -- and a big question mark for Travis Scott's status with the festival.

A source with knowledge tells us Eilish has signed on as one of the event's big names for 2022. 2020's edition had Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine and Travis Scott as the three headliners before it was canceled because of COVID-19.

Frank is now committed to 2023's festival, and Rage Against the Machine is reportedly not headlining 2022's edition ... which left 2 empty spots with Travis.

The first was filled by Swedish House Mafia, who announced their return to music a couple months ago -- and now the 2nd will be Billie.

NASCAR just put a stop to Brandon Brown's anti-Joe Biden car sponsorship ... rejecting the driver's deal with the "Let's Go Brandon" crypto company.

The racing org. has yet to confirm the decision ... but Brown's Brandonbilt Motorsports team was highly upset with the call, releasing a lengthy statement on Wednesday.

"NASCAR did not speak with Brandonbilt Motorsports prior to making their decision to rescind the approval and multiple attempts to set-up a conversation to address this matter went unacknowledged," the team said ... adding it went through all proper protocols to get the A-OK from the org. before Brown's new car debuted last week.

"We are disappointed that NASCAR leadership has chosen to rescind approval of this sponsorship and feel they should have the confidence to own their decision to backtrack and not gaslight a team or a driver."

As we previously reported, Brown -- whose name inspired the infamous "Let's Go Brandon" chant -- struck a deal last month with LGBcoin.io, which clearly took its name from the viral moment.

But, the deal was a bit of a head-scratcher, considering NASCAR decided it would not allow any "Let's Go Brandon" related sponsorships after the meme spread like wildfire in November.

Brandon's team also took a shot at NASCAR's leadership for putting them in an "awkward position" ... essentially saying Brown's getting screwed over.

Urban Meyer is now saying a Trayvon Martin picture was, in fact, used to try to help enforce a "no hoodies" rule at Ohio State -- but the ex-Buckeyes head coach claims he wasn't made aware of it until this week.

Former OSU defensive back Marcus Williamson had accused Meyer and the school of using the insensitive imagery at a team meeting in 2017 ... but Meyer had denied the claim.

"We did not, and never would show a picture of Trayvon Martin," Meyer said. "My gosh, no."

But, Meyer backtracked on those comments on Tuesday ... saying after talking it over with ex-Buckeye safety Tyvis Powell -- he learned the photo was actually used. Meyer insisted, though, it was not done under his orders.

"I didn't know about it until one hour ago," Meyer told The Columbus Dispatch, "until after talking to (Powell)."

"I wasn't there (in the meeting)," Meyer added. "None of the coaches were present. It was a support staffer who was in error and apologized."

Powell said former players had told him the member of the OSU staff who had used the photo "was truly uneducated on that situation & really didn't have any idea the story behind the image."

Jay Gruden is taking a page out of his brother's insensitive comment playbook ... saying Tuesday he believes the Washington Football Team should have never dropped its racist "Redskins" name.

Jay made the eyebrow-raising statement on the "Russell & Medhurst" radio show ... just three months after Jon Gruden was ousted from his Raiders gig for a pattern of highly offensive comments in emails.

"I don't want to ruffle any feathers," the former WFT head coach said while mocking the hosts for talking so much about the team's plan to officially adopt a new nickname next month, "but they should have never changed the name in the first place."

Jay didn't expound on why he felt that way -- he was never asked a follow-up -- but one of the hosts did tell him, "You just ruffled some feathers. I like that."

"Hey, Jay," the other host added. "With the fanbase here, that's probably the greatest thing you've ever said to them. Because I think 90 percent of the fanbase agrees with you 100 percent on that as well."

Of course, the WFT moved on from its longstanding moniker before the 2020 season began ... after it received a tidal wave of criticism for years over the name's racist ties.

Nike had stopped selling the team's merch on its official website ... and Native American leaders routinely blasted it for being offensive -- so Dan Snyder and the WFT moved on.

Lil Durk doesn't want to be the last rapper to collab with Morgan Wallen ... he's encouraging Kendrick Lamar and others to work with him too, telling us Morgan's no racist.

We got Lil Durk Tuesday on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and asked him if Kendrick should get in the studio with Morgan, less than a year after the country superstar was seen using the n-word in public.

Lil Durk vouches for Morgan and says they had a long talk about the controversy while they were working together on their new hit single, "Broadway Girls."

Morgan's not hiding the fact he wants to work with other rappers like Kendrick ... and Lil Durk says the 2 giants of their genres should definitely link up ASAP.

As you know ... TMZ obtained video back in February, shot by one of Morgan's neighbors, showing him using the n-word after a drunken night out with friends. Backlash from the industry came swiftly, as the country singer was banned from award shows and radio stations stopped spinning his tunes.

Radio stations are starting to play Morgan again, and Lil Durk believes it's all water under the bridge now. BTW, he wouldn't have any talk about the c-word -- canceled -- as it applies to his new friend.

Check out Durk's full comments ... it's a strong stamp of approval from him.

Peter Dante -- who's been in just about every single Adam Sandler movie -- went OFF on an L.A. hostess who denied him service for not wearing a mask ... and it's all on video.

The actor's meltdown started Monday night when he was trying to get a table at Quarters Korean BBQ in L.A.'s Koreatown but was told he wouldn't be served.

In the video, you see a maskless Peter flipping out at the hostess -- who is standing next to a sign that says "No Mask No Entry" -- calling her "garbage" and "c***" before demanding to talk to her boss.

While he's waiting to talk to the manager, Peter gets in the face of another staffer and again refuses to put on a mask.

Eventually, Peter hits the road without further incident ... but folks who were there say the hostess was almost in tears.

TMZ broke the story ... Peter was arrested back in September after allegedly threatening to kill his neighbor over construction noise.

Peter was also thrown out of an L.A. hotel back in 2013 after allegedly making violent threats and hurling racial slurs.

Antonio Brown clearly isn't trying to keep a low profile following his breakup with the Bucs ... 'cause just 1 day after his shirtless meltdown at MetLife Stadium, he got front-row tickets to the Nets game.

Broadcast cameras caught the troubled wideout sitting courtside at Barclays Center for Monday's Nets vs. Grizzlies tilt ... and the dude didn't look torn up at all despite losing his job roughly 24 hours earlier.

Brown was rockin' a COVID mask, tracksuit and sunglasses ... and was seen chatting it up with people around his seat as if nothing had happened with him the day before in the Jets vs. Buccaneers game.

Brown Instagrammed from his chair while at the game -- writing in a selfie video, "It's a new day hit up KD [Kevin Durant]" -- and he was even later spotted at dinner in NYC smiling and in good spirits.

Of course, the images aren't too surprising -- Brown has stayed in the public eye just about every minute since Tampa Bay kicked him off the team for quitting mid-game Sunday.

Brown has posted on social media constantly, dropped a rap song, and cruised around the streets of NY with celeb driver Danny Chalet.

A Southwest passenger says the airline is at fault after her dog wasn't able to breathe in his carrier and suffered a tragic death during a flight.

The 3-year-old French bulldog, named Charlie, was a comfort pet and a paying passenger that had been flying in a dog carrier on a SW flight last month to Pennsylvania.

Charlie's companion Courtney tells us the dog started having breathing problems during a connecting flight of their Dec. 21 journey. She claims when she tried to open the carrier or take Charlie out, an airline attendant refused to allow it and threatened to turn the plane around, or Courtney would face other consequences.

Courtney says it was "brutal," and claims Charlie had been otherwise healthy. She believes he overheated and suffered heatstroke and seizure due to the temperature on her first flight -- although, we're told a necropsy has not been done to confirm that.

She claims she had asked an attendant on that first flight to turn up the AC to cool down Charlie. During the connecting flight, she claims she tried explaining he would die if he continued to have trouble breathing ... but wasn't allowed to help him as he moaned for air.

As a result, she's alleging the Southwest staff "let him die." Courtney is an X-ray technician who says she'd been traveling around the U.S. to help Covid patients, and Charlie was her support animal.

Courtney's lawyer Evan Oshan tells TMZ his client was only offered a ticket refund, but now wants to sue for the loss of Charlie and for pain and suffering. She also wants the flight attendant fired.

Patton Oswalt has nothing to apologize for when it comes to cozying up to Dave Chappelle, 'cause it's a comedian thing ... and that's it, according to fellow comic Aries Spears.

We got the comedian/actor Monday at LAX where we asked what he made of Pat posting a follow-up apology for his NYE photo with DC ... directly addressing those who were clearly offended, especially the LGBTQ community.

Aries says it’s a shame we live in a time where Patton felt the need to say sorry for hanging with a friend ... especially one as accomplished as Dave.

Check out the analogy AS drops on us -- he compares the 2 comics to masters of their crafts, who just wanted to have a bit of sparring fun ... and if Dave asks you to join him to perform with him or just hang with him for a night, you do it.

Aries' view is ... any comedian would, or should.

Of course, it’s quite possible Pat did, in fact, feel bad about taking/posting the photo after the fact ... and wasn’t just capitulating because he had to, as Aries suggests here. After all, he did say himself ... he doesn’t agree with Dave’s stance on trans issues -- so you kinda gotta take the man at his word.

'SNL' star Michael Che's also weighing in on Dave and Patton, and is definitely in Aries' camp -- as he put it, "celebrities love their fans way too much." He added some keywords for emphasis.

Soccer legend Carli Lloyd says she's done with Twitter ... and it all appears to be because she got dragged for criticizing a delivery driver.

The former footballer tweeted about her poor experience with a FedEx worker over the weekend ... slamming the person for not taking the extra steps to make sure her packages were safe from rainy weather.

"#noonecaresabouttheirjobanymore," said Lloyd, who attached a picture of the uncovered packages on her front porch steps.

Lloyd likely expected her followers on the social media app to back her and join in on the slamming of the driver ... but it appears the opposite happened.

The 39-year-old, who retired from the USWNT last year, was so heavily criticized -- particularly by those who felt the worker must've been underpaid and overworked during the holiday season -- that she not only deleted the initial tweet, but then she threw up the peace sign to the website.

"Bye Twitter," Lloyd wrote. "I usually know better than to come on here amongst the warriors!"

Hilary Duff's daughter looked fairly insecure while rolling in the back of a car with her mom's old costar -- which is fueling a lot of anger over what many perceive as an unsafe ride.

Three-year-old Banks Bair was featured in a video posted by actress Molly Bernard, who once starred opposite HD in the show "Younger" a few years back ... and who apparently had Hilary's kid for the day for some sorta playdate.

Right off the bat, fans noticed an apparent problem -- Banks sitting in the back of a car, without any visible car seat or restraint on her. The 3-point harness is behind her in the video, but that, of course, is only intended for older kids and adults.

The law in California for car seats is pretty simple ... any child under 2 has to be in a car seat -- a rear-facing one at that -- until they're either 40 lbs. or more, or 40 inches or taller. Banks is 3, so the rear-facing part wouldn't apply here.

However, she's still under 8 and not tall enough yet -- so, Banks would have to be in a belt-positioning booster seat or car seat ... and there's no such restraint in the video. Hilary is catching flak as a result. Molly too -- but it's mostly folks mom-shaming Hilary for allowing such an unsafe practice with her own daughter.

The Netherlands is in a full lockdown again over COVID, and when people took to the streets in Amsterdam to voice their displeasure ... cops quite literally unleashed the hounds.

A major clash between Dutch riot police and protesters went down Sunday in Amsterdam, where thousands of people were dispersed by force ... and a lot of it at that. Officers, who were decked out with shields, helmets and batons, were given the green light to go town on folks -- as they were all violating local orders against forming large crowds.

It didn't take long before cops used dogs, you see one shot of a German Shepherd clamping down on a guy's arm ... which looks painful as hell.

A reported 30 or so people are said to have been arrested during all the mayhem. And of course, some left with some serious bruises, you see one dude walking away and getting his legs smacked by a cop using a baton.

Urban Meyer is shutting down shocking allegations made by one of his former Ohio State players ... who claimed the coach used a photo of Trayvon Martin to implement a "no hoodies" rule -- but the ex-coach says it's absolutely NOT true.

Marcus Williamson -- who played CB for the Buckeyes from 2017 to 2021 -- relayed the shocking story on Twitter, calling out Meyers in the process.

"My first team meeting. (True story 2017) This photo was presented to us via PowerPoint to institute our building wide rule of “no hoods” in the building," Williamson said.

But Meyer -- who coached OSU from 2012-2018 -- admits there is a rule about no hats, hoodies and shades, but adamantly denies using a Trayvon Martin photo, telling author Jeff Snook on Sunday that Williamson is way out of line.

"Our team rule was no hats or hoodies or sunglasses of any kind but only in team meetings, just so we could see their eyes and make sure they were paying attention and not asleep," Meyers said.

"We did not, and never would show a picture of Trayvon Martin. My gosh, no."

Meyer added, "I would never do that. He is crossing the line here. It seems people are just piling on now. But, that never happened."

Meyers said other OSU players can back him up on this -- in fact, former Buckeye LB Joshua Perry did just that following Williamson's allegations.

"Saw a former Buckeye brother sharing about his career last night. We can get into the free labor economy of CFB as a whole, but painting OSU as racist ain’t it," Perry said on Twitter.

"And Urban was a tough ass coach, but he always invested in us as players and people. Just a window into my experience."

Meyer won a championship with OSU in 2014 before retiring in December 2018 due to health reasons.

Then, in January 2021, Urban was hired as the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach ... but his tenure in Florida didn't last very long.

Here's how bad Antonio Brown's meltdown was on Sunday .... even O.J. Simpson is ripping the NFL star for his shirtless in-game antics.

Just minutes after AB threw off his jersey and pads and proceeded to quit on the Buccaneers in the middle of their game against the Jets ... O.J. took to Twitter to blast the wide receiver.

Simpson called Brown's actions "inexcusable," and then torched the 33-year-old for letting down Tom Brady.

"Playoffs are coming up," Simpson said. "And you pull this crap on a guy who really went out on a limb for you? It's total B.S. Inexcusable."

Bruce Arians clearly felt the same way ... the Tampa Bay head coach cut Brown immediately following the scene -- saying matter of factly, "He is no longer a Buc."

As for what kickstarted the on-field drama ... Arians told Peter King he wanted Brown to go into the game, but when the receiver refused -- the temper tantrum began.

While Marvel is having a ball in movie land, there are grave concerns among the DC fanbase ... especially amid rumors that their fave heroes are going to be nixed from the franchise.

Here's the deal ... there are a handful of movie insiders claiming to have seen a cut of the new 'Flash' film starring Ezra Miller, which just wrapped filming back in October. According to some of these folks ... Warner is going in a whole new direction with the DCEU.

One reporter, Grace Randolph, spilled the alleged beans ... saying that not only is this movie going to be the final Batfleck movie (meaning no more Ben Affleck as Batman) but it's apparently also going to feature Henry Cavill's Superman sparingly ... and then, never more.

Perhaps even more jarring ... the claim that an entirely new Justice League is formed by the end -- and that the new Batman, as it were, is actually going to be Batgirl (eventually), and Supergirl is the new Superman. She also says Michael Keaton comes back as his OG Batman -- because of reported universe jumping, a la 'Spider-Man' -- but he's old now (obvs).

She adds, "This is new DC, let’s be open minded & give it a fair shot." Another account that's deep in the DC weeds puts it even more succinctly, writing ... "the movie (The Flash) will erase every movie Snyder has done. Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League never happened now. Erased from continuity. Affleck and Cavill are both gone."

Now, Ezra himself appears to have spoken out on these rumors -- somebody captured a DM that's been linked to his account, and in it ... he says Zack Snyder's work isn't undone.

The DM purported to be from Ezra reads, "No power or force in any known megaverse would or could ever erase Zack Snyder's might (work). You can take that quote."

Of course, that doesn't really address the theory of WB pivoting away from Cavill, Affleck and the rest of the OG DC heroes that have already been established in Snyder's world ... which, if true, is a huge bummer -- at least that's what fans online are saying.

You can hop onto the Twitter-verse yourself and read up on how folks are reacting to this would-be news ... and you'll quickly see, they think Warner is sticking its head in the sand on what the people really want.