Controversial S#!T

As Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial in NYC gets underway ... one of his most prominent accusers, Rose McGowan, is delivering a strong message to him.

The actress was one of many Weinstein accusers who showed up Monday to the Manhattan courthouse where jury selection began in the disgraced producer's trial. Rose said she was there to see justice served.

She told reporters Weinstein had no one to blame but himself for his woes, and that she had no sympathy for him. He showed up, btw, hobbling into court with the use of a walker.

Rose vowed to see the trial through, side-by-side with other women he's allegedly harmed ... all in hopes of giving a voice to the voiceless. She says while he might've thought they'd stay silent, they didn't ... and they're going to face him in court.

She got emotional and gave a shout-out to the women who will actually testify against Weinstein. As she says, they'll have the largest burden, and made it clear she's in their corner.

Weinstein faces 5 charges relating to sexual misconduct -- including a count of rape and predatory sexual assault ... which, if proven, could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Jeffrey Epstein's autopsy has revealed how he may have killed himself in his jail cell, as photos show nooses fashioned from orange bedsheets ... and the bloody neck wound from where he hanged himself ... but some experts think it could have been murder.

The photographs were obtained by "60 Minutes" and shown Sunday night during an interview about Epstein's apparent suicide and the conspiracy theories that have followed. Along with pics of the nooses and Epstein's neck and dead body, there's also a photo of a handwritten note found in his cell.

The note seemingly contains complaints Epstein jotted down about prison conditions, including "Kept me in a locked shower stall for 1 hr," "sent me burnt food" and "Giant bugs crawling over my hands. NO FUN!!"

There's also a photo of Epstein's prescription medicine bottles and other meds, like a bottle of Milk of Magnesia.

The conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's death have been fueled in part by forensic expert Dr. Michael Baden, who claims evidence suggests he was strangled and murdered more so than suicidal hanging.

Two 'Jeopardy' champs hit a daily double of sorts by giving the exact same answer to the question of who could replace Alex Trebek ... and they're both probably right.

Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter were in midtown Manhattan Monday, where they seemed to be doing press to hype up Tuesday's 'Greatest of All Time' episode, which pits KJ, BR and the new kid on the block, James Holzhauer, against each other for 'Jeopardy' G.O.A.T.

On their way into a building, they were asked if they had any advice for an average Joe who might find themselves on the show one day -- and while Ken had a somewhat snarky answer, Brad actually offered interesting insight ... don't guess.

Then the conversation moved on to Trebek -- who's fighting stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and who's alluded -- to us and others -- that he'd hang up his hosting gig if he feels he can't carry on.

'Bachelor' star Peter Weber vows not to get trapped by Hollywood's grip after his season airs ... cause flying's the only way he wants to be close to the stars.

Pilot Pete was out Monday morning on his way to "Good Morning America" when he was asked whether he was going to try and parlay his newfound fame into a career in Hollywood or keep piloting.

Pete's answer is pretty refreshing ... considering how MANY of the 'Bachelor' alums do everything they can to stay relevant. There's this guy, this guy and ESPECIALLY this guy.

Antonio Brown has officially made his debut as the rapper known as "AB" ... and his first music video is a 2-minute showcase of his wealth, his jewelry and butt models.

A WHOOOOLE LOTTA butt models.

The controversial NFL superstar has taken his talents to the recording booth as he awaits his football future ... and showed off his Future-esque crooning with the single "Whole Lotta Money."

Wanna guess what it's about?? Here are some lyrics to help you out.

"Bro, I'm not famous enough for TMZ!"

Here's an interesting clip that sort of sums up the problem pro hockey is facing in the United States ...

We shot Colorado Avalanche stud Nathan MacKinnon in New York ... and he COULDN'T BELIEVE we knew who he was!!

24-year-old MacKinnon is as big of a superstar as it gets in hockey -- he was the #1 overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft and he's currently leading the league in points per game.

He's gotta be the leading MVP candidate at the moment -- but when he walks down the street, most people have no idea!!!

For example, could you imagine if Lamar Jackson -- the NFL's likely MVP -- was walking around NYC? It would be a mob scene!

But, when our photog spotted him getting off the team bus, MacKinnon told us, "Nah, man, no one knows who I am."

So, let's help fix the problem ...

Talk about piling on ...

Dez Bryant BLASTED Jason Garrett after the Dallas Cowboys fired the coach Sunday ... with JG's ex-superstar saying, "I don’t have no sympathy for coach Garrett losing his job."

"The cowboys just became real contenders."

The dig seems to have come out of nowhere ... Garrett helped draft Dez in 2010 and made him into one of the league's best receivers shortly after.

But, it seems there's clearly some animosity there ... 'cause Dez doubled down on the Garrett criticism after some fans fired back at the receiver on Twitter.

"Man it’s so much I can say..." Dez wrote. "I’m being nice."

What's weird is Bryant seems to be on GREAT terms with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones -- remember, the two kicked it together in a private box for a Beyonce's concert in 2018, despite being cut by the team after the 2017 season.

Maybe Bryant thinks it was Garrett who drove him out ... not Jones. But again, everyone knows the buck ultimately stops with JJ.

Comedian Mark Curry is genuinely PISSED at Steve Harvey ... 'cause he claims the "Family Feud" host has stolen his material not once but TWICE.

The "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" star was at LAX and talked to our photog about a serious allegation he made last month on "The Mike & Donny Show" ... claiming Steve jacked his Halloween bit and used it on his NBC talk show, "Steve," several years ago.

Mark says he confronted Steve at Def Comedy Jam 25 back in 2017. But, get this ... Mark now claims after that confrontation, Steve doubled down and AGAIN stole his material ... this time using Mark's funny stuff for Steve's other NBC show, "Little Big Shots."

"Brady might as well retire!!!"

That's Tennessee Titans legend Chris Johnson gloating his face off after his squad beat the Patriots ... with CJ2K advising TB12 to hang it up for good!

Johnson -- who spent 6 seasons with the Titans back in the day -- was a VIP guest with the team at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. And, when the team came out with the W in the Wild Card round, Chris got right in the middle of the action!

"I told you we was gonna smack this sh*t, man," Johnson shouted after the 20 to 13 victory ... "I already knew it!"

"We told 'em we was gonna get that sh*t!!!"

The bragging and the smack talk continued outside the locker room ...

"Brady might as well retire! We done painted that sh*t!"

Watch the video, Johnson is convinced we've all seen the last of Brady on the Patriots -- and maybe forever!

For his part, 42-year-old Brady didn't sound ready to retire in his post-game press conference ... telling reporters it's "hopefully unlikely" he quits pro football for good.

"I love the Patriots. It's the greatest organization," Brady said.

"Playing for Mr. [Robert] Kraft all these years, and for Coach Belichick, there's nobody who's had a better career, I would say, than me -- just being with them. So, I'm very blessed."

Iran has already given a taste of its promised retaliation against the U.S. for killing one of its top military generals -- and it seems more and more threats are pouring in by the day.

For starters, a U.S. government website for the Federal Depository Library Program appeared to have been hacked Saturday by folks claiming to be working on behalf of Iran. They posted a photo-shopped pic of Trump getting punched by an Iranian fist, leaving him bloodied.

The hackers also left an ominous message on the page ... "Hacked By Iran Cyber Security Group HackerS ... This is only a small part of Iran's cyber ability! We're always ready."

Adam Carolla is so funny ... he can make a World War entertaining!!!

We got Adam leaving the Laugh Factory in WeHo early Sunday AM, and raised the looming prospect of a WWIII. The premise of the question -- that the U.S. would have to reinstitute the draft.

In case you've been living under a rock, Iran has promised retaliation after U.S. forces killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani -- a brutal leader who has killed or maimed thousands of Americans in terrorist attacks around the world.

Adam says there's trouble ahead because today's culture is not conducive to service. Adam makes solid and possibly irrefutable points about the ailments young people will conjure up to get a deferment.

Colin Kaepernick has some thoughts on the United States taking out a top Iranian officer with a drone strike ... calling it classic American imperialism via our military.

The ex-NFL quarterback posted some scathing remarks Saturday about the international move that's got everyone here at home worried about a so-called World War III -- and he didn't hold back in criticizing it to the max, likening it to an attack on people of color.

Colin wrote on Twitter, "There is nothing new about American terrorist attacks against Black and Brown people for the expansion of American imperialism." He didn't stop there.

CK adds the perceived escalation of tensions has been resorted to in the U.S.A.'s playbook time and again. He says, "America has always sanctioned and besieged Black and Brown bodies both at home and abroad. America militarism is the weapon wielded by American imperialism, to enforce its policing and plundering of the non white world."

Trump's order to kill Qasem Soleimani has gotten mixed reactions -- with some calling it necessary and imminent, as the guy is said to have been responsible for taking American lives while waging destructive and deadly tactics there in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Others say Donald Trump's administration acted in haste by signing off on the strike, not considering the ramifications and the possibility of war. Congress hasn't even been formally briefed yet.

Terry Gilliam let it rip in a no-holds-barred interview in which he BLASTS #MeToo, defends white men "taking blame" ... and misidentified his gender and race in jest.

The director, writer and former member of the Monty Python comedy team recently sat down for an interview with The Independent, and rather than discuss his new movie ... more so, he wanted to air out his grievances over being a victimized white male in 2020.

Reading the entire thing in full is worth it, but just to give you a snapshot of Terry's stance on social issues ... he says stuff like #MeToo is nothing more than a blame game.

Of a female character in his flick, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote," who becomes an escort, he says ... "In the age of #MeToo, here’s a girl who takes responsibility for her state. Whatever happened in this character’s life, she’s not accusing anybody."

He goes on ... "We’re living in a time where there’s always somebody responsible for your failures, and I don’t like this. I want people to take responsibility and not just constantly point a finger at somebody else, saying, 'You’ve ruined my life.'"

Then, Terry moves on to the alleged victims of Harvey Weinstein, many of whom he dubs "ambitious adults" who made choices while trying to come up in the industry.

Of the disgraced movie mogul, Terry says ... "There are many victims in Harvey’s life, and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices." Terry worked with HW in 2005 for 'The Brothers Grimm."

Harvey Weinstein will go on trial next week for sexual assault, and as fierce as the prosecutor has been ... Weinstein's lawyers have their counterattack planned.

Weinstein's lead attorney, Donna Rotunno, tells TMZ, the defense will attempt to pick apart the testimony of the alleged victims by making what she calls a "common sense" argument -- that people who get assaulted don't maintain contact with the perpetrator. Rotunno says she has text messages and proof of subsequent interactions that support their position.

We know prosecutors will call a psychiatrist who will testify that it's common for sexual assault victims to delay in reporting the crime and they will often continue to interact with their assailant.

Ron Jaworski is praising the Eagles for NOT signing Antonio Brown when they were down in the dumps this year ... telling TMZ Sports that move could have been a train wreck.

"Short term, it might have been a good move," Jaws says. "But, I think long-term, it could've have been disastrous."

Jaws says he certainly considered the idea of his ex-team adding the troubled superstar ... especially when Philly was 5-7 and its wideouts were dropping like flies due to injuries.

But, Jaworski tells us once he really broke it down ... he realized the move could have SERIOUSLY damaged the Eagles' locker room.

"Antonio Brown is a fantastic football player, but he's also an incredible distraction," Ron says.

"And, when you build your team on guys of high character and team focus, it's hard to bring an outsider in, despite all that talent, and think he's going to integrate into your culture in a short period of time."

It appears Jaws -- and the Eagles' brass, for that matter -- made the right call, 'cause the team ended up winning the NFC East without Brown ... and has a real shot to beat the Seattle Seahawks in their Wild Card game Sunday.

As for that matchup, Jaworski tells us he's confident Carson Wentz can replicate what Nick Foles has previously done for the team in the playoffs -- saying CW is more physically gifted than the Super Bowl LII MVP.

The 2 men who were featured in "Leaving Neverland" who accused Michael Jackson of molesting them as children have just won a huge legal victory ... because a California appeals court has just given them the right to sue for sexual abuse.

A trial judge threw out the cases of James Safechuck and Wade Robson, on grounds they waited too long to file their claim. When they filed their lawsuits, California law did not support their claim, because the statute of limitations required them to file before they turned 26. At the time they filed, Robson was 30 and Safechuck was 36.

But, a new law took effect on January 1, 2020, which allows sexual abuse victims to sue until they're 40. A California appeals court just ruled the new law allows both Robson and Safechuck to have their cases tried -- presumably before a jury.

It's a huge reversal of fortune. Up till now, the MJ companies have been able to fend off these claims based on the statute of limitations, but that's all changed as of New Year's Day.