Controversial S#!T

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis had another tough night on tour -- he couldn't get a handful of chatty spectators to shut their yap, so he stormed offstage ... again.

The country-rock star was performing solo Saturday night in Oklahoma City, where he cut his set short toward the end of the show ... but not before laying into some members of the crowd with a good old-fashioned, "Shut the f*ck up!!!"

After some folks wouldn't abide by his demand, he stopped strumming his guitar ... and lectured the crowd on how he technically doesn't need to do this. Aaron then gets on the mic and continues the berating, telling the talkers they've been yapping all night.

Eventually the crowd quiets down enough for him to continue with the performance, but just a few seconds into the song ... he stops and slams his guitar down, leaving the stage.

This ain't the first time Aaron's had crowd control issues at his shows lately. He did the exact same thing in Texas just last month ... but took things up a notch by saying he didn't speak Spanish 'cause he's American. Some Spanish speakers were trying to communicate in their language, but Aaron was clearly having none of it.

He also laid into a heckler a couple months before that in Indianapolis, calling the guy a "bald motherf***er."

3/11 -- Gloria Allred tells TMZ ... "R.Kelly appears to take the position that all the women who have made public accusations that he has victimized them are lying and that there are no tapes which depict him victimizing under age girls. Mr. Kelly attempts to portray himself as the victim instead of a sexual predator, but many of the women with whom he has had contact accuse him of being a predator, because they allege that he has victimized them. In addition, there is no reason to believe that Mr. Dennis has done anything wrong or that he will be prosecuted. The response by Mr. Kelly’s representative appears to be just a scare tactic to deter individuals who may have similar tapes from coming forward to provide them to me or law enforcement."

1:42 PM PT -- R. Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, tells TMZ ... "R. Kelly denies that he is on any tape with underaged girls. The doubt here is self-evident, with reporting that the man on the tape kinda, sorta looks like R Kelly. That doesn’t make it him. It is not him."

Greenberg also says he wants to know what investigators will do about the fact that the Dennises were in possession of possible child pornography, asking, "Are they going to be prosecuted?" He adds, "It is obviously now just open season on R. Kelly. It is irresponsible to continue to take the speculation of every Tom, Dick and Harry, and report it as if it is fact."

Another sex tape has surfaced that purportedly shows R. Kelly with minors -- and Gloria Allred is repping the guy who claims to have found it and turned it over to cops.

Allred just held a press conference in NYC, where her client, Gary Dennis, came forward to explain how he found the tape, and why he's speaking out now.

Dennis, who says he has no connection to R. Kelly whatsoever, claims he recently found this new sex tape while going through old VHS tapes of his own. He says he initially discovered the tape as a "sports tape," but says it also had R. Kelly's name on it.

Dennis goes on to say that he thought the R. Kelly part of the tape would feature a concert of his, but later discovered it was a sex tape as he continued to watch past the sports content. He says he doesn't know how this tape turned up in his possession but says he watched it and saw R. Kelly engaging in sex acts with what he perceived to be underage black girls ... more than one.

Dennis didn't go into much detail about what he saw on the tape but did say that the girls on camera were doing and saying things based on R. Kelly's instructions. Dennis also says the girls appeared to be underdeveloped and that the only man on tape -- who he claims looked a lot like R. Kelly -- seemed to be in charge of the camera.

The guy says the tape appears to have been produced in the 1990s ... adding there's no indication of where it was filmed.

Allred says they've turned over the sex tape to law enforcement officials from U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. She wouldn't comment one way or another on whether she'd personally seen this new tape herself. However, Allred says she believes more tapes of R. Kelly are in circulation.

This tape would be the third one handed to law enforcement in the last month. Attorney Michael Avenatti has already turned over 2 tapes to prosecutors in Chicago ... one of which prompted the 10 count indictment against R. Kelly for aggravated sexual abuse.

Speaking of Avenatti, he appears to have responded to Allred's press conference ... and seems to be casting doubt on the veracity of her client's claims.

BTW ... Allred already reps a number of R. Kelly accusers, including two women who say he targeted them after a Baltimore concert in 1995. One of those women, Latresa Scaff, says R. Kelly had sex with her without her consent in a hotel room ... this after he'd already plied the then-underage girls with alcohol and drugs at an after-party following his concert.

Allred says a witness has come forward to corroborate the Baltimore women's accounts, and all three of them have spoken to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

DJ Mustard says R. Kelly is a "monster" and a "pig" ... but he's reserving judgment on Michael Jackson. YG says he's done with both of 'em ... but also has some condemning words for white people.

We got the hip-hop stars outside Poppy nightclub in L.A. Friday night, engaging in a lively discussion about the sordid allegations and controversy currently surrounding the disgraced musicians.

Mustard tells us he doesn't mess with Kelly because he believes the accusers -- and because he has daughters -- but isn't so certain about MJ. He admits he's been swayed by the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries ... but he's yet to see "Leaving Neverland."

YG adds some entertainment throughout by challenging Mustard for rebuking one but not the other, but then takes the convo in a different direction ... with claims that racism's behind everything -- including Bill Cosby going to prison.

Jussie Smollett's career is just like an awesome script ... complete with a major plot twist, then a climax and now the aftermath -- and it ain't pretty.

Sources familiar with Jussie's current situation tell TMZ ... he was living a pretty good Hollywood life before claiming he was viciously attacked in Chicago. He was getting entertainment biz offers every other week, if not weekly.

We're told Smollett's star actually skyrocketed right after the alleged attack was initially reported. Our sources say he was getting hit up nonstop for movies, TV gigs, commercials and, of course, interviews and appearances.

When his story went off the rails and he was arrested and charged with a felony for filing a false police report ... the well ran dry. We're told Smollett's getting zero calls for new work, and is being treated like a pariah.

Makes sense. Hollywood's waiting to see how his case plays out, but the 16-count indictment the grand jury handed up Friday can't help.

As we reported ... "Empire" also removed Jussie's character from the final 2 episodes of the season in order to keep peace on the set ... where some of his co-stars are butting heads over whether to support him.

On the bright side -- if there is one -- Chicago PD launched an internal investigation out of concerns the force was leaking information, and some of the claims by the Police Superintendent have been called into question.

That might help him in court, but it won't do jack to help him land any roles.

Dallas Cowboys star David Irving says he will NOT reverse course on his decision to quit the NFL over their policy on marijuana ... and he's got a message for Jerry Jones in case they never speak again.

The 25-year-old defensive tackle famously lit up a joint and announced his sudden retirement from the NFL during an Instagram Live session on Thursday night. Shocking, considering he could've made MILLIONS continuing his career in the league.

But, Irving tells us he's 100% done playing pro football -- and now he's moving on to the next phase of his life.

"No regrets whatsoever," Irving says ... "I know what I wanted to do. I've had plenty of time to think about it."

Irving says he's heard the critics who have called him stupid -- and worse -- for closing the book on such a lucrative profession ... but he doesn't care.

"I'm living my life. They can do whatever the hell they want to do in their life."

Irving tells TMZ Sports he consulted with his father -- a military veteran -- before making his decision. David feels strongly he should be able to medicate using marijuana instead of opioids, which he considers addictive and dangerous.

Kodak Black's been talking mad trash about Lil Wayne for about a week, and now that he's about to do a show in Weezy's hometown ... the venue's going full-bore to prep for violence.

Kodak's slated to perform at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans next week, and we're told the venue honchos think the rapper's mouth will have some Wayne fans looking for revenge.

The backstory, for those not on black Twitter, is that Kodak was at Miami's LIV nightclub last weekend, and thought Wayne was coming to show some love. When he didn't, Kodak got pissed, grabbed a mic and called Wayne a "f***in' maggot" -- and added, "You should've died when you was a baby."

When Weezy's daughter, Reginae Carter, called out Kodak for disrespecting her pops -- he called her "bald head." Then Reginae's mom, Toya Wright, weighed in ... and Kodak unloaded, saying ... "@toyawright If I Ain't Have No Girlfriend I'll F**k Da S**t Out Yo Fine Ass."

And, that's why we're told security at the NOLA venue will be monitoring social media for any direct threats referencing Kodak's show. Additionally, New Orleans PD will assist with extra security to keep Kodak safe.

For the record, Weezy hasn't responded at all, but turf wars can get real.

San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer and his wife have both met with law enforcement as a part of the investigation into their physical altercation that was caught on video, TMZ Sports has learned.

The SFPD launched a probe into the March 1 incident -- in which Baer was seen trying to wrestle a cell phone away from his wife, Pam, knocking her to the ground in the process.

TMZ Sports obtained footage of the altercation -- which took place in a public park area in San Francisco -- and you can hear Pam scream for help.

Cops responded on the day of the incident and spoke with witnesses. Now, we've learned investigators reached out to both Larry and Pam ... who also agreed to speak with authorities.

Larry's attorney, Cris Arguedas, tells us Baer and Pam had separate meetings with law enforcement, but fully cooperated ... and they're confident no charges will be filed.

The case has been kicked over to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office -- which will review the evidence and decide whether or not to bring charges against Larry.

Arguedas tells TMZ Sports she's "never been more confident" Larry will not be prosecuted.

Pam has already commented publicly about the case -- chalking the incident up to a marital spat ... and stating that she still loves her husband.

Larry has stepped away from the Giants while cops and the MLB investigate the situation -- but he's also expressed remorse.

Baer has been involved with the Giants organization for decades. He was named chief operating officer in May 1996, team president in October 2008 and CEO on January 1, 2012.

The U.S. Women's National Soccer team is suing the U.S. Soccer Federation -- claiming they're sick of being paid less than the men's team ... despite being WAY better than their male counterparts.

Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Julie Ertz and others all joined in on the suit ... which blasts the USSF for the pay disparity.

"Despite the fact that these female and male players are all called upon to perform the same job responsibilities on their teams ... the female players have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts," the women say in their suit.

"This is true even though their performance has been superior to that of male players -- with the female players, in contrast to male players, becoming world champions."

They're right -- the USWNT are not only champs but perennial contenders while the U.S. Men's National Team sucks so bad, they didn't even make the World Cup in 2018.

Oh, and the timing of the lawsuit is interesting -- filed on International Women's Day, which happens to be 3 months before the Women's World Cup begins in France.

In the suit, the women allege gender discrimination. They're seeking to end "the USSF's discriminatory practices."

Michael Jackson's guest spot on "The Simpsons" is getting yanked out of circulation ... a decision made by the show's honchos in the wake of "Leaving Neverland."

'Simpsons' executive producer James L. Brooks says he made the call after watching the 2-part HBO documentary about Jackson's alleged molestation of Wade Robson and James Safechuck.

The 1991 episode features Jackson voicing the character, Leon Kompowsky.

Creator Matt Groening and producer Al Jean were in agreement with Brooks to pull it, with Brooks telling the Wall Street Journal ... "There are a lot of great memories we have wrapped up in that one, and this certainly doesn’t allow them to remain."

Jackson's guest role came on the first episode of Season 3, "Stark Raving Dad," but was uncredited for contractual reasons and unconfirmed until years later. In the ep., Homer goes to a mental institution and shares a room with Leon ... who claims to be the King of Pop.

It features the song, "Happy Birthday Lisa," which Jackson wrote for the show.

Serena Williams says the pro tennis ranking system is "biased" against working moms -- and she's living proof -- claiming she took a HUGE hit for taking maternity leave and it's simply not right.

"When I returned to tennis from maternity leave, I was penalized for taking time off: my ranking dropped from #1 in the world to #453," Serena wrote in an op-ed for Fortune.

"That required me to face tougher competition earlier in the French Open, which led to a pectoral injury that forced me to drop out."

Serena gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, back in Sept. 2017 -- but there were complications which required Serena to undergo emergency surgery following the delivery.

Everyone is okay now ... and Serena returned to tennis 8 months after giving birth. The problem? Serena says the extremely low ranking the ATP and WTA gave her when she returned was super unfair and forced her to overcome obstacles she shouldn't have had to overcome!

"I fought hard personally, making it to the Wimbledon final shortly after, but I also fought hard publicly against the biased ranking system. We must stop penalizing women when they return to their careers after having children."

She added, "Women deserve to be given the same respect and opportunities as our male counterparts. We are entitled to the same open doors."

The good news ... the WTA announced back in December they recognized this very problem -- and vowed to give protection to mothers who return to the tour after giving birth.

The WTA says female players who give birth will be able to use their pre-maternity leave ranking to enter 12 tournaments over a 3-year period, which seems like a practical solution.

3/8 -- Manafort appeared in his inmate jumpsuit in court, and the scene was captured by a sketch artist inside.

Paul Manafort is going away for a little while -- a judge just sentenced him to 47 months in prison ... which means he could be a free man again relatively soon.

President Trump's former campaign chair was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty on 8 criminal counts, ranging from tax fraud to bank fraud ... not to mention laundering more than $18 million to fuel his lavish lifestyle.

Manafort was facing a maximum of 80 years in prison, but federal prosecutors recommended he get up to 25 years. Clearly, the 69-year-old caught a huge break with the judge.

As we reported ... Manafort's charges stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential Russian collusion with the Trump campaign leading up to the 2016 election.

The sentencing is the climax of Manafort's tumble from political power -- the FBI raided his house in VA and seized tons of documents ... he was eventually indicted on multiple federal charges, and surrendered to the FBI.

Although he was out on bail, he got sent back to jail for violating his bail conditions. Mueller's office accused him of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he urged 2 witnesses in his case to commit perjury in his defense.

Manafort's been sitting in solitary confinement since June -- and, reportedly, he's mostly been doing it in a wheelchair or using a cane due to his declining health. His lawyers said in court filings he's battling gout.

The big question is will Trump pardon Manafort?

Cops working the Jussie Smollett case allegedly had seriously loose lips, and now the police force is launching an internal investigation.

Chicago PD tells us its Chief of Detectives opened the investigation out of concerns the force was leaking like a sieve. CPD adds there's been a ton of "inaccurate" info in the media, and they want to know who's putting it out there.

A police spokesman tells TMZ ... "When there are allegations of information being leaked, an internal investigation has been opened and we are also looking at our vulnerabilities."

Smollett's attorney, Mark Geragos, blasted the police during a CNN appearance saying the leaks were a thinly veiled attempt to skewer the actor.

Dak Prescott's pit bull is possibly facing the death penalty after attacking a neighbor in Frisco, Texas last week ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Prescott's dog, Icon, was quarantined last Monday after it escaped from the Dallas Cowboys QB's home and attacked a woman who was transported to a nearby hospital to be treated for her injuries.

Icon was supposed to be held in quarantine for 10 days -- which means it was scheduled to be released today -- but there's been a change of plans due to the seriousness of the incident.

Law enforcement tells us ... the case has been referred to the City of Frisco Municipal Court for a hearing to determine if the dog will be, or should be classified as a "dangerous dog."

If found to be dangerous, we're told there are multiple options on how to deal with it -- one of the options is euthanasia.

One official tells us the goal is to work with all parties for an amicable resolution -- but putting the dog to sleep is a real possibility. Another option could be removing the dog from city limits.

7:45 AM PT-- Kelly directly addressed his failure to pay child support during his CBS interview ... and is blaming his ex-wife, Drea. He claims her "lies" about his abuse are the very reason he can't make money to pay her.

R. Kelly's lying through his teeth when he says he's trying to have a relationship with his children, because he's had a chance to for years and ignored it.

Sources close to the situation are calling BS on some of Kelly's antics with CBS News ... particularly the part of about "trying to have a relationship with my kids." We're told the singer hasn't even tried to reach out to his 3 children with his ex-wife, Drea Kelly, since 2017.

As we reported ... the singer went ballistic during his interview with Gayle King, and at one point screamed he was only trying to repair ties with his kids and didn't care about his career.

Our sources say that's all for show -- after all, we're told he changed his number and never gave it to Drea.

Speaking of Drea ... she maintains she's open to Kelly reconnecting with their children, who are adults now -- which is somewhat surprising, considering how she ripped into him in the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries.

Kelly's daughter, Buku Abi, also says she and her siblings have been estranged from their father for years. Although, she called him a "monster" ... Kelly, ironically, chalks that up to brainwashing from Drea.

Either way, Kelly has definitely come up short with his kids when it comes to child support ... which is why he was arrested again Wednesday. As we reported, he'll need to fork over more than $161k to Drea to be released.

Tristan Thompson isn't moving on from Khloe Kardashian just yet, because he's NOT dating the hot chick he's been hanging with in NYC, but they are getting to know each other through a mutual friend ... one of his NBA teammates.

We've learned Tristan's new friend is Karizma Ramirez ... and sources close to her tell us they met last week through Jordan Clarkson.

As you know, Tristan and Karizma were photographed inside Nobu in NYC Tuesday night ... after being spotted together last week at another dinner in the Big Apple. That sparked dating rumors, obvi, since it came directly on the heels of Khloe kicking Tristan to the curb.

But, the sources close to her say Karizma and TT are insisting there's nothing romantic going on between them.

We're told they've only hung out at the 2 dinners, which were both group situations -- where Tristan was flying solo, and Karizma was Jordan's guest.

We got Tristan out in New York last week, but he was silent on Khloe and his cheating scandal with Jordyn Woods.

As for Karizma, we're told she's NOT dating Jordan either, they've known each other forever through his family. BTW, she used to kick it with Chris Brown, but nothing serious.

What Michael Jackson couldn't get from Joe Jackson, he got from one of his bodyguards instead ... according to a letter written by the King of Pop.

Michael's handwritten note, from around 1992, was addressed to his personal security guard, Bill Bray ... and filled with references to his traumatic childhood. For instance, he wrote ... "Joseph never ever had time for me, he only saw me as a way for him to make money."

The point Jackson wanted to make was that Bill had been the father figure he never had.

RR Auction is putting the letter up on the block Thursday, and we're told it's expected to fetch more than $18,000!!!

It'll be interesting to see if the letter's value is affected by the renewed controversy generated by the "Leaving Neverland" documentary.

In the letter, Michael tells Bill he loves him and admits, "I don't know what would have happened to me if you were not around." He straight-up thanks his bodyguard for "being a father" to him.

According to RR, Bill started working security for the Jackson 5 in the 1970s ... and kept working with Michael -- as a bodyguard and close confidant -- until retiring in the mid-1990s.