Controversial S#!T

Things are looking grim for Joe Exotic -- he fears his prostate cancer has spread to his pelvis and stomach ... and says he will not seek treatment if it's already progressed to an advanced stage.

As we reported ... the imprisoned 'Tiger King' star revealed his cancer diagnosis in May and pleaded with President Biden for a pardon so he could be released and get medical treatment.

Joe says he hasn't received any treatment since then -- and that he's also been waiting for a colonoscopy and endoscopy since October -- and now claims he's been told by doctors his cancer might have spread. His attorney, John M. Phillips, tells us doctors are checking Joe's pelvis and stomach ... he was supposed to have an appointment Monday, but it was canceled because of COVID lockdown.

According to The Sun ... Joe's still awaiting an official diagnosis, but insists he will refuse medical help if his cancer is stage 3 of 4 and "let it take me." He added, he's "ready to die."

The unfortunate news comes about a month after things were looking a little more positive for Joe, with a court ruling resulting in a potentially shorter prison sentence.

"Jeopardy!" executive producer Mike Richards is letting his coworkers know, he did NOT discriminate against pregnant models when he was an exec on "The Price Is Right" ... and insists he would never stoop to that level.

Mike blasted out a memo to the "Jeopardy!" staff Monday, addressing the recently resurfaced allegations and reports that he's going to become the next host of the famous game show.

Richards, who was named in two lawsuits, says the claims in the suits came out of employment disputes and don't "reflect the reality of who I am or how we worked together on The Price is Right."

Mike was accused of making insensitive comments about pregnant models, but he says ... "I would not say anything to disrespect anyone's pregnancy and have always supported my colleagues on their parenting journeys."

The pregnancy discrimination allegations resurfaced in the wake of reports Mike is expected to take over hosting duties from the late Alex Trebek and usher in a new era of "Jeopardy!"

In his memo, Mike says he's humbled and honored to be asked to host but says "no final decisions have been made" and it's not his call even though he's the EP.

As we reported ... Mike guest-hosted 'Jeopardy!' back in February and absolutely crushed it. He's hosted other game shows before, including "The Pyramid" and "Divided" as well as producing more than 4,000 hours of game shows.

There's been some fan outrage to reports Mike's taking Trebek's place ... and other guest-hosts this season included Aaron Rodgers, LeVar Burton, Anderson Cooper, Mayim Bialik, Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulos.

The fan accused of hurling the n-word during Sunday's Rockies game might've gotten a raw deal -- because upon further review ... it appears he was screaming to the team's mascot, Dinger.

A new video has surfaced, and showing the fan in question sitting behind home plate, and apparently waving/screaming to the mascot ... Dinger the dinosaur who was across the way. Notice how the dude waves and where he's looking.

And, as you listen ... it does, indeed, sound like he could've been saying "Dinger!" ... instead of the n-word. Some still aren't convinced though -- saying they can't quite hear the "d" sound -- but in our minds ... this context pretty much clears it up, and clears the man's name.

Frankly, someone would've pointed him out in the moment if he had, in fact, said the n-word. That kinda explains why the Rockies said they hadn't located the dude after the fact.

While the team came out and fully condemned what most people thought they'd heard at first, it now appears it's perhaps much ado about nothing. Understandable that the confusion arose in the first place, however ... because during the broadcast, it DID sound bad.

As we reported ... the alleged slur was heard toward the end of the game, when Marlins OF Lewis Brinson was at-bat at the top of the 9th -- having taken ball 2 and already clocking a couple hits in the game. He did appear to turn around and acknowledge the yelling.

Anyway, good to know where the team and the media members who cover the team stand on the issue -- namely, against racism and racist rhetoric -- which is encouraging to hear. But, with that said ... maybe it's time to consider a new face/name for the franchise in light of this.

Dinger might be just a little too close to something else, it appears.

R. Kelly is trying to score a win in his federal sex crimes case by citing public health laws in order to get the herpes-related charges tossed.

The singer's filed new legal docs in the Eastern District of NY, obtained by TMZ, asking the court to throw out charges for knowingly exposing sexual partners to herpes because ... he says the legislature didn't include herpes in the law because it's "Not An Acute, Bacterial Venereal Disease."

You might recall, federal prosecutors accused Kelly of exposing 2 people to an STD in March 2020, and the charges were tacked on to his already long list of federal charges for allegedly sexually exploiting underage girls and young women.

According to the new docs, however ... Kelly's legal team claims herpes does not fall under the umbrella of STDs -- like syphilis or gonorrhea -- based on how the term has been defined by the New York State Dept. of Health and the World Health Organization.

He points out those orgs classify herpes as a virus, not a bacterial venereal disease -- and therefore, he wants the herpes-related counts dismissed.

As we've reported ... Kelly's also gearing up for his criminal trial in Chicago, and dealing with the recently added allegations that he groomed and molested a 17-year-old male he met at McDonald's.

Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson was subjected to racist venom during his final at-bat during Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies ... being called the n-word by a fan.

Brinson was at the plate at the top of the 9th with the Rockies ahead of the Marlins by quite a bit, and with one out logged ... he stepped up to take a hack. After taking a second ball, somebody in the stands started unabashedly hurling the slur as loud as they could.

The man's words were picked up by a mic ... and you can clearly hear him saying it over and over again, seemingly in Brinson's direction -- as the guy turned around to look himself.

It's unclear if the fan was found and punished for the reprehensible language ... as neither the Rockies nor Coors Field seem to have addressed the situation just yet. Beat reporters and broadcasters who were watching/covering the game, however, have spoken out.

All of them are calling for the same thing ... for the fan to be ID'd and banned for life for using such language. As the Marlins play-by-play man Paul Severino put it ... "The level of hate that was displayed has no place in this world. Unfortunately, it's still far too prevalent. We need to be better. And soon. Awful." The sentiment was similar among the others, too.

Brinson, for his part, had been playing pretty well this series -- getting 2 hits Sunday and 3 on Saturday ... so he was giving the Rockies problems. Still, for someone to stoop to this ... it's despicable.

One other weird thing ... the MLB App isn't allowing one to watch the Rockies/Marlins game at the moment -- even though it's already over. It might still be getting archived at the moment, but it's also possible the league is scrubbing/censoring today's game in light of what happened.

A Black realtor and his clients were treated like first-rate criminals during a house showing in Michigan, when police showed up with the cavalry and guns drawn on a mistaken 911 call.

Eric Brown was giving a tour last week to Roy Thorne and his 15-year-old son, when all of a sudden ... they say they found themselves surrounded by a number of police cruisers outside, with some of the officers pointing their weapons at them and demanding they step out.

All three of them did what the cops asked, and they were all cuffed and briefly detained -- this while the cops asked them questions. Apparently, a concerned neighbor called in to report a break-in ... as it seems there was one that had happened the week prior, with the suspect's car at the time having a similar look to the one Eric was driving on this day.

As a result, the City of Wyoming Police Dept. came swarming in. After sorting out what was what -- with Eric explaining he was a realtor and was just showing off the place -- the police finally realized they were in the wrong ... and released everyone without further incident.

Everyone seemed to be on good terms as things wrapped up -- with the cops apologizing for the inconvenience -- but Eric and co. are still angered over it ... now claiming racial profiling.

The term "scaled back" is all relative, because Barack Obama's 60th birthday bash was still a bash, with what appeared to be several hundred party revelers on hand to celebrate.

There were tons of celebs who showed ... including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Bradley Cooper, Don Cheadle, Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Erykah Badu, Steven Colbert, Bruce Springsteen and more.

The former Prez hit the dance floor under the massive tent ... without a mask. As you know, the CDC, Dr. Fauci and many other experts have urged people to wear masks inside because of the Delta variant, and it's already drawing criticism.

The party looked super fun ... but the plan to keep things under wraps crashed and burned early on, as Erykah Badu and others posted photos and videos of the event.

Napkins of the event were embossed with the numbers, 44x60 ... the 44, obviously, refers to his presidency, and the 60 is obvious.

Partygoers even took shots of the bathroom, with a lint roller, Advil and antiperspirant ... frankly the sign of a good party.

The food and drinks looked pretty amazing ... lots of the food was vegetarian, but there was reportedly an oyster bar which is requisite fare for a Martha's Vineyard soiree.

Obama hit the dance floor for quite some time, dressed casually as he made the rounds.

Alicia Keys and John Legend both sang Happy Birthday to 44.

The party snarled traffic around the island, at when it started winding down at 1 AM Sunday, one officer was overheard calling traffic a "s*** show."

Jamie Lynn Spears gave us a peek into her upset over her relationship with her big sister, Britney.

Jamie Lynn posted what sounds like tearful audio ... 3-year-old daughter Ivey is heard saying, "It'll be okay, mom, it has to be okay, mom." Jamie Lynn sounds like she's fighting back tears, as she says, "Thank you, baby."

The audio, recorded Saturday night, underscores the drama in the Spears family. Britney has made it clear ... she believes her mom, dad and sister have all betrayed her over the conservatorship. Britney says they've all profited from it, at her great expense.

Britney posted last month, "Never forget who ignored you when you needed them and who helped you before you even had to ask."

To show the depths of the conflict, Britney added, "How dare the people you love the most say anything at all … did they even put a hand out to even lift me up at the TIME !!!??? How dare you make it public that NOW you CARE … did you put your hand out when I was drowning????"

O.J. Simpson has some cajones on him -- saying with a seemingly straight face that he won't return to Los Angeles out of fear of running into the actual person who murdered his ex-wife.

The disgraced ex-NFL'er -- who was acquitted for the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, but found liable in a civil suit shortly thereafter -- dished his thoughts on visiting the City of Angels anew in a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic ... and he says he doesn't entertain it for one very specific, ass-backward reason.

O.J. is quoted as saying ... "I have trouble with L.A.," going on to add, "People may think this is self-serving, but I might be sitting next to whoever did it. I really don’t know who did this."

That's pretty much what his hesitation boils down to -- that he might, perhaps, end up running into the "real" murderer ... and maybe get murdered himself. At least that's how it sounds on its face here. BTW, O.J. had more to say on the so-called one who got away.

He says, "I figured eventually somebody would confess to something, you know? I had one suspect I told my lawyers to look at. I still think he might be involved, but I can’t talk about it." O.J. also feels he lives a "good life" now in Vegas -- despite what people may think.

While O.J. was limited to just Nevada after getting parole, it appears the guy's been given a longer leash over time -- with reports saying he's gone to Florida of late to visit his kids, with permission from his P.O., of course. So, it does seem he could come to L.A. if he wanted.

Tank is ecstatic that his early tunes are finally seeing the light of day, officially, alongside Aaliyah's catalog ... this in spite of the drama behind the scenes.

The R&B crooner broke down what this moment means for him Saturday morning when we ran into him at LAX, and he said it quite succinctly ... not only is this a re-introduction to fans (new and old) but it's also an opportunity to make up for lost time ... financially.

Check out his response ... Tank makes no bones about the fact that he's missed out on a lot of dough over the years considering his first 3 albums weren't streaming or on digital platforms. He's not sour over it, but notes a wrong is finally being righted ... and he's glad.

As for Aaliyah's music, and her family's apparent opposition to it being released without their blessing ... Tank says he understands, but that it's perhaps a blessing in disguise -- as he notes, as so many others have, that a whole new generation will get to know her anew.

That acrimony aside, Tank's just happy people will finally get schooled on late '90s/early 2000s R&B ... a chapter from which he DID exist pre-2010 -- and cranked out great music.

You've heard of people falsifying their vaccine cards to avoid having to get the jab -- but here's another example of the same exact thing ... in the opposite direction.

The AP reports that a small handful of Americans have been caught red-handed trying to lie about their vaccination status -- this in order to receive a third booster shot before it's officially approved by Uncle Sam ... all because they're freaked out about the rising variants.

In one instance, a 26-year-old grad student named Gina Welch admitted to the AP that she'd successfully gotten her third booster already ... by simply going to a clinic and telling 'em it was her first. Her rationale boils down to ... I've done the research and I'm sick of waiting.

It's unclear if the healthcare system/her insurance company has caught on over the discrepancy yet -- but even if they have, it's too late by now ... Welch was able to prance in and get the damn thing without much checking or hassle, it seems. Ditto for at least 900 others in the country, who appear to have already triple-dipped for inoculation, so says AP.

It would appear some folks -- a vast minority at this point -- are fed up with having to respond to government entities ... which admittedly move slow on this sorta thing. That's pretty ballsy -- but it's also incredibly telling ... for a multitude of reasons, really.

For one, our own healthcare experts -- including Dr. Fauci -- have, indeed, said that a booster will likely be needed in the future to ward off Delta, Lambda and all these other COVID variants that are springing up ... and they're even working on rolling that out for the elderly and immuno-compromised right now. 'Til then, the rest of us gotta get in line.

Allison Josephs has had it with Hollywood's portrayal of the Orthodox Jewish community, and believes "My Unorthodox Life" is the latest contributor to negative stereotypes she calls downright dangerous.

We got the "Jew in the City" founder outside the Peninsula Hotel in NYC, and she had some stern reactions to the controversial new Netflix series about Julia Haart -- CEO of modeling agency Elite World Group -- who left her Haredi community in 2013.

Josephs has several issues, first and foremost with Julia ... who she accuses of co-opting someone else's story and not being entirely truthful. She also blasts Haart for generalizing her former Jewish community as "fundamentalist" at a time when hate crimes against Jews are on the rise.

Allison goes on to say these recurring negative portrayals of the Orthodox community on TV and film are devastating ... and she's pleading with Hollywood execs to do better.

Britney Spears' personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, has fired back at Jamie Spears, but what she's saying also raises issues about Britney's current mental health state.

Montgomery is reacting to Jamie's legal filing Friday, in which he says Jodi raised concern about Britney's mental state, calling her "mentally sick" ... and even suggesting it might require a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold.

Jodi says, through her lawyer, Jamie misrepresented her position ... "At no time did Ms. Montgomery express to Mr. Spears that Ms. Spears would currently qualify for such a hold. The concern that Ms. Montgomery did raise to Mr. Spears during their telephone call is that forcing Ms. Spears to take the stand to testify or to have her evaluated would move the needle in the wrong direction for her mental health."

As you know, it was actually Britney who told the judge she wanted to testify back in June. And, Jodi's lawyer is not saying Jodi did not raise the issue of a 5150 hold as an option ... the lawyer says Jodi never said she'd qualify for an involuntary psychiatric hold.

The lawyer adds, "Ms. Montgomery does have concerns about Ms. Spears' 'recent behavior and overall mental health' as set forth in Jamie Spears Declaration ... Due to medical privacy, Ms. Montgomery cannot go into those concerns with any further detail except to say that having Jamie Spears continuing to serve as her Conservator instead of a neutral professional fiduciary is having a serious impact on Ms. Spears' mental health."

Jodi's lawyer also notes Jamie said in his legal docs it was Jodi who got Britney into a mental health facility back in 2019. Jodi's lawyer says at the time Jodi was merely a case manager for Britney -- not her conservator -- and she signed the admission papers at the behest of Jamie.

What's interesting here ... when Britney testified in June, she told the judge she was forced into the facility, but Jodi's lawyer seems to take issue with that, saying, "Ms. Spears consented to her placement at the facility in March, 2019."

Britney Spears personal conservator told Britney's dad less than a month ago, Britney was so mentally impaired the conservator raised the prospect of putting her under a 5150 psychiatric hold ... this according to Jamie Spears in new legal docs.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jamie says on July 9, 2021, he got a call from Jodi Montgomery, Britney's personal conservator, who sounded "very distraught" and expressed how concerned she was about Britney's recent behavior and overall mental health.

Jamie says Jodi told him Britney was not "timely or properly taking her medications, was not listening to the recommendations of her medical team, and refused to even see some of her doctors."

Jamie says Jodi asked for his help, but he said he did not have access to Britney's medical information since he hadn't been in control since late 2018.

That's when Jamie says Jodi raised a 5150 psychiatric hold as an option.

Jamie also said Jodi acknowledged that many of the statements Britney made in open court last June were false ... attributing the alleged falsehoods to the fact she's "mentally sick."

Jamie then says on July 13, 2021, he got an email from Jodi who backtracked and discounted the need for a 5150.

Also in the docs, Jamie takes aim at Britney's new lawyer, Mat Rosengart, saying Rosengart's allegations of malfeasance were "unsubstantiated, vague accusations."

He makes a specific point of disputing Rosengart's claim Jamie denied Britney a trip to Hawaii. Jamie says that was simply false.

And, Jamie says, his "sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her."

Jamie also says he's "dutifully and faithfully served as the Conservator of his daughter's Estate without any blemishes on his record." He goes on to say when he came on board, the Estate was in debt and facing 10's of millions of dollars in lawsuit, and he turned it around, so it's now $60+ million strong.

He also says he worked hard with a team of professionals to restore Britney to good health, reunite her with her kids with whom she lost custody and help revive her career.

Jennifer Aniston knows the drill ... you say anything on social media, you're gonna get dragged, but after drawing fire for her vaccination comments, she was ready to fight back.

Aniston was criticized for saying when it comes to friends, she only wants those who are vaccinated, revealing she's cut "a few people" out of her life who just won't get the shot.

The criticism was mild as far as criticism goes, but here's a sample ... "If [Jennifer's] vaccinated she's protected correct? why be worried about [unvaxinated people] around her?"

She fired back ... "Because if you have the variant, you are still able to give it to me ... I may get slightly sick but I will not be admitted to a hospital or die" ... BUT I CAN give it to someone who does not have the vaccine and whose health is compromised -- and therefore I would put their lives at risk."

And, she zeroed in on the point ... "THAT is why I worry ... We have to care about more than just ourselves."

The flight attendant who duct-taped an unruly Frontier passenger is finally speaking out -- well, at least a YouTuber is giving him a pretty hilarious voice.

Ya gotta see this spoof of a TV newscast, which starts and ends with actual news footage ... but in the middle features YouTube personality, The Real Spark, masquerading as flight attendant, Alfredo Rivera -- and if you act up on his flights, "you gonna have to attend this ass whooping!"

He explains the passenger stunk like "4 shots of Everclear and regret." He then references something that allegedly happened for real on the flight ... the passenger, Max Berry, groping a female crew member mid-flight. "Alfredo" adds, "Where he f**ked up at is when he touched my titties, 'cause I don't play that!!!"'

Just watch ... we give it an 'A' for delivery and production quality.

As you know ... the real flight attendant taped Berry to a seat after the guy allegedly groped a couple female crew members and started screaming, cussing and making a scene.

TMZ obtained new video of the incident, showing Berry ranting and raving as he was restrained. The real flight attendants involved are all on paid leave while the airline investigates ... but Frontier says it supports their actions under the circumstances.