Controversial S#!T

The Indianapolis Children's Museum is in hot water after serving up a racially insensitive dish ... specifically to commemorate Juneteenth.

Yes, that pic shows the watermelon salad being sold in the museum cafeteria, and they're not even subtle about the racism, as the label reads ... "Juneteenth Watermelon Salad."

One ticked-off patron's reaction to the shocking menu item was, "No joke!!!"

A rep for the museum is defending the salad, saying its food service partners "planned a Juneteenth menu as a way for us to raise awareness of the holiday's meaning, and commemorate their own family traditions."

While that makes it sound like the food service company is Black-owned, we haven't been able to confirm that yet.

The rep also says "Red foods have historically been served by some to remember the blood that was shed along the way to freedom." We've never heard that one before, but okay.

They did offer a mea culpa though, saying, "The museum apologizes and acknowledges the negative impact that stereotypes have on communities of color. We have removed the salad from our menu. We value our relationships with all of our visitors and communities. We have learned from this experience."

The museum -- which is throwing a "Juneteenth Jamboree" -- correctly states on its website that Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., and is also called Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day.

Young Thug and Gunna will be locked up at least until January 2023, but attorney Drew Findling is calling BS on the entire Georgia RICO case that put them behind bars in the first place.

Findling, known as the "Billion Dollar Lawyer" for his work with several industry heavyweights, was in ATL when he ripped the entire operation to take down YSL as racist.

Drew says he firmly believes the justice system routinely violates rappers' 1st Amendment rights by targeting their lyrics -- something he says law enforcement ignores when it comes to other art forms ... such as big-screen violence from filmmakers, like Quentin Tarantino, for example.

His point was on display Thursday during Young Thug's latest hearing ... when prosecutors noted the lyrics "Smith & Wesson 45, put a hole in his heart/Better not play with me, killers, they stay with me" from Thug and Juice WRLD's collab, “Bad Boy.”

Drew knows a thing or two about rappers' legal drama, having successfully repped Gucci Mane, Offset and DaBaby in the past.

He also reps YFN Lucci, who was part of the reason Thug was denied bond.

The Fulton County D.A. has classified Thug's YSL as a deep-rooted murderous gang and cited the attempt on Lucci's life in prison as a prime example.

Longtime MLB announcer Jim Kaat has found himself embroiled in controversy yet again ... this time, it's because he referred to New York Yankees star Nestor Cortes as "Nestor the Molester" during a broadcast.

83-year-old Kaat was providing color commentary for the Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins game on Thursday afternoon ... when he tried to offer some on-air praise to Cortes, who was pitching against the L.A. Angels in a game in New York at the same time.

Kaat made a reference to Twins pitcher Devin Smeltzer and said, "That favorite pitcher, being kind of like Devin Smeltzer, 'Nestor the Molester!'"

"Nestor Cortes," Kaat added. "Man, he is fun to watch."

The comment was immediately hit with raised eyebrows on social media ... and while Kaat didn't address it again on-air, a Twins official told the Associated Press the team did speak with the Hall of Famer about the matter following the game.

"Obviously, we take these matters seriously and, like in all cases, will handle this internally and privately," Twins vice president of communications and content Dustin Morse said, before adding, "Jim meant no ill will."

Cortes, meanwhile, was also asked about the comment ... but he told the AP he was not offended.

"I'm sure, you know, he didn't really mean it," the left-handed pitcher said, "and people make mistakes, but it didn't offend me at all."

This is the second time in less than a year Kaat has faced backlash for an on-air remark ... back in October, he was forced to apologize for making a slavery reference during a Yoan Moncada at-bat in an Astros vs. White Sox playoff game.

Kaat -- a former Twins pitcher who was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame last year -- has been broadcasting games for decades.

Lil Nas X unloaded on BET over his 2022 BET Award nom snubs earlier this week ... and he's got at least one royal supporter in Queen Latifah.

We caught up with the legendary rap star promoting her new flick "Hustle" outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and while she feels LNX's talent is literally "amazing," it doesn't appear she agrees with his complaints his sexuality caused the snub.

The "Industry Baby" was a couple dynamite sticks short of nuclear on Wednesday when he accused the network of sharing into the world's problems — by excluding Black gay artists from top recognition.

His complaints were only amplified when it was discovered Jack Harlow, (yep, the White guy) was nominated for Best Male Hip Hop Artist alongside Drake, Future, Kanye and more ... causing fans on Twitter to have a field day.

It's not like LNX hasn't been on the BET Awards' radar. In 2020, he earned a Best New Artist Award and last year, went viral by kissing his ex-boyfriend Yai Ariza during his performance on live TV.

In an unexpected turn of events, play was temporarily halted during a French Open men's semi-final match on Friday after a protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net.

The woman, who was wearing a shirt that had "We have 1028 days left" printed on the front, interrupted the match between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud at Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.

Unclear what exactly the woman's motive was for interfering during the contest, but security officials moved quickly to ensure she caused no harm to the players.

Ruud was astonished at the site of the woman on the court ... and he actually had to stop serving for several moments as guards worked to get her off the net.

Security ultimately carried the woman, whose identity remains a mystery at this time, off the clay so the match could finally resume.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen a demonstrator try to have their voice heard by causing a disruption at a live sporting event.

Johnny Depp still knows how to make his fans laugh ... cracking a joke about his disfigured hand -- the one with that missing chunk -- following his big win in court.

Johnny was signing a bunch of autographs Thursday night in Newcastle, England when he leaned down to one of the kids in the crowd, pointed at their hand, and had a laugh comparing the number of fingers they have.

"You have five, I have four and seven-eighths. Mad."

Of course, he's joking about his own claim, and trial testimony, that Amber Heard sliced off a good chunk of his finger with a vodka bottle while fighting in Australia.

As you know, Johnny's been spending time overseas with pal Jeff Beck as the verdict rolled in, and the support for Johnny has been overwhelming -- with a wall of fans straining Thursday night against barricades, trying to get to Depp.

The Instagram model who says she got booted from an airplane because of her massive breasts doesn't have the facts straight ... so say sources at the airline.

Mary Magdalene -- as she calls herself on social media -- claims American Airlines removed her from a flight because of a revealing tank top she wore on a flight from Canada to the U.S.

However, sources at AA tell us that wasn't the case, instead they say flight attendants noticed Mary sitting in several different seats before takeoff ... seats that weren't her ticketed one.

We're told airline employees believed the woman appeared to be intoxicated and she seemed unstable, so flight attendants and the captain asked her to leave -- she left without incident, and cops did not have to get involved.

We've also obtained video of Mary walking around the airport holding a massive cup ... although we can't tell what she was drinking.

Of course, this story is very different from Mary's take on the situation -- the IG model claims she got tossed for being "too explicit" in a tank top that barely covered her 22 lbs. of boobs.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's visit with the royal family during Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee got off to a "frosty" and uncomfortable start ... according to Piers Morgan.

The host of the UK's new TalkTV reports Harry and Meghan showed up late to the event, kicking off some of the discomfort. He also says the couple was nowhere to be found as the day went on, while the rest of the family took a trip out to the garden to spend time together.

Piers believes the Queen herself is the only one who can help ease the tension -- but since it sounds like she won't be present for today's festivities at St. Paul's Cathedral, the expectation is things will continue to be pretty icy in the royal fam.

Piers, of course, isn't the biggest fan of Meghan, who allegedly got him kicked off of "Good Morning Britain" ... in the wake of the Oprah interview.

Co-host Alex Beresford called him out to his face about constantly bashing Meghan, forcing Piers to take a walk.

Matthew Morrison is taking a stand against claims he sent "flirty" text messages to a contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance" ... reading the alleged message out loud, and putting an end to speculation it was inappropriate.

Morrison, who was recently released from the show for failing to follow "competition production protocols" is clearly agitated in a video he posted on Instagram, captioned, "Just to clarify .."

He opens it by saying, "It's unfortunate that I have to sit here and defend myself and my family against blatantly untrue statements made anonymously, but I have nothing to hide. So, in the interest of transparency ... I will read to you the one message I wrote to a dancer on the show."

He then reads the message, which we've verified as being sent on April 25 at 12:34 AM and says, "Hey! It's Matthew. If you don't mind, would love to get your number and talk you through some things ..."

Morrison then explains he wanted to connect with the contestant because they share a "mutual respect" for a choreographer, and he wanted to get said choreographer a job on the show.

Our sources say it was the contestant who reported the message to show producers as being potentially problematic.

Sources close to Morrison tell us he was unaware of the no contact rule in his judge's contract. We're told he's worked on dance shows in the U.K. where collabing with contestants was encouraged ... and didn't think it was going to be an issue.

The music industry is a prehistoric artist trap that needs to end … so thinks Russ, arguably one of the most entrepreneurial-minded rappers the game has ever seen.

We caught up with the digital disruptor fresh off the heels of releasing his mini-movie "Handsomer (Remix)," which co-stars Snoop Dogg and Tiffany Haddish.

In March, Russ and his business partner Bugus launched their label DIEMON a.k.a. "Do It Everyday Music or Nothing" — an offshoot from a traditional record deal as their artists won't be held to crazy overheads and will be encouraged to have more authentic relationships with fans.

Russ called out labels for overcharging artists for services and even went as far as to say "digital marketing" — one of the most buzz-worthy terms in music — was all a sham.

According to his experiences, artists only sign to labels for the convenience of not wanting to handle their business affairs but Russ feels the DIY mantra can still be applied even without the giant corporation eating into your record and ticket sales.

Here's what's even more interesting … Russ openly admits his label deal wasn't a bad one, especially compared to some of the other contracts out there.

He owned his masters and didn't fall into the red with his finances.

But, he rather use his own money for a $300,000 video than have a label use his money for a $300,000 video — and then charge interest.

An Instagram model says she was booted from a flight because of her 22-pound boobs ... and now she's threatening a lawsuit.

The Canadian model, who goes by Mary Magdalene on social media, says she was kicked off a recent flight from Canada to Dallas for looking "too explicit."

MM says she got the heave-ho shortly after being seated, on a $5,000 ticket no less, and says she's not buying the reason given by the airline crew ... that she was booted for wearing headphones and ignoring instructions from the flight attendant.

Instead, the model claims she was kicked off the plane because her boobs were too big for her top ... and now she's crying discrimination and calling the whole experience disgusting and dehumanizing.

In a selfie posted from the plane, the model is wearing a sports bra and has earphones in ... but she says it's obvious which is the bigger foul.

The model says she finally made it to America on a later flight, but she's still got beef with the airline and society ... saying discrimination against "enhanced bodies" is very common.

The late great Phife Dawg famously quipped he liked his girls "brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian" ... and while Joe Budden's observation of NYC strip clubs doesn't see it that way, Waka Flocka Flame disagrees with Joe.

JB compared the personal crusade to a declaration of war ... because someone has to do it, right?

The rapper-turned-podcast host went outta his way Thursday to call out shuttered NYC strip club Cheetahs Gentlemen's Club & Restaurant for exclusively employing fair-skinned Hispanic women.

Joe says, "NY strip clubs, not only are you not hiring Black women, but you're purposely hiring the SAME exact girl." Your promoter having a type is gonna lose y'all money this Summer.. this is disgusting (not the girls, the optics)."

Waka Flocka not only disagrees, but calls Joe "soft" for the commentary. WF hails from Atlanta -- the reigning mecca of pole dancers -- so naturally, he wasn't going to sit for disrespect to the industry.

Brittney Griner remains in a Russian jail cell, but the WNBA star has one small semblance of normalcy during lockup ... the 7x All-Star has been communicating with friends, family, and fellow players over email.

Griner's team created an email account where Brittney's loved ones and friends can write to her ... and then once vetted by Russian officials, the WNBA star's attorney brings the letters to her cell.

Brittney has received hundreds of messages.

L.A. Sparks forward Amanda Zahui B. wrote to Griner a few months ago, and was surprised to hear back from her friend.

"She jokes in her letters," Zahui said. "I don't know how she does it with what she's going through. She's an amazing soul."

"She brings light in a situation like this. I don't think a lot of people could manage to do that," Zahui added.

Brittney and Amanda have exchanged multiple messages ... with the latest correspondence arriving from Russia last week.

Zahui B. says Brittney ended their latest email exchange by writing "From 42 to 42'' ... in reference to Amanda changing her uniform number to honor BG.

And, it's not just electronic communications. Diana Taurasi says she sent a handwritten letter to BG.

Of course, Griner has been locked up near Moscow since February (the exact date of her arrest is unknown) after Russian authorities claim the hooper attempted to smuggle hashish oil (vape cartridges) into the country.

Griner was last seen on May 13 when she appeared in court for a motion her lawyers filed, asking the judge to allow her to move to house arrest while she awaits her trial.

Brittney could face years in prison, if convicted.

Complicating matters is the relationship between the United States and Russia ... fearing many to believe Brittney could be used as a bargaining chip.

Griner's wife, Cherelle, in a recent sit-down interview, implored President Biden and his administration to play a more active role in helping bring the 31-year-old back home.

The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard case is about to reach the finish line with a decisive winner, or maybe two potential losers -- and TMZ is streaming the announcement at 12 PM PT.

The jury reached its verdict Wednesday in Fairfax, VA -- where they've been deliberating for the past few days after a month-plus long trial ... with lots of twists and turns, but more importantly -- a mountain's worth of evidence and testimony.

They heard closing arguments on Friday, which saw attorneys for Depp and Heard plead their cases one last time in dramatic fashion. Camille Vasquez and co. told jurors to use their common sense, as did AH's lead lawyer, Ben Rottenborn -- albeit with a different spin.

Rottenborn said a decision against Amber will have devastating effects on DV victims -- sending a message to those who choose to speak their truths, but don't have the most convincing documentation of their trauma ... a category in which Amber seemed to fall.

Indeed ... while both Johnny and Amber had ample audio recordings of one another amid explosive fights -- it would appear only Johnny explicitly caught AH admitting to hitting him.

Of course, Johnny wasn't left looking like an angel by any means -- the infamous kitchen rampage tape was played in court, which shows him throwing a fit and slamming cabinets ... all while pouring himself a "mega pint" of wine, and finally catching Amber recording him.

There were also vile texts Johnny sent about Amber, which were shown to the jury as well. Plus, Johnny's history of substance abuse was put under the microscope ... something he owned up to. And, then there are Amber's alleged injury photos, of which there were several.

Amber also got some of her friends to testify on her behalf, claiming they saw the alleged injuries after the fact ... and would often rush to console her after a blowout fight with JD.

Speaking of one of those fights, a memorable moment -- and a total W for Team Johnny -- came when his ex, Kate Moss, took the stand virtually to bat down a rumor that Amber invoked when she was testifying about an alleged staircase tussle, where she said she thought Johnny would throw her sister down ... like he'd allegedly done to KM.

That turned out to be total BS though, as Kate herself said there was no truth to that story -- and it seemed to hurt Amber's credibility, as did other testimony ... a la the ACLU "pledge."

There was also the matter of feces that was addressed early and often ... which made for a ton of meme fodder and jokes online, and almost always at the expense of Amber. As you know, Johnny seems to believe either she and/or a friend left it behind in their bed.

But, Amber herself denied it under oath -- blaming one of their teacup Yorkies, who she said had bowel issues ever since eating some of Johnny's weed. The jury is still out on that one.

All the same, it's clear this trial and all the public backlash against Amber took its toll on her -- she cried throughout this trial, but was especially passionate toward the end ... saying she just wanted to get on with her life, and that she's been left virtually broken from all this.

Trevor Bauer just sounded off on Amber Heard following the verdict in the defamation lawsuit with Johnny Depp ... saying the actress deserves to pay every single penny of the MILLIONS she was ordered to give her ex-husband.

"It took four years of torching Johnny Depp's reputation over false allegations of abuse to get to today, but he has finally been vindicated," 31-year-old Bauer tweeted Wednesday.

"Thank you to the jurors in this case for rightfully holding Amber Heard accountable for defamation."

Bauer is clearly sending a message here -- the Cy Young winner faced allegations of going too far with three women on multiple occasions, which he contended was consensual rough sex. He recently filed a defamation lawsuit of his own.

While Bauer was never charged criminally, Major League Baseball handed him a 2-year ban after a lengthy investigation ... one of the longest suspensions in modern sports history.

Bauer has maintained his innocence throughout ... saying the only bad decision he made was associating with the wrong people.

As for Depp and Heard, the jury awarded $10.35 million total in compensatory and punitive damages against Heard ... but his ex-wife will only have to shell out $8,350,000.

Paulo Costa is breaking his silence on the allegations that he attacked a nurse in Brazil earlier this week ... saying in a statement on Wednesday the claims are "reckless and inconsistent."

The UFC star, according to Brazilian media outlet Globo.com, was accused of hitting a nurse with his elbow following an argument over a COVID vaccine card in Belo Horizonte.

The outlet reported that Costa told nurses he wanted a vaccination. But, according to the report, Costa backed out of getting the shots, yet still wanted the filled-out vaccine card.

Globo.com reported when a female nurse tried to stop him from leaving with the card, the 31-year-old hit her with an elbow. She reportedly complained of swelling in her lips.

On his Instagram page Wednesday, Costa opened up about the allegations ... saying in a statement, "The accusations and facts narrated do not reflect the reality of what happened."

"The fact will be carefully investigated and the appropriate legal measures for their perfect clarification will be taken."

He added in the press release, "this kind of allegations are completely incompatible with his history and way of life."

It's unclear if Costa is currently under police investigation.