Controversial S#!T

Adele is giving off big time "don't look at me!" vibes -- this as the first clear photos of her have emerged since her Vegas time-out ... with none other than her BF by her side.

The pop star was seen Friday leaving Mr. Chow in Bev Hills with NBA agent Rich Paul -- and despite their best efforts to keep things low-key ... the paps fired away as their car started to pull out of the backlot, capturing some interesting shots as they exited.

As you can see ... Adele is straight up hiding behind her purse in the passenger seat, not wanting the cameras to get a good look at her mug -- and for the most part, she succeeded.

Adele has been hunkering down at Rich's place here in L.A. in hopes that the residency drama would blow over -- and while it seems to have settled down for sure since her tearful apology ... there are still tons of rumors flying about a possible all-out cancelation.

As we reported ... her story about having to postpone things due to COVID and other logistics simply doesn't add up to the folks over at Caesar's -- as we've been told by those in the loop that any COVID issue would've been brought up way earlier than when she did, and not just that ... but we'd heard much different accounts about what was going on BTS.

Long story short, word is ... Adele wasn't happy with the set pieces and stage design when she showed up for rehearsals -- very shortly before her debut performance, for which folks bought tickets and flew in from all over the world to catch in person.

According to our sources ... she just couldn't be satisfied, and ended up blindsiding Caesar's crew with her announcement. By the looks of it, she definitely doesn't wanna talk about it yet ... or even be seen.

Kanye West now has someone in his corner over his very public spat with Kim Kardashian over parenting -- and that'd be one Candace Owens ... whose support he appreciates.

Ye took to IG Saturday to thank the conservative political pundit for voicing support over whether Kanye and Kim's daughter, North, should be on TikTok or not -- and in CO's POV, the kid definitely shouldn't ... because she says it's harmful for young girls.

Candace says Kim's wrong on this issue, going on to say ... "It's actually Kanye that is trying to protect his daughter in this regard and Kim is spinning this as 'obsession' and 'control'" ... adding there are other ways for kids to creatively express themselves besides TikTok.

KW was definitely feeling the love, and made sure Candace knew about it ... posting a lengthy caption that expressed just how much it meant to him that she was standing by his side ... while others, apparently, keep their vote of confidence on the DL with Ye.

He writes, "THANK YOU CANDACE FOR BEING THE ONLY NOTEWORTHY PERSON TO SPEAK ON THIS ISSUE THERE'S A LOT OF CELEBRITIES SCARED TO SAY SOMETHING IN PUBLIC BUT THEY'LL TEXT ME IN PRIVATE AND SAY THEIR ON MY SIDE."

Kanye adds, "I WILL NO LONGER PUT MY HAND THROUGH A BLENDER TO HUG MY CHILDREN MY MOTHER TOOK ME TO CHICAGO WHEN I WAS 3 AND TOLD MY DAD IF HE CAME TO CHICAGO HE WOULD NEVER SEE ME AGAIN SO I BOUGHT THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR I DREAM OF A WORLD WHERE DAD’S CAN STILL BE HEROES."

This latest dustup comes after Kim filmed a TikTok with North ... which pissed off Kanye, as he's made it clear he doesn't want his kids on there. Kim accused him of attacking her, and essentially brushed off the TikTok use as NBD ... especially compared to his behavior.

Joe Rogan is apologizing for repeatedly using the n-word -- the entire word -- in his past, saying, "It looks f***ing horrible, even to me."

A complication of clips from old podcasts shows Rogan using the slur over and over.

Rogan tried explaining it this way ... "There's a video that's out, that's a compilation of me saying the n-word. It's a video that's made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast, and it's all smushed together."

Rogan said there were times he thought he could use the word during discussions about pop culture ... citing Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor, but there's an obvious difference. Rogan says he was wrong and is regretful.

He says, "Now, I haven't said it in years, but for a long time, when I would bring that word up, like, if it would come up in conversation and instead of saying the n-word, I would just say the word -- I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing."

There's another clip shot 11 years ago that's even more problematic ... in which Rogan says a taxi driver dropped him off in a black neighborhood in Philly and it was "like they were in 'Planet of the Apes.'"

Rogan says, "I was just saying there's a lot of black people there. But, then I went on to talk about what a positive experience it was and how much fun it was to go to see this movie in a black neighborhood."

The popular podcaster says he will never use the n-word again, calling this "the most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly."

He says he hopes this will be a "teachable moment" for others.

PETA is not a fan of the new "Jackass Forever" film, and is demanding prosecutors launch a criminal investigation, claiming the production violated animal cruelty laws.

A rep for Peta tells TMZ ... the Paramount Pictures movie, which appears to have been filmed at least partially in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo County, likely broke state animal protection laws with scenes involving all sorts of critters.

PETA says a spider was "provoked" into biting an actor's chest, a turtle "harassed and goaded" to bite an actor's testicles, and a snake "harangued and provoked" into biting someone's nose.

But wait, there's more, allegedly ... a tarantula "trapped" in a tube, and a bull "deliberately agitated" into charging and injuring Johnny Knoxville.

PETA also claims Knoxville and Steve-O provoked honeybees into stinging Steve-O's penis, killing many bees in the process ... and a scorpion was put in the mouth of an unnamed jackass and repeatedly hit until it stung.

The org fired off a couple of letters, obtained by TMZ, to the L.A. City Attorney and San Luis Obispo County D.A. ... urging them to investigate the production and take legal action.

PETA thinks an investigation could lead to charges against Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Eric André, director Jeff Tremaine, producer Spike Jonze ... and others, including those responsible for providing the animals used in the film.

PETA's Senior VP Lisa Lange tells TMZ ... "If Steve-O and Johnny Knoxville want to make a career out of nasty little boy fantasies, they're entitled to, as long as they don't stress, harm, poke, prod, scare, or bother animals who are used as living props for their idiocy."

Lange adds ... "PETA is reminding city and county prosecutors that no one is above the law and that while the rest of the world wants to save bees and recognizes animals as sentient individuals, these jackasses exploit and abuse them for fun."

As we first reported, Steve-O and Pontius are also being sued over a jet ski stunt that allegedly left a man badly injured.

Kim Kardashian has done something she almost never does ... she's gone after Kanye on social media ... this after he attacked her.

Kim is clearly angry over Kanye posting his grievances about Kim posting a short video of her and North West on TikTok.

Kanye responded ... "Since this is my first divorce I need to know what I should do about my daughter being put on TikTok against my will."

Kim has come out swinging, saying, "Kanye’s constant attacks on me in interviews and on social media is actually more hurtful than any TikTok North might create. As the parent who is the main provider and caregiver for our children, I am doing my best to protect our daughter while also allowing her to express her creativity in the medium that she wishes with adult supervision -- because it brings her so much happiness."

Kim clearly made a point of saying she's the primary caregiver, which is undeniably the case.

She went on ... "Divorce is difficult enough on our children and Kanye's obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all. From the beginning, I have wanted nothing but a healthy and supportive co-parenting relationship because it is what is best for our children and it saddens me that Kanye continues to make it impossible every step of the way."

This is an exception post coming from Kim, and it's what we've been hearing privately for a while now ... Kanye doesn't want this divorce, and he's lashing out at her because he's lost control and can't stop her.

She's also making it clear there have been many other co-parenting issues ... some that haven't surfaced publicly. But she's clearly sick of it. She finishes, "Hopefully he can finally respond to the third attorney he has had in the last year to resolve any issues amicably."

In the end, if they can't settle their disagreements over custody, it may end up being decided by a judge in divorce court.

Susan Sarandon is apologizing for a social media post comparing a funeral for a fallen NYPD officer to fascism ... confessing it was "insensitive and deeply disrespectful."

The actress issued the mea culpa Friday after facing tons of backlash for her Tuesday tweet, when she shared a meme bashing cops with an image of slain NYPD officer Jason Rivera's funeral procession.

Susan says she deeply regrets sharing the meme and claims she reacted quickly without connecting the meme to a police funeral. She says she now realizes "how insensitive and deeply disrespectful it was to make that point at that time."

The image Susan posted -- then deleted -- featured a tweet from podcaster Danny Haiphong with a photo of cops lining NYC streets and the caption, "I'm gonna tell kids this is what fascism looks like."

Further anti-cop sentiment was added to the meme ... "So, if all these cops weren't needed for CRIME that day, doesn't that mean they aren't needed ANY day?" ... but Susan's saying she was just sharing someone else's handiwork.

A bunch of police organizations slammed Susan for the social media post ... as well as a horde of Twitter users.

Simon Leviev, the subject of the new Netflix documentary, "The Tinder Swindler," is banned for life from the app he used to con women, with the company stating the obvious ...  he violated the terms of service.

A rep for Tinder tells TMZ ... not only have they fully terminated his account, but if Simon decides to return to the platform using his name -- or one of his many aliases -- the new account will get an immediate ban as well. They say this has been in place since 2019 when his actions were first made public.

They go on to clarify that the terms he violated were "impersonation" and "asking for money." The rep added, "We have conducted internal investigations and can confirm Simon Leviev is no longer active on Tinder under any of his known aliases."

As the documentary reveals, Simon preyed on women through the app, flashing his "enormous wealth," promoting a lavish, globetrotting lifestyle. He would convince the women he matched with to take out money for him, and make off with millions of dollars.

Cops caught up to Simon in 2019, arresting and deporting him to Israel where he was supposed to serve a lengthy sentence for his crimes -- but 5 months later, he was released. According to the report, he met the criteria for a program aiming to reduce the prison population during the pandemic.

Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong's 'Masked Singer' walkout over Rudy Giuliani being a contestant will not be a long-term protest -- both judges are back on the job, and looking pretty damn happy too.

Ken and Robin joined their fellow judges Nicole Scherzinger and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg Thursday for a photo shoot to promote the show's upcoming 7th season. The fact they're still all in to hype the show is a great sign they're willing to sweep Giuliani-gate under the rug

As TMZ reported … During the first taping of the season, Donald Trump's former attorney was the first to get kicked off the show, and when he was unmasked to the judges and audience members, Robin and Ken walked right off set -- a clear protest of his participation in the show.

That all went down last week, but Thursday all seemed forgiven during the shoot outside "The Masked Singer" studio.

While there were some complaints when Sarah Palin appeared on the show back in 2020 ... it was nothing as visceral as Ken and Robin storming off the stage.

Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber keep parking their luxury cars in handicap spots at their Pilates class ... and despite criticism that it's illegal and wrong, they persist.

There they are again ... in the vast parking lot attached to a bunch of businesses -- including the Pilates studio Hot Pilates -- and their parking spots of choice are feet from their destination. The problem is -- it's reserved for the disabled.

We've seen them do this repeatedly over the last few weeks, but they continue to park there.

Our Kendall sources say the owner of the Pilates studio asked them to park in the handicapped spaces because their presence was causing a scene with photogs. Problem is -- the studio owner doesn't control the space -- it's for all the businesses in the parking lot.

We're also told on most days, their security teams will move the cars after Kendall and Hailey get into class -- and bring them after. If the cars aren't moved, security stands by and can get them out of the way if needed.

Our Hailey sources say there are other celebs who've been instructed to do the same thing when they're at the gym.

Now here's an idea ... filming "The View" at the Museum of Tolerance to show support for the Jewish community and educate viewers about the Holocaust.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the famed Simon Wiesenthal Center in L.A. tells TMZ ... he'd love to have the show air live at the Museum of Tolerance. He thinks a special week-long visit to the Museum -- which focuses on the Holocaust -- would be enlightening, and he thinks given what was said on the show, the network has to show some accountability.

Ok, let's back this up for a minute. Rabbi Cooper thinks it's absurd to even suggest Whoopi Goldberg is anti-Semitic. She's been a tried-and-true friend of the Jewish community for decades.

That said, the Rabbi thinks her comment that the Holocaust was not racially-based was way out of bounds, and since she said it on the show ... the show should take steps to educate the audience.

It's an interesting take ... especially since the Prez of ABC News came out and proclaimed her network was a big supporter of the Jewish community.

Rabbi Cooper also has an opinion about Whoopi's 2-week suspension -- an opinion that is at odds with many others in the Jewish community. He thinks the suspension is appropriate, because he thinks accountability is important.

The head of the Anti-Defamation League and many others beg to differ, saying Whoopi apologized, recognized the error in her ways, and that should be the end of it.

Fact is ... lots of people think this is ABC reacting out of fear -- since Sharon Osbourne was suspended for defending Piers Morgan's take on Meghan Markle, ABC felt it had to do the same with Whoopi.

There's another way of looking at it ... that both Whoopi and Sharon shouldn't be suspended for stating their opinions on live, opinion-based TV. If neither said what they said from a place of malice, then why the suspensions? In Whoopi's case, she actually gave a mea culpa, so it's unclear exactly what the ABC President expects her to reflect on.

Cooper says one of his colleagues has a relationship with Whoopi, and they've reached out to her for a meeting. Since Whoopi seems to already get what she did, it's unclear what the point of the meeting would be.

Former Bills GM Doug Whaley is hopeful Brian Flores' lawsuit brings about changes in the NFL ... but he tells TMZ Sports he's sure the only way the league's infrastructure will change quickly is if players boycott.

We spoke with Whaley following the filing of Flores' lawsuit ... and he told us in order to really see change, he believes it's going to take much more than the ex-Miami Dolphins coach's legal documents.

"[Flores' lawsuit] will hopefully move the needle," Whaley said. "But to really make change and affect change is when players stand up and start talking about withholding their services."

Whaley tells us if media companies and sponsors -- the ones that help pay billions of dollars to the NFL -- follow suit ... he then could see the league altering its way of thinking.

"To really affect change with billionaires," Whaley said, "you hit them where they really are concerned. It's not people's feelings. It's their bank accounts."

"When that starts getting affected," he added, "I bet you change will happen a lot sooner."

Doug also tells us he thinks Flores should get another shot at a head coaching gig in the NFL ... though, after the lawsuit's filing, he's now uncertain that will happen.

Law enforcement officials are facing serious backlash ... after failing to inform the public about a 49ers fan who was allegedly assaulted in the SoFi Stadium parking lot during Sunday's NFC Championship game.

According to the L.A. Times, it took 3 days for authorities in Inglewood to acknowledge the incident even took place ... and Thursday, officials were met with skepticism over why they didn't tell the public sooner.

40-year-old restaurant owner Daniel Luna is believed to be the man who was the victim of the heinous assault, according to the report.

Police Lt. Geoffrey Meeks said Los Angeles County Fire Dept. paramedics found Luna wearing a Niners jersey 30 minutes after the game started ... but it's unclear when the attack actually happened.

Of course, the timing is inauspicious for Los Angeles County -- the area is set to host Super Bowl LVI in the coming weeks -- which leads many to believe that authorities weren't as quick to release information surrounding the event out of fear of a PR nightmare.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports no suspects have been identified in the case ... but police launched an investigation into the matter sometime around 7 PM Sunday night, according to the report.

Officials at SoFi Stadium did, however, say they were "aware and saddened by the incident," and they were working with law enforcement officials throughout the course of their investigation.

"Our thoughts are with Mr. Luna’s friends and family during this difficult time."

The Giants are adamant Brian Flores is flat out wrong -- insisting they did NOT decide to hire Brian Daboll before the ex-Dolphins coach was interviewed -- and claiming Bill Belichick had no idea who NY was hiring.

"After we interviewed six exceptional and diverse candidates, the decision on who we would hire as head coach was made on the evening of January 28, one day after Mr. Flores spent an entire day in our offices going through his second interview for the position, meeting with ownership and other staff members, and receiving a tour of our facility," the team said in a statement.

The date's important because the crux of the lawsuit is ... did Flores have a legit shot at landing the G-Men job, or was he given a sham interview to satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule (it says teams must interview a minority candidate in person prior to making a hire.)

The 40-year-old former Dolphins head coach filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, alleging the league's hiring practices were racist.

And, Flores says he has proof ... a text from Belichick.

We broke the story ... BB sent a message to Flores on January 23, telling his former assistant coach the NYG liked him for the job.

Unfortunately for BF, Bill either texted the wrong person (he meant to send to Daboll, the man who was ultimately hired), or he misunderstood the info he was told.

"The allegation that the Giants' decision had been made prior to Friday evening, January 28, is false. And to base that allegation on a text exchange with Bill Belichick in which he ultimately states that he 'thinks' Brian Daboll would get the job is irresponsible."

The team continued ... "The text exchange occurred the day before Coach Daboll's in-person interview even took place. Giants’ ownership would never hire a head coach based only on a 20-minute zoom interview, which is all that Mr. Daboll had at that point."

Not to mention, the Giants say Belichick has no affiliation with the organization, and played no part in the hiring process.

"Mr. Belichick does not speak for and has no affiliation with the Giants. Mr. Belichick’s text exchange provides no insight into what actually transpired during our head coaching search."

In other words, it doesn't matter what Bill texted, according to the team.

Bottom line -- the Giants are adamant they did absolutely nothing wrong.

Like Stephen Ross, John Elway is now firing back at Brian Flores ... saying he was NOT hungover during their 2019 interview and was simply just tired from flying to speak with the coach.

Flores, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, accused Elway and the Broncos of conducting a "sham interview" with him 3 years ago ... saying Elway and others at the meeting "looked completely disheveled" and were "obviously" "drinking heavily the night before."

Elway, though, refuted those claims in a lengthy statement on Thursday ... calling the allegations "false and defamatory."

"For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning was subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong," the Denver exec said. "If I appeared 'disheveled,' as he claimed, it was because we had flown in during the middle of the night -- immediately following another interview in Denver -- and were going on a few hours of sleep to meet the only window provided to us."

Elway continued, "I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head coaching position in 2019."

Elway added that he and his team were "prepared, ready and fully engaged" during the interview, which he said lasted 3 and a half hours.

"It's unfortunate and shocking to learn for the first time this week that Brian felt differently about our interview with him," Elway said.

Elway's strong denial came just hours after Ross, the Miami Dolphins' owner, issued his. As we reported, Ross called the Flores claims that he offered money to the coach to tank "false, malicious, and defamatory."

The Super Bowl is just 10 days away and health officials in Los Angeles are warning all you sneaky fans plotting a way around the mask mandate ... don't even think about it!!

L.A. County -- where the game will take place on February 13 -- requires everyone over 2 years old at large scale events over 5,000 people, regardless of vaccination status, to mask up ... except when chowing down.

"That doesn't mean buy a bucket of popcorn and eat it for two hours. Actively eating and drinking," a SoFi Stadium executive said according to Fox 5 in San Diego, adding, "We are on to you."

Officials say they're ready to crack down on any of the 70,000+ fans who will ascend on the $5.5 billion stadium next Sunday ... but admitted it's a monumental task.

"It's a challenge. It's a very large building but we are prepared and ready to go," the NFL's head of live events said, continuing ... "We have had two years of experience of planning under COVID and we're extremely confident in the plans that we have in place."

Now, let's be honest ... this is a rule that is virtually impossible to enforce. How do you determine who's eating slow? What's even considered slow? And, how do you deal with the sheer number of people?

In fact, just last weekend during the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers at SoFi Stadium, California governor Gavin Newsom landed in hot water when he was caught taking a photo with Magic Johnson -- without a mask.

Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti also took a maskless photo with the Lakers legend ... but don't worry, he said he was holding his breath (he said this with a straight face).

In addition to requiring the masks, event staff will also require fans to show vaccination proof prior to entering the stadium. The stadium has also been outfitted with hundreds of hand sanitizers.

A Colin Kaepernick hater heckled the former NFL star on his way out of Madison Square Garden on Wednesday -- calling the ex-QB a "bum" and saying, "You could never throw a football."

The jerk was heard loud and clear as Kaepernick left the Knicks game in New York and got into his ride ... with the man yelling twice, "You're a bum."

"Get in that car," the heckler added.

Kaepernick never acknowledged the man ... and quietly walked through a swarm of people on his way out of the NBA game and into the waiting car.

Inside of the arena, Colin clearly had a much better time -- he sat next to Spike Lee, and was also spotted chatting it up with former MLB star CC Sabathia before tip-off.

During the game, ESPN Films announced a new docuseries was in the works about Kaepernick, with the production company saying Lee had been tapped to direct it. Officials promised it would tell Kaepernick's story in a way that's never been heard before.