Controversial S#!T

Sen. Ted Cruz is standing his ground, refusing to apologize to Paul Pelosi for sharing conspiracy theories about the hammer attack ... even after seeing the shocking police video of what went down.

The Senator was at Reagan National Airport when we got his reaction to the body cam showing David DePape smash Pelosi in the head with a hammer -- he called it the "utterly unacceptable" actions of a "deranged lunatic."

Although he was quick to condemn DePape ... Cruz got much quieter when we asked if he'd apologized to Pelosi for supporting, or at the very least, promoting theories suggesting there was something shady about the details of the attack.

In one instance, he reshared a tweet that shot holes in the idea DePape was "some kind of militant right winger" ... despite reports he actually had been posting on far-right political blogs.

As we reported, DePape attacked Pelosi with a hammer inside his and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's SF home.

DePape -- who's since been charged with attempted murder -- told the FBI he was planning on shattering the Congresswoman's kneecaps, because he thought she was a liar.

Despite all that information, the body cam and surveillance videos showing DePape smash a back door to enter the Pelosi home ... Sen. Cruz is refusing to even acknowledge an apology might be appropriate.

Kanye West's presidential aspirations don't come cheap -- just ask his campaign, which paid Milo Yiannopoulos tens of thousands last year ... while reimbursing Nick Fuentes for a few expenses, as well.

According to FEC filings obtained and viewed by TMZ, Kanye 2020 -- his official presidential committee that appears to still be active -- shelled out a whopping $40,000 to the alt-right media personality ... with whom Ye recently cut ties amid his anti-Semitic spiral.

The docs show that Milo was paid this amount for "Campaign Wrap Up Services" ... with the cash getting dispersed about a week or so before Christmas 2022. That would seem to line up with what we were seeing at the time publicly ... Milo tagging along with Ye throughout much of the fall.

That's not the end of Milo's payday, though ... the filings also show a separate $9,955 that was paid to him by the Kanye's campaign in November for what they describe as "Domain Transfer."

Keep in mind ... Milo was claiming in early December that Ye actually owed him $116k for campaign consulting -- but our Ye sources said nothing was ever in writing.

On top of this, the FEC docs also show that Nick Fuentes was paid back by the campaign for some travel costs ... totaling $14,719.87. You'll recall -- NF was on Ye's national press tour for a while too, going city to city with Kanye for months on end.

New England Patriots star, Trent Brown is going from protecting Mac Jones on the field, to doing the same off of it -- telling TMZ Sports the quarterback's haters need to go kick rocks.

The Pats' left tackle didn't mince words while out at LAX on Monday -- saying he's a HUGE fan of Mac ... and doesn't get the criticism that surrounded the QB for most of this year.

Brown said he straight up "loves" the guy -- and anything Mac's critics say goes in one ear and out the other for him.

"They don't really matter," Brown said of the Jones haters. "Really, nobody outside of that building matters."

"It's all about who's in that locker room and who comes to work for us every day. That's it."

Jones faced a ton of heat this year -- he threw 11 interceptions in 14 games and had just 14 passing TDs -- leading many to call for backup Bailey Zappe to start over him.

Clearly, though, Brown's got Mac's back ... and loves him at QB1.

As for how things will go next year and the following years after this season's 8-9 disappointment ... Brown promised things would turn around soon.

"I don't believe we'll be down too long," he said.

Lisa Marie Presley was millions of dollars in debt at the end of her life, but the moment she died, her estate was flush with cash -- to the tune of $35 million.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Lisa had taken out 2 life insurance policies -- one for $25 million, and another for $10 million. Our sources say there may be a third $10 million policy, but it's unclear if it's lapsed.

What's even more shocking ... our sources say Lisa was trying to cash in the $25 million policy to pay some of the debts she owed, totaling $4 million. We're told she had notified the insurance company and filled out the paperwork to get a lump sum of just $2 million. We're told there was a screwup in the paperwork so the policy was never cashed in.

Our sources say Lisa was $4 million in debt when she died ... of that she owed $2.5 million to the IRS. We've learned Lisa blew through $100 million during her adult years.

When the debts are cleared, there will be around $30 million (assuming the third policy lapsed) to distribute. We're told Lisa's 3 kids, Riley Keough and 14-year-old twins, Finley and Harper Lockwood, were named beneficiaries and will receive equal amounts.

Since the twins are minors, the money will go into a trust. This is where a family conflict is starting to erupt. As we reported, Lisa created a trust in 2010, naming her mom and her former business manager, Barry Siegel, as trustees.

Lisa amended the trust in 2016, cutting Priscilla and Siegel out as trustees and naming her daughter Riley and Son Benjamin in their place. As we reported, Priscilla filed legal docs Friday, challenging the validity of the amendment. Presumably, she still wants to be trustee of what now amounts to a fortune.

Amy Winehouse fans who got PO'd seeing Marisa Abela in costume for the biopic probably aren't gonna be happy with this latest update, 'cause it's still looking a little ... off.

TMZ obtained photos that were taken out in London Sunday afternoon, where the actress was in full costume portraying the late singer. As you probably know by now, Marisa was tapped to play Amy -- but people online are crying foul, saying it's a complete miscast.

Considering the massive amount of criticism early set photos received in the past few weeks, you might've thought the studio would make a tweak or two to Marisa's makeup or something -- but alas, as seen in these pics, they're forging ahead with what they got here.

Unclear what sort of scene they were shooting exactly -- but eyewitnesses tell us it looked like Amy's onscreen dad, Eddie Marsan, was dropping her off at a rehab center. That would make sense ... this film is focusing on Amy's rise to fame in the early aughts, when she was still living in London. By then, she'd already been using substances, alcohol and otherwise.

The backlash over Marisa's casting is likely to continue as the movie moves along in production -- frankly, MA looks nothing like Amy ... and while the real Amy Winehouse's own father says it's not a big deal at all, that's likely not gonna appease the diehard fanbase.

It's a bit weird everyone's so riled up over the fact Marisa's not a dead ringer for Amy. Truth be told, Hollywood's been in the habit of casting actors who don't necessarily look exactly like the iconic musicians they play, especially of late. Austin Butler excluded, of course.

Plus, ya gotta imagine that the producers -- who are working on this with a blessing from Amy's estate -- want to do her legacy justice ... so a little trust goes a long way for this sort of thing. As they say, it's not always about the look -- but, more so, the essence.

Bottom line ... Marisa still has the potential to wow everybody, so we'll just have to wait and see what comes of the performance when 'Back to Black' eventually hits theaters.

Sam Smith's new music video is stirring the pot for its NSFW content -- but it's also sparking debate on an interesting question ... is sexuality just a straight person's game???

The nonbinary singer dropped the visual treatment for their latest single "I'm Not Here To Make Friends," which is featured on their recently-released album, "Gloria." Safe to say, 'INHTMF' is in your face when it comes to showing off skin and sexually suggestive scenes.

Sam is depicted in several eye-popping outfits, including one where their chest is on display with nipple pasties in place. There are also moments where SS is being sprayed in the face with water ... which kinda looks like something typically left behind closed doors.

Of course, the backup dancers and extras are flaunting their stuff in scantily-clad getups all throughout ... so, objectively, it checks the box for a traditionally provocative project.

Now, the controversy ... Sam has been trending all weekend over this video, mostly invoking outrage from people on the right -- who feel like it's wildly inappropriate ... especially as it pertains to age restrictions and kids who might stumble across it on YouTube.

The argument from that end is that 'I'm Not Here' is just a hyper-sexualized demonstration of perversion for the hell of it, masked as body positivity and LGBTQ+ empowerment.

Of course, not everyone sees it that way. In fact, the rebuttal coming from the other side is ... where's all the outrage when we see cisgender heterosexual men and women doing the same thing (if not worse) in music videos of the past??? It's a fair question to pose.

One individual broke down this apparent double standard quite well on TikTok -- influencer, Max Hovey came to Sam's defense and said the backlash is misguided and misplaced.

Basically, the idea that someone who doesn't fit society's conventional beauty standards can't openly express their sexuality on camera without flack -- while others can get away with it unscathed -- is screwed up ... according to Max and others who agree with him.

FWIW, Sam doesn't seem too bothered by all the discourse -- they're continuing to promote the hell out of this thing and posting clips and stills from the video without reservation.

Zachary Levi said something that Twitter's taking as an anti-vax stance -- which could spell trouble for Warner Bros. Discovery ... 'cause he's got a blockbuster movie to promote.

The actor -- who plays the lead in the "Shazam!" franchise -- replied to a question posed on the bird app by Lyndon Wood, who asked ... "Do you agree or not, that Pfizer is a real danger to the world?" ZL's response made no bones about how he feels, "Hardcore agree."

There's not much more context beyond that, and right away ... Twitter users started bashing the dude and labeling him as a right-winger spewing anti-vax rhetoric. This also prompted people to pull up old clips of Zach that they view as problematic -- including a Joe Rogan interview he did a few years ago, where they talked about Elliot Page and Jordan Peterson.

Of course, the jokes also started to fly in regards to WBD and how the execs there might be reacting to this news ... on its face, it comes across as a PR nightmare -- especially with "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" on the horizon and a press tour that'll undoubtedly come with it.

Welp, Zach caught wind of all the hubbub and attempted to clarify ... tweeting a link to a 2009 DOJ press release touching on a fraud case Pfizer was involved in at the time, when they agreed to pay a $2.3 billion settlement. He says this is what he was referring to.

In other words, he's now trying to make it seem like he was expressing a view against corruption in big pharma -- but, frankly, Twitter isn't really buying it ... especially amid the latest Project Veritas drop, which has been top of mind in much of conservative media.

Time will tell how this might affect things with the water tower team. One could argue WBD had a way bigger scandal on its hands with Ezra Miller ... and they ended up salvaging that pretty nicely. Their movie isn't canceled -- it's actually due to come out later this year.

Of course, it all comes down to what James Gunn and Peter Safran wanna do with "Shazam!". They're at the helm of DC now, and they've scrapped A LOT in recent months.

"Saturday Night Live" poked fun at the classified documents scandal engulfing President Biden, but the most biting humor was reserved for his Veep.

'SNL's Mikey Day played Attorney General Merrick Garland, kicking things off with a speech about how former Trump VP Mike Pence found classified docs at his Indiana home. Kenan Thompson, as an FBI agent, followed with a few wisecracks about Pence.

Then came the bit about Kamala Harris ...comedian Ego Nwodim, playing an FBI agent, bluntly said: 'Come on now. Joe Biden won't even give this woman a pen. You think she has classified documents? Please, Kamala Harris with classified documents."

Ego then walked away as Day returned to the mic, adding..."Well, we had to at least check."

Funny skit, but it also had to sting, since it implied Joe didn't trust Kamala enough to share the nation's secrets. Harris, as you know, has been dogged by criticism about her competence in her role as second in command.

The Navy veteran who claims Rep. George Santos cheated him out of cash intended for his dying dog's cancer treatment, says he'll get justice if the lyin' congressman is hit with criminal charges.

Richard Osthoff tells TMZ ... he views the alleged scam as both wire fraud and charity fraud -- calling Santos a swindler because he used an alias to get away with the whole thing.

The vet was joined by NJ Veterans Network President Michael Boll when he told us he'd already tried to bring charges against Santos -- but because he was going by Anthony Devolder back then, it led to a dead end.

Osthoff didn't fully disclose what action he's taking to now against Santos, but he tells us government agencies are looking into the case.

As we reported, his late pooch, Sapphire, was a beacon of light for him after getting out of the service and becoming homeless. He realized she needed life-saving surgery when a tumor on her stomach grew larger every day.

He claims Santos, or Devolder, told him he ran an animal rescue, and created a GoFundMe campaign that raised enough to cover Sapphire's surgery -- only to have Santos send him to a different vet, who said the tumor was inoperable.

Osthoff had no choice but to watch his pup die ... while Santos allegedly made off with the thousands raised Sapphire.

BTW -- Santos decided to put a POW-MIA flag in front of his office amid his latest scandal ... and Osthoff sees it as a huge disgrace to him and other vets.

The special task force to which all 5 officers involved in Tyre Nichols' death belonged is being dismantled for good ... an about-face after the top dog said she wouldn't do it.

The Memphis Police Department announced Saturday they were deactivating the SCORPION Unit effective immediately ... this in the wake of public outcry following the release of body cam footage that showed 5 cops detaining and brutally beating Nichols on Jan. 7.

The department says Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis met with the remaining officers that were part of SCORPION (Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) and mutually came to the decision it'd be best to disband the unit in light of everything.

MPD says they've made this decision after listening to the family of Tyre, community leaders and the public at large -- noting that the officers who are part of SCORPION, and who do fine work normally, "agree unreservedly with this next step."

They add, "While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonor on the title SCORPION, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted." MPD also says they want to restore trust ASAP.

Interestingly, Chief Davis on Friday said she wouldn't be shutting down SCORPION ... telling AP, "The whole idea that the Scorpion unit is a bad unit, I just have a problem with that."

There's been a lot of digging into what this unit was/why officers who were in it had any reason to come into contact with Tyre on the night in question. SCORPION was formed in October 2021 and launched the following month ... so it's been around for just over a year.

According to a MPD description of SCORPION at the time ... the whole idea of it was to get about 40 officers split into 4 teams to patrol "high crime hotspots" all throughout Memphis.

Tyre's traffic stop-turned-chase occurred at the intersection of East Raines Road and Ross Road -- near the Autumn Ridge neighborhood ... which appears to be one of the areas SCORPION was assigned to cover. The fact five of its cops were there is no coincidence.

The Chief has since said no evidence has surfaced for why Tyre was pulled over in the first place. Reckless driving was cited, but proof of probable cause for that is nonexistent.

A top U.S. Air Force official sent a stunning confession to his subordinates this week that warns of a looming war with China that he believes will manifest in the next couple years.

General Mike Minihan -- a four-star officer -- fired off an internal memo Friday to the rank and file that reports to him within the Air Mobility Command ... a unit that encompasses roughly 50,000 service members and oversees 500 planes for transport/refueling purposes.

While AMC doesn't sound like a combat-ready entity, Minihan reportedly told his guys to prepare for battle ... this according to NBC News, which says it obtained a copy of his note.

According to the outlet, Gen. Minihan writes ... "I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025," while going on to describe what he says he believes China will do during the 2024 general election cycle -- namely, use that volatility here in the States to move on Taiwan.

In the event this comes to pass, Minihan reportedly laid out a very detailed defense and attack plan ... which includes building up a "Joint Force Maneuver Team" that can mobilize quickly to "fight and win inside the first island chain." He's ordering all airwing commanders and AF operational commanders to report on their progress for this by the end of February.

There's more ... Minihan reportedly has goals in mind for February and March, which entail his boys firing clips at 7-meter targets -- while noting, "unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head." In March, he wants the AMC team to "consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared." Also, he tells them to update their emergency contacts.

In addition to this, Minihan's memo talks of risk/reward in training ... reportedly saying, "Run deliberately, not recklessly," and later adding, "If you are comfortable in your approach to training, then you are not taking enough risk." NBC News also says he discusses the possible use of commercial drone swarms as a tactic the U.S. might use against China.

In other words, this guy is rounding up the cavalry in very real terms ... not hypotheticals. And yet, a DoD rep went on record to say Minihan's concerns don't reflect the department's view on China ... distancing themselves from what sounds like legit wartime preparations.

Al Sharpton went in on the fired Memphis police officers accused of murdering Tyre Nichols, saying the fact the 5 ex-cops are all Black makes the situation even worse.

We caught up with the Reverend on Friday outside NBC Studios in NYC ... and he didn't mince words after the release of police body cam footage showing Tyre's deadly assault.

The Rev told us ... "I want to make it clear: these five officers are Black does not make it less. In fact, it's more egregious that some black cops in a town where MLK gave his life, that's where he was killed, would do this is outrageous."

Of course, Al was referring to the fatal shooting of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, TN, on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray confessed to the murder and died of liver disease in prison.

What's more, the Rev said the ex-officers did a disservice to Black people trying to change the justice system from within ... "We fought to get them on the [police] force to correct the force, not to do this."

He also took a swipe at Congress for failing to pass into law the 2021 George Floyd Act, which would have increased accountability for police misconduct.

The Rev said ... "I put this at the feet of those that would not vote for federal law after George Floyd, there were no laws changed!"

Floyd, as you know, was infamously killed in 2020 by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of the homicide and sentenced to decades behind bars.

Al wrapped things up by urging anyone protesting in Tyre's name not to engage in violence. He said if they do riot it will only help the accused officers defend themselves in the criminal case.

Tyre Nichols' mother can't bring herself to watch the video of Memphis police beating her son so badly he ended up dying in a hospital -- she says it would just be too painful.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Nichols family, tells TMZ ... Tyre's mother, RowVaughn Wells, is still not interested in watching the police body cam footage ... even though it was released Friday to the public.

We're told Tyre's mom is glad the video is out now, so folks can see what really happened ... but she just can't bear to see it herself -- just as she didn't when it was first made available to the family. Ben says she probably never will watch it.

As we reported ... the video is every bit as disturbing as Tyre's family and law enforcement described, and it all started with a traffic stop Jan. 7 in Memphis.

In the footage, you see officers wail on Tyre as he screams for his mom -- punching him in the face, kicking him in the head, using pepper spray and even beating him with a baton.

After a massive struggle, cops got Tyre in handcuffs and sat him up against a police car -- Tyre writhes in pain for nearly 20 minutes before he's given medical assistance.

Following a vicious beating from cops, Tyre complained he was having shortness of breath and he was rushed to a hospital, where he died 3 days later.

While gruesome, Crump says Tyre's mom thinks it's extremely important for the world to see how police treated her son ... and she hopes the video prevents a similar tragedy from happening to another family.

The video's already being linked to the beating of Rodney King way back in 1991 ... and we're told Tyre's mom understands the footage is triggering for many, and she's preparing to be flooded with calls.

The 5 Memphis police officers involved in the incident -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith -- have already been fired and charged with second-degree murder.

One thing Tyre's mom doesn't want to get glossed over ... the incident isn't just a hashtag for her ... her son is dead.

Memphis police just released the graphic body cam footage from Tyre Nichols' brutal arrest -- and the video is every bit as disturbing as Tyre's family and law enforcement have described it.

In the clips, pulled from both body cam and overhead cameras, you see officers swarm Tyre -- demanding he get down and give up his hands. Although he's laying on his side with an officer on top of him, he's hesitant to lie flat on his stomach.

One officer threatens to deploy his Taser, and after about a minute-long struggle ... Tyre gets up to start running, and one of the cops fires his Taser, but he gets away.

About 7 minutes later, they catch up to Tyre in a residential neighborhood, and this is when it gets brutal. While he's pinned to the ground -- reportedly about 100 yards from his family's home -- Tyre repeatedly yells, "Mom!!!"

Then one officer kicks him twice, and another yells, "Watch out, I'mma baton the f**k out you," and then strikes Tyre twice before they pull him up on his feet.

While 2 officers are holding him with his hands behind his back ... another punches Tyre 5 times with a closed fist, sending him back down to his knees again.

Eventually, officers get Tyre handcuffed, put him up against a police cruiser and he writhes in pain for nearly 20 minutes before going limp.

As you know, the 5 Memphis PD officers stopped Tyre on Jan. 7 on suspicion of reckless driving ... but from the start, the cops were hyper-aggressive. Even the video does not make it clear why things got violent that quickly.

Once other officers show up to the scene, one of the cops involved in the beating says Tyre attempted to grab for another officer's gun -- causing them to unleash on him.

After the vicious beating ... Tyre was rushed to St. Francis Hospital because he was complaining he was short of breath. He was admitted in critical condition, and died in the hospital on January 10.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who's representing Tyre's family, reviewed the body cam footage with the family days before it was released, and likened the horrific scene to the beating of Rodney King in 1991.

The 5 Memphis police officers involved in the traffic stop -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith -- have been fired and charged with second-degree murder.

They also face additional charges of official misconduct, official oppression and aggravated kidnapping. Four of the 5 have posted bail and were released as of Friday morning.

Tyre's cause of death has not been released and the incident is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The graphic footage of cops beating Tyre Nichols has Memphis City Council Chairman Martavius Jones at a loss for words, and instead, he was overcome with emotion on live TV.

CNN's Don Lemon interviewed Jones after the brutal police body cam footage was released to the public ... and Jones tells Don the video is especially hard to watch because everyone knows Tyre dies in the end.

That thought made it impossible for Jones to finish his sentence -- he broke down in tears, and needed a few minutes to compose himself.

As Don points out, lots of folks are having the same reaction to the video ... which shows cops punching, kicking and beating Tyre with a baton after pulling him over.

Tyre ended up in a hospital after the vicious beating ... and he died 3 days later.

Sheek Louch thinks Pusha T did himself a favor by choosing to part ways with Kanye West following his 2022 string of hate and antisemitism.

The LOX legend recalled how disappointed he was in Ye's antisemitic rants when DJ Vlad alerted him Pusha had quit his longtime gig as GOOD Music President over those very same outbursts!!!

Sheek applauded Pusha for choosing to bounce away from Ye ... calling him "solid" while voicing some pretty hefty complaints of his own about the embattled megastar.

Back in August 2021 when Ye was rallying the troops for his "Donda 1" album, he called upon a sleep-deprived Sheek, Jadakiss and Styles P to fly on a private jet in the middle of the night to work on the project.

The LOX had just beaten Dipset in their historic Verzuz battle but still agreed to help Ye for the culture.

Sheek says once they got there, Ye thanked them for coming ... through his mask — which he didn't remove one time — but even crazier, that was the last time they saw him!!!

Sheek floated the idea of telling Ye to suck a 🍆 — the ultimate form of disrespect in his book — if he reaches out to do a track in 2023, but doesn't think Ye and Pusha should beef going forward.

One person who strongly disagrees is proud Ye loyalist Consequence ... who's currently dragging Pusha's name in the gutter for abandoning ship!!!