Controversial S#!T

Dr. Dre and DJ Quik both hail from Compton, both have produced for countless rap artists and both are considered production geniuses in their own right -- so, Quik's wondering why the comparisons stop there.

His point is only Dre is featured on Forbes' lists, had his own Super Bowl halftime show and been the subject of a feature film. Translation: Quik's not feeling the balance!!!

In a string of unprovoked tweets Tuesday, he revealed his secret desires to be considered on the same level as Dre -- and he's blaming his lack of resources within the music industry "machine" for stunting his popularity.

Quik called his current position "unfair" and compared himself to the unheralded janitor who makes the school run smoothly ... but never gets the credit.

The veteran studio wiz denied he was having a meltdown or that his tweets were podcast fodder ... and affirmed his love for Dr. Dre, even though he considers him real-life competition.

Dre and Quik collaborated many moons ago for the "Training Day" soundtrack on the song "Put It On Me."

Kanye West is embroiled in controversy, but that doesn't mean Kim Kardashian is holding him from his kids -- inviting Kanye to celebrate their son's 7th birthday together at her home.

Ye spent several hours at Kim's Hidden Hills estate Monday night for Saint's birthday. Unclear if other members of Kim's family were present for the party, but Kanye's attendance truly speaks to Kim's commitment to keeping Kanye in their kids' lives ... no matter what he's going through publicly.

Earlier in the day, Kim and Kourtney took Saint and Reign -- who turns 8 next week -- to Disneyland to celebrate.

On top of that, Kim took Saint and a bunch of his friends to the L.A. Rams game to celebrate his birthday on Sunday ... where they got field access, watched the game from a suite and even got to meet Rams' star Jalen Ramsey.

Kanye was not present for the friend bday party on Sunday, but it was clearly something Kim had organized on her own.

TMZ broke the story -- Kim and Kanye settled their divorce last week, he's paying $200,000 per month in child support and it was agreed they'd have "equal access" to the kids.

A woman apparently wasn't taking any crap from a police department in Texas, she was allegedly dropping it off ... in buckets.

46-year-old Mindy Stephens, the wife of an assistant fire chief, is allegedly the stinky delivery woman in question ... according to KAXN, she pulled up in front of the Electra Police Department last month and made the drop-off.

Cops say an officer went out front to investigate, and found 3 5-gallon buckets -- weighing a total of 50 pounds -- filled with what appeared to be feces. He also observed Stephens in a hazmat suit walking towards an SUV with a trailer attached.

The officer reportedly asked her what she was doing ... and she allegedly told the cop she was dropping off the buckets of "human s***," and then drove off. A Lieutenant reportedly reviewed security footage and recognized Stephens' voice as the suspect.

Police say they contacted city officials about the issue, and said they'd call Stephens about picking the buckets up, but she allegedly refused -- telling officials it wasn't her problem.

Stephens was then charged with illegal dumping -- a Class B misdemeanor ... as well as a violation of the Texas health safety code. She was booked last week and was released the following day, after posting her $2K bond.

Believe it or not, this isn't Stephens' first run-in with the law, she reportedly got charged with aggravated assault back in 2020 after allegedly puncturing a man's hand and arm with a set of keys.

Jewish UFC fighter Natan Levy says he's getting more hate -- but also a ton of support -- since calling out Kanye West for his repeated antisemitism.

Levy, who was raised in Herzliya, Israel, met with the media on Saturday in Orlando after beating Genaro Valdez by unanimous decision and issued a stern warning to Ye.

“Kanye West, if you’ve got a problem with me or my people, come see me, bro.”

On Monday, 31-year-old Levy talked to TMZ Sports about the reaction to his remarks.

"My interview, most of the comments are antisemitic. Most of the comments say, 'Hey, look, actually I think Kanye is right,'" Natan told us.

Levy says that's nothing new ... but the sheer amount of messages he's received since going at Kanye has increased.

"I'm always getting a lot of hate just for being who and what I am, which I'm fine with. It's not fun, but, right now I'm getting more."

But, it's not all bad.

"I'm also getting a lot of love. There is also a lot of positive out there. I'm getting a lot of love. A lot of reinforcement. I'm getting a lot of friends, a lot of people who speak up. Post the video and share it and saying 'stop the hate.'"

Of course, West's antisemitism has become almost routine. He's gone as far as to praise Hitler and the Nazis on Alex Jones' show last week. He's also hung out with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

"Just think about how many Jewish kids will get bullied because of [Kanye's] comments. How many Jewish people will get attacked. The hate speech, it does turn into violence."

Natan says while Ye's behavior is incredibly dangerous for reasons he just stated, he's not the only one ... but Levy's had enough of turning the other cheek.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be in strictly business mode ahead of their controversial Netflix doc's premiere -- a project that has a former friend of the family saying they should lose any trace of royalty they have left.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed in NYC Monday, where they stepped off their private jet shoulder-to-shoulder and met with a group of friends on the tarmac before they were on to their next destination.

The trip comes directly on the heels of the latest trailer for "Harry & Meghan" -- in which they appear to take a scorched-earth approach toward his family while describing their experience trying to bring MM into the royal fold.

Harry's got a pretty serious face on here, as does Meghan -- who's wearing shades, but flashing the slightest of smirks too. No doubt, they've heard the waves of criticism for the documentary ... particularly across the pond, as they say.

Princess Diana's ex-butler, Paul Burrell, turned on his late boss's son publicly Monday night as he told Piers Morgan ... Harry and Meghan should be stripped of their remaining Royal titles.

Speaking out on the UK's Talk TV, he said Diana would be horrified by Harry's approach to disconnecting himself from the monarchy -- even if she could, in principle, support his move to America.

Burrell claims she would not have approved of what he describes as a route laced with "commercialism."

Burrell says the Duke and Duchess crossed a line, just from what he's seen in the trailer ... and he believes the actual series will be even worse.

He says King Charles should take a stand and turn them into true Average Joes.

Bill Cosby is facing a new lawsuit from 5 women -- most of whom were involved with "The Cosby Show" -- who claim he sexually assaulted them.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ ... the women claim the disgraced actor/comedian masqueraded as their mentor as they tried to break into show biz in the '80s and '90s, but instead he turned into a predator.

Plaintiffs Lili Bernard, Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson and Cindra Ladd say Cosby was able to take advantage of them because they were young and vulnerable.

Lili guest starred as Mrs. Minifield in a 1992 'Cosby Show' episode ... and in the lawsuit, she says Cosby drugged and assaulted her several times -- including one time when she woke up during the rape to find him trying to smother her with a pillow.

According to the suit, she threatened to go to the police, and Cosby threw her down a flight of stairs and kicked her out, warning he would destroy her. She says she didn't report the alleged crimes out of fear for her life.

Eden Tirl -- who had a bit role as a cop on 'Cosby' -- alleges she was "escorted" by one of the employees on set to Cosby's dressing room, where he locked the door, grabbed her breasts, kissed her neck and pressed his penis into her back while whispering, "This is making love."

In the suit, Gittens says Cosby drugged and assaulted her at his home while they discussed a possible role for her on the show -- Thompson claims he forced her to masturbate him ... and Ladd alleges he raped her after giving her a pill for a headache that made her pass out.

As we reported, Cosby has been accused of rape by dozens of women over the years -- allegations that he denies. In 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in a Pennsylvania prison for indecent assault -- but, he was released last year because prosecutors had violated an immunity deal Cosby had been given by a previous district attorney.

Earlier this year, he was found liable by a California jury in a civil case of sexually abusing a teenage girl in 1975.

DJ Akademiks says Ashanti needs to come clean and say the name of the producer who attempted to blackmail her songs in exchange for sex in the shower.

Ashanti was on "The Breakfast Club" last week and shared an alleged encounter between her and the mystery producer who she claims withheld a couple tracks they worked on in hopes they'd hop in the tub together.

When Ashanti refused, she says the price of the songs went from $0 to $40,000 ... prompting her to call up her goon squad to handle business.

Ak says Ashanti is doing her fellow females in the music industry a potentially harmful disservice -- as they could also fall into the producer's traps if she doesn't disclose a name.

Ak also points out the fact Ashanti's a veteran in the biz now, so she should just give up the name.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's upcoming documentary lays out new allegations about his family's attacks on her -- but at least one expert isn't buying their claims of racism, because she says King Charles III has lots of "Black friends."

Angela Levin authored "Harry: A Biography of a Prince" back in 2018, and joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to break down the new trailer for "Harry & Meghan." Her take is it's total BS from the Sussexes.

She finds it suspect that the couple keeps playing the racism card without pointing the finger at anyone specific in the royal family ... and, without hard evidence. So, as far as she's concerned, it's a lie.

As we've reported, Netflix released a new trailer for the doc ... where Harry calls out the "hierarchy of the family," alleging they leaked stories about Meghan and him to support the family's "war against Meghan."

You'll recall, Meghan and Harry first raised the racism claim during the Oprah interview ... accusing unnamed members of the royal family of racism. Angela, for one, is convinced it's not Harry's father.

She told us King Charles has "loads of Black and Chinese friends." No joke, that's exactly how she said it.

The author didn't try to hide her distaste for Meghan, either -- flat out blaming the Duchess for bringing out the worst in Harry.

NBA YoungBoy spent 8 minutes unloading the weight of the world in his new track "This Not a Song 'This For My Supporters'" ... and offered up some advice to Kanye West after yet another tumultuous week.

Midway through the track, YB laments over Kanye cracking under the pressure and urged him to stay strong rapping, "It hurt my heart that Kanye let them people break his soul/How the f**k that go? N**ga, stand your own n**ga, hold your ground, you strong!"

The Louisiana rapper even suggested he'd give Kanye a couple of pointers on how to kill all his demons ... in the name of good, of course.

Ye will need at least two years of good karma if he's going to secure the Presidential bid he's currently campaigning for but it sounds like YB is gunning for his spot in the White House!!!

YB also dedicated some lyrical space to plenty of other eye-popping topics. He threatened to sue The Shade Room for alleged misquotes ... and says he'll kick out any woman who plays GloRilla's 'F.N.F.' hit song around him because it's the opposite of his character.

Despite the aggressive tone of the track, YB repeatedly demands people "stop the violence" and even defended his hometown Baton Rogue's quality of life.

Draymond Green says there isn't a debate in his mind ... LeBron James is simply a better basketball player than Michael Jordan.

The Golden State Warriors star didn't mince words when talking about his top-five NBA players of all time on the latest episode of "Throwing Bones" ... explaining he believes LBJ is the GOAT when it comes to hoops.

Draymond listed several reasons -- including the duration of LeBron's run as the game's best ... as well as the Lakers great's skill set.

But, most notably, Green says the competition James faced year after year after year sets him apart from His Airness.

"MJ didn't beat the greatest team ever assembled," Green said. "Nor did he run up against the greatest team ever assembled every year."

Green added, "There's nobody that has ever played the game of basketball that can do what LeBron James does on a basketball court. Nobody."

The debate has raged on for years -- Jordan supporters have pointed to Michael's 6-0 championship record to give him the crown, while LBJ fans have directed the attention to The King's gaudy stats (he's less than 1,000 points away from being the Association's all-time leading scorer).

Seems Draymond, though, has his mind made up ... and he swears it ain't shade to his former idol.

"I'm sure one of the old f***s is going to say, 'You're out of your mind' and this that and the other," Green said. "The talent is way better [during LeBron's era], just like the talent at Apple is way better than the talent that was working at Apple in 1991."

Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete ... a spokesperson for the company announced Monday.

Irving, whose future with the retail giant was in question after they suspended him for tweeting about a controversial, antisemitic film ... has cut ties with the NBA star, according to NBA insider Shams Charania.

As we previously reported, Nike put its relationship with Ky on ice on November 4 ... suspending Irving. Despite satisfying the team and league with his apology, as well as other steps, the Swoosh indicated their relationship with Irving was probably done after the suspension.

In an interview with CNBC, Phil Knight, cofounder and chairman of the manufacturing conglomerate, said Irving's relationship with the company was "likely over."

"Kyrie stepped over the line. It's kind of that simple," Knight said. "He made some statements that we just can't abide by, and that's why we ended the relationship. I was fine with that."

Kyrie joined the Nike family in 2011 ... releasing his signature Kyrie 1 basketball shoe in 2014 as a member of the Cavs in his third NBA season.

The honchos over at ABC News have made the decision to take Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes off the air ... calling the couple's relationship a distraction with next steps to be sorted out by execs.

Sources at ABC tell TMZ ... ABC News' President, Kim Godwin, made the announcement during an editorial call Monday morning -- calling the situation an "internal and external distraction."

Kim also said the decision wasn't easy and not a violation of company policy, she added, "And so, I want to say that while that relationship is not a violation of company policy, I have really taken the last few days to think about and work through what I think is best for the ABC News organization."

She continued, "This is something I'm not going to talk, we're not going to talk about on this call until there is more to be said. I'm asking that we stop the whispering in the hallways. You know, we can't operate with gossip, and speculation and rumors. We need to stay focused on the work."

Adding, "If you think there is something that management needs to know, you can always call HR or, as we've said, talk to a manager that you trust. If you think there is something that we need to know."

The decision comes less than a week after the public found out the coworkers were dating ... Daily Mail published a set of flirty photos of the two spending time throughout NYC, and broke the news they'd be taken off the air.

While neither Amy or T.J. said much about the relationship on air, they seemingly joked about all the attention it generated during Friday's broadcast when T.J. said he just wanted the week to keep going and going ... Amy said she was ready for the weekend.

TMZ broke the story, sources connected to Amy and T.J. told us the added attention to their lives wasn't going to make them pump the brakes on their relationship at all. The two were in a consensual relationship, and both had an equal position on 'GMA3.'

Stephanie Ramos and Gio Benitez will replace the two on Monday, it's unclear if they'll fill the whole week.

Sacha Baron Cohen did his classic 'Borat' bit to go after Kanye West during the Kennedy Center Honors, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband was among those applauding ... as he made his first public appearance since he was attacked.

The actor/comedian reprised his iconic role for a speech Sunday night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C., where George Clooney, Gladys Knight, U2 and a few other artists were honored.

During the ceremony, SBC came out dressed as the misunderstood Kazak journalist and went right after Ye's antisemitic remarks, saying ... "Before I proceed, I will say I am very upset about the antisemitism in US and A. It not fair. Kazakhstan is number 1 Jew-crushing nation. Stop stealing our hobby. Stop the steal! Stop the steal!”

He added, "Your Kanye, he tried to move to Kazakhstan and even changed his name to Kazakhstanye West. But, we said: No, he too antisemitic, even for us."

If you're unfamiliar, the 'Borat' character is known for making antisemitic jabs -- but everyone knows it's ironic humor, because Sacha is Jewish.

He even sang a parody of U2's "With or Without You," changing the lyrics to "With or Without Jews."

Later in the evening, Borat got lost and Sacha reappeared as his normal self.

Now, while his standup was certainly a highlight from the night, seeing Paul Pelosi in the building, alongside Rep. Pelosi was just as eye-opening.

It marked his first public outing since an attacker struck him with a hammer, back in October, inside the Pelosis' San Fran home.

Paul's skull was damaged, and required surgery ... but at the Kennedy Center, he seemed to have recovered well. He was wearing a hat, possibly to conceal his injuries.

A new trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's documentary has dropped, and it's clear the couple isn't holding back in taking some serious shots at the royal family.

Netflix released the new preview for "Harry & Meghan" Monday morning, showing more of the drama that'll be unveiled starting this week ... and Harry's calling out the "hierarchy of the family" -- claiming people inside his camp were leaking stories about him and Meghan.

Meghan claims everything changed after she married into the fam ... with one person talking about "a war against Meghan" -- while another claiming the drama was all rooted in hatred and racism.

Harry even talks about not wanting "history to repeat itself," while flashes of paparazzi swarm their car -- before showing shots of Princess Diana dealing with the same thing.

As we reported, Harry and Meghan -- who now live in the U.S. -- were stripped of their private security during visits to the U.K. back in July ... Harry claimed it wasn't safe for him, Meghan or their 2 kids because it's just too dangerous without security help.

Harry ends the trailer, saying no one knows the "full truth" except for them ... and we're only days away from finding out what that is.

One of the producers of Will Smith's new movie about a runaway slave is apologizing for bringing a photo of the real inspiration for the character to the film's premiere.

Joey McFarland issued a mea culpa Sunday -- this after there was some apparent outrage over the fact he brought a wallet-size picture to the L.A. premiere of 'Emancipation' Wednesday ... which he flashed to a reporter on the red carpet while discussing it.

McFarland was asked how he came to own the OG photo of "Whipped Peter" from 1863 ... and then he actually brought out and showed it off. His answer boiled down to seeing the importance of history and wanting to curate valuable artifacts like this one so that they can live and be preserved -- and so we can all learn a valuable lesson from the past.

On its face, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with JMF's statement. But, of course, some took issue with his phrasing -- like saying he wanted a "piece of Peter" to be there that night -- and the optics of a white man owning and parading this pic around like a prop.

That's how a handful of folks interpreted his interview here anyway ... and it seems McFarland caught wind of that noise and felt compelled to explain himself.

He writes, "I wholeheartedly apologize to everyone I have offended by bringing a photograph of Peter to the Emancipation premiere. My intent was to honor this remarkable man and to remind the general public that his image is not only brought about change in 1863 but still resonates and promotes change today."

McFarland adds, "After uncovering Peter’s origin story with help from diligent historians, I spent the last few years working with the Emancipation creative time in order to bring his story to life so worldwide audiences would have an opportunity to appreciate his heroism. I hope my actions don’t distract from the film’s message." He says he simply wants to honor the legacy of Peter and others like him, and meant no harm in showing off the photo.

Deshaun Watson just stepped foot on an NFL field for the first time in 700 days ... and the Houston Texans fans made their displeasure known -- letting the boo birds fly as he made his Cleveland Browns debut.

The 27-year-old quarterback is returning from an 11-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy ... after dozens of massage therapists made sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Watson faced a hostile crowd as he made his Browns debut on Sunday ... with his former team's supporters heckling him as he lined up under center.

As we previously reported, attorney Tony Buzbee -- who repped almost every woman who accused Watson of sexual misconduct -- announced at least 10 of his clients would be in attendance for the game.

Watson's family was also at NRG Stadium to support ... with everyone wearing #4 jerseys in the stands.

Deshaun had a smile on his face prior to the Browns' first offensive drive ... but the television broadcast showed many fans were not happy to see him.

There may be a bit of rust for Watson, who hasn't played since 2020 -- the Browns ended up going 3-and-out in their first possession.