Controversial S#!T

One of the most famous "Big Brother" contestants says the show is rock solid ... despite rumors longtime host, Julie Chen, might be leaving Big Brother with Les Moonves now gone.

Dan Gheesling -- who won season 10 and was the runner-up on season 14 of "Big Brother" -- says if Julie steps away from her hosting role on CBS' hit reality series, whoever replaces her will have some massive shoes to fill. Her 18-year run has been that iconic.

So far, Julie has not given even a hint that she'll leave the show. In fact, she made it clear ... she'll be hosting Thursday night's episode.

The real question ... will "Big Brother" go on the chopping block now that Moonves is gone? Sharon Osbourne said this week on "The Talk" nobody's job is safe now ... nor are any of the CBS shows in the wake of Moonves' departure.

Ultimately it comes down to ratings. Although Dan says the show is a juggernaut ... the ratings are down this season from last, although the all-important demos are still strong.

Awwww, the widdle U.S. Open judge has hurt feewings??

SUCK IT UP, PAL, YOU DON'T DOCK SERENA WILLIAMS A FULL GAME PENALTY!!

At least, that's how Common feels about the drama involving his ex-girlfriend -- telling TMZ Sports the judge shouldn't be so damn sensitive when a passionate player blows up on him.

Remember, Carlos Ramos was so offended when Serena called him a "thief" during a heated moment in the U.S. Open final, he punished her by penalizing her 1 full game.

"You gotta rise above it as a referee," Common said ... "She was having a time at that moment, she should be allowed that space. She's a passionate athlete."

Common also explained, "I think the referee should have gave her some leeway. You could see she was having an emotional time and because she is that great and what she means to the sport, you don't want to see the match end because or things get swayed one way because of a referee."

"You should let the athletes play it out."

Norm Macdonald is no friend of the #MeToo movement ... and the comedian is tired of seeing showbiz types like Roseanne Barr and Louis C.K. having their careers ruined by scandals.

Norm says he's happy the #MeToo movement has "slowed down" ... and he has a hard time believing every victim who comes forward with allegations, according to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

The former "Saturday Night Live" star also says it's a shame Roseanne and Louis had their careers derailed by backlash to their words and actions ... believing everyone deserves forgiveness if they admit their wrongs and show remorse.

Norm even set up a conversation between Roseanne and Louis after they both had gigs canceled -- Barr had her show axed by ABC in the wake of racist comments and C.K. was dropped by Netflix and FX following sexual misconduct.

Norm says Roseanne and Louis lost everything in a day, but the victims didn't suffer the same way.

It's some pretty inflammatory stuff from Norm, but we're guessing he won't be fazed by any negative feedback.

7:00 PM PT -- Turns out, Norm was fazed by the backlash to his comments ... because he issued an apology.

Jay Williams says he's seen Andrew Bynum's recent workout video -- and he's impressed -- but tells TMZ Sports it might be too little, too late for the big man's NBA comeback dreams.

FYI -- Bynum's been training like crazy in hopes of getting a tryout with a team in need of a 7-footer ... even though it's been 4 years since he last suited up for a pro team.

Williams -- who went to the same New Jersey H.S. as Bynum -- says the ex-Laker looks in amazing shape ... but questions whether he'll be able to adjust to today's game with big men like Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins pulling up from three.

But, Williams doesn't close the door on Bynum's goals, he actually thinks he CAN pull off the comeback ... but he's keeping it real for the 30-year-old.

The Secret Service wants to hear from the veteran TV star who thinks it would be a good idea for someone to "John Wilkes Booth" President Trump.

Sources connected with the Agency tell TMZ, Carole Cook's comments to our photog when she left Craig's restaurant Sunday night were enough to trigger an official inquiry.

Our photog asked Cook -- a famous Broadway actress who also appeared on "Dynasty," "Cagney & Lacey" and "Sixteen Candles" -- what she thought about Trump, and she replied, "Where's John Wilkes Booth when you need him?" When our guy asked if she meant Trump should be assassinated she responded, "Why not?"

Our sources say the Secret Service saw our post and are concerned enough that they want a chit chat with the 94-year-old actress. They were quick to add it's not an official investigation -- just due diligence. If the interview unearths anything ominous, only then would it become an official investigation.

Miss Michigan took a big chance on a big stage, reminding everyone American citizens are still suffering through Flint's water crisis ... and now the city's mayor wants to give her props, in person.

Mayor Karen Weaver told us Emily Sioma definitely caught her attention with her choice of words at the start of the Miss America broadcast. If ya missed it, Emily called out her home state as the place with "84% of the United States’ fresh water but none for its residents to drink."

Mayor Weaver gives Emily major props for skipping the default intro -- which is normally bland and polite -- and addressing something substantial and important to Michigan residents.

Flint is still struggling with its lead-contaminated water supply. Multiple officials have been charged with crimes in connection to the health crisis.

President Oscar De La Hoya?!?!

Don't scoff -- the boxing legend says he's "very seriously" considering running for the highest office in the land ... and he's already putting together an exploratory team.

"I am actually very, very serious and I strongly feel that if a Kanye West can do it and announce and maybe tease the world that he would maybe one day wanna run for president, why not me?"

Obviously, Oscar has no experience as an elected politician -- but as ODLH pointed out on "TMZ Live," neither did Donald Trump.

So, what convinced Oscar to explore politics?

"I've had literally, over the years, ever since I became a professional in boxing, I've had millions of people tell me, 'Look, why don't you represent? Why don't you stand up and have a bigger voice?' And obviously, the biggest voice you can have is being president."

Oscar says if his exploratory team comes back with good numbers, he'll make it official and begin his campaign.

And, if you're wondering, Oscar says he believes strongly in standing for the national anthem.

But before he goes on the campaign trail, Oscar's got another major event in his life -- he's promoting the big Canelo vs. GGG rematch on Sept. 15th.

Omarosa has become a mortal foe of Donald Trump's, but she thinks someone is actually worse ... his Vice President.

We got Omarosa Monday in NYC and what she said was pretty shocking, given her take on life in the White House. She's called Trump a racist, mentally unstable, even creepy with his relationship with Ivanka. But, as bad as she says Trump is ... she believes Mike Pence is worse.

Omarosa lied in the rain, telling our photog she's still #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. Fact is ... her book, "Unhinged," is #5 this week.

President Trump believes there's plenty of proof Hillary Clinton is actually the one guilty of colluding with the Russians, and openly discussed it in meetings ... according to the new recording Omarosa just released.

She says this audio is from an October 2017 meeting -- Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Hope Hicks are heard talking to POTUS about Robert Mueller's investigation. Trump gleefully discusses a report claiming Hillary's campaign dropped millions to get the alleged Russian dossier on Trump ... which he calls, "the phony report."

You can hear Trump say, "So the whole Russia thing, I think, seems to have turned around. What do you think, Sarah [Sanders]?" Sarah replies, "Absolutely."

Omarosa released the audio Monday morning on "The View" -- and added a confession of sorts, saying ... "Hillary Clinton was robbed and I was a co-conspirator in that robbery. [I] helped this con man get into office."

We'll give her this -- she knows how to sell a book. Nearly a month after its release, 'Unhinged' is still near the top of several bestseller lists.

Wanna know how to help fix the San Francisco 49ers' passing attack??

Go get Dez Bryant ... at least, that's what Jerry Rice says.

ICYMI ... Jimmy Garoppolo got wrecked by the Vikings on Sunday -- chucking 3 picks and completing less than 50 percent of his passes in a 24-16 loss.

Jerry noted the WRs could have done better -- saying they've "got to get separation in the Red Zone ... I call it winning at the line of scrimmage."

That's when somebody asked the greatest wideout of all-time if the ex-Cowboys superstar could be the solution ... and it seems Jerry's on board.

"I think he can help us with experience and knowledge about the game," Rice said.

FYI ... Dez revealed two teams on Sunday he'd love to play for -- the Patriots and the Redskins.

This is not good.

A newspaper in Australia is catching A LOT of heat over a cartoon that was trying to spoof Serena Williams' incident at the U.S. Open -- because it's racist as hell.

The cartoon -- drawn by Mark Knight (editorial cartoonist for the Herald Sun newspaper) -- shows the tennis superstar stomping on her racket.

But, let's get serious, it looks like a Jim Crow-era, Sambo-style caricature of a black person -- not Serena Williams.

The cartoon has been blasted by athletes and celebs including J.K. Rowling who said, "Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop."

ESPN's Jemele Hill noted the racism is "About as subtle as Fran Drescher’s voice."

So far, it doesn't seem like the Herald Sun is backing down -- they retweeted the image and haven't pulled it.

At least, not yet.

As we reported ... Serena was penalized several times during Saturday's U.S. Open finals match against Naomi Osaka. Serena went off on the judge claiming he was a "thief" who stole a point from her.

The judge then penalized Serena a game for the "verbal abuse." Williams continued to go off on the guy to other tournament officials claiming the judge would never treat a man that way.

D. L. Hughley says Serena Williams absolutely has a point about women getting unfairly penalized for things men do all the time ... pointing to Martha Stewart as a prime example.

The comedian was strolling through LAX Sunday when our photog asked if Serena was justified in her epic outburst against an umpire overseeing her and Naomi Osaka's match Saturday at the US Open finals -- after the guy took a point away from her, and then a whole game.

She called him a thief at the time, and later said male players have said just as harsh things --- if not worse -- and are hardly reprimanded as severely as she was.

D.L. agrees with that, citing historic outbursts from Andre Agassi and, of course, John McEnroe ... who once called an umpire a "jerk" and demanded he be replaced mid-game.

Then there's Martha Stewart, who D.L. notes went to jail for illegally pocketing around $40,000, she was sentenced to 5 months in prison in 2004. He insinuates that a high-profile man who might've been caught up in a similar case probably wouldn't have seen jail time.

7:25 PM PT -- Les Moonves has issued a statement in the wake of his ouster from CBS, saying in part ... "Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me that are not consistent with who I am. Effective immediately I will no longer be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBS. I am deeply saddened to be leaving the company. I wish nothing but the best for the organization, the newly comprised board of directors and all of its employees."

4:30 PM PT -- It's just been announced Moonves is out at CBS, and the network is implementing a big shakeup on its board of directors through a company-wide settlement. Interestingly, CBS says $20 million will be donated on Moonves' and the network's behalf to an org that supports #MeToo, which is set to be made immediately. The cash will come out of any severance benefits owed to Moonves following a pending investigation into his alleged misconduct. The company also notes that Moonves will not be getting any type of severance package at this point, but may receive further payment once its investigation is wrapped and after a final evaluation from the Board.

CBS's longtime CEO, Les Moonves, is reportedly resigning from his position as head of the network after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNN's Brian Stelter reported Sunday that Moonves would be stepping down and that the official announcement would be made either Sunday night or early Monday morning. This comes on the heels of a second New Yorker article by Ronan Farrow where six additional women accused Moonves of sexual misconduct.

The allegations range from Moonves allegedly forcing oral sex on certain women, exposing himself without permission to others ... and allegedly using physical violence or intimidation against them.

He'd already been accused of sexual misconduct from 6 separate women earlier this summer -- including allegations of sexual assault from the 1980s ... for which he will not face criminal charges. Ronan wrote that earlier piece as well.

Moonves has worked at CBS since 1995, where he first served as president of CBS Entertainment. He served as CEO of CBS Television from '98 to 2003, and was eventually bumped up to chairman and CEO of the entire company in 2003. He's responsible for greenlighting series like 'CSI,' 'Without a Trace,' 'NCIS,' 'Survivor,' 'Cold Case' and many, many other hit shows.

Reports have recently said that Moonves and the CBS board were negotiating an exit package for him somewhere in the ball park of $100 million. Stelter says exit talks have been finalized, but did not report on any specific figure.

NBA stud Deron Williams was once offered a real-deal fight with Greg Hardy ... and wanna guess what his response was??

Yeah, it was a firm HELL NO.

Deron is actually a pretty legit MMA fighter ... dude has a serious wrestling background and he even co-owns Fortis MMA in Dallas where 3 fighters on the UFC 228 card train.

In fact ... UFC heavyweight Rashad Coulter -- who works out with Williams -- tells TMZ Sports, "He's a good wrestler and has fast hands."

But, when word of those skills got around to the Legacy Fighting Alliance -- where Hardy used to scrap -- they asked if Deron wanted to fight Greg ... D-Will's response was a swift no.

"Are they crazy right now!?" Williams says.

"Greg Hardy has to cut weight to make 265. You think I'm getting in there with that animal!?"

Williams tells us there is one scenario where he might step into the Octagon for real -- albeit not against Hardy -- saying he'd be down to fight one day for charity.

As for his basketball future ... Williams sure seems like he's done with the NBA -- although he ain't officially closing that door yet.

Beto O'Rourke -- the congressman who went viral defending NFL kneelers -- says he's totally fine with people boycotting Nike ... because it's another form of nonviolent protest.

Beto is currently in a very tight senate race in Texas against incumbent Ted Cruz -- and his speech on the NFL protesters has become a major issue between the two candidates.

So, when we saw O'Rourke in D.C. on Friday -- we had to ask about the outrage over Nike's new ad featuring Colin Kaepernick ... which inspired some people to burn their shoes and cut Swooshes out of their socks.

"I think it's fine for people to do that," O'Rourke tells TMZ Sports ... "I think that's a peaceful, nonviolent way to protest a decision that you disagree with, which again comes back to the genius of this country and our democracy."

Dylan McDermott is in the clear after a woman claimed he sexually assaulted her in 1991.

The L.A. County District Attorney's Office just rejected the case, saying it fell outside the statute of limitations. According to the reject form, obtained by TMZ, "The allegation is outside the statute of limitations, therefore, an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence is not warranted and prosecution is declined."

In other words, the D.A. didn't even look at the evidence because it's too old to be prosecuted.

A rep for McDermott tells TMZ, "Mr. McDermott learned about these allegations last year and trusted that the process would end exactly as it has."

What's interesting ... the media never knew a woman had filed a claim against McDermott, but the D.A.'s reject form is now a public document.

The news comes on the heels of the D.A.'s office also rejecting sexual assault cases against Kevin Spacey and Steven Seagal ... incidents that also allegedly occurred in the early '90s.