Controversial S#!T

A banner promoting the Lakers-Nets preseason game in China -- featuring LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis -- was torn down Wednesday ... in the wake of the international crap storm sparked by the Rockets GM's support of protesters in Hong Kong.

The teams were scheduled to play a preseason game Thursday in Shanghai ... but that was before general manager Daryl Morey tweeted, "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" ... igniting an international incident that led to China basically cutting ties with the Rockets and the NBA.

The Lakers-Nets game hasn't officially been canned ... but for those Chinese fans hoping to peep Bron, AD and Kyrie on the court ... the gigantic banner being ripped down ain't a good sign.

Lil Peep's own decisions to use drugs and follow down a "destructive path" are to blame for his OD ... so says the tour company being sued by Peep's mom for the rapper's death.

A rep for First Access Entertainment tells TMZ ... Peep's accidental drug overdose was a terrible tragedy, but the company "consistently encouraged Peep to stop abusing drugs and to distance himself from the negative influence of the drug users and enablers."

At the end of the day, First Access says, "He was an adult who made his own decisions and opted to follow a different, more destructive path."

Snoop Dogg ain't apologetic about his raunchy booty and money-throwing performance at the Univ. of Kansas this weekend ... saying he had one hell of a time, and the school should've known what they were getting into!

Of course, the rap legend pulled out all the stops for the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team's annual Late Night in the Phog pep rally on Friday ... complete with pole dancing women and money guns.

After the show, KU officials apologized saying Snoop's camp assured them before the show that his performance would be more family-friendly than his usual schtick.

D-O-Double-G addressed the show on the Howard Stern show Tuesday ... saying EVERYONE was loving it, and he was shocked when the school released an apology.

"The audience enjoyed that sh*t," Snoop said. "I don't know what the f*ck they talking about."

Stern asked Snoop about being asked to leave after the performance ... which he denies.

"That's a motherf**king lie. I had the time of my life. I enjoyed myself, hung out with the basketball teams."

Snoop believes the apology came from the backlash the school got after the performance ... and insists his time there was nothing but positive.

"I think it was more the publicity of what I did. they had to cover it up. And, I respect them, and I wasn't gonna put no smut on their name and say they did anything wrong because they invited me to come do what I do."

"And, when you pay for Snoop Dogg, you gon' get Snoop Dogg."

Lil' Kim wasn't about to let an anti-fur protester tell her what animals she can and can't wear ... nearly trading blows with the woman before security stepped in.

Kim was outside Verizon Media Studios in New York City Tuesday when multiple anti-fur protesters started shouting "Stop wearing fur!" at Kim. One woman got just a little too close for LK's liking ... and that's when she started walking toward the woman telling her to "back up" several times.

Lucky for the protester, Kim's security stepped in between the two and diffused the situation, 'cause it looked like the rapper was ready to throw down.

Two airline employees -- a woman and a man -- got into an ugly brawl with slaps, punches and spitting, allegedly, involved ... and it was all captured on surveillance video.

The video from inside the jetway -- and just outside the door of a Republic Airways plane -- shows a female staffer walking briskly toward the jet as the male employee walks off the jet. There's an immediate confrontation that appears to start with the man spitting in the woman's direction.

The incident, which allegedly went down on Sept. 13 in Denver, quickly escalated with the woman slapping the man's face. He then responded with 2 brutal punches -- one to her body and one to the head -- slamming her up against the wall of the jetway.

The male employee, who might be a flight attendant or pilot based on his uniform, then walked back onto the regional Republic Airways flight. FlyerTalk first posted the video.

As of now, it's unclear what precipitated the fight -- however, TMZ has confirmed both employees were fired.

A Penn State fan ain't apologizing for a letter he sent to a football player that many found offensive ... in fact, the guy is DOUBLING DOWN on it, saying, "Get the guys cleaned up."

In case you missed it ... a man named Dave Petersen wrote a letter to Nittany Lions team captain Jonathan Sutherland -- begging him to cut his "awful" hair.

"Watching the Idaho game on TV we couldn't help but notice your -- well -- awful hair," Petersen wrote ...

"Don't you have parents or girlfriend who've told you those shoulder length dreadlocks look disgusting and are certainly not attractive."

Sutherland's teammate tweeted out a picture of the letter ... writing, "Explain to me how this isn't racist."

A bunch of Penn State players -- both current and former -- chimed in blasting the letter as offensive ... and even the school got involved, with Sandy Barbour issuing a statement backing the players.

But, Petersen, who was contacted by The Tribune-Democrat on Tuesday, refused to back down from his note ... and said he just wants Penn State players to cut their hair.

Elizabeth Warren is sticking to her story that she was once fired simply for being pregnant ... never mind a report refuting her account.

The Democratic Presidential candidate and Senator from Massachusetts doubled down Tuesday morning ... adamantly saying she was shown the door at 22 from a teaching job in New Jersey just because she was visibly pregnant. It's a personal story she's told on the campaign trail in her quest to champion women and labor issues.

Warren's comments come on the heels of a report from the right-leaning website, the Washington Free Beacon ... which reported that county records show Warren resigned from her position in 1971 as a speech pathologist just 2 months after the board "unanimously approved" a "provisional certificate" that would extend her teaching contract a second year.

Warren insists that after one year of teaching, the principal told her the job promised to her would go to someone else. But, the Free Beacon, citing county records, reports Warren submitted her resignation after just one year and the board "accepted with regret."

BTW ... back in 2007, Warren explained her departure from teaching during an interview at UC Berkeley. She had said, that after a year of teaching children with disabilities, she'd gotten an "emergency certificate" because she lacked education courses.

Warren added, "I went back to graduate school and took a couple of courses in education and said, 'I don't think this is going to work out for me.'"

D.L. Hughley's not necessarily pointing the finger at police following the death of Botham Jean's neighbor ... but he's not yet convinced they have clean hands either.

We got Hughley Monday at LAX, and his take on the shocking murder of Joshua Brown -- who testified against ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger days before getting gunned down -- is definitely an interesting one.

D.L. said if Brown had testified against a gang member and then got shot, it would be natural to suspect the gang was involved. So, in this case, it only makes sense to wonder if cops had something to do with the slaying.

He says if the police really had nothing to do with Brown getting killed in a Friday night drive-by shooting, they'll be extra motivated to find the true killer. But, if they don't solve the case ... Hughley says they're opening themselves up to serious suspicion.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver is going to Shanghai to try and repair the league's relationship with China ... but says he won't bend when it comes to protecting freedom of expression.

"The NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say or will not say on these issues," Silver said ...  "We simply could not operate that way."

Silver spoke with the media on Tuesday to discuss China essentially blackballing the Houston Rockets after team G.M. Daryl Morey tweeted out support for protesters in Hong Kong.

The NBA initially issued a statement saying it was "regrettable" that Morey's tweet offended some Chinese people, which caused a firestorm of criticism back in the U.S.

"I recognize our initial statement left people angered, confused or unclear on who we are or what the NBA stands for," Silver said in a new statement.

"Essentially, what I've said in that statement is the long-held values of the NBA are to support freedom of expression, and certainly freedom of expression by members of the NBA community," Silver explained.

"And in this case, Daryl Morey, as the general manager of the Houston Rockets, enjoys that right as one of our employees."

"What I also tried to suggest is I understand that there are consequences from that exercise of, in essence, his freedom of speech. We will have to live with those consequences."

As we previously reported, China's state broadcaster said it was pulling Houston Rockets games off the air. Sponsors have abandoned the Rockets and the NBA is scrambling to try and smooth things over ASAP.

Silver says China is also now refusing to air the Lakers vs. Nets preseason game set to go down in Shanghai on Thursday ... but he sees the event as an opportunity.

"My plan all along has been to travel to Shanghai tomorrow, and I plan to attend the Lakers-Nets game Thursday night. It's my hope that when I'm in Shanghai, I can meet with the appropriate officials and discuss where we stand, and again, put those remarks from Darl Morey and my remarks in an appropriate context of a many-decades-long relationship and see if we can find mutual respect for each other's political systems and beliefs."

"But I'm a realist as well, and I recognize that this issue may not die down so quickly."

The guys behind "South Park" are taking shots at the NBA for apologizing to China ... and it's pretty funny in an international-political-incident sort of way.

Here's the deal ... both South Park and the NBA are in hot water in China for recent criticisms about the government.

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted out on Friday, "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" ... which led to the Chinese government essentially blackballing the Rockets.

Over at "South Park," last week's episode mocked China mercilessly for censorship ... and pointed out how Winnie the Pooh is bear non grata over there because people have used the cartoon character to mock President Xi's physical appearance.

According to reports, the Chinese government has blocked the "South Park" episode from TV and the internet.

Alex Trebek sees the writing on the wall ... he says side effects from his pancreatic cancer treatments could soon force him out as "Jeopardy!" host.

The TV icon got real about his future during a recent interview, saying he's starting to slur his words and his tongue isn't working, at times, during taping -- and he admits it might mean stepping away from the show sooner than he'd hoped.

In a candid conversation with CTV, shot on Friday, Alex reveals just how cancer and chemotherapy have started to diminish his skills. As we reported ... Alex went for another round of chemotherapy last month, and he says the treatments are causing sores inside his mouth, making his role as a host more challenging than ever before.

He's been at the helm of 'Jeopardy' since 1984, but Alex says he'll retire when he gets to the point where he's bothered by his diminished performance. Alex added, show producers have been supportive and tell him everything's fine ... but he's sure that won't last forever.

Alex revealed back in March he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Antonio Brown isn't giving up on his pro football career ... the embattled WR is still training as if he's expecting to get back on the field this season -- despite some major obstacles.

AB posted footage on Monday showing him working out on a football field in the Fort Lauderdale area ... near his 84/7 training facility.

The workout comes days after the NFL Player's Association reportedly filed a grievance on his behalf, seeking $40 million from the Patriots and Raiders in unpaid salary, fines and unpaid guarantees.

Of course, Brown was cut by BOTH teams earlier this season over bizarre off-the-field conduct.

The Raiders cut bait back in Sept. after a dispute with GM Mike Mayock led to AB secretly recording a phone call with head coach Jon Gruden. Brown posted the call to social media.

The Patriots picked him up hours after the Raiders let him go ... but days later a lawsuit was filed against the WR alleging multiple incidents of sexual assault, including violent rape. The NFL has since launched its own investigation into the allegations.

Justin Bieber's firing off a new jab in his feud with Taylor Swift, mimicking that post-surgical banana video of her that went viral -- and while it is kinda funny, we're sure Taylor ain't laughing.

Justin and the missus, Hailey Bieber, were live on IG from their kitchen Sunday when the Biebs decided to poke fun at Taylor, loudly whining ... "It's not the banana that I wanted!!!"

Hailey laughed out loud, and we're guessing most of Hailey's 22 million followers also chuckled -- but it's odd he made any reference to the Taylor vid, considering Taylor publicly accused Bieber and his manager, Scooter Braun, of bullying her.

The judge who hugged Botham Jean's murderer -- ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger -- was well within her right to do so, as was the deceased's brother ... so says Iyanla Vanzant.

We spoke to the OWN star and self-help guru -- who's done inspirational speaking alongside Oprah -- and asked what she made of all the criticism over Judge Tammy Kemp embracing Guyger after handing down her 10-year prison sentence.

According to Iyanla ... she finds it pretty hypocritical for folks to be all good with someone swearing to God with a hand on the Bible in court, but then get bent out of shape when a judge actually lives out the values of the good book.

50 Cent is producing a new docuseries covering a wide range of celebs ... and the most interesting story on the docket is the rise and fall of Tekashi 6ix9ine.

Production sources tell TMZ ... Fiddy's scripted series will focus on Tekashi, Snoop Dogg, music producer Scott Storch, former NBA stud Rafer Alston and 50 himself.

The docuseries is called "A Moment in Time" ... and it will have 6 to 8 hour-long episodes dedicated to each subject. The project will be produced through 50's G-Unit Film & Television company.

Our sources say 50 is framing Tekashi's story around his brief but controversial rap career. As you know, 69 rose to fame by incorporating the Nine Trey Bloods gang into his music, only to be busted by the feds and turn into a snitch.

"Joker" screenings were met with angst this weekend -- but what do you do when the actual Clown Prince of Gotham himself crashes your sesh??? Ask him to laugh, of course!!!

That's exactly what happened Saturday evening at a movie house in the San Fernando Valley -- with none other than Joaquin Phoenix himself coming out to greet ticketholders after the credits rolled for a 5:15 PM showing out at Pacific Theaters in Chatsworth.

The actor was making the rounds at different L.A. cineplexes, apparently -- posing with fans and shaking hands -- but at this one ... he got a little stage fright when asked to do his tormented Joker laugh from the film. If you haven't heard it yet ... ya gotta go see it.

Watch ... Joaquin seems to almost half-attempt it here but pulls back -- saying he just can't do it and then asking the audience member to do his own version. The guy couldn't either.