Controversial S#!T

Public Enemy still wants people to "Fight the Power" ... but now Chuck D says it's time to let younger people handle that fight, because time's literally running out for most political leaders.

We talked to the legendary MC on 'TMZ Live' to get his thoughts on the upcoming election and current social unrest ... which he points out has millions of youth on the front lines expressing their anger. Chuck says whether it's PE's heyday of the '90s -- or now, that's never changed.

In light of that, he says our politics need to reflect that from the top down ... especially at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Now, he's not suggesting we elect a 25-year-old President -- not that the Constitution would allow it -- but he's making a point about much older men calling the shots on our futures.

He pokes fun at this year's candidates ... saying when they talk "future," he wonders how much longer they actually have left.

That brings us to PE's new track, "State of the Union (STFU)." It's a not-so-subtle shot at President Trump ... with a kick-ass, classic Public Enemy beat.

Mississippi is doing away with the Confederate battle flag that's embedded into their own state flag -- and watching it come down at the Capitol was quite an historic sight.

State troopers pulled the flag down Wednesday in front of the Capitol building in Jackson, proceeding to then fold it up and carry it off into the sunset ... almost like it was a fallen soldier or something. It's not a soldier, it's a giant piece of cloth -- but this was a big deal for a lot of folks down there in the South.

Mississippi's ensign was the last modern American flag that still featured the antiquated confederacy logo ... something that drew renewed ire of late, in the wake a sweeping social justice conversation happening nationally, which is boldly calling out blatant racism.

Welp, local lawmakers listened to their constituents and got the ball rolling this weekend ... first, the House passed a resolution to ditch their pride and glory, which was followed by backing in the Senate, and on Tuesday -- the governor, Tate Reeves, signed it into law.

It's a major move that was 126 years in the making. Mind you, the Civil War was over 150 years ago ... and the South lost. That means the Confederacy and their emblems are NOT part of our official heritage -- or at the very least, not something to proudly flaunt in 2020.

Tons of people have called for the flag to be retired over the decades -- including country star Faith Hill, who recently decried the old flag and demanded an immediate change.

Put that dusty old thing in a museum somewhere and call it a day. Time to get something fresh on the pole to hoist high. The question ... what'll they choose for a design next?

Corey LaJoie's #32 car is getting a new paint job for NASCAR's big race Sunday ... his team says it's decking out the ride in a "Trump 2020" theme for the Brickyard 400.

Go Fas Racing revealed the new paint scheme Wednesday ... saying it's partnered with the pro-Trump Patriots of America PAC to create the red, white and blue whip for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race.

"I am honored to be part of the President's re-election campaign through the Patriots of America PAC," team owner Archie St. Hilaire said in a statement.

"As a Trump 2020 supporter, this team will do everything possible to secure victory on and off the track electing President Donald Trump to a second term."

The Ford Mustang will feature "Trump 2020" on both the hood and the rear-quarter panels ... while also displaying "Your Vote Counts" emblems.

The race is set to go down on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in Indiana.

"With an estimated 75 million NASCAR fans out there, I was surprised that about 15 million of those fans are not registered voters," 28-year-old LaJoie said after the ride's paint scheme was announced.

"I will give my best effort to get NASCAR fans registered to vote, through our team efforts on and off the track. When they see the car, hopefully, it makes them race to the polls in November."

LaJoie has 5 top 20 finishes in the Cup Series this season ... notably finishing 8th in February's Daytona 500.

FYI, Bubba Wallace -- who's been racing in a "Black Lives Matter" car recently -- finished in 3rd at the 2019 Brickyard 400. He'll be back in Indy to compete this weekend as well.

The NJ woman who's been dubbed "Permit Karen" now has protesters marching because she called cops on her black neighbors claiming she'd been assaulted ... something several other neighbors dispute.

The block war started Monday in Montclair, NJ, where the couple -- who shot this video -- say they told Permit Karen to leave their property when she had a meltdown over their right to install a stone patio in their backyard. That's how the woman, whose real name is Susan, earned the handle.

The couple says PK barged onto their property 3 times in 30 minutes, peppering them with questions about permits for the home improvement project ... and when she didn't get her way, they claim she called the cops with false allegations of an assault against her.

After the couple posted the video, a group of local youths organized a protest ... marching up and down the block and chanting outside Susan's home.

Other neighbors on the block, many of whom are white, are also giving Susan hell ... claiming she was trying "to put her black neighbors back in their place" by calling the police.

The couple claims Susan's been harassing them for 2 years, but called this week's incident an example of "white entitlement and black hate embodied."

We reached out to police in Montclair ... no word back, so far.

Tony Dungy says he's done calling the Washington Redskins by their nickname ... explaining, "If the team doesn’t want to change, the least I can do is try not to use it."

Besides being an NFL Hall of Fame coach, Dungy is also part of NBC's "Football Night In America" ... the pre-game show for the biggest game of the week.

In other words, Dungy has a HUGE platform -- and he intends to use it to push for Washington to change its name.

"It’s not hard to change the name," Dungy told ESPN's William C. Rhoden. "When I’m on the air, I try to just refer to them as Washington. I think it’s appropriate."

Dungy's comments come in the wake of the National Congress of American Indians -- a powerful org. that represents more than 500 tribal nations -- deeming the team name offensive and calling for NFL Players to boycott.

NCAI president Fawn Sharp said just last week -- "It’s time for the players to rip down that name like it was a statue of a Confederate general in their locker room."

Pretty strong stuff -- especially since Washington had long argued that Native Americans were cool with the team name.

Can't hide behind that argument anymore.

Despite the pushback, Washington head coach Ron Rivera still isn't on board with a name change -- at least not yet -- arguing on a radio show earlier this week it's "always been a part of football."

Dungy disagrees, saying, "You can say, ‘This has been a historic name and we’ve used it for this team for X number of years, but in this day and age, it’s offensive to some people, so we’re going to change it.'"

A former member of the Philadelphia 76ers' dance team claims she was the victim of bullying and racism during her time on the squad ... and now, the Sixers have launched an investigation.

Yahne Coleman -- a fashion model who used to perform with the Sixers Dancers -- revealed the disturbing allegations in a lengthy social media post Tuesday.

In the statement, Coleman claimed she was "racially profiled, bullied and threatened" not only by her dance teammates ... but by members of the dance team's coaching staff as well.

Coleman also attached a video with her post ... which she says shows a former teammate making inappropriate and racist remarks toward her, and even threatening her.

In the footage, the woman can be heard saying, "I will teach you how to use a tampon because your dirty-ass vagina probably smells like fish."

The woman in the video can also be heard saying, "I will find you in whatever home project you live in. I will slum it to the west side of Philly just to find your ass, beat the sh*t out of it, and then get you backlisted from whatever club you think you can get in.”

Coleman -- who reportedly left the dance team in 2015 -- claims similar bullying incidents happened to her regularly ... and she says when she reported it to officials in the 76ers' organization, "nothing was done."

The Sixers released a statement shortly after Coleman's post went up, and they say they're vowing to do a thorough investigation into the claims.

"Tonight, we were made aware of social media posts involving former dance team members that contained insensitive, offensive and unacceptable remarks, as well as allegations of bullying and racist behavior,” the team said.

"The videos, which were filmed in 2016, featured derogatory comments from a former dance team member who left the organization in 2013."

Breonna Taylor's family is in the same corner as Beyonce's mom over photos of Kentucky's top prosecutor partying it up with his fiancee instead of drilling down in her case.

ICYMI ... photos surfaced over the weekend of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron hosting an engagement party with friends and loved ones -- something Bey's ma, Tina Lawson, jumped on and openly criticized on social media, along with several others.

She explained how Cameron's election to the AG office was initially seen as a boon for the black community -- but went on to say his inaction in the case proves otherwise, especially when it comes to Breonna's killing.

Tina writes, "I have no problem with who he marries, that is his personal business. That is not what this post is about! I just don’t understand his actions!!! And where are their masks?"

Sources close to the family tell us they couldn't agree more with Tina's sentiment ... they see these photos as a slap in the face.

We're told the family has its own team working round the clock for answers -- and while the AG said he too was doing the same, our sources say the family feels his actions prove otherwise. Even if the guy's got a team on it, we're told they see this as him not giving a damn.

And yes, as for Tina's claim that Cameron snubbed Breonna's mom ... we're told that's true. She tried meeting with him in early June, but he avoided her and had someone else from his office speak to her over the phone. We're told he hasn't provided any updates.

The latest news in Breonna's case ... one of the officers involved in her death, Brett Hankison, got canned from the Louisville PD. That's about it -- no criminal charges have been filed, and there's no telling if charges are forthcoming. The shooting occurred more than 3 months ago.

Now, Cameron has called for patience, as he's said he's vetting the case thoroughly -- but we're told Breonna's family has lost confidence in him bringing about justice.

It took 400,000 man-hours and 350 tons of metal -- but now Fight Island is ready to roll and it looks AMAZING!!!

Dana White just dropped the hype video showing the tremendous effort it took to bring Fight Island to life in just a few months ... transforming part of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi into a city custom-built for the UFC.

Of course, Fight Island was created to provide a safe place for the UFC to host fights in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic -- so, there was clearly an emphasis on testing facilities on the premises.

There are 17 medical personnel stationed on the island, according to UFC -- and they've already administered more than 2,000 tests.

You can see in the video the massive construction effort it took to erect the main fight arena, the beach Octagon and other facilities necessary to host all of the upcoming UFC events.

White has said all fighters and their crews will undergo 5 rounds of testing -- starting with tests before they board their flights to Yas Island.

Once on the island, there will be 3 more rounds of testing before the fights -- and then a final post-fight test before fighters are allowed to fly home.

There is a massive security presence on the Island to keep things safe -- and Dana White is fired up!

"I can't wait to get there," White said.

The first event on Fight Island is UFC 251 on July 11 -- featuring some crazy bouts ... including Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns.

Max Holloway is fighting Alexander Volkanovski and Paige VanZant is fighting Amanda Ribas.

The African-American mom who was refused a table at a Baltimore restaurant says she's taking the joint to court, because its apology's coming up short.

Marcia Grant and her 9-year-old son, Dallas, came on 'TMZ Live' Tuesday to announce a forthcoming lawsuit against Atlas Restaurant Group -- the company that controls Ouzo Bay, which discriminated against them over a dress code that wasn't evenly applied ... based on Marcia's video.

You'll recall, Marcia pointed out there was a white kid wearing an almost identical outfit to Dallas' ... but, for some reason, he'd been allowed entry. She told us her son never experienced blatant racism like that, not first-hand.

Dallas told us how the whole experience made him feel, and it's heartbreaking.

Marcia, and her attorney, Donte Mills, explained how Dallas has been affected, and how they're trying to make him understand ... he did nothing wrong.

In that same breath, Donte says it point-blank ... they're moving forward with a lawsuit against Atlas Restaurant Group.

Donte says ARG's apology simply doesn't cut it -- as it fails to fully acknowledge the wrong that was done ... something Marcia echoed to us last week. The writing was on the wall for legal action.

Mr. Mills makes another interesting point here -- saying this situation could've easily gone left if cops were called and things escalated. That's another thing they're trying to make clear with their suit.

Marcia tells us what Dallas is doing now in the aftermath -- and it sounds like he and some friends are planning to speak out about the injustice he suffered.

A melee broke out in Arkansas when one restaurant customer felt others were too close for comfort -- but they all got much closer while breaking bottles and punching each other.

This nasty fight went down at the Saltgrass Steak House in Little Rock, and the video shows four grown adults just going at it Saturday night. According to cops, tensions started rising when one patron complained about social distancing.

You can see her -- the complaining someone else had coughed on her.

Here's your scorecard ... based on the police report, obtained by TMZ: the black woman claims the white guy (in the USA shirt) and his friends were not staying 6-feet away from her ... and when she expressed her frustration, they started harassing her.

Now, in the report ... there are differing accounts of who started coughing purposely on people. At any rate, everyone agrees things escalated from there -- and in the video, you see the brawl really exploded when a Black guy at the bar turned around with a bottle or glass ... and smashed another guy in the head.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says our country has finally opened its eyes to racism and police brutality, and all the credit goes to one group ... folks who pounded the pavement.

AOC is in awe over the nationwide protests ... saying anyone who was actually taken aback by what's been going on for YEARS obviously comes from privilege -- but it's great they're finally awakened.

The congresswoman also gave mega props to protesters on the ground, because she says it was THEY who controlled the narrative. And, she says, protesters who spread the word on social media did their part, too.

She also says the very fact so many citizens protested for weeks on end -- and continue to do so to this day -- has put the spotlight on questions that otherwise might've been swept under the rug ... like police budgets, for example, and why they're so much bigger than budgets for education or housing.

AOC ends strong ... telling us voting is crucial, but someone's gotta give people a reason to hit the voting booths before election day too.

Jeff Bezos' status as the world's richest man is exactly why he's got a new lawn ornament, of sorts, at his D.C. home ... a guillotine, placed there by angry protesters.

The faux blade was set up Sunday outside Jeff's pad with a sign that's pretty specifically targeting Jeff's uber rich status -- "Support our poor communities, not our wealthy men." Despite the instrument of destruction, the protesters gathered nearby were pretty chill ... sitting or standing on the street in front of his home.

We don't know Bezos' position on cake, but the guillotine is a clear reference to the 1793 beheading of Marie Antoinette and the spark of the French Revolution.

It's unclear if Bezos -- reportedly worth just over $160 BILLION -- was home at the time but protesters made their message clear ... circulated a digital flyer that read, "Amazon works directly with police to surveil us, stoking racist fears in the name of profit. Doubling down on their union-busting and mistreatment of workers ... Join us to tell Jeff Bezos enough is enough!"

For what it's worth ... Bezos schooled an Amazon customer earlier this month on why Amazon is supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. After the customer emailed him to say "All Lives Matter" ... Bezos replied, "'Black lives matter' doesn't mean other lives don't matter. Black lives matter speaks to racism and the disproportionate risk that Black people face in our law enforcement and justice system."

Pop Smoke's fans have spoken -- loudly and clearly -- the cover art designed by Virgil Abloh for the rapper's posthumous album is trash ... so a change is coming.

Pop's highly anticipated album, "Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon" is set to release July 3, but when the cover art was revealed Monday ... it was widely ridiculed and roasted, and fans immediately demanded a do-over.

Among the most common complaints about the cover ... the lazy Photoshop job, along with using a photo of Smoke that's the first one that comes up on Google images.

In his defense, when Abloh posted the artwork he said he'd just finished it and explained ... "this album cover was one of like 5 things we talked about. he mentioned his story felt like the metaphor of a rose & thorns growing from concrete of his hood in Canarsie, Brooklyn."

Fans weren't buying it though. Even 50 Cent -- a mentor to the late hip-hop star -- called out Abloh.

Fif tweeted ... "Hey Virgil we need new album art, they ain’t going for this bulls**t. Love ya work let’s get to it. Steven i told you this s**t was eww let’s get it right!"

That Steven is Pop's manager, Steven Victor, who's already made it clear that Abloh's art will be redone before the album is released.

Victor says Pop -- who was on the rise when he was fatally shot in February in a home invasion -- would listen to his fans and make a change ... so that's what they're going to do.

It's unclear if Abloh will get another crack at it or if the cover art will be done by someone else, but ya gotta think ... anything new will be an improvement.

Fred VanVleet WILL join his Toronto Raptors teammates in the NBA bubble next month ... but the guy straight-up admitted Monday he doesn't know if it's the right call at all.

"It sucks," VanVleet told reporters in a conference call. "It's terrible timing. But, that's been 2020 for us. We all know the right thing to do is to not play, to take a stand."

VanVleet -- like Dwight Howard and Kyrie Irving before him -- clearly believes the Black Lives Matter movement might be better served if the NBA did NOT return this summer.

But, the Raptors star guard says the money -- and the ability to use it to help the fight for social justice -- ultimately just swayed him too much.

"We're all young, black guys," VanVleet said. "None of us want to give any money back. I don't think that we should. I think that money can be used in many different ways."

"This is not going to end this summer regardless, or over the next couple of months. This issue, racial injustice, social injustice, police brutality, all these things are not ending anytime soon. Our fight is long-term. That was part of my decision."

VanVleet says if more NBA guys were on board ... he would've had no problem sitting out the restarted season, adding, "I wouldn't have even fought it."

"I think most of us decided to play. It's something we'll have to live with. I trust that my heart's in the right place, and I'm doing enough to really make change."

John Wayne was NOT a racist ... at least according to his son, who just weighed in on the controversial debate about renaming the Orange County airport that bears his name.

John's son, Ethan Wayne, says he's trying to set the record straight on the famous cowboy actor, who some say is a racist and bigot and doesn't deserve to have his name on the SoCal airport.

Ethan says of his father ... "John Wayne was not a racist. I know that term is casually tossed around these days, but I take it very seriously. I also understand how we got to this point."

Remember, John told Playboy back in 1971 ... "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don't believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people."

The infamous quote is one of the reasons the Orange County Democratic Party recently passed a resolution, calling out John's "racist and bigoted statements" and demanding the O.C. Board of Supervisors rename the airport.

Ethan says in a family statement ... "There is no question that the words spoken by John Wayne in an interview 50 years ago have caused pain and anger. They pained him as well, as he realized his true feelings were wrongly conveyed."

He does not say his father was misquoted, and despite the words he spoke to Playboy ... Ethan goes on to say his dad "did not support 'white supremacy' in any way and believed that responsible people should gain power without the use of violence."

John's son is also invoking George Floyd's name to defend his father, saying ... "He would have pulled those officers off of George Floyd, because that was the right thing to do. He would stand for everyone’s right to protest and work toward change."

Ethan says his it would be an "injustice" to judge John based on a single interview and says the big picture paints a much different picture of dad, who he says "called out bigotry when he saw it."

Yet another video showing a police officer mowing down Black Lives Matter protesters ... this time in Detroit where the cop in his cruiser's doing exactly that.

The horrifying incident unfolded late Sunday night in Southwest Detroit where protesters were peacefully demonstrating against systemic racism. They were heading back to Patton Park, where the protest began ... but met by cops who were determined to block them.

A tense standoff between protesters and the cop in his SUV followed. You can see the officer creep up in his car with protesters standing in front of the cruiser -- then the cop FLOORS it ... mowing down protesters along the way. You see a protester clinging to the hood of the SUV as the cop takes off.

A protester who says he was hit by the cop told the Detroit Free Press the cop "ran over a couple people's arms, feet. He ran over her phone. I think I was the last person on the car. I was just holding onto the car. I could feel him speeding up and then he did one of these and he flinged me off the car."

Medics treated as many as 10 people on the scene following the incident.

The Detroit PD says it's investigating the incident. This violent clash is reminiscent of what went down in NYC earlier this month when cops were seen on video driving their cruisers into a crowd of protesters behind a barricade.