Controversial S#!T

It appears MLB star Wander Franco won't be taking the baseball field anytime soon -- the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop has been placed on administrative leave as the league investigates claims he had inappropriate relationships with underage girls.

Franco -- who was previously on the Rays' restricted list -- is currently under police investigation in his native Dominican Republic ... after the allegations made on social media went viral.

"Per an agreement between MLB and the MLBPA, Wander Franco has been placed on Administrative Leave until further notice as MLB continues its ongoing investigation," MLB announced Tuesday.

"The administrative leave, effective immediately, is not disciplinary under the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy."

22-year-old Franco last played on Aug. 12 ... and did not travel with the team during its road trip against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels.

He will be able to appeal the leave, although it's unclear if he will do so at this time. He will still be paid throughout the duration of his time away from the team.

One of the mothers of Ne-Yo's children is speaking out after he slammed parents who let their kids transition genders ... making it clear, his thoughts aren't aligned with hers.

Monyetta Shaw-Carter, mom to Madilyn and Mason, tells TMZ ... she's fully aware of the things the singer said recently about the transgender community, and while she respects his opinion, she adds, "Those views are HIS."

She tells us she stands with the LGBTQ+ community -- but, to be clear, she's not bashing Ne-Yo for what he said, noting they still have a positive co-parenting relationship.

As we reported, Ne-Yo condemned parents who affirm their kids' gender identity, saying he grew up with only 2 genders ... and claimed he's got no problem with people identifying as they wish, but added, "It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game."

He later offered up his "deepest apologies" to anyone he hurt with his comment -- only to clarify his apology hours later, saying he's not sorry for having an opinion, just for the hurt feelings.

BTW, Ne-Yo also claimed the way he keeps a healthy relationship with Monyetta -- as well as his ex-wife, Crystal, and ex-GF, Sadé -- is by keeping the bickering away from the kiddos.

Florida cops have been ordered to arrest Antonio Brown once again ... after a judge ruled he missed yet another child support payment.

According to Miami-Dade County court documents, the ruling was issued on Aug. 9 ... after Brown apparently missed a $15,000 payment to his ex, Wiltrice Jackson.

Per the docs, Brown can have the order purged if he pays up ... plus an additional $5,000 in attorney fees.

It's the second time this year a judge has ordered law enforcement to take the ex-NFL star into custody over unpaid child support ... back in April, the order was issued after Brown failed to make a $30,000 payment to Jackson.

AB, though, paid up before he was put behind bars.

Brown and Jackson dated in the early stages of the former wide receiver's football career ... and have a daughter together.

The two, however, have had their share of ups and downs since ... with Jackson accusing Brown of shoving her during a domestic dispute in 2019. Brown was never charged in the case.

Jermaine Dupri feels the city of Atlanta got a raw deal when it comes to commercialized celebrations of hip hop's 50th anniversary -- but Charlamagne tha God is asking why JD didn't step up and put one together???

Last week, JD stirred up controversy by calling out brands for their lack of hip hop soirees on ATL soil ... forcing the music mogul to clarify himself Monday after fans kept giving him crap about his comments.

The "Money Ain't a Thang" rapper explained he was only attacking companies with big bucks for not getting ATL in the mix, and didn't have any animosity toward any other celebrations of hip hop's culture. Parties, are the priority here, people!!!

Charlamagne also questioned JD's response on Monday ... noting how the So So Def founder easily has the influence to pull off the kind of function he was demanding from corporate powers that be.

Several other fans were perplexed by JD's rationale.

Sprite, one of hip hop's longstanding corporate partners, got several rap legends "together" last week ... T.I., Young Dro, Crime Mob, and even JD himself, who was honored with an award in front of the audience!!!

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also partnered with Amazon, Mercedes-Benz, and even the homegrown concert series, One MusicFest, just to name a few, to help spearhead the city's Hip Hop 50 celebrations.

The OnlyFans model banned by GoFundMe for selling nude photos to aid Maui wildfire relief is still raising tons of money ... all because she took her talents to a different platform.

Mariah Casillas, who goes by Lavagrll on social media, joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and told us about her fundraising issues with GoFundMe.

The model says was up to $7,800 in donations on GoFundMe when the platform pulled the plug on her fundraiser, which involved sending one nude for every $10 donated.

As she explains, the nudes were never posted on GoFundMe ... but that didn't stop the crowdfunding giant from shutting her down for violating the website's terms of service, specifically, the "prohibited conduct section."

GoFundMe refunded all the money she raised, meaning displaced folks on Maui were out of luck ... but then she took her nude fundraiser over to OnlyFans and started fresh.

The move paid off, literally ... she tells us she's already raised $10,000 and counting for Maui residents who lost everything in the deadly blaze.

That's a lot of nudes!!!

Eminem's dissed a ton of people throughout his career but Benzino is taking his past snipes from Slim Shady in stride ... while also coming clean he used his Source magazine publication to get a bit of revenge!!!

While speaking on Math Hoffa's "My Expert Opinion," Benzino recalled being impressed with Eminem's 2002 diss track "Nail In the Coffin" ... despite the song labeling Benzino an "83-year-old fake [Al] Pacino."

Benzino and Eminem infamously waged a rap war in the mid-00s that eventually roped in 50 Cent and G-Unit, Ja Rule, Murda Inc., and infamously, The Source mag.

As time went on, Benzino says the beef began to get disrespectful, and he put his foot down and prevented Em from getting a perfect "5-mic" rating for any of his albums.

The rating was a pretty big deal in hip hop at the time, and the snubs clearly affected Em ... hence the lyrics on his 2nd Benzino diss track titled "The Sauce," where he rapped, "'The Source' was like our only source of light, when the mics used to mean somethin', a four was like, 'You were the shit,' now it's like the least you get, 3 1/2 now just means you're a piece of shit, 4 1/2 or 5 means you're Biggie, Jigga, Nas, or Benzino -- shit, I don't even think you realize you're playin' with motherfuckers' lives ... I done watched Dre get f****d on 'The Chronic' ... Probably ‘cause I was on it/Now you f****d me out of my mics twice..."

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8/21 -- Luis Rubiales is sharing his regret over the kissing incident on Monday ... releasing a video apology for his actions.

"I made a mistake, for sure," Rubiales said in the clip. "I have to accept it. In a moment of such emotion, without any bad intention or bad faith, what happened, happened, in a very spontaneous way."

He continued ... "I have to learn from this and understand that a president of an institution as important as the federation -- above all in ceremonies and that kind of thing -- should be more careful."

Spain has taken home the gold in the Women's World Cup, but folks online are more focused on a super-cringe moment after the win ... when the country's football president planted a kiss on one of the players' lips.

The smooch went down Sunday, as the team received their gold medals after beating England in the final.

Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales was at the end of the line congratulating the athletes when he gave midfielder Jenni Hermoso a kiss squarely on her mouth.

It's a pretty awkward moment, especially because he grabbed the back of her head -- Hermoso admitted she wasn't a huge fan of what went down, but she's still defending him, saying it was a spontaneous, mutual gesture coming from all the post-win joy.

She's gone on to say his behavior with the team has been great, and they have a great relationship ... and is hoping fans will be putting the focus on the triumphant win instead.

Of course, folks online have been pointing at the kiss quite a bit, with many calling it completely inappropriate ... but Hermoso doesn't see it that way.

Chrisean Rock is setting the internet ablaze, because she blazed up while pregnant ... and while many fans are up in arms about the baby's safety, others are actually supporting her right to light up.

On Sunday, social media users debated a recent clip from Chrisean and Blueface's reality show "Crazy In Love" ... where the two are having a mild disagreement as Chrisean blows billows of smoke in the kitchen.

Blueface seemed more concerned about money, informing Chrisean she did not accumulate $10 million in her last round of paydays -- but plenty of viewers expressed concern for the unborn child, and launched into anti-Chrisean tirades.

The CDC strongly advises against smoking while pregnant, but her actions aren't illegal and Chrisean still had some folks supporting her.

As fans argued amongst themselves, Blueface and Chrisean were able to squash their immediate differences to attend Jason Lee's birthday party Sunday night in Los Angeles.

Tesla is being dragged to court over a deadly car crash ... a woman is blaming Elon Musk's company for her husband's death, claiming his Model 3 burst into flames on impact with a tree.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Jiyoung Yoon claims her late husband, Jyung Woo Hahn, died when his 2020 Tesla Model 3 malfunctioned, crashed into a tree and burst into flames.

Jiyoung claims the incident happened in March 2022, when her husband was driving on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County, NY.

In the docs, Jiyoung says her husband survived the initial impact but was unable to escape his Tesla and was ultimately consumed by fire.

She claims the Model 3 was defective in design, manufacture, and warning ... she says it was not crashworthy, making it "unreasonably dangerous for its designed and intended purposes."

Jiyoung is going after Tesla for damages ... and she wants the suit to go to a jury trial.

Bradley Cooper might be under fire after portraying Leonard Bernstein with what some are calling "Jewface" ... but some of the biggest Jewish organizations have no qualms with it.

The American Jewish Committee tells TMZ ... BC's look in the trailer for the upcoming biopic, "Maestro" -- where he's wearing an enlarged, prosthetic nose -- isn't offensive, adding, "We do not believe that this depiction harms or denigrates the Jewish community."

They say they're agreeing with Bernstein's kids, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina -- who said on X Wednesday that their pops had a big nose and "our dad would have been fine with it."

The Anti-Defamation League is echoing these opinions, telling us, "Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that."

As we reported, some folks online have skewered Cooper and co. for playing into the "Jewface" trope.

It's been a couple days since Kid Rock was spotted sipping a Bud Light -- and the reactions across Twitter have been just as unhinged as you'd expect ... with people weighing in on both sides.

For starters, accounts that usually push conservative views seem to feel betrayed in a sense ... some writing, "TREASON" another wrote, "I am STRONGLY against CANCEL CULTURE but I am calling for a boycott of all Kid Rock products until further notice."

Others simply seem to be in disbelief, "C'mon Kid Rock, what are we doing?"

However, some on the right are still sticking with their guy, announcing, "I will ALWAYS stand with Kid Rock! If you’ve already had many non-woke beers, it is easy to be tricked into drinking a woke Bud Light by accident. Give Kid a break. He’s fighting hard for our freedom!"

Of course, the images have also been met with plenty of humor and memes as well, one account writing, "Damn, never thought I’d have to give Kid Rock the Bud Light treatment but here we are. Just shot up all my Kid Rock vinyl and CDs. I loved Kid Rock, but I hope Kid Woke goes broke."

TMZ broke the story, the Trump fanatic was spotted drinking a Bud Light at a concert in Nashville last week.

The scenario seemed almost impossible a few months back when KR uploaded himself shooting up a bunch of cases of the beer, exclaiming, "F*** Bud Light and f*** Anheuser Busch" after trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney published an ad-spot with the company.

The OnlyFans model using her nude photos to raise money for Maui wildfire relief efforts can no longer crowdfund on GoFundMe ... because the platform shut down her efforts.

Mariah Casillas, who goes by Lavagrll on social media, was sending nudes to folks who donated $10 to victims of the deadly Maui wildfires ... and a GoFundMe she started this week was raking in a ton of dough until her page was shut down.

The model raised over $7,400 in just a few days, but the manner in which she collected the money seems to have ruffled some feathers over at the crowdfunding giant.

A GoFundMe Spokesperson tells TMZ ... her fundraiser was removed for violating the website's terms of service, specifically, the "prohibited conduct section."

We're told all of the model's donors have been refunded ... so they're essentially getting her nudes for free.

She's now taking her nude fundraiser over to OnlyFans ... where it will likely get a different reaction from the folks calling the shots.

As for GoFundMe, they tell us folks looking to donate to rebuilding efforts on the island should pledge money through their new Maui wildfire centralized hub ... nudes not included.

Mark Jackson ain't sure what's next for him following his abrupt exit from his role as ESPN's top NBA color analyst ... but one thing he does know is he has no hard feelings toward the man who's replacing him -- Doc Rivers.

We caught up with the former Golden State Warriors head coach out in Beverly Hills on Friday ... and despite being let go from ESPN just a couple weeks ago, he was in great spirits.

While he said he doesn't know if his next career move will include coaching or broadcasting ... he told us he's confident it'll be a good one for him regardless.

"It's going to work out," he said. "Figuring it out now. But the next move will be my best move."

"Excited about what God has for me," he added.

As for Rivers, who will replace Jackson on ESPN's top broadcast team alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke, Jackson says he hopes for all kinds of success for the guy.

In fact, he said he's actually spoken with Rivers recently ... and there's no beef whatsoever.

If you expect Mark Zuckerberg to fight a professional fighter and get slaughtered, you may be in for a rude awakening ... ONE Championship star Mikey Musumeci has trained with the Meta boss on several occasions, and says Zuck would 100% win a fight.

"I was pretty shocked. [Mark's] a grinder. He has that grind in him. The second I saw that I said, 'Okay, he can be very good at MMA or jiu-jitsu' because first of all, he has the highest IQ, but he's also tough as f***!" Mikey told TMZ Sports.

It's high praise coming from Musumeci ... a 5x IBJJF world champion and current ONE Championship flyweight grappling champ. He's quite literally the best in the world!

Mikey and Mark are friends who not only train together ... but also talk when they aren't working out.

We doubled down ... asking Musumeci if he really believed Zuck could "hang with a professional fighter?"

"100%. 100%, and I think he could win."

Of course, we asked Mikey the question because all signs point to Zuckerberg, now that the Elon Musk fight is seemingly done, fighting against an actual pro fighter in a top MMA promotion.

"Not holding my breath for Elon, but I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready," Mark said on Threads.

"When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card."

There's more ... we also talked to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong -- who is also friends with Mark -- about the billionaire's foray into MMA.

Billy Porter has three things for the Hollywood studios, producers and executives he blames for the strikes ... venom, rage and a little bit of grace.

The actor was at LAX Friday when a photog asked him about the unnamed studio exec who was quoted as saying studios are purposefully delaying negotiations with the writers and actors "until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses."

Billy unloads ... he says he's already losing his home, and his financial situation is why there are strikes in the first place ... though he's not quite going full Ron Perlman here.

Getting emotional, Billy says the strikes aren't a game ... and he's trying to have some grace about the situation he and others in Hollywood find themselves in.

At the same time, Billy says he's tried to bite his tongue because he knows all that's going to come out of his mouth is venom and rage, which he fears will not be useful to the strike's end goal.

Billy also seems to reference some of his recent interviews, like the one where he slammed Harry Styles' Vogue cover and called Anna Wintour a bitch.

For Billy, he says he's just telling the truth and is getting dragged as a result of keeping it real.

Rachel Leviss may not be coming back to "Vanderpump Rules," but that isn't stopping Scheana Shay.

Scheana is dropping a new song Friday called "Apples" ... in which some of the lyrics go like this ... "I was with you on your worst day / You stabbed me in the worst way / How you gonna lie to my face?"

Scheana wasn't done ... "And you said that we would always be friends / Party on the weekend / But then you’re gone without a trace; I thought you were grateful / I found out you’re fake, though / I hope there’s a place for friends like you."

Interesting ... saying "you're gone without a trace" suggests Scheana is completely done with her friendship with Rachel or she's pissed Rachel decided not to return to 'VPR' ... safe to assume the latter.

And get this ... Shay labels Rachel a "narcissistic psychopath" whom she "cut out like lipo."

Scheana was pissed at the time over Rachel having an affair with Tom Sandoval ... ultimately resulting in Rachel (then Raquel) getting a restraining order against her after claiming Scheana physically attacked her.

Scheana denied the whole thing, with her lawyer calling Rachel a "known liar and a cheat." As you know, Scheana won in the end -- with the whole thing eventually getting dismissed.