Controversial S#!T

Matt Hutchins, husband of Halyna Hutchins, shook his head in disgust as he recounted how he felt when he heard Alec Baldwin talk about how he was grief-stricken over Halyna's death but accepted no responsibility.

Matt begs to differ, telling Hoda Kotb on "Today" it was absurd for the person who fired the bullet that killed his wife was blameless, and the way Baldwin described his pain further angered Matt.

He also explained how he told his 9-year-old son that his mother was dead. He said, "I just had to be very direct and blunt," said Hutchins... "because going to pick him up and go to the airport to go to Santa Fe, I didn’t want him to think that we were going to be seeing her and having fun together, and getting his hopes up." He then describes how they cried together.

As for the moment when they landed in Santa Fe and were embraced by Baldwin, Matt says, "I feel like to understand that moment, you have to remember the shock we were in. I spoke with Mr. Baldwin and was just looking for a way through the storm."

Baldwin has maintained he did not pull the trigger, and there seems to be divided thought on whether such a gun can fire with only the hammer or whether the trigger is required.

Matt says there were numerous safety lapses and says there were "multiple responsible parties."

Matt and his son have filed against Baldwin and many others ... even asking for punitive damages for alleged reckless conduct that led to Halyna's death.

FC Schalke 04, a professional German soccer club, is removing the patch of a Russian majority state-owned energy company after Vladimir Putin's armed forces invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation.

"Following recent developments, FC Schalke 04 have decided to remove the logo of main sponsor GAZPROM from the club's shirts," the club announced in a statement.

"It will be replaced by lettering reading 'Schalke 04' instead."

Gazprom -- the largest natural gas company in the world -- is the club's biggest sponsor ... and the company name is prominently displayed across the player's chests on their jerseys.

Of course, after weeks of increased tensions, Russia invaded Ukraine, launching a full-fledged attack against the country.

Dozens of people have already reportedly died.

FC Schalke 04 wasn't alone in working with the powerful energy company. UEFA, the governing body that oversees European soccer, also has a business relationship with Gazprom.

Unlike FC Schalke 04, UEFA hasn't opted (at least not yet) to cut ties with the company ... though they did release a statement condemning the attacks.

"UEFA shares the international community's significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe and strongly condemns the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine."

That's not to say the soccer body hasn't taken any action against Russia. The country was scheduled to host the Champions League final in Spring, but UEFA decided to pull the game.

They haven't yet named a replacement city.

Not everyone is happy about the $24 million settlement between the U.S. Women's National Team and the U.S. Soccer Federation -- Hope Solo says the deal is "infuriating" and is calling out Megan Rapinoe in the process.

"This settlement is not a 'huge win,'" the 2-time Olympic gold medalist said via Instagram on Wednesday.

"It's heartbreaking and infuriating. A 'promise' of equal pay from the Federation and backpay for a select group of players isn't equal pay and it's not what this fight was about."

As we previously reported, the USSF agreed to dispense $22 million amongst the players ($2 million for post-career ventures) after players sued for "institutionalized gender discrimination" in 2019.

Solo says she went through all the details ... and felt some type of way about the "Contingent upon the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement" part.

"It doesn't exist yet and is not guaranteed," Solo said.

"If the players had ever been successful in negotiating an equal CBA, there would've been no reason to sue the Federation in the first place."

Solo also slammed former USWNT teammates Rapinoe and Alex Morgan for accepting the deal -- just a day after Rapinoe said on "Good Morning America" that she was proud of all the hard work.

"Throughout the entire process, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan were the two most agreeable with the Federation," Solo said, "and to this day, continue to accept terms that are nowhere near what we set out to do."

Kyle Rittenhouse intends to sue LeBron James ... after he says the NBA superstar defamed him during his murder trial late last year to his 50+ million fans on social media.

And, he's not just going after The King ... he also says he's going after President Joe Biden and Whoopi Goldberg, among others.

As you know, 19-year-old Rittenhouse was charged with 2 counts of homicide, 1 count of attempted homicide, in addition to other charges, for shooting 3 people -- 2 fatally -- at a protest in Kenosha, WI.

During his trial, Rittenhouse took the stand ... and became emotional when talking about the events of August 25, 2020.

But, not everyone was buying the tears. Most notably, LeBron, who sent out a tweet mocking Rittenhouse's breakdown to his millions of followers.

Now, Rittenhouse -- who was found not guilty on all charges -- is fighting back.

During a lengthy sit-down interview with Turning Point USA, Kyle said he was going after all the people who defamed him before and during his criminal trial.

KR obviously saw Bron's message, and now he intends to sue the hooper.

Of course, recently, Rittenhouse reacted to LeBron's tweet, saying he actually used to be a fan of LeBron but has since said, "F*** him!"

As for Biden, Rittenhouse says the U.S. prez called him a white supremacist ... so he too can expect "papers," as Kyle phrased it.

Britney Spears is gearing up for a legal war with her former business managers at TriStar Entertainment -- a company heavily involved in her conservatorship, which she now outlandishly claims attempted to end her life.

The singer went off on TriStar Wednesday, especially its head honcho Lou Taylor and her righthand woman, Robin Greenhill -- 2 women who were allegedly an integral part of Britney’s life -- and she's accusing them of way more than just malfeasance.

Brit describes a meeting she says Greenhill and Taylor set up, and she claims Kate Beckinsale was also in attendance ... just to butter up Britney.

She says, "Ha those same bitches killed me a week later !!!! My dad worshipped those two women and would have done anything they asked of him !!!! I think they were trying to kill me … I still to this very day believe that’s EXACTLY what they were trying to do … but not a damn thing was wrong with me and I didn’t die !!!!"

She's never specific about HOW they allegedly tried to finish her, but Britney adds ... "Nobody else would have lived through what they did to me 🙅🏼‍♀️ !!! I lived through all of if and I remember all of it !!!! I will sue the shit out of Tri Star !!!! Psss they got away with all of it and I’m here to warn them every day of my precious life !!!!"

As we’ve told you, TriStar was hired by Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, early on in the conservatorship to handle her business affairs.

Britney could be alluding to when she was admitted into a mental health facility in 2019 after what we were told was her having a breakdown due to being distraught over her dad’s illness at the time.

During her stay, we’d been told doctors worked on getting her the right combination of medications to get her stable -- but she looked totally out of it during a day out with her BF, Sam Asghari.

As for Taylor and Greenhill, we got the latter out at LAX last year and tried to get comment on claims that she’d been part of the team that greenlit the alleged bugging of Britney’s room once upon a time.

She didn’t say a thing though ... remaining mum on all things Britney.

Now, it sounds like Britney's at least considering getting some payback in court. We've reached out to Lou Taylor and TriStar, but no word back yet.

Alec Baldwin might be regretting that ABC interview he did right about now -- because it seems to have, in part, triggered Halyna Hutchins' husband's wrath.

Matt Hutchins sat down for an interview with NBC's "Today" -- talking to Hoda Kotb -- which will be aired later this week ... and right off the bat in a new teaser, he's saying Baldwin's televised recounting pissed him off.

He says hearing AB talk about her death so publicly, so soon and in so much detail made him "angry," and not just that ... but the fact he denied responsibility over her death also didn't sit well with Matt at all.

As his wrongful death lawsuit had already spelled out -- and as his attorneys articulated thereafter -- Matt says it again here ... the idea that the person who held the gun that claimed her life isn't at fault is utterly absurd in his mind.

So yes, he does seem to think Baldwin is mostly to blame here. However, Matt also makes this clear ... there were other issues besides gun safety that led to his wife being killed, and it sounds like he's gonna get into all of that with Hoda.

As we told you ... Matt is suing Alec, among several other parties, for negligent and reckless misconduct that resulted in wrongful death, as well as loss of consortium. He’s asking for unspecified damages.

Disgusting claims from MLB ace Marcus Stroman ... who says New York Mets fans called him the n-word and hurled death threats at him during his time with the team.

The 30-year-old pitcher has been unleashing on his former employer on Twitter recently ... saying he couldn't be happier to be leaving the Big Apple to join the Chicago Cubs.

Stroman provided context as to why he's so excited for a fresh start in response to a tweet on Wednesday ... opening up on the alleged awful treatment he received from fans during his 2 seasons with the Mets.

"Endless death threats, being called a n***** often, hearing black lives don’t matter, and playing for a front office who didn’t care about any of that."

Stroman says he will go into more detail on his podcast when the time is right ... but says no matter how he was treated, he was able to persevere and do his job.

"Still dealt on the mound through all of that! 🗣🤷🏾‍♂️"

Stroman previously said on Twitter back in November he wanted to be back with the Mets next season ... but things quickly turned sour.

Tennis star Alexander Zverev was disqualified from the Mexican Open this week ... after he repeatedly attacked an umpire's chair during a wild meltdown.

It all started after the third set of Zverev and Marcelo Melo's doubles match against Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara on Tuesday.

Zverev got frustrated after his opponents -- who had been leading in the final set -- logged an ace for match point ... which he felt shouldn't have counted.

That's when AZ totally lost it -- screaming expletives in frustration, storming over to the umpire's chair and smashing it with his tennis racket.

In the video, you can see one of Alexander's strikes almost catches the official in the foot. Fortunately, he wasn't hit as a result of the temper tantrum.

The incident came with a price ... as the ATP Tour announced Zverev will not be allowed to compete in the remainder of the tournament.

"Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco," the tour said in a statement on its official Twitter account.

Silver lining?? Zverev gave his destroyed racket to a fan in the crowd. Souvenir!!

It's possible the ATP tour could discipline Alex further ... and a suspension could be on the table for the world's #3 tennis player.

Phil Mickelson says the insensitive comments he made recently about a new Saudi golf league were taken "out of context and without my consent" ... but the golf star is still issuing a mea culpa nonetheless.

Phil broke it all down in a lengthy statement on his social media page Tuesday ... just days after he admitted to supporting the formation of a new Saudi golf league, despite what he called the country's "horrible record of human rights."

"We know they killed (Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights," Mickelson said, according to The Fire Pit Collective.

"They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape how the PGA Tour operates."

Phil went on to say that he believed the new Saudi league -- which was reportedly trying to sway top American golfers with millions of dollars in cash -- could force big and necessary changes on the PGA Tour.

While Phil said Tuesday the comments were "off record" and out of context -- he admitted that the words were offensive and regrettable regardless.

"It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words," Mickelson said in his statement. "I'm beyond disappointed and will make every effort to self-reflect and learn from this."

He continued, "My intent was never to hurt anyone and I’m so sorry to the people I have negatively impacted. This has always been about supporting the players and the game and I appreciate all the people who have given me the benefit of the doubt."

Phil then hinted he could take a step away from the game for a while following the controversy ... saying he "desperately" needs "some time away."

Juwan Howard has been punished for smacking an opposing coach during a wild altercation over the weekend ... with Michigan reportedly banning the guy from the Wolverines' sidelines for the rest of the regular season.

Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel just reported the news ... one day after Howard kicked off a brawl at the end of the Michigan vs. Wisconsin game by taking a swipe at Badgers assistant Joe Krabbenhoft.

The ban would effectively be a 5-game suspension for Howard ... as the Wolverines have just five contests left before they play in the postseason Big 10 Tournament.

As we previously reported, Howard told media members following the altercation that he got aggressive because Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard had put his hands on him first.

"I think that was very uncalled for, for him to touch me," Howard said after the game, "as we were verbalizing and communicating with one another. So, that's what ended up happening."

Many had speculated Howard would be banned for longer -- and, considering the melee ended up being very, very ugly, some thought it could cost the 49-year-old his job.

Michigan, meanwhile, is 14-11 this season.

Evangeline Lilly has a word or 2 for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -- that he should have a word or 2 with the striking truckers.

The "Ant-Man" star went in pretty hard on the PM, telling the Bridge City News, "Why won't you sit with them? They have asked to meet with you, Prime Minister, medical experts, top scientists, doctors, nurses, parents, grandparents, intelligent, loving, concerned citizens?"

Lilly, who was born in Alberta, went on ... "If you're so convinced of your own reasons for the mandates, sit down and walk the leaders of a group of 2.3 million protesters across the country who represent many millions more across the nation, and explain it to them and ask them to listen with open hearts and minds, and then reciprocate. Listen to what they have to say with a mind open to hearing things that might go against the ideas you are entrenched in."

Trudeau has shown zero tolerance for the truckers, who protested under the banner of the "Freedom Convoy," after they blocked a key artery that connects Canada with the U.S. They're largely protesting vaccine mandates, but Trudeau has gone to great lengths to choke their resources to end it, even declaring a national emergency.

Billie Eilish isn't letting a threat from Kanye West change her playbook at concerts -- she's still making sure her fans are safe and sound, and didn't hesitate to stop her show again ... this time in NYC.

The singer was performing at Madison Square Garden, when at one point she took a breather, and then asked the crowd to do the same -- bringing down the energy in the room.

Not just that ... but BE also asked folks who were near the front row to step back and give each other room, again keeping their well-being at the front of her mind prior to proceeding with whatever song she had next.

Doesn't sound like too many people minded ... in fact, based on the reactions we can hear on camera -- it seems they might've actually appreciated it and sounded more than happy to oblige.

Billie finally asked if everyone was all good ... and after that, she started to strike some chords on her guitar, getting the crowd pumped once more.

You'll recall, she did something very similar a few weeks ago in Atlanta -- when she brought her concert to a full stop over a fan who appeared to be in distress ... even going so far as to offer her an inhaler she had on hand.

Billie also said she likes to guarantee her fans are safe at her shows ... which was widely perceived as a shot at Travis Scott, even though she never explicitly said his name. Ye, for sure thought it was a jab, and threatened to pull out of Coachella -- where Billie's also headlining -- if she didn't apologize to Travis.

An up-and-coming rapper from the ATL is drawing a line in the sand over who can and can't claim her turf -- and by default ... kinda ostracizes A LOT of big names that rep her home.

The young MC is Omeretta The Great, and she's got a new single out -- "Sorry Not Sorry" -- that has folks from the Greater Atlanta Metro Area in a full-blown tizzy about who's actually from there, and who's not.

You gotta see what Omeretta considers "Atlanta" -- she kinda turns it into a local geography lesson, getting very specific.

On the NOT ATLANTA list: Forest Park, Lindbergh, Roswell, Gwinnett and Clayton County, Lithonia, Decatur and much of the north and south parts of town (like College Park and East Point, for example).

While she doesn't exactly spell out where her city limits are exactly, it seems like OTG might be relying on zoned districts that officials/cops use to map out Atlanta proper.

If true, then there's a good handful of legendary artists that she's divided into two camps -- those with actual ATL roots, and those without.

Based on what she's saying here, one could surmise that she might think rappers and singers like Ludacris, OutKast, Monica, Young Joc, 2 Chainz and others are NOT from Atlanta. They mostly grew up in the outskirts, to the south of the main city or elsewhere.

By the same token, Omeretta also seems to be saying the Migos aren't from Atlanta, as they hail from Lawrenceville (part of Gwinnett Co.) -- which is less controversial, since that's low-key far from Atlanta itself.

Those who could be safe in Omeretta's eyes ... Future (Kirkwood), Lil Baby (Oakland City), T.I. (Bankhead) and Gucci Mane (East Atlanta). Their stomping grounds seem to be within actual Atlanta borders, as it were.

Now, as you might imagine ... the response from "Atlanta Twitter" is fierce ... with many actually agreeing with Omeretta, and others saying she's being way too territorial for no freakin' reason. Also of note, she went and shot this video at Truist Park -- about 10 miles north of downtown -- which isn't lost on people ... and appears to contradict her point.

None of the icons mentioned above appear to have responded to Omeretta’s in-or-out club headcount just yet ... but wouldn't it be something if they did, and actually made a song about it???

Kanye West has set his sights on a new target ... Kris Jenner's BF, and he's gone in hard.

Ye posted a diatribe against Corey Gamble, insinuating he and Kris Jenner broke up, saying ... "God has a plan to remove the Godless Corey needed to never be here anyway." And THAT was just for starters.

He says Corey's a nice person but not a great person ... someone who, as he puts it, "became the tv version of a father figure."

Kanye seems to have beef over Corey muscling in on Kim Kardashian, saying, "He once told my wife he knew what music she should be listening to. So when I seen him a week later I had him removed from my daughter's birthday party."

And, then he blames Gamble for pushing Kim to the left, saying, "He got my wife linked with the liberals in a deep way. That was his Job For some reason I always felt he worked for DuPont or some organization in that pedigree."

And, then he dismissed Gamble, saying, "Now he's off to his next mission. His job is done."

Now the turn ... Ye embraces Kris -- the woman he once called Kris Jong-un -- saying, "It's on purpose I love Kris. This woman is a hero and she's done what she's had to do to protect her family and make sure they prosper even if it meant telling everyone not to listen to me. I respect her grind her hustle and her mind. Kris is one of the best ever to do it."

Just another day ...

Bill Maher delivered a devastating blow to celebrities, companies and woke American culture for turning a blind eye to the horrendous abuses in China ... mostly to make a buck.

Maher lasered in on freestyle skier Eileen Gu, an American who chose to join Team China for the Beijing games. As he puts it, "She chose to represent a totalitarian police state over America." He also notes she's made $23 million from a ton of endorsements in China.

Bill ticked off some of the horrendous human rights abuses in China, including genocide. He then wondered out loud why Americans -- in particular celebs -- who show outrage for abuses at home are either silent about the abuses in China or say something critical and then apologize.

He recalls NBA GM Daryl Morey who tweeted a few years ago he stands with Hong Kong -- a country whose freedom is being crushed by China. LeBron James fired back that Morey had to be "educated." And, what does Maher think is behind LeBron's jab -- $$$. Maher notes the NBA has a $1.5 billion deal for TV rights in China, then saying of LeBron ... "I got some shoes to sell."

And, then Maher led in hard on John Cena, who once called Taiwan a separate country from China. Point of fact, it is, although it's pretty clear China wants to change that. So, Maher noted 34% of global box office is generated from China, and Cena's a big movie star ... so then Maher played Cena's video, apologizing to the Chinese for saying what he said. BTW, Cena apologized in Chinese. Wait till you hear Bill's joke about small balls.

He goes on and on ... the remake of "Top Gun" has scrubbed the Taiwanese flag from the bomber jackets.

Netflix is turning the page from Dave Chappelle's 'Closer' controversy by staying in business ... with Dave Chappelle, and rolling out new comedy specials with his fingerprint all over 'em.

Dave and the streaming platform announced a new standup comedy series Friday called, "Chappelle's Home Team" ... which will focus on comics handpicked by DC himself. The first of 4 episodes are set to drop February 28, featuring Earthquake.

Remember, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos refused to remove "The Closer" last year when LGBTQ groups, and others, accused Chappelle of transphobia and staged several protests at Netflix HQ.

Sarandos said the company fully supported all comedians' right to express themselves ... and stood by Dave. The new specials are proof positive of that continued partnership, which has been extremely profitable for both parties.

He's released 10 standup specials on Netflix since 2016 and, by some reports, has made north of $200 mil.