Controversial S#!T

Tekashi69 has completed his first day on the stand in federal court where he's clearly panicked about testifying against his former fellow gang members of the Nine Trey Bloods.

Altogether, he spent nearly 2 hours on the stand -- wearing blue prison scrubs, a white undershirt and still rocking his rainbow colored hair, styled in pigtails. In a courtroom potentially filled with current or former Nine Trey members, he testified he became a member in November 2017, and participated in violent crimes ... including shootings, assaults and drug trafficking

At one point, 6ix9ine even ID'd the 2 men who are on trial. He nervously pointed at the defendants, Aljermiah "Nuke" Mack and Anthony "Harv" Ellison, and ID'd them as Nine Trey Gang Members.

Tekashi testified extensively about his hit song, "Gummo," and how the August 2017 music video shoot introduced him to many of the Nine Trey members. For instance, he says he first met Seqo Billy and told him he wanted to do a music vid with authentic gang members. Tekashi says on the day of the shoot, he bought 3 dozen red bandannas for them to wear on camera.

He said this is when he met Shotti ... who became Tekashi's manager.

Prosecutors showed stills from the music video, and Tekashi pointed out and identified various gang members who appeared on camera. He also claimed Trippie Redd was a gang member, but from a rival Bloods sect from Nine Trey.

Tekashi testified he never had to go through an initiation to the gang, or personally shoot anyone. The gang simply wanted him to keep making hits in order to bankroll its activities.

The snitching, which 6ix9ine agreed to do when he took a plea deal -- will provide key testimony for the prosecutors' case. In fact, he testified he started cooperating with the feds the very day after he was arrested, back in Nov. 2018.

As we've reported ... Tekashi was staring down a minimum of 47 years in prison after being busted by the feds on racketeering charges, but he cut a deal in return for his full cooperation.

The feds fear for Tekashi's safety, and he's being held behind bars in a facility filled with other snitches. U.S. Marshals took Tekashi through a secure tunnel to the courthouse, and he's under heavy guard.

The woman accusing Antonio Brown of rape met with NFL officials on Monday in a 10-hour marathon session, where she spelled out her case against the Patriots star.

Britney Taylor did NOT travel to the league office in New York -- instead an NFL representative flew out to meet her, according to Yahoo Sports.

When they finally sat down, Taylor detailed her allegations against Brown in a 10-hour meeting, according to CNN.

As we previously reported, Taylor -- AB's former personal trainer -- is suing Brown, claiming he sexually assaulted her 3 times between 2017 and 2018 ... including a violent rape in May 2018.

Brown has denied the allegations, claiming Taylor is out for a money grab -- and says she's just bitter he wouldn't invest in her business plans for a gymnastics training center.

For what it's worth, Brown's accuser did not file a police report before filing the civil suit and law enforcement officials are not conducting a criminal investigation at this time.

The NFL is reportedly trying to set up a meeting with Brown as well to get his side of the story in person. No word on if/when that meeting will take place.

Sean Spicer was reduced to tears after his big debut on "Dancing with the Stars" -- but he wasn't crying out of sadness ... the guy was actually overjoyed.

We got President Trump's former Press Secretary Monday night sitting in his car outside of Cleo in Hollywood -- shortly after he salsa'd his way into a pretty bad score on the ABC show ... where he was seen wearing a very loud, neon-green outfit alongside his dance partner, Lindsay Arnold.

Sean was getting roasted online, and when we saw him bawling in his ride -- seemingly looking at a screen -- it looked like he was taking in all of the negativity.

Not so, though!!!!

Austin Rivers has a message for Lonzo Ball -- you're NOT "damaged goods," no matter what your father tells you.

Everyone was talking about LaVar Ball on Monday after he got into it with the New Oleans Pelicans player about the state of the family business, Big Baller Brand, during an episode of "Ball in the Family."

Lonzo floated the idea of changing the company name as part of a BBB relaunch, and LaVar shot that down ... taking a swipe at his son in the process.

"That’s like people saying, ‘Oh, hey, change Lonzo’s name to Alfonzo on the fact that he been damaged goods for the last two years."

Yeah, not good ... people are upset at LaVar saying he crossed a line.

So, when we spotted Austin leaving Poppy in L.A., we asked the Houston Rockets star how he would have reacted if his famous father would have said that to him.

"That'd be messed up," Rivers says.

Austin doesn't trash LaVar -- he's actually complimentary, but reinforces with Lonzo that he's not "damaged goods."

"He's a great player," Rivers says of the 2017 #2 overall NBA Draft pick.

For his part, LaVar issued an explanation through his rep, Denise White ...

Just when Robert Kraft thought everyone had finally moved past his whole Asian massage parlor thing ... Robert De Niro put it right back in the spotlight with a joke at the Alec Baldwin 'Roast!'

De Niro was pretty funny at the Comedy Central event and closed with a zinger at Kraft's expense.

"Like Robert Kraft at a massage parlor, I want my Roast to have a happy ending," he told Baldwin before wrapping it up.

The crowd laughed. So did Baldwin. Guessing Mr. Kraft didn't find it so funny.

Other highlights from the 'Roast' ... De Niro threw a few jokes Caitlyn Jenner's way -- including this gem:

"Caitlyn Jenner. Now there's something different about you but I can't put my finger in it!"

Caitlyn shot back, "Yes, you can!!!" Good times ...

De Niro also went after Donald Trump ... telling the room:

"This is like that Moscow hotel room where a bunch of wh*res p*ssed all over Donald Trump."

There was more ... Jeff Ross killed. Blake Griffin was pretty great. Caroline Rhea was solid. And, Caitlyn Jenner brought the heat when it was her turn to roast.

Aaron Carter's arsenal isn't going to be taken from him ... at least not yet, but that could change if authorities decide he's mentally unfit to own firearms.

Carter has been erratic lately ... friends and family have been so worried they've called police to do welfare checks.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... until a court, board, commission, judge or other lawful authority determines Aaron suffers from a mental illness or condition that causes him to be a danger to himself or others, he can keep his guns.

If this were to happen, we're told Carter would possibly be asked to voluntarily hand over his weapons first, but then if he failed to comply ... ATF could seize his collection.

That said, the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. tells TMZ the Dept. is investigating the entire matter and dealing with Aaron's family members who have expressed concern and even alarm.

Aaron spoke with TMZ Monday, telling us cops responded to a call Sunday night and showed up at his home with the intent of taking him away on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

The singer says he warned deputies he had loaded weapons scattered around his home, but he also convinced them and a mental evaluator he was not a danger to himself or others.

He also claims he doesn't know who sent the authorities to his house, but one thing he's clear about -- he's not going to give up his guns because he says he fears for his safety.

Aaron's been adamant with us recently that he's mentally stable, despite going on "The Doctors" and rattling off that he's been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. When he spoke to us Monday, he refuted that and claimed he's passed all the mental health checks to own a gun.

Lyfe Jennings says Charlamagne tha God and others who are crucifying his new song -- which invokes the word "slave" -- don't have a clue, 'cause it's just naughty sex talk.

We spoke with the R&B singer a few days after Charlamagne and comedian Amanda Seales teamed up on social media to put a spotlight on Lyfe's new tune, entitled "Slave." It's got some seemingly questionable lyrics, which CTG and AS mocked mercilessly.

For the record, Lyfe sings the following ... "Got your ass hoppin' like a frog / Got your legs shakin' like two wet dogs / This ain't the part we fall in love / This is the part we kiss and f**k." Then he explicitly mentions slaves, saying ... "I'm gon' beat it like a slave / So you don't run away / Got the whips and chains / Call me master."

In Charlamagne and Amanda's defense ... the lyrics are very explicit and references to beating slaves and whips and chains frankly do conjure up images of African slavery.

But, Lyfe's calling BS on that notion because he says they're completely off-base. In Lyfe's eyes, it's all about his intent ... and this was meant to be nothing more than an homage to BDSM, which the music video does make crystal clear.

He even tells us a very popular book-turned-movie inspired this track. We'll give ya 50 guesses.

Sinbad couldn't disagree more with Candace Owens on the idea that this country was ever great -- as President Trump suggests.

You know the famous Voltaire line ... "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That's not exactly what Sinbad said to us Monday at LAX, but it's close in spirit ... maybe. He notes Candace has every right to spew half-baked theories in the U.S. of A.

Of course, he's referring to the spirited debate Candace and T.I. got into over the weekend in Atlanta, where Diddy's REVOLT TV held a summit and talked about 'MAGA.' T.I. asked when this country was ever great -- and she was never able to answer.

Sinbad is firmly in T.I.'s corner on the issue, saying that there are way too many bad tendencies Americans seem to go back to time and time again to reach true greatness. Watch ... he makes an interesting point, even saying America has the potential to be great.

Aaron Carter is sticking to his guns ... meaning he won't give up his myriad of firearms -- which he keeps loaded -- despite a rash of apparent mental health disorders and a new attempt to place him on a psychiatric hold.

Aaron was on "TMZ Live" Monday and told us cops showed up at his home Sunday night with the intent of taking him away on a 5150 hold. The singer says he warned deputies he had loaded weapons scattered around his home -- but also convinced them, and a mental evaluator, he was not a danger to himself or others.

Aaron says he doesn't know who sent the authorities to his home -- though he believes it was someone really close to him -- but he's adamant about one thing ... he ain't giving up his guns.

Aaron got super defensive when we asked if he disclosed his bipolar diagnosis when he applied for his firearms. He says he's not bipolar, seemingly refuting what he revealed earlier this month on "The Doctors."

He also insinuated the clip from that show was somehow edited to make it seem like he was diagnosed with a slew of mental disorders ... when he actually is not. For the record, producers for "The Doctors" say it "was not edited in any way."

Andrew Yang's call for forgiveness is falling on deaf ears -- Shane Gillis just got his ass canned from 'SNL' before he could even appear on an episode ... following his racist joke controversy.

An 'SNL spokesperson on behalf of Lorne Michaels said after execs talked with Shane, they've decided he will NOT be joining 'SNL' for the new season. The spokesperson says, "We want SNL to have a variety of voices and points of view within the show, and we hired Shane on the strength of his talent as a comedian and his impressive audition for SNL."

They went on to say, "We were not aware of his prior remarks that have surfaced over the past few days. The language he used is offensive, hurtful and unacceptable. We are sorry that we did not see these clips earlier, and that our vetting process was not up to our standard."

As we've reported ... Shane has been under fire for the past few days for using several racial slurs against Asians in a podcast from about a year ago. According to reports, that was just one example of him hurling racial epithets against Asians.

Some critics said a simple Google search would've easily led anyone to these past offensive remarks, and it was obvious 'SNL' brass just didn't do that with Shane.

Presidential candidate Yang weighed-in on the controversy this weekend, saying we should all forgive Shane ... adding that he did not want the guy to lose his job.

Welp ... looks like the kumbaya approach wasn't cutting it for NBC. They just cut bait and ate a little crow while doing so.

As for Shane, he responded to the news as well ... and his statement is interesting. He says, "It feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements but here we are. I'm a comedian who was funny enough to get SNL. That can't be taken away."

Shane adds, "Of course I wanted an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made. I'm honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a mad tv guy anyway."

Guess that's his attempt at one last burn on his way out the door.

Sorry, Jacob deGrom ... you are NOT the NL's Cy Young winner this year -- so says Orel Hershiser -- who tells TMZ Sports Hyun-Jin Ryu is actually most deserving!!!

Of course, Orel's biased ... the dude is a Dodgers legend and is currently broadcasting L.A.'s games -- but he swears Ryu is the best pitcher in the National League this season.

"My mind and my heart say that," Orel tells us.

Ryu REALLY struggled in four of his last five starts -- hitting a slump that caused his ERA to balloon up from sub-2.00 to 2.35 -- which made a lot of pundits to hop off his Cy Young bandwagon.

But, Hershiser thinks that's a mistake, telling us, "If he would have spread out his slump over a time period, you would have said, 'Oh, he's had the better year.'"

As for who else is in the running for the award, Orel says it's down to Ryu, deGrom, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in the NL.

Antonio Brown adamantly denies new allegations he got naked and hit on a female artist during a 2017 encounter, despite allegations in a Sports Illustrated article.

"Antonio Brown has reviewed the sexual misconduct allegations made by an unnamed artist included in a recently published Sports Illustrated article and denies that he ever engaged in such activities," Browns' attorney Darren Heitner tells us.

"There will be no further comment at this time."

In the SI article, published Monday morning, the outlet cites an interview with a woman who claims Brown hired her to paint a mural on the wall of his Pittsburgh-area home in June 2017.

The woman told SI ... while she was painting the mural, he came up from behind her "naked, holding a small hand towel over his genitals."

The woman claims Brown was "flirty" with her but she paid him no mind -- but after she turned down his advances, she claims Brown "ghosted" her.

The woman says she never filed a police report or took ANY action against Brown -- and says she has no plans to pursue legal action in the future.

The woman also says Brown did pay for the artwork and they haven't spoken since.

Of course, the allegations are significant in the wake of a bombshell lawsuit filed by Britney Taylor -- who claims Brown sexually assaulted her on 3 separate occasions ... including a violent rape in 2018.

Brown has vehemently denied Taylor's allegations as well and has vowed to countersue.

The SI article features interviews with several fitness and diet specialists who say they had a bad business relationship with Brown ... including Dr. Victor Prisk, who says Brown stiffed him out of $11,500 after working with him in 2018.

Prisk became a mini-Internet sensation when Brown farted in his face during a body fat test.

"It just seemed childish to me," Prisk told SI ... "I'm a doctor and this man is farting in my face."

Cristiano Ronaldo admits he was "embarrassed" over news coverage of allegations that he raped a woman in a Las Vegas back in 2009 ... saying he tried to hide the stories from his kids.

"I remember one day I was at home in the living room with my girlfriend watching the television to see the news and they speak about 'Cristiano Ronaldo this and that,'" Ronaldo told Piers Morgan on "Good Morning Britain."

"I listened to my kids coming down the stairs and I changed the channel because I was embarrassed."

"I just changed the channel for Cristiano Jr. not to see that they speak bad about his father about a very bad case."

"It makes me feel so bad to be honest."

Of course, Ronaldo is talking about allegations made by Kathryn Mayorga -- who claims CR7 brought her to his penthouse hotel room in June 2009 after a night of partying and forcibly raped her.

Mayorga went to police after the incident but didn't name Ronaldo in her report. She later cut a deal with Ronaldo in which she would sign a confidentiality agreement in exchange for $375k.

In 2018, Mayorga broke the terms of the deal by filing a civil lawsuit against the soccer star -- claiming he and his team bullied her into signing it in the first place. The civil case is still active.

Officials in Vegas investigated the allegations but ultimately decided NOT to bring criminal charges against Ronaldo citing lack of evidence.

T.I. had a good question for staunch Trump supporter Candace Owens -- when was America actually great ... and what exactly is DT trying to emulate???

The rapper asked this of Candace Saturday night at a summit held by Diddy's REVOLT TV in Atlanta, where they were discussing why the President's slogan is viewed as racist among many in the black community. Safe to say, things escalated quickly from there.

Moderator Jeff Johnson said Trump has stoked fear into poor whites that their enemy is poor blacks -- to which Candace asked when the Prez said that verbatim. Johnson suggested that the guy's slogan in and of itself was a sign of that fear-mongering.

Then T.I. jumped in ... and s*** hit the fan.

T.I. firmly asked Candace what period in American history is Trump so sure was "great" -- listing examples, like when women couldn't vote ... or when black people were lynched.

Candace suggests Trump is hearkening back to the Reagan years, when the then-presidential hopeful said something to the same effect while on the campaign trail. T.I., however, has his own view of the 80s ... calling it the crack era. He kept pressing, and Candace ultimately wasn't able to get out a straight answer to his initial question.

Things got worse when Candace invoked slavery -- seemingly suggesting, at first, that America was one of the first countries to free its slaves ... but stopping and quickly pointing out that slavery was worldwide, and not just taking place here in the States.

Folks in the crowd became even more irate about that, and when Candace tried to get her point out ... T.I. was quick to shut her down, saying her beginning premise was "bulls***."

REVOLT TV is bringing its summit to L.A. next month. If the Atlanta event is any indication, L.A. should bring out the fireworks just the same.

Andrew Yang says folks should forgive Shane Gillis -- the newest cast member on 'SNL' -- over racist remarks he made about Asians ... and more importantly, ease up on seeking retribution.

The presidential hopeful -- who's Taiwanese-American -- went on CNN Sunday to elaborate on his thoughts from these past couple days ... calling for Shane to NOT lose his new job at "Saturday Night Live," but instead ... to be forgiven and used as a teachable moment.

As we reported ... as soon as Shane was announced as a member of the cast for the upcoming season, people dug up an old video of him making racist jokes about Asians. He has since apologized to those offended, saying he sometimes "pushes boundaries."

There's been a mixed reaction to Yang's approach -- as he tells Jake Tapper -- but he defends his position, saying our society has become too punitive in these scenarios, and that we as a country should strive to be better ... opting for forgiveness when possible.

He makes another interesting point, arguing Asian epithets are often not taken as seriously as others made about other ethnic groups ... despite being just as hurtful.

Still, even with that said ... he says we should let this one go, especially considering that Shane is a comedian, and -- in Andrew's eyes -- their words should be taken in that context.

Of course, Yang has offered to sit down with Shane to discuss the issue further -- going on to say he doesn't support the guy losing his job, adding that in the big picture of Shane's past work ... he just doesn't find Shane to be "malignant or evil" in his intentions.

John Legend had an interesting take on Felicity Huffman's 14-day sentence in her college bribery scandal case ... people are angry at the wrong thing.

John just said, "I get why everyone gets mad when rich person X gets a short sentence and poor person of color Y gets a long one. The answer isn't for X to get more; it's for both of them to get less (or even none!!!). We should level down not up."

Okay ... time for a few opinions. First, John's right, especially when you're talking about equivalent crimes. But, in some cases, long sentences are appropriate. They need to be handed down fairly, with equality for all.

Now the bigger issue ... a lot of people think prosecutors won the Felicity case. That's just ridiculous. Prosecutors suffered a blistering loss. When they announced they were filing 50 cases, they talked about how other prospective students were being denied admission because of bribery by rich parents. There was talk of years in prison ... even decades for wrongdoers.

The prosecution got shut down by both the probation dept. and the judge. As the probation dept. said in its sentencing recommendation, there was no "intended loss." Translation ... the law doesn't consider the possibility some other student was denied admission because Felicity had her daughter's SAT test rigged. You may not like that, but that's what the judge said.

The key is "loss," and the judge said there was none, and it undercuts the core of the prosecution's case. Prosecutors drastically lowered their sentencing recommendation to 1 month, and they didn't even get that.

Fact is ... 14 days behind bars is what someone gets for stealing a bottle of wine from a liquor store. Prosecutors in the college admissions scandal spent millions and now say the point is not the amount of time, but the fact the wrongdoers got some time. You will never hear those words uttered privately among prosecutors, because the amount of time DOES matter.