Controversial S#!T

Mark Zuckerberg is tired of waiting for Elon Musk to get ready to rumble, so he's moving on -- so says the Facebook founder himself.

The techie billionaire announced Sunday he was throwing in the towel on the planning process, saying it was clear to him that EM wasn't serious about duking it out ... evidenced, at least in Mark's eyes, in all the excuses Elon has offered to postpone this thing.

MZ writes, "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on. I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won't confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead."

The backyard thing is new news -- and pretty eyebrow-raising if true. Mark adds, "If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."

Mark has kinda been teasing this move for a while now ... consistently refuting Elon's characterization of things, and alleging that the Twitter honcho was stonewalling on purpose.

In fact, it wasn't too long ago that Mark said he wasn't holding his breath for Elon -- and despite EM trying to hype up the fight just this past week (by mentioning the prospect of Italy as a venue), it sounds like Mark's throwing cold water on the whole thing ... calling BS.

It was a cool would-be event while it lasted, we suppose ... and time will tell if Mark pulling the plug like this will force Elon to actually commit -- but if he doesn't, it might be over.

Bad weather threw a monkey wrench into Lionel Richie’s plans to perform at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

The iconic R&B singer was set to hit the stage with Earth Wind & Fire Saturday night — but the act of nature derailed their sold out show and an hour after it was supposed to start Lionel made his disappointing announcement.

Lionel posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Due to severe weather and being unable to land in the NY and surrounding areas, I’m unable to make it to the show tonight.”

He went on, “I’m so bummed. We are rescheduling the show to Monday Aug 14. Can’t wait to perform for you all. Tickets for tonight’s show are valid for the show on Monday.”

The 20,000 strong audience was totally bummed too. Video from inside the venue shows fans booing as an MSG official announces the show had been canceled.

Take a hard look at Aljamain Sterling when he fights Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 'cause it could be the last time Aljo competes in the bantamweight division ... the UFC champ tells us he wants to move up and dethrone featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski.

Whether or not it is his last scrap at 135 lbs., 34-year-old Sterling seemed to indicate he may not be around the Octagon much longer.

"I think [it could be my last at 135]. I think I go out there, dominate O'Malley the way I think I'm gonna dominate him, send that naked mole rat back to wherever he's from, the hole he crawled out of," Sterling told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

The bantamweight king continued ... "We set our sights on Volkanovski. Go up to 145, cause some terror there. Win the belt, become champ-champ, and then from there, possibly defend the belt one or two times and maybe that's all she wrote for the MMA career."

Of course, in order to be double champ, Aljamain must defeat Suga on August 19 in Boston ... a fight that's been talked about for years.

"It's cool to be going to Dana White's backyard and bringing in a good show. We're the headliners. We get to end the night, try to end the night on a good night, on a high night, and it's an opportunity for me to really make more history, get another bag, and rob the bank."

"I'm looking forward to robbing the bank vs. Sean O'Malley and showing Mr. High Fructose Corn Syrup why there's levels to this game."

If Sterling does ultimately retire from MMA in the near future, we asked him what he do as his second act.

"Maybe I start boxing after," Aljo said, laughing.

Rachel Zegler has shown what many are calling a deep disdain for the story of 'Snow White' -- morphing one controversy into a new one ... and now, Halle Bailey's getting dragged in.

Here's the deal ... we already know folks have been outraged about the forthcoming Disney reimagining for months now, whether it's because of Zegler's race ... or 'cause they didn't cast many "dwarfs." On all fronts, the live-action remake has been called "woke" by some.

Now, a new anger is taking shape this weekend ... and it all has to do with resurfaced press remarks Zegler made back in September (almost a year ago) while promoting the film, alongside her costar Gal Gadot. No, not the blue carpet Variety interview ... the EW one.

In this Q&A -- which, again, is several months old at this point -- Zegler confesses to having only seen the OG 'Snow White' once as a child ... and not liking it because she thought it was scary. She says she never watched it again -- at least, not until she was cast.

After seeing it anew ... it sounds like Zegler was turned off by what she saw -- the way she's described the cartoon, it comes across as dated and, perhaps, even regressive for women ... that's certainly how Zegler views it anyway, and she's made that clear in fierce terms.

The problem ... it seems her attitude toward the old 'Snow White' -- kinda bashing it -- has turned a lot of people off ... and not just conservatives either! There are a good handful of (seemingly) normal women who are speaking up and rolling their eyes over Zegler's take.

As one user put it ... some of the elements of the 1937 film (not to mention the original German fairy tale) are still appealing to certain women, even today. As you can see above, she laments the "girl boss" trend that some feel is being pushed by Hollywood these days. In short, this woman argues that some ladies still wanna be saved by Prince Charming. 😆

Enter Halle Bailey ... press interviews she was doing last year in the lead-up to 'Little Mermaid' are also being resurfaced right now, and they're being compared to Zegler's clips.

There are a lot of interviews Halle did at the time where she's talked about how much she loved "The Little Mermaid" growing up ... and how much influence Ariel, specifically, had on her as a Disney princess. Basically, Halle was a big fan of the IP and sounded grateful to give her own portrayal -- which, by and large, has been praised ... despite the loud haters.

The point of all this is that a question is now being rhetorically asked of Zegler ... if you hated the movie and the character of 'Snow White,' why sign on for this role at all?

She's recently said she wants nothing to do with all the chatter that's taken shape, but she'll undoubtedly do more press as the movie release date nears -- so we'll what she says then.

Billy Porter is back to slamming Harry Styles for being the first man featured in a dress on a Vogue cover -- resurfacing old gripes ... and taking down Anna Wintour while he's at it.

The actor, who's gay, dished to the Telegraph about his problem with Harry being tapped as the poster boy of genderfluid/non-binary fashion back in 2020 -- which, at the time, kicked up a lot of controversy and opinions ... including some fiery ones from Billy himself.

You might recall ... Billy said he was actually the catalyst for the men-in-dresses trend that's been percolating in Hollywood of late -- and lamented the fact that HS was picked over him.

He added, "He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do. This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the palace where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned down. All he has to do is be white and straight."

After that, Billy apologized on the 'Late Show,' telling Stephen Colbert he didn't mean to dirty up Harry's name with his opinion -- and that the conversation was bigger than just him.

Now, after more than 2 years ... BP is re-airing his grievances, and he's again insisting Harry is, in fact, straight -- despite HS having yet to publicly label himself or his sexuality.

Billy says, "It’s not Harry Styles’s fault that he happens to be white and cute and straight and fit into the infrastructure that way. That's why he's on the cover. Non-binary blah blah blah blah. No. It doesn't feel good to me. You're using my community -- or your people are using my community -- to elevate you. You haven't had to sacrifice anything."

In other words, Billy is echoing long-standing queerbaiting claims Harry has endured for years now. Many argue he plays coy about his sexuality -- especially when it comes to his fashion sensibilities -- to cater to the LGBTQ+ community. Based on his dating history, though ... it seems like the dude's strictly into the ladies. That's certainly how it appears, anyway.

Billy gets one last dig at Vogue's EIC ... alleging that in the lead-up to Harry's cover issue, she approached Billy and asked for his advice on advancing style pioneers in the LGBTQ+ community, and BP says he responded with this ... "That bitch said to me at the end, 'How can we do better?' And I was so taken off guard that I didn't say what I should have said."

Jason Aldean was able to get a little juice out of his right-leaning song -- and now, another guy's doing the same thing ... but he isn't even close to as famous, which is interesting.

The dude's name is Oliver Anthony, and he's a man-of-the-land living in Farmville, Virginia -- however, he's also a musician ... and a song he just released, "Rich Men North of Richmond,: is catching fire among conservatives all over the country ... in just a 24-hour window, too.

The reason ... the track (and the music video, too, it seems) is resonating with folks in a grassroots kind of way -- seeing how he's performing it out in the woods, and in a very stripped-down environment. Plus, yes ... OA definitely has talent -- a unique sound, indeed.

Now, as for the actual lyrics ... they seem to walk the line between the everyman, working-class American POV and far-right sentiments -- depends on how you look at it, we suppose.

Oliver addresses D.C. politicians -- without explicitly identifying a party -- sucking Americans dry and wanting total control of their lives ... while going on to lament social ills, including seemingly slamming the welfare system. He also appears to reference Jeffrey Epstein. 👀

In the wake of Oliver uploading this to streaming platforms, it looks like it's been spiking in sales -- with some sites showing it's #1 on iTunes ... meaning it's been purchased a crap-ton since it went up, but doesn't necessarily account for streaming numbers. Not yet, anyway.

Several right-wing influencers are praising Oliver's song/his passion, and some politicians are chiming in as well with a big thumbs up -- including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

As for Oliver, he's overwhelmed by the attention -- saying he'll be performing locally for the time being. It remains to be seen if 'RMNOR' will have the same chart success Aldean recently experienced, but based on the groundswell already ... it's certainly possible.

This is a pretty fascinating trend we're seeing -- it appears when right-wingers perceive something (like a song) they think addresses their grievances/perspectives, they lean into it ... and, from the small sample size we've noticed, it can be effective in the marketplace.

Morgan Wallen made a pretty bold move before his concert in Ohio Friday ... because he's now completely bald -- as in no hair!!!

The country music singer walked out onstage at Ohio Stadium in Columbus after he shaved off his famous mullet with his head looking like a cue ball.

Morgan wore a red baseball cap ... but it couldn't hide the fact all of his hair was missing in action.

Check out video that surfaced on Tik Tok ... Morgan stopped to mention his new look in between songs, making light of the situation by saying, "I didn’t like the long hair anymore so I shaved it off." The crowd just hollered and laughed.

But some of his fans weren't having it and expressed their unhappiness with his transformation.

One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter) ... "Finding out Morgan Wallen cut his hair off just ruined my night."

Tory Lanez still insists the system screwed him with a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion -- but, that's just the consequence of the crime if you ask Trinidad James.

We caught up with Trinidad at LAX and his stance is clear: jail time should always follow the act of shooting someone in a criminal fashion, and since Tory was convicted ... Trinidad has no issue with the sentence.

The "All Gold Everything" rapper used Kendrick Lamar's "Money Trees" lyrics ... "Everybody gon' respect the shooter/But the one in front of the gun lives forever" ... to summarize his POV.

Trinidad also tells us Iggy Azalea should've kept quiet, after her public support for Tory became a hot-button issue following the sentencing.

Iggy grew close to Tory while they worked on music prior to his trial, and wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency -- a bad move according to Trinidad, but he still respects her right to have an opinion.

Jose Baez, Tory's lawyer, told us Tory's in the dumps after getting sentenced, and Tory himself remains defiant -- insisting he didn't shoot Meg.

Actions speak louder than words, as the saying goes -- so, while "Arrow" star Stephen Amell said he wasn't down with actors going on strike, his actions say the exact opposite.

Stephen had a picket sign in hand as he marched Friday with his fellow actors in NYC, which is interesting coming on the heels of his appearance on "TMZ Live."

He told us he supports his union, SAG-AFTRA, but totally disagreed with the union leadership's decision to go on strike, believing there are better ways to negotiate a good deal with the studios.

Stephen also told us he had a meeting scheduled with SAG honchos, and based on these images of him picketing with his wife and fellow actress Cassandra Jean ... it would seem the union brass convinced him to publicly get on board with the strike.

Some of Stephen's former cast members were also busy supporting the actors' strike on the left coast -- Katie Cassidy, Katrina Law, Willa Holland, Caity Lotz, Kirk Acevedo and Juliana Harkavy were all on the picket lines in the L.A. area. Even the show's executive producers came to show their support.

Stephen's shift is pretty dramatic ... last week he told us he wanted to see the union get back to the negotiating table, rather than continue the work stoppage.

He also claimed that although he's one of the only actors speaking out against striking, many of his colleagues secretly contacted him to express their support for his view.

The Alabama riverboat co-captain who got into that epic fight with a group of white boaters says the men threatened to beat him to death during the wild melee.

Damien Pickett, the co-captain of the Harriott 2 passenger ferry -- and the man who tossed his hat in the air -- told police the boaters who ganged up on him peppered him with threats during the beatdown on the docks, telling him "I'm gonna kill you, motherf*****. Beat your ass, motherf*****."

Damien's claims are part of his written account of the incident, first obtained by NBC News, where he tells police his side of the story.

The co-captain says crew members on the Harriott 2 asked the folks on the pontoon boat to move several times because it was docked where the ferry needed to land, and he says the boaters responded by giving them the middle finger.

Damien says he and a dockhand went to shore and untied the pontoon boat, moving it "three steps to the right" before tying it back to the dock to clear space for the Harriott 2 ... and that's when he claims 2 of the boaters ran up to him and yelled, "Don't touch that boat motherf***** or we will beat your ass."

The co-captain says the men continued to threaten them and then the pontoon boat's owner -- dressed in a gray shirt, red shorts and a sun visor -- eventually came over and got in his face.

Damien says the guy who threw the first punch was "a tall, older white guy" who hit him in the face ... and he says he soon found himself being attacked from all angles, so he started defending himself and fighting back.

The co-captain couldn't tell police how long the brawl lasted, explaining ... "I grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life."

So far, 4 people have been charged for the brawl ... Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, turned themselves in Wednesday and were charged with one count of assault 3rd degree.

"RuPaul's Drag Race" star Pearl is apologizing after a look she deemed "'90s Britney-esque" took a ton of heat after many believed it to be blackface.

Pearl posted, then deleted, a series of photos to Instagram this week showing off the new look -- which featured bleached-blonde hair, a water cup, pink tracksuit and very tanned skin.

Fans jumped on her almost immediately, calling the look tone-deaf and comparing it to blackface. One wrote, "So y'all just gonna stay silent while Pearl from RuPaul's Drag race posts photos of themself in Blackface, all the while other non-Black queens were hyping it up like it wasn't clearly blackface?"

The pissed-off fan then, making a reference to the Alabama riverboat brawl, exclaimed, "Where's my damn folding chair?"

Clearly, the comments reached Pearl, who posted an apology Thursday, writing, "The character i posted this morning was not meant to resemble any other background other than my own. she's platinum blonde/blue eyes & meant to have 2000's britney-esque tan."

The "Big Brother" houseguest who got tossed, because he used the n-word, is NOT a racist ... according to his father, who says their family ties prove a lack of prejudice.

If ya missed it, Luke Valentine was booted this week after live feeds captured him using the racial slur in conversation with 2 other white houseguests, as well as a Black man. His dad, James, tells us his son's behavior was surprising and disappointing for a few reasons.

Luke's father says his son has many family members who are Black, including a stepmom and step-siblings, as well as biracial cousins ... and he says Luke is absolutely not a racist and was not raised in a racist family.

The dad says Luke's stepmother was also disappointed to hear him use the n-word on the live feeds, but we're told she feels he's a good kid regardless and they have a good relationship.

Luke's pops also says he's never heard Luke using the racial slur, and he believes his son was not intending to be racist, though he admits his kid said the wrong thing and has to be more mindful of what comes out of his mouth.

Needless to say, Thanksgiving's gonna be interesting.

TMZ broke the story ... CBS kicked Luke off the show the same day as the incident, telling us there's "zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur."

James says it's disappointing his son was kicked off the show, in part because he seemed to be enjoying himself, and the family wanted to see him on the program longer.

Tony Rock is ripping the white "Big Brother" houseguest who casually used the n-word in conversation ... setting the record straight on who can and can't use the racial slur.

We got the veteran comedian at LAX on Thursday and our photog asked him about Luke Valentine getting booted from 'BB' for dropping an n-bomb on the live feed.

Tony says no one named Luke Valentine should ever say the n-word ... and his rule of thumb is to refrain from using the slur unless you are a person of color.

Chris Rock's brother also finds it interesting Luke was so quick to apologize ... he says that should be a sign Luke should have known better in the first place. He also feels it's a trend whenever people or companies offend Black people.

Tony's fascinated by the reaction from Luke's fellow white houseguests to having the n-word dropped into a conversation ... he says the virtue signaling is in full effect.

Ray Rice returned to his old stomping grounds on Thursday ... but he wasn't the only former star running back hanging out on the Baltimore Ravens sidelines -- he was spotted chopping it up with Marshawn Lynch.

The Super Bowl champion -- who has made several appearances at Ravens events after getting kicked off the team in 2014 -- was a popular guest at training camp hours ago ... with kids flocking to him after he arrived.

RR appeared to be in great spirits throughout the visit ... and video shows him laughing with Beast Mode as they checked out the squad.

Of course, Rice transitioned to a public speaking and mentorship role after he was suspended indefinitely following his Atlantic City casino elevator incident ... teaching young players how to prevent similar mistakes.

Rice never played another down of professional football following the controversy ... but he's been no stranger to the sport nonetheless.

More arrests in the massive riverfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama ... as two more men have turned themselves in and have been hit with charges.

The Montgomery Police Department made the announcement Wednesday night -- Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, turned themselves in, and were charged with one count of assault 3rd degree.

While the arrests might not be a surprise -- as cops announced Wednesday the men were facing charges and making arrangements to come to the police station -- there's still a possibility more arrests and charges could come from the brawl.

TMZ broke the story, one of the employees on the passenger ferry, Harriot 2, told cops she heard the white men yell, "F*** that n*****" before coming down the dock to fight the black employee who was moving their boat so the ferry could park safely.

As we reported, Richard Roberts, who is accused of punching a 16-year-old ferry employee, also turned himself in.

In a presser Wednesday, the Montgomery Chief of police announced they'd been working with local FBI agents to determine if a hate crime was committed. At this time, no one has been charged with a hate crime.

Travis Scott is getting blamed for shutting down all concerts at an ancient Italian stadium ... this after his performance Monday sparked numerous calls from concerned residents fearing there was an earthquake.

The rapper did his Monday night show at Rome's Circus Maximus near the famed Colosseum, but it turned into a fiasco when someone pepper-sprayed 60 fans who then needed medical attention. A 14-year-old was injured in a fall after climbing a wall, according to CNN.

During the unrest, Romans reportedly inundated the local fire department with calls about a possible earthquake writing on social media, "Anyone feel an earthquake?"

But all the shaking residents were feeling was not from a natural disaster ... rather, it was coming from the multitude of fans jumping around at Travis' concert when Kanye West made a surprise appearance onstage and started rapping with his longtime friend.

As a result, Alfonsina Russo, Director of the Colosseum Archeological Park, has now called for the end of concerts at Circus Maximus with the exception of operas and ballets.

Russo told CNN ... "The Circus Maximus is a monument. It is not a stadium, not a concert hall. These mega rock concerts put it at risk."

This must feel a little like déjà vu for Travis, who had to endure the whole controversy surrounding his Astroworld debacle in which 10 people died and thousands injured at his 2021 show in Houston, Texas.