Controversial S#!T

Olympic gold medalist Torah Bright says she's "sad" to see the hate her handstand breastfeeding picture has received ... but she's vowing to not let it get her down.

The 34-year-old -- who's a snowboarding legend in Australia -- posted a series of photos on Mother's Day, including one of her breastfeeding topless while upside down.

The photo was pretty cool -- it's an impressive feat!!! -- but it was met with backlash on social media ... with people calling her a bad mother and an attention-seeker.

Bright, though, fired back on her social media page this week ... defending the picture and calling out all the trolls on Instagram.

"Reading some of these comments made me sad," Bright wrote in her now-expired IG story.

"In my world, mothers should be each other’s cheer leaders (it's hard enough). Embrace our quirkiness and finding the joy in every s****y thing that is motherhood."

She continued, "We all do it differently. It is not wrong or right. Motherhood is pure. I only now consider myself a Wonder Woman because I have joined the sacred MOTHERS club with you. Nothing but respect to all mothers."

The Andrew Brown Jr. police shooting video has just been released to the public ... and the D.A. said no charges would be filed against the officers.

In the police body camera footage, released Tuesday, you see a bunch of cops armed to the teeth ... rolling up to Andrew's home as he sits in his BMW in the driveway.

Video shows the cops hopping out of their truck and pointing weapons at Andrew's car as they surround it, telling him to stop the car and swearing at him. Footage shows him driving off as the police unleash a barrage of bullets.

Next, you see Andrew's driving away over a lawn and then crashing into a tree. The police then run over to the vehicle, surrounding it and pointing their guns as they bark at him to show his hands.

Brown's family walked the media through the video last week, saying a cop fired one shot and Brown began to back up, fearing for his life. They said he never made a menacing move toward the cops and called it an unjustified killing.

The video you're watching was shown at a news conference held by the D.A., Andrew Womble. He said no charges would be filed because he views the shooting as "justified." Womble said there was an apparent risk to the officers' lives and that justified the use of deadly force.

And this is interesting ... the D.A. mentioned in the news conference the Coroner found meth in Brown's mouth.  Fact is ... it's irrelevant, because the police didn't know that when they fired at him so what they did stands on its own. It does, however, seem the D.A. mentioned it to "dirty up" Brown.

Joe Rogan thinks there's no end to woke and/or cancel culture -- even going so far as to say that it will silence straight, white men and relegate them to being indoor cats if it continues.

The famous podcaster made the comment on an episode of the 'JRE' last week while talking to comic Joe List ... starting out by saying you can never be woke enough for the so-called woke crowd -- and that, basically, they're taking a mile instead of the inch they were given.

He was making a somewhat decent point at first ... but then threw skin color into the mix, which is what A LOT of people have a problem with, it seems -- as the backlash has mounted.

Check it out for yourself ... Joe says straight, white men will be the ultimate victims of this rising PC culture, as he believes they won't be allowed to talk in the near future -- because their "privilege" has allowed them to do so for while others were forced to be quiet.

He goes on, saying straight, white men won't be allowed to go outside one day too at this rate "because so many people were imprisoned for so many years." He's speaking in hyperbole, of course, but everyone gets his point ... and not everyone agrees.

But, JR offers his simple solution ... just be nice to each other! He goes on to say there are nefarious people who are exploiting these overly-sensitive times.

A man full of hate tried his best to destroy the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis, but he got scared away ... and left his ax behind.

The video tells the story ... the man drives up to the memorial site -- a block from where Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd -- at around 2 AM Sunday. As you can see ... he pulls up in his pickup truck, gets out and begins vandalizing the area by removing barricades and ripping down Black Lives Matter signs.

He continues his rampage as he moves to the square's shed, and that's when he decides to go back to his truck and retrieve an ax. Yeah, it's pretty shocking.

After taking several whacks at the structure, the man puts his ax down and some people in the area begin yelling at him to scram. He does ... but he forgets his ax.

George Floyd Square's Instagram account has posted a reaction to the man's tirade, sharing a photo of the shed facade fully intact with the simple caption, "We fine."

Another Bob Baffert bombshell ... the legendary trainer has been temporarily suspended from horseracing in the state of New York pending a full investigation into doping allegations.

... which means Baffert will likely be blocked from entering a horse in the prestigious Belmont Stakes on June 5, which is HUGE.

The New York Racing Association made the announcement on Monday -- saying Baffert is currently suspended from "entering horses in races and occupying stall space at Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct Racetrack."

"During the temporary suspension, NYRA will not accept entries or provide stall space to any individual employed by Bob Baffert Racing Stables."

NYRA says the suspension stems from Baffert's horse, Medina Spirit, testing positive for a banned substance following his victory at the 2021 Kentucky Derby ALONG with the fact several other Baffert horses have flunked drug tests over the years.

Baffert has reportedly had 5 horses test positive for banned substances since May 2020 ... and the NYRA clearly believes something fishy might be going down behind the scenes.

"In addition to the ongoing investigation into Medina Spirit’s victory in the Kentucky Derby, NYRA has taken into account the fact that other horses trained by Mr. Baffert have failed drug tests in the recent past, resulting in the assessment of penalties against him by thoroughbred racing regulators in Kentucky, California, and Arkansas."

As for the length of Baffert's suspension, the NYRA says they will wait to see the results of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's probe into Medina Spirit before making a final decision. No word on how long that could take ... maybe days, maybe weeks.

For his part, Bob has denied intentional wrongdoing -- saying he believes Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone after taking a medication prescribed by a veterinarian.

NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke issues a statement on the matter -- saying, "In order to maintain a successful thoroughbred racing industry in New York, NYRA must protect the integrity of the sport for our fans, the betting public and racing participants."

"That responsibility demands the action taken today in the best interests of thoroughbred racing."

Saweetie says the rash of violence against Asian Americans that's stirring fear across the country has affected her family as well ... but she's aiming to put a stop to the hate she believes is at the root of it.

The "Fast (Motion)" rapper joined "TMZ Live" Monday to discuss Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month ... which is perhaps more important than ever as hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saweetie -- who's of Filipino and Chinese descent -- explains how the widespread violence has hit close to home ... especially the video of the elderly Asian woman getting randomly attacked in NYC.

She tells us that could have very well been her own grandmother, and says incidents like that have caused concern among families just like hers.

The bright side, according to Saweetie, is she believes the age of social media is opening people's eyes to how rampant this problem is ... and she's doing her part to raise awareness too.

She'll be performing with Jhene Aiko on Friday for the AAPI Heritage Month special, "See Us Unite for Change" ... hosted by Ken Jeong and featuring appearances by Daniel Dae Kim, Lisa Ling and more.

Miranda Cosgrove now has a Black BFF in the "iCarly" reboot -- which is unfortunately receiving hateful and racist backlash that she and the rest of the cast are stamping out.

Actress Laci Mosley is cast as Harper in the revived series -- which now follows Carly in her 20s -- who plays the main character's new best pal/roommate ... seemingly replacing Carly's old friend from the OG show, Sam Puckett. At least that's what trolls thought, anyway.

Apparently, folks were harassing Laci for her appearance in the show -- amid the absence of actress Jennette McCurdy, who played Sam -- and some were even calling her the n-word and other racist epithets ... so claims Laci, who called out the online hate.

She clarified she wasn't "replacing" anybody, and if people continued trolling her in her DMs, they'd be blocked. Her cries were echoed by Paramount -- the parent company of Nickelodeon -- and even Miranda herself.

The company issued a statement saying they were proud of the racially diverse cast for the new "iCarly" show -- and that any forms of racism being directed at their actors of color were not acceptable. MC reposted that same message to her IG Story.

One interesting twist here ... many Black fans of the show have also chimed in on Laci's casting, and some seem to think it's a case of PC overcorrecting and/or pandering on the part of Paramount.

One user wrote, "did they seriously just do the whole Black bestfriend trope with ICarly??? Man f*** all of that." There are lots of other tweets from other Black people that have similar sentiments.

At this rate, NO ONE is gonna be Tiger King ... Jeff Lowe's "Tiger King" Park keeps losing attractions -- we've learned the feds showed up again to seize even more of his big cats.

The "Tiger King" star tells TMZ ... his zoo in Thackerville, Oklahoma got raided Monday morning by 40-50 federal agents. Jeff says they showed up at 7 AM with a search warrant and told him to stay inside his house or he'd be arrested.

According to Lowe ... the feds are in the process of seizing about 70 animals. Jeff tells us he believes they are looking for tiger cubs on the property, but he says they don't have any.

Jeff says the warrant -- which appears to have been issued by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Oklahoma -- cites the Endangered Species Act as the reason for the search and seizure.

What's going down Monday at "Tiger King" Park seems very similar to what happened earlier this month ... when Jeff told us the feds showed up to haul away several of his hybrid big cats -- animals he claims are NOT protected under the Endangered Species Act.

As we first told you ... the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was the lead agency for that raid -- but the USDA was also present during the seizure of the animals. It's unclear if that's the same situation for Monday's raid or if other agencies are involved.

The opposition continues ...

With the 2020 Olympic Games set to begin in less than 3 months, the movement to cancel the event is still strong .. as evidenced by a protest in the streets of Tokyo on Monday.

People held signs reading, "Extinguish the Olympic Torch" and "Cancel the Tokyo Olympics."

The photos show a police presence during the demonstration -- but it doesn't appear things got out of hand.

The protest comes in the wake of a new poll conducted in Japan which reportedly says 80% of Japanese citizens are AGAINST the Olympics beginning on July 23, as currently scheduled.

The poll, conducted by Asahi Shimbun -- one of Japan's largest news outlets -- said of those surveyed, 43% want the Games canceled while 40% would prefer another postponement.

As we previously reported, there has been a recent surge in COVID cases in major Japanese cities, including Tokyo -- which led to the government extending a state of emergency from May 11 to May 31.

The country is currently experiencing a 4th wave of the infection which reportedly contains a variant that is spreading very fast and impacting a relatively large number of young people.

So far, Japanese officials are pushing forward with the plans to host the Games -- insisting there are measures in place to prevent a major outbreak.

A giant statue of Marilyn Monroe in her iconic dress-fluttering pose is making a comeback in the California desert ... but now, people are finding new ways to be pissed about it.

The 26-foot tall stainless steel effigy -- aptly titled "Forever Marilyn" -- has returned to the city of Palm Springs after a 7-year itch hiatus ... and is here to stay for good as it towers in front of the entrance to the Palm Springs Art Museum, this following a recent city council vote.

The statue was in town back in 2012, and stuck around for 2 years ... serving as a major tourist attraction. The idea here is ... bringing her back will help PS get back on its feet.

Of course, some like it hot out there -- a small spread of party poopers say they're utterly outraged about the "Forever Marilyn" being resurrected ... but for wildly different reasons. NPR outlined it well -- citing folks' indignation over obscenity, sexism and basic geography.

First, there's concern about where Marilyn's ass is facing ... which is directly at the front doors of the museum. A local official says he worries about the thousands of students who'll have to bear witness to Marilyn's derriere annually ... which he finds unimaginable/offensive.

Next, there's supposedly a Change.org petition floating around ... demanding the statue be removed, as the folks behind that claim this is straight-up inappropriate -- as it encourages upskirting (snapping shots up a lady's dress) ... and, by extension, predatory behavior.

Finally, some argue that the placement of the statue allegedly goes against city codes and road/highway planning guidelines -- and they're making a stink on that front. Even more say there's no evidence this statue will actually make a difference in boosting the local economy.

However you wanna cut it ... people are finding reasons to be angry about this. But, in reality, it's literally THE most famous shot of Marilyn in existence, and sits high in the pantheon of pop culture.

Ricky Schroder doesn't seem to understand the CDC's new guideline about mask-wearing -- and he learned about it the hard way at a Costco, which held its ground on policy.

The former child star from "Silver Spoons" filmed an aggressive encounter between himself and a Costco manager named Jason at an L.A.-area warehouse ... which is now making the rounds online.

You see Ricky asking the guy why he isn't being allowed inside without a face covering, noting the new news that fully vaccinated people don't really have to wear them indoors or out in most settings -- except for a few exceptions. Turns out, a Costco in Cali is one.

The manager calmly explains that there is still a state-wide mask mandate that's in effect throughout the state -- it's true, there is -- and that even though Gov. Newsom has signaled that may be lifted around mid-June ... their Costco is still following local guidelines to a T.

Ricky then goes on a bizarre rant about kings and lords ... and something about societal control. Jason hears him out, but stands firm -- basically telling him to scram.

They eventually get Ricky a refund and even amid his calls for boycotting Costco ... they get him to leave. It's a great lesson -- yes, the CDC has new guidelines about mask-wearing, but no ... not every retailer in every state out there is up to speed on switching gears just yet.

The Royal Family reportedly has had it up to HERE with Prince Harry trashing them publicly, and they think he's not acting like a prince, so he shouldn't have that title.

Royal aides are angry Harry's been lashing out, most recently at his dad ... this according to Daily Mail sources. The report came out after Harry went on Dax Shepard's podcast and said his dad caused him great pain and suffering. He does go on to say Prince Charles endured the same trauma because it's "genetic" in the Royal Family, but vowed he would break that cycle with his own kids.

Harry is speaking out on mental health issues -- he's got a new doc about it with Oprah -- but apparently, his message has fallen on deaf ears over at the Palace.

DM sources said, "The Duke of Sussex has now spent a significant amount of time emphasizing that he's no different to anyone else and attacking the institution which he says caused him so much pain.  There is a growing feeling that if you dislike the institution that much, you shouldn't have the titles."

As for the "genetic" abuse, the Royal aide lashed out, saying, “People are appalled that he could do this to the Queen when the Duke of Edinburgh is barely in his grave."

As you know, Harry and Meghan Markle also accused the family of racism, with someone (or multiple people) worrying Archie's skin might be "too dark." They didn't name names, but by eliminating the Queen, lots of folks believe they were accusing Philip, William and/or Charles of making the comment.

Courtney Stodden would entertain a sit-down with Chrissy Teigen to hash out their differences -- but Courtney's really just ready to get back to the grind.

Sources close to Courtney tell TMZ ... Chrissy's apology for her past abusive behavior was one of the last things Courtney needed to close that chapter, and feel comfortable moving forward with their life and career.

We're told Courtney would consider meeting Chrissy face-to-face down the road if they felt Teigen would be sincere, but there are no plans in the works for it to happen right now.

As you know ... Chrissy publicly apologized to Courtney for mercilessly bullying them online years ago. Courtney said Chrissy once DM'd them "to kill myself" -- but Courtney was unsure if Chrissy was being sincere with the apology and wondered if she was just trying to save face.

Our sources say Courtney's putting it all behind them now, and focusing on recording a debut EP, and expressing their feelings through music. They're hoping to drop the record later this year.

We're also told Courtney's been hard at work on a new book, detailing some of the topics they've discussed in interviews lately -- the trappings of Hollywood fame, including predators and thoughts of suicide.

Courtney's spending most of their time in Palm Springs these days, but we're told they plan to move back to the Hollywood Hills in August for their 27th birthday -- kind of a milestone, because we're told Courtney always feared the infamous 27 club.

Fat Joe seems to think DJ Khaled is the "Quincy Jones of hip-hop" -- but a lot more people seem to think he's dead wrong ... and outright disrespecting the legendary record producer.

Joe made the inflammatory comment this week while chopping it up with N.O.R.E. on his 'Drink Champs' podcast ... talking about the new Jay-Z/Nas song "Sorry Not Sorry" that appears on Khaled's latest album, "Khaled Khaled."

They were gassing up the song -- rightfully so, it's solid -- but then FJ turned the focus back onto DJK ... saying the guy really doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

Joe said people believe all Khaled does is get the biggest names in hip-hop/pop and throw them together on catchy songs -- but he insists there's a lot more to it than that, as several other DJs/producers attempt to do the same time and again and don't get the same results.

Then came Joe's hot take ... saying Khaled's the Quincy of the rap game, and A LOT of people were NOT having it. Joe caught wind of the backlash, however, and tried clarifying a bit.

He writes, "All these back seat drivers Monday morning quarterbacks always got an opinion but can’t do it themselves shit crazy." Joe adds, "To me the term Quincy jones of this time was used in reference to the work khaled has put in years and years of hit obviously there’s only one Quincy but f*ck it tune in tonight EXPLOSIVE lol."

The reason folks are pissed for the comparison is because, well, DJ Khaled doesn't make his own beats ... which isn't a secret either, BTW. He mostly curates, collecting tracks he likes ... and ad-libbing his famous lines over them while getting his music industry pals to feature.

Jake Paul is under investigation ... this time by officials in Puerto Rico for riding a motorized vehicle on a protected beach.

To use a bullfighting metaphor ... Jake waived the proverbial red flag in front of a bull by posting a video of him and some friends tooling around a beach in golf carts, smack in the middle of turtle-nesting season. That's illegal.

It looks like the driver is his brother, Logan, although we haven't been able to confirm.

Jake deleted the vid, but it's too late because the investigation has been launched by the territory's Dept. of Natural and Environmental Resources.

Logan said back in February he was moving some of his businesses, including Maverick Clothing, to Dorado, Puerto Rico ... which is near San Juan. Logan said on his podcast back then, “I thought it was more third-world than I suspected, so I went out there to scout it and I just fell in love with it.” Jake and Logan snagged a $10 million beachfront mansion.

They fell in love with Puerto Rico, but it doesn't sound like everyone there feels the same.

The clock is now ticking for NBC to choose the successor to Ellen DeGeneres' coveted time slot, and although they have a star in their pocket, a lot has to go right to make it work.

Sources at the network tell us -- long before COVID -- NBC honchos launched the Kelly Clarkson Show as the heir apparent to Ellen's syndicated hour. They knew back then Ellen was probably going to pull the plug on the show, and Kelly seemed like a likely successor.

The thing is ... Kelly's show struggled during COVID. Producing the show with guests joining remotely was challenging and the ratings slumped -- but that was the case with most shows through the pandemic. We're told a lot depends on the next few months ... whether the show experiences a surge in popularity as production comes back full force.

If that doesn't happen, NBC may well look beyond its current lineup to find a replacement, and a name that's been bandied about is one Tiffany Haddish. There are many reasons why Tiffany's name has bubbled up to the surface ... one of which is that she has guest-hosted for Ellen with considerable success.

The fact is ... Tiffany would probably kill in the timeslot, but we did some checking and no one in her camp is willing to say if she would even entertain the idea of doing a Monday-thru-Friday talk show, which is a real grind.

If she were interested, given the unbelievable number of projects Tiffany has, it would take the contents of a bank vault to seal the deal.