Controversial S#!T

A Black mother who lost her son before the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement says the removal of BLM Plaza in our nation's capital is a sign the country is in a bad place.

Ahmaud Arbery's mom, Wanda Cooper Jones, tells TMZ ... the removal of the BLM mural in Washington, D.C. "feels like a bad omen" and she says it serves as "a reminder of how fragile progress can be."

Wanda says BLM was never about murals, monuments, or symbolic gestures ... it's always been about accountability, justice and meaningful change -- but she doesn't like the change being made here.

"Snow White" is in its big release week, but instead of excitement, the controversy is still going strong -- and Ali Chapman tells us she totally gets why fans are frustrated.

We spoke with Ali, her hubby Matt McArthy, and their pal Jeff Beacher, owner of Beacher's Madhouse, at Craig's in L.A. Tuesday -- where she told TMZ the whole point of the OG film was the 7 dwarfs ... so that was 7 missed chances for actors like her who would’ve loved to be part of the live-action remake.

Catch the video -- because they all have a lot to say! "Freakshow" star Ali added that Disney had the perfect opportunity to represent the Little People community, only to miss the mark and shut them out in the process.

The judge in Wendy Williams' guardianship case is fed up with Wendy's "behavior" ... and wants her moved to another facility ... presumably with even tighter restrictions.

TMZ is privy to an email Judge Lisa Sokoloff fired off to Wendy's lawyer ... and the judge is having trouble hiding her contempt for the former talk show host. The judge references a prior hearing in which she ordered that Wendy be moved to a new facility.

Apparently Wendy's lawyer fired back saying it would be wrong to move her to an even more restrictive facility than where she is right now -- a residential facility called Coterie. The judge wrote in the email ... "I have always contended that [Wendy] will be given the independence she can handle. I question how well she has handled the independence she has been given."

Gal Gadot is making a strong case for everyone to go check out "Snow White" ... especially with Disney doing the bare minimum for its premiere later this week.

We caught up with Gal -- who plays the Evil Queen in "Snow White" -- at Equinox Los Angeles on Tuesday, and she’s brushing off all the movie’s controversies ... telling us that according to her, the live-action remake is totally worth catching in theaters!

Gal’s comments come the same day Disney confirmed that while the "Snow White" premiere will take place Saturday at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre, don’t expect the usual fanfare.

A former U.S. Dept. of Justice Pardon Attorney says she was fired last week from her position for refusing to reinstate Mel Gibson’s gun rights.

Elizabeth G. Oyer says two weeks ago she was put on a group tasked with restoring gun rights for convicted individuals. But, when asked to add Mel -- who lost his rights after his 2011 domestic violence conviction -- she said no.

The New York Times was the first to report Oyer’s termination. She told the outlet that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's office had compiled a list of nine people eligible for restored gun rights.

Tristan Tate is ripping James Kennedy a new one ... blasting the "Vanderpump Rules" alum for deleting a photo of them together and caving to online backlash.

Andrew's brother unloaded on James on social media, explaining the lead up to their photo over the weekend in Las Vegas, which James posted and then scrubbed from his account.

Tristan claims James "begged and kissed my a** for 30 minutes straight and called me a hero. He knew EXACTLY who I was and what content I made."

The mother of the 5-year-old girl fatally shot alongside her father, rapper G$ Lil Ronnie, is telling the world she's not losing sleep over her dead daughter ... saying we all gotta go someday!!!

Those were the recent words Shamon Jones, who has been crashing out on IG Live the past few days mourning her slain child and her baby's father.

Jones made it clear to her live-stream audience her daughter R'mani dying doesn't make her upset, but it's about how she died ... the elementary-schooler was ambushed in a hail of bullets as she celebrated her birthday with Ronnie last week.

A Virginia high school sprinter is looking for an apology after she was whacked in the head with a baton by a fellow competitor during a recent meet, leaving her with a concussion and "possible skull fracture."

It all unfolded last week at Liberty University in Virginia during the 4x200 relay race at the VHSL Class 3 State Indoor Championship.

As Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker rounded the corner with senior Alaila Everett of I.C. Norcom High School ... the two seemingly bumped arms before Everett swung her baton at the back of Tucker's head.

Detective Melissa Mercado -- the NYPD detective who went viral for appearing as a stripper in a raunchy music video -- has been taken off active sex crimes cases pending the results of a police review.

Law enforcement sources confirm to TMZ ... Melissa -- who is known as a good investigator -- isn't catching active cases in the Special Victims Unit, which looks into alleged sex crimes, while under review.

We're told police officials have to determine if she submitted off-duty paperwork ... documents every NYPD officer must file if they're working another job off the clock.

James Kennedy is apologizing after receiving social media backlash over a photo he posted with controversial internet personalities Andrew and Tristan Tate.

The “Vanderpump Rules” alum took to Instagram on Saturday in which he said he “regrets” posting a since deleted photo with the controversial brothers on Friday night at LIV nightclub in Las Vegas. He explained … “I was unfamiliar with their content and the allegations against them.”

JK went on to say that he “only knew them as podcasters that had posted a viral clip about Vanderpump. I have since educated myself and condemn their beliefs. I am sorry to all that I offended.”

Bill Belichick's proving he can be a sweet boyfriend ... showering his love Jordon Hudson in delicious desserts -- though he may be a little late on the celebration.

The legendary head coach's girlfriend shared a picture from their anniversary dinner Friday night ... featuring a chocolate cake with "Happy Anniversary" written in white frosting.

The plate's got a candle and a few other goodies on it ... and, Jordon added her own twist by writing in brown script text on the photo "better late than never" with a matching heart after it.

Dana White's catching some flak online after warmly greeting Andrew and Tristan Tate at a Power Slap event ... welcoming them back to the United States.

The president of the UFC was out Power Slap 12 in Las Vegas Friday night ... and, video of him dapping up the controversial brothers is circulating online.

Watch the clip for yourself ... Dana pulls the brothers in for a quick hug before yelling out "Welcome to the States, boys."

S-Quire and Picture Perfect, the rapper and director behind the week's hottest rap music video, aren't celebrating the viral moment their video vixen turned out to be an NYPD detective ... she was such a pro, they hired her from a legit casting agency!!!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to both artists about their "Doin That" video, now infamous for Detective Melissa Mercado's thong-twerking and pole-dancing moves inside a strip club rented out for the video.

S-Quire says having the "cop rap video" is not a tag he wants on his jacket and reveals the onscreen chemistry he and Mercado shared was simply showmanship ... which you can see in the BTS footage below.

Getting R. Kelly on the phone from prison put podcasters April Smith and Patricia Dillard in a serious dilemma ... one where they risked backlash from the public, and even their own families.

As we reported, April and Patricia made the decision to post their interview with the convicted felon, which they did for their "Inmate Tea with A&P" podcast -- and during their chat Patricia, in particular, was feeling it when Kelly started singing.

The duo told us scoring the Kelly interview happened totally by accident ... they were interviewing a different inmate who mentioned Kelly was in the same prison, and he managed to get him on the line.

Nadya Suleman -- AKA "Octomom" -- is opening up about the public scrutiny she faced after gaining international notoriety for becoming the first woman to deliver 8 healthy octuplets in 2009.

The mother of 14 kids in total says all the attention was unwanted, since she never wanted to be famous in the first place. In a 'GMA' interview Thursday, Nadya acknowledged that not being married, and struggling to support her huge brood, were the main reasons she faced death threats, condemnation, and misplaced hate.

Nadya also got real about what she says is the huge misconception she was fame-hungry. She revealed that, in reality, she was painfully shy and had always dreamed of getting her Ph.D. in psychology. But, with everything blowing up, it all became overwhelming and eventually landed her in rehab.

Casey Anthony is only embarking on her new career as a legal advocate for two reasons -- money and fame ... so says the judge from her notorious 2011 murder trial.

Retired Judge Belvin Perry Jr., who presided over Casey's child-murder trial, tells TMZ ... Casey, for starters, is craving attention after being out of the spotlight for a while.

Perry also says Casey wants to make some cold hard cash ... that's why she's asking her fans to pay $10 a month or $100 a year to subscribe to her Substack, which offers to help people with legal issues.