Controversial S#!T

Things are getting weird and intense in the Wendy Williams guardianship war ... multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, during a hearing this week, the judge told Wendy, she has no hope of restarting her career.

It's pretty outrageous ... Wendy showed up in court Thursday and appeared before Judge Lisa Sokoloff. Our sources tell TMZ, the judge railed on Wendy's niece, Alex Finnie, accusing her of leaking information to the media and threatening her with sanctions for future conduct.

The judge wasn't finished. We're told she attacked Wendy's family, essentially saying they were no good.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA have finally unveiled their chart-topping "Luther" music video ... with the help of one of Drake's most successful video collaborators!!!

The romantic duet, which has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 7 weeks, follows both Kendrick and SZA around a modern high-rise building.

The song highlights the Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn sample used to create the record, but the video is directed by Karena Evans -- whose name most definitely rings bells in Drake's OVO camp. 👀

Coachella is already proving to be a disorganized and chaotic mess for attendees ... an experience at least one festivalgoer is calling "literal hell."

The gates to the Coachella campground opened at 9 AM Thursday ... a change from past iterations of the event, several regulars at the famous festival in Indio, California told Business Insider.

Hailey Maxwell -- who is hitting Coachella for her fifth time this weekend -- told BI usually the gates are open much earlier ... and, the lateness of opening has led to a much longer entry line.

Rep. Darrell Issa is defending President Trump using the Justice Department to investigate his political foes ... and he says Trump's no worse than Joe Biden.

The Congressman from California joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him about Trump directing the DOJ to look into a couple officials from his first term who ultimately became Trump critics.

Rep. Issa says Trump weaponizing the DOJ to go after political enemies isn't all that different from what Biden did with the DOJ in investigating Trump when Biden was in the White House.

8:19 AM PT -- Andrew Tate's attorney Joseph McBride tells TMZ ... "NEVER HAPPENED. These allegations are great content for a scene in Gangs of London, but are otherwise pure fiction when applied to real life."

The legalities keep stacking up against Andrew Tate -- four women in the UK are suing him now, and one claims he pointed a gun right at her face.

The women claim in legal docs Tate assaulted, raped, and controlled them between 2013 and 2015 in the British towns of Luton and Hitchin -- according to multiple reports from the BBC, The Independent, and The Telegraph.

Two of the women allege they dated Tate in 2013 and 2014, and the other two say they worked for his webcam biz -- with 3 of them reportedly going to cops years ago before officials apparently dropped the case in 2019, per The Independent.

Actor and comedian Russell Brand won't be addressing the halls of higher learning this week after all ... a college in Florida has decided to reschedule a speaking engagement after confirming his attendance earlier this week -- all this in the wake of sexual assault allegations against him.

Brand -- who's facing charges in London of sexual assault by four women, as well as a lawsuit and an investigation in NYC on similar charges -- was set to take part in a panel discussion at the New College of Florida this weekend about free speech and censorship.

A spokesman for the college tells TMZ the decision to reschedule "follows changes in event logistics," listing the unavailability of the venue where the event was planned to be held, and citing ticket availability issues.

2:53 PM PT -- The NBA just announced it's rescinded the technical foul that sparked Tuesday night's drama.

Luka Doncic got the boot from an important Lakers game Tuesday night ... because an official with a quick whistle couldn't delineate fan trash talk from referee chirping.

The bizarre scene all unfolded in the fourth quarter of L.A.'s road tilt with Oklahoma City ... after Doncic hit a floater in the lane to give his team a 108-107 lead.

After making the basket, the 26-year-old turned toward the crowd and began mouthing off -- but a ref thought the chatter was aimed at him ... and Doncic -- who had been hit with a technical foul just a few minutes earlier for arguing a call -- was immediately ejected.

Harriet Tubman’s family is fired up after the National Park Service quietly yanked her photo and quote from the Underground Railroad web page, among other edits... calling it a total slap in the face to Black history, which they stress is American history -- period.

Tubman's relative Rita Daniels -- author, speaker, and founder of the Harriet Tubman Learning Center -- tells TMZ she was shocked by the move, which came amid President Trump’s anti-DEI push, pointing out Tubman played a key role in shaping U.S. history ... particularly helping escaped slaves find their way to freedom, as well as helping the Union during the Civil War. The edited page also removed references to the history of enslavement in the U.S., aside from a single caption ... before public outcry prompted their restoration.

Rita's asking the big question -- why is Black history such a threat to certain people? And why are they trying to erase Black history from America's story? She notes first the administration removed Dept. of Defense references to Jackie Robinson, and then the Tuskegee Airmen.

Nothing’s off-limits for Damon Wayans -- not even his nephew’s ex-girlfriend -- 'cause he's just openly admitted falling in love with her ... and years later, he's not sorry about it!

On Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast, the host laid down the rule -- no exes of family members ... but Damon couldn’t care less, saying his nephew was never in love with the unnamed woman, but he definitely was.

Damon Wayans said he met the woman in 2001 after his divorce from Lisa Thorner, fell in love at first sight, and only later found out she’d dated his nephew -- something he casually chalked up to the slim California dating pool.

Kenya Moore fans are calling for her return to "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" ... standing with her as season 16 rolls on after she was suspended indefinitely last summer for unveiling alleged oral sex posters of Brittany Eady.

A new episode of 'RHOA' comes out Sunday night ... and, it captures Keyna, Brittany and the rest of the ladies from filming last summer -- before Moore was suspended indefinitely.

At some point in the episode, the producers appear to have added a message explaining that because of Moore's behavior, she was kicked off the show ... basically explaining why fans won't see her moving forward in season 16.

Remi Bader's not letting the haters get to her ... enjoying a relaxing beach day just a couple weeks after firing back at those online who blasted her for keeping her weight-loss surgery to herself.

The model enjoyed some surf and sun in Miami Saturday ... wearing a cream-colored bikini accented with pink. She walked around the beach with a pal -- stepping into the crystal clear water for a dip.

Bader swam around ... seemingly unbothered by the torrent of criticism she's dealing with these days.

Daniel Penny -- the man who was found not guilty of choking Jordan Neely to death back in December -- made his New York City runway debut Saturday night.

The ex Marine strutted down the runway in a kilt -- reportedly to Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" -- for a charity event titled "Dressed to Kilt" held on the Upper East Side.

Notably, co-founder Geoffrey Scott Carroll introduced him as a "hero," applauding him for protecting women, children, and elderly people on the NYC subway in May 2023 when Neely allegedly began threatening them with a knife.

Johnny Depp's saddling up for a new Dior commercial ... donning a cowboy hat and a Clint Eastwood-style poncho while shooting in the desert.

The actor shot the spot in the hills of Villaspesa, Spain -- the same country where ex Amber Heard lives now, BTW -- looking rugged against the dry countryside.

Johnny took direction -- not a problem for a veteran actor like him -- from the director ... and, he even waved to a few onlookers, all smiles on location.

The K-pop group Kiss of Life is apologizing for all the distress a recent video they posted caused ... claiming they weren't trying to be racist while dancing to 50 Cent's "In da Club."

The band -- which boasts nearly 300K fans on X -- shared a handwritten apology Saturday admitting they erred by posting the recent birthday clip.

ICYMI ... the four bandmembers shared a clip where they danced to the hit 2003 track -- while wearing their hats askew and big gold chains around their necks, basically parodying clothing some rappers might wear.

The artist of the Donald Trump's portrait in the Colorado Capitol Building is firing back at the president's claims she distorted his image for political reasons ... insisting she didn't do that, and adding his comments have hurt her career.

Sarah A. Boardman -- the artist who painted the controversial portrait of the Commander-In-Chief -- finally released a statement Saturday firing back at President Trump after he claimed she "must have lost her talent as she got older."

Boardman says the Colorado State Capitol Advisory Committee, Denver commissioned her to paint the portrait ... and the committee signed off on all progress photos she provided along the way as well as the final product itself.

Bri Stern -- Andrew Tate's ex-girlfriend who is suing him for allegedly attacking her during sex -- is now speaking out against the self-proclaimed misogynist ... saying while their relationship was initially loving, it took a dark turn.

Stern sat down for a full interview with the Daily Mail, published Friday ... and, she opened up about the early days of their relationship, noting everything was wonderful early on.

Stern says a mutual friend hooked her up with Tate ... describing him as a "big teddy bear" -- claiming she knew nothing about his controversial internet comments before meeting him and his brother Tristan in Romania.