Controversial S#!T

Some boycotted, others didn't -- so, how did the Boston Red Sox players get along AFTER that controversial May 9 trip to Trump's White House?

... according to star outfielder J.D. Martinez, everyone handled it VERY well and haven't let politics destroy their clubhouse.

Remember, Martinez DID go to 1600 Penn a few weeks ago -- despite stars like David Price, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and manager Alex Cora opting to stay away to protest POTUS.

Martinez says the trip was "amazing" -- and claimed Donald gave the squad an "awesome" private tour of the Lincoln Bedroom, just as he promised.

The Sox won 3 out of their next 4 games after the White House visit -- and Trump took some credit for the hot streak.

But, things have cooled off ... Boston's 10-8 since the D.C. trip.

5:33 PM PT -- Kim just posted a photo from her visit, saying, "I had an emotional meeting with Kevin Cooper yesterday at San Quentin's death row. I found him to be thoughtful and honest and I believe he is innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted."

Kim Kardashian was on San Quentin's death row Thursday ... on a mission.

Kim, sporting a noticeably baggy black jumpsuit, took her prison reform efforts on the road to one of America's most notorious prisons ... with the goal of freeing an inmate who has been awaiting death since 1983.

61-year-old Kevin Cooper was convicted of committing 4 heinous murders in Chino Hills, CA in the '80s and sent directly to death row. Between then and now, the death penalty was suspended, reinstated, there was a gas chamber and then death by lethal injection ... and all the while Cooper sat waiting to die, always proclaiming his innocence.

As we reported ... back in October, Kim asked then-Governor of California Jerry Brown to look into Cooper's case because of evidence Cooper has been framed. Brown's ordered DNA testing, in no small part due to Kim's campaign. California's new Governor, Gavin Newsom, ordered additional testing in February.

Newsom's waiting for final DNA test results, but Kim decided to pay a visit so she could have her first face-to-face with the guy she's trying to free. Kim, who wore all black, spent 2 hours with him and is more convinced than ever he was framed.

As for now ... Cooper will not face execution, because Governor Newsom is a death penalty opponent who has suspended all executions while he is in office.

We're guessing Cooper's happy to have KK on his side ... Kim and her legal team have freed 17 inmates gaining freedom over the past few months.

If Tom Brady took a knee for the national anthem ... it would change EVERYTHING -- so says Martellus Bennett, who says, "White America would be like, ‘Oh my God. What is this that Tom Brady’s talking about?!'"

TB12's former Patriots teammate joined a panel at the "Athletes + Activism" discussion on Thursday ... and said if QBs like Brady and Drew Brees knelt, people would be far more understanding of Colin Kaepernick's protest.

"The conversation in the NFL would change," Bennett says ...

"All these great white heroes that they have running around, throwing the football -- if they jump into the conversation, it would be projected to -- it would be so much bigger.”

Bennett says Brady and Brees kneeling would cause masses to actually dive into the real reasons behind Colin's initial protest ... and actually understand it, saying, "They would start doing research."

"They would join in the conversation," Martellus added ... "It would pique their interest. But since it’s a black guy taking a knee, it’s like, ‘Alright, these guys, here he goes again. It’s another one of these guys out here doing this.’”

There's more ... Bennett also sounded off on the NFL and domestic violence, saying if a player hits a woman, "you should not be playing football."

In fact, the 32-year-old -- who retired back in 2017 -- said, "I wanted to choke the sh*t out of Ray Rice" after his domestic violence incident back in 2014.

2:15 PM PT -- Meek has just accepted the Cosmopolitan's apology. His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, tells TMZ, "We appreciate the Cosmopolitan's apology and will no longer pursue legal recourse at this time."

Meek Mill has received the public apology he was promised by The Cosmopolitan.

The Las Vegas hotel and casino says ... "We apologize to Meek Mill for how we handled the situation on Saturday, May 25, as we did not act in a respectful manner and were wrong."

The Cosmo goes on ... "Meek Mill has not had any prior incident on our property. The Cosmopolitan has zero tolerance for discrimination and we pride ourselves on providing an inclusive environment. We look forward to welcoming Meek Mill back to the resort."

Meek is expected to post soon that he accepts the apology, and we're told the threat of a lawsuit will disappear.

As we told you ... Cosmo was expected to express regret and accept fault for ordering the rapper off its property last Saturday and threatening to arrest him for trespassing if he didn't comply. Video of the incident showed a security guard telling Meek it was because of a prior incident ... but didn't give specifics. Now, they say there was never a "prior incident."

President Trump ain't got no shame in his Twitter game ... kicking off Pride Month by congratulating the LGBT contributions a month after his administration effectively banned transgender people from the military.

POTUS reminded us moments ago in a tweet, "As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."

Earlier this month the Trump Administration also announced a proposal that would essentially allow health care providers to discriminate based on gender identity, rolling back progress for the transgender community that was made over the past decade.

Just last month, the Pentagon began to implement a controversial new policy that critics say is essentially a "don't ask, don't tell" policy for trans service members. The Department of Defense says it's NOT a ban ... but it clearly says anyone with gender dysphoria taking hormones or who has already undergone gender transition will NOT be allowed to enlist. #SAD.

The actress whose arrest prompted T.I. to boycott Houston's restaurants will NOT face criminal charges ... but TMZ's learned she's gonna sue.

Prosecutors in Fulton County, GA say they will not pursue a criminal case against Brittany Marie Lucio because she's completed all requirements of a pretrial intervention program. We're told the program included taking a class about civics and citizen's rights.

Brittany had initially been charged with 1 count of misdemeanor criminal trespass and 1 count of misdemeanor willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer when she was busted in Atlanta a year ago.

Cops said she and her friends ignored multiple requests to leave a Houston's restroom. One of Brittany's friends, Asia'h Epperson, refuted that account ... saying Houston's staffer gladly let them use the restroom and never asked them to leave prior to things turning violent.

Asia'h recorded the incident, which shows a security guard -- an off-duty ATL police officer -- dragging Brittany and her friends outta the joint. When the video surfaced, T.I. got involved and called for a Houston's boycott. He also posted pics showing Brittany's alleged injuries.

Brittany said the off-duty cop used excessive force and said there's zero doubt her skin color played a role in the aggressive way she was taken down. Brittany's attorney, Gerald Griggs, tells TMZ she now plans to sue.

Griggs says, "Ms. Lucio’s name has been cleared and she looks forward to pursuing a civil action against law enforcement for the damage and injuries she sustained. She would like to thank all of her supporters in this matter including [T.I.] and others that stood up for her."

Anthony Joshua is in for a south of the border surprise come Saturday night ... because his opponent, Andy Ruiz, says he's gonna put DEM FREAKIN' HANDS ON AJ, all for the pride of Mexico.

Ruiz was a late add to the fight following Jarrell Miller's positive drug test, so most people aren't giving the new challenger too much of a shot against the undefeated heavyweight king Joshua.

We spoke to Ruiz and he told us he knows he's being taken lightly, and that's his biggest weapon.

"Anthony Joshua, I'm pretty sure he's underestimating me, man. I've been working really hard for this opportunity, now that I have it, I can't let it go."

There's another reason Andy says he won't and can't lose this fight ... because he's doing it for the people of Mexico!

"There's never been a Mexican heavyweight champion. That's what we're gonna accomplish. I wanna be a legend, I wanna be in the world books of records. That's what we're gonna do, baby, bring the titles back to Mexico."

Before you scoff too hard, Ruiz is 32-1 with his only defeat coming in a title shot against Joseph Parker back in 2016, so he's no slouch.

5/31 8:00 AM PT -- According to the investigation files ... when cops showed Smollett photos of the Osundairo brothers, presented as his alleged attackers, he replied it can't be them because "They are black as sin."

He also confirmed he knew the men and their relationship was good, saying ... "They are straight so we don’t have any problems with women or men. They did not owe me any money, I don’t owe them any money."

The 2 brothers Jussie Smollett still insists attacked him were loaded for bear -- with a handgun and plenty of ammo ... this according to Jussie's just-released police files.

Chicago PD released the docs Thursday outlining, from start to finish, the investigation into the alleged hoax. Included in the nearly 500 pages is a record of items cops seized during a February raid at the home of Abel and Ola Osundairo. Officers found a GunVault safe, and inside it was a cache of weaponry:

-- a hipoint model C9, 9MM caliber semi-auto pistol

-- 9MM caliber magazine with live rounds

-- 45ACP caliber magazines

-- Boxes labeled Remington 22 Rounds

-- a box labeled Hornady 00 buck shotgun shells

Cops also said they found a paper packet containing 2 small plastic bags with white powder, but there are no specifics about what that white substance was. As we previously reported ... cops found 5 bottles of bleach, a red hat and 2 laptops during the raid but we never knew about the safe.

The Cosmopolitan hotel will publicly apologize to Meek Mill for threatening him with arrest if he stepped onto hotel grounds, and Meek will accept the apology ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell us, the Cosmo will issue a "significant public apology" expressing regret and accepting fault when Meek was told last Saturday to leave the hotel ... or else.

TMZ broke the story, Meek's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, prepared a lawsuit he intended to file this week against the hotel, claiming racial discrimination and defamation. Tacopina claims there is a blacklist for black rappers at the hotel, but hotel sources say that's BS.

We've also learned the lawyer for O.J. Simpson reached out to Tacopina, saying O.J. had been mistreated by the hotel as well. In November 2017, hotel staff kicked O.J. out after the staff claimed he was intoxicated and unruly. He was permanently banned from the grounds.

We're also told Snoop Dogg's people reached out and claimed mistreatment by the Cosmo.

In the end, there will be no lawsuit and everyone is putting this behind them.

TMZ broke the story, Meek and his crew showed up to attend a party at Marquee Saturday -- located inside the Cosmo -- but security wouldn't let them in. In a video, obtained by TMZ, the security guard tells Meek he can't come in because of a prior incident ... but won't give Meek any specifics on what happened.

Cher insists she's not apologizing for tweeting President Trump should end up being someone's prison "toy boy" -- but she's definitely apologizing for making a joke of prison rape.

Cher went on a tirade late Wednesday night, posting her thoughts about Trump and impeachment. She tweeted, "I Would *love* 2 See trump Impeached,Brought 2 Trial, *locked* Up In *prison* & Toy Boy Big Bubba!!"

She added, "I WANT WHAT'S BEST 4 DEMOCRATS AND DEMOCRACY" -- but hours later deleted the tweet. Early Thursday morning she issued an apology that started with, "This is NOT Apology."

Even though she's chalking it up to a "Cher wtf Moment" ... it seems pretty clear she's apologizing for crossing a line.

Her initial Trump tirade came on the heels of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's news conference Wednesday when he said charging Trump with a crime was not an option because federal rules prohibit charging a sitting President. Still, Mueller said, "If we had had the confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so."

She also put Trump on blast following a report the White House and Navy exchanged emails about keeping the USS McCain out of Trump's sight during his visit to Japan. Cher accused Trump of having hero envy.

R. Kelly's accusers are giving testimony to a federal grand jury ... alleging the disgraced singer went to great lengths to traffic underage girls for his sexual desires.

Sources directly connected to the case tell TMZ ... numerous witnesses testified before the grand jury Wednesday, claiming Kelly's team secured travel at the singer's direction to move them across state lines for sexual purposes while they were underage.

And, we're told, the grand jury is also hearing testimony that could lead to obstruction of justice indictments. One of the alleged victims testified Kelly's team paid off witnesses to NOT testify in the 2008 trial ... where Kelly was acquitted of child pornography charges.

One of the families supposedly paid off by Kelly was the family of the alleged victim in the 2008 trial ... his goddaughter. Prosecutors claimed the girl in a sex tape that was submitted into evidence was the goddaughter, but apparently, the jury wasn't convinced ... in no small part because she didn't testify.

The grand jury is keying into allegations Kelly and his team attempted to impact the outcome of the 2008 trial through witness intimidation and threats of bodily harm.

The grand jury testimony also revealed that witnesses in the 2008 case were allegedly sent on vacation when the trial was underway so they wouldn't be available to testify. The witnesses say Kelly's team secured the 2008 witnesses' travel.

As we've reported ... prosecutors in the Northern District of Illinois are building a case against Kelly, which is separate from 2 other probes currently underway in New York.

We've reached out to a spokesperson for the Northern District of Illinois, who declined comment.

"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" star Tituss Burgess is passionately supporting Netflix for speaking out against Georgia's abortion bill and says his stance ain't about toeing the company line.

We got the actor leaving LAX and asked what he made of Netflix saying it will seriously consider moving its productions out of GA if that state's controversial "heartbeat" law takes effect next year.

It's the first major studio to speak out so strongly, and Tituss -- who reminded us he's a Georgia native -- is fully on board with the honchos.

He says folks back home, especially the "bunch of old white men" in the legislature, need to know they can't take control of women's bodies ... and he thinks Hollywood can apply financial pressure.

The legislation, which the governor already signed into law, would ban abortion after six weeks -- and is set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

Tons of production companies shoot in GA and get huge tax breaks for it. So far, Netflix and Disney are the only major studios to threaten to pull out in 2020.

William H. Macy is celebrating his baby girl's high school graduation, but the party's gonna have a little black cloud -- the college admissions scandal that's likely to land her mom, Felicity Huffman, in prison.

William was out Wednesday in WeHo picking up graduation balloons ... most likely for his 18-year-old daughter, Sophia Grace, who's wrapping up this week at Los Angeles High School of the Arts. Of course, Sophia's higher education is directly linked to the scandal.

As we've reported ... Felicity Huffman pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud as well as honest services mail fraud -- all for paying Rick Singer $15k to rig Sophia's SAT test. The feds say she got twice the amount of time as normal to take the test and the proctor corrected answers afterward.

We're guessing college won't be a hot topic at the party.

Macy said earlier this year -- before the federal indictment -- Sophia might take a gap year after she was admitted to a university. Felicity, who'll be sentenced in September, has said Sophia was unaware of the scheme to boost her test results.

Unclear what the college plan is now, but at least Sophia and her folks can celebrate this graduation.

Michelle Wie says she's straight-up "angry" over "racist and sexist" comments made by legendary golf coach Hank Haney ... telling the guy straight-up, "Shame on you!"

63-year-old Haney -- who was Tiger Woods' longtime swing coach -- went on his SiriusXM radio show Wednesday and made stunningly offensive comments about the number of Korean players competing in this weekend's LPGA U.S. Women's Open.

"I couldn't name you like 6 players on the LPGA Tour. Nah, maybe I could -- well, I'd go with Lee. If I didn't have to name a first name, I'd get a bunch of them right."

Haney added, "Honestly, Michelle Wie is hurt. I don't know that many. Where are they playing, by the way?"

Well, Michelle Wie heard the comments and was PISSED -- firing back on social media:

"As a Korean American female golfer, these comments that @HankHaney made disappoint and anger me on so many different levels."

Wie added, "Racism and sexism are no laughing matter Hank ... shame on you. I don’t ever do this, but this must be called out."

She also directed this at Haney ..."Too many of these girls, Korean or not, have worked countless hours and sacrificed so much to play in the US Open this week. There are so many amazing players in the field. Let’s celebrate them ... Not mock them."

For his part, Haney later issued an apology, writing, "This morning I made some comments about women's golf and its players that were insensitive and that I regret."

"In an effort to make a point about the overwhelming success of Korean players on the tour I offended people and I am sorry. I have the highest respect for the women who have worked so hard to reach the pinnacle of their sport and I never meant to take away from their abilities and accomplishments."

Haney added, "I've worked in this game with men and women players from many different cultures and I look forward to continuing to do so."

Jenelle Evans is sticking with her man -- despite temporarily losing custody of her children -- but wants to make one thing clear ... she still loves her kids.

Jenelle and her husband, David Eason, were in court Tuesday when a judge ruled they'd lose their kids for the foreseeable future. Evans just released a statement saying, "I love being a mother and David and I will get through this. We are staying strong and united."

It's an interesting statement considering our sources say David's actions are the root of the custody issues ... and the judge was pissed Jenelle kept the kids around him.

In Jenelle's statement to The Hollywood Gossip she continues, "I love my kids so much and I will do anything necessary to get them back and that is all I want everyone to understand."

Evans refused to talk on the specifics of the case for fear of repercussions from the judge.

As we reported ... Eason brutally beat and then shot and killed the family's dog after it nipped at their 2-year-old daughter, Ensley's face. As a result, 9-year-old Jace, 4-year-old Kaiser and Ensley were removed from the home.

As far as David Letterman's concerned, fans need to keep the good vibes going Alex Trebek's way -- because he agrees, positivity is helping Alex near remission in his pancreatic cancer battle.

We got Letterman Wednesday in NYC and told him about Alex revealing his tumors have shrunk around 50 percent since beginning chemotherapy.

Dave made it clear, he's cosigning on Alex's assessment that his success isn't all attributed to science -- it's also very much about the flood of well-wishes from fans and friends contributing to an improved condition.

Remember, David's been in Alex's shoes before -- undergoing quintuple heart bypass surgery in 2000, and making a full recovery.