Controversial S#!T

Cardi B has something to celebrate tonight ... she just kicked ass in a defamation case ... legally, that is.

TMZ broke the story ... Cardi and her sister, Hennessy Carolina, were sued by 3 people in NYC over a squabble in the Hamptons back in September, 2020.

Hennessy and her friends showed up a Smith Point Beach and ran into 3 other beachgoers, one of whom was wearing a MAGA hat. The 3 people claim Hennessy spit on one of them and engaged in insulting and threatening behavior. The lawsuit claims Hennessy called the group "racist, MAGA supporters."  They say the term "racist' hurled at them was defamatory.

Cardi, who was not there, tweeted a video of the altercation, claiming her sister and her friends were being targeted because they are Afro-Hispanic and gay. The video included Hennessy calling the 3 people racist.

The 3 beachgoers sued for defamation as well as assault and battery.

A New York trial judge just dismissed the case, and it's a solid win for Cardi and Hennessy. As for defamation, the judge said these were all just general insults that do not rise to the level of defamation.

As for spitting -- the basis for the assault and battery claim -- the judge said even if spit shot out from Hennessy's mouth -- there was no proof whatsoever she intended to target any of the plaintiffs. In fact, the judge noted the plaintiffs never even alleged that was Hennessy's intent.

Doja Cat's music career is dead ... thanks to Twitter.

Well, that's what the singer and rapper's claiming, at least, after going toe-to-toe with the Twitter mob over a canceled concert in Paraguay. Her first mistake was hopping online after playing Lollapalooza in Brazil Thursday night.

Doja copped to not putting on "a good enough show," but promised she'd do better Friday night. Well, her fans in Paraguay got all butt hurt because she'd never tweeted them over missing a festival show there earlier this week. Mind you, that concert was canceled due to a deadly storm and flooding ... so, certainly not DC's fault.

Anyway, Doja's response to the ridiculous outrage was "I'm not sorry," and that ignited the Twitter war with fans and even journalists in Paraguay. She eventually fired back, "I moved on I'm just gonna let everybody be mad" ... and changed her Twitter handle to "I quit."

Then she rage tweeted, "I can't wait to f***ing disappear and I don't need you to believe in me anymore." She added, "I'm a f***ing fool for ever thinking I was made for this this is a f***ing nightmare. Unfollow me."

Doja topped it off by declaring, "This s*** ain't for me so I'm out. Y'all take care."

BTW, she's supposed to hit the road with The Weeknd this summer in North America ... so, we seriously doubt she's done done -- but, way to go, Twitter. Ya happy now?

Deshaun Watson sent a clear message to female Cleveland Browns fans on Friday ... saying he understands the seriousness of the sexual misconduct allegations made against him -- but maintaining he "never assaulted any woman."

Watson opened his conference by thanking Dee and Jimmy Haslam for bringing him to the organization ... saying he was excited to have an opportunity to prove his true character.

Watson spoke about the public outcry following the trade ... saying, "I understand the whole circumstances is very difficult, especially for the women side of the fans in this community. I'm not naïve to that. I know these allegations are very, very serious but like I mentioned before, I never assaulted any woman, I never disrespected any woman."

He added ... "I was raised by a single-parent mom, who has two aunties, who has a sister ... and that's who raised me. I was raised to be genuine and respect everyone and everything around me. I've always defended that and I will continue to stand on that."

GM Andrew Berry acknowledged the transaction was "difficult" and "triggered" emotions within the community ... but doubled down on the team's claim it did its due diligence when it decided to pursue Watson.

Berry says the team used independent investigators in Houston to provide an unbiased conclusion ... claiming the team has faith in Watson as a person.

Berry says the team was advised to NOT reach out to the 22 women accusing Watson of sexual misconduct ... as it could impact the criminal proceedings.

As we previously reported, Watson was traded to the Browns in exchange for three first-round picks, one third-round pick and two fourth-round picks last week.

The 26-year-old is currently facing a mountain of lawsuits over claims of sexual misconduct made by more than 20 massage therapists ... yet he has adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

Formula 1 superstar Max Verstappen is teeing off on Netflix's popular 'Drive to Survive' series ... saying the show unfairly makes fellow driver Lando Norris look like a "d***."

Many of the sport's biggest names have been critical of the series in recent weeks ... with producers getting called out for starting fake drama and taking comments out of context to stir the pot.

The Red Bull driver has avoided speaking with Netflix cams for several seasons ... and went in-depth this week about why he continues to take issue with the show in the 4th installment of the show.

"For me personally, what I didn't like -- and it isn't even about me -- it's about Lando and Daniel (Ricciardo), which I think are two great guys and are really nice, first of all, and it made it look like Lando was a bit of a d*** ... which he isn't at all," the 2021 champ said this week, according to WTF1.

Verstappen says new F1 fans who watch the show will get the wrong impression of the McLaren driver ... and he thinks that's completely unfair, as he knows Lando to be a good guy.

Verstappen claims the same thing happened to him in the early seasons ... saying, "You just immediately get a wrong picture of a good person, and that is exactly what I think happened to me in the beginning, and then I think I am someone that when you ruin it from the start, you don't fix it. That's it. you ruined it."

MV also spoke about the show with reporters ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Friday ... comparing the show to "Keeping up with the Kardashians" -- and not in a good way.

As for Verstappen's appearances in the show, he says he was surprised to see himself featured so much, considering he's declined interviews for years.

"It's probably stuff from 2018 or something they picked up and used again, [talking about] fighting and what I like to do, but that already, of course, is not correct. I could hear it in my voice. It was a bit different."

Brandy Norwood's former housekeeper says the singer gave her the boot because she was too old, and still owes her for work she completed ... so she's filed a lawsuit.

The housekeeper, who says she's over 60, claims she was fired by Brandy's team in February. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Brandy got rid of the employee because she no longer wanted an "older" housekeeper.

The housekeeper claims she wasn't paid for her last 2 days of work, and now she's suing for back pay and a whole lot more.

Additionally, the housekeeper -- who says she earned $125 a day at Brandy's Calabasas home for the past 20 years -- claims she didn't get her legally required breaks, either.

She's suing for more than $250K in damages, and it's yet another legal headache on Brandy's plate.

She and her stylist were sued back in January by a fashion designer and store owner over a ring Brandy was supposed to wear to the American Music Awards, but allegedly failed to return.

We've reached out to Brandy's rep regarding the housekeeper's lawsuit ... so far, no word back.

Jeffrey Epstein's private islands are up for sale for $125 million ... but is the land's dark past worth the price of paradise?

The 5.8-mile property, spanning 2 islands with 6 beaches, was put up by Bespoke Real Estate ... complete with a library, movie theater, and even a Japanese bathhouse.

Epstein bought the smaller of the two -- Little St. James -- in 1998 for $7.95 million. He added to his portfolio by snagging the neighboring Great St. James for $17.5 mil. He developed the properties until he was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges.

Prosecutors claim Epstein would take girls -- some as young as 11 -- to the islands, where he and his cronies would sexually assault them.

As you know, Epstein was found hanging in his jail cell in August 2019, which authorities say was a suicide. Since his death, the properties went up for sale, along with his waterfront compound in Palm Beach for $18.5 million, which was later demolished and his townhouse in New York City for $51M.

Money from the sale of the islands will go to his estate, which is still facing huge lawsuits.

So the question ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov is hoping Colby Covington gets hit where it hurts -- his bank account -- saying he wants fighters to boycott taking bouts with "Chaos" after he pressed charges against Jorge Masvidal.

The Eagle and his team absolutely despise Colby ... and there was certainly bad blood between the two before his beef with "Gamebred."

Nurmagomedov is now giving his take on the Covington/Masvidal incident in Miami -- and he thinks Colby had it coming after comments he made about Jorge's kids.

"If you are stronger than someone inside the Octagon, it does not mean you can insult his children," Khabib said on Twitter on Thursday morning.

"No one has the right to insult someone's family. Once you have gone down that path, then be ready to back up your words."

As we reported, Colby pressed charges after Jorge allegedly ambushed him in Miami on Monday night ... claiming he was punched twice, resulting in a fractured tooth. He also said his watch was damaged in the scuffle.

Nurmagomedov clearly has an issue with Colby going to police ... and he wants the former interim champ to suffer consequences for it.

"You were attacked by a professional fighter, the same as you are, your own size, and you go press charges against him to the police?"

"I think all welterweights should refuse to fight Colby, just don’t accept fights with him, let him sit without a fight, it will probably significantly affect him and all fighters who even think of insulting families, who is provoking the fighters to look for someone in restaurants to deal with him."

Masvidal was arrested on Wednesday night and booked on two charges -- aggravated battery with a mask, and criminal mischief.

Quavo, and presumably Migos, are off the Grammys and onboard with J. Prince's idea to protest the awards by putting on a hip hop concert to compete with it on the same night!!!

We talked to Quavo Wednesday at LAX, and he told us the Grammys don't mean a thing anymore. Take a listen, he says it's time to start "our own awards ... that appreciate the real s**t going on in the streets."

He thinks the way the Recording Academy classifies his genre is out of touch, calling it an "old language" ... especially because rappers like Quavo are the ones doing the creating, not them.

As you'll recall, Rap-A-Lot Records founder J. Prince called for artists like Ye, Drake and Nicki Minaj to put the Grammys on notice with their own Vegas concert on April 3, the night of the award show. The idea is fully in response to the Academy banning Ye from performing due to "concerning online behavior."

Prince says the only way to make change is prove Grammy ratings will drop when hip hop's biggest artists jump ship to do their own show instead.

We also got New Edition's Ronnie DeVoe and he says statements like this are necessary, because traditional award shows aren't exactly known for inclusivity.

President Joe Biden has asked for the resignations of Herschel Walker and Dr. Oz from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and the doc is pissed.

Here's the deal ... both Walker and Oz are Republican Senate candidates -- in Georgia and Pennsylvania respectively -- and the Prez has a policy prohibiting candidates for federal office to serve on Presidential committees. So, both candidates got a letter from The White House with an ultimatum ... either resign by 6 PM Thursday or get the boot.

Oz, who was appointed to the board by Trump, went in hard, saying, "Clearly, Joe Biden can't be around anyone who doesn't completely fall in line with his fear-mongering authoritarian one-size-fits-all COVID handling. I am proud of my service and will not resign."

Dr. Oz lost his show after announcing his candidacy and it seemed he knew that was in the cards when he announced, but this pink slip got him all worked up.

What's interesting ... is going after Biden now -- when he's trying to navigate an end to the war in Ukraine -- a smart political move? Remains to be seen.

Prince William addressed the elephant in the room during a speech in Jamaica ... calling slavery "abhorrent" and expressing "deep sorrow" over the issue.

As we reported, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are making their way around several Caribbean nations that are part of the British commonwealth. The latest stop is Jamaica, and it came with much backlash because of the obvious -- the Royal family represents the British colonizers who enslaved and traded millions of Africans in Jamaica ... and its other territories.

While the royal couple seemed to have been welcomed with open arms -- as they made PR stops to drum with Rastafarians and play soccer -- many Jamaican leaders were demanding the royals apologize for slavery and pay reparations.

Well, last night, Prince William addressed the issue head-on, at a formal banquet, calling slavery an abhorrent chapter in history that "should never have happened."

He also reiterated the words of his father, Prince Charles ... who, just 4 months ago, said slavery put a "stain on our history." He said that at a ceremony marking Barbados's transition to an independent republic.

William added, "While the pain runs deep, Jamaica continues to forge its future with determination, courage and fortitude."

Senator Lindsey Graham went on the attack Wednesday, challenging Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's sentencing decisions regarding child pornography.

Graham was indignant that Judge Jackson said a major deterrent against people who consume child pornography online is major supervision over what they do.

Graham scoffed, and says the way to deter people from looking at child porn online is to "put their ass in jail."

It got super contentious as the judge tried addressing Graham, who shot back, "Answer my question!"

Some of the senators at the hearing said they objected to some of Judge Jackson's sentencing decisions regarding child porn, saying she was too lenient. Fact is, many judges have imposed sentences lower than those recommended in the federal guidelines, because they're outdated.

As for the confrontation, here's what Judge Jackson said that incited Graham ... “Senator, with respect to the computer, one of the most effective deterrents is one that I imposed in every case – and that judges across the country impose in every case – which is substantial, substantial supervision."

Graham shot back ... “I think the best way to deter people from getting on a computer and viewing thousands and hundreds … of children being exploited and abused … is to put their ass in jail, not supervise their computer usage!” Graham said.

Caitlyn Jenner is teeing off on transgender athlete Lia Thomas' recent NCAA championship ... claiming the Penn swimmer's accomplishment should NOT be counted.

As we previously reported, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation declaring runner-up and Sarasota native Emma Weyant the "rightful winner" of the women's 500-yard freestyle race ... after the Olympic silver medalist lost to Thomas by 1.75 seconds.

Jenner is siding with DeSantis ... saying Weyant is clearly deserving of the #1 spot, and anyone who agrees isn't a bigot -- they're just using their brain.

"It's not transphobic or anti-trans, it's COMMON SENSE!" Jenner tweeted on Tuesday.

While 72-year-old Jenner has fully supported Thomas' decision to be her true self, the 1976 Olympic gold medalist has been critical of her participation in women's sports in the past.

Jenner's stance is women's sports need to be protected ... and when trans athletes like Thomas compete against biological women, it's creating an unfair advantage.

As for the NCAA, the org. decided transgender athlete participation would be determined on a sport-by-sport approach ... which means the national governing bodies for each sport are in charge of creating their own set of rules on the matter.

Thomas started at Penn on the men's team in 2017 ... and had some of the fastest times in the country. She started undergoing hormone replacement therapy in early 2019, and publicly came out as trans later that year.

Prince William and Kate Middleton sitting in the middle of a Rastafarian drum circle and banging away in the birthplace of reggae -- yeah, this is NOT your typical Royal tour!

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in Kingston, Jamaica's Trench Town neighborhood Tuesday, and were fully immersed in the culture. Awkward as it might seem, Kate and Will each played a drum in a traditional Nyabinghi drum session. This was just the latest stop on their tour of several Caribbean nations in the British Commonwealth.

The royal couple visited the former home of reggae legend Bob Marley and met with other well-known local musicians.

They also celebrated some of the island's favorite sports -- hopping into a Jamaican bobsled and taking pics with the latest Olympic team. Later, William even played a little pickup soccer match and met national team stars Raheem Sterling and Leon Bailey.

But, not everyone is thrilled about their visit. The royal tour was met with backlash from many folks and Jamaican leaders, who are demanding reparations.

This is kind of a last hurrah for the royals ... in Jamaica, anyway. The country is starting the process of becoming an independent republic, which means removing Queen Elizabeth as its head of state.

The goal is to cut ties by August 6, which is Jamaica's Independence Day.

Damon Dash isn't here for the Grammys yanking Kanye West from its performance lineup ... insisting the Recording Academy has no place judging him or any other hip-hop artist.

We caught up with the rap mogul Tuesday at LAX, and he's so pissed about the Ye-Grammys situation that he says it's time to kick the whole award show to the curb ... telling us, "We make our own Grammys."

Remember, even though he can't perform, Ye can attend the show -- so, we asked what he thinks would happen if he wins and gets on stage to accept his Grammy. DD says it shouldn't ever come to that, because he's encouraging Ye to skip it altogether.

Damon's embracing the theory the Grammys are outdated and out of touch with hip hop -- and tells us he didn't go either when he was nominated.

He's clearly over Academy execs judging who's hot and who's not in the industry.

As Dame puts it, "They gotta respect our culture."

As we reported, Kanye was barred from performing at this year's award show, due to his "concerning online behavior" ... ya know, his online attacks against ex-wife Kim Kardashian, her new bf Pete Davidson and a slew of others.

Lots of folks have jumped to Ye's defense, including Grammys host Trevor Noah -- at whom Kanye fired some online shots -- saying he wanted the rapper to get counseled, not canceled.

Damon's idea is picking up steam. On Tuesday, J. Prince called on hip-hop artists -- including Ye, Drake and Nicki Minaj -- to protest the award show, and get together to perform an anti-Grammys concert.

He's going for the Recording Academy's neck, too ... he wants to do the concert in Las Vegas on April 3 -- the same night and location of the Grammys.

Governor Ron DeSantis is denouncing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas' NCAA championship win ... saying Florida native Emma Weyant, who came in second, is the "rightful winner."

Thomas became the first openly trans athlete to win a Div. I championship in NCAA history on March 17 after beating out Weyant -- an Olympic silver medalist at the 2020 Games -- in the 500-yard freestyle.

The controversial win has had the sports world buzzing ... with many debating whether Thomas should even be allowed to compete against biological women.

The Florida gov. made his stance crystal clear on Tuesday ... issuing a proclamation to declare Weyant the true victor.

"By allowing men to compete in women's sports, the NCAA is destroying opportunities for women, making a mockery of its championships, and perpetuating a fraud," DeSantis tweeted.

"In Florida, we reject these lies and recognize Sarasota's Emma Weyant as the best women's swimmer in the 500y freestyle."

Weyant -- who won silver in the 400m IM in Tokyo -- grew up in Sarasota, FL before choosing to compete at Virginia in college.

Thomas joined the Penn men's swimming team in 2017 ... posting some of the fastest times in the nation. She started hormone replacement therapy in early 2019, and came out as trans later that year.

Thomas competed on the men's team a total of three years before being eligible to compete against women.

Thomas joined the women's team this past season after undergoing testosterone suppression treatment for more than one year ... winning the 500-yard freestyle, finishing fifth in the 200 free and eighth in the 100.

The Academy is finally trying to do right by Rachel Zegler ... not only inviting her to be at the show ... but to present one of the night's Oscars.

A report says the "West Side Story" actress was recently contacted and offered the gig -- of course, the series of events over the last few days to get to this point have been awkward ... to say the least.

As we reported, the 20-year-old Best Picture star spilled the details Sunday, replying to a comment from a fan that was excited about her Oscar debut.

In response, Rachel wrote, "I'm not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend's flannel." She later added, "I hope some last-minute miracle occurs and I can celebrate our film in person but hey, that's how it goes sometimes, I guess."

It's still unclear what the mix-up was ... seeing as costar Ariana DeBose is nominated and predicted to win Best Supporting Actress, the movie is up for Best Picture and Steven Spielberg is up for Best Director.