Controversial S#!T

The comment section for Don Toliver's new music video reads like a Russian Bot Farm -- at least that's what the internet thinks ... accusing his label of attempting to juice his stats.

Here's the deal ... Atlantic Records is under fire on Twitter, with a ton of people reading into the engagement numbers for a bunch of its artists -- specifically, on YouTube, where some feel like the data ratios for new projects just aren't adding up (likes to views, etc.)

DT's video for his song "Do It Right" -- which was posted just a few days ago -- is the prime example being hoisted up on the bird app as supposed evidence of fakery that's alleged to be afoot ... most notably, in the comments, where many see telltale signs of phony fans.

You can go check it out for yourself -- there are a lot of strangely written comments that have flooded this upload in the past 48 hours, with more and more pouring in with odd spelling, unconventional capitalization and grammatical errors. Others make no sense at all.

Plus, there are a lot of comments that have posted nothing but emojis, which are also seemingly jumbled together at random. When you click on some of these profiles, it looks like their accounts are relatively new and have only one comment ... for Don's 'DIR' video.

Indeed ... it certainly comes across as bizarre, and some -- including media personality DJ Akademiks -- have made outright allegations of this happening on a mass scale at Atlantic.

There are other Atlantic artists who've been lumped into this phenomenon, and none appear to have addressed it just yet ... including Toliver. It's worth noting -- while some point to the comments and seemingly lopsided engagement stats on their own as proof, there's no real smoking gun that we can find. This mostly amounts to people speculating and theorizing.

Still, we've reached out to both Atlantic and Toliver's camp for official comment ... so far, no word back.

Matty Healy is back to planting his lips on people during live performances -- something that apparently needed to be clarified as unproblematic in 2022 ... by the kiss-ee herself.

The 1975 frontman was performing with his band in Vegas Friday to a packed crowd. At one point, he was singing their song "Robbers," during which he pulled up a female fan from the crowd and started to get all love-dovey with her in the middle of the show.

Soon enough, he went in for some suck-face ... and she kissed him back. It got a huge response from the audience -- mostly ladies losing their minds in jubilation.

On Twitter, the reactions are by and large joke-y jealous posts -- with tons of folks writing it should've been them, etc. But it would seem some on the bird app were offended on behalf of this gal who made out with MH, because she felt the need to clear something up.

She identified herself as the woman who was kissed and made sure to clear Matty's name of any perceived wrongdoing -- namely, kissing someone without their consent -- by writing, "On a real note I do want to state some facts before we get any farther, i had this on my phone because he mentioned at some point 'I can only make out with you'."

The woman added, "So I did this, he saw it and brought me up, HE ASKED before he kissed me!  Also I’m a grown age of 24." In other words, Matty boy had permission here.

FWIW, the eccentric singer has a bit of a history of smooching with people on stage ... female and otherwise. He's puckered up with men in the past too, notably in the UAE where homosexuality is generally criminalized. Dude just likes to spread the love.

Kanye West has lost friends, fans and billions of dollars in business deals, but he seems to have picked up at least one amid his antisemitic rants ... white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

West and the former YouTuber -- who lost his account for violating the platform's hate speech policy -- were spotted together at LAX earlier this week. We're told they were heading to Miami, and video of the duo arriving at MIA confirmed as much -- indeed, they were shoulder-to-shoulder cruising through the terminal.

Kanye announced Tuesday he was making the trek to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home, tweeting ... "First time at Mar-a-Lago. Rain and traffic. Can't believe I kept President Trump waiting. And I had on jeans. Yikes. What you guys think his response was when I asked him to be my running mate in 2024?"

In a video posted Thursday, where West announced his run for President in 2024, he disclosed he and Fuentes both met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago -- and that things got heated between himself and 45 ... claiming Trump made disparaging remarks about his soon-to-be ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

But, Trump fired back in a statement ... "Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago. Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about."

It's curious because Fuentes is famous within right-wing circles and would have had to pass through security at Mar-a-Lago to attend the dinner.

As for 24-year-old Fuentes, he's been banned from platforms including Twitter, Twitch and Reddit for his hateful views. In 2017, it was reported he spoke positively of "a tidal wave of white identity" after he attended the Unite the Right rally.

He's denounced those who call him a white nationalist, calling the term an "anti-white slur."

Of course, Kanye's spewed antisemitic remarks, even doubling down on them on multiple occasions -- and in 2019, Fuentes compared the Holocaust to a cookie-baking operation -- prompting people to label him a Holocaust denier. Fuentes has since claimed he wasn't serious when he said it.

The person who committed mass murder at an LGBTQ+ bar in Colorado Springs has not told authorities what motivated them, but if it's what lots of people suspect -- homophobia -- then the apple might not fall far from the tree.

Aaron Brink's first reaction when he learned his son had slaughtered 5 patrons at Club Q ... "I was scared. I was like, 'Oh my god, s***, is he gay? And he's not gay,'" Brink told a reporter sighing with relief.

He wasn't done ... Brink said, "I'm a Mormon. I'm a conservative Republican and I don't do gay. I don't do gay. We don't do gay."

Anderson Lee Aldrich says they're nonbinary, but not everyone believes them. Several friends have come out and said they never even hinted they were prior to the murders. Some believe they're saying this to avoid being hit with hate crimes in addition to murder and other charges.

Brink, who is a porn star who goes by the name Dick Delaware, did express remorse for what his son did ... "There's no excuse for going and killing people. If you're killing people, there's something wrong. It's not the answer." he went on to say, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

It's unclear when the 2 became estranged, but Brink says Aldrich got a name change after he became involved in porn. He also said he was falsely informed by his ex-wife Aldrich committed suicide in 2016.

Balenciaga is getting MAJOR backlash for its bondage-inspired kid's clothing campaign ... and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid are even feeling the heat because of their connection to the company.

The luxury fashion brand rolled out the shocking ads for its spring 2023 collection. The photos depicted children gripping teddy bears clad in S&M gear, and quickly started going viral. Almost immediately, people responded with outrage on social media, demanding a boycott of the company.

Balenciaga executives quickly pulled all the ads Tuesday and issued an apology. Their statement read, "We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms."

The execs went on to say they plan to take legal action against the creators of the ads, which they claim were "unapproved." They added, "We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and well-being.”

But, people on social media were still pissed and took their rage out on Kim K and Bella Hadid for their association with the company. Kim, as you know, is the founder of SKIMS, which has long worked with Balenciaga. Bella is one of Balenciaga's supermodels.

One fan wrote, "When are you going to respond Kim?! Your reputation is on the line here."

Another said, "Celebrities like Bella Hadid are quick to jump on the BLM and misgendering bandwagon but happy to promote Balenciaga's child porn campaign. These people have been compromised, they're satanic and are promoting the devil's work. It's evil."

Gene Smith, the athletic director for Ohio State University, has issued a formal apology to a Michigan State hockey player ... after a Buckeyes forward was accused of hurling racial slurs at the man during a game earlier this month.

According to Spartans forward Jagger Joshua, who is Black, the racist incidents happened on Nov. 11 -- when OSU visited East Lansing and lost 4-3.

Joshua did not reveal specifically what was said to him on the ice, but he did note in a Twitter post on Monday that he was livid over "the inaction" taken by Ohio State and the Big Ten in wake of the racial abuse.

"Acts of racism do not belong in hockey, as they can discourage African Americans and minorities like myself from playing and loving the game," Joshua said in his social media post. "Inaction in the face of racist comments and actions allow these behaviors to continue."

Late Tuesday night, Smith apologized to Joshua over it all in a lengthy statement ... and said the player who was accused of using the slurs, Kamil Sadlocha, "is returning home and will not practice or compete at this time."

"On behalf of Ohio State University, I am so sorry," Smith said. "No student or student-athlete should experience hatred or racism, and everyone should feel welcome."

"I have spoken with Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller, and I'm thankful Jagger is getting the support he needs."

In his statement, Smith said he has met with the OSU hockey team and will meet with them again over the incident. He promised that players "will complete education on racial sensitivity, diversity, equity, inclusion, and the use of respectful dialog."

"The department and I will support them through this important process," he added.

Kanye West paraded nude photos of Kim Kardashian around the Adidas offices to staffers ... this according to former employees themselves.

Some staffers who used to work at Adidas -- assigned to the Yeezy division -- told Rolling Stone Ye showed them graphic pics of his then-wife.

One employee says Kanye showed him an explicit picture of Kim during a 2018 job interview, with KW allegedly pulling out his phone and saying, "My wife just sent me this." He goes on to say the image was super revealing and personal.

Another staffer claims Kanye showed the Yeezy creative team an explicit video of Kim that same year. Another member of that team confirmed it, telling RS Kanye wasn't afraid to show off explicit material or talk about personal matters that should've been kept private.

Some of the staffers signed an open to higher-ups at Adidas, titled "The Truth About Yeezy: A Call to Action for Adidas Leadership," in which they accused the company of turning a blind eye to abhorrent behavior.

Ye showing off NSFW material isn't that far-fetched -- the guy was filmed showing off porn to an Adidas exec for an in-house doc that aired earlier this year. You can tell the dude is shocked and uncomfortable, but Kanye insists they keep watching from his device.

Since then, Kanye has admitted to an addiction to porn ... saying he'd beat it by turning to God and declaring he'd protect his children from the same vice that once consumed him.

Jordin Sparks says American Music Awards execs screwed up when they pulled the plug on Chris Brown, and much like Kelly Rowland ... she's shocked there's still debate about whether he belongs at these events.

We got the singer outside ABC Studios this week in NYC, and she thinks Chris has been one of the best in the game for a while now, and absolutely should've been at the AMAs ... to perform and to receive the trophy he won.

As you know, Chris told fans the AMAs canceled his Michael Jackson tribute, and while producers still haven't offered a reason ... Jordin seems to think it stemmed from him beating Rihanna back in 2009.

Granted, Jordan might be slightly biased -- she and Chris had a huge 2008 hit with "No Air" -- but she says that incident "shouldn't even be a conversation anymore" ... and Chris' massive talent should be the focus.

As we reported, Kelly had Chris' back the second boos started popping up in the AMAs crowd, as she announced him as the winner for Favorite Male R&B artist -- thanking him for his contribution to music.

We got Kelly the day after the AMAs, and she gave us some pretty powerful remarks about Chris and the haters. Similar to what Kelly said, Jordin says everyone deserves the chance to "grow and learn" without the past hanging over them.

Clearly, lots of people don't agree, but Jordin's not shy about backing Chris.

The Arizona Cardinals reportedly fired their offensive line coach/running game coordinator for groping a woman in Mexico City ... just hours before the team played against the 49ers.

ESPN, citing sources, reported Wednesday morning Sean Kugler was accused of inappropriately touching a female on Sunday night. The outlet reports Mexican authorities were made aware of the allegations, and then told the Cardinals of it all. Kugler was fired a short time later and sent back to Arizona on Monday morning.

The Cards had arrived in Mexico on Saturday night for the big game against S.F. on Monday. The team went on to lose the contest, 38-10.

Arizona officials have yet to confirm the report ... in announcing the firing on Tuesday, head coach Kliff Kingsbury would only say Kugler had been involved in an off-field "incident."

Kugler had been on the Cardinals' staff since 2019.

A top H.S. quarterback recruit's use of the n-word will not spell the end of his football career ... so says ex-NFL star Jamal Anderson, who tells TMZ Sports he's confident the teen will get another scholarship offer.

Marcus Stokes -- a four-star athlete from Allen D. Nease High School in Florida -- had his full ride to the Univ. of Florida pulled on Sunday ... after he posted a video of himself rapping the n-word in his car.

He apologized for it all, calling it "hurtful and offensive to many people" -- but some have wondered if it, and the Gators' subsequent punishment for it, would mean he'd no longer have a chance to play college ball anymore.

When we got Anderson out at LAX this week, he told us he's sure another school will give him another shot ... saying, "Man, he's a kid still."

"You've got to have time to grow and make mistakes and learn and make amends for the mistakes that you make," the former Atlanta Falcons running back said. "So, I wish him all the best and I hope that it all works out for him."

Anderson tells us Stokes' coaches, teammates, friends and peers will help him rebound from it all ... explaining if those around him continue to report he had no racist intentions with his actions, it'll be easier to forgive.

"When you look at the reports of the people that actually know him," Anderson said, "The people that are actually around him, there's nothing like that."

Drag queen Eureka O'Hara says discrimination and propaganda are behind the recent attacks on gay bars ... and she wants the hateful rhetoric to stop, because queer people aren't going away, ever.

We got the "RuPaul's Drag Race" star Tuesday at LAX, and our photog asked what can be done to prevent these types of attacks, like the gay nightclub massacre in Colorado Springs.

Eureka says people with ill will towards queer people need to be educated, especially on the trans community -- she says the LGBTQ agenda has nothing to do with straight people or their kids, they just want to live their lives like everyone else and coexist.

As we reported ... Richard Fierro, an Army vet subdued the gunman who killed 5 people Saturday night at Club Q -- charging the shooter and pulling him down to the ground until other club-goers stepped in to help.

Eureka says trans and queer people have been forced to defend themselves forever, and refuse to just take it when someone comes after them.

In addition to 'Drag Race' ... Eureka also stars on HBO's drag series "We're Here," and suggests people sit down with their families to watch the upcoming third season to not only get educated on trans people, but also relate with them.

A Texas school district is investigating claims that disgusting, racist noises were made toward a Black female basketball player during a H.S. game over the weekend ... after the student section appeared to make monkey sounds as she shot free throws.

The alleged incident went down during East Central's matchup against Marble Falls on Friday ... when EC senior Asia Prudhomme was lined up at the charity stripe.

Students in attendance can be heard on video shouting during Prudhomme's free throws ... seemingly imitating monkeys.

Prudhomme shared the clip on social media after the game ... saying, "This is sad, heartbreaking and uncalled for."

"Can't even play basketball without ignorance and racism in the stands. This really broke my heart, my coaches and teammates."

ECHS athletic director Suzette Arriola told WFAA Marble Falls officials were alerted about the students' actions ... but no one was removed from the game.

Arriola also claims the noises were made several other times throughout the game.

Marble Falls announced Monday an investigation is underway.

"Marble Falls School District has an unyielding commitment to love every child and inspire them to achieve their fullest potential, and this applies to children outside of our school district as well."

"We will continue to work with administration at East Central High to fully investigate and hold students accountable for their actions."

Elon Musk's Content Moderation Council will be nothing more than a paper tiger, because the Chief Twit himself told his staff ... the ultimate power on what goes on the platform and what doesn't rests squarely with him.

New video obtained by TMZ shows Elon talking to bird app staffers Saturday in a company Zoom chat. At one point, EM touched on the Council he promised late last month.

Watch ... Elon says there will, in fact, be a Council -- but he makes it clear it's advisory only ... he will pick the members and can either accept or reject their advice ... he'll make the call.

Since announcing the Council -- which was seemingly meant to calm the waters with folks concerned about misinformation/hate speech on the platform -- Elon has made A LOT of sporadic decisions about how Twitter will work, and who gets to tweet.

He's suspended users and then reinstated them, seemingly on a whim. Over the weekend he asked users to vote on whether Donald Trump should be reinstated -- a slim majority turned thumbs up and Elon gave the green light for his return.

Two points -- first, Elon never said he'd adhere to the will of the majority ... and that's consistent with his view of the Council. Second, Trump has said he'll decline the invitation, but the reality is ... he'll almost certainly return because that's where he can reach voters.

Kelly Rowland says it's beyond time for the public to treat Chris Brown the same as anyone else who royally screws up -- and, yes, she believes that includes forgiving him for beating Rihanna.

We got the 'Destiny's Child' singer in WeHo Monday and asked about her American Music Awards moment -- when she scolded a booing crowd pissed about Chris' win, and then sang his praises.

Check out KR's remarks to our photog, 'cause they're pretty powerful. She says everyone is worthy of second chances, and that we all need a dose of humility ... especially amid our own transgressions. Essentially, it's the Golden Rule she's advocating for here.

Kelly also suggests folks oughta bask in the good, rather than fervently looking to cast stones at every turn -- especially when related to events almost 14 years old, like Chris' Rihanna incident.

In the end, Kelly thinks we all come up short at one point or another -- and we all deserve to start over again.

Soccer reporter Grant Wahl says World Cup security guards detained him for nearly half an hour on Monday morning ... and it was all because of a rainbow shirt he was wearing.

Wahl showed up to Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar for the United States' first tournament game against Wales -- and in order to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community in a country where homosexuality is illegal, he wore a shirt with a soccer ball and a rainbow pattern.

Almost immediately after getting to the venue, though, Wahl says security stopped him over the tee -- and demanded he removes it.

"You have to change your shirt," he said one guard told him. "It's not allowed."

The 47-year-old says he refused -- and sent out a quick tweet before he claims guards then took his phone and detained him for roughly 25 minutes.

"One security guard told me that my shirt was 'political' and not allowed," Wahl said. "Another continually refused to give me back my phone. Another guard yelled at me as he stood above me -- I was sitting on a chair by now -- that I had to remove my shirt."

Ultimately, Wahl says a security commander showed up and apologized, and let him into the stadium. Wahl says a rep for FIFA said sorry as well.

Kelly Rowland wasn't having the boos when she announced Chris Brown's win at the AMAs ... telling the haters in the audience to settle down.

The 'Destiny's Child' singer announced Chris was the winner for Favorite Male R&B Artist. As soon as she mentioned his name, you could hear a smattering of boos in the crowd. Kelly shut that down hard.

Chris said on social Saturday the AMAs canceled his Michael Jackson tribute but never explained why. Seems like a safe bet ... that's why Chris was a no-show at the ceremony.

As for Kelly, she heaped praise on Chris ... thanking him for his contribution to music.

Brown has become a lightning rod in the music industry and beyond, all emanating from beating Rihanna back in 2009. Although Rihanna quickly forgave him, many fans did not. The conventional wisdom is that Chris would have soared to much greater heights but for the brutal assault.

One person is clearly still in his corner ... Kelly Rowland.