Controversial S#!T

Here's more evidence there's something flying around our skies with out of this world technology ... and at this point, it's hard not to be a UFO believer.

Ya gotta see this leaked footage taken aboard the USS Omaha in July 2019 when the warship was sailing off the coast of San Diego ... you see the UFO zipping along, parallel to the water's surface, before disappearing down into the depths.

The UFO appears spherical in the grainy, black and white video ... and you hear voices, presumably U.S. Navy sailors, exclaiming when the object gets close to the ship and when it splashes down.

The Navy sent a submarine to hunt for the UFO and didn't find a trace, lending credence to a theory the object is a trans-medium vehicle ... meaning it's capable of traveling through both water and air. Pretty cool stuff.

As we reported ... the Pentagon confirmed last month another leaked video, taken by a Navy Pilot, showing a triangle-shaped object gliding through the sky is the real deal ... and the U.S. Government is calling it an unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

Amazon's desperately trying to get to the bottom of how a bunch of nooses mysteriously appeared at one of its warehouses under construction in Connecticut.

The e-commerce giant kicked in another $25k to double the $25k initially put up by developer RC Anderson LLC ... for any information about the menacing discovery on the construction site. It's now been weeks since police were first called to the Windsor, Conn. location to investigate a noose left at what will eventually be an Amazon fulfillment center.

Cops say a supervisor at the construction site spotted the "hangman's noose" dangling from a steel beam on the second floor back on April 27. Employees were informed about the incident and the company immediately held an anti-discrimination training class.

Just a couple of days later police were called back to the site when 5 more ropes "that could be interpreted as nooses" were found scattered across the facility.

Cops took the ropes and they're currently at a crime lab. The FBI is also reportedly aware of the incident but it hasn't joined the investigation yet. So far, there are no suspects and cops can't determine whether anyone at the site was specifically targeted.

Whoopi Goldberg was blindsided when we told her Ellen DeGeneres is ending her talk show ... it was news to her.

We got Whoopi at a COVID vaccination site Friday in East Orange, NJ and when our camera guy asked her reaction to Ellen's announcement, Whoopi literally took a few steps back she was so shocked.

Well, there's lots going on in this world ... COVID, re-opening, culture wars, etc., etc., etc., so so you can't keep up on everything. As for whether Whoopi might actually replace Ellen, she explains why that's never gonna happen!

Whoopi may not have been up to date on Ellen, but she definitely is on COVID.

Kyle Richards is telling a different story about Lisa Vanderpump's restaurant tab -- claiming her nemesis didn't pull a haha prank, she straight up dined and dashed like a broke college kid.

We got Kyle and her hubby, Mauricio Umansky, leaving Craig's in WeHo Thursday night and she was asked about the story TMZ broke ... that Lisa had a waiter deliver her check to Kyle's table earlier this week at a ritzy L.A. joint.

Now, as Kyle tells it, not only did she and the 'RHOBH' executive producer she was having dinner with NOT pickup LV's meal ... Kyle claims Lisa didn't pay for it either.

Now, watch the clip ... Kyle stopped just short of calling Lisa a cheapskate, and insists she's being nothing but nice about the situation. We suspect Lisa might have something to say about that. In any event, there are now 2 sides to this story.

As we first reported ... Lisa and her husband, Ken Todd, were out for dinner earlier this week and happened to hit up the same spot where Kyle and the 'RHOBH' EP were eating.

LV instructed the server to send her $132 bill to Kyle's table because she said she had a playful relationship with the producer, but they didn't bite ... and refused to cover the expense.

Lisa told us she left a cash tip for the server, and an imprint of her credit card in case the tab wasn't picked up. Obviously, that's not what Kyle heard. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Mel B appears beaten, broken and trapped in a disturbing new video made to raise domestic violence awareness, and it has some people drawing connections to the singer's past.

The Spice Girls singer co-stars in the short film, "Love Should Not Hurt" by classical composer Fabio D’Andrea. Mel plays the role of a woman seemingly living a wonderful life in a mansion out in the country -- but behind closed doors, she's being battered and held captive by her partner ... played by Sam Mackay.

At the end of the short film, Mel's character -- shown with a bruised and bleeding face -- attempts to flee ... as alarming statistics about women being subjected to physical or sexual violence are displayed.

Though it's not explicitly suggested, Mel B's appearance in this video -- a collaboration with the UK org., Women’s Aid -- elicits an alleged violent chapter of her life with ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte.

Mel, who split from Belafonte in 2017, claimed he abused her throughout their 10-year marriage and previously described it as a "reign of terror."

California's thankfully seeing a major dip in COVID cases and deaths, but roller coaster thrill-seekers are still required to follow serious safety guidelines ... rules some health care workers say are ridiculous.

Not only do Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Legoland all require riders to keep their masks on through the duration of the ride, they're also leaving entire rows empty and splitting up party sizes to ensure social distancing ... guidelines put in place by the state.

Dr. Ashish Jha -- the Dean of Brown University's School of Public Health -- appeared on "TMZ Live" Thursday and scoffed at the requirement to have empty cars on roller coaster rides. He says it simply makes no sense.

Dr. Jha also has a couple pointers for those with children who are concerned about their well-being since they're still unvaccinated ... and hopefully, it provides some peace of mind.

Of course, when it comes to roaming the park, there's an argument to be made that safety precautions are necessary because of unvaccinated people, but Dr. Jha says a roller coaster is a whole different animal. BTW, the CDC just came out with new guidelines ... people who have been vaccinated don't have to wear masks indoors or outdoors.

Carole Baskin's stepping up to try to rescue the tiger that got loose in a Houston neighborhood last weekend ... and punish the people allegedly involved in the transfer of the exotic animal, said to be a male named India.

The 'Tiger King' star's Big Cat Rescue in Tampa is offering a $5,000 reward "to the person responsible for the immediate, safe hand over of India the Tiger to a sanctuary that is accredited by the Global Federation of Sanctuaries."

Carole tells TMZ she's very worried about the tiger's well-being considering "the owners of the tiger have shown a serious lack of responsibility so far."

Baskin stipulates that in order to get the cash reward, whoever has India and turns him in must work with law enforcement, and those efforts must be "sufficient to convict both buyer and seller involved in the transfers of the tiger."

She adds that India would not be coming to her Big Cat Rescue, but another accredited big cat sanctuary that would provide lifetime care.

As we reported ... police arrested a man named Victor Hugo Cuevas for evading police after they say he's the guy who was seen on video wrangling the tiger Sunday -- after it was nearly shot -- and later hauling it away in a white SUV.

However, Cuevas' lawyer denies his client is the tiger's owner and claims they don't know where India is ... and says Houston PD's made some false assumptions about the situation.

Victor's lawyer also stated they believe the true owner of the tiger is a man in his mid-30s, identified only as "Deandre" or "D."

Janet Jackson's brothers are thanking Justin Timberlake for stepping up and taking responsibility for his role in the infamous Super Bowl Halftime wardrobe malfunction, and hanging their sister out to dry.

Tito, Marlon and Jackie Jackson appeared on Andy Cohen's SiriusXM radio show Wednesday and opened up for the first time about JT's apology, saying they appreciated him finally saying something ... albeit, 17 years after the fact.

Marlon said, "First of all, I just want to thank Justin Timberlake. It takes a man to step up and do that, so we do thank him." That being said ... Marlon added they'd like to move on from the negativity that surrounded the Super Bowl XXXVIII incident.

In case you were in diapers back in 2004 ... Justin and Janet were embroiled in controversy when a "wardrobe malfunction" exposed Janet's breast to MILLIONS of viewers tuning in to the highly-anticipated Halftime Show.

It seemed everyone BUT Justin suffered for an incident dubbed "Nipplegate" -- Janet's career took a big hit, and the FCC slapped CBS with a $550k indecency fine.

Two years later, during an interview with Oprah, Janet said she felt Justin left her hanging with all of the emphasis put on her "as opposed to us."

Ellen DeGeneres denies speculation she's stepping away from her show after 19 seasons because of allegations of a toxic workplace ... and she even suggests there was a coordinated effort to take her down.

Ellen sat down with "Today" host Savannah Guthrie to address last year's claims of a toxic culture at her talk show -- which led to the firings of 3 producers -- saying she was devastated by it and still doesn't understand it.

She tells Savannah it's not the reason she's calling it quits after this season though, and says she's a kind person who enjoys making people happy ... and insists she truly didn't know anything about a harmful work environment until she heard it from the media.

In fact, Ellen goes as far as to imply the allegations against her were "too orchestrated" and "too coordinated" ... and doesn't really buy into the notion she should have known there was something wrong among her employees.

She does say she wishes someone would have clued her in though ... so she could have put a stop to it sooner.

As we reported ... Ellen delivered an emotional monologue to her audience Wednesday, saying instincts told her it's time to go, and she always knew in her heart the upcoming 19th season would be her last.

Caleb Kennedy -- who was one of the final 5 contestants on this season of "American Idol" -- is no longer in the running to win after a video surfaced showing him sitting next to someone wearing a Klan-like hood.

The country singer just announced his departure from 'Idol' saying ... "Hey y'all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise." He adds ... "There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way."

Caleb claims the video is from when he was younger and he "did not think about the actions" ... but says that's no excuse. He's apologized to his fans and people he disappointed and says he's going to take time to better himself.

The singer closes by saying ... "I'm so sorry! I pray that I can one day regain your trust in who I am and have your respect."

Caleb recently wowed 'Idol' fans and the judges with his country-rock rendition of Coldplay's "Violet Hill" ... but that will be his last performance.

Rep. Liz Cheney has committed the cardinal GOP sin by deviating from the Donald Trump litmus test and it's a sad day for the Grand Old Party ... so says Rep. Adam Kinzinger.

We got the Republican Congressman from Illinois on Capitol Hill Wednesday, in the wake of Cheney's ouster from her GOP leadership post, and he couldn't be clearer ... telling the truth about the election will crush you.

Rep. Kinzinger mused what a weird time it is when leaders get pushed out for being honest, telling us Cheney's ouster says a lot about former President Trump's grip over his party.

As you know ... Cheney was fired from House Leadership because she dared to challenge Trump over false claims of a stolen presidential election.

Rep. Kinzinger says Cheney still has a lot of support in the party, but those in her corner are staying quiet for fear of suffering the same fate as her.

Adam's laying the blame at the feet of GOP leadership and not Republican voters. In fact, if the 2024 choice is Trump vs. Cheney, he's already made his decision, and it's not Trump.

A U.S. Senator is accusing LeBron James of promoting extreme violence in America -- the NBA superstar's controversial "You're Next" post was a hot button issue Wednesday in a Senate hearing.

Sen. John Kennedy called out LeBron during the hearing on domestic violence extremism, referencing his infamous tweet about the cop who shot and killed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio.

As you know ... LeBron published and then deleted the tweet last month, but not before explaining that he meant the officer should be prosecuted like Derek Chauvin. His explanation fell on many deaf ears, as he's catching heat from politicians, like Sen. Tom Cotton, former President Trump ... and now Kennedy.

The Senator from Louisiana asked the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, if LeBron's post "contributes to domestic violence in America." Mayorkas balked at the wording of the question, but eventually gave Kennedy an answer.

LeBron's tweet came on the heels of a violent incident outside a home in his native Ohio. Body cam footage showed Bryant in a physical altercation, and it appears she was trying to lunge with a knife at another girl. The officer shown in LeBron's post pulled his gun and fired 4 shots, killing Bryant.

Sen. Kennedy's beef seems to be LeBron's words promoted violence against police before all the facts of the case came out. Kennedy said, "All we had at the time was the video, and we had nothing else."

Kurt Warner says even though it's been nearly 5 years since Colin Kaepernick last threw a pass in the NFL ... he still believes the ex-49ers star deserves a shot at an NFL roster.

"I do," the Hall of Famer told TMZ Sports out at LAX on Wednesday. "I think that he should have an opportunity."

Kaepernick has not played a down since the 2016 season -- claiming he's been blackballed ever since due to his kneeling demonstrations during the national anthem -- and Warner clearly believes it's time for that layoff to end.

"When he got out of the game," Warner said of Colin, "he was as good as a lot of quarterbacks in this league. And, that's the bottom line."

Of course, the discussion is all coming back to the front and center of NFL talks this week after it was reported that Tim Tebow would be signing a contract with the Jaguars, despite not playing in a regular-season NFL game since 2012.

Several of the league's most notable names -- including Eric Dickerson -- have scoffed at the move, wondering why Kaepernick isn't getting the same opportunity.

Warner isn't so sure the two players have any correlation to each other -- but he did emphasize Kaepernick should be getting looks from NFL GMs regardless.

"I believe Colin should have had or should have another opportunity," Kurt says.

Chrissy Teigen is owning up to her past abusive behavior toward Courtney Stodden -- publicly apologizing for years of online bullying, and promising to be better.

Chrissy, who's back on Twitter again, issued a heartfelt mea culpa on the platform Wednesday ... this, after Courtney revealed Chrissy used to DM back in the day telling Courtney to kill themselves, and that was on top of her ugly public tweets.

Chrissy now says ... "Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bulls**t in front of the entire world. I’m mortified and sad at who I used to be. I was an insecure, attention seeking troll. I am ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behavior."

She adds that as bad as she feels now, it's nothing compared to how she must've made Courtney feel all those years.

Chrissy goes on to explain that she's tried connecting with Courtney privately, but to no avail ... so she says, "I’m so sorry, Courtney. I hope you can heal now knowing how deeply sorry I am."

It's interesting, CT ends her apology by also saying sorry to her fans -- for letting them down -- so she's covering all bases here.

You'll recall, Courtney told us they considered Chrissy a hypocrite when she took a break from Twitter because of all the negativity ... saying that didn't seem to bother her all those years ago when she was jumping down Courtney's digital throat.

Chrissy didn't respond back then, but it looks like Courtney's latest reminder of the abuse was one too many to ignore.

DJ Khaled is getting dragged online for posting videos of women in bikinis twerking on a yacht ... and it's all because it coincided with the most holy month for Muslims.

Khaled, who was raised Muslim, posted some behind-the-scenes footage of what looks like a music video shoot for his song, "Body in Motion," featuring Lil Baby -- and yes, it features lots of scantily-clad hotties shaking their assets. The issue is he posted it Wednesday, the last day of Ramadan.

During Ramadan -- a holy month of fasting and prayer for Muslims -- both men and women are recommended to dress conservatively ... nothing tight or revealing, like the bikinis the women are wearing around Khaled in the video.

As you can see, Khaled is getting ripped for his post ... with some saying he's being disrespectful, especially in light of the situation in Palestine.

A white comedian used the cloak of comedy to spew incredibly racist rhetoric against another comedian -- the guy who introduced him on stage -- without batting an eyelash.

Tony Hinchcliffe -- famous for writing for the 'Comedy Central Roast' series and working on Joe Rogan's podcast -- did a set last week in Austin, where fellow comic Peng Dang (who is of Chinese descent) introduced him at Big Laugh Comedy.

Dang was more than courteous in the intro, telling the crowd to "give it up for the one and only, Tony Hinchcliffe" ... but as soon as Tony grabbed the mic, he went right into excoriating Dang -- calling him a "filthy little f***ing c****" and going on to mock his accent.

The racism wasn't lost on Dang. He posted the clip and wrote, "Last week in Austin, I got to bring up Tony Hinchcliffe. This is what he said. Happy Asian (AAPI) Heritage Month!"

Now, one could argue Hinchcliffe is famously known as an insult comic -- he is -- and that this is right up his alley ... and he didn't mean anything by it. Even if true, times have changed -- so these types of jokes aren't gonna fly anymore, especially right now when violence against Asians is spiking nationwide. Frankly, these jokes are cheap and mean.

Tony hasn't responded to this yet -- but the guy's got shows coming up in Madison, WI this week ... and he runs a weekly podcast, so maybe he'll address it some time then.