Controversial S#!T

Forget Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, Fury vs. Wilder and Davis vs. Garcia ... Terence "Bud" Crawford tells TMZ Sports his fight with Errol Spence is a bigger one than all of them!!!

"It is the biggest fight of the year," the 35-year-old said out in New York City on Wednesday ... before adding that it could be "the biggest fight in the last 10-plus years!"

Crawford might actually not be wrong ... even though Floyd Mayweather, Tyson Fury and Gervonta Davis have had some huge, headlining bouts since 2013 -- both Crawford and Spence have been must-see fighters for boxing fans all over the globe for the last few years.

The two are undefeated, have rare knockout power -- and are still considered to be in their primes.

And, Crawford tells us there's no way the match will let anyone down ... promising fight fans there will be "fireworks" in the ring when they get after each other next month.

As for who's going to come out victorious ... Bud insisted he's got it in the bag.

"I'm going to win this fight," he told us. "And I'm already the best fighter in the world!"

Daniel Penny -- the man who choked Jordan Neely to death on an NYC subway -- has been indicted by a grand jury.

The ex-marine has now been formally charged as a result of his arrest last month -- when he was booked on a 2nd-degree manslaughter charge ... it's not yet clear if the indictment charges are the same ones he was booked on.

Like we said ... the exact charges in the indictment are unknown at this point. It appears they’ll remain under seal until he appears in court at a later date.

There's been a lot of discourse over Penny's arrest. Some see it as justice -- including Neely's family, who want this guy prosecuted to the full extent of the law ... saying he acted as a vigilante that day and took things way too far with his prolonged chokehold.

Others, however, are saying Penny shouldn’t face charges for acting as what they describe as essentially a good Samaritan. There are reports Neely was harassing folks down in the subway that day ... and that Penny stepped in to protect others.

Of course, there's a race element that's been floated as well. Neely was Black, and Penny is white -- and there are folks who believe his actions may have been motivated by the color of Neely's skin ... although, Penny has strongly denied that, insisting he was just trying to do the right thing.

Regardless, he’ll now he'll have to navigate the criminal justice system. It's unclear when he's due in court again. It goes without saying ... Neely's death has sparked protests, and in some cases -- things have gotten tumultuous with cops.

Boosie Badazz is getting some heat for showing up to support YNW Melly in his double homicide trial from one of the alleged victim's fathers ... accusing Boosie of being a cheerleader for murder.

Christopher Thomas Sr., the father of YNW Juvy, one of the two men Melly is accused of killing, lashed out at Boosie for supporting Melly, someone he doesn't even know!!!

Chris says Boosie should focus his attention on his ex-friend Marlo Mike, who was sentenced to life in Baton Rouge

The trial's getting deeper already. Christopher Sr. has a daughter who's the sister of both YNW Juvy and Melly's alleged co-conspirator ... YNW Bortlen.

Another woman has reportedly come forward and accused Trevor Bauer of sexual assault ... but the MLB star is denying the claims, alleging she's fabricated her story in an attempt to extort him.

USA Today reports the allegations against Bauer were all made as part of a woman's civil lawsuit against the former Dodgers pitcher that was filed in Arizona last year.

According to the outlet ... the woman claimed in court documents that Bauer held her at knifepoint during one incident in Dec. 2020 -- before he raped her during another encounter two days later.

In the initial incident, the woman -- according to USA Today -- said while she was on Bauer's lap having dinner with him, he "placed his jagged steak knife to my throat."

"I was stunned and did not dare to move," the woman said in court docs, according to the report. "The Defendant asked me, 'Have you ever been held at knife point?' to which I hesitantly respond, 'No.' The Defendant took a deep breath in and exhaled. The Defendant's steak knife scratched my throat as he released me and I got up from his lap."

Later that week, USA Today reports the woman says Bauer choked her unconscious with her hair during sex.

"When I was conscious yet delirious," she reportedly said in a court filing, "I recall being on my back while hearing the Defendant yell unusual sounds/moaning."

The woman allegedly got pregnant during the incident.

USA Today reports the two had one more disturbing encounter in March 2021 ... when the woman alleges Bauer got violent with her.

"Knowing I am pregnant," the woman reportedly said in court docs, "the defendant body slams me on my back on top of my computer breaking the screen before telling me he will no longer be in a relationship with me if I have this baby."

Bauer, however, is adamant he committed no wrongdoing. According to USA Today, he's filed a countersuit against the woman, accusing her of extortion, fraud and faking her pregnancy.

Bauer reportedly said in court filings of his own that he did have one consensual sexual encounter with her in Dec. 2020, but said the condom broke. He alleges the woman then later told him she was pregnant and wanted nearly $2 million from him for an abortion.

According to USA Today, Bauer paid her $8,761 for help with the termination of the pregnancy ... but said she provided no documentation of the abortion, leading the baseball player to believe the woman "fabricated her pregnancy to try to extort him for money."

The outlet reports the woman said in an amended complaint this week she did opt to not have an abortion -- but instead suffered a miscarriage in April 2021.

The woman is reportedly asking for $3.7 million in her suit.

Bauer has previously been publicly accused of sexually assaulting women three other times -- including once by a San Diego woman ... who alleged Bauer choked her unconscious and then had non-consensual anal sex with her during two encounters in 2021.

Bauer was never arrested nor charged over the claims ... but MLB did hit him with a record 324-game suspension for it all that was later reduced to a 194-game ban. The Dodgers eventually cut ties with him following his reinstatement ... leading the pitcher to sign a one-year deal to play for the Yokohama DeNA Baystars in Japan this season.

Ice Spice isn't taking too kindly to internet trolls who think her rap career only blew up because she's light-skinned, the 'Munch' rapper thinks everyone loses as a result of the conversation.

Ice Spice graced the newest cover of "Teen Vogue" Tuesday and addressed the social media backlash from last week's Hot 97 Summer Jam performance where she brought out Flo Milli.

Rabid fans stirred the pot and claimed colorism was the reason Ice's career usurped Flo's career, despite Flo entering the rap game several years prior ... but Ice tells the publication the issues are bigger than her.

"I feel like that's not something personal to me," Ice explained before adding ... "I feel like that's been the conversation for generations and forever, since the beginning of time. I try not to feed into negativity because I also see that when people are trying to make that point, it's not out of a good place. [They end up putting] somebody else down."

Ice's career is poppin' — she currently has the most Top 5 Billboard 100 Entries of any artist this year, catapulted by her recent collabs with Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift ... but fame has brought out the crazies all the same.

The Bronx-born rap star says her social security number got leaked and seeing frequent photos of herself as a kid weirds her out.

Ezra Miller showed face in public for the first time in a long time during "The Flash" premiere -- and just as promised ... they didn't answer many questions, and kept it moving.

The embattled actor -- who's been at the center of several arrests and scandals over the past year and change -- walked the red carpet Monday in Los Angeles ... where their new DC superhero film debuted in a highly-anticipated screening at the Ovation in Hollywood.

It'd been reported EM would show up in the flesh and pose for pics ... but they weren't fielding very much from reporters and other media members on hand ... probably for good reason. Word is, WBD wants Ezra to lay low and just let this movie come out -- all in hopes that the hype and solid word-of-mouth will wash over their lingering drama.

In that spirit, Ezra stuck to the script while heading inside ... maintaining a fairly neutral expression and barely cracking a smile or throwing a wave. They did stop for cameras and pose with fellow costars and crew -- including director Andy Muschietti -- but that's not all.

While many believed Ezra wouldn't talk to journalists, period ... they actually did. It sounds like nothing was asked about their troubles -- and they only spoke about the new flick.

Interesting choice, no doubt. Remember, there hasn't been too much publicity and press ahead of "The Flash" -- and if there was, other actors handled it -- and that was apparently on purpose and the studio's call. You'll recall ... Ezra has been accused of quite a lot.

In addition to their burglary case in Vermont -- for which they copped a plea deal to a lesser charge of trespassing -- Ezra has allegedly wreaked havoc elsewhere ... including in the great state of Hawaii, where several people claimed they'd either harassed or attacked individuals.

Two of those incidents resulted in arrests ... not to mention wild body cam footage.

Of course, there's also the alleged choking incident -- where Ezra appears to have gotten their hands around the neck of an unsuspecting woman in Iceland, and taking her down.

There's been more allegations about Ezra -- everything from alleged child grooming/kidnapping to hoarding weapons/drugs and more -- but it appears they're ready to turn the page and get a move on with this film ... which is supposedly quite great.

As we've reported ... Ezra has apologized for their erratic behavior and vowed to seek professional mental health help in getting back on track.

Considering the director of "The Flash" has already said he'd recast Ezra in this role for any potential sequel in a heartbeat -- plus, the reported fact a sequel is, in fact, already written -- it seems Ezra's already on the road to redemption and then some. Almost a 180, really.

"The Flash" hits theaters and opens wide everywhere Friday.

Garth Brooks has heard all the noise about him promising to sell Bud Light at his new Nashville bar -- and he's here to put out the fire ... by again vowing BL will be on tap.

The country star hopped on camera Monday to address the "stir" that had been caused by his comments last week -- namely, where he alluded to the fact that he'd be serving the now-controversial Anheuser-Busch brand at his forthcoming Honky Tonk on Broadway.

You'd think his OG remarks were quite clear in his stance -- and, on their face, they certainly were -- but GB wanted to hit the point home further by elaborating on his rationale.

Check out his breakdown on why he's going to sell Bud Light in his establishment -- he says this is all about diversity and inclusiveness, which he wants his business to foster ... and which he says he's always been about as a person. We know, that might be a shocker to folks.

As for those who disagree with him on this issue -- and even those who might choose to boycott his bar -- Garth has a telling response ... hey man, that's okay too. It's a refreshing take.

Now, on top of wanting to host a place where all are welcome ... Garth also says that, as far as his beer selection, it's the people and patrons who actually decide what's going to be served -- and they do so with the use of their dollar. Basically, he says Bud Light is still one of the most popular beers around ... and until it isn't, it's going to have a place there.

Garth's got one final message for anyone who wants to swing by and enjoy themselves -- in short, he says to come in with love and acceptance ... and with an open mind too.

The simplicity in his PSA is actually charming, and it sorta puts this whole "controversy" in perspective. We now live in a time where people are riled up about who's drinking what beer -- and the way Garth explains it, that's all pretty damn silly.

Cheers, y'all...

Outkast will go down as one of the best hip hop duos in history ... but don't cross your fingers for a reunion cuz Sleepy Brown says the group is done for good.

TMZ Hip Hop caught Mr. Brown out at LAX Monday ... and with the 20th anniversary of Kast's monster album "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" approaching, we wanted to see if there's any chance they use that milestone to slip back into the music mix.

The Organized Noize producer laid out the obvious for us ... André 3000's cosmic defection from the group caused their indefinite end, and not even a celebration of one of the only rap projects to win Album of the Year at the Grammys can resurrect the movement.

Sleepy and Big Boi have since joined forces ... releasing their joint album "Big Sleepover" in 2021 and still wooing audiences past with their chart-topping classic "The Way You Move!!!"

Outkast has one of the best catalogs in rap music history as well. When it comes to ranking their albums, Sleepy feels the group's 1998 album "Aquemini" holds the 👑.

The eclectic LP spawned the classic records "Rosa Parks," "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" and was the first album from southern rappers to get a perfect rating in "The Source" magazine back in the day.

Tenoch Huerta, famous for playing Namor in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," is denying a recent sexual assault allegation against him.

The Marvel star broke his silence Monday after being accused Saturday of sexually assaulting musician María Elena Ríos, who also claimed he was a "sexual predator." Tenoch says her accusation is "false and completely unsubstantiated."

In a statement shared on social media, Tenoch says he could not let Ríos' allegation "go unchallenged any longer" ... he says they dated about a year ago for several months and their relationship was "entirely consensual at all times."

Tenoch says when he was dating Ríos they were in a "loving, warm and mutually supportive relationship" ... but when they split, he claims she "began to misrepresent our interactions both privately and in front of groups of mutual friends."

The actor says he's been working with a legal team to protect his reputation and adds ... "Although I am by no means perfect, I know that these allegations are simply untrue. And while I will always work to improve myself, I need to contest claims that are both false and offensive."

Elon Musk has entered the chat on how Megan Fox raises her sons -- and in trying to be funny ... he says he might need to bring someone onboard to stamp out the dark arts.

The Twitter chief posted a few interesting messages on his platform Sunday -- all of which clearly appeared to be in direct response to the controversy between MF and conservative provocateur Robby Starbuck ... who started this whole thing by accusing her and her ex, Brian Austin Green, of child abuse -- simply for letting their boys dress how they like.

Elon tweeted, "Looking to hire a VP of Witchcraft & Propaganda." It might've seemed to have come out of nowhere, but if you check his Twitter replies ... he references Megan specifically.

In a thread that followed his OG comment, somebody said Megan Fox was his girl -- this while highlighting her response to Starbuck, in which she threatened to use witchcraft on him -- and another person jokingly responded, "She is bad at propaganda though."

To that, Elon retorted ... "Nobody is perfect." BTW, Elon's been following the story all weekend -- when RS published his original accusation, EM commented directly with a "!"

Elon's reference to witchcraft also dovetails with something Megan posted after her IG statement. She threw up a photo from a news article earlier this week ... which purports to have captured footage of real-life "witches" eating a deer carcass outside of a farm.

Meg added her own caption, writing ... "me outside rob starbucks house," and the guy himself seemed shocked. He posted this after, saying ... "Now Megan Fox is threatening to hold a carcass eating ritual at my house. That’d be a bold/dumb decision in TN. If her goal was to look crazy. Mission accomplished! Now people know she practices witchcraft too."

A few things of note here ... one, most people know Megan Fox is into this kind of stuff -- it's no secret, and has been well-documented ... especially in her relationship with MGK.

More importantly, though ... it would appear Elon is co-signing what Starbuck has said about Megan and her family. Mind you, he's suggesting he needs to hire somebody to filter out propaganda and witchcraft on Twitter ... which he seems to believe Megan is spewing.

Tom Sandoval has been in a vortex of bad press these past few months -- all over his cheating scandal, of course -- and now ... his best bud's weighing in on the galactic fail.

Of course, we're talking about Tom Schwartz -- Sandoval's right-hand man in business and fellow costar on "Vanderpump Rules" ... who's had a front-row seat to all the drama unfolding of late. Naturally, seeing how he's close with Tom #1 -- Schwartz caught flak too.

Now, the dude's spilling his guts about it all in the aftermath -- as seen on FOX's new reality show, "Stars on Mars," on which TS is a contestant -- and it sounds like he wants to distance himself from Sandoval/his poor decision-making ... trying to get light years away.

BTW, if you think our space references are a bit much ... wait 'til you hear how Schwartz puts it. The guy's got a ton of creative ways to explain how out of this world Scandoval has been from his POV ... and this is just a taste. He'll dish even more on Monday's episode.

Also, if you're wondering what the "Stars on Mars" show is ... we'll tell ya. The series just launched and it's very much so in the vein of "Big Brother" -- only here, celebs are living together in a manufactured Mars-like environment ... competing against each other.

The other contenders run the gamut of stardom -- folks like Lance Armstrong, Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman are on ... as are Ariel Winter, Porsha Williams, Ronda Rousey and others. It truly is a who's-who of reality TV ... also, William Shatner's hosting!

President Biden and the rest of the White House celebrated Pride this weekend -- but conservatives are crying foul, claiming JB broke the law in doing so ... flag law, specifically.

Here's the deal ... Joe and co. were hosting a Pride event outside the WH Saturday, where he spoke passionately about protecting individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ ... especially transgender children, whom he said were seen, heard and most definitely belonged.

His remarks were embraced by the LGBTQ+ community and their allies -- but, of course, they also came under fire by right-wingers who felt he was playing a dangerous game.

Eventually, they found something on the grounds to pin their outrage to ... a flag display hanging from the White House itself, with the Pride rainbow flag slotted in between two U.S. flags.

You see, some were citing a certain part of the U.S. Flag Code -- which, yes, is indeed real -- and asserted JB was in violation of section 7, article (e) ... which discusses how U.S. flags should be displayed in public. There are 15 articles dissecting this whole topic, BTW.

Article (e) reads, "The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs." Basically, the red, white and blue oughta take precedent and be most prominent among an assortment of flags -- that's the "rule."

In response to how the WH arranged the flags here, one conservative -- echoing many others -- writes, "To advance revolutionary transgender agenda targeting children, Biden violates basic tenet of US Flag Code and disrespects every American service member buried under its colors." Some are even calling on Biden to apologize and/or be held to account.

The reality ... nobody is going to do squat about this -- because, frankly, it's not a big deal. More importantly, though, the U.S. Flag Code (while technically a federal law) is not enforced at all ... and operates more as a recommendation on proper decorum/custom than anything.

Nicki Minaj is the victim of a swatting prank ... one the Sheriff's Dept. says involved a caller falsely claiming Nicki's child was being abused, but also -- that her house was up in flames.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the attempted swatting went down earlier this month when child services got an anonymous call alleging child abuse at Nicki's L.A.-area home.

We're told sheriff's deputies rolled up to Nicki's place around 6 PM Monday, but after speaking with her and her husband Kenneth Petty ... and looking at their almost 3-year-old child, determined there was no abuse and everything was kosher.

Our sources say deputies chalked it up to a swatting call, and officers want everyone to know these sorts of calls are a huge waste of time and resources.

BTW, that wasn't the only thing being falsely reported about Nicki on this particular night -- sources with direct knowledge tell us another call came in around 3 AM to report that her home was on fire ... something that was also found to be completely untrue. In other words, 2 bogus calls came in a span of about 24 hours -- which is pretty jarring on its face.

For the uninitiated, swatting is a form of prank call where the goal is to get a big police response at someone's home ... and it's a growing problem for cops around the country.

Nicki's not the only celeb dealing with swatting calls. As we first reported, it's recently happened to YouTuber Adin Ross and influencer Madison Beer.

Gear up to turn to the dark side of the Force, Inter Miami fans ... Alexi Lalas tells TMZ Sports that after adding Lionel Messi this week, he can see the team now becoming a "super club Death Star!"

We spoke at length with the Team USA soccer legend just hours after Messi confirmed he'll play for Miami's MLS squad in 2023 ... and Lalas said the move is a tectonic-plate-shifting one for the sport in America.

He told us he expects it to attract millions more to the game in the States -- and raise the MLS' profile significantly.

He also, though, predicted it could alter the fabric of Inter Miami tremendously ... telling us he's envisioning Messi recruiting some big names to the team -- and turning it into a villain-like superpower in the near future.

"We're already seeing incredible names now being linked to coming to Inter Miami," Lalas said. "It's almost as if they're in the process of potentially creating this MLS super club Death Star, and the hate-watching is going to be absolutely epic!"

Lalas said if it does, indeed, take that turn ... he's anticipating it to create some serious rivalries in the U.S. league -- which would be a big boon for fans here in the States.

"I know if I was on another team -- a less sexy team, for example -- and Miami was doing all of this," he said, "and one of the greatest to ever play is there, I would want to kick his ass."

But, Lalas did offer fans to proceed somewhat cautiously at least initially ... explaining to us that, currently, the Inter Miami roster is not exactly the best -- which could lead to some early frustrations for Messi.

Then again, he told us he's fully ready to see flashes of brilliance from Messi ... despite his roster's limitations and his 35-year-old age.

Garth Brooks says he isn't keeping any beers off his tap list when it comes to what he'll serve at his new bar -- and that apparently includes Bud Light ... despite the backlash.

In a recent interview with Billboard, the country singer alluded to having the embattled Anheuser-Busch brand featured in his soon-to-be-opened Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk in Nashville -- which is gonna be on the famed Broadway strip there in downtown.

They were talking about the kind of vibe Garth wants to foster there -- and how he'll, perhaps, differentiate himself/his establishment from other honky tonks there -- and he said one thing they'll do to stand out is by serving beer that every kind of person can enjoy.

Here's the full quote ... "I know this sounds corny, I want it to be the Chick-fil-A of honky-tonks. I want it to be a place you feel safe in, I want it to be a place where you feel like there are manners and people like one another."

GB goes on to add, "And yes, we're going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It's not our decision to make. Our thing is this, if you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you're an a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway."

Of course, Garth didn't mention Bud Light or Dylan Mulvaney by name ... but it's obvious what he was referring to. Bottom line here is ... the dude's gonna have Bud ready to pour.

Garth's embrace of Bud Light is getting some flak from conservatives, who are accusing him of going "woke" and capitulating to left-wing viewpoints. There are even some who are vowing to boycott his bar and take their dollar elsewhere -- including Kid Rock's place.

Brian Austin Green is setting the record straight on a rumor -- regarding his ex-wife Megan Fox and their 3 children -- that's been circulating on Twitter.

First, here's what has Brian heated ... it's a tweet from a guy named Robby Starbuck -- a self-proclaimed "Free Thinker" who ran for U.S. Congress in 2022 -- who posted a pic of Megan and the kids, with the caption ... "These are Megan Fox’s sons. We used to live in the same gated community and our kids played at the park."

Starbuck adds, "I saw 2 of them have a full on breakdown saying they were forced by their mom to wear girls clothes as their nanny tried to console them. It’s pure child abuse. Pray for them."

Well, Brian tells TMZ ... "It’s a totally bogus story. There are only a few people in their world that can actually verify wether [sic] or not a story like this is true and I can tell you with absolute certainty it is not. This person trying to claim this is true is a perfect example of someone with selfish motives that does not care about negatively affecting a parent child relationship."

To Brian's point, Starbuck's motives in posting the phony claim do reek of political motivation, because he also said, "We knew California wouldn’t do anything about it because the state celebrates this stuff" -- and casually mentions he and his family moving to Tennessee.

Translation: He hates liberal CA, and hightailed it for greener conservative pastures in TN.

For the record, Megan has said she does not tell their children what to wear, particularly their eldest, Noah. Five years ago she did a few interviews saying, “If a boy loves princesses and a girl loves baseball, that’s not indicative of their sexuality. It’s indicative of their communication and creative expression. We can’t limit children by telling them how they should play.”