Controversial S#!T

This is ridiculous ...

A black high school wrestler was told by a white referee that he needed to cut off his dreadlocks or forfeit an important match ... and the whole incident was captured on video.

Andrew Johnson was about to compete for Buena Regional High School in New Jersey -- and was wearing a cover over his dreadlocks ... when referee Alan Maloney stepped in.

Maloney told Johnson his hair cover was not sufficient and gave him 2 choices -- chop off the locks or lose the match.

Johnson reluctantly chose the haircut -- but you can see he's visibly upset.

Johnson destroyed his opponent -- but he's clearly devastated about the hair cut ... even when the ref raises his hand in victory.

His teammates tried to console him but Johnson wasn't really having it.

Now, it's been revealed the ref has a history of racist behavior -- using a racial slur toward a black man during a social gathering in 2016 ... and getting his ass kicked in the process.

The offended party (an African American man) was so pissed, he slammed Maloney to the ground following the slur.

Maloney later apologized for the incident and the body that oversees high school wrestling in New Jersey ordered him to complete a sensitivity training class.

Karrueche Tran says Travis Scott is making a HUGE MISTAKE by doing the Super Bowl halftime show with Maroon 5 ... and now she's hoping and praying he back out ASAP.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Tran told us outside Hyde on the Sunset Strip ... "I'm really hoping it's not gonna happen."

Seems Tran -- who's dating ex-NFL star Victor Cruz -- is unhappy with the way the league is treating players like Colin Kaepernick. She also seems to be unhappy with the way the league is handling violence toward women.

Amy Schumer has called for celebrities to boycott the NFL and the halftime show -- and Tran clearly agrees.

When asked if the NFL can do anything to help change her mind, Tran suggested there wasn't enough time ... since the Super Bowl is only 2 months away.

With fan heckling in the NBA reaching a boiling point, we had to ask Julius Randle how he deals with all the trash talk coming from the fans.

And, his answers are perfect.

Here's the deal, in the past couple of weeks, stars like Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and more have gone ballistic on hecklers over insults that crossed the line.

And, in the NFL, guys like Marcus Peters and Leonard Fournette have threatened to fight fans who ran their mouths during games.

So, with Julius having 5 years of NBA experience ... we had to ask how he deals with all the jibber-jabber on the court.

4:15 PM PT -- The graffiti has been completely removed.

3:55 PM PT -- Trump's star has been vandalized AGAIN, and this time it's a bloody mess. Someone poured paint -- or something that looks like fake blood -- all over the President's plaque on the Walk of Fame.

As we told you, we have a fixed camera across the street, and it captured footage of the culprit in action. The man appears to have been part of a PETA protest going down outside a retail store next to the star.

It didn't take long this time around for someone to start cleaning it up. It appears the swastikas from Wednesday morning had just been scrubbed before this latest incident.

Some guy vandalized Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with swastikas ... and we got him on camera doing it.

TMZ captured the crime in progress through our live stream feed on Hollywood Blvd., and you can see a man dressed in black bend down and scribble all over Trump's star. Mind you, this was done Wednesday morning around 9 AM PT ... in broad daylight.

You can see, it's already starting to fade.

The culprit does the deed quickly as people walk right by him without batting an eyelash, but two women seem to notice the tagging as he walks away. There appears to be a written message, too, using a Spanish language slur -- "F*** This P**o" -- and the 2 big swastikas are underneath the words.

We're told no one filed a police report about the vandalism. Of course, this is just the latest hit job the President's star has received over the past couple years.

Most recently, someone drew prison bars over the star (which we also caught on camera) ... and then there was the second pickax incident earlier this summer.

James Worthy says L.A. should sign Carmelo Anthony ... 'cause the Lakers legend tells TMZ Sports Melo is exactly what LeBron James NEEDS!!!

Rumors have been swirling this week that the move could go down ... 'cause John Salley hinted to us something was in the works -- and then LBJ was spotted with Anthony at dinner just a day later.

Worthy tells us he supports making the move happen ... saying Anthony would bring something to the Lakers that they currently lack.

"I think Carmelo has proven that he's an outstanding shooter," Worthy says ... "Kind of what we need!"

But ... for as much as Worthy respects Melo's game -- he ain't so sure Anthony is the missing piece for LBJ to win a ring THIS season.

Saints superstar Cameron Jordan says there's NO WAY IN HELL Ben Roethlisberger is a Hall of Famer ... saying the Steelers stud ain't even a top 5 QB of this era.

"I'd honestly put Eli before I put Ben," Cam says.

The piping hot take came straight from the Saints' locker room this week ... when Jordan scoffed at a reporter's insinuation that Big Ben is a surefire HOFer.

"Is that true?! Really?! In this era, you'd put him at like a top three of this era?! A top five of this era?!"

Cam certainly doesn't think so ... saying he'd have Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers AND Eli Manning over the Pittsburgh superstar.

It's a smoldering take from the New Orleans pass rusher -- who just made his fourth Pro Bowl -- 'cause most not only have Ben as a Hall of Famer, but a 1st-ballot one at that.

Big Ben is a two-time Super Bowl champ, a six-time Pro Bowler AND owns a career 143-68-1 record as a starter.

Best news for all of us?? Ben gets to face off against Cam in a must-win game this weekend ... and will have every opportunity to prove Jordan wrong then.

Kanye West wants to show blood is always thicker than water ... so he hit up Travis Scott's concert to prove it.

Kanye and Kim joined the crowd -- which also included Jay-Z and Beyonce -- at Trav's Astroworld tour stop at The Forum in L.A. Wednesday night ... and Ye looked like he was feeling the music.

This comes just days after Kanye expressed his frustration with Scott -- whom he considers family -- for allowing Drake to "sneak disses" at him on his hit song, "SICKO MODE."

As you'll recall ... Kanye went on a Twitter tirade last week blasting Drake for threatening him and his family, but during the rant he also called out Travis for allowing Drake to diss him on 'SICKO.'

Specifically, Kanye took umbrage with Drake's "checks over stripes" lyrics on Trav's track ... meaning Nike over Adidas. Ye, obviously, is an Adidas man.

Kanye tweeted a day later that he and Travis met up and hashed things out ... but many thought there might be some side beef lingering between the 2.

It looks like Kanye's practicing what he preached, though -- family first and always ... and all's well with the Kardashian family rappers.

Nick Foles is clearly FEEEELIINNN' himself after lifting the Eagles from the dead right back into the playoff picture -- 'cause dude wore a pair of webbed-toe shoes to work Wednesday!!!

The Vibram EL-X's ain't exactly known as Jordans in the football world ... but Nick still rocked 'em with pride at Philly's presser Wednesday -- showin' he doesn't need anyone's approval to swag out.

"I was wearing them around the house and figured I'd wear them to the facility and try it out. My wife thought I was a little crazy, but I said I'm not really worried about how I look. They're comfy."

SWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGG!!!!!

Foles has done things unconventionally throughout his career ... but it's paid off for the dude -- he's got a Super Bowl MVP and has Philly right back in the mix again this season.

Paris Hilton's got some bad news for her ex ... the MASSIVE engagement ring Chris Zylka got her is staying with her, so she says, but the law is not on her side.

Paris appeared on SiriusXM's "The Jenny McCarthy Show" and dropped some tea on the $2 MILLION bling ring. She says, for reason, the jeweler received millions of dollars in free publicity ... and then went on to declare the ring stays with her.

Here's the problem ... whether the jeweler received free publicity or not is totally irrelevant. Chris is the one who bought the ring, at least that's the party line. Under CA law, if Paris called off the engagement -- which she did -- Chris has a right to get it back. It's called a gift in contemplation of marriage.

There is a wild card ... if the party line is not true -- in other words, if Chris didn't buy the ring and the jeweler fronted it to Paris -- then he has no right to the ring. But, that's not the way this whole thing was spun. There is one other scenario ... maybe Chris is willing to eat the money and he's never demanded the ring back.

BTW ... the ring's a doozy ... it's a massive 20-carat diamond, which took about 4 months to cut.

Van Jones has a message for all the haters who blasted Kim Kardashian West for meeting with President Trump about criminal justice reform -- take a look at the scoreboard.

The CNN star was on cloud nine in D.C. Wednesday morning after the Senate passed the First Step Act by a lopsided vote of 87-12, and he lauded Kim for it ... saying it wouldn't have been possible without her meeting Trump face-to-face in the Oval.

Van says thanks to Kim -- there will be 50,000 fewer people in prison soon, and inhumane treatment of women prisoners will subside.

Jones says he knows it wasn't easy for Kim to put her celeb status on the line to help people she doesn't even know, and she deserves all the respect in the world for it.

As we reported ... Kim K's passion for prison reform started with her quest to free Alice Marie Johnson, which led to her first meeting with Trump in May. She went back to D.C. in September -- along with Jones -- to work on the crafting of the First Step Act.

Just months later the bill passed in the Senate in a landslide ... and is a step away from becoming law.

As Van says ... how do you like Kim now?

Fat Joe loves Lil Wayne ... but he doesn't love Wayne's sports takes, because he says Weezy is 100% wrong for saying Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan.

Tunechi made the statement earlier this week, shooting content for Bumbu Rum's interview series, igniting barber shops all over the world ... and making people wonder if Wayne has lost it.

Fat Joe might be one of those people, because when we got him leaving Poppy with hip-hop super producers Cool & Dre (new music coming soon?) he said Wayne was definitely on one.

"He's a Laker fan. I love Kobe, it ain't no Kobe over Jordan. Ain't nobody better than Jordan."

Fun Fact ... Fat Joe and Lil Wayne made "Make It Rain" together thus popularizing the phrase (even though Jeezy may have invented it), and Wayne singlehandedly invented the phrase "Bling Bling."

So, while the GOAT of basketball is in question, the GOAT of inventing phrases about wasting money is NOT. Long live Lil Tunechi.

LeBron James ain't the GM of the Lakers ... but it sure seems like he sent a message to the guy who is Tuesday night, saying, "I've always wanted to play along Melo."

Of course ... rumors of Carmelo Anthony teaming up with LBJ in Los Angeles have been smoldering ever since John Salley told TMZ Sports it could happen.

Those rumors weren't quieted when Bron and Melo were spotted on a double date with their wives at an NYC steakhouse Monday night.

And, on Tuesday, Bron seemed to send a clear message to Magic Johnson after L.A.'s loss to the Nets that if he can make the Carmelo move happen, LBJ would be a happy man.

"I don't run the team. And, obviously there's some things that would need to be worked on both sides," LeBron told reporters in the postgame locker room.

"But, I've always wanted to play along Melo and if the opportunity presents itself, it'd be great. So, we'll see what happens."

Amy Schumer says her call for performers to boycott the Super Bowl LIII halftime show over the mistreatment of players like Colin Kaepernick is working ... saying, "No one is stepping up to perform."

Back in October, Amy declared she wouldn't do any Super Bowl commercials this year and strongly suggested it was all because she feels black players like Colin are being punished for trying to stand up against inequality.

Amy had called for Maroon 5 to back out of the halftime show -- and while that hasn't happened, she clearly believes reports that the band is having a hard time finding a special guest to join them during the show because of the controversy surrounding the NFL.

Schumer took to social media Wednesday to speak out against sports reporters who have thrown shade her way over the calls for a boycott ... and also to pat herself on the back.

"The snooty lil digs about me in stories about the Super Bowl halftime talent is such a yawn," Schumer said.

"All out of touch white guys annoyed by me standing up for what I believe is right."

"I have done 2 Super Bowl commercials in the last couple years and I'm so stupid thinking my opinion would matter right? Well guess what? I may have made a difference. No one is stepping up to perform."

"Maybe they wouldn't have anyway. But at least I tried to help out and do what other people are too greedy or afraid to. Would you do that to stand up for people of color?"

"I may have made an impact. You can write about sports and even be the best at it but what have you done to help the marginalized or under represented?"

"I will continue to do everything I can. Even with all the snide little white sports writer making cutting remarks."

Josh Henderson is an innocent man who was falsely arrested for a burglary he didn't commit, and that's why the L.A. County D.A. has formally rejected the case.

TMZ has obtained surveillance video of 3 burglars who entered an apartment unit in Josh's building earlier this month and made off with $7,000 in jewelry and other items. It is impossible to identify the faces of any of the 3 men, but the victim and a witness in the building told police they were "100% positive" it was Josh based on his jawline and the way he moved.

Turns out ... the "Desperate Housewives" star had an airtight alibi. He came home late afternoon and never left his apartment for the entire evening. We know that because there's surveillance video of his front door and that's the only way to enter and exit his unit.

The victim called police several times later that night and said he was scared to death Josh would come into his apartment and hurt him. The neighbor had 4 guns and told cops the burglars didn't take any of them and believed that was further evidence Josh was the culprit because he was afraid of guns.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, because the victim was afraid, they took the highly unusual step of going to the apartment building at around midnight and arresting Josh for burglary. They had not looked at the other video that showed he had an alibi.

Law enforcement sources say Josh's reaction was telling. He said, "How could I have committed a burglary?" rather than saying, "I didn't do it."

In the end ... the video clearly shows one thing -- the person who the victim identified as Josh was much younger than the actor.

Sorry, Tennessee ... Peyton Manning will NOT be the state's next senator -- so says one of its current ones, Bob Corker.

FYI, Corker is leaving office next month after 11 years in the Senate -- and fellow Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander just announced he will not seek reelection in 2020.

Many are speculating the moves leave the door open for a beloved former NFL quarterback (and Univ. of Tennessee alum) to enter the mix.

So, when we spotted Corker out on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, we had to ask if he sees a Manning political run in the near future. Spoiler alert: don't get your hopes up.

"I think Peyton's liking coaching little league football," Corker says ... "I doubt that's going to be a topic of discussion based on last round."

Of course, Peyton's life after football has been a huge discussion ever since he retired from the Broncos after winning Super Bowl 50 in 2016.

Some wanted him to be an offensive coordinator, others wanted to hear him in the broadcast booth ... and then there was a big push to get him to be a senator in Tennessee.

But, Manning has consistently shot all that down, saying back in 2017, "Look, I certainly have an interest in politics and in our country. I just have zero interest in being a politician."

Corker seems to think nothing's changed with Peyton since ... 'cause when our photog asked straight-up, "You don't think it's happening -- no chance?"

Bob left us with a firm "No."

2:47 PM PT -- A rep for Forever 21 tells us, "Forever 21 takes feedback on our products and marketing extremely seriously. We celebrate all superheroes with many different models of various ethnicities and apologize if the photo in question was offensive in any way."

The image of the model has also been swapped for one of just the sweater.

This is definitely a "You Might Wanna Rethink" moment for Forever 21. The retailer's using a white model to try and sell you its "Black Panther" merch for Christmas. Oh, boy ...

The images are live on its site right now for Forever 21's Wakanda Forever Fair Isle Sweater. It's a blond-haired, blue-eyed white dude rockin' its custom Christmas sweater, with a "Wakanda Forever" slogan and a Black Panther mask on the front.

It's definitely not an oversight either -- someone at F21 really thought this would be a good idea, as they have the model's stats on the same page ... he's 6'1" and sports a medium fit.

We're not saying there's anything wrong with white people supporting "Black Panther" or even wearing something like this -- on the contrary, more power to 'em.

But, to not feature a black model for this Christmas sweater campaign seems out of touch and just dumb, if you ask us. Sometimes common sense just ain't all that common, is it?