Controversial S#!T

JoJo isn't as concerned as the rest of the music industry when it comes to AI-generated tracks, saying folks should learn how to use the technology as an advantage ... cuz it's not going anywhere.

We caught up with the singer in NYC Wednesday where she spilled her thoughts on the uptick of robots in music ... which has taken the internet by storm as of late.

JoJo says the concept is actually pretty interesting, and could have some benefits to be used in the studio for harmonies and backgrounds. As far as JoJo is concerned, there's no stopping AI tunes, so people should figure out how to use 'em.

Of course, not all artists see it like JoJo. Drake's label ripped the idea after multiple AI-generated Drizzy tunes began trending. Before that, Universal Music Group had to remove an AI song featuring Drake and The Weeknd.

Other artists like Khalid agree the technology is inevitable, but unlike JoJo, he's not a fan.

An ex-principal -- who was forced to resign after her school showed off the naked David statue to students -- made the trek to Italy ... and was welcomed with open arms.

Hope Carrasquilla paid a visit to the famed Accademia Gallery museum in Florence Friday with her family in tow -- this after the city's mayor had invited her to come see David for herself following her unceremonious ousting last month ... which he called outrageous.

Cecilie Hollberg -- Accademia's director -- gave Carrasquilla and her brood a VIP tour of the place ... which, of course, included an up-close view of Michelangelo's iconic artwork.

She said hosting them was a pleasure, adding ... "I am happy to be able to welcome her and introduce her to the beauties of our museum, besides showing her the David, a sculpture that, I repeat as I have said, has nothing to do with pornography. It's a masterpiece, it represents a religious symbol of purity and innocence, the victory of good over evil."

Carrasquilla also met with Mayor Dario Nardella ... who spoke out on her situation in March, when she got the boot from Tallahassee Classical School. Nardella rolled out the red carpet for her, it seems, and again defended her amid the controversy.

He writes, "A few weeks ago she was attacked for showing her students Michelangelo's David. Today it receives from @comunefi an award in the name of art and culture. Art is civilization and whoever teaches it deserves respect. Welcome Professor Hope Carrasquilla!"

If you hadn't heard ... Carrasquilla stepped down after parents expressed outrage over their children being shown images of David's nude body during a lesson plan on the Renaissance in front of sixth graders. They felt it was inappropriate, and were mad they weren't given a heads-up. In the end, Carrasquilla took the fall ... telling local media she was "saddened."

It's just the latest instance of parents flexing their rights over their children's curriculum in public schools there in Florida ... which has been an ongoing issue for a few years now.

Mila Kunis may just be tapped to play The Thing in the new "Fantastic 4" movie -- that is ... if you buy a rumor that's running rampant on Twitter this morning.

A movie insider named @MyTimeToShineH -- who's credited with getting scoops before trade publications, and generally being in the know on superhero news -- sent the bird app into a frenzy Friday when they claimed Mila was in talks to portray a female version of Ben Grimm.

Grimm is the name of the dude in the comics who becomes The Thing ... a giant orange rock figure who fights crime alongside Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Human Torch.

MTTSH writes, "They are looking at Jewish actors, both male AND female for The Thing in Fantastic Four. Mila Kunis is one of them." They added that the director of the upcoming 2025 flick, Matt Shakman, insisted Grimm be portrayed be a real-life Jewish actor ... as the character is explicitly depicted as Jewish in the comic books, albeit in later iterations.

Now, in case it went over your head -- The Thing is a male character ... and has always been portrayed as such. Whether it was Chuck McCann in the '90s cartoon, Michael Chiklis from the 2000s flick, or Jamie Bell from the 2010s version -- The Thing's known as a guy.

Now, however, based on this report -- or gossip, more like -- it sounds like Marvel's possibly looking to switch things up with a little gender swap ... or at the very least, considering it.

As you might imagine ... Twitter users, by and large, aren't reacting well to the news. The jokes are flying -- and the consensus seems to be, if Kevin Feige and co. go down this road, much of the fanbase will turn their backs on the studio ... as they view this as a step too far.

Of course, it wouldn't be the first time a woman replaced a role usually played by a man -- it notably happened in "Ghostbusters" ... and more recently, in 'Black Panther 2' and "She-Hulk." among other examples. Point is ... it's been done before, and sometimes with success.

As for Mila potentially being eyed for the job ... she wouldn't be half bad. Big star with name recognition and a good range of films under her belt, including action movies and comedies.

Suge Knight says his upcoming TV series will portray his version of the truth about how some of Death Row's biggest records were made ... allegedly without Dr. Dre's involvement.

Suge tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Daz Dillinger's latest interview -- where he claimed he got $2.5 mil out of Suge -- is just Daz "running his mouth." However, he has his own story to tell about Daz, alleging Dre convinced Tha Dogg Pound producer to sign over rights to Snoop Dogg's classic "Doggystyle" album.

As everyone knows, Dre is credited with producing that iconic project, but Suge claims it was really Daz who ghost-produced it.

Speaking from a CA state penitentiary, Suge told us the record distributor wanted Dre's name on Snoop's debut album for visibility purposes. That record came after Dre's legendary "The Chronic," so having him produce would be a huge boost for "Doggystyle."

Suge claims he advised Daz to reject Dre's proposed buyout ... but Daz went through with it anyway. We reached out to Daz for his side, but haven't heard back.

Suge says his version of the "Doggystyle" backstory is what viewers will see in the upcoming BLK Prime TV series chronicling his life. He also assured Daz his DGPC twin Kurupt will get some shine for being a ferocious MC in the violent Death Row era.

Suge, who's doing 28 years for voluntary manslaughter, takes umbrage with how another blockbuster record in Dre's catalog, "California Love," was depicted in 2015's "Straight Outta Compton."

The Oscar-winning film shows Dre and Tupac Shakur organically creating the 1996 hit collab in-studio, but Suge alleges he actually orchestrated the song's creation ... because Pac and Dre were beefing at the time.

He credits DJ Quik for thinking up the song's iconic chorus when at the infamous 1995 Source Awards in NYC, and he later recruited the late Roger Troutman to sing the phrase on his voicebox.

Suge cosigned on veteran rapper J-Flexx's claims he penned Dre's verses for the classic tracks "Keep Their Heads Ringin'," "Natural Born Killaz" and, of course, "California Love."

Chance the Rapper and his wife Kirsten have had fans fearing they're heading toward a split for the last couple of weeks ... but that couldn't be further from the truth.

A rep for the Grammy winner acknowledges there's been some drama involving videos of Chance and twerking dancers, but summed it up by telling TMZ Hip Hop ... "Everyone has their moments, but they're all good."

If you recall, it was Chance's 30th birthday celebration during Jamaica Carnival on April 16 that got us to this point. He was all smiles in a viral video of a woman grinding on his lap.

Kirsten later posted a cryptic Maya Angelou quote about married people failing to grow up, and Chance fanned the flames by rapping about his love for twerking on Vic Mensa's newest song.

Chance opted not to face his internet critics head-on, and instead, posted a Bill Burr stand-up clip about the complexities of marriage, and how guys are typically a step behind women!

Chance and Kirsten tied the knot back in 2019, and he frequently shouts out his wife, and his love for her, in his songs.

Kanye West is deep in audition mode for his upcoming fashion show -- Yeezy Szn 10 -- but this time around, he's seeking out bald models to show off his latest garb.

Ye held his auditions in DTLA Thursday ... and we're told those trying out were to have shaved heads and dress in all black. We're told hopefuls got in line as early as 7 AM, and some waited until 3 PM for a chance to be chosen.

The rapper rocked a unique shirt after auditions wrapped, too -- one given to him by a disabled person who came in to audition.

Unclear what Kanye's got up his sleeve for his fashion line's 10th season, but the guy's clearly got representation in mind while crafting the new show.

BTW -- we saw Kanye jammin' out to his own track last week at Jerry Lorenzo's Fear of God fashion show at the Hollywood Bowl ... donning his signature full-head mask alongside his wife, Bianca.

Latto is coming clean about her experience with plastic surgery ... copping to getting "a little work" done after her recent bars made Coi Leray's body shape a trending topic.

The "Big Energy" rapper was discussing the downside of going under the knife on her '777 Radio' show on Apple Music, but says in her case, her procedures were done correctly as people often think she's au naturel.

However, Latto gave a stern warning to her cohost Brooklyn Nikole and all other young girls looking to fix "little tweaks" to find a healthy appreciation for their bodies because they'll end up obsessing over trips to the surgeon and can never please everyone.

Latto says her surgery still hasn't stopped her from editing pics or having wardrobe malfunctions but says being in the public eye since age 16 forced her hand.

Latto's recent Nicki Minaj diss "Put It On The Floor" angered Coi when she rapped that her blunts were bigger than the "Players" rapper, but the two have since made up ... with Coi apparently capitalizing on the moment.

Jack Harlow dropped his new album "Jackman" on Friday and made a bold statement -- proclaiming himself to be the best white rapper since Eminem burst onto the scene!!!

On the album's 2nd track, "They Don’t Love It," Jack references Em's famous "Lose Yourself" line about his mother's spaghetti with the lyrics ... "The hardest white boy since the one who rapped about vomit and sweaters/And hold the comments 'cause I promise you I'm honestly better than whoever came to your head right then" ... and then goes on to rap about how he outworks all his Caucasian competition!!!

Obviously, there have been several white rappers who have cut through since Em -- MGK, Millyz, Marlon Craft and Action Bronson are just a few who've been honing their craft, but doesn't matter ... Jack says he's better!!!

As we previously reported, Jack's 3rd project aimed to put the lyrical spotlight back on him after his sophomore album was labeled too commercial ... and judging from the early reviews, the music is meeting fans' expectations.

Boosie Badazz is backpedaling like Deion Sanders in his heyday after very openly calling T.I. a snitch.

The unfiltered rap star repositioned his stance in a new interview with VladTV Thursday ... admitting he jumped to conclusions without having his facts straight.

Boosie publicly bashed T.I. for claiming he snitched on his cousin after he died ... a podcast moment T.I. later revealed to be a joke — and provided the paperwork to prove it.

The rift derailed the release of their joint album ... but when we spoke to T.I. on the matter, he wrote of Boosie's comments as "misspeaking."

Boosie tells Vlad he and Tip have a long positive history and their sons are also good friends ... and felt bad about how he handled the situation.

Coach Monica Aldama, known from the hit Netflix series "Cheer," is pushing back on the claims and lawsuit against her ... saying in no way did she try to silence one of her cheerleader's claims of sexual assault.

Aldama tells TMZ ... she's "heartbroken by the false allegations" made against her by former Navarro College and cheer squad member Madi Lane -- adding the safety of her students is a top priority.

Aldama says she worked "year after year" to keep Navarro Cheer a safe space, adding she'd never remain silent about sexual assault claims "if I were aware that any sexual misconduct occurred in the Cheer program."

Navarro College, which is also getting sued by Lane, echoed Aldama's denial -- with a rep telling us it's prepared to "vigorously defend itself in court."

As we reported, Lane claims she was sexually assaulted by a fellow teammate in 2021 during her freshman year ... saying she brought it to Aldama's attention, but was allegedly told, "If you keep quiet, I’ll make sure you can cheer anywhere you want."

As Pras waits to find out his sentence after a guilty verdict in his federal fraud trial ... he's also waiting on his Fugees bandmates to publicly show him any support.

Both Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, rightfully, joined the world in publicly mourning artist/activist Harry Belafonte after his death on Tuesday, but one day later their IG accounts were bare of any reference to Pras' trial and verdict.

The Fugees' last album, 1996's "The Score," sold more than 22 million copies worldwide ... but the group never got on the same page to record a follow-up. A 25th-anniversary tour to celebrate the project was scrapped last year due to Pras' legal drama, so it's possible there's a rift between them after all that drama.

As we reported, Pras was found guilty of spearheading a multimillion-dollar political conspiracy alongside Malaysian fugitive Jho Low.

The trial included high-profile testimonies from the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- but to date, there's been no reaction from Lauryn or Wyclef.

On the other hand, Chuck D is being extremely vocal ... the Public Enemy frontman launched into a tirade Thursday, ripping apart what he calls a hypocrisy on Pras' accused crimes.

Ironically, Chuck also found time to memorialize Belafonte -- sharing the late icon's many virtues with TMZ Hip Hop when we spotted him at the airport.

The "f***ing c***" barb that ex-ESPN reporter Marly Rivera hurled at a female journalist earlier this month was captured on video ... and in the footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see it all went down right in front of Aaron Judge.

The incident -- which resulted in ESPN firing Rivera from her role as a national baseball reporter earlier this week -- happened on April 18 at Yankee Stadium ... just before New York took on the Los Angeles Angels in the Bronx.

According to the New York Post, Rivera had set up an interview with Judge ... but grew frustrated when freelance reporter Ivón Gaete showed up at the same time looking to speak with the Yankees superstar as well.

The video shows Rivera got so livid with Gaete -- who the Post reported had been at the stadium to cover Angels star Shohei Ohtani for Tokyo Broadcasting -- she began to raise her voice at the woman in Spanish ... as Judge signed autographs and posed for pics with fans just feet away.

At one point, Rivera rolled her eyes and called Gaete a "f***ing c***."

Gaete was clearly taken aback by the remark -- and asked a nearby camera person if they had caught it on video.

The two reporters then lingered around Judge for several moments. When he finally left the area, it seemed Rivera wanted to apologize ... but it didn't appear Gaete was willing to accept it.

ESPN said on Wednesday it had parted ways with Rivera following the encounter. Rivera, meanwhile, told the Post she fully accepted responsibility for her actions.

"There were extenuating circumstances but that in no way is an excuse for my actions," Rivera said. "I am a professional with a sterling reputation across baseball and I do believe that I am being singled out by a group of individuals with whom I have a long history of professional disagreements."

Rivera has since deleted her social media pages.

Tyrese Gibson says he can pay the more than half a million bucks for child support and his ex-wife's lawyers -- but he still thinks the judge did him dirty, and that's why he's gonna keep fighting it in court.

Tyrese laid it all out Wednesday at LAX, one day after he was ordered to pay $636K -- with $237K going to his ex-wife Samantha Lee Gibson for back child support and $399K going to her attorneys.

He's got no doubts he can cover the steep fee, and confirms he'll always support his kids ... but insists he won't be takin' this ruling lying down, and instead plans to appeal it.

You gotta see him boldly declare his battle will be one for the ages ... one that actually changes laws for all child support cases in Georgia. He believes you'll be hearing Gibson v. Gibson cited in future court hearings once he gets what he sees as justice.

As we reported, Tyrese refused to pay the $10K/month the judge ordered last August ... which is why he was held in contempt Tuesday in court.

He even ripped Judge Farmer on social media ahead of the hearing ... and the judge certainly clapped back, at least financially, with his ruling.

Lia Thomas -- the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship -- is firing back at her critics ... saying a lot of them are simply transphobes who are "using the guise of feminism" to hide their true, hateful beliefs.

Thomas opened up about her detractors in a lengthy interview this week with Schuyler Bailar -- the NCAA's first trans swimmer -- and she said it's just not possible to claim to be a feminist but to also not support her when it comes to competing against biological females.

"They're like, 'We respect Lia as a woman, as a trans woman, whatever, we respect her identity, we just don't think it's fair,'" the former collegiate swimmer said on the "Dear Schuyler" podcast.

"You can't really have that sort of half support, where you're like, 'Oh, I respect her as a woman here, but not here.' They're using the guise of feminism to sort of push transphobic beliefs."

Thomas -- who competed against males but switched to female competitions after she started hormone therapy in 2019 -- received backlash following nearly every event that she won over biological women. Her critics argued she had an unfair advantage ... and should be forced to compete in a separate category.

The issue became such a big deal, it sparked legislators to introduce bills in parts of the country to place restrictions on transgender athletes.

Outspoken supporters of those rules -- such as former swim star Riley Gaines and even some of Thomas' ex-teammates at UPenn -- have called themselves feminists who are trying to fight to protect women's sports.

But, during her interview with Bailar, Thomas said she believes that's all just an oxymoron.

"I think a lot of people in that camp sort of carry an implicit bias against trans people," Thomas said, "but don't want to, I guess, fully manifest or speak that out and so they try to play it off as this sort of half support."

Bailar agreed, adding, "In order to exclude anybody in the trans category, you have to reduce women to reproductive capacity, which is, in my opinion, extremely anti-feminist."

Edmonton Oilers star Evander Kane says a number of Kings supporters turned a dream trip into a complete nightmare for a young fan last week ... accusing L.A. backers of harassing and spitting on her jersey during a Stanley Cup playoff game.

Evander shared the allegations via social media ... saying 10-year-old Cecily Eklund -- who is battling cancer -- was singled out for wearing a Kane jersey during Game 3 of the Kings vs. Oilers series at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.

"I'm disgusted and appalled at what happened to this amazing little girl in the stands and in a women's restroom where she was harassed for wearing her jersey and was spit on by a LA fan for doing so," Kane said.

"This type of behavior is gross and unacceptable."

Kane went on to call the alleged conduct "pathetic" -- especially considering Cecily is a young warrior going through challenging times.

What makes things even worse -- Kane later shared a follow-up from someone DEFENDING Kings fans over the whole thing ... stating the awful human beings behind the alleged hateful actions had no other choice because he's "such a f***in scum bag."

"You make us spit on kids for being a dirty mother f***er," the user added.

Evander and Cecily have been tight for some time now -- the two met through the Ben Stelter Fund, which helps young kids battling illness have once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Meghan Trainor is walking back her comments and issuing an apology ... this, after coming under fire for saying 'f teachers' on her podcast.

The "Mother" singer issued an apology to her fans Sunday via TikTok ... saying "I was fired up because we were talking about how sending your kids to school here in America is so horrific."

She went on to say her frustration came from her own experience, back in the day, and was fueled by her knowledge of other folks' past trauma in the classroom. She continued, "I was bullied by some teachers so in that moment I got angry and said 'f teachers.'"

ICYMI, Meghan made the comment on her 'Workin' On It' podcast during an episode on motherhood. Toward the end of the show, her brother/cohost and their guest Trisha Paytas got on topic of schools ... both MT and TP said they planned to homeschool their kids and Meghan got really candid about her feelings about teachers.

Of course, her words were met with backlash with lots of folks running to the comment section. One user wrote, "We can all agree that the education system is broken and needs reform; however, us teachers, deserve respect and the absolute bare minimum."