Controversial S#!T

Nancy Hogshead-Makar, 3x Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer and civil rights attorney, wholeheartedly disagrees with Lia Thomas ... insisting trans athletes have a significant advantage over biological women.

Hogshead joined "TMZ Live" on Tuesday ... and addressed statements Thomas made earlier in the day when she joined Good Morning America for her first interview, telling Juju Chang ... "Trans women are not a threat to women's sport."

But, Nancy, who also runs a female advocacy organization called Champion Women, told Harvey and Charles that Lia is just wrong.

"After somebody has been through male puberty, you cannot roll that back. So, it isn't fair," the former Olympian said, citing several experts.

"We're hoping that we can get sports governing bodies and legislatures and others to care more about fairness than any other conclusion."

It's not that Nancy isn't supportive of Lia Thomas -- she says she is -- everywhere except the swimming pool.

"I affirm who [Lia] wants to be for all of her life. Whether it's employment, the classroom, or anyplace else. But when it comes to sports, sports is not based on identity. It is based on biology. That is why we have the women's sports category."

FYI, the UPenn swimmer, an NCAA champ in the 500m freestyle event, is done with college athletics after recently graduating. However, Lia isn't done competing ... she's made it clear she wishes to compete in the Summer Olympics in 2024.

And, Hogshead believes the future of women's sports is literally on the line.

"If sport is not based on sex segregation, and if gender identity equals sex discrimination, we might lose the right as woman athletes to be able to have separate sex sports."

That's something Nancy is intent on preventing from happening.

"I am not going to allow this generation of women to have to be gracious losers to somebody that has a biological advantage that you can't train for, you can't eat better, you can't find better coaching," Hogshead said.

A lion's not-so-purrfect hairdo is raising eyebrows ... prompting a zoo in China to brush the blame off themselves and onto mother nature.

Hang Hang the lion has the Internet buzzing about his rockstar mane, because let's face it ... sure looks like a total failure of a haircut -- but the Guangzhou Zoo claims it has nothing to do with his unique look.

They say high humidity is to blame for Hang Hang's blown-out mullet, claiming the lion licked his paws and brushed his hair out during a recent extreme heatwave.

The zoo chalks it up to "nature's magic," adding Hang Hang looks like a blonde supermodel, but most others don't see it that way. Some say he looks like one of The Beatles, mop-top and all, while many draw a resemblance to the "Tiger King" himself, Joe Exotic.

Zoo visitors are still skeptical the weather is at fault here ... one claims his hair looked nothing like this 2 months ago when they went to the zoo, and some even say the staff has ruined the lion's appearance altogether.

Transgender NCAA swimming champion Lia Thomas is firing back at those claiming her dominance is unfair to biological women ... saying trans athletes will not destroy women's sports.

The University of Penn athlete broke her silence on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday ... saying she knew she'd face backlash once she started competing against women, but no amount of scrutiny would stop her.

"I was prepared for that, but I don't need anyone's permission to be myself and do the sport that I love," she said.

Many have denounced Thomas' participation in women's sports after she finished first in the women's 500-yard freestyle back in March ... with everyone from Caitlyn Jenner to Florida governor Ron DeSantis to Joe Rogan, who called it "an assault on women's sports."

But, Thomas argues that shouldn't be the case ... saying, "Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions."

"Trans women are not a threat to women's sport."

Thomas added, "Trans people don't transition for athletics. We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves."

Despite the outrage, Thomas -- who started hormone therapy in 2019 -- still plans to compete in the Olympics in the future.

Lil Uzi Vert's got his buddy Jack Harlow's back ...  saying the people trashing the rapper are out of their minds.

We got Lil Uzi outside of Catch in WeHo Sunday, and he jumped into the TMZ Celebrity Tour bus to snap some pics with his fans! He's clear ... the hate for Jack is ridiculous -- he says Jack's a great rapper, and doesn't understand where the haters are coming from.

Jack's success possibly coming from the color of his skin has been a hot topic for a while, but Lil Uzi doesn't think race has anything to do with it ... reminding everyone, "He's signed to black people!"

Of course, not everyone sees it the way Uzi does ... we got fellow rapper David Banner a few months back, and he told us being white is an advantage in all aspects of life, all around the world and hip hop is no different.

Paul McCartney either took a position in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard saga -- possibly a pro-JD one -- OR ... he's just playing a tune/music video that happens to feature the guy.

Macca performed in Orlando Saturday at the Camping World Stadium -- just one of his many stops on the 'Got Back' tour he's on right now -- and at one point in the show ... he started performing his track "My Valentine," the visual treatment for which has a Depp cameo.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, showing PMC crooning on the piano, while an interesting image pops up on the jumbo screens flanking the stage -- it's Johnny strumming the guitar, opposite Natalie Portman ... who's also featured in Paul's 2012 music video.

We're told that when Johnny first showed up in front of everyone ... the whole stadium lost it and cheered. Paul didn't say anything to address it -- he just carried on playing -- but we're told there's no doubt the feeling in the room was that he'd done it on purpose.

There've been reports Paul has actually been using this song and visual treatment throughout his tour this year ... which just happened to coincide with the trial. Word is ... Paul has actually used this visual treatment on stage in tours past, so it could much ado about nothing.

Still, on the face of it... it would appear he deliberately chose to have this on his set list now, and to have Depp cameo. And if that's true, you could certainly argue he's Team Johnny.

Not to go too far down this rabbit hole here -- BUT ... some online have also made some interesting comparisons between Johnny's sitch and Paul's own once upon a time. For those who remember, he went through a nasty divorce with Heather Mills ... who accused him at the time of some pretty awful stuff, which kinda echoes what JD's been accused of himself.

The president of all things 'Star Wars' pissed off diehard fans when she said they were pivoting away from old characters and storylines -- but one of the OGs himself isn't trippin'!

We got Billy Dee Williams -- who famously played Lando Calrissian in the initial trilogy back in the '70s -- out in L.A. this week ... and we asked about all this hubbub in the 'Star Wars' universe after Lucasfilm honcho Kathleen Kennedy made some controversial remarks.

ICYMI ... Kennedy said they were packing up all the Skywalker stuff and moving it to the shed, as they look forward to new plots and heroes. She also said they were never going to cast new actors as original fan faves in the wake of 'Solo' ... a prequel/origin story of sorts.

That was taken as a shot at the actors who portrayed Harrison Ford's beloved character, as well as Billy Dee's ... but if you watch our interview with him here, you can tell the dude isn't stressing nearly as much as some of the fanboys are.

Far from it ... in fact, BDW seems to be siding with Kennedy about the notion of moving to bigger and better things -- wisely pointing out that nothing lasts forever, even in a galaxy far, far away.

Dave Chappelle and others -- like Ricky Gervais -- are free to make all the jokes they want on Netflix, including ones about transgender people ... again reaffirmed by its top dog.

The streamer's CEO, Ted Sarandos, tripled down in his defense with the NYT, saying that he views the airing of such specials -- such as DC's 'The Closer' or Gervais' new "SuperNature" -- as freedom of expression ... a value he thinks is lost in American society.

He says, "I think it’s very important to the American culture generally to have free expression," going on to add -- "We’re programming for a lot of diverse people who have different opinions and different tastes and different styles ... We want something for everybody but everything’s not going to be for everybody."

Sarandos went on to say the decision to back Dave actually wasn't difficult -- seeing how he's the comedian of our generation, and that he discusses the issue in a nuanced and thoughtful way. Of course, that's up for debate ... those offended might argue otherwise.

In the wake of Chappelle getting tackled at the Hollywood Bowl, Netflix sent a memo to their staff -- basically saying, if you find some of our content so offensive, beat it.

You can tell Netflix is sticking to their guns on this issue -- not only have they allowed 'The Closer' to stay on their platform, but they've inked even more deals with Dave. And Sarandos even said the backlash over not censoring DC is oddly different than it once was.

He says, "It used to be a very liberal issue, so it’s an interesting time that we live in ... I always said if we censor in the U.S., how are we going to defend our content in the Middle East?" BTW, these comments also apply to Gervais who caught flak for his own trans jokes.

Matthew McConaughey and some friendly pooches have touched down in Uvalde, TX -- but their presence alone won't fix what's become a major scandal on the slow police response.

The actor is back in his hometown, where he's meeting with families and children affected by the massacre on Tuesday ... when 21 people were slaughtered by a crazed gunman, including 19 children who were wiped out in a classroom he'd barricaded himself in.

Looks like he's with U.S. Congressman Tony Gonzalez -- representing Texas' 23rd district, encompassing Uvalde -- who posted some pics of their time together and thanked MMC.

Shortly after the news broke, Matt posted a lengthy message online calling for action and change on gun laws in the country, saying this phenomenon is "an epidemic we can control."

BTW, Matt's not the only one in town offering support ... there are doggos being trotted around town that are specifically aimed at making people feel better. The LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs are also making the rounds in Uvalde ... letting folks pet 'em to calm their nerves.

Not to knock any of these efforts to bring about calm and healing -- which this community desperately needs -- but there are slightly more pressing matters at hand ... like figuring out why Uvalde-area cops who were on the scene quickly waited so long to engage the shooter.

Col. Steven McCraw -- the director of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety, and Texas' top cop -- said the commanding officer that day made the "wrong decision" in his evaluation of what was happening ... which is why he ordered everyone to not approach for nearly an hour.

Apparently, this guy -- who's been ID'd as Uvalde School District's police chief, Pedro "Pete" Arredondo -- thought there was nobody (or nobody left alive) in the room the gunman had locked himself in ... but he was clearly wrong. Kids were calling 911 from inside.

Eventually -- as the story has now been reported -- Border Patrol agents eventually showed up and were told to stand down ... but after some time and building frustration, they went in anyway and killed the gunman themselves. At that point, though, it was far too late.

There are even reports of parents attempting to run into the school to get their kids since upwards of a dozen-plus cops were just standing around ... only to be cuffed and detained.

Elon Musk is speaking his piece on the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial -- this after being sucked into the middle of it -- and his parting sentiment to both is ... turn a new leaf, y'all.

The Tesla chief responded to somebody on Twitter who recapped their thoughts on the trial and the standout moments -- a tweet that you could, perhaps, interpret as anti-Amber -- with EM chiming in ... "I hope they both move on. At their best, they are each incredible."

That's an interesting take -- especially since he dated Amber briefly after her split from Johnny ... and, according to court testimony, also allegedly ponied up fat stacks of cash on her behalf.

On the face of this, you could argue that he sees both of them as deeply flawed ... but also notes a side to each that shines. Weirdly enough, we're not aware of any relationship Elon has with Johnny -- he only spent time with AH, it seems -- so his analysis is a bit cryptic.

As we all heard in this trial ... the COO for the ACLU, Terence Dougherty, testified about what Amber had (or hadn't, rather) donated since making her $3.5 million pledge in the wake of her divorce -- noting they'd only received a small chunk of change from her personally.

Now, Dougherty suggested Elon had donated at least $500k to the ACLU in Amber's honor. Ditto for the Children's Hospital ... another $500k there from Elon too, which also revealed in court. That's upwards of a $1M for a woman he was with for maybe a year. Yeesh ...

Elon was speculated to potentially testify in this case, but he was never called ... neither was Paul Bettany or James Franco, other men who got roped into this thing.

As for where we go from here ... the jury entered deliberations Friday without reaching a decision, so they'll pick it back up on Tuesday to decide once and for all who wins here. Speaking of the jurors -- Judge Penney Azcarate ruled they'd remain anonymous for a year.

Kyrie Irving has been ripped to shreds over his COVID-19 vaccine stance, but John Salley is coming to his defense ... telling TMZ Sports he tips his hat to the Nets star for standing up for what he believes in.

We spoke with Salley -- who won 4 NBA titles -- out in NYC this week ... and the former Detroit Piston spoke glowingly about Irving, who faced immense backlash this year for refusing to get the jab.

"I think Kyrie Irving is the premier athlete -- professional," Salley said. "I think he's conscious. I think he thinks it through. I think it's very important that people pay attention too, he's not into the lies, the glitz. He's into taking care of his body."

Salley said he knows Irving is into science and does his own research, but because his stance differs from the views of mainstream society ... people hate Kyrie because of it.

"I'm the biggest Kyrie fan," Salley added. "Everything he does, I take my hat off to him."

Of course, Kyrie received a lot of heat for his personal decision to remain unvaccinated despite being forced to miss games ... drawing criticism from the likes of Howard Stern and Chris Rock.

But, Salley isn't in the same camp -- he says the Nets did the right thing by standing by Kyrie amid the vaccine drama this season.

"You have a guy who didn't get the virus, and everybody who talked about smack about him got it really bad," Salley said. "He had a very strong immune system."

It's unclear if the Nets -- or Nike -- will commit to a long-term relationship with Irving in the future ... but either way, Salley thinks the 30-year-old is an exceptional talent.

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler is very upset about the direction of our country after the latest mass shooting ... and now he's protesting the national anthem.

Gabe says he's breaking from baseball tradition and plans to no longer join players and coaches on the field before games for the playing of the national anthem.

The Giants manager told reporters Friday in Cincinnati before his club played the Reds, "I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country."

In a post on his personal blog earlier Friday, Gabe reflected on the Uvalde school shooting and the response across the sporting world.

Gabe wrote ... "The day 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered, we held a moment of silence at sporting events around the country, then we played the national anthem, and we went on with our lives."

The all-too-familiar response is not sitting well with GK, who adds ... "We didn’t stop to reflect on whether we are actually free and brave after this horrific event, we just stood at attention."

Gabe says his father taught him a lesson early on in life, and he's applying it to his anthem protest.

"When I was the same age as the children in Uvalde, my father taught me to stand for the pledge of allegiance when I believed my country was representing its people well or to protest and stay seated when it wasn't," Kapler writes. "I don't believe it is representing us well right now."

Gabe says he tried to protest the anthem earlier this week, but it didn't materialize.

"My brain said drop to a knee; my body didn’t listen," he wrote. "I wanted to walk back inside; instead I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn’t want to call attention to myself. I didn’t want to take away from the victims or their families. There was a baseball game, a rock band, the lights, the pageantry. I knew that thousands of people were using this game to escape the horrors of the world for just a little bit. I knew that thousands more wouldn’t understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves."

Gabe says after a few days of reflection, he decided on his anthem protest.

The National Rifle Association is scrapping its benefit concert in Texas ... with performers dropping out left and right, the show will NOT go on.

Country music star Jacob Bryant was the only remaining act for the NRA concert in Houston, which was scheduled for the organization's annual conference, and he announced Friday the show has been axed.

Jacob made the announcement on Twitter as he was being pressured on social media to join the ranks of other performers who dropped out in the wake of this week's tragic mass shooting at a Texas elementary school.

As we reported ... the first domino was "American Pie" singer Don McLean, who decided the day after the Uvalde school shooting, which claimed the lives of 19 students and 2 teachers, he would not perform on the NRA stage. Don said it would be disrespectful to perform.

Next, "Broken Lady" singer Larry Gatlin pulled out Thursday, saying he could not perform at an NRA event in good conscious, saying he supports the 2nd amendment but wants background checks for gun purchases.

Jacob was the last man standing after T. Graham Brown, Lee Greenwood and Larry Stewart followed suit ... and it appears the hammer came down Thursday, though there has yet to be official word from the NRA.

The trial of Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard is in its final stages with closing arguments set for today, and the jury will then begin the Herculean task of trying to figure out who's telling the truth and who's lying.

Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson is issuing yet another mea culpa ... this time, apologizing to Jackie Robinson's family for any issues he may have caused them following his controversy with Tim Anderson.

As we previously reported, Donaldson was suspended 1 game by the MLB for calling Anderson "Jackie" multiple times during a Yanks' tilt with the White Sox this past weekend.

Donaldson said he intended the remark to be in jest -- saying he thought it was an inside joke he had with Anderson stemming from comments that the Chicago shortstop made in a 2019 interview.

Anderson, though, said he found it very offensive, and Donaldson later said he was sorry for it all.

On Thursday, the New York slugger issued another apology, this time to Robinson's wife and family.

"I would also like to apologize to Mrs. Rachel Robinson and the Jackie Robinson family for any distress this incident may have caused," Donaldson said in a statement. "Jackie was a true American hero and I hold his name in the highest regard."

In his statement, the 36-year-old reiterated he meant no disrespect to Anderson by the comments.

"I stated over the weekend that I apologized for offending Tim and it was a misunderstanding based on multiple exchanges between us over the years," he said.

Amber Heard says she's no stranger to threats against her life, but she says the death threats are on the rise ever since she and Johnny Depp went to court.

Amber was back on the stand Thursday for day 23 of the trial with her ex-husband ... sobbing on the stage as revealed she gets thousands of death threats every single day from folks who don't like what she has to say about Johnny.

She alleged Johnny's not doing anything to stop the internet trolls who are targeting Amber, insinuating he's almost encouraging it ... and says she just wants Depp to leave her alone.

It's been an emotional testimony from Amber ... she started crying when answering questions about how the drama with Johnny ruined her acting career, and says in those rare moments when she is on a movie set, there are tons of triggers from the allegedly abusive relationship that can derail production.

As we previously reported, the head of DC movies testified earlier this week that Amber's lack of screentime in 'Aquaman 2' had nothing to do with her relationship with Depp.

Jimmy Kimmel now has an answer for why his emotional monologue calling out the Texas governor about the school shooting got preempted in Dallas.

According to the local station, WFAA ... it was an innocent technical error caused by an automated system -- but you can understand why Jimmy himself was demanding answers Wednesday night for why his powerful message was partially cut off.

Jimmy opened his show with a nearly 9-minute appeal for lawmakers, like Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and all lawmakers to enact gun reform in the wake of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde ... where 19 students and 2 adults were killed.

It was poignant, powerful and extremely critical of Texas politicians ... which is probably why JK immediately got word when folks in Dallas noticed they didn't get to see all of it. Kimmel tweeted he was trying to get answers.

WFAA says the machine that airs its commercials was erroneously triggered because their newscast, which precedes Kimmel's show, ran late ... due to coverage of the Uvalde tragedy.