Controversial S#!T

Kyle Rittenhouse has denied being a white supremacist, and even claims to be fully in support of Black Lives Matter -- but a prominent leader in the org itself isn't so sure.

We spoke to Melina Abdullah -- the co-founder of L.A.'s BLM chapter -- and she's not buying Rittenhouse's assertion he's down with the cause. She tells us, from what she's seen ... it's total BS.

Check it out ... Abdullah tells us she thinks his claims of backing BLM don't match up to his history -- and she says the proof is in the pudding. Abdullah makes reference to photos of him flashing perceived "white power" signs online.

She was referring to the now-infamous image from last year that circulated all over social media -- showing Rittenhouse in a bar after his release from jail, flashing what looks like the OK sign ... which many see as a blatant white supremacist gesture. Rittenhouse has denied that's what he meant.

Still, Melina says something doesn't feel right ... she believes the fact he's cozying up to right-wing media types -- like Tucker Carlson, with whom he did an interview last week -- doesn't help Rittenhouse's case for being a BLM backer.

She suggests Rittenhouse is being used as a pawn, perhaps unsuspectingly, by folks she thinks are more interested in racial division than unity.

Again, Rittenhouse has firmly denied being a white supremacist and/or a racist -- and insists his case and actions last summer in Kenosha had nothing to do with race.

As we reported ... KR was found not guilty of all charges against him, as the jury felt he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 2 people that night.

Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon has an idea of how folks across the world can have a much better Thanksgiving -- take the mac and cheese and throw it in the trash can!!

Judon was speaking with reporters ahead of the annual turkey holiday ... when he was asked what his favorite side was ... and well, he was very emphatic about his disdain for one famous holiday dish.

"We gotta get macaroni and cheese off the table," Judon said. "It's just cheese and noodles and it's not that good."

There's more ... Judon added "Let's be honest, guys. Everybody probably here is a little lactose. So, it messes up our stomachs."

"We gotta get it off the table. It's probably one of the most overrated dishes," he continued.

Sheesh, man!!

Of course, Judon's statements aren't going to go over well with the masses ... as many people tend to enjoy mac and cheese as a side dish all the time -- not just at Thanksgiving.

He did, however, tell the reporters that his favorite dish was dressing ... before making sure to add one more time for good measure that mac and cheese has to be eliminated from the mix.

Judon ain't the only Pat with a controversial take -- rookie QB Mac Jones ruffled a few feathers when he shared what he likes to eat on Turkey Day ... 'cause he admitted that he doesn't like any kind of pie -- no pecan, no apple, nothing!!

Jason Garrett is jobless once again ... the New York Giants just fired him -- only two years after the Dallas Cowboys let him go.

The team announced the move Tuesday, saying they've canned their offensive coordinator after a disheartening 30-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Of course, the move is far from surprising ... NY's offense under Garrett has been underwhelming since head coach Joe Judge brought him in before the 2020 season.

Garrett's offense finished 31st in points scored out of 32 teams last year ... and ranked just 25th in that category this year.

Perhaps most alarming was the play of franchise quarterback Daniel Jones, who has appeared to regress this season.

Jones has thrown seven INTs this season to just nine touchdowns -- and he's also fumbled seven times as well.

It's unclear where Garrett -- who was famously the Dallas Cowboys' head coach from 2010 to 2019 -- will end up next.

Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle both grabbed Grammy noms -- despite their individual battles with "cancel culture" -- a signal maybe "canceling" people is on the wane.

The Academy announced its picks Tuesday ... Louis received a nom for Best Comedy Album and Chappelle for Best Spoken Word Album. Of course, Twitter was quick to react, mostly full of people who have had it up to HERE with C.C.

One user wrote, "Louis CK just got nominated for a Grammy, in case people wanted to keep clutching their pearls about the long-term effects of cancel culture." Another said, "only one grammy nom each for dave chappelle, kevin hart, and louis CK!! cancel culture strikes again!!"

It was back in 2017 when Louis C.K. admitted to exposing himself and masturbating in front of women or during phone convos. We saw a glimpse that things were turning around for him when he got a standing ovation at a show in 2019 before COVID closed venues across the country.

As we reported ... Dave's had his recent share of controversy as well -- especially from some in the LGBTQ+ community -- after his most recent Netflix special, "The Closer" almost entirely was centered around transgender and gay people.

In a day that saw more than 30 new lawsuits filed against Travis Scott and the organizers of Astroworld, now event staffers are filing legal papers of their own ... including two security guards who say the event has left them permanently scarred.

Samuel and Jackson Bush say they were hired by AJ Melino and Associates to work security at the event. The docs claim that while only 50,000 people bought tickets, there were many more in attendance ... and the massive crowd caused bigger problems.

Both men claim mental and physical injuries from working the event. Jackson says he witnessed CPR being performed on lifeless bodies and pulled a person from a crowd crush who ended up dying.

The lawsuit is asking for more than $1 million in damages ... and going after not only Travis, but Live Nation, AJ Melino, Cactus Jack Records and others in the process.

As we reported, the new filings are just a fraction of what's already come in. Just last week, a $2 billion lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 280 attendees ... prior to that, another lawsuit for $750 million was filed against Travis and others.

Cops continue to investigate exactly what went wrong, but from almost all fan accounts, overcrowding and crowd surges seem to be to blame.

Travis remained out of the public eye since the festival, and 10 people have died after suffering injuries at the concert ... he's offered to pay funeral expenses and set up an account where families can get in touch with his team to work things out.

Travis' attorney, Ed McPherson tells us, "It was reported that the Operations Plan designated that only the festival director and executive producers have authority to stop the show, neither of which is part of Travis's crew. This also runs afoul of HPD's own previous actions when it shut down the power and sound at this very festival when the performance ran over 5 minutes back in 2019."

He continues, "Investigations should start proceeding over finger-pointing so that together, we can identify exactly what transpired and how we can prevent anything like this from happening again."

Tennis star Peng Shuai told International Olympic Committee officials she's not in danger during a video call over the weekend, insisting there's nothing to worry about, but the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is still concerned about the star player.

The 35-year-old former #1 ranked doubles player in the world seemingly vanished around 3 weeks ago after accusing a powerful former Chinese politician of sexual assault on social media.

The post was taken down ... and Shuai wasn't heard from for weeks. Then, top tennis players like Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and Novak Djokovic took notice -- along with the WTA -- and demanded action.

Cue the 30-minute Zoom call ... with IOC prez Thomas Bach, and 2 other officials.

"Peng Shuai thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being. She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time. That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now," the IOC said in a statement issued following the call.

After they spoke, another IOC official said they were convinced the 2013 Wimbledon doubles winner was safe and healthy after the call.

"I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine, which was our main concern. She appeared to be relaxed. I offered her our support and to stay in touch at any time of her convenience, which she obviously appreciated."

But, not everyone's content with the call. The WTA, which has done an incredible job demanding answers from Chinese officials, still have concerns over Peng's safety.

"It was good to see Peng Shuai in recent videos, but they don't alleviate or address the WTA's concern about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion," a WTA spokesperson told ESPN.

When asked specifically about the IOC's Zoom call, the WTA spokesperson said, "This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern."

After not being seen or heard from for weeks, Peng's been more visible lately. In addition to the video call on Sunday, Shuai was also seen at a tennis tournament in Beijing on Saturday.

Tamir Rice's mother sees a parallel between the killing of her young son and the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse -- and it's an unjust one in her eyes ... one that warrants what she calls a takeover.

We spoke to Samaria Rice about the verdict from last week, and she makes no bones about it ... she thinks him being found not guilty is BS, and that KR should be behind bars. Of course, the backdrop to that is her 12-year-old, Tamir, was gunned down for doing far less.

You'll recall ... Tamir was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer in 2014 after somebody called in saying he had a gun -- which turned out to be nothing but a toy.

With that in mind, Samaria breaks down exactly what she sees wrong with the Rittenhouse case ... detailing everything from him being there with a semi-automatic weapon, to being able to shoot two people in the streets ... and still avoid all consequences.

She makes a startling statement, saying "this country needs to be overthrown."

As jarring as her words are, it's probably how a lot of people feel in the wake of Rittenhouse ... despite the self-defense law that a jury clearly saw as applicable here, many feel justice wasn't served.

Justin Bieber has an upcoming concert in Saudi Arabia -- one that's getting a lot of backlash ... which morphed into drive-by billboards this weekend, calling on him to nix the gig.

Check out these ads that were plastered along the side of a truck that was cruising all over DTLA Sunday, right next to the Microsoft Theater where the American Music Awards are going down tonight.

No word on whether JB is expected to show or not -- he is nominated, but not scheduled to perform -- so it's unclear if this is meant for him to see ... or others in general. In any case, it certainly caught some attention -- especially with the pointed language.

One ad reads, "Bieber, Your Saudi Boss Murders Journalists. Do the Right Thing, Cancel!" Another says, "It's Not Too Late Now to Say Sorry. Don't Sing for Saudi Arabia's Dictator!"

There are others that are just as harsh -- but considering the org that put this together, the Human Rights Foundation, it's understandable why they feel so passionately about it ... fact is, they believe the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, violates everything they stand for -- as do many others around the world.

Ditto for the widowed fiancee of murdered WaPo reporter Jamal Khashoggi, whose 2018 death was linked to MBS. Hatice Cengiz penned an open letter to Justin ... pleading with him to cancel the event, suggesting moving forward will be seen as cosigning of sorts.

She writes, "If you refuse to be a pawn of MBS, your message will be loud and clear: I do not perform for dictators. I choose justice and freedom over money."

The Internet has been buzzing lately about who's the stronger singer between Whitney Houston and Taylor Swift -- but now, a new contender has entered the chat ... Adele.

You might've heard about this last week -- there was a raging debate on Twitter about who was "better" between TayTay and the late, great Whitney ... which got kickstarted with Bartstool Sports staffers, including one who felt Taylor was more well-rounded big picture.

Of course, she was met with ferocious pushback, both right there from her Stoolie colleagues ... but also online, with many (rightly) pointing out the sheer absurdity of comparing them at all -- as Whitney is oh so obviously on another level, vocally and culturally.

To clarify, this gal's point seems to stem from the fact Taylor writes a lot of her own stuff, and in her eyes ... is likely the better artist all around. Eh ... still don't know about that!

Anyway, Ms. Adele got thrown into the fire this weekend too ... with none other than Piers Morgan claiming she's up there with some of the all-time greats, including Whitney.

Others seemed to agree ... saying Adele has perhaps some of the best pipes in the game right now, and may actually stack up against other modern-day legends -- which is certainly a more serious take than Taylor (no offense, Swifties).

However, just as many weren't so quick to let Adele into the icon club -- with members like Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, to name a few -- arguing, yeah ... she's a solid singer, and may even the best of the bunch out of today's crop of popular female artists, but doesn't really compare when you measure 'em note for note.

We'll say this ... today's singers, male or female, simply don't hold a candle to artists of the past, many of whom had raw vocal talent that ya just don't hear anymore -- at least not so much in the 21st century.

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has resurfaced -- so it appears -- after being MIA for weeks.

Peng was front and center at a Beijing tennis tournament Sunday ... an event sponsored by the China Open.

The 35-year-old former doubles champ is wearing a dark blue blazer as she poses with guests at the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals.

The photo was posted on the org's WeChat page.

Peng had not been seen since November 2, when she accused former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her. The 2 had an on-again-off-again relationship over the years.

The allegation had swift consequences ... Peng's social media post -- where she made the accusation -- was deleted and China's censored media ignored the story.

What's unclear ... whether the photo is part of a staged event and is Peng being held hostage. She has not freely emerged and spoken since she made her allegation.

The Women's Tennis Ass'n has made it clear ... they will not play in China until Peng's fate is clear. Members of the group are skeptical that the picture shows Peng posing of her own free will.

There have been other photos that have surfaced as well ... which show Peng having dinner Saturday night at a Beijing restaurant.

Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic have spoken out on the disappearance of Peng.

Naomi said, "Hey everyone, not sure if you've been following the news but I was recently informed of a fellow tennis player that has gone missing shortly after revealing that she has been sexually abused."

"Censorship is never ok at any cost, I hope Peng Shuai and her family are safe and ok. I'm in shock of the current situation and I'm sending love and light her way. #whereispengshuai"

A movie about Serena and Venus Williams -- focusing on their dad teaching 'em tennis -- is, apparently, getting blasted as sexist ... even though they're literally the ones behind it.

Count this as the biggest bad hot take of the week ... and Twitter mostly agrees -- this person seems to be woefully misinformed on the making of "King Richard" -- not to mention the real-life history of Serena and Venus in general -- which stars Will Smith as their father in the titular role, and sees a young Serena and Venus turning into sports prodigies.

A woman named Dr. Jessica Taylor laid into the fact that this flick was more about their pops than them, per se, which she found insulting for some reason ... and to which she expressed outrage, almost on their behalf.

She writes, "Did they seriously make a film called ‘King Richard’ about the success of Serena and Venus Williams - but it’s about their dad, Richard?" What Dr. Taylor fails to realize, it seems, is that Venus and Serena are executive producers of the film.

So the "they" she's referring to here is actually VW and SW ... and the internet let her know about it, with one person responding -- "Venus and Serena wanted it that way. They are literally the executive producers of the movie. Please sit down somewhere"

Unclear if this message got through to the good doctor, because she followed up with yet another equally tone-deaf remark ... saying, "I get this has annoyed people but I genuinely didn’t expect a film about two of the most powerful, successful and amazing black female athletes to be named after a man, or centre a man."

She adds, "I would have loved this film to be all about them, and not a man. That’s it really." The implication, in our eyes, is that there's sexism afoot with the way it's presented.

Of course, what Dr. Taylor, again, does not seem to understand ... Serena and Venus are obviously onboard with this approach to the film, as it's one they wanted to tell and even signed on to shepherd. They've spoken about this in interviews, too, saying they wanted to highlight the role their father played in their lives -- and the gratitude they feel for his hard work.

Funny enough, there are other film critics who are coming to the table with the same POV as this Twitter user -- finding fault in the fact that Will gets most of the shine, and not the girls.

Kid Rock feels like PC culture is going too far -- so much so, in fact, that he wanted to put it into a song ... complete with a visual element that's getting some attention.

The rapper just dropped his latest track, 'Don't Tell Me How to Live,' along with a music video ... which is all about how he thinks woke-ness, as it were, is ruining the country -- not to mention the next generation of kids, whom he thinks are gonna be raised to be "p****es"

It's an interesting tune -- and definitely NOT subtle whatsoever in the message KR is trying to communicate ... namely, his apparent frustration with what he considers over-sensitivity.

With lyrics like ... "So what the f***'s up with all the backlash? // You snowflakes, here's a news flash!" ... it's pretty on the nose. In fact, he gets even more direct ... singing, "And, these minions and their agendas // Every opinion has a millennial offended // But this amendment one, it rings true // And if you don't dissent, bitch, then see number two."

Yeah ... he weirdly invokes the Second Amendment, which seems to imply violence. That aside, though -- there's actually a lot of people who might agree with Kid, generally, about cancel and/or call-out culture -- but the thing is ... his own behavior of late has warranted it.

Just earlier this year, he was caught on camera dropping the homophobic f-slur super casually -- and a couple years ago, he was filmed yet again going on another bizarre rant against Oprah, which appeared to have some racial undertones.

If Kid Rock thinks being anti-woke is equivalent to hurling slurs and unabashed insults whenever you want -- well ... he might wanna check the definition again, 'cause it ain't that.

Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction is getting reexamined anew -- and there's a lot of finger-pointing ... especially as it relates to Justin Timberlake and Les Moonves.

The 2004 debacle receives a deep dive courtesy of a Hulu documentary, titled 'Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson' -- which discusses what happened before, during and especially after JJ's breast was exposed on live TV during the Halftime Show.

The one-hour special doesn't shed much definitive light on how exactly the snafu came to pass -- other than alluding to a secret convo allegedly had between JT and Janet's stylist in her dressing room before the show -- but the fallout is certainly front and center.

In the aftermath of the embarrassing moment, different people who say they were in the know back then claim the then-top dog at CBS, Moonves, actually demanded a face-to-face apology from both Justin and Janet ... implying if they didn't, there'd be trouble.

Reporters who were covering the story at the time say Justin actually stopped by CBS's L.A. office and did exactly that ... metaphorically "kissing the ring," as these folks describe. Janet, however, apparently refused to bend the knee ... and rebuffed Moonves' alleged demand.

The way they explain it ... Moonves was supposedly furious over what had happened, and deeply embarrassed -- so much so, in fact, the documentary suggests he was working behind the scenes to torpedo Janet's career going forward. Meanwhile, JT's career flourished.

The doc also looks at how the media handled things ... and it's clear, Janet became the butt of a running joke that lasted a good while -- one she couldn't escape, and which some talking heads say was a misogynistic, sexist and racist double standard being applied to her.

By the end of it, JT and Moonves are painted as the villains from this saga. We'll say less on LM -- who ended up leaving CBS in disgrace -- but for Justin's part ... he has apologized for the 2004 moment many times, including just earlier this year in a fresh statement.

Many felt he left Janet hanging at the time, and Justin himself seems to acknowledge that ... saying he let her down. Still, on the heels of this doc -- it would appear his apology isn't enough, because folks online are seriously pissed at him over what they perceive as a great injustice that irreparably harmed Janet.

In one of the more unsurprising turns of the week, protests erupted from coast-to-coast in the wake of the exoneration of Kyle Rittenhouse.

New Yorkers hit the streets Friday night to express their outrage over the not guilty verdict, and some of the anger got out of hand. Cars were vandalized ... the words, "f*** you" were sprayed on the handicapped placard of a vehicle.

There were 5 arrests in NYC for vandalism.

There was also a protest outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn ... hundreds of protesters held signs, one which read ... "No justice in the capitalist courts" and "capitalism breeds racist terror."

Interestingly, Kenosha -- the city where the trial was held and the fatal shootings occurred -- was fairly peaceful. The protesters were fairly small in number, and the anger seemed most directed at Judge Bruce Schroeder, who presided over the trial.

Portland was predictably more exercised, with 200 protesters throwing things at cops ... this according to the Portland PD.

And, Chicago protesters hit the streets as well, though not in large numbers.

Colin Kaepernick says the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict shows the criminal justice system is broken ... calling the 18-year-old who fatally shot two people a "white supremacist" who benefited from an institution based on white supremacy.

Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all charges in the Kenosha shooting case on Friday ... a verdict that has sparked outrage amongst many people across the country.

Kap gave his two cents on the news shortly after it broke ... saying, "We just witnessed a system built on white supremacy validate the terroristic acts of a white supremacist."

"This only further validates the need to abolish our current system," he added. "White supremacy cannot be reformed."

Kap has spoken his mind on countless social justice issues since kickstarting his national anthem demonstration in 2016 -- recently he called for the police institution to be abolished after no charges were presented in Breonna Taylor's death.

"The white supremacist institution of policing that stole Breonna Taylor’s life from us must be abolished for the safety and well being of our people," Kap tweeted in September 2020.

Other athletes have voiced their disgust with the Rittenhouse verdict ... including NASCAR racer Bubba Wallace, who said, "Ha, let the boy be black and it would’ve been life ... hell he would’ve had his life taken before the bulls*** trial ... sad."

Robert Griffin III added ... "Kyle Rittenhouse can kill without a sliver of doubt & walk free but Julius Jones is in jail for life without the chance for parole after being on death row for 20 years with all types of doubt in his case. What is Justice? God help us."

Rittenhouse was whisked out of the courthouse shortly following the decision. He can be seen grinning from ear-to-ear in the back of an SUV as the vehicle drives off ... in a photo taken by The Sun.

President Biden just addressed the verdict, saying, "I stand by what the jury has concluded. The jury system works and we have to abide by it."

Rittenhouse's spokesperson, David Hancock, says now that the trial is over Kyle is going to go to college and try to live as normal a life as he possibly can.

He says Rittenhouse is going to study nursing at Arizona State University. Hancock also says Rittenhouse is a pragmatic young man and says the case was about self-defense, not politics or race.

Jacob Blake's family watched as the verdict was read outside the courthouse, they showed little emotion while it was read and were interrupted by Rittenhouse supporters when they tried to give remarks.

The family of Anthony Huber tells us, "Today’s verdict means there is no accountability for the person who murdered our son. It sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street."

The family continued, "Make no mistake: our fight to hold those responsible for Anthony’s death accountable continues in full force. Neither Mr. Rittenhouse nor the Kenosha police who authorized his bloody rampage will escape justice. Anthony will have his day in court."

Kyle Rittenhouse has just been found not guilty on all charges in the Kenosha shooting case.

Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree intentional homicide (aka murder), 2 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree attempted intentional homicide ... pertaining to the deaths of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum ... as well as the maiming of Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived his shooting, respectively.

Rittenhouse choked back tears as the verdict was read.

It's been a long 2 weeks and change of proceedings, with prosecutors for the State of Wisconsin trying to make their case ... namely, that Rittenhouse was perceived as an active shooter that night, and that he did NOT have the right to use deadly force against protesters.

The prosecution also painted Rittenhouse as an underage John Wayne -- he was just 17 at the time of the incident -- who apparently thought he was entitled to patrol the streets of Kenosha in the aftermath of the Jacob Blake shooting ... and who provoked and drew the ire of demonstrators by bringing along an AR-15 rifle.

That said ... it would appear their characterization of things weren't always holding up very well in front of the jury -- as Rittenhouse's defense team claimed their client only shot when he felt his life was in mortal danger, and only enough to neutralize threats he considered deadly in the moment. Based on the evidence, it seems the jury mostly agreed with that.

Another element that surely helped Rittenhouse ... the fact that he and others testified to hearing Rosenbaum -- the first person shot that night -- threatening to kill KR and others in his patrol group ... among other unruly behavior many claim he was engaged in that night.

Rittenhouse says he was eventually ambushed by Rosenbaum after losing track of his crew in the streets, and was then chased by him ... until Kyle turned around and shot him. He claimed Rosenbaum lunged at his gun, and that he felt his safety was compromised.

While running away from that scene, he began to get chased anew by a crowd ... with a few members getting their licks in by hitting him with a skateboard, kicking him while he was down ... and approaching him with a handgun. Here, too, he claimed he feared for his life -- and felt he needed to fire his rifle in what Rittenhouse's team says was self-defense.

There were several key moments from the trial ... including the Assistant D.A. Thomas Binger constantly getting scolded and rebuffed by Judge Bruce Schroeder -- especially when Binger tried classifying Rittenhouse's silence after his arrest as a sign of guilt ... a big legal no-no.

Of course, there was also the moment Kyle himself took the stand in his own defense -- during which he broke down and cried while recounting the shootings.

Binger pointing Rittenhouse's actual gun at the jury during closing arguments was a highlight ... which he seemed to do for dramatic effect in making his final point, but which also caught a lot of backlash for what many considered a reckless and unsafe demonstration.

Now that Rittenhouse's fate is sealed ... there is a new round of protests expected in the city, and officials are preparing for the worst (again).