Controversial S#!T

You've heard a lot about "Karens" over the past year -- very little of it good -- and the name's bad rep seems to have reached new parents, who want nothing to do with it.

Indeed, the name "Karen" has apparently plummeted in popularity among newborns who were popped out in 2020 -- this according to new data from the Social Security Administration, which tracks this kind of stuff.

HuffPo outlines it well -- citing a massive drop-off, from #660 on 2019's list to #831 for 2020 ... falling a whopping 171 slots. That's the lowest ranking "Karen" has had in this country since 1927 -- so yeah, it's obvious the name has taken a big hit of late.

Per the numbers, only 325 Karens were born last year compared to 439 in 2019 -- which might not sound like crazy numbers to begin with, but the percentage is what's interesting.

Frankly, Karen is an antiquated name these days, anyway, and it's been on a steady decline since the '60s when Karens were a dime a dozen ... clocking in its highest rate of 33,000 newborns in '65.

Still, some are blaming the new dip on the outrageous public acts of so-called "Karens" over the past year and change -- women caught up in dubious acts of insensitivity, idiocy and/or straight-up racism.

No matter how you look at it ... Karen does carry a certain connotation in 2021, and it looks like soon-to-be parents realized that last year and adjusted accordingly.

Simon Cowell has 86'd his plan to travel to Israel for his TV franchise ... and although he isn't saying specifically why, it seems the cancellation is due in part to the recent violence.

Simon was scheduled to be a judge on "X Factor Israel" but a rep for the production announced Simon would not be part of the show. As for why, the rep would only say Simon canceled "for his own reasons" which involved "legitimate concerns" -- this according to Variety. There was no specific reference to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but it's not hard to read between the lines.

We tried reaching out to Cowell's rep ... so far, no word back.

As you know, Simon broke his back last year after hopping on his new e-bike and crashing to the ground. It's unclear if the back injury was a factor, but Simon has bounced back so it seems unlikely.

Representatives for Cowell did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A Jewish News report last week cited a source close to Cowell as saying that the media mogul was “bitterly disappointed” that he could not take part for “a number of reasons.”

Dr. Terry Dubrow says folks who want a bigger butt need to work their ass off in the gym instead of opting for a popular surgical procedure ... that actually has a good chance of killing you!!!

The "Botched" surgeon joined us on "TMZ Live" and schooled us on the dangers of the well-known Brazilian butt lift, telling us why he's NOT recommending it to his patients.

It's pretty scary ... the good doc says the BBL is the most dangerous surgery you can undergo, as far as mortality rate, and he tells us exactly why the fat transfer so often goes fatally wrong.

The BBL has been around for a long time, but Terry says folks are not being adequately warned about the dangers ... despite many doctors' wishes for the industry to sound the alarm.

As we first told you ... Tekashi's baby mama recently had a BBL and ended up having a medical scare. Based on Dr. Dubrow's warnings, sounds like she dodged a bullet.

Naomi Osaka doesn't seem to be sweating a hefty fine she's been issued after following through on her promise to skip the media after her matches at the French Open.

The star tennis player took to Twitter Sunday in response to news that FO officials had dinged her a whopping $15,000 for refusing to hit a post-match press conference after her opening-round win against Patricia Maria Tig ... which is standard practice.

She kept it brief and somewhat cryptic, writing ... "anger is a lack of understanding. change makes people uncomfortable." In our minds, that means she ain't gonna bend.

That's quite a gamble for Naomi ... because organizers of the tourney say if she continues to blow off questions after playing, she risks even more fines ... and, eventually, potentially being disqualified from the French Open altogether. Not just that, but she could even be suspended from future Grand Slam tournaments -- so there's a lot riding on this decision.

As we reported ... Naomi had already given everyone a heads up ahead of the start of this that she wouldn't be participating in any media events, citing mental health concerns.

Some have praised Naomi for standing firm on this issue and speaking out on behalf of pro athletes' well-being, noting that if this is really about the sport (in this case, tennis) ... then what difference does it make if they don't talk to reporters after the fact???

Some parents from a ritzy New York City private school are fuming mad after learning first graders were learning about masturbation and also told their parents and grandparents should not touch them without their consent.

A teacher at The Dalton School reportedly showed students a video from the cartoon series, "AMAZE." A little boy in the video asks about erections ... "Hey, how come sometimes my penis gets big sometimes and points in the air." The boy adds, "Sometimes I touch my penis because it feels good." Then a little girl chimes in ... "Sometimes when I'm in my bath or when mom puts me to bed, I like to touch my vulva too."

Some parents were bent out of shape over this, according to the New York Post, but the real anger was triggered over consent. The students reportedly are taught not to let their parents or grandparents touch them without asking for permission first.

A mother told the Post, "I'm paying $50,000 to these a-holes to tell my kid not to let her grandfather hug her when he sees her?" Another mother groused if she fought back she'd get canceled.

A Nashville hat shop reeks of anti-Semitism after making light of Star of David patches Jewish people were forced to wear during WWII ... by giving it an anti-vaxx twist.

The place is called hatWRKS ... and they posted a since-deleted Instagram photo featuring a woman proudly rocking a yellow patch -- made in the same style as what Nazis used to brand Jews with in the midst of the Holocaust -- with lettering reading, "Not Vaccinated."

There's a cold-blooded caption attached too, which says ... "patches are here!!! they turned out great. $5ea. strong adhesive back .... we'll be offering trucker caps soon."

Of course, the post caused an uproar online and elsewhere -- and rightly so. People note that comparing what happened to Jewish people to what anti-vaxxers perceive is happening to them right now is absolutely ludicrous, asinine ... and downright wrong. They're not the same -- not even close, and trivializing that history with a patch like this is beyond offensive.

So, what do the owners of this mom-and-pop shop have to say for themselves??? Apparently nothing so far -- it doesn't seem they've responded to the mounting criticism, other than removing the grotesque photo.

The Chinese government tries to keep a tight lid on what its people can and cannot see, so it's not surprising it's censored parts of the "Friends" reunion show.

In case you haven't seen it yet, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and K-pop megastars BTS all made appearances on the show, but if you live in China you won't see any of them because they were 86'd.

The government has a bone to pick with all of them. Let's review.

Lady Gaga pissed off Chinese officials by having a sit-down with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet.

Justin Bieber posted a photo of Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine ... a memorial honoring Japan's fallen soldiers.

As for BTS ... well, they've pissed off the government for various acts, including what officials believe is a snub by overlooking China's contribution in the Korean War.

Dominique Wilkins now has even more reason to be upset with a restaurant that turned him away, because Lamar Odom enjoyed a meal at the same spot -- wearing a similar outfit to Wilkins -- just months before.

We got this shot of the former Lakers star at Le Bilboquet in Buckhead, GA taken back in  February. Lamar was wearing a white track suit and sneakers during a friendly meal with local recording artist Morgan Reilly and a mutual guy friend.

As for why it matters? Dominique ripped the restaurant last week, accusing it of turning him  away because he's Black. However, LB said it wasn't about race ... it was only enforcing a "business casual" dress code, and Wilkins' "designer casual pants and a shirt" didn't cut it.

LB did issue an apology to the Hall of Famer, and said it's considering a revision of the dress code, and will try to be more consistent in enforcing. it. When ya take Dominique's situation and Lamar's wardrobe, it's pretty clear there was NOT consistency.

Kylie Jenner says she's no meanie ... claiming an Instagram model alleging the billionaire bullied her on the set of a Tyga music video is making it up.

Victoria Vanna made some noise on social media earlier this week after sharing a story that sounded like it could've been ripped from the movie "Mean Girls." Vanna claimed she was hired to dance in Tyga's "Ice Cream Man" music video years ago when Kylie was dating the rapper.

Vanna says Kylie, her friend, Stassie, and assistant were all at the shoot making fun of her. The model says Kylie and her crew sat in a Rolls-Royce, eating McDonald's and mocking her dance moves.

However, Kylie had clearly had enough of Vanna's attempt to take her down, breaking her silence Friday night on Instagram with a simple, "This never happened."

They're cominggg ... at least that's what a newly released clip showing UFOs circling a warship off the coast of California seems to suggest.

The radar footage, released by filmmaker Jeremy Corbell, shows multiple objects popping up around the Navy's USS Omaha from an incident in July 2019. The ship was about 125 miles off the coast of San Diego when the footage was recorded.

Corbell showed off actual video footage from the same alleged encounter with the USS Omaha earlier this month, and he believes the radar video is evidence supporting the initial sighting.

“This is corroborative electro-optic data demonstrating a significant UFO event series in a warning area off San Diego,” Corbell tweeted Thursday.

As you know, The Pentagon has recently chimed in, confirming UFOs were real, and that a series of videos showing them appearing in the sky were legit.

Cynthia Nixon believes those who shoplift basic necessities should get a pass -- but her intended compassion is falling on deaf ears -- and the actress is getting hammered for it.

In a rather Robin Hood moment, Nixon tweeted, "The CVS on my corner has started locking up basic items like clothing detergent. As so many families can’t make ends meet right now, I can’t imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them."

Of course, what Nixon is saying is that people who can't afford necessary items and steal out of desperation shouldn't face criminal charges.

However, Twitter users took issue with her sentiment ... one user said, "I grew up poor, and we never took anything that we hadn't paid for. It's insulting that you think the less fortunate have no ability to discern right from wrong."

Another pointed out that in allowing theft, store would jack up prices, hurting more consumers and the market in general.

It might be time for The Weeknd to invest in a new mantel -- he continues to rack up awards, despite the Grammys snub ... this time taking home the most trophies at the iHeartRadio Awards.

Abel was the winner of 3 pieces of hardware Thursday night -- including the coveted Song of The Year and Top Male Artist awards -- for his single, "Blinding Lights," and album "After Hours." The 3 wins tied him with BTS for the most of the night.

The singer was humble in accepting, thanking his team and his fans ... but you gotta imagine the last couple weeks have brought him great vindication after leaving the Grammys with goose eggs.

Fans and fellow artists were outraged when "After Hours" was snubbed. Abel vowed to never submit his work to the Recording Academy for Grammy consideration again, accusing "secret committees" within the org of getting it wrong.

However, just last week, the singer was validated when he took home 10 trophies -- the most of any artist -- at The Billboard Awards.

Danny Ainge says in the 26 years he's been playing and working for the Celtics ... he's "never" heard any racist remarks from fans at TD Garden -- but he did say he's taking Kyrie Irving's comments "seriously."

If you missed it ... Irving implored Celtics fans to treat him with respect when his Nets team arrives in Boston for its playoff games this weekend, insinuating he's been called racist things at the Celtics' arena in the past.

But, when Ainge was asked to comment on that on the 98.5 The Sports Hub on Thursday ... the Boston GM said he's simply never heard that kind of vitriol from people at the Garden before.

"Quite honestly, I've never heard any of it," 62-year-old Ainge said. "I'm not saying the city of Boston -- I'm saying [TD Garden]. I think our fans are very respectful."

Ainge, though, did say he'd look into Kyrie's comments ... explaining the team won't just brush them off.

"I think that we take those kinds of things seriously," said Ainge, who was the GM during Irving's 2-year Celtics tenure in the 2017 and 2018 NBA seasons.

"I never heard any of that, from any player that I’ve ever played with in my 26 years in Boston. I never heard that before from Kyrie, and I talked to him quite a bit. So, I don’t know."

As for whether or not Celtics fans will just plain boo Kyrie ... Ainge thinks that might be a little bit of a different story, saying, "Fans will do what they want to do."

The NY Knicks have determined an idiot fan SPIT on Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young during Wednesday night's game at MSG ... and now the mouthy fan has been banned indefinitely.

It all went down with around 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter of the Knicks vs. Hawks playoff game ... when Young was trying to inbound.

Video footage shows someone sitting behind 50 Cent appear to spit at Young -- leading Young to comment after the game, "Damn ... crazy!"

Young also asked 50 Cent if he was "good" following the incident.

The NY Knicks were disturbed by the footage and launched an investigation to see if the fan had spit at Young intentionally -- and now, they have detrained it was, in fact, on purpose.

"We investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who is not a season ticket holder, did indeed spit on Trae Young," the team announced Thursday.

"And for that reason, [the fan] is now banned from The Garden indefinitely."

"We apologize to Trae and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization for this fan's behavior. This was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our venue."

The team notes cops are now involved saying -- "We have turned the information over to the appropriate authorities."

In theory, the fan could be prosecuted if officials decide to pursue a case against him.

So far, the fan has not been publicly identified.

Story developing ...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is playing favorites based on race ... so says a reporter in a new lawsuit claiming she denied his request for an interview simply because he's white.

Thomas Catenacci, a reporter with super conservative news outlet The Daily Caller, is suing the Mayor over her new interview policy ... she says she'll only grant one-on-one interviews from journalists of color.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Catenacci claims he submitted an interview request May 20, followed up by another the next day and a third email 3 days later ... but got radio silence from Lightfoot's office. He claims Lightfoot has granted at least 1 interview request from a self-identified Latino reporter ... but his requests went unanswered.

The Mayor said she's sick and tired of looking at local media in Chicago that is pretty lily-white, so she's taking matters into her own hands and only granting 1-on-1's with people of color.

It's NOT sitting well with Catenacci ... who claims Lightfoot's policy is blatantly discriminatory and a violation of his rights -- specifically, Equal Protection under the law. He also thinks it's a violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press.

Catenacci is asking a judge to order Lightfoot to 86 her new policy.

We've reached out to Lightfoot's office, so far no word back.

Ex-New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway -- who has been accused of several instances of sexual harassment over the past 5 years -- has been banned from the league until at least the 2023 season, MLB announced Wednesday.

46-year-old Callaway -- who most recently served as the Los Angeles Angels pitching coach -- has been under league investigation since 5 women came forward in February and alleged several instances of misconduct ... including sending unsolicited shirtless selfies and asking for nude photographs, among other claims.

MLB concluded its investigation and determined Callaway violated league policies. The league says placing Callaway on the Ineligible List is "warranted" through the completion of the 2022 season, when he will be eligible for reinstatement.

Callaway spoke about the punishment in a statement to ESPN minutes ago ... saying, "My family and I fully support MLB’s strong stance against harassment and discrimination and are grateful to the Commissioner and his office for their thorough investigation."

"I apologize to the women who shared with investigators any interaction that made them feel uncomfortable. To be clear, I never intended to make anyone feel this way and didn’t understand that these interactions might do that or violate MLB policies."

"However, those are my own blind spots, and I take responsibility for the consequences."

He added ... "In my 25 years in professional baseball, I have never taken for granted the privilege of being even a small part of this great game of ours."

"To say I regret my past poor choices would be an understatement. I remain hopeful that I can return to baseball when eligible at the conclusion of next season, but for now, I plan to work on my own shortcomings and repairing any damage I have caused with my colleagues and, particularly, my family."