Controversial S#!T

People are calling out The New York Times for a recent crossword layout shockingly in the shape of a swastika, and to make things worse, it debuted on the first night of Hanukkah.

Sunday's tone-deaf puzzle debuted with a ton of criticism -- featuring a massive swastika in the dead center of the grid. The puzzle's designer described it as a simple "fun whirlpool shape," but obviously not everyone had the same thoughts.

Many blasted NYT for the antisemitic design -- regardless of whether or not it was intentional ... with one saying, "How did this get approved without somebody noticing?" and another noting, "A hidden Happy Chanukah message in today's @nytimes crossword?"

Even Donald Trump Jr. blasted the news org ... writing, "Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle."

The Grateful Dead has become the target of a lot of criticism after many are calling out the poor timing of the band's recently released "Idaho is Dead" shirts in light of the 4 college students murdered in the state.

The band just posted new shirts on their official IG account. The caption read, "Check out the new Idaho United States Of Dead T-Shirt with artwork designed by @dreyfus.art. Available now at dead.net!"

As you might imagine, some folks immediately called out GD for being insensitive ... pointing to the fact that 4 college students from the University of Idaho were brutally murdered at an off-campus house, last month. Of course, that case remains unsolved.

One user wrote, "With the recent Idaho tragedy the first shirt is totally insensitive" ... another said, "Weird timing of a play on words considering the idiho4 😢🥺".

Grateful dead is selling similar shirts for other respective states on their website. For example, they are already selling "California Dead" shirts on their site.

A dog owner's going through a ruff patch ... because she's gettin' called out for alleged animal abuse after making her pup look like the mean one himself, Mr. Grinch.

The TikToker showed off her dog's transformation, going from its natural color to getting dyed green -- and even red and white to resemble the titular character's Christmas sweater.

The now-viral clip's captioned "When your groomer slays making your dog into the Grinch," but it might've gained traction for all the wrong reasons -- because people are up in arms over the supposed mistreatment of the animal.

The comment section ran wild ... with some saying "Kinda looks like animal abuse to me," "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," and "Poor Puppy." Some were in the owner's corner though -- mentioning some dyes are pet safe.

However, some puppies have skin allergies and could get severe reactions in the process, but it's unclear if this doggo fits that bill.

The owner clapped back to all the noise ... showing the dog chillin' on the bed with the sarcastic caption "He's super abused."

Elon Musk seems to have heard all the Twitter criticism loud and clear -- which is why he's leaving his position at the company in the hands of the people ... quite literally.

The Chief Twit took to his favorite platform Sunday, and started off by apologizing for what sounds like Twitter's no-more-personal-promotion policy ... in which they'll ban anyone who plugs other social media profiles of theirs on Twitter.

He wrote, "Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again." After that, he posed a question and interesting proposition, asking ... "Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll."

It's a simple Yes/No poll, and as of this writing ... nearly 6 million people have weighed in, with about 58% in favor of Yes, and 42% saying No. There's still about 10 hours left to vote.

In a somewhat ominous and cryptic follow-up post, he wrote ... "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it." To us, that means he will, in fact, abide by the outcome ... like he previously has in other polls. Bringing Trump back comes to mind.

Now, there are some cynics who feel like this an empty promise from Elon -- as they suspect he'll simply install a sock-puppet CEO ... while he continues to pull the strings BTS. He will still be the majority owner of Twitter, after all -- so he could still presumably call the shots.

He did recently allude to that type of carte blanche rule earlier this year when he was discussing his Content Moderation Council -- basically saying, what I say goes, period.

Elon, however, appeared to shoot this notion down -- saying he doesn't have somebody else in mind for the gig ... and that there is no successor. He says no one would really want this job. Time will tell if he follows through, and what that'll mean for Twitter at large. 👀

Vox Populi, Vox Dei!

50 Cent trolled the hell out of Megan Thee Stallion -- and while he's catching flak for it, the real question that seems to be getting asked is ... does he single out women to beef with???

That's the conversation taking place on Twitter right now -- this after Curtis posted a meme this weekend that showed MTS morphing into Jussie Smollett. He captioned it, "Damn i’m confused all this shit going around 🤷🏽‍♂️ i don’t know what to think. LOL."

In other words ... he doesn't seem to believe Megan's claims against Tory Lanez. Nothing all that profound, but his poking fun has gotten bird app users all fired up over whether this is par for the course -- aka, going after females -- or if he's an equal opportunity rabble-rouser.

The debate was sparked by one woman who wrote, "50 cent literally only brings that energy towards women. A coward." While she turned off her replies, people are retweeting this and pointing out the countless feuds Fitty's been in with prominent men over the years.

Some of the fellas 50 Cent has publicly beefed with (in emphatic terms) ... The Game, Floyd Mayweather, Fat Joe, Diddy, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Young Buck, Benzino and, of course, Ja Rule. Oh, and he's had a lot of issues with his own son, Marquise.

Now, the guy has also gotten into it with a fair amount of famous women as well -- most notably ... Vivica A. Fox, Lala Kent, Madonna, Teairra Mari and even Oprah Winfrey.

There's also been several times where 50 has made clear ... he's not afraid of the smoke, apparently from anyone. But, on the issue of whether he's got a deeply-rooted hatred of women (especially WOC) -- the evidence seems to support that he clowns everyone.

New rule alert at Twitter -- Elon Musk apparently wants to keep the bird app exclusive, so he's banning the promotion of any other social media accounts ... including via Linktree.

The official Twitter Support account made the announcement Sunday, writing ... "We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter."

They add, "Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post."

Some clarification ... Twitter Support notes this doesn't mean they're banning the use of links to other social media sites, including cross-posting of content (like throwing up an IG link on Twitter, for instance). What it sounds like they won't stand for now ... unadulterated plugging of one's other accounts that might lead Twitter users away from the platform.

Several users have already gotten into the weeds of Twitter's new policy, and they appear to confirm this will apply to Linktree URLs -- which allow people to go and find someone's entire social media presence, among other useful links. Content creators use Linktree quite often.

Twitter also says that phrases like "Follow me on XXXX" will likely get someone banned as well. This has been happening a lot lately under the new Musk regime -- folks have been touting their Mastadon accounts, and others, as prominent users have migrated over.

It's just the latest crackdown on Elon's watch. Remember, he's been suspending journos who cover/criticize him ... handing down bans and reversals of those bans on the drop of a dime.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly want a sit-down with the Royal Family to air out unsettled grievances, in hopes of an apology -- this after not feeling satisfied post-Netflix.

According to The Sunday Times, a source close to the Sussexes says Harry and Meg would very much like a meeting with senior members of the monarchy -- presumably, King Charles, and Prince William -- to tackle issues they just laid out in their series, "Harry & Meghan."

The reason they wanna hash it out once and for all ... this source, cited by The Times, claims they feel short-changed in the accountability department. Namely, they assert the Royals never addressed their problems head-on, nor did they ever own up to anything.

In light of Buckingham Palace moving mountains to make things right with Ngozi Fulani -- who was recently at the center of a race-related scandal at the hands of a high-ranking Royal official -- this source says H and M feel they're owed the same type of courtesy.

There's also the issue of Charles' coronation in May, which The Times says Harry and Meghan are expected to attend -- although, it's unclear by whom. They cite a senior Royal source who says, "If they want to get in touch with the King, they know where he lives."

Apparently, Harry and Megan would like to reach some sort of reconciliation before then ... but it's sounding like an icy one-way street and the feeling isn't mutual. Not only is Charles reportedly taking an aloof approach to the whole thing, but The Times also claims they've been told Will has no plans to speak to his brother for the time being.

The vow of silence is also one that the Royal institution as a whole is planning to maintain now that the Netflix series is over. Despite claims that palace aides and/or staff might've gone out of their way to plant stories about Meghan -- not to mention allegations of racism aimed at their son, Archie -- it seems the Royals are staying out of the mud on this one.

None of the Royals have responded to anything discussed in the special ... they've simply been carrying on with their duties heading into the holidays. If this report is to be believed about Harry and Meghan's wishes, things might come to a head sooner than later.

Sylvester Stallone has some heartbroken fans after an event with the "Rocky" star allegedly sold more photo-op packages than could be accommodated ... and now they'll get refunds.

Sly was booked for a gig last weekend in L.A. called "Experience With Sylvester Stallone LIVE" -- sponsored by a company of the same name, Experience With -- where folks shelled out to have a nice dinner, hear Sly talk onstage and bid on signed memorabilia.

Naturally, there were different ticket packages available -- including some top-tier ones that included a meet and greet and promised a pic with the legend himself ... with pricing options from $750-$1,250.

What ended up happening, though ... Sly wasn't able to get through all the photo ops. We've seen an alleged email organizers sent to disappointed fans that read, "The reason the photos did not go as planned is that Mr. Stallone had to leave the event earlier the expected and was not feeling 100%. Our events can be very demanding, we have to respect the celebrities wishes at all times."

Of course, fans were pissed ... but a source close to Sly tells us the email wasn't accurate. We're told Sly's contract committed him to a certain time with the photo-ops and he actually stayed longer than he had to ... they blame organizers for selling too many of the photo packages for the time allotted.

Ticket buyers flooded Experience With's social pages, and openly wondered whether they'd be getting reimbursed for the Sly incident ... it appears there were quite a few people who were left empty-handed, without any guidance from EW about what was going to happen.

Welp, Experience With is setting the record straight -- telling TMZ everyone who paid for an upgraded photo op ticket with SS and didn't receive one will be reimbursed accordingly.

Experience With also clarified they got through about 60% of the photos so the number of people left hanging amounted to around 100 ... and not 300 like some had claimed online. They also say this sorta thing happens from time to time with their celebs, as these can turn into long nights.

Britney Spears' dad, Jamie Spears, is spilling his guts for the first time about the conservatorship and his role in it ... defending the legal apparatus by calling it necessary.

Jamie spoke to the Daily Mail, explaining that he feels like he saved Britney's life and career by putting her in a conservatorship all those years ago ... noting that, for a time, it was working pretty well for her -- getting her back on track music/performing-wise.

He says, "Not everybody's going to agree with me. It's been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? And I don't know if she'd be alive. I don't."

JS also says the conservatorship allowed Britney to have a relationship with her children -- Jayden and Sean -- adding ... "For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool. Without it, I don't think she would have got the kids back."

Jamie also says he himself deeply misses Sean and Jayden, touching on a falling-out in recent years following an altercation where he was alleged to have gotten physical with one of them. In the wake of that, it seems things are still touchy -- although, Jamie says he's back in touch with their dad, Kevin Federline, and that he's hopeful for a reunion one day.

Of his family as a whole, Jamie says ... "The family's a mess. All we can do is keep praying." Another somewhat shocking claim he makes -- that it was he and Kevin who actually raised the boys together, which is why not being with them hurts so much.

Back to the conservatorship ... he once again sticks by his decision to start one for Britney, saying it allowed her to have a semblance of a normal life again, and pulled her out of financial ruin. Despite a lot of allegations that have been made by both Britney, her lawyer and her legion of #FreeBritney fans ... Jamie says no one really knows the truth.

He says, "I don't mind taking that beating because I know it's not true, and because I don't want to start something else. For my daughter to end up going further down the hole than she had been." He didn't address specific claims of Britney's -- including the notion that she was being spied on at one point, not to mention allegedly being overly-medicated/isolated.

On the issue of a reconciliation, Jamie made it seem like he was closer to coming together with Kevin and the boys before Britney -- he's not on speaking terms with her ... although, the report says he is living with or near her younger sister, Jamie Lynn, in Louisiana.

Ex-WWE superstar Velveteen Dream exploded on an officer over his Miranda rights during an arrest earlier this year ... hurling f-bombs at the cop and calling him a "rookie" repeatedly -- new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

The footage was captured on officer-worn body cameras on Aug. 20 ... after the Orlando Police Dept. said the wrestler -- real name Patrick Clark -- bit and punched a gym employee following an altercation at a fitness facility in Orlando, FL.

The video shows as soon as cops put Clark in cuffs -- he immediately became combative ... demanding they allow him to speak with his lawyer. When they wouldn't, he threatened to sue.

The 27-year-old -- who left the WWE in 2021 after starring in NXT -- yelled so much from the backseat of the patrol car, the cop turned up country music loudly ... but that didn't slow down Velveteen Dream.

"This is crazy!" Clark said. "This is crazy! I work for the WWE! This is crazy!"

Clark -- who admitted in the video to being "a little inebriated" -- then said he was not read his Miranda rights before he was arrested ... and proceeded to go ballistic on the cop about it for several minutes.

"Hang up your f***ing phone, sir!" Clark said. "I was not given my Miranda rights! You f***ed up! You f***ed up, sir! I was not given my Miranda rights, so go ahead and bring me to your motherf***ing station, you f***ed up!"

"Think about that, sir!"

Clark screamed about his Miranda rights the entire ride -- and when they finally got to the police station ... he continued his verbal tirade.

"How'd you f*** up the Miranda rights, sir?!" Clark said while cuffed. "What are you, a rookie?! What're you, a rookie?! Oh! We got a rookie on deck!"

Clark was eventually booked and released ... and later hit with two misdemeanor charges of battery and trespassing on a property after warning.

Court documents show the case was disposed in September ... after the alleged victim said, according to the docs, he "did not wish to prosecute."

The man charged with the fatal mass shooting at a Colorado gay bar last month was locked behind bars for a 2021 kidnapping ... but a judge later tossed out the case and released him, possibly leading to the massacre, according to new court documents.

First some background ... in June 2021, Anderson Aldrich allegedly held his grandparents at gunpoint inside their Colorado Springs home after he became irate upon learning they were moving to Florida because he was making a bomb in the basement. But, his grandparents managed to flee and call 911.

A SWAT team arrested Aldrich after a brief standoff. Investigators recovered Aldrich's homemade bombs and firearms for a planned terrorist attack. He was charged with menacing, kidnapping and crime of violence.

Two months later, Judge Robin Chittum expressed concerns over Aldrich stockpiling weapons and explosives during a court proceeding, according to legal docs obtained Friday by the AP. At the hearing, Chittum also referenced Aldrich's struggles with mental illness, saying he needed treatment or “it’s going to be so bad."

Fast forward to July 2022 ... during another hearing, there was no mention of Aldrich’s violent tendencies or his mental health status. Then Chittum granted a defense counsel’s motion to dismiss the case and drop all charges against Aldrich just before trial. The reason? Aldrich's grandparents stopped cooperating, although other relatives warned the judge in a letter that Aldrich would kill someone if released.

Elon Musk has let several prominent journalists out of Twitter jail ... he just reinstated their suspended accounts for doxxing him -- or so he claimed.

The Twitter honcho released a statement late Friday ... "The people have spoken. Accounts that doxxed my location will have their suspensions lifted now."

Of course, Musk is referring to a Twitter poll he took Thursday night, asking voters if the reporters' accounts should be promptly restored or put on ice for 7 days. A majority of people -- over 58 percent -- voted to have the accounts reinstated immediately. So Elon obliged.

As we reported ... Musk came under fire earlier this week when he suspended the accounts of at least 7 journalists, including Donie O'Sullivan (CNN), Drew Harwell (Washington Post), Matt Binder (Mashable), Ryan Mac (New York Times) and Micah Lee (The Intercept). The Chief Twit accused the reporters of tracking his private jet using publicly available data and doxing him online by disclosing his personal details and whereabouts.

But, the journalists insisted they never published Elon's private information, and believe the real reason Musk temporarily shut down their accounts is because of their unfavorable coverage of him. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff also blasted Musk for suspending the accounts.

No, Draymond Green ain't pillow soft for having a heckler booted from an NBA game earlier this week ... so says Michael Rapaport, who tells TMZ Sports the Warriors star was in the right in the situation.

Green had the courtside fan kicked out of Tuesday night's Warriors vs. Bucks game in Milwaukee -- claiming the man threatened his life during a trash-talking sesh.

The man has since said he did no such thing -- but when we got Rapaport out this week ... the comedian, who's usually full of hot takes, said he was siding with Green in the spat.

"Even though Draymond Green is not, you know, you know," Rapaport said out in NYC ... "Fans are inappropriate sometimes. It's a family-friendly event."

Rapaport said fans need to treat games as if they were going to Disneyland -- as in, behave themselves extra carefully -- otherwise, they should be subjected to ejections.

"Guerrilla warfare. I'm gonna take [Sean Strickland's] head off."

That's 38-year-old Jared Cannonier talking about his violent intentions for Saturday night ... when he and fellow middleweight contender, Strickland, 31, do battle in the main event at UFC Fight Night.

TMZ Sports talked to Cannonier -- the 3rd ranked contender at 185 lbs. -- and asked him about the matchup with Strickland ... a fight he expects to test him.

"Strickland is a dog in the cage. He'll get in your face and try and put his fist through it. And if you give him a chance, he'll talk some s**t to you as well. He's as good as anybody else in the top 10," Jared says.

"The Killa Gorilla" added ... "Like I said, he's a dog in there. If I give him the opportunity, he'll sink his teeth in and start shaking me all over the fucking cage, right? I'm ready for that. I'm ready to see somebody try to do that."

Strickland, ranked 7th, is one of the best middleweights in the world ... though he's coming off a loss to Alex Pereira. The now-champ starched Strickland in the first round of their UFC 276 scrap ... when SS made the mistake of trying to strike with Alex.

Cannonier's also coming off a loss -- a title fight at 276 -- where he lost via unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya.

Despite the L to Izzy ... Jared's on the winning side more than not. He's beaten beasts like Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson.

As for how he expects to add Strickland's name to that list ... Jared's gunning to make Sean tap.

"I would like to have a submission. This will be my 15th fight in the UFC. Who knows I might knock him to the ground and jump on a submission or something. It's time to get a submission in the UFC."

Fans of Henry Cavill's Superman are facing more grim news ... because a supposed cameo featuring the Man of Steel in DC's upcoming film has reportedly been cut.

Henry apparently shot a scene as his titular character for Ezra Miller's "The Flash," which is set to debut in June 2023 ... but according to The Hollywood Reporter, sources say it's been scrapped. This, of course, on the heels of the actor's tough announcement that he'd no longer play Superman.

Gal Gadot also was supposed to make a secret appearance in the flick according to THR, but her cameo was cut too ... meaning she could be facing a similar fate in the wake of James Gunn reorganizing the DC universe.

As we reported, Henry broke the shocking news to fans Thursday ... saying the change "isn't the easiest, but that's life. The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that."

The plot for "The Flash" is still kept under wraps, but it's rumored Ezra's Barry Allen will travel through different DC universes -- possibly even meeting Michael Keaton's Batman.

What's interesting, Gal and Henry's Justice League characters might be canned, but Ben Affleck's version of Batman is still slated to be in the film ... although it's rumored he'll play a bigger part in the storyline.

Elon Musk is dropping the hammer on Twitter, and he's in no mood to talk about it -- he fled an online chat as soon as upset reporters tried to grill him about suspending a bunch of journalists.

The Chief Twit jumped into a Twitter Spaces chat Thursday evening to lay out his new rules about real-time doxxing -- namely that anyone who shares real-time locations of individuals will be immediately suspended from the bird app.

After some back-and-forth in the chat, Elon finally said, "If you Dox you get suspended, end of story, that's it." Moments later, he hopped out of the chat without announcing his exit.

As we reported, Musk shut down a handful of reporters' Twitter accounts Thursday without explanation. Some of them say they never posted any location info, so they felt the suspensions were really due to negative reporting on Elon.

During the abbreviated chat, journalists challenged him -- pointing out he was shutting down journalism in the same way he's criticized the Twitter regime of killing stories about Hunter Biden. Y'know, the whole free speech thing Musk said he wanted to champion when he dropped $44 billion to buy Twitter.

BTW, Elon asked his followers when, if at all, he should unsuspend the accounts who doxxed him ... but he clearly wasn't a fan of the results, saying "Sorry, too many options. Will redo poll."

He did redo it, but was still met with a majority saying he should unsuspend now. He's also reportedly shut down all Twitter Spaces chats since last night. 😬