Controversial S#!T

You can definitely call it a comeback -- Matt James, the first Black 'Bachelor,' and Rachael Kirkconnell making their public debut as a couple ... after the racism controversy that broke them up, and blew up the TV franchise.

The duo was all smiles as they showed up for the ESPYs Saturday night in NYC ... and happily posed for photogs. Although we've known they were back together, they've been laying low.

They looked pretty stylish for their coming out -- Matt, a former college football player, rocked a double-breasted plaid suit, while Rachel went with a very low-cut sheer black gown.

Quick refresher: Matt gave Rachel his final rose, but after pics surfaced of her at an antebellum south, plantation-themed college party ... he broke up with her during the "After the Final Rose" special.

Matt said, “If you don’t understand that something like that is problematic in 2018, there’s a lot of me that you won’t understand.”

Matt framed the split as giving Rachel space to work on herself, and then a few weeks later ... bam! We spotted them out together in Santa Monica -- but they were obviously trying to keep it on the DL, as Matt covered up in shades and a hoodie.

Since then, we've also seen Matt and Rachel hanging out around NYC. So, with last night's debut ... it looks like they've fully worked things out!

Bill Cosby now knows there's at least one place his return to stand-up comedy won't take him -- one of New York City's most popular venues for comics is telling him, HELL NO.

TMZ broke the story ... Cosby is plotting a tour on the heels of his prison release, and his camp says several promoters and comedy clubs are interested -- but the famed Comedy Cellar in NYC's Greenwich Village is definitely not.

Owner Noam Dworman tells TMZ ... his venue's not the slightest bit interested, and he doesn't want Bill to even step foot inside his club. While the Comedy Cellar is known for allowing comics and content that make audiences super uncomfortable, it sounds like Cosby is off-limits.

It's worth noting the club did allow Louis C.K. and Aziz Ansari on its stage in 2018 following their sexual misconduct scandals.

As you know, Cosby was released from prison last month after Pennsylvania's Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

Dworman says even his audiences -- which largely welcomed Louis and Aziz -- wouldn't support a Cosby comeback.

Disney has a new Jungle Cruise look at its theme parks -- this after catching flak for what some said were racist depictions -- and they did away with any and all offending robots.

The honchos at Disney unveiled this week an update to their Jungle Cruise rides at both Disneyland and Disney World ... which were getting re-tweaked over the past year and change after a ton of people demanded they lose the so-called "natives" along the OG path.

The Mouse House posted a BTS video showing the process of what went into reworking the ride -- and the engineers reiterated what Disney said in a statement ... namely, that they wanted to remain faithful to what everyone loves and remembers about Jungle Cruise voyages of the past, while also being inclusive/respectful/accurate over depicting cultures.

What that, apparently, amounted to in the final product -- based on video they posted of the updated Jungle Cruise ride -- is no trace of the indigenous people that used to be seen along the way.

Most of those indigenous people were portrayed as Black -- but they were also made out to look like what some have characterized as "savages" ... something that's been done time and again dating back to the 20th century. Dr. Seuss even used to portray indigenous people in the same fashion ... always drawing them with super dark skin and exaggerated features.

It appears none of those depictions are still around in the new ride -- but there are still Black people featured. Only now, they're seen as part of the exploration squad ... as opposed to being seen as the scary, cannibal-esque bad guys threatening the cruise passengers.

The call to revamp Jungle Cruise came on the heels of Disney announcing they were also giving their Splash Mountain rides a facelift ... with the OG animatronics also being called racist and perpetuating deep South tropes. They took care of that, and now ... this too.

Rob Schneider seems to be saying the best way to ward off the COVID vaccine is with an old Nancy Reagan campaign on drugs -- and if that doesn't work ... maybe flash some ammo.

The actor -- known for comedic roles in Adam Sandler movies, etc. -- was in no joking mood Saturday upon hearing some news that a third vaccine jab might be around the corner ... as reports surface that the effects from the first 2 are wearing off in a matter of months.

He was responding to a report with the headline, "Is it already time for a 3rd Covid-19 shot?" posted by journo Sharyl Attkisson. Rob retweeted it and wrote, "Just say no... And keep saying no..."

RS added this as well ... "Over Half of the US population is continuing to say no to this unapproved experimental gene therapy! 'My body, my choice!' #2ndAmendmentIsForThis."

Of course, his remarks are getting tons of backlash right now -- as he appears to be suggesting that Americans should take up arms ... against COVID jabs, or the notion of being forced to get them. Some are saying his thinking here is flawed ... and pretty dangerous.

No matter, though -- Rob seems to be digging his heels in on his position ... rehashing what sure sounds like far-right wing talking points, spreading fear and doubt about vaccines.

The fact is ... most of the vaccines in circulation have been deemed safe by the powers that be -- including scientists from all over the world, whether they're in government or not.

A few Twitter users have told Rob to mind his own business -- to which he seems to be receptive. All we know is ... a gun ain't gonna beat coronavirus, plain and simple.

A woman who allegedly had a mental health episode aboard an American Airlines flight appears to have been taped down after freaking out in the air ... and the crew's drastic response is getting some side-eye.

This video was captured by TikTok user @lol.ariee a few days ago, during a late-night AA flight that she says was taking off from the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and was in the air for about 2 hours. During that time ... a situation unfolded that caused a bit of a panic.

According to the TikToker, flight attendants started frantically running up and down the aisles at around 1:30 AM, locking bathroom doors and securing the scene for something that was happening up near the front. She says no one said anything ... just hush-hush whispering.

Eventually, she says the captain got on the intercom, and told everyone to stay in their seats 'cause of the problem toward the front, which he apparently said they were handling. When they eventually landed, this user captured the aftermath ... a woman duct-taped to her seat, with her mouth also taped -- who was crying out as passengers passed her to deplane.

As the TikTok user exited the plane, she recorded paramedics who were standing by with a stretcher. She later posted other videos saying she'd heard the woman was trying to actually get out of the plane during the flight, and seemed to be having an episode of some sort.

Sources familiar with the situation confirm that latter account to us ... saying the woman was, indeed, going ballistic. But, we haven't heard about her allegedly attempting to open doors or anything. In any case ... people are openly wondering if AA handled this the right way.

If she was actually having a breakdown of some sort ... some have questioned if restraining her in that manner might actually do more harm than good. Of course, others have pointed out that, in a scenario like that, the crew has to do what they must to keep people safe.

As for American, a rep for the company tells us this ... "While in flight from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Charlotte (CLT) on July 6, the crew on board American Airlines flight 1774 reported a potential security concern after a customer attempted to open the forward boarding door and physically assaulted, bit and caused injury to a flight attendant." They add, "For the safety and security of other customers and our crew, the individual was restrained until the flight landed at CLT and could be met by law enforcement and emergency personnel."

A police officer from upstate NY is on leave after he punched a woman he was arresting right in the throat -- knocking her flat on the ground ... and it's all on video.

The DeWitt Police Dept. released body cam footage -- which they spliced together -- showing what led up to the scuffle inside an East Syracuse Walmart on July 4 ... where the cops were dispatched on reports of women fighting inside, and allegedly using pepper spray.

When the cop in question showed -- who has since been ID'd as Rory Spain -- he tried separating the quarreling parties ... and ended up restraining the lady he ultimately punched, Tyreana Edmonds, with handcuffs. As he attempted to lead her away, things escalated.

In the video, you see Edmonds apparently try and bite Officer Spain's arm ... after which, he cocks his arm back, with his fist balled up, and unloads on the front of her neck. The punch lands, and Edmonds is tossed back ... falling hard to the ground after absorbing the blow.

You can hear people around who are filming react in outrage ... and when they approach, Officer Spain tells them to get back. He and his fellow officers arrested her and others involved in the prior altercation ... and they all face multiple charges over this.

Addison Rae is either UFC's newest live event reporter, or she's trolling hard -- or perhaps both ... because she's touting what seems to be a new on-camera gig, which has got a lot of journalism student advocates pissed.

The TikTok star posted photos of herself at what seems to be a UFC event -- perhaps a teaser to Saturday's UFC 264, where McGregor and Poirier are set to face off -- but it's unclear where or for what exactly. In any event, Addison made it seem like she'd been hired.

As she posed all dolled up on the red carpet with a UFC tarp behind her, she wrote ... "I studied broadcast journalism in college for 3 whole months to prepare for this moment."

Definitely a tongue-in-cheek caption, we're sure ... or so it seems. Addison appears to be poking fun at the fact that she dropped out of LSU -- where she's said to have been studying journalism -- to pursue her social media career (which was obviously a good idea).

Although she thought it was funny ... a lot of people online didn't. Twitter users piled on top of her (digitally) for what they perceived as an unjust and unwarranted HR move on UFC's part ... assuming she's actually on their payroll. They suggested Addison was undeserving, as opposed to a journo student who slaved away for 4 years for an actual degree.

One guy wrote, "Should we hire someone who busted their butt through college, and genuinely loves UFC and is hungry for an opportunity in journalism?? Nah, let’s hire Addison Rae because she’s popular for 'throwing it back' on tik tok." Funny stuff, no doubt.

With that said, we gotta wonder ... are people are overreacting here??? Yes, while it may seem AR has little to no experience in the field, and perhaps isn't as skilled or trained as others who've studied this at the university level -- the truth is, UFC probably doesn't care.

At the end of the day, the company is in the entertainment biz -- and if bringing Addison on as a host helps 'em get eyeballs and sell PPV purchases for their product ... they're gonna do it!!! And, besides ... a hosting job like this really doesn't take much schooling anyway. 🤷🏽‍♂️

The Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville is finally coming down ... nearly 4 years after it played a central role in sparking the violent rally where Heather Heyer was killed.

Crews started working early Saturday morning to remove the monument to the Confederate general from a city park.

The monumental event drew a crowd of spectators who cheered when the statue was finally lifted off its pedestal. The crews are expected to remove another nearby statue too -- that one of another Confederate general ... Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

Calls for the city to take down the tributes to the failed Confederacy were what ignited the "Unite the Right" rally back in 2017 ... where neo-Nazis with tiki torches walked through the University of Virginia campus chanting about white supremacy.

That drew counter protesters and sparked the violent clash where James Fields eventually plowed through a crowd with his car, killing Heyer. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for her murder and hate crimes.

Then-President Trump infamously reacted to the deadly incident by saying there was "blame on both sides."

As the Lee statue was coming down Saturday, Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker addressed the crowd and reporters, saying ... "Taking down this statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America, grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy Black people for economic gain."

It's unclear where the statues will go now. By law, the city had to accept bids from people or institutions interested in taking them. Charlottesville reportedly 10 offers and the city council will make the final call.

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is not backing down from a controversial song in the wake of what they claim is a wave of death threats coming their way.

Here's the deal ... the SFGMC recently posted a song across social media where they satirically sing, "We'll convert your children," but they say it's being taken out of context and they're getting lots of hateful backlash, including violent threats.

The Chorus is laying the blame on "far-right conservative media" ... claiming the song's tongue-in-cheek humor is being lost on folks and instead used to "support a narrative that suits their intolerant and hateful needs."

Their intent with the "convert" line is a double-entendre -- when you hear the full song, they're singing they'll convert children "not to hate."

The SFGMC claims the death threats are coming their way in emails and social media comments, and the group says it won't be threatened and will not back down in the face of violence. The Chorus says it's working with national and local law enforcement to address the alleged threats.

Nick Kyrgios -- one of the biggest stars in men's pro tennis -- is pulling out of the Olympics ... saying the big decision is, in part, due to Japan officials barring spectators from the event.

The 26-year-old Australian made the announcement Thursday evening ... just hours after Olympic officials said no fans would be allowed to watch the Games in-person this summer due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the area.

"It's a decision I didn't make lightly," Kyrgios said. "It's been my dream to represent Australia at the Olympics and I know I may never get that opportunity again."

"But I also know myself," Kyrgios added. "The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn't sit right with me. It never has."

Kyrgios -- who was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon earlier this month due to an abdominal injury -- also said his health played a role in his decision too.

"I also wouldn't want to take an opportunity away from a healthy Aussie athlete ready to represent the country," Kyrgios said.

"I will also take all the time I need to get my body right. Good luck to all the Aussies competing and I'll see you back on the court real soon."

The guy who unleashed that racist tirade on his Black neighbor -- before getting hauled away by cops -- could have more trouble on the horizon ... as prosecutors in New Jersey dig into past allegations of similar incidents.

Sources with direct knowledge of the case tell TMZ ... Edward Cagney Mathews is being investigated by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office ... not just for last week's ugly run-in and arrest, but for several other allegations -- including a 2016 confrontation with a Black woman named Jazmyn Jene.

Jazmyn tells us she exchanged words with Mathews within the condo community where they both lived, and she captured a good chunk of their wild -- and seemingly threatening -- interaction on camera.

In the video, Mathews openly claims to have cops in his back pocket, and he's giving Jazmyn 2 options: handle a dispute they were having cordially, or legally. He strongly suggests the legal route won't work, because he's so tight with cops ... they wouldn't do anything to him.

Eventually, things get racial -- Jazmyn accuses him of hurling the n-word -- which Mathews somewhat denies by clarifying he did use the word, but not the way she's suggesting. You can see in the video ... it's a pretty weak defense.

Now, she says she did report the incident at the time, but nothing came of it. However, since Mathews' arrest -- as scores of angry neighbors jeered and hurled objects -- Jazmyn says investigators have apologized to her for not acting earlier.

We're told Jazmyn has shared the video of her run-in with Mathews with law enforcement, and it will be included in prosecutor's expanded probe.

Harry Hamlin admits he's not exactly kosher with his youngest daughter, Amelia, dating Scott Disick due to their significant age gap, but then again ... like father, like daughter, right?

20-year-old Amelia's father revealed his feelings about her relationship with her 38-year-old BF on the latest episode of 'RHOBH,' telling the ladies the age difference issue is on his mind a lot ... and he calls it "odd."

In the same breath, Harry copped to his own history, saying he compares Amelia and Scott to himself. If ya didn't know ... young Harry dated and had a child with actress Ursula Andress who was 14+ years older than him.

Harry and the original Bond girl's son, Dimitri, was born in 1980, 17 years before he married Lisa Rinna. Harry and Lisa then had their first daughter, Delilah, in 1998 ... and Amelia in 2001.

So, Hamlin told the 'RHOBH' housewives he can't really complain about Disick dating his daughter -- but he's a dad, so ya know he's gonna do it.

Is there a confrontation brewing?

U.S. track star Sha'Carri Richardson is breaking her silence on being left off the Olympic team ... saying she's come to terms with the decision and is looking to move past the situation.

The 21-year-old -- who was a gold medal favorite to win the 100m race at the Tokyo Games before testing positive for marijuana -- had her Olympic dreams officially squashed Tuesday when U.S. Track and Field organizers elected to keep her off the 4x100 relay team ... despite her 30-day suspension set to end prior to the event.

TMZ Sports spoke with Richardson on Wednesday about getting snubbed ... and she explained she's not upset or pissed about how things transpired.

"Honestly, that news didn’t bother me because me and my team were realistic, so we kind of figured that they would say that in the first place," Richardson told us at LAX.

Richardson garnered support from celebs from Gabrielle Union, Patrick Mahomes and Cardi B over the past few days ... with others demanding an exception to be made to allow her to compete.

All things considered, Sha'Carri tells us she's doing "fine" and maintaining a positive outlook on the ordeal.

"I understand the situation that’s going on. So, I’m accepting of it, and I just know what I have to do moving forward in my career."

Richardson -- the fastest woman in America -- previously said she smoked weed to cope with the loss of her biological mother, which caused incredible amounts of stress as she prepared for the U.S. trials last month.

The USATF released a statement applauding Richardson's accountability ... but said it would be "detrimental to the integrity" of the team if the organization included her on the relay.

Bill Cosby is jumping right back into showbiz now that he's out of prison -- not shockingly, he's working on a docuseries about himself, but more surprising is the fact he's plotting a return to standup comedy.

Cosby's rep, Andrew Wyatt, tells TMZ ... the comedian, at 83 years old, wants to hit the road and tell jokes, and his camp's contacted several promoters and comedy clubs who they say are open to the idea.

Despite widespread backlash and outrage over his prison release, Wyatt confidently claims ... "The world wants to see Mr. Cosby."

We're also told Cosby is working on a 5-part docuseries covering his life, legacy, trial and prison experience -- and he'll be sitting down soon to do his interview for the project.

So far, we're told producers of the series have shot interviews with Cosby's family, friends and other celebs.

As you know ... Cosby was released from prison last week after Pennsylvania's high court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

A potential comedy tour isn't the only thing catching Cosby's eye ... we're told he also wants to go around the country making appearances in prisons, schools and neighborhoods, talking to folks about being better citizens and curbing violence.

Cosby's rep says the inspiration for a speaking tour draws from Cosby's own experiences behind bars, where he heard moving stories from other inmates, like a father and son serving time together.

Cosby is also writing a book with novelist Frederick Williams, focusing on Cosby's criminal case and prison experience.

As we first told you, Cosby could still earn thousands in public appearances after his release from prison, similar to O.J. Simpson.

Former President Donald Trump apparently thought that despite being responsible for millions of deaths during WWII -- including several million in the Holocaust -- Adolf Hilter's hits are overlooked in history ... this according to a new book, which details the wild claim.

The alleged story is told in WSJ reporter Michael Bender's new book, "Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost." Bender claims the Hitler anecdote was told to Trump's ex-Chief of Staff, Gen. John F. Kelly.

According to an excerpt obtained by The Guardian ... Bender's book claims Trump was on a visit to Europe in 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI -- and at some point during the trip ... he turned to Kelly and allegedly said, "Well, Hitler did a lot of good things." Kelly was reportedly gobsmacked, as you can imagine.

The veteran military man pushed back, reportedly telling Trump he was wrong, but DT cited Germany's economic recovery under Hitler. Gen. Kelly pushed back further, reminding Trump who was on the good and bad side of history, while also drawing a line from point A to point B when it came to Hitler's ascent and, ultimately, his atrocities.

Kelly's also allegedly said ... "You cannot ever say anything supportive of Adolf Hitler. You just can't." Indeed, truer words haven't been spoken.

Packers fans are going to HATE this ...

Aaron Rodgers would NOT commit to playing for Green Bay in 2021 ... saying on Tuesday not much more than "we'll see" when he was questioned about his future as a Packer.

The star quarterback was in the middle of his golf round against Tom Brady at "The Match" in Montana ... when he was asked TWICE about the upcoming season.

Both times, Rodgers ducked the questions ... being as non-committal as ever about his future under center in Green Bay.

"Yeah, I don't know," Rodgers said when asked about playing against the Chicago Bears this season. "We'll see. We'll see, won't we?"

Rodgers added after being asked about the Packers' season-opener against the Saints, "I don't know. We'll see."

Of course, Rodgers is in the middle of a tiff with Green Bay's front office ... reportedly upset over his contract situation and some of the team's recent personnel moves.

The Packers have vowed to try to do everything in their power to repair the relationship ... but Aaron's icy comments Tuesday have to have the team worried.