Controversial S#!T

The Vanity Fair reporter who went viral for her unsettling grin and wink during the Lindsay Clancy murder trial has an explanation for her expressions ... and it's unusual.

Here's the deal ... Brittany Romano stole the show Monday, when a camera panning the courtroom caught her in the front row of the gallery ... she mugged for the camera, with a smile meant for a horror flick ... and she added a wink for good measure.

A streamer caught up with Brittany in the parking lot and asked her why the heck she was grinning ear-to-ear in a setting that was anything but joyful.

Her answer ... she "grew up with Lindsay" ... and also she was mugging for her dad.

Ex-NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom says his heated confrontation with WNBA guard Natasha Cloud went off the rails after Natasha told him Sophie Cunningham wasn't going to bang him.

Enes sat down with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, and she asked what sparked his viral altercation with Natasha at Sunday's WNBA game, which led to Enes being booted from the arena.

He says late in the third quarter, Sophie checked into the game and attempted a field goal, and he threw up his hands in celebration. He says Natasha noticed and on the next trip down the floor, she scored and then told him, "Sophie's not gonna sleep with you."

The WNBA has no plans to ban former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom from coming to games as a fan ... even though he was ejected from a Chicago Sky game after a heated exchange with Natasha Cloud.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the plan inside the league is to try and move on and let the controversy die. We're told the league felt a ban wasn't warranted because Enes didn't set foot on the court and he didn't do anything else that was egregious.

As TMZ reported ... Natasha was livid with Enes -- who was wearing a black shirt that read "woman noun adult human female" -- when they started jawing during the third quarter Sunday as he sat near the court.

Reggie Watts -- the comedian and musician known for his work on "Comedy Bang! Bang!" and "The Late Late Show with James Corden" -- is suddenly disappearing from festival posters ... after explosive claims about drug use and alleged abuse surfaced.

Rolling Stone reported last week that loved ones of Watts' late ex-girlfriend Katherine McCollough -- along with several women who previously dated him -- accused him of reckless drug behavior and crossing boundaries in relationships.

And now, gigs are vanishing.

Far-right influencer and pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang was arrested over the weekend during a rally ... but Spider-Man got a piece of him before cops did!!!

Check out the viral video ... somebody in a full Spidey suit jumps on Lang and decks him during a Saturday rally in Minneapolis.

It's a pretty wild sight ... but some folks will find this satisfying, and others will be enraged.

As TMZ reported ... the provocateur was among the handful of people arrested after the protest went off the rails and got violent when counter-protesters clashed with Lang's crew.

Former NBA player and WNBA hopeful Enes Kanter Freedom may have had an intense run-in with authorities at Wintrust Arena Sunday night ... however, he's welcome back as long as the WNBA approves, TMZ has learned.

A Chicago PD spokesperson tells TMZ ... there have been no reports filed regarding the incident ... even though Enes was seen surrounded by cops after he was removed from the arena for getting in an altercation Sunday with WNBA Chicago Star player Natasha Cloud.

A Wintrust Area spokesperson tells TMZ ... "Based on the incident last night, decisions regarding reprimanding or banning would be the purview of the WNBA."

Ex-NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom got into a heated confrontation with WNBA star Natasha Cloud during a game -- and it ended with Enes getting booted out of the arena!

The drama unfolded in the third quarter of Sunday's matchup between Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever and Natasha's Chicago Sky. Natasha scored a basket before the Fever called a timeout, and then Natasha started jawing with Enes, who was sitting courtside.

Enes stood up and started jawing back. He stretched out his arms and took a few steps toward the court before security stepped in and ejected him.

Target has pulled a Halloween costume from being sold after the product sparked racial backlash online, with critics saying the design and imagery resembled racially offensive imagery.

The costume, called "Kids' Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume Bodysuit," featured a young Black child model and quickly drew criticism -- with many online comparing the look to racist caricatures of Black people ... questioning how the product made it through Target's review process.

Target has now removed the costume from its assortment and issued an apology, acknowledging it should never have been sold ... saying, "We removed an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment."

Brittany Boltinhouse is taking Miss USA to court ... claiming she was stripped of her Miss North Carolina USA crown over her conservative politics -- then publicly smeared as a racist and bigot.

According to a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Brittany is suing the Miss USA Organization, CEO Thom Brodeur and the operators of the Miss North Carolina USA pageant for defamation and civil conspiracy.

The filing opened with lyrics from "Heated" by Beyoncé ... "Whole lotta, yeah, money, not a lot of patience. Whole lotta n***** been waiting. They want some time on it, now I wanna flaunt it. Panty and a bra, we can get involved, boy…"

Her attorney, Patrick Mincey, says the case isn't about whether pageant officials had the power to dethrone Brittany ... it's about what she claims they did afterward.

Melissa Gilbert is sounding the alarm after the recent deaths of Hayden Panettiere, Daveigh Chase and Michelle Trachtenberg ... saying Hollywood has to do far more to protect child actors once the cameras stop rolling.

The “Little House on the Prairie” alum shared an emotional essay Saturday, saying the losses hit close to home because she sees herself in the women -- all former child performers navigating the harsh realities of growing up in the spotlight.

Hayden passed away on August 16 at the age of 36, while Chase -- best known for “The Ring” and “Lilo & Stitch” died in June at 35, and the 'Buffy' and “Gossip Girl” star Trachtenberg died at 39 in 2025.

The trans athlete controversy Sophie Cunningham thrust back into the spotlight spilled into the streets of Brooklyn Saturday ... with rival demonstrations gathering outside Barclays Center ahead of the Fever’s matchup against the New York Liberty.

A group of about 60 supporters came out in defense of Cunningham, while more than 100 trans-rights advocates rallied nearby. NYPD officers and metal barricades divided the crowds as fans headed into the arena.

The Cunningham-focused rally was organized by Liberty fan Dr. Elizabeth Fedak, following the Fever guard’s recent remarks about transgender participation in women’s sports.

America runs on Dunkin' Donuts ... but customers of one particular store may want to run somewhere else to buy coffee -- because an employee was caught washing their feet in the sink.

Here's the deal ... a TikTok video went viral earlier this month after a horrified customer filmed a man washing his feet in the sink of the chain's Staten Island Ferry location.

Check out the clip ... this dude is rubbing his hands all over his feet -- just around the corner from where thirsty customers order their morning pick-me-up.

Natalie Harp's support for President Donald Trump drove her to Twitter on January 6, 2021 ... with a report indicating she posted dozens and dozens of times in support of the President's bid to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

The president's executive assistant -- who has gone viral in recent days for her shockingly strong devotion to the commander-in-chief -- posted to her account more than 150 times on the day in question, CNN reports.

In one tweet, she allegedly wrote "FIGHT FOR TRUMP" a dozen times ... while also writing that DC was "Trump Country" for the day.

Far-right influencer and pardoned Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang has been arrested after a vehicle he was in drove onto a crowded sidewalk while he was protesting in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Police say Jake pulled up near the Minneapolis City Hall alongside another vehicle packed with people just before noon. Police allege the two vehicles drove onto the sidewalk "toward a crowd of people gathered there."

Jake and all other occupants in the vehicle were arrested for "probable cause riot", police announced ... and both vehicles were impounded. Additional arrests were made at city hall, they added.

Jeff Bezos' ex-wife might be making a political statement with her new book ... which focuses on a dystopian society led by a sex-crazed head of state.

MacKenzie Scott -- who was married to the Amazon founder from 1993 to 2019 and received nearly $40 billion in the company's stock when they divorced -- released the latest entry in her third book, titled "Last Days in Two Nations (A History in Eighteen Minds)" earlier this week.

MacKenzie's been releasing the book piecemeal on Substack over the last two weeks ... which, when fully released, will reportedly be a total of 320 pages and 80,000 words.

Mama June's daughter Pumpkin says her X-rated online presence cost her daughter a spot at a private elementary school ... telling TMZ the school pulled the kid's acceptance after discovering her social media posts.

Pumpkin tells TMZ ... she first reached out to the Georgia school about a week and a half ago and says the admissions staff was initially "super kind" and communicative throughout the process.

That changed Friday morning ... when Pumpkin says she received an email asking her to come to the school for a meeting with administrators.