Controversial S#!T

Glynn Turman tells us why Black elementary school kids getting racist drawings during Black History Month isn't a story that shocks him ... and he's got some incredible words for the kids that were apparently targeted.

We got the longtime actor at Wally's in Bev Hills ... and, as he puts it, hatred like this is deeply rooted in America's DNA, which is why it's an incident we should've seen coming -- and he calls out the lack of education as a reason why.

Glynn says we can't keep burying racism in this country, pointing to this vulgar act as an example. He's also got words of wisdom for Black kids who are facing hatred like this in schools today ... check it out, it's incredibly powerful.

As we reported, drawings saying things like "To my favorite cotton picker" and "You're my favorite monkey" were passed out at Pepper Tree Elementary School in Upland, CA ... needless to say, parents of the targeted students were outraged.

The old "Crying Indian" commercial that used to play in the '70s -- which was meant to be a PSA against pollution -- is never going to be aired again ... now thanks to its new owner.

Nonprofit Keep America Beautiful is the OG creator of the ad, several variations of which they shot and ran with the help of actor Iron Eyes Cody ... who was the face of the campaign and who'd often be depicted in Native American regalia/crying at the sight of litter.

While their intentions might've been in the right place at the time, the PSA hasn't aged well ... with many Native American groups having since said it pushes hurtful tropes and stereotypes.

As a result, KAB has given up its claim to the PSA at large and transferred ownership to the National Congress of American Indians, which says it's retiring all of the promos and will monitor to make sure it's never played without historical context. In other words, this won't ever be played unironically as a real anti-littering message ... like it once was for years.

A rep for the Congress says, "NCAI is proud to assume the role of monitoring the use of this advertisement and ensure it is only used for historical context; this advertisement was inappropriate then and remains inappropriate today. NCAI looks forward to putting this advertisement to bed for good." It also seems like this is partially due to Cody's legacy.

At the time, he was all in on this campaign ... but his work in Hollywood -- where he starred in upwards of 200 films, often portraying a caricature of a Native American character -- has many in the community feeling like he's not the best representation of actual environmental work that real Native American people are involved in today ... especially all these years later. One activist says the "Crying Indian" appears to have no agency in the problem.

The creator of the classic comic strip, 'Dilbert,' may have just lined up the final nail in his coffin when it comes to newspapers running his stuff ... via a racist rant about Black people.

Scott Adams posted a new episode to his podcast Wednesday, where he discussed a poll he says was put out by Rasmussen ... which cites 53% of Black Americans agreeing with the phrase "It's okay to be white," meaning almost half of the respondents surveyed didn't necessarily agree, sending Adams into a tirade about the ramifications of that, from his POV.

Check out what he said ... because it's truly something. SA launches into a tirade about how white people should simply stop trying to help African-Americans in this country, because it always backfires and only festers hate from Black people's side. That's his takeaway.

He also goes so far as to say that Black people, at large, are a hate group ... with his rationale being -- if they're not okay with the phrase, they're trafficking in racial bigotry.

Adams went on to distinguish the differences between white and Black neighborhoods -- invoking Don Lemon, no less -- and ended with the cherry on top ... namely, his suggestion that white citizens steer clear of Black people ... 'cause it's just more trouble than it's worth.

As hostile and antagonistic as that sounds, Adams insists he's tried being an ally to Black folks throughout his life ... so much so, he apparently started *identifying* as Black too. 🤔

Welp, that was enough for some major flagship news operations to kick him and 'Dilbert' to the curb -- including Gannett, which runs and publishes USA Today ... which now says it's done with him and will no longer continue to print 'Dilbert' comics in any of its papers.

The Plain Dealer -- a Cleveland publication -- announced the same shortly thereafter ... but it's actually late to the game. Several other newspapers in recent years have already dropped Adams/'Dilbert' ... upwards of 77 under Lee Enterprises and the SF Chronicle too.

Paris Hilton says she had a TERRIFYING run-in with Harvey Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival when she was a just teenager.

Hilton told Glamour UK mag she was having lunch with a female friend at the festival in 2000 when Weinstein walked over to their table and asked if she wanted to be an actress.

The then-19-year-old Hilton says she responded, ‘Yeah, I really want to be in a movie.’ Paris says she was impressed by Weinstein and thought he was "cool" at the time.

Weinstein then allegedly hit on her, explaining, ‘Well, we should have a meeting. You can come up to my room and read scripts’… and I just didn’t want to go, so I never went.”

But, the next night, Paris says Weinstein followed her to the ladies bathroom at the festival's annual amfAR gala for AIDS research and screamed at her, “Ya wanna be a star?”

Paris says Weinstein then tried to open the bathroom door and started banging on it with his fist. But, Paris says, she refused to open the door and told Weinstein, ‘I’m in a stall, why do you want to come in here?’

Security eventually arrived and escorted Weinstein out -- btw, he was hosting the event. As Weinstein was led away, he allegedly went bonkers, stating, "This is my party!" Paris admits, "It scared me and freaked me out.”

Through a spokesperson, Weinstein told Variety that Paris' story was "probably false."  The disgraced film producer went on to say "he had always treated Paris Hilton with the utmost respect and kindness, and always believed they had a cordial relationship.”

As you know, Weinstein was sentenced Thursday at his L.A. trial to 16 years in prison for sexual assault. He is also serving 23 years for a 2020 rape conviction in New York.

Nick Cannon says it's not up to him how many kids he ends up having ... he's leaving it to a higher power.

Nick told "Entertainment Tonight," "God decides when we're done, but I definitely got my hands full." The father of 12 says his procreating prowess could last for decades ... "And I'm so focused. I'm locked in. But, when I'm 85, you never know I might [have more]."

His latest addition is Halo Marie ... the proud mom being Alyssa Scott.

And, of course, there's Legendary, Rise, Onyx, Golden, Powerful, Zion, Zillion, Beautiful Zeppelin, Moroccan and Monroe ... hard to keep track.

Ricky Gervais has opinions about 86'ing the words "fat" and "ugly" from children's books, and he concedes it's child's play compared to what he says onstage.

Ricky is clearly appalled by the move to cut the 2 words from Roald Dahl's books for kids, mocking the "fragile" and "easily offended."

Ricky says he's been noodling over words he uses onstage ... words like f**k, fat, ugly, greedy, pathetic little stupid f**king c*** -- "Stuff like that."

Ricky followed up with a tweet where he displayed a pic of himself making a wonky face and exposing his belly, saying, "I've changed my mind. I think we should ban the words 'fat' and 'ugly. No reason."

Someone on Twitter took him seriously and said the comedian's standup is different, because it's not aimed at kids.

Ricky's reply -- “Yeah I know ... It was a joke.”

As you probably know, Dahl's books, notably "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," have been re-issued where "fat" will no longer be used.

Erin Blanchfield isn't looking to prove herself worthy of a title fight ... she straight up believes she's a superior fighter to Valentina Shevchenko, telling TMZ Sports she plans to dethrone the current champ.

"[Valentina] can be taken down, she can be controlled on the ground and I think my jiu-jitsu is even better. I know I could fight with her anywhere. I'm confident in my striking and my wrestling and my jitsu," 23-year-old Blanchfield, fresh off an impressive 2nd round submission win over Jessica Andrade, told us this week.

The #3 ranked UFC flyweight then continued ... "I think just putting my whole game together, I think I'm more well-rounded in that sense where I can put it all together better and that I'll find that win whenever I can."

We asked Erin if she believes she's done enough to secure a fight for the belt.

"Oh, definitely. I think I've proved myself after this last weekend and I definitely want that title shot next."

Blanchfield vs. Shevchenko is the fight so many fans want to see, but Valentina has business to take care of beforehand. The 34-year-old champion is fighting 29-year-old Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 on March 4 ... where she's a heavy favorite (-600).

FYI, Shevchenko only has 3 losses in her entire career ... and 2 were to Amanda Nunes (some fans feel VS won 1 of the fights). Valentina hasn't lost since 2017 (and hasn't lost to anyone not named Nunes since 2010!). Blanchfield only has one loss on her ledger (in 2019) ... and has an 11-1 record in MMA (5-0 in UFC).

Erin tells us she's rooting for Shevchenko because a loss would almost certainly guarantee a rematch of the 285 scrap between the women, and EB isn't trying to wait. Not to mention, she'd like to be the woman to dethrone the future Hall of Famer.

"I definitely want Valentina to win. I wanna be the one to take that belt from her. She's been a super dominant champ, she's very skilled and having that prestige of taking a belt from someone like Valentina is definitely what I want."

As for how she thinks a fight with the current champ would go ... Blanchfield sees herself winning by any means necessary.

Stephanie Mills is making no apologies whatsoever over ranking Diana Ross above Beyonce ... a stance that just may infuriate the Beyhive forever!!!

The R&B vet hit "The Breakfast Club" Friday to address her recent VladTV interview ... where she boldly declared Beyonce classifies as a rapper, while Diana Ross is the "epitome of glamour!!!"

Rather than backpedal, Stephanie doubled down ... explaining, in her eyes, Beyonce's last few albums have been more in the "hip hop" lane and no one -- Bey included -- can compare to the Motown queen!!!

Stephanie admits she's always been a Diana Ross "stan" -- she literally set the stage for Diana's portrayal of Dorothy in the 1978 film "The Wiz" after playing the character herself for years on Broadway ... but makes no apologies for her commentary.

She did deny the implication that her comments made it sound like hip hop and rap are beneath old-school R&B -- and she got some backup from guest host, Jess Hilarious.

Beyonce's 2022 "Renaissance" album was largely classified as "dance" and helped her break the record for the most Grammy wins ever. The entire album rollout was about glam ... word to the crystal holographic horse she posed on for the album cover.

Chloe Bailey didn't let the haters stop her from releasing her new single with Chris Brown ... pushing it out with a new music video that's already gotten hundreds of thousands of views.

Chloe and Chris' "How Does it Feel" dropped Friday, and in a complete reversal from last week, most of the comments in Chloe's Twitter feed about the song are positive ... and in less than 12 hours, the music video itself has close to 350,000 views.

Directed by Arrad, the video shows Chloe and Chris embrace a couple of times as they're holed up in a penthouse as the two sing the ballad.

Brown defended his name, unleashing on Kiely Williams, Blueface and a laundry list of white celebs who also have been arrested for domestic abuse and whom fans still support.

Joe Exotic has apparently made up his mind -- he will die behind bars and refuse further treatment -- because his medical team believes his prostate cancer spread to his bladder.

In a letter obtained by TMZ, Joe says he's recently had a lot of blood in his urine and has been bleeding a lot during his prostate cancer treatments. Joe met with his urology specialist Wednesday who thinks Joe's cancer has spread to his bladder.

While Joe says his specialist wants him to go through some testing to be 100%, he's decided he won't seek treatment, writing, "I want to stay here and just let it take its course.”

It's unclear just how much longer Joe has to live, but he makes one thing very clear -- he won't stop his fight for justice, saying, “The world has to know just how corrupt our justice system is … If I have to be the one to die innocent in here fighting for the truth maybe people around the world will finally speak up for the truth for once.”

TMZ broke the story, Joe recently wrote up a new will, leaving everything to his fiancé, Seth Posey, who he met over the internet.

Joe's clearly still got Seth on his brain, ending his most recent letter by saying, "I could care less about dying, my birthday is coming up soon and all I want is to see Seth.”

Rihanna's halftime performance at Super Bowl LVII caused a ton of outrage for folks watching on TV ... they flooded the FCC with complaints, saying her set was too big on sex.

The overall takeaway from the folks who felt compelled to complain about Rihanna to the feds ... the lyrics and choreography were way too sexualized, with some viewers even comparing it to porn.

TMZ obtained the 103 complaints made to the Federal Communications Commission -- a U.S. government agency that regulates television -- regarding this month's Super Bowl broadcast ... and almost all of them had to do with RiRi's halftime show.

One viewer in California even compared Rihanna's set to Kim Petras and Sam Smith's performance at the Grammys, writing ... "I don't care what someone worships but children shouldn't be exposed to pornography and as an adult I don't wish to see it ... Where has decency gone? How about respect for others and self?"

In Utah, one viewer bitched ... "This year the halftime show was so indecent I had to turn off the TV because of the pornographic content."

Meanwhile, folks across the country clutched pearls over the "overtly sexual dancing" and song content heavy on sexual content.

Rihanna was pregnant so she didn't dance much ... and most of the ire was directed at the background dancers, who some say made gestures that "were patently offensive and completely inappropriate for children."

When RiRi did manage some dance moves, they drew complaints too ... with one viewer in Florida complaining, "She spread her a** cheek at the crack. She rubbed her pants where her labia were three times."

The parents of the woman who was killed in Tuscaloosa last month are appalled Brandon Miller was allowed to suit up for Alabama on Wednesday ... claiming the university is focusing more on saving his basketball career than the lives that were ruined as a result of the tragic shooting.

Miller scored 41 points to help the Crimson Tide beat South Carolina ... just one day after cops testified he was connected to Jamea Harris' murder by providing now ex-teammate Darius Miles with his gun on Jan. 15.

Miles isn't accused of actually firing the gun, but has been arrested for capital murder. A third man allegedly fired the fatal shot ... using Miles' gun, which was allegedly delivered by Miller.

DeCarla Cotton was shocked Miller was eligible to play in the game ... telling USA Today, "It’s just unimaginable, and it’s like his life is just going on."

"He took a brief pause and it didn’t stop. It’s like, okay, slap on the wrist and go play ball."

Cotton points out her daughter would still be alive if a gun was not present on Jan. 15 ... adding Miller should have known the potential consequences.

Cotton said the university should care more about her grandson, 5-year-old, Kaine ... who now has to grow up without a mother.

"He’s the true victim in all this," she added. "He won’t have a mother anymore to influence his growing up and who he’s going to be."

Jamea's stepdad, Delvin Heard, also went after Bama head coach, Nate Oats for comments he made surrounding the tragedy ... calling his handling of the matter "godawful."

Heard specifically stated Oats crossed the line for saying Miller was in the wrong place at the wrong time ... claiming the coach "crossed the line."

Oats later apologized for his previous statements, but Heard clearly isn't having it.

"The retraction meant nothing to us because over this five-week period, he has made a habit of making reckless statements," Heard added. "When I say reckless, I mean statements not considering the victim in this whole thing, which is Jamea Harris."

As we previously reported, Miller's attorney claimed in a statement he "never touched the gun, was not involved in its exchange to Mr. Davis in any way, and never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur."

The elementary school students who targeted Black classmates with horrifically racist drawings aren't being held accountable, despite multiple other incidents of bigotry ... so says the SoCal school's PTA President.

Robin Allen joined "TMZ Live" Thursday, and unloaded on the school district for failing to issue any meaningful punishment for the students at Pepper Tree Elementary in Upland, CA. She also shot down the theory parents are behind the racist drawings.

Robin pointed out 6th graders made the offensive drawings on their own, completely unsolicited by teachers -- in other words, this was NOT a Black History Month lesson gone awry.

As we reported ... the drawings included captions like, "You're my favorite monkey," and "To my favorite cotton picker."

Even more disturbing ... Robin says the group of students responsible for the drawings have been calling Black kids monkeys and making animal noises all year -- not just this month.

Unfortunately, she claims the school district has let them get away with it for far too long.

One pair of parents of a Black student is blaming the parents of the offending students for teaching them bigotry -- but, as we said, Robin isn't letting the kids off that easy ... and wants the school district to prove it really does have a zero tolerance for hate.

Robin also feels the principal's apology for the incidents was far too delayed, coming 2 weeks after news of the drawings.

Milwaukee Bucks player Meyers Leonard says he sometimes contemplated leaving his basketball career behind amid the fallout from using an antisemitic slur on a video game stream ... but ultimately felt it would be a "coward's way out."

Leonard -- who last played in the NBA in 2021 -- said there were times he wanted to "run away" due to the backlash he faced after the incident ... admitting he made enough money to pack up his things and start a new life elsewhere.

But now that he's back in the league, Leonard is opening up on his experience.

"It’s a mixed bag of emotions, for sure," Leonard told reporters Wednesday. "It’s certainly the hardest two-year stretch I've ever had in my life, as an adult, as a man."

Leonard said being without a team was an "extremely difficult time," and called his use of the slur an "ignorant mistake." He also apologized again to anyone he offended.

As we previously reported, the Milwaukee Bucks signed Leonard to a 10-day contract on Monday, opening up the possibility for the seven-footer to step foot on an NBA court once again.

Meyers -- selected 11th overall in the 2012 NBA draft -- added it's been an uphill battle since his whole life changed, but believes he's put in the work to convince people he's remorseful.

Leonard reaffirmed that he doesn't hate anyone, and said he's thankful for the "amazing relationships" he's forged with people in the Jewish community along the way.

The parents of one of the Black elementary school students targeted with heinous racist drawings are blaming it on the parents of the offending classmates, making a fairly compelling case ... the racism comes from somewhere.

The crayon drawings are shocking ... one read, "You're my favorite monkey,' and another reads, "To my favorite cotton picker." Another student was told she would get a drawing with the image of a black person hanging from a tree, with the caption, "You're my favorite slave."

The drawings were supposedly passed out by students during Black History Month at Pepper Tree Elementary School in the Southern California town of Upland.

Parents of the children targeted are outraged, but not necessarily at the kids. They point to the parents, because what child knows these words and phrases?

The Upland School District called the incident "racially insensitive" ... a remarkable understatement.

A U.S. Air Force pilot has a unique keepsake from the Chinese spy balloon crisis -- a selfie snapped with the device in the background ... before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Pentagon released new images Wednesday, showing the balloon in flight on Feb. 3 -- the USAF eventually fired a missile on Feb. 4 to take it down. The photos were taken from the cockpit of a U-2 spy plane, which is capable of flying at an altitude of up to 70,000 feet.

The spy balloon was reportedly floating around 40,000 feet when it was destroyed. Interestingly, the new photos show it was still over land on Feb. 3, and that the U.S. military was keeping a close eye on the balloon.

U.S. officials said China's super snooper was about the size of 3 school buses, and you can see in the pics ... it had huge solar panels attached to the spying equipment.

President Biden said he gave the order to shoot it down on Feb. 1, but military advisors said it would be best to wait until it was over open water.