Controversial S#!T

A friend of 'Bachelor' Matt James body-shamed one of his contestants -- Victoria Larson -- but she doesn't really seem to care all that much ... if anything, she's almost excusing it.

We got Victoria Friday night in Bev Hills and asked her about Matt's golfing buddy making a remark about her body in a surfaced clip that was apparently shot after his season wrapped. The guy's name is Jerry, and he seemed to be trying to distract Matt.

Shortly after the clip was posted, Victoria wrote ... "Cute... I love my body :)" and later posted a body shot of herself in a bikini, to silence the haters. Plus, she threw up a meme of men commenting on beautiful women's bodies ... almost as commentary.

As fired up as she seemed at the time, Victoria was NOT nearly as enthusiastic to shut down the body-shaming in our clip ... like we said, she almost chalked it up to "boys will be boys" or "locker-room talk." She didn't use those words exactly, but the sentiment was there.

Watch for yourself ... she tells us she actually doesn't think it was Jerry -- the dude who made the comment -- who shamed her, and she gets that in a competitive environment, sometimes you say things to throw your opponent off. Hmmm ... okay.

She went on to write off all the talk of it as "noise" ... and when we asked if she hoped Matt himself had learned his lesson, and if the franchise would try to get more inclusive ... Victoria was careful not to cast a stone, actually praising Matt and dodging the question.

It's interesting ... Matt was silent in the moment when his buddy made the body comment about Victoria, but was later quick to condemn it during an appearance on "The Real." He said he needed to surround himself with better friends, but he didn't seem all that bothered by it in real-time.

"Sex and the City" star Jason Lewis got into a heated argument with his neighbor after the actor was caught firing a weapon to scare some feral cats away, but the gun wasn't loaded with bullets.

Jason was clearly upset over cats that were abandoned after one of his neighbors died this past September. Another neighbor has been feeding the felines every day, but according to the neighbor, Jason was pissed off because the cats were pooping in his yard.

The neighbor apparently caught Jason shooting in the vicinity of the strays, and that triggered a heated argument.

Jason explained he was shooting grains of rice in the direction of the cats, not to hurt them but rather to show them he means business. That did not sit well with the neighbor.

Jason, who also appeared in "90210" and "Charmed," told the neighbor he didn't aim for the cats but rather shot in their general direction to scare them. The neighbor says it's undermining her efforts to get the cats to trust her so she can find them new homes.

Jason tells TMZ, "Everyone who knows me knows my love of animals. I've tried for months to work with a person who is coming into the neighborhood and feeding a large group of feral cats in an effort to relocate them as they have been filling the yards with fleas and waste."

Congresswoman Cori Bush may have moved her office away from Marjorie Taylor Greene, but she's anything but afraid of her ... rather Bush has given Greene an ultimatum.

Bush vented her anger toward her white supremacist colleague Friday night on Joy Reid's show ... incredulous that Greene is somehow equating mask-wearing to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Congresswoman describes the confrontation they had in one of the tunnels connected to the Capitol, when she implored Greene to put on a mask.

But, that was only the beginning. You hear the frustration in Bush's voice as she describes how all of the rules and conventions have been shattered now that members are verbally attacking their colleagues and their staff in the hallways. She's also livid some members are carrying guns onto the House floor.

As we reported, Greene has embraced calls for the assassination of Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton ... again, something that's hard to fathom.

The United Nations is calling out Indonesia following the public flogging of 2 men accused of having gay sex ... and demanding the release of everyone detained on the basis of their sexual orientation.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric tells TMZ ... "We are concerned by the detention, public humiliation and ill-treatment of men perceived to be gay in Indonesia."

Dujarric says there are troubling reports of violent attacks against LGBTQ+ people in the country, perpetuated by the media and some religious groups ... and the caning of the 2 men this week by Sharia police in the country's conservative Aceh province is just the latest example.

The UN says international law is clear -- "all people, without exception, are entitled to protection of their human rights – and that includes LGBT individuals."

Dujarric says the public punishment for the men "violates multiple human rights standards including those on liberty, fair trial, integrity, privacy, dignity, equality before the law, non-discrimination and the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment."

Therefore, the UN is calling for Indonesian authorities to "release all individuals detained on the basis of their sexual orientation, provide those subjected to abuses with effective remedy and review legislation that contravenes Indonesia’s legal obligations, including local criminal legislation in Aceh."

As we reported ... the 2 men who were publicly caned -- 77 times each -- were arrested in November after reportedly being turned in by locals for having sex. They also served 3 months in prison.

Robinhood conspired with the big Wall Street hedge funds to screw over the everyday folks who are suddenly striking it rich with investments like GameStop ... according to a new lawsuit.

The free-trading app just got hit with a class action lawsuit filed in federal court ... one day after Robinhood barred retail investors from continuing to buy stock in several companies in the battle between Reddit bros and hedge fund managers.

Melvin Capital and Citadel, 2 massive hedge funds, are also being sued ... as the suit claims they were shorting companies like GameStop and losing a lot of money as the stock prices went up. The allegation is the fund conspired with brokerages like Robinhood to block the purchase of certain stocks in order to stop their financial bleeding.

In the suit, filed by Larry Friedman and obtained by TMZ, a group of retail investors claims Robinhood's move to shut down buyers caused prices to plummet in favor of the big hedge fund investors ... while seriously hurting the finances of the little guys in the process.

The suit claims the problem isn't limited to Robinhood and the hedge funds -- Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade are also being sued.

The little guys are going after the Wall Street fat cats for at least $5 million in damages.

Chucky abducted his son and is on the run while wielding a huge kitchen knife ... is what some Texans were led to believe after a faulty Amber Alert was released.

The Texas Department of Safety accidentally sent out the alert Friday morning ... featuring the "Child's Play" horror series character and his "Seed of Chucky" son, Glen Ray.

The Amber Alert blared this out ...  the "Abducted Child" Glen -- all 2'3" of him -- was last seen Thursday morning in Henderson ... and the 28-year-old "Suspect" Chucky was wearing blue denim overalls and was carrying a knife.

Clearly ... it was just a horrific mistake.

The Texas DPS tells TMZ ... "This alert is a result of a test malfunction. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused and are diligently working to ensure this does not happen again."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is under fire again, and this time from other members of Congress ... Rep. Cori Bush claims a maskless Greene berated her in a Capitol hallway.

The newly-elected Congresswoman from Missouri sounds shaken by the alleged incident ... she says she's moving her office on Capitol Hill as far away from Greene's as possible.

Rep. Bush says Greene wasn't alone during the incident ... she had backup from her staff. She also points out Greene had already targeted her and others on social media.

As we've reported ... Greene, the freshman Congresswoman from Georgia, is getting heat for old Facebook activity suggesting she was cool with executing Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. MTG says it's just "fake news."

Rep. Bush doesn't want to just move her office away from Greene's ... she says she wants MTG booted from Congress for inciting the insurrection.

Cops say a fan in Cleveland heckled LeBron James so aggressively during the Cavs vs. Lakers game Monday night ... they were forced to boot him from the arena in an intense confrontation.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops claim 49-year-old Joseph Bilgen was holding up offensive shirts and screaming profanity at LeBron and others during the big game.

Of course, with LeBron returning to his home state and playing the Cavs ... emotions were high -- and according to the report, several Cleveland players and employees, including GM Koby Altman, reported the fan to security.

Cops say they were informed the guy had held up shirts with offensive writing on them ... including, "Lebron is a racist," "La B**w J*b," and "Lebron is a narcissist."

Officers say when they confronted Bilgen about the inappropriate shirts and actions ... he became so combative -- security told officers he would have to be removed from the arena.

Bilgen, though, did not go quietly according to the report ... an officer says the man told him to "go f*** yourself" repeatedly, and at one point, even put his hands on the cop.

The report states as Bilgen was leaving, he then held up a shirt that read, "Gloria Goes West. Starring LBJ as king narcissist."

In the report, officers say that when a female security guard took the shirt from him, Bilgen grabbed her arms and struck her in her left side.

Officers say they were eventually able to boot Bilgen from the arena after several more minutes of struggling near the exits. Bilgen, according to Cleveland.com, was NOT arrested.

No charges have been filed against Bilgen, either, per Cleveland.com.

Tito Ortiz was just elected to city council and appointed Mayor Pro Tem, but several top Huntington Beach politicians are already trying to fire his ass from the powerful spot ... accusing the UFC legend of lacking "honor and dignity."

46-year-old Ortiz -- a lifelong Huntington Beach resident -- was unanimously voted Mayor Pro Tem (after being elected by HB voters) ... which is basically Vice Mayor. If the Mayor wasn't available, Tito would assume control of the top position.

Now, the same politicians who voted Tito into the powerful position are hoping for another unanimous vote -- a unanimous vote to throw him out of the Pro Tem office.

HB Mayor Kim Karr and Council Members Mike Posey and Dan Kalmick have requested a vote of no confidence from the City Council ... which is essentially a move to kick him out of the position and find a replacement.

The reasoning ... Mayor Karr and Council Members Posey and Kalmick say Ortiz has been a DISASTER since day 1.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Ortiz has failed to perform at a level expected for this position and has demonstrated little commitment to serving in the role with honor and dignity."

The report continues ... "His unprofessional demeanor and poor judgement have raised concerns among residents, local business owners, and his fellow council members. The Huntington Beach community expects local elected officials to take their governing responsibilities seriously and we whole heartedly agree."

Karr, Posey and Kalmick have requested a vote take place on February 1.

They're asking for a vote of "no confidence" and the removal of Ortiz as Pro Tem Mayor. Tito would keep his job on the Council.

Ortiz -- a huge Trump supporter who once claimed COVID-19 wasn’t real -- has butted heads with many people in the city.

During his 1st planning meeting on November 5, Mayor Carr refused to let Tito into the building because he refused to wear a mask.

Ortiz also got into a screaming match with a citizen ... and recently called for the boycott of a well-known local restaurant because they wouldn’t serve him without a mask (T.O. later apologized).

GameStop's wild stock market ride is all the rage in the investment world, but to employees at the brick-and-mortar stores ... it's had little impact on their workday, unless they happen to work in Cleveland.

TMZ reached out to GameStop locations in 20 major U.S. cities to see if they've seen an increase in customers due to the frenzy caused by the WallStreetBets group on Reddit.

Sixteen stores -- including those in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Nashville, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle, San Fran and San Diego -- said it was status quo as far as customers.

One thing hedge fund managers, and even WallStreetBets founder Jaime Rogozinski, agree on is GameStop's future isn't bright. Hell, 3 stores -- in Miami, Philly and NYC -- told us biz has been slower than usual. Miami had a whopping 8 customers Thursday.

However, Cleveland is the exception, where they say sales are up 100% compared to last week. We're told several customers at that branch credited the stock surge story for inspiring them to visit and support GameStop ... so it doesn't go under.

On the flip side ... the manager of a Minneapolis location tells us he got an angry call from someone upset they couldn't trade GameStop shares on Robinhood.

As we've reported ... the stock-buying frenzy of GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry and a handful of other companies resulted in Robinhood shutting down trading for them, which pissed off retail investors who believe the move only benefits hedge funds.

Ja Rule is going nuclear on Robinhood for shutting down retail investors in the GameStop stock craze ... and he thinks the free-trading app revealed its true colors.

The rapper, and apparent day trader, tells TMZ ... Robinhood made a big mistake when it blocked customers from buying more stock in companies like GameStop, AMC and BlackBerry -- and as a result, he's having second thoughts about sticking with the service.

The way Ja sees it ... Robinhood rigged the system against everyday folks who were taking on Wall Street's establishment and winning, so it's time for retail investors to take their trades elsewhere.

While Ja's steaming about the Robinhood setback, he might want to take some stock advice from Jordan Belfort, who's suggesting a different way for normies to win in the market.

As we reported ... Robinhood says it will allow trading Friday for GameStop and all the other securities it blocked Thursday, but only for "limited buys" as it continues to monitor the situation.

But, listening to Ja go off, it sounds like Robinhood won't be able to mend fences that easily.

Miya Ponsetto, infamously known as "SoHo Karen," is off the hook for one of her arrests last year -- the one at the Peninsula Hotel in Bev Hills ... before she made national headlines.

The 22-year-old caught a break during her hearing Thursday in L.A. County Court, when her case was dismissed. Prosecutors decided to drop the charge against her after Miya's attorney argued it was an isolated incident and claimed she had no criminal history in California at the time of that arrest.

Miya's lawyer also told the judge her client would not go back to the hotel. Now, Miya's mother, Nicole, was also in court for her arrest in the same incident ... but she didn't get off as easy.

Nicole pled no contest to battery on a police officer, and was given 100 hours of community service and entered into a 12-month diversion program. If she puts in her hours and stays out of trouble for a year, her case will also be dismissed.

Remember, long before Miya's SoHo hotel incident ... she and her mom were arrested last February at the Peninsula. They were allegedly drunk and belligerent, refusing to leave when asked by hotel staff. Cops say they both threw tantrums when officers responded.

Earlier, we erroneously reported the judge had given Miya the same 100 hours community service that her mom got.

Of course, Miya's had several other legal issues since then ... in California and New York.

Most recently, the Manhattan D.A. slapped her with a string of charges -- and extradited her -- for the December incident at the Arlo Hotel in SoHo. She tried to snatch a phone from a Black teen she falsely accused of stealing hers.

Before that, she was busted for DUI this past October in Ventura County -- which came 5 months after another DUI in Los Angeles. And you thought you had a bad 2020.

A school resource officer used a Taser on a female student who cops say was involved in a fight with another student, and severely resisted when the officer got involved.

According to the police report ... the cop approached the girl as she was going after a male student in the cafeteria of Eustis High School in Central Florida. The cop says he tried to stop her, but she attacked him by punching him several times in the head.

The deputy claims he tried to talk her down, but it didn't work and she allegedly punched him in the face. Videos shared on TikTok show the violent struggle the cop had with the student as he tried to restrain her.

The deputy says he warned her he was going to Tase her if she didn't stop resisting. When she ignored that, he fired the Taser and she went down hard.

The girl was transported to the Lake County Jail without further incident, and later released to her guardian on home detention.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office tells us ... the deputy documented at least 18 strikes he took from the student before he fired his Taser. We're told the use of force was reviewed, and the officer was found to have acted lawfully and within agency policy.

This is the second disturbing video to come out of Florida this week in which a school resource officer's seen using force on a Black female student.

As we reported ... the Osceola County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that their deputy who body-slammed a female high school student is on administrative paid leave pending an investigation.

The students of Liberty High -- where a teen was body-slammed by a resource officer -- say the cop has no business being on campus anymore, because he's a menace.

Students at the Florida school tell us ... the sentiment among classmates is pretty much universal ... Officer Ethan Fournier must be fired -- or at the very least, permanently removed from duty at Liberty.

We're told lots of the kids no longer trust campus cops and they feel their safety is in jeopardy. We're hearing some students and their families are considering transferring out because of the incident ... that's how rattled everyone is.

Take senior Trey'vion Telfair ... who tells TMZ he used to think Officer Fournier was a good guy. He says Fournier participated in police brutality seminars for Liberty's Black Student Union back in September, and seemed genuine ... saying he stood with them.

Telfair now thinks it was all an act. Ditto for junior Daijah Watts, who says she remembers Fournier as a relatively chill dude ... but does recall one time when he allegedly went too far.

Watts claims she saw Fournier use pepper spray on a group of kids who were fighting 2 years ago. She now thinks the whole department is suspicious. Speaking of Liberty brass, we're told the school's offered up mental health resources for their kids and teachers alike ... making school psychologists, counselors and social workers available to anyone who needs to talk.

Rita Ora went to expensive extremes to hold her 30th birthday soiree during lockdown in London -- paying almost $7,000 to make it happen ... TMZ has confirmed.

The British singer was already in hot water for the November event she held at Casa Cruz because it violated London's lockdown, but this new detail's coming out because of an upcoming court hearing.

According to law enforcement ... one of Rita's reps offered a manager at Casa Cruz $6,829 for the joint to host the party. The manager told police he wanted to "facilitate" the occasion because he was "greedy" after his staff had been furloughed.

The manager also told police only 7 guests were supposed to show up ... according to The Sun, which first reported the story.

Of course, we already know almost 20 showed up for the bash ... which became a PR nightmare for Rita. As we reported, she eventually apologized for breaking the country's COVID restrictions, admitting it was a "serious and inexcusable error of judgement."

A local government official tells us there's a hearing scheduled to decide whether the restaurant's license will be revoked or if other measures will be taken against Casa Cruz following the incident. They are NOT investigating Rita's payoff.

Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly under police investigation in Italy for allegedly violating the country's strict COVID rules to take his girlfriend on a fancy ski trip.

Multiple news outlets in Italy say Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez traveled from Turin to Courmayeur earlier this week, which is not allowed at the moment.

Courmayeur is located in Aosta Valley, which is reportedly off-limits to visitors currently because the region is located in a medium-to-high risk orange zone, according to Sky Sports.

Italy has been hit extremely hard by COVID -- with more than 2.5 million cases and 86,000 deaths. More than 500 people died from COVID on Tuesday alone. And, daily cases are reportedly on the rise.

The Juventus superstar reportedly set up a 2-day birthday ski getaway for Georgina, who turned 27 on Jan 27. Video has circulated on social media showing Ronaldo and Georgina on a snowmobile.

Neither Ronaldo nor his girlfriend have been formally accused of any wrongdoing -- but police in the city of Aosta are reportedly looking into the trip to see if they broke the law.