Controversial S#!T

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele is adamant Donald Trump and his base don't accurately represent American values, and as evidenced by his controversial messaging in Mississippi.

We got Steele on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon and wondered what the prominent Republican had to say about the Prez mocking Dr. Christine Ford at Tuesday night's rally. ICYMI ... Trump intimated Ford belongs to a group of "really evil people" set on destroying his SCOTUS nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Steele RIPPED 45, calling what he said about Dr. Ford ... stupid, wrong and "disrespectful of the office." As for the crowd cheering as the President went off on Ford, Steele had one word for them ... and it wasn't a kind one.

Damon Wayans says he's had enough of working on "Lethal Weapon," so come December ... he's done.

The actor made the stunning announcement to Electronic Urban Report Wednesday, saying ... "I'm a 58-year-old diabetic and I'm working 16 hours a day," so he's over it. He even channels his character, Roger Murtaugh, telling the reporter he's "too old for this."

Wayans says his plan is to finish shooting the initial 13 episodes of season 3 of the FOX series, then officially quit in December. He admits he's not certain the network is on board with his plan.

Damon's dead serious too ... and says he's going to return to the stage after leaving the TV show to "try to find my smile again."

As we reported ... Wayans' time on "Lethal Weapon" hasn't been without controversy. He openly blasted his former costar, Clayne Crawford, in May after Crawford was fired.

Damon blamed Clayne for a stunt that left him bloodied, and claimed he was mean and intimidating on set and enjoyed making females cry. He said staffers referred to Crawford as an "emotional terrorist."

Ian Ziering says there's a student with a history of violence at his daughters' school, and it's gotten so bad, he's scared it could escalate to a massacre if the school district keeps protecting the boy.

Ziering was joined by several parents outside West Hollywood Elementary Wednesday in protest of a second grade bully. Ian tells us, since kindergarten, the student has gotten physical, threatened to kill and even attempted to suffocate a classmate with a bean bag.

According to Ian, this school year has already had two classroom evacuations and 10 students who have been attacked by the bully.

The "Beverly Hills, 90210" star says he and other parents have repeatedly asked the school board to step up and get the kid help -- but the requests have fallen on deaf ears -- and they're afraid it could end in tragedy, like Parkland or Columbine.

Ian says he hopes the school board will do what's right to protect the student victims and to get the bully into another program to help address his blatant needs.

Cristiano Ronaldo is firing back against allegations he raped a woman at a Vegas hotel back in 2009 -- saying, "Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in."

The soccer superstar is being sued by Kathryn Mayorga -- who claims she met CR7 at Rain Nightclub in the Palms hotel in June 2009 and he invited her up to his penthouse suite to party and hot tub.

There are photos of Mayorga and Ronaldo hanging out at the nightclub together that evening.

While changing her clothing, Mayorga claims, "Ronaldo entered the bathroom, exposed his erect penis and asked [her] to perform fellatio."

Mayorga says she refused and wanted to leave -- but Ronaldo "pulled [her] into a bedroom and onto a bed and attempted to engage in sexual intercourse."

Mayorga claims she tried to fight Ronaldo off -- but he turned her onto her side and sodomized her while she screamed "no, no, no."

In her suit, Mayorga claims she reported the incident to the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. -- but didn't identify Ronaldo by name out of fear of retaliation.

Mayorga claims immediately following the 2009 incident, Ronaldo and his team of "fixers" coerced her into signing a settlement and nondisclosure agreement -- in which she got $375k in exchange for her silence. She's seeking in her lawsuit to void the deal.

Now, Ronaldo is speaking out ... adamantly denying the allegations.

"I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me," Ronaldo said.

"Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense."

"My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations."

Terrell Davis respectfully disagrees with the way Le'Veon Bell's dealing with the Steelers -- telling TMZ Sports, "If it were me, I woulda signed the franchise tag."

The Hall of Fame running back isn't trying to diss Bell ... and he understands why Le'Veon is holding out -- he just doesn't see eye to eye on the business side of it.

"I never thought he should've held out," Davis said at LAX ... "That's just me though. But, he's gotta do what he's gotta do."

"I can't fault anybody for trying to get more money and doing what they feel is right."

Bell is holding out for a longterm deal with guaranteed money -- despite the fact Pittsburgh hit him with the franchise tag which would have paid him roughly $15 mil this season.

Anna Faris posted a photo she thought was innocent enough, but people on social media almost instantly began an attack over her weight ... and the onslaught was so brutal she deleted the pic.

Anna posted the photo with the caption, "Having pre-show jitters- so glad Michael Sherman captured it- also I eventually decided to put on pants." Michael Sherman is her assistant for her podcast, "Unqualified."

People on social media pounced, saying things like ... "You look so unhealthy, eat." Another says, "This is alarming!" And yet another says, "I feel this pic is a cry for help, I hope you get the help you need."

There are people who are embracing Anna, one saying, "You are beautiful at any size. Health is our concern. If you're healthy and happy that's all that matters! Continue to be awesome!"

Desiigner says he was kicked off a plane in Europe after a flight attendant allegedly put her hands on him -- and he's now calling for a full-on boycott of the airline ... claiming the whole ordeal was racially motivated.

The NYC rapper posted a series of videos Tuesday explaining a run-in he had on Scandinavian Airlines Monday night, where he says an older female flight attendant got touchy with him -- which caused him to "spazz" out on her and get booted from the flight.

He also says he was banned from SAS for a whole year, and goes on to call on his fans to avoid flying with them in the aftermath. Desiigner basically chalks it up to flying while black ... we'll let him explain.

As for the airline ... a rep for SAS tells us something did go down Monday night, but wouldn't elaborate beyond saying some passengers behaved in a threatening manner toward the crew, adding such behavior is unacceptable and that safety is their first priority.

Senator Lindsey Graham says he LOVES Kanye West's idea of bringing Colin Kaepernick and Donald Trump together ... explaining, "I want to watch football without feeling guilty about it."

And get this ... it sounds like the Republican senator from South Carolina is actually on the same page with Colin when it comes to the reasons for his kneeling protest.

Graham told us he believes there's real work to be done when it comes to sentencing reform and prison reform -- particularly when it comes to black and Hispanic men.

As Colin has previously explained ... the point of his kneeling demonstration was to shine a spotlight on the mistreatment of minorities -- especially when it comes to the justice system.

"I want to work on sentencing reform, prison reform," Graham says ... "A lot of people in jail for a long period of time. African-American males, Hispanic males, particularly. Three strikes and you're out has been pretty hard. So, might be something we can all work on that would bring us together."

Graham explains the one major issue he has with Kaepernick is not standing for the flag -- but he clearly believes a White House summit could benefit both sides.

"Anything that will bring the country together."

And, Lindsey isn't the only one who feels this way -- we also spoke with ex-NFL star Marcellus Wiley who says a Kaepernick, Trump meeting would be a "great thing."

"Anyone that you have a difference with that has power, you should get in a room with them and try to find mutual ground and mutual agreement," Wiley said Monday night in Beverly Hills.

"No matter what side you're on, grab the person that you call 'adversary' and try to come to some mutual agreement."

"We're all sitting here on this same planet, coexisting ... so it would be great if we could coexist in some of these powerful meeting rooms and get our figures together.

Kanye West thinks LeBron James made a mistake leaving Cleveland for Los Angeles -- claiming the people of Northeast Ohio need him there.

It's not a diss -- in fact, it's the opposite.

Kanye believes LeBron is so powerful and influential, he could have continued to make a major impact in his hometown off the court ... and he was sad to see King James leave.

"I'mma just, it's not my place ... but just to make it Ye -- I feel like LeBron really needs to be in Cleveland," Kanye told Harvey Levin on "TMZ Live."

"And that ain't my place, and I'm sorry, [Maverick Carter] and LeBron for saying, I know I'm speaking out of place. But, I feel like LeBron needs to be in Cleveland. Ye needs to be in Chicago. Big U needs to be in Crenshaw."

Of course, Kanye is referring to the fact he just moved his own family from L.A. to Chicago -- where he's from -- because he feels the community needs his help.

Kanye believes he shares a special bond with the city because he's from there.

LeBron recently said his move to L.A. was a basketball decision -- others have speculated it was about furthering his movie career.

Louis C.K. ruffled feathers with his last surprise set in NYC -- some audience members called his appearance an "ambush" -- but Sunday night the crowd showed him nothin' but love.

Louis was introduced at the famed Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village -- the same place he popped up in August -- and it must have felt like old times for him. The Hollywood Reporter says it got this audio of his intro ... which brought thunderous applause.

There's a lot of cheering and whistling here, and you eventually hear Louis thank everyone.

As we reported ... reactions to Louis' return to stand-up has been mixed, with some embracing it ... and many others saying it's too soon just a year after his sex scandal.

Kanye West has a perfectly good explanation for why his new, publicly-announced album didn't drop Saturday night, as he said it would -- and it all has to do with Africa.

Ye came on "TMZ Live" Monday and dropped a bombshell about his 9th studio album, "Yandhi." Fans were anxiously awaiting the release this weekend -- but he says that was scrapped because he's not done recording yet.

He says he's heading to Africa in the next couple weeks to complete the project. Just watch ... his excitement over the trip is palpable. As Kanye put it, he wants to draw inspiration and energy from the Earth there.

You can see the full interview on Monday's TMZ Live. Click here to find your local airtime.

BTW, 'Ye is already getting inspired here in our office ... well, just outside the office. Kanye and Teyana Taylor are shooting their "We Got Love" music video here, and it looks like it's gonna be dope. We'll have the finished product for ya on Tuesday.

Kanye West says he's reached out to Colin Kaepernick -- and wants to bring him to Washington D.C. for a special meeting with Donald Trump.

West -- wearing his Make America Great Again hat -- sat down with Harvey Levin on "TMZ Live" on Monday and said he hopes to bring the two sides together so they can work out their issues.

Of course, Donald Trump has been extremely critical of Kaepernick -- strongly pressuring NFL owners to fire all of the "sons of bitches" who don't stand for the national anthem.

Kaepernick has said he began kneeling to shine a spotlight on police brutality against black people -- but Trump feels the demonstration is disrespectful to the flag and military vets.

So, will Kanye succeed in putting together a peace summit between Trump and Kaep?

He didn't say if either side was open to the idea -- but Trump has praised Kanye as a brilliant leader, so we're guessing he would be in.

Ex-Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione is going to bat for Jimbo Fisher ... saying the Aggies coach was just trying to teach his player when he violently grabbed his facemask Saturday.

In the third quarter of TAMU's win over Arkansas ... cameras spotted Jimbo yanking LB Tyler Dodson's helmet in order to get him out of a scuffle.

The act drew immediate criticism ... with Eagles star Chris Long callin' it "garbage" and Saints TE Benjamin Watson saying Fisher "should be suspended."

Enter ex-Aggies head man Franchione ... who tells us Jimbo was just trying to coach up his player -- and Dennis would have no problem with it if it were his kid in the helmet.

"It's not meant to be anything other than, 'Listen to me. Look at me. Give me eye contact. Make sure you hear me,'" Dennis tells TMZ Sports.

"Jimbo is really trying to get the culture right for his program there and trying to get the attention of the players and get everybody on the same page."

"And, I'm sure that's what he was trying to do there."

Franchione admits it probably wasn't the best thing for Jimbo to do in today's "politically correct society" ... but tells us, "It wouldn't have bothered me. I wanted my son to be coached well."

As for the player ... Dodson tweeted after the game, "Coach fisher is an amazing coach, he did the right thing. I let my emotions get the best of me at that certain moment."

Before you defend or attack Kanye West for his shocking tweets about scrapping the 13th Amendment -- which abolished slavery -- at least give him credit for standing up for what he believes in ... so says Frankie Muniz.

We got Frankie in Beverly Hills and he thinks Kanye is just trying to make a point, even though the message isn't exactly clear ... as even Ye admits.

Frankie respects Yeezy's passion for history ... and thinks speaking out is better than remaining silent.

For review ... Kanye tweeted, "The 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended. We are the solution that heals." As to what he means ... he's vowed to explain further on Monday's "TMZ Live."

10:55 AM PT -- Eric Reid hasn't yet decided if he will continue kneeling during the national anthem ... telling reporters at his first-ever Panthers news conference today he's still considering it.

The newly signed safety -- sportin' an all-black "#IMWITHKAP" shirt ... says he needs to evaluate "the scope of our country" before he decides whether he'll continue to take a knee.

The 26-year-old says he's also considering other ways outside of pregame kneeling to continue his protests ... telling reporters, "I'll make that decision later."

Think Eric Reid is happy to be back in the NFL? Judging by this pic at Panthers practice Monday morning ... he's STOKED!!!

The 26-year-old rocked his new #25 jersey for the first time Monday -- it's a huge deal considering Reid sued the NFL claiming he was being blackballed for kneeling during the national anthem.

Reid was one of the top available defensive backs (he's a stud) -- but remained unsigned until last week when the Panthers finally pulled the trigger on the 2013 Pro Bowler.

After Reid signed his 1-year contract, he got love from a bunch of NFL stars who feel he should have been on a team months ago ... guys like Colin Kaepernick and Torrey Smith.

Reid flashed the black power fist while signing his deal -- leaving many wondering if he'll continue his kneeling protest now that he's back in the league.

The Panthers take on the Giants at home on Sunday ... so, stay tuned.

Kanye West says he hasn't fully formed his views on abolishing the 13th Amendment -- which outlawed slavery -- but he promises he'll be ready to explain it when he appears Monday on "TMZ Live."

We got Kanye Sunday leaving Mel's Diner in WeHo after flying back from NYC, following his 'SNL' appearance.

Kanye started explaining the origin of the Constitution, but our photog called out the fact that the 13th Amendment was passed long after the Constitution was ratified -- December 1865 to be precise. And, the driving force was not a founding father -- it was Abe Lincoln.

Kanye insinuated there might be evidence Abraham Lincoln might have been black. FYI, there's no credible evidence to support this theory.

Kanye tweeted a clarification of his 13th Amendment comment ... "The 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended. We are the solution that heals."

In case you're wondering, here's how the 13th Amendment goes ... "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."