Controversial S#!T

Adrian Peterson says he still disciplines his children using a switch ... despite nearly going to jail for striking his infant son with one 4 years ago.

You'll remember ... the NFL superstar beat his then-4-year-old child with a switch so badly in 2014 -- the boy had bruises and lacerations on his lower back, buttocks and scrotum.

A.P. was charged with felony child abuse ... but was able to get that charge reduced to misdemeanor domestic violence after striking a plea deal in exchange for a no contest plea.

Peterson -- in addition to serving out a lengthy NFL suspension -- was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine.

Adrian said afterward he would find different ways to punish his kids, saying, "I won't ever use a switch again."

But ... fast forward to now -- and Peterson is singing a different tune, telling Bleacher Report he not only still uses a switch to discipline his kids sometimes ... he also recently used a belt too.

"I had to discipline my son and spank him the other day with a belt," Peterson said.

For his part ... A.P. says he doesn't take the punishments as far as he did back in 2014 -- claiming he uses the physical discipline only far enough to teach his children lessons he feels they need to learn.

Diane Warren has a thought or two about President Trump's comments on the wildfires ravaging much of California -- her most interesting one being ... toss him in the flames.

We got the acclaimed songwriter Tuesday night at Craig's in WeHo, where she went scorched earth on 45 for making, what many considered, blunder after blunder when addressing the state's Camp and Woolsey fires.

Diane says his remark about raking forest grounds to prevent fires was especially outrageous and she went off about it -- suggesting POTUS should take a closer, hotter look. Well, to be blunt, she said, "Can we throw Trump in the fire?"

It's not the first time -- or second -- Diane has torn into 45 ... but this one's definitely the most visceral.

John Legend's got a guarantee for all the people slamming the choice of Cardi B as a judge on his new hip-hop competition series.

We got John leaving the Fox Theatre in Atlanta Tuesday night and asked him how he feels about critics saying Cardi's unqualified for the role on the upcoming Netflix show, "Rhythm + Flow," which he's executive producing.

Check out his response ... not the least bit concerned.

"Rhythm + Flow" will be Netflix's first stab at a music reality competition and the first show of its kind to focus solely on rap. It's scheduled to launch in fall 2019, and T.I. and Chance the Rapper are slated to join Cardi on the judges' panel.

And, to be fair, our camera guy got it all wrong -- while there was backlash to Cardi being named a judge, Wendy Williams wasn't part of it. She actually supported the choice on her show, saying Cardi will be a big reason to watch ... especially for young viewers.

Colin Kaepernick and his girlfriend, Nessa, arrived to Los Angeles late Tuesday night -- which begs the question ... are ya here for business or turkey?

Kap didn't have much to say -- BUT -- you gotta see his reaction when we asked if he's NFL-ready ... one of the big topics that's been debated on social media this week. Colin's smirk says a lot.

Kaepernick and Nessa were cool with fans at LAX -- and even thanked a female fan who told the QB, "I love you so much!"

So, what's next for Colin's football career? Unclear at this point, but Nessa and Carolina Panthers star Eric Reid have insisted Kap is in shape and ready to play if he gets the call.

As we previously reported, Kaepernick is still working out every single day -- lifting, throwing and running.

With quarterbacks like Nathan Peterman -- who's horrible -- getting calls from NFL teams ... many people believe it's proof of NFL collusion.

We spoke with NFL legend Charles Woodson earlier this week who told us he doesn't think CK will get back in the league due to politics ... but thinks he still has the talent to compete at the highest level.

Aaron Carter insists he laid the foundation for dudes like Justin Bieber ... even if kids these days don't wanna give him props for it.

Aaron hilariously responded to a random fan on Twitter Tuesday, who wondered why Aaron never achieved the same success as Biebs. That ticked off Aaron who suggests he's basically the Godfather of modern-day child pop stars.

In his tweet, Aaron says he's been in the music industry way longer than Biebs ... and, apparently, went through much harder times, only to bounce back time and again. He even jokes he's in construction because he "paved the way."

Aaron, at the ripe old age of 30, ended his rant with, "These kids have NEVER paid me homage."

No response from Bieber yet -- he's been a little busy with the missus and other stuff.

AARP says it fully supports Aaron. Kidding.

Ray Rice was welcomed warmly by Baltimore Ravens fans almost 5 years after his infamous domestic violence incident ... with the crowd breaking out a "Ray! Ray! Ray!" chant.

It all went down Sunday ... when Ray was making his first appearance at a Ravens game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore since he was cut by the team in Sept. 2014.

The Ravens initially stuck by the star running back until TMZ Sports published video showing the Feb. 15, 2014 attack on his now-wife, Janay Rice, inside an elevator at an Atlantic City casino.

But now, it seems the two sides have made up -- Ray was invited to participate in the team's "Legends of the Game" ceremony along with stars from the 2008 Ravens team.

So, why the warm reception? Ever since he was cut, Ray has spent countless hours speaking with young athletes so they don't make the same bad decisions he did.

Ray's wife, Janay, praised her husband after the game -- saying, "It was a memorable day being welcomed back into our home of 7 years, M&T Bank Stadium!"

"I’m so proud of my husband for overcoming yet another hurdle in this journey and doing it with a smile on his face. Never once letting any circumstance change who he truly is."

Move over Tom Brady ... Dick Vermeil tells TMZ Sports he won't be surprised if we're all callin' Patrick Mahomes the new GOAT by the time his career reaches its end.

"I think he has a chance to go down as one of the ... if not the finest," the legendary coach says.

Patrick lit up the Rams for 478 passing yards and 6 TDs Monday night ... and when we spoke with Dick about the performance Tuesday -- he couldn't have been more impressed.

In fact ... Vermeil -- who previously coached both the Rams and Chiefs -- says he'd straight-up take Pat over Jared Goff and any other young QBs in the league right now.

"I've never seen anything like him," Vermeil says ... "He can do it all. He can throw off balance, upside down and backwards and throw a completed pass. He has unbelievable poise."

"I don't see any limitation."

Vermeil says it's Mahomes' age that impresses him the most, telling us a 23-year-old in his 2nd year shouldn't be able to do the things the Chiefs star is currently doing.

"He's way ahead of everybody else at the same time!"

We also spoke with Dick about the Rams ... and he loves them too -- but says Goff and the guys still have some proving to do before they can be compared with his old Rams squads.

By the way, if you notice the Chiefs logo on Dick's shirt -- he swears he's not picking favorites ... it's just "gym clothes."

Shareef O'Neal might not be on the court at UCLA this year but he's still finding a way to give the rest of the PAC-12 fits ... 'cause he's getting in early on a BLUE-CHIP L.A recruit ... LeBron James Jr.

14-year-old Bronny hit the UCLA game Monday with his brother, Bryce, and the rest of the O'Neal kids -- including his current Crossroads schoolmate, Shaqir O'Neal.

The whole crew was there to support Shareef -- a member of the UCLA team who's sidelined this season due to a heart condition. As we previously reported, he'll be undergoing surgery next month.

The O'Neals and the James families are REALLY close ... so all of this could just be a fun night out, but you have to wonder if hanging around Westwood is gonna give the Bruins an inside track on Bronny for 2023.

We can't be sure about that, it's too early to tell ... but we are 100% sure about one thing.

These kids are growing like beanstalks, seriously. We have to know what Shaq, Shaunie, LeBron, and Savannah are feeding these children.

Bill Maher just got a famous "Spider-Man" quote dropped on his head after he attacked Spidey's creator, Stan Lee ... accusing him of making Americans so dumb they elected Donald Trump.

Stan Lee's company, POW! Entertainment, responded to Maher's blog about the late, great Marvel honcho ... saying Bill's opinion "that Stan merely inspired people to 'watch a movie' is in our opinion frankly disgusting."

Stan's team added, "Countless people can attest to how Stan inspired them to read, taught them that the world is not made up of absolutes, that heroes can have flaws and even villains can show humanity within their souls."

And, their coup de grace ... "We will rely on another of Stan’s lessons to remind you that you have a powerful platform, so please remember: 'With great power there must also come -- great responsibility!'"

Colin Kaepernick's girlfriend is lashing out at the NFL -- claiming the only reason CK doesn't have a job is because the shot callers in the league are still blackballing him.

Nessa -- a hugely famous New York DJ -- weighed in after their good friend, Eric Reid, told reporters that Kap has NOT thrown in the towel when it comes to an NFL comeback.

Reid said he's one of Colin's closest friends and said Colin not only wants to play, "He's ready to play" -- and he's still working out 6 days a week.

Nessa confirmed everything Reid said -- and emphasized that "all the teams know" Colin is NFL ready right now.

That's when she went in even harder on the league ...

"Colin trains everyday. All the teams know. But they’d rather keep blackballing him. The league, owners & mgmt are the ones who don’t want him to play."

She added, "Journalists should ask the league why they’re blackballing Colin."

The NFL is STILL blackballing Colin Kaepernick from the league ... and the Washington Redskins' QB tryout list Monday is legit proof of that -- so says Antonio Cromartie.

The Redskins lost Alex Smith for the season to a gruesome leg injury Sunday ... and shortly after, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the team is bringing in some QBs to try to replace him.

Some of the names: Mark Sanchez, EJ Manuel, Kellen Clemens and TJ Yates.

"No @Kaepernick7 shows you how @NFL continue to black ball him," Cromartie said.

"I’m sorry but none of these QB’s are better than Kap. #ImWithKap"

The ex-DB ain't wrong ... none of the 4 quarterbacks on the Skins' tryout list has a career QB rating above 77.1 ... while Kap still owns an 88.9 mark.

As we previously reported ... Kap's been outta the league since 2016 after he began kneeling during national anthems -- but he's been training his ass off for another shot at the league ever since.

NFL future Hall of Famer Charles Woodson says Colin Kaepernick should definitely be on the list of QBs the Washington Redskins put together in the wake of the Alex Smith injury.

But, Charles says he doesn't think Kap will ultimately get the call ... and we all know why.

Woodson says he watched when Alex busted his leg on Sunday and feels bad for the guy.

And, with the team reportedly already scheduling workouts with potential backups like EJ Manuel, T.J. Yates and Mark Sanchez ... we asked Woodson why Kap's phone ain't ringing.

"I don't think he will be picked up but he definitely should be in the conversation," Woodson tells TMZ Sports.

"There's a lot of guys that are in the conversation to be picked up. We know the reason [Kaepernick is] not one of those guys ... but he should be."

The obvious insinuation ... CW clearly believes it's all about kneeling and not about his actual talent.

Still, Charles says Kap is "doing great things" off the field -- referencing Colin's social activism.

Fired WWE star Enzo Amore got tackled to the ground and kicked out of a wrestling event Sunday that he probably (definitely) shouldn't have been at.

The former two-time Crusierweight Champion crashed WWE's 'Survivor Series' and made a fool of himself in the crowd by standing on his chair, holding up his belt ... and screaming A LOT. He was clearly pissed ... but security was having NONE of it, and chased him out the building.

You can see that Enzo briefly got away from guards, and seemed to exit on his accord -- with his hands up, no less. It's unclear if authorities dealt with him outside, but he definitely interrupted things enough to cause a scene. The crowd wasn't diggin' it either.

In footage obtained by Pro Wrestling Sheet, you see Enzo being escorted through the tunnel and right out the exit door. There didn't seem to be much discussion or chastising ... just a good ol' fashioned GTFOH.

As we reported ... Enzo was accused of rape at the beginning of 2018, and was fired by the WWE shortly after. The Phoenix Police Dept. eventually closed the case, and no charges were filed.

Paulina Rubio threw many fans for a loop at a concert for women when she blurted out "We love you, Donald Trump" -- but it appears to have been purely for literary effect.

The Mexican pop star was performing Saturday in L.A. during the 'K-Love Live: Las Que Mandan' concert when, at one point, she coupled her shout-outs to women with a seemingly random plug for the President ... which got a lot of boos from the crowd.

The lines about Trump didn't have much context, but in an interview after the show ... Paulina seemed to imply her "love" for Trump was nothing but sarcasm and an attempt at irony. When the host asks her if she had a message for 45, Paulina says (in Spanish) that Hispanics have been here long before DT became the Prez, and that her mom had told her she wasn't going anywhere in the Trump times. Translation ... she's not team MAGA.

Besides, Paulina's been quoted many times bashing President Trump, calling him a "pendejo" among other insults. So, it's unlikely she'd do a hard flip-flop in such a public way ... or so it seems, anyway.

Casey Anthony feels a connection to, of all people, United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ... seriously.

Anthony picked up a few things at a Dollar Tree Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida. Check out her T -- a pic of RGB with the words, "Fight for the things you care about." She's been living in South Florida for years. Her life seems lowkey and pretty normal.

Beto O'Rourke doesn't buy the criticism of Beyonce -- that she waited too long to throw her support behind him in the Texas Senatorial election -- to the contrary, he says it's hard to find anything from Houston more impressive than her.

We got Beto on Capitol Hill, and he can't say enough about Bey ... can't say enough because he's interrupted by a slew of fans who went nuts when they saw him.

As for Beyonce, some of Beto's supporters think it was too little, too late throwing her support behind him on the day of the election.

Gotta say ... he's about as genuine as they come -- unspotted by the ever-present phoniness of politics.