Controversial S#!T

Philadelphia 76ers superstar Ben Simmons claims he was DENIED entry into a casino in Australia ... and strongly suggested it all had to do with race.

The 23-year-old was trying to go to the Crown Casino in Melbourne early Monday morning with some friends, but claims they were all turned away by security ... well, all but ONE who happens to be white.

"I find it so crazy that the only guy who doesn’t get checked to go into the casino is this guy,” Simmons said while pointing to his Caucasian buddy.

"I get checked, Mike gets checked and Taj gets checked," Ben added. His white buddy then chimes in, "Not me!"

While showing the security guards, Ben says, "Thank you, Crown Casino."

He wasn't done -- Ben showed some of his pals, all who appear to be men of color, and continued, "They didn’t let me in, or him or this guy. Wow, we got a long way to go."

What's even more shocking about the alleged racial profiling ... Ben is insanely famous in Australia, where he grew up and became a national celebrity playing basketball.

We're reaching out to both Ben and the casino for comment -- stay tuned.

"Them That Follow" -- the new thriller about scary snakes and a religious family that handles them to prove themselves to God -- had a tragedy on set when a bird died in the hands of one of the stars ... and the cameras were rolling.

Footage from the movie set -- obtained by TMZ -- shows actress Alice Englert with a quail in her hands right after the moment she realizes something is horribly wrong with the bird.

It sounds like Alice says, "Oh my god, this is so f****d" as she hands the bird to its handler ... and becomes increasingly distressed as she processes what happened.

Englert then asks, "Is it dead?" ... and begins to sob as she gets confirmation.

Producers from the movie have confirmed with TMZ the animal died, but tell us nobody knows why. They insist it was not mistreated or mishandled in any way.

The producers add ... "We hired top animal wranglers and working professionals in the business ... we take full responsibly and deeply regret this isolated incident."

We're told in the scene, Englert's character pretends to feed a quail to a snake. You see couple of snakes in cages just off to the right of Alice.

The bird wrangler on set tells TMZ, "We are ultimate professionals and care about each and every animal we handle. The overriding theme of our educational program is the importance of all animals. No one of the cast or crew did anything to affect this sad event."

Aaron Carter is being accused of trying to flip a dog he recently rescued for money -- something he denies -- but the shelter that was involved is now looking into it.

The singer was catching tons of backlash this weekend after a video he posted to Instagram Live made the rounds, in which he's heard saying that a bulldog he recently got from the pound is now available for purchase for a cool few thousand bucks.

In the video, which Aaron appears to have acknowledged as authentic, he says ... "This is my new buddy. So by the way, if I can't keep him, I am going to be listing him." Aaron goes on to say, "He's 10 months old, and he's running for $3,500. So if anybody wants to give my English bulldog (a home), I rescue him and I find him homes."

He finishes by saying, "So if anybody wants to have my English bulldog, he's being sold for $3,500." Aaron makes reference to another dog in the video that he "couldn't keep."

Welp, it looks like the animal care center where Aaron got this latest dog is aware of his intentions, and made that clear with an update to the pup's page. On Instagram, the Lancaster Animal Care Center -- which has photos of Aaron adopting the dog 2 days ago -- wrote ... "UPDATE - We are working on this situation. Thanks to all for your concern."

As for an explanation for this, Aaron has responded ... and suggests it's a misunderstanding and tried clarifying what he does with his pets. He tweeted, "I think it’s apalling that I actually even have to explain myself I’ve rescued many dogs & found many dogs homes. what I said in my Instagram live video was a joke. Find one dog that I adopted and sold for money, be my guest. WONT HAPPEN. I’m a good person and i deserve respect."

He followed up by saying that he doesn't need to flip dogs for quick cash, as he makes millions of dollars a year. Seemingly in response to fans, Aaron says, "And with all due respect I own a home I make over $3 million a year I don’t need to sell a dog for money so have some respect and don’t try to slander my name because I will defend myself and I will take legal action. DONT TRY IT. So back the f*** off... gn."

Aaron says he's not in it for the money, but the question must be asked ... why put a price tag on the dog at all? On another note, the typical adoption contracts with these types of shelters prohibit the adopter from peddling the dog onto someone else. If a person cannot care for the dog, they are usually required by contract to return the dog ASAP.

A$AP Rocky is showing his gratitude to one Kanye West for trying to get him out of Swedish custody ... by showing up on a Sunday and partaking in worship.

The just-released rapper was in attendance Sunday for Ye's weekly Sunday Service, where he was wearing a jacket in the hot sun -- but appeared to be in great spirits. He was filmed talking to his old flame, Kendall Jenner, and they seemed pretty chummy.

Kendall and A$AP have history together, they were dating on and off for a number of years. They haven't been seen in a romantic capacity since early 2017.

A$AP was also photographed chatting up Kanye himself, who was decked out in his usual Sunday Service gear. Some thank-yous were probably exchanged ... and for good reason.

As we reported ... Kanye was part of the initial push to get A$AP's legal predicament on President Trump's radar, before he was eventually freed last week pending a verdict. We're told Ye's got a direct line to the Oval, and that he suggested Trump talk to the Swedish PM.

A panel of judges decided to release A$AP while a decision is made in his assault case, which wrapped up Thursday after a three-day trial. Rocky touched down in L.A. early Saturday morning, and seemed ecstatic to be finally be home after a month in jail.

A$AP testified that he and his crew were acting in self-defense, and that they tried to defuse the situation with the alleged victim before things got violent.

The Swedish prosecutor recommended a 6-month jail sentence -- a decision is expected to be made on his fate on August 14, when he has to come back to Sweden.

Donald Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric Trump, are getting the early bird special at the UFC fight in New Jersey this weekend -- 'cause they showed up hours before the big bout.

President Trump's sons are sitting cage-side right now at the Prudential Center in Newark for the UFC on ESPN 5 event, where welterweights Colby Covington and Robbie Lawler are facing off for the main event. Colby personally invited DTJ and co. -- they're pals.

Sources connected to the event tell TMZ Sports that Don, Eric and their brood -- which appears to include Don's GF, Kimberly Guilfoyle and at least one kid -- arrived Saturday around 10 AM PT ... an hour after the first fights kicked off at 9 AM.

Kinda interesting if you think about it -- that means the Trumps are going to presumably stick around for a bit until the Covington/Lawler fight at noon ... which makes for a jam-packed day of Octagon action. Five matches have already been decided, so you gotta imagine the Trump crew caught at least two of them, so far.

It also looks like ESPN followed through on their plan to not keep the famous family off camera -- despite backlash it may or may not spark. They're all getting a healthy amount of screen time at the moment on TV, which we were told was expected ahead of the event.

As you know, the UFC is made up of pretty diverse fighters ... and with their pops being labeled a racist of late, the Trump boys' inclusion in this event was expected to be a powder keg of sorts.

No issues so far though, from the crowd or otherwise ... hopefully it stays that way.

A$AP Rocky was downright gleeful after touching down on U.S. soil Saturday just after midnight ... free for the first time in a month.

A$AP's private jet touched down at LAX after a long flight from Sweden ... this after the judges in his criminal case allowed him to leave the country as they noodled over the verdict.

The rapper was ecstatic ... smiling, taking pics with folks, hugging people. He actually stayed in the private terminal parking lot for around 45 minutes, talking and joking most of the time.

As we reported, all signs point to a not guilty verdict. Prosecutors in the assault case asked the judges to keep Rocky behind bars because he remained a flight risk. The judges had a middle-ground option -- to release him from custody but order that he remain in Sweden, pending the verdict which will be announced on August 14, but instead they let him return to the U.S.

Fact is ... a judge thought he was a flight risk a month ago when he threw Rocky in jail, even before charges were filed, so he'd be at least as much of a flight risk today ... and that's why it seems like it doesn't matter anymore and that he'll be found not guilty.

Our Rocky sources say he's never going back to Sweden, and even though his position has been that race was not a factor, privately everyone in his camp thinks it was, and he probably does as well. It was smart of him not to take a stand on the racial issue, for fear of inflaming the judges.

The key to the case seems to be a green bottle. Prosecutors maintained Rocky hit the alleged victim over the head with it, but not a single witness supported the theory, nor did the video. You do see Rocky holding a bottle, but he says he did it to fend off the guy and put it down on the ground.

Rocky does not have to appear in court for the verdict. It will be a written decision.

"Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta" star Joseline Hernandez is on the verge of getting arrested after she blatantly disregarded the child custody agreement she has with Stevie J by denying him the right to see their daughter.

Stevie had a right to take custody of their 2-year-old daughter, Bonnie Bella from July 28 to August 11. Joseline was in Miami shooting "Marriage Boot Camp," so he traveled there on the 28 to pick up his daughter. According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, instead of turning Bonnie Bella over, Joseline took the child and flew to L.A.

After Stevie's attorney, Adamma McKinnon ran to court, the judge in the custody case issued an arrest warrant Thursday, ordering Joseline to turn the baby over STAT or she would be taken into custody.

We've learned Stevie J flew to L.A. late Friday and the stage is now set for a showdown. The judge made it clear ... if Joseline doesn't turn the child over, the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. is ordered to immediately arrest her.

And, there's more ... because Joseline violated the custody agreement -- which gave her physical custody and Stevie J visitation -- the judge switched it around and now Stevie has sole physical custody of Bonnie Bella ... until August 15 when they're back in Fulton County court.

We'll let you know if Joseline complies, or if she's arrested.

Seal is lecturing Katy Perry about the differences between borrowing and stealing ... he says being influenced by other artists is fine, but ya can't just jack someone else's beats!!!

Seal was at LAX Friday when he weighed in on Katy being ordered to cough up $550,000 for ripping off another musician's work. He says there's a fine line between being inspired by a tune and straight up stealing it.

As you know ... Katy lost a huge lawsuit this week, a jury decided she and her codefendants improperly copied Christian rapper Flame's song, "Joyful Noise," for her smash hit, "Dark Horse."

Seal rattles off a list of artists who influenced his music when he was breaking into the industry, but he says he never went so far as to steal from them ... and ya gotta hear the shade he throws at Dr. Luke and the 7 other songwriters who worked on Katy's disgraced track.

The creators of the Philadelphia Phillies' famous mascot, the Phanatic, are threatening to take it away from the MLB team ... and now, the Phillies are fighting like hell to keep it.

It's all spelled in a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports ... where the Phillies say back in 1978,  then Exec VP Bill Giles had a vision for a "green, fat, furry, big-nosed" mascot -- and they worked with a design firm called Harrison/Erickson Incorporated to make the Phanatic.

The MLB team says everything went smoothly with the negotiations ... it paid the firm for its work and the character was an immediate success.

In fact, the Phillies say the mascot became SO popular ... they had to renegotiate with Harrison/Erickson in 1984 to keep the mascot "forever" -- paying the company $215,000.

But now, the Phillies say Harrison/Erickson have gone back on that agreement -- arguing the deal wasn't REALLY a forever contract -- and just hit them with a letter threatening to terminate the arrangement.

The Phillies say in the letter, Harrison/Erickson would not allow them to use the Phanatic after June 15, 2020 if they don't renegotiate ... and are even threatening to make the mascot a free agent if the Phils don't fork over cash!!!

Could you imagine the New York Yankees Phanatic?

But, the team is now suing in federal court to try to stop that from happening, claiming Harrison/Erickson has NO legal rights to terminate the "forever" agreement it signed in 1984.

The team also says it owns the rights to the Phanatic just as much as -- if not more than -- Harrison/Erickson ... and wants a judge to intervene.

The Phillies want legal docs stating Harrison/Erickson can't pull the mascot ... and also want any other team that attempts to use it to be punished for it.

Marshawn Lynch hurled F-bombs at a group of kids during a drill at his football camp in Seattle ... and when one of the moms confronted him, Marshawn asked, "Is there a man here with you?"

It all went down at Lynch's Fam 1st Family football camp on July 28 at a high school in West Seattle where Lynch was out on the field coaching up roughly 200 kids, some as young as 9 years old.

At one point, we're told 33-year-old Lynch tossed some of the kids out of a contact drill ... saying, "Get the f*ck out." It's unclear why Lynch booted the kids from the drill.

Some of the kids began to cry -- prompting at least one parent to intervene. We're told that parent went onto the field and pulled her kid out of the camp immediately, telling off a camp staffer in the process. The woman says she threw her son's jersey on the field in Marshawn's direction and stormed off.

Our video begins with Lynch walking up into the stands to try and speak with the upset mother and other parents at the camp.

The moms in our video (who have kids around 11 years old) wasted no time telling Marshawn they had huge issues with his language and conduct on the field.

Marshawn repeatedly asked the women, "Is there a man here with you?!"

In the video of the encounter, you can hear another parent tell Lynch, "What does that matter?!"

Lynch responds, "Because I want to speak to a man."

We spoke with Stephanie Siva, the mother who Lynch is speaking with in the video, and she told us she felt the question was incredibly sexist and she was offended by it.

During the intense interaction, Lynch acknowledged using obscene language -- including the F-word and the N-word -- and explained why the words are necessary to get the most out of the kids.

Lynch explains, "There's no disrespect ... I understand I'm not gonna be able to please everybody."

At no point did Lynch ever raise his voice or get aggressive -- in fact, he was very calm during the entire interaction.

As Lynch tries to end the conversation, he addresses one of the moms as "sweetheart."

Four men who unfurled a Trump 2020 banner at the Orioles game in Baltimore on Thursday were escorted out of the stadium while fans chanted, "Take it down" -- and it was all captured on video.

It all went down in the 8th inning of the Orioles vs. Blue Jays game ... after most of the fans had left Camden Yards because the Blue Jays were beating the hell out of the home team.

The men displayed the "Keep America Great" banner from an upper deck railing behind home plate -- and it hung for about 10 minutes before stadium officials took action.

You can see cops order the men to pull their sign up, which they do -- while basking in the boos from other pissed off fans.

FYI, the Orioles have an anti-banner policy at the stadium ... prohibiting fans from displaying ANY signs during the game -- especially if the team feels the signs are in "bad taste."

The men were eventually escorted out of the stadium -- but they didn't seem to care at all. In fact, it looks like they LOVED the attention.

Of course, Baltimore and President Trump have been in the news all week long ... POTUS called the city a "rodent-infested mess" and opinions from both party lines have gushed in ever since.

Trump supporters like Johnny Damon have said the President ain't wrong, telling TMZ Sports that toward the end of his baseball career, he found the city to be "scarier."

Carmelo Anthony says there's no question he still belongs in the NBA ... and claims his absence from the league is more about politics than talent.

35-year-old Anthony has been out of the league since he was cut from the Houston Rockets back in November ... and there's been a public campaign by his NBA peers to get him back in the league ever since.

Melo sat down with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's "First Take" on Friday to discuss rumors of wanting a "farewell tour" similar to Dwyane Wade's last season in the league ... and he says that's simply not true ... because he's still got a lot left in the tank.

"I feel like I still can play, I know I still can play. My peers know I still can play," Melo says.

"I don't think it's about basketball anymore. I think it's about me as a person willing to accept certain roles on basketball teams. Am i willing to accept a certain role on a basketball team? Yes."

Melo says he was willing to accept smaller roles with OKC and Houston ... but got cut from the Rockets before he could prove he was willing to come off the bench.

"That's major, major ego hits. So, that was a whirlwind for me over that year and a half. But, I got to a point in Houston where I can accept that, I'm going to do that."

Cardi B's worldwide stardom will put her in a precarious position when she sits for a deposition next week -- and that's why she wants the judge to keep the whole matter confidential.

Cardi is in a legal dogfight with her former manger -- he sued her, then she sued him -- and in new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, her attorneys say her monumental achievement as a world-renowned rapper makes her vulnerable to a feeding frenzy from both the public and the media.

Her team says if the video of her deposition, as well as the transcripts, get out to the public, it could harm her case ... and expose private details about her life and finances.

Additionally, they've got serious Internet meme concerns. As they put it in docs, if the material gets out "it is highly likely that any such video will be reproduced and edited (and possibly manipulated) into out-of-context video clips and GIFs of her testimony."

As we first reported ... Cardi's ex-manager, Shaft, claims he transformed her from an Instagram wannabe to a global celebrity. Shaft sued Cardi for $10 million in April 2018 ... and then she countersued him for $15 million.

One of Shaft's more significant claims -- he says his contacts and personal team of writers and producers are responsible for her first massive hit, "Bodak Yellow."

Ann Coulter thinks Democrats have a clear choice if they want to nominate a candidate who can beat Donald Trump in 2020 ... but she's confident their identity politics will derail a slam dunk.

We got America's conservative sweetheart on the Upper East Side ... and she says after watching the Democratic debates, Joe Biden is the only one who can realistically challenge Trump for the White House.

But, Ann says the Dems will totally screw up the nomination ... because she thinks they're fooling themselves into believing Kamala Harris is the chosen one.

Ya gotta hear why Ann is predicting the Dems will go spurn Biden for Kamala ... her reasoning has everything to do with identity politics, and the next step from Barack Obama.

Johnny Damon is going to bat for Donald Trump ... saying toward the end of his baseball career -- he and his teammates were straight-up scared to go out on the town in Baltimore.

Of course, Trump has found himself in hot water this week for comments he made about the Maryland city -- ones in which he called Baltimore a "rodent-infested mess."

Damon says he thinks Trump's choices of words were a little harsh ... but he tells TMZ Sports he agrees with 45 -- saying back when he played in the MLB, he didn't love hitting the road there.

"He's not wrong," Damon says ... "Baltimore was one of the best places to visit when I broke into the league in '95. And, at the end, we didn't really, like, enjoy going back."

Damon -- who's been an outspoken Trump supporter for years -- added, "Towards the end, it started getting a little scarier."

Johnny says Trump's comments will actually HELP the city .. telling us he thinks the criticism should lead to a change in the area.

"I think Baltimore is a great town, and this is raising awareness and hopefully they can go in and spend the hard tax-paying dollars to actually make a difference."

For his part, Trump had a similar sentiment on the situation, saying at the White House earlier this week, "Those people are living in hell in Baltimore. They're largely African-American -- you have a large African-American population -- and they really appreciate what I'm doing and they've let me know it."

A$AP Bari just took another big L stemming from his sexual assault case ... because the judge tossed his countersuit against his victim.

According to new legal docs ... the rapper's defamation suit against the woman, listed as Jane Doe, and all claims he made against her have been dismissed.

The reason it was tossed is because the woman filed a police report and a lawsuit, and the judge ruled both are protected speech ... so Bari can't sue her over what she told cops or claimed in a suit.

As we reported ... Bari pled guilty to sexually assaulting the woman in a London hotel in 2017. As part of his plea deal, he was ordered to pay a $5k fine and pay the victim $3,150 ... but he avoided jail time.

In leaked video of the incident, Bari's seen chasing the woman around the room and ordering her to give him oral sex.

While his plea deal concluded the criminal case, the civil case is still ongoing. Doe sued the hip-hop designer for sexual assault in late 2017, and he countersued in August 2018 claiming she was a liar and trying to extort him for a big payday.