Controversial S#!T

"Pawn Stars" Jesse Amoroso says Kurt Cobain's "MTV Unplugged" guitar is a piece of rock and roll history and belongs someplace special ... in other words -- NOT with Frances Bean's ex-husband.

The guitar expert and Cowtown Guitars owner tells TMZ ... Kurt's 'Unplugged' performance with the 1959 Martin D-18E is synonymous with the '90s and as iconic as the white Fender Stratocaster Jimi Hendrix shredded with at Woodstock.

Amoroso says because Cobain played the acoustic-electric Martin -- which is already a rare guitar because only 302 were ever made -- it's basically priceless ... though he estimates it could easily fetch close to a million bucks or more at auction.

Jesse also tells us if Cobain's 'Unplugged' guitar ends up on sale, he hopes it ends up someplace where it will be appreciated ... like Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture or the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

We broke the story ... Frances Bean Cobain conceded her dad's famous guitar to her ex-husband, Isaiah Silva, in their divorce settlement after a long legal battle.

Dean Cain seems to agree with his friend James Caan that the world's a strange place right now regarding how men and women interact ... and also shares his support of Morgan Freeman.

We got the former Superman actor out at the National Mall in D.C. on Memorial Day and asked about Caan's comments to us last week ... Dean tells us he sees where James is coming from, and dismisses a video tape many feel shows Freeman acting inappropriately to a reporter as "ridiculous."

Cain goes on to explain hitting on the opposite sex is fine if it doesn't go too far -- and he's seen that happen on both sides -- but the current culture's not going to stop him from talking to a beautiful woman.

The FBI elite agent who investigated the murder of Brian Wells -- a case that inspired Netflix's 'Evil Genius' -- isn't buying the shocking twist at the end of the documentary ... at least not most of it.

Dr. Jerry Clark -- who's heavily featured in the 4-part doc -- tells TMZ ... former prostitute Jessica Hoopsick's confession doesn't mesh with loads of evidence and investigatory work he did for years, so he doesn't believe she's credible.

If you haven't seen it, a big mystery of 'Evil Genius' is how much Wells knew about the bank heist that led to his death -- Jessica claims he knew nothing and she helped set him up ... but Jerry strongly refutes that and has some solid reasons.

Clark does agree with Jessica on one major component ... and 'Evil Genius' fans are going to want to hear his take on Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Bill Rothstein, too.

They should also check out what the director of the documentary, Trey Borzillieri, told us about Floyd Stockton.

Eric Dickerson says the fact players now have a choice to stay in the locker room for the national anthem is a "good thing" ... but says he would stand if he was still in the league.

"This gives you a choice. I think that's a good thing," Dickerson told TMZ Sports when asked about the NFL's new policy.

"If the guys want to stand they can stand, if the guys that want to stay in the locker room, I think they'll stay in the locker room."

Dickerson's larger point -- the league can't please everybody when it comes to this issue ... and he thinks Roger Goodell and the NFL owners are doing the best they can.

"You can't please everybody. By saying this, you know somebody's not going to like it. It is what it is. It's like religion and raising your kids. Nobody's going to agree with you all the time."

Chloe Green is super pregnant, which is why this pic of her sucking on a vape pen is so interesting.

Chloe and her baby daddy hot felon Jeremy Meeks were cruising on a yacht Friday in Monaco, enjoying the weather, catching a few rays and hugging here and there when she pulled out the pen.

We don't know what she's smoking ... maybe there's no cartridge, but it still raises eyebrows. Doctors have linked marijuana use during pregnancy with increased risk of complications such as low birth weight and premature birth.

There's also a movement afoot promoting edibles for pregnant women to ease nausea.

It has been reported that Jeremy -- who's in the middle of a divorce -- has said he and billionaire Chloe are going to get hitched once his divorce is final.

Morgan Freeman has issued a second statement, responding to allegations he sexually harassed a number of women, this time saying the incidents were "misplaced compliments or humor" and not sexual assault ... and now one of the women is calling out CNN for unfairly suggesting she's a victim.

Freeman says, "I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye." He goes on ... "It is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humor."

Freeman does apologize, saying he will "continue to apologize to anyone I might have upset, however unintentionally."

Roger Goodell is doing a helluva job as NFL commish ... and that's coming from a guy who ran the NBA for 30 years, David Stern.

TMZ Sports saw Stern in NYC ... and with the debate over the NFL's new rule on the National Anthem protest raging ... we asked the former commish how he'd handle the controversy.

Stern didn't exactly answer the question ... but he did offer a ringing endorsement to the NFL's head honcho.

"I think that commisioner Goodell is doing a great job in difficult circumstances."

He went on to say ... "I think every league needs rules to cover every situation. I don't know what rule I would implement, but there should be a rule that treats everyone fairly, and uniformly."

FYI -- the new regulation has been polarizing. Prez Trump and VP Pence applauded the league ... while others have been super critical of Goodell and the NFL.

UFC Champ Tyron Woodley says Kendrick Lamar should've let a white concertgoer get away with saying the n-word ... saying the young lady deserved a pass.

It happened last week during a concert in Alabama ... Kendrick admonished the fan when she let the word slip during a performance of "M.A.A.D. City," and of course it instantly went viral.

Woodley was on his show "The Hollywood Beatdown" when the topic came up ... and Tyron took the wrong less traveled by black dudes, saying he thought the young lady was GREAT.

"I thought it was hilarious. I thought how confident she was, no reservation, no hesitation, she came right off the nugget. She didn't miss one line."

Hope you didn't think he'd stop there ... Tyron went to explain that he routinely gives n-word passes when he does stand-up comedy, and tries to get his co-host Evan (white dude) to says the word.

Evan passes ... which is UNDOUBTEDLY the smart decision.

Deion Sanders has a message for people worried about Tom Brady skipping organized team activities (OTAs) this week ...

WHOOOOO CARES!?!?!?

TMZ Sports asked Primetime -- who claims to have only attended OTAs twice during his Hall of Fame career -- about TB12 no-showing at the voluntary practices ... and he says it's NBD because Brady's already proven what he can do.

ICYMI -- Bill Belichick seemed pissed about Tom's absence from Patriots OTAs ... telling reporters, "I'm not gonna talk about the people who aren't here," on Tuesday.

Sanders ain't looking into that either ... saying that's always how the coach acts.

NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon says the NFL's kneeling rule isn't a perfect solution to the national anthem protests ... but in his opinion, it's the right thing to do to turn the focus back to football.

League owners sent shockwaves through the sports world, announcing penalties for any player who elects to kneel on the field while the national anthem is played.

Some were outraged, saying the league is unfairly muzzling the players -- but Moon doesn't agree, and told TMZ Sports it was time to get back to concentrating on football.

"This way all the attention goes back to the anthem and takes it away from the players, which it should be, because the anthem is the anthem and it should stand alone because it's for everybody."

Warren also said the solution wasn't without it's flaws, but was "as close to perfect as you're gonna get," because all the controversy was hurting the business of the NFL.

Nicole Eggert says she knew it'd be a long shot for law enforcement to find a prosecutable case against Scott Baio -- but she doesn't regret for a second pursuing her allegations.

Nicole talked to us about her moral victory over Baio. We broke the story ... Baio won't be prosecuted for allegedly molesting Nicole while working on "Charles in Charge." Still, our sources say the D.A. believed Nicole's story.

She says she doesn't regret pursuing the case as vigorously as she did, because she says she wanted her truth out there. Nicole also told us whether she'd accept an apology from Baio, at this point.

Baio's rep says “According to on the record statements from the Los Angeles District Attorney, TMZ's source on this matter is incorrect, and the status of the case is unchanged. Similarly, we do not believe the various claims about comments about the strength of Ms. Eggert’s allegations are accurate. Ms. Eggert is now also subject to a restraining order for stalking a Baio fan using social media, which she has already violated. We believe Scott will be fully vindicated when this matter actually concludes, and Ms. Eggert will then be held fully accountable for her untrue and defamatory claims.”

TMZ reported the fact the D.A. handling the case found Nicole "credible" after meeting with her Wednesday, and that Scott would not be prosecuted based on the statute of limitations.

President Trump has officially been put on notice by a Democratic lawmaker hell-bent on impeaching 45 ... and it's got nothing to do with the Russians.

We got Congressman Al Green at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and wanted him to clarify the statements he made last week ... saying there's a likelihood impeachment articles would be filed if Democrats regain control of both branches in Congress.

Common says the new NFL anthem policy is robbing players of their freedom of speech -- and that's not what this country is supposed to be about.

"I just think ... telling people what they should do during a ceremony is not really what the country is based on," Common told us while out in Bev Hills.

"Freedom of speech, freedom to be who you are ... This country is supposed to be about us being independent and being able to be who we are. Especially in a ceremony where people aren't trying to disrespect anything."

Common says Colin Kaepernick's intent with his demonstration wasn't to disrespect the flag or the military -- but rather put a spotlight on racial injustice, specifically the wave of black people being killed by police.

NY Jets chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson says to hell with the NFL's new policy on restricting anthem protests ... and vows to pay the fines HIMSELF if his players kneel!

"If somebody [on the Jets] takes a knee, that fine will be borne by the organization, by me, not the players," Christopher told Newsday.

"There will be no club fines or suspensions or any sort of repercussions. If the team gets fined, that's just something I'll have to bear."

FYI, Christopher is the brother of team owner Woody Johnson -- who is currently serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, after being nominated by President Trump.

Johnson added that while he prefers his players stand, he says it's not his nor the league's place "to put restrictions on the speech of our players."

Malcolm Jenkins says he will not let the NFL's new national anthem policy "silence me or stop me from fighting" ... saying the owners are "[thwarting] the players' constitutional rights."

The Philadelphia Eagles star never took a knee during the anthem -- but did raise his fist -- and has been very outspoken about players like Colin Kaepernick having the right to protest if they so choose.

So, when the NFL announced the new anthem policy on Wednesday -- requiring players on the field to stand -- Jenkins sounded off.

"What NFL owners did today was thwart the players' constitutional rights to express themselves and use our platform to draw attention to social injustices like racial inequality in our country," Jenkins says.

"Everyone loses when voices get stifled."

"While I disagree with this decision, I will not let it silence me or stop me from fighting."

"The national conversation around race in America that NFL players forced over the past 2 years will persist as we continue to use our voices, our time and our money to create a more fair and just criminal justice system, end police brutality and foster better educational and economic opportunities for communities of color and those struggling in this country."

Comedian and Food Network host Josh Denny has come under fire for his recent comment that "'Straight White Male' has become this century's N-Word," and his convo with TMZ's Van Lathan only added fuel ... when Denny used the racial slur multiple times.

Josh was a guest on Van's 'The Red Pill' podcast this week to discuss the controversy, but got off to a rocky start by saying the n-word. Despite Van asking him to refrain from using it, Denny launched into a story about his dad telling a racist joke and said it again ... 3 times!!!

Check it out -- Van shuts Josh down for dropping the n-bomb by explaining how it disregards and disrespects his wishes ... and the 2 have to build trust in order to make progress.

You can check out Van's full interview with Josh below, and listen to 'The Red Pill' podcast weekly on SoundCloud.