Controversial S#!T

Drake's "It's All a Blur" tour stop in Vancouver got a healthy dose of "Utopia" last night ... as Travis Scott joined him as the night’s special performer!!!

The 2 megastar rappers performed their latest collab "Meltdown" live for the first time ever -- Timothée Chalamet diss and all -- and followed up by performing their Diamond-selling duet "Sicko Mode" for the Canadian crowd.

The show was originally set for Monday, but was postponed over issues with the new video board installed inside Rogers Arena.

Travis made a grand entrance into the stadium using WWE legend The Undertaker's theme music as his walk-up soundtrack ... fitting since the performance seemed to have the crowd in a chokehold.

Amy Sedaris celebrated Michael Jackson on his birthday this week -- but some aren't happy about her giving him a shout-out ... proving he's still divisive, even today.

The actress threw up a major bday tribute to the late entertainer Tuesday, which marked what would've been his 65th birthday if he was still alive. She attached a bunch of MJ clips, showing off his talent and iconic cultural moments in showbiz ... including music videos.

She wrote, "On what would've been his 65th birthday, let's all groove to some of the timeless music that @michaeljackson made." Amy also added the hashtag #heavenlybirthday.

Clearly, she's a fan of the guy -- at least on the professional front -- and felt it was appropriate to honor him 14 years after his death ... but many of her followers were pissed.

There's a handful of naysayers who don't approve of Amy giving Mike the spotlight ... and, yes, it all has to do with his controversial history of being accused of sexually abusing minors -- something MJ denied throughout his life, and for which he was famously acquitted.

Still, that doesn't mean people are over it ... and they let Amy know in her comments. One person wrote, "Let's not glorify him anymore." Another chimed in, saying ... "We still out here celebrating pedophiles, smh." Even Bravo's Andy Cohen commented, writing ... "Oops!"

Now, Amy doesn't appear to have responded to any of these folks ... but the fact a good amount of people are responding this way is a testament to an unspoken rule among A-listers in Hollywood -- don't talk about Michael, and just leave it to the normies. FWIW, Mike has many, many defenders online ... but not very many who are notable public figures.

Fact is, high-visibility stars tend not to address the topic one way, or another these days -- and it seems obvious why ... there are still countless individuals who believe all his accusers.

Seeing how Amy is bucking that trend and giving him love regardless is interesting ... she seems able to separate the art from the artist -- that, or she believes he's innocent, period.

The abuse allegations persist in 2023 ... namely, through the claims of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who are pushing lawsuits through the CA court system.

The famous TikTok lady you see acting like computer game characters on "LIVE" says she isn't trying to trick anyone into thinking she isn't Black ... despite claims of critics and some visual evidence.

We got internet sensation Pinkydoll at LAX Tuesday, where we asked what she made of people being demonstrably shocked over her recent appearance onstage at the 2023 Streamy Awards ... where she did her whole "NPC" shtick while presenting an award.

If you're unfamiliar ... it's a big fad on TikTok, and other live-streaming apps, where hosts repeat silly catchphrases and mimic a non-player character from video games -- something gamers apparently LOVE watching, so much so, they send her digital gifts and money!

Pinkydoll is easily the most recognizable face in that world lately ... but, as you can see here on camera, she's a dark-skinned African-American woman -- and looks quite different from how she usually does on her NPC livestreams, where her skin's much lighter.

Twitter was perplexed to see Pinkydoll is actually darker in the flesh ... and some accused her of trying to purposely bait people into thinking she's some race other than Black.

She's strongly denying that, though, telling our camera guy she's proud of her melanin -- and she offers an explanation for the obvious skin tone difference. Now, whether you buy it ... that's up to you.

One thing that isn't debatable is Pinkydoll's NPC personality is bleeding over into real life ... watch the video, 'cause it feels like we were talking to a bit of a robot in person.

With that said, she makes clear this profession is paying the bills and then some -- and she's gonna keep doing her thing, even though a ton of wannabes are hopping on her bandwagon.

Mmmm, ice cream ... thanks for the roses! 😋

For more influencer news, tune in to the TMZ Verified podcast. Dropping every Thursday on all podcast platforms.

Nick Carter is pushing back against a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her on his yacht when she was 15 years old ... he says her lawsuit is full of false allegations.

The Backstreet Boys singer is being sued by a woman who says Nick sexually assaulted her multiple times back in 2003, when she was 15 and he was 23 -- she claims Nick forced himself on her aboard a yacht, and on a bus after plying her with alcohol.

But Nick is vehemently denying it happened, claiming the lawsuit is full of BS.

This accuser has filed her lawsuit anonymously, and she's now the third woman suing Carter for sexual assault.

Carter's lawyer, Dale Hayes Jr., tells TMZ ... when the woman made her allegations against Nick 2 decades ago, authorities investigated her claims and found no merit to move forward with charges.

Nick's lawyer says the accuser is simply "repeating the same false allegations in a new legal complaint" but he says that "doesn’t make them any more true."

As we first reported, Nick is also being sued by a woman named Shannon Ruth, who filed a lawsuit in December claiming he sexually assaulted her after a concert in 2001, when she was underage ... but he says he has witnesses who will testify Ruth is lying.

Singer Melissa Schuman is also suing Nick over an alleged 2002 sexual assault. He denies her allegations, as well.

Travis Scott is ready for a nationwide tour performing his new album ... and he's making a couple tour stops in Texas, with one notable exception ... Houston.

The rapper just announced dates and cities for his upcoming "Utopia" tour, and he's got shows in almost every major American market, except for the place where his infamous Astroworld concert left 10 dead and dozens injured.

Travis going with a full tour -- 26 stops in the U.S. plus two in Canada -- makes it seem like he's not sweating Astroworld all that much ... but it's interesting he's skipping Houston in favor of two other shows in Texas, performing in Austin and Dallas instead.

Of course, a grand jury in Houston recently decided against indicting Travis on criminal charges for the deadly November 2021 concert in H-Town.

Travis is still facing some civil lawsuits in Houston over Astroworld, and with that in mind it seems his hometown is not safe territory ... at least for this tour.

Sorority sisters who were trying to have a transgender woman booted from their org just got gut-checked in court -- 'cause a judge tossed their lawsuit -- saying the court had no business telling the sorority how to define "woman."

U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson dismissed the complaint filed by 7 members of the University of Wyoming's Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter -- who sued their own sorority earlier this year for allowing 21-year-old Artemis Langford, who's trans, to join their ranks in recent months.

The reason, per court docs obtained by TMZ ... the court says it has no right to intrude on how the chapter defined "woman" for the purposes of admitting prospective members. The judge found Kappa Kappa Gamma clearly felt Langford was qualified to join when it voted her in ... and going back to disqualify that now is out of bounds.

Judge Johnson breaks it down like this ... "The delegate of a private, voluntary organization interpreted ‘woman,’ otherwise undefined in the nonprofit’s bylaws, expansively; this Judge may not invade Kappa Kappa Gamma’s freedom of expressive association and inject the circumscribed definition Plaintiffs urge."

In other words, the judge is saying this is an issue Kappa Kappa Gamma dealt with in-house -- and it was inappropriate for a court to interfere.

As for how Langford feels about this latest development ... her attorney, Rachel Berkness, told AP the claims never should've made it into a legal filing to begin with -- so, it sounds like her client is happy.

The sorority sisters who brought this before hizzoner alleged Langford -- who's described as 6'2" and 260 lbs., and with male genitalia -- would get sexually aroused around the women within the house. The sisters claimed they were living in constant fear with her around.

An Atlanta-area high school football coach was arrested after punching one of his players in the stomach on the sideline during a game, and the entire ordeal was captured on video.

The disgusting act occurred during the 1st quarter of the Mays H.S. vs. Douglas County H.S. football game at Henderson Stadium in Georgia on Saturday afternoon.

The Peachtree TV broadcast captured the assistant coach in his player's face, number 24, before decking the boy with a right to his gut.

The player -- a junior defensive back according to Max Preps -- backed up after the sucker punch and appeared to hunch over in pain as the coach continued to yell.

Atlanta Public Schools didn't waste any time ... they told us the coach, who is not a teacher, was taken into police custody shortly after the act of violence.

"Video from the live broadcast of the game appears to show the lay coach physically assaulting a player," APS said in a statement.

"The adult will be charged with simple battery and faces administrative charges from the district as well."

"The safety and well-being of all APS students remains a high priority for the district and all APS employees are held to the highest standard of conduct and professionalism."

Vivek Ramaswamy is calling for peaceful protests if Donald Trump is tried and convicted in any of his 4 criminal cases because he says he firmly believes violence is not the answer.

The 2024 Republican Presidential candidate joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" and we asked if he would publicly discourage and denounce violent protests in the wake of a potential Trump loss in court -- a scenario lots of folks fear could happen.

Vivek, who emerged victorious in the first GOP debate, says peaceful demonstrations and self-expression are a core part of American life ... but he says he's dead set against violence in this country.

That's in line with his publicly stated view of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The businessman-turned-politician says Trump's actions that fateful day were a "very bad decision," but he's not sure it rises to the level of a crime. That might seem like a backpedal from him ripping Trump's Jan. 6 behavior as "abhorrent" in his book, "Woke, Inc." ... but Ramaswamy says both statements can be true.

Vivek's also called Trump the best president in the 21st century, and yet, he told us would not be Trump's vice president ... if Trump wins the GOP nomination instead of him.

The conversation also features Vivek's thoughts, or lack thereof, on the strikes in Hollywood ... which he says don't have much of an impact on Americans by and large, so he hasn't given the issue much thought.

Vivek also touches on racism, white supremacy and discrimination ... and there's a pretty healthy debate.

NBA players aren't the only ones dragging Noah Lyles for smearing the NBA's "World Champion" title ... Drake took time out from his 'Blur' Tour to rub the track star's nose in his commentary!!!

Drake reps Toronto first and foremost, but even he had to cringe at Lyles' comments and hopped on DJ Akademiks' page to react  ... "He thought this speech was gonna be so hard in the mirror the night before...now the whole league doesn't rate u 😂😂😂"

Lyles' NBA slander also proved to be easy fodder Monday for Charlamagne tha God's "Donkey of the Day" -- countless previous 'DoD' culprits have hailed from the state of Florida and Noah, being born and raised in Gainesville, found himself to be no exception.

Lyles, dominated over the weekend at the World Athletic Games in Budapest, Hungary ... winning 3 Gold medals and many think he got too big-headed to formulate a serious thought.

As Charlamagne -- and several NBA stars noted -- the league attracts the best players from all over the WORLD, and the last 3 MVPs have all been non-American ... and 2 of them won back-to-back!!!

Neil deGrasse Tyson is happy UFOs are being taken more seriously by our government ... but he highly doubts we've been visited by aliens, and he's got one big reason.

We got Neil at LAX, and he jumped on the subject of aliens visiting planet Earth, saying it's highly improbable out-of-this-world visitors could escape omnipresent video from cellphones.

Neil says he'd love for our government to be more open about any recorded phenomenon, but he doesn't think a full-on invasion has gone down that officials are keeping a secret.

In case you missed it, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had a laugh during the Republican debate over UFOs... but promised to give Americans the 411 if he gets elected.

Megan Thee Stallion hasn't gallivanted much in public since Tory Lanez got sent to the slammer for 10 years -- but she's out there now ... and, boy, is this a look or what?

The rapper hit the town Saturday in Beverly Hills with some pals in tow -- and she was wearing quite the eye-popping outfit ... and that's because her greatest assets were on display in a very sheer dress that you could see right through, right down to the skin.

Don't worry, her top half is actually covered by some nipple pasties -- so, technically, no harm, no foul there ... but she was definitely pushing the envelope and getting risqué.

Even from the side and behind ... she was quite the sight for sore eyes, and her friend seemed to recognize that too, offering a little handsy support as they boarded a waiting SUV.

Indeed, MTS was flaunting her stuff and then some ... which we suppose telegraphs how she might be feeling in the wake of this ugly saga that just ended with her one-time friend/lover being sentenced to a decade behind bars. Remember, Meg wasn't there for the hearing.

While she skipped the in-person appearance, Megan did speak out in a victim's statement -- saying she still suffers trauma from the shooting incident and urged the judge to hand down a stiff punishment ... which ultimately happened. Tory, meanwhile, has said he refuses to apologize or show remorse, insisting he was convicted for something he didn't do.

Meg performed at Outside Lands in SF shortly after the sentencing, and she said "F*** all my haters" during her show, which is really the only direct messaging from her post-sentencing.

With this latest showing though -- the first time she's been out like this since Tory's fate was decided -- it's safe to say Meg's unfazed. No love lost here, and certainly no regrets either.

Charles Manson's hair and cremated remains are being used in a new exotic piece of art ... and it looks eerily similar to the famous mass murderer.

Ryan Almighty tells TMZ ... he and fellow artist Terry Barr -- who specializes in sculpting shrunken heads -- recently joined forces to create Manson art.

Ryan owns some of Manson's cremated remains and pieces of his hair ... both of which were gifted to him by a close friend of Manson's.

Once Terry sculpted the lifelike Manson head, Ryan added the remains in the eyes and attached grey hairs to the head.

Bad news for Manson followers ... the shrunken head isn't for sale, but Ryan says you can check it out at his private museum in Warren, PA.

Ryan has a history of using Manson's remains in his art ... even using ashes in a "Helter Skelter" tattoo for one Manson fanatic.

Donald Trump and Martin Luther King Jr. have a lot in common, especially in their mugs -- at least that's what some on the right are saying ... on a momentous day, no less.

Indeed, this is a comparison that several conservatives on Twitter have actually been making over the last 24 hours -- which just so happens to fall on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington Saturday, when MLK delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech in D.C.

The reason so many of these right-wing figures are suggesting DT and MLK are one in the same here, apparently, has to do with how they look in the police booking photos.

Obviously, Trump comes across as angry and defiant -- and many are suggesting he's echoing the likes of other iconic American figures throughout history ... like Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin and, yes, even Dr. King. That's what FOX News's Will Cain said Friday, anyway.

He got pushback from FOX contributor Jessica Tarlov ... who said what Trump's going through in the criminal justice system right now isn't even close to what MLK put up with.

One would think it's an obvious apples-to-oranges case, but it sounds like A LOT of Trump supporters legitimately think he's a victim of political persecution ... and a target of Justice Department. That was true in Dr. King's case, no doubt, but the jury's kinda out on Trump.

Dr. King, of course, was arrested many, many times over the years (wrongly, and often without just cause) for trying to stand up for civil rights for Black Americans. His imprisonments were often carried out down in the South, especially in Alabama.

Like Trump, though, he was also arrested by Atlanta-area authorities during a protest sit-in in 1960. That's not much of a connection, but some are connecting those dots regardless.

Another weird thing that's happening with this Trump/MLK phenomenon ... a ton of AI art is being generated and circulated that shows the two of them cozying up and posing together.

Now, as you might imagine ... there's been a lot of outcry over the viral juxtaposition. The argument on the other side of this is ... Trump is not the martyr his base is trying to make him out to be, and he certainly shouldn't be mentioned in the same convo as MLK at all.

None of MLK's family members have responded to this side-by-side just yet ... which makes sense. A lot of them are down in Washington right now trying to honor his memory/legacy.

Steve Harvey asked fans which comedian they thought was the worst , and it sounds like word of that just made its way back to the man himself ... 'cause he's apologizing.

The veteran comic and jack-of-all-trades host hopped online with a personal video Friday -- showing that he's out in nature -- and he addresses a recent tweet posted by his personal account. A simple question was posed ... "A Comedian you don't find funny at all?"

Steve says he's got official social media people handling his accounts, and insists it wasn't him who posted it ... going on to lament the tweet as mean-spirited and downright negative.

It's unclear what sorts of names people responded with ... but the fact Steve felt he needed to clarify his/his team's intent suggests it got some traction on X.

A screenshot of the since-deleted tweet shows that it was viewed at least a million times, so folks definitely saw it.

Anyway, Steve says the explanation he got from his handlers was that they were just trying to get some engagement ... but he adds they're gonna be needing new employment now.

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Spain's soccer honcho Luis Rubiales was just temporarily barred from participating in football events around the globe ... this after he planted an unwanted kiss on a player after his country won the World Cup last weekend.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee issued a statement Saturday, saying Rubiales was provisionally suspended from "all football-related activities at national and international level." His initial suspension is for 90 days, pending the results of an investigation launched on August 24.

Rubiales' troubles stem from an incident that occurred last Sunday after Spain beat England 1-0 to snag the FIFA Women's World Cup.

During the ensuing medal ceremony, Rubiales approached one of Spain's players, Jenni Hermoso, and gave her an unsolicited kiss, which was caught on camera.

He was also photographed carrying another player over his shoulder and grabbing his own crotch.

FIFA says Rubiales -- president of the Royal Spanish Soccer Federation -- might have violated rules pertaining to "offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play."

As for Rubiales' response, he initially apologized for his actions, but, after that didn't work, he turned defiant, refusing to step down from his post despite calls for him to do so. In fact, the women's soccer team threatened to go on strike if FIFA failed to suspend him.

Trevian Kutti, a former publicist for Kanye West and R. Kelly, is charged as one of Donald Trump's co-conspirators in the Georgia election interference case, which is a surprise to Consequence ... who's vouching for her character.

Cons tell us Trevian worked with Ye alongside Chance The Rapper during crucial periods of his political ambitions circa 2018, but isn't certain if she actually performed publicist duties ... or if the media is pinning that label on her to leverage her association with Ye.

Trevian surrendered Friday at Fulton County Jail, and was all smiles in her mug shot ... which doesn't shock Cons, because he says she was always pleasant to be around.

He says he never got any inklings of malintent from Trevian, and suspects her political affiliation as a Black Republican might have put a target on her back.

Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis doesn't see it that way ... Trevian stands accused of pressuring Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman into a false admission of rigging the election -- and the alleged coercion was captured on police body cam.

As for Ye's potential political passions ... Cons admits it's too early to tell if he'll go full-scale with a presidential run in 2024, but promises their reputation as disruptors will be upheld!!!