Controversial S#!T

Antoine Dodson -- the guy who became Internet famous for a very memorable interview says he's fine with white people using Black memes ... because they pay for it, literally.

We spoke to the viral star -- whose iconic quotes from the 2010 WAFF news piece, including "hide your kids, hide your wife," were turned into a catchy song -- and he weighed in on the CNN digital Blackface controversy. As it turns, out, he has quite a bit to say about it.

Antoine tells us the argument that whites are maliciously mocking African Americans -- intentionally or otherwise -- through the use of GIFs/memes just isn't his experience. If anything, he says he's only encountered reverence from Caucasians for his own meme fame ... which has translated to cold hard cash when they hire him as talent. Top dollar, at that.

Check out AD's perspective for yourself, because the way he breaks this down is unique ... and sorta scathing. He says if anyone has made him into a joke, it's other Black people.

Antoine says he doesn't really do Black-sponsored engagements 'cause it doesn't compare to the treatment he might get from whites. As he puts it ... if white people are only out to make him a punchline for their amusement, they're going to expensive lengths to do so.

Bottom line ... Antoine feels like the notion we gotta restrict white people's meme usage is ridiculous -- which is how a lot of Twitter users felt about it this weekend, frankly.

While some might agree with the writer, John Blake, the consensus seems to go in the opposite direction -- and Antoine's in that camp. BTW, he also touches on his sister's real-life scary incident being turned into humor ... and he explains why he's good with that too.

Last year Antoine got into the adult beverage business partnering with an Alabama brewery to craft "Run N Tell That" lager and just recently launched his own hot sauce.

Akademiks thinks big-name rappers Drake, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar have gotten big heads and are now too afraid to sit and talk to the very hip hop outlets they once used to build industry clout.

Cole recently conducted his first on-camera interview in years with ESPN's Bob Myers, with the biggest headline being the North Carolina-bred rapper smoking cigarettes at age 6 ... and Ak says the entire set-up screams "weirdo."

Ak is adamant he's not bitter for not personally getting face time with the hip hop heavyweights -- but, instead, says he's speaking for the loads of scaredy-cat journalists who don't want to rock the boat.

Translation: They're all playing the PR game, but Adademiks is refusing to join 'em.

He recalled a time he criticized SZA -- a Top Dawg Entertainment artist -- while working for Complex, and claims the mag's staff was frantically trying to patch things up in hopes of scoring an interview with Kendrick, TDE's flagship rapper.

Kendrick jetted off to Ghana following the release of his long-awaited album "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" and later conducted a softball interview with "W" magazine -- a complete distancing from traditional rap culture outlets, Complex included.

Drake spoke to Lil Yachty during a seaside chat for the release of his last project "Her Loss" .... but Ak says the Canadian megastar is overdue to return the favor to publications that first threw him street cred.

Ak scolded the rap stars for falling into "white boy conversations" ... but added, in his eyes, there are still some real ones out there.

Khia's not impressed with the loads of rappers who have repurposed her 2002 breakout hit "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)" ... which mainly includes Saweetie's version, the one that actually took an artist's career to the next level!!!

The 'Thug Misses' rapper was quizzed on the spot about the legacy of her XXX-rated track — and immediately targeted Saweetie's 2017 song "Icy Grl."

Khia had a hard time reciting the song and began dubbing Saweetie "Sweet Pea" as a diss ... while digging into her further, claiming green peas were her least fav veggie as a kid.

YG and the City Girls were offered a handful of props for their songs that borrowed from 'My Neck, My Back,' but Khia ultimately doesn't think anyone has improved on the record she originally created.

TMZ Hip Hop recently talked to Larrance Dopson -- from the Grammy Award-winning outfit 1500 or Nothin' -- and he ripped some producers for being lazy, and dropping the ball when it comes to upgrading the samples. Much like what Khia's fuming about.

Drake missed his headlining Lollapalooza Brazil set Sunday night -- less than 24 hours after he was partying in Miami with 50 Cent the night before.

The 2 superstars linked up inside the Booby Trap On the River, which would have been a monumental occasion ... had thousands of fans not been expecting him on the stage down in Brazil to cap performances from Rosalía, Tove Lo, Armin Van Buuren and more.

Drake was quickly replaced with Skrillex on the bill, which, as you'd expect, didn't sit well with some fans.

The festival issued a mea culpa ... explaining Drake didn't have all the necessary tools to nail his performance and offered Day 3 ticketholders the opportunity for a refund.

A translated statement on the festival's social media says, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Drake is without members of his sound and production team, essential to the realization of the Lollapalooza show in Sao Paulo. Drake was excited to perform for his fans in Brazil. Unfortunately, this is beyond his control. Sorry.”

Drake and 21 Savage are set to go on tour latest this year ... but as of now, Brazilian fans are SOL as the dates only hit North America!!!

Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day -- a former Super Bowl champion -- claims he was sexually assaulted by TSA personnel on Friday.

The 28-year-old, who signed with the Chargers in 2022 after spending his first three seasons in the NFL with the Rams, said the incident all happened at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif.

He claims as he was going through security checkpoints, an agent touched him inappropriately. He alleges that when he asked the worker to stop -- he was then "swarmed" by three more TSA members.

"I'm all for people doing their job well," he wrote in a series of statements on his Twitter page Friday morning. "But it was extremely unnecessary and dehumanizing. I travel a lot, for personal and work reasons. I’ve never experienced anything like that @JohnWayneAir."

Joseph-Day says he immediately went to file a complaint ... but accused officials of "making me jump through hoops to do so."

"I'm not sharing this on Twitter for sympathy. I'm sharing this so this group of gentleman and staff aren't allowed to do this ever again to another human being."

TSA released a statement to Fox News on the matter on Sunday ... saying it was aware of the allegations and is investigating the claims.

"We are looking into the matter to determine if our procedures were followed and whether any corrective action needs to be taken," officials said.

"TSA remains committed to treating every traveler with dignity and respect while carrying out its security screening responsibilities."

Adam Levine is a man of his word -- in the wake of his sexting scandal, he publicly declared he was fully committed to his family ... and here's video showing exactly that.

TMZ obtained footage of the singer out doing a little shopping Sunday with his brood, hitting up the H&M store at the Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas ... and rolling in as a tight unit. Both of his kiddos, Gio and Dusty, were there ... as was his wife, Behati Prinsloo.

Watch for yourself ... you can see Adam and co. cruising up the escalator, and when they reach the top -- Adam lifts his son off his shoulders as their daughter runs around near him. Seems they had a bodyguard with them too ... but it was a straight up Levine family outing.

The reason this is notable now ... on Friday -- during Maroon 5's debut concert for their new residency -- AL specifically shouted out Behati and his children during his performance.

During the sweet moment, Adam spoke candidly ... saying he used to be out here (onstage, it seems) for himself -- but at this point, he says he's out here for them. He also said his family is the only thing that truly matters to him in the whole world. Adam said he loved his fam, and looked to his left ... so it appears Behati and the kids were actually there.

The backdrop of all this, of course, is the fact that Adam was accused of cheating last year -- or, at the very least, emotionally cheating ... by allegedly DM'ing a bunch of women.

He denied getting involved with any of the women who claimed he was messaging them, but acknowledged he'd crossed a line and screwed up. It was a whole scandal for a while.

In the aftermath of that, Adam and Behati appear to have reconciled ... as they've been spotted out together and looking happy several different times now -- including here. Also, they just welcomed a third baby into their lives ... although, there's no sign of it in this clip.

Bottom line ... Adam seems to have a new outlook on life, and the crowd at his first show appreciated it -- giving a good round of applause, with cheers to boot.

A CNN writer has spurred a healthy debate about Internet culture, and has posed the question of whether it's okay for white people to use Black memes ... he says it isn't.

John Blake published a piece Sunday that's gotten a big reaction online. It's titled, "What’s ‘digital blackface?’ And why is it wrong when White people use it?" In the analysis article, he makes his argument -- namely, using these memes/GIFs is modern-day minstrel show fare.

For starters, he describes digital blackface this way ... "[It] involves White people play-acting at being Black," citing a Teen Vogue writer who defined it. He goes on to quote that author as saying, "[T]he Internet thrives on White people laughing at exaggerated displays of Blackness, reflecting a tendency among some to see 'Black people as walking hyperbole.'"

Blake continues to reference Teen Vogue in zeroing in further ... "[Digital blackface] includes displays of emotion stereotyped as excessive: so happy, so sassy, so ghetto, so loud… our dial is on 10 all the time — rarely are black characters afforded subtle traits or feelings."

Now for the haymaker from Blake, who says digital blackface is wrong and that it should be halted. The reason ... he says it's embedded in racist traditions of making fun of Black people -- and while Twitter users in 2023 might not necessarily see it that way from the outside looking in, that's certainly how it's being perceived by many ... intentionally or not.

There are countless Black memes that the Internet regularly recycles -- including some that feature famous people from TV shows and/or movies -- but there's one that Blake focuses on in particular as his Exhibit A ... namely, the 2012 Sweet Brown interview from Oklahoma.

Brown had just experienced a legitimate tragedy at the time -- she was dealing with an apartment fire -- and while her remarks were animated/memorable ... they were coming from a serious place of fear. And yet, the internet made a whole autotune song out of it -- seemingly discounting her real-life feelings and simply making a joke out of the whole thing.

Ditto for Antoine Dodson's TV news interview from years ago, where his family also had just gone through a truly terrifying encounter -- but his comments also went viral.

Jonathan Majors' lawyer says there's evidence that'll prove he committed no crime against a woman who's alleged he assaulted her -- even claiming she's reversing her own story.

Criminal defense attorney Priya Chaudhry -- who's representing Majors in this matter -- tells TMZ ... "Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows. We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently."

She goes on to cite evidence she says they've already gathered to back up their version of events -- including video footage from within the vehicle where the alleged assault occurred, witness testimony from the driver and others who saw/heard the episode ... and, last but not least, two written statements that Chaudhry claims are from the alleged victim in this case.

Chaudhry insists the statements show her fully recanting her allegations, and she adds this will all be presented to the authorities in due time to prove her client did nothing wrong.

As for why Majors was arrested if all this stuff does, indeed, exist ... she tells us it's SOP in police departments to make an arrest after an allegation is levied and if there's probable cause to back up the claims. In this instance, the NYPD says there were... visible injuries.

Chaudhry finishes with this ... "We expect these charges to be dropped soon. The DA will usually request orders of protection in these matters while they are being resolved." Majors has been charged with misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault and harassment. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court in May.

In response to Majors' attorney's claims about the woman -- whom we've been told is a girlfriend of his -- the Manhattan D.A.'s Office tells TMZ ... the case is ongoing and they won't be commenting further on the details.

What they did say, however, is that a limited court-ordered protection for the alleged victim has been put in place. The D.A. requested a full order of protection ... indicating that they feel the alleged victim needs a bigger forcefield.

Harry Styles has moved on ... and Emily Ratajkowski is feelin' the love!

Harry and Emily shared a passionate kiss in Tokyo Saturday night, and they clearly didn't care people were watching.

The 2 had just left a nightclub and the video, obtained by DailyMail, unravels the mystery of who Harry is currently dating.

They were standing outside in the rain locking lips, after a night of dancing inside the club. They clearly want people to know at this point, they're a thing.

Harry is in Tokyo for his Love on Tour concert ... we don't know if Emily was at the show, but it's a good bet she was.

As you know, Harry and Olivia Wilde broke up last November, and over the last month, there's been a buzz he's dating someone new.

Ray Liotta's Facebook account is no longer posting celeb death hoaxes and sending out weird links to fake news ... at least that's what his team's hoping, but seems like the mystery hacker isn't giving up that easily.

Here's the deal ... the late actor's Facebook account started posting a ton of strange things last week, like death hoaxes, news links and fake stories about Ellen DeGeneres, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger -- all of which confused and alarmed fans who followed the late "Goodfellas" star.

Late this week, a rep for Ray's team told TMZ they'd finally resolved the issue by reaching out to Facebook and working with them to address the problem.

Or, so they thought. Shortly after we were told the account was secured ... another bizarre post -- for Ray's page, at least -- went up promoting a porn scene. It has since been removed.

We've reached out regarding the porn post, but no word back yet.

While his team told us they believed the account was back in good hands ... that doesn't seem to be the case.

The troubling part is it seems a mystery as to who's been hacking his page and how these posts keep ending up on his feed. All the old phony posts have been deleted, but it's clear someone is still using his account with ill intentions.

Despite the scary security breach, Ray's camp says Mark Zuckerberg's company has been "an amazing partner in resolving the issue."

As you know, Ray died in his sleep last May, when the 67-year-old was filming a movie in the Dominican Republic.

Ted Nugent kicked off Donald Trump's latest rally with a homophobic insult aimed at Volodymyr Zelensky ... falsely claiming the guy's gay while demanding a refund.

The rocker was one of the first speakers for the DT event down in Waco, TX Saturday ... and when he took the stage, he started ranting and raving about the Biden administration's spending decisions -- including where they've sent money and supplies.

He started out by saying he (as an American) didn't give the OK for JB and co. to surrender a bunch of U.S. military equipment to the Taliban ... referencing the exit out of Afghanistan.

Then, he went straight into bigotry -- saying he also didn't sign off on the government sending billions of dollars in aid to embattled Ukraine amid their ongoing war with Russia. Here's how Ted put it ... "I want my money back! I didn't authorize any money to Ukraine to some homosexual weirdo. I want my money back! I want my freedom back!"

He went on to say that the crowd might wanna write this down ... adding, "Men don't give me my rights, God gives my rights." The crowd was eating it up and cheering him on.

There's more to TN's rant. He talked about securing the border, banning abortion, etc. He even strummed his guitar a bit -- so it made for quite a speech. Oh, and Mike Lindell (the MyPillow guy) was also there ... he spoke too, calling DeSantis "Trojan Horse Ron." 😅

Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are on the ground as well -- two of Trump's biggest defenders -- and they're decrying the supposedly looming criminal charges against him ... calling it political persecution. Those charges have yet to be announced, BTW.

Trump himself is set to arrive shortly ... it'll be interesting to see what he says. This would mark his first public appearance since word of him possibly getting arrested came down.

As for the Zelensky dig from Ted ... obviously it's completely out of line, and completely inaccurate. Not only is it laced with hate, but it's simply not true -- VZ is a married man (to a woman), and he's continuing to battle Putin for his country's sovereignty and borders.

Frankly, it's fine if Ted's not cool with the aid we've sent, and could've made his point about that without stooping to lies and conspiracy theories ... not to mention outright homophobia.

Kanye West says he's done a 180 on his views about Jewish people and is no longer an antisemite -- thanks to actor Jonah Hill.

The rapper took to Instagram Friday night to announce that he was watching the 2012 film, "21 Jump Street," starring Hill and Channing Tatum, when he had his epiphany about the Jewish race.

Kanye said, "Watching Jonah Hill in 21 jump street made me like Jewish people again. No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people."

He continued, "No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill. I love you."

Kanye's statements are hard to swallow, given his recent professed love for Hitler. He went on a prolonged, scorched earth campaign against Jews as he alluded to issues he had with some execs in the music biz.

And, it was all very ugly. Kanye went on "Infowars" hosted by conspiracy nut Alex Jones and praised Hitler and the Nazis. Ye also hung out with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the two even flew to Mar-a-Lago for an infamous dinner hosted by Donald Trump.

During an interview with Piers Morgan, Kanye doubled down on his antisemitic remarks, but clarified that he was only referring to Jews who had done him wrong. This was in reference to an earlier remark he made about going "death con 3" on Jews. Again, hardcore antisemite.

His comments led to a crushing downfall. Kanye became a pariah of sorts within Hollywood and the music industry. His close friends dropped him like a bad habit. And he lost major business deals with Adidas and Balenciaga.

He also had his honorary college degree ripped from him by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A watchdog group called StopAntisemitism named Kanye "Antisemite of the Year" in 2022.

Kendrick Lamar's Grammy Award-winning collaborator Rance of 1500 or Nothin' says rap music produced today is missing some serious must-haves for success.

We spoke to Rance at LAX this week, and while he praised sampling for being the culture's core creation process, he frowned upon new producers who don't understand the beats they're making.

Rance compared the language of music to language in general and producers should learn the basic chords just like one would learn their ABCs but thinks most artists are "playing it safe" at the behest of their record labels.

The veteran musician has been in the studio with other music heavyweights such as Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Snoop Dogg and Ludacris, so his opinion is more educated than formulated!!!

It's not just rookies swinging for the low-hanging fruit, either. Missy Elliott pimped out two of her classic records this week ... BIA's "That Bitch," which borrows from her 1999 hit "She's a Bitch," and new girl group Flo's "Fly Girl" single, which updates Missy's 2002 smash "Work It" were both released.

Bill Maher has weighed in on nepo babies, and he's got no problem with it ... until a nepo baby says they succeeded on their own.

As the 'Real Time' host put it ... "Enjoy the good life, but don't say you didn't have a huge advantage." He says in showbiz, for example, getting in the door is 80% of the challenge ... i.e., nepo babies, shut up that you got the job on merit alone.

Now BM goes on to say there's one pure vestige of meritocracy left in America -- sports. He points to the NBA, where it's hard to argue the 450 players chosen are not the best in the world. He uses Bronny James as an example ... his NBA future is far from certain, despite his amazing dad. Bronny is really good, but if he gets on a team it's because he earned it.

"RHOA" alum Eva Marcille is definitely NOT here for the way Tamar Braxton went after Kandi Burruss ... saying TB's vague IG posts were messy, and misled fans into thinking Eva was part of the drama.

We got Eva at LAX and she got candid about the Tamar/Kandi feud ... which hit close to home for her because she got pulled into the mix when Tamar publicly claimed she had serious beef with an Atlanta housewife.

Eva's issue is Tamar was far from clear with her accusation.

ICYMI, Tamar posted a series of IG stories in December about an unnamed Atlanta housewife and her husband who had allegedly threatened her -- her only hint was that the husband was involved in politics.

Fans quickly speculated it was Eva because her husband is an attorney who has a hand in ATL politics.

However, the truth didn't come out until this week, when TB was on "Watch What Happens Live" and told Andy Cohen it was actually Kandi and Todd Tucker.

Eva says she did have a chance to talk to Tamar, who apologized for dragging her into the drama. Regardless, EM says it was a "funky situation" all around, and she told Tamar it all could have been avoided if she just went directly to Kandi months ago.

Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton's duet is inappropriate for elementary school kids to sing ... at least according to a Wisconsin principal who's banning "Rainbowland" from a spring concert.

Here's the deal ... first-grade students at Heyer Elementary in Waukesha started the week preparing for their upcoming concert, with "Rainbowland" as part of the initial setlist.

The song was played in the first-grade class Monday, but by Tuesday the principal sent an email to the music teacher informing her Miley and Dolly's 2017 duet was no longer allowed.

Some parents say their children came home upset Wednesday after learning they couldn't sing it ... with the kids wondering why it was a big deal.

Superintendent Jim Sebert told multiple news outlets "Rainbowland" was dropped because it "could be perceived as controversial" according to recent school policies.

The song is from Miley's album "Younger Now" ... and she's said it was inspired by the paint in her recording studio. Dolly says the track is about "hope and positivity in dark times."

Some of the lyrics are, "Living in a Rainbowland/ The skies are blue and things are grand/ Wouldn't it be nice to live in paradise/ Where we're free to be exactly who we are."

While both singers have openly supported the LGTBQ community, neither has said the song has any intentional connection to it.

The superintendent told local news outlets, "The main question was is the song appropriate for the age level and maturity of the students."