Controversial S#!T

News flash ... lab-grown diamonds are REAL diamonds and there's really no difference between man-made rocks and their natural counterparts ... according to a famous jeweler.

Jean Dousset, a descendant of Cartier founder Louis Francois Cartier, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and schooled us on lab-grown diamonds ... explaining why they are indeed a diamond in every sense of the way.

JD says even the most seasoned gemologists cannot tell the difference between lab-grown and natural diamonds ... and they're both graded on the same scales under the same rules and principles.

It's pretty interesting to consider ... seeing as there's controversy surrounding engagement rings these days. Based on what Jean's telling us here, it sounds like a man would be able to safely pass off a lab-grown diamond engagement ring as a natural one and the woman would never know.

Of course, Jean says most couples are shopping together for rings nowadays and he's not advocating for people to get engaged on a lie ... but the window of opportunity is definitely there.

Jean's got his own jewelry store in West Hollywood and this year he started selling only lab-grown diamonds. He's previously designed engagement rings for Paris Hilton, Eva Longoria and Amy Adams and says couples can get more bang for their buck with lab-grown diamonds.

11/21 -- 10:05 AM PT --  The class action lawsuit against Coach USA has been voluntarily withdrawn.

12:11 PM PT -- Colin Emberson, VP of Commercial for Coach USA tells TMZ ... "We have become aware of an incident that took place on Tuesday, November 14 wherein charter customers from another bus company were left stranded on their way to a rally in Washington, DC. Coach USA was not in any way involved in this incident. In fact, Coach USA successfully carried passengers on 74 charter buses from New Jersey and Maryland to the rally on Tuesday as planned."

A bus company is being taken to court after allegedly failing to deliver on its contract to transport protesters trying to get to the March for Israel rally after its drivers refused to drive them ... and the plaintiff is claiming it's owed damages for religious discrimination.

A guy named Doron Orbach is suing Coach USA in a class action lawsuit, alleging violations of several federal anti-discrimination laws -- including the Civil Rights Act -- that he claims Coach is liable in connection with his attempt to get folks to the D.C. protest in support of Israel.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Orbach -- who's Jewish and Israeli -- says the Israeli American Council had booked buses through Coach to transport upwards of 900 individuals that day to go from various pickup points across the East Coast ... and to pull up for the march in D.C.

But Orbach claims Coach never picked up these folks like they were scheduled to -- and he alleges it was all due to a coordinated effort on the part of its drivers/employees refusing to do the job based on their "discriminatory animus" towards Jewish people.

The lawsuit says that multiple Coach bus drivers staged a "sick out" that day as a way to avoid picking up these hundreds of people ... a majority of whom, Orbach says, were Jewish or of Israeli origin.

As a result of this alleged discrimination ... Orbach claims his civil and human rights were violated -- as were those of everyone else who missed the rally as a result. Orbach says Coach knew or should have known about the possibility of its drivers backing out and failed to take measures to prevent it ... and it suing for unspecified damages.

Una compañía de autobuses está siendo llevada a los tribunales por, supuestamente, no cumplir con su contrato de transportar a los manifestantes que trataban de llegar a una Marcha por Israel. Todo esto, después de que sus conductores se negaran a llevarlos, y el demandante está reclamando daños y perjuicios por discriminación religiosa.

Un tipo llamado Doron Orbach está demandando a Coach USA en una demanda colectiva, alegando violaciones de varias leyes federales contra la discriminación, incluyendo la Ley de Derechos Civiles. El sujeto afirma que Coach es responsable por no haber llevado a los adherentes a la protesta de D.C. en apoyo de Israel.

Según los documentos obtenidos por TMZ, Orbach, que es judío e israelí, dice que el Consejo Americano de Israel había reservado autobuses a través de Coach para el transporte de más de 900 personas ese día. Estaban previstos varios puntos de recogida en toda la Costa Este, que tenían como destino final la marcha en Washington DC.

Pero Orbach afirma que Coach nunca recogió a estas personas como estaba previsto, y alega que todo se debió a un esfuerzo coordinado por parte de sus conductores/empleados y su "animadversión discriminatoria" contra los judíos.

La demanda dice que varios conductores de la empresa organizaron un "despido por enfermedad" ese día para evitar recoger a estos cientos de personas, la mayoría de los cuales, dice Orbach, eran judíos o de origen israelí.

Como resultado de esta supuesta discriminación, Orbach afirma que se violaron sus derechos civiles y humanos, al igual que los de todos los demás que no acudieron a la manifestación. Orbach dice que Coach sabía o debería haber sabido sobre la posibilidad de que sus conductores se retractaran y no tomó medidas para evitarlo. Por ese motivo están demandando por daños y perjuicios no especificados.

Charissa Thompson is now saying she did NOT fabricate sideline reports despite previously admitting to doing so ... explaining in an apology statement on Friday, "I chose the wrong words."

The famous sports personality set social media ablaze this week when she said on the "Pardon My Take" podcast that she would sometimes "make up" reports when she used to work football sidelines.

She said on the Barstool Sports show that if a coach wouldn't speak to her -- or if she was running out of time on a broadcast -- she'd just pretend she was told something about the action on the field.

"Like, they're not going to correct me on that," she said with a smile. "So, I'm like, 'It's fine. I'll just make up the report.'"

Sideline reporters everywhere, however, immediately dumped on her over the admission ... with longtime ESPN journalist Lisa Salters saying she was straight up "shocked," "disappointed" and "disgusted" by the comments. Molly McGrath, Jenna Laine, Tracy Wolfson and Laura Okmin all chimed in as well.

Thompson, however, said in a statement posted to her Instagram page Friday morning that she misspoke ... and did not actually ever cook up stories while working games.

"I chose the wrong words to describe the situation," Thompson said. "I'm sorry. I have never lied about anything or been unethical during my time as a sports broadcaster."

"In the absence of a coach providing any information that could further my report, I would use information that I learned and saw during the first half to create my report."

"For example," she continued, "if a team was 0 for 7 on 3rd down, that would clearly be an area they need to improve on in the second half. In these instances, I never attributed anything I said to a player or coach."

8:59 AM PT -- 11/17 -- NYPD says the information its spokesperson provided -- about a "locked" Diddy investigation -- was incorrect.

The full NYPD statement reads ... "Yesterday, a member of the NYPD’s public information office erroneously told a reporter about the apparent existence of an active case file containing the name 'Sean Combs.' There is no such investigation, at present. Further, the release of such information is not consistent with the internal policies of the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information. The NYPD always treats allegations of sexual assault and rape extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so that support and services can be offered to survivors and a comprehensive investigation can be conducted."

Diddy is the subject of a secret, NYPD investigation, and although it's unclear if his ex, Cassie Ventura, made the criminal complaint, there is strong evidence it involves sexual assault.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... there is an open case at NYPD with the name, "Sean Combs." We're told it is an active case but the case file has been "locked" -- essentially meaning it's a sensitive case where access is restricted.

As we reported, Cassie has filed an explosive federal lawsuit, which alleges rape and human trafficking, among other accusations.

We inquired about the case to NYPD, and they responded with this statement ... "The NYPD takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors."

It would seem based on the statement, not only is this a sexual assault case, but the NYPD is actively looking for other alleged victims.

We contacted other law enforcement in numerous jurisdictions Cassie mentions in her complaint -- including Miami, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles -- and at every juncture, we got the same reply ... no police report has been filed as it pertains to Cassie or Diddy, and no investigation has been launched.

We did find a 2016 case, where TMZ broke the story, BH cops were called after a breakup argument of some sort between Diddy and Cassie. A domestic incident report was taken, but no legal action followed.

As we reported, Cassie has claimed everything from rape, to assault/battery and even human trafficking -- this after alleging Diddy forced her to have sex with male prostitutes across state lines.

Because that could rise to a federal crime, we also checked with federal law enforcement sources -- including the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of NY, as well as the FBI -- and on both fronts ... zip.

Diddy's lawyer has come out strong, calling BS on Cassie's lawsuit. He told us most of her claims would be barred from criminal prosecution based on the statute of limitations. Her rape claim, however, could still be pursued here in Cali -- so time will tell if she files a criminal complaint there.

Diddy has vehemently denied all of Cassie's allegations ... and accused her of seeking to shake him down for big-time cash, to the tune of $30 million.

So as of now, we have found one case in NYC where it seems Diddy is in the crosshairs of police.

A group of Baltimore Ravens fans had no problem adding insult to injury after Thursday Night Football, literally ... after the Bengals superstar quarterback left the game with an injured wrist, they chanted "F*** Joe Burrow" on live TV!

The Bengals QB was forced out of the game during the first half of TNF with a mysterious wrist injury ... and was eventually ruled out.

Of course, Burrow's absence was felt on the field, and the Ravens won the game, 34-20.

The Ravens fans weren't content with the win ... after the game, they made it clear they're no fan of JB.

"F*** Joe Burrow! F*** Joe Burrow!" fans yelled during Prime's post-game broadcast.

The chants were captured loud and clear on the stream ... and many football fans weren't happy with their actions.

"This is actually embarrassing," a fellow B-more fan said on X. "As a Baltimore Ravens fan since '96, I am ashamed of my fellow fans. Wishing Joe Burrow a speedy recovery."

But, the Bengals may have other issues besides Ravens fans ... the NFL has launched an investigation into the team after they posted a video on social media ahead of the game that appeared to show JB wearing a brace on his hand prior to the game. The Bengals eventually removed the post.

Aubrey O'Day is taking a victory lap over her thorny Diddy stance after Cassie accused him of multiple crimes ... something AOD backs 100%.

The former Danity Kane singer -- who used to be signed to Bad Boy and worked extensively with Diddy in the 2000s -- shouted out Cassie on social media after her bombshell lawsuit against her ex went public, writing ... "Been Trynna Tell Y'all For Years."

She also told Page Six she's in "complete support" of Cassie ... and that what Cassie describes in her complaint probably echoes some of what Aubrey herself has said about Diddy.

If you're unaware, Aubrey's been doing multiple interviews over the past year or so ... in which she made allegations of her own against Puff -- but not quite to the level Cassie did. AOD's concerns mostly stemmed from what she claimed were shady biz practices ... and unwanted sexual advances from Diddy that she claims she had to rebuff over the years.

Aubrey also recently slammed Diddy finally signing off on his former artists getting their publishing rights back ... claiming that he had them sign NDAs as part of the deal.

She says she was offered her own publishing rights back as well, but refused to sign the alleged NDA she says came attached to it -- something else Aubrey's feeling vindication over.

8:59 AM PT -- 11/17 -- La policía de Nueva York dice que la información proporcionada por su portavoz sobre una investigación "cerrada" de Diddy era incorrecta.

La declaración completa del organismo dice: "Ayer, un miembro de la oficina de información pública del Departamento de Policía de Nueva York informó erróneamente a un reportero sobre la aparente existencia de un expediente activo que contenía el nombre de "Sean Combs". En la actualidad no existe tal investigación. Además, la divulgación de dicha información no es coherente con las políticas internas de la oficina del Comisionado Adjunto de Información Pública. La policía de Nueva York siempre trata las acusaciones de agresión sexual y violación con extrema seriedad e insta a cualquier persona que haya sido víctima a que presente una denuncia policial para que se pueda ofrecer apoyo y servicios a los supervivientes y se pueda llevar a cabo una investigación exhaustiva".

Diddy es objeto de una investigación secreta de la policía de Nueva York, y aunque no está claro si su ex Cassie Ventura hizo la denuncia penal, hay una fuerte evidencia de que esta involucra agresión sexual.

Fuentes policiales le dicen a TMZ que hay un caso abierto en la policía de Nueva York con el nombre de "Sean Combs". Nos dicen que es un caso activo, pero el archivo ha sido "bloqueado", lo que significa que es un caso sensible y el acceso está restringido.

Como informamos, Cassie presentó una demanda federal explosiva, en la que alega violación y trata de personas, entre otras acusaciones.

Le preguntamos sobre el caso a la policía de Nueva York y respondieron con esta declaración: "El Departamento de Policía de Nueva York (NYPD) toma los casos de asalto sexual y violación extremadamente en serio, e insta a cualquier persona que haya sido víctima a presentar una denuncia policial para que podamos realizar una investigación exhaustiva y ofrecer apoyo y servicios a los sobrevivientes".

Basándonos en la declaración, parece que este no es solo un caso de agresión sexual, pues la policía está buscando activamente a otras presuntas víctimas.

Nos pusimos en contacto con otras jurisdicciones policiales que Cassie menciona en su denuncia, incluyendo Miami, Beverly Hills y Los Ángeles, y en cada una de ellas obtuvimos la misma respuesta. No se ha presentado ningún informe policial en lo que respecta a Cassie o Diddy y no se ha iniciado ninguna investigación.

Encontramos un caso de 2016, que TMZ publicó en su momento. La policía de Beverly Hills fue contactada después de una discusión entre Diddy y Cassie, presuntamente a causa de una ruptura. Se realizó un informe del incidente doméstico, pero no se siguió ninguna acción legal.

Como ya informamos, Cassie ha denunciado todo tipo de delitos, desde violación a agresión y hasta tráfico de personas, después de alegar que Diddy la obligó a mantener relaciones sexuales con prostitutos a través de las fronteras estatales.

Debido a que se eleva a un delito federal, también hemos comprobado con fuentes policiales de esa índole, incluyendo la Oficina del Fiscal de Estados Unidos en el Distrito Sur de Nueva York, así como con el FBI, y en ambos frentes nada.

El abogado de Diddy ha sido contundente en llamar "basura" la demanda de Cassie. Nos dijo que la mayoría de sus reclamos serían excluidos de la persecución penal sobre la base de la ley de prescripción. Su demanda por violación, sin embargo, todavía podría ser perseguida aquí en California, así que el tiempo dirá si ella presenta una denuncia penal allí.

8:03 AM PT -- The White House just came out and blasted Elon's support of this tweet, with a spokesperson saying ... "It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of Antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust."

They continue, "Like President Biden said weeks ago memorializing the victims of the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting, the October 7 'devastating atrocity has brought to the surface painful memories left by millennia of Antisemitism.'

The spokesperson finishes by saying, "We condemn this abhorrent promotion of Antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans."

Elon Musk is being accused of antisemitism after he said there was "truth" in a post that suggested Jews hate white people -- and it's now snowballing into a very costly problem.

The Tesla chief has a bit of a fire going down at his Twitter/X house right now -- and it's of his own doing ... this after he responded to a tweet that floated the idea that Jewish people spew the kind of ugly racist rhetoric that's so often thrown in their direction.

The OG Twitter user was responding to a video that was calling for an end to antisemitism, writing ... "Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them."

He added, "I'm deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest s*** now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don't exactly like them too much."

Elon replied, "You have said the actual truth." His apparent cosign of this sentiment -- which has widely been labeled as antisemitic -- is now causing backlash against EM ... with some saying he's supporting Jew-hating propaganda here. Of course, he's pushing back on that.

In subsequent tweets/replies, Elon has tried deflecting his criticism to orgs like the ADL -- but it seems the damage might be done ... 'cause one of his biggest advertisers is bailing.

Media Matters reported Wednesday that IBM had paused ads on Musk's platform -- this after some of their content was apparently starting to show up next to tweets promoting Nazis ... something the company saw and immediately backed away from.

The fact Elon had said what he said just a day earlier was lost on no one either -- but he's suggesting this all a smear campaign, calling MM an "evil organization."

Elon Musk está siendo acusado de antisemitismo después de que dijera que había "verdad" en un post que sugería que los judíos odian a los blancos, y ahora se está convirtiendo en un problema muy costoso para él.

El mandamás de Tesla tiene un pequeño incendio en su casa Twitter/X y viene de su propia cosecha, después de que respondiera a un tuit que sugirió la idea de que los judíos arrojan la misma retórica racista que tan a menudo se lanza en su dirección.

El usuario de Twitter OG estaba respondiendo a un video que pedía fin al antisemitismo, escribiendo: "Las comunidades judías han estado impulsando el mismo tipo de odio dialéctico contra los blancos que dicen querer que la gente deje de usar contra ellos".

Elon respondió: "Has dicho la auténtica verdad". Su aparente consigna ha sido ampliamente etiquetada como antisemita, con varias reacciones en contra y algunos diciendo que está apoyando la propaganda de odio hacia los judíos. Por supuesto, él se opone a ello.

En tuits y respuestas posteriores, Elon ha tratado de desviar sus críticas a organizaciones como la ADL (Anti-Defamation League), pero parece que el daño podría estar hecho porque uno de sus mayores anunciantes se está retirando.

Media Matters informó el miércoles que IBM había pausado los anuncios en la plataforma de Musk, esto después de que algunos de sus contenidos aparentemente empezaran a aparecer junto a los tuits que promueven los nazis. Cuando la compañía lo vio inmediatamente se echó para atrás.

Jada Pinkett Smith volvió a negar las acusaciones de que Will Smith se enganchó con Duane Martin, pero esta vez fue un poco más lejos. Dijo que no ha habido ningún tipo de enredo similar a este con ningún hombre.

La actriz se puso firme una vez más sobre el chisme en Nueva York el miércoles. Esto, no mucho después de que nos dijera que ella y su marido planean tomar acciones legales. En respuesta a la pregunta de si los rumores entre Will y Duane son una tontería, ella simplemente dijo: "Por supuesto".

Sin embargo, cuando el fotógrafo le pregunta si ella ha visto a Will con cualquier otro hombre (obviamente, en el ámbito sexual), Jada también lo rechazó rotundamente.

Echa un vistazo a lo que dijo, suena como que nunca ha visto nada de eso con sus propios ojos y podemos decir que lo dice en serio por la insistencia.

Por supuesto, su firmeza se hace eco de lo que nos dijo el miércoles, a saber, que los Smith tomarían acciones legales contra Brother Bilaal, y posiblemente otros, quienes iniciaron esta historia sin fundamento que alude explícitamente al sexo gay.

Por cierto, Jada abordó todas estas cuestiones en "The Breakfast Club" el miércoles, apuntando a la posibilidad de que su próximo paso sea el aterrizaje en la corte.

Como recordarán, Brother Bilaal, un hombre que dice que es ex asistente y amigo de Will dijo a principios de esta semana que una vez vio a Will en el camerino de Duane, inclinado sobre un sofá y teniendo sexo anal con Duane.

Jada Pinkett Smith is doubling down on denying Will Smith hooked up with Duane Martin -- but going a bit further now ... saying there hasn't been a whiff of this with any dude.

The actress put her foot down yet again on the gossip in NYC on Wednesday -- not long after she told us she and her hubby planned on suing. In response to being asked if the Will and Duane chatter was baloney ... she simply said, "Absolutely" ... reiterating her initial denial.

However, when the photog here asks a follow-up -- namely, whether she's seen Will with any man (obviously meaning in a sexual nature) ... JPS emphatically shoots that down as well.

Check out what she has to say ... sounds like she's never seen anything like that with her own two eyes -- and you can tell she means it by the repetition here.

Of course, her being firm echoes what she told us Wednesday as well ... namely, that the Smiths would be taking legal action against Brother Bilaal -- and possibly others -- for floating the unsubstantiated story that explicitly mentioned gay sex.

BTW, Jada elaborated on all this on "The Breakfast Club" Wednesday -- further pointing to the possibility of this landing in court as her family's next step.

You'll recall, Brother Bilaal -- a man who says he's Will's former assistant/friend -- said earlier this week he once walked in on Will bent over a couch in Duane's dressing room, with the 2 having anal sex.

A rep for Will told us, "This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false" ... and sources told us Duane had no plans to publicly respond to Bilaal's claim -- 'cause the allegations are so ridiculous.

Jim Harbaugh is waving the white flag in his fight against the Big Ten -- the Michigan head football coach has agreed to accept his three-game suspension as a result of the program's sign-stealing scandal.

U of M released a statement on the matter Thursday afternoon ... saying all sides resolved their pending litigation, with the conference closing its investigation.

"Coach Harbaugh, with the University's support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field," the school said.

"The Conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh's involvement in the allegations."

Harbaugh's punishment means he will now miss Michigan's game against Maryland -- plus its massive rivalry with Ohio State ... which has a lot riding on it, as both schools are ranked in the top four.

Thursday's decision, however, doesn't mean Coach is out of the woods just yet -- the NCAA is still looking into the whole saga involving staffer Connor Stalions, who is accused of buying tickets to games to decipher the sideline signals of Michigan's future opponents.

The school stated it will continue to cooperate with that investigation.

Harbaugh will be able to coach during the week ... but he will be persona non grata on gameday for the next two matchups.

DaBaby thinks he got the best of Jay-Z when they popped up the same track -- and isn't shy about singing his own praises ... even at the expense of one of the rap G.O.A.T.s.

Shannon Sharpe recently had the "Bop" rapper on his "Club Shay Shay" podcast and his take on Lil Yachty's opinion that DaBaby had a better verse than Jay on Kanye West's "Jail" track from his 2021 "Donda" album.

DaBaby got added to the track last minute along with Marilyn Manson and wholeheartedly agreed with Lil Yachty that his verse was superior to Jay's.

He noted that they didn't record at the same time so it wasn't a direct competition and they had no knowledge of each other's verses, but when the final results came in ... DaBaby Did!!!

Drake just announced he's following up on his newest album only a month after its release ... and some fans think it's a direct move reacting to the viral bashing from Joe Budden.

Shortly after Drake announced his "Scary Hours 3" EP would arrive at midnight, Budden's name became a trending topic crediting him for the quick OVO Sound turnaround.

They also predicted Drake would give him a lyrical thrashing on at least one of the songs ... a fact JB seemed to revel in with his crying emojis reaction!!!

If you remember on the weekend of 'Dogs' release, JB criticized Drake for blending in with the teeny boppers, even slamming the Yeat collab "IDGAF" ... which has been the runaway fan favorite on streaming.

In fact, 'Dogs' surpassed the 1 billion stream mark this week ... clearly people are still bumping it but Joe told him he needed to do better.

Drake says he's happy with 'Dogs' -- he's just getting musical inspiration at a rapid pace and thinks it would be a crime to withhold the tracks from the public.

Donald Trump puede estar pensando en ir cara a cara con los otros republicanos que le están desafiando por la nominación presidencial, porque hemos descubierto que el Servicio Secreto ya ha explorado el lugar.

El próximo debate está previsto para el 6 de diciembre en el Moody Music Building Concert Hall de la Universidad de Alabama en Birmingham. Será retransmitido en directo por NewsNation. La cadena anunció el pasado jueves que acogerá el debate, y fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que ese mismo día agentes del Servicio Secreto acudieron al lugar y recorrieron las instalaciones por dentro y por fuera.

El único candidato que cuenta con la protección del Servicio Secreto es Donald Trump, quien, como ex Presidente, será seguido de por vida por la Agencia.

Trump ha pasado de los anteriores debates de este año y no ha habido pruebas evidentes de que vaya a cambiar de rumbo, dado que está a años luz de los demás candidatos en las encuestas. Pero el paseo del Servicio Secreto sugiere que está pensando en presentarse.

Lo que es especialmente interesante es que uno de los tres moderadores del debate es Megyn Kelly, quien famosamente se enfrentó a Trump durante un debate republicano en 2015. Las calificaciones se fueron por las nubes para ese debate y Trump está obsesionado con las calificaciones, así que quién sabe.