Controversial S#!T

Tiger Woods is being called out by a women's empowerment group for his tampon prank at a PGA Tour event ... saying how dare he, especially with a daughter at home.

Kara Sugar, CEO of the Women's Global Empowerment Fund, tells TMZ ... Tiger's tampon moment was not only misogynistic but also tone-deaf and straight-up disrespectful to women and girls all over the world.

Sugar ripped the golfing legend, wondering if he's intimating "periods are embarrassing or shameful or a sign of weakness?"

As you know ... Tiger was playing his Friday round at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles with Justin Thomas when he hit his ball further than Justin and handed a Tampax to his friend and competitor. The misguided sentiment -- Justin hits "like a girl."

The women's group says it's sad to see Tiger do this because he's a grown man with a daughter ... and they feel the joke distracts from the serious issues involving mental health and periods, which women and girls around the globe face.

Tiger gave an apology/non apology, saying "It was supposed to be all fun and games. Obviously it hasn't turned out that way. If I offended anybody in any way, shape, or form, I'm sorry."  In other words, not really an apology."

Patrick Mahomes didn't drunkenly give away the real Lombardi Trophy to a fan on Wednesday after all ... new footage shows it was actually a replica he passed off to the crowd at the parade.

Chiefs superfan Vinnie Garofalo and his K.C.-themed bar, Casey’s Black Rock, posted the clips to social media on Thursday ... revealing that the clone of the Super Bowl hardware had been brought to the parade after it had initially been made for the Buffalo-area watering hole.

Garofalo told the Daily Mail on Friday that as he was waving it around while the Chiefs were passing by -- they were floored by its resemblance to the real award ... and just had to grab it and pose with it.

In the footage, you can see Mahomes took it, admired it -- even shared it with some of his teammates ... before he handed it off again.

So, no ... Mahomes did not obliviously give away the Chiefs' precious award while having a few too many Coors Lights.

It's sure to bum out a bunch of people who thought otherwise -- including Tom Brady, who actually tweeted his endorsement of the QB's actions on Friday afternoon when he believed Mahomes had messed up.

"Looks like appropriate parade behavior to me," Brady said while tagging the quarterback and adding a handshake emoji.

Of course, Brady knows all too well about infamous moments with the Lombardi at parades ... back at the Buccaneers' SB celebration in Tampa in 2021, he nearly threw it into the ocean before walking off a boat looking rather inebriated.

The NFL has a real issue with representation in the head coaching ranks ... and Skip Bayless says he knows why -- old, white NFL owners just aren't comfortable socializing with Black coaches and their wives.

"These older white owners just aren’t that comfortable with a Black head coach because they need to interact, they need to go to dinner with the wives or the [significant others] or whatever," Bayless said on FS1's "Undisputed" this week while discussing 53-year-old Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy's failure to land a gig as HC.

"[White owners are] just not that comfortable. When they do have an interview, it’s gonna be a quicker click with a young white hot candidate."

Of course, the NFL only has four Black head coaches ... Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay, newly hired DeMeco Ryans in Houston and Mike McDaniel in Miami.

Despite a majority of the players in the league being Black, people of color have long had issues getting hired, especially as head coaches.

The NFL has instituted guidelines like the "Rooney Rule" -- dictating front offices must interview a minority candidate before making a hire.

Still, only four of the 32 teams feature a Black man in the top job, and it doesn't appear change is on the horizon.

As for how to fix the glaring issue, Bayless admits it may not be a repairable problem ... 'cause, how do you change how the owners think?

“It’s just culture, it’s just the way life is. And, I don’t know how to defeat it, because each of these guys is an independent owner in the umbrella of the NFL and it’s hard to legislate ‘you must hire a black coach’"

"You can’t unless it’s in the man’s heart to do the right thing, and every once in a while we have the Rooneys in Pittsburgh who did the right thing.”

Chris Brown is singling out Cheetah Girls/3LW singer Kiely Williams amongst the peanut gallery upset he's collaborating with Chloe Bailey ... but Breezy is busting her chops, almost literally!!!

Following Chloe's ill-fated preview of "How Does It Feel," Kiely went on a tirade over the collab like several fans -- accusing Chris of exploiting female Black artists' talent to mask his past domestic violence case with Rihanna.

Breezy's currently overseas on tour, but took time to respond to Kiely's disses and did so with a mix of pity and humor ... to him anyway.

He deemed Kiely to be broken -- either mentally, financially, or both -- for the unprovoked attacks, and then took the low road by taking aim at her lisp. He joked how she sang "promithis, promithis" on her hit song "No More (Baby I’Ma Do Right)," and again through a meme captioned "thop it!!!"

While Breezy didn't hesitate to fire away at Kiely, Chloe still has to deal with her angered fanbase ahead of the release of their song.

Don Lemon jumped on a CNN staff call Friday morning to apologize for his sexist on-air comment Thursday that women are not in their prime after their 40s ... but it did not go over well.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Don jumped on for only 90 seconds to address what he said about Nikki Haley and, for that matter, all women.

He said he didn't mean what he said, adding he's going to continue to fight discrimination against women. He essentially said some of his best friends are women, citing his relationships with CNN talent Dana Bash and Erin Burnett, VP for Talent and Content Development for CNN Amy Entelis, and his mom and sister.

We're told some people on the call talked afterward and called Don "tone deaf," with one saying it looks like Don was giving himself kudos for owning his mistake.

The embattled anchor had the day off Friday ... this after enraging his cohost Poppy Harlow with his comment. Although, our sources say his day off had been scheduled beforehand.

Lance Gross has no problem with Idris Elba refusing to call himself a "Black actor" ... and while he isn't necessarily hopping on that train, he's definitely not down with labels.

We got LG out in L.A. Thursday and got his thoughts on the whole "Black actor" discussion ... sparked by Idris declaring he no longer wants to be described that way because he feels it puts him in a box.

Lance tells us, he totally understands Idris' point, and said his personal stance is pretty similar -- "I'm an actor first, who happens to be Black." Basically, he's not parading the term either.

He also says he makes a point to tell his team to seek out roles that aren't written just for Black folks, and that means he gets the "best of both worlds".

For Lance, it's all about doing the job well, rather than talking about his race.

Idris initially made his remarks while talking to Esquire UK ... but he's since doubled down on social media, despite drawing mixed feelings from fans.

One user fired back, "You only became as popular as you are because of BLACK AMERICANS, but instead of using your platform to speak UP for US, you promote acceptance of the status quo. I am DISGUSTED with you. Then again, Black Americans have historically been the ONLY group with BACKBONE."

Sorry, Tom Brady ... Green Bay Packers star Allen Lazard is giving the G.O.A.T. title to Aaron Rodgers -- telling TMZ Sports the QB is the best pigskin-thrower ever!

"The greatest of all time," the 27-year-old said of his quarterback out at Super Bowl festivities last weekend. "Not might, no might. Drop the might. He's the G.O.A.T."

Of course, most consider Brady to be the best ever -- dude has seven Super Bowl rings, played until he was 45, and owns just about every passing record ever -- but Lazard told us he's going with his signal-caller over anyone else.

"The best person to ever pick up a football and throw the ball," he said. "I'll leave it at that."

Lazard might be a bit biased, he's been catching passes from Rodgers since 2018 -- and gushed over the QB's pinpoint accuracy when we asked him about playing with the signal-caller.

As for their future together, though, it's murky -- Lazard is a free agent ... and Rodgers is rumored to be a trade candidate this offseason.

Regardless, AL says he'll always be Rodgers' biggest supporter.

"Catching passes from him has, you know, it's been a highlight of my life, my career, and everything," Lazard said.

The wideout's teammate, Aaron Jones, however, told us at the SB LVII festivities he doesn't like the idea of Rodgers playing anywhere else, especially if it happens to be with the Las Vegas Raiders.

"He's my quarterback!" the running back said. "I don't want him to go nowhere."

Goldberg absolutely hated Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday ... calling the singer's performance "horrible", and saying it left him feeling "disgusted."

"I thought Rihanna was frickin horrible," Goldberg said on his CarCast podcast with Matt "The Motorator" D'Andria. "I was disgusted by it. That's all. Let's just say that. I thought it was horrible."

D'Andria said he thought Rihanna's performance was "kind of boring," and Goldberg agreed, calling Matt's comment "the understatement of the year."

Goldberg seems to have an issue with RiRi's crotch grab -- he wasn't the only one -- and felt like the "Bitch Better Have My Money" artist made the performance too much about herself.

Of course, Rihanna opted to do her 13-minute set at the Super Bowl without bringing out any surprise guests like other performers in the past have done.

Rihanna's SB halftime show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ was the first time she's performed in over 6 years ... and we now know, she wasn't exactly alone up there. 👶

Goldberg, however, is a fan of Chris Stapleton, who sang the National Anthem before the Chiefs-Eagles played, applauding the singer-songwriter for doing his job "to the fullest."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are getting the "South Park" treatment ... the show rips Harry's new book, labels Meghan an "Instagram-loving bitch" and calls them out as hypocrites.

The latest "South Park" episode aired Wednesday night on Comedy Central and it rips Harry and Meghan to shreds ... starting out by accusing them of not caring much about the death of Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

It only gets worse from there ... the skit features Harry and Meghan going on a Canadian talk show, walking out with picket signs demanding privacy before telling the host they're thrilled to be on TV.

Harry's called out for his new memoir, "Spare" ... the "South Park" version is dubbed "Waaagh" and the joke is Harry's whining about growing up in the United Kingdom as a prince.

Meghan's spoof cuts in to say the book was her idea because the Royal Family is "stupid" and so are journalists ... and then Harry's called out for essentially being a journalist with his book.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone also take aim at Harry and Meghan's privacy demands ... pointing out she has no problem doing TV shows, magazine covers and running in celebrity circles ... landing more punches by having Harry say "My Instagram-loving bitch wife has always wanted her privacy."

The skit ends with the couple storming off the set, saying they're leaving to find some quiet place to live like normal folks ... before cutting to a private jet.

Busta Rhymes' reaction to a strange woman grabbing his butt is stirring an uproar among fans -- but Claudia Jordan says the rapper had every right to react the way he did after getting violated.

We got the TV and radio host Wednesday in NYC outside the studio where she's guest hosting "The Breakfast Club" this week ... and she thinks safety is a priority for all artists, no matter their gender.

She's not buying into the ol' double standard that men shouldn't complain if a woman puts her hands on him without consent.

In case you missed it, Busta caught some flack after a clip of him went viral Tuesday, throwing a drink at a woman who ran up behind him, and touched his butt.

Folks online were split on the reaction -- some say he did the right thing, while others think he was out of pocket -- but Claudia's got BR's back, solidly.

A preschool in Miami is under fire for intentionally putting blackface on some students ... a move staffers proudly touted as a way to celebrate Black History Month.

Parents found out on Feb. 3 what was happening at Studio Kids Little River -- which has a preschool and daycare facilities. One parent, Courtney Politis, who had 2 kids at Studio, tells TMZ she was made aware of the incident by another concerned mom.

She says pictures of at least 2 toddlers in blackface were posted by a teacher on the school's internal app. As you can imagine, those pics started circulating, showing 2-year-olds dressed in police and construction worker costumes, with dark makeup plastered on their faces.

Politis says she brought this up to the preschool's director, Patricia Vitale, to express her outrage ... but claims Vitale downplayed the racist nature of it, asking why it was a big deal.

However, afterward, Vitale sent a letter to all the parents of the preschool ... writing in part, "We have not intended to offend anyone, and we’re very sorry about any inconvenience."

A few days later, Vitale sent another message that was a little more serious. The letter read, "We wanted to let all the parents know that we met on Friday afternoon with all the teachers and staff. We went over several ethical and multicultural education points. I will teach the team a class covering all the necessary topics regarding US history and multicultural education." She added, "[Y]ou may rest assured this will never happen again."

Politis tells us that, as far as she knows, the teacher who did this didn't face any real repercussions beyond a possible talking-to. Although, she's not calling for the teacher to be fired ... she does want there to be some discipline to show this just wasn't right.

Now, as for whether this is part of a larger political issue in FL -- involving Gov. Ron DeSantis' opposition to "wokeness" -- Politis says she doesn't necessarily see a direct tie there ... instead, she points to the fact the people who run the school are Argentinian.

NBA guard Bryn Forbes -- who was just waived by the Minnesota Timberwolves last week -- was arrested on Wednesday morning after he allegedly hit a woman "several times."

The altercation, according to the San Antonio Police Department, happened in Texas at around 5 AM after the 29-year-old basketball player and a woman had been out on the town.

Police say the woman told them Forbes had become upset at her while they were out, and when they drove home, the two got into an argument that turned physical.

According to cops, the woman said Forbes struck her multiple times in the confrontation, "causing injury and pain." Police say EMS arrived on scene and provided her with medical attention.

Forbes was arrested a short time later and booked on a family violence charge. Jail records show as of Wednesday afternoon, he remained in custody.

Cops say an investigation remains ongoing.

Forbes went unpicked in the 2016 NBA Draft, but latched on with the San Antonio Spurs as a rookie nonetheless, playing in 36 games.

Damar Hamlin is breaking his silence on his controversial Super Bowl jacket ... saying he never meant to offend anybody by wearing it -- and calling it simply "abstract art."

Hamlin rocked the coat -- which featured a crucifix with an altered Jesus head on it -- to the Chiefs vs. Eagles game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. -- and a day later, Adrian Peterson ripped him for it.

The future Hall of Famer called it blasphemous and disrespectful. He said he later spoke to Hamlin to explain his opinion.

The 24-year-old Buffalo Bills safety finally opened up about the situation on his Twitter page Wednesday afternoon ... saying he had absolutely no intent to disrespect anybody with outfit choice.

"After talking with my parents I understand how my coat could have offended some people," Hamlin wrote.

"It was never my intentions to hurt or disrespect anyone, the coat is abstract art to me. It says Eternal which I am Eternally thankful to my Savior!"

He added, "My beliefs and Relationship with God is not tied to symbolic images."

The NFL player, who's still on the mend after going into cardiac arrest during a "Monday Night Football" game last month, then promised to learn from it all.

Lewis Hamilton isn't phased by a new rule in Formula 1 requiring drivers to get permission before making political statements during race weekends ... saying, he "won't be silenced."

“Nothing will stop me from speaking on the things that I feel that I’m passionate about and issues there are,” the seven-time F1 champion said Wednesday.

The FIA, Formula 1's governing body, implemented a rule in December prohibiting drivers from making political, religious, or personal statements without permission.

The idea is statements political in nature can be divisive (after all, much of the world is split when it comes to politics), and F1 doesn't want fans alienated. It's like the old Michael Jordan quote ... "Republicans buy sneakers, too."

Hamilton, one of the most vocal superstars in the sport, said he wasn't surprised when he learned of the FIA's new rule, and he doesn't plan to abide by it ... "I’m still going to be speaking on my end."

“I feel the sport does have a responsibility, still always, to speak out as a means to create awareness on important topics, particularly as we are traveling to all these different places, so nothing changes,” Lewis says.

Hamilton's had a contentious relationship with FIA ... he found himself in a battle with them last season after they (attempted to) crackdown on drivers wearing jewelry during races.

The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 driver said that he's aware he would be penalized if he violates the FIA's new rule ... but contends he won't allow that to deter him from speaking out on issues.

"All American"s send off of Taye Diggs' titular character came as a shock to many, with some expressing serious anger online ... but long-running castmate, Bre Z is breaking down the meaning behind the loss of Coach Baker -- and why her character hasn't gotten the boot yet.

We got Bre Z, known for playing Coop on the CW series, at H. Lorenzo in WeHo Tuesday ... saying there's an incredible writing team behind the show, and the loss of Coach Baker is going to open up even more great storytelling post-death.

ICYMI, Monday's episode was a massive shocker ... and despite Taye previously talking about his decision to leave the series, it was never specified how his character would go out. The show even teased a life-changing episode ahead of Monday's big reveal.

Fans online were FURIOUS over the loss of Taye's character -- with some calling the death premature and nonsense ... some even flooded Taye's IG comments with major concern.

Some folks even said Coop should've been the one to go instead ... we talk to Bre Z about that too, but she doesn't think she's goin' anywhere.

FYI -- Taye thanked his fans for all their support after the episode aired, shouting out his cast for their "energy and unrivaled talent."

Kodak Black says he didn't have much luck betting on this year's Super Bowl, but he already has a plan to make up for it next year ... he's gonna need some help, though!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught Big Yak in AZ getting swarmed by adoring fans after the game, and he humbly admitted his pockets were feeling anything BUT victorious following the game. He didn't give us details but sounds like he laid a lot on the Eagles.

That said, Kodak didn't seem to mind that much. He got so much love exiting State Farm Stadium, you'd think he was one of the players.

Of course, a year ago Kodak's Super Bowl weekend activities ended in violence -- he and Justin Bieber are currently facing a lawsuit related to the 2022 shooting that went down in L.A. just ahead of Super Sunday.

We asked Kodak about the case, but his mind was already on 2024. The "Super Gremlin" rapper said he plans to bet several million on Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to appear in next year's big game.