Controversial S#!T

The Game accused LAPD officers of insulting Nipsey Hussle's family while chatting on their radios and manning Thursday's funeral at Staples Center ... but LAPD says it's not them.

The rapper posted the audio Friday, blasting LAPD, saying it, "seems to be LAPD officers intercepted on police radio & caught disrespecting Nips parents, his home-going & celebration."

In the audio, you hear someone take shots at Nipsey's parents. Another person's heard saying, "What they should've done after the funeral is drove the mother f***er and put him in the ground before he starts stinking up the place."

The LAPD tells TMZ ... the department is NOT conducting an investigation, contrary to reports, because they've determined it's not their officers on the radio frequency. LAPD says its department broadcasts using digital frequencies and the audio Game posted doesn't appear to be a digital frequency.

Michael Jackson's family is not gonna be happy with this -- Aaron Carter says he's finally ready to speak the truth about his experience with MJ.

We got Aaron out Thursday at LAX where he seemed to do a 180, saying he's going to reveal his experiences with the late singer ... as for whether it involved abuse, Aaron won't say either way.

Remember ... it was exactly a month ago when Aaron came on "TMZ Live" and staunchly supported MJ, saying absolutely NOTHING happened in his encounters with MJ back in the day. Aaron also blasted the "Leaving Neverland" accusers, calling them liars, because he said they had the opportunity to come forward when MJ was alive, but didn't.

Daymond John's dishing some business advice for Lori Loughlin's daughter in wake of the biggest college admissions scam in U.S. history ... OWN IT, BABY!!!

We got the "Shark Tank" star out in NYC and asked the fashion mogul if he had any advice for Olivia Jade ... Lori's daughter who got swallowed up in her mom and dad's federal grand jury indictment, which accused the couple of paying $500k in bribes to get Olivia and her sister into USC.

The fallout was immediate ... Olivia withdrew from USC and also lost a gig with Sephora. But, check out the clip ... Daymond strongly believes if Olivia doesn't try to hide she can definitely bounce back.

Worth noting ... it's unclear if Olivia was in on the scheme. Either way ... it's clear Daymond thinks carving out a future rests on her hands. As for any advice for Lori and her hubby, Mossimo Giannulli ... seems that's a laughing matter.

Jussie Smollett has just been hammered with a lawsuit the City of Chicago promised ... and he may effectively go on trial for allegedly staging the "attack" in January. All told, the City wants what will almost certainly be upwards of a half a million dollars.

The lawsuit -- to recover the costs of investigating the case -- outlines what the City claims Jussie did. It says Jussie and Abel Osundairo had been friends since 2017 -- socializing and exercising together. It says Abel assisted Jussie in obtaining recreational drugs.

The lawsuit claims Jussie told Abel shortly before the "attack," "Might need your help on the low."

The lawsuit claims, as we reported, Jussie scoped out the location for the "attack" with Abel and Ola 2 days before the attack and a dry run the day before. They agreed Abel would attack Jussie but would not hurt him too badly and would give Jussie a chance to appear to fight back.

The suit claims they also scripted the entire attack ... starting with the brothers calling Jussie "Empire f***** Empire n*****" -- referring to the homophobic and racist slurs.

They discussed the brothers placing a rope around Jussie's neck and pouring a liquid on him.

The brothers were also instructed not to bring their cellphones -- presumably, so they couldn't be tracked.

The suit says Jussie intentionally misled officers into believing his attackers were white, when he knew otherwise.

As we reported ... the city threatened to sue Jussie if he didn't fork over $130k to cover the cost of investigating a case it says was faked by the "Empire" star. The City of Chicago fired off a letter to Jussie's people earlier this month ... but his camp told the City to go pound sand.

The City says the cost of investigating the case was at least $130,000 in overtime alone, but it wants hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of that to cover attorneys fees and additional expenses. And then the City wants the judge to multiply that times 3, to punish Jussie.

HBO is denying reports it yanked its Michael Jackson documentary off the air, and adds ... "Leaving Neverland" isn't leaving it's lineup any time soon, partly because of its popularity with celebs.

Rumors circulated this week that HBO had removed the 2-part documentary from its programming -- there were very few listings of it on the lineup, but HBO tells us that's standard ops for its documentaries.

It says 'Neverland' will stay on its TV cable service for another week, and then it will only be available for streaming on HBO On Demand, HBO GO and HBO NOW for months to come.

HBO also told us it's continuing to get very vocal support for 'Neverland' from celebs like Ellen DeGeneres, Sia, Bill Maher, Judd Apatow, Eve, Rosie O'Donnell and Gayle King.

Since its March 4 premiere on HBO, part 1 of 'Neverland' has pulled in 7.5 million viewers ... according to HBO, which it says is second only to a Scientology documentary it aired.

Mr. Wonderful ain't exactly shy when it comes to his opinion ... and the "Shark Tank" star just let Magic Johnson know why the NBA legend done MESSED UP by quitting the Lakers.

Kevin O'Leary wasn't disrespectful -- in fact, he likes Magic a lot -- but he thinks the guy made a huge mistake Tuesday night by suddenly stepping down as Pres. of Basketball Operations.

"He made a decision which I think was the wrong one," Kev told us on his way out of ABC Studios in NYC.

"The Lakers are in chaos. The opportunity is to stay onboard during chaos and fix it ... and I think he should have done that."

O'Leary -- who's also close with Mavs owner Mark Cuban -- believes LeBron James played a role in Magic's decision to leave.

"I'm speculating like everybody else is ... but [Magic] probably had a disagreement between a very influential player and other management."

Ultimately, Kevin thinks the breakup is as nasty as they come -- comparing the split to a marriage falling apart.

T.I. has a new warning for Kodak Black in the wake of his way-outta-line remarks about Lauren London -- karma's a bitch, young man ... but in a slightly more threatening tone.

We got T.I. at LAX and he immediately put Kodak on blast ... saying he wishes no harm on him, but ultimately "the laws of reciprocity are in order at all times." You really have to see how Tip said it, though.

Rough translation: keep talking s**t, and the universe (or someone in it) will fix your ass.

As you know ... Kodak's the rapper that's got everyone shaking their damn head after his disgusting comments about Lauren London less than a week after Nipsey Hussle was brutally murdered.

Kodak -- whose mouth knows no bounds -- apologized but the damage was done. It's pretty clear T.I. at this point doesn't care what else Kodak says because, as he puts it, the respect of a non-respectable person has no value to him.

Israel Folau -- a star rugby player -- has been fired from Australia's national team after he said gays will burn in hell in a social media post on Wednesday ... Rugby Australia announced.

30-year-old Folau took to Instagram this week to post a picture that read, "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, idolaters," will all, "end up in hell unless [they] repent."

The post immediately went viral ... and caused such a backlash -- Rugby Australia acted swiftly, terminating his $4 million contract just hours after the post went up.

"As a code we have made it clear to Israel formally and repeatedly that any social media posts or commentary that is in any way disrespectful to people because of their sexuality will result in disciplinary action," RA chief executive Raelene Castle said.

“In the absence of compelling mitigating factors, it is our intention to terminate his contract.”

Folau has repeatedly bashed gays in homophobic rants throughout his career ... reportedly writing in a separate social media post last year, "God’s plan for gay people was hell."

For his part, Folau has reportedly insisted he's not homophobic ... saying he's a devout Christian who believes the Bible condemns gays.

On that topic, Castle said, "Whilst Israel is entitled to his religious beliefs, the way in which he has expressed these beliefs is inconsistent with the values of the sport. We want to make it clear that he does not speak for the game with his recent social media posts."

R. Kelly going to a club for an hour and walking away with $22k cash might have lots of people upset -- but his ex-wife sure ain't one of them ... quite the opposite, actually.

A rep for Drea Kelly -- R. Kelly's ex of more than 10 years -- tells TMZ ... she takes no issue with R. Kelly getting out there and making a buck -- but not because she thinks he's innocent ... it's more about what it means for her and their kids.

We broke the story ... R. Kelly showed up to a club in Springfield, Illinois over the weekend, where he sang a bit of "Bump N' Grind," hung out for less than an hour ... and walked away with $22,000. He asked the media to go easy on him, as this was just a means to an end.

We're told Drea sees it this way ... if R. Kelly's working to fulfill his financial obligations, "no one can be mad at him for that." Besides, Drea's rep tells us the man certainly has responsibilities that need tending to with dough ... for the sake of his kids.

As we reported ... R. Kelly went BACK to jail last month because he couldn't pony up his back child support bill ... more than $160k. He got sent to the can but was bailed out when someone covered his tab after spotting him (again).

Not only that ... as far we know, R. Kelly is still on the hook for nearly $21k per month in child support, which he was also unsuccessful in getting a judge to lower at the time.

No word on whether he's paid Drea that $21k -- which he presumably still owes her monthly for their minor child, who's 17.

It's interesting ... R. Kelly told Gayle King during his CBS interview he wasn't able to pay Drea, in part because she's badmouthed him to the media ... and torpedoed his ability to make money.

Sorry Jon Gruden ... Antonio Brown is going to cause MASSIVE headaches in Oakland -- so says Jack Del Rio, who says AB "has clearly shown that he's going to be a pain in the ass."

Of course, Brown's Steelers career was FILLED with drama ... and it got so bad in Pittsburgh, it's the reason he's actually in the silver and black today.

But, the trade from Pitt to the Bay Area hasn't quieted the NFL superstar -- in fact, he's kept up most of his beefs, even going after JuJu Smith-Schuster on social media this month.

Because of that ... Del Rio thinks it won't be smooth sailing with the Raiders, telling NFL.com, "If he continues doing the things he's been doing, just like he upset the Steelers, he's going to upset the next team he's on."

"I mean, this is America and he's free to do what he wants -- but those aren't the things that are indicative of a good teammate."

Del Rio says Brown IS a hard worker and a super talent, so it won't be all bad times in Oakland ... but the ex-head coach says he sees the writing clearly on the wall for the future Hall of Famer.

7:16 AM PT -- The U.S. Justice Department has accused Assange of conspiring with Chelsea Manning to hack a classified Pentagon computer.

Pam Anderson is enraged with Britain, The United States and President Trump after the arrest of her close friend Julian Assange.

Assange was arrested Thursday at the Ecuadorean Embassy in the UK after the country withdrew his asylum. Anderson went on a tear on Twitter Thursday morning, saying, "How could you Ecuador? (Because he exposed you). How could you UK.? Of course - you are America's bitch and you need a diversion from your idiotic Brexit bulls**t."

Pamela then turned her attention to The United States, tweeting, "And the USA? This toxic coward of a President. He needs to rally his base? You are selfish and cruel. You have taken the entire world backwards. You are devils and liars and thieves. And you will ROTT. And WE WILL RISE."

It was during an August interview with Harvey Levin on OBJECTified when Anderson revealed she and Assange had a very tight relationship.

The two have remained in constant contact while he remained in the Ecuadorean embassy.

Master P says the outpouring of love for Nipsey Hussle proves he was approaching the level of respect and adoration Michael Jackson fans had for him -- and he says you'll see that on display at Staples Center.

We got the hip-hop mogul outside Nipsey's Marathon Clothing store in South L.A. where he paid his respects and had glowing things to say about the slain MC. Master P says Nipsey might be gone, but his impact on the community will not be forgotten.

When he brought up Nipsey's Celebration of Life -- set for Thursday morning at Staples -- MP said that event is a testament to how many lives Nip touched. He added ... people who didn't realize Nipsey's importance when he was alive are getting the picture now.

We also got Teyana Taylor at LAX Wednesday and asked her thoughts on Thursday's memorial service ... which scalpers have tried to exploit by charging big money for the free tickets.

You can tell she's still disillusioned by Nipsey's murder, saying it still doesn't feel real. Check out her message to the scumbag scalpers too. She has some choice words for 'em.

Netflix is deeming its new series, "Our Planet," too graphic for some animal lovers, and warning them to shield their eyes during some disturbing scenes.

Netflix issued a dire warning Wednesday, alerting folks to several scenes it feels might be too much for the faint of heart ... because seeing animals eat, prey, or die, is too much for some people.

Netflix's warning involves scenes in 5 segments of the multi-episode docuseries, which covers the effects of climate change on wildlife around the planet. Netflix only gave time codes for the scenes to skip, but we did the leg work and figured out what the hell they're actually talking about.

Hit the fast forward button if these images will make you cringe:

- Baby flamingo's legs encased in solidified salt ("One Planet")

- Killer whales eating a penguin, polar bear making a meal of a baby seal, walrus falling off a cliff ("Frozen World")

- Jaguar killing an alligator ("Fresh Water")

-Cheetahs killing a wildebeest ("Deserts and Grassland")

Not all of the potentially disturbing scenes are gory. One of the red-flagged time codes corresponds to a scene showing ... fish getting caught in fishing nets!!!

Charles Van Doren, perhaps the most infamous TV game show contestant ever -- and the subject of an Oscar-nominated movie -- died Tuesday at his Connecticut retirement home ... according to his family.

Charles famously admitted cheating on the NBC game show, "Twenty-One," back in the 1950s. He actually testified before Congressional investigators and said the games were rigged. It was a huge scandal because prime time game shows were enormously popular back then ... drawing up to 50 million viewers.

Robert Redford directed the 1994 movie, "Quiz Show" -- with Ralph Fiennes playing Van Doren -- about the cheating scandal. The movie earned 4 Oscar nominations and 4 Golden Globes nominations.

Van Doren won $129,000 -- which would be more than $1 million today -- but later told Congress he had been given the questions and answers in advance. He also said he was coached up on how to create more drama as he pondered his answers on the show.

Although he was from a very prominent and wealthy Manhattan family ... Van Doren was disgraced after the cheating scandal. He went on to become an editor for Encyclopedia Britannica and wrote a few books.

He'd been living in the retirement community for several years before his death.

Lori Loughlin, her hubby and all the parents involved in the biggest college admissions scam in U.S. history should NOT do any time behind bars ... so says Steve Madden.

We got the famous shoe designer, and ex-con, Tuesday in NYC ... and who better to ask about Lori and Mossimo Giannulli 's case? Remember, Madden did 2 and a half years in prison for money laundering and stock fraud.

He joked Lori might need some help at the prison commissary soon -- but then got serious about what she's facing.

As we reported ... a Federal Grand Jury indicted Lori and Mossimo with an additional crime of "conspiring to launder the bribes" on top of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The new charges could mean nearly 5 years in prison, at minimum, if they're convicted.

Steve, who admits he knows Mossimo, thinks a prison stretch is absurd in this case. Watch the video ... he calls their $500k plan to get their girls into USC, "misguided, for sure" -- but adds it doesn't warrant incarceration.

Jim Ross is channeling his inner Justin Bieber when talking his future with his old employer ... telling TMZ Sports he'll "never say never" to a reunion with WWE.

The legendary commentator just signed a fat, 3-year deal with All Elite Wrestling after 26 years with the WWE ... which has been deemed "the most lucrative deal in pro wrestling commentary history."

While the exact amount has not been released ... it was enough for Ross to say "Yes" ... and he's excited to start fresh with the new company.

"26 years, great run. 26 years, wouldn't trade it for anything," Ross says. "To be out there and do something new with AEW and the Khan family, too good to pass up."

"They have a strong belief that I can still do my storytelling job ringside in this wrestling business. So, we're gonna give it another run and have some fun."

Ross says he wasn't being used enough with WWE, and he's still got gas left in the tank ... so why not??

As for whether Ross would return to his old employer ... he's open to the idea, but makes it clear he's not waiting by the phone for a call from Vince McMahon.

"I'm committed for 3 years at AEW, hopefully for longer ... I'm not thinking that far ahead. I'm ready to get to work today, tomorrow, or whatever."