Controversial S#!T

In another strange twist ... controversial Russian skating star Kamila Valieva fell to the ice multiple times and failed to medal in the women's free skate event.

15-year-old Valieva -- the best skater in the world -- was heavily favored to win leading up to the competition, but ended up finishing fourth after suffering one of the worst performances of her young career.

Kamila has been at the center of a firestorm of controversy ... after it was revealed last week that she failed a drug test in December. Valieva was popped for a performance-enhancing drug named trimetazidine. The drug helps blood flow and endurance.

Valieva was ultimately suspended for the positive test by Russian drug officials ... who then quickly reversed course, un-suspending her just a day later.

Other Olympic entities appealed the lifting of the suspension ... so the decision went to an organization called the Court of Arbitration (CAS), who ruled Valieva should be allowed to compete, despite seemingly being caught cheating.

One of their reasons? It'd cause "irreparable harm" to the 15-year-old skater.

Although Kamila didn't medal in Wednesday's event ... she did win a gold medal last week. It's still unclear if she will get to keep her medal.

Longtime Dallas Cowboys exec Rich Dalrymple is adamant he did not film cheerleaders who were changing in a stadium locker room back in 2015 ... this despite multiple women alleging he did.

Dalrymple released a statement this week saying reports that he pulled out his phone and photographed women while they were changing at AT&T Stadium nearly seven years ago were flat-out not true.

"People who know me, co-workers, the media and colleagues, know who I am and what I'm about," Dalrymple said. "I understand the very serious nature of these claims and do not take them lightly. The accusations are, however, false."

ESPN broke the story Wednesday ... reporting that multiple women had accused Dalrymple of the disturbing act.

The women said it happened during a Kickoff Luncheon on Sept. 2, 2015 ... claiming the Cowboys exec used a keycard to gain access to their changing area and then began recording on his phone.

One woman who claimed she was in the locker room at the time allegedly said, according to ESPN, that she ran toward Dalrymple and chased him off.

ESPN also reported that Dalrymple had been accused of inappropriately filming Jerry Jones' daughter, Charlotte Jones Anderson, inside of the Cowboys' NFL Draft war room in 2015.

Regarding that accusation, ESPN reported that a viewer said he had seen Dalrymple on a live stream pointing his phone at Charlotte, a Cowboys' senior vice president.

The Cowboys, though, released a statement to ESPN saying it investigated all of the claims against Dalrymple "thoroughly" ... but "found no evidence of wrongdoing."

In his statement this week, Dalrymple said the incident with Charlotte "simply did not happen."

He added, "Everything that was alleged was thoroughly investigated years ago, and I cooperated fully."

Still, ESPN reported Wednesday that Dalrymple was issued "a formal written warning in October 2015." The outlet also reported that the team "paid a confidential settlement of $2.4 million" following the cheerleaders' claims.

Dalrymple retired earlier this month after working for the team for many years, but told ESPN his departure had nothing to do with the allegations.

Prince Andrew settled a lawsuit with a woman who claimed the royal had sex with her when she was a minor.

According to new legal docs, the Duke of York and Virginia Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement after she brought suit against Andrew.

As we reported ... Giuffre claims Andrew had sex with her 3 times when she was still a minor -- in London, New York and the Virgin Islands -- but he categorically denied the allegations.

In the docs, Prince Andrew's legal team says he intends to make a "substantial donation" to Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights. There are no specific financial details included in the docs.

There's a photo of Prince Andrew, Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell ... though Andrew says he doesn't recall taking the pic.

In the docs, Andrew says he regrets his association with Epstein and commends Giuffre and other survivors for their bravery in standing up for themselves and others.

Prince Harry had a mask on at some point during the Super Bowl, but he ditched it at another point and joined a VERY large crowd of celebrities and others who flaunted COVID protocols ... and, real talk, the rules are looking increasingly ridiculous.

As for those who joined Harry in the easy-breathing sections ... Kendall Jenner, Drake, The Rock, LeBron, The Weeknd, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Charlize Theron, Kanye, Kevin Hart, Matt Damon, Floyd Mayweather, Martha Stewart, Michael Strahan, Olivia Rodrigo, Shawn Mendes, Ben and Jen, Joe Jonas, 2 Chainz, Nelly, Ellen DeGeneres & Portia, Rebel Wilson ... we could go on and on.

As we reported, the L.A. County Health Dept. warned everyone who attended ... wear a mask or else. They even said they were going to make sure people didn't pull a popcorn trick ... eating a bucket slowly without a mask.

The reality ... there was no popcorn police, nor should there be. Even L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti -- who ridiculously defended not wearing a mask a few weeks back at the same venue by saying he held his breath -- was out there again without a mask, and this time he was clearly inhaling and exhaling as he chatted up some folks.

California lifted its mask mandate Monday, but L.A. County is not following suit and still requires masks indoors ... something, at this point, has clearly become a joke.

After his COVID vaccine stance cost him a shot at his 21st major title in Australia, Novak Djokovic says he still won't get the shots ... saying he'll now opt out of tournaments with vax mandates going forward.

The tennis star broke it all down for BBC in an interview published Tuesday ... explaining that even after all the drama he went through at the Australian Open last month, he's still not going to get the vaccine.

In fact, he told the outlet if Wimbledon or the French Open or any other huge tourney implements similar vax rules ... he'll just now sit those out, saying he feels that strongly about the vaccine.

"Yes," he said, "that is the price that I'm willing to pay."

Djokovic explained he's not an anti-vaxxer -- saying, "I was never against vaccination, but I've always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body."

Djokovic essentially said he's not willing to get the COVID vaccine just yet because he just doesn't know what it might do to his body.

"Principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else," he said. "I'm trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can."

The comments are the first ones that Djokovic has made since he was famously kicked out of Australia due to his unvaxxed status.

Djokovic told the outlet he didn't fabricate anything when it came to his application for his visa ... and he added that he "completely" disagreed with the government's officials' decision to deport him from the country.

There had been some buzz that Djokovic could, potentially, get the vaccine following it all ... and while Novak didn't slam the door on one day getting it, he made it clear it ain't happening anytime soon.

Whoopi Goldberg is back on "The View," and there are no sour grapes, at least outwardly, over her suspension -- and she's vowing she won't shy away from "tough conversations."

The talk show host was sitting in her chair again Monday, and right off the bat ... she addressed the elephant in the room, telling the audience she was grateful to return after her suspension.

Whoopi says the convos they have on TV are challenging ones, and they don’t always get into them as eloquently as they’d sometimes like. Still, she says that won’t deter them from tackling tough topics, ‘cause that’s what they’ve all been hired to do.

Whoopi didn’t harp too much on her 2-week timeout, but did say she appreciated everyone who reached out -- which apparently included some surprising calls or messages -- and in the same breath said she’d done a lot of listening too.

You’ll recall ... she got benched after suggesting the Holocaust wasn’t about race, which got tons of backlash. While trying to apologize, she sorta doubled down ... and ABC chief Kim Godwin forced her to sit out for a little while to reflect on the whole thing.

Eminem paid tribute to Colin Kaepernick on the biggest of stages at the Super Bowl ... spurring discussion (and some confusion) as to whether the NFL was kosher with the move.

The rapper ended his portion of his set Sunday at SoFi Stadium by dropping down to his knee with his head low, and holding the position for a good while as things transitioned over to Dr. Dre again.

Eventually, he got up and took his place among the other performers -- but what only amounted to about 30 seconds or so ended speaking volumes in the NFL’s backyard.

Of course, the question is ... was it sanctioned or not??? Well, depends on who you ask ... and how you interpret the NFL's official response. There are reports saying the move was forbidden by higher-ups, but a rep for the league went on record Sunday ... saying they’d seen Em take a knee during rehearsals, and were well aware it was included.

Whether they ever asked him not to is a different story -- and not necessarily addressed in the guy's statement here. But, it’s irrelevant now -- the dude did it, and by doing so ... definitely invoked the memory of Kap.

As you know, the ex-QB spent his final year or so in the league doing just this before each game, all in the name of social justice.

Eminem has voiced support for the cause, and it seems he wanted to make a point about it during the most important moment of the broadcast.

Author and activist Michael Eric Dyson saw it live at SoFi, and gave Em major props for the gesture.

File this under bizarre, controversial ... Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has officially been cleared to continue competing in the Winter Olympics, despite failing a drug test that initially resulted in a suspension from competition.

Last week it was revealed that 15-year-old Valieva tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance, trimetazidine (aids blood flow), back in December.

The skater -- who won gold in a team skating event -- was suspended.

But, Valieva appealed the suspension ... and the Court of Arbitration for Sport actually sided with the Olympic skater, paving the way for her to continue competing.

And, part of the reason she was cleared?

CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb said preventing Valieva from competing at the Games "would cause her irreparable harm" ... especially considering she's a minor.

Athletes under 16 are held to less stringent doping standards than that of their adult counterparts ... in the eyes of CAS.

FYI, Russia isn't even officially competing in the Olympics because of pervasive cheating. They're officially called the Russian Olympic Committee.

The governing body also said because Valieva failed the test six weeks ago ... and not at the Olympics, it'd be unfair to keep her from skating.

So, Valieva will now compete ... most likely.

Bill Maher went in hard Friday night, using Whoopi Goldberg as an example of how America has become a hateful, spiteful country that celebrates a misinformed view of karma.

The 'Real Time' host railed on the concept of karma, saying it's bulls*** to begin with -- no such thing -- but the lore of karma was actually a positive, zen-type thing, but we've made it a thing of revenge.

Bill's phone was filled with texts after Whoopi was suspended, with friends telling him how happy they were that karma hit her hard. Bill lashed out at his buds, saying yeah, Whoopi has gone after him for his views on COVID and other stuff, but that's called free speech.

He also says she's wrong on COVID and was wrong when she talked about race -- the thing that got her benched for 2 weeks -- but that's called disagreement. As he says, she has a right to speak, and the cure for misinformed speech is more speech. And, as he hilariously mused, Whoopi has a rock-solid defense -- "F*** it, it's 11 AM!"

As Bill puts it, "The View" suspending Whoopi for her views is like firing Pat Sajak for selling a vowel.

Time heals all wounds, right?? Not when it comes to Dave Portnoy and Roger Goodell ... 'cause the Barstool Sports founder tells TMZ Sports he still hates the NFL commish with a burning passion.

Pres -- who is by far Goodell's biggest critic -- says the beef was rejuvenated after Barstool tried to purchase the naming rights to the Buffalo Bills' stadium ... and Goodell seemingly intervened.

"So, we tried to do that last year, and I thought we were going to have a chance to do it," Dave said at Saddle Ranch in L.A.

"And, it sounds like maybe the NFL, Roger Goodell, one of the great criminals, villains, dictators of all time tried to step in and put an end to that."

Portnoy says he still wants the naming rights, though ... as he loves the people of Buffalo and would "make the move in a heartbeat" if the opportunity presented itself.

But, that's not something Dave thinks will actually happen ... as long as Goodell is the commish.

"Again, Roger Goodell, he’s a real bad guy," Dave says. "I'm not even joking. Everything he says is not the truth, and I think he hates us."

"We can’t force someone to sell us the name rights, but if they named the price we would pay it."

Portnoy did, however, say he would be willing to sit down with the commish to "hash things out."

NFL star Cameron Jordan tells TMZ Sports he's got a bone to pick with Hall of Fame voters ... saying, in his mind, both DeMarcus Ware and Jared Allen belonged in the 2022 class.

The Saints defensive end -- who knows a thing or two about getting to the quarterback -- made the proclamation outside of Academy Nightclub in L.A. this week ... saying he believes both Ware and Allen were snubbed when the class was announced on Thursday night.

Jordan, though, didn't seem too concerned about the guys' future Canton prospects ... telling us he believes they'll both get in eventually.

Jordan also seemed to think Devin Hester got slighted too.

UFC 271 goes down tomorrow night ... but Joe Rogan won't be behind the mic, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

We're told the world's most famous podcaster has a scheduling conflict leaving him unable to work the fights. Michael Bisping is taking Rogan's place for Saturday's event ... which airs on ESPN+ PPV.

Of course, the JRE host has been under fire for weeks ... starting with supposed "misinformation" spread through his immensely popular podcast. Then, last weekend a compilation video of Joe using the n-word from several years back spread across the Internet.

Rogan apologized ... but also described the situation as a "political hit job."

After the news broke, there was speculation ESPN and/or the UFC pulled Rogan.

However, our ESPN sources tell us that's not true. They say they have nothing to do with the lineup of commentators. As for the UFC, Joe is generally beloved by the company ... and we're told they did NOT pull him.

Bottom line, our sources are telling us Joe had a scheduling conflict ... and it was his decision to miss the fights.

The card's main event features a fight between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker ... from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.

UFC star Israel Adesanya is clearly tired of the Joe Rogan criticism -- 'cause the fighter staunchly defended the famous podcaster at a media event Thursday, and he actually used the n-word to cap his point.

Izzy's passionate defense of the UFC commentator came after a reporter asked Dana White during the UFC 271 press conference about all of the controversies that surrounded the comedian recently.

Adesanya wouldn't even let White answer the question -- interjecting almost immediately by saying, "I'm Black, I can take this one."

"I've been in this fight game since 2008," Adesanya said, "and Joe Rogan is one of the nicest, coolest, humble motherf***ers I've had the pleasure of working with. Understand that."

Adesanya continued, "You know what they're trying to do. You can't control the man and he's got the biggest platform in the world right now. So, that's my n***a, Joe Rogan."

FYI, Izzy and Rogan are buddies ... and the UFC champ has been on the JRE podcast in the past.

Rogan has come under fire in the last few weeks due to controversial guests he's had on his podcast and for his previous use of the n-word.

Joe apologized -- and even ripped himself in a stand-up comedy act earlier this month. However, he's also called the push to de-platform him a "political hit job."

Izzy, though, clearly believes Rogan has nothing to be sorry for ... and said his advice to the guy is plain and simple: "F*** the noise."

Sounds like Kanye West is stuck in the anger stage of breaking up from Kim Kardashian, and he's taking it out on Pete Davidson with a new hint of violence ... in a song, at least.

Ye is featured on Fivio Foreign's new single, "City of Gods," alongside Alicia Keys. Great track ... unless you're Pete because when Ye's verse comes up, intimidation towards Pete comes flying out.

We mean, how else should the 'SNL' star take these lyrics -- "This afternoon, a hundred goons pullin' up to SNL (What?) When I pull up, it's dead on arrival."

Ye even throws some shots towards his estranged wife ... "And if I let 'em have my wife, n****s should thank me ... With this Balenciaga and Balenci' boots and a new blue Yankee."

Don't forget, this isn't the first time he's put his feelings about the couple in lyrics.

In the track "Eazy", he says "God saved me from that crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson's ass."

And, as we first reported, Ye was allegedly spreading rumors last month that Pete has AIDS -- although, sources close to the rapper called that "nonsense".

Ya wanna believe things will get better between the 3 of them ... but for now, Ye seems stuck in lyrical threats mode.

Adele is finally speaking out since she canceled her Las Vegas shows ... saying she canceled because the concerts would've been "half-assed" ... which now has lots of folks wondering if COVID was the real reason.

Adele appeared on the BBC One Series on Friday ... again explaining she tried her best to go on with the show ... and then she dropped the "half-assed" comment.

Remember, Adele said half her crew had COVID and that's the main reason she pulled the plug on her residency last minute. If COVID were the real reason it would be kind of weird to say the performance would have been "half-assed."

As we reported, there were a number of disputes between Adele and the folks behind the scenes ... there were disputes over set pieces, audio and general production issues. Some folks in Caesar's camp say they just could not please her.

That said, Adele spent Thursday night at Heaven, a gay bar in London, where she sang along to "It's Raining Men" and ended up on stage doin' a little pole dance!!!

She also judged the stripping contest!

Joel McHale has made a compelling case that Betty White was not the person Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan claimed she was ... a case so compelling it would have impressed Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.!!!

As we reported, the director of "The Golden Girls" said Bea and Rue used to call Betty the c-word during the run of the show .... and even Betty acknowledged they didn't like her.

Well, Joel says it's all a numbers game, because no one made similar comments on other shows on which Betty was featured, including 'Mary Tyler Moore,' "Password," 'SNL' and "Community."

Joel has first-hand knowledge, because Betty shared the screen with him on "Community," and he says she was delightful. In other words, he's saying Bea and Rue are outliers.