Controversial S#!T

A Black restaurant owner went off on a section of mostly Black women after one of them got up at their booth and twerked ... and now he's getting dragged AND applauded, while also defending his actions.

The incident went down at a joint called TRUE Kitchen + Kocktails -- it opened just 5 months ago -- when the owner, Kevin Kelley, says multiple women got up and danced on their chairs up against a glass wall.

Kevin just wasn't having it and decided to loudly let everyone in the restaurant know about his ground rules, which several people recorded. You see him walk over to one of the twerkers and shut her down.

Another video shows him lecturing women in that section of the restaurant ... which many did not dig. He said he doesn't wanna see that type of behavior in his establishment, and that if they don't like it ... get out.

Now, we talked to Kevin on "TMZ Live" Monday, and pressed him on what exactly he had a problem with -- twerking, in general ... or the fact that it was happening in his building? He insisted it was the latter, noting there was a time and place for that type of dancing.

However, watch what he says about "classy and nice Black women" at his restaurant because it's at the heart of the backlash -- the insinuation being twerking doesn't fit that description ... for him.

You can watch and judge for yourself, but long story short -- his tone didn't sit right with a lot of people who feel TRUE bumping music, serving booze and promoting itself like clubs do make it ripe for dancing.

A female Spanish soccer player says she's getting death threats for protesting a tribute to Diego Maradona ... who she considered to be a pretty horrible person.

24-year-old Paula Dapena -- a midfielder for Viajes Interrías FF -- sat on the pitch with her back turned during a planned moment of silence for Maradona before Saturday's match. The rest of her team stood up.

Dapena told local media she felt it was "hypocritical" to honor Maradona ... just days after her league did not hold a moment of silence for domestic violence victims on Wednesday's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

FYI -- Maradona had been accused of domestic violence back in 2014, but he had adamantly denied ever striking a woman in his life.

"It [Maradona's death] totally overshadowed that day," Dapena said. "We went from putting the spotlight on the death of women due to this cause to talking only about Maradona and what an idol he was for everyone."

Dapena added, "For me, from a football standpoint, Maradona had spectacular skills and qualities. But as a person, he left a lot to be desired."

Maradona's personal issues are pretty well known -- drugs, booze, alleged mafia ties and much, much more.

Dapena now says the protest has led to terrifying ramifications ... claiming both she and her team are receiving death threats.

"It's not just me that has been harassed on social media but also my teammates," Dapena told AS. "We have also received death threats and messages such as 'I'm going to find your home address and go there and break your legs.'"

Dapena also called all of the responses "horrible" ... but added, "Keeping a minute of silence and paying homage to him is against me. I could not do it."

As we previously reported, Maradona -- widely viewed as one of the greatest soccer players ever -- died on Nov. 25 after he reportedly suffered a heart attack.

Floyd Mayweather is calling on everyone to stop clowning Nate Robinson for getting knocked out this weekend ... saying, "I will never kick my brother when he’s down."

36-year-old Robinson became a meme on social media in the moments after he was KO'd in his debut boxing match against 23-year-old Jake Paul. Some of the images were straight-up mean.

Enter Floyd ... who's calling on everyone -- and specifically the Black community -- to back off the ex-NBA star.

"Nate, I’m proud of you and I will always stand behind all my brothers," Mayweather posted on social media.

"I will never kick my brother when he’s down."

Mayweather continued ... "It’s ok for people to voice their opinions on social media, but no black athletes or black entertainers, especially black NBA players should make a mockery out of you."

"We are supposed to all stand with each other through the good, bad and ugly. I’m here to uplift you and let you know we all love you and congratulate you for just making an effort."

Floyd added a "sidenote" at the end of his post -- addressing issues he's had in the past with other Black people.

"The times I’ve had issues with another brother is when they came at me first. I was just defending myself."

As for Nate, he posted on social media after the fight saying he's okay -- and thanked everyone who reached out.

A road rage incident that involved two vehicles decked out in MAGA gear and a third civilian car sent the latter toppling over after it lost control and crashed ... and the video is insane.

TMZ has obtained footage of the scary wreck that went down late Saturday afternoon in Hermosa Beach, CA -- which is thought of to be a pretty liberal part of town. Welp, for some reason ... there were two drivers who wanted to put on a mini caravan down the narrow beachside streets ... with Trump flags waving high and proud.

Eyewitnesses tell us while they were stopped at an intersection -- with both cars taking up the two lanes on the one-way road -- a third car (possibly a Mustang) pulled up behind them and that driver started jawboning at the MAGA convertible.

You even see the guy get out of his car for a bit and cuss out the MAGA convertible driver. He eventually got back in his car ... and drivers of the three cars gunned it, almost like they were racing each other.

The convertible went up ahead, and it was just the Mustang and the MAGA Jeep next to each other for a second -- all of a sudden, you see the Mustang lose control and clip a long row of parked cars on its left-hand side ... and then completely flip over. It's terrifying -- and you can tell in how bystanders reacted.

Cops responded quickly -- but even before that, eyewitnesses claim people standing by and watching jumped into action ... because there was supposedly a baby onboard. We're told one of the MAGA vehicles -- the convertible -- appeared to have fled the scene, while the Jeep stayed behind ... because it too was damaged.

Selena Gomez was the butt of a couple of jokes on the 'Saved By The Bell' reboot that many consider in bad taste -- and which even more are raging over.

Mega fans of the pop star found two references to Selena's 2017 kidney transplant in the new Peacock series that just dropped in full this past Wednesday ... and then made "RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ" trend online Saturday as a result of their fury.

The first scene features one of the new characters roaming the hallways of the high school and passing 2 classmates discussing Selena's kidney transplant in an incredibly cavalier manner ... with one girl insisting Justin Bieber's mom was the real donor, while the other girl refutes that by saying it was actually Demi Lovato.

A Selena fan account responded by saying, "Saved by the Bell, that's disgusting. Selena almost lost her life, jokes about her kidney transplant is NOT FUNNY. Respect Selena Gomez." The second Selena dig is more subtle.

There's another scene where a football player is talking to a girl, and right behind him ... there's graffiti or paint on the wall that reads in big bold lettering, "DOES SELENA GOMEZ EVEN HAVE KIDNEYS?" The eagle-eyed fan who spotted this one noted the joke wasn't funny -- and went so far as to call it disgusting.

Here's what we'll say ... the Selena cracks are weird, and definitely cringe-worthy. Also, they're super dated. Selena had her procedure done three full years ago ... so bringing it up as a running gag in 2020 is tired, especially when everyone knows her friend, Francia Raisa, was the true donor ... which was well-documented.

More importantly, her fans are right here ... Selena's kidney transplant was, in fact, a matter of life or death -- and something that probably shouldn't be joked about, especially on a new streaming service from a major network.

Peacock hasn't addressed the backlash just yet, and neither has Selena. Stay tuned ...

Kevin Hart's personal appearance in a mass public convo about his new Netflix special has received all types of interpretations -- but one that Kevin himself says isn't true is that the chat was in any way about Black women or belittling them.

The comedian hopped on Instagram to address the scrutiny and backlash he's received for joining a live Clubhouse chat room earlier this week titled "Is Kevin Hart funny??" and engaging with dozens of real people on the subject.

The reason the group was started in the first place is because of Kevin's new comedy special, "Zero F***s Given," in which at one point he jokes about his 15-year-old daughter, saying he's already seeing "hoe activity" from her.

Of course, Kevin referring to his daughter as a hoe -- even jokingly -- raised eyebrows, and folks on Clubhouse decided to have an honest dialogue about whether he was promoting, wittingly or unwittingly, the degradation of Black women by evoking a trope about none other than his own kid, who's still a minor.

Welp, Kevin caught wind of the Clubhouse chat room and joined himself -- and part of that conversation was captured by a third party and posted online. It looks like this thing went at least 15 minutes, if not more, and there's a lot of voices in the room ... sometimes all talking at once or over one another at various points.

There were lots of topics covered, but one that kept getting revisited -- and which was later dissected on Twitter as well -- was the idea that Kevin's male fans have a tendency to shut down, write off and silence Black women who criticize Kevin whatsoever ... which they felt was part of a toxic culture he perpetuates.

Fast-forward to Kevin's response ... and it's pretty clear he saw it as a constructive conversation with actual people who had different viewpoints on him and his comedy. He insists the narrative that the whole Clubhouse chat was aimed at Black women or meant to pit him against Black women is completely false.

You can listen to the conversation for yourself and decide what's what, but it seems like Kevin liked talking it out with people ... but just didn't enjoy the analysis that followed -- much of which was critical of him and his supporters.

A man who was videotaping cops who stopped a black driver was ordered to stop taping, and it ended with the guy getting assaulted.

Joe Bennett was driving home in Jeffersontown, Kentucky when he saw a number of police cars swarm a car. Bennett decided to live stream the stop on Facebook ... as he said, he was doing his "due diligence as a citizen."

Joe is at least 50 feet away, and maybe further, saying "I just wanted to observe, so I tried to give them distance."

He actually says the video is "the most boring live video ever," when at the 3-minute mark a cop walks ominously toward Bennett and orders him to stop filming, coming up with an excuse that it's a crime scene investigation -- as if that's a justification.

Bennett refuses to stop, so the cop asks for his ID. Now, technically, if a cop asks for ID -- even if the request violates the law -- you're supposed to comply, but Bennett says he did nothing wrong so he refuses. That's when the cop attacks, grabbing for Bennett's phone and slugging him.

A police official told Spectrum 1, "Officers were in the area investigating and making arrests related to a check fraud scheme thwarted at the Citizens Union Bank across the street from the McDonalds." What's unclear ... cops reportedly say a suspect claimed Bennett was the driver in the check fraud scheme. You do hear the cop say, "you are involved," but Joe tells us he was never told he was being accused of a check fraud scheme.  "You're involved" could mean he's involved because he's videotaped the stop.

Joe tells TMZ the citation says, "Officers were investigating a case where fraudulent checks were being cashed at a local bank. Officers were informed that there was a gray Jeep involved. Officers were told that the gray Jeep was picking up offenders after they attempted to cash the fraudulent check. This officer was informed that the above subject [Joe Bennett] at which time was standing on the side of his vehicle was the driver of the gray Jeep. Officer approached the subject and asked him for identification. Subject refused. Officer told the subject he was named in the investigation and the subject still refused to identify himself. Officer attempted to put handcuffs on the subject before things escalated. Subject tensed up and started to pull away. Officer delivered one empty strike to the subject and took the subject to the ground."

Bennett says he was cited for resisting arrest and menacing. Bennett tells TMZ officers cleared him at the scene in the check fraud scheme.

We reached out to the police department ... so far, no word back.

Alexa -- Amazon's popular virtual helper -- is spewing out hateful anti-Semitic conspiracies and even lies about the Holocaust ... according to the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism.

The APPG political group claims the Alexa voice service is offering messages from anti-Semitic websites to people asking about Jewish people and the Holocaust ... without clarifying that the information comes from "selective quotes and misleading sources."

Examples include Alexa allegedly responding to the question, "Do Jews control the media?" with ... "Jew Watch claims that Jews control the world's financial systems and media," while only pointing out that this is from an article it found on Wikipedia.

Likewise, when asked if the Holocaust was a hoax ... the UK officials claim Alexa replied that deniers claim "the Holocaust is a hoax -- or an exaggeration -- arising from a deliberate Jewish conspiracy designed to advance the interest of Jews at the  expense of other people."

The APPG notes that Alexa pulled this selective line from an article, without warning that the full article describes Holocaust denial as propagating several lies about the Holocaust.

Finally, Alexa allegedly responded to a question about whether Israel's guilty of war crimes with "something I found on the web" that says ... "ethnic cleansing on a massive scale and serial human rights abuse, including war crimes, yes -- Israel is guilty of these atrocities."

Officials at the APPG sent a letter to an Amazon exec in the UK asking for an explanation and what will be done to rectify this situation. The group also claims it will be contacting the police about possible "racial incitement legislation."

Donald Trump seemed to concede something that has Bill Maher and many others worried sick ... that he won't leave The White House on January 20.

Trump now says he will indeed leave 1600 Pennsylvania if the Electoral College declares Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election. There were certainly signs he would not vacate, especially since he has refused to concede the election.

He's still claiming massive voter fraud -- without evidence -- so that's why his declaration is significant. He even compares the U.S. to a third world country.

Pope Francis just compared abortion to hiring a hitman ... because he says both acts are designed to get rid of a problem.

The Pope made his comment to Argentinian women who oppose a new, proposed law that would decriminalize abortion. The Argentinian President vowed to sign a law that would make abortion "legal, safe and free" for all citizens.

The Pontiff said abortion was just like "hiring a killer to solve a problem."

Pope Francis, who is from Argentina, told opponents of the bill, "The country is proud to have women like you."

Francis did say as far as he's concerned, women who have had abortions can seek forgiveness and their priests will "absolve them."

Florida is experiencing enormous increases in COVID illnesses and deaths, but the State is still allowing big events, so the City Girls performance in Orlando on Thanksgiving Day was perfectly legal ... and perfectly dangerous.

The Girls packed Gilt Nightclub, and that's fully in line with the State's COVID plan. According to the regulations, bars, pubs and nightclubs that derive more than 50 percent of sales from booze are allowed to operate at full capacity. There are social distancing regs, but it seems inconsistent with the notion of packin' 'em in.

Florida, like the rest of the country, is out of control. New cases have increased by 47%, hospitalizations are up by 17% and deaths have increased by 21%.

You'd think Kamala Harris would have widespread support among African-Americans if she runs for President in 2024 -- but that's no guarantee ... so says Tamika Mallory.

We spoke to the world-famous activist -- whose speech about George Floyd stirred the nation just a few months back -- and she was clear ... Vice President-elect Harris doesn't get the Black vote just because of the color of her skin.

Tamika says Kamala will have to earn the Black vote by living up to the promises she and Joe Biden have been making to African-Americans ahead of this year's election --  an election she says was do or die to get Trump out of The White House.

Bottom line for TM ... 2024 will be a normal primary cycle, and she says Black America will have a better chance to vet a candidate that best serves its interests ... regardless of identity politics. If that's Kamala, great -- but don't bank on it.

We've heard this logic before -- Ice Cube was saying something similar not too long ago regarding his "Contract with Black America." Sounds like Tamika has a hard-line she won't cross when it comes to DT, but the sentiment is similar.

A homeless woman was forcibly removed from her home on Thanksgiving Eve by the California Highway Patrol, and it has enraged folks who say the move is especially heartless during Thanksgiving 2020.

The woman appears to be hog-tied as she's carried out of an abandoned home, as a number of protesters expressed great displeasure.

The officers were there to remove a number of people who broke into some homes that had been boarded up. 170 homes were supposed to be demolished as part of a plan to expand a local freeway. That plan was abandoned after neighbors rose up and complained.

A group called Reclaim and Rebuild Our Community appealed to California Governor Gavin Newsom, saying the families who were squatting in the homes had mostly been living in their cars and are now "sheltering in place" in the abandoned homes.

The group's message ... "We feel that amid the global pandemic it is irresponsible and inhumane for our state to be hoarding over 170 homes."

It seems the government is unmoved, an official said their plan was to "remove trespassers so that properties can be re-secured and boarded up."

Faizon Love claims he was scrubbed from a movie poster just because he's Black ... and now he's suing Universal over it.

The actor filed the lawsuit Wednesday, accusing the studio of racial discrimination for removing him from an overseas version of the "Couples Retreat" poster ... while leaving the rest of his white costars in it.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Faizon claims his name and image were erased from the poster when the movie was released outside of the U.S. He says Universal had no issues featuring Black actors in the film, but claims the studio decided to segregate white and Black talent when it came time to market to an international audience.

Faizon says he let the snub slide at first ... claiming the film's producer, Scott Stuber, promised him the overseas poster would be taken out of circulation and Universal Pictures chairman at that time, Adam Fogelson, promised he'd throw a few roles Faizon's way.

However, in the lawsuit, Faizon claims the poster without him is still being used and he never got those acting gigs he says he was promised

We reached out to Universal, which declined to comment.

President Trump just absolved his former national security adviser and convicted perjurer Gen. Michael Flynn ... which might be the start of a last-minute blitz of forgiveness.

After rumors swirled this week he'd do this, the Prez announced the pardon Wednesday, tweeting ... "It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!"

It could be the first of several lame-duck pardons to come out of the Oval during Trump's remaining time in office. As we first reported ... Joe Exotic's people say they've gotten word he could be next.

As for Flynn ... the writing's been on the wall. -- the Prez has time and again said Flynn got a raw deal and was rung up on charges over technicalities rather than anything actually wrong or harmful to the nation. Trump even had Attorney General William Barr go to bat for Flynn in court -- with the DOJ filing to dismiss the charges.

Gen. Flynn signed a plea bargain during Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian collusion by the Trump campaign -- admitting he lied to FBI investigators about conversations he'd had with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during Trump's transition to power. He allegedly told him to tell Putin to chill over Obama's lame-duck sanctions against Russia.

Flynn also lied to Vice President Mike Pence about those convos -- and Pence parroted those to the media. As a result, Trump canned him, but openly denounced the move.

There are a few other Trump campaign people POTUS could bail out if he wants -- Paul Manafort comes to mind.

Country music star Morgan Wallen will be grateful for second chances this Thanksgiving -- he'll be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live," 2 months after the show axed him.

'SNL' announced it Wednesday, saying Morgan will perform on the December 5 show ... with Jason Bateman hosting. Moments after the news ... Morgan was keeping things pretty humble, and simply tweeted, "Let's try this again."

Remember ... Morgan was scheduled to be the musical guest back in October, but got booted from the gig after he was seen at a bar in Tuscaloosa, Alabama taking shots, kissing women and generally partying without a face mask or social distancing.

Morgan ultimately apologized for his irresponsible behavior and admitted his actions were "short-sighted." He had also said 'SNL' honcho Lorne Michaels was kind and encouraging and told him they could possibly have him on in the future. The future is next weekend.

The good news for Morgan comes a little over 2 weeks after he openly complained about not being able to do live shows, and called Joe Biden supporters hypocritical for packing streets to celebrate his victory amid the pandemic. He clearly felt there was a double standard.