Controversial S#!T

WWE isn't backing out of the upcoming pay-per-view event in Saudi Arabia -- saying they plan to "continue operations" in the country despite calls from politicians to at least postpone.

The event -- 'Crown Jewel' featuring Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman -- is scheduled to take place in Riyadh on Nov. 2.

Thursday morning, as part of a Q3 earnings report, the company announced the show will move forward as planned.

"WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base," the statement said.

"Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event."

"Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled."

Of course, the "heinous crime" is the apparent abduction, torture and murder of former Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Some officials believe Khashoggi's death was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman -- though the royal family has strongly denied that.

President Donald Trump recently referred to the Saudi account of the killing as the "worst cover up" in history ... after they tried to spin multiple BS stories about how Khashoggi could have died.

Newt Gingrich does not seem to lay any blame at the doorstep of 1600 Pennsylvania for the recent bomb attacks ... he's more focused on the media, Maxine Waters, and Robert De Niro.

We got the former Speaker of the House Thursday morning in D.C., and didn't exactly say the people who received the bombs were asking for it ... but he's in that vicinity.

Gingrich, an FNC contributor, is towing the Trump party line ... don't talk about Trump's words -- e.g., celebrating a Congressman body slamming a reporter -- focus on the media and his critics.

Dan Abrams says there's plenty to be scared about in this country in the wake of a spate of attempted bomb attacks ... because all signs point to a single, demented individual.

We got the host of "Live PD" Thursday AM in NYC, and he was quick to say it's dangerous stuff to assume the bombings are some sort of organized, widespread attack. Dan's view seems to be what authorities believe ... that the bombs are all identical in nature, and seem to be the work of a single individual.

Charlamagne Tha God says he's still a Dallas Cowboys fan -- despite calling Jerry Jones the "most racist owner in the whole league."

Charlamagne was out in NYC promoting his book "Shook One" where he told us he's still trying to maintain his NFL boycott -- but it's hard ... and sometimes he cheats.

"I'm cheating, I'm not gonna lie," Char says ... "Eric Reid is back there. He's giving them white folks hell. He keeping his foot in their ass. So, I'm watching for Eric Reid."

Of course, Eric participated in the national anthem kneeling demonstration with Colin Kaepernick a few years ago -- and then couldn't get a job earlier this year.

He sued the NFL -- but earlier this month, the Carolina Panthers picked him up ... so "The Breakfast Club" host says he's been trying to keep up with Reid's career.

As for the Cowboys, Char has been a lifelong Cowboys fan -- and even though he hates the owner, he's still sticking by his team.

We asked Charlamagne how he felt about Jerry Jones going to the African American History Museum in D.C. this week -- and he had strong feelings about that too.

"Love & Hip Hop: Miami" star Amara La Negra is totally behind Spice's decision to go white face for her album, because she believes Spice had a noble purpose and executed it brilliantly.

Amara tells TMZ, the haters who have lashed out at Spice are all wet for attacking Spice over a photo that was designed to mock those who believe light-skinned African American women are more beautiful than their dark-skinned counterparts.

As we reported, the imagery goes hand-in-hand with Spice's track, "Black Hypocrisy" on her mixtape that includes the lyrics, “(‘Cause) I was told I would reach further/If the color of my skin was lighter/And I was made to feel inferior/Cause society said brown girls prettier.”

And THAT right there is why Amara's in Spice's corner ... 'cause Amara herself has clashed with others trying to define her beauty. You'll remember "Love & Hip Hop: Miami" cast member Young Hollywood was on the receiving end of death threats after suggesting Amara get "a new look."

In short ... Amara says she gets it and supports Spice, because sometimes you gotta shake people to call attention to your cause.

Melissa Rivers hopes Megyn Kelly's mea culpa for her idiotic blackface comment was genuine -- but she's reluctant enough to check in with an African-American friend before weighing in on the apology.

We got Melissa Wednesday at LAX, the day after she was sitting right next to Megyn when she uncorked her remark that it was fine to wear blackface for Halloween. So, you've gotta see Melissa's reaction when we asked about Megyn's apology.

Remember, Melissa was part of the panel -- all white people -- sitting with Megyn when she made the asinine remark ... which might explain why she consulted a friend.

As for the apology -- Melissa hints it's simply NOT possible 47-year-old Megyn still doesn't "know where the line is."

President Trump bears some responsibility for the pipe bombs sent to Democrats, and anyone with ears should know that, says former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt.

Steve told us Wednesday the person who actually assembled and sent the bombs is ultimately to blame -- but added, POTUS would have had metaphorical blood on his hands had the devices detonated ... because he's been condoning violence for years now.

Schmidt, who's renounced the GOP and is now an MSNBC fixture, says Trump has encouraged his base to resort to violence against his enemies -- specifically Democrats and the media.

Considering those were the groups targeted, Schmidt says it's clear Trump's rhetoric is spawning a pseudo Civil War.

As we told you, multiple suspicious packages were discovered en route to the residences and offices of the Obamas, the Clintons, Eric Holder, Maxine Waters, CNN and more. Cops say all the devices were pipe bombs intended to cause harm.

FWIW ... Trump condemned the would-be attacks, and vowed law enforcement would track down the attempted murders.

New York Giants legend Amani Toomer tells TMZ Sports the problem in NY ain't Eli Manning ... it's his trash O-line!!!

Of course ... Amani's biased -- dude is rockin' a Super Bowl ring these days 'cause of Eli's heroics in SB XLII -- but he swears he's tellin' the truth.

"I'm not an Eli apologist," Toomer tells us ... "I just think that, in my honest opinion, I just don't think Eli's it -- I don't think he's the issue."

So, what is? Amani tells us to look at the five dudes in front of Manning for that.

"Realistically, there's not many quarterbacks that you can insert in this situation and get an appreciable difference."

As for the future of the franchise ... Amani says the team just needs to stick with Eli -- 'cause the ex-WR clearly HATES the idea of drafting QBs.

"I think when you're getting a rookie quarterback," Toomer says ... "you're wishing on a star."

Jessica Alba's morning got off to a rough start but she still had reason to smile ... she got off with just a warning after getting pulled over by cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Jessica was pulled over Wednesday morning in Bev Hills after cops said they saw her driving with her cell phone in hand. It's unclear if she was talking or texting, but either way -- Cali is a hands-free state ... so, big no-no.

We're told cops gave her a simple warning and she went on her merry way.

BTW ... this was NOT a case of cops giving her the celebrity treatment ... 'cause get this -- we're told the cop who stopped her had no idea it was Jessica Alba ... one of the hottest and most popular women in the world.

Oops.

Former Miami Hurricanes head football coach Al Golden is suing his former employer -- claiming the University screwed him out of $3 million after they fired him back in 2015.

Golden says he signed a massive multi-million dollar contract to lead the Canes back in 2011 -- a deal loaded with incentives. The contract says Golden's initial base salary was $150k per year but the upside was tremendous.

For example ... as part of his deal, the University of Miami guaranteed that in addition to his base salary and bonuses, Golden would get MILLIONS from third parties for TV and radio deals.

$1.25 mil for year 1, $1.675 mil for year 2 ... and incrementally increasing all the way up to $2.94 million for year 9.

Golden would receive a $750k bonus if Miami won the BCS Championship game, $400k for a 2nd place finish, $300k for a non-title BCS bowl game 1st place finish and so on.

More bonuses include ... $25k for 10 regular season wins, $75k for 11 wins and $175k for 12 wins.

He also got $5,000 annually from UM's deal with Nike.

There's more ... Miami also provided Golden with a luxury car, paid for his membership to the fancy Deering Bay Country Club along with a bunch of UM football tickets and usage of the suite at Sun-Life Stadium.

Unclear exactly how Golden got to the $3 million he's asking for in the lawsuit -- but saying it's "separation pay" that he never received based on their deal.

An assistant coach for the University of Michigan gymnastics team was arrested earlier this month for having sex in public after officials say he nailed an 18-year-old member of the UM team in a car.

The asst. coach is 39-year-old Scott Vetere -- a former stud gymnast back in the day who was the 2000 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year.

Officials say Vetere and a female gymnast were doing floor exercises in a car in the parking lot of an Ann Arbor apartment building on Oct. 8 ... when they were spotted by police and arrested for performing an indecent act in public.

The female gymnast was also arrested. Both parties are due back in court next month.

A rep for the University of Michigan confirmed Vetere was "immediately suspended" when the school learned of his arrest.

He later resigned from his position and no longer works for the University.

One of Migos' most iconic songs is a straight cover -- at best -- or an absolute ripoff at worst ... according to another rapper who's suing the trio.

Leander C. Pickett -- better known, he says, as M.O.S., -- says he recorded a song called "Walk It Like I Talk It" way back in 2007, and released it on a DJ Folk mixtape in 2008.

In docs obtained by TMZ ... Pickett says he realized, in January 2018, Migos had released a track on their "Culture II" album with an amazingly similar title -- "Walk It Talk It" -- which uses a "substantial portion" of his version.

It's true, when you listen to both songs ... it's hard NOT to hear the similarities, especially in the chorus to the songs. For what it's worth, Pickett says he filed for a copyright on his song in March 2018.

Megyn Kelly is getting torn to shreds, deservedly so, by her coworkers at NBC -- especially Al Roker -- who demanded she apologize to the country for her asinine blackface comments ... and she did.

Megyn began her show Wednesday morning with a 2-minute mea culpa ... insisting she had learned a lesson due to the massive backlash after she said it was fine to wear blackface for Halloween "as long as it's a character."

In her apology, she said, "It is not okay for that to be part of any costume. Halloween or otherwise. I've never been a PC kind of person, but I do understand the value of being sensitive to our history. Particularly on race and ethnicity."

Worth noting ... her apology drew a standing ovation from audience members -- many of whom were African-American.

It's unclear if her apology went far enough for Al, though. A few hours earlier, he blasted her on the air, saying ... "She owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country."

Former pro skateboarder Neal Hendrix has been accused of sexually assaulting a much younger female pro skater when she was just 14 years old .... and now cops are investigating.

25-year-old Julie Lynn Kindstrand Nelson -- known professionally as Julz Lynn -- went public with the accusations on Tuesday ... saying Hendrix "used his position of influence to pursue his own sexual ambitions, which included luring me to have sex with him" ... beginning when he was in his early 30s.

Julz told espnW ... Hendrix first met her at a skate park in 2006 and convinced her to come to his apartment for "sex lessons." She also claims Hendrix masturbated in front of her and took naked videos of her while she was underage.

Julz has reached out to the Costa Mesa Police Department in CA -- and has also called for other possible victims of Hendrix to come forward.

She's also pointing the finger at skate officials -- saying the International Olympic Committee and USOC "never cared to pay any attention or look into illegal inappropriate interactions with many underage athletes."

Julz says her experience with Hendrix took her innocence and destroyed her career ... and now she's "in the process of getting my life back together."

Hendrix -- now 45 -- won five X Games medals during his career ... and has been a TV commentator for big events like Dew Tour and X Games. He's also on the USA Skateboarding executive committee.

A candidate for Rhode Island Attorney General shocked a room full of students when he spelled the n-word out at ear-shattering levels during a high school event.

Alan Gordon -- a member of the Compassion Party -- showed up at North Kingstown High School Tuesday, where he and his opponent, Peter Neronha, fielded questions from students. Gordon became irate after Neronha used the word "marijuana" twice.

Gordon claimed "marijuana" is a racist term ... comparing it to the n-word, which he emphatically rolled out, letter by letter. Many students roared with applause.

After shout-spelling the word ... Gordon left the stage and never returned.

Anne Armstrong, a member of the Compassion Party who's running for Governor, tells us she and Gordon run a cannabis healing clinic -- and the word "marijuana" is extremely offensive to them because it's rooted in racial stereotypes. Don't ask.

Armstrong says Gordon was promised before the event Neronha would not say "marijuana" -- and when he said it the second time it set Gordon off.

As for why Gordon's opponent referred to marijuana during the event ... Gordon and Armstrong were reportedly busted a few weeks back with 48 pounds of pot.

President Trump's attack on the transgender community doesn't have retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck running scared ... she'll continue doing what she does best -- fight for her life without fear.

Beck -- a transgender woman and former SEAL Team 6 member -- tells TMZ, Trump's assault on her community is part and parcel of what she deals with every day. Fact is, she says when she walks out the door she knows there are people who are so filled with hate they want to kill her.

The former SEAL, with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, tells us Trump's plan -- enacting a new policy that would cement everyone's sexual identity by their genitalia at birth -- is the action of an angry man.

Check out the vid ... Beck's got a message for every race and gender Trump's attacked, and how they can all band together.