Controversial S#!T

Legendary horse trainer Bob Baffert is breaking his silence on that insane Kentucky Derby ending --measuring his words carefully ... but telling TMZ Sports the whole thing was "crazy."

"Hell of a way to lose," Baffert said about Maximum Security -- who crossed the line first Saturday but was later DQ'd after officials say MS illegally impeded the path of other horses.

Maximum Security's owner, Gary West, now says his horse will NOT run in the Preakness later this month.

What's interesting ... Baffert says he worked for West this year -- training West's other horse, Game Winner, for the Kentucky Derby. Game Winner finished 5th in the race.

Game Winner was one of THREE Baffert-trained horses that ran in the 2019 Derby, running with Improbably and Roadster.

Look, Baffert's horses have won FIVE Kentucky Derbies over the years -- and he plans on having more horses run the race in the future ... so you can probably understand why he wouldn't go scorched Earth on Derby officials.

As for Baffert's other horses -- Improbably finished 4th and Roadster finished 15th.

Someone who didn't hold back? Donald Trump ... who said the Derby sucked.

"The Kentucky Derby decision was not a good one," Trump tweeted over the weekend.

"It was a rough & tumble race on a wet and sloppy track, actually, a beautiful thing to watch."

2:37 PM PT -- TSA has released a statement regarding Diana's uncomfortable pat-down. The agency says, "TSA is committed to ensuring all travelers are treated with respect and courtesy. TSA is aware of concerns presented by Diana Ross about her screening experience at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport this morning.

They continued ... "Initial review of CCTV indicates that the officers involved with Ms. Ross’s screening correctly followed all protocols, however, TSA leadership will continue to investigate the matter further. We encourage Ms. Ross to reach out to TSA so we can work with her directly to address her concerns."

Diana Ross says a TSA agent at a New Orleans airport took a pat-down search too far -- which left her feeling shaken and violated afterward.

The legendary soul singer described her experience early Sunday morning in a string of tweets, explaining that while she's normally treated like royalty in NOLA ... she got the exact opposite treatment at an airport there -- saying, "I was treated like s**t."

BTW -- Diana was in town this weekend performing at the Jazz and Heritage Festival, but it sounds like getting there was a nightmare.

Ms. Ross says she's not blaming the airline she flew with -- Delta, apparently -- but instead is pointing the finger at a female TSA agent that conducted an "over the top" pat-down as Diana was going through security. She says it's not what was done ... but how.

Diana says she felt violated by the incident, going on to say she could still feel the woman's hands "between my legs, front and back." She says the agent told her she was just doing her job, but Diana ain't buying that ... presumably feeling the pat-down was too handsy.

She posted a clip of herself performing later in the day and said she was feeling better, but it's clear the TSA moment left its mark. Diana isn't the first celeb to become infuriated with TSA protocol either -- CNN contributor Angela Rye had a testy run-in herself in 2016.

Ben Affleck got a handful as well in 2017 ... and even Kim and Kanye got held up one time, which caused quite a ruckus (and an investigation in the process).

It's unclear if Diana is gonna take her complaint up the chain, but ya gotta imagine if her people come calling to take it any further ... the airport's gonna listen.

Miley Cyrus appears to believe Britney Spears was recently being held at a mental health facility against her will ... and the proof is in tweaked lyrics to her biggest song.

Miley was performing down in Memphis, TN Saturday at the Beale Street Music Festival, and while she was singing "Party in the U.S.A." ... the Britney part of her tune got remixed by Miley herself ... who stoked a conspiracy theory that sprung up during Brit's mental health facility stint.

The moment in question is almost as famous as the song itself -- Miley sings the refrain, "And a Britney song was on" three different times about midway through, but during Saturday's performance ... she shouted "Free Britney!" while her fans sang the normal lyrics from the crowd -- a clear indication that she's behind the #FreeBritney campaign.

As we've told you, a lot of Britney's fans were concerned she was being held captive at the mental health facility where she was getting treatment, under the control of the folks who run her lifetime conservatorship.

Britney herself tried to stamp out that notion by assuring her fans that she was fine, NOT being controlled by anybody ... and doing what was best for her at the time.

Olivia Jade is putting her life back together one furniture purchase at a time -- at least that's what it looked like as she left IKEA with a mystery man.

Lori Loughlin's youngest daughter was walking out of the home furnishings store Friday in LA -- with a dude who wasn't her boyfriend, Jackson Guthy -- pushing a cart with just one boxed item in it. A Fjällbo coffee table? Or a Skarsta desk? Maybe even a Vittsjö shelf unit???

Who the hell knows? One thing that is clear -- she's gonna be building something, and seeing how we're told this was shot AFTER a trip to USC ... it's likely she's on the move.

Olivia didn't say much about the college cheating scandal, FWIW. The pap grilled her though, asking if she'd been in contact with her mom, and whether she was moving out.

As you know ... both of Olivia's parents have pled not guilty to the slew of charges brought against them since they were first indicted back in March for allegedly paying upwards of $500k in bribes to get their daughters into USC under false pretenses.

Felicity Huffman went a different route -- copping a plea, but still facing the possibility of jail time ... if prosecutors get their way.

Someone at USC wants you to think that Lori Loughlin and her daughters were NOT a one-off, but actually the status quo in that ya need NO experience for the women's rowing team.

A laminated poster promoting the D1 ladies crew team is literally hanging in the women's locker room inside USC's Lyon Rec Center right now, which has a pretty eyebrow-raising slogan ... "Join USC's Women's Rowing ... No experience? No problem."

There's even an email to contact the official asst. coach for questions, and the USC women's rowing social media handle is attached as well. Hmm ... interesting.

As you know ... Lori and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have both been indicted and charged for allegedly paying hundreds of thousands in bribes to get their daughters -- Olivia Jade and Isabella -- into USC via the crew team ... even though they weren't rowers.

For the record ... Lori and Mossimo have pled not guilty to the initial conspiracy charges, as well as the additional money laundering charges that were filed when they didn't follow Felicity Huffman's lead in copping a plea.

Either way -- it would appear this poster is an elaborate joke that someone went to some lengths to pull off, assuming it is, in fact, fake. We only say that because it looks pretty damn real ... and it's eerily similar to an official recruiting ad the rowing team ran in 2018.

So, here's the thing .... we'd like to give USC the benefit of the doubt and assume this is a fake, 'cause if it wasn't ... it'd be incredibly tone-deaf and, frankly, dumb all things considered.

David Eason, the husband of "Teen Mom 2" star Jenelle Evans, is the most dangerous man in the 3 counties surrounding their home ... and that's from an official in the Columbus County Sherrif's Dept.

A source directly connected to the dog-killing investigation tells TMZ, the Sheriff's official contacted this person saying, "He [David] is the most dangerous person we've seen in the 3 counties," but there's nothing they can do unless Jenelle wants to take action against her husband.

As we reported, David viciously killed their French Bulldog this week after the animal nipped at his 2-year-old daughter ... a nip which, by the way, didn't even break the skin or draw blood. We're told he threw the dog on the back deck before killing it with a shotgun.

Our sources say the Sheriff's Office has been informed David has also shot at Jenelle's pit bull with a BB gun for chasing animals on the property.

And, we're told, relatives believe Jenelle won't file a restraining order or take other action against David "because she's afraid of him."

We're told the Sheriff's Office has told people involved in the family they are sympathetic to them but just can't do anything without Jenelle's cooperation. They also say they can't go on the property without permission and David has made it clear ... law enforcement is not welcome. The Sheriff's official who spoke with our source fears David will do something "way more horrible" if he isn't stopped.

Jenelle Evans husband is now admitting what seems obvious after brutalizing and shooting his family dog -- that he has dangerous anger issues, but he's ready to get help keeping his temper in check.

Sources close to David Eason say the former reality star is on the hunt for a program or therapist to administer anger management. We're told he knows his temper has become a massive strain on his marriage.

It's not just about impressing Jenelle, though. On the heels of killing their French bulldog, Nugget ... we're told Eason truly understands his anger could be a danger to his loved ones.

TMZ broke the story ... Eason is under investigation for animal cruelty after pummeling, and then shooting Nugget -- all after the dog barely nipped at their 2-year-old daughter.

While the investigation is ongoing, a law enforcement source tells us Eason could catch a break if he can prove he feared the dog could become aggressive again. There's a section under animal cruelty laws in North Carolina that states a pet owner can kill an animal lawfully for "the purposes of protecting the public, other animals, property or the public health."

As for Eason's temper ... it was on full display Friday in a Wilmington, NC courthouse when he threatened a reporter attempting to ask him about the dog case. Eason was in court to pay back child support to an ex-girlfriend. Sources tell us he had to pawn some personal items last minute to come up with the $5,187.

Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg got another dose of homophobia Friday night during a Dallas campaign event.

Mayor Pete was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Party's Johnson Jordan Dinner when some hecklers started screaming at him to "repent." Some screamed, "marriage is between a man and a woman."

Buttigieg clearly was locked and loaded, responding to one heckler by saying he packed his bags to serve in Afghanistan, "to defend the man's freedom of speech."

He went on to talk about the very book from which the hecklers were quoting ... "Just thinking of the scripture that says bless and do not curse."

The Game just jumped into the fray, expressing contempt for people who are boycotting Chris Brown with a simple message ... "F*** you!"

We got Game Friday in WeHo outside the super-expensive clothing store, Maxfield, and asked about the heat Justin Bieber has been taking for daring to say Chris Brown is a cross between Michael Jackson and Tupac.

Game scoffs at the critics, saying a couple of things. First, Chris Brown is deeply ingrained in hip-hop culture, which influences everything. Second, most people who say publicly they don't like Brown are full of s*** because they listen to him privately.

The criticism against Brown, of course, is associated with his violence toward women. As you know, he was convicted of beating Rihanna.

Bieber drew fire for saying, "Everyone wants to wait til people die to give them the credit they deserve. I'm calling it now when CB passes away after a long full life, you will miss what you had in front of you the whole time the people who have over looked this mans talent because of a mistake he made ... you need to reevaluate."

Feds investigating R. Kelly in Illinois are on the hunt for more sex tapes that allegedly show him with underage girls ... and prosecutors are doing everything they can to find footage.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois is interviewing parties closely associated with Kelly. We're told prosecutors have been asking about the possible existence of VHS tapes purportedly showing Kelly having sex with minors.

Rumors about an alleged stash of R. Kelly sex tapes have been floating around since Kelly went to trial on child porn charges back in 2008, but it's never been found ... not by law enforcement, anyway.

As we've reported ... the feds are building another case against Kelly in Illinois, which we're told is entirely separate from the 2 probes currently underway in New York -- one by the Eastern District and another by the Southern District.

We're told feds in Illinois are investigating Kelly on 3 different fronts: sex trafficking, tax evasion and obstruction of justice.

In terms of obstruction ... we're told prosecutors have been asking people close to Kelly an array of questions focusing on his 2008 trial, believing Kelly and his handlers may have pressured witnesses. Some of the questions involve alleged payoffs to prevent witnesses from testifying in court or speaking out publicly.

We reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office, but it declined to comment.

Soledad O'Brien, host of Saturday night's Lifetime follow-up to "Surviving R. Kelly," says this docuseries has been groundbreaking for victims who never had a voice.

We got Soledad Friday at LAX ... on the eve her show, "Surviving R. Kelly: The Impact," which not only follows up with the alleged victims but also the defense strategies of the embattled singer.

She says one of the values of her docuseries and others is that victims who had no previous connection are able to find each other and mobilize.

Justin Bieber is defending Chris Brown in the face of backlash from other artists who don't want to work with him because of his history of violence toward women.

The Biebs buddied up to Breezy on social media Friday ... posting a picture equating CB to a mix of Michael Jackson and Tupac and saying Chris is being underappreciated like the music icons were before they died.

Justin says, "everyone wants to wait til people die To give them the credit they deserve. I'm calling it now when CB passes away after a long full life, you will miss what you had in front of you the whole time the people who have over looked this mans talent because of a mistake he made.. you need to reevaluate."

As you know ... Michael was dogged by accusations of child molestation before and after his death, and Tupac spent time in prison on sexual assault charges.

Brown pled guilty to felony assault of Rihanna way back in 2009, and he's also the subject of an ongoing lawsuit over an alleged rape in Paris.

As we've reported ... Scottish pop band Chvrches ripped Marshmello for working with Brown, calling it a tacit endorsement of violence towards women.

The lead singer for Chvrches, Lauren Mayberry, says the band's been getting death threats since speaking out against Brown.

"Teen Mom 2" just suffered another casualty -- this time in the form of an advertiser -- Greenies pet treats has cut ties with the MTV show.

In a statement Friday, Greenies announced, "We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty and we can now confirm that as a result of this incident, our ads will no longer run during Teen Mom programming."

Greenies joins a mountain of companies who have pulled the plug on their relationship with "Teen Mom." Chipotle, Dove Chocolates, TWIX and Persil ProClean are among some of the brands who have also cut ties.

TMZ broke the story ... "Teen Mom 2" star Jenelle Evans' husband, David Eason, is under investigation for animal cruelty after he allegedly pummeled and then shot his family dog. Both the local Animal Control and Sheriff's Department is working on the investigation.

The backlash against Kodak Black -- for disrespecting Nipsey Hussle -- is taking out an innocent victim ... namely Danielle Bregoli, but now she's doing something about it.

As we told you ... Bhad Bhabie released a track in February called "Bestie" featuring a verse by Kodak -- and a DMX cameo in the music vid. It was a pretty big hit ... right up until Kodak popped off about Lauren London, saying he'd give her a year of "crying and s**t" over Nipsey's death before making a move on her.

When radio stations banned his music, "Bestie" got screwed too. Sources close to the situation tell us several radio stations contacted Bhabie's camp, asking if she could record another version without Kodak, so they could play it -- and that's what she did.

BB got Houston rapper, Megan Thee Stallion to replace Kodak ... and they released the updated version late Thursday night, and it's now available on all streaming platforms.

We're told Danielle's hoping hip-hop stations will take notice ... and give it another run.

Rick Fox tells TMZ Sports he's not 100% certain about leaving his wildly successful Esports franchise -- saying he'd stick with Team Echo Fox if they sever ties with a racist investor.

Earlier this week, Team Echo Fox confirmed a minority investor in the Esports franchise used racist language both verbally and in emails. Rick Fox claims he was personally subjected to the racist language.

There were reports Fox -- who founded (and is the face of) Team Echo Fox was leaving the franchise because of that investor.

But, when we spoke with Fox in L.A., the ex-NBA star told us his relationship with T.E.F. could be salvaged ... if the franchise 86s the racist investor from the business.

"I am not looking to go anywhere, but I will not stay in business with a racist," Fox says ... "I just won't."

Fox praised his other business partners, investors, sponsors and players -- but he's drawn a clear line in the sand and now it's up to the T.E.F. to decide what to do.

The issue for Echo Fox ... as Rick points out, the racist investor has rights too.

"The unfortunate thing is being a racist in America is not illegal, unfortunately. He has his own economic interests and his own rights. So, no one is going to trample on his rights."

The stakes are high for Fox -- he's spent years and tons of his own money building Echo Fox into a major force in the Esports world. He's not just a name attached to the team, he's been in the trenches from the beginning helping to build T.E.F. from the ground up.

David Eason doesn't just abuse and kill helpless animals -- he's also allegedly abused his baby mama and fell way behind on child support payments ... and if he hasn't paid by today he could end up in jail.

Eason is currently under criminal investigation for animal cruelty. As we reported, earlier this week he savagely beat and then shot his French Bulldog which barely nipped at his 2-year-old daughter's face. The nip was so minor it didn't draw blood or even puncture the skin. We're told David repeatedly slammed the dog on the back porch before taking it to the backyard and killing it with a shotgun.

But, his troubles don't end there. Eason briefly dated a woman named Olivia Leedham in 2013 and the two had a son together. Leedham went to court, claiming Eason shoved her when she was 8 months pregnant and left her in the middle of the road at night when she was 7 months pregnant.

The two have been in a nasty custody battle for years ... and we've learned he's fallen thousands of dollars behind in child support. His deadline for paying it is today, and if he hasn't anted up he could end up in jail.

Animal Control officers were unable to talk with Eason during their visit Thursday because the family's pit bull was on his front porch and "No Trespassing" signs were posted on the property. Animal Control officers didn't feel it was safe to enter so they asked the Sheriff's Department to figure out the next move.