Controversial S#!T

One of Dave Chappelle's best pals says most people don't understand "The Closer" or the controversy surrounding it -- nor do they get what people who are defending him really mean.

Check out what Donnell Rawlings had to say Tuesday at LAX -- we asked about the fact Jay-Z -- and others, including former Prez Barack Obama -- recently seemed to be backing Dave's special and/or vouching for his character.

DR believes folks are misconstruing all this "backing," because, as he put it, most celebs speaking out on behalf of Dave are not necessarily cosigning on his POV -- but, rather sticking up for freedom of speech and artists' rights.

At least that's what Donnell took from Jay saying "The Closer" made him cringe at times, but that's what "great art" makes you do sometimes.

It's a pretty interesting point he's making -- and he adds that despite all the controversy Dave is in great spirits right now. Donnell goes so far as to call it the "happiest point" of Chappelle's life.

That seemed pretty clear, based on DC's face when we got him out in Hollywood last month ... just as the 'Closer' buzz was starting to take off.

Travis Scott says he didn't know a calamity was unfolding when he was onstage Friday at Astroworld ... and we found out when he left, he went straight to Dave & Buster's for an after-party.

Sources connected to Travis tell TMZ ... the rapper was never told at the festival people had died in the crowd and hundreds more were injured. The sources say, "Travis didn't know the severity of the situation when he arrived at the party, as far as timing, this remains consistent with the fact that no one including the police had publicly confirmed the gravity of the events that had taken place."

The person who threw the after-party -- Drake, who had performed with Travis as a surprise guest just as the tragedy was unfolding. Our Drake sources claim he also didn't have a clue there were people dying in the crowd.

As we reported, there were a number of people who were pleading with camera operators and others to stop the show as the crowd crush took its toll, which is why a lot of people think Travis had to know what was going on ... if not during the concert, before he left. However, our Travis sources insist he was at least 50 yards from that camera operator and did not hear the pleas to end the show because fans were dying.

But, we're told when someone told Travis at Dave & Buster's about the tragedy, he immediately left the party. This seems to support the notion he didn't know ... even when he left the venue.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis has pledged to pay funeral costs for his 8 fans who died at the festival and provide mental health services to anyone who may have been affected.

As we reported, lawsuits continue to pour in against both Travis and Live Nation ... including one filed Tuesday by the family of a 9-year-old boy who is fighting for his life after being trampled at the show.

For his part, Drake released a statement Monday night, saying, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."

University of Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis unleashed a passionate and profane rant on a bus full of players after a game this past weekend ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

51-year-old Davis -- who has been a part of 3 national championship-winning programs -- was absolutely fed up after the Longhorns lost 30-7 to Iowa State on Saturday ... apparently reaming the athletes for not taking the beating seriously.

Here's the part that was posted on Twitter, although it's unclear how long the rant lasted:

"S***'s real!" Davis says on the video. "Some of you motherf***ers need to get in the transfer portal! You wanna go? Get in the motherf***er! This s*** ain't a game to me! If you think it's a game, get the f*** off of this bus!"

There's more -- "I got my ass kicked and you motherf***ers wanna laugh?!? S***'s f***in' real! You think it's a goddamn joke?!?"

"And, some of you motherf***ers do transfer out this motherf***er because I'm tired of this s***! This s***'s goddamn real! And, we wanna laugh and joke?!? F*** that!"

The video has social media torn -- some say it's over the top and inappropriate, and others say it shows an enthusiastic coach trying to rally his team together after a bad loss.

Quandre Diggs -- who played for the Longhorns from 2011-14 -- reacted on Twitter ... saying, "whoever recorded the video of Coach Bo need to be gone plain and simple" ... but did not comment on the context of the clip.

Master P says the environment at Astroworld Fest was kosher ... while also acknowledging, no one saw this tragedy coming.

We got the rap mogul Tuesday in L.A. and asked for his perspective on the aftermath of what unfolded Friday night ... a day he actually performed himself, albeit much earlier before everything started going south.

Check out his breakdown of what he saw ... MP insists he never felt things got out of hand or weren't safe. Yes, he notes the young folks who went did, indeed, get hyped -- as it's customary at a festival of this nature -- but, nothing ever raised a red flag to him personally.

His main point here seems to be that people knew what they were getting into by coming to Astroworld Fest -- even going on to say an injury or two can realistically be expected.

With that said ... Master P offers his condolences to the families and loved ones of the 8 people lost, saying that's never something anyone ever really plans for, or is actively trying to encourage.

Of course, we had to ask who he thinks is mostly to blame here -- if he had to pick someone to point the finger at -- but he wasn't really in an accusatory mood, saying it'll be sorted behind the scenes while making sure to emphasize -- Trav ain't at fault.

Aaron Rodgers made it clear Tuesday he's ready to turn the page following his controversial COVID vaccine comments last week ... saying, "I'm an athlete, not an activist."

Just four days after the Green Bay Packers star made waves with his 46-minute, vax rant on "The Pat McAfee Show" ... he rejoined the former NFL player to try to clear some things up.

Rodgers began his interview by offering a bit of an apology ... telling McAfee, "I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. And to anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility."

Rodgers then appeared to distance himself from being any sort of poster boy for the unvaccinated -- saying his research led him to do what he believes is right for himself, not necessarily for the masses.

"I made a decision that was in my best interest based on consulting with my doctors, and I understand that not everybody is going to understand that, necessarily," Rodgers said. "But I respect everybody's opinions."

Rodgers added that he's ready to move on to focusing solely on quarterbacking and not global health -- telling McAfee there's a chance he'll be under center for the Packers vs. the Seahawks on Sunday.

As we previously reported, Rodgers tested positive for the coronavirus last Wednesday -- and admitted to McAfee on Friday that he was not vaccinated.

Aaron claimed he was allergic to the Pfizer and Moderna shots -- and just straight up didn't want to take the Johnson & Johnson version.

Rodgers ended up missing the Packers' game against the Chiefs over it all -- but said Tuesday he's "feeling better."

As for Rogan, the podcaster praised Rodgers on his own show this week ... saying, "he’s a smart f***ing dude."

Many wonder why nobody working security at Astroworld Fest didn't do more to stop the show as the tragedy unfolded  ... and one guard says it's because they were woefully unprepared.

Darius Williams was one of the hundreds of people who were hired to work security for the festival by a company called Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) ... which appears to have been contracted by either folks running NRG Park, or perhaps by the promoters themselves.

In any case, Williams tells us he was hired just a few days prior to the start of the festival -- and he claims his role was vague and not properly explained. As a matter of fact, the guy says he actually completed his training just a day before Astroworld Fest began -- and he tells us he felt inadequately briefed or coached for the task at hand.

As a result ... Williams tells us he bailed on the job entirely on the day he was supposed to work -- because he was that uncomfortable with the incompetence he says he witnessed.

Here's just a taste of what Williams says he and other guards were put through (or not rather) in order to pass CSC's smell test for the gig. For starters, Williams tells us he and the others had to take a licensing exam for a level 2 security officer -- but alleges the training for the test was brief, and all the answers they needed were being provided ... via open book and even from the instructor themselves, who were blurting out the answers.

Tired and hungry ... Williams showed up Friday for his first shift, and says he immediately realized they were understaffed and not equipped to handle the massive crowds. He says he expressed concerns to supervisors, and after they tried moving him from front gate duty to another role ... the dude just threw up his hands and left as he felt it was unsafe.

Williams claims other guards working that day also wanted to up and quit -- but he didn't stick around long enough to see if they did. BTW ... he also tells us there was virtually no security experience required to apply for this, evidenced in the company's own job listing.

The blitz on Aaron Rodgers is in full force -- Jon Stewart is now railing the superstar quarterback over his COVID-19 vaccine stance ... roasting him in his stand-up gig on Monday.

"There is good news on the pandemic," the former 'Daily Show' host said at the Stand Up for Heroes event in NYC. "I was talking to my Dr. Aaron -- Rodgers, and it looks good. It’s almost over."

"He read something in a bathroom," Stewart added, according to Page Six. "I don’t remember what it was. How the f*** does a quarterback not understand the concept of protection? Prevention and protection!!"

Stewart also made cracks about Rodgers' new long hairstyle -- which, for what it's worth, was for his John Wick costume for Halloween -- but the main theme was clearly about his vax stance.

"Let’s say you’re a vulnerable person so you get five big -- they’re not even like human -- they’re like antibodies, like fire," Stewart said. "And then you stand behind them, and then one of them just says, 'I believe in freedom. So, go ahead.'"

"I don’t know, but I don’t like any of this s*** because I’m old."

The Stewart diss piles onto what Howard Stern said Monday morning ... when he ripped the QB's comments and said he'd kick him out of the NFL if he could.

"Here's the thing about my mom, she's a dumb, disgusting slut and everything she says is pretty much complete horse s**t. My father is an old irrelevant piece of s**t, and that's me putting it gently."

That's AEW Star MJF going scorched-earth on his OWN PARENTS -- the people who brought him into this world -- all because they recently insulted him at AEW Rampage.

Let's explain.

During the wrestling show, broadcaster Josh Shernoff interviewed a couple claiming to be MJF's 'rents ... as they held a sign saying "We're MJF's parents and we think he sucks too!"

Maxwell Jacob Friedman's mom and dad also apologized to the audience for bringing their son into the world ... and called him a "f***ing idiot" for good measure.

Savage.

MJF, one of the biggest heels in wrestling, doesn't turn the other cheek -- not even for mom and dad -- so when he recently sat down with Shernoff, he went in on his parents.

In addition to calling mom a "dumb, disguising slut" and dad an "old, irrelevant piece of s**t," the wrestler added the following, just in case the relationship with his folks wasn't totally beyond repair.

"I do not associate with them, they are clearly very money hungry and fame hungry and it doesn't shock me at all that they were willing to take you, a very dumb, very dumb interviewer, and convince you into showing them to the world so they could have all these people listen to them," MJF said, insulting FITE's Shernoff to his face.

The jury in the Ahmaud Arbery case looks more like the accused murderers than the victim, pigment-wise, anyway -- but that won't automatically affect the verdict, according to Chilli from TLC.

We got Rozonda Thomas -- aka, Chilli -- at LAX and asked for her take on the outrage over the jury's racial makeup ... namely, the fact 11 white folks and one Black person were selected to hear testimony in the murder trial, which just started on Monday.

The obvious assumption fueling the uproar is that white jurors might have an inherent racial bias, and end up siding with the father and son defendants, Gregory and Travis McMichael, based on nothing more than skin color.

Of course, that is NOT a foregone conclusion whatsoever -- despite many making that leap -- and Chilli echoes that, saying we have to assume the jurors (black or white) are reasonable people who are out for the truth and justice.

Check out her rationale ... Chilli is optimistic and sees hope for the best in people, a mentality she's applying to this case. Naturally, a lot of people are more cynical -- but Chilli's encouraging folks to have faith in humanity.

Eli Manning's no J Lo and Shakira ... 'cause the New York Giants legend's infamous "double bird" salute on "Monday Night Football" resulted in 3 pissed-off viewers firing off complaints to the FCC.

Remember, EM goofed up on ESPN 2's "Manningcast" back in September while discussing how ruthless Philadelphia Eagles fans are ... claiming he would get flipped off by young fans, and giving visuals of how exactly that looked.

Manning later apologized ... but that didn't stop folks from writing in to the Federal Communications Commission about the salute, with one viewer calling it straight-up disgusting and calling for him to be punished.

"On ESPN 'Monday Night Football' Eli Manning used profane gestures that were despicable and unacceptable and fines should be levied," the viewer from West Chester, PA said in the complaint. "Young Americans should never be exposed to something like that, it was disgusting."

Another wrote ... "Mr. Manning's actions are offensive to me as a viewer. It was also offensive as a Philadelphia native and sports fan. There was young children watching that broadcast last evening."

"The FCC should take all appropriate enforcement actions against Mr. Manning and/or ESPN for Mr. Manning's conduct to hold them accountable to send the message that that type of behavior (even if he was re-telling a story) is not acceptable, including all appropriate fines."

A viewer from Tumwater, WA went as far as to demand Eli get banned from the airwaves.

To compare, 3 is nowhere near the 1,312 complaints that flooded in after Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's Super Bowl LIV halftime show ... with many complaining about the sexual nature of some of the dancing.

The 'Manningcast' has had a few other slipups in the past ... with Travis Kelce dropping an s-bomb and Marshawn Lynch letting the f-word slip.

First, it was Kyrie Irving, now it's Aaron Rodgers in Howard Stern's crosshairs ... 'cause the radio legend is going OFF on the Packers QB, saying he should be kicked out of the NFL over his COVID-19 vaccine drama.

Rodgers has been under a barrage of scrutiny since testing positive for COVID-19 last week ... and revealing he was taking monoclonal antibodies and ivermectin after consulting with Joe Rogan didn't do him any favors in the public eye.

BTW -- Rodgers also said on "The Pat McAfee Show" he was allergic to the Moderna/Pfizer vaccines and had concerns with the Johnson & Johnson jab ... so he sought alternative treatment, which was not approved by the NFL.

Enter Stern, who is furious over the whole fiasco ... saying, "I would throw this guy out of the league so fast," he said Monday.

"This f***ing guy. They should throw him out of the league so fast."

Stern let his listeners know what he would do if he had things his way, while also bringing the Henry Ruggs DUI incident into the conversation.

"If I ran the NFL, if there was decency in this world, I would throw this guy out of the football league so fast. They should throw him out of the league so fast with the guy who crashed his car at 153 mph."

Stern is certainly no stranger to calling out athletes over their vaccine stance -- remember, he recently went off on Irving, saying, "In terms of idiots, he's got to be the top idiot in the country right now."

Critical Race Theory has folks all riled up, often for the wrong reasons -- so here's a breakdown of what it is, what it isn't and where it should be applied ... courtesy of Michael Eric Dyson.

The esteemed academic and author did a PSA of sorts with us Monday on "TMZ Live" over this hot-button issue that is quite literally swinging elections, as we just saw in the Virginia gubernatorial race a week ago. The problem -- folks seem to be misinformed about it.

You can find any number of interviews where people who claim to hate CRT can't actually articulate what it is. That ... or they think it all boils down to making white kids feel guilty as inborn oppressors/racists -- and pegging Black kids as perpetual victims, even today.

Michael says that's far from what CRT is, and definitely not what's being taught in schools right now. You gotta watch how he explains it, because it's nuanced and might take a couple listens to truly understand what he's getting at here.

First, he insists Critical Race Theory is something that's discussed and studied at the college level -- and is NOT being taught to kids in primary school anywhere.

What he says IS being taught to kids -- or at least what some districts are trying to do -- is a retooling of the history curriculum that's more inclusive of the roles African-Americans and other POC have played in making the country what it is today.

If that type of conversation is something parents would still be apprehensive about, even after understanding the distinctions -- well, that's a whole other debate ... but in Mr. Dyson's eyes, it's not radical ... and all it requires is some empathy and understanding.

Michael tackles these issues and so much more in his new book, "Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America" -- but he shoots down the notion advocates for the broadened history curriculum want kids to feel guilty about anything.

However, he does acknowledge these topics are not all cozy, and will require white folks to examine their privilege and act consciously if the nation is going to achieve true equity.

Organizers behind this year's deadly Astroworld Fest promoted the show with footage from 2 years ago, hyping up the fact things could get crazy ... and that people could get hurt.

Check out this promotional video that was published earlier this year in May and posted by the official Astroworld Fest Instagram account -- which shows a number of news clips and civilian clips from 2019 spliced together ... demonstrating the chaos that unfolded ahead of that year's show, including the fact some people were trampled while trying to get in.

The video seems to lean into the notion Astroworld Fest was deemed dangerous/potentially treacherous, embracing that identity ... almost like they were inviting people back with that specifically in mind. You could even interpret this as a ... enter if you dare type thing.

At the end of the video, they tease the dates for this year's concert. BTW, this is the same video that Travis himself posted on his Twitter account shortly after Astroworld Fest wrapped in 2019 ... when he was accused of encouraging the wild behavior.

He wrote at the time, "THANKS TO EVERYBODY THAT PULLED UP TO RAGE !!!!"

This repackaged video used to promote this year's event has allegedly been scrubbed from Astroworld Fest's official YouTube page and other pages, but it is still up on their IG account.

On its face ... this video is pretty damning in the fact that it plays up the apparent inherent danger that lies with attending Astroworld Fest -- and rather than try to pivot away from that ... it would seem folks involved in putting the concert together encouraged round 2.

This is evidenced by the 8 deaths and dozens of other injuries that occurred on Friday night -- not to mention several video clips that appear to show concertgoers trying to relay their concerns about people passing out and dying ... but being mostly ignored and drowned out.

There are also videos that show Travis himself was at least somewhat aware of people falling into distress while he performed -- apparently acknowledging an ambulance golf cart that was working its way through the crowd, as well as taking note of someone who'd passed out in front of him. While he did alert for help for the latter ... TS carried on with the show.

After the fact, Travis described how devastated he was ... sending condolences to the deceased's family members, and promising to work with the authorities. He also denied knowing the severity of things while it was all unfolding -- saying he simply didn't realize people were dying out there. That was echoed by Kylie Jenner as well.

Travis took to Instagram to share his sadness surrounding the event ... again emphasizing he was going to work with Houston PD.

Speaking of the police ... a criminal investigation has been opened into this, as it appears at least one person might've been injected with a needle.

The legal floodgates are starting to open -- Travis Scott and Live Nation have just been sued by somebody alleging they were injured during Astroworld ... the first claim of what may prove to be many more to come.

A guy named Manuel Souza already lawyered up and reportedly filed suit Saturday in Harris County District Court -- claiming he was hurt during the madness that unfolded ... and alleging both negligence and gross negligence on behalf of Trav, LN and others he lists as defendants.

In his docs, obtained by Billboard, Souza says the tragedy was "predictable and preventable" -- due, in part, to what he characterizes as warning signs earlier in the day that he says should've been red flags to festival organizers ... but were allegedly ignored.

Souza describes how people first stampeded their way into NRG Park when things were first opening up ... with folks allegedly climbing over security gates and trampling over one another. Despite this, Souza claims nothing was done to further address or curtail things.

He goes on to allege that concert organizers made a conscious effort to let the show go on, despite clear evidence all around them that people were in serious distress ... and suffering "serious obvious injury." Souza believes they purposely chose this route, claiming they were well aware of the rising risk that was escalating by the minute during the night.

As for why Souza thinks Travis is at fault here ... it's not entirely clear what he's claiming Trav did or didn't do during the show that led to what Souza believes was avoidable. He does cite Travis' history of allegedly encouraging violence among fans at past concerts of his, which Souza says has led to people getting hurt. But beyond that ... it doesn't appear he connects specific dots in this instance as to why TS, specifically, is to blame.

It's also not entirely clear what injuries Souza is claiming were inflected against himself, but he does repeatedly cite the 8 dead and dozens of others who were also hurt ... while going on to claim that profit was chosen over the safety and well-being of concertgoers.

Souza is suing for at least a million dollars in damages. We're working on getting a copy of the lawsuit ourselves -- we've reached out to Live Nation and Travis for comment.

Kylie Jenner seemed to be aware something was amiss during Travis Scott's set, evidenced in her serious demeanor shortly after he took the stage ... something you can now see on video.

TMZ has obtained concert footage we're told was taken about 10 minutes into Travis' performance, which eyewitnesses say got underway at 9 PM sharp ... and went on for about an hour and 15 minutes, drastically different from Houston PD's timeline of just 40 minutes.

Check out the clip ... you see Kylie, Kendall and a bunch of their entourage/security detail hanging out under a tent that's a ways away from the stage ... literally plopped down in the middle of a massive crowd that was surrounding them. At this point, Kylie appears solemn.

As you can see, she's wearing a face mask and has her hands folded together ... looking on with what one could interpret as a nervous expression, or at the very least -- a sobering one.

Her body language says a lot here too -- which is in stark contrast to her sister's ... who's maskless and rocking out with a big smile on her face. Kylie, for whatever reason, didn't seem to be in the same spirit at this point -- and one eyewitness suggests it's obvious why.

The person who shot this tells us they started to feel the crowd surge at this point and were losing control of their footing -- prompting them to want to get out ASAP. Unclear if the ambulance was working its way through the crowd by now -- or if the witness saw/heard of people passing out -- but it's plausible some of that might've been taking place here.

In any case, it's interesting the person who filmed this was feeling a sense of danger and dread right then and there.

Kylie had also filmed an ambulance in her own IG Story -- a clip she eventually deleted, while leaving the rest of her footage up.

Of course, the obvious point ... even if she was somewhat appraised of the graveness of the situation as everything unfolded, what could she have possibly done???

Indeed, probably nothing from where she was ... as she was nowhere near the stage, and had no realistic way to get a hold of Travis STAT as he carried on with his set. Still, the one thing that remains curious is Houston PD's timetable of when things were shut down.

The Chief, Troy Finner, said his team had been told by event organizers that Travis took the stage at 9:30 PM and wrapped at 10:10 PM, but people are disputing that ... claiming it went on for much longer, and that the danger was also present for much longer than just that window.

He also said, perhaps the reason things weren't wrapped earlier was because of fear of a riot breaking out among a young crowd ... which is interesting logic. Now, Finner did say they would look into the timing even further to pin down a more accurate sequence of events -- but based on this account we've been given, this madness lasted for quite a while.

Travis Scott is taking heat for apparently not reacting appropriately to scores of fans who were in distress, unlike other musicians who critics feel handled similar scenarios better.

A few different clips are making the rounds Sunday ... posted by folks who are pissed at TS for seemingly dragging his feet in shutting down his set as people in the crowd were dropping like flies all around him -- something Travis says he was not fully aware of.

However, many aren't buying that -- and feel he could've (and should've) done better, like Dave Grohl once did, or Billie Eilish once did ... or even like Playboi Carti did a few months ago.

The first video that's being compared to the Astroworld fiasco is a concert DG and the Foo Fighters put on in 2018 down in Minnesota ... where the frontman stopped the show to a dead halt to address a kid he saw near the front who didn't have a seat.

Dave moved mountains mid-performance to accommodate the boy and his parent -- something the child's folks appreciated after the fact. Not entirely the same as what went down at Astroworld, but it just shows ... Dave is aware of his audience even while playing.

Then, there's Billie ... who also paused her concert in 2018 over in Stockholm after fans in the crowd pointed out to her that someone had passed out, with BE handing down water from the stage and making sure the girl was alright. This didn't appear to be nearly as packed as Travis' concert was -- but still, people are making the comparison.

Finally, we have Playboi ... who paused his set over the summer at Lollapalooza after a stagehand rushed up to him as he was taking center stage to tell him folks were going unconscious -- something PC literally addressed to the crowd right on the spot.

To be fair to Travis ... there are countless instances of big concerts continuing on as people fell ill or unconscious or anything else out in the sea of bodies -- something the performing artist cannot always see or take notice of considering the circumstances, even if it's up close.

The most prominent example of this occurring -- namely, the show carrying on while chaos unfolds below -- is Michael Jackson ... who would often cause fans to pass out/faint/convulse just seeing him ... which would require them to be carried out and away.

We're not aware of too many times where Mike stopped everything to check on one fan -- and, frankly, that's not really realistic to expect either for a concert of that size.