Controversial S#!T

Mario Woods would be "honored" to know his 2015 shooting death inspired Colin Kaepernick to begin his social justice campaign ... so says Mario's mom who's praising CK as a hero.

We spoke with Gwendolyn Woods who tells us she was "overwhelmed" when she read the PAPER Magazine article in which Colin says Mario's "execution" at the hands of San Francisco police officers essentially led to his kneeling protest during the National Anthem.

Woods tells TMZ Sports ... she believes Colin has been doing great work putting a spotlight on police violence and applauds him for "putting his money where his mouth is."

As we previously reported, Mario was shot 21 times by SFPD officers who were responding to reports of a stabbing in the area. Mario was holding a knife and cops claimed he was a threat so they opened fire. But, cell phone video NEVER showed Woods getting aggressive with police. Gwendolyn sued the City of SF and got a $400,000 settlement in 2018.

Now, with Colin mentioning Mario's name again -- his story is back in the headlines and Gwendolyn says she's extremely grateful to Kaepernick.

"He should know that he's impacted a family and a community that never had a platform, never had a voice," Woods says ... "I am very proud of him."

Gwendolyn says Mario was a huge 49ers fan -- so aside from the social justice work, she thinks Mario would have gotten a huge kick out of knowing the starting QB of his favorite team was inspired by him.

Taylor Swift's cooked up a plan to get back at Scooter Braun for buying the rights to her early music -- so SHE will own the new masters -- but she's got some legal hurdles to overcome first.

The singer told "CBS News Sunday Morning" -- in an interview airing this weekend -- she will rerecord her past songs she'd originally done while signed to Big Machine ... the label Scooter bought a few months back.

As you know ... Taylor was PISSED and went on a rant against Scooter for snapping up her early catalog -- but her plan to cover her own songs won't exactly hurt Scooter the way she thinks it will. Industry experts tell TMZ ... every label, including Big Machine, has a rerecord clause in its contracts with artists. The clause prevents the artist from rerecording on another label, or on their own, and marketing those rerecordings.

Now, we're told that clause usually has an expiration date. We don't know when Big Machine's clause expires, but even when it does ... there's another roadblock. Experts tell us it's called an original production clause -- and it prevents the artist from copying the OG version. So, when and if Taylor remakes her Big Machine tunes ... she will have to deviate from the first versions.

Taylor's revenge scheme has been pulled off before ... most notably by Prince during his battles with Warner Bros. Records. However, in his case, the rerecordings ended up making the originals more valuable. In other words ... Taylor could unwittingly end up putting more cash in Scooter's pockets.

From what music industry experts are telling us, though, Scooter can't be too concerned with Taylor's plan because his $300 million investment in Big Machine has already been a boon. We're told the company's full catalog -- not only Taylor's songs -- is now valued at close to $1 BILLION!!

So, Taylor WILL get something -- she'll own her new master recordings -- but if she's just doing it for revenge ... it might not be a great play.

Cristiano Ronaldo says 2018 was "probably my worst year ever" after publicly being accused of raping a woman more than 10 years ago in Las Vegas.

The soccer superstar was accused of sexual assault by Kathryn Mayorga in June 2009 after meeting her at a nightclub. She claims he took her back to his hotel room and raped her.

Cops opened an investigation last year and eventually decided that CR7 will NOT be charged in the case ... but Ronaldo says it was hard to have people question his character.

"When people question your honor, it hurts, it hurts a lot," Ronaldo told Portuguese television TVI.

Ronaldo did not address the case specifically, but really didn't need to. It's obvious he's referring to the allegation.

"When people attack your honor, it is difficult."

David Oyelowo has no issue with a black, British actress playing an iconic African-American like Harriet Tubman -- despite lacking roots to American slavery -- because acting is acting.

Yes, you could say the British actor was just defending the home team, but the discussion about Cynthia Erivo's casting as Tubman has some personal relevance for David. Remember, he played MLK in the Oscar-winning film, "Selma" -- so he tackled the Tubman issue with Van Lathan on 'The Red Pill Podcast.'

David said he doesn't understand the controversy, and in the most gracious way possible (it's that British accent) added ... an actor's background shouldn't matter, if he or she gets the job done.

The debate around the Tubman movie is that critics think it's an insult a slap in the face to not have an African-American woman in a role that has so much cultural significance.

David did raise an interesting counterpoint -- about Americans playing Brits -- and also white British actors playing American roles. Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln, or Christian Bale as Dick Cheney. David wondered where was the outrage when those movies were cast??

He suggests there's a "fight for the scraps" mentality in the black community that divides fellow actors instead of bringing them together. Watch the clip ... thought provoking for sure.

Kanye West's dome-like housing prototypes have drawn the ire of his neighbors for a while, and they just called the cops on him.

Some of Ye's Calabasas neighbors tell TMZ ... there's been a crazy amount of construction work going on at the site. They say construction crews were working for more than 12 hours Saturday -- the city allows construction from 8 AM - 5 PM -- and Sunday as well. The city does not allow Sunday construction.

We're told at least one neighbor called the cops Sunday complaining of noise, and L.A. County Sheriff's deputies responded at 7:30 PM and found a construction crew hard at work on one of the domes.

We're told the deputies told the crew to stop ... and they did.

Kanye's neighbors have been complaining for a while about the prototypes, which he constructed as models for his vision of an egalitarian community.

Turns out Kanye's crew didn't get permits and he was cited for violating the building code. He was given the option to either get the proper permits or tear the 4 structures down by Sept. 15. He's chosen the latter ... thus the continued noise.

It's unclear if Kanye's going back to the drawing board or jettisoning the project.

The L.A. school funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is about to face new claims of bullying -- including one incident involving a 14-year-old trying to kill herself.

Sources tell TMZ ... there is a new lawsuit about to be filed by the same lawyers at Geragos & Geragos who filed the first suit against the Animo Westside Charter Middle School. As TMZ first showed you ... that initial suit surrounds this video of one student choking another, whose parents claim he suffered permanent brain damage in the incident.

We're told the forthcoming suit documents the alleged bullying experienced by a now-14-year-old girl, who's claiming she too was mercilessly bullied last year on the campus ... and the school failed to stop it.

Our sources say the girl is claiming to have suffered both physical and verbal abuse from multiple students, with one girl leading the pack. We're told it got so bad, the alleged victim started cutting herself ... and months later, attempted suicide.

She had to be hospitalized on a psychiatric hold as a result. Her family is blaming the school as well as Green Dot -- the organization that operates the school.

Bill and Melinda Gates are not being sued, and neither is their foundation ... which has donated more than $7 million to Green Dot.

We're told the girl's family believes there is video of at least some of the bullying incidents she allegedly endured -- and their attorneys are working on getting their hands on it.

Our sources also say since we broke the story about the brain-damaged student ... several other parents have contacted attorneys with similar complaints about severe bullying at Animo Westside.

Todd Chrisley's daughter, Lindsie Chrisley, is concerned her family might come after her in the wake of her very public accusations of extortion -- so now, she's protecting herself.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Lindsie is taking the beef with her family so seriously she's hired an armed security guard who will protect her practically around-the-clock. The new muscle was front and center when we saw Lindsie Monday outside her attorney's Atlanta office.

She made no attempt to hide it ... she's concerned about retaliation, even from a family member.

Our sources say Lindsie even went to her local police dept. to voice her fear about her father or brothers getting violent after she accused them of extorting her with an alleged sex tape. She claims they were trying to coerce her into lying about their tax woes.

Our sources say Lindsie's spending $130/hour for her security guard, who is an off-duty police officer.

Despite having said she eventually wants to reconcile with her family, Lindsie's obviously worried about her immediate future. Her troubled brother, Kyle -- who's publicly supported Todd in this feud -- was arrested for battery back in 2012, when Lindsie claimed he'd hit her in the face.

Check out her response on how she's coping with all the family drama -- Lindsie tells us she's disgusted by her dad and brother ... and now it sounds like the bridge between them is toast.

Colin Kaepernick says the 2015 shooting death of Mario Woods -- a black man who was shot multiple times by police officers -- is what compelled him to become a civil rights activist.

Colin told his story to Paper Magazine ... saying he was deeply affected by the incident, in which 26-year-old Woods was shot 21 times by 5 San Francisco PD officers during a Dec. 2, 2015 incident.

Cops confronted Woods -- who was holding a knife -- after receiving reports about a nearby stabbing.

Officers initially used non-lethal bean bag rounds on Woods while ordering him to drop the knife -- but then opened fire with live ammo when they claimed he became aggressive and was a threat.

But, cellphone footage posted after the incident appeared to contradict the police description -- showing Woods up against a wall while holding the knife at his side in a non-threatening manner.

A death investigation revealed Woods was shot 21 times -- 6 of those bullets struck him in the back.

The incident outraged citizens who accused the SFPD of executing Woods unjustly ... and according to Kap's girlfriend, Nessa, the QB began feeding his brain immediately after.

"If Colin wasn't reviewing a playbook, he was reading a history book," Nessa told Paper.

Kap took a knee in August 2016 -- 8 months after Woods' death -- and began his Know Your Rights Camp initiative that same year, using the Black Panther movement as inspiration.

Colin's KYRC has been thriving since their inception ... touching cities all around the country, and employing volunteers like Ava DuVernay, Taraji P. Henson and fellow NFL player Eric Reid.

Kenny Stills -- a Miami Dolphins star who STILL kneels for the national anthem -- is clearly upset with Jay-Z for comments he made after teaming up with the NFL, ripping the guy in the team's locker room Monday.

Stills says Jay came off as "uninformed" when he told members of the media last week that "we've moved past kneeling" and on to "actionable items."

"He's not an NFL player," Stills said. "He's never been on a knee."

Kenny says he's frustrated that Jay-Z made it seem like he was speaking "for the people like he had spoken to the people" ... and says Jay NEVER reached out to him or Colin Kaepernick before signing on to Roger Goodell's team.

"I wonder how many common people that he knows or that he's spoken to," Stills said. "I wonder if he's read my Facebook comments or my Instagram comments. Or some of the things that people say to me."

"To be able to speak on it and say that we're moving past something, it didn't seem very informed."

Stills' comments come on the heels of Kaepernick seemingly taking a jab at Jay-Z over the weekend, when Colin wrote on social media, "My Brothers @e_reid35 @kstills @ithinkisee12 continue to fight for the people, even in the face of death threats."

Aziz Ansari is in much calmer waters now when it comes to the dating scene -- and he and his GF are partaking in one of the finest parts of European culture ... topless beaches!

The comedian was on the Spanish island of Formentera Sunday with his girlfriend, Serena Campbell ... they've reportedly been dating for at least a year now. Serena started out in a two-piece, but quickly ditched the upper half as they headed for the ocean.

Worth noting, Serena's from Denmark -- so this topless thing is nothing new for her.

One of the first times Aziz and Serena were spotted out in public was in 2018 when they showed up together at the U.S. Open tennis championship in NYC.

He's also made reference to her in his latest stand-up special, "Right Now," which is currently airing on Netflix. He joked that people still have something to say about him being in an interracial relationship -- whether it's blatant racism, or fake woke-ness.

One thing's for sure -- Aziz being tied down should certainly help with keeping him out of the headlines over his 2017 #MeToo moment, which many people feel was unwarranted, anyway.

Elton John wants the media to back the hell off of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle -- and warns if the harassment continues they'll end up like Princess Diana.

Sir Elton is livid about various reports and criticisms of the Royal couple going on gas-guzzling private jet trips -- most recently to Elton's home in France -- while advocating for environmental issues.

The famous singer says he's "deeply distressed" over the "distorted and malicious" accounts of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visiting him last week, and feels the need to protect Harry and his family "from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana’s untimely death."

Elton says the couple's recent private vacay at his home was his way of providing them a peaceful break after a hectic year and their dedication to charity ... but it required a private jet ride for security reasons.

Because of Harry's commitment to the environment, Elton says he ensured the flight was carbon neutral -- by contributing to Carbon Footprint (a company supporting renewable energy) -- so the haters can shut it.

Elton insists it's time for the attacks to stop, saying, "cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis."

As you know, Elton and Diana were very close friends, and clearly ... he's looking after her son like a protective papa bear.

Abel and Ola Osundairo are back in Nigeria, but this trip has no Jussie Smollett connection ... the brothers are there offering free medical services in their homeland.

Abel and Ola returned to Lagos this week ... far from the ongoing Jussie drama in Chicago.

The brothers organized a free medial outreach program, offering various free services ... like checking blood glucose levels and blood pressure, and calculating people's body mass index. Doctors were also on hand, prescribing medicines and treatments.

The brothers set up shop outside a local business and hundreds of people showed up to take advantage.

Remember ... the last time the Osundairo brothers were in Africa, they had just staged a fake attack against Jussie on a Chicago street -- at least that's their story, and cops and prosecutors believed them. Jussie says the "attack" was real.

This trek was all about community service and healthy living ... and no one cut them a check for $3,500.

Rapper Vic Mensa believes Jay-Z is still looking out for Colin Kaepernick -- and will make sure the QB gets HIRED when Hov becomes an NFL owner.

"I would be surprised if Kaepernick doesn't get a job with Hov being in the NFL," Mensa told us on the way out of The Nice Guy in West Hollywood.

"We know the NFL is a slave game, so to have a black man in there ... especially a black man with a socially conscious responsibility, cause i know that's how Hov feels, man ... I believe that Kap gonna get that job and I believe that Hov's intentions are in the right place."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Jay-Z will have a "significant ownership interest" in an NFL team -- a plan that will all come together in the "very near future."

Some people have been attacking Jay -- claiming he's betraying Colin Kaepernick and sold out the black community to work with the NFL.

In fact, Kap's good friend, Eric Reid, has been extremely critical of Jay -- calling the ownership move "despicable" and accusing Jay of putting money over the community.

Mensa tells us he still has tremendous respect for Kaepernick and the work he's done -- but says the community should get behind Jay buying an NFL team because ultimately it's a good thing for black people.

Mensa says "sh*t's gotta change" in the NFL ... and Jay's the guy to make it happen.

We also talked to Irv Gotti in NYC ... who is clearly apprehensive about the partnership, but willing to wait and watch what Jay has planned.

"It looks awkward, and I'm gonna give Hov the benefit of the doubt, and hopefully we'll see where Hov is taking it," Gotti says.

"But on first glace, him and Roger sitting there, and Roger not saying nothing, and Jay is doing all of the talking ..."

Jay-Z hasn't had a ton of famous faces come to his corner in the wake of his controversial NFL partnership -- but he just got a key vote of confidence ... from one DJ Khaled.

We ran into Khaled Sunday in NYC, where he was signing autographs and posing with fans -- and when we asked if he was up for some questions ... he was quick to note that he only wanted to talk about positive things, seeing how his son, Asahd, and wife were there.

Seems DJK knew were this was going, because our photog asks if he's down to talk football -- clearly, we want his take on the Colin Kaepernick beef. At first, Khaled says no, but he finally bites ... and we ask if he's talked to Jay's about which NFL team he might wanna own.

Khaled says he doesn't have a clue which squad might be in the stars for Jay, but he sings his praises here with us. Check it out ... it's pretty interesting.

TMZ broke the story ... Jay-Z is set to come up on a "significant ownership interest" in an NFL team pretty soon here, which just so happens to coincide with this newfound embrace of the league ... despite public stances he took against them earlier this year.

As we've reported ... a ton of people in Kap's corner have blasted Jigga for the seemingly change of heart, and even Colin himself appeared to take a jab at the rapper just this weekend.

That said, Khaled's clearly on team Jay, telling us the guy has done and continues to do a lot for people in his community -- and he suggests this NFL news is just more of that from Hov. Keep in mind, Khaled and Jay are tight -- they've done tons of music together.

Jay-Z may think folks are ready to move on from Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protest -- but Kap says otherwise ... shouting out players who continue his movement to this day.

The former 49ers quarterback posted a photo Sunday that appeared to be taking a swipe at something Jay said last week during his press conference with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell -- when he suggested "we've moved past kneeling" to "actionable items."

Doesn't seem Colin sees it that way, though. In his IG post, he included pics of Eric Reid, Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson -- all of whom have continued to kneel in the years since Kap first started his racial injustice protest -- and shared some kind words about them.

He also used similar verbiage to Jay's in making his point, writing ... "My Brothers @e_reid35 @kstills @ithinkisee12 continue to fight for the people, even in the face of death threats. They have never moved past the people and continue to put their beliefs into action. Stay strong Brothers!!"

ICYMI ... Jay was asked about kneeling directly during the Q&A, and said flat-out ... we're past it, and ready to take the next steps. He believes partnering with the NFL is a key way to do that -- but Colin and co. have been blasting him these past few days as a sell-out.

Now, it looks like Colin himself has weighed in on the controversy, and it's clear he ain't cool with Jay's new alliance ... and sees the issue much differently than Jigga does.

Jeffrey Epstein's team is not satisfied he died as a result of a suicide by hanging -- in no small part because 3 fractures in his neck almost never point to suicide -- and they are not ruling out the possibility someone strangled him and then put a sheet around his neck to make it look like death by hanging.

Sources connected to Epstein tell TMZ, his team is frustrated officials at the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center and the medical examiner haven't given them nearly all the information required to form a conclusion on cause of death. The medical examiner says it was a suicide by hanging, but Epstein's team says the ME is jumping the gun.

The suspicions on Epstein's team center on the 3 fractures around Epstein's neck -- the hyoid bone in the Adam's apple area, along with 2 fractures on either side of the thyroid cartilage. It is extremely rare hanging can result in 3 such fractures. The fractures are way more consistent with strangulation.

We're told Epstein's team is also very suspicious 2 guards responsible for monitoring him fell asleep at the same time. One guard, maybe, but 2 raises questions.