Controversial S#!T

Warriors part-owner Chamath Palihapitiya is attempting to clarify his controversial comments made about Uyghur concentration camps in China ... acknowledging his initial statements came off as cold, and claiming he really does care about human rights.

Palihapitiya -- who owns a minority stake in the Warriors franchise -- came under fire for his recent appearance on the "All-In Podcast" ... in which he said, "Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs."

According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, more than 1 million Chinese Uyghurs have been detained in mass detention camps. There are reports that they've been subjected to slave labor, sterilization and rape.

But as Palihapitiya put it, "Of all the things I care about, yes it is below my line."

The Warriors quickly denounced the billionaire's comment ... saying, "his views certainly don't reflect those of our organization" ... adding he has zero day-to-day operating functions within the team.

Amid the backlash, Palihapitiya released a short statement Monday trying to put out the fire.

"In re-listening to this week's podcast, I recognize that I come across as lacking empathy," Palihapitiya said. "I acknowledge that entirely."

"As a refugee, my family fled a country with its own set of human rights issues so this is something that is very much a part of my lived experience."

"To be clear, my belief is that human rights matter, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere. Full stop."

Chinese affairs have become a huge issue within the NBA ... starting with now-Philadelphia 76ers GM Daryl Morey tweeting support for protesters in Hong Kong ... and more recently, with Enes Kanter Freedom calling on the Association to take a stand against the Chinese government over human rights violations.

A famous pastor out of Oklahoma got very literal in his sermon this weekend about seeing God's hazy vision for ourselves in 2022 -- needing to hawk one to make his point.

Michael Todd, who leads the Transformation Church in Tulsa, conjured up grossed-out reactions from his congregation Sunday during his service -- which was being streamed for the folks at home. The reason ... he wiped his own spit all over the face of a parishioner, who was up there volunteering for the yuck fest.

Even crazier ... the guy just stood there and took it!!! Check out this video of the moment it happened -- it's surreal to see, because Mike really builds up to it with a lot of theater.

The whole purpose of doing this, it seems, was to emphasize his analogy about how "receiving vision from God might get nasty." We'll let him do the explaining -- 'cause, frankly, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to us -- but he seems to be saying ... sometimes, you'll  have to go through some muck to fulfill God's will. Or ... something like that!

It's ironic ... as the audience gasps in horror at his weird stunt, MT fully leans into it ... arguing that's the exact sort of response one will get for answering God's call, no matter how counterintuitive it might feel ... like letting someone rub a bunch of loogies/saliva on your mug.

Of course, he's getting totally roasted online over this ... as is this poor guy who allowed himself to be the guinea pig. Y'know ... on account of the pandemic and all.

Just doesn't seem safe ... even if God cosigns. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Stick a fork in it -- Novak Djokovic's Australian Open vaccine drama is officially over for now ... as the tennis superstar landed back in Serbia after getting deported from Down Under.

34-year-old ND touched down in Belgrade on Monday and was met by a small group of fans ... with one sneaking in a selfie with the controversial player.

As we previously reported, the 9-time champ fought like hell to be able to defend his title in 2022 ... but his vaccine status eventually led to his one-way ticket outta Australia.

Now, as Novak was set to take the court on Monday ... he's back home and will be forced to watch from the couch.

While his AO hopes have disappeared, Djokovic now has the French Open to worry about in May. French officials recently announced a new law requiring the jab in order to attend sports events would not have exceptions ... meaning Novak could run into the same issue again.

Leah Remini says her enrollment at NYU stands in stark contrast to the education she says she was afforded growing up as a Scientologist -- or a staggering lack thereof, rather.

The actress peeled back even more layers to the religion -- one which she says she used to be deeply involved in, starting from a very young age -- in a long Twitter thread Sunday ... which ended with gratitude for being able to break free and obtain proper schooling.

Leah starts by describing an old headshot she submitted at 16, explaining how she had to start working very early to support herself and her family ... which she insists was necessary due to her fam's affiliation with the church of Scientology.

She claims the church drained them of their time, attention and, most importantly, their resources. And not just that, but she alleges she was starved from a formal, normal education for years throughout her youth ... something she says is the direct result of the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard.

LR goes on to say her entire life revolved around Scientology ... down to her circle of friends, and even employers, including her first agent. As she's indicated many times over the years, she says she felt suffocated by the church ... and now says she had to get into showbiz merely to survive, which doesn't sound like it was easy.

Leah describes getting turned down time and again, until finally breaking through. Eventually, she says she was able to escape Scientology altogether, and now looks back as a current NYU undergrad in awe of what she's been able to accomplish without them on her back.

The 'King of Queens' star got accepted at the university last year at the ripe age of 50 ... and it would seem things are going well on that front.

Morgan Wallen made an unsurprising appearance Saturday night in Nashville, hopping on stage with Lil Durk ... and the crowd loved it.

Durk and Wallen performed their song, "Broadway Girls," and it was all part of the Martin Luther King Freedom Fest ... a concert celebrating MLK Day.

Before Wallen came out, Durk told fans at Bridgestone Arena that his singing buddy was "genuine at heart." He went on ... “Can’t nobody cancel shit without me saying it, you know what I’m saying?”

With that intro, Wallen came out, asked the crowd what's up, and they began singing.

The festival lineup includes Moneybagg Yo, Rod Wave, and Latto.

Wallen appeared in Nashville last weekend at the Grand Ole Opry and sang "Flower Shops" with Ernest. Some artists, including Jason Isbell, Rissi Palmer and Joy Oladokun, were critical, this after video surfaced of Wallen using the n-word a year ago.

The Playboy Mansion would be crawling with hookers and celebs on Thursday nights back in its heyday -- and a new documentary claims Hugh Hefner himself cooked up the weekly event.

Hef dubbed the traditional gathering "Pig Night," and it started with 2 pimps bringing in carloads of prostitutes from Sunset Blvd. ... according to his former girlfriend, Sondra Theodore, and others who worked at the mansion.

Sondra says she tended to look the other way while Hugh did all sorts of "crazy stuff," but this ritual stood out to her and got her attention.

The upcoming A&E series, "Secrets of Playboy" ... describes "Pig Night" as a sort of dinner party that served as a jumping-off point for sex parties.

According to the mansion insiders, Hugh would sit at the head of the table smoking his famous pipe while the hookers drank and ate with movie and TV stars. They say the girls would get ratings and quick medical checks before slipping out of the room for sex rendezvous with the celebs.

Kanye West is taking his bitter divorce with Kim Kardashian to a whole new level -- claiming she's purposely keeping him from seeing his daughter on her own birthday ... and doing it on video, no less.

Ye went live with a message Saturday -- the day of young Chicago's 4th birthday -- with a bold allegation ... namely, that Kim and co. are refusing to give him the address to Chicago's party, which has KW shaken up and almost on the verge of tears.

Check out the video ... the guy appears to be driving himself around town, seemingly in search of the shindig that he says will not be disclosed to him, no matter who he talks to.

He notes he hasn't talked to Kim and/or her nannies ... but does say he's talked to Tristan Thompson, who apparently told Ye he'd have to run it by Khloe Kardashian first. As a result of what Kanye perceives as a snub, he's wishing Chicago a happy 4th birthday publicly.

He continues to go on a rant about how fathers have been kept out of the home/family unit for ages, and even with all his money ... he still finds himself in that position. However, Kanye says he's not going to let that happen if he can help it, asking for public support.

Some quick clarifying background on what's going on here and what's the latest ... sources tell us he felt excluded because the original invite he got was pretty vague, and did not include a specific location. With that said, we're told it's been sorted out ... and that Ye is actually on his way to the party now.

Still, this comes off as just the latest barb in Kanye and Kim's divorce war. We've been told Kim is trying to be reasonable with him about custody, and only asks for clear communication and scheduling.

Meanwhile, Kim posted a big birthday tribute for Chicago ... as did her mom, Kris Jenner.

Brian Cox seems just like his character Logan Roy -- in that the guy speaks his mind, even if it's at the expense of Johnny Depp, whom he considers ... eh, not that great.

The "Succession" star let his thoughts about Depp (and others) fly in his new memoir, "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat," an excerpt of which GQ obtained and published Friday. In the text, he takes aim at Depp for what he considers ... sub-par acting chops.

While reminiscing about passing on a big role for the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise, Cox writes, "It would have been a money-spinner, but of all the parts in that film it was the most thankless, plus I would have ended up doing it for film after film and missed out on all the other nice things I've done."

He adds, "Another thing with 'Pirates' ... it's very much the "Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow" show, and Depp, personable though I'm sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated."

BC wasn't done criticizing Depp just yet ... he continues, "I mean, 'Edward Scissorhands.' Let's face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you don't have to do anything. And he didn't. And subsequently, he's done even less."

JD wasn't the only actor Cox had words for ... he also took some shots at Edward Norton, whom he describes as "a nice lad but a bit of a pain in the arse because he fancies himself as a writer-director."

Novak Djokovic's participation in this year's Australian Open is in jeopardy once again ... officials have canceled his visa for a second time, and he's now facing deportation.

Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke made the ruling early Friday morning ... revoking the 34-year-old's visa just days after a judge had allowed the tennis star to go free in the country.

In announcing his decision, Hawke explained pulling Djokovic was in the best for "public interest" ... due to the athlete's COVID-19 vaccination status and controversial claims to a vaccine exemption.

"In making this decision, I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Border Force and Mr. Djokovic," Hawke said.

"The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia's borders, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Djokovic has already started the process of an appeal -- and it's possible he could play in the opening round of the Australian Open on Monday while the arguments play out in court.

Australia's Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, meanwhile, backed Hawke's decision Friday ... writing in a statement, "Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected."

"This is what the Minister is doing in taking this action today."

If ultimately deported, Djokovic could face a 3-year ban from the country.

Ex-NFL linebacker D.J. Williams is opening up about his time with the Denver Broncos and Josh McDaniels ... saying the only reason they were successful is because they were cheating.

Williams made the controversial statement during an interview on the "I AM ATHLETE" podcast with former NFL players Brandon Marshall, Chad Ochocinco, and LeSean McCoy ... saying the Broncos' hot start in 2009 wasn't as dominant as it looked on paper.

In the clip, Williams says he was never more prepared for a football game than during the time he played for McDaniels ... and as he continued talking, he alluded to the main reason why they were so on-point.

"Josh would lay out keys to victory on how we win the game," Williams said. "Every time we did exactly what he said, we won."

Williams said the team executed McDaniels' "strategies" to a T -- and they worked, as the Broncos started off 6-0 that season.

But, the wins weren't piling up because of McDaniels' predictive game-planning ... as Williams claims, there was some constant rule-breaking going on.

"We did that for six weeks. We get to San Francisco and we end up losing. We was supposed to beat San Francisco."

"Our film guy got caught because we had to share a stadium [in London]. Our film guy got caught filming their practice."

McDaniels was later fined $50,000 for failing to report the violation to the league ... and was eventually fired the next season after a poor start.

Of course, McDaniels is no stranger to controversy -- the current Patriots offensive coordinator was in the same role on Bill Belichick's staff when the org. got busted for "Spygate" in 2007.

D.J. firmly believes that the Broncos were only winning games thanks to what he calls "Junior Spygate" ... citing that after their camera guy got fired, they lost 6 of their last 8 games.

"We was having breakfast, like, 'Damn, we not that good.'"

"We was cheating!!!"

A stomach-churning video from social media has authorities investigating a dog training facility for animal cruelty ... and the images of the dog getting brutally slammed to the ground is pretty damning evidence.

This went down at a place called TyCalK9 Dog Training Center in Arcola, TX ... outside Houston. The video, which we must warn is hard to watch, shows the trainer bark a command at a German Shepherd.

Apparently, the dog did not heed that command, because the trainer picks up the animal by its leash, swings it over his shoulder and then hurls it down onto a cement floor. You can hear the dog whimper as it struggles to get back on its feet.

The gruesome video has thrown social media into a frenzy, and it's also prompted the Fort Bend County District Attorney to launch an animal cruelty investigation.

The D.A. says, "We cannot share the details as the investigation is ongoing, but we take these matters seriously and do not condone the mistreatment of animals in any regard. A thorough investigation by experienced animal cruelty investigators and prosecutors is underway."

You can tell Lamar Odom still has love for his ex-wife, Khloe Kardashian, based on what he's saying about her recent embarrassment at the hands of Tristan Thompson ... and telling us what'd he do to comfort her.

We got the former NBA superstar Wednesday at the Atlanta Fish Market in Buckhead, and he said he hasn't reached out to Khloe since TT copped to getting another woman pregnant.

LO says he and Khloe haven't seen each other in a long time, but he feels like this would be a great time to be able to give her a hug.

Rocking a fur coat as he and his manager, Tonita B, entered the restaurant ... Lamar echoes what a lot of people have said about Khloe being a strong woman -- and he also told us what advice he'd give her ... if he had the opportunity for a face-to-face.

While we asked directly about Tristan, Lamar clearly didn't want to discuss him ... simply saying "he's corny" for what he did. TT and Lamar have butted heads in the past, like earlier this year after Lamar left a comment on a Khloe post.

Of course, Lamar's had his challenges over the years -- including his nearly-fatal OD in 2015 -- and other substance abuse struggles, but he seems to be on the straight and narrow lately.

Khloe and Lamar got married in 2009, and Khloe filed for divorce in 2015 ... but she withdrew the filing when he suffered his OD so that she could make medical decisions on his behalf while he was in a coma. The divorce was finalized in 2016.

Novak Djokovic is navigating waters that have gone from warm to boiling, because the tennis star admitted he knew he had COVID when he posed for a photo shoot and chatted with a reporter from a French magazine.

Beyond that ... Djokovic attended multiple public events and posed for photos on December 16 and 17 -- in particular the 17th, when he handed out awards at a children's event -- but he says that shouldn't be held against him, because he got a negative rapid test on the 16th.

However, he also took a PCR test that same day that turned out to be positive. The Serbian government's records show that result came back at 8:19 PM on the same day -- but Novak insists he didn't get the info until the evening of the 17th.

So, the question is ... what did he know and when???

Whatever the case, he still did the photo shoot with L'Equipe magazine in Belgrade on the 18th when he knew he was positive.

He says, aside from the actual shoot, he was socially distanced from the reporter and photographer and masked. Djokovic now says he made a mistake and should have canceled.

He also acknowledges his visa application was incorrect ... he says his agent checked the wrong box, declaring Novak had not traveled internationally, which he very clearly did.

Djokovic, the number 1 seed in the Australian Open, was allowed into the country after the tournament granted him a medical exemption ... because he had just gotten over COVID and had antibodies, that apparently qualified.

Jamie Lynn Spears says she has always loved her sister, Britney, and can't understand how that relationship deteriorated.

Britney's younger sister appeared Wednesday on "Good Morning America" ... hawking her book, "Things I Should Have Said," about her family. Jamie Lynn said she's happy the conservatorship ended, but bobbed and weaved when it came to how she felt about the conservatorship during the 13 years it was in place.

She said when the conservatorship was first put in place she didn't understand it and was dealing with other issues ... specifically, she was 17 and having a baby.

But, she said she understands as little about the conservatorship now as she did when it fired up ... which is odd since the saga lasted so long. She says she took no part in the conservatorship during its entire run.

From her vantage point, she says she was helping Britney, and, according to her, the help was welcomed. She says Britney asked her to make sure her 2 boys got what they needed.

One thing she addressed squarely ... Britney's comment to the court that everyone in their family -- including Jamie Lynn -- profited off Britney during the conservatorship. Jamie Lynn says she did not, but then offered that there may have been a "misunderstanding." Britney has gone after Jamie Lynn for remixing some of her songs, but she says it was meant as a tribute, not a money move.

She says she's happy the conservatorship is over because it caused so much family discord.

As for Britney, well she intimated in a post Tuesday night ... 2 can play that game, as in writing a book.

Ja Morant is as ruthless as he is athletic -- the Grizzlies star savagely mean-mugged a kid in a Warriors jersey during Memphis' game Tuesday night ... but he's at least now apologizing for the cold shoulder.

In the fourth quarter of the Grizzlies' game against Golden State ... Morant took over, and hit a huge clutch bucket to extend Memphis' lead.

As his momentum carried him into the crowd, though, a young kid in a Warriors jersey was hoping to slap hands with the 22-year-old phenom after the sweet layup.

But, Ja paid the youngster no mind -- and instead, appeared to hit him with a death stare!!

"He was disrespectful with that jersey on," Morant said of the interaction in a postgame interview. "We in Memphis. It looked like he wanted to cheer but he had that jersey on."

But, Morant did eventually say he was sorry ... and added that he was hoping to get the kid's information so he could send him some Grizzlies gear to replace the Dubs colors.

Howard Stern is unloading on Novak Djokovic over his COVID-19 vaccine drama ... calling the tennis superstar a "d****bag," "f***ing a**hole," and a "f***nut" in a fiery rant.

34-year-old Djokovic has been fighting like hell to compete in the Australian Open this month despite the country's strict COVID-19 mandates -- he initially had his visa canceled after authorities claimed he did not meet requirements for a vaccine exemption ... before that decision was overturned on Monday.

Stern -- who's gone after sports stars like Kyrie Irving and Aaron Rodgers for their vax stances in the past -- sounded off on the Joker during Monday's episode of "The Howard Stern Show" ... saying Novak should be kicked out of the sport.

"The first I heard of this guy is he doesn't want to get the vaccine, he's running around ... they should throw him right the f*** out of tennis," Stern said.

"He's a d****bag."

But, what really set Howard off is Novak's claim that getting the jab is a private decision ... saying if that's the case, he shouldn't be out in the public and putting everyone else's health at risk.

Howard's co-host, Robin, points out Novak's view on the situation -- his people have claimed since he recently had COVID-19, he doesn't have to get vaccinated, but Stern says Novak can't be trusted.

"Well that's like saying smoking is a private decision," he added. "Well, that's true, but don't smoke in my face, f***nut. What a dummy. Just a big, dumb tennis player."

Djokovic -- the reigning AO champ -- is currently preparing to compete in the tournament next week ... although it's still unclear whether he'll actually be able to take the court ... as government officials could still boot him from the country.