Controversial S#!T

The College Board is caving to pressure from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to water down an Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies.

DeSantis dug in his heels, banning the class from all Florida high schools -- and Wednesday, the College Board, which oversees the AP program nationwide, announced several changes to the new course's curriculum ... and it appears concessions were made to DeSantis.

The Governor and others in the GOP, were pissed the course included topics like the Black Lives Matter movement, affirmative action, reparations, critical race theory and queer theory.

The official curriculum, released on the first day of Black History Month, removed those hot button topics ... while content on slavery, abolition, reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement and the Black power movement remains.

Christopher Tinson, the chair of the African American Studies department at Saint Louis University, joined us this week on "TMZ Live," and told us the College Board would be open to compromise, even though it now opens the door for other states to demand specific changes.

DeSantis also made a fuss about several Black authors who were included in the course ... and the College Board's final draft also removed them from the material.

Tiffany Haddish says she's shocked there's a push to get her written out of the long-anticipated "Girls Trip" sequel -- but she's defiant, telling us there's no way she'd miss it ... no matter what Twitter haters think.

Tiff seemed genuinely surprised outside The Ivy Tuesday evening when she was asked what she thought about the instant backlash when it was announced last week "Girls Trip 2" was finally going to be made ... and with the OG cast of Tiffany, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Regina Hall.

Well, she makes it crystal clear that as long as her costars want her to do the movie ... Tiffany WILL be there, regardless of any controversy.

The issue is, some fans think Haddish should not be included this time around, because of the child molestation lawsuit that was filed last year against Tiffany and Aries Spears.

As we reported, the suit was dismissed and the plaintiff even publicly forgave Tiffany ... saying she knows the actress would never harm her or her family.

As for the sequel to the 2017 comedic hit ... Tiffany told us she "can't be concerned with what other people think. I gotta be concerned about how I feel" ... and she says she's feeling really good about herself these days.

BTW, even though it's been announced the film will be set in Ghana, and everyone's on board ... Tiffany seems less than convinced it's actually gonna happen. As she put it, "Y'know every year they say this."

Some of Hollywood's biggest names, plus a skateboarding legend, are pitching in to help Tyre Nichols' mother and stepdad ... with big donations to his memorial fund.

TMZ combed through more than 33,000 donations to Tyre's official GoFundMe and found a ton of celebs who donated money.

"Love Song" singer Sara Bareilles, pro skateboarder Tony Hawk and comedian Lil Rel Howery each pledged $1,000 ... as did "Shea Butter Baby" singer Ari Lennox.

The fundraiser is being organized by Tyre's mom, RowVaughn Wells, who says her and her husband's lives have been turned upside down by Tyre's death, which came after he was brutally beaten by Memphis police.

Lil Rel's been outspoken about the tragedy, saying Tyre was a peaceful person who should still be alive.

Tyre's mom says the donations will help cover the costs for her and her husband's mental health services, plus help them afford to take time off from their 9-5 jobs to focus on "seeking proper justice" for Tyre.

What's more, Tyre's mom says the family wants to build a memorial skate park for Tyre "in honor of his love for skating and sunsets."

Tony, the most famous skateboarder ever, appears all-in on building a skate park in Tyre's honor ... he reposted a video of Tyre skating, along with the caption, "Help Tyre's family (and honor him with a skatepark)."

Other donations pouring in from Hollywood include ... $2,300 from "Watchmen" screenwriter Damon Lindelof, $1,500 from "As Told By Ginger" writer Emily Kapnek and $5,000 from Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary.

Latto nearly had the last laugh on "panty police" haters who accused her of repeatedly wearing one pair of animal print undies, but eBay is deflating her auction dreams!!!

A spokesperson for eBay tells TMZ Hip Hop ... used and worn underwear is a direct violation of their "used clothing policy," and that's why it's yanked Latto's link to auction off her underwear.

The company says it uses multiple layers of AI technology in addition to its professionally trained eBay investigators to sniff out errant sales like Latto's, and ensure they're upholding its health and hygiene standards ... which of pair of panties containing "big energy" ... do not!!!

The Grammy-nominated rapper saw her worn cheetah prints nearly earn her $100K before the eBay takedown. She only started the auction in order to school fans on the fact she does indeed have more than one leopard print thong th-thong thong thong!

Ahead of the auction, Latto actually took time to explain to the trolls that she keeps healthy stashes of undergarments during tour time.

Here's a new one -- a 22-year-old high school basketball coach is out of the job after trying to pass as a 13-year-old player in a junior varsity game earlier this month.

According to local reports, Arlisha Boykins -- an assistant for the Churchland H.S. Truckers in Virginia -- impersonated one of her players who was away from the team for a club basketball tournament on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Instead of playing with one less hooper, Boykins apparently took matters into her own hands and suited up as the student-athlete ... and footage obtained by WAVY10 shows the full-grown adult balling out against the competition -- driving the lane for a layup, getting a block and nailing free throws.

The outlet reports Boykins was fired as a result of the stunt ... and the rest of Churchland's JV players and parents elected to opt out of the remainder of the season.

The 13-year-old's father spoke about the situation ... admitting he was "shocked" the coach would do such a thing.

The school is now investigating the incident ... and the student's family is asking for an apology.

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.