Controversial S#!T

For John Boyega, the best thing about acting is getting to play characters who are fundamentally different from who he is in real life ... and he only wants roles that fit the bill.

John joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us why he's not a fan of restricting who actors can and cannot play based on heritage, identity, sexual orientation, etc.

The way John sees it, actors are people who play other people ... and the profession was never supposed to be about portraying a character that is super similar to the actual actor.

While there's been some backlash recently about James Franco being cast to play Fidel Castro and Ana de Armas portraying Marilyn Monroe ... John says haters are getting it all wrong, and actors shouldn't let audiences define who they are.

John says he makes it a priority to find casting directors and producers who want him to transform into a role ... and he says his upcoming movie, "Breaking," is a prime example.

JB is returning to the big screen after taking a break from acting during the pandemic ... and explains why it's important for those in his profession to avoid burnout, and tells us why a hiatus is not as glamorous as it sounds.

The voice behind Capitol Records’ very short-lived artificial intelligence rapper project is speaking out … and he’s actually thankful the label treated the contract like toilet paper.

Real-life rapper Kyle The Hooligan hit Instagram following Capitol’s decision to end its FN Meka deal and says the creators -- Factory New heads Anthony Martini and Brandon Le -- ghosted him after getting everything they needed to power the character … like the ability for it to use the N-word.

Kyle says Factory New approached him with the idea with promises of equity and percentages, but then went M-I-A on their culture vulture mission.

He admitted to waiting for FN Meka to become a success before he could recoup massive damages ... but says he'll happily settle for performing at its funeral instead.

News of Meka's signing went wide on Monday, but by Tuesday the label backpedaled ... apologizing to the Black community for the obvious rapper stereotypes -- gaudy jewelry and glorifying prison life -- built into the character's appearance and lyrics.

Kyle is calling the cancelation karma … as are several other notable figures in the music industry.

We spoke to hip hop superproducer Hitmaka Wednesday on "TMZ Live," and he blamed Capitol’s “capitalistic” mindset for letting FN Meka thrive. He added that if the label allowed its employees -- particularly those of color -- to speak up, it might not have this mess on its hands.

Starz' hit strip club series "P-Valley" is, notably, losing a couple of famous fans -- Lil Duval and Plies are going viral for hating on the show's gay sex scenes, but one of the stars says the rappers' critiques are BS.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Nicco Annan at Dash Radio ... he plays Uncle Clifford on the show, and his character has an ongoing sexual relationship with a rapper named Lil Murda, played by J. Alphonse Nicholson.

That plotline on the show is what set off Plies and Duval's complaints, but Nicco told us he thinks they're living under a rock, and it's time they crawl out from under it.

What he meant is simply that both men -- whether they know it or not -- have relatives, friends and work associates who are part of the LGBTQ community ... and "it's time they started to see them."

ICYMI ... Lil Duval lashed out at Starz for not having a "gay advisory" for straight viewers who aren't accustomed to seeing gay sex scenes.

And, just last week, Plies claimed scenes involving Nicco and J. Alphonse "traumatized" him, and he vowed never to push play on another "P-Valley" episode.

Nicco thinks Duval and Plies weren't really offended by "P-Valley" ... but they knew their reactions would make headlines.

Tyson Fury is still calling for harsher penalties for knife crime in the UK in the wake of his cousin's tragic death ... insisting officials should straight up castrate perpetrators.

The boxing superstar didn't mince words when expressing his outrage on talkSport on Wednesday ... demanding government officials do more to deter knife crime in his home country after his cousin was stabbed to death following an altercation outside of a bar earlier this month.

"What the government needs to do about this knife crime, anyone caught with a knife or stabbing someone needs castrating," the 34-year-old fighter said.

"It cost as a government too much money to house them in a prison. It costs them 50-to-60-grand a year to put these scumbags in jail. Castrate the little bastards. Castrate them."

Fury initially sounded off on the matter on his Instagram page on Sunday -- just hours after his relative, 31-year-old Rico Burton, was killed in Manchester.

Fury called for a big crackdown then -- but he expounded on it all on Wednesday ... saying people who are caught even carrying knives should be locked away behind bars for "5-to-7 years."

"We're supposed to be one of the safest countries in the world," he said. "But yet we can't go down the street with a watch on or anything because we're going to get stabbed."

"The government needs to make this tougher on these little cowards who carry knives and weapons."

He added, "What little scumbag coward needs to carry a knife around with them in our country?"

Capitol Records is pulling the plug on its AI rapper FN Meka, and calling the unconventional and controversial signing an insensitive move on their part -- in retrospect, that is.

The label went public with Meka's contract on August 12, but Tuesday it did a complete 180° … apologizing to the Black community for not thinking things all the way through.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Factory New, the company that concocted FN Meka, was virtually blindsided by the news, learning of their shredded contract just moments before Capitol announced it was cutting ties.

We’re also told by label sources ... some angry staffers blame Capitol’s lack of diversity for the deal getting a greenlight, in the first place. One source claims the label has very few senior-level Black executives running departments.

FN Meka -- an artificial intelligence rapper with computer-generated lyrics -- featured overly exaggerated African-American tropes ... which triggered a major backlash.

Many fans and pundits took issue with the AI entertainer (or its creators) using the n-word, and romanticizing run-ins with police.

The virtual rapper’s debut single “Florida Water” single actually features Gunna, who is currently incarcerated.

We recently spoke to Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony about the situation ... who felt the dawn of the AI rapper is not only inevitable, but ultimately bad for human rapper job security down the line.

The two Atlanta police officers involved in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks will not be criminally charged ... this according to the special prosecutor in the case.

At a news conference Tuesday, special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis announced he is no longer pursuing criminal charges against officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan.

Remember ... Brooks was fatally shot in June 2020 after the officers tried to arrest him in a Wendy's parking lot, setting off protests resulting in the fast food joint being burned to the ground.

Cops say Brooks fell asleep in the Wendy's drive-thru line and when police responded he struggled with the officers, grabbing one cop's Taser and attempting to run away. Brooks was shot to death after officers claimed he pointed the Taser at Rolfe's head, firing once and missing.

Both cops were subsequently hit with criminal charges, including aggravated assault. Rolfe was also charged with felony murder.

Now, prosecutors say their review of the case finds Rolfe and Brosnan acted in accordance with Georgia law, concluding the use of deadly force was reasonable.

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios is being sued by the woman he had booted from his Wimbledon match for allegedly getting wasted and distracting him ... with the fan instructing her attorney to file a defamation lawsuit in court!

Anna Palus, a fan who was ejected from Nick's July 10 finals match in London, released a statement Tuesday, saying she plans to take the 27-year-old Australian to court for what she claims was a damaging characterization.

As we previously reported, Kyrgios complained to the refs during his match against Novak Djokovic, saying Anna looked "drunk out of her mind" and kept talking to him while he was playing.

When asked by the chair umpire to identify the woman who was distracting him, Kyrgios famously said, "She's the one who looks like she's had 700 drinks."

Anna claims she and her family suffered "very substantial damage and distress" due to the incident ... and now, they're going after Kyrgios for the alleged harm he's caused.

"During the course of the final, Nick Kyrgios made a reckless and entirely baseless allegation against me," the statement read. "Not only did this cause considerable harm on the day, resulting in my temporary removal from the arena, but Mr. Kyrgios’s false allegation was broadcast to, and read by, millions around the world."

"The need to obtain vindication and to prevent [the] repetition of the allegation are the only reasons for taking legal action. Any damages recovered will be donated to charity," the statement continued.

Kyrgios lost the final to Djokovic in four sets.

Ultimately, Anna says she hopes Kyrgios will reflect on the harm he's caused her and her family and offer a "prompt resolution" to address the situation.

A Black Little League World Series player was, indeed, not the only one wearing cotton on his head during an MLB game on Sunday night ... a new photo shows a white player had the toy stuffing placed in his hair as well.

The photo, taken by someone who appeared to be just feet away from the Little Leaguers who were playing with the stuffed animal's filling during the MLB's Little League Classic game in Williamsport, Penn., was posted to social media on Tuesday morning.

In the pic, you can see a white player and a Black player both had cotton on the top of their heads. The Twitter account that shared the picture said the kids were simply trying to mimic a fellow Little Leaguer, who's gained fame for a white hairdo.

"Many of the teammates were participating, Black and white," the Twitter user said as a caption on the photo. "They were imitating the stud pitcher from Hawaii who has an awesome white-dyed Mohawk."

The user also shared a video of the Black player smiling and flexing while showing off the cotton on his head.

As we previously reported, several members of the Davenport, Iowa, Little League team -- who are white -- took the stuffing out of giveaway toys at the stadium during the Red Sox vs. Orioles game and placed it on a Black teammate's head.

Viewers were outraged over the imagery -- which was shown for nearly 30 seconds on ESPN's broadcast of the game -- but Little League World Series officials said in a statement Monday they were assured there was "no ill-intent" behind the actions.

"After speaking with the team, as well as reviewing photos, multiple players on the Midwest Region team were taking part in this while enjoying the game," officials said. "As only one player appeared on the broadcast, Little League International understands that the actions shown could be perceived as racially insensitive."

"We have spoken with the player's mother and the coaches, who have assured us that there was no ill-intent behind the action shown during the broadcast."

Gary Busey flatly denies he sexually assaulted anyone, and believes his accusers made up the entire story.

Busey was in Malibu Monday and the photog asked if he had any regrets about how he acted during the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey over the weekend, Busey said he had zero regrets, because he did nothing wrong.

Busey was charged with several counts of criminal sexual contact and harassment ... this after he allegedly put his face close to a woman's breasts and asked where she got them. The woman claims he attempted to unlatch her bra strap. Another woman claims he grabbed her butt. Cops also got a call from a man who claimed Busey grabbed his daughter's butt as well.

Busey told the photog "nothing happened." He said the whole interaction with the women lasted less than 10 seconds and they made up the story after the fact.

Busey also claims he has witnesses ... a photog and another person, his partner, who will back up his story.

The photog asked if it's possible he could have acted inappropriately but was unaware ... he said there was no chance of that.

Busey is supposed to be arraigned August 31.

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has proved she can have the time of her life AND stay clean -- because her drug test has come back negative.

The 36-year-old PM's office revealed the results of her test Monday ... confirming there were no traces of narcotics found in her system.

As we reported, Marin found herself in hot water after a video leaked last week ... showing her going hard at a party with musicians, TV stars, and fellow politicians.

The clip caused quite the stir -- Finnish Member of Parliament Mikko Kärnä called her out on her party animal behavior ... being one of the first to insist she take a drug test.

"Airplanes" rapper B.o.B is brushing off student protestors upset some of his past lyrics are being construed as anti-semitic.

Members of the University of Central Florida Jewish community have called for a boycott of his upcoming August 25 tour appearance for their Welcome Week … citing his 2016 flat-earther, Neil deGrasse Tyson-dissing track “Flatline” for its olive branch extended towards Holocaust denier David Irving.

Bobby Ray tells TMZ Hip Hop he doesn’t have any issues with any colors or creeds, and the show will go on as planned this week.

B.o.B says that particular time period was a weird one for him -- but he learned a lot through massive book consumption and traveling the globe.

He even considers himself a cancel culture survivor ... having taken lumps on social media for his deep philosophical dives.

The enigmatic rapper just released a 12-song album titled “Better Than Drugs” ... but says he’ll clarify his past flat-earthing and other conspiracy theories on a new song called “TED Talk” to be released on another project in the near future.

B.o.B acknowledges his mind is a strange one ... and says great artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Drake share his pain.

A Little League World Series player's head was covered in cotton during an MLB game on Sunday night -- and while Little League officials acknowledged it "could be perceived as racially insensitive," they said they've since been assured there was "no ill-intent" behind the actions.

The incident happened in the eighth inning of the Red Sox vs. Orioles Little League Classic game in Williamsport, Penn. ... when several members of the Davenport, Iowa, Little League team -- who are white -- took stuffing out of giveaway toys and placed it on a Black teammate's head.

Many on social media were outraged by the visuals on the ESPN broadcast ... considering the Black player did not appear to be laughing about it at all.

But, reps for the LLWS said in a statement Monday that after speaking with the Black child's mother and coaches, they've been assured "that there was no ill-intent behind the action shown during the broadcast."

"After speaking with the team," officials said, "as well as reviewing photos, multiple players on the Midwest Region team were taking part in this while enjoying the game."

"As only one player appeared on the broadcast, Little League International understands that the actions shown could be perceived as racially insensitive."

We spoke to Afroman Monday on "TMZ Live," and he told us cops took trace amounts of some joints -- along with the vape and hemp -- but he's mostly upset about the force they used and the damage to his house. He says the cops now want HIM to come down to the station and make a statement.

Seems odd to us, and also to Afroman, who says he's desperately trying to get in touch with famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump to rep him.

Afroman's weekend was capped off by a lot of police activity -- his house was raided by law enforcement ... who were apparently on a drug hunt, and came in guns drawn.

The rapper -- who's originally from Palmdale, CA -- tells TMZ ... the Adams County Sheriff's Dept. burst into his property Sunday with their weapons drawn and orders being shouted. We're told they were in search of narcotics ... but in the end, came up empty-handed.

Afroman says he's not sure why they thought he was stashing illicit substances ... because all he had on hand, he insists, was a jar of hemp and a vape pen ... nothing else.

Afroman says he wasn't home at the time -- he was in Chicago -- he was notified by his neighbors, who got video and photos of the raid. Afroman tells us the believes this attempted bust is complete BS ... suggesting he was profiled over his music.

As you may know ... Afroman has a long history of rapping about weed and other misadventures. It's weird though -- his most famous songs are from back in the day, so if this music theory holds up ... it doesn't quite explain why cops thought something was amiss.

We've tried reaching out to the Sheriff's Dept. multiple times this morning to get an explanation on what exactly led to this and what they say they found, if anything. So far they haven't responded.

Afroman himself is outraged ... he took to IG to offer a bit more context on why this may have happened. According to him, it could have to do with him checking on a police report regarding a burglary at his home -- something ACSD apparently wasn't pleased with.

He writes, "One time my house got burglarize while I was on tour. For home insurance purposes I tried to fill out a police report. The cop came out three days later he told me they was really busy. He took my report. I would call every day and see if there was any progress being made. The Adams county sheriff department threaten to arrest me for checc-ing up on the case too frequently."

Afroman adds, "I excepted the fact that the police department is not necessary here to protect and serve me a blacc man in America so I just took my loss and never called bacc. Now here they are kicc-ing in my door looking for weapons of mass destruction and 100,000,000 pounds of weed lol wow Donald Trump calls these investigations witchhunts."

Three Arkansas sheriff's deputies have been benched after a video shows them wailing on a homeless man with alleged mental health issues.

The Crawford County Sheriff's Department confirms two of the men in uniform seen are their own deputies, and a third officer belongs to the Mulberry Police Dept. They were all teaming up Sunday on a young man -- kneeing him, slamming his head on the concrete and punching him in the face in order to restrain the man.

The brutal beating happened outside Kountry Xpress gas station, where the cops responded to a call for threats made to one of the clerks inside ... allegedly made by the man getting detained. Reports say the man was cooperative at first, but then things went south.

One report says the man allegedly tried to attack an officer, which is what apparently led to the beatdown. Regardless of what happened in the lead-up, the force shown by the officers is extreme.

At one point, the officers notice they're being filmed, and yell at bystanders to get lost. The Arkansas State Police is currently investigating.

Dennis Rodman says he's going to put his dictator diplomacy to good use soon in an attempt to free Brittney Griner, who's currently jailed in Russia.

The ex-NBA star told NBC News this weekend that he's planning on jetting off this week, adding that he got "permission" to head over there and "help that girl" in a would-be prisoner swap. Unclear if Rodman is serious or not ... but his track record suggests he could be.

As we all know ... DR has visited North Korea a lot over the years and built a relationship with Kim Jong Un. Rodman has always insisted his connections in N. Korea have helped U.S. diplomatic efforts -- including the release of an American prisoner, Kenneth Bae.

Of course, he also tagged along with then-President Donald Trump for a 2018 trip to the communist country. That said, his actual influence has always gotten a raised eyebrow.

There isn't much more to the NBC interview -- which sounds like it was fast and on the move, as there's no video or anything beyond text quotes -- other than Rodman suggesting that he's also familiar with Vladimir Putin, adding that he knows the leader "well."

As NBC and other outlets have noted ... Rodman doesn't actually need permission to head to Russia right now -- and there's no word yet on whether this is a U.S.-sanctioned effort.

The feds have advised Americans not to travel to Russia at the moment -- and they're already actively working on securing BG's release -- but we suppose we'll see if DR actually touches down in the near future to do something that isn't already happening. BTW, he was in town in D.C. this weekend for an event ... so maybe geopolitics were top of mind for him.

The ex-girlfriend of Daren Kagasoff, star of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," has obtained a temporary restraining order against the actor ... this after she claimed he threatened to leak nude pictures of her online and allegedly sent some to her parents.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Breanna Trupiano claims they split last July after Daren allegedly "threw a lit cigarette in my hair and told me he was going to kill me."

Breanna claims their issues didn't stop after the breakup ... she says he "stalked [her] work and apartment for 7 months" until she filed a police report.

She says he left her alone for a few months but claims he started to harass her again when she posted a pic of her new boyfriend on Instagram.

She claims the actor made fake IG accounts and threatened to post her nudes online ... she also says he used burner numbers to send pics to her parents.

Breanna says she's now afraid to go outside her home or post about her love life on social media ... worrying, "I'm scared of what he may do next."

The actor's required to stay 100 yards away from her and isn't allowed to make any contact.