Controversial S#!T

6:37 PM PT -- Donald Trump Jr. just threw some major shade at Avenatti at his father's political rally in Michigan, joking that Michael's presidential ambitions took a serious hit this week.

Junior jokes that Michael went from "Avenatti 2020 to Avenatti 20 to 25" ... clearly hoping his foe is going to prison for his role in the alleged extortion plot.

Michael Avenatti was loaded for bear Wednesday night, proclaiming his innocence in the extortion case, proclaiming that the R. Kelly case would be unaffected by the extortion case and proclaiming it's only a matter of time before top Nike execs would be led away in handcuffs.

We got the embattled celeb attorney in WeHo Wednesday night ... and we strolled along with him on a long, long walk ... where he unpacked his outrage.

Avenatti said all the talk that his indictment will torpedo the R. Kelly prosecution is BS ... because the evidence is the evidence is the evidence.

And then, he talked Nike. As you know, he's been accused of trying to extort the shoe co. for more than $20 million in return for keeping his silence on alleged misdeeds -- specifically, Nike secretly paid off the families of star high school basketball players in order to direct them to Nike-sponsored colleges.

He goes after Nike execs with a vengeance, saying they are corrupt to the core and it will be exposed. He also insists any money he may have demanded was not a quid pro quo for his silence. Avenatti says he was going to expose Nike regardless of whether the company paid him or not.

The U.S. Attorney claims he has a videotape from a March 21 meeting between Avenatti and Nike attorneys in which he allegedly says, "If [Nike] wants to have one confidential settlement and we're done, they can buy that for $22.5 million and we're done."

George Clooney is calling for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan of the Asian country of Brunei -- even the L.A. ones -- a week ahead of the day they'll start killing gay people by stoning.

The actor posted an impassioned open letter on Deadline Thursday, asking consumers not to do business with the 9 hotels owned by the autocratic country's ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, including the famed Beverly Hills Hotel, as well as the Hotel Bel-Air.

Clooney's plea with would-be hotel dwellers comes less than a week before the day Brunei as a nation will implement capital punishment on citizens who are proven to be gay or commit adultery. Those folks will be stoned to death.

That's no joke -- Brunei lives under Islamic sharia law ... one of the few countries in the world to do so.

Interestingly, Clooney notes that there was widespread outrage about this a couple years ago, and people successfully boycotted the two L.A.-area hotels ... if only for a short while. Now, he's asking for renewed attention in light of the looming deadline.

President Trump heard the outrage loud and clear, 'cause he just announced that he will NOT seek to cut nearly $18 MILLION in funding from the Special Olympics.

Trump's Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed cutting nearly every cent of funding to the organization earlier this week ... and people were PISSED.

TMZ Sports even spoke to WWE legend and Special Olympics ambassador -- Big Show -- who called the idea "bulls**t."

Now, Trump is putting an end to all that talk ... telling reporters at the White House that he's given the order to fund the organization -- like was originally planned.

“The Special Olympics will be funded," Trump said ... "I just authorized the funding of the Special Olympics. I have overridden my people.”

One of Jussie Smollett's "Empire" costars doesn't want to answer for pulling her support when things were hot ... especially now that the case has gone ice cold and been dropped.

We ran into Tasha Smith -- aka, Carol Hardaway (Jussie's aunt on the show) -- leaving Chelsea Studios in NYC Thursday, where our camera guy pointed out that she was one of many "Empire" stars who yanked their initial supportive IG posts when Jussie was arrested.

Of course, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office decided to drop the charges altogether just this week.

Before our photog can get around to a question, Tasha jumps in to jokingly berate him, asking why in the hell he'd ask that about her "family" ... and turns the question on him.

It's a pretty hilarious back-and-forth here -- which ends with her telling us to kiss it where the sun don't shine. And, while Tasha and our guy made peace by the end of it ... she skated around a serious question, and seems to be pulling back from her initial pull-back.

The family of the puppy that died aboard an Air France-KLM jetliner marched into LAX demanding the airline return the animal's body, but ended up getting a total runaround ... all on camera.

The father of the family of four, Andranik Avetisian, and his attorney, Evan Oshan, walked right up to a KLM official Tuesday and demanded to know the dog's whereabouts. The official all but stonewalled Oshan, saying he would have to contact KLM's attorney.

Problem is ... it's been 9 days since Bear -- a Central Asian Shepherd -- was found dead in the cargo hold of the KLM flight from Amsterdam, and the family's gotten zero answers. Oshan says KLM isn't returning his phone calls.

We were with Andranik when he and Oshan went to LAX police, asking them to get KLM on the horn. You can see in the video ... all they got was more frustration.

As we first reported ... the family says Bear was healthy and heading to his new home in California. They're fighting to get the body, because they want an independent vet to perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

KLM tells us it's doing its own investigation. A rep for the airline says, "In cooperation with the local health authority in the US, the Center for Disease Control, the dog was initially examined to ensure there was no immediately obvious public health threat. The dog was loaded correctly according KLM's pet policy. We have to wait for the results of the necropsy to determine the cause of death."

12:08 PM PT -- Jenny Sushe -- along with Allred -- just addressed the media and said the boxer not only kissed her without consent, he also groped her butt after the interview.

After the interview, Sushe claims the boxer asked her to remove the kiss from the interview because he knew how it would play out in public, but she refused.

In a letter to the California State Athletic Commission, Allred says, "We hereby request that the commission conduct an immediate investigation into the serious allegations."

"We request that Mr. Pulov's boxing license be suspended."

The female reporter who was suddenly kissed by a boxer she was interviewing AFTER his fight has lawyered up ... hiring Gloria Allred to go after his ass.

The video went viral over the weekend -- showing 37-year-old Bulgarian heavyweight Kubrat Pulev planting a kiss on the mouth of reporter Jenny Sushe during a post-fight media session.

Following the incident, Pulev said the Vegas Sports Daily reporter is a "friend of mine" -- and he passed the whole thing off as no big deal.

"On the video, after our kiss, we both laughed about it and thanked each other," Pulev said ..."There really is nothing more to this."

Well, clearly Sushe thinks it's a big deal ... she's hired Allred and she's planning to take legal action against the boxer.

In fact, in classic Allred form ... the attorney is holding a press conference Thursday to announce the plan of attack.

Robert Kraft claims police surveillance footage showing him inside a Florida massage parlor is the result of an "unlawful sneak-and-peek search warrant" ... and he's demanding officials keep it under wraps.

Kraft has filed fiery new documents in his prostitution case in Palm Beach County -- slamming officials for putting hidden cameras inside of massage rooms as a ridiculous "governmental overreach."

"Florida resorted to the most drastic, invasive, indiscriminate spying conceivable by law enforcement -- taking continuous video recordings of private massages in which customers would be stripping naked as a matter of course -- in order to prosecute what are at most misdemeanor offenses."

Kraft says because we do not live in a police state -- and because government must answer to the rule of law -- the tapes must never go public.

The New England Patriots owner continues his attack ... saying, "Law enforcement had no satisfying justification for going to such extreme, invasive lengths just to investigate run-of-the-mill suspicion of solicitation."

Kraft says ... because of other evidence collected in the case -- including positive semen tests found in the spa's trash -- there was no need to plant the hidden cameras to "build a solicitation case around low-level consensual sex acts."

There's more ... Kraft also says the narrative about the sting operation targeting human trafficking is BS -- since officials have no real facts proving human trafficking ever occurred at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa visited by Kraft. In fact, the attorney for the spa's manager -- who was also arrested -- talked about law enforcement's lack of human trafficking evidence Thursday morning after his client's bail was reduced.

As Kraft says in his motion, "Law enforcement peddled these falsehoods to try and manufacture a patina of necessity [to put cameras in the massage rooms], where none exists."

Kraft is facing 2 misdemeanor counts of soliciting a prostitute during 2 visits to the spa in January. Officials say surveillance footage shows the 77-year-old receiving sex acts from spa employees in exchange for money.

Jussie Smollett is back on the west coast and the timing is interesting ... considering he's up for a big award in L.A. this weekend.

The embattled "Empire" actor landed at LAX Wednesday night, where he was flanked by security guards and family members as paparazzi peppered him with questions, like whether he thinks he'll get his career back on track ... and if he thought he wasted the Chicago PD's time.

Jussie remained tight-lipped and made his way to a waiting car.

His arrival makes sense ... he's nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 50th NAACP Image Awards for his "Empire" role. That's going down Saturday, and while he hasn't officially said he'll attend ... this is a strong sign he'll be there.

Here's Conor McGregor enjoying "retirement" ... sippin' on pina coladas and -- JUST KIDDING, THE GUY IS STILL TRAINING HIS ASS OFF IN THE RING!!!

Just days after the UFC superstar announced his retirement "from the sport formerly known as 'Mixed Martial Art'" ... The Notorious was in a boxing ring -- and TMZ Sports has the vid.

You can see clear as day McGregor is still in great shape and still very ready to kick some ass ... sparring with a guy at Fight Club Gym on Wednesday in Miami and getting in some ab work.

Based on the footage, seems obvious McGregor is staying ready just in case he decides to unretire and get back to work in the UFC.

As we previously reported, McGregor has talked passionately recently about wanting rematches with both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz.

We recently spoke with UFC honcho Dana White who thinks Conor is serious about retirement -- since he's made so money already and seems to be successful in his Irish whiskey endeavor.

But, watch the clip ... does this look like a guy who's done fighting to you?

Jussie Smollett knows his career's on the line, and he's tasking his team with pulling off the highly improbable -- making him likable again.

Sources close to the "Empire" star tell TMZ ... even though his criminal record's scrubbed clean, he's in crisis management mode to repair his public image. We're told he's ordered his team to come up with a plan to fix that pronto, because if they don't ... he's screwed professionally.

Our sources say Jussie's open to anything that will give him an opportunity to tell his story and convey he's not the bad guy. Yes ... he will stick to the victim narrative.

We're told he's down for interviews, appearances and going outside of his comfort zone if it means getting a chance to connect with an audience ... because he knows if he does nothing, he'll never get work again.

We broke the story ... Jussie's showbiz job offers have completely dried up since he was arrested and charged for allegedly orchestrating a fake attack in Chicago in late January.

Despite the charges getting dropped this week, we're told Jussie has not been contacted about any potential work and knows he's more or less a Hollywood outcast for now ... so, it's time for a full-on PR blitz.

Jason Alexander is looking at Krispy Kreme's connection with Nazis through a positive lens, or at least a hungry one ... he wants a cut of the reparations, but he'll settle for a box of donuts.

We got the actor in Larchmont, L.A. Wednesday afternoon and our photog asked him about the owners of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts donating $11 million to charity after discovering their Nazi family ancestors used slave labor in German factories during World War II.

Jason, the son of Jewish parents, jokes about wanting a taste of the money, or at least some delicious treats ... then gets a bit serious and tells us it's noble for the Reimann family to try and make amends and take accountability -- even though he doesn't blame them for their ancestors' actions.

Speaking of reparations, Jason has some thoughts on how our country should come to terms with its slave history. Check out the clip for a lighthearted take on some heavy topics.

Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw is going to bat for Ben Roethlisberger ... telling TMZ Sports the QB is a "great leader" and the criticism of him from former teammates is incomprehensible.

"I don't understand it," Bradshaw says ... "He's a great leader. He is. He's solid."

Of course, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell REALLY disagree ... they've taken turns this offseason pummeling the QB for the way he's commanded the team as the face of the franchise.

In fact, AB wrote on Twitter just a couple weeks ago, "He has a owner mentality like he can call out anybody including coaches."

Le'Veon added in an interview with Sports Illustrated, "Ben wants to win his way, and that’s tough to play with."

But, Bradshaw thinks the criticism is unfounded ... telling us, "I find him to be fine."

Terry's biggest problem with the whole drama now??? He says it's cost the Steelers a TON of firepower ... and he's concerned the team might miss the playoffs for the second straight year.

"I'm worried about our team."

As for Ben ... Bradshaw's got no worries that he might leave, telling us Ben will get a new, big contract from the team sooner rather than later.

Charles Barkley says there are no winners in the Jussie Smollett saga -- only losers -- and he feels TURRIBLE for the "real" victims of hate crimes whose stories will now be called into question.

"It's a really bad situation for everybody involved," Barkley told us in NYC ... "There's no winners. We're all losers."

Barkley has been ripping Smollett's tale about being attacked by homophobic racists for weeks -- even clowning the "Empire" actor as a liar on "Inside the NBA."

So, now that the 16 felony charges Smollett was facing for allegedly lying to police have been dropped -- we wondered if Barkley would back off Jussie.

Spoiler Alert: NO.

We asked Chuck if he thinks Jussie skated -- he replied, "That's an understatement."

Should Jussie have gone to jail?

"I don't think he shoulda went to jail, but it's unfortunate."

And, that's when Barkley told us about the "real victims" in the Smollett saga.

"Anybody who's gay who gets beat up, they're the real losers ... or black [people] who get beat up, they're the real losers."

As for Jussie, he maintains his innocence.

7:09 PM PT -- Jussie's attorney, Patricia Holmes, has just released a statement, condemning the local authorities who "have continued their campaign against Jussie Smollett after the charges against him have been dropped." She continues, "The case is closed. No public official has the right to violate Mr. Smollett's due process rights."

Holmes points out that Jussie is allowed the same rights as every citizen -- that he "is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law" and also has the right to speak freely about his innocence.

She states, "We respectfully request all government agencies involved live up to the ethical tenets of their office ... The case was dismissed. We should all allow Mr. Smollett to move on with his life as a free citizen."

The Cook County State's Attorney has circulated an email asking prosecutors in the office to come up with other examples where they just dropped felony charges the way they did in the Jussie Smollett case ... this, as Jussie was making a hasty retreat out of Chi-Town via O'Hare International Airport.

According to the memo, obtained by the CBS affiliate in Chicago, the brass wrote, "We are looking for examples of cases, felony preferable, where we, in exercising our discretion, have entered into verbal agreements with defense attorneys to dismiss charges against an offender if certain conditions were met, such as the payment of restitution, completion of community service, completion of class, etc."

Here's the problem. Jussie did not do community service. Community service is often part of a plea deal where a certain number of hours is required by defendants who are convicted or cop a plea. In Jussie's case, all he did was spend a few hours over the weekend at Rainbow PUSH. That is not community service.

As for restitution .. Jussie forfeited a $10k bond, and that's it. As the Mayor said, it doesn't come near to paying the cost of the investigation.

The email goes on to say, "Nobody is in trouble, we are just looking for further examples of how we, as prosecutors, use our discretion in a way that restores the victim, but causes minimal harm to the defendant in the long term."

The concept of "minimal harm" to the defendant is confusing. Typically what happens is that a defendant would plead no contest to a reduced charge or a reduced number of charges, and maybe get community service and/or pay restitution. That didn't happen in Jussie's case.

Lonzo Ball is an even BIGGER baller after bailing on the Big Baller Brand ... ditching his $500 shoes for a MORE EXPENSIVE pair for the Laker game Tuesday night.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the injured Zo elected to rock a pair of white Dior "B24" kicks while cheering on his teammates from the bench during the game against the Wizards ... which come with a hefty $960 price tag.

Of course ... all eyes have been on Lonzo's feet as he figures out his shoe future following the fallout with BBB. He's even dropped hints on social media about signing with Nike.

But, there were no Swooshes on his feet Tuesday ... just Diors. Really, really, really expensive Diors.

It's the latest shot at the BBB brand ... Lonzo's already covered up his Big Baller tattoo after his manager called for a BBB boycott while throwing a pair of ZO2s in the dumpster.

In other words, the Ball family business looks about as dead as LiAngelo's college hoops career.

Still, one major mystery remains ... WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HEAR FROM LAVAR?

The biggest of the Ballers has been eerily silent since the BBB fallout went public.

There are reports Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo are not speaking with their dad -- but no one has publicly commented about the state of the family.

2:42 PM -- Foxx is on a media blitz, and she just told ABC7 in Chicago her office did NOT ask for the resolution in Smollett's case to be made under seal. She says Smollett's criminal record -- in relation to the police report -- is what should have been kept under seal. She says her office is in the process of unsealing the resolution.

Foxx also broached the subject about her recusal and added there was zero outside influence on the case. Michelle Obama's former chief of staff, Tina Tchen, clarified her contact with Foxx saying, "Shortly after Mr. Smollett reported he was attacked, as a family friend, I contacted [Foxx], who I also know from prior work together."

"My sole activity was to put the chief prosecutor in the case in touch with an alleged victim's family who had concerns about how the investigation was being characterized in public."

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is going to bat for her office, which opted to let Jussie Smollett walk ... saying the public just doesn't understand this is how the law works.

Foxx went on WBEZ Radio in Chicago Wednesday and said she understands the confusion for those on the outside "who don't understand the intricacies of the justice system, who don't understand alternative prosecution or diversion or alternate outcomes outside of prison or lengthy probation."

On the flip side, Foxx -- who recused herself from the case -- says those who know the legal system know "the likelihood that someone would get a prison sentence for a Class 4 felony is slim."

As we reported ... First Assistant to the Cook County State's Attorney Joseph Magats said prosecutors dropped the case because Smollett doesn't have a violent criminal history and lying about the alleged attack was NOT a violent crime.

Foxx echoed Magats sentiment that although the charges were dropped ... everyone in their office backs the police investigation, and believes Jussie staged the attack. As she put it to WBEZ, you don't typically see people "give up $10,000 of their hard earned money" unless they're being held accountable for something.