Controversial S#!T

LeBron James thinks Anthony Davis is being done dirty in the media -- and he seems to be pointing the finger at the people who run the New Orleans Pelicans.

Bron had Davis as a guest on his HBO series, "The Shop" -- where the guys, along with stars like Antonio Brown, discussed real issues in their lives.

The topic turned to "public relations" when Antonio suggested Steelers ownership -- or at least, powerful members of the organization -- were trying to wrongly paint him as a "distraction" in the media over the past few weeks.

"That's the narrative they try to create once you doing your own thing," Brown said on the show ... "It's like, this guy's a distraction. He's this type of guy. All I've ever been is a guy who came from Central Michigan, 6th round, who worked his ass off."

LeBron made a comment essentially agreeing with Brown's opinion -- and then compared AB's situation to Anthony Davis.

Remember, Davis publicly requested a trade in January -- and since he and Bron share the same agent -- a lot of people thought they had teamed up to force the Pelicans to move AD to the Lakers.

During the negotiations, there were negative stories that came out about Davis -- and LeBron sure seems to be suggesting the hit pieces were orchestrated by the Pelicans.

"7 years in the league, nobody's ever said anything negative about AD but you can tell when the narrative changed when you don't do what they want you to do."

Davis is now playing out the season with the Pelicans -- and is hoping to be traded at the end of the season.

Jordyn Woods feels her life is ruined because she's no match when it comes to the wrath of the Kardashians ... so she went to Jada Pinkett Smith because she felt she'd get a fair shake to tell her story.

Sources tell TMZ ... Jordyn believes the Kardashians -- especially Kim -- can break her in every way -- professionally, socially and monetarily. We're told she's been "despondent" since we broke the story she hooked up with Tristan Thompson. She feels like she has a Scarlet Letter plastered on her forehead.

As for going to Jada ... Jordyn is like family to the Smiths ... she calls Will her uncle. She feels Jada is one of the most nonjudgmental people she knows, and she has a huge platform on the "Red Table Talk" Facebook show.

We're told Jordyn wanted to tell her story and express her regrets.

T-Pain's feeling validated after taking home the crown on "The Masked Singer," but he's not declaring himself the G.O.A.T. because he's doubling down on Soulja Boy holding that title. Umm ... okay.

We got the rapper leaving Beauty & Essex in L.A. Wednesday night, fresh off his win on the debut season of the hit FOX singing competition. During the finale, we learned T-Pain was the guy in the Monster costume who wowed judges with his beautiful voice.

T-Pain tells us this shouldn't have been such a big surprise, because his non-auto-tuned voice was featured on his first album. Still, he seems pretty happy people have noticed again.

Speaking of getting noticed ... Pain says nobody does it better than Soulja, which is why he considers him the greatest artist of all time -- seriously.

BTW ... T-Pain released a surprise new album this week too -- called "1UP" -- so he's killing it right now. This is how the Monster does it!

Feds investigating R. Kelly are about to get their hands on "physical evidence" against the singer ... courtesy of the family of one of his alleged victims.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Joycelyn Savage's parents are set to meet with federal investigators in New York to discuss matters related to 2 separate U.S. Attorney's Office probes into Kelly -- one by the Eastern District of NY, and another by the Southern District.

We're told the Savages will provide information on witnesses and those closely associated with Kelly ... AND turn over materials they refer to as "physical evidence." Our sources don't know exactly what that evidence includes.

The sources do say both federal investigations are "progressing very quickly" ... thanks to cooperation and testimony from several people, including Michael Avenatti and some of his clients.

As for what the feds could pin on Kelly -- we're told it could involve the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of minors across state lines for purposes of sex or debauchery.

TMZ broke the story, Joycelyn's parents also want to confront Kelly at his Chicago Trump Tower apartment in hopes of getting through to their daughter.

Travis Scott is as far away from the Jordyn Woods scandal as he can be without leaving the United States ... and we're told he couldn't be happier.

Our Travis/Kylie sources say the rapper, who's currently in Buffalo for his Astroworld tour, does not want to be caught in the quicksand of controversy that in many ways revolves around his baby mama.

We're told it's like a powder keg back home, where Kylie's sisters have declared war on Tristan Thompson and have been hammering Kylie to break all ties for good. Kylie's on board for now, but everyone believes she's torn because of her incredibly strong bond with Jordyn.

Short story ... home ain't a peaceful place to be these days, and Travis, who's always tried to avoid controversy, is happily 2,500 miles away.

That said, our sources say Travis has been fully supportive of Kylie and has been lending an ear whenever she needs it. But, the way he sees it ... he doesn't have a dog in the fight and he'll go along with whatever Kylie wants.

BTW ... Travis has spent a lot of time with Jordyn since he and Kylie got together nearly 2 years ago. Nevertheless, it's her friend and he's just going along for the ride.

For now ... Jordyn has been blackballed from the Kardashians. They cut all future business ties with her, and she's persona non grata at Kylie's home, where she had been living in the guesthouse.

How's this for timing -- the mocked-up dollar bill showing Hillary Clinton behind bars and signed by President Trump has been put up for auction ... just moments before Trump's personal lawyer testified before Congress.

Here's the fake "Federal Hillary Penitentiary Note" from 2016 that bears Trump's signature. The "dollar bill" was handed out at one of Trump's rallies in Florida in the lead-up to the election ... and one of his supporters got Trump to sign it.

The item's a direct shot at Hillary by Trump supporters who often chanted "lock her up" at almost every Trump rally. It's unclear why it took more than 2 years for the item to go up for auction ... but it seems they want to capitalize on Cohen's testimony calling Trump a criminal.

The "2016" bill shows Hillary on one side behind bars with the words "Hillary for Prison," while the other side sports 2 Department of Justice logos, Hillary's signature at the bottom right and the quote, "Blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda."

Steiner Auctions -- which has authenticated Trump's John Hancock -- started the bidding at just $200. We're told Steiner expects to haul in thousands by March 24.

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett says her epic eye roll during the Michael Cohen hearing was a sign of contempt for a fellow member who acted more like a WWE wrestler than a member of Congress.

We got the congresswoman from the Virgin Islands as she left the hearing and railed on Congressman Jim Jordan, who went gunning for House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings.

As Jordan went nuclear ... Plaskett was caught by cameras telling Jordan to pipe down and when that didn't work she doubled down with some serious shade.

Kim Kardashian's put herself squarely in the middle of the modern-day ghost story known as the "Momo Challenge."

Kim is begging YouTube to help remove all "Momo Challenge" videos. If you haven't heard about it ... the videos contain a creepy figure popping up, instructing kids to kill themselves ... and intimidating them to keep the video secret from parents.

Kim posted a plea for YouTube to get on the stick and shut it down, but the video platform tells us they've seen no evidence the 'Momo' clips actually exist. At this point ... it's more urban myth than a real thing.

Kim reposted a bunch of messages from concerned parents who've heard about the "Momo" -- although we suspect none have seen it themselves.

YouTube tells us it hasn't received any evidence of videos showing or promoting the "Momo Challenge" on its platform. If it does exist, YouTube says it would be a clear violation of its policies ... and would, therefore, be removed immediately.

Netflix UK is working it's ass off to fix a huge issue in the version it released of "The Notebook" ... with an alternate ending that doesn't show the flick's main characters die together!!!

For the uninitiated ... Netflix UK released the 2004 film on its streaming service. Fans were completely caught off guard after the original ending -- showing Allie and Noah get into their hospital bed together, hold hands and die -- is completely cut out. This is the original ending:

The alternative ending that's got fans foaming at the mouth shows no one dying, the couple holding hands and talking about miracles before cutting to a scene showing birds flying over a lake.

Netflix tells us there are a couple things fans should know -- Netflix did NOT edit the film. The streaming giants went on to say, "An alternate version exists and was supplied to us -- we are getting to the bottom of it asap. Apparently, some films have more than one ending?!"

12:53 PM PT -- The Trump Campaign spokesperson, Kayleigh McEnany, has issued a statement about Cohen's testimony, stating, "Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a 'deliberate and premeditated' fashion according to the Special Counsel's Office. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proven before to be worthless."

She continued, "Prosecutors said his actions were to ensure that he would 'profit personally, build his own power, and enhance his level of influence.' This is the same Michael Cohen who has admitted that he lied to Congress previously. Why did they even bother to swear him in this time?"

We got Michael Cohen arriving at the United States Capitol as he prepares to testify before Congress about the misdeeds of Donald Trump.

Our photog notices Cohen seemed calm. The photog knew he wasn't going to get a preview of the testimony, so instead, he asked what music Cohen listened to in preparation for the big day.

Cohen will say some shocking things about Donald Trump when he testifies at 10 AM ET before the House Oversight Committee. He calls Trump a racist, a conman and a cheat.

Among the things he'll say ... "He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States."

He adds, "While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid."

He will also submit letters he says he wrote at Trump's direction, threatening high schools and colleges not to release his grades or SAT scores.

And, Cohen will submit a check that Trump wrote to him for $35,000 as re-payment for the Stormy Daniels hush money payment.

Cohen also says he lied to Melania about his affair with Stormy -- at Trump's behest -- and says it's one of his biggest regrets.

Meghan Markle's dad is outraged he's the butt of a joke once again, but this time it hurts way more because the joke came from one of his heroes -- Bill Maher.

ICYMI -- Maher was mocking flyover states last Friday on his show, 'Real Time,' when he dropped a Thomas Markle reference. Bill said red state voters ... "wanna go to the party. It's like we're the British Royal Family and they're Meghan Markle's dad."

Sources close to Thomas tell TMZ ... he's pissed, not only because he was a big Maher fan, but because he hates being compared to red state voters. We're told Thomas is a Democrat and hates Trump just like the late-night host ... so he especially hated being lampooned that way.

Our Thomas sources say he vented to a friend about the Bill bashing, saying he "should keep his f***ing mouth shut!" ... because Bill doesn't know the complete story about his strained relationship with his daughter.

R. Kelly could soon come face-to-face with the family of one his alleged "sex slaves" at Chicago's Trump Tower -- but only if they can get a posse of law enforcement to watch their backs.

Gerald Griggs -- an attorney who reps Joycelyn Savage's family -- tells TMZ he and the family are actively working with prosecutors in Illinois to conduct a new welfare check on Joycelyn at Kelly's Trump Tower pad.

Griggs says the Savages believe Joycelyn is living there, too, along with Azriel Clary. Both women were at R. Kelly's court hearing over the weekend, supporting him.

Griggs says Chicago PD conducted a welfare check in January, but he doesn't trust they did a thorough job. He says the fam wants one done when they can be there to witness it.

The Savages ultimate goal hasn't changed -- they're hoping they can somehow get through to Joycelyn and convince her to leave Kelly.

However, they're also afraid for their own safety, because they say R. Kelly's associates have threatened them. For that reason, Griggs says they're requesting assistance from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Basically, they want backup as protection from Kelly's people.

It's unclear if Cook County will oblige. We've got a call in, but no word back yet.

Cris Carter says he tried to help Randy Gregory conquer his substance abuse issues by trying to get him into a successful rehab program ... and even though it's failed so far, he's not giving up.

With the Dallas Cowboys star suspended indefinitely after once again violating the league's substance abuse policy, Carter talked about the effort he's made to help Gregory over the years.

"It's unfortunate for him," Carter said on FS1's "First Things First" ... "He's one of a number of guys through the years I've tried to help."

"[I've] tried to give him the power through rehab, through the system of [Alcoholics Anonymous], through going to meetings. The system has worked for me for almost 30 years."

Carter has had his own struggles with substance abuse -- he's openly talked about it -- and feels programs like AA have had a huge impact on his life.

As for Gregory, Carter says he's even gone to bat for the defensive end with NFL officials -- writing a letter to the front office in an effort to get him reinstated after a previous substance abuse violation.

"He's struggled like a lot of other talented players have struggled with the disease," Carter said.

"I wish people would look at [addiction] like cancer and if your cancer came back what would you do?"

"Randy Gregory, call me, man. Anybody out there, call me ... because I still got feelings for you."

26-year-old Gregory was a BEAST for the Cowboys in 2018 -- logging 6 sacks and 28 QB pressures.

Ty Dolla $ign's scored a huge win in his Georgia drug possession case -- his record will be wiped clean, IF he keeps his nose clean for the next few months.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Atlanta prosecutors struck a deal last week with the rapper: he'll enter an online drug prevention program, and lay off weed and Rx drugs ... then all charges -- 2 felonies and a misdemeanor -- will vanish.

Georgia calls it the Second Chance program, and we're told it typically lasts 13 weeks. Ty will also be subject to random drug testing during the program.

You'll recall ... an Atlanta grand jury indicted Ty after cops busted him back in September, allegedly finding pot and cocaine in his bag.

Sources connected to the case tell us the deal was struck after Ty's attorney, Steve Sadow, met with prosecutors to point out weaknesses in the case.

R. Kelly was bailed out by a woman who believes he's innocent -- at least for now -- and says she simply stepped up to the plate to help a friend in need.

Valencia P. Love is the Chicago businesswoman who reportedly covered the $100k bond Monday to secure Kelly's release, and she says, "There are three sides to every story, [Kelly's] side, there's (the alleged victims), and the truth."

That statement seems to acknowledge Kelly is being less than truthful, but Love also told Chicago's FOX32 ... "As a friend if he says he's innocent, I can only believe that he is innocent."

Love also insists Kelly is not a monster, and says there are much worse problems in Chicago -- like hundreds of Catholic priests being accused of sex abuse and a missing woman named Kierra Coles.

Valencia makes it clear she's not condoning any of the allegations, saying, "If he did it he is wrong" ... but believes Kelly should get the chance to clear his name.

Bebe Rexha's going after her fans who are going after her dad who didn't much like her super racy new music video ... she wants them to back the f up.

The "Last Hurrah" singer tells us her father hated the vid for her latest single -- which she admits is a little much -- but now she's upset because her fans are trashing him for expressing his disgust.

Her message to those fans when we got her at LAX Tuesday is pretty straight forward ... "Don't talk s**t about my dad!!!"

ICYMI -- Bebe shared a text screenshot from dear old Dad on her Instagram story Monday, in which he told her ... "You better stop posting stupid pornography because you make me sick. I can't take this anymore. Embarrassed to go in public everywhere I can go. I'm very upset with you, I can't believe it."

Rexha captioned it, "My dad hates me," but later deleted the texts because her fans started blasting him ... and now she's doing full damage control.

Bebe says she's taking a flight home to New York to patch things up with her father, who hasn't spoken to her in 2 weeks ... but she seems pretty confident all will be fine. As she puts it ... "My dad loves me."

As for "Last Hurrah" -- the video got flagged as "sensitive" on YouTube. It features a lot of sexed-up scenes, partying nuns and Bebe on a bed with crosses everywhere ... with "Daddy's Angel" written over her crotch. She claims this is a toned-down version.

Good luck with the chat with Dad!!!