Controversial S#!T

Jackie Robinson wrote a fiery, handwritten letter to a fan who was pissed off at the Dodgers legend over remarks he made about the Holocaust in early 1969 ... and now, the actual note is for sale for $150k.

Robinson, 50 at the time, addressed the letter to Milton Sacks, a Jewish man who attended Jackie's February 24, 1969 talk at a bank in New Jersey, and Milton wasn't pleased with some of the comments made by the Hall of Famer.

"Being a Jew, I am naturally very sensitive when an attempted genocide which resulted in over 6,000,000 Jews being exterminated in a short period of time is treated very lightly and made to seem insignificant as compared to '140,000,000 Blacks,'" Sacks wrote to Robinson, believing the legendary player downplayed the Holocaust.

Sacks also asked Robinson to provide his source for the statistics on how many Africans died during slavery.

At the time, a local NJ newspaper described Robinson's comments ... "[Jackie] reminded the audience of the mass murders of Jews during World War II, but said that during the slave trading years, an estimated 140 million blacks were killed."

The paper wrote Robinson said ... "That figure was the population of the United States in 1945," adding, "That's something to think about."

Jackie, who clearly didn't agree with the assertion, crafted a handwritten response on "JACKIE ROBINSON" letterhead.

After beginning with a pleasantry, Robinson fired back ... "I was surprised by your sensitivity. How can you say 6,000,000 murdered Jews seemed insignificant regardless of the number of slaves killed."

Jackie continued ... "What difference does a number make one would have been too many and it seems to me you are overly sensitive and it does surprise me. I resent your inference and usually say to 'hell' with individuals who feel as you do about the fact 140,000,000 blacks were killed."

Robinson then invited Sacks to call him on the phone the following week so he could reveal his sources. It's unclear if the conversation ever occurred.

Milton's typed letter to Jackie is also included in the sale.

Robinson, a 6-time All-Star and 1949 NL MVP, is one of the most important figures in the history of American sports. The second baseman broke MLB's color barrier in 1947.

A prominent 9/11 memorial organization is teeing off on the PGA's decision to join forces with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour ... saying the move is nothing but an act of betrayal.

9/11 Families United -- a group of thousands of family members whose loved ones were killed or impacted during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- tells TMZ Sports it is "shocked and deeply offended" by Tuesday's news of the PGA/LIV merger.

"PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA's unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia's reputation," chairman Terry Strada, whose husband died in the World Trade Center's North Tower, said in a statement.

"But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones."

Of course, the 9/11 hijackers had strong ties to Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the nineteen men who carried out the attack were citizens of the Middle Eastern country. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was also born in Saudi Arabia in 1957.

Despite the hijackers largely coming from Saudi Arabia, the country has always denied playing any role in the terrorist attack that killed nearly 3,000 people. The FBI and CIA have also stated Saudi Arabia was not behind the attacks.

"Make no mistake – we will never forget," Strada added.

Monahan is well aware of the backlash directed at players who jumped to LIV last year -- he was previously asked about 9/11 Families United calling it an act of betrayal at the time ... and he felt it was necessary for those athletes to apologize to those affected by the terrorist attacks.

It's safe to say the 9/11 org. no longer feels his words were sincere.

"Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV Golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour. They do now -- as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed."

"Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money – it was never to honor the great game of golf."

A tourist at Yellowstone National Park could find himself in jail, and it's all because of some videos of him running up to bears ... which park officials say is against the law.

Yellowstone rangers are reportedly on the hunt for the tourist, who is going viral for all the wrong reasons. The social media clip shows him hopping out of his car and charging at a bear, at least twice ... grunting, growling and barking at the wild animal.

In the footage, posted to an Instagram account dedicated to shaming Yellowstone tourists, the bear books it away from the tourist ... running off into the woods. The man then turns back to the camera, ripping his shirt off and flexing.

Yellowstone officials have seen the video and say they're investigating ... telling Cowboy State Daily the man could face criminal charges for disturbing wildlife, disorderly conduct and approaching wildlife.

Remember ... the National Park Service has strict rules in place at Yellowstone, where visitors are required to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and other animals.

Yellowstone officials also say the man could be fined $5,000 and thrown in jail for up to 6 months if convicted on the misdemeanor charge.

Pete Davidson is going to war with PETA over the new dog he bought, and he fired the latest shot via a profanity-laced voice mail for the animal rights group -- a move he doesn't regret, but says came from a place of grief.

PETA says the actor left the heated message Monday for the org's Senior VP of Cruelty Investigations, Daphna Nachminovitch. He got her name because she'd issued a statement to TMZ, expressing PETA's collective disappointment in Pete buying a puppy at an NYC pet store instead of adopting from a shelter.

On the voice mail, Pete announces himself and says he's responding to Daphna's statement, which he calls uneducated and premature. He notes he's allergic to dogs -- as his rep told us -- and that's why he had to get a cavapoo, a nearly hypoallergenic breed because they don't shed.

He also says the dog is for his mother, whose previous pup just died.

Then comes an expletive-laced diatribe that might rival Christian Bale (not really, though) ... in which he angrily tells Daphna to do her research before talking to media, drops an F-bomb and makes a vulgar suggestion involving his penis.

PETA isn't backing down, though, telling TMZ, "If Pete had done his research, he would know that there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog, that at least a quarter of dogs in shelters are purebreds, and that Petfinder has listings for homeless dogs of every breed under the sun, including the one he purchased."

We contacted Pete about his furious voice mail, and he admits he was unaware he could "adopt a specific hypoallergenic dog." He says he was told "it wasn't an option, and if it was, it was rare."

As for his anger, he addressed that by emphasizing his family was really going through it after his mother's dog died -- "I haven't seen my mom and sister cry like that in over 20 years. I was trying to cheer up my family. I was already upset that the store had filmed me without my permission or acknowledgement. Then this organization (PETA) made a public example of us, making our grieving situation worse. I am upset. It was a poor choice of words. I shouldn't have said what I said, but I am not sorry for standing up for myself and my family."

Prior to Pete offering that explanation, PETA told us ... "Our hearts go out to the Davidson family for the loss of their dog, but Pete must know in his heart that there's no excuse for buying a dog and propping up the puppy mill industry when millions of dogs await loving homes in shelters, and we hope he'll do the right thing and adopt next time."

It's clear neither side is blinking in the shop vs. adopt a dog debate.

After more than a year of bitter arguing that included lawsuits and public feuds, PGA Tour is merging with Saudi-backed LIV Golf ... and a lot of the players are pissed!

The stunning announcement was made Tuesday morning, with the companies saying they'll form a new, yet-to-be-named organization -- news that some of the PGA Tour players say totally blindsided them.

Collin Morikawa, the 18th-ranked player in the world, clearly had no idea the merger was in the works, Tweeting ... "I love finding out morning news on Twitter"

Another pro, Wesley Bryan, expressed anger over the merger.

"Love finding out info on twitter. This is amazing. Y’all should be ashamed and have a lot of questions to answer."

Bryan fired off another message ... "I feel betrayed, and will not be able to trust anyone within the corporate structure of the PGA TOUR for a very long time"

Tuesday's announcement was especially shocking because of the disdain the organizations have had for one another since LIV launched.

Aside from just being a business dispute, a lot of Americans were against LIV because of its tie to the Saudi Arabian government. In fact, LIV Golf is backed by Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF), controlled by the Crown Prince. A majority of the 9/11 hijackers (15 of 19) were from the country.

Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA Tour, once posed the question ... "Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?," in response to blowback on American golfers who took large checks from LIV.

Monahan was talking about several high-profile former PGA Tour players who bolted for LIV, including Phil Mickelson who reportedly received around $200 million to join the org. Dustin Johnson left too, reportedly getting $125 million. Brooks Koepka reportedly got $100 million.

Not all players took the big money ... Tiger Woods reportedly turned down a whopping $800 million offer, while Rory McIlroy reportedly said no to $500 million.

Elliot Page says a guy hurled a transphobic threat at him last year -- something he says has become a reality since coming out as transgender in 2020.

The actor's in the middle of a promo tour for his new memoir, telling the Los Angeles Times about an incident that went down in 2022 in L.A. ... claiming some man yelled at him while he was walking to a convenience store in WeHo.

Elliot says the man screamed, "I'm going to f****** gay bash you, f*****." He also claims the man followed that up by yelling, "This is why I need a gun!" -- this after EP had gone inside and asked employees for help.

He goes on to say that it left him shaken, but he noted he was fortunate enough to be able to afford resources -- like private security, etc. -- that could shield him from wackos ... whereas other trans people might not have the luxury.

In an excerpt from his book, the actor says an A-lister once told him -- pre-transition -- that he wasn't gay and that being gay didn't exist ... with this star apparently insisting Elliot was just afraid of men.

Prince Harry didn't hold back during his first day of testimony in London's High Court, where he trashed the British press as he made his case over years-long alleged privacy breaches.

The Duke of Sussex was on hand, in the flesh, Tuesday ... where he hit the witness box early and reportedly read from a witness statement he'd prepared to discuss the allegations he's levied against the Daily Mirror -- the first tabloid case of his being heard.

His statement was reportedly 55 pages long, touching on everything from former associates/employees of Princess Diana -- including her ex-butler, Paul Burrell, whom he called a "two-faced s***" -- to voice mails of his that he claimed were accessed before he could ever hear them.

There's one compelling line about how he felt during the mid-2000s through the early 2010s ... the period of time at issue in the alleged phone hacking/spying case. Harry said, "Despite the common misconception, I was no more than 5% funded by the taxpayer while I was a working Royal in the UK, yet it felt as though the tabloid press thought that they owned me absolutely, and deserved to know everything there is to know about me, my life, my movements and the lives of those people who came into my orbit."

As for why he felt his phone was being hacked ... he described getting notifications for new voice mails on his phone back then -- but then seeing the notification disappear before he could even hear the audio. He says this happened often.

There's more ... Harry said stories that ran during this time about him possibly having been fathered by James Hewitt were incredibly hurtful to him, and harmed his mental health -- sparking fears he'd be ousted from the Royal Family amid speculation.

And lastly, he took direct shots at Piers Morgan ... whom he alleged was the one signing off on the alleged spying/hacking, as the guy was top dog at Daily Mirror at the time. He also alleges Piers is behind recent Mirror attacks against him and his wife, Meghan Markle.

One final telling quote from Harry ... "How much more blood will stain their typing fingers before someone can put a stop to this madness?" When cross-examined on that remark, PH responded ... "Some of the editors and journalists that are responsible for causing a lot of pain, upset and in some cases, speaking personally, death."

There was further cross-examination, in which attorneys for the Mirror asserted the articles he's suing over had actually already been written by other outlets -- and that the Mirror was simply riding the news cycle at the time with their own versions.

A Stanley Cup Final reporter looked more athletic than a lot of the Florida Panthers did on Monday night ... using some quick-thinking reflexes to keep an obnoxious fan out of her live shot.

The wild moment all went down toward the end of the Golden Knights' 7--2 blowout win over the Panthers in Las Vegas ... when Samantha Rivera was trying to recap Florida's loss on camera.

As the CBS Miami reporter was setting the scene at T-Mobile Arena for her viewers ... a fan tried to photobomb her shot -- and Rivera was having absolutely none of it.

You can see in a replay of her on-cam appearance, Rivera had to use a massive stiff arm to push the Knights supporter away from her shot. All the while, she repeated "Nope!" over and over again.

Eventually, the fan got the hint and bolted ... and Rivera finished her segment like a pro. Afterward, she took to Twitter to blast the guy for trying to interrupt her at work.

"Listen," she wrote, "I don't give a damn what team you're rooting for -- get the hell out of my face when I'm working and respect that I'm here to do my job."

"Excited to get back home to some classy #Panthers fans for game 3!!" she added.

Fans all over social media lauded Rivera's actions ... with many comparing her right arm to none other than NFL star Derrick Henry's!!

Bobby Shmurda is distancing himself and his ears from today's generation of rappers ... claiming to only catch wind of new hip hop music when he's out partying in the club.

The Brooklyn MC got real candid firing off his anti-rap opinions on a recent appearance on "The Danza Project" podcast, where he called out the gamut of today's rappers for leading younger listeners astray with exaggerated narratives of their gangster tales.

Bobby says hip hop is supposed to uplift people, not influence negativity, so he actively stopped following the culture, and chooses instead to bump reggae these days.

He says his connection to rap has been lost to the point that a popular new rapper could diss him on a song, and he would be oblivious to the whole thing!!!

Bobby isn't alone in his thinking there are too many dark clouds hanging over the rap scene these days.

TMZ Hip Hop recently caught up with Ty Dolla $ign and he told us his upcoming dance EP is a direct counterattack to what he calls a negative music overload.

What's odd about Bobby's hot take is that his own catalog features some less-than-happy-go-lucky tracks.

Kanye West and his family wanted to touch base with the man upstairs this weekend -- but it appears they were interrupted by the paparazzi ... which set Papa Bear off.

The rapper-producer was heading to church Sunday in L.A. with his "wife," Bianca Censori, and at least one of his kids -- 4-year-old Psalm. They were being hounded by photographers the whole time ... and at one point, Ye had to stop his car and deal with them himself.

It's unclear if this happened while he was going to church or leaving -- but, in any case, it got ugly on the side of the road ... where KW berated some of the paps tailing him.

In video, obtained by TMZ, you can see and hear Ye losing it -- yelling at the paps and demanding that they stop following him. He even used an expletive to get his point across.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they left him alone ... because photos later popped up that show Ye and co. at what seemed to be their final destination. In the lot of whatever facility they were at for church, Ye could be seen playing with Psalm ... who brought his bike.

Bianca, meanwhile, was standing right next to them ... and she had an interesting outfit on, as did Kanye. It seems like whatever service they were going to might've been themed, because others who were heading inside also appeared to be thematically dressed.

It's great to see Kanye doing the dad thing as he and Kim continue to coparent/blend families -- but it's a bummer that they can't do it without a lens in their face 24/7. Catch-22.

Elon Musk says a Vermont high school student and her family are getting a raw deal ... as they've been punished for demanding a biological male student -- who identifies as female -- be barred from the girls' locker rooms.

Former University of Kentucky swimmer, and now political activist, Riley Gaines amplified the Allen family's battle on Saturday -- tweeting Blake Allen had been suspended from school, and her father had been fired from his job.

Those were the consequences for the Allens who said Blake and some of her volleyball teammates were uncomfortable undressing in front of a fellow student who identifies as female ... but was born male.

Elon replied to Riley's tweet, "Incredibly unjust." Blake got a 2-day suspension and was reportedly told she couldn't return to school before apologizing for her feelings. Meanwhile, her father -- a middle school soccer coach -- had been suspended without pay because he publicly defended Blake, according to the Daily Signal.

The Allens did win some relief in the form of a lawsuit they filed against the school district ... which was recently settled. They'll reportedly get $125k in damages and attorney fees, plus Blake's suspension has been scrubbed from her record, and her father got back his coaching job.

As we reported, there's a similar legal battle at the University of Wyoming, where Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters are suing their sorority for allowing transgender Artemis Langford into the group.

Galyn Susman -- the longtime Disney producer who's credited with saving "Toy Story 2" -- just got the boot alongside several other Pixar employees ... and fans are pissed.

The news came down Saturday from Reuters, which reported Susman was one of 75 Pixar workers who recently gotten the axe in mass layoffs. She was one of 3 key Pixar people to be let go ... the others included Michael Agulnek -- Pixar's VP of worldwide publicity -- and 'Lightyear' director Angus MacLane, who was involved in other Pixar flicks too.

The firings are reportedly tied to the bomb that was last year's 'Lightyear' ... a movie based on the "real" Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Chris Evans. It had a budget of about $200 mil, and only made $226 mil at the worldwide box office ... not to mention middling reviews.

While the film didn't do well, many are saying that scapegoating -- and ultimately canning -- the execs/producers tied to its development is cold-blooded ... especially as it pertains to Galyn, who played a very important in preserving what was left of 'TS2' at the time.

It's the stuff of legends -- and this story's been repeated several times by Disney execs over the years. There was some kind of glitch in Disney's computers that literally deleted upwards of 90% of the movie back then as it was about a year out from its imminent release date.

The studio was scrambling to preserve whatever was left, but from the looks of it ... they were going to have to start from scratch -- that is, until Galyn came to the rescue with a backup copy ... which she fortunately had in her possession due to her WFH/maternity leave.

In the end, Disney remade the movie anyway -- creating a different version from what Galyn had saved -- but her extra files undoubtedly saved them a lot of time/work/money.

Gov. Gavin Newsom isn't happy that a SoCal school board banned lessons on the late Harvey Milk for kids ... and it sounds like he's going to do something about it.

California's top governmental dog sounded off Saturday in response to a report about the Temecula Valley School Board recently voting to nix any literature about the former SF politician -- who was openly gay, and who served a member of the Board of Supervisors.

Board president, Dr. Joseph Komrosky, was hearing out a fellow member ... who wanted to ban a biography of Milk -- which was apparently available to 4th graders at a local elementary school as part of their social studies teachings -- which touched on his homosexual lifestyle in the supplemental resources section ... as a footnote.

The board member who raised this issue says he was made aware of the material, finding the information in it to be highly inappropriate for children -- and Komrosky agreed.

In fact, Komrosky shocked many in the audience by calling Milk a "pedophile" ... which several people, including some teachers/faculty/board members, pushed back on by strongly denying that characterization. They explained that he was instrumental in achieving gay rights in the U.S. ... and that that historical fact shouldn't be hidden from grade school kids.

Komrosky held his ground ... arguing that Milk's private life -- and presumably his public life at large -- wasn't relevant and not worthy of being in their curriculum. In the end, the board voted 3-2 to get rid of the Milk literature ... and now, Gov. Newsom is aware of it.

He took to Twitter and wrote, "An offensive statement from an ignorant person. This isn’t Texas or Florida. In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn. Congrats Mr. Komrosky you have our attention. Stay tuned." Newsom didn't elaborate further.

Of course, GN's spoken out against other states trying to limit the scope of education as it pertains to issues like these -- especially in Florida, where Gov. DeSantis has set a tone.

As for the whole "pedophile" claim ... it's unclear why Komrosky referred to HM as that. It's possible he might be referencing Milk's one-time relationship with Jack McKinley, which is believed to have begun while McKinley was a teen ... but that part of history is a little hazy.

Ezra Miller may actually be back as The Flash soon enough, 'cause there's already a script for a would-be sequel ... which will presumably be activated based on how the 1st one does.

Variety reports that 'The Flash 2' is signed, sealed and delivered -- and on standby -- courtesy of "Aquaman" screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick ... noting Warner is inclined to use it if a sequel is greenlit, which we won't know until after "The Flash" debuts.

The outlet also goes on to say that Johnson-McGoldrick's script features continued cameos from Michael Keaton's Batman and Sasha Calle's Supergirl ... who are both in the upcoming flick. The word of mouth for 'Flash,' which is coming out in a couple weeks, is at peak levels right now ... with many hyping it as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.

As for Ezra ... well, the director of "The Flash," Andy Muschietti, has already gone on the record to say he would recast them if a sequel was in the cards ... praising Ezra's work as Barry Allen as a one-of-a-kind performance that's made for them in any future installments.

The problem -- at least from some fans' POV -- is that Ezra is very problematic ... on account of all the crimes/misdeeds they've been alleged of carrying out over the past few years.

Just to name a few ... alleged assault, alleged grooming, alleged breaking and entering, alleged harassment ... among other things. Several of these incidents have resulted in arrests -- and wild police body cam footage too -- as well as a plea deal for at least one of these.

Of course, Ezra has also apologized for their erratic behavior ... and went on to cite mental health issues, as well as saying they'd seek the professional help they need to get better.

That ended up being good enough for Warner, which opted not to recast Ezra and move forward with the release of "The Flash" as is. Interestingly, Variety also reports that Ezra is going to skip all of the press ahead of the movie ... and will only make a brief appearance at the Los Angeles premiere the week of. Press for this movie, in general, has been virtually non-existent and it seems Warner will continue with that strategy ... opting instead for a bunch of ad buys and other promo, like screenings ... of which there's been several now.

Despite Ezra ducking their head and laying low ahead of "The Flash," the movie is projected to do pretty well at the box office -- at the moment, it's on track for a $75 mil opening.

Some are crying foul over Ezra getting this pass -- not to mention an almost guaranteed sequel -- and feel like they're being afforded an opportunity others who've been accused of wrongdoing, like Jonathan Majors, aren't enjoying. Granted, JM is with a different studio and hasn't lost his Marvel job just yet ... plus, his case is a bit different than Ezra's sitch.

Jemele Hill denies that an alleged demand for Joe Rogan-level money from Spotify is the reason for her exit from the audio giant ... although, it seems clear she is, in fact, leaving.

The longtime sports reporter/media personality is said to be negotiating a split from Spotify, where she's exclusively hosted her all-issues podcast -- "Jemele Hill is Unbothered" -- since 2019. Several outlets are reporting that she's now seeking a new home for her show.

Jemele's 'Unbothered' podcast network -- which features other Black podcasters -- is also shuttering. Reports say Spotify might let her out of her deal early, or simply let it lapse.

Now, for the controversy ... a conservative outlet, Outkick, framed this parting of ways as Jemele getting the boot after "daring the company to pay her or another black host $100 million" ... the same way they'd paid Joe for an exclusive deal (it turned out to be $200M).

If you read the article, you come to find out that the writer is referencing an old quote she gave the NYT last year about Joe's big contract, in which she said ... "What I would like to see is for them to hand $100 million to somebody who is Black." The way Outkick and other right-wing sites are reporting this is ... Jemele asked for that $100 mil, and was told no.

Well, she's pushing back on that ... taking to Twitter to bat down any notion that she gave Spotify an ultimatum, especially one that pit her against Joe. Of course, her quote from 2022 has clearly been taken out of context ... and she's setting the record straight on what's what.

Jemele says, "People: A lot of what’s been reported just isn’t true. My podcast hasn’t been cancelled. I never asked Spotify for $100M. This s*** is truly comical."

She goes on to say her podcast, for now, will continue -- adding ... "Next week’s guest is: Sabrina Elba. In the coming weeks: Blair Underwood, Kasi Lemmons, JR Smith, Kenny Latimore and more." Finally, she says ... "When I have something to say, I’ll say it."

Jemele also clarified further in a back-and-forth on Twitter with someone who was pointing out the quote to her, to which she responded ... "You should probably comprehend better, or maybe read the original piece -- which was about me wanting to see Spotify make that investment in prominent Black podcasters. I never told Spotify or the NYT, that I deserved  $100M. My deal at Spotify is pretty fair. This was about investment and growth."

Kanye West is making peace with Ice Cube ... 7 months after throwing him under the bus by claiming Cube was the one who turned him on to antisemitism.

The 2 rap icons met face-to-face Friday at Cube's home in the L.A. area -- and it definitely looks like they hammered out their differences. They hugged it out as Ye was leaving, and both guys were smiling.

You'll recall, late last year -- after Ye started his antisemitic rants -- he went on "Drink Champs" and claimed Ice Cube's social media posts inspired his dangerous bigotry.

For his part, Cube made it clear he had no idea what Ye was talking about. He tweeted, "I didn't put the batteries in his back. Please leave my name out of all the antisemitic talk. I'm not antisemitic and never have been."

"Drink Champs" eventually deleted the episode ... as it featured Ye making several offensive rants about Jews, Trevor Noah and George Floyd.

Since then Ye has claimed he no longer hates Jewish people, although his explanation for why -- watching Jonah Hill in "21 Jump Street" -- was, at the very least, bizarre ... and, at most, highly offensive.