Controversial S#!T

Sha'Carri Richardson's Olympic dreams are officially crushed following her failed drug test ... 'cause U.S. Track & Field officials left the fastest woman in America off the 4 x 100m squad.

... this despite the fact that her 30-day suspension will end BEFORE the relay race is scheduled to begin.

Of course, 21-year-old Richardson recently tested positive for marijuana after the Olympic Trials last month ... and accepted the 1-month ban.

Despite a ton of outrage (weed is still illegal?), USOC officials stood by the punishment.

But, not all hope was lost ... Sha'Carri was going to miss the 100-meter race, but still could've been included on the 4 x 100-meter relay team.

That is until today when track officials announced Richardson would be left off the team ... meaning she will NOT be running in a single race at the Tokyo games.

As for the test she flunked ... Richardson says she recently found out her biological mother died, and she used marijuana as a way to cope with the stress and pressure.

For what it's worth, use of recreational pot is legal in Oregon -- where the trials were run.

USATF released a statement on the decision Tuesday afternoon ... saying it's "incredibly sympathetic" towards Richardson's situation ... but it would be "detrimental to the integrity" of the organization to bend the rules a week before the Games.

"All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances," the statement read.

USATF praised Richardson for owning up to her actions and agrees that the World Anti-Doping Agency's guidelines need a makeover ... but until then, athletes gotta play by the rules.

Rachel Nichols has been AXED from covering the NBA Finals ... with the ESPN reporter losing her sideline gig following her controversial comments regarding Maria Taylor.

Nichols sparked outrage after leaked audio from 2020 went public over the weekend ... when she claimed the decision to have Taylor host Finals coverage was due to ESPN "feeling pressure" about adding more diversity among on-air talent.

In the audio -- which was leaked by an ESPN employee to the New York Times -- Nichols is heard saying, "If you need to give [Taylor] more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity -- which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it -- like, go for it."

"Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away."

While Nichols apologized for her comments and praised Taylor on Monday, ESPN has decided to keep her on the bench for the 2021 Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns.

The network announced rising star Malika Andrews -- who's been an NBA insider since 2018 -- will take over the mic starting Tuesday night ... saying, "We believe this is the best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA Finals."

It's unclear if the move is permanent, but ESPN says Nichols will continue to host "The Jump."

Britney Spears is hangin' up the mic and intends to retire from the music business ... so says her longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, who just submitted his resignation.

Rudolph sent an email Sunday night to Britney's personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, and the conservator of her estate, Jamie Spears, saying, "It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus. Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to officially retire."

Rudolph went on to say he's not part of the conservatorship and in the dark regarding lots of details, adding, "I was originally hired at Britney's request to help manage and assist her with her career. And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney's best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed."

Rudolph's resignation comes on the heels of Britney's testimony in which she said she was forced to perform and never wanted to do the European tour.  TMZ broke the story ... sources connected to the conservatorship say it's the opposite -- she begged to go on the tour and there are allegedly emails and other communications to support that.

Nevertheless, if Britney is really retiring, there's no need for a music manager.

Rudolph ended his email with this ... "I will always be incredibly proud of what we accomplished over our 25 years together. I wish Britney all the health and happiness in the world, and I'll be there for her if she ever needs me again, just as I always have been."

Claudia Conway's breathing a sigh of relief, and it sounds like her mom, Kellyanne Conway, is too -- the update on their relationship status is they're a-ok ... but probably still complicated.

The teen daughter of Trump's former advisor -- not to mention a rising TikTok star in her own right -- took to her fave platform to give her followers the lowdown on where things stood between dear old mom and her. As you know, they've had a tumultuous relationship over the past year and change.

Check it out ... CC says they're getting better with one another, explaining they've both gotten help they each needed, and are working through their differences. It's actually super encouraging to hear -- seems like the mother-daughter duo have had some solid heart-to-hearts of late.

Claudia also provides a bit of context on Kellyanne herself -- without getting into the nitty-gritty -- about stuff she herself has been through in her own life ... something her daughter appears to appreciate now, and which could possibly explain some of their blow-ups.

Their rocky run-ins are well documented. Between Kellyanne appearing to snatch Claudia's phone away mid-sentence (and subsequently grounding her from electronics) last October to the even more shouting matches Claudia captured in January ... it's been a wild ride.

The latter situation sparked a brief criminal investigation into what was going in the household, but nothing serious ever came of it. They did seem to make a bit of peace when Claudia auditioned for and actually competed for a bit on 'American Idol' -- and Kellyanne appeared on the show to support her.

Sam Ingham, the lawyer who has represented Britney Spears in her conservatorship, is resigning ... TMZ has learned.

We're told Ingham -- who has repped Britney for 13 years -- will file legal docs as early as today ... asking to be dismissed as Britney's court-appointed lawyer.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Ingham is extremely upset at Britney's statement in court ... that she never knew she could end the conservatorship. We're told Ingham regularly gave Britney options, including requesting that the conservatorship should end, but she never wanted to pull the plug.

Our sources say Britney did talk to Ingham about removing Jamie, but she never wanted to end the conservatorship. We're told the last straw was when Britney told the judge Ingham never told her what he's legally required to do ... namely inform her of her options.

We're told Ingham will not go into detail in his filing, because of attorney/client confidentiality.

Ingham will follow Larry Rudolph, Britney's longtime manager, who resigned Monday, saying he was informed Britney was retiring from performing, so there was no reason to continue as her manager. Britney accused Rudolph of forcing her to perform during the 2018 European tour, but as we reported, we're told there were a number of communications, including text messages at the time, in which Britney "begged" to go on the tour.

Our sources say there will be more resignations this week as well. We're also told at the next court hearing later this month, members of the conservatorship team will present evidence to the judge disputing many of the things Britney said in court.

As you know, Britney says the conservatorship has all but ruined her life.

A man unleashed a racist diatribe against a Black neighbor -- and even invited protesters to his front door ... but he might not have expected them to show up in droves, especially when he was being hauled off to jail.

Check out this wild encounter that was captured in Mount Laurel, NJ Friday, which led to an even crazier follow-up Monday ... when scores of people landed on this guy's driveway to decry a rant he'd gone on days earlier, who let him know what they thought of his venomous words.

The perp has reportedly been identified as Edward Cagney Mathews ... and he now faces criminal charges for a heated confrontation he had with one of his Black community members -- including alleged harassment and bias intimidation, over which the cops arrested him.

As for the initial face-off itself ... it's truly something to behold (in a bad way, we mean). Mathews hurls just about every epithet he can at the Black neighbor, including multiple uses of the n-word, "monkey" ... and even questions whether the man knows America's laws, saying "this isn't Africa" ... seemingly mocking what he perceived as a foreign accent.

It's unclear what exactly this was all over -- but in any case, you can tell Mathews took things way too far in what might amount to one of the most bigoted moments we've seen in a while. Even when what appears to be a security guard (or possibly even a cop) shows up to calm things down, he ratchets up the tension again ... demanding the guard put the "n******" in their place.

He told the person filming exactly where he lived, and encouraged people to show to find out "what (he's) about" ... and sure enough, they came rolling deep -- apparently protesting him for the past couple days ... to the point cops had to come escort Mathews away in custody.

That didn't stop people from unloading, though ... and we mean that literally. They chucked water bottles, garbage and debris at both Mathews and the police as they got into the squad car and drove away.

Rachel Nichols has apologized to fellow ESPN colleague, Maria Taylor, on national television -- this after a bombshell NYT report -- and ex-NBA stars Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson were there to add their two cents.

The veteran NBA anchor took a moment Monday on "The Jump" to address the Times' story from this weekend -- which shed light on drama at the sports network over the past year ... this following recorded controversial remarks Rachel made surrounding Maria, who's Black.

Right off the bat, RN acknowledged she didn't like that she'd become the story ... but owned up to it nonetheless, saying she was deeply sorry to anyone she let down with her comments, especially Maria. Rachel added she was grateful to be part of the ESPN team.

Perk and Rich took it from there ... with the former chiming in first, thanking Rachel for taking responsibility for her actions, and relaying to the audience that he knew her heart -- while also pointing out he'd always felt comfortable in her presence. He also shouted out Maria, whom he said was deserving of every opportunity that came her way ... and that he hoped they could all support each other going forward. RJ echoed those sentiments as well.

He ended on a somewhat sobering note though, saying he, Rachel and others at ESPN have had hard convos of late in regards to this ... and that they'll continue to have hard convos. Rachel thanked them for their POVs, and they continued on with NBA Finals coverage.

The response comes on the heels of surfaced audio, which depicts Rachel having a candid conversation with LeBron James' PR advisor, Adam Mendelsohn, last year during the playoffs ... during which Rachel expressed frustration that ESPN was looking to have Maria share hosting duties with her during the Finals -- something Rachel likened to a "diversity" move.

Stephen Dorff came out swinging against Marvel and its latest big screen offering, "Black Widow," as well as its lead star in Scarlett Johansson ... for whom he says he feels sorry.

The veteran actor straight-up bashed ScarJo's newest flick in an interview with the U.K.'s Independent outlet ... saying, in part, "I still hunt out the good shit because I don't want to be in Black Widow. It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I'm embarrassed for those people. I'm embarrassed for Scarlett!" Tell us how you really feel!

Steve went on to add this for good measure ... "I'm sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but I'm embarrassed for her. I don't want to be in those movies. I really don't. I'll find that kid director that's gonna be the next [Stanley] Kubrick and I'll act for him instead."

SD continued on with his diatribe, expanding the scope to include the film industry at large -- which he characterized as a "big game show" -- but his main gripe seems to be with what he considers selling out to the big studios ... and maintaining some sense of artistic integrity.

That's interesting coming from Steve ... seeing how he's been in superhero movies himself -- including a Marvel fan fave, 'Blade' -- but also another superhero film that many considered "garbage" ... his 2015 appearance in "American Hero," which was like a farce of the genre.

One could argue -- as many online are right now -- that Stephen's other film credits aren't necessarily Kubrick-esque either. He's been in a bunch of films that some might consider bullish and not-that-artsy (aka, B-films) ... including "Felon," "Carjacked" and lots of others.

Rachel Nichols -- a star anchor for ESPN, covering all things NBA -- was caught on camera last year talking to LeBron James' publicist about how to prevent a fellow female anchor, who's Black, from taking over her job during the Finals ... and the fallout seems devastating.

The New York Times published a bombshell report Sunday, detailing the drama at the sports network over the past year and change ... this after a video of Nichols talking to Adam Mendelsohn was secretly recorded by an ESPN employee, leaked ... and spread like wildfire.

Nichols was working/filming from a hotel room last May just as the NBA Playoffs were getting underway (due to the pandemic) and it appears she left her camera on somehow, and the thing was still recording when she had this chat with Mendelsohn ... with the feed going back to the ESPN studio, where somebody captured the damning words exchanged.

In the first snippet posted by the Times, you can hear Nichols venting to Mendelsohn -- who's a PR/comms wiz -- about how ESPN had approached her with the idea of doing sideline reporting during the Finals that year, as opposed to hosting -- a task Nichols has shared on and off lately with Maria Taylor, another rising star ... who's African-American.

Check out the convo ... Nichols basically says she declined ESPN's offer, because she knew it would make way for Maria to handle hosting duties full-time, essentially pushing Nichols out of the picture ... something she was clearly not down for, as she wanted to maintain her gig.

Nichols goes on to say of Maria shortly thereafter ... "If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity -- which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it -- like, go for it." She adds, "Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away."

In a 2nd audio snipped ... Mendelsohn is heard giving advice to Nichols about how she could frame the dynamic of ESPN pitting two females against each other in order to gain leverage, even if it would potentially be at Maria's expense. He also had some interesting thoughts on #MeToo and BLM, saying he had "nothing left" and was exhausted ... in what sounds like what he (and perhaps Nichols) considered phony pandering/appeasing at the executive level.

After this video/audio was spread around among ESPN workers internally, it eventually reached the higher ranks ... and the NYT reports the network has been in damage control mode ever since, with fears that Nichols might sue -- and that Taylor might leave entirely.

Bill Cosby has weighed in on the drama over his one-time costar, Phylicia Rashad, and her new bosses at Howard University ... agreeing that if they can her, they gotta refund him.

The freshly-released Cosby tweeted about the fallout from Phylicia's controversial comments last week -- in which she ecstatically celebrated Bill's conviction being overturned, calling it "justice" -- and he did so by simply concurring with another person's POV on the sitch.

Singer/actress Stephanie Mills actually spilled on how she felt about it, writing ... "I love you @phyliciarashad ❤️❤️❤️. If it’s true that Howard University wants to terminate her Position  because they feel her comments about Mr. Cosby were insensitive, then they should give back the millions of dollars that he donated to the university."

Cosby responded to that quite simply, writing ... "Thank you @iamstephaniemills your voice has always been powerful!" So, in other words, he seems to be fully in her corner on that.

A quick note ... it's not entirely clear how much, if any, dough Cosby has given Howard -- there doesn't seem to be any hard numbers on a donation. That doesn't mean he hasn't chipped in though -- and we know he's been generous when donating to HBCUs.

He famously gave Spelman College $20 million in 1998 -- also, he's an honorary degree holder at Howard. So, it's not outside the realm of possibility he's lined their pockets before.

The funny thing about Bill rushing to Phylicia's defense here ... we're almost certain she doesn't want it -- at least not publicly anyway. She low-key put this matter to bed this past week ... removing her "FINALLY" tweet, and even apologizing to the Howard student body.

So, BC reopening the scab like this probably isn't doing her any favors. If anything, she probably doesn't want Bill's name and Howard brought up in the same sentence around her at all. BTW ... it doesn't look like Howard will fire PR ... they admonished her and that's it.

Sha'Carri Richardson has handled her disqualification from the Olympics with incredible grace, but she threw a little shade at people who came down on her.

Sha'Carri tweeted, "The support (heart emojis) my community I thank y’all, the negative forget y’all and enjoy the games because we all know it won’t be the same"

"I’m sorry, I can’t be y’all Olympic Champ this year but I promise I’ll be your World Champ next year" And now the shade -- "All these perfect people that know how to live life, I'm glad I'm not one of them!"

As you know, Sha'Carri came in first in the 100-meter race at the U.S. Track and Field Trials but was later disqualified after testing positive for weed. She was honest ... she indulged after learning her biological mother had died, and she didn't make excuses.

President Biden drew a hard line, saying, "rules are rules." But Seth Rogen, who founded the hugely popular House Plant weed brand, had harsher words, "The notion that weed is a problematic “drug” is rooted in racism. It’s insane that Team USA would disqualify one of this country’s most talented athletes over thinking that’s rooted in hatred. It’s something they should be ashamed of. Also if weed made you fast, I’d be FloJo."

Sha'Carri appeared on "Today" Friday, saying, "I want to take responsibility for my actions, I know what I did. I know what I'm supposed to do, [what] I'm allowed not to do and I still made that decision."

It's really a shame. Richardson was a favorite to snag gold in Tokyo, and it would have been the first such medal for the U.S. since 1996.

President Biden has weighed in on Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension from competing in the Olympics -- and he dished out a tough love response ... basically saying, she knew better.

JB was down in Michigan Saturday for an event ahead of 4th of July ... and he was asked by CBS WH reporter Bo Erickson if he thought Richardson facing a one-month ban from competition due to a positive THC test was fair ... and Biden essentially said, sadly yes.

You can watch the clip yourself to see how he put it in his own words -- but the Prez didn't make any bones about it ... telling the press that everyone knows the rules going in, so it kinda is what it is on the punishment end. He did leave room for debate, however.

Check it out ... Joe says whether the weed rule should stay intact or not is an entirely different discussion -- but under the current guidelines, he suggests the punishment fits the crime. With that said, he did give Richardson props ... saying he was proud at how she responded.

Sha'Carri did an interview shortly after the news broke that she'd been temporarily DQ'd ... telling Savannah Guthrie she ingested marijuana recently, this after learning her biological mother had died and learning about it at a presser. Sha'Carri owned up to the mistake with her chin high -- but also seemed to indicate that the so-called "rules" were draconian.

Henry Winkler thinks the world needs to go through a "cataclysmic event" to help bring people together since we're so dang divided -- but his idea is getting a big fat ... HUH?!?

The actor tweeted out the controversial sentiment Sunday, seemingly out of nowhere and without much context. He wrote ... "We are So divided as a country .. only a cataclysmic Event , that makes us depend on one another again , can bring us back together."

Like we said ... not a whole lot of info here to get a sense of what Henry's talking about exactly -- but it could be anything ... frankly, we ARE quite divided these days -- from politics to just about everything else.

With that said ... his call for a big boom moment is being called insensitive, tone-deaf and weirdly out of touch -- especially since we, you know, just went through (and are still going through) a worldwide pandemic ... which you would think fits HW's criteria for this.

People obviously pointed this out to Henry, and he received the message ... but responded somewhat cryptically, writing ... "The Pandemic pushed the world inside creating a world apart." What we think he's saying is ... this pandemic isn't the catastrophe he had in mind -- if anything, he seems to believe COVID has only pushed us further apart.

A spa in Los Angeles became the site of brutality this weekend after protests took place against a trans person ... who allegedly revealed themselves to women in the female section.

Several people took to the streets of Koreatown Saturday for what you may consider anti-trans demonstrations ... which were met by counter-protesters, with both groups clashing in violent ways -- much of which was filmed and circulated online and made for crazy video.

Some of the counter-protesters were likened to "Antifa" -- with a handful of them dressed head-to-toe in all black, while also covering their faces -- but it's hard to sort out who's with who. All we know is that the counter-protesters were NOT having the anti-trans sentiments.

In addition to accosting/provoking some of the protesters, they also reportedly tore up signage that they apparently considered bigoted and discriminatory. On the flip side ... some of the anti-trans demonstrators also allegedly threatened and/or committed violence themselves.

One person claims they had a Wi Spa protester pull a gun on them ... and posted video of a man who appears to take a firearm out of a backpack, and then tuck it into his waistband. When asked what it's for, he's heard on camera saying ... "Something to shoot you with."

The chaos all stems from a now-viral video from last week that shows a woman confronting the Wi Spa staff over what she claimed was a man who was sitting naked in the women's side of the spa ... allegedly exposing his penis and genitals to adults and children alike.

The Wi Spa staff seems to be fine with it ... explaining to her that they respect trans people's rights -- and that, apparently, includes letting 'em go to the part of the facility they feel most comfortable in. That didn't sit well with this woman -- who essentially said she felt violated.

She gets into with other patrons ... some of whom tell her to pipe down and to have some respect, but she stands her ground -- repeatedly saying the trans person had a "d***."

An Australian reporter made unfounded claims of doping/steroid use against U.S. sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson and the late Flo Jo ... all because they used acrylic nails.

Claire Lehmann -- founder of Quillette, and contributor to the Australian -- stirred the pot late Friday with a few controversial tweets ... the first of which was aimed at Richardson, whom she suggested was using PEDs because of what she perceived as "strong nails & hair."

She wrote, "Not sure whether the nails are real or fake, but in case you didn’t know very strong nails & hair can be a side effect of steroid use." Lehmann also attached a photo of Richardson -- who was just suspended from competing for a month after a positive THC test.

What people quickly pointed out was ... Richardson uses wigs, and her nails are fake -- so Lehmann's speculation was completely unfounded, and frankly ... downright ignorant.

She wasn't done yet, though -- the journo continued her meritless attacks, only this time ... she went after the late Olympic legend, Florence Griffith Joyner. Lehmann alleged that Flo Jo, too, was doping during her historic record-breaking run in the '80s -- again citing the acrylic nail factor (which was again steeped in error). However, CL went further ... roping in Flo Jo's death, falsely attributing it to drug use, despite the facts clearly disputing that.

Lehmann wrote, "Flo Jo, obvious drug user, had the nails. She died in her sleep at age 38 because that’s what a lifetime of drug use does to the body (and why it’s supposed to be banned from elite sports)."

Several people were quick to point out that -- based on Flo Jo's own autopsy from 1998 -- her cause of death was officially attributed to suffocation due to an epileptic seizure ... which ended up being tied to a congenital brain abnormality that made her prone to seizures.

Also, important to note ... Flo Jo never produced a positive drug test.

Despite the facts flying in her face ... Lehmann hasn't taken down the tweets, and is currently experiencing the wrath of Twitter, with multiple users accusing her of racism ... not to mention defamation on behalf of Flo Jo and Richardson. Even Cardi B has weighed in.

Dan Schneider -- the ex-king of Nickelodeon programming -- has addressed a long-held theory that he's into feet, and channeled that on his shows ... something he says isn't true.

The one-time TV producer -- responsible for creating a number of hit series on Nick over the years, including "iCarly," "Drake & Josh," "The Amanda Show," "Zoey 101" and countless others -- did an interview with NYT ... which straight-up asked him about the foot fetish rumor.

Several people have compiled still shots from different shows of his, and they seem to find a common theme among his child actors ... they seemed to be in a lot of bare feet scenes.

Dan responded with this ... "The comedy was totally innocent," going on to say the foot fetish claims were "ridiculous" and chalked it up to kids finding feet funny/goofy ... insisting he never attempted to sexualize his stars.

Some of his on and off-camera behavior with said stars have been called into question -- suggesting Dan was, at the bare minimum, creepy and unaware of boundaries.

It's all much ado about nothing, though ... according to Dan, who also clarified his reasons for parting ways with Nick in 2018, after a historic 30-year run with the network -- saying he was simply attending to other personal matters in his life that he'd let "go by the wayside."

However, NYT reports an in-house investigation into Dan's workplace practices got underway around that time ... this after claims of verbal abuse from his ex-staffers. Apparently, the review found merit to some of those claims ... which made him seem high-strung and difficult.

What the HR didn't find any credence in ... allegations of sexual misconduct, something else that had been speculated about Schneider, especially amid the height of #MeToo and his coincidental departure around the same time, when allegations were flying like crazy.