Controversial S#!T

Laker Nation better prepare for the worst ... 'cause NBA super fan Jimmy Goldstein says L.A. has a snowball's chance in hell to beat the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs -- telling TMZ Sports it would be a complete shock if LeBron James and Co. won the series.

Goldstein holds the record for attending the most NBA games in the history of the league ... so naturally, he was present for the Lakers' play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Jimmy G says he was thoroughly unimpressed with what he saw from the Purple and Gold in the overtime thriller ... adding it just goes to show they're really not poised to make a deep playoff run this season.

Goldstein points out the Wolves were without defensive stars Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels ... and it wasn't a good sign that the Lake Show needed extra time to put them away.

He also thinks L.A.'s hot run at the end of the regular season was more due to the fact that their opponents were tanking ... which would explain why they were able to put together some wins.

Long story short -- if you're a betting person, Jimmy thinks you'd be throwing money away to pick the Lakers to win it all.

The Grizzlies vs. Lakers matchup starts on Sunday ... and if Goldstein is right, it won't be a long series.

Symba thinks Doja Cat's anti-Twitter blue checkmark stance is a valid cause ... and he has zero plans to pay for his own verification either!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Bay Area-bred lyricist on the set of his upcoming music video, "Hell of a Feeling" with LaRussell, where we took his temp on Doja's comments.

Twitter boss Elon Musk's proposed blue checkmark sweep on April 20 could throw a monkey wrench in artists' reach and visibility, but Doja doesn't give a damn ... basically labeling the check a Veblen good.

LeBron James also railed against the change and Symba wholeheartedly agrees, although he doesn't have a ton of answers on how to separate real and fake celebs without the blue check ... and is still verified himself, for now.

Symba even thinks the Twitter Blue defection could spark some sort of cool-kids movement amongst the unverified.

Comedian and former 'SNL' star Victoria Jackson felt the need to drop a TON of white-hot homophobic takes at a local city council meeting -- going off on an obscure tangent about homosexuality before, ironically, calling on people to avoid getting brainwashed.

Citizens of Franklin, Tennessee got their chance to speak at a city meeting Tuesday ... which at one point focused on whether or not the city would hold a Gay Pride Parade this year.

When it's Victoria's turn to take the mic, though ... she starts by bluntly saying God hates homosexuality, among other things -- calling it "an abomination."

She goes on to say God also despises pride, reading a verse from the Bible as proof. Obviously, that word was used as the motto for the LGBTQ+ alliance long after any of that was ever written.

While it might feel shocking, this isn't uncommon for Victoria -- she's been going on homophobic rants for a while now, including in 2011 when she called "Glee" disgusting after they showed 2 men sharing an on-screen kiss.

Since then, most forgot about her 6-year run on 'SNL' -- she instead was known as the self-proclaimed conservative Christian that would bash homosexuality.

Will Smith couldn't look happier to be back in the swing of things ... smiling during his latest gig since the infamous slap at the Oscars.

Will was on set Tuesday in Atlanta, filming "Bad Boys 4" and fully in character as Det. Mike Lowrey.

He's definitely grinning through the work, although, it's hard to say if that's Will smiling or his character.

It's not the first time we've seen WS doing movie star stuff since his infamous 2022 assault on Chris Rock. Will, Jada, and his whole fam first stepped out for the "Emancipation" film premiere last December -- and he's also been filming at least one other project.

As you you know Will was involved in one of the biggest moments in Oscars history ... when he stormed on stage and smacked host Chris Rock dead in the face.

Kim K starring in the new "American Horror Story" is raising cynics' eyebrows -- but she's probably gonna knock their socks off, according to one pro who knows TV frontward and back.

We talked to NPR's Eric Deggans Tuesday on "TMZ Live" about Kim's forthcoming role in Ryan Murphy's ongoing horror anthology -- and he believes she's poised to shock the critics with a solid acting performance that could impress the doubters.

Check out what Eric -- who handles all things television for the public radio network -- has to say about Kim and her history in Hollywood. Interestingly, he thinks she's long been underestimated.

While some might just see her as your traditional influencer trying to switch lanes in entertainment ... ED says Kim stands apart from all the other up-and-coming TikTokers and YouTubers who've similarly tried to jump to a much bigger stage.

While it didn't work out for most of those folks, Eric believes Kim's unique in that she can deliver a performance with proper direction. He adds, she's already shown flashes of acting chops.

There's also the Ryan Murphy element. We know the guy doesn't just churn out garbage -- most of the stuff he puts out is quality content, and Eric says he has no reason to believe this will be any different. He also brings up the X factor ... Lady Gaga.

Marques Houston says he's a happily married man and Internet trolls poking fun at the huge age difference between his wife and him ... will just have to find a new hobby.

We caught the R&B vet out Monday evening in L.A. amid the rabid backlash against his TV One special, "Uncensored." The first trailer for it has some people irate because it highlights how he first met his young bride Miya, fueling speculation she was a minor when they started dating.

Marques insists he's not sweating the opinions of strangers, he's well aware everyone has them -- and what he really wanted to clarify is he started dating Miya when she was 18 ... and they were married a year later.

She's now 22, while he's 41. They welcomed their first child in December 2021, and he says it's been bliss ever since.

He says the online misconception began when someone allegedly published the wrong birthdate for Miya ... leading folks to believe she was underage when their relationship began.

A truck carrying a ton of toxic soil out of the train derailment zone in East Palestine tipped over in an accident this week ... but the local EPA says there's nothing to worry about in terms of contamination.

Per law enforcement, a tractor-trailer was heading northbound Monday on SR-165 in Columbiana County -- which encompasses East Palestine -- and for whatever reason ... it was involved in a crash that overturned the vehicle and everything it was carrying.

As it turns out, that load included about 40,000 lbs. of contaminated dirt that was being transferred away from the train derailment crash site ... and the Ohio State Highway Patrol estimates that about 20,000 pounds of that spilled into onto the roadway.

It's unclear what caused the truck to run into trouble ... but first responders arrived on the scene to contain the situation. The Ohio EPA says there is no threat to nearby waterways as a result of the tipping. The driver is said to have suffered minor injuries.

It's not great news considering the community there is still reeling from the horrific crash from back in February -- not to mention the local government's decision to do a controlled burn of the chemicals onboard, which have reportedly affected a lot of people on the ground.

At first glance, DJ Holiday has a new “podcast” that's totally unfiltered ... based on his grilling of Wiz Khalifa and O.T. Genasis.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained the video of Holiday sitting down with both rap stars and coming out the gate swinging … asking Wiz if he still misses his ex-wife, Amber Rose.

O.T. didn't get off easy either -- Holiday had the nerve to ask if he’s ever slept with Keyshia Cole!!!

The good news for all parties involved is ... this isn't a real podcast, it's a scripted scene from Holiday's upcoming "No Stress" video, which features raps from Wiz and O.T.

Still, his questions will definitely push some buttons for fans -- Wiz and Amber successfully co-parent their son, Sebastian, while O.T. had a public fallout with Keyshia after royally butchering her classic track, “Love.”

Cardi B couldn't contain her disgust after seeing the clip of the Dalai Lama asking a young boy, "suck my tongue" -- and even though her criticism made some people go after Cardi, she's not backing down.

An irate Cardi ripped child "predators" Monday, and urged parents to always know what's going on in their kids' lives.

Some fans agreed with Cardi's take on the odd video -- showing the Dalai interacting with a young boy during a public appearance -- but others brought up a shady moment from her pre-stardom past.

You might recall, Cardi admitted drugging and robbing men back in her strip club days.

She addressed the haters, head-on, saying those dudes were adult, drunk lowlifes who attempted to take advantage of her and she just happened to get the upper hand.

Unlike Cardi, the Dalai Lama's office is apologizing for the incident -- from February, BTW -- saying he "teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras."

Doesn't seem like the "Bodak Yellow" rapper is buying what the Dalai's selling.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without their star center when they face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA's play-in tournament game on Tuesday ... 'cause the team just suspended Rudy Gobert one game for punching his teammate.

Gobert -- who swung at Kyle Anderson during a timeout in Sunday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans -- will rejoin his teammates for the remainder of the Wolves' play-in tournament run and beyond.

It's a big blow to Minnesota -- the Wolves gave up four first-round picks for the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 ... and will be tasked with trying to upset a hot Lakers team that has seemingly figured things out just in time for the postseason.

Gobert was sent home from Sunday's game ... and apologized for his actions shortly after.

"Emotions got the best of me today," Gobert said. "I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organization and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate."

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wolves believe Gobert's punch was not intended to hurt his teammate ... but considering he struck Anderson in the chest, they were left with no other choice.

The report also says the whole thing started after Anderson called Gobert a "bitch" repeatedly.

The Dalai Lama, in all his wisdom, is rolling out a much-needed apology ... after getting dragged online for bizarrely asking a child to suck his tongue at a recent event.

That's right, the religious leader is saying sorry after his problematic request at the city of Dharamshala in February, with his office issuing a statement saying he's apologizing "to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused." Words, not actions, BTW.

His people say DL "teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras" ... but many online have called BS on any playfulness going on here.

The whole thing was caught on video -- the boy kindly asks if he can hug the 87-year-old, but it quickly becomes an uncomfortable watch. The Dalai follows it up with a kiss on the lips -- which you'd think is as bad as it could get ... that is until he asks the boy to "suck my tongue."

This isn't the first time the Nobel Peace Prize winner has faced controversy -- he apologized back in 2019 after talking about the possibility of a female Dalai Lama succeeding him ... saying she "should be more attractive."

Some online have called for him to be stripped of his title, but it doesn't look like a change is coming this time around.

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

Students at Kanye West's Donda Academy are being deprived of the education they deserve, but the parents should be concerned if they try to go somewhere else -- so says one of the teachers suing the rapper over the school.

Former Donda teacher Cecilia Hailey's now giving a word of warning to parents, telling TMZ they're severely behind educationally -- but that doesn't mean moving somewhere else will instantly correct the problem.

She says the kids aren't getting graded at the unaccredited school, so transferring could be problematic.

Cecilia's worried about the students' futures ... angry the kids are way behind on the learning curve.

As we reported, Cecilia and her daughter claimed they were fired from their teaching gigs at Donda after calling out the school's flaws ... also saying race was a factor.

Cecilia tells us Kanye might not be involved with the school's issues, although she's named him in the suit. She listed numerous problems with Donda, BTW -- including a lack of chairs, locked front doors, and no lesson plans. She also complains the only item on the lunch menu was sushi.

It seems some 'Star Wars' diehards can't deal with Lizzo and Jack Black's cameos on 'The Mandalorian'  ... 'cause they're calling their appearances the death of the franchise. Yeesh ...

Here's the deal ... the 2 A-listers popped up on last week's episode of the hit Disney+ show, and it ruffled some feathers in the 'Star Wars' fanbase. Some thought the series, and the IP as a whole, had jumped the shark ... and that the magic of 'SW' was over and done with.

That sentiment came to a fever pitch this weekend with one dude's now-viral tweet ... which has spurred a lot of discourse about who, exactly, 'Star Wars' was made for in its original iteration ... and what it's come to represent now. Check out how this fella put it.

The Twitter user writes, "#StarWars isn't for us nerds anymore. We who respect the lore & would be in tears after being cast in one of the movies or shows. Star Wars is now for the popular kids who giggled & high-fived the bullies for stuffing you in your locker."

He adds with some doom and gloom, "It's crashing and #Disney deserves it." Jesus, dude!

The fanboy's thoughts were quite divisive on the bird app, with many responding to his tweet with confusion and shock. Basically, they feel like he's overreacting -- and that 'Star Wars' can (and should) be for everyone ... not just the locker-dwellers from the '70s and '80s.

While many tried shutting this guy down/laughing him off, there's a lot of folks who actually agree with him -- claiming Disney's just out for big names and brands ... and that 'Star Wars' has devolved into a soulless money grab. The Mouse House is definitely out for cash, no doubt, but ya gotta figure they have the best intentions with hires like Lizzo and JB.

Of course, the opinion of an OG goes a long way too ... Billy Dee Williams weighed in on this, and he's cool with Jack and Liz being in the family. That's gotta count for something.

Bu Thiam's role as EVP at Columbia Records has him scoping for new artists from all walks of life ... and he's looking to add NCAA champ Flau'jae Johnson to his roster!!!

We caught up with Bu at LAX and he had nothing but praise for Flau'jae, who recently helped the LSU Tigers win their first women's basketball national championship ... in controversial fashion at that.

Bu says he looked into Flau'jae's credentials and everything checked out, as it should have. The 19-year-old's been rapping long before it became trendy on the Internet ... going viral through appearances on "The Rap Game," "America's Got Talent," and her 2020 "Sway In The Morning" freestyle.

She inked a deal with Roc Nation management last year ... so, at least Bu knows who he needs to convince for a joint venture.

As a music exec, Bu also has to be mindful of the industry's changing landscape ... and he's surprisingly open to the idea of artificial intelligence artists, unlike some of his counterparts, like Swizz Beatz, who's expressed concern.

AI recordings mimicking the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Kanye West are littered all over YouTube ... but Bu thinks the industry needs to be more open-minded and embrace the technology.

Chris Pratt took a lot of crap when he was announced as the voice of Mario for the new 'Super Mario Bros.' flick -- but now that the product is out ... the consensus is, he's aight.

The critics/amateur critics have sounded off on Twitter these past few days, weighing in on whether CP did the iconic video game character justice in the first animated feature-length film -- and from the looks of it, sounds like most everyone thinks he did a decent job.

Specifically, the term that keeps getting thrown around for his voice work is ... "fine."

As Polygon put it, Chris is "Aggressively Fine" as Mario ... and it would appear others feel the same. In other words, it ain't a groundbreaking performance ... nor does it move the needle in voice acting. But, the guy got the job done -- and wasn't distracting doing it.

If you're wondering what exactly he sounds like -- which has mostly been kept under wraps -- well, you can just go see it ... or look for snippets on Twitter. In either case, you'll see that Chris used a mash-up of accents ... mostly honing in on an Italian-American one that you might hear in Brooklyn. Throughout the film, he also slips into classic cartoonish Mario-isms.

While Chris might've been serviceable, the movie itself has gotten pretty awful reviews -- with some calling it soulless. Others, meanwhile, say it's a hoot ... especially for the kids.

Of course, all that matters to the studio heads are those box office numbers ... and so far, 'SMBM' is on its way to a stellar start. It's already on pace to hit $195 mil domestically through Sunday.

Donald Trump is doing what he tends to do best in times of crisis -- hitting the links to blow off some steam ... with this weekend being no different for him amid his criminal case.

The ex-Prez was playing a round Saturday morning at his hotel in Miami ... the Trump National Doral, which has four full-blown golf courses to choose from. Unclear which one DT was on in this instance, but he was out there with some pals ... and his MAGA hat to boot.

Dude looks pretty relaxed ... which makes sense, we suppose. This is sorta his happy place, even during the worst of times -- as we've witnessed throughout these past several years.

The only difference now, of course, is that he's under criminal prosecution by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office on 34 felony counts -- most of which stem from the Stormy Daniels hush money incident ... which law enforcement now alleges was directed to be paid at the behest of DT.

He's looked/sounded defiant in the wake of those charges -- especially when he was in NYC this past week to plead not guilty and get processed by cops ... putting on a brave face.

Here, the Don's more mellow, it seems, and there's another thing to consider with this appearance -- namely, the fact that it's Passover right now for Jewish folks ... and not just that, but his hotel there is actually hosting a whole slate of Passover events this weekend.