Controversial S#!T

YFN Lucci is rejecting a plea deal Georgia prosecutors offered him in his racketeering case ... we've learned Lucci's instead opting to go to trial to clear his name.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Hop Hop, Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis recommended a 20-year sentence, 17 of them in prison ... and in exchange, Lucci would have to plead guilty to multiple charges -- including felony murder, racketeering, aggravated assault and violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act.

Lucci, whose real name is Rayshawn Bennett, is not interested in the offer. His attorneys, Drew Findling and Gabe Banks, tell us the plea offer is "absurd," and they strongly hinted the D.A. is intentionally dragging her feet -- they point out Lucci is still waiting to go to trial after 2.5 years in custody.

The attorneys also slammed Willis for focusing instead on "newer, high-profile cases that have completely monopolized the Court’s resources" and pointed out her "utter inability to prosecute complex cases."

They went on to say ... "Despite the obstacles consistently placed in the way of Mr. Bennett’s constitutional right to a speedy and fair trial, we continue to be ready and prepared to defend these false allegations."

Zoey Stark has been making a name for herself since being drafted to "Monday Night Raw" ... but the former NXT star is ready to become a champ on the main roster -- and wants to go through WWE Smackdown Women's Champion Rhea Ripley to make it happen!

TMZ Sports spoke with Stark just days after she defeated Natalya to qualify for the Money in the Bank Women's ladder match with help from her friend, Trish Stratus ... and she's already envisioning going toe-to-toe with the Judgement Day member in the squared circle.

"I really want Rhea Ripley," Stark said. "I feel like we can have an amazing match. I feel like we'll have great chemistry inside of a ring together. And we'll have a fun time doing it, and honestly, we'll beat the crap out of each other. And I think that would be fun to watch."

Stark's on-camera relationship with Trish blossomed after she helped Stratus defeat Becky Lynch at "Night of Champions" ... and Zoey told us she attributes her early success on RAW to Trish's mentorship.

"Trish has been very big in helping me," Stark said. "Every week, we sit down, and we talk about what could have been better, what do I need to fix. She's been an amazing mentor. So being able to work alongside her is so fun, and I'm truly blessed to be able to do that."

Before Stark can get her hands on Rhea, she'll have to defeat several competitors at the Money in the Bank Ladder match, slated to go down Saturday, July 1, at the O2 Arena in London ... but she assured us she's going to emerge from that match victorious.

She also gave Haley & Hanna Cavinder some advice after the twins recently made their first WWE appearance on NXT ... reminding the former college hoopers that becoming a WWE Superstar requires sacrifice and commitment.

Kim Kardashian's got some serious star power as an actress ... according to Zachary Quinto, who says he was 'really impressed' by her work on the upcoming season of “American Horror Story."

Zachary gave Kim the kind words at the recent Tribeca Film Festival premiere of his new flick "He Went That Way," which he stars in alongside "Euphoria" actor Jacob Eldori.

The 'AHS' alum not only confirmed he'll be returning to Ryan Murphy's franchise as a cameo, but says Kim did pretty damn well from what he saw ... saying "She seemed really in her element, and I was really impressed by her spirit and her openness."

He says he's extremely excited to see her work in the final product -- adding she's going to do a wonderful job. Zachary even admitted, "I don’t think she needs my advice."

As we reported, it was revealed in April that Kim K would be joining the ranks in season 12 of "AHS," titled "Delicate" -- the big announcement also revealed Emma Roberts would be returning to the long-running series, although everyone's parts are kept under wraps.

Amanda Nunes believes she is the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time... but if you don't, that's cool with "The Lioness."

TMZ Sports talked to 35-year-old Nunes, who is returning to the Octagon in the main event at UFC 289, and asked her who she believed was the greatest ever.

Amanda didn't mince her words ... "Me."

Of course, it's a subjective question ... it can't be definitively answered. In the wake of Jon Jones going up to heavyweight and dominating Ciryl Gane with ease, a lot of fight fans, including Dana White, have declared "Bones" Jones the greatest.

Others in the conversation are Khabib Nurmagomedov, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson and Georges St-Pierre, in addition to Nunes.

Amanda, who won back her belt vs. Julianna Pena in July, will fight 35-year-old Irene Aldana Saturday night in Vancouver. We asked Nunes, who has done everything in the sport (double champ, beaten "Cyborg", Ronda Rousey, V. Shevchenko), if retirement has entered her mind.

The short answer is no ... 'cause Amanda says she still enjoys the "feeling" of a fight, and "process" of preparing.

"I wanna keep doing this because this is what makes me alive, keeping me fresh, keeping me on my toes. I love the competitions and I don't see anything after this fight so I guess I'm gonna go through this, get my belt back home, and get right back to the next."

We also talked to Irena, who is on a mission to stop the belt from going back to Florida with Nunes, and she made it clear she isn't content with simply sharing the Octagon with Amanda. She wants to win.

And since her teammate, fellow Mexican fighter Alexa Grasso, won the belt by beating another dominant champ in Valentina Shevchenko, Aldana has faith that it's possible.

"I learned a lot from [Alexa] and I love the way she handled all these things. She had the world against her and nobody gave her a chance and she showed the world."

FYI, Grasso was a huge underdog ... and so is Aldana.

But, Alexa won ... and that's Irene's plan, too.

Someone might wanna take Justin Bieber's dad's phone -- he's attempting to clear up his previous anti-LGBTQ comment, claiming he's misunderstood ... and really is just making things worse.

Jeremy hopped on Twitter Friday morning to further explain what he meant in posting, "Don't forget to thank a straight person this month for your existence."

Jeremy says, "My post was to acknowledge families, that's it! and before you say I abandoned my son, move on! that's an old narrative pushed! its ridiculous and didn't happen. Now my delivery may have been poor but it was not to be hateful or homophobic."

What Jeremy has clearly failed to learn from the wave of criticism he's received is ... straight people aren't the only ones who have families.

He also played the "some of my best friends are" card in his clarification, tweeting ... "My brother is gay and I adore him, Love whomever you want that’s your business not "mine"  my problem is the hostile takeover of our cities and schools by LGBTQ this is the concern of many. There is a place for everyone, and everyone’s opinion! That does not equal hate!"

Jeremy's reference of a "hostile takeover" screams of someone who's been shooting up cases of Bud Light, and/or tearing down Pride displays in a Target store.

He's claiming he's not anti-LGBTQ, but to say there's been a "takeover" of cities and schools is not only inaccurate, it's the dangerous kind of rhetoric that puts LGBTQ members at risk.

Little advice for Jeremy -- maybe just take the rest of this month off to enjoy your version of a family.

Boxing star Adrien Broner is itching to show his critics he's far from washed ... telling TMZ Sports he's looking to knockout Bill Hutchinson later on Friday!!

The 34-4-1 welterweight hasn't stepped into the ring since 2021 ... but he says he's more than ready to put back on his gloves at the FITE event inside Casino Miami in Florida.

"It's been a crazy training camp," the 33-year-old said earlier this week. "I feel good. I'm ready. I can't wait to put on a show."

Many, however, don't believe Broner can return to the boxer he once was ... particularly because he's only taken one fight since he lost badly to Manny Pacquiao in Jan. 2019.

But, Broner says he isn't the least bit concerned about his detractors ... telling us they're all simply just like "ass****s."

"Everybody got one," he said. "If I didn't have critics or haters, then I wouldn't be doing something right, you know? I'd feel like, 'S***, why nobody hatin' on me?'"

AB's opponent, Hutchinson, is by no means a tomato can ... he's 20-2-4 with nine knockouts -- and will present a tough test for Broner. The fight is expected to begin around 10:30 PM ET.

Ugly scene during the UEFA Europa Conference League final on Wednesday ... soccer star Cristiano Biraghi was pelted with trash while on the field -- and one of the objects hit him so flush, it opened a gnarly wound on his head.

The incident happened during the first half of West Ham's heated tilt with Fiorentina at Fortuna Arena in Prague ... after Biraghi's Fiorentina squad was awarded a corner kick.

You can see in footage from the game's broadcast, West Ham supporters were so upset over the call -- they launched empty cups at Biraghi's head.

Initially, the 30-year-old defender was unnerved by the trash-throwing -- aiming some sarcastic claps back at the unruly fans -- but when he realized he was bleeding profusely from the back of his noggin, he sought out medical attention.

Thankfully, while the gash looked bad, he was able to put a bandage on it and continue.

Refs, though, did have to pause the game -- while a public address announcer urged fans to refrain from throwing objects on the pitch.

At halftime, BT Sport commentator and ex-soccer star Joe Cole ripped the supporters for "moronic behavior."

Zion Williamson didn't get much time to celebrate being a girl dad before becoming the center of some bombshell allegations ... 'cause a popular porn star says the hooper "better pray" he's not about to be a father of two.

32-year-old Moriah Mills -- a music artist and OnlyFans model with more than a million followers on Twitter -- alleged she is in a romantic relationship with the New Orleans Pelicans forward in a Twitter rant on Wednesday ... claiming she had no idea he was seeing someone else, let alone expecting a baby, too.

Mills says she was intimate with Zion as recently as last week ... and posted alleged Snapchat messages that appear to show him arranging to have her move to New Orleans.

Moriah gave X-rated details about her alleged experiences with Zion -- she also took credit for getting him get back into shape as he sat out the majority of the season with an injury.

"Better pray I’m not pregnant too because I’m definitely late @Zionwilliamson," Moriah added.

Zion's GF, Ahkeema, appeared to respond to Moriah's tirade ... saying, "Happy hoes ain't hating and hating hoes ain't happy."

Moriah clapped back ... saying, "You not on my level mah believe that."

Zion and Ahkeema shared footage of their gender reveal party on Tuesday ... which showed they are expecting a baby girl together.

Justin Bieber's dad, Jeremy, is letting everybody know exactly how he feels about Pride Month, posting dismissive messages about the celebrations happening this June.

Jeremy, who has children with 3 different women, took to Twitter Wednesday to post a meme of a Pride flag and the message, "Don't forget to thank a straight person this month for your existence."

The meme comes on the heels of his posting Monday, which read, "We need to celebrate families. U know the reason we’re all here! The things this generation glorifies is unbelievable!"

Jeremy's messaging is pretty clear ... he's not about celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, and Justin's fans have certainly let him have it with their responses.

One wrote, "Don't forget to thank Justin Bieber this month for your paid bills" another said, "Yes! thanks straight man, who left your woman at the time raising your child alone. You are definitely the best person to something about family, respect and love."

Jeremy had Justin with Pattie Mallette when the two were 18 and split shortly after. Pattie raised Justin on her own with the help of her own parents ... though Justin and Jeremy maintained a relationship as he got older.

Of course, Jeremy's posts come on the heels of heightened tension and anti-LGBTQ legislation over the past several months. As we reported, a brawl broke out in California last night as a school board met to discuss including LGBTQ curriculum.

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

Originally Published -- 7:21 AM PT

Rory McIlroy is breaking his silence on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger, saying he feels like a "sacrificial lamb" after turning down a reported $500 MILLION payout from the Saudis last year, only to watch the organizations come together ... minus the half a billion dollar check.

But, despite his personal feelings, the 4x Majors winner admits he believes the merger is "ultimately good for the game of professional golf."

34-year-old McIlroy met with the media at RBC Canadian Open in Canada ... and as expected, Rory was asked about the news that shocked golf to its core on Tuesday, when the two bitter enemies decided to put aside their differences and instead work together.

"It's hard for me to not sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb. Feeling like I've put myself out there and this is what happens," McIlroy flatly told reporters.

Rory added ... "Removing myself from the situation, I see how this is better for the game of golf. There's no denying that. But, for me as an individual, there's going to be conversations that have to be had."

Good or not for the game, McIlroy admits he doesn't like LIV, at all. And, he actually thinks LIV (in its current form) could go away with the merger.

"I still hate LIV. I hope it goes away and I fully expect that it does and I think that's where the distinction here is. This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the PIF. Very different from LIV. All I've tried to do is protect what the PGA Tour is and what the PGA Tour stands for, and I think it will continue to do that."

The "PIF" is the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, operated by the Crown Prince, which backs LIV.

The PIF made big payments to stars like Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson, enticing them to leave the PGA Tour. However, Rory and Tiger Woods turned down an unthinkable amount of money (reportedly $500m for Rory, and $800m for Tiger) to stick with the PGA.

Despite being left out in the cold, Rory says he hopes the seemingly endless amount of money ends up trickling down to the players.

"Whether you like it or not, the PIF and the Saudis want to spend money in the game of golf, and they weren't going to stop. The thing for me is how can we get that money into the game but use it the right way and I think that's what this ultimately will do."

Chris Paul says his championship-less career is really starting to affect his family ... revealing his daughter is now actually getting bullied in school over it.

The Phoenix Suns star went into detail about the sad situation on "The Pivot" podcast this week ... explaining his 10-year-old has been receiving hate from classmates following yet another season without a title for the 38-year-old.

"She had a little boy, whatever, at school that said some reckless stuff to her," Paul said. "He was like, 'Your daddy ain't never gon' win no championship.'"

Paul said his little girl kept it cool while at the school -- but she later gave him a phone call about it.

"She was upset," he said. "I had to have that conversation with her and talk to her and tell her, like, 'Baby, some people talk and some people do.'"

Paul got emotional as he spoke about the matter ... but he vowed to work as hard as possible to change it all at some point.

"It's tough man, but can't nobody ever be harder on me than I am on myself," he said ... before adding, "As mad as I am and whatnot, I cannot let that define me. Right? I got to get back to work."

Despite no rings, CP3 has had a helluva career nonetheless. The 2005 first-round pick has made 12 All-Star games, nine All-Defensive teams ... and he was even named to the Association's 75th Anniversary Team.

Tupac Shakur's biological father Billy Garland is revealing he initially hated his late son's classic tribute "Dear Mama," because Pac labeled him a "coward" ... and told the world he was dead when he's clearly alive.

He's also not a fan of Hulu's record-breaking docuseries "Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur" ... as he claims director Allen Hughes tricked him into doing an interview for the project.

The ex-Black Panther recently voiced a gang of gripes with Tupac tribute channel "The Art of Dialogue," where he explained he'd been attempting to find Tupac for several years after being separated, and realized "someone" had lied to him about his existence.

Billy was able to get over the disses in 'Mama,' and now calls the song "beautiful" ... while also claiming he bumps his son's music daily.

Allen Hughes isn't getting the same pardon from Billy, who says he feels FX's 'Dear Mama' blindsided him. He says he didn't know his testimony would be leveraged against the legacy of Afeni.

Billy says had he known Allen's true intentions, he wouldn't have sat done for the interview. He also takes issue with the project's insinuation Tupac suffered from bipolar disorder.

Matty Healy put Taylor Swift in a pretty sticky situation recently -- it involved a troubling podcast appearance he'd made -- but we've learned that controversy is NOT the reason they're no longer dating.

A friend connected to Matty's band, The 1975, tells TMZ ... Taylor was aware of Matty's remarks about Ice Spice on the podcast before she started dating him. While it's true her fans applied plenty of social media pressure over it, the friend tells us Matty and Taylor were used to the noise, and simply blocked it out.

ICYMI ... Matty went on the "The Adam Friedland Show" back in February, where Nick Mullen, Friedland and Matty openly laughed and made derogatory comments about Ice Spice ... even mocking her with Chinese and Hawaiian accents.

Amid Matty and Taylor's romance, the clip resurfaced online last month, along with a separate interview clip of Ice expressing her love for The 1975. BTW, all of this was brewing as Taylor and Ice prepared to release their collab, "Karma (Remix)."

Awkward timing to say the least, and although Matty ultimately apologized for offending Ice, some fans felt his mea culpa lacked sincerity. The podcast episode has since been scrubbed from several platforms.

Nevertheless ... we're told all the Swiftee angst over that is not at the root of them pulling the plug on their relationshp -- and, instead, it has more to do with the fact they simply don't have time for each other.

Everyone knows Taylor's Eras tour is packing stadiums across the U.S., and will for a few more months -- and Matty's friend points out The 1975 is in the middle of its European tour now.

We're told they still care for each other, even though things didn't work out romantically.

Things are really heating up for Prince Harry on the stand in his tabloid privacy case, getting grilled by the opposing attorney for failing to show actual proof of his claims.

The Duke of Sussex's cross-examination continued Wednesday ... where his lengthy witness statement was picked apart -- namely, pointing to the fact the guy hasn't brought any actual evidence of phone hacking, including alleged data Harry has cited.

Harry's explanation for this, so far, has been his suspicion that the Daily Mirror journos he alleges were spying on him/hacking his phone were probably using burners to cover their tracks ... plus the fact all this stuff happened so long ago, well over a decade at this point.

Then, some nitty gritty ... the opposing attorney, Andrew Green, went through several different stories that are at the center of the case -- and he broke down, one by one, why Harry thought phone hacking and/or spying was at the center of these gossipy pieces.

For example, a few articles were brought up from the mid-2000s referencing his relationship with his ex-GF Chelsy Davy -- details of which the Mirror reported on back then, including break-ups/ ups and down they'd gone through, which PH believes were reported on via illegal news-gathering tactics.

However, when pressed on why he thought that, he revealed that the unnamed "palace" sources cited in the stories couldn't have known about those things ... because he says he never discussed those things with any palace officials. There are also details from phone calls the two had that were reported on -- which cited friends as the source -- and Harry said he thought those were hacked from his voice mails.

What Green pointed out, however, is that a lot of these stories the Mirror did were actually out in other outlets too -- and sometimes even originated from other outlets, including American gossip mags -- and that they often cited anonymous sources who claimed to be in the know. What Green was getting at ... perhaps people in Harry's inner circle and/or people who worked for or with the palace provided the info, without any hacking whatsoever.

Essentially, Green was making the point that it's quite commonplace for outlets to get what some might consider inside info from well-placed sources ... and that citing anonymous sources is, oftentimes, exactly how a tabloid publication may have gotten the scoop.

Harry pushed back though ... insisting much of the content reported on by DM could've only been obtained by accessing his private records/correspondence. Green said Harry was "living in a land of total speculation" about where the info might've actually come from -- and Harry said he disagreed. They also butted heads at other points in the cross ... at one point, Green interrupted Harry (who kept turning to the judge) to say -- "Could I ask the questions?"

Long story short ... Green was making the case that a lot of what Harry's griping about had either already been out and reported on, usually citing anonymous sources, or that the Daily Mirror's stories were reported on with info that was easily accessible to the public. Harry called BS on that -- but when pressed on deets, he didn't seem to have any smoking gun. Just a lot of conviction and firm belief -- which Green consistently questioned and doubted.

Chris Licht's gamble on Donald Trump has come up snake eyes -- CNN is pulling the plug on his term as CEO.

Licht's firing comes exactly one month after he engineered the network's controversial Town Hall special with the GOP Presidential front-runner. Licht made a play for Trump's base, and did draw more than 3 million viewers that night ... but the blowback from CNN's viewership and Democrats in D.C. was severe. The network's ratings plummeted in the days after the Trump special.

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan drew the honors Wednesday morning of announcing Licht's firing on the air. It wasn't quite a "ding dong, the wicked witch is dead" moment ... but, make no mistake, Licht had ruffled a lot of feathers at the network.

Last week, he was also the subject of a pretty unflattering profile piece in The Atlantic, and he reportedly apologized to CNN staffers earlier this week.

Licht took over at CNN in May 2022 ... after Jeff Zucker's resignation. During his tenure, he clashed several times with Don Lemon over his on-air commentary and even his wardrobe -- and Licht finally fired him back in April.

Mick Mars' legal war with his former band, Mötley Crüe, is set to play out in court, for all to see -- but the Crüe is making a move to take it behind closed doors, despite Mick's protests.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Mötley Crüe is asking a judge to send this case -- kick-started by Mick's lawsuit in April -- into arbitration, where they say it belongs ... and where it will be out of the public's eye.

Mick's lawyer, Ed McPherson, tells TMZ ... "This is yet another attempt by bullies to hide the truth!"

In their filing, attorneys for MC say several different entities have been created over the years to handle varying aspects of the band's biz -- things like touring and recording -- and those agreements contain binding arbitration clauses.

Translation: All grievances that might come up among members, must be handled in private arbitration, instead of airing them out in public courts

You'll recall ... this battle is all about Mick, their longtime guitarist, claiming the Crüe unfairly and unjustly cut him out of touring and his share of tour profits ... after Mick was diagnosed with a debilitating bone disease.

The band's called BS, arguing they were actually trying to do him a solid based on his condition, and even tried to give him fair compensation ... but they say Mick's going about this the wrong way by filing a lawsuit

Bottom line is ... Mötley Crüe's asking the judge to send the matter to arbitration.