Controversial S#!T

Jussie Smollett's last episode ever of "Empire" could be running Wednesday night ... and a few hours before it aired, he told us he only has one word on his mind.

We got the embattled actor leaving Lafayette restaurant in NYC, and the paps asked him how he feels about his final episode of this season. There are 2 more to go, but we already know Jussie won't be in them.

Make no mistake ... Jussie's future with the show is completely up in the air. On Tuesday, creator and executive producer Lee Daniels made it clear they're still debating whether to bring him back next season. Jussie seemed totally unshaken when we asked him about it.

As we first reported ... Jussie was written off the final 2 episodes on the heels of his arrest and felony charges of disorderly conduct for lying to cops. As it stands now, "Empire" hasn't been officially green lit for season 6, but assuming it will be ... there's no guarantee he'll be part of it.

As it turns out, Jussie's co-stars, Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard, came out swinging for him ... firing off a letter to the show's honchos ... demanding he remain on the show. The letter, posted by Deadline, read, "Together, as a united front, we stand with Jussie Smollett and ask that our co-star, brother and friend be brought back for our sixth season of Empire."

It goes on to say, "He is also innocent and no longer subject to legal uncertainty with the criminal charges against him having been dropped. We are confident in his lawyer’s assurance that the case was dismissed because it would not have prevailed.”

Chicago is not so sure -- and, the fact is, Jussie's still facing a civil trial where the city will try to show he did lie.

A lot of balls up in the air.

Dan Bilzerian is catching major heat for feeding a Kodiak bear at a house party ... and because PETA would never literally feed Dan to the wolves, they're going after him with a team of lawyers.

If you were too high on Saturday to notice all the videos coming out of Dan's 4/20 bash in Los Angeles, he posted clips of himself hand-feeding munchies to an enormous bear.

PETA is livid at Dan's stunt and now the organization is ratting him and Steve Martin's Working Wildlife -- which allegedly provided the bear -- out to California authorities. PETA fired off letters Wednesday to the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife and L.A. Department of Animal Services.

In the complaints, obtained by TMZ, PETA claims Dan and Martin did not have the required permit for this type of display, because city regulations expressly prohibit keeping bears in a place where they pose a risk to the public.

PETA also claims that because the bear was not contained in an escape-proof enclosure and because Martin did not maintain a safe distance between the bear and the party-goers, Martin should be stripped of his permits and fined.

Dan tells us PETA has him all wrong because he loves animals, and, while he appreciates people trying to stand up for animals, he says PETA just wants "to do the typical internet bandwagon on whatever is popular and come after me for feeding what seemed to be a very healthy happy bear, that was rescued at a young age."

Dan ended with a final thought for PETA, "They can suck my d**k.”

Luke Walton's attorney was clearly watching Kelli Tennant spell out her case against the NBA coach on Tuesday -- and his takeaway is simple ... YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE!

"Yesterday's press conference was a poorly staged attempt to portray the accuser as a viable spokesperson for an important movement," attorney Mark Baute tells TMZ Sports.

"These claims are false and Luke’s innocence will be proven in court."

"[Tennant's] lawyers want to create a public circus to distract from their complete lack of evidence to support their outrageous claims. We will not try this case in the media or pay them a dime."

Tennant and her attorneys held a press conference on Tuesday -- where she fought back tears as she walked reporters through her sexual assault claim against Walton.

Tennant claims Walton pinned her down and forcibly kissed her in his hotel room during a 2014 encounter. She claims she repeatedly told Walton to stop and fought to escape.

During the press conference, TMZ Sports asked Tennant and her attorneys if they had any hard evidence -- injury photos, video, etc. -- and they essentially said no.

Clearly, Walton's team picked up on that -- and feel Tennant's case has no legs.

Walton has previously denied the allegations and said the accuser is nothing more than an "opportunist."

When Tennant and her lawyers were asked why she never went to police, she claimed she was too scared to come forward.

They also said their goal is not to put Walton behind bars -- but rather win a civil lawsuit against the NBA star. However, they did not mention a specific financial sum they're looking for.

Kim Foxx is taking threats against her life in the wake of the Jussie Smollett case very seriously -- and is now being trailed by round-the-clock security ... TMZ has learned.

The embattled Cook County State's attorney, who revealed this week she's received "racially charged" death threats, has added a team of bodyguards to protect her ... according to sources close to Foxx.

We're told she's deeply concerned, not only about her own safety, but also that of her family -- which is why she agreed to the security detail. Foxx is married with 4 children. The sources did not want to reveal specifics about the nature of the security in order to "guarantee its effectiveness."

It's unclear who is footing the bill for the extra security.

Foxx says the threats began after her office decided to drop all the charges against Smollett. As you know ... that decision pissed off Mayor Rahm Emanuel as well as Chicago PD's Superintendent -- both of whom held a news conference to rip into Foxx's office.

10:28 AM PT -- A rep for The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce tells us they sent out a crew this morning to clean the star off ... it was done at no cost. We're told The Hollywood Historic Trust will be filing a police report for the vandalism.

President Trump's Walk of Fame star got a fresh coat of paint, but he ain't gonna be thrilled about it ... because it was spray paint and it spelled out ... "Putin's Bitch."

Trump's star was attacked again early Wednesday morning, and TMZ has the footage of the vandals in the act. Around 3:40 AM ... one guy -- who appears to have blonde hair -- sprayed a coat of black paint over the star. Then, in white paint, he added his coup de grace.

There was another man with the vandal ... shooting photos and/or video.

The guy's homage to alleged Russian collusion didn't last long -- about 4 hours later, the star was cleaned up and almost as good as new. You can still see black specks on it.

Let's face it ... cleaning up Trump's star has become fairly customary.

The star's been jackhammered, painted, pickaxed ... and even (fake) peed on by George Lopez.

Says a lot about the commitment of Trump's haters that they keep coming back ... even though they're ALWAYS caught on camera.

Ex-Baylor superstar and NFL prospect Shawn Oakman says legal expenses from fighting a false rape allegation broke him ... so much so that he had to sell one of his Bowl game champion rings.

The defensive end was accused of sexual assault in 2016, just days before the NFL draft would've likely made him a millionaire. He went undrafted and hasn't stepped foot on an NFL field yet.

Shawn was exonerated back in February -- with a jury deliberating just 45 minutes before finding him not guilty, citing evidence that the sex was consensual.

Oakman recently sat down for an interview with Ben Raymond for a special called "Shawn Oakman: The Rebirth" and opened up about what the entire ordeal cost him, and the cost was HIGH.

"I went through two paid lawyers. The second lawyer, it got all the way to trial. The week before she needed $60k just to step in the courtroom. I already gave her $60k ... but she needed $60k just to step in the courtroom, so she dropped my case. I didn't have it."

"That's when I got a public defender," Oakman said.

Shawn, who had yet to sign a pro contract, went on to describe exactly the way he came up with the cash for his defense.

"Before that, basically I had one of my bowl game rings. I sold my bowl game ring on eBay to pay for my lawyer."

Oakman is now 27, has lost three insanely important years of his career, and might not ever get his NFL chance ... but he insists he's not at all depressed about the situation.

4:57 PM PT -- We asked if there was any video or photo evidence to help prove Tennant's case, and her attorney essentially told us no.

4:53 PM PT -- When asked what they want to get out of the case, Tennant's attorney says they have no particular sum in mind.

4:49 PM PT -- Tennant says she did not go to law enforcement because she feared it would jeopardize her career.

Tennant's attorney says they do not intend to file a police report because they do not want to put Walton in jail.

4:43 PM PT -- Tennant says she didn't come forward at first because, "I was scared."

"I was scared for my job, my safety and what my job would be like."

She claims she's spent years trying to move past the incident and "bury it" -- but she couldn't. She says she finally mustered up the courage to tell her story.

4:40 PM PT -- Kelli Tennant got emotional while telling her story ... recounting how she felt Walton was "going to rape her" during the hotel encounter.

Tennant says she begged Walton like crazy to let her go but he ignored her pleas ... until finally giving up and letting her out of the hotel room.

"This type of behavior cannot be condoned," Tennant said.

4:33 PM PT -- Kelli says the alleged sexual assault took place in 2014, when she was 25-years-old.

Her attorney says she was uncomfortable coming forward back then but she's comfortable now.

Kelli says she met Luke Walton about 10 years ago through the volleyball community.

The woman accusing Luke Walton of sexual assault will speak with the media at 4:30 PM PT ... and TMZ Sports will be live streaming the whole thing.

Kelli Tennant and her attorney, Garo Mardirossian, will hold a press conference at his office in Los Angeles, they announced. They are both planning to speak.

Mardirossian has just issued a pre-press conference statement saying, "By way of this lawsuit, Ms. Tennant is speaking out and saying #timesup to the culture of abusing women in the NBA."

We broke the story ... Tennant -- a longtime sports reporter -- claims Walton sexually assaulted her in a Santa Monica hotel room while he was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.

Walton has lawyered up and adamantly denied the allegations -- with his attorney attacking the accuser as an "opportunist."

There are TONS of unanswered questions ... what was the date of the attack? Is there any photo of video evidence? Witnesses? Etc.

Fred Savage is no longer being sued for allegedly assaulting and harassing a female crew member on his TV show ... and all signs are pointing to a settlement.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the court signed off on the lawsuit's dismissal ... and the key thing here is the suit's being dismissed with prejudice, which means it's likely Savage and the woman who sued him reached a settlement out of court.

TMZ broke the story ... Youngjoo Hwang sued Savage back in March 2018 for allegedly tormenting female crew members on the set of his TV show, "The Grinder." She claimed he had a rep for intimidating women working under him, hurling profanities and telling them, "Don't ever even f**king look at me anymore!"

When the suit was filed, Savage denied Hwang's accusations, saying they were without merit and completely untrue. Savage said her claims were investigated by FOX, but he says the network found no evidence backing her story.

Hwang's attorney, Anahita Sedaghatfar, tells TMZ ... "We are very pleased with the resolution reached in this case. My client stood on the shoulders of the brave women who came out before her during the inception of the #metoo movement and I hope she serves as an example to other women so they too can have the courage to come out and speak their truth."

We reached out to lawyers for Savage ... so far, no word back.

Odell Beckham had every right to go scorched earth on his former team and his ex-boss in a Twitter rant ... so says DeAngelo Hall -- who tells TMZ Sports the Giants deserved it!!

The ex-Redskins star -- who's doing NFL Draft coverage this week for FS1 -- says, "I'm cool with [Odell] venting because I felt like the Giants GM was out of line!"

Of course, if you haven't been keeping up ... Odell and the Giants have been in a tiff since Big Blue traded the star WR to the Cleveland Browns in March.

But, things really heated up in their beef last week ... when Giants GM Dave Gettleman told reporters he feels like the G-Men have no more culture issues now that Odell is gone.

Beckham didn't take kindly to that ... blasting Gettleman and the Giants on Monday in an epic Twitter rant:

Enter Hall ... who tells us he's just fine with Beckham going hard on the keyboard, because he says point-blank he doesn't think Gettleman is doing a good job.

"I think you gotta be blind to think that Eli Manning is still the answer at quarterback. And then, you hear them not wanting to draft Dwayne Haskins, and you just kind of scratch your head like, 'Man, does this team really want to win?'"

Hall added, "It's just not adding up to me when I put my GM hat on, but that guy gets paid to be the GM. So, we'll see what decisions he makes and we'll see if it works out."

As for Odell panning out in Cleveland, Hall has no doubts he'll be a fine teammate there ... and ya gotta hear why.

By the way, Hall also says he thinks Kyler Murray should be the #1 overall pick Thursday night ... saying he sees "a little bit" of his old Falcons QB Mike Vick in the Oklahoma star!

Van Jones is working hard to bring light to prison reform and start a national conversation about our criminal justice system ... but he says a few celebs are outshining him.

We got the CNN host at Chelsea Studios in NYC Tuesday and asked who he thinks is stepping up the most for the cause ... he points to Meek Mill, calling him a "massive hero" for using his own case as a launching pad to help others.

Van then praises Kim Kardashian West for ignoring the skeptics and proving her ambitions and involvement are no joke ... and he believes it's a sign people from all walks of life have realized we have way too many prisoners in the U.S.

T.I. also gets a major shout-out for working with a church in Georgia to raise $120k to bail out 23 nonviolent offenders for Easter. Van says the rapper's "doing good by the hood," and if more people followed his lead ... things would improve very quickly.

Lee Daniels says there's an important discussion going down right now ... whether Jussie Smollett will be cut from "Empire."

The "Empire" creator was out and about Tuesday in New York City when Adam Glyn asked about the next season of the show, and whether there's a place for Jussie. Here's what's clear ... there's no clear answer for Daniels and Co.

Also, BTW, there's no clear answer on whether the show is coming back, because Season 6 has not been greenlit ... but we're guessing it will be a go.

11:05 AM PT -- Mark and Tina tell TMZ, "At first we thought this comical legal document was a parody. Instead, this so-called lawsuit by the brothers is more of their lawyer driven nonsense, and a desperate attempt for them to stay relevant and further profit from an attack they admit they perpetrated."

They continue, "While we know this ridiculous lawsuit will soon be dismissed because it lacks any legal footing, we look forward to exposing the fraud the Osundairo brothers and their attorneys have committed on the public."

9:43 AM PT -- Ola was out and about Monday afternoon in Chicago ... looking carefree a day before he his brother, Abel, filed a lawsuit in federal court. Ola's asked if he thinks Jussie owes the City of Chicago an apology. He seems more psyched hanging out with his boy and their exotic pets.

8:35 AM PT -- The presser just ended and NOBODY asked why Abel and Ola are NOT suing Jussie. The brothers' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, read a statement on behalf of the brothers ... saying they can no longer sit back and watch lie after lie being fabricated about them.

7:45 AM PT -- The brothers' attorneys are holding a news conference in Chicago, and we'll be live streaming. The big question, of course ... WHY didn't Abel and Ola sue Jussie Smollett???

The 2 brothers who allegedly faked the Jussie Smollett attack are suing the actor's lawyers, Mark Geragos and Tina Glandian, for defamation, claiming the attorneys lied to the media and tried to make it appear Ola and Abel Osundairo were the culprits in a real, homophobic and racist attack.

The brothers filed the case in Chicago federal court, claiming Jussie "used his clout as a wealthy actor to influence [the brothers] who were in a subordinate relationship to him and were aspiring to 'make it.'"

The suit says when Tina Glandian went on 'GMA,' "Today" and the Reasonable Doubt podcast after the charges against Jussie were dismissed, she told a string of lies ... including the brothers wore whiteface during the attack and the brothers were involved in an illegal Nigerian steroid trafficking ring.

The lawsuit also claims Glandian falsely claimed one of the brothers "engaged in fornication with Mr. Smollett."

As for Geragos, the suit claims he "repeatedly indicated that plaintiffs conspired to criminally attack Mr. Smollett, and by doing so, implied plaintiffs committed perjury" to the Grand Jury and conspired to make false statements to the Chicago PD.

The suit doubles down and says the brothers never knew Jussie would go to the cops ... rather, he was staging the "attack" for social media.

The brothers say as a result of the alleged defamation they suffered extreme emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, damages to their reputation, and damages to current and prospective business relations.

As we reported, Ola and Abel have had a tough time finding work, both as actors and personal trainers, in the wake of the scandal.

One final thing ... it's interesting the brothers did not sue Jussie, who also claimed they were the culprits in the alleged racist and homophobic attack.

7:15 PM PT -- The Sacramento Kings tell TMZ Sports, "We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time."

Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton is being sued for sexually assaulting a female sports reporter who claims he forced himself on her in his hotel room ... this according to a new lawsuit.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Kelli Tennant claims while Walton was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, he asked her to come and meet him at the Casa Del Mar Hotel in Santa Monica to drop off a book she had published.

FYI, Walton worked for the Warriors until April 2016, when he left to become the head coach of the Lakers.

In her suit, Tennant -- who worked as a reporter for Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNet LA -- says the 2 had a business relationship that went back several years and that's why she had asked him to write the foreword in her book.

Tennant claims when she arrived at Walton's hotel, he convinced her to come up to his room so they could "catch up." But when they got to his room, Walton suddenly pinned her to the bed, placing his hips and legs over her body.

In the docs, Tennant claims Walton began forcing kisses on her neck, face and chest. She claims she screamed for him to stop and tried to free herself, but he held her down, groped her breasts and groin, and rubbed his erection on her leg.

Tennant claims she was "in shock and fear. She was afraid she was about to be raped," the suit states.

Tennant claims Walton eventually relented and let her get up from the bed, but as she was walking toward the door to leave, he grabbed her from behind and again forced his body up against hers.

Tennant claims when Walton finally stopped and released her -- he walked her out of the room as if nothing had happened.

"He smiled, laughed again and made the disturbing statement, 'Good to see you,'" Tennant claims in her suit.

Tennant claims she did not initially report Walton's conduct but was forced to continually interact with him because of her job. She says each time she saw him, Walton would make implied threats of additional physical threats through his conduct -- imposing himself on her with big hugs or a kiss, even though she thought she made it clear his advances were unwanted.

In the suit, Tennant claims in May 2017 -- while Walton was the head coach of the Lakers -- there was an incident when Walton greeted her by uttering "vulgar, guttural sounds at her" and said, "mmmm ... you're killing me in that dress."

She says Walton also forced an aggressive hug on her and rubbed his body against hers.

It's unclear, based on the docs, what finally prompted Tennant to come forward with her allegations.

Luke recently left his position as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and is now coaching the Sacramento Kings.

Our camera guys spotted Luke and his wife Bre leaving dinner at Avra in Beverly Hills over the weekend, but they weren't in the mood to talk. Unclear if he knew Tennant was planning to file her lawsuit at the time.

We reached out to Walton's reps for comment ... so far, no word back.

YNW Melly's murder case just got way more serious than it already was ... because the State of Florida is seeking the death penalty.

As you know ... YNW Melly has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Cops say the rapper shot two of his friends back in October, then staged the crime scene to look like a drive-by shooting.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the State intends to seek the death penalty against Melly.

In the docs, the State says it believes it can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Melly killed his friends for financial gain, the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, and he committed homicide in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner. The State also believes Melly is a criminal gang member.

As we've reported ... cops say YNW Melly and his friend, Cortlen Henry, shot victims Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. in the head, torso and back. Police say Melly and Henry shot up their own car to make it look like a drive-by, and then dropped the victims off at the ER, where they were pronounced dead.

The blogger Cardi B is suing -- over some wild allegations -- just got served in a heated exchange with the process server ... one that included an apparent threat of gunfire.

We broke the story ... Cardi's going after Tasha K for claiming the rapper's a drug-using prostitute with herpes. Cardi's lawyers hired a process server to deliver the lawsuit to Tasha's residence Thursday night.

This audio from their run-in, obtained by TMZ, makes it clear things quickly got dicey.

You hear the server ID himself to Tasha and a male companion as they pull up to their home. Tasha got pissed because she says the guy was in her driveway, looking through her mail.

Although she was pissed, he does his job ... handing her the docs and delivering the line, "You've been served." Tasha responded by informing him she's within her rights to "blow something in your head."

The server assures her he didn't do anything illegal, but Tasha wasn't having it.

Robert Mueller seems like he's said all he's going to say about his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election for now ... if you want more, there's 448 pages in his report to dig through.

We got the Special Counsel leaving St. John's Episcopal Church Sunday morning in D.C. -- right across the street from the White House -- after attending an Easter service with his wife.

Bob was tight-lipped as he got in his car to leave ... not even telling us if he's planning to take a vacation now that the Mueller Report's been released.

Another reporter was on the scene too ... but didn't appear to have any luck either.

As you know, reaction to the report has been a mixed bag -- many believe President Trump should be impeached over details in the report, while the Prez declared total victory ... using "Game of Thrones" as inspiration.