Controversial S#!T

Linda McMahon says she didn't make the call for the WWE to move forward with the Pay-Per-View event in Saudi Arabia on Friday ... saying she's no longer responsible for WWE's business moves.

Besides being married to WWE honcho Vince McMahon -- Linda also served as a high ranking executive in the organization from 1980 through 2009.

She's now part of the Trump administration -- serving as the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, based in Washington D.C.

So, when we saw her out at Reagan Airport on Tuesday, we had to ask how she felt about WWE not canceling the 'Crown Jewel' event, despite pressure from politicians and other powerful people in the wake of the Jamal Khashoggi murder.

"If you wanna talk WWE, you're talking to the wrong McMahon," Linda told us.

When we pointed out that WWE is essentially a family-run business, she replied -- "I don't run it and I'm not responsible for it ... ya gotta talk to Vince."

Message received -- loud and clear!

How does Ben Stiller feel about Shaun White getting heat for an offensive Halloween costume based off his "Tropic Thunder" movie?

He's sorry. Still.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... White dressed up as Simple Jack -- a mentally disabled character who was constantly referred to as the r-word in the 2008 movie.

Back in 2008, several disability groups spoke out against the flick -- calling the Simple Jack character offensive and tasteless.

Now, with White trotting out the costume again, groups like the Special Olympics ripped Shaun for exploiting special needs for a cheap laugh.

White has since apologized -- and now Stiller is weighing in too.

"Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then," Stiller said on social media.

"It was always meant to make fun of actors trying to do anything to win awards. I stand by my apology, the movie, Shaun White, And the great people and work of the Special Olympics.

Sylvester Stallone will not be charged for allegedly raping a woman nearly 30 years ago ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ broke the story ... a woman filed a police report for rape back in December, claiming two sexual assaults in 1987 and 1990. Stallone believed the woman filed a false police report, and vigorously denied the allegation.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office made the decision Tuesday not to charge Sly for the alleged attack ... citing insufficient evidence because none of the witnesses corroborated the woman's allegations. Sources connected with the case tell TMZ 2 witnesses contradicted the woman's story.

The statute of limitations had also expired.

Despite the statute of limitations having run out a long time ago, the Santa Monica Police Department still investigated. Stallone fired back at his accuser ... filing a police report claiming she committed the crime of lying on an official document.

Judge Mathis is ripping into President Trump for threatening to withdraw citizenship from children born in the U.S. ... all in the name of keeping Republicans in power heading into the midterm elections.

We got hizzoner Tuesday in NYC, where he gave us his take on Trump's plans to issue an executive order to end the automatic granting of U.S. citizenship to babies born in the U.S. from non-citizens.

Mathis told us he sees right through the tactic, and calls out POTUS for inflaming the immigration issue one week before election day. The judge seems to think most Americans will see things his way come Nov. 6.

He's not alone -- Trump's plan got plenty of immediate backlash, because it's a direct challenge to the 14th amendment ... "All persons born or naturalized in the United States ... are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

10:30 AM PT – Maury tells us he’s been trying to get Cardi on his show for 6 months to talk about Offset, but now he’s certain a show with CB and Nicki would be worthy of a primetime special.

Although the rivals tweeted Tuesday morning about being "all love" ... Maury ain’t buying it. As for who would come out on top in the lie detector test -- he thinks there's plenty of guilt to go around.

He also told us he and his staff security guards are prepared for the worst ... should the ladies agree to the polygraph showdown.

If Cardi B and Nicki Minaj really want THE TRUTH, one man is prepared to give them THE TRUTH ... and his name is Maury Povich.

Maury stepped squarely into the middle of hip-hop's biggest feud with an offer to hook both rappers up to a polygraph machine ... on his show, of course. We're thinking he'd have to make it a 2-hour special though, because there's a ton of beef to slice up:

-- Did Cardi stop Offset from doing the "No Flag" video with Nicki?
-- Did Nicki's pal Rah Ali really hit Cardi instead of security at the NYFW event?
-- Did Cardi block 21 Savage from doing "Krippy Kush" with Nicki?
-- Did Nicki leak Cardi's phone number after the NYFW fight?

And, that's just scratching the surface.

After Nicki dropped a ton of accusations on her "Queen Radio" show, she immediately offered to pay for a lie detector to prove she's in the right -- but as Maury put it, "Why pay for a Lie Detector Test @NICKIMINAJ ... when mine is FREE!"

For her part, Cardi fired back at Nicki with a ton of her own tea ... so, MP saw a huge opportunity and he pounced. Shoot your shot, Maury!

So, will they accept? Nicki SAYS she's down ... no word from Cardi yet.

Of course, with so much on the line, ya gotta wonder ... can they handle THE TRUTH?

HOF'er Mark Henry says if he was John Cena, he'd absolutely wrestle in WWE's 'Crown Jewel' in Saudi Arabia -- despite journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder -- 'cause it's his job to perform.

TMZ Sports talked to the WWE legend about the fallout from the company's decision to NOT cancel the event ... and Cena's reported refusal to participate.

"I wouldn't ever say that person is making the wrong decision. I'd say, that's not the decision that I'd make. I would stand by my guns and I would do what's good for business."

Bottom line, Henry -- host of Busted Open Radio -- says Cena and the other superstars committed to wrestle ... so they shouldn't let fans and the company down.

"I'm a firm believer in not leaving people out to dry," ... Henry says, "Our fans, they wanna see you. Give our fans what they want."

As far as not postponing or canceling "Crown Jewel" ... Mark says Vince McMahon is being unfairly criticized.

"The WWE is just 1 business. There's hundreds of thousands of businesses doing business internationally. Why pick on one?"

Henry says he's not currently scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia ... but if WWE asks, he's ready to hop on a plane.

Ben & Jerry's ice cream is diving deep into politics ... with an ice cream scooper!!

The famous ice cream company unveiled an anti-Trump flavored ice cream Tuesday morning in D.C. dubbed "Pecan Resist." Because we know you're wondering -- "Pecan Resist" is chocolate ice cream with white and dark fudge chunks, pecans, walnuts and fudge-covered almonds. Yum.

B&J's says, "This flavor supports groups creating a more just and equitable nation for us all, and who are fighting President Trump's regressive agenda."

The company also said it could not be silent in the face of Trump's policies that attack and attempt to roll back decades of progress on racial and gender equity. The company cited its fight against Trump's administration to roll back LGBT rights and its refusal to battle climate change.

BTW ... we ran into Ben & Jerry on their way out, and to say they were excited about the new flavor would be a total understatement.

It's official, John Cena will NOT be a part of WWE's 'Crown Jewel' pay-per-view event in Saudi Arabia this weekend ... with WWE writing in another wrestler to take his place.

Cena reportedly refused to go to Saudi Arabia because of the controversy surrounding the murder of former Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

Several politicians and powerful business people called for WWE to postpone the show while investigators looked into the Saudi government's role in Khashoggi's killing, but the wrestling org. announced it would proceed with the event as planned.

WWE and Cena seemed to be at loggerheads -- so, on "Monday Night Raw," it was finally announced Cena was off the card and will be replaced in the WWE World Cup tournament by pro wrestling star Bobby Lashley.

Other stars scheduled to compete in the tourney include Seth Rollins, Kurt Angle, Dolph Ziggler, Jeff Hardy, The Miz, Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton.

Cena has not issued an official statement yet. 'Crown Jewel' will go down on Friday in Riyadh.

Cena has participated in a Saudi Arabia event in the past -- back in April, he wrestled Triple H and thanked the locals for their hospitality.

Tyler Perry thinks houses of worship should remain holy and sacrosanct, but the sad reality is that armed guards may be necessary.

The "Nobody's Fool" director was in NYC Tuesday, where he said Trump's call to arms in houses of worship is not the solution.

Anthony Scaramucci is chalking up all the recent finger-pointing at President Trump to liberals being pissed they can't beat the guy, especially ahead of the midterms.

We got the Mooch out Monday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., and he was in rare form -- telling us Democrats are desperate heading into election day. He thinks they're trying everything they can to make DT look bad -- including blaming him for the latest threats and acts of political violence.

Still, Scaramucci says IF he were still in the White House he'd suggest Trump do more uniting and less dividing across party lines -- but he admits it would be a futile effort. Trump is who he is, and ain't about to change ... in Mooch's opinion.

And, if that wasn't enough unabashed Trump-defending ... the Mooch takes it one step further by parroting his old boss almost word for word on the "swamp" that is D.C.

3:58 PM PT -- Shaun White has pulled the photo of his "Simple Jack" costume off of his social and has issued an apology.

"I owe everyone in the Special Olympics community an apology for my poor choice of Halloween costume the other night."

"It was a last minute decision. It was the wrong one." White says.

"The Special Olympics were right to call me out on it. They do great work supporting so many tremendous athletes and I am sorry for being insensitive. Lesson learned."

Shaun White is under fire from special needs parents AND the Special Olympics over his Halloween costume -- Simple Jack from "Tropic Thunder."

Remember, when the movie came out back in 2008, several disabilities groups blasted Ben Stiller and the flick for the character -- an intellectually disabled man who is repeatedly referred to as the r-word.

Now, 10 years later ... White thought it would be a good idea to trot out the costume for a Halloween party and people are pissed.

In fact, a rep for the Special Olympics tells TMZ Sports ...

"We are truly disappointed that Shaun White, an acclaimed Olympian, would choose this costume which is so offensive and causes so much pain."

"Disability is not a joke nor should it be a punchline. We hope that Shaun White and others learn that this just continues stigma, stereotypes and discrimination."

Others have sounded off on Shaun's IG page -- where he posted the pic.

"I'm not sure if it’s worse that this is an actual movie or that you’d think it’s okay to mock individuals who have disabilities. It’s 2018, man. #spreadthewordtoendtheword #rwordhurts," one person wrote.

Another wrote, "You’re a real POS! Really? At the expense of those who can’t defend themselves?? Hope you’re working on your lame apology speech...I know this will be deleted!! Grow up you douche! #spreadthewordtoendtheword #specialolympics."

We reached out to White's agent for comment -- so far, no word back.

Originally published -- 9:20 AM PDT

A rabbi in the deep South says he and his congregation are seriously considering taking President Trump's advice -- in the wake of the mass shooting in Pittsburgh -- and arm themselves during worship.

Rabbi Moshe Rube -- who heads up the Knesseth Israel Congregation in Birmingham, AL -- tells TMZ ... he's already spoken to temple members about having someone armed on-site after a gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

You'll recall, President Trump caught some flak for suggesting the killing might've been avoided if people inside were armed -- but the idea's clearly gained support from some Jewish leaders.

Rabbi Rube says he's considering several options, including having members carry concealed weapons during services, as long as they're licensed.

Considering Alabama's history of racially-motivated church bombings and anti-Semitic attacks ... the rabbi says it's a difficult subject that simply couldn't be avoided.

Hue Jackson deserved to be canned after two-plus seasons of losing AND looking like crap against the Steelers on Sunday ... so says Browns legend Earnest Byner.

It's nothing against Hue personally -- E.B. tells us the coach couldn't have been a nicer dude and even let him intern with the team recently -- but Byner says it was just time for him to go.

"I didn't like how that team looked," Earnest says ... "You'd have to say this firing has been earned."

Of course, lots of people in Cleveland would agree ... Hue was 3-36-1 since taking over the head coaching reigns back in 2016.

But, Byner's questioning how the Browns' brass even allowed Hue to make it into the start of THIS season.

"You wonder what was the process of what made them bring Hue back, especially after going through so much losing."

Congressman Sean Duffy thinks it's grossly unfair to lay blame on President Trump for the bombs sent to political foes of the Prez -- and he had a heated debate with us over it on TMZ Live.

The Republican rep from Wisconsin -- and former 'Real World' star -- joined us Monday to explain why he believes there's a clear double standard from anyone trying to blame Trump for the pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats.

The way Sean sees it, suspected bomber Cesar A. Sayoc was crazy long before Trump took office.

Is it possible a kicker could wait LESS time than Terrell Owens did to get into the Hall of Fame???

Morten Andersen clearly thinks so ... 'cause the legendary Saints kicker says there's no doubt Adam Vinatieri will be a 1st-ballot HOFer after setting the all-time points mark Sunday.

"Adam's resume is very strong," Morten tells TMZ Sports.

"That's going to be validated, that's going to be confirmed once he decides to hang up his cleats and waits the obligatory 5 years. He'll be in Canton, Ohio."

Of course, that'd be unprecedented. Only 5 kickers have ever made it to the Hall ... and Andersen -- who held the all-time points record at 2,544 before A.V. beat it -- had to wait a decade to get in.

But, Morten thinks Vinatieri is just that good, saying, "He's done it in big games. He's won Super Bowls!"

We also talked with Andersen about field-goal kicking nowadays vs. back when he played ... and he tells us he can't believe some of the yardage dudes are consistently nailing from now.

But ... when we asked Morten for the longest field goal he's ever drilled ... he tells us he once made one FROM HIS OWN 36-YARD LINE!!!!!!!!

Sarah Palin has an answer for stopping mass shootings in America ... and it has nothing to do with restricting gun sales or getting more weapons in the hands of law enforcement.

We got Sarah Monday at LAX and asked about the deadly attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue, and what can be done to prevent domestic terrorism ... and Sarah tells us it's all about religion -- or lack thereof.

Check out the clip ... Sarah preaches about driving out evil by worshiping God, telling us why religion will be way more effective than protesting or screaming into the Twittersphere.