Controversial S#!T

Prince Harry and Prince William are actively squashing a report alleging Prince William's "bullying attitude" -- toward his brother and Meghan Markle -- is what's driving the couple away.

The brothers issued a rare joint statement Monday, saying, "Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge."

The statement continues ... "For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful."

The story suggested they had a falling out because William hasn't been friendly toward Meghan, and came on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's emergency meeting at her Sandringham Estate. QE2 is holding a summit with Prince Charles, Will and Harry to discuss how the family moves forward after Harry and Meghan's bombshell announcement they're stepping down from "senior" royal responsibilities.

BTW, the Queen's family meeting will not include her hubby, Prince Philip, or Kate Middleton. Monday morning, she was driving the kids to school, and he was driven out of Sandringham. He gave up his license after a car accident a year ago.

Harry and Meghan revealed their desire to become financially independent, and split time between the UK and Canada. The plan is off to a promising start ... with Meghan already getting some work in with Disney, and Harry's exec producing gig with Oprah.

Tyler Perry says the Oscars royally screwed up by NOT nominating Jennifer Lopez or Awkwafina ... and he's visibly pissed off about it.

We got Tyler Monday outside leaving NBC studios in NYC. All we asked was how he's feeling, and he immediately told us, "I'm upset, man" ... then started unloading on the Academy.

Tyler says it's crazy J Lo didn't earn a nom for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Hustlers." Remember, she already earned Golden Globe and SAG nominations for the role as a conniving stripper. The Academy wasn't impressed.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were ramping up for their exit from royal life as early as this summer ... when Harry pitched his wife's talents to Disney's CEO ... face-to-face.

Resurfaced video from this past July appears to show PH chatting it up with Bob Iger at the '"Lion King" premiere in London -- during which he seems to say, "You know she does voice-overs?" to a genuinely surprised Iger who responds with, "Oh really? Ah ..."

Iger goes on to say he didn't know that, and Harry follows up by saying Meg is "really interested." Moments later, you hear someone clearly say "We'd love to try." Mind you, this was all being said right next to Meg as she hugged Beyonce and Jay-Z.

As we reported ... Meghan's work with Disney is a done deal -- she reportedly completed her gig with them before the holidays in exchange for a donation to a charity called Elephants Without Borders. The nature of the voice-over and the amount of payment is unclear.

Mark Curry put Steve Harvey on blast for allegedly jacking his jokes and using them on his shows -- twice -- and video evidence shows ... Mark has a case.

Curry claims Harvey stole his Halloween material but hasn't gotten into specifics. This resulted in Steve clapping back at Mark ... saying the comedian can't even come up with an example of what he's barking about.

TMZ's done some digging, though ... and it seems Curry's 1999 stand-up special on "Comedy Central Presents" contains the Halloween bit Harvey allegedly lifted for his talk show.

Watch for yourself ... Mark cracks a joke about being poor growing up, and how his mom dressed him and his siblings up in boxes for Halloween "costumes." The punchline involves UPS.

Now, check out Steve's joke, which aired on his eponymous daytime talk show in 2015. It involves being poor growing up, and how his dad dressed him up in a box for a Halloween "costume." The punchline varies slightly but still involves UPS.

Hmmmmmmm ...

When Curry spoke to us, he made a point to say that not only did Harvey steal his material ... but he didn't even do it right. Once again, the video evidence seems to support his claim.

"Naked and Afraid" veteran Gary Golding did the unthinkable when he came across a dead baby dolphin on the beach ... he sliced it open and ate it.

TMZ's obtained this disturbing video showing Golding recently coming up on a dead baby dolphin that washed up in Laguna Beach, CA. Golding -- returning to the Discovery Channel in the new series "Naked And Afraid: Alone" -- at first says he wants to open up the baby dolphin to check if there's any plastic inside.

Watch the video ... Golding justifies his actions by saying he doesn't want the "poor creature" to go to waste. He then rips out the baby dolphin's heart with his bare hands and says he'll nourish himself and prove he's a true scavenger by eating the dolphin's heart.

LeVar Burton is shooting down the theory that America's more racist now than ever before ... saying the difference now is President Trump's emboldened racists to come out of the woodwork.

We got the iconic "Reading Rainbow" host out Thursday at LAX and just had to know if he thinks America's more racist now than ever ... what with Trump's administration establishing divisive policies since being ushered into the White House in 2016.

You'll remember Trump once described African nations as "shithole countries." His anti-immigrant rhetoric also inspired a Texas man to kill Hispanics at an El Paso Walmart.

LeVar dropped some serious knowledge ... saying what we're experiencing now was ALWAYS lying under the surface champing at the bit to be out in the open. And, now they are.

President Trump just did something you might never have expected him to do -- tweet in another language ... and that language happens to be aimed at the people of Iran.

DT took to Twitter Saturday with a message to the folks protesting in Tehran right now, decrying their government recently shooting down a Ukraine International Airlines plane by mistake ... and killing over 150 passengers, many of whom were Canadian citizens.

The Prez wrote, "به مردم شجاع و رنج کشیده ایران: من از ابتدای دوره ریاست جمهوریم با شما ایستاده‌ام و دولت من همچنان با شما خواهد ایستاد. ما اعتراضات شما را از نزدیک دنبال می کنیم. شجاعت شما الهام بخش است."

We know what you might be thinking if you're a native English speaker ... THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!? Not to worry, 'cause 45 sent out an accompanying translation. En ingles, it means ... "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you." He adds, "We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage."

He wasn't done with the Farsi ... Trump followed up by tweeting the above message, which translates, "The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching."

Don't worry ... we Google Translated it ourselves, and it looks like Donnie got it right here.

If you haven't seen the protests on the ground in Tehran yet, they're pretty crazy -- with thousands taking to the streets and demanding the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei resign after Iranian officials admitted they shot the Flight 752 in error ... mistaking it for a threat, this amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran after Soleimani's death.

Some folks were even reportedly chanting "Death to liars" during the demonstrations, in their own language of course.

Queen Elizabeth is having a face-to-face with the Royal men of her life to hash out what's next for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ... who wanna be part-timers.

TMZ has confirmed that Her Majesty has summoned Harry, Prince William and their dad, Prince Charles, for what's said to be an unprecedented meeting Monday at her country home of Sandringham, Norfolk to discuss next steps for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It's the first time the immediate family has gotten together in person since the Sussexes said they were out (ish) and wanted to seek financial independence from across the pond.

Prince Harry's military buddy says the decision to bolt from the Royal fam was to protect his family ... and it's clear from listening to him  -- the death of Harry's mom loomed large in the decision.

JJ Chalmers appeared on UK's "The One Show" Friday and said Harry's #1 priority is his wife and kid.

It's interesting ... JJ thinks part of Harry's thinking was so little Archie would know when he gets older his pops did right by him.

The "Property Brothers" are giving Americans one less thing to worry about in the country's ongoing conflict with Iran ... dishing out advice on how to feel at home underground.

We got Drew and Jonathan Scott in New York City, and our camera guy asked the brothers the best way for concerned citizens to deal with the prospect of spending 20 years in a bunker. They tell us it all comes down to making your shelter seem spacious.

As you know ... President Trump's beef with Iran is causing a surge in the number of Americans in the market for bunkers, as nuclear threats and missiles whiz around the Middle East.

The "Property Brothers" say the best way to not go crazy in your burrow is to choose light colors to make it feel bright ... and they're recommending a special type of plant.

Jonathan also tells us the single best thing for bunkers ... hopefully, Trump gets the message.

Oprah is pulling the plug on #MeToo documentary centered around Russell Simmons ... she's stepping down as executive producer, and blocking its path to Apple TV+.

O announced her decision to distance herself from the project Friday, this after getting dragged by 50 Cent and The Game, who said she was targeting black men accused of being sexual predators instead of their white counterparts.

Oprah says, “I have decided that I will no longer be executive producer on The Untitled Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Documentary and it will not air on Apple TV+."

The doc, which features a former music exec who accused Russell of sexual misconduct, is set to premiere next month at the Sundance Film Festival.

Oprah adds, "First and foremost, I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women. Their stories deserve to be told and heard."

Jane Fonda's star power knows no limits ... TONS of huge celebs, including Joaquin Phoenix, are risking arrest to help her protest in the Nation's capital.

Jane's call for fast action on a Green New Deal in Washington, D.C. has become a weekly Friday scene, and this week she's got Phoenix, Martin Sheen and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as well.

All protesters were just warned by cops that arrests are imminent if they don't cooperate and disperse. Friday's crowd is among the largest we've seen since Jane started the Fire Drill Friday protests. Joaquin, for his part, urged others to follow his steps and go vegan to help the environment.

This week, the environmental protesters are calling for an end to all new fossil fuel exploration/extraction and the immediate stop to taxpayer subsidies to oil companies.

O.J. Simpson's hell-bent on going to trial with The Cosmopolitan, and he's evoking the name of Meek Mill to plead his case ... according to new legal docs.

Juice is trying to avoid arbitration in his lawsuit against the Las Vegas hotel -- in which he claims he was defamed -- because he argues the Cosmo's history of "intentionally and recklessly attacking well-known public figures by placing them in a false light and defaming them" warrants a jury trial.

Simpson refers to the rapper in the docs as "another African American public figure" who was defamed by The Cosmopolitan, and says the hotel was "forced to apologize" only because Meek went public with his grievances.

Essentially, O.J. wants to go public with his as well ... which is why he seeks to put the kibosh on a much more private arbitration process. According to the docs ... he also expects a jury to award him much more money in punitive damages.

As you'll recall ... Simpson was banned from Cosmo in 2017 just weeks after his prison release for allegedly being drunk and disruptive. He claims he was neither drunk nor belligerent and was falsely accused.

Meek Mill, on the other hand, was threatened with an arrest by the hotel back in May for trespassing. The rapper accused Cosmo of going to "extreme racist levels" to keep black entertainers off its property.

Queen Elizabeth has a lot on her mind after her grandson Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to bail on the Royal Family ... and the stress is written all over her face.

Her Majesty was spotted driving her Land Rover down some country roads Friday, away from Sandringham in Norfolk, to head to a photo shoot in a field ... and she doesn't look too happy about the current state of affairs.

As we reported ... the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the shocking call this week to step down from their senior duties and split their time between Canada, and it has the Royal Fam in crisis mode.

Prince Charles and William have reportedly ordered their teams to find a "workable solution" to the situation with Harry and Meghan, but unless something changes ... the couple will be living in North America soon and supporting their Queen from afar. The question -- will the Queen play ball with part-timers? And, there's evidence she will not.

The backlash from their decision has already begun -- their wax figures got yanked from the Royal Family display at Madame Tussauds in London.

The shocking news has also had a ripple effect ... on Oprah. She's had to come out and denied reports she advised Harry and Meghan to break free from the Royals and head to North America.

She says the couple doesn't need her help figuring out what's best for them ... but adds that she cares about them and supports their decisions. Oprah famously attended their wedding in May 2018.

Kendrick Perkins thinks Kevin Durant is a "coward" for signing with Golden State in 2016.

Kevin Durant thinks Perkins was a trash player who constantly underperformed.

... This was just the beginning of an epic Twitter war between the former NBA teammates on Thursday -- and it's clear, the beef is REAL.

It all started with Perkins saying Russell Westbrook is the best OKC Thunder player ever -- even calling Russ, "Mr. Thunder!"

When NBA analyst Marc D'Amico challenged Perk, saying KD has the better resume, Perk took another swipe at Durant.

"KD lost in the second round without Russ when I was there. So what that mean?"

That's when Durant got involved -- clapping back HARD at Perk.

"Yeah and our starting center [Kendrick Perkins] averaged a whopping 2 and 3 during that series. U played hard tho champ lol."

Perk didn't back down and responded again ... burning Durant for leaving OKC to go to the Warriors.

"Boy stop you did the weakest move in NBA History!!! Up on a team 3-1 in the western conference finals and then go join them the following season?! Heart of Champion right there."

Again, KD clapped back ...

"Weak is starting at center, playing real minutes with no production. Should've worked on your skills as much as I did."

Perk ...

"That's fine!!! You worked that hard and still had to go join a 73-9 team. Truth be told, you don't even feel like a real champ, you have hard time sleeping at night huh knowing that you took the coward way out!!!"

TV might be President Trump's thing, but "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin says Donald would be a disaster even in a fictional White House ... for just ONE critical reason.

We got the award-winning producer/screenwriter Thursday night on his way out of Craig's in WeHo, and laid out a simple premise: would he consider a reboot of 'West Wing' with a Trump-esque Commander-in-Chief?

It's obvious Sorkin's already discussed it, if only privately -- because he didn't hesitate to fire off a response that's a direct shot at Trump's personality.

Aaron makes it clear his answer has NOTHING to do with politics, and explains why ... basically, Trump couldn't carry Prez Bartlet's water. Best part of the clip, though, might be Sorkin's own reaction to what came out of his mouth.

Take it easy, Aaron -- we don't think you're in George Lopez territory here.