Controversial S#!T

Alice Sebold's movie adaptation about her 1981 Syracuse rape has utterly fallen apart in the wake of the exoneration of the man she accused -- and one of the film's stars is out too.

Netflix's Victoria Pedretti -- who has a leading role in "You" -- is no longer associated with the project, "Lucky," which was set to depict the plot of Sebold's 1999 memoir of the same name ... this according to Variety. It's unclear who Pedretti was supposed to portray, but some are guessing it might've been the author herself.

In addition to losing Pedretti's acting talents ... the project has lost all of its financing, which had apparently been crumbling in the months leading up to Monday's incredible news.

The revelation ... the man Sebold pinned the rape on, Anthony Broadwater, was fully exonerated last week after one of the former EPs attached to the "Lucky" movie dug into the facts of the story ... this after having suspicions about the script and its source material.

Tim Mucciante actually left the project over what he perceived as holes in the story -- but not just that, he actually went out of his way to hire a PI and lawyers to delve even deeper ... and ultimately consult with the local D.A.'s office -- which agreed that the evidence was shoddy, and asked the court to vacate Broadwater's 1982 conviction this week.

Lo and behold, they did exactly that ... and the dude broke down in tears for what he called a travesty of justice that had besmirched his name (and his life) for decades now.

Here's the crazy thing ... the truth appears to have been hiding in plain sight. What put Broadwater away for over 15 years was Sebold's on-the-stand testimony that he'd raped her in '81, plus microscopic hair analysis which has since been debunked as illegitimate science.

Not just that, but even the process of ID'ing Broadwater as the guy was completely botched -- first, she says she saw an unidentified Black dude approach her in the streets months after her rape, and she felt that this person was her attacker at Syracuse University.

She notified the cops and they canvased the area, picking up Broadwater for fitting the general description. Sebold is said to have failed to pick him out of a lineup shortly thereafter -- zeroing in on another Black man -- but somehow, Broadwater became the prime suspect.

Once he was face to face with her in court that following year, she definitively said it was him ... and the rest is history. He was released from prison in '99, and has had a rough go since.

Dave Chappelle's first Q&A over his transgender controversy did not go well -- but it was honest ... because kids from his alma mater told him exactly how they felt.

According to Politico ... Dave paid a visit to his old high school -- the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in D.C. -- shortly before Thanksgiving this week and encouraged students who were angry with him to get on the mic and air their grievances during an assembly.

Interestingly, an event at this same school had previously been postponed ... over what many perceived was the backlash Dave was facing. Seems they came to an agreement.

Anyway ... things immediately got off to a rough start, as the packed auditorium of about 580 teens half cheered and half booed for the guy -- and when he exclusively invited the naysayers to speak, the discussion went downhill fast ... and got pretty contentious.

Politico reports one student stepped up and called him a "bigot," adding ... "I'm 16 and I think you're childish, you handled it like a child." Dave responded, "My friend, with all due respect, I don't believe you could make one of the decisions I have to make on a given day."

In response to another Q, Dave said ... "I'm better than every instrumentalist, artist, no matter what art you do in this school, right now, I'm better than all of you. I'm sure that will change. I'm sure you'll be household names soon." Apparently, that pissed off the kids more.

When one student yelled out, "Your comedy kills!" ... Dave reportedly said, "N****** are killed every day." Story goes, the rest of the convo went exactly like that -- no apology surfaced.

There was also a camera crew in tow ... and some of the students told Politico after the fact that they felt intimidated and that there was a power imbalance Dave was clearly aware of and exploiting. Funny enough, there were some students who were sour about not being able to express support for Dave -- remember, he only let those who were pissed speak.

Toward the end of the Q&A, Dave reportedly softened his tone ... when he disavowed threats some of the students have purportedly received for their outcry over Chappelle. He even gave each of them tickets to his new documentary film, but it's unclear if this squashed anything.

His rep told Politico ... "He said these kids deserve an F for forgiveness." She added, "Give them some space to grow. They are going to say things that are immature."

Should the Miami Heat retire Udonis Haslem's jersey??

Dwyane Wade says it's a matter of when, not if -- telling TMZ Sports he knows his former teammate's jersey will hang from the rafters in Miami one day.

Haslem -- who was drafted by Miami in 2002 -- has spent his entire career with the org ... and is considered a Heat legend for the longevity he has with the team.

Of course, D-Wade and Haslem have a strong bond -- the two played together for the Heat franchise for a number of years ... winning 3 championships in that span.

UD postponed retiring this past offseason and signed on with the Heat for year 19 ... and even though the veteran doesn't see much playing time these days, his impact on the sideline and locker room is certainly felt by the players.

As for Wade -- who was in New York for the release of his new book "Dwyane" -- we asked him if he had any advice for players on the Phoenix Suns ... whose owner -- Robert Sarver -- has been embroiled in allegations of racism and misogyny.

"You know, I'm in ownership now," the Utah Jazz part-owner said. "I don't comment on other teams."

The Twitter posse is at it again ... this time trying to cancel Seth Rogen for daring to call out a YouTuber who called Seth's stomping ground a "crime riddled 3rd world s***hole of a city."

Seth saw a post from Casey Neistat, who groused that his car had been burglarized and then added some choice comments about the City of Angels. He said his 7-year-old daughter's birthday party decorations were taken and the burglar left bloody handprints on the car.

Rogan responded, "Dude, I've lived here for over 20 years. You're nuts haha. It's lovely here. Don't leave anything valuable in it. It's called living in a big city."

Neistat fired back, saying he felt violated and wanted to know if he's allowed to be mad. Seth's response -- "You can be mad but I guess I don't personally view my car as an extension of myself and I've never really felt violated any of the 15 or so times my car was broken into," adding, "Once a guy accidentally left a cool knife in my car so if it keeps happening you might get a little treat."

That sent some cancelers into orbit, slamming Seth for acting "privileged." True, not everyone can blow off a car burglary, but Seth was responding to someone who is also a multimillionaire.

Truth be told ... L.A. is getting hammered by crime, including a massive number of burglaries -- 10,000+ in 2021, with car burglaries up 10%.

Joy Behar has some advice for those struggling to share both their sexual orientation and political beliefs this year at Thanksgiving with the family ... just come out!

During Wednesday's episode of "The View" Whoopi Goldberg posed the question of the best way to avoid talking politics during this year's celebrations. While the cast believes politics might not be as controversial as year's before ... Behar had some other advice.

The host said, "Come out, just come out ... see what happens."

Not exactly sure what she meant, a confused Whoopi asked, "Come out ... of the door?"

But, Behar didn't mince words, saying, "Come out gay. Be yourself ... life is short." She continues, "Don't let anybody tell you what you have to be in this life."

While Joy's intentions were clearly positive, some certainly felt she missed just how difficult it can be for people to come out ... especially in non-accepting families.

One Twitter user wrote, "hey Joy I have a transgender son and am so proud of him however most parents are not like me some will resort to violence just because their child is gay so please don't tell people to come out just to see what happens that can be disastrous."

Another said, "It's incredibly dangerous to be telling people to come out to their families just to 'see what happens.' Many of our fellow community members face real threats to their lives if they come out to family."

Posters have been plastered on buildings and bus stops in Europe, showing images of some very famous women who appear brutalized ... in an effort to grab people by the collar so they better understand domestic violence.

Artist AleXsandro Palombo has doctored images of Vice President Kamala Harris, along with British Dutchess Kate Middleton, Queen Letizia of Spain, French politician Christine Lagarde and others ... making them appear to be D.V. victims in her series, "She reported him, but she was killed anyway."

The caption under the battered faces reads, "She reported him -- But nobody believed her - But she was left alone -- But she was not protected - But he was not arrested - But she was killed anyway."

The posters have been seen in Milan and Spain, and presumably beyond.

The artist says his end game is to "draw attention to the poor responses from politics regarding the problem of gender-based violence and highlights the ineffectiveness of the support and protection system to the victims."

Cedric the Entertainer is in Bill Maher's corner when it comes to cancel culture, as in he thinks it's gotten ridiculous.

We got Cedric out Wednesday in L.A., and asked about Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. both getting Grammy noms, despite calls for their cancellation. Cedric is clearly pleased the folks over at the Grammys paid homage to both.

Cedric says things have gotten so out of hand it's unclear what people get canceled for, but he lays it on groups on social media ... all of whom think they embrace the truth with a capital T.

He never uses the word "mob," but that's certainly the sentiment as he talks about gaggles of outraged folks who band together on Twitter to zero in on their perceived enemies.

Cedric also seems to think the majority of folks have had it up to HERE with cancel culture.

Soledad O'Brien says there's a reason it's so difficult for a lot of missing persons cases to make the national news ... she says the woman has to be pretty, and they better be white.

The veteran TV journalist joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked her why mainstream media outlets tend to cover cases like Gabby Petito and Natalee Holloway while ignoring stories involving minorities.

Soledad's a bit of an expert on the topic, and not just because of her background in cable news ... she produced a new docuseries on HBO, "Black and Missing," examining media bias as it relates to missing persons.

The way Soledad explains it ... the Petito case, which made headlines right when the docuseries debuted, is a perfect example of what many call "Missing White Woman Syndrome."

Soledad says media tend to run with missing persons stories involving pretty, white women because that's what they think will resonate with the audience ... and she rattles off countless examples.

Benedict Cumberbatch is on the attack ... against toxic masculinity, calling it a problem rooted deep in a society that needs major adjustments if we're going to achieve equality.

The actor is talking up his new film "Power of the Dog," which is set in 1920s Montana, and his character, Phil Burbank, is described as a masochist rancher who bullies his sister-in-law ... played by Kirsten Dunst.

While talking to Sky News about the role, he went off about the "need to fix the behavior of men."

Cumberbatch says toxic masculinity should start to be looked at like a mental health issue and corrected from an early age. He says if society is to bring equal pay between men and women, equal seats at the table and equality across the board there's a lot that needs to change.

He continues, "You get this sort of rebellion aspect, this denial, this sort of childish defensive position of 'not all men are bad'. No, we just have to shut up and listen."

So, what's behind BC going ballistic on men? Sounds like he so deeply immersed himself into the character that he might have blurred lines between the role and reality.

For instance, Kirsten's said she avoided Benedict between takes on set because he mostly remained in character.

You could understand Benedict's powerful stance against male dominance after playing such an extreme character. Of course, a cynic might say he's simply going on the attack before "woke" critics inevitably go after him for even taking the role.

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.