Controversial S#!T

VH1's "Black Ink Crew" star Ceaser Emanuel has been fired from the show after a video surfaced allegedly showing him abusing dogs ... TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson for VH1 tells TMZ, "We have made the decision to cut ties with Ceaser Emanuel from Black Ink Crew New York. Since next season was close to finishing production, this decision will not impact the upcoming season."

Sources familiar with the situation tell us they are wrapping production, but keeping it open in order to properly address the situation in the show. We're told producers also found the viral video appalling.

A video surfaced Wednesday that allegedly shows Ceaser beating and abusing dogs -- the clip made many fans sick to their stomachs, instantly.

Ceaser's co-star Donna Lombardi reposted the clip online and said "I don't even get into the life of this man, but this video made me so upset."

She called on the network to cancel him completely ... adding "I pray the people see you, @ceaserblackink, as the monster you are."

The show is currently in production for its 10th season, and Ceaser's been a part of the series since its 2013 premiere.

The show follows the daily operations of his shop, Black Ink tattoo, in Harlem ... the guy also owns studios in Brooklyn, ATL, Orlando and Houston.

Sean Penn's political side is in full swing ... the guy's front and center at the Capitol for the latest session of the January 6th hearings.

Sean grabbed a coveted seat Thursday in D.C. as the January 6th hearings roll on ...  right next to Officer Michael Fanone, one of the officers who was seriously injured during the insurrection.

It's unsurprising to see him on Capitol Hill as the House panel hears more evidence about Donald Trump's involvement. Sean is truly a political animal ... he was recently on the frontlines in Ukraine.

Sean was in Kyiv back in February, filming a documentary the Ukrainians say will tell the world the truth about the Russian invasion.

The January 6th House Committee has been working hard to prove Former President Donald Trump was at the center of the attack. Today's hearings involve Trump's intrusion into the Justice Dept. in an attempt to get them to discredit the election.

There could be a "Watergate moment" in the January 6th hearings ... because there are HOURS of footage not just before the insurrection, but on that very day and after ... and the House Committee has now subpoenaed all of it.

Filmmaker Alex Holder had incredible access to Donald Trump and his family from September 2020 right through January 6th.

Somehow this all flew under the radar until this week ... and it could provide the Committee with not only video showing Trump's state of mind after he lost the election -- something critical for the Justice Dept. in deciding whether to prosecute him -- but it could show what Trump was doing while rioters stormed the Capitol.

Discovery just released a trailer for the doc, and it's apparent Trump opens up about January 6th. This is incredibly significant because if the interviews were done shortly after the insurrection, Trump would have been oblivious to how this all eventually played out with Congress and the public. In other words, he may have expressed his true feelings.

We don't know if Holder was filming in the Oval Office on January 6th ... if he was, it would show Trump glued to the TV and, even more important, what he was saying as various officials and family members begged him to put a halt to the attack on the Capitol.

As for why this could be a "Watergate moment" ... back in '73, no one knew about the secret Nixon tapes in the Oval office until mid-hearings, and that's what brought Nixon down.

For Holder's part, he said ... "When we began this project in September 2020, we could have never predicted that our work would one day be subpoenaed by Congress," he said. "As a British filmmaker, I had no agenda coming into this. We simply wanted to better understand who the Trumps were and what motivated them to hold onto power so desperately. We have dutifully handed over all the materials the Committee has asked for and we are fully cooperating."

The doc will run on Discovery+ sometime this summer in 3 parts.

Tyreek Hill says multiple fans threatened to take his life following comments he made about Patrick Mahomes earlier this month ... explaining the threats were made on "every social media account I own."

The new Miami Dolphins wideout -- who was traded from the Chiefs this offseason -- initially made the remarks about his old QB on the debut of his "It Needed To Be Said" podcast two weeks ago.

When discussing Mahomes vs. Tua Tagovailoa, Hill said the 'Fins QB was more accurate. He added that he believed he wasn't necessarily used right in the Chiefs' system, and said Mahomes' job was now going to be much more difficult without him around.

In his second episode of his "It Needed To Be Said" pod ... Hill said the responses he got from fans to those statements were scary.

"Every social media account I own, I got death threats on," the 28-year-old said. "Which is ridiculous."

Hill explained he believed some of his comments were taken out of context -- adding, "They really didn't see what I said. A lot of people are just acting off emotion."

Mahomes himself said he was "surprised" by the comments ... but Hill made it clear in Tuesday's pod that he still has love for his ex-teammate, and was just trying to express his belief in his new one.

Bill Cosby seemingly didn't care he was found liable in a civil suit accusing him of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl ... cheering over the phone when he found out the whole thing was only going to cost him $500,000.

Cosby's rep Andrew Wyatt tells TMZ he called the 84-year-old directly after the judgment was read -- informing Cosby the jury didn't award any punitive damages -- which could've cost the disgraced comedian millions.

Wyatt says when he let Cosby know the jury only awarded his accuser, Judy Huth, $500k ... Cosby responded, "What? That's all?" followed up with a "Booyah!"

We're told Bill was also able to get on the phone with the 2 jurors who had sided with him, thanking both women for being on the right side of equal rights and social justice.

We're told Cosby plans on filing an appeal ... so Huth's payday is, at the very least, likely to be delayed.

Jussie Smollett still insists he did not lie about the homophobic and racist attack, because IF he did he would be a total piece of s**t -- and he claims everyone knows he's not that.

The actor dug in his heels Wednesday morning on Sway's SiriusXM show, talking about why he feels he got screwed in court. As Jussie sees it, if you buy what the jury said -- that he flat out lied -- that would mean we all found out "someone is exactly the opposite of who they claim to be."

No argument there.

However, he went on to explain that committing such a nefarious lie would mean he'd exploited the pain and fears of both Black people and the LGBTQ community -- and Jussie says, "I'm not that motherf***er."

Of course, his stunning statement flies in the face of all the evidence presented in Cook County court before he was convicted and sentenced, back in March, to 150 days.

Speaking of which, Jussie also talked about his time behind bars ... explaining why he stopped eating the whole time he was in Cook County Jail.

He says fasting is something his family always does to gain clarity, and he was uncertain about how long he'd be in jail. Remember, despite the 150-day sentence, Jussie had immediately asked the judge to let him out on bail while he filed an appeal.

Jussie says, "I have never in my life, at least in my adult life, been as clear of mind as I was for those 6-and-a-half days."

What's unclear about Jussie's clarity is how long he would have continued fasting if the judge hadn't let him out, and also ... what exactly he gained clarity about during that time.

The mom of a Connecticut boy accused of setting another boy on fire is going after the alleged victim's mom ... claiming she defamed her son and she wants the mom arrested.

Here's what is uncontested ... 6-year-old Dominick Krankall was burned badly while playing in his backyard in Bridgeport. Dominick's mom accused Laura Giacobbe's son of intentionally lighting the boy on fire.

Now, the new development ... a video that surfaced Friday shows 4 children, including Dominick, lighting fires and kicking a soccer ball engulfed in flames. The video, initially published by the NY Post, shows Dominick stepping on a plastic cup that was filled with gasoline and in flames.

Dominick suffered terrible burns to his face and legs.

So, Laura Giacobbe is furious, and told the Post she actually helped Dominick's mom by instructing her to get him in a bathtub immediately because his legs were on fire.

Giacobbe says Dominick's mom called police and accused her son of intentionally dousing Dominick with gas and throwing a flaming soccer ball at him.

Laura says there was absolutely no bullying and it was just a horrible accident. She's outraged at Dominick's mom and wants her to answer to the law. She also adds, his mom should have been supervising her son better in their own backyard.

Dominick's mom is sticking to her story, telling the Post Laura is a "liar." She says the video is edited and it took a month-and-a-half to come out.

Red Bull Racing has suspended junior driver Juri Vips after the 21-year-old used the n-word this week while playing "Call of Duty" on a live stream.

The driver -- who's racing in Formula 2 this year -- was gaming on Twitch with another driver when microphones caught him abruptly using the racial slur.

On Tuesday, Red Bull Racing announced its suspended Vips "from all team duties" over the language ... saying an investigation is ongoing.

"As an organization, we condemn abuse of any kind," the Red Bull Racing team said in a statement, "and have a zero-tolerance policy to racist language or behaviors within our organization.”

Vips released an apology on his Instagram page shortly after the suspension was announced -- saying what he did was "unacceptable."

"I wish to unreservedly apologize for the offensive language used during a live gaming stream earlier today," Vips said.

"This language is entirely unacceptable and does not portray the values and principles that I hold. I deeply regret my actions and this is not the example I wish to set."

The Estonian driver -- who won the 2017 ADAC Formula championship -- had been sitting 7th in the Formula 2 standings this season.

Anthony Anderson is backing Dave Chappelle's decision to turn down an honor from his high school alma mater, which was all set to name a building after him.

We got AA at LAX Tuesday, and he thinks Dave's spot on by turning thumbs down on plastering the building -- the Duke Ellington School of the Arts -- with his moniker. After some controversy, the school was ready to put Dave's name right in the front, but Monday night he opted for a different name ... the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression.

Anthony believes Dave's a pioneer in the world of free speech, especially for comedians. Anthony acknowledges ... everyone's got their own opinion and some disagree with what Dave says, and that's ok.

While addressing the crowd Monday, Dave referenced the backlash from students over his special 'The Closer' ... and said it really hurt him.

Drake’s new album, "Honestly, Nevermind" is getting doused with mixed reviews, and Irv Gotti is definitely seeing it as a glass-half-empty ... one that makes him think hip hop needs a new kinda icon.

We chopped it up Tuesday at LAX with the visionary behind Ja Rule and Ashanti's wave of hits, and while Irv emphasized Drake is a "great human being" ... he also took him to task for his dance record.

Irv's beef is basically that famous Spider-Man quote about great power and great responsibility -- he says Drizzy's too influential to sway so far from hip hop, and his dance vibes could be a killer blow to the culture.

He even pondered about going back to his A&R days to counter the dance boom by finding the next DMX … or some other hardcore rap equivalent.

With most of the rappers singing these days, those days are likely long gone so Irv's work may be cut out for him.

Vladimir Putin, through his spokesperson, is talking about Brittney Griner's imprisonment for the first time ... refuting the charge the WNBA star is a political prisoner, saying she's locked up because she violated Russian law.

31-year-old Griner has been behind bars since February after Russian officials say she attempted to bring hashish oil into the country. The U.S., however, characterized her detainment as being politically motivated.

In other words, America believes Griner's being used as a bargaining chip ... as relations between Russia and America (and the West in general) are incredibly strained with war raging in Ukraine.

But, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's mouthpiece, told NBC News Brittney's detainment is simple -- she broke the law, and is being held accountable just like "hundreds and hundreds of Russian citizens that were sentenced for carrying hashish."

Peskov then asked ... "Why should we make an exemption for a foreign citizen?"

Putin's spokesperson also said there are many Americans living legally in Russia.

"[Griner] violated Russian law, and now she’s being prosecuted," Peskov said.

"It’s not about being a hostage. There are lots of American citizens here. They’re enjoying their freedoms … but you have to obey the laws."

Dave Chappelle's alma mater is paying tribute to him by renaming a building in his honor ... just months after he got heckled on campus during the transgender controversy.

Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington D.C. is set to rename its performance theater after its most noted alumni ... the school says it's honoring Dave because of his "ongoing commitment and service to the school."

As we reported, Dave paid a visit to his old high school back in November, while he was taking heat for his jokes about the transgender community.

Things got heated when he invited students who disagreed to speak during an assembly. One student stepped up and called him a bigot, adding, "I'm 16 and I think you're childish." Some students wanted the school to reverse its decision over naming the building after him.

Dave challenged both his supporters and his opponents -- asking both sides to raise money for the school, and if the opponents raised more money, he'd gladly forego the honor of having the building renamed.

As it turns out, his supporters raised the most money so the building will be called the Dave Chappelle Theatre.

Brittney Griner's wife, Cherelle, is absolutely livid she didn't get to talk to the WNBA superstar on their 4-year anniversary this past weekend ... claiming the U.S. government botched a long-awaited, scheduled call between the two.

Cherelle says Griner -- who recently had her detention in Russia extended yet again by a court in the foreign country -- tried calling nearly 12 times on Saturday, but did not get through to her, according to the Associated Press.

Cherelle says she's "very pissed" over it ... because the call had been scheduled for close to two weeks, and she had been told it would go through. And, it obviously meant the world to her -- as she's still yet to hear Griner's voice since the basketball player was taken into custody back in February.

But Cherelle says the U.S. government dropped the ball ... and didn't staff someone to work the phone on Saturday -- leaving all 11 of Griner's calls to go unanswered.

"I was distraught. I was hurt. I was done, fed up," said Cherelle, who told the AP that she later learned that the phone line is generally only staffed on weekdays, not weekends.

Cherelle said a contact from the State Department apologized to her for the mishap. The AP, meanwhile, reported the State Dept. said in a statement it's "aware of the issue and was looking into it."

However, despite the apology, Griner's wife said she's now very skeptical of the government moving forward ... saying she has "zero trust" in U.S. officials at this moment.

"If I can’t trust you to catch a Saturday call outside of business hours, how can I trust you to actually be negotiating on my wife’s behalf to come home?" Cherelle asked. "Because that’s a much bigger ask than to catch a Saturday call."

Cherelle -- who previously said she was hoping to personally meet with Joe Biden over Griner's status -- said she's losing faith that that meeting will actually go down now.

"At this point," she said, "it's starting to feel like a no."

Chris Brown wants no part of the Internet debate about whether he's more talented than Michael Jackson -- he's shutting down the whole convo after an interview on "Big Boy's Neighborhood."

During the opening moments, the L.A. radio host addressed the swirling controversy to which CB decided to dead things once and for all.

Breezy says if it wasn't for Michael Jackson, he wouldn't be anywhere near the entertainer he is today and cited a shrine he has dedicated to the late King of Pop.

For the past few weeks, hip hop artists like Fivio Foreign and Tank have been leaning toward giving CB the ultimate crown -- but Chris himself says he'd concede to the man who brought us "Thriller," "Rock With You" and "Billie Jean."

Going forward, CB is gearing up to go on tour with Lil Baby and drop his new album "Breezy" -- a project he tells Big Boy he recorded 250 songs for, before whittling it down to just 23.

U.S. women's soccer legend Megan Rapinoe believes it's "disgusting" to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports ... saying people need to "get a grip on reality and take a step back."

The 36-year-old made the comments in an interview with TIME shortly after FINA -- the swimming world's governing body -- voted to restrict female swimmers who transition after turning 12 or have started puberty from competing against biological women.

Rapinoe says these sorts of bans are a serious issue ... and voiced her stance against the decision.

"I’m 100% supportive of trans inclusion," Rapinoe said. "People do not know very much about it. We’re missing almost everything."

"Frankly, I think what a lot of people know is versions of the right’s talking points because they’re very loud. They’re very consistent, and they’re relentless," she added.

Rapinoe pushed back against the perception that transgender participation in sports is a "free-for-all" ... saying there has been regulation at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels.

The 2-time Women's World Cup champion says the focus is no longer on how peoples' lives are being affected ... but more about sports.

"We’re talking about kids," Rapinoe said. "We’re talking about people’s lives. We’re talking about the entire state government coming down on one child in some states, three children in some states."

NCAA champion Lia Thomas has been at the forefront of the conversation ... after some politicians claim her participation in women's sports destroys the spirit of competition.

Megan strongly disagrees.

"Show me the evidence that trans women are taking everyone’s scholarships, are dominating in every sport, are winning every title," Rapinoe said.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger is not cowering from crazies who are so angry at his feelings toward Donald Trump they threaten to kill him.

Kinzinger, a member of the Jan. 6th House Committee, posted a letter he says was sent to his home, and here it is ... "You are one stupid c***. That pimp you married not only broke his oath, he sold his soul. Yours, and Christian's too! Adam's activities have not only hurt this country, but countless patriotic and God-fearing families. Therefore, although it might take time, he will be executed."

Then the writer goes on to attack Adam's wife and son ... "But don't worry! You and Christian will be joining Adam in hell too! We find it blasphemous that you name the son of the devil Christian!"

Kinzinger, who is not running for re-election, appeared on ABC's "This Week" Sunday and said he believed Trump's involvement in the insurrection rose to a level of criminality.

In posting the letter, Kinzinger blamed the tone of the GOP for people like this letter-writer going nuts ... "The Darkness is spreading courtesy of cowardly leaders fearful of truth. Is the what you want @GOP? Pastors?"

BTW ... along the same lines, a GOP candidate named Eric Greitens, who's running for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, appears in a campaign ad with gun in hand, saying he's going after RINO's ... Republicans In Name Only.