Controversial S#!T

Drake's just one show into his extensive "It's All a Blur" Tour, and he's already dealing with the flying cell phone trend -- one pelted him in the wrist mid-performance.

The Certified Lover Boy was serenading the crowd Wednesday night in Chicago with his own rendition of Ginuwine's "So Anxious" ... when he was assaulted with the phone. It hit his left wrist, but he just watched it land on the ground, and was definitely not injured.

Confused fans in the audience wondered what they had just witnessed, but Drake couldn't be sidetracked from his mission ... he never made a big deal about the phone, and simply continued crooning for the crowd.

The phone wasn't part of the plan, but Drake did have plenty of props onstage ... life-sized tributes to both Virgil Abloh and the fertilization of life!!!

Social media has inspired concertgoers to throw phones at performers in hopes of getting an exclusive video, but the movement has resulted in disaster -- ask Bebe Rexha, who's just healing from facial injuries suffered last month when a fan hurled a phone at her head.

Stars like Adele have vowed to strike back if phones fly their way, and we just got Jason Derulo's take on the subject, who'd be proud of Drake's reaction ... because he thinks artists shouldn't take pics with devices thrown onstage.

A recent viral video accusing Colleen Ballinger of wearing blackface and performing "Single Ladies" has it all wrong ... and new footage lays out exactly what happened.

The clip shot back in 2009, made rounds Wednesday ... showing the popular Youtuber and two men performing the Beyoncé classic. Ballinger appeared to be in blackface during the number ... and was slammed on social media as a racist.

However, new video -- obtained by TMZ -- shows a different perspective. Prior to "Single Ladies," Colleen performed a song from the musical "Wicked" with Oliver Tompsett, one of the musical's stars.

Colleen wore green face paint for the tune with Tompsett -- like the Wicked Witch of the West -- and went into "Single Ladies" immediately after the song wrapped.

The sequence of back-to-back songs left zero time for Colleen to wipe off the green paint, resulting in the now-viral video accusing her of wearing blackface for "Single Ladies."

As we reported ... Colleen's under fire for what many have considered inappropriate behavior toward minors as well as racism.

Keke Palmer's boyfriend isn't gonna get a rise out of her -- at least publicly -- after he insinuated her choice of attire for an Usher concert wasn't appropriate for a mom.

The "Nope" actress is telling the world she had no regrets following the very public remarks made by Darius Jackson, the father of her son, regarding her outfit while attending Usher's Vegas residency last weekend.

Keke doubled down on her sexy wardrobe selection in a recap on IG ... that made no mention of Darius whatsoever.

She posted a pic in THE outfit, and said, "I wish I had taken more pictures but we were running late! I am telling y'all right now, if you haven't seen @usher YOU MUST GO!! HE WAS SO FABULOUS!!"

Referring to Usher, Keke added ... "Where is that pic of us all together with the King himself??"

The "king" Usher sided with his VIP guest, or at least shouted her out ... thanking her for attending his show, not to mention giving his Vegas residency yet another viral moment!!!

Darius was royally pissed off Wednesday when fans ripped him for being extra critical of Keke's sheer 'fit. He said, "We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is."

As of Thursday, Keke and Darius don't follow each other on Instagram.

Hey Alexa, play "Moving Mountains" by Usher. 🎶

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

Colleen Ballinger's fall from grace is taking her to a new low -- she's getting raked over the coals for an old video of her in blackface, while singing a Beyoncé hit.

The YouTuber/comedian -- famous for her viral character Miranda Sings -- is again in the crosshairs of critics who dug up the problematic clip from her past ... a video showing Colleen with dark makeup on her mug as she sings along to "Single Ladies."

Unclear exactly what year this went down, but based on the Miranda Sings YouTube page, it seems to be sometime in 2017 or 2018 ... and while it's an unlisted post, it is still up. Some of the comments claim the blackface video was offered as an exclusive sneak peek to folks who bought Colleen's book, "My Diarrhe."

The resurfacing of the video comes at a very interesting time, because Colleen was recently accused of racism in another context -- resurfaced texts allegedly sent pertaining to her 2016 Netflix show, "Haters Back Off."

The texts, attributed to someone working with Colleen at the time, were about auditions they were conducting for the show, and the sender claimed Colleen made a crack about a Black actor ... allegedly saying, "WHERE IS HE" -- referring to the guy being very dark in bad lighting.

Of course, this latest backlash is on top of recent grooming allegations ... with people accusing her of reaching out to young fans in inappropriate ways.

Colleen responded to those claims in a bizarre apology video ... which had her singing/explaining away the behavior. It was deemed as tone-deaf, and didn't help.

The felony child pornography charges against Jalen Kitna have been dropped, TMZ Sports has learned ... after the ex-Univ. of Florida quarterback reached a deal with prosecutors on Wednesday.

Jalen, the son of ex-NFL star quarterback Jon Kitna, appeared in an Alachua County, Fla. courtroom to enter a guilty plea to two misdemeanor counts of breach of the peace, disorderly conduct ... and in exchange, the five felonies he was facing were dismissed.

Jalen spoke in court after making the plea ... apologizing to his family and friends -- while adding, "The valuable lessons that I’ve learned through this whole deal have been very helpful. I’m looking forward to applying those things and moving forward.".

Judge Susan Miller-Jones placed Kitna on six months' probation for each count but did not levy a fine.

As we previously reported, the 20-year-old former college football player was initially hit with five counts of possession of child porn back in November 2022 ... after authorities alleged he had shared images of exposed pre-pubescent females on a popular social media messaging platform.

Jalen, according to his rep, had insisted throughout the case that he believed the females in the images were of legal age.

Jalen's attorney, Ron Kozlowski, said in a statement following Wednesday's plea deal that it was all "a correct and fair result in this case, and the state clearly agrees."

We've reached out to prosecutors for comment ... and a spokesperson for the state attorney's office told us they're "happy we've come to this conclusion based on the law."

Cocaine may have been found inside the White House this weekend -- and it appears to have been discovered in an area that President Biden frequents a lot on the job.

The Secret Service says it discovered a white powdery substance Sunday night in the West Wing during routine rounds. It's unclear where exactly in the West Wing it was found -- but a spokesperson for the agency will only say agents stumbled upon it in a "work area."

The SS rep also notes any notion the substance might've been found in the executive mansion is false. While Secret Service won't disclose where the alleged coke lay, it appears DC's FEMS let the cat outta the bag ... reportedly relaying via dispatch it was in the library.

POTUS was not at the White House during this entire ordeal, BTW.

The discovery of the unknown powder prompted an increased security alert and a brief evacuation of the premises, and tests are being done to decide what it might be. WaPo, citing sources familiar with the matter, says preliminary tests suggest it is, in fact, blow.

Speaking of that dispatch audio from earlier ... it seems a firefighter who was on the ground firmly believed cocaine was the culprit, -- telling the department's hazardous materials team that a test they conducted indicated "cocaine hydrochloride." No ambiguity at all.

Officials are saying the substance did not pose a threat, and an investigation is underway as to how it made its way into the White House ... and, obviously, who brought it in.

The Oscar-winning actor was back in Southwark Crown Court Monday to listen to a pre-recorded interview police conducted with Spacey's accuser, which was presented as evidence to the jury.

In the recording, the accuser, identified only as a man since British law prohibits the release of his name, described in graphic detail how Spacey touched his private parts a dozen times while slapping his butt.

The man told cops, “[Spacey's] character in "Se7en," he’s a bit like that. A bit creepy. Maybe not quite as bad.”

"Se7en" was one of Spacey's most famous -- and freakiest -- flicks. The 1995 movie, also starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, follows the police manhunt for a demented serial killer, played by Spacey, who's obsessed with the seven deadly sins.

Barbie has gotten caught up in a global dispute, and as a result, her new, upcoming flick has been banned in Vietnam.

Here's the deal ... it's all over something called the "nine-dash line" -- carving out China's territorial claim. It's located near the South China Sea. Vietnam and other countries are vying for that same territory.

The movie apparently showcases a map that shows nine-dash line is part of China's territory, and that was enough for Vietnam to 86 the film, which is set to debut July 21st.

A rep for the Vietnam Cinema Department put it bluntly ... “We do not grant a license for the American movie Barbie to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line.”

Claudia Jordan says there's plenty of money to go around on "Wheel of Fortune" to pay both incoming host Ryan Seacrest and mainstay Vanna White what they deserve ... and Ryan shouldn't have to give up salary to keep Vanna.

The TV and radio host tells TMZ ... she's not in the camp of people online who are calling for Ryan to take less money so the game show can pay Vanna what she's demanding.

Claudia says it's not like a pro sports team trying to stay under a salary cap ... she says there's tons of advertising money pouring in, and 'Wheel' has plenty in its coffers.

TMZ broke the story ... Vanna is fighting with Sony for a huge raise after only making $3 million a year for the last 18 years ... she wants half of Pat Sajak's current $15 million paycheck, or else.

Claudia's well-versed in the game show biz ... she was on "Deal or No Deal" and she says women like Vanna are just as important to the shows as guys like Pat and Ryan.

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.