Controversial S#!T

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft ain't mincing his words -- saying Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL ... period.

Of course, there were reports last week that Brady walked into the Patriots practice facility and declared himself the "baddest mother f*cker on the planet."

So, when we saw Kraft leaving John Jay College in New York we had to ask for his thoughts.

"We're lucky to have the greatest quarterback in history," Kraft said with a smirk on his face.

Earlier in the day, Kraft had teamed up with Jay-Z, Meek Mill and 76ers owner Michael Rubin for an event to launch the Reform Alliance, which is focused on overhauling the probation and parole system in America. The goal is to free 1 million people over the next 5 years.

And, since he's become tight with Meek, we asked if the Pats would be playing Mill's hit, "Dreams and Nightmares," if they win the Super Bowl this year ... to which it sounds like he says, "Of course."

The issue with that ... "Dreams and Nightmares" was essentially the theme song for the Philadelphia Eagles last season (when they beat the Pats in the Super Bowl).

Skylar Gaertner wanted to be one of the kids solving mysteries in Hawkins, Indiana, but he ended up being the son of a drug dealer in the Lake of the Ozarks ... and he's glad!

We got the "Ozark" star at LAX Tuesday. He plays Jonah Byrde on the show, but tells us that wouldn't be the case if he had not been rejected for another crazy popular Netflix's original series.

Skylar says he actually auditioned for 2 roles on "Stranger Things" -- back when it was called "Montauk" -- but didn't get them.

Silver lining -- he's on another mega-popular show now ... which is also entering its third season.

T.I. is standing firm in defense of Chris Brown in the wake of a rape allegation, and he says it's because he still values "innocent until proven guilty" ... unlike most folks.

We got T.I. at LAX Tuesday and asked whether he believes the French woman who went to police this week alleging Chris raped her in Paris. It's a firm no from T.I. -- he says he's siding with Chris (for now) since he knows CB and doesn't have any reason to doubt him.

Moreover, T.I. says there are no facts that have surfaced to support the woman's claim ... and he's not about to jump on the bandwagon of condemning someone without giving 'em their day in court. For the record ... Chris has vehemently denied the charge.

Check out T.I.'s take. He touches on what he describes as a new culture of assuming guilt based on a mere allegation ... which he strongly disagrees with. While he supports real victims of abuse coming forward to share their stories, T.I. warns us of opportunists looking to capitalize on the climate with false accusations.

He notes that he's not necessarily saying that's the case with Chris, but it's clear he's got his suspicions ... and will wait to pass judgment until a jury does their job.

As for Chris, he's been released from police custody without bail ... and is free to leave France. Some legal experts in Paris tell TMZ, the fact that authorities released Brown without any conditions is evidence there's a problem with the case.

The MAGA hat-wearing student who faced off with a Native American Vietnam-era vet says his smirk seen 'round the world wasn't out of smugness ... just peaceful defiance.

Covington Catholic High School junior Nick Sandmann appeared on "Today" Wednesday with Savannah Guthrie, who grilled him on a number of topics -- most importantly ... why didn't he just walk away, and what was up with that smirk on his face?

Sandmann says, in hindsight, he wishes he would've just walked when Nathan Phillips came up to him drumming. That said, he explains that, in the moment, he felt leaving or making any sudden movement would've escalated the situation.

On that smirk ... Sandmann says it was just him smiling with the message of, "[T]hat is the best you're going to get out of me, you won't get any further reaction of aggression and I'm going to stand here as long as you want to hit that drum in my face."

Sandmann further explained people who have come to judge him based on one expression they saw have jumped to harsh conclusions based on mere assumptions.

Jermaine Dupri says super producer Jazze Pha is WRONG -- he never signed on to participate in the Super Bowl halftime show ... but it has nothing to do with Colin Kaepernick.

Pha is a producing legend in ATL and he's super plugged in -- so, when he told us Dupri was involved in the show, it sounded legit.

But, Dupri says Pha's just wrong -- and when we started questioning Jermaine he told us point blank, "You think I'm saying no because it's a secret? No means no."

Dupri says he's not boycotting the NFL over Kaepernick -- he says the NFL simply never called when they were putting the show together and he REFUSES to be considered an afterthought.

"It should have been a decision that they made at the beginning. I'm not something that you call later on in life."

So, Dupri is out -- but Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi from Outkast and Gladys Knight are all in to perform on Feb. 3.

President Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military doesn't make any sense to retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck ... because she says trans soldiers are just as effective killing machines as their counterparts.

Kristin, a transgender woman and former SEAL Team Six member, tells TMZ ... the reasoning behind the ban -- trans service members aren't as lethal -- doesn't hold water, because she knows lots of openly trans people in the military who are great at their jobs.

Trump's ban barring most trans people from serving in the military was revived Tuesday, after a 5 to 4 vote by the SCOTUS ... and Kristin is pissed!

Two exhilarating championship games won't change Dave Chappelle's NFL stance ... because he's tuned out the league -- and the reason is Colin Kaepernick.

Chappelle's been off the NFL since the whole Kap drama began, but when we got him leaving Delilah in West Hollywood, we decided to ask if the lure of another Tom Brady Super Bowl appearance could get him back.

Nope. Dave looked at our camera guy and said, "I don't even follow football. Can Colin Kaepernick kneel yet? Let me know."

Of course, the Super Bowl is going down Feb. 3 and the halftime show has become a huge point of controversy among celebs ... particularly Common, who has said he wishes Travis Scott wouldn't perform in the halftime show over the way the league has treated CK.

Other stars, including Gladys Knight, see it differently -- in fact, Gladys will be singing the national anthem at the game because she feels it's an opportunity to bring the country together.

Anthony Scaramucci keeps spilling White House tea in the 'Big Brother' house, and he says there's no way President Trump is going to be able to deliver on one of his biggest campaign promises ... draining the swamp.

Anthony, who worked in Trump's White House for 10 days before being fired, says the Prez won't be able to drain the swamp in D.C. ... and ya gotta hear his reason why.

The Mooch started talking politics with comedian Tom Green on Tuesday's episode of "Celebrity Big Brother" ... and they touched on a range of topics, from Scaramucci's potential return to the Trump administration to the government shutdown.

Watch ... the Mooch doesn't have a lot of good things to say about his brief stint in Washington.

The MAGA hat-wearing high schooler who drew the ire of many for standing and smirking at Vietnam-era vet Nathan Phillips during a protest says he meant no disrespect ... but it doesn't seem like he's planning on saying sorry either.

Nick Sandmann is speaking in public for the first time since the incident went down in D.C. Friday, telling 'Today' show co-host Savannah Guthrie he feels he had every right to do what he did.

Sandmann also tells Guthrie, who asks him if he sees any fault in his actions, he respects Phillips and hopes he can talk to him ... and wishes he could have avoided the situation.

As you know, Sandmann and his classmates from Covington Catholic HS in Kentucky were seen on video surrounding Phillips -- a Native American participating in the Indigenous People's March -- laughing and chanting at him while he was singing and drumming.

Sandmann particularly stood out as he stood face-to-face with Phillips, steadfast with a smirk.

Many believe the vid shows the students harassing Phillips, but others came to the defense of Sandmann and the students later, claiming a longer video shows Phillips was the instigator of the confrontation. Sandmann backed this in a full written statement, claiming Phillips singled him out and he simply stood his ground.

Bebe Rexha needs to hit up an old friend, fashion designer Michael Costello, because he tells us he's got the perfect look to show off her sexy curves at the Grammys ... size 2 dresses be damned!!!

We got Michael, who appeared on "Project Runway," outside his store in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday ... and he shared some of his plans to highlight Bebe's curvy figure at next month's Grammy Awards -- pro bono!

As you know ... Bebe -- who just got her first Grammy nomination -- went NUCLEAR on fashion designers who she claims refused to dress her for the awards show because her figure isn't small enough ... telling them she doesn't want to wear their "f**king dresses" anyway!

Michael, who dressed Beyonce when she picked up 3 Grammys in 2014, says he's totally on board with Bebe and all those other designers can "f**k" off!

Watch ... Michael delivers his pitch to dress Bebe, and says he's only one call away.

12:20 PM PT -- According to R. Kelly's attorney Melvin L. Sims III ... despite the violations, the judge sided with the singer and rejected the City of Chicago's motion to shut the building down completely.

Kelly's legal team argued the problems with the studio did not mount to an "Emergency" situation, so instead, repairs were ordered along with the removal of personal items. Sims says the studio is still open for business as a studio during normal working hours.

R. Kelly is in serious trouble with Chicago officials because the city is going after him for a laundry list of building violations at his studio ... and it could end up costing the singer a ton of cash!!!

The Chicago studio, heavily featured in "Surviving R. Kelly" was slammed with 66 building code violations, most notably for using the place as a residence and not obtaining permits to build a sauna, steam room and a bar ... this according to legal docs.

In the docs, each violation comes with a fine ranging between $500 to $1,000 for each day the violation goes unaddressed ... and with 66 violations, R. Kelly could be looking at a fine between $33k to $66k per day!

The court has already ordered R. Kelly to remove all personal items from the premises and he can only use the space as a recording studio from 9 AM to 5 PM.

As you know ... R. Kelly's studio was swarmed last week by Chicago cops and the Cook County Building and Zoning Department -- and they ended up filing a complaint against R. Kelly.

Sources close to R. Kelly deny he's ever lived in the studio and R. Kelly believes the space is exactly as it was when he first started renting it 3-4 years ago.

10:50 AM PT -- Acreage's founder and CEO, Kevin P. Murphy, tells TMZ ... the Super Bowl spot was going to be a PSA, not an ad for his company. He says the message was going to be a positive one, emphasizing the benefits of cannabis with testimonials about how it has saved lives ... including the child suffering constant seizures and a man addicted to opiates.

Murphy says his company was set to spend more than $5 mil on the PSA ... but to no avail.

7:40 AM PT -- Sources connected to the network tell TMZ, CBS does not accept any cannabis-related advertising. The sources add they are not aware of any broadcasters who will air such ads.

It's the Super Bowl ... not the Smoke-a-Bowl -- that's the message CBS gave to a marijuana company that wanted to run a pro-weed ad during the big game.

The company behind the ad is Acreage Holdings -- which has a license to grow and distribute marijuana in several states.

In fact, former Speaker of the House John Boehner is on the board -- and has been promoting the company heavily for months. Boehner is a huge proponent of medical marijuana.

Acreage claims it submitted a proposal to CBS to air a commercial during the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 -- but they were rejected after seeing a rough outline of the spot, according to Bloomberg.com.

We've learned Acreage already produced the ad and among the message points -- there's a story about a woman who lived in Oklahoma whose son suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.

The woman had to move to Colorado with her son because she couldn't get medical marijuana in OKC due to the laws at the time, despite the fact doctors recommended weed to help him out.

The message is that not allowing medical marijuana is not just bad politics, but it's cruel to people who need it since there's medical proof that it alleviates pain and suffering.

FYI, medical pot is now legal in more than 30 states -- but it's still outlawed federally ... which may have factored into CBS's decision to put the kibosh on the ad.

Acreage president George Allen told Bloomberg the ad was meant to "create an advocacy campaign for constituents who are being lost in the dialogue."

Allen says the company was serious about spending the money on a Super Bowl ad because "It’s hard to compete with the amount of attention something gets when it airs during the Super Bowl."

Nick Cannon says he's got beef with Travis Scott performing at SB LIII 'cause the dude hasn't proven he truly cares about black culture ... and Kylie Jenner is one big example.

The 'Wild 'N Out' host was chopping it up with Raquel Harper for a new episode of BET's "Raq Rants," where he explained why he's troubled that Travis was booked to play the Super Bowl halftime show. On the other hand, Outkast's Big Boi getting the gig doesn't bother Nick a bit.

Nick -- who supports Colin Kaepernick -- says BB has proven over the course of his career that he's for the culture ... so, Nick's good with him appearing in his native Atlanta to balance Maroon 5. But, according to Nick, Travis hasn't passed that litmus test.

Check out Nick's rationale on why Trav -- in his eyes, anyway -- doesn't seem to be for black people and black causes ... and what he needs to do to get there. Spoiler ... knocking up Kylie definitely didn't help his cause.

"Teen Mom 2" star Jeremy Calvert says a video appearing to show him pissing on a homeless person was just a piss-poor attempt at humor ... because he claims there was not any pee or homeless person involved.

Jeremy, Leah Messer's ex-husband, tells TMZ ... he is just pretending to pee in the vid ... over a pile of trash that happened to look like a person lying on the ground, and it was all one big joke.

The video, which was shot in San Diego, caused a furor Monday on social media ... and you can see Jeremy was having a great time yukking it up in front of the camera.

But, Jeremy says all the pissing and moaning over the video is unwarranted ... 'cause the whole thing was fake.

In case you don't remember, Jeremy and Leah were hitched from 2012 to 2015 and they have a 5-year-old daughter together.

"90 Day Fiance" star Larissa Dos Santos Lima is denying she downed half a bottle of antidepressants and threatened suicide during an argument with her estranged husband.

Larissa stated Monday, "I would like to clarify that the rumors about drug abuse or suicide attempts are not true. I love for my life so much that I would never try to do something like this."

TMZ broke the story, Larissa's now estranged husband, Colt Johnson, told cops his wife swallowed a bunch of pills and locked herself in a bathroom during an argument earlier this month.

Dos Santos Lima was arrested for domestic violence after cops determined she punched Colt in the mouth. According to the police report -- obtained by TMZ -- Larissa got mad at Colt, accusing him of cheating after she learned he'd purchased porn. She was officially charged for the crime last week and Colt filed for divorce just days after the incident.

Allen Crowder -- the UFC fighter who took a vicious knee to the head from Greg Hardy on Saturday -- says the move was NOT a dirty one ... telling TMZ Sports, "sh*t happens."

Hardy and Crowder squared off in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ ... but the match ended in the 2nd round after Greg blasted Allen with a right knee to the temple while he was still down.

Hardy was DQ'd ... and given his troubled past -- many wondered if the ex-NFL player who has been previously accused of domestic violence MEANT to throw the illegal shot.

But, Crowder says he doesn't think Hardy had any malicious intentions with the move ... saying, "it's a fight. It's the heat of the moment."

"There's a lot of people that have made the same mistake. I have no hard feelings against him at all. He was tired, and sh*t happens. I have no hard feelings about it at all."

For his part ... Greg says he didn't know the knee was illegal -- saying, "it was not intentional."

FYI ... Crowder says if officials had given him another 30-or-so seconds -- he woulda gotten up and continued the fight.

As for a rematch ... Crowder says he'd be down -- if the price is right.