Controversial S#!T

Jeff Bezos may have just paid millions of dollars over asking price for a New York City condo, but hey ... for him it's like throwing a penny into a fountain.

The richest dude in the world just dropped $16 mil on a 3-bedroom, 3,000 square foot apartment in the Big Apple. And check this out ... the joint sold in 2018 for $11.5 mil.

Real estate honchos say Jeff overpaid some for sure, but he has a higher purpose ... literally. The Amazon chief's new unit is smack dab below a penthouse and 2 other units which he bought last year for a cool $80 mil.

So, now Bezos has 4 contiguous units in the prestige building. The end game is to connect the units into a big ass home, but construction has yet to begin.

As we reported, Bezos is scooping up property left and right on both coasts ... he took David Geffen's Bev Hills home off his hands for $165 million ... also last year, after his divorce.

Lori Loughlin just got a signal from the judge in her college admissions criminal case -- that the judge is about to open a can of whup-ass on prosecutors for allegedly coaching a key figure in the case to lie.

The judge just ordered prosecutors to get real over something prosecutors allegedly hid for months, but finally surfaced. TMZ broke the story, Lori claimed in documents that FBI agents were browbeating scammer and ringleader Rick Singer to lie, and when he wouldn't they screamed at him. Singer had told agents the money Lori and others paid were donations, but he claimed that agents -- including one named Liz -- told him he should say the money these parents paid were bribes. When he resisted, he says the started screaming at him.

The judge called the allegations "serious and disturbing," adding, "While government agents are permitted to coach a cooperating witness during the course of an investigation, they are not permitted to suborn the commission of a crime." The crime to which the judge refers is clearly that if Singer swore that which was not true, it would amount to perjury.

The judge is asking for answers from prosecutors. As we reported, Lori says they acted so corruptly, she wants the judge to dismiss the case outright.

Pro hockey player Akim Aliu is taking the high road with his old coach, Bill Peters ... saying the man deserves his new opportunity to work, despite the racist remarks he made more than 10 years ago.

Remember, Aliu opened up this past November and claimed Peters "dropped the N-bomb several times" toward him during his rookie year with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2008-09 season.

The NHL opened an investigation into the accusations and Peters quickly resigned from his then-gig with the Calgary Flames.

Now, Peters has found new work with the Kontinental Hockey League Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg ... a move that Aliu is surprisingly okay with.

"Only with the past behind us can we focus on the future," Aliu said in a statement.

"Hockey is for all. I believe in second chances for everyone, that we can all find forgiveness in our heart and that real positive change is coming if we continue to push forward together."

"I don’t resent a man for finding work," Aliu said. "But I will fight to make sure those same opportunities are available to everyone, on and off the ice, regardless of race or ethnicity."

It's a powerful statement from Aliu ... who's made it his goal to help minorities feel more welcome in the sport.

As for Peters, he said he's learned from his mistakes, saying, "I think as times goes on, we all grow and improve and become better versions of ourselves."

Bill O'Brien is sick and tired of hearing about his awful DeAndre Hopkins trade ... and now he's begging fans to stop ripping him for the inexplicable move.

"The best thing I can tell the fans is to please ... I think we have to let it all play out!" the Houston head coach said Thursday. "Let it play out. Let the whole thing play out!"

O'Brien has been slammed for jettisoning D-Hop and a 4th-round pick to Arizona for David Johnson (plus his terrible contract) and some other draft picks ... with fans wondering what the hell he's doing with the Texans' roster.

FYI, Hopkins is arguably the best receiver in the league -- AND he's on a team-friendly deal -- while Johnson hasn't rushed for more than 1,000 yards since 2016.

But, Bill says he's got a master plan going ... and is pleading for patience.

"I would say let's review it a year from now," O'Brien says. "Two years from now. Three years from now. Let's let it all play out."

Bill told reporters he's seen some analytics that have made the trade make sense in his mind ... saying he feels "very good about the value that we got for the trade."

Bubba Wallace -- NASCAR's only top-level African-American driver -- says he spoke to Kyle Larson about his N-word incident ... and has accepted his apology.

26-year-old Wallace says Larson called him on the phone 5 minutes after using the slur Sunday night during an iRacing event that was publicly streamed on Twitch.

After ignoring multiple calls, Wallace says he finally accepted a FaceTime from Larson the following day, so they could speak "face to face."

"We had a good conversation, his apology was sincere. His emotions and pride were shattered."

Wallace says, "We discussed why he chose to use that language and I shared my thoughts. I told him, it was too easy for him to use the word and he has to do better and get it out of his vocabulary."

"There is no place for that word in this world. I am not mad at him, and I believe that he, along with most people, deserve second chances, and deserve space to improve."

"I do wish him and his family nothing but the best. And, I am more than willing to work with him to address diversity and inclusion in our sport."

Wallace also explained why the word is so damn offensive -- and has no place in any part of society ... especially NASCAR.

"It’s NOT just a word. There is a ton of negative meaning behind the word. Doesn’t matter if a person uses it in an offensive way or not. The word brings many terrible memories for people and families and brings them back to a time that WE as a community and human race have tried our hardest to get away from."

"The sport has made combatting this stereotype one of their top priorities. NASCAR has been doing what it can to get away from the ‘racist and redneck sport’ labels. Diversity and inclusion is a main priority for the sport across every team, every car, every crew member and employee. With that said, it hurts to see the African-American community immediately throw NASCAR under the bus with the ‘I’m not shocked it’s NASCAR.’"

He added, "NASCAR has been, and will be way better than how we’ve been represented in the last couple of weeks. As the person that arguably has the biggest voice on this topic in our sport, it’s tough for me to speak to because I didn’t imagine us being here."

For his part, Larson issued a public video apology -- but it didn't save his job or sponsors.

DePaul's former softball coach allegedly punched his assistant in the face and repeatedly verbally abused players ... but school officials did nothing about it -- this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the suit, one of the mental health doctors DePaul used regularly, Jenny Conviser, alleges she uncovered a pattern of abuse stemming from Eugene Lenti's softball program.

FYI, Lenti is a legend at the school ... coaching there for nearly 40 years and racking up more than 1,000 career wins.

Conviser -- a noted sports psychologist who worked with DePaul from 2005-2018 -- says in meetings with student-athlete patients in 2016 ... they told her Lenti exhibited abusive behavior often.

In the docs, Conviser says players told her the coach often called them "f**king whores" and "regularly punched them about their bodies," among other things.

Conviser says when she brought this to the attention of school officials ... they failed to properly investigate -- and says it's all because Lenti's sister, Jean Lenti Ponsetto, was the program's athletic director.

Conviser says in 2018, a similar incident happened ... when a patient told her Lenti, during a dispute, "had punched in the face his female Associate Head Coach."

Yet Conviser says when she brought this up to the school once again ... she claims officials not only didn't look into the allegations -- they attempted to cover them up.

In the docs, Conviser alleges the school allowed Lenti to "slip out the back door" and quietly retire. She also says the school fired Lenti's entire staff, including the alleged victim of the punching attack.

Conviser also claims the school terminated its involvement with her and her medical companies ... and also defamed her by painting her as a "befuddled and disgruntled vendor crassly using DePaul’s patients’ well-being as an excuse to extort money."

Conviser is now suing the school -- but not Lenti or other officials -- for retaliation, breach of contract, defamation and more.

We've reached out to DePaul for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

As for Lenti, he unretired one year after leaving DePaul ... and was hired as an assistant coach on Auburn's softball staff in 2019. He's currently still on the school's coaching roster.

We've reached out to Auburn for comment as well, but no word back yet there either.

California officials will vote on a renewed hot button issue -- protecting local big cats -- and you gotta imagine ... 'Tiger King' will be at the forefront of everybody's minds for it.

The California Fish and Game Commission is scheduled to have the matter before them on Thursday, where they'll decide if mountain lions in Southern and Central California deserve state-mandated protections afforded to animals under the Endangered Species Act.

The effort to get these West Coast big cats that protection has been in the works for about a year, with several environmentalists, zoologists and different animal foundations having submitted petitions to move the item forward. Now, it's on the Commission's agenda.

Of course, the vote probably couldn't have at a better time ... seeing how Joe Exotic and co. just swept the nation and has most everyone -- especially Californians -- talking about tigers, lions and the like. Long story short ... we fully anticipate hearing 'Tiger King' on Thursday.

As for what these protections will do if passed by the CFGC ... it'll actually be a great boon to keeping mountain lions alive as humans continue to build out our own world. According to the Center for Biological Diversity -- which is helping spearhead the vote -- mountain lions could potentially get their own wildlife crossings built ... above freeways.

There are other protections the big cats would receive, and frankly ... it sounds like a great idea. The question now ... how much thanks would Joe and his tigers get if this goes through?

Cardi B unloaded on President Trump ... and Bernie Sanders relished the moment cause he couldn't stop himself from laughing his ass off.

The dynamic duo teamed up Tuesday night for an Instagram Live interview that was as bizarre as it was strategic. But, mostly, it was a vehicle for Cardi to vent to her beloved "Uncle Bernie."

The interview started with Bernie -- who in January encouraged Cardi to jump into politics -- asking Cardi how his nails look. The rapper quickly shot back with her trademark wit, saying she can tell he's been in quarantine. Hilarious.

But, then things got downright serious ... Cardi teed off on 45 -- she refused to mention Trump by name -- saying 45 doesn't need any help from Democrats to make himself look bad cause he makes himself look bad. Ouch.

Cardi -- an ardent Bernie supporter -- also took the opportunity to ask why uncle Bernie endorsed Joe Biden for president. Or ... as she framed it, "A lot of people like the youth, they don't rock with Joe Biden. I want you to explain to my platform, why are you endorsing him?"

And, there's the answer to why Bernie hopped on IG Live with Cardi, who has nearly 63M followers -- she provided a platform where Bernie can plea to his supporters to back Biden.

Booker T is putting Ronda Rousey on blast for her "fake" WWE comments ... saying the remarks were a "slap in the face" to everybody in the org. -- and he wants her to say sorry, ASAP.

"It really is a slap in the face," the wrestling legend said on his 'Hall Of Fame' podcast this week. "And, I just think Ronda, she needs to apologize first and foremost."

If you missed it ... Rousey went scorched earth last week reflecting on her time in the WWE -- blasting her fans as "ungrateful" and calling her wrestling matches "fake fights."

When asked about Ronda's words this week, Booker T was downright appalled ... saying he couldn't believe the former UFC star would say that after everything the wrestling company gave her.

"To slap all those ladies in the face that made her look so good after receiving that check from this 'fake' business," Booker T said, "a check that, like I said, being put in a position where she was the women’s champion, she was in the main event at WrestleMania, that speaks volumes."

Booker's biggest gripe with Rousey is that her colleagues fought tooth-and-nail to make her look good in her first year in the biz ... even though they were more deserving of the praise.

"There are so many ladies in that locker room that really work really, really hard, work their asses off to actually get to that spot, like a Nia Jax, that never had got that kind of praise since she’s been there," Booker T said.

"And, then someone walk from outside, inside to this world and get it. It really is a slap in the face."

Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have agreed to STOP THE QUARANTINE TURN UPS during the COVID-19 pandemic ... this according to Dallas Cowboys exec Stephen Jones.

Jerry Jones' son (who's also the Cowboys executive V.P.) called into 105.3 The Fan in Dallas and said the team spoke with both superstars after TMZ Sports posted photos from the party at Dak's Texas home on Friday ... and explained to them why the shindig was a TERRIBLE idea!

"I think they're certainly aware now of how sensitive these situations are," Jones said on Tuesday ... "I don't think you'll be seeing that anymore."

We were told there were as many as 30 people at Dak's home at one point -- though sources close to Dak insist the number was closer to 10.

Either way, bad idea -- since officials have warned against unnecessary gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"They're certainly guys that we have the utmost respect for, and I certainly know they understand the sensitivity of the situation we're in today," Stephen said.

"It's certainly very serious, and something that we know and certainly know they understand."

Tons of people have ripped the Cowboys stars over the party ... with former Dallas 1st-round pick Marcus Spears calling it, "one of the most disrespectful things I've seen in a long time."

For his part, Prescott has still yet to publicly comment on the issue.

Former President Barack Obama waited until the dust settled among all the Democratic presidential candidates, but he's fully throwing his support behind Joe Biden now.

Obama opened a video message with an uplifting sentiment about the fight against coronavirus and gave a thank you to those on the frontlines. He then transitioned to the political side ... saying, "That's why I'm so proud to endorse Joe Biden as President of the United States."

Obama then goes in on Trump and Republicans, saying, "One thing everybody has learned by now, the Republicans running the White House and the U.S. Senate are not interested in progress, they're interested in power."

At one point he mentions the failure of the Trump administration in containing the coronavirus, saying Republicans ignored the science of pandemics just as they ignored the science of climate change ... reminding everyone of the importance of honesty and informativeness from a President.

Biden was obviously thrilled with the endorsement, tweeting just a few minutes later, "Barack — This endorsement means the world to Jill and me. We’re going to build on the progress we made together, and there’s no one I’d rather have standing by my side."

Obama's backing of Biden comes just a day after Bernie Sanders joined Joe on a livestream to offer his endorsement, as well. Sanders dropped out of the race last week, seemingly leaving the nomination to Biden.

Joe told Bernie if he does indeed become the nominee, he's going to need Sanders' help "not just to win the campaign, but to govern."

Biden will certainly need more of Obama's help to defeat Trump, as well. The good news is ... 44 has been getting back out there more lately, mostly on social media to post helpful info about the coronavirus pandemic.

Ya gotta think he'll pivot to pushing his party to vote for Joe now though ... especially since it's been his goal to unite Democrats after all the primary chaos cooled down.

The fallout continues ...

NASCAR star Kyle Larson has been fired by his team, Chip Ganassi Racing, after using the n-word during an iRacing event.

"After much consideration, Chip Ganassi Racing has determined that it will end its relationship with driver Kyle Larson," the team said.

"As we said before, the comments that Kyle made were both offensive and unacceptable especially given the values of our organization."

The statement continued, "As we continued to evaluate the situation with all the relevant parties, it became obvious that this was the only appropriate course of action to take."

The 27-year-old dropped an n-bomb during a virtual race on Easter Sunday ... apparently not realizing his audio was streaming out to thousands of people on Twitch.

After crashing during Lap 6, Larson apparently had a difficult time communicating with other drivers and said -- "You can't hear me? Hey, n*****."

Larson apologized on Monday -- but sponsors (including McDonald's and Credit One Bank) dropped him anyway.