Controversial S#!T

Lil Nas X is the latest celeb to have crap thrown at them in the middle of a performance -- but, fortunately, this one amounted to more laughs than bruises.

The rapper was performing at the European Lollapalooza in Stockholm Saturday, and right in the middle of one of his songs -- a loose item sailed in the air and landed at his feet. Nas X stopped the show and bent down to see what it was ... as it turns, it was a sex toy.

Then came his obvious question ... "Who threw they p**** onstage?" The reason he's asking that is because is something that's meant to mimic a vagina -- yep, we're going there!

Anyway ... it was no harm, no foul in the end. Nas X wasn't hit, and it doesn't seem like the interruption sidelined the show at all ... like we said, it amounted to more comedy than anything else -- but this is still very much part of a larger trend that's becoming concerning.

Bebe Rexha's phone-to-face incident certainly stands out as one of the more gruesome acts of stage chucking that have gone down recently -- but she's far from the only one who's had to deal with intrusive fans in the crowd. It's a thing lately ... and it's not great long-term.

Trap Lore Ross -- the creator of the highly controversial "King Von: Rap's First Serial Killer" doc -- says he's not above criticism of his work, especially from highly respected pundits Boosie Badazz and DJ Vlad ... but thinks fully informed opinions work best.

The UK-based filmmaker recently sat down with TMZ Hip Hop for an enlightening convo, where he addressed Boosie and Vlad's recent dismissal of the 3-hour-long vid that's currently sitting at 7 million views after just a couple of months.

Both admitted to barely watching the doc (Boosie says he lost interest 30 minutes in) and Ross says they should give it a full looksie before completely condemning it.

Moreover, Ross says Boosie ignoring the cycle of violence that followed Von up until his own murder discredits the victims, who Ross says have reached out to him in appreciation of the doc. There's also been friction from those close to Von ... but Ross wants to patch those holes up as well.

Ross' "Trap Lore" YouTube channel recently surpassed one million subscribers thanks to exposés on other late hardcore rappers such as Pop Smoke, Mo3 and FBG Duck ... but has plenty of ammunition for anyone attempting to label him a culture vulture.

He says he grew up studying Jay-Z, Eminem, and 50 Cent but notes how rap's current violent troupes arguably classify more as true crime than actual music, so expect the content to be grimy.

Victor Wembanyama has talent that would dominate in any era ... so says Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, who tells TMZ Sports the French superstar would be able to hold his own against the iconic "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons!!

The San Antonio Spurs' top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft is widely considered the best prospect since LeBron James ... with a skill set that's never been seen from a guy officially listed at 7 feet, three and a half inches tall.

While the 19-year-old can defend, shoot, dribble and pass like a seasoned vet ... Wemby's not the most muscular dude in the world, and some critics are worried about how he'll hold up against the bigger-framed guys in the Association.

All that concern can be put to rest, 'cause when we spoke with Zeke out in NYC this week, we asked how he thought Wemby would fare against the grittiest lineup of all-time -- the 2-time champion Bad Boy Pistons -- and he said, "He would actually be able to stand up [to us]."

It's pretty shocking, considering players like Zeke, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and Rick Mahorn made life a living hell for the biggest stars of the late 1980s and early '90s -- just ask Michael Jordan.

Safe to say Isiah thinks the giant hooper has a bright future in the league ... adding, "He's gonna be fine, very excited to have him in the NBA. He's going to be great."

There's more -- Thomas has also been in the headlines recently ... after Chris Paul claimed he played a role in the trade that sent him from the Phoenix Suns to the Washington Wizards.

Jason Derulo knows the dangers of fans chucking crap onstage all too well ... and he says it's up to artists to put their foot down to make it stop.

Jason hit Barnes and Noble in NYC Wednesday to promote his new book "Sing Your Name Out Loud: 15 Rules for Living Your Dream" ... and gave his take on why he thinks there's recently been an increase in objects flung at performers.

Jason says the whole thing started with fans tossing their phones at the stage in hopes their favorite artist would snap a pic using the device. After a bunch of performers actually did start taking photos, it gave way to more phones being thrown ... with a mix of other random stuff.

Jason says it's up to performers to stop engaging with the items being thrown ... which will hopefully stop all the madness.

As we reported, Bebe Rexha got nailed in the face by a fan's phone at a show earlier this month, ending up with a black eye and some stitches. The fan was eventually charged for the stunt.

We've since seen Ava Max slapped by a fan while performing, and even Kelsea Ballerini took a bracelet to the face at a recent concert.

Charlie Puth even took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the recent incidents and said, "This trend of throwing things at performers while they are on stage must come to an end. (Bebe, Ava, AND NOW Kelsea Ballerini…) It's so disrespectful and very dangerous. Please just enjoy the music I beg of you…"

It's been Friday the 13th nonstop at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's house -- at least that's how the couple is viewing their recent misfortunes ... according to a new report.

The Daily Mail says it's hearing from "insiders" that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex feel like they've been hit with a lot of bad luck over the past few years after they left the Royal Family/institution ... and it's because of this, apparently, that things haven't worked out.

If this report is to be believed ... it would seem they're pointing the finger elsewhere, and not at themselves. Specifically, Meg and Harry are reportedly blaming COVID, the death of the Queen and the death of Prince Philip for overshadowing their achievements -- which they supposedly think would've made bigger splashes under a different set of circumstances.

As far as the pandemic's concerned, DM says their sources claim H&M believe it generally screwed 'em on getting stuff out in an efficient/consistent manner ... not to mention setting them back time-wise, as it did for basically everyone else in the entertainment industry.

When it comes to why they're (reportedly) holding QE2 indirectly responsible ... DM's sources claim they felt like her death coincided with the launch of MM's podcast, 'Archetypes,' and essentially stole all her thunder ... as the world focused more on that a week or so later.

Ditto for the Queen's late husband, Prince Philip, who died about a month after their interview with Oprah aired. Apparently, they think that should've had longer legs than it did ... and that the Duke of Edinburgh's passing overshadowed their big moment.

Speaking of that interview, a separate report from The Times (UK) has some juicy new gossip that they're pedaling ... including the alleged notion that Kate Middleton and Prince William were actually the ones behind that "recollections may vary" line that Buckingham Palace released in their official statement responding to Harry and Meghan's racism claims.

The word is ... that statement was a lot more mild than how it finally came out, and that Will and Kate wanted to toughen it up to push back on H&M's characterization of things.

In other words, things are still icy between Harry and his family -- and not just that, but it appears Hollywood isn't all that interested in his other ideas either ... a double-whammy.

Lump in the fact Harry and Meg were finally booted from their Frogmore Cottage home just earlier this week, and it sure sounds like they're finally out here on their own now without a lifeline -- and clearly no further connection to the Royals ... besides blood, we suppose.

Twitter was experiencing mass outages this weekend -- and now, Elon Musk has explained why ... he's instituting a new policy that limits nonpaying customers to a daily tweet count.

The Twitter exec addressed a massive problem Twitter users at large were experiencing Saturday -- namely, the inability to see new tweets, dive into trends or refresh their main feed whatsoever. Everyone was getting hit with the same message ... Rate Limit Exceeded.

A lot of folks assumed there was some kind server capacity problem that Twitter was experiencing -- not the first time that's happened under EM's watch -- or that there was just a glitch in the system. Wrong on both counts ... which was confirmed by Elon himself.

He wrote ... "To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits: - Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day - Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day - New unverified accounts to 300/day."

He followed that up with a trollish joke, saying that people were hitting their rate limits by reading all the tweets about the rate limits being exceeded -- but then changed his mind on the drop of a hat (again) by promising to up the count on all fronts by a smidge.

He says verified users will soon get 8,000 tweets per day, unverified users will get 800 and new unverified users will get 400. Bottom line, he's setting a hard cap at the amount of tweets people can see in a day ... which is getting A LOT of pushback and backlash.

This appears to be yet another play to get people to sign up for Twitter Blue and pay to be verified -- something EM and co. have been trying to do for months now since rolling out the new service ... and coming up short on interested customers. Twitter Blue costs $8/month.

Of course, this comes in the wake of news a couple months ago that Twitter's valuation had been slashed by at least a third since the Musk takeover. He bought it for $44 billion, but it's now reported to be worth between $8 and $15 billion ... and Elon's also been forthright about economic challenges of late, including getting new advertisers and streams of revenue.

Now he's put his user base into a corner and is forcing their hand. As a result, several Twitter users are considering other options -- and the "death" of Twitter is trending too.

Italians would riot in the streets if Rome's Colosseum staged a UFC fight between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg ... that's the prediction from a famed archaeologist over in Italy.

Darius Arya, a historian whose been on tons of TV programs about Ancient Rome, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday from Italy's capital and we asked him about the Italian government contacting Zuckerberg about hosting his fight with Elon.

For Darius, the prospect of the billionaires doing battle at the same site as the ancient gladiators of old sounds super enticing ... telling us the Colosseum would come out on top of a list of potential venues, mainly because of its international fame as the ultimate arena of the ancient world.

Darius says there are inherent issues with staging a fight of this magnitude at the Colosseum, because it's a heritage site and tourist attraction ... and while he's confident it would never come to fruition, he's glad folks are talking about the venue and getting excited about history.

Logistics aside, Darius firmly believes Italians would take to the streets in protest if the nearly 2,000-year-old venue gets the green light to host the fight ... so that's another hurdle for Dana White.

There's been concerts and other events on the Colosseum grounds over the years, mostly outside the arena walls ... and we've been told Elon and Mark would love to fight there ... but it sounds like Las Vegas might be a more likely fight destination.

As we reported, the Ministry of Culture reached out to Mark Zuckerberg about the prospect of staging a Musk vs. Zuck fight at the Colosseum, and Zuck passed it on to UFC's Dana White, whose people were in touch with the Ministry. A Zoom call was set for next week.

Robin S.'s classic house track "Show Me Love" is the gift that keeps on giving for many artists and music fans alike.

Just ask Beyoncé, who used its sample to create her song "Break My Soul," the lead single from the "Renaissance" album she's currently touring.

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with Robin at Dash Radio earlier this week -- who says Bey introducing her to an entire generation was a HUGE honor. Robin also tells us she would jump at the chance to perform the song live with her because, duh!!!

But when it comes down to the king of "Show Me Love" samples, Robin surprisingly tells us it's Chris Brown's singing on her melody that floats her boat the most.

She's referring to Kid Ink's 2013 smash hit "Show Me," in which Chris provided the hook ... and helped take the record 3x Platinum!!!

Lisa Vanderpump's not getting into the middle of the contract negotiations going on between Raquel Leviss and Bravo ... at least not publicly.

We got Lisa at TomTom Restaurant & Bar in West Hollywood, and we asked her where things stand between Raquel and the network ... and the whole conversation played out in front of the TMZ Celebrity Tour!!!

Lisa was very chatty about the final days of her flagship eatery, Pump Restaurant Lounge, but she playfully tried to leave once our photog asked her about Raquel's contract discussions and 'VPR' filming a new season.

TMZ broke the story ... Raquel and Bravo recently started negotiating her new deal, but the clock is ticking because "Vanderpump Rules" is already filming the new season, fresh off her cheating scandal with Tom Sandoval.

While Lisa is mum on dollar demands and contract details, she says a return date is squarely up to Raquel, who we've been told is getting close to leaving the mental health facility she's called home for more than 2 months.

Lisa says it's also going to be up to the other 'VPR' stars on how they welcome Raquel back into the fold after the Scandoval ... pointing out, they clearly all do their own thing already and don't necessarily listen to her.

Anheuser-Busch is defending itself against claims the company abandoned Dylan Mulvaney after the rollout of its transgender-influenced beer campaign crashed and burned.

AB issued a statement Thursday in response to Mulvaney, who claimed company executives failed to support her after she was dragged online by trolls in the aftermath of the ad blitz. She continued, "For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all."

A spokesperson for AB says the brand is "committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community."

The rep continued ... “The privacy and safety of our employees and our partners is always our top priority. As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best – brewing great beer for everyone and earning our place in moments that matter to our consumers.”

However, the company still doesn't seem to address Mulvaney's claim ... that the brand never reached out to her when the hate got so vile it was beyond her comprehension.

As we reported, Mulvaney posted an ad campaign for the Bud Light on her Instagram page which included a custom can with her face on it. The whole thing sparked a host of controversy nationwide -- causing the brewing manufacturer to lose a whopping $20 billion-plus in market value after conservatives vowed to boycott the brand.

Gwendolyn Osborne is applauding Vanna White for holding out for a bigger slice of the TV game show pie ... telling us the "Wheel of Fortune" staple deserves way more money.

The former "Price Is Right" model joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked about Vanna's salary demand -- at least half of the salary Pat Sajak gets -- $7.5M.

Gwendolyn is fully on board, saying Vanna deserves it, and in the process, she's helping lots of other women.

But, then we asked, what if Sony says final offer -- $4.5M -- should Vanna take it or walk? Watch the wheels turn in Gwendolyn's head.

TMZ broke the story ... Vanna has made $3 million a year for the last 18 years, without a single raise, and wants a big payday when Ryan Seacrest comes aboard as the new host.

Isaiah Rodgers will be away from an NFL field for the foreseeable future ... the league just suspended the Indianapolis Colts defensive back indefinitely for violating its gambling policy.

NFL officials announced the ruling on Thursday morning ... adding that two other players -- Colts tight end Rashod Berry and free agent defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor -- were also hit with the same punishments.

Titans offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere, meanwhile, was banned six games for gambling policy violations as well.

Rodgers' punishment had been looming for weeks ... after he admitted earlier this month that he had broken the league's betting rules.

It's unclear exactly what all of the guys' violations specifically were -- the NFL didn't say when making its announcement -- but it did reveal Rodgers, Berry and Taylor will only be able to return to the gridiron if they petition for reinstatement at the end of this season.

While Berry and Taylor were viewed as more of role players ... the loss of Rodgers is a big one -- he's played in 45 games for the Colts the last three years, and has been a special teams ace in addition to a productive cornerback.

"I am very sorry for all of this," Rodgers said in a statement earlier this month.

Thursday's bans for gambling violations are hardly the first the NFL has doled out in the last year or so -- stars like Lions wideout Jameson Williams and Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley have also been punished recently over the betting policy.

Vanna White has got Sony spinning these days because she won't continue on "Wheel of Fortune" unless she makes at least half of what Pat Sajak has been making ... sources tell TMZ.

Sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations say Vanna is clear -- she's the cohost of the long-running show, so the pay disparity between her and Pat needs to be squarely addressed. Point of fact ... they're introduced this way on 'Wheel' -- "Here are the stars of our show, Pat Sajak and Vanna White."

So they're introduced as equals, but their salaries are anything but. We've confirmed Vanna's salary -- $3 million a year. And get this -- we've confirmed that's what she's made for the last 18 YEARS. She has not gotten a single pay increase in all that time.

Pat reportedly makes around $15 million a year. Vanna isn't asking for that, but we're told her lawyer, Bryan Freedman, is demanding half the amount Pat makes.

One source connected to Vanna put it this way ... "After 41 years as a model employee and more the face of that show than him [Pat], asking for 50% of what he makes seems like a no-brainer."

Sony, we're told, is not on board, at least not yet. One source with direct knowledge described the negotiations as "very difficult."

Our sources also say Vanna feels like the issue is bigger than her. As one source says, "She feels like it's a statement for all women."

We're told Vanna wants to stay on the show, but if she doesn't get what she believes is "a minimum of what is fair," that's a real possibility.

Sony may be in a tough spot here because Vanna provides continuity when Ryan Seacrest takes over for Pat a year from September. It's pretty clear ... they don't want to lose Pat and Vanna at the same time.

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

Kanye West's behavior, both publicly and behind the scenes clearly tore his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, and their family apart ... as evidenced in scenes recorded right around the time of his antisemitic attacks.

In a preview for next week's episode of "The Kardashians" Kim sobs in Khloe Kardashian's arms -- explaining the Kanye of today is not the one she married back in 2014 -- and she'd do anything to try and get the old version of Kanye back.

While the preview doesn't specify exactly which Kanye incident led to Kim's breakdown, the timing of other events in the episode line up with when Kanye launched his online attacks, including a tweet where he claimed he was going "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE."

It was also in the middle of Kanye's attack on Jewish people that their divorce, which she filed in February 2021, was finalized ... so there's also a chance she's sobbing over the weight of the entire situation.

Remember, Kanye faced a TON of hate after his comments about the Jewish community -- after his shocking tweet, he tried clarifying, telling Piers Morgan he only wished harm on Jewish people that did him dirty in the music industry ... which really didn't help.

He went on to deny parts of the Holocaust on Alex Jones' "Infowars," bizarrely claiming to love Hitler -- digging the hole even deeper.

What was most frightening about the whole thing was the minority of people who supported Ye in the wake of his comments, including a group of people over an L.A. freeway performing a Nazi salute and hanging a banner reading, "Kanye is right about the Jews."

Ye was dropped from brands left and right -- including millions in losses from Adidas -- and was even named "Antisemite of the Year" by watchdog group StopAntisemitism ... so it's easy to see the pain and frustration Kim was facing during the downfall.

YouTube star Colleen Ballinger, best known for her Internet character Miranda Sings, is denying grooming allegations against her with a song ... and for some folks, it's falling flat.

Colleen picked up a ukulele and recorded a 10-minute video where she sings about the disturbing claims against her being nothing but gossip and lies.

In case you missed it ... Colleen's been accused of grooming a teenage boy, who grew up to be YouTube star Adam McIntyre. She broke her silence Wednesday with her singing video.

Colleen says her team strongly advised her not to say what she wants to say, but she says that doesn't mean she can't sing about her reaction ... so here we are.

In the song, Colleen puts it bluntly, "The only thing I've ever groomed is my two Persian cats."

She adds ... "I'm not a groomer, just a loser / who didn't understand I shouldn't respond to fans / and I'm not a predator even a lot of you think so / because five years ago I made a fart joke."

Colleen's song isn't going over so well online ... folks are blasting her on social media, with some fans telling her this wasn't the right way to address the serious allegations.

Tom Hanks had a relative go on national TV and melt down in dramatic fashion -- but the woman herself has no shame to her game ... and she says her uncle doesn't either.

We talked to Carly Reeves -- Tom and Rita Wilson's niece -- on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... this after her freak out for the ages was caught on camera and aired Monday on a new ABC show called "Claim to Fame," which is all about finding who's related to a celeb.

Unfortunately for her, Carly was found out in episode one ... and when she got the boot, she didn't take it particularly well -- with her exit playing out in a full-blown temper tantrum.

You gotta see it for yourself ... she's cursing, hurling insults at fellow contestants and blasting showrunners for what she believes was a raw deal in exposing her connection to TH.

In the aftermath of this explosion of rage, Carly caught a lot of flak online -- with many people calling her entitled, overly dramatic and a bit of a drama queen/crybaby ... and some felt it, perhaps, even reflected poorly on Tom and Rita -- who are the real stars here.

Welp, we asked Carly about all of that ... and her response was essentially -- I am what I am, and this was what it was. As she explains to us, her emotions here were raw and authentic ... and she wasn't hamming it up for the cameras.

Carly does regret the way things played out in hindsight, but all things considered ... she says she's not ashamed -- because this is simply who she is sometimes ... something she says her famous uncle and aunt were well aware of when they cosigned her appearance.

As for how Forrest Gump reacted ... sounds like it ain't no thing for Tommy boy. She says this isn't gonna hurt his image -- and that's probably accurate. He's proven to keep it pretty real himself in recent years ... including his rare flash of anger at fans bombarding his wife.