Controversial S#!T

CM Punk is sure Elon Musk was giving a Nazi salute at that Donald Trump inauguration event back in January ... and the WWE Superstar is adamant there's no amount of "gaslighting" the billionaire can do to sway his opinion.

The 46-year-old wrestler went in on the Tesla honcho during an appearance on this week's "The Ringer Wrestling Show" ... insisting Musk gave a "Sieg Heil" while speaking to a pro-Trump crowd at Capital One Arena on Jan. 20.

Musk, of course, has stated the gesture was nothing more than an impassioned wave -- pointing out in an X post that plenty of politicians have made similar moves -- but Punk told the guys on the pod he's not buying it.

Blake Lively has raced passed "influential person" and taken on immortal status ... 'cause TIME just named her a "Titan" on its annual 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list.

The actress was included on the list in the "Titans" category alongside recognizable names like Serena Williams, 'SNL' creator Lorne Michaels, Simone Biles and Mark Zuckerberg, along with a coterie of other famous faces.

The "Titans" category is for people who are leaders in their field and those who have "made a transformative impact on the world." In past years, the honor has been given to big names like Bill Gates, Michelle Obama and George W. Bush.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is apologizing to the Menendez family for not giving advanced warning that crime scene photos would be shown at a recent hearing ... but, they add the choice was made to show the full truth.

In a statement to TMZ ... the L.A. County D.A.'s Office tells us they apologize for the upsetting nature of the crime scene photos they showed -- adding it wasn't the office's intention to upset the members of the family.

However, we're told these hearings are "intended to be a place where the truth, no matter how painful, is brought to light" ... so, the photos needed to be shown in order to depict the brutality of the crime.

Diddy's trial begins in just a few weeks ... and, it seems some of his infamous "freak off" tapes may actually be shown to the jury -- if a new proposed questionnaire is any indication.

The rap mogul's lawyers submitted this questionnaire late Friday ... and, according to the Associated Press, it contains questions about potential jurors' willingness to watch sexually explicit videos or videos that depict physical assault.

Diddy's team also reportedly wants to know about jurors' views on people with multiple sexual partners.

Mickey Rourke is officially off "Celebrity Big Brother" ... 'cause the show just announced the actors departure -- citing his language and calling his behavior inappropriate.

The 'CBB' team released a statement Saturday ... announcing Mickey and producers mutually agreed to part ways after the veteran actor had "a discussion with Big Brother regarding further use of inappropriate language and instances of unacceptable behaviour."

According to "Celebrity Big Brother," Mickey has used inappropriate language in other instances since using a gay slur on the show ... and, it all spiraled into an explosive disagreement on Saturday.

Luigi Mangione says Uncle Sam wants to kill him as a political stunt ... and his defense is calling on a judge to stop the feds from pursuing the death penalty if he's convicted.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Luigi's attorneys claim the federal case against him is political, arbitrary, capricious and breaks from established death penalty protocol.

Luigi's defense also rips a social media post from Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department ... claiming the post makes it look like Luigi's already been found guilty.

Bella Thorne says Mickey Rourke was a nightmare to work with ... claiming he did all sorts of "gross" stuff when they were filming a movie together.

In a series of social media posts Friday, Bella lays out her allegations against Mickey.

She says ... "This f***ing dude. GROSS. I had to work with this man in a scene where I'm on my knees with my hands zip tied around my back. He's supposed to take a metal grinder to my knee cap and instead he used it on my genitals thru my jeans. Hitting them over and over again."

Joe Tacopina is blasting the judge in Wendy Williams' conservatorship case for telling the TV star her career is over ... calling the statements "outrageous" -- and adding Wendy's going to have a massive comeback when the conservator battle is over.

We spoke with Tacopina -- who is serving as Wendy's personal attorney -- on "TMZ Live" Friday ... and, he says these statements by the judge shouldn't have been made in court or in front of Wendy ... especially since the judge who said it isn't in the entertainment industry.

Tacopina doesn't know why the judge would make such statements about Wendy's career in an unrelated court hearing ... and, he adds that from his numerous conversations with Wendy, he knows she's as coherent and lucid as she ever has been.

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.