Controversial S#!T

The judge warned Donald Trump if he continued attacking individuals and institutions a gag order might be in order ... well Tuesday night, Trump gave that judge the middle finger.

The former President reacted to his historic indictment with a vengeful speech at Mar-a-Lago ... railing on not only the lead prosecutor, Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, but also the judge who fired off the gag order warning.

Trump took shots at Bragg throughout his address ... calling on Bragg to resign and accusing Bragg of leaking grand jury info. Trump says it's Bragg who should be facing prosecution, not him, and he says the indictment is light on specifics and Bragg has absolutely no case.

As for the judge, Juan Merchan, well, Trump went after him too ... and the judge's family ... something Trump's son did earlier on social media.

Trump called out Merchan as a "Trump-hating judge" who has it out for him ... and he blasted the judge's wife and fam, even going after the judge's daughter for working with the Kamala Harris campaign.

The evening's tone was set from the moment Trump arrived in the room ... walking out to "Rebel Rebel." He shook hands with supporters as he approached the dais, then started venting.

Outside Mar-a-Lago, throngs of Trump fans lined the streets ... waving flags and showing him love. Inside, his fans booed and cheered, depending on the subject.

When Trump wasn't going nuclear on the judge or prosecution, he was patting himself on the back for his time in office and, naturally, dragging Joe Biden.

As you know ... Trump was in New York City earlier Tuesday, showing up at a Manhattan courthouse to turn himself in to the NYPD. He was fingerprinted and ultimately pled not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

After he was done in court, Trump left in his motorcade for the airport ... hopping in his private jet and flying back down to Florida.

Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku's representation is demanding an apology and calling for punishment after Juventus fans appeared to hurl racist chants at the star striker during a soccer match on Tuesday.

The alleged incident happened after Lukaku scored a late penalty shot to tie it up at 1-1 against Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final at Allianz Stadium in Turin.

While the 29-year-old was celebrating by taunting Juventus fans with a "be quiet" hand gesture -- which got him a second yellow card -- they made "monkey" noises towards Lukaku ... something Romelu's reps claim was happening all match.

The alleged chants were caught on video ... and you can see upset fans making noise toward the field.

Michael Yormark, president of Roc Nation Sports International which represents Lukaku, released a statement ... saying the incident was "beyond despicable and cannot be accepted"

"Romelu scored a penalty late in the game. Before, during, and after the penalty, he was subjected to hostile and disgusting racist abuse. Romelu celebrated in the same manner he has previously celebrated goals."

Yormark adds that Lukaku deserves an apology from Juventus and the league should condemn those who yelled the racist chants.

"The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse. I am certain that the footballing world shares the same sentiment."

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder is saying thanks, but no thanks to Jill Biden welcoming the Hawkeyes to the White House ... saying LSU should be the only team visiting because they're the champs.

Bluder dropped the friendly RSVP to Biden's suggestion on Tuesday ... tweeting, "I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey."

The 3-time Big Ten Coach of the Year then flipped the script ... saying the Bidens should jump on Air Force One and visit them instead!!!

"We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s 'House' – Carver Hawkeye Arena — any time!"

Of course, FLOTUS's proposal caused a lot of commotion since the whole point of teams visiting the WH is that they're the winners.

Biden's Press Secretary later clarified her words ... saying FLOTUS made the suggestion to admire "how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX."

LSU's Angel Reese wasn't buying the explanation ... and believes her team wouldn't be receiving the same treatment if they lost to Iowa.

"I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same," Reese said on I Am Athlete. "If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

The star forward is unsure if she'll go to the White House to celebrate LSU women's first-ever title ... but President Joe Biden says he looks forward to meeting them and UConn, who won the men's NCAA championship on Monday.

NLE Choppa's "Slut Me Out (Remix)" hasn't even dropped yet, but it's already pissing off some people in the industry ... due to what they see as blatant misogyny.

The Memphis rapper teased the visual for his updated track on Monday, which raised plenty of eyebrows -- it shows him dog-walking his female costars Sukihana and "Pound Town" rookie rapper Sexxy Red by their colorful weaves.

Sukihana's rap career revolves around XXX tropes and Sexxy Red has been going viral for her song's "my booty-hole brown" lyric ... so yeah, NLE's casting for the video was, arguably, spot-on.

However, Lil Mama disapproved of what she witnessed ... only for Sukihana to get wind of the since-deleted comments, and quickly dragged the "Lip Gloss" rapper for her infamous Jay-Z stage crash of 2009.

An unbothered Lil Mama responded to Suki with an eloquent tongue-lashing -- explaining she feels Black women like Suki uphold negative sexual stereotypes, despite history proving it's the wrong route to go.

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to NLE about the track, and he claimed it was an empowerment anthem ... but good luck convincing folks of that, now that the video clip is out.

Stormy Daniels is just one slice of the pie for Donald Trump's alleged hush money payments ... according to the 34-count indictment, which Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg just unsealed.

As expected, the indictment details the $130,000 Trump allegedly paid Daniels in exchange for her silence about what she describes as their affair. Trump has denied the affair, but according to the docs Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, negotiated the amount with Daniels' lawyer, and then he wired the money from a shell company to Stormy's lawyer on October 26, 2016.

The D.A. says Trump directed Cohen to delay making the payment as long as possible, in hopes they could wait until after the election and then stiff her.

The indictment also raises what the D.A. calls Trump's "catch-and-kill" scheme with AMI, the National Enquirer's parent company. That alleged scheme involves a $150,000 payment to a second woman.

Although, the docs don't mention the woman's name ... it's been widely reported AMI paid that amount to silence Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, who also claimed she and Trump had an affair.

According to the docs, Trump and Cohen discussed reimbursing AMI -- again, a shell company was created on Sept. 30, 2016, and prosecutors alleged Trump and AMI agreed he would pay $125K. However, that deal was never consummated ... AMI told Cohen the deal was off.

Lastly, the indictment alleges a $30,000 payment was made from AMI to former Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have information about a child Trump fathered out of wedlock. AMI later found out the story wasn't true, and wanted to release the doorman from the NDA he'd signed ... but prosecutors allege Cohen advised them to keep it in place until after the election.

That's it ... those three incidents are the meat of the D.A.'s case against Trump. The 34 counts are related to smaller payments made by the Trump Organization and Trump personally to reimburse Cohen -- however, the D.A. says they were characterized as legal services under a retainer agreement with Cohen.

According to the D.A. that's the felony falsifying of business records .... and Trump's alleged motive was preventing the release of damaging stories, and covering up his involvement in doing so.

One more thing ... according to the docs, after Trump won the 2016 election, prosecutors say Trump invited AMI CEO David Pecker to the Inauguration, and then, in the summer of 2017, he was invited to dinner at the White House to thank him for his help.

After Tuesday's arraignment, Trump hightailed it for his jet at LaGuardia Airport and flew back to Mar-a-Lago. His attorney Joe Tacopina spoke outside the courthouse, and blasted D.A. Bragg's indictment as a big nothing sandwich.

Prosecutors say Cohen pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. As you know, he served more than a year in federal prison, and another 18 months on home confinement.

Donald Trump is now officially an alleged felon -- he's turned himself in to NYPD for booking and will be arraigned in the Stormy Daniels' hush money case.

The former President and his massive motorcade arrived at the front door of The Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday, and surrendered just a few short minutes later.

He waved to the crowd on his way in.

As we reported, Trump was indicted last week after months of a grand jury hearing testimony from multiple witnesses like his former attorney Michael Cohen.

Trump allegedly brokered a $130K payment to Stormy amid the 2016 election in an attempt to keep her quiet about an alleged affair ... and he's facing more than 30 counts in this case.

Trump's attorneys, Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina told TMZ ... "[Trump] did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court."

Eric Trump also shared his thoughts, saying "This is third world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year."

Trump took to Truth Social ahead of his indictment, calling for protests against Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg ... and Marjorie Taylor Greene announced she'd be hosting a rally in New York in support of the former President.

BTW -- his attorney, Alina Habba, made an interesting comparison the day he headed to New York ... saying the guy's a lot like Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls in terms of gettin' a boost in popularity from controversy.

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Angel Reese has an unlikely ally ... Iowa star Caitlin Clark is coming to the defense of the newly crowned NCAA champ, straight up saying "I don't think there should be any criticism for what she did."

Of course, 21-year-old Clark found herself at the center of the biggest sports story in the country on Monday, after 20-year-old Reese threw up John Cena's famed "You Can't See Me" celly right in CC's face during the waning seconds of Sunday's women's national championship game.

Reese was instantly attacked online, with many people calling her actions unsportsmanlike. Defenders of Angel pointed to Caitlin's use of the Cena celebration during the very same NCAA tourney. Clark's defenders pointed out she didn't do it in her opponent's face. And, the debate raged on.

But, now Clark is weighing in ... and hopefully putting an end to the debate -- was Angel right or wrong.

"I think the biggest thing is we're all competitive. We all show our emotions in a different way. Angel is a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game, the way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball is absolutely incredible. I'm a big fan of her and even the entire LSU team," Clark said during an interview with ESPN.

"Like I said, they played an amazing game so I don't think there should be any criticism for what she did. I honestly didn't see it when the game was going on and like I said, I haven't been on social media really at all."

FYI, despite the criticism (there was also a bunch of support), after the game, Reese made it clear she wasn't going to apologize.

Caitlin also addressed Jill Biden's recent comments, where she remarked she'd tell her husband, President Joe Biden to invite the losing Iowa team because "they played such a good game."

FLOTUS was destroyed for the comment ... as it's customary for the winner of a championship, never the loser, to head to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave for some face time with the prez.

"I don't think runner-ups usually go to the White House. I think LSU should, you know, enjoy that moment for them."

So, debate settled??? Probably not.

We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Kaya Stewart, the daughter of Eurythmics star Dave Stewart, is off "American Idol" -- despite her Rock HOF lineage ... she made a shocking and tearful exit from the competition's Hollywood Week.

Kaya was supposed to perform a duet on Monday night's episode with 22-year-old Fire -- but she stunned just about everyone when she said she was quitting the show because she'd been ill all week.

She broke down as she told the judges -- Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan -- she'd been unable to fully recover, so she wouldn't be continuing on the show.

Her surprise exit had poor Fire tearing up, but she powered through to sing ... with help from another contestant.

Jayna Elise had been sitting in the audience, and volunteered to duet with Fire ... and they crushed Adam Lambert's hit, "What Do You Want From Me." Fire did most of the vocals and had the judges on their feet, crying for her performance.

As they say ... the show must go on, and Fire did that and then some.

Kaya had been a controversial pick by the judges. Not that she wasn't a good singer, but she auditioned with her superstar father -- who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside Lionel -- playing guitar for her.

It sparked the ol' nepotism, or "nepo baby," conversation again. Haters say her dad's celeb status got her a spot on the show that could have gone to someone else.

Kid Rock is all fired up amid Bud Light's decision to partner up with a transgender activist -- and we mean that literally -- 'cause he's out firing bullets over the whole thing.

The singer/rapper posted a video to his social media Monday, which was uncaptioned ... but was also self-explanatory in what was shown. Namely, it's him grabbing an AR-style rifle of some sort and firing a ton of bullets at a few cases of Bud Light off in the distance.

He starts his video by saying, "grandpa's feeling a little frisky today," and then proceeds to shoot up the beer ... which he had teed up for him on a table near a lake.

Finally, he hits his point home by once again talking to the camera ... this time saying, "F*** Bud Light and f*** Anheuser-Busch. Have a terrific day."

Now, if you're wondering why KR is all pissy about Bud Light ... it's no secret if you've been following the news lately. Dylan Mulvaney -- who's a transgender woman and a social media influencer who's been documenting her transition journey online -- has partnered with BL.

She did a promo for Bud Light a couple days ago ... flashing a bunch of their signature blue cans and plugging some sort of sweepstakes they were running. Dylan also posted a photo of a custom Bud Light can with her face on it ... something sent over by Anheuser.

There was swift backlash from people who apparently didn't like their fave brew company teaming with DM ... including a lot of conservatives, like Kid Rock. Anheuser-Busch has since spoken out and defended its partnership with Dylan, advocating for a diverse consumer base ... while also noting her custom can is not available to the public. It was just a gift.

Xscape's Tamika Scott has heard and accepted her sister LaTocha's recent apology regarding all the drama that came after she allegedly stole money -- and admits she's even open to building things back to how they once were.

We got Tamika in NYC Monday, and she tells us she still hasn't had a heart-to-heart with her sis since she publicly apologized for all the backlash ... adding she even changed her number in the midst of everything.

Despite all that, Tamika tells us she's open to squashing the beef going on between them -- and she tells us why she's always open to forgiving.

TMZ broke the story, LaTocha made the call to step back from Xscape last year -- but it wasn't a breakup, despite fans speculating otherwise.

The group later revealed the cause of all the drama in their reality show, "SWV & Xscape: The Queens of R&B" -- with Tamika claiming LaTocha snatched 30K from her, and provided receipts to allegedly back it up.

LaTocha went on to apologize for all the noise ... although she never admitted to stealing anything from her sister. She also didn't apologize to Kandi Burruss for their recent back-and-forth spat online -- but at least it sounds like there's some room for improvement from Tamika.

Donald Trump's attorney drawing a parallel between the former president and the legendary Tupac Shakur does not sit well with the late rapper's sister ... who says the comparison is absurd and laughable.

Set Shakur, Tupac's sister, tells TMZ ... "My brother was measured by his integrity, his principles and personal and collective responsibility," calling the recent comments made by Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, "blasphemous."

She points out her brother took responsibility during his 1994 sexual abuse trial, and says she isn't seeing a whole lot of accountability coming from DT.

As we reported, Trump's attorney made the connection on the same day he flew to NYC for his indictment. She said his legal trouble is going to boost his poll numbers, just like Tupac's record sales went up after spending time in prison.

Set says Tupac didn't get popular because of his lockup, though -- instead claiming his popularity grew because those who listened to his music "were able to measure him by his words and actions that aligned."

She goes on to praise her late brother, calling him an honorable man who stood for those needing protection ... always having others on his mind.

Set believes DT's attorney might be invoking Tupac's name as a ploy to play to the rapper's fans ... and she's hoping they don't take the bait.

Blueface is seemingly coming to grips he's set to welcome a baby soon with his on-and-off-again girlfriend Chrisean Rock ... and he's also open to naming the child after himself.

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with the controversial couple Monday at LAX, where they opened up about their family plans, and, not shockingly, they're not exactly seeing eye-to-eye on potential names.

Chrisean rejected the "Blueface Baby" idea, but did pop the lid on some of the other names she's been debating -- both Royal Blue and Blue Royal have been ringing in her ears as of late.

The couple's toned down their public incidents in recent weeks ... following Blueface's birthday romp overseas, where he was still questioning whether he was the father of Chrisean's child.

Watch the video ... they claim they're currently in a good place, but judge for yourself.

Fans have been clamoring for the couple to do something more productive on social media besides fighting, and Blueface reveals they're releasing a couple of collab tracks later this month!!!

Chrisean just dropped a new track entitled, "Time," and seemed down for recording an album with her guy. Oddly, for Chrisean, she seemed a bit camera-shy this time around.

Donald Trump's lawyer thinks there's a benefit to the former President getting indicted in New York City ... she says it puts him on par with Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, drew the comparison on "The Benny Show" podcast, claiming the indictment is going to boost Trump's profile similar to other celebs who went to jail ... like Pac and Biggie.

Personally, Alina says Trump is more like Biggie Smalls than Tupac ... but it sounds like there's an East Coast bias at play.

Anyway, the way Team Trump sees it ... Donald is his own brand and "he is everything" ... so the indictment will only make him more popular.

Trump's attorney believes the Pac and Biggie effect is already happening ... Alina says her boss is way up in the polls and she's calling on other Republican presidential candidates, like Nikki Haley, to drop out of the race now and get behind Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump just left Mar-a-Lago and is on his way to NYC, where he's facing more than 30 counts of business-related fraud ... stemming from his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, allegedly paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to shut her trap about a supposed affair.

We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast.

LSU hoops star Angel Reese isn't apologizing for taunting Caitlin Clark during the NCAA title game Sunday ... responding by ripping the hypocrites who called her out, but didn't do so for Clark.

The Tigers forward received a ton of backlash after throwing up John Cena's famous "You Can't See Me" hand gesture during LSU's blowout 102-85 win at the American Airlines Center.

FYI, it's the same gesture AP Player of the Year Clark used in the Elite Eight and Final Four.

The difference was the public's reaction ... Clark was praised, while Reese was mostly criticized for failing to show good sportsmanship. But, she's unbothered by the selective outrage.

"All year, I was critiqued about who I was," Reese said during her post-game interview.

"The narrative -- I don’t fit the narrative. I don't fit into the box that y’all want me to be in. 'I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto.' Y’all told me that all year. But, when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing."

Reese -- who transferred from Maryland to LSU last May -- says this win is for "the girls that look like me," telling them to be "unapologetically you."

"And, that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. Twitter is gonna go on a rage every time. And, I’m happy. I feel like I've helped grow women's basketball this year."

Despite the hate Reese is getting, there are a ton of people who've had her back, including LeBron James, who retweeted Emmanuel Acho's comment ripping those who criticized Reese but not Clark.

The Lakers superstar also shared Ryan Clark's message on Twitter, saying, "If you praised Caitlin Clark as competitive, fiery, and passionate for doing the 'You can’t See me' celebration and are criticizing Angel Reese for the same we already know!!"

Shaquille O'Neal also came to the defense of Reese, going at Keith Olbermann, who called Reese a "f***ing idiot."

It was the first-ever NCAA title for the LSU women's hoops team and 4th title for coach Kim Mulkey ... who won three with Baylor before joining the Tigers in 2021.

Congratulations, ladies!!

We covered it all on a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sat down with "60 Minutes" -- something that has drawn the ire of some Dems -- but like it or not she now has power, and Lesley Stahl seemed incredulous as Greene doubled down on her view that Democrats are a party of pedophiles.

Greene points the finger at President Biden, claiming he backs "children being sexualized" by supporting transgender surgeries. Lesley's SHOCKED, but goes on to ask if she'd be able to do away with the name-calling while fighting her fight -- the response is ironic.

Lesley also put the Georgia Rep. on the spot by bringing up a comment she once liked on Facebook -- referring to Nancy Pelosi getting a bullet to the head -- she quickly denies that interaction, claiming she's not involved with everything presented on her social channels.

And check out her response to past comments the Parkland school shooting was fake.

Rep. Don Beyer says AI technology has the potential to help save the human race ... and he thinks Elon Musk and others who say it's a threat are just trying to protect their assets.

We got the Congressman from Virginia on Capitol Hill and asked him about the Tesla honcho, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and 1,100 others sounding the alarm in an open letter about AI.

The way Don sees it ... Elon and co. are mostly just concerned with pumping the brakes on developing large-scale language models like ChatGPT ... and he thinks the tech giants are really just trying to stifle development from competitors now that they've created their own algorithms.

Don is taking graduate-level courses on AI for a machine learning master's degree from George Mason University ... and he says he sees potential for AI to solve huge problems in medicine, biology and engineering ... and he thinks the chatter about robots writing papers for folks is just distracting from AI's real possibilities.

Another reason the open letter -- which says AI has morphed into a "dangerous race that could imperil our very existence and thus merits a 6-month moratorium on AI development to assess the risks -- didn't sway Don ... he says opponents aren't explaining any specific risks or downside to A