Controversial S#!T

Kevin Hart's scary car wreck has Dr. Phil shook because, like Kevin, he owns a classic car ... and he's now realizing it comes with some serious safety concerns.

The Doc tells "TMZ Live" his '57 Chevy is the same as Hart's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in that it's equipped with lap belts but not safety harnesses ... and he doesn't know what to do about it.

As Dr. Phil says -- they don't make cars today like they used to ... and that's not always a good thing. He shows us there's really no way to easily install shoulder strap seat belts with the way the car's built. That's not the case with Kevin's Barracuda -- shoulder straps could have been installed.

Phil points out old cars like his and Kevin's don't perform nearly as well in crash tests as modern vehicles and, without making changes ... survival rates in crashes are much lower. In fact, he says he's stunned Hart is still alive.

As we told you ... Hart suffered serious injuries -- including 3 spinal fractures -- when his classic ride crashed through a fence on Mulholland Highway in the Malibu area early Sunday. The driver, his friend Jared Black, also suffered severe back injuries.

While their injuries may not have been totally avoided had the car been equipped with safety harnesses or airbags, they certainly wouldn't have hurt ... and installing them is now top of mind for Dr. Phil.

Antonio Brown hurled a racial slur at Oakland Raiders general manager Mike Mayock during their heated altercation this week -- calling him a "cracker" -- so says ESPN.

ESPN's Josina Anderson says multiple sources confirm Brown "unleashed a barrage of cuss words during the altercation" ... including using the word "cracker," a derogatory term for white people.

Anderson reports Mayock "tried to keep his cool during the situation" and tried to walk away as he saw things starting to escalate.

The news comes in the wake of NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reporting that Brown threatened to punch Mayock in the face during the altercation that started over Mayock's decision to fine AB roughly $54k for missing workouts.

The Raiders are currently weighing their options with Brown and could cut him before their season opener on Monday Night Football -- which would be a HUGE move considering they just signed him to a 3-year, $50 million contract this offseason.

Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, says he's working like a maniac trying to salvage the relationship ... but most people believe Brown is done in Oakland.

Reggie Bush says there's no way anyone who actually knows Drew Brees could call him homophobic -- and the ex-NFL All-Pro is doubling down on his support for his former QB.

Brees has been under heat all week after it was discovered he made a video for Focus On The Family -- an organization condemned by gay rights groups as VERY anti-LGBTQ.

Drew has since addressed the controversy, posting a video saying he had no idea about the group's anti-LGBT politics -- and explained that a key part of his Christian faith is to love EVERYONE.

Bush -- who won a Super Bowl with Brees on the Saints -- defended Brees on Twitter, and when we saw him at LAX, he made it clear he'll ALWAYS have Drew's back.

"Anybody who doubts Drew, don't know him. Period."

Reggie went on to say he feels the entire issue was "blown out of proportion" -- and wasn't really a big deal to begin with.

"[Antonio Brown] is like the worst human in the world but I'm actually on his side on this one."

That's Barstool Sports honcho Dave Portnoy breaking down the drama between AB and the Oakland Raiders ... saying Oakland should have seen this coming from a mile away.

"The Raiders ... it's like, if you sign a guy you know is a punk and a jerk, you can't complain like, 'Hey, the punk jerk is acting like a punk jerk!'"

"Like everyone knew he's a jerk! You signed a jerk! Now, he's being a jerk! You get what you signed up for!"

El Pres -- who was leaving one of his famous Pizza Reviews in NYC -- wasn't done picking apart Mike Mayock and the rest of the Raiders organization for the way they've handled AB.

"He's just doing what he did at Pittsburgh at the end of his career. I don't know what the Raiders expected. The Raiders got exactly who he was advertised to be."

So, what happens now? Portnoy thinks Brown's options are extremely limited -- "I don't know where else he's gonna go. Who else would want this guy?"

Nicki Minaj's retirement announcement not only came out of nowhere, but it absolutely doesn't add up -- as in it doesn't seem real -- based on her recent actions ... so say sources close to her.

TMZ's learned Nicki has been busy in the studio working on new music in recent weeks and on top of that ... we're told she made plans to record with several artists just in the past few days.

Our sources say Minaj has a lot of songs already in the can, and despite saying on Thursday she's retiring in order to "have my family" -- she still has studio time booked until next month.

So, why the sudden decision to hang it up? We're told Nicki's been growing increasingly fed up with internet trolls who've been harassing her lately, and finally reached a boiling point.

Our sources say the rapper was pushed over the edge by constantly defending herself over accusations of not writing her own songs, questions about her hip-hop legacy ... and her relationship with her fiance, Kenneth Petty. BTW, rumor is she's already Mrs. Petty, but that's another thing Nicki's tired of discussing.

The good news for the Barbs ... we're told those close to Nicki believe she's just taking a much-needed break from the haters and simply needs a moment to chill and reevaluate. As we told you ... DJ Paul agrees.

One more thing -- Minaj's comment about family got many wondering if she's pregnant. We're told she's not ... yet.

One of the groups getting $200k from Meek Mill is getting blasted for a 2016 photo of its founder cutting a young man's locks -- but the kid himself says it's much ado about nothing.

The pic was tweeted by Crushers Club -- a Chicago youth empowerment group -- almost 3 years ago, and shows Sally Hazelgrove cutting the locks of a teen named Kobe. Someone on the Internet dug up the tweet after TMZ broke the story ... Meek would be donating money to Crushers Club.

The social media backlash is focused on the imagery -- a white woman cutting Kobe's locks -- and Sally's caption, "It's symbolic of change and their desire for a better life." People who are critical think it reeks of cultural insensitivity.

Kobe himself, though, says the critics have it all wrong. Once the Internet outrage began, he quickly posted a video explaining that HE wanted to cut his hair. "That's something I wanted to do because I was tired of it. Tired of gang banging, tired of messing up. Now, I'm a changed young man."

Meek Mill clearly agrees with Kobe when it comes to the work Crushers Club is doing for Chicago's at-risk youth. Meek is in the Windy City -- for his NFL Kickoff concert with Meghan Trainor and Rapsody -- and also to donate the $200k to Crushers.

We reached out to Hazelgrove and she echoed Kobe's statement -- that she was only cutting his hair at his request.

One source involved in Thursday's event said the attacks on Hazelgrove -- who's worked tirelessly for Chicago kids -- came off as reverse racism. Criticism aside ... the event and the donation are going forward as scheduled.

Nicki Minaj says she's leaving the music biz ... she's decided to retire because HER family's the next priority.

The rapper made the stunning announcement in a Thursday morning tweet ... saying she's gonna retire because she's ready to become a mom. She wrote, "I've decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now. To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me, X in the box- cuz ain't nobody checkin me. Love you for LIFE."

Nicki seems to be saying 2 things ... 1. that she wants to become a mom, and 2. that she's sick of the trolls.

What's not clear ... is she blowing off steam or is this the real deal?

If Nicki's in fact done with the rap game ... she leaves behind a storied legacy. The pride of Trinidad and Tobago and Queens earlier this year became the first female rapper to officially sell 100 million units across her albums, singles and features as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Nicki's been nominated for 10 Grammys, earned a Guinness World Record in 2017 for most Billboard Hot 100 entries by a solo female artist and hauled in five MTV Video Music Awards. It's unclear if retirement means she's also done with the popular "Queen Radio" show.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicki and her boyfriend, Kenneth Petty, got a marriage license not long ago. She's called him her husband since then but we haven't been able to confirm they've actually tied the knot.

But one thing's clear, they seem to be going full steam ahead ... with starting their family seemingly on the horizon.

Originally Published -- 11:50 AM PT

Drew Brees says he's NOT anti-LGBTQ -- despite working with an organization that opposes same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.

The New Orleans Saints quarterback recently appeared in a video to promote "Bring Your Bible to School Day" which was part of a campaign by a group called Focus on the Family.

In the 22-second video, Brees advises kids to "share God's love with friends" -- he makes no mention of same-sex marriage at all.

But, some people were furious that Brees would agree to work with Focus on the Family in ANY capacity considering the group's position on homosexuality.

According to Queerty.com, FOTF "supports gay conversion therapy and religious freedom laws, believes trans people are deranged, says anti-bullying groups promote homosexuality, and has lobbied for legislation allowing anti-gay workplace discrimination."

Now, Brees is responding to the backlash in a new video saying he's NOT homophobic and respects all people no matter their sexual orientation.

"There's been a lot of negativity spread about me in the LGBTQ community recently based upon an article that someone wrote with a very negative headline, that I think led people to believe that somehow I was aligned with an organization that was anti-LGBTQ and so on and so forth," Brees said.

"I'd like to set the record straight, I live by two very simple Christian fundamentals and that is love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. And, love your neighbor as yourself."

"I think the first one is very self-explanatory. The second one, love your neighbor as yourself, what does that mean?"

"It means, love all, respect all and accept all. So, that is actually how I live my life. That is what I try to do with my family, with my teammates, with people in my community, with my friends, all people. No matter your race, your color, your religious preference, your sexual orientation, your political [views]."

NFL legend Mike Ditka knows exactly how he would handle the Antonio Brown drama if he were running things in Oakland ... "I would say, 'hello, goodbye.' I would wish him the best."

Yep, Ditka tells TMZ Sports he thinks the relationship between AB and the Raiders is irreparably broken and at this point it would be best for both sides to simply part ways.

"I don't know Antonio Brown but I think somebody gave him some bad advice," Ditka says ... "The Raiders and [Jon Gruden] don't need that kind of a headache."

Ditka says he knows AB is one "hell of a football player" -- but notes, "One man doesn't make the team. One man can make the team a lot better ... no man is bigger than the team."

As for reports that Brown threatened to "hit" general manager Mike Mayock in the face during a heated altercation this week, Ditka says ... "You don't want that on your football team."

Ditka left us with this note ...

Kevin Hart was definitely a passenger in the car crash that landed him in the hospital ... we know that because our law enforcement sources tell us the physical evidence proves his friend was behind the wheel.

Our CHP sources tell us ... Kevin's friend, Jared Black, was indisputably driving early Sunday morning. They know that because we're told he was trapped in the driver's seat in such a way that the firefighters had to literally cut the wreckage around him to extricate him from the vehicle.

We're told Jared also had injuries consistent with a steering wheel impact.

Our sources say both Jared and Kevin had back injuries, and they believe it's because the car did not have seat belt harnesses. The car -- a 1970 tricked out Plymouth Barracuda -- only had lap belts and, when there's a forceful impact, it often creates serious back injuries because the body lunges forward.

TMZ broke the story ... Kevin had 3 spinal fractures in the lumbar and thoracic areas, and surgeons fused the vertebrae. He will remain in the hospital at least through the week and will have to endure a very long rehab. He's currently in extreme pain and heavily medicated.

We got shots yesterday of the accident scene in the Malibu area, where CHP officers were taking measurements. We're told they neglected to do that the morning of the accident and were doing belated due diligence.

Eric McCormack says Whoopi Goldberg went too far by equating his call for a list of people attending a Trump fundraiser to McCarthyism -- but he still wants to know who's giving big bucks to the Prez.

The "Will & Grace" star was at LAX Wednesday when he responded to the backlash he's been getting ... and said his words were misconstrued, and he's absolutely not trying to start another blacklist in Hollywood.

Eric explains it like this -- his original tweet was meant to be a call for transparency so HE can know where Trump's major donations come from ... for his own personal benefit.

He suggests if he knows who's spending money to help POTUS, he'll know not to spend his own time and money with those people. Eric notes it's a free country ... other people are free to make their own choices.

Whoopi wasn't really buying this reasoning earlier this week on "The View," though. She blasted the actor for going after people because he doesn't like who they voted for, adding ... "We can talk about issues and stuff, but we don't print out lists."

She went on to imply what Eric -- and his costar, Debra Messing, who had a similar tweet -- was doing was akin to what went down in the U.S. in the 1950s.

Speaking of Messing ... the President has locked in on her as his punching bag regarding the blacklist accusations, instead of McCormack.

Jemele Hill says Marcellus Wiley took the debate on Colin Kaepernick to "an ignorant place" by insinuating Kap isn't Black enough to lead the charge on social justice.

We got Hill at LAX and asked her about Wiley's recent appearance on Van Lathan's 'Red Pill Podcast' where Wiley said he thought Kaepernick was wrong for kneeling in the first place.

Hill said Wiley -- who who she considers a friend -- is entitled to his opinion on Kap's protest, but is NOT entitled to question the QB's status as a member of the African-American community.

"My only disappointment in what Marcellus said is that he pivoted the conversation to kind of an ignorant place."

"Reasonable minds can differ, so if we have a difference of opinion that's totally fine. Just don't pivot it to an ignorant place where we're talking about somebody's blackness."

Jemele is talking about a specific statement Wiley made on his FS1 show, "Speak For Yourself," where he said Kaepernick didn't have a connection to the black struggle, because he's a mixed race and his adopted family is white.

Hill thinks that type of criticism is totally out of bounds, and actually hurtful to the black community overall.

"Whenever we start having a who's blacker than who conversation, that's when we get into trouble."

We also asked Hill if she thinks we'll ever see Kap back in the NFL and she says definitely "No" -- explaining why Donald Trump effectively put an end to his pro football career.

Don't get it twisted, Hill is ADAMANT Kap has the talent to play in the league -- but thinks there are too many "cowardly" owners who are afraid to go up against POTUS.

Ted Cruz says Alyssa Milano's part of a Hollywood machine hell-bent on spreading rage ... that being said, he hopes she can keep it civil if and when they meet to talk gun control.

We got the Texas Senator at Reagan National Airport and wanted to get his take on his recent feud with Alyssa and legendary singer Bette Midler. ICYMI ... Alyssa and Bette recently put Cruz on blast for offering "thoughts and prayers" after a gunman killed 7 and injured more than 25 others over the weekend in West Texas.

It was the third mass shooting in less than a month ... and second in the Lone Star State.

Alyssa challenged Ted to a face-to-face and offered to live stream it "so the American people can hear your bulls**t 1st hand." Bette called Ted fake ... saying he's not heartbroken over the lives lost in yet another mass shooting. She called him spineless.

Check out what Ted's got to say about all that ... he's adamant they proved his point -- Hollywood's bitter and angry. He also thinks he surprised the hell outta Alyssa by agreeing to meet with her.

Colin Kaepernick to Odell Beckham?!

Yeah, it happened during a private workout session back in July ... and it's all on video.

Colin and Odell connected at UCLA for some QB, WR work --  they ran routes, Colin worked on throwing on the run and flexed his arm strength.

And, get this ... Odell showed up to the workout wearing a Colin Kaepernick #7 jersey.

Kap has been trying to showcase his skills recently in the hopes an NFL team will give him a workout. So far it hasn't happened, but he's still trying.

Just this week, Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins vouched for Kaepernick during an interview with GQ magazine -- claiming the guy is clearly good enough to help an NFL team win.

Hopkins says he was upset when the Texans passed over Kap when they needed a QB in 2017 following an injury to Deshaun Watson.

Antonio Brown is calling out his own team -- claiming the Raiders are "hating" on him by fining him nearly $54,000 for missing practices and workouts.

The Oakland Raiders WR posted a photo of the disciplinary letter he got from Raiders GM Mike Mayock, explaining why he was docked $13,950 for missing a walk through on August 22 and $40,000 for missing training camp on August 18.

Brown was MIA on both of those dates due to issues with his helmet -- it's been well-documented and was a main story line on "Hard Knocks."

Brown has since returned to practice and has a helmet he likes -- but clearly, he didn't expect to get hit with fines ... especially with head coach Jon Gruden defending him publicly.

"When your own team want to hate but there's no stopping me now," Brown said on social media.

"Devil is a lie. Everyone got to pay this year so we clear," he added.

FYI, August 18 is the day Mayock called out Brown to the media -- saying he either needs to be "all in or all out."

August 22 was a preseason game and, while AB was in attendance, the Raiders claim he blew off the pregame walk through.

The NFL regular season kicks off this week -- the Raiders play the Broncos on Monday Night Football -- and ya gotta wonder how this new drama will affect him on the field.

Here's a transcript of the letter Maytock sent to Brown informing him of the fines.

"As you know, you did not participate in the Raiders' walk through on August 22. Your absence from practice was unexcused. Accordingly, you are hereby fined $13,950 pursuant to Article 42, Section 1 (a)(viii) of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and the Raiders' Club Discipline Schedule. 

You were previously fined $40,000 for missing Raiders' preseason training camp on August 18. Please be advised that should you continue to miss mandatory team activities including practices and g ames, the Raiders reserve the right to impose additional remedies available under the Club's Discipline Schedule, the CBS and your NFL Player Contract, including but not limited to, additional fines and discipline for engaging in Conduct Detriminetal to the Club. 

A gigantic bull pulled a Ron Artest at an event in Spain -- leaping into the stands to go after the fans in an attempt to save his own life.

It all went down during a festival in Caparroso, Spain -- when the bull entered the ring and seemed to know its own fate ... ultimately deciding it was better to make a break for it.

We should say ... it's unclear if the event was a proper bullfight or a rodeo-style thing (without the matador and the stabbing), but what we do know is these things don't typically end well for the bull.

The bull lept over a wall and into the crowd before charging out of the stadium and onto the streets -- where spectators began running for their lives (oh, how the tables turned!).

The local mayor says the bull was eventually captured -- though its fate is unknown.

As we previously reported, a different bull went after a matador during a bullfight in Spain last month -- goring the dude in the groin before he was eventually killed.