Controversial S#!T

Bill Maher is back with a vengeance ... and he's making a case that cancel culture and cultural appropriation are destroying America.

Bill's back from a month-long hiatus and he zeroed in on the honchos at the Olympics who were 86'd for decades-old infractions.

He then targeted a subset of cancel culture -- cultural appropriation, and made a case that it's anathema to empathy. In other words, sharing cultures -- rather than walling them off -- is a celebration of diversity rather than exploitation. His example is surfing -- an AP story called the new Olympic sport an indignity to Hawaiians. Bill calls BS ... you gotta watch and judge for yourself, but he's got some solid arguments.

Dr. Alex Khadavi -- the famous cosmetic dermatologist whose homophobic rant was caught on camera -- has been arrested ... just hours after cops swarmed his home.

Deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department hit Khadavi's condo in West Hollywood Friday, but the Dr. was never spotted in cuffs. It's unclear if he turned himself in or was arrested at another location, but nonetheless, he was booked for felony criminal threats.

TMZ broke the story ... Khadavi's homophobic tirade on July 7 included him threatening to "blow their f***ing heads off" at his condo's complex in WeHo. The video, obtained by TMZ, showed him approaching the front desk concierge in a hostile manner and talking smack about people who live in the building. He referred to them with the homophobic f-word.

He threatened to shoot and kill them ... before taking his dog outside. When he returned, his outburst continued in the lobby ... yelling at the front desk attendant.

As we reported ... it was one of Khadavi's neighbors -- a gay man himself -- who filed a restraining order against the doc for himself and his husband. According to the docs ... the neighbor claimed the concierge specifically asked about him and his husband while allegedly threatening to kill gay people.

Some of Khadavi's famous celeb clients over the years have included Scott Disick and Lance Bass.

Michael Che is half-heartedly trying to do damage control after sharing some harsh and tasteless jokes about Simone Biles dropping out of Olympic events.

The 'SNL' star announced late Thursday night on social media he intended to try out some Simone jokes on stage in NYC. That apparently set off a bunch of his followers ... who suggested some material he could add to his act, and Michael reposted them -- including one referencing now convicted molester, Larry Nassar ... Simone being one of his victims.

Che reposted, "Larry Nasser understands Simone Biles better than anyone. He too had to quit doing what he loved at the pinnacle of his career because of mounting pressure."

He critiqued it, writing ... "goddamn, that's rough. absolutely tasteless," but gave it a 9 out of 10. Again, Nassar was convicted of molesting 10 young women in the U.S. gymnastics program.

Che also shared a far less brutal "joke" when he reposted, "Who said black don't crack?"

It's unclear if he actually followed through and tried his, or any of his followers', material onstage. He claimed to have about 3 minutes worth of Biles material on his own.

Che clearly knew there would be severe online backlash for taking shots at such a beloved athlete. Early Friday morning he posted, "I got hacked today. can't believe they got me. yall kno I only do jokes about whites and cops."

Sharon Stone is taking a stand, demanding vaccinations on the set of a new project ... but as a result, she says she's "being threatened" with losing that job.

Sharon isn't naming names yet, but says it's a show shooting in Atlanta, which she calls "a good job" she really wants to do. However, she's insisting on the same precautions Sean Penn recently did for one of his sets. The difference is ... Sharon says she might get cut.

Stone is running for an actors' union position ... a seat on SAG-AFTRA's national board of directors, and according to Deadline she laid out the COVID testing nightmare in a campaign video. In another campaign vid she reveals a health insurance nightmare that's prompted her to run -- "I lost my vested insurance after 43 years in the business because of Covid. I was $13 short and, you know, I don’t really think that that is reasonable for any of us.”

As for the COVID testing -- Stone reportedly blames the Producers Guild of America for not guaranteeing everyone working on her potential show is vaccinated. It's a very personal issue for Sharon.

As we've reported, her family has been ravaged by COVID-19. Last year she tearfully revealed her grandmother and godmother both died in the pandemic. Her sister and sister's husband, Bruce, also battled the coronavirus, but survived.

DaBaby's social calendar for mid-September just opened up ... 'cause he's been dropped from a music festival across the pond.

The rapper was originally slated to perform at Parklife 2021 in Manchester, England where he was supposed to be one of the headliners ... along with Megan Thee Stallion and Young Thug. But, that's not the case anymore.

You can see DaBaby's name -- which used to practically be front and center -- has now been removed from the lineup card on the festival's website.

It was just 2 weeks ago when the festival was proudly showing off its lineup on Instagram, featuring DB. They seemed pretty excited about it ... with the caption saying, "PARKLIFE 2021 🔥 TWO MONTHS TO GO 🙏🏼."

The excitement over DB headlining the event has quickly dissipated following his controversial comments at the Rolling Loud Festival. And, his removal from Parklife is just the latest in a series of dominos falling.

As we've reported ... the clothing company, Boohoo, stopped working with DaBaby soon after the ignorant comments about HIV/AIDS. Sure, he attempted an "apology," but only made things worse.

Dua Lipa's just one of the many stars who were horrified by the comments. In fact ... her collab with DaBaby -- the "Levitating" remix -- has reportedly been removed from multiple Apple Music playlists.

The battle royale between Britney Spears' father and her conservator, Jodi Montgomery, is boiling over ... Jodi wants Jamie out of the conservatorship and says Britney's doctors agree.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Jodi is officially joining Britney's bid to remove Jamie as the conservator of the singer's estate.

In the docs, Jodi says it's in Britney's best interests for Jamie to be sent packing ... and JM claims Britney's medical team wants Jamie out too. This is a huge development and could spell the end of Jamie's role in the conservatorship. If her medical doctors and therapists think Jamie's presence is tormenting Britney, that is probably enough for the judge to boot him from the conservatorship.

Jodi makes it clear in the docs ... she wants Jason Rubin to be appointed conservator of her estate in place of Jamie.

As we first told you ... Rubin is Britney's choice to replace her father. He's a CPA with credentials who Britney's lawyer, Mat Rosengart, presumably believes makes Rubin a good choice to handle the Britney's business affairs.

Bottom line ... Britney and Jodi seem to have forged a united front and they're going full steam ahead to oust Jamie.

Leslie Jordan says ignorant, uninformed comments about HIV/AIDS from people like DaBaby are exactly why some gay people aren't comfortable being themselves ... so Leslie's slamming the rapper's homophobic rant as stupid and clueless.

We got Leslie outside Kings Road Cafe in L.A. Wednesday and he laid into DaBaby ... grousing it's a shame he's using his enormous platform to spew bigotry.

ICYMI, DaBaby hit the stage at Rolling Loud Miami over the weekend, and went on a rant about HIV/AIDS. He later "apologized" twice but only made things worse.

Leslie says he's 66 years old and feels perfectly comfortable being a gay man. Problem is, he worries about those who are NOT yet comfortable in their own skin ... and DaBaby is doing great harm to those folks.

Leslie believes DaBaby will get his ... and repercussions are already coming his way. The rapper was in a collab with the clothing company Boohoo, but he's been unceremoniously dropped.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger says the voicemail D.C. cop Michael Fanone got wishing him death is awful ... but he's glad the cop shared it to the public so they can hear the vitriol directed at heroes who simply tell the truth.

We got the Illinois Congressman on Capitol Hill Wednesday and he didn't mince words ... the state of the Union is, well, not great ... and the hateful voicemail left for Fanone is further evidence we are in trouble as a nation.

ICYMI ... the person who left the voicemail wished death on Fanone and other Capitol officers in a racist, homophobic rant. The caller suggested the insurrection was fake. As for Fanone's testimony, the caller said, "You want an Emmy, an Oscar? What are you trying to go for here, man? You're so full of s*** you little f****t f**ker."

The rant continued, "That was s**t on the God damn Capitol. I wish they woulda killed all you scumbags. They stole the election from Trump and you know that, you scumbag."

Fanone and many other police officers were badly beaten on January 6. He suffered a mild heart attack and a concussion. He was also repeatedly shocked by a stun gun. Fanone, a Republican, said, "This is what happens to people that tell the truth in Trump's America."

Morgan Wallen's loyal fans are gonna love this ... he's out and about, taking a golf trip with buddies -- but it's another strong sign he's getting ready to come out of hiding.

Morgan and friends were on the links Wednesday down in Puerto Vallarta, so there's a good chance the country music superstar is gonna be getting sand in his boots again. Whether that's on a beach or in a bunker ... who knows?

The way he was grinning while riding around in his golf cart -- he stands out in that hot pink trucker cap -- we'd guess Morgan was hitting 'em straight during this round and generally having a good ol' time.

It's been a while since he's had reason to smile.

The trip down Mexico way comes on the heels of Morgan's sit down with Michael Strahan ... where he finally spoke out about the night he casually dropped the n-word to friends at the end of a drunken night out in Nashville. He apologized, said he'd been to rehab and got council from Black leaders about the pain associated with the epithet.

Marilyn Manson says Esme Bianco's rape claims are not only bogus, but also come years too late for her to sue him ... this according to new legal docs.

The embattled singer just filed to dismiss the 'GoT' actress' claims of sexual assault -- and the crux of his argument is that she's way past the statute of limitations to go running to court over this, and as a result ... her claims should be tossed before they're heard by a jury.

There's also this, though -- in the court filing, obtained by TMZ, Manson's attorneys write that Bianco's claims are part of a "coordinated attack" among multiple women who he says are "cynically and dishonestly seeking to monetize and exploit the #MeToo movement."

Manson doesn't deny having sex with the women, but describes all the encounters as "consensual" relationships.

Manson's team goes further, saying Bianco "spent months plotting, workshopping, and fine-tuning" her story into "twisted tales that bear no resemblance to reality." They also say the accusers, Bianco included, are trying to publicly conflate his shock rock image with fabricated/horrifying claims of abuse.

Awful news for Reggie Bush -- the ex-USC superstar will NOT be getting his 2005 Heisman trophy back ... despite the NCAA's new rules allowing athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.

Remember, the NCAA made a monumental policy change last month ... finally giving players the opportunity to rake in dough via endorsement deals and sponsorships.

Bush -- who gave up his 2005 Heisman in 2010 after receiving improper benefits -- called out the NCAA and Heisman Trust after the new rules were announced ... saying both organizations were ignoring his pleas to have his Heisman returned.

The NCAA finally addressed the situation on Wednesday ... saying Bush's case is not covered by their new order -- therefore, he will not get his trophy back.

"Although college athletes can now receive benefits from their names, images and likenesses through activities like endorsements and appearances, NCAA rules still do not permit pay-for-play type arrangements," an NCAA spokesperson said.

"The NCAA infractions process exists to promote fairness in college sports. The rules that govern fair play are voted on, agreed to and expected to be upheld by all NCAA member schools."

Bush is considered one of the best college football players ever -- from 2003 to 2005, he logged 3,169 rushing yards, 1,301 receiving yards, and 38 overall touchdowns.

He also won the 2004 BCS Championship ... a victory that was vacated as a result of Bush's punishment.

Aaron Rodgers is FINALLY opening up about his issues with the Packers ... saying all of the drama this offseason was simply because he wanted more power in the org.

Rodgers broke it all down Wednesday in a lengthy meeting with reporters ... explaining he felt he earned the right to have more say with team decisions, but claimed Packers execs saw it differently.

The 37-year-old says back in February, he approached management about having more input in personnel decisions, free agency recruiting and even picking players in the draft.

Rodgers says he also sought more security with his contract ... hoping to avoid becoming a "lame-duck quarterback" in 2021.

The league's MVP, though, told media members the Packers just didn't give him what he wanted ... and that's when all the drama started.

Rodgers said at one point during his time away from the team as the beef stewed ... he actually contemplated retirement.

Aaron and the Packers clearly reached some sort of agreement over the last few weeks, however, and the QB told reporters Wednesday he was happy to be back playing for Green Bay this season.

But, Rodgers made it clear there's no guarantee he'll be under center for the Pack in 2022 ... saying it's all a wait-and-see game.

Check out Rodgers' full interview with media members below ... it sure sounds like this will be the last ride for the QB in Green Bay.

As for Wednesday's workout, Rodgers looked great in his first practice back with the team ... heaving passes and running drills without issue.

Chris Harrison doesn't seem to be holding a grudge after he was cut loose from "The Bachelor" -- if anything ... the dude's let it all go, and looks happier than ever.

We got the franchise's longtime host out Tuesday night leaving The Gallery restaurant in Westlake Village, with his GF, Lauren Zima, in tow. They were hand-in-hand ... and some congratulations were in order, 'cause CH had just turned 50 the previous day.

He tells us they were, indeed, out keeping the festivities going ... and when we asked how he was doing following his abrupt exit from 'Bachelor' nation, he seemed to have processed it and let it go.

Watch this clip ... Chris seems at peace with the way things turned out, and one reason lies in the fact that he can have one of his crucial weekdays back to himself for once in nearly 20 years. That's a good thing for him in 2021, 'cause the big 5-0 landed on said day.

After some pleasantries, our photog got right into the heavy ... namely, by asking if Chris felt any type of way now that Matt James ended up staying with Rachael Kirkconnell in the end anyway -- this after she was accused of racism and he lost his job for defending her.

It's the million-dollar question that everyone has for Chris ... but check out how he answered it with us. No harm, no foul, it would appear -- he wishes the couple all the best and says it's all water under a bridge.

Dua Lipa says she's "surprised and horrified" by DaBaby's anti-gay and sexist diatribe during his set at Rolling Loud ... she says it doesn't sound like the artist she thought she knew.

Dua Lipa, who worked on a song with DaBaby last year, just responded to his homophobic rant ... saying she can't believe he's spewing all that hate.

DL says "I don't really recognize this as the person I worked with" ... alluding to their 2020 collab on the song, "Levitating."

As we reported ... DaBaby told folks in the Rolling Loud crowd to put up their cell phone lights, encouraging them to do so in a very disturbing way by telling them ... "If you didn't show up today with HIV/AIDS or other STDs that'll make you die in 2-3 weeks" and "Fellas, if you didn't suck a n**** d*** in the parking lot."

DaBaby tried clearing up the vile comments following tons of backlash, posting a video where he claims the words weren't directed at his gay fans because his gay fans aren't "nasty gay n****s" or "junkies." In other words, he only made things worse.

Dua Lupa makes a clear distinction between her values and DaBaby's rant ... saying she stands "100% with the LGBTQ community" and calling on folks to come together to fight the ignorance and stigma around HIV and AIDS.

The Black woman selling hair care products who was approached by a white woman asking if the transactions were drug deals doesn't want folks going after this "Karen" ... but she hopes a lesson was learned.

Ronnie Marie, owner of Marie's Luxury Hair Extensions, tells TMZ ... she doesn't want "Karen" to lose her job or get canceled over the incident.

Instead, Ronnie wants folks to keep supporting her hair care biz, like they have since video of the interaction went viral ... because she says kindness is how you kill a "Karen."

As we reported ... Ronnie was approached by a white woman in Sacramento, CA while she was selling hair care products off her bicycle, with "Karen" saying the transactions looked like drug deals to some folks in the neighborhood.

Ronnie, who remained calm the entire time, tells us she delivers her products to customers at the same location every day at the same time ... and claims folks in the area know her well.

She says the positive support from customers and strangers on the Internet is the best way to discourage this kind of behavior from "Karens" ... and she's not planning to take any legal action against the woman.

Stephen Dorff has gone from a "s***-talking" mood to mea culpa mode ... saying he feels bad for trashing Scarlett Johansson and her Marvel film.

We got the veteran actor leaving Porta Via in L.A. and wondered what he had to say weeks after the premiere of "Black Widow" and nearly a month after he teed off on ScarJo and practically everything about Hollywood.

The "Blade" star could do nothing but sing Scarlett's praises ... and he explained his interview with the U.K.'s Independent outlet was "taken a little bit out of context."

You'll recall Stephen didn't hold any punches saying, in part, "I still hunt out the good s*** 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!"

So, what triggered Stephen? He seems to point the finger at the reporter ... who "got me in a moment where I was s*** talking a little bit."

The movie's been out for almost a month and Stephen admits he hasn't seen "Black Widow" ... which, btw, has an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes. And, for what it's worth, he says he's already cleared the air with ScarJo.