Controversial S#!T

Ex-Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is adamant he still wants a job in the NFL ... but understands his scathing lawsuit against the league could damage his chances at ever getting a gig again.

Flores -- who's suing the NFL and 3 teams over alleged racist hiring practices -- opened up in an interview with "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday ... saying his legal action is about much more than his career.

"I love coaching, I'm gifted to coach, I know that," Flores said. "The relationships I built with players, coaches, support staff, I'm gifted to coach, I love coaching and I want to coach ... This is bigger than coaching. This is much bigger than coaching."

Flores said he contacted the other 2 teams he's still interviewing with for an HC job -- the Texans and Saints -- and gave them a heads up about the lawsuit ... and added if given the opportunity, he would still happily lead an NFL team again.

"I understand the risks, and yes, it was a difficult decision," he said. "I went back and forth."

When asked about comparing the NFL to a "plantation" ... Flores explained he knew it was time to leave a lasting impact on the league.

"We didn't have to file a lawsuit for the world to know that there's a problem from a hiring standpoint in regards to minority coaches in the National Football League. The numbers speak for themselves. We filed a lawsuit so that we could create some change and that's important to me."

"I think we're at a fork in the road right now -- we're either going to keep it the way it is, or we're going to go in another direction and actually make some real change where we're actually changing the hearts and minds of those who make decisions to hire head coaches, executives, etc."

As we reported, Flores filed his lawsuit after he said he received texts from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick that revealed the New York Giants decided to hire Brian Daboll before ever giving him the chance to interview for the job.

Flores felt like he was only being interviewed to satisfy the league's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate when a head coaching job opens up.

Flores also appeared on ESPN's "Get Up" just minutes ago ... saying he's willing to sacrifice his career to make a serious difference in the league.

"If I never coach again and there's change," he said, "it will be worth it."

Ricky Gervais might just be the one comedian who’s welcoming cancel culture with open arms, because he says he's gonna lean into it hard with an upcoming performance.

The British comic and actor told Heat this week that his next stand-up special -- which he's appropriately calling "Armageddon" -- is likely going to force him to get the hook ... something he’s actually hoping for with giddiness.

RG says, in part ... “I'm treating it like it's my last one ever. It won't be, but I want to put everything into it. I want to try and get cancelled,” adding he can’t wait to get started.

The show’s gonna be about how we as a society are destroying ourselves, be it through the media, global warming or other means ... so you can imagine Ricky will be hop-scotching around some heavy topics, with no punches pulled.

One thing he believes in as an old-school, stand-up comic is that no topic is off-limits, which he’s recently reiterated in interviews ... but also hammered home with his actual material, especially on the biggest of stages.

You’ll recall ... Ricky hosted the Golden Globes a few years back, and he let the jokes fly at just about everybody’s expense. He was not invited back to host, and sounds like he's going for a similar outcome with his latest solo offering.

Well, well, well ... Jake Gyllenhaal seems to have found a scarf after all, and he's flaunting it!!! To be fair, he's getting paid to do that.

Brace yourself Taylor Swift devotees, but yes ... the actor's rocking a tan-ish/blue colored scarf on the set of “The Interpreter” in Spain. Interesting fashion, because you gotta believe the movie's wardrobe department knows all too well about T Swift's scarf beef with ex-bf, Jake.

As Swifties well know ... Taylor's hit song, "All Too Well" references the missing scarf. She sings, "Left my scarf there at your sister's house and you've still got it in your drawer even now."

Taylor's legion of fans have been on the search for the scarf ever since.

As you may know, Jake and Taylor dated from October to December, back in 2010. Now, here's the thing ... the music video for "All Too Well" shows a red scarf -- but, Swifties will tell ya the actual, real-life, scarf was mostly blue.

So, is Jake sending a message to Taylor with his wardrobe on the set? 🤔

Whoopi Goldberg's comments about race and the Holocaust just got her benched.

ABC Prez Kim Godwin just announced, "Effectively immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments. While Whoopi has apologized, I've asked her to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments."

She went on ... "The entire ABC News organization stands in solidarity with our Jewish colleagues, friends, family and communities."

Whoopi got in trouble on the show Monday, when she said, "Let’s be truthful about it because Holocaust isn’t about race. It’s not about race. It’s not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man."

Ana Navarro challenged Whoopi, arguing ... "But it’s about white supremacists going after Jews."

Whoopi's response ... "But these are two white groups of people. The minute you turn it into race it goes down this alley. Let’s talk about it for what it is. It’s how people treat each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white, Jews, it’s each other."

She tried a make-good Tuesday, saying ... "Yesterday on the show I misspoke. [The Holocaust] is indeed about race, because Hitler and the Nazis considered the Jews to be an inferior race. Now, words matter, and mine are no exception. I regret my comments and I stand corrected. I also stand with the Jewish people."

It'll be interesting to see how the suspension impacts live, opinion-based TV shows.

Michael Jackson has moonwalked on down to Broadway -- and on opening night ... his kids saw him take the stage anew, but not without some hand-wringing.

All three of MJ's children attended the world premiere of "MJ: The Musical" Tuesday night in the Big Apple, with Paris and her older brother, Prince, stepping out in front of cameras before curtains were raised ... posing proudly side by side.

Michael's daughter wore a chic red patterned dress, and Prince kept it classic with a black suit and tie. Their younger brother, Prince Michael (aka Blanket), was later seen exiting the Neil Simon Theatre with his siblings, also suited and booted.

While adoring MJ fans were thrilled to see the late performer's brood show up for him in force ... critics could not be appeased, because they're pissed about the contents of the play itself -- specifically, what it covers ... or rather, what it doesn't cover.

Word is, the show follows Michael's life in the early '90s when he embarked on his now-famous "Dangerous" world tour, during which he traversed the globe for an astonishing number of concerts and banked millions upon millions of dollars for charitable efforts.

Sounds great ... but the problem is, there's no mention of a huge scandal he faced at the time -- namely, accusations of child abuse and a subsequent lawsuit from Jordan Chandler and his family, whom Michael eventually settled with for a rumored $23 million.

Because the Broadway production skips over that topic entirely, some are calling it a sanitized version of MJ's legacy ... particularly this chapter of it.

Sharon Stone says Joe Rogan's new approach to discussing COVID-19 is empty lip-service if he continues spreading misinformation, and adds there's only one thing he needs to disclaim.

The actress and activist held nothing back when we saw her Tuesday in Bev Hills, and brought up Rogan's podcast.

We pointed out several celebs had come out in support of Joe, but Sharon's not buying his and Spotify's new policy -- namely, adding a disclaimer at the beginning of episodes, and offsetting controversial COVID viewpoints with a "mainstream" take as well.

Sharon tells us the only "disclaimer" she wants from Joe is for him being an "a**hole." Watch the clip (pardon the soft focus due to equipment snafu) ... but, in a nutshell ... she says it's too late for Rogan's new balanced approach.

In her mind, his interviews and COVID theories have already cost people their lives. Might sound harsh, but that's her POV, which she says it's based on doing significant work in the field of infections diseases.

SS lays out her creds, particularly on HIV ... seeing the horrors of deadly viruses while working with leading doctors and scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci.

And when it comes to COVID, it's personal for Sharon. You'll recall, the virus killed her grandmother and godmother ... and her sister and sister's husband were both hospitalized because of it.

Brian Flores is going scorched earth on the NFL and New York Giants ... filing an explosive lawsuit where the former Dolphins head coach alleges the team's hiring practices were rooted in racism, and he claims a text from Bill Belichick proves it.

The 40-year-old coach filed the class action lawsuit through attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor, Michael J. Willemin, David E. Gottlieb in district court in New York on Tuesday ... and it's shocking.

Flores says he received a text from his former boss and Patriots head coach days before he interviewed with the Giants. During the conversation, Flores says BB congratulated him on landing the new gig.

BF was confused by the comment because he had yet to go in for his scheduled interview, and asked Bill if he had an inside track to their decision.

Belichick eventually admits he misread the information he received ... and tells Flores it was actually a different Brian -- Brian Daboll -- who landed the Giants job.

Flores insists this is proof he was only brought in for an interview to satisfy the Rooney Rule -- which requires teams to interview a minority candidate when a head coaching job opens up.

FYI, Flores and Daboll both worked together under Belichick in New England.

BF claims he was then "forced to sit through a dinner" with new Giants GM Joe Schoen despite "knowing that the Giants had already selected Mr. Daboll."

And Flores says this wasn't the first time he's been subjected to a "sham interview that was held only in an effort to comply with the Rooney Rule."

The fired coach says he interviewed with then-Broncos general manager John Elway and other Denver execs in 2019 ... however, Brian says "it was clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule."

Flores also claims Elway and the other Broncos execs showed up an hour late for the interview and "looked completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had drinking heavily the night before."

Brian -- who points out there's only 1 Black head coach (Mike Tomlin) and 6 GMs -- is suing on the behalf of all prospective Black coaches and front office employees.

Flores is asking the court to fix the NFL's alleged discriminatory hiring practices, in addition to damages.

There's more ... Flores also accuses Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of offering to pay him $100K per loss -- in an effort to tank the season and get a better draft pick.

Flores says when he refused to play ball, he was labeled as being difficult to work with, and ultimately fired.

"This is reflective of an all too familiar 'angry Black man' stigma that is often casted upon Black men who are strong in their morals and convictions while white men are coined as passionate for those very same attributes," the lawsuit reads.

Flores -- who is currently without a coaching gig -- understands the lawsuit could possibly prevent him from landing a job in the future.

"God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the
need for change is bigger than my personal goals," Flores said in a statement released by his lawyers.

Former NBA star Chris Bosh says he's so pissed off over the lack of Black head coaches in the NFL -- he's straight up done watching it until things change.

The 37-year-old ripped the league on Monday via his newsletter "The Last Chip" ... accusing NFL owners of treating Black coaches differently than white ones.

In his post, Bosh said the firings of Brian Flores in Miami and David Culley in Houston were unjust ... saying he believes if the two men were white, they'd still have jobs right now.

"Watching the way the NFL is treating Black coaches has me pissed off," Bosh said. "Plain and simple. Until they fix this, I cannot keep spending my weekends supporting the league."

Bosh noted there's now just one Black head coach in the league -- Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin -- something he called "appalling."

"I'm happy anytime anyone gets a job," the ex-Miami Heat forward said, "but it sure seems like the white guys are having an easier time becoming head coaches and general managers nowadays, while Black coaches are held to an entirely different standard."

The two-time NBA champ says he will no longer spend his Sundays watching ball -- at least until he and his kids see more coaches on the sideline that look like them.

"I want them to know that the next great strategic mind might belong to a coach who isn’t necessarily white," Bosh said. "Because I know they're out there, future Belichick's and Lombardi's and Madden's who happen to not be white men."

The University of Nebraska says mascot Herbie Husker will no longer make the "OK" hand sign ... after receiving pressure from anti-hate groups who believe the gesture has ties to white supremacy.

“The concern about the hand gesture was brought to our attention by our apparel provider and others, and we decided to move forward with a revised Herbie Husker logo,” Nebraska Athletics told the AP.

“The process of changing the logo began in 2020, and we updated our brand guidelines in July of 2021. The revised logo is now the only Herbie Husker mark available to licensees.”

The "OK" symbol -- which had become a staple of Nebraska's mascot -- was first used in the '70s ... but has become associated with racist groups over the last few years.

Now, Herbie's hands will make the "number one" gesture with his index finger, instead of his index finger and thumb forming a closed circle.

FYI, the Anti-Defamation League lists the "OK" hand gesture in its Hate Symbols Database, but the website urges people to be careful when evaluating a person's intent when using the hand symbol.

Joe Rogan is getting support after saying he can do better on his podcast ... but some celebs still aren't buying it.

The Rock was more than good with Joe's mea culpa, saying, "Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you."

Kelly Slater echoed the sentiment ... "Love to see you offer to bring on Neil Young and/or Joni Mitchell on with whoever they want by their side to refute whatever it is they're so pissed about. If they're for truth it should be an easy convo. I'll be looking forward to their replies if so."

Jewel said, "You're doing a great job. Keep it up."

Jamie Kennedy said, "Tell me 1 person in mainstream media that is this transparent and this open. Go ahead, I'll wait."

And, former Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson said, "I'm triple vaxxed, but (unless they're standing for hate or calling for violence) banning someone's podcast is too much like burning a book to me," adding, "Joe Rogan should talk on his podcast about whatever he damn well pleases."

And, human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali tripled down ... "this is exactly why Joe Rogan's podcast is so popular. He is open to different perspectives and listsens to people without judgment."

R&B singer India Arie, was unmoved by Rogan's apology, declaring she will follow in Neil Young's footsteps and take her music off Spotify, saying her decision is not based on just COVID misinformation ... it's based on race.

Last week philosopher Jordan Peterson jumped on Joe's podcast and the 2 had a talk about what it means to be Black. They're both white, and they made a bizarre point ... that Rogan understands because he's Italian.

Joe Rogan vowed to do better in the wake of criticism his podcast is spreading COVID misinformation ... and he says he knows how to make things better and more responsible.

Rogan broke his silence Sunday ... this after Neil Young and others yanked their music off Spotify in protest.

Rogan said he's down with Spotify's disclaimer when guests go against prevailing science ... a disclaimer urging folks to talk to their physician. The disclaimer will also note the views discussed are contrary to those of experts.

But, Rogan went further, acknowledging he should have done more ... like immediately after saying goodbye to a guest who goes against the grain, he'll bring on someone with mainstream views. He says he will do that from now on.

Rogan was contrite, telling Spotify he was sorry the platform has taken heat over his podcast. Joe also said he's a huge Neil Young fan and has no hard feelings toward him.

That said, Rogan began by saying the term "misinformation" is relative ... he says some of what was considered irresponsible to say early on in the pandemic has become a conventional point of view.

Neil Young has more company in his Spotify bailout campaign ... this time the likes of the guitarist for none other than The Boss himself.

Nils Lofgren is 86'ing his music from Spotify ... to protest the vaccine misinformation on Joe Rogan's podcast.

Nils said, "A few days ago, my wife Amy and I became aware of Neil and Daryl [Hannah] standing with hundreds of health care professionals, scientists, doctors and nurses in calling out Spotify for promoting lies and misinformation that are hurting and killing people."

He went on ... "When these heroic women and men, who’ve spent their lives healing and saving ours, cry out for help you don’t turn your back on them for money and power. You listen and stand with them."

Nils is a major musician ... a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, longtime Crazy Horse and E Street Band member ... but he's not one of the younger musicians who might make this a horse race for Spotify.

As we reported, Neil Young gave his ultimatum before yanking his music off the platform, and Joni Mitchell followed.

Nils is now asking other musicians to follow his lead.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have jumped into the Spotify/Joe Rogan fracas ... urging the platform to blunt "serious harms" over COVID misinformation.

As you know, the couple has a lucrative deal with Spotify -- $30 mil -- but they've come out swinging, with their rep saying, "Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis. Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation every day."

The rep went on ...  "Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all-too-real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform. We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis. We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does.”

As we reported, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and now Nils Lofgren have yanked their music off Spotify, in protest of Rogan. Meghan and Harry have not pulled the plug ... instead, they're just asking.

Britney Spears is outraged at her sister for hawking her book on TV ... a book she says became a best-seller off her back.

Britney said this of Jamie Lynn Spears ... "You are scum" -- posting video of conversations surrounding her sister's new book "Things I Should Have Said" on "The Talk" and "The Real."

Britney posted clips from the shows, where several hosts challenged Jamie Lynn for writing a book rather than talking it out with Britney privately. Britney wrote, "What these women are saying here is pretty clear!!! I'm just kinda shocked that more people like these real soul sisters aren't telling it like it is."

Britney went on ... "The nerve of you to sell a book now and talk s*** but your f***ing lying just like you lied about Alexa Nikolas !!!!"

And, Jamie Lynn's older sis challenged her to take a polygraph test.

Bill Maher says he's finding himself in a weird position these days ... a hero on the right and a villain on the left.

Maher, a libertarian who has been a reliable Democrat, skewered the Dems Friday night on "Real Time" for what he called "goofy s***," but he says it's not about embracing Republicans ... he says it's about teaching Democrats how to effectively fight them.

He seems amused members of George W. Bush's Administration -- which helped get him fired back in the day -- are now suggesting he run for President.

The message was laced with hilarity ... "I am still the same unmarried, childless, pot-smoking libertine I always was. Let's get this straight. It's not me who's changed, it's the left who is now made up of a small contingent who've gone mental and a large contingent who refuse to call them out for it, but I will."

And, then he did ... "People sometimes say to me, 'You know, you didn't use to make fun of the left as much.' Yeah, because they didn't give me so much to work with. The oath of office I took was to comedy. And if you do goofy s***, wherever you are in the spectrum, I'm going to make fun of you because that's where the gold is. And the fact that they are laughing at it should tell you something. It rings true."

Maher made his case by calling San Francisco "a shoplifter's paradise." He called out members of Congress who have advocated canceling rent and mortgages ... members who believe "capitalism is slavery."

Bill didn't mince words ..."It's not my fault that the party of FDR and JFK is turning into the party of LOL and WTF."

Joe Rogan has triggered another Spotify exit ... this time Joni Mitchell.

The 78-year-old singer said, "I've decided to remove my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives."

The issue, of course, is Rogan's conversations about COVID ... which critics say contain false information about the virus and the vaccine ... information they say is dangerous and even deadly.

As you know, Rogan's the king of the hill over at Spotify with a reported $100 million deal. His podcast is also the most popular around. Neil Young took a stand earlier in the week, essentially saying, "him or me" ... knowing Spotify would not 86 Rogan. Young asked that his music be removed.

Young and Mitchell are both legendary musicians.  She won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Kennedy Center honor as well.

So far Spotify hasn't budged, in part because both Young and Mitchell are in their 70's and are not nearly the subscription drivers Rogan is ... it'll be interesting to see if younger singers jump on board, and if they do ... what will Spotify do?