Controversial S#!T

Meek Mill is going $10M deep to prove he continues to be a big player in the music biz, and he's targeting the music execs who say his career is going downhill.

The Dreamchasers rapper stepped on his Twitter soapbox and asked doubting music execs to put their money where their mouths are ... if they really believe his career is over, put down a cool $10M and see what's up.

And, to hammer home his point, Meek said he was willing to put the bet in a binding contract so no one could squirm their way out.

It seems some of his anger is directed at big labels ... because he said in the tweet he's going to do it independently ... as are lots of musicians these days.

Meek's last album, 2021's "Expensive Pain," was widely considered a commercial and critical disappointment ... only debuting at No. 3 whereas the last LP, 2018's "Championships" debuted at No. 1.

Meek recently parted ways with Jay-Z's Roc Nation brand -- only to bounce back by signing with WME.

Deshaun Watson has learned his fate -- the controversial quarterback has been suspended 11 games this season after reaching a settlement with the NFL.

The league just announced the new punishment for the Cleveland Browns star -- saying in addition to the lengthier ban, Watson also agreed to a $5 million fine. The 26-year-old will also "promptly undergo a professional evaluation by behavioral experts and will follow their treatment program," according to the NFL.

NFL commish Roger Goodell addressed the settlement, saying, "Deshaun has committed to doing the hard work on himself that is necessary for his return to the NFL."

"This settlement requires compliance with a professional evaluation and treatment plan, a significant fine, and a more substantial suspension."

He added ... "We are grateful to Judge Robinson and Peter Harvey for their efforts in addressing these matters, which laid the foundation for reaching this conclusion."

Watson -- who was acquired by the Browns in the offseason -- initially received a six-game suspension from retired Judge Sue Robinson, who spent several days investigating the claims made against him from 2020-21.

The NFL was unaccepting of Robinson's ruling and appealed Watson's 6-game ban ... believing there was enough evidence to lobby for a stricter suspension.

As we previously reported, Goodell ripped Watson to reporters last week ... calling Deshaun's behavior "egregious" and "predatory."

"There were multiple violations here, and they were egregious, and it was predatory behavior," Goodell previously said. "Those are things that we always felt were important for us to address in a way that's responsible."

The NFL Players Association wasn't initially on board with the NFL appealing Judge Robinson's ruling ... but Goodell argued that the league is allowed to do so, thanks to the collective bargaining agreement.

"As you know, it's part of the CBA that two parties had the right. Either party could certainly challenge and appeal that, and that was something we thought was our right to do, as well as the NFLPA," Goodell said.

Former New Jersey attorney general Peter C. Harvey was hired to hear the appeal ... but after the settlement Thursday, it's clear he will no longer be needed.

As settlement talks were being held, Watson was allowed to take the field for the Browns' Week 1 preseason game against the Jaguars ... and the QB was met with boos from the Jacksonville crowd.

Deshaun will be eligible to return Week 13 against his former team -- the Houston Texans.

Here's proof Ben Simmons is an All-Star when it comes to handling hecklers -- keeping his cool and sternly telling a troll "don't play with me" after annoyingly being called Russell Westbrook while shopping.

The Brooklyn Nets guard was minding his business in the IT'SUGAR candy store, when a random guy walked up on him with excitement, giving him a dap ... but then it turned sideways.

"Oh my God. It's you, bro!" the guy said on the clip. "Russell Westbrook, bro! Russell Westbrook, bro! Oh my God, bro!"

And, that's when the look on Simmons' face turned sour.

"Don't play with me," Simmons said to the troll. "Don't play with me."

But, the guy wouldn't stop -- purposely calling him Westbrook again. Eventually, the guys with Simmons got involved ... walking towards him to get him to kick rocks.

"You can't shoot bro," the guy said to get in one more jab. "Sorry, bro!"

Of course, the fan's comparison is because Ben and Russ have struggled to find their shooting as of late ... and both stars have been the center of criticism by the media and Twitter experts.

Mariah Carey's bid to trademark the moniker, "Queen of Christmas" has been opposed by some pretty famous singers, including legend Darlene Love, but there's precedent on Mariah's side ... with the likes of Michael Jackson, no less.

Mariah has filed legal docs with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to own the title, "Queen of Christmas." There have been objections ... singer Elizabeth Chan filed an opposition to Mariah's petition, claiming no one can "monopolize" the word "Christmas."

Darlene Love, whose XMAS song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is inarguably one of the best, posted on Facebook, "Is it true that Mariah Carey trademarked 'Queen of Christmas?'" She noted David Letterman bestowed the title on her 29 years ago so it's not available to Mariah.

No one, other than Mariah, has petitioned for the title, but that doesn't mean she'll get it. Michael Jackson never tried to register "King of Pop" during his lifetime, but others tried and failed, because it was so identified with MJ it would cause confusion in the marketplace. BTW, the Jackson Estate did register the title after MJ's death and blunted efforts by others to use the same title.

As for Elizabeth Chan's opposition that no one can monopolize the word "Christmas," that doesn't seem to be the case. We found trademarks where someone was allowed to register "Thanksgiving" for a line of wine, "Happy Valentine's Day" for fruit juices, and there's even "Christmas Spirit" -- yeah, it's booze! So, the path may be clear for Mariah.

Mariah, truth be told, has one of the most if not the most popular XMAS song ever -- "All I Want For Christmas Is You" -- but she has not been identified as "Queen of Christmas" like MJ was with "King of Pop." So, it would seem she needs the trademark to secure the title.

There's a lot on the line for Mariah ... she wants to use the title for fragrances, lotions, nail polish, jewelry, cups, mugs, chocolate milk, coconut water, ornaments, toys, dog clothing, masks for protection against viral infection, lingerie and sweatshirts.

BTW ... Mariah's also trying to register "Princess Christmas" and "Christmas Princess."

Dog the Bounty Hunter is getting a slew of tips on the disappearance of 16-year-old Kiely Rodni -- the girl who vanished near the Lake Tahoe area earlier this month -- but he's reluctant to do anything right now because of the blowback he got in the Gabby Petito murder investigation.

Dog's rep tells TMZ, some of the tipsters offer vague clues -- something he's used over the years to eventually develop solid leads -- and he's also been getting a slew of emails from people who just want him to jump in because of his track record in finding missing persons.

Here's the problem. When cops were setting their sights on Brian Laundrie, the man who murdered Gabby, Dog was honeymooning near the Florida home where Brian's sister lived, and he decided to jump in and help. The video of Dog knocking at the sister's door made the rounds and was heavily criticized ... some claiming he was meddling in a police investigation.

It's kind of a case, Dog thinks, of no good deed going unpunished. His rep says the way he operates ... he will not get involved in a missing person's investigation unless one of 2 things happen -- either he's invited by a family member or law enforcement to get involved, or 21 days have passed since the person was declared missing.

The reason for 21 days ... Dog says that's when missing persons cases typically go cold.

So, Dog is now waiting ... waiting for an invite or for 3 weeks to pass. He's also waiting for solid clues on where Kiely might be.

A famous drag queen is denying stealing a massive amount of cash from a guest who claims the performer straight-up jacked her in plain sight ... a moment that was captured on video.

Bryan Watkins -- who currently performs as 'Shannel' for the 'Drag Brunch' show in Vegas -- was accused of lifting somewhere between $500 and $700 from the purse of a woman named Meggy during a performance last weekend. Video from the event appears to show Bryan taking money, although it's unclear how much.

Bryan -- who competed on season 1 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" -- says he absolutely did NOT take the large amount Meggy is claiming.

Now, as for the actual accusation here -- Meggy outlined it pretty clearly in a viral TikTok video ... saying Bryan was going around the room for some sort of purse gag, and eventually came to hers -- which had $1,300 in there for her birthday blowout.

Meggy claims Bryan rifled through her bag and plucked a significant wad of cash -- and that when she confronted him about it ... he kicked her out of the show, without returning any of the cash.

Bryan admits to taking some loot, but says it was only a couple bucks as a gag, not hundreds like Meggy claimed. He says the venue's management refunded the woman's tickets and even offered to pay her $700 as a good-faith apology ... but that wasn't enough.

Meggy claims to have gone to the cops over the alleged theft ... but a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department tells us they don't have a record of the incident.

Styles P, one of Verzuz most valuable players, says he'll cut ties with the livestream event if Triller can't figure things out with Swizz Beatz and Timbaland ... and he's urging the hip hop community to do the same.

We spoke with the LOX rapper Wednesday who says if he was on Triller's board, he'd do anything possible to make it right with Swizz and Timbo, the founders of Verzuz.

TMZ broke the story, Swizz and Timbaland filed a $28 million lawsuit against Triller Tuesday claiming Triller has missed significant payments since acquiring Verzuz in 2021.

Styles P says if those allegations are true, it feels like some serious culture vulture conduct, and he's advising the entire hip hop community to distance itself from the livestream giant if nothing is resolved.

Interestingly enough, when we spoke to Timbaland at the height of the Verzuz movement, he was pretty confident that selling the hot commodity would ruin the magic ... and while the magic isn't necessarily ruined, it's certainly going through some tough times.

Tuesday night will be the last time two Washington fans attend a game at Nationals Park for the foreseeable future ... 'cause the team has reportedly just banned the men for five years after they were accused of heckling Cubs star Willson Contreras.

The incident happened in the top of the 10th inning of the Nats vs. Chicago tilt in D.C. ... when following a sacrifice fly, two guys in Nationals jerseys appeared to say things to Contreras that rattled the Cubs catcher.

Video from the stadium shows the 30-year-old was pissed on the diamond -- and stayed mad for several minutes in the dugout, before the fans were eventually escorted away from the area.

After the game, Contreras declined to get into specifics of what was said to him ... though he did claim the words were "not healthy."

On Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune, the Nats decided to boot the fans from Nationals Park for the next five years over it all.

The hits keep coming for Britney Spears' first husband Jason Alexander ... after serving his sentence for crashing Britney's wedding, he's now facing felony charges for an old alleged crime.

The Napa County Sheriff tells TMZ ... Jason was booked today on an arrest warrant issued back in 2016 stemming from an alleged jewelry theft, and he's been charged with two felonies.

We're told Jason is charged with grand theft and buying/receiving stolen property ... and he was picked up Tuesday from Ventura County jail by Napa authorities after serving a 60-day sentence for crashing Britney's wedding.

TMZ broke the story ... Jason had a felony warrant out for his arrest in Napa County when he got busted in June at Britney's ceremony. Cops in Napa say Jason swiped a $2,000 bracelet from a woman there in 2015 when he was a houseguest.

As we first told you ... cops say Jason had been living in the woman's house for only a few weeks when she claims she noticed jewelry missing from her bedroom. Police say Jason later admitted to the woman he stole her diamond and sapphire tennis bracelet, valued at $2k, and pawned it off.

Now, the alleged theft is coming back to bite him.

R. Kelly's child pornography case from 2008 was front and center during opening statements in his new Chicago criminal trial ... something his attorney claims is a witch hunt.

Prosecutors kicked things off Wednesday in front of a jury, saying ... "The defendant, Robert Kelly, had sex with multiple children. He made videotapes of himself having sex with children," while also pointing at 2 co-defendants, ex-associates of Kelly's, whom they claim knew about it while it was going on and allegedly helped keep things quiet.

The woman at the center of the '08 case -- who was alleged to have been videotaped in sexual encounters with Kelly, at the age of 14 -- was mentioned too. She was referred to by prosecutors as "Jane" ... and they say she's going to testify in this case about what happened with RK.

According to prosecutors, Kelly went to incredible lengths to buy Jane and her family's silence at the time ... allegedly shipping them out of the country on his dime, and having his employees move mountains to conceal her identity or any connection to some tapes.

There are 4 tapes in play during this trial, and prosecutors say they'll have the jury watch three of them. At least one of those tapes appears to pertain directly to the alleged '08 victim, and the remaining ones might have to do with other alleged victims from over the years.

Prosecutors have accused Kelly of having sex with at least 4 minors, as well as rigging the '08 trial ... in which he was acquitted. Kelly's attorney, however, fired back.

Jennifer Bonjean, who's now repping Kelly, said her client was the victim of a mob mentality prosecution -- one that she says is way too late, and clearly intended to paint him as a monster, even though he's already been through this wringer once before.

She called his accusers "criminals" who have tried to extort Kelly, and who actually have immunity deals with these same prosecutors. Bonjean also said that one tape prosecutors have alluded to, but won't play, doesn't exist -- and leaned on the fact that the Jane Doe (who's the '08 alleged victim) has long maintained she is not on tape with Kelly.

Joe Rogan got all fired up while talking about abortion with a conservative media personality -- invoking his teenage daughter to make a point ... which sorta had the guy stumped.

Seth Dillon -- who runs The Babylon Bee, a right-leaning satire site -- got into with Joe Tuesday on the latest episode of the 'JRE' ... with its host laying out a very personal hypothetical as they started discussing the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its ramifications.

Watch ... Joe asks about the possibility of a young girl being raped, and inserts his own 14-year-old, Lola, as the would-be victim. He asks the question ... you really think it's okay for her to be forced to carry that baby to term???

Dillon says yes, telling Joe he doesn't think "two wrongs make a right" -- the first wrong being the rape, and the second being the "killing" of a person.

JR continues to press him, though, not accepting his answer -- it almost sounds like he can't believe Dillon actually embraces that ... but the dude stands firm, insisting that there's simply no excuse in his eyes to warrant an abortion. Even the rape of a young girl.

Joe also drills down on when exactly Dillon considers a human life has actually formed, getting into weeks, days, and even seconds after conception. SD doesn't have a clear answer, other than to say ... he believes as soon as a sperm and egg merge, it's alive.

A rugby league player's season is now prematurely over -- after he was caught red-handed grabbing an opponent's butt during a game last week.

Corey Norman, who plays for Toulouse Olympique, stuck his hand where it didn't belong in the middle of a match against the Warrington Wolves on Aug. 11 -- and officials announced on Tuesday the grab is going to cost the 31-year-old Australian BIG time.

The Rugby Football League announced in a statement Norman has been suspended eight games and fined about $600 after it found "he had intentionally placed a hand between the buttocks of an opposing player."

Norman had initially pleaded not guilty at his disciplinary hearing.

"The footage of the incident shows a deliberate movement of Corey Norman's left arm and hand over the top of Oliver Holmes and on to his buttocks," officials said in a statement announcing the punishment.

"At no point does the footage show a grabbing of the shorts to push Oliver Holmes down as described by Corey Norman. The footage shows a deliberate placing of Corey Norman’s hands and fingers on the buttocks and coupled with the immediate complaint from Holmes, the reaction of his team-mate Danny Walker and the statement of Holmes to which we have measured regard we are entirely satisfied that this was an intentional placing of a hand between the buttocks of the opposing player and we find the charge proved."

Battle rapper Pat Stay's public challenge to The Game for his Eminem-dissing "Black Slim Shady" song has backfired … resulting in Game blocking him on Instagram, which is not the expected outcome from the typically confrontational artist.

In a fiery Instagram post Tuesday, Pat Stay claimed the veteran rapper was looking weak for allegedly begging for Eminem's attention by dropping the 10-minute track. Pat, who is white, apparently thinks Game wanted Em to respond, but he did not.

Game groused in the song ... Eminem only became successful because he was white. Pat wanted to show Game that white rappers have game, so he offered to battle Game in his hometown of L.A. with lots of $$$ on the line.

Game didn't take the challenge ... rather, he just blocked Pat. It's curious, because Game recently said in a No Jumper interview he'd never block anyone -- because that would be like losing a fan.

Pat eventually gave up and told his fans to lay off Game ... he didn't want to start a war with the L.A. legend.

Jamie Foxx's 2016 project about two basketball fanatics has been sitting on a shelf for years ... and the actor thinks cancel culture is why it hasn't seen the light of day.

Jamie stars alongside Jeremy Piven in "All-Star Weekend" -- a flick about two superfans who snag tickets to the NBA event out in Los Angeles ... it was supposed to debut in 2019, but it still hasn't come out, and no official word on the holdup.

Jamie thinks he knows why the movie's been delayed, telling CinemaBlend that the material may simply not be woke enough for the current climate ... "It’s been tough with the lay of the land when it comes to comedy." The buzz ... it has to do with casting a white star to play a Mexican man.

He thinks the film could be a great way to ease the tension, noting "We're trying to break open the sensitive corners where people go back to laughing again."

The cast includes Benicio del Toro, Gerard Butler, and Eva Longoria ... as well as Robert Downey Jr. playing a Mexican man.

Jamie, who plays a white racist cop in the film among other roles, thought RDJ was the man for the role after he played a white man in blackface in "Tropic Thunder," but the actor apparently needed some convincing before signing on.

Jamie says he had to tell Robert, "You played the black dude and you killed that s***. We got to be able to do characters."

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are forever enshrined in bronze in the city of Albuquerque -- something conservatives there are up in arms about, claiming the statues glorify meth.

Late last month, Mayor Tim Keller unveiled 2 statues to honor the 'Breaking Bad' stars -- they're now on display at the Albuquerque Convention Center -- after a ceremony where BC and AP were actually on hand to pose with their metal counterparts.

It was a kitschy, fun thing that seemed fairly innocent -- as a shout-out to the actors and show for putting a spotlight on their city and state -- but now, some Republicans in the state are fuming over the honor.

Conservative radio host Eddy Aragon and state representative Rod Montoya say the statues send the wrong message about who should be glorified in the community.

Montoya says "meth dealers" shouldn't be the shining example in Albuquerque, and Aragon adds ... "It’s not the type of recognition we want for the city of Albuquerque, or for our state."

Aragon goes on to gripe about how city officials tore down a controversial statue of Albuquerque's first Spanish governor, Juan de Onate, because he was a conquistador ... but now turn around and throw these two fictional characters as proverbial beacons.

This sort of backlash was actually expected, Mayor Keller warned of this when they were first getting unveiled, saying he understood, but defended having Jesse Pinkman and Walter White statues because of the cautionary tale they represented, and the jobs they gave to NM.

Rick Ross and his family are under fire in Mississippi for allegedly skimming money from the wages of their Wingstop workers -- and now they've been hit with fines.

The U.S. Department of Labor says they hit Boss Wings Enterprises LLC -- Rick Ross's company -- with a $114,427 fine for back wages and other penalties after the agency determined their franchises were violating labor laws.

Unclear what period of time this covers exactly, but the DOL claims that after an investigation into 5 locations -- all owned and operated by Boss Wings -- they found many of the employees were taking home less than $7.25/hour after factoring in all the deductions --  a big no-no under the minimum wage laws on the books.

The reason ... DOL alleges the owners of these specific franchises were forcing workers to pay for uniforms, basic safety training, background checks and cash register shortages.

The department also claims the bosses at these 5 restaurants were, in many instances, working their employees to the bone ... making them work overtime without properly compensating them and not keeping clean time records on hand.

Not just this, but DOL claims they found one instance when a 15-year-old employee worked past 10 PM several times in June 2021 -- which the agency claims ran afoul of a law prohibiting workers that young from working past 7 PM.

All in all, the DOL hit Boss Wings with $51,674 in back wages/damages for 244 workers -- and additional fines of nearly $63,000.

A labor official says, "Restaurant industry employees work hard, often for low wages, and many depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet. The law prevents Boss Wing Enterprises LLC from shifting operating costs to workers by deducting the costs of uniforms, cash register shortages or training expenses, or to allow a worker’s pay to fall below the minimum wage rate."