Controversial S#!T

TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie knows 90% of Americans want what he does when it comes to gun reform, but what might surprise you is he says a majority of NRA members also back his plan.

Blake was on TMZ Live Wednesday when he told us he's planning to hit up NRA leaders about his initiative to get Congress to enact universal background checks for all gun purchases. He told us the vast majority of the NRA's rank and file members support it ... so he's hoping the org gets on board with his "End Gun Violence Together" campaign.

Blake has said the Thousand Oaks bar mass shooting sparked his company's interest in taking a stand. He kicked things into high gear last week announcing on 'The Tonight Show' that TOMS will donate $5 million to several organizations working to end gun violence.

He's proudly touting, and rightfully so, the technology on toms.com that makes it simpler than ever to mail a postcard to your elected officials, demanding they back universal background checks.

Kevin Hart is firing back at critics who slammed his decision to throw his son a "Cowboys and Indians" party on Thanksgiving, because the comedian doesn't see anything racially insensitive about it.

Kevin weighed in on the controversy on his SiriusXM show "Straight from the Hart," shutting down critics who felt the Native American-inspired clothing was culturally inappropriate and offensive.

Kevin says the backlash is "dumb s**t," because it shows "how stupid our world is becoming with opinions."

Kevin says there was nothing malicious about the theme -- as he points out, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins played on national TV the same day -- and the idea came from movies and games that have been around for years. He says kids played "Cowboys and Indians" when he was growing up, so he disagrees with people who think the outfits perpetuated racial slurs.

As for his NFL defense ... Kevin's ignoring the fact many people have issues with the Washington DC team's name.

The party controversy started on Thanksgiving, when Kevin's wife Eniko posted an Instagram picture from Kenzo's first birthday bash, showing attendees dressed in traditional Native American garb. Many of Kevin and Eniko's followers called it shameful and ignorant.

A North Carolina man grabbed a shotgun and fired at his son during a HEATED Thanksgiving Day argument about kneeling players in the NFL.

Makes you feel a little better about your family, right?

Here's the deal ... cops say 51-year-old Jorge Luis Valencia-Lamadrid had invited family members over to his home for Turkey Day when his two sons began arguing about NFL kneelers.

The sons began fighting and Jorge tried to break it up -- but realized his kids were too strong. So, he went and got his shotgun.

Officials say Jorge told his 21-year-old son -- who appeared intoxicated -- to leave the home.

Things began to escalate again -- and the son allegedly threw a water bottle at Jorge, striking him in the face -- and causing him to squeeze the trigger on his gun.

The shot connected with his son -- striking him in the hand and leg. Jorge told cops he checked on his son, made sure he wasn't seriously injured and then went inside to change his clothes.

Don't worry, the son will be fine.

As for Jorge, he was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. He's since been released.

David Charvet has filed a request for a restraining order against Team USA soccer star Jermaine Jones -- after Jermaine publicly accused the actor of trying to sleep with his wife.

Jermaine -- who played in the 2014 World Cup for Team USA -- sounded off on social media last week, posting a photo of Charvet with a cartoon devil over his face.

In the post, Jones said ... "I don't understand how some man just come and step in to relationships. Calling them self friends and behind the scenes there goal is just to get on your wife."

Jones claimed Charvet trashed him to his wife behind Jones' back.

"From the first day I don't trusted him and I was right. He killed my family!"

"I just do that post because I don't like that type of man what uses kids to get on married women #thedevilhimself."

Charvet is recently separated from his estranged wife, Brooke Burke. She filed for divorce back in April.

Jameis Winston has "reached an agreement" to settle the sexual battery lawsuit filed against him by an Uber driver in Arizona ... this according to court docs filed in U.S. District Court.

As we previously reported, the Uber driver claimed she picked up a drunk Winston from the Scottsdale bar scene in 2016 ... and during the ride, he reached over and grabbed her vagina over her yoga pants.

Two years later, the woman -- who goes by "Kate P." in legal docs -- filed suit against the Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback.

In new docs filed in federal court in Arizona on Nov. 26, the woman's lawyer says "Plaintiff has reached an agreement with Defendant to resolve her claims."

"The parties are in the process of finalizing a settlement agreement but need approximately 10 days to complete this process."

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the court docs. We've reached out to Winston's camp for comment, so far no word back.

For his part, Jameis has previously publicly apologized to the Uber driver and claims he has "eliminated alcohol from my life."

Boosie knows first hand how simple it can be for celebrities to sleep with their fans, so he can't wrap his head around why Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted a woman.

Boosie sat down with our Raquel Harper for Tuesday's episode of "Raq Rants" on BET, and she asked what his takeaway was from Cosby's sexual assault trial. He explained why the entire saga left him scratching his head.

The Louisiana rapper says women lining up outside hotel rooms for a chance to have sex with celebs is totally common. Now, Boosie was clear ... he isn't saying Cosby is NOT guilty -- but he definitely thinks some women have ulterior motives, and that might be the case for some of Cosby's alleged victims.

Marco Rubio says the person who posted the racist image of Florida State football coach Willie Taggart is an "idiot" ... not just because it's a hateful act, but because Taggart's a GOOD coach!

The senator says he's a Florida Gators fan -- so he's happy UF got the win over FSU on Saturday -- but says the image of Taggart hanging from a tree obviously crossed the line.

"It's just wrong to say that about anybody," Rubio tells TMZ Sports ... "It's unacceptable, outrageous."

As we previously reported, someone posted the image on Facebook of a black man being hanged from a tree with Taggart's face photoshopped over the original picture.

Officials in Florida are investigating the situation and are working with FSU police to ensure Taggart's safety.

Rubio says Taggart's getting a bad rap in his 1st season at FSU -- he's much better than his 5-7 record shows -- and FSU fans need to rally around him.

As for the person who posted the racist image, Rubio says, "That's just stupid. I mean that's just dumb, stupid, maybe even hateful ... obviously, it's a hateful action."

"Maybe they thought it was funny. It's not funny. And whoever did that is an idiot."

Shawn Mendes is once again shutting down rumors he's gay ... adamantly saying he isn't, after years of speculation.

The 20-year-old singer told Rolling Stone so much attention on his personal life has caused tons of stress ... particularly about his sexuality and whether or not he's gay. Shawn told RS, "I'd like to say I don't care about it, but that's not true. This massive, massive thing for the last 5 years about me being gay."

Shawn tells Rolling Stone he often analyzes his own interviews and analyzes his voice and body language to see what vibe he's giving off. He tells RS, "In the back of my heart, I feel like I need to go be seen with someone -- like a girl -- in public, to prove to people that I'm not gay."

He goes on to say, "Even though in my heart I know that it's not a bad thing. There's still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me." Shawn, however, did admit he grew up putting glitter on his eyelids to make his parents laugh ... growing up with 15 female cousins he said he would be "braiding hair and painting nails. Maybe I am a little more feminine -- but that's the way it is. That's why I am me."

Remember ... years ago, Shawn addressed rumors about his sexuality, taking to Snapchat and saying, "I noticed a lot of people were saying I gave them a 'gay vibe' ... first of all, I'm not gay. Second of all, it shouldn't make a difference if I was or wasn't."

4:34 PM PT -- CBP San Diego says pedestrian bridges between Tijuana and San Diego are now open again in both directions, heading north and south.

Tensions are at a boiling point at the U.S.-Mexico border in California, where migrants have started to clash with border agents ... who've also begun throwing tear gas at them and their children.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection closed the San Ysidro border crossing outside of San Diego Sunday, as hundreds of migrants trying to enter the U.S. -- many of whom are seeking asylum -- gathered at the border and demanded entry. Some of them even started throwing rocks at agents, and U.S. agents reportedly responded by throwing tear gas into the crowd.

The move is drawing heavy criticism, as there are children among the migrants. No shots have been fired, but remember ... President Trump essentially gave the green light for retaliation a few weeks ago as the migrant caravan made its way north.

Needless to say, it's an intense scene. As for a possible solution ... the Trump administration reportedly struck a deal with the incoming Mexican government to keep asylum seekers south of the border as their cases are heard in court.

Victor Cruz is going to bat for his former quarterback ... 'cause the ex-Giants WR says Jerry Rice is absolutely INSANE for saying Eli Manning isn't a Hall of Famer.

"Jerry Rice is outta his mind. You hear me??" Cruz tells TMZ Sports ... "I'll look right in the camera -- Jerry Rice, you're outta your mind, sir."

As we previously reported ... Jerry said he doesn't think Eli belongs in the Hall -- saying the NY quarterback just ain't good enough to get in.

Cruz has a serious bone to pick with that hot take ... saying Manning's two Super Bowl rings ALONE put him squarely among the NFL's legends.

"He's definitely a Hall of Famer. Are you kidding me?! What are you talking about, Jerry?? C'mon man, you know better than this!"

Kevin Hart and his wife Eniko thought it was all good to throw their son, Kenzo, a "Cowboys and Indians" party on Thanksgiving for his first birthday.

Many people disagree.

The Harts are getting slammed for going the culturally inappropriate and offensive route with their kid's bday bash theme, in which the attendees wore either cowboy gear or Native American-inspired clothing.

Eniko captioned a pic from the party ... "Zos cowboys & indians party was nothing but amazing! Thanks to everyone for coming.. we love you guys!"

But, many of Kevin and Eniko's followers don't find it amazing at all and are blasting the couple, calling the idea shameful and ignorant instead.

We will say this, though ... Kenzo looked pretty adorable in his cowboy costume.

Just last week, Kevin and his ex-wife Torrei threw their 11-year-old son Hendrix a Fortnite party ... without a whiff of controversy.

Tekashi69's got the unlikeliest of supporters in his corner as he fights a federal indictment ... his nemesis, Slim 400.

We talked to Slim and he tells us straight-up ... he doesn't want 6ix9ine to spend the rest of his life in prison or get any prison sentence, PERIOD. That's a rather surprising response to Tekashi's legal troubles given their volcanic history.

TMZ broke the story ... Tekashi and Slim were in an intense showdown earlier this month when Tekashi showed up to ComplexCon. Slim blocked Tekashi's entrance and all hell broke loose.

Blac Chyna's touting of a skin lightening beauty product is just a cash grab ... because she allegedly doesn't even use the stuff.

Sources close to Chyna tell TMZ ... despite her partnership with Whitenicious by Dencia to roll out her "Whitenicious X Blac Chyna Diamond Illuminating & Lightening Cream," she's never applied it to her own skin.

We're told BC was presented with a business opportunity and offered good money to promote the cream -- which goes for $250 per Swarovski crystals-studded jar -- so she said yes ... simple as that.

It's interesting, because while Chyna's reps told us she's been using Whitenicious dark spot corrector products for a few years to deal with her hyperpigmentation ... they didn't say she used the lightening cream.

Still, it was implied.

This isn't the first time BC's been accused of misleading marketing. Last year she was criticized for pushing another controversial item -- a detox tea for a flat tummy -- amid rumors she had plastic surgery to appear more fit.

Rita Ora is taking tons of heat for lip-syncing her performance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ... but with freezing temps and technical issues, the deck appeared to be stacked against her.

Check out the clip ... Rita is standing on a float, doing her best to put on a show, but everything is totally out of sync.

Social media users were quick to blame Rita, but Macy’s blamed the hiccups on tech issues and apologized, saying the problems were out of the artist's control.

John Legend, who also performed in the record-low temps, quickly came to Rita's defense, explaining why lip-syncing was necessary for the parade ... and they both said vocals at their shows are 100 percent live.

Kevin Hart tells us he wouldn't touch the White House Correspondent's Dinner with a 10-foot pole ... not even if comedians are ever allowed back as hosts.

We got the funny man Wednesday afternoon at L.A. Mission where he was helping serve turkey dinners to those in need ... and asked him straight-up if he'd ever considered hosting the annual black-tie affair.

Check out the clip ... Kevin couldn't be more clear in his disdain for the current state of the dinner.

The banquet, held every April in the spirit of good will between POTUS and his press corps, is on a downswing with Donald Trump in office. He's skipped the event twice after labeling media an enemy of the people.

This year's host is historian/biographer Ron Chernow, and he's pretty much guaranteed to cause less of a stir than comedian Michelle Wolf, who hosted this past April and eviscerated Trump and other prominent members of his administration.

Michelle's jokes caused a ton of controversy and sparked loads of backlash ... and next year's dinner is the first since 2003 to not feature a comic.

Justin Bieber admits Aaron Carter was cool once upon a time ... when the Biebs was 7!!!

Justin is finally responding to Aaron's gripes about not being paid homage by JB and modern-day child pop stars ... and Justin's throwing some serious shade towards AC in the process.

The Biebs shared his two cents Wednesday night, writing on his Twitter, "Aaron carter i had your album when i was little. And bumped the song Aaron's party. I was like 7. if you need a hype man I got you."

The hilarious beef started Tuesday, when Aaron responded to a random fan on Twitter, who had wondered why Carter never reached the same success as Justin.

Aaron went off on a mini-rant, suggesting he's basically the OG Biebs and blasting Justin and others for failing to give him props for paving the way.