Controversial S#!T

Joe Budden is walking back his comments on Megan Thee Stallion following the severe backlash he received online … ultimately calling his own words “careless.”

JB owned up to his mistake on a new episode of "The Joe Budden Podcast" Wednesday at the 20:17 mark and apologized to Meg and her team, citing phone calls he received from women he admires that set him straight.

JB had been insinuating Meg was lying in her testimony -- and got absolutely reamed for it … most notably by actresses Vivica A. Fox and Claudia Jordan, who dragged him for filth on their TV show.

Drumma Boy isn't vibing with fellow producer Hitmaka's recent comments about being bored with female rappers rapping about sex -- saying Hitmaka should just move on because some women are living their truth!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught DB out in New York City promoting his new project Welcome to My City, Vol. 4. and he took issue with Hitmaka's words on the spot.

DB is a proud Memphis and used the city's latest breakout star GloRilla as an example of why Hitmaka is dead wrong. DB says GloRilla's music features a wide range of topics and he'd rather hear someone rapping their truth -- even if it happens to be sex, rather than a fake persona.

Princess Diana is reportedly set to be shown in an open casket in the next season of 'The Crown' -- this in the aftermath of her onscreen death ... which has some folks up in arms.

Filming for the 6th installment of the hit Netflix series is underway, and according to The Sun, one scene, in particular, is expected to be met by pushback from Brits and others alike ... because, apparently, we'll see Princess Di's body.

The paper reports the scene in question depicts actress Elizabeth Debicki -- who plays Diana -- lying in an open coffin at what sounds like the morgue following her fatal accident in Paris. The Sun says actor Dominic West -- who plays Prince Charles -- comes in to look at her and breaks down in tears and hysterics, as do Princess Diana's sisters.

There's another controversial scene that's reported to have been shot -- which includes nurses and doctors trying to save Diana at the hospital ... totally drenched in blood. The Sun describes it as gory theatre, and jarring as well.

There are concerns it could retraumatize Charles, William and Harry -- and other members of the Royal family. The Sun reports some connected to the production feel Netflix went too far in what they've recreated for the small screen ... all in an effort to chase views.

It's unclear if Debicki was done up in injury-like make-up for the scene -- where she was asked to lie in the coffin and play dead -- but you gotta imagine the state of Princess Di's body wasn't in the greatest shape considering the horrific wreckage.

There's hope, it seems, as Season 6 draws near ... word of these scenes will drum up enough indignation that it might force Netflix to remove some of them, or edit them down.

Harry has said he watches the show, but noted ... he's well aware that it's mostly fiction. Will, for his part, has said he does not watch it -- other senior Royals have also either denied watching it or not commented altogether.

Elon Musk says he's out as CEO of Twitter ... as soon as he finds a replacement.

Musk confirmed the news in an amusing tweet Tuesday night..."I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take this job!"

He added..."After that, I will only run the software & servers teams." Pretty shocking stuff from a guy who recently purchased the company for $44 BILLION!!

Of course, the move stems from a poll Musk took earlier in the week, asking millions of Twitter users to vote on whether he should remain the boss. More than 57 percent of the people voted to oust Elon, compared with just over 42 percent who wanted him to stay as head honcho.

The poll seemed tied to Elon's misstep on Sunday when he implemented a policy that barred accounts from promoting competing platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Twitter users expressed anger over the new rule because they're accustomed to sharing messages across open social media networks. Musk quickly buckled, adjusting the policy to suspend accounts whose primary purpose is to give free advertising to rival companies.

Elon's troubles with Twitter have only been mounting. Last week, Musk temporarily suspended the accounts of several prominent journalists after he accused them of doxxing him by revealing his personal information and the whereabouts of his private jet in real-time.

Cops went in on Damon Arnette throughout the football player's arrest back in July ... with one straight up calling the ex-Raiders defensive back "a f***ing idiot" during the stop -- new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

The interaction was all captured on an officer's body cam, revealing cops were super ticked off at the former first-round pick after pulling him over in Miami just after midnight on July 26.

The officers appeared to be upset with Arnette because, according to police documents, just hours earlier, they had pulled him over and found he had been driving on a suspended driver's license, but allowed him to leave so long as he didn't drive again until he got his license reinstated.

One cop can be heard in the video telling the former Ohio State star, who was 25 years old at the time of the stop, "We gave you a f***ing break! You knew your f***ing license was suspended."

Arnette responded, "I got practice in the morning," ... but the cops clearly didn't care, saying in the video, "It doesn't matter bro, you're going to jail, bro."

After one of the officers finished putting the cuffs on Arnette, he searched the guy's pockets -- and found what was later described by police in the docs as a "white powdery substance consistent with that of cocaine."

That's when the officer can be heard in the footage going off on Arnette.

"Idiot," the policeman said. "You're a f***ing idiot, bro. You had the chance. You had the chance to go home. You f***ed it up."

On the way to the station, the video shows the cop continued to chastise Arnette ... telling him in the squad car, "Now you're going to jail for what? 'Cause you're stupid."

"Honestly, it sucks," the cop added. "We can't even give people warnings without them f***ing it up for themselves."

Arnette was eventually hit with criminal charges over the incident -- including felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor knowingly driving with a suspended license.

The NFL player, though, entered a diversion program in an attempt to close out the case in September. A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office told us at the time Arnette must, among other conditions, submit to random drug testing, complete a substance abuse evaluation, report monthly and pay fees as part of the program. If he complies with all of the conditions, the spokesperson said prosecutors would revisit his charges.

People are really on edge at airports during the holiday travel season ... a woman in Miami ripped out a computer monitor and chucked it at a gate agent ... and it's all on video.

The crazy scene played out Tuesday at Miami International Airport, and it shows a woman going absolutely nuts on American Airlines staff in the middle of a crowded gate area ... eventually getting her hands on a computer screen and throwing it at the agent.

Stunned onlookers gasp in horror as the computer monitor flies through the air, crashing into the airline worker ... who somehow manages to keep her cool amid all the chaos.

The woman reportedly launched into her tirade after noticing her kids had walked away from the gate without telling her.

She's said to have caused about $10,000 in damages ... and the gate agent reportedly suffered a bruised shoulder in the incident.

Absolute chaos unfolded in the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the World Cup champions held their victory parade -- and things got so out of control, players had to be evacuated from their celebration via helicopter.

Argentina, fresh off defeating France in the World Cup on Sunday, were met with millions of fans on Tuesday to celebrate their win -- their first since 1986 and third overall.

Fans were understandably excited that the men's soccer team could once again call themselves world champs ... and it showed throughout the parade.

There were so many people on the streets that the festivities had to be cut short ...  and Argentina players had to abandon their team buses and fly over the city instead.

We know championship celebrations can get out of hand ... but this parade was unlike anything we'd ever seen.

A video posted on social media shows the moment two fans attempted to jump onto Argentina's team bus ... which certainly posed a safety issue for the squad and others involved.

The first guy, who appeared to jump from a fixture as the bus drove by, stuck his landing. But the second guy slipped as he jumped and fell off the back of the bus and to the ground, causing the vehicle to stop.

No word on if the dude got hurt ... and we certainly hope that's not the case, but stunts like this put into perspective just how much this World Cup championship means to Argentina fans.

Lil Wayne fired his personal chef at the drop of a hat, this after she ditched him in Vegas to deal with a pressing family emergency ... so claims the woman in a new lawsuit.

Morghan Medlock just filed suit against Weezy for what she claims is wrongful termination, retaliation and a number of unlawful practices that she says she was subjected to when he canned her earlier this year ... just because she went to go help her injured son.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Medlock describes a trip to Vegas she tagged along for during Memorial Day weekend -- for which she says she was doing her job (AKA, cooking all LW's meals, etc). At this point, Medlock says she'd had the gig almost 2 years.

Things were going swimmingly, that is ... until Medlock says she was notified of a head injury her 10-year-old had sustained that left him hospitalized. Obviously, Medlock wanted to get back to L.A. ASAP -- but claims Wayne and co. were screwing up the flight back over shenanigans ... namely, that Weezy allegedly delayed things by toking up on the aircraft.

Instead of standing around and waiting for them to get their act together, Medlock says she hightailed it out of there on a separate flight -- notifying Wayne's assistant of the situation and assuming they'd understand. Instead, she claims she was terminated.

Medlock says after she left, Wayne's team kept asking her if she was quitting -- to which she says she clearly responded, "No." After her son was dealt with, Medlock says she tried getting back into the swing of things as head chef -- but claims she got the cold shoulder.

Eventually, Medlock claims somebody on Wayne's team texted her an ungraceful goodbye message, and she was later formally told she was being let go ... with a message from Wayne saying, "tell Chef Morghan this isn't going to work" -- or so she claims in the suit.

The women who took their tops off in Qatar following Argentina's World Cup win have made it out of the country unscathed ... avoiding arrest despite their risqué celebrations drawing the ire of many in the conservative state.

The Lionel Messi fans, ID'd on Instagram as Milubarbiie and Noe -- aka La chica del topless -- showed on Tuesday morning that they both made it to their respective homes without issues.

The two posted videos, revealing neither were arrested in Qatar ... despite speculation that they could be thrown behind bars for revealing a whole lot of skin after Argentina beat France in the World Cup final on Sunday.

Noe joked about being in the clear from her seat on an airplane ... saying in a caption on one of her vids that she wanted the flight to take off before people came looking for her.

Milubarbiie, meanwhile, said in a selfie video that she had made it back to Europe, a place she missed dearly while cheering on Argentina in the soccer tournament.

The homecomings were great news for the duo ... as Qatar officials had urged visitors to avoid wearing "excessively revealing clothing in public" in order to avoid potential conflict with authorities.

San Jose police have made an arrest months after a teenage boy took his life -- this after being extorted for money when he sent a nude photo to someone he thought was a teen girl.

SJPD announced Monday 25-year-old Jonathan Kassi was taken into custody in Los Angeles to face charges of extortion and attempted disorderly conduct ... related to posting a photograph or recording without consent.

The cops are saying Kassi is connected to the death of 17-year-old Ryan Last -- who died by suicide in May when someone he'd been chatting with online demanded he send them $5,000 upon receiving an intimate picture they'd solicited from him or else the pics would go public.

Ryan apparently believed he was communicating with a girl his age -- and when a photo was sent to him that person asked for a similar naked photo in return, which he sent.

Once the fraudster got the photo of Ryan ... he demanded money on the threat of releasing the picture publicly among his friends and family members. Ryan didn't have anywhere near $5,000 but he did pay $150. It was at this point Ryan panicked and died by suicide.

Amid their investigation -- which ended up including the FBI -- law enforcement said they believed this was happening on a larger scale ... where crooks from overseas were tricking young people into sending compromising material, and then extorting them for quick cash.

The San Jose Crimes Against Children Task Force said they were looking into possible ties to a West African financial extortion scheme ... which could also connect to Southeast Asia.

The cops, thus far, have stopped short of explicitly connecting Kassi to any greater criminal enterprise -- but we're sure more info is due to be released as the process plays out. They're saying they suspect Kassi might've victimized other minors as well through multiple profiles.

The same day Kassi was arrested, the FBI and Dept. of Homeland Security issued a PSA about this phenomenon -- saying it was happening all across the country (mostly to boys) and that it had resulted in more than a dozen suicides. Scary stuff, to say the least.

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, who announced his intent to sell his team after an investigation concluded he'd used the n-word, amongst other awful behavior, has now finally found a suitor ... former Michigan State basketball player and billionaire businessman, Mat Ishbia.

The news comes via a report from Adrian Wojnarowski ... who tweeted Tuesday morning that the sides are putting the finishing touches on a deal.

"Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the Phoenix Suns," Woj wrote, adding, "The deal, expected to be completed in the near future, would end the tumultuous tenure of owner Robert Sarver."

Ishbia is a former college basketball player ... he played 3 seasons under Tom Izzo at MSU. Although he didn't play much (2.4 minutes per game), Mat won a National Championship in 2000.

After college, Ishbia made a fortune in the lending business ... he owns a majority stake in United Wholesale Mortgage, a company founded by his dad in the mid-80s.

Ishbia is worth $5.1 billion, according to Forbes -- making him the 501st richest person in the world.

As we previously reported, Sarver was suspended for 1 year and fined $10 million by the NBA after an extensive investigation, spanning 320 interviews with current and former employees, found the Suns and Mercury owner used the n-word at least 5 times. FWIW, the league said his use of the word wasn't motivated by hate or prejudice, but instead, he was "recounting the statements of others."

The investigation also concluded Sarver didn't treat male and female employees equally. In addition, they found RS engaged in inappropriate physical conduct toward male employees.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, as well as players like LeBron James (and many more around the league), came out against Sarver ... and he finally announced his intent to sell the team.

"I do not want to be a distraction to these two teams and the fine people who work so hard to bring the joy and excitement of basketball to fans around the world," Sarver, who bought the team in 2004, said when announcing he was going to sell back in September.

"I want what's best for these two organizations, the players, the employees, then fans, the community, my fellow owners, the NBA and the WNBA. This is the best course of action for everyone."

Now it appears he's found his buyer.

The Suns, Sarver, nor the NBA have addressed the reported upcoming sale.

Lyfe Jennings isn’t flinching over social media slander following his viral “bad singing” moment earlier this week -- he’s embracing it, and telling youngins like Mario to stay in their place!!!

A weekend performance clip of Lyfe loudly whiffing the high notes made the rounds on social media blogs, igniting a little tension after Mario dropped a 🤦🏾‍♂️ emoji in the comments.

Lyfe tells TMZ Hip Hop ... he didn’t appreciate the way Mario piled on the negative vibes, but says it’s indicative of most R&B singers’ behavior, as he feels they have larger egos than most rappers!!!

As for the vocals, Lyfe says he’ll clear over 80 shows before the year is up and always aims to give his A-game, even if it doesn’t always rise to the top!!!

Lyfe thinks Black culture has been poisoned by too much immortality, and people need new trends to follow -- hence his graphic new music video “Till U Gone” … which was pretty quickly censored on Instagram.

The video opens with a slave master beating a slave as other slaves watch, while recording with cell phones -- a clear shot at today’s social media culture. The video also tackles other heavy topics, such as BBL surgery and street gangs.

Lyfe says now that he’s independent, he’s able to add provocative imagery to his visuals and wants to continue to release meaningful singles and speak his mind — regardless of who gets pissed at him.

That includes critics of the story he recently told about being jailed with Jeffrey Dahmer.

Any Formula One driver looking to send a message next season will have to get permission from the higher-ups first ... 'cause the org.'s governing body just instituted a ban on unapproved political statements at races.

The decision comes after a rise in activism throughout the sport in recent years ... with Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton leading the charge in spreading awareness by wearing slogans on shirts under his race suit.

The 7-time champion has worn "Black Lives Matter" and "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" on his shirts in the past ... and recently retired star Sebastian Vettel has also shown solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community with his wardrobe as well.

The FIA's new rule now forbids "the general making and display of political, religious and personal statements or comments notably in violation of the general principle of neutrality promoted by the FIA."

The only exceptions to the rule will include any statements that are given the OK prior to being displayed.

Wrestling star Mandy Rose is no longer getting a WWE check, but she sure as hell is still raking in the dough ... 'cause TMZ Sports is told the former NXT champ has made $500k off her sexy content in just one week!!

Mandy was fired Wednesday after posting racy pics on the subscription-based platform FanTime (similar to OnlyFans) ... something that's a big no-no for the WWE brand.

While the firing was controversial in the eyes of many, it's also done wonders for Rose's business on the platform ... with her agent, Malki Kawa, telling us the 32-year-old has earned a whopping $500,000 from her FanTime page since she got the ax.

In fact, Kawa predicts Rose will be the newest self-made millionaire by Christmas ... 6 days away.

Before Rose was fired, she competed for WWE on NXT's roster, where she had been the women's NXT champion for over 400 days.

Mandy dropped the title to Roxanne Perez on Tues, Dec. 13 -- and she was released by the company the next day.

Rose's content drew the ire of WWE, most likely because, in 2020, Vince McMahon, then-CEO and Chairman of the wrestling conglomerate, issued a letter to all wrestlers stating they must terminate using any third-party platforms where they use their name and likeness in ways that are detrimental to the company.

Donald Trump broke the law during the attack on the U.S. Capitol -- so says the Jan. 6 congressional committee ... which is now asking the Department of Justice to prosecute.

The House select committee made criminal referrals to federal prosecutors Monday, suggesting they've found evidence of criminality throughout their months-long hearings ... and are now pointing out specific crimes they feel the DOJ could pursue, if they're inclined.

The charges they feel are warranted here ... obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to make a false statement, conspiracy to defraud the United States and straight-up insurrection. If the DOJ were to prosecute (and if Trump was convicted of all this) ... he could face up to 35 years in prison.

Of course, Congress's recommendation to the Justice Dept. is simply that ... a proposal, which is largely symbolic in this case -- and may not really amount to much big picture.

Fact is ... the DOJ is already running its own investigation into Trump on multiple fronts, including for his involvement on Jan. 6 -- for which they've already appointed a special counsel. Their probe(s) have been running parallel to the congressional hearings for a while, and they've been keeping tabs on the proceedings. It's unclear if they've become aware of any major new bombshells against Trump that they weren't already aware of.

With that said ... the fact Congress is officially looking to have a former Prez prosecuted -- even if it is out of their hands -- is a major statement ... as it's never been done before.

Whether Trump ends up being personally charged/prosecuted for any alleged wrongdoing -- and there's a lot he's been accused of lately -- remains to be seen, especially since he's running for office again and is about to be in the thick of his 2024 campaign very soon.

Trump's alleged malfeasance on or around Jan. 6 has been well-documented throughout the hearings -- there's been claims that he fought with his own Secret Service in an attempt to arrive and meet the coup crowd at the Capitol ... not to mention the allegation that he asked to have metal detectors removed in hopes of people being able to sneak in weapons.

Of course, there's also the fact that he explicitly called his VP, Mike Pence, a traitor ... and essentially left him for the wolves, along with the other lawmakers that day. Trump was also very soft on condemning the attack, and is reported to have prolonged his response.

Meek Mill has closed the book on his life on Twitter ... he's just the latest celeb to jump ship since Elon Musk took over in October.

The Philly rapper made the abrupt decision Sunday evening to close his account, and cited too many bots and weirdos as his reason for flying the coop on the bird app.

He says he’ll now interact with fans via YouTube as he prepares for his next career stage as an independent artist.

Meek was one of the most notorious rappers to ever tweet ... amassing more than 11 million followers before he killed his account.

His most infamous moment came in 2015 when he called out Drake for ghostwriting ... birthing his "Twitter fingers" nickname.

Meek's not alone in hating Twitter these days — Toni Braxton, Shonda Rimes and Whoopi Goldberg are just a handful of celebs who don't like the new direction ... but the current climate could very well change any minute.