Controversial S#!T

Director Jonas Pate's tense interaction with a production assistant on the "Outer Banks" set was caught on video ... and while it shows him grabbing her, it's not nearly as violent as it was initially described.

TMZ has obtained the exclusive clip ... which shows the P.A. walking through a room buzzing with activity, before passing in front of a camera and Pate.

The co-creator and director of the hit Netflix series grabs the P.A.by the arm as she passes him while carrying an object. That's when he appears to chew her out, and then Madelyn Cline joins the action.

Jeffrey Epstein's suicide in his jail cell was a gruesome end to his long campaign of alleged sexual abuse of underage females ... and now we're getting an up-close look at the aftermath of his lurid death.

The Department of Justice recently released a slew of photos as part of the latest Epstein Files document dump, which show the convicted pedophile lying dead inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan on August 10, 2019. The images capture a shirtless Epstein on a stretcher surrounded by paramedics trying to revive him, to no avail.

The pics also show Epstein's messy jail cell with bed sheets and clothing strewn everywhere -- and the piece of fabric used to kill himself dangling from his bed frame.

Shaboozey found himself in hot water after his big Grammy win Sunday ... 'cause some viewers took issue with his acceptance speech, suggesting it ignored the role of enslaved Africans and their descendants in America.

In a mea culpa posted Tuesday, Shaboozey penned a message giving more context to his words.

The singer wrote ... “To be clear, I know and believe that we -- Black people, have also built this country. My words were never intended to dismiss that truth. I am both a Black man and the son of Nigerian immigrants and in the overwhelming moment of winning my first Grammy my focus was on honoring the sacrifices my parents made by coming to this country to give me and my siblings opportunities they never had.”

Shaboozey went on to note the significance of being the first Black man to win the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance on the first day of Black History Month.

Representative Jasmine Crockett says she can't divorce the art from the artist ... and that means she straight-up ain't listening to Nicki Minaj tunes anymore.

We spoke to the Democratic congresswoman from the great state of Texas on Tuesday -- and she made it clear she's always been more of a Cardi stan anyway -- but Nicki's foray into right-wing politics has certainly upped her distaste for the "Starships" rapper.

JC says she can't do "sellouts" -- especially not in a moment as politically fraught as this one -- and, she feels that's exactly what NM is, given she's an immigrant cozying up to an administration obsessed with hunting down undocumented immigrants.

A Detroit Lions fan is going scorched earth in court after his viral sideline clash with Steelers star DK Metcalf -- and he’s swinging for a MASSIVE payday.

Michigan man Ryan Kennedy filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Court on Tuesday … demanding a jaw-dropping $100 million over a Dec. 21 dust-up with Metcalf at Ford Field that blew up across the internet.

Kennedy is now turning to the courts … going after Metcalf, the Pittsburgh Steelers, ex-NFL wideout Chad Johnson, Shannon Sharpe's Shay Shay Media, and more … claiming they spread what he calls "defamatory and life-altering" claims about him after the incident.

Nicki Minaj says she's got no problem with transgender people, as long as they're adults ... but minors are a different story.

TMZ obtained a clip from Nicki's interview with Katie Miller ... and Nicki explains her thoughts on trans folks.

In a nutshell, Nicki says adults can do whatever they want with their bodies -- more power to them -- but she says it's a different ballgame when kids are seeking out gender-affirming surgeries.

Brett Ratner’s downplaying his connection to Jeffrey Epstein ... and he’s claiming he “didn’t have a personal relationship” with the late pedophile.

ICYMI ... the director was photographed alongside the late financier in a set of photos included in a recently released batch of the Epstein Files. The two were seen lounging on a couch with two women, whose faces were redacted, in one of the photos.

The photos featuring Ratner are not dated, and the director is not accused of any wrongdoing in the files.

Talk about a jungle joyride -- two gorillas went completely bananas for each other, tossing modesty into the bushes, and getting busy in broad daylight ... giving stunned onlookers a surprise mating call they definitely didn’t sign up for!

The clip was filmed Monday and it’s pretty NSFW -- don’t say we didn’t warn you -- capturing a much larger gorilla mounting a female inside an enclosure at Belgium's Zoo Antwerpen ... and yes, the background audio makes it painfully clear there were kids watching the whole thing go down😳.

It’s a jaw-dropping clip, we get it ... but being there must’ve been next-level unhinged, with the pair going at it as adults nervously laughed, cringed, and clearly had no idea where to look.

Someone might wanna tell Jason Bateman to do a little homework next time ... 'cause his attempt at grilling Charli XCX over her not wanting kids had fans cringing hard!

It all went down on his "Smartless" podcast, when Jason started pushing the tired idea that Charli’s stance on having children could change if she met the "right person." Problem is, the singer's already married ... to The 1975’s George Daniel.

Jason awkwardly joked that he "needed to read a newspaper" before tossing out, "Your next husband, you’re gonna want kids!" Yikes.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are going to answer questions under oath about Jeffrey Epstein.

The Clintons agreed Monday to testify as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation into Epstein, the convicted pedophile, who used to hang out with Bill.

Bill and Hillary had been fighting a subpoena from Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman on the House Oversight Committee, but they waved the white flag and agreed to testify only days before the House was expected to hold a vote on holding them in criminal contempt of Congress.

3:37 PM PT -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was just asked about Tisch's emails ... and he stopped short of calling it a full-blown investigation into the matter.

The NFL is breaking its silence on the emails between New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and Jeffrey Epstein ... stating its office will "look into the matter to understand the facts."

The development comes after Tisch confirmed he had "a brief association" with Epstein ... saying the two exchanged messages about "adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments."

"I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island," he said. "As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with."

Vic Mensa just got back from Minneapolis ... and, he says ICE is engaging in state-sponsored terrorism in the city.

We caught up with the rapper in Los Angeles earlier this week ... and, he says the federal agency isn't just killing people -- they're attacking citizens with sonic cannons and more which might affect them for life.

While it's a scary situation out in Minneapolis, Mensa's not at all phased ... telling us, as a Black man in America, this isn't the first time he's scene this kind of response by law enfoircement to protesters.

Jeffrey Epstein says one of Donald Trump and Marla Maples' friends had a serious foot fetish ... once stealing her high heels and going to town on it!

The disgraced financier made the allegation in an email to Deepak Chopra from 2016 -- released as part of the Department of Justice's massive file dump Friday -- in which Epstein says Marla can tell Deepak "the story of her friend who was caught having sex with her shoes."

Chopra asks if Epstein means having sex with Marla's shoes on ... but, Epstein says he doesn't -- he means her friend was caught cutting holes in the back of Marla's shoes and doing the deed.

Twitch streamer and rapper Aspen Kartier was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after a video of her seemingly roughing up an innocent pup on the platform went viral.

The 19-year-old streamer -- whose real name is Aspen Easterling -- was cuffed and booked into the DeKalb County Jail Friday night after authorities received numerous complaints over the alleged abuse in the circulating video ... the Brookhaven Police Department tells TMZ.

Brookhaven police officers gathered enough evidence against Aspen to secure a search warrant for her residence as well as an arrest warrant, and she was taken in around 9:30 PM.

The NBA has suspended Philadelphia 76ers power forward Paul George for 25 games for violating the league's anti-drug program, the NBA announced Saturday.

His suspension begins immediately and will bench him for Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

George said the situation is a big mix-up in a statement to ESPN, but is taking full responsibility for the error. He explained ... "Over the past few years, I’ve discussed the importance of mental health, and in the course of recently seeking treatment for an issue of my own, I made the mistake of taking an improper medication."

8:13 PM PT -- Steve Tisch released a statement on Friday night in response to the emails that surfaced between him and Jeffrey Epstein:

"We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments," Tisch said. "I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island.  As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with."

N.Y. Giants co-owner Steve Tisch repeatedly exchanged emails with Jeffrey Epstein, where the men discussed different women ... a new trove of emails released by the Justice Department shows.

The emails were among the more than 3 million the DOJ released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed in November 2025.

In April 2013, Tisch emailed Epstein saying, "I just had lunch with your assistant's friend [REDACTED] who I met at your house Wed morning. Very sweet girl."

"Do you know anything about her?" Steve asked.