Controversial S#!T

Brittney Griner's plan to appeal her 9-year Russian prison sentence over a weed pen is underway ... but Onyx rapper Fredro Starr feels there are bigger political forces in play.

In a new interview clip from VladTV, Fredro actually admitted to smoking plenty of weed on Russian soil on several occasions!!!

According to Fredro's travels, Russia not only has better weed than top dog California, but they grow it too ... and from the picture he paints, recreational use sounds pretty common in the region.

He also suggests the country's hip hop scene is very liberal, alluding to the notion a 9-year punishment for a simple weed pen doesn't add up.

Griner officially filed her appeal on Monday, in conjunction with the United States government actively working for her release, calling her detainment unjust.

The last time we talked to Fredro, he was talking about a different kind of smoking ... as in torching Cypress Hill during their somewhat underpromoted Verzuz.

Jonathan Papelbon went scorched Earth on Fernando Tatis Jr. -- suspended 80 games by MLB for a positive PED test -- saying if he was still pitching in the Majors, he'd drill the Padres star every chance he got!

The former Red Sox star closer shared his feelings on Tatis' blockbuster suspension on the "The Bradfo Sho podcast" ... and he didn't mince his words.

"I'll tell you right now, if I was pitching, every single time I face that dude, I’m drilling him," Papelbon said, adding ... "I don’t care if I'm bringing in a run and losing the game."

"This whole Tatis stuff, man, it almost enrages me. "I worked my ass off so long and so hard and did it the right way. For me, to see something like that, it hurts me so bad."

Papelbon -- who played 12 seasons in the big leagues -- said the problem with Major League Baseball now is players aren't allowed to "police" the game the way they used to when he toed the mound.

"That's the problem with the game today now, is it's changed," Papelbon said. "You throw [at] people now, and you get suspended and all the other BS, and it's like just let the players police the game."

"That's what I miss about the game now is, you look in the past, and the players were the ones who policed the game. Not the damn umpires or the coaches, or any of them. It was the players."

"[And] that's what the game lost," he added.

As we previously reported, 23-year-old Tatis was hit with an 80-game suspension Friday after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.

Former NY Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez expressed disappointment with Tatis ... saying the PED suspension may cost him a shot at the Hall of Fame down the road, something A-Rod, unfortunately, is experiencing.

"I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame probably because of my own mistake," A-Rod said. "And, that's heartbreaking for me. It's heartbreaking to explain that to my daughters. But, that's on me."

"I wish that a lot of these young players who I admire so much would learn from my stupidity and my debacle."

Fernando Tatis Sr. came to his son's defense yesterday ... claiming Tatis Jr. developed a fungus on his skin after receiving a bad haircut and used the banned medication to fix the issue.

Ultimately, JP understands why ex-MLBers, and potentially Tatis' fellow Padres teammates, are upset with his alleged actions ... and Jonathan thinks the distraction could prevent the team from reaching their full potential come playoff time.

Ezra Miller is finally addressing what many have believed were significant mental health issues ... this after months of erratic behavior and run-ins with the law.

The 'Flash' star apologized Monday for their bizarre antics and confirmed they're getting help for some significant problems.

Ezra says, “Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment."

Ezra goes on, “I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”

Ezra has had a mountain of legal troubles of late ... getting arrested several times in Hawaii and Vermont.

Ezra's latest brush with law enforcement came just last week when they were accused of burglarizing a Stamford, VT, home, from which they allegedly swiped several bottles of booze.

And, back in April 2020 ... Ezra was seen on a viral video CHOKING a woman at a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland ... Ezra was not charged for that incident. Ezra's also been accused of keeping an 18-year-old away from their own family, and bringing them around the country.

Ezra was busted in Hawaii back in March after getting into it with bar patrons, and then with cops during transport to jail.

For the past couple of months, Ezra's team of agents and close friends has been trying to get the actor back on track, but nothing seemed to work.

Warner Bros., the studio producing the $200 million 'Flash' movie scheduled for release next June, has reportedly been encouraging Ezra to get help.

R. Kelly wants anyone who has seen the 'Surviving R. Kelly' docuseries to be banned as a potential juror in his trial ... saying there's no way they can give him a fair shot.

R. Kelly and his team filed a motion Monday to disqualify jurors who have seen any portion of the docuseries, as his 2nd federal trial begins in Chicago.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... "any potential juror who has watched any portion of this docuseries must be disqualified for cause on whether they can be fair, too great a risk exists that such a juror would base their verdict on matters not introduced into evidence in the courtroom".

Kelly's facing charges of child porn and obstruction of justice ... and his alleged victim from his infamous 2008 case is expected to testify.

The docs state, "Any potential juror who has seen any portion of Surviving R. Kelly is prejudiced where there's no scenario which an individual exposed to the contents of Surviving R. Kelly can be impartial."

In other words ... his camp says there's absolutely no way anyone who has seen any parts of the doc can be fair, and they shouldn't be allowed to be jurors in the case.

His team claims there are episodes that talk specifically about his 2008 prosecution, in which he was acquitted ... and they say the docuseries also includes allegations that the government has said won’t be featured in this trial.

Milwaukee fans are probably having the worst Monday ever ... 'cause Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo just revealed he'd love to play for the rival Chicago Bulls one day.

It's not time to panic just yet, Bucks fans -- the 2-time MVP and 2021 NBA champ made it crystal clear he's committed to his current team during an interview with "The Sports Zone" on Fox 32 Chicago ... but the 27-year-old also raved about the possibility of suiting up in Black and Red at some point in his career.

"It's a team that won multiple championships, it's a team that one of the greatest players -- if not the greatest player to ever play this game -- played for, so it's a no brainer," the Greek Freak said Sunday night.

"Everybody would love to play for Chicago. Down the line, you never know, you never know how life brings it, maybe I'll play for Chicago. But right now, I'm committed to Milwaukee."

Giannis says any NBAer "would be a liar" if they said they didn't want to play for Chicago ... which just goes to show how much influence Michael Jordan still has on today's game.

Bryce Dallas Howard claims she got the short end of the stick for the 'Jurassic World' trilogy, making far less money than Chris Pratt despite being co-leads ... but that didn't stop him from making sure they got equal pay outside their film contract.

Initial reports back in 2018 showed Chris took home $10M to Bryce's $8M for the sequel, "Fallen Kingdom" ... but Bryce says she was actually paid "so much less," than the reported estimate, in an interview with Insider.

Bryce says she was at a "great disadvantage" back in 2014 when negotiations began for the blockbuster series -- adding, "unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies and so your deals are set."

Chris, however, was a bigger star than Bryce at the beginning of the trilogy, having already starred in "Guardians of the Galaxy."

But, she claims Chris fought for her outside their 3-movie deal ... telling her he'll handle the negotiation for her when it came to things like spin off games or theme park rides -- making sure they both walked away with equal pay.

Brittney Griner is fighting back in her drug case in Russia -- formally filing an appeal of her conviction in the foreign country, days after she was sentenced to 9 years behind bars there.

Griner's attorney confirmed the filing to CNN on Monday. It's not immediately known what the grounds of the appeal are, or when it will be heard in court.

The move, though, was expected -- after Griner was convicted and sentenced on Aug. 4. The WNBA superstar admitted to having hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport, but she told a courtroom she packed it inadvertently and had no intentions at all of breaking the law.

Regardless of the appeal process, the U.S. -- which has called Griner wrongfully detained -- is continuing attempts to strike a prisoner swap deal with Russia in order to bring the 31-year-old home.

"I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates," Biden said following her conviction earlier this month.

"My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible."

Trey Songz has an ally in his corner when it comes to claims of sexual assault against him -- a woman testified an attorney for Songz's alleged victim offered her up to $200,000 to change her story and make Trey the bad guy ... a claim the attorney denies.

If you haven't followed along, Trey's in the middle of a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a woman named Jauhara Jeffries -- who says he violated her at a 2017 New Year's Eve party in Miami.

We've obtained a transcript from a recent court hearing in the case, where a woman named Mariah Thielen testified she met with Jeffries' attorney, Ariel Mitchell, in April 2021 at a bar in Miami. Thielen says Mitchell smelled like weed during the meeting, and was carrying a gun.

According to the transcript, Thielen -- who was with Jeffries the night of Trey's alleged assault -- says Mitchell offered to pay between $100k-$200k if she'd lie and say she witnessed Trey sexually assault Jeffries ... and claim that Trey assaulted her too. Mitchell allegedly said she was trying to paint Trey as "the next R. Kelly."

Thielen says Mitchell's plan was to take her allegations to Trey's team in hopes of coming to a monetary settlement, and her lies would help to make that amount larger ... again, this according to the transcript.

Thielen claims she turned the offer down -- saying she wouldn't have lied for even $10 million -- and reported the meeting to Trey's legal team a short time later.

Mitchell denies the claims, telling us, "We’re highly confident and certain the court will find the witness committed perjury. Parties are still awaiting the judges' further instructions on how to proceed given the witness’s inconsistent testimony during the hearing."

Mitchell's partner, George Vrabeck, withdrew from the case, stating there was "multiple grounds for withdrawal" that existed under the Florida Rules for Professional Conduct ... but Mitchell says that's only because, "He will be representing me against the parties involved in this disgraceful motion brought by Trey Songz and his representatives."

Dwayne Johnson has comic nerds confused after suggesting it'd be wrong to include his DC character alongside another hero in the same movie ... without getting his own movie first.

The Rock revealed to Vanity Fair he did a little lobbying with WB to make sure 'Black Adam' would be its own standalone film before any potential blending with 'Shazam!' -- a separate character played by Zachary Levi, who Adam actually faces off with in the source material.

VF writes that Black Adam, played by Dwayne, was actually set to be in the first 'Shazam!' movie in 2019, as he was initially written into the script as the big bad opposite Levi.

The Rock says when he saw this, though, upon first being approached for the project ... he expressed his reservations -- recounting, "When the first draft of the movie came to us, it was a combination of Black Adam and Shazam: Two origin stories in one movie."

He adds, "Now that was the goal -- so it wasn’t a complete surprise. But when I read that, I just knew in my gut, 'We can’t make this movie like this. We would be doing Black Adam an incredible disservice.' It would’ve been fine for Shazam having two origin stories converge in one movie, but not good for Black Adam." Dwayne made some calls, and got his way.

DJ doesn't elaborate on why he thinks it'd be a disservice ... and that's where the DC fandom is kicking in. In their eyes, it makes complete sense to introduce Black Adam in a 'Shazam!' movie -- even from the get-go -- seeing how BA is literally a known nemesis.

That's not what the 'Shazam!' films have done thus far ... in both the OG/forthcoming sequel, there are other bad guys Shazam is fighting, although Black Adam has been teased. Eventually, they'll cross paths ... but critics think it's strange Dwayne insisted on having his outing to kickstart things. Frankly, a Carly Simon song is coming to mind for some over this.

The argument ... The Rock's ego might be showing by admitting he wanted the character to be bigger than WB had, perhaps, initially intended -- especially if he was going to play him.

In Dwayne's defense ... all he did was chirp up on what he thought would be best, and clearly Warner thought that was the right way to go -- seeing how they actually pivoted and did a whole 'Black Adam' flick like DJ suggested, which is coming out later this fall. And besides, it's all headed for a big mashup anyway down the line ... so who cares?

Big Time Rush is in big time trouble -- at least on Twitter -- because users are outraged over the title of an old song, which some label as ableist ... now invoking Beyoncé and Lizzo.

Here's the deal ... the one-time boy band of the 2010s has recently reunited to put out new music -- and one of their fan fave vault songs that they're itching to release is called "PARALYZED," which has been leaked before, but never officially included on an album.

Now, they're saying they're gonna do it for real ... and have been teasing their fans with when and under what circumstances they'll do it.

On Saturday, they tweeted ... "We’re so happy to see that everyone across the globe are now able to enjoy all our music. But the real question. How badly do you want us to release PARALYZED?" They encouraged their followers to get "PARALYZED" trending before they put it out ... but so far, haven't. The track's only on Sound Cloud (in an unofficial capacity).

If you listen to it and read the lyrics ... it's a fairly straightforward, seemingly innocuous song about a girl who's got the boys stunned and frozen, AKA paralyzed, because of how attractive she is. Essentially, they're smitten ... but they're playing up the paralyzed angle.

They even stutter some of the words they're singing, and that's where things turn problematic.

Some argue the song in general is an issue and offensive to paralyzed people -- and it's here where Bey and Liz are getting roped in ... with accusations of racism flying.

Hop into the "Lizzo and Beyonce" trend right now, and you'll see all the discourse going on. Basically, some say that those who were up in arms over the female artists using the word "s***" in their songs and demanded they remove it should be doing the same for BTR.

The argument boils down to ... some in the ableist community and/or their allies are actually just racist -- because they made a big stink when 2 Black women innocently used the term -- which was popular and in regular use pre-2010s, frankly -- but when a bunch of white/white-passing dudes are more on the nose ... there seems to be crickets in terms of indignation.

Not everyone is buying that though -- because, yes, it's very accusatory and makes a lot of conclusions based on ... nothing but perceived reactions on Twitter, which is kind of silly.

The point ... some see a double standard between Lizzo/Beyonce and Big Time Rush -- and are apparently mad that there isn't more of a push to get BTR to change or nix their song entirely. Whether that double standard is actually real or not is in the eye of the beholder.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett put on a united front as they stepped out in public together for the first time since the Oscars slap -- and hubby was leading the charge with a smile.

The couple was spotted leaving Nobu in Malibu Saturday afternoon, with what appeared to be handler trailing them. Will was ahead of Jada -- wearing a casual outfit and a cap -- who was following closely behind ... apparently grabbing a hold of his shirt or pants.

It looks like she might've been grabbing his hand in some of these shots ... but upon closer inspection, you can see she's got him by his clothing and letting him guide her to their car.

Eventually, they got in their vehicle and drove off together ... with WS in the driver's seat. Before that, though, Will actually flashed a peace sign to a spectator who called his name. So, yeah ... it appears he's maintaining a good mood -- this after his recent apology video.

You'll recall ... Will explained his actions that night, saying Jada's eye-roll did not fire him up and spur him to storm the stage -- it sounds like it was just built-up bad blood between the Smiths and Chris Rock that led to it ... plus some internal trauma Will has from his past.

He said he wanted to talk with Chris -- but noted CR hasn't taken him up on that ... and may not in the long run. In the meantime, Will's getting a move on with his life -- as is Jada.

The fact the dude is out and about in daylight -- in L.A., no less -- says a lot about where he is personally ... and that seems to be in a much better place.

The FBI has concluded that Alec Baldwin must have fired the gun normally on the set of "Rust" -- which took Halyna Hutchins' life ... this according to a new report.

ABC News published a bombshell story Friday, claiming to have obtained a copy of the forensic analysis report recently completed by the Bureau ... which was examining all facets of the fatal accident in a broader investigation to see if criminal charges are warranted.

Per ABC, citing part of the FBI report, the feds found that the revolver in question -- a single-action .45 Colt caliber F.lli Pietta -- could not have been fired without someone pulling the trigger ... a determination they made after conducting accidental discharge testing.

Unclear if they did this testing with the same exact gun Alec used, or a separate but identical one -- but what the FBI notes in their reports is ... that gun, when working properly, will not release a bullet and primer simultaneously by just fiddling with the hammer alone.

That's what Alec said he was doing when the shooting occurred. You'll recall ... in a sit-down interview with ABC, he claimed all he'd done was pull the hammer back and pose it for the camera while Halyna coached him on positioning. When they were done, he released the hammer ... and says it fired without him pulling the trigger. The rest, of course, is history.

Well, that just doesn't make sense to FBI officials. Their report, per ABC, notes they set the hammer at varying angles and positions to see if they could make it fire without pulling the trigger ... but they say they couldn't. The only thing the hammer COULD do when de-cocked and then directly struck on its own (without pulling the trigger) was detonate the primer.

That essentially means it could set off the actual gunshot sound itself, without discharging a bullet, according to the FBI -- but that's obviously not what happened in AB's case.

Now, this conclusion doesn't necessarily mean Alec is in hot water quite yet -- again, we don't know if the testing they did here was with his gun or another ... it's totally possible the revolver he used that day did, in fact, malfunction and that he's telling the truth.

These findings have been sent off to law enforcement officials in New Mexico, who are still conducting their investigation dating back to October. One of the things they're still waiting on, per an official statement from the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office, is phone records from Alec.

Kim Zolciak-Biermann's daughter, Ariana, was arrested for DUI this weekend ... TMZ has learned.

The 20-year-old social media influencer and reality star was busted Saturday in Forsyth County, GA, and then booked on 3 separate charges ... misdemeanor DUI driving under the influence of alcohol, misdemeanor improper/erratic lane change and underage alcohol possession/purchase of alcohol -- this according to jail records and personnel.

We're told she bonded out the same day -- unclear what time of day this was, but we imagine it was early morning. There's no narrative yet on what exactly may have happened, but we do know her on-and-off boyfriend, 20-year-old Hudson McLeroy, was also arrested on alcohol-related charges this morning ... seemingly while he was with Ariana in the car.

He was also booked for DUI, plus furnishing/purchasing alcohol under 21 and violating his driving permit. Based on Ariana's charges, though, it would appear she was behind the wheel in this instance. Hudson has since been released on bond ... so they're both out.

The only other thing of note is that Ariana was processed with the surname Zolciak (her mom's maiden name), and not her adopted father's name, Biermann. Kroy Biermann adopted both Ari and Brielle back in 2013 -- but it's unclear who their biological father(s) are.

In any case ... she's got a court date ahead of her. And, she'll have company too, it seems.

L.A. cops have a dark culture when it comes to grizzly death scenes, keeping "ghoul books" with photos of famous people who met violent deaths.

As we reported, Vanessa Bryant is suing the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. among others after learning 8 deputies took personal cellphone photos of the remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and then passed them around to co-workers, family, friends and even strangers.

Deputy Doug Johnson testified he did not regret taking photos of the remains, claiming he was ordered to do so by a higher-up, even though that higher-up had said he gave no such order.

Johnson said he took 25 photos, although another officer claimed it was more like 100.

The deputy admitted he took shots of Kobe's remains, although he says he didn't know at the time it was the famed basketball star. He also took pics of a body in a ravine near the crash site ... a body of a black child with long hair ... presumably Gianna.

Johnson stuck to his story, saying he would not have done anything differently.

Vanessa, who is suing for, among other things, emotional distress, broke down at times during the testimony.

The L.A. Mission thinks Kanye West needs to turn his words into action, and the org. is frustrated he hasn't followed through on his vow to help the homeless get jobs and housing ... folks familiar with the Mission's struggles tell TMZ.

Kanye got all inspirational Friday, posting this on IG ...  "look to the homeless as the biggest inspiration for all design." It's unclear what he meant, but it resurfaces some of the promises the rapper made last year, when he visited the Mission and vowed to use his companies to help the homeless get jobs, education and housing.

Our sources say little if anything has been done since.

Kanye waxing philosophical isn't moving the ball forward for the homeless crisis in L.A.

As we reported, Kanye met with leaders of the org. last November, where he laid out ambitious plans on how to tackle City's biggest challenge -- the homeless crisis. We're told folks from the Mission have attempted to contact Ye several times since the meeting, to no avail.

Kanye has done some good for the homeless ... among other things, he donated 1,000 meals and spent time encouraging volunteers and L.A. residents to join in and help. He also held a Sunday Service at the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row back in 2019.

We're told the L.A. Mission wants to work with Kanye, because he's a huge star with a megaphone and could do a lot of good.

Deshaun Watson is showing regret for his actions as his NFL future remains in limbo ... saying he's "truly sorry to all the women" he impacted.

Watson is facing a massive suspension after being accused of sexual misconduct with more than 20 women ... and before the Cleveland Browns' preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he spoke about the claims made against him.

"Look, I wanna say that I'm truly sorry to all the women that I impacted in this situation," Watson said.

"The decisions that I made in my life that put me in this position I would definitely like to have back but I want to continue to move forward and grow and learn and show that I am a true person of character and I am going to keep pushing forward."

Watson was initially handed a 6-game ban for his alleged misconduct ... but the NFL is trying like hell to extend the punishment.

He is currently playing for the Browns as he awaits the NFL's decision.

"I know I have a lot of work to put in, especially on the field to be able to make sure I'm ready to play whenever that time comes, whenever I can step back on the field." he added.