Controversial S#!T

Rep. George Santos is now firmly in the doghouse ... the embattled U.S. Congressman allegedly scammed a disabled homeless military veteran out of thousands in donations intended to keep his dying service pooch alive.

The freshman legislator from NY -- who's already copped to lying about his education and work experience -- crossed paths with Navy veteran Richard Osthoff in May 2016 and identified himself by one of his aliases, Anthony Devolder ... according to local news site, Patch.

Osthoff told Patch he and his beloved service dog, Sapphire, were living out of a tent on the side of a highway in Howell, NJ. That would be trying enough, but Sapphire also had a stomach tumor that was getting larger day by day.

Osthoff needed to come up with $3,000 for his dog's surgery, so a veterinary tech put him in touch with Santos through a charity named "Friends of Pets United" ... which was operated by "Anthony Devolder," Santos' alias. Ya, see where this is going, right?

Santos/Devolder allegedly started a GoFundMe to harness funds for Sapphire's surgery, and Osthoff says one month later, Santos posted on Facebook, "We made the goal, and then some."

This is where it gets really shady -- according to Osthoff, he and Santos discussed taking Sapphire to a different vet after a bleak prognosis from Santos' animal doctor.

Osthoff texted Santos, "My dog is going to die because of god knows what" -- and Santos allegedly replied, "Sapphire is not a candidate for this surgery the funds are moved to the next animal in need and we will make sure we use of resources [sic] to keep her comfortable!"

Osthoff says Sapphire never got the surgery, died in January 2017 ... and they never saw a dime of the donation money. Osthoff was so distraught, he contemplated suicide, pointing out he "loved that dog so much, I inhaled her last breaths when I had her euthanized.”

Now, Santos is denying the whole ordeal ... saying he has no clue who Osthoff is or what he's talking about. He told the Semafor news site, "Fake. No clue who this is."

As we've reported, Santos' track record already sucks ... he was accused of fabricating much of his resume to help him win the congressional seat repping parts of Long Island and Queens.

There are growing calls, even from Republicans, for him to resign after he admitted lying about earning degrees from Baruch College and New York University, and making misleading claims about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

Mel B's ex-husband is being dragged to court by an up-and-coming singer who claims he cost her a fortune after allegedly grifting her into a bogus management contract.

Malu Trevejo just filed suit against Stephen Belafonte -- whom she alleges swindled her into signing a binding deal to have him represent her exclusively as her manager ... this after she says he discovered her in 2020 and suggested they meet one-on-one to talk business.

In her court docs, obtained by TMZ, Trevejo claims Belafonte completely misrepresented himself as a licensed talent agent ... and not just that, but also says the agreement he had her sign was completely one-sided in his favor -- which she says she naively signed.

The contract, however, isn't her biggest gripe ... it's the alleged misappropriation of funds -- not to mention what she claims were predatory financial practices Belafonte undertook.

For example, Trevejo alleges Belafonte rented a luxury Beverly Hills home in 2021 with her cash ... but, according to her, lied and insisted the lease was only for a few months ... when, in fact, she says it was actually for a year -- unbeknownst to her. For the majority of the time, Trevejo claims Belafonte was using the pad for himself and having her pay for it.

Another instance of alleged fraud that Trevejo hurls is a $400k loan she claims Belafonte lent her through a friend ... only to charge her a massive amount of interest, upwards of $150k.

These are just a couple manifestations of what she claims was a lot of self-dealing on his part ... all at her expense, and under shady circumstances. For this, Trevejo says she's entitled to major damages from Belafonte ... because he's cost her a lot of dough in 2 years.

Aaron Carter was found dead in his bathtub, but his family now says he didn't die from drowning ... instead, they believe drugs killed him.

Aaron's fiancée, Melanie Martin, and mother, Jane Carter, tell TMZ ... the L.A. County Coroner's Office told them there was no water found in Aaron's lungs, which rules out drowning as a potential cause of death.

Melanie and Jane say the coroner is still waiting on toxicology results to determine what was in Aaron's system when he died, and the family wants law enforcement to investigate an alleged drug deal the night of Aaron's death.

TMZ broke the story, cops were called to Aaron's L.A. area home back in November for a report of a drowning.

Law enforcement believes Aaron's body was in the tub for a long time as there was a smell of decomposition and the water had turned an unnatural color.

Plus we're told the tub's jets were still running when Aaron's body was found.

Melanie has Aaron's phone and she says she found text messages with an unidentified person telling Aaron he owed $800 for an unknown substance. She says the conversation includes Aaron telling the person he didn't need the substance anymore, to which the person responded that it didn't matter and he still owed money.

Melanie says Aaron asked the person if he was being threatened, and that's where the conversation ends. She tells us she met with investigators last week, and submitted the exchange for evidence.

The family believes Aaron might have met with the person he was texting before his death ... and they fear Aaron took a substance that could have ultimately killed him.

As we first told you, cops found multiple cans of compressed air in Aaron's bathroom and bedroom, as well as prescription pills.

However, Aaron's family believes his death was NOT caused by huffing compressed air ... and they want police to investigate the possibility someone sold Aaron a substance that caused a fatal overdose.

Kyle Richards disagrees with Erika Jayne saying Lisa Rinna can't be replaced on 'RHOBH' ... Kyle thinks Chrissy Teigen would be a great addition to the show.

We got Kyle leaving Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills on Monday and our photog asked her who she would cast to replace Lisa, who is leaving the reality TV franchise after 8 seasons.

Kyle says Chrissy would be the best option ... and she's always felt CT had what it takes to make it on 'RHOBH.'

Kyle's answer is in stark contrast to what Erika believes ... as we reported, Erika says producers can try but they won't be able to replace Lisa because she's the "f***** G.O.A.T."

Chrissy and Kyle have been friends for years ... and it sounds like she's got someone in her corner if 'RHOBH' producers come calling.

Of course, Chrissy's a little busy at the moment ... she just gave birth to her and John Legend's fourth child ... so it's unclear if she would even be interested in joining Kyle on the show.

The woman who runs the Miss Universe Organization is denying allegations the beauty pageant was rigged because it was an independent party that handled the results.

Amy Emmerich, CEO of Miss Universe Organization, tells TMZ ... "One of the top four accounting firms in the United States handled the results and verified the process."

As we reported ... Anne Jakrajutatip, the new owner of Miss Universe, has been accused of rigging the pageant for Miss USA, who won the crown over runner-up Miss Venezuela.

One issue many folks have, Jakrajutatip's JKN Global Group owns both the Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions ... which some say is suspect.

But, Emmerich tells us ... "The allegations re: rigging of Miss Universe are false. People saying that it's "suspect" that JKN Global Group owns both Miss Universe and Miss USA aren't familiar with the history of the organizations."

There is precedent for Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA all being under the same ownership ... back in 2015, IMG bought the 3 pageants and brought them under the same roof.

Emmerich also tells us an independent third-party law firm was hired to look into allegations surrounding the Miss USA pageant from back in October, which was also accused of being rigged ... and determined the allegations were unfounded.

R'Bonney Gabriel won the Miss Universe pageant Saturday, becoming the first Filipino American to take the crown. Emmerich says R'bonney was a "strong and dedicated contestant" who is the "rightful Miss Universe."

Daniil Medvedev reached his boiling point during his Australian Open match on Monday ... getting so pissed at a spectator, he told them to "f*** off."

The altercation went down as the Russian star faced off against Marcos Giron in the opening round of the tourney ... when he was up 5-2 over the American after winning the first two sets.

But, before Medvedev could handle business and finish Giron off, he confronted a fan in the stands for seemingly heckling him throughout the match.

As soon as he hurled the cuss word, the whole audience audibly reacted in shock.

The outburst resulted in a code violation ... which, naturally, Medvedev didn't agree with.

Eventually, Medvedev -- who's the 7th seed in the tournament -- was able to secure the win ... 6-0, 6-1, 6-2.

Medvedev's beef with Australian Open attendees has been well-documented over the years ... and he certainly hasn't shied away from letting his feelings known with umpires.

Funkmaster Flex is having a sudden change of heart -- one that could potentially anger the rest of his New York rap base, because he’s decided to play Tekashi 6ix9ine’s music again after previously banning him.

The longtime Hot 97 personality's decision was swayed by 6ix9ine's latest post ... which featured the rainbow-haired rap star on a plane with a mound of cash he says totals $1M, unafraid of any potential threats as he trekked back to the East Coast.

Back in 2021, 6ix9ine ignited Funk Flex's musical interest when he previewed his "ZAZA" single but the DJ ultimately refused to play the track over the street code he says no longer exists ... mainly because rappers aren't signing up to do 5 years behind bars to support their gang anymore!!!

Funk Flex saluted Bobby Shmurda, Rowdy Rebel, Fetty Wap, Boosie Badazz and Young Thug as the last of a dying breed of rappers who don't give statements to the police ... an obvious dig at Gunna, who's been losing friends on IG -- such as Lil Baby, Lil Durk and recently Meek Mill -- for taking a plea deal in the YSL RICO case.

6ix9ine has been teasing a musical comeback for a while now, and Flex wants it to happen this Thursday on his primetime show, so he can drop bombs on a new record!!!

Britney Spears did not have a "manic episode" in a restaurant this weekend -- as had been described to us -- nor did her husband run out on her, according to the man himself.

Sam Asghari explained things to a pap Sunday, who asked him about what went down Friday night in Woodland Hills ... where we got video of Britney covering up her face, and talking gibberish, after somebody tried recording her while she was dining.

Despite an eyewitness insisting she was acting erratically and that Sam had bolted in anger ... SA says all he did was briefly leave to go get the car.

Sam says folks get a little camera-happy when they see Britney in public and can't help themselves in attempting to film her -- something he says is unfortunate, but which he also acknowledges as coming with the territory for the type of fame BS has.

The main takeaway here, though ... he's saying things didn't go down the way they were initially characterized. He does say, however, Britney was frustrated ... and that's why she was acting the way she did.

Andrew Callaghan is speaking for himself regarding sexual misconduct allegations that have been hurled his way -- saying sorry to those affected, while also stepping back.

The host of "All Gas No Breaks" -- as well as HBO's new mockumentary, 'This Place Rules' -- posted a public video Sunday on a YouTube channel that he seems to have just created. It's a 4-minute plus clip, where he outright apologizes to people he's hurt in this saga.

Callaghan says he's been in a state of shock/denial these past several days after allegations made against him -- namely, a handful of women who've come forward to claim he had sex with them only after wearing them down, among other alleged sexual impropriety.

Now that he's had time to reflect, however, Callaghan says he realizes he's been engaging in toxic pursuits of women for years ... noting there's a difference between someone saying "no" and an enthusiastic partner who's clearly consenting to sexual relations.

He says this has forced him to reevaluate some things in his life, and vows to start therapy sessions immediately. Callaghan also urges other young men who've been jumping to his defense to stop and look in the mirror as well -- as this is part of a much larger convo.

Callaghan does note there's some context missing from some of the stories told about him -- and some depictions, he says, are false ... but doesn't go into detail about what those are.

We'd previously been told that one accuser, Caroline Elise, had allegedly demanded money from Callaghan before going public -- something our sources say he refused to cave to, which prompted her to post the now-viral video where she details an encounter with him.

No Steve Harvey, but still a lot of controversy -- the new owner of Miss Universe has been accused of rigging the pageant for Miss USA ... despite some other clear favorites.

Anne Jakrajutatip -- who's the chief of JKN Global Group, which owns both Miss Universe and Miss USA -- is being called out by dissatisfied fans online, who feel like the fact that she literally controls both competitions is a little suspect ... not to mention where this was held.

For starters, Miss Universe was hosted in New Orleans -- airing on Roku -- and some claim the fix was in from the get-go to make sure R'Bonney Gabriel was crowned by the show's ending ... which did, in fact, happen. The runner-up was Miss Venezuela, Amanda Dudamel.

Dudamel impressed throughout the broadcast, especially with her heartfelt answers on certain questions. Her outfits were also less ridiculed than the ones Gabriel wore, particularly in the costume category ... when she walked onstage with a WILD moon landing getup.

All this aside, many are pointing to what seems to be an obvious conflict of interest from Jakrajutatip and co. Her corporation bought Miss Universe this past fall for a reported $20 million, and with it came the rights to Miss USA ... which falls under the same umbrella.

Even before this pageant, there were already gripes about how Gabriel came to be Miss USA in the first place ... dating back to October, when JKN Global came onboard as the new shot-callers. Some have claimed there was favoritism afoot in that competition as well ... and there've even been suspensions in the top ranks as a result of investigations into it.

Of course, another curve ball here is the fact Jakrajutatip is transgender -- something that caught the attention of many when she delivered a powerful speech at one point in the broadcast ... where she said Miss Universe was now owned by women, for women.

A viral article out of the UK is posing an interesting request -- pleading with the public (and the media) to stop using the word "queer" ... as the author apparently views it as a slur.

The brief opinion piece -- which also seems to be a letter to the editor -- appeared in the Guardian this week ... and the headline simply read, "Please don’t use the Q-word." It's written by a fella named Karl Lockwood, who says he's a gay man of nearly 7 decades.

In the 113-word editorial, Lockwood hones into a Guardian piece written last week, which notes that England and Wales had started to count trans and nonbinary people in their census for the first time ever -- while pointing out only 15,000 ID'd specifically as queer.

He adds, "I suspect that many of the others, like me, consider the term to be insulting and derogatory, and certainly not 'reclaimed'. I am a gay man of 66 years with many friends and acquaintances, and know no one who would refer to themselves as queer. It would seem a small minority of activists has encouraged the media to use the word without considering its offensiveness to many people. You wouldn’t use the N-word, so don’t use the Q-word."

In other words, he's referring to a time when "queer" was used to bully others -- which he feels qualifies it as hate speech ... and thus, warrants its censoring in public discourse.

It's an interesting argument, but most of Twitter seems to strongly disagree with this guy ... with a lot of folks on the bird app calling it cloaked "TERF" talk that only serves to erase queer people from the larger conversation. Some also think it targets transgender folks.

Of course, there's also the issue of comparing the use of "queer" to the n-word, which has people fired up. Many say the juxtaposition is apples to oranges -- and that conflating the two is a huge disservice to Black people, not to mention LGBTQ+ people of color.

Britney Spears caused a scene Friday night at an L.A. restaurant ... the pop star had a bizarre meltdown, prompting her husband to storm out.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... Brit and Sam Asghari showed up with a bodyguard at JOEY restaurant in Woodland Hills which was packed with patrons, who immediately recognized her.

From the start ... the dinner was a bust for Britney. Patrons pulled out their cell phones and began shooting footage of her. Britney got pissed and things went south quickly.

Eyewitnesses say Britney became "manic," yelling and talking gibberish -- not another language, just unrecognizable speech. We're told Sam got visibly upset, abruptly stood up and stormed out the door.

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ, showing Brit sitting alone at the table and speaking incoherently.

Two minutes later, witnesses say, Britney got up and left the restaurant with her bodyguard, who soon returned to pay the bill.

Lisa Rinna didn't just dislike her job ... she "f***ing hated" it!

Lisa just made it clear ... she left "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" not just because of personal tragedy -- the death of her mom -- but because she was the victim of an orchestrated smear campaign against her.

Lisa said she just had it after season 12 ... and a lot centers around her feud with Kathy Hilton ... specifically the blowup in Aspen ... so she told Interview Mag.

Lisa said, "The story just didn’t get told as two-sidedly as I would’ve liked. It was unfortunate that there weren’t cameras in Aspen. It was something that happened so spontaneously. In the moment, I didn’t think to turn on my voice memos. When somebody’s having a nuclear breakdown, you don’t think, ‘Oh, I should be filming this.’”

Lisa says Kathy was trash-talking her sister Kyle in between filming ... while alcohol was freely flowing.

Interestingly ... Kathy wasn't the principal villain in Lisa's world -- she reserved that for another housewife, saying at least Kathy was brave enough "for showing up to the reunion, because she could have run like Lisa Vanderpump did."

Former 'Bachelor' Colton Underwood is hoping Chris Harrison's past drama, resulting in an abrupt exit from the show, is water under the bridge ... but admits the former host might be doin' better since he left.

We got Colton at LAX Thursday and he's got nothing but love for the guy ... but check out his response when asked about a possible Chris Harrison comeback tour.

Colton's gunning for everyone involved to be at peace -- and hopes the matter's been dealt with and wrapped up behind the curtain.

For those unaware, Chris unloaded his thoughts about his exit this week on his new podcast, "The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever" ... saying he was heartbroken and gutted over the situation -- adding, “I was embarrassed. I was mad at myself."

As we reported, Chris was pushed out of the show after defending former 'Bachelor' contestant Rachael Kirkconnell for attending a plantation-themed party while in college.

Kanye West isn't just hanging around town with a mystery blonde, he's also married to her -- they recently had a private ceremony to celebrate their love ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the couple tell TMZ the woman is Bianca Censori, she hails from Australia and she's worked as an architectural designer at Yeezy for several years. She's also been a brunette until switching things up to the short blonde look we've recently seen.

Our sources say Ye and Bianca recently had some sort of wedding ceremony -- though we're told it doesn't appear they've filed a marriage certificate to make it legal.

Still, he's treating her like wifey ... Ye was wearing a wedding ring this week when he and Bianca arrived at the Waldorf Astoria in Bev Hills -- and we're told the ring symbolizes his commitment to her following the ceremony.

Just last month Kanye released a new song, titled "Censori Overload" -- another tribute to his new woman.

While the lyrics don't seem to directly tie him to her, there are some possible clues as to why he wanted a quickie wedding ceremony. The line, "And The Bible said, 'I can’t have any more sex til marriage'" seems kinda relevant!

TMZ broke the story, Ye and Bianca were spotted sharing a meal and chatting at the Waldorf earlier this week. We hadn't really seen them together prior to that meeting, but she's also hit some Kanye-adjacent events, including a Balenciaga show in May.

Enes Kanter Freedom -- an outspoken critic of human rights violations worldwide -- has been declared one of Turkey's most wanted terrorists ... with the government issuing a $530K bounty for information leading to the arrest of the former NBA player.

According to the Turkish Minute, Turkey's Interior Ministry issued its “Terrorist Wanted List", which included the 30-year-old longtime NBA player, accused of being a member of a terrorist organization.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the gov. also put up a reward of 10 million Turkish liras -- equivalent to around $532K U.S. dollars -- for anyone who puts Kanter behind bars.

“I’m not the only one. There are so many innocent journalists, academics, athletes, activists and educators on this list. Now their lives are in danger because of the Turkish government,” Enes told TM.

Freedom hasn't been shy when criticizing Erdogan over the years, previously referring to the leader as a "dictator" and the "Hitler of our century."

"Because of my platform, whenever I say something, it goes everywhere, and the Turkish government hates that," Freedom told the NY Post this week. "They’re really sick of it, and they said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and doing whatever they can to shut me up."

Kanter, who legally changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, spent 13 seasons in the NBA ... playing for the Jazz, Thunder, Knicks, Trailblazers, and, most recently, the Boston Celtics in 2021-22. He became a U.S. citizen in 2021.

Despite the bounty recently being issued, the Turkish government has been trying to silence Kanter for years. Now, however, Enes is concerned for his safety, believing he will now be the target of not just the government.

“That makes it so dangerous,” Kanter said to the Post.

“Before the bounty, Turkish intelligence was after the people on the list, but now everyone is after them because they want the money.”