Controversial S#!T

Jason Kelce has received both support and backlash following his viral phone-smashing incident ... but ex-NBA player Rashad McCants is undoubtedly in the future Hall of Famer's corner -- telling TMZ Sports he has no issues with how the Eagles legend dealt with the unruly Penn State fan this weekend.

Kelce's recent outburst has the masses split ... with those in opposition saying he crossed the line by repeating homophobic slurs a man made about his brother, Travis, prior to spiking the cell on the pavement.

The former North Carolina Tar Heels superstar shared his two cents while out in L.A. this week -- before Kelce himself addressed the situation on "Monday Night Countdown" -- and he said the instigator should be counting his lucky stars it didn't escalate further.

Joel Embiid just got hit with a suspension as a result of his physical altercation with a reporter ... receiving a three-game ban for his actions after the Sixers' loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday.

The whole issue stemmed from a column from Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer ... who criticized Embiid's absence from games -- making questionable comments about his late brother and son in the process.

Embiid confronted Hayes at Wells Fargo Arena shortly after the weekend matchup with Memphis ... reportedly saying, "The next time you bring up my dead brother and my son again, you are going to see what I’m going to do to you and I'm going to have to ... live with the consequences."

Tom Hanks is defending his work against folks who get paid to review his films ... and he says a lot of the movie critics out there are "c***suckers."

The Oscar-winner teed off on movie critics during an epic rant on Conan O'Brien's podcast ... ripping them for some of the responses he's gotten over his long career in Hollywood.

One movie sticks out to Tom and Conan ... his 1996 flick "That Thing You Do!" It was Tom's debut as a screenwriter and director and it got bad reviews at first, but now it's considered a cult classic and Tom says one critic who ripped the film is now doing a 180.

Elon Musk went in hard on Jennifer Lopez ... saying it's rich she's warning people about Donald Trump but was mum about ex-boyfriend Sean "Diddy" Combs for all these years.

Musk appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast and did not mince words ... "J Lo was like his ex-girlfriend and it's like now deciding she's like warning people against Trump. How many people did she warn against Diddy, right? Oh zero, ok. Maybe we shouldn't trust her."

As you know, J Lo and Diddy dated from 1999 to 2001. Several allegations against Diddy supposedly occurred during that time frame, including an alleged assault against a 13-year-old girl.

Peanut the Squirrel's tragic fate is stirring emotions across the Internet, but at least one town leader in Chemung, NY -- where Peanut's owner lives -- isn't rattled at all, and seems over the whole ordeal.

Chemung Town Supervisor George Richter tells TMZ ... he has no knowledge of the squirrel saga exploding on his turf. Remember, Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, claim 2 of their rescue pets -- Peanut and Fred the raccoon -- were unjustly seized last week, and killed over alleged rabies concerns.

While the story's gone viral, Richter says he has no plans to advocate on behalf of the late Peanut, nor Mark and Daniela -- making it clear he won't be speaking to Governor Kathy Hochul about the raid.

Peanut The Squirrel should be alive right now, because it's improbable the fully domesticated animal had rabies ... so says an infectious disease expert.

NY state officials killed the internet sensation last week in order to test Peanut for rabies, but a doctor well versed in rabies says authorities might have jumped the gun in impulsively testing for the disease.

Dr. Edward R. Rensimer tells TMZ ... the CDC's position is that squirrels are not considered to be carriers or spreaders of rabies and to his knowledge, there's never been a recorded case of squirrel-to-human rabies transmission.

New body cam footage from the Florida Gators-Georgia Bulldogs game on Saturday shows more fighting in the crowd between cops and a spectator — with the n-word being thrown around like punches.

Check it out ... it starts off with two cops — one Black and the other white — approaching a Caucasian man kicking back in a stadium chair with a woman standing behind him.

The officers tell the man he needs to move because he's sitting on private property — but the guy doesn't budge and threatens to "kill a cop."

Jason Kelce was back on the ESPN set on Monday, but it wasn't business as usual for the retired NFL star ... who opened up Monday Night Countdown with an apology for his actions.

"I think everybody's seen on social media everything that took place this week," the 36-year-old said at the top of the show from Arrowhead Stadium.

"Listen, I'm not happy with anything that took place. I'm not proud of it. In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate and I just don't think that's a productive thing. I really don't."

Jason Kelce is on video using a homophobic slur in a fight where he's defending his brother Travis Kelce and his girlfriend Taylor Swift ... and the question is was this justified?

We tackle the burning issue in today's edition of TMZ TV Hot Takes ... and this one has the office firing off their opinions.

Harvey and Charles tackled the big story from the weekend on "TMZ Live" ... breaking down the video showing the heated interaction from the Penn State campus before a big football game.

Check out the clip ... and decide for yourself if Jason was right or wrong here.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Jason Kelce's altercation with an unruly spectator at the Penn State game this weekend is on law enforcement's radar ... with officials looking into the matter.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the school's Police and Public Safety agencies are investigating the viral interaction between the Philadelphia Eagles legend and a man who referred to his brother, Travis, as a homophobic slur ... and the process is "ongoing."

Kelce was in town to catch the massive showdown between Ohio State and Penn State ... which the Buckeyes ultimately won by a final score of 20-13.

Danica Patrick is taking shots at Kamala Harris' bevy of A-list backers ... accusing the group of Hollywood elites of having ties to disgraced music mogul Diddy.

The retired NASCAR driver slammed the Vice President's celebrity supporters during what she said was an unscripted speech at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania Sunday.

Danica confirmed to the crowd she was "winging" her address, noting she wasn't "paid to be here" and that she didn't "need a telephone" to give her speech. That was an apparent dig at rapper Cardi B, who read off her phone after facing teleprompter issues during Harris' rally in Milwaukee Friday.

Diddy's lawyers have asked a judge to restrict statements made by potential witnesses and their lawyers outside of court ... citing one grand jury witness in particular who keeps speaking to the press.

The music producer’s team filed the documents Sunday ... asking the judge to expedite the process of responding to Diddy's motion for a gag order because one witness -- a man named Courtney Burgess -- has given multiple interviews in recent days.

TMZ caught up with Burgess and his attorney, Ariel Mitchell, outside the courthouse Thursday ... with Mitchell telling us Courtney was called to testify because he has or has seen salacious videos of Diddy and his celebrity friends.

Maitland Ward says she doesn't think a second Donald Trump presidency will benefit the porn industry ... 'cause he's got the religious right on his side -- and, they're notoriously anti-porn.

We talked to the sitcom-star-turned-porn-star Saturday about the upcoming election ... asking her how she felt about others in the adult film industry saying they were voting for DJT because he will help the adult industry.

Maitland says she's not sure what those people are talking about ... 'cause many of Trump supporters are God-fearing people who look down on the porn industry -- so, he's not likely to do porn stars a ton of favors.

A Broadway star is slamming Patti Lupone for saying the hit show "Hell's Kitchen" is "too loud" ... saying it's a total microaggression.

Here's the deal ... Kecia Lewis -- who plays Miss Liza Jane in the Alicia Keys-inspired jukebox musical and won her first Tony Award for it back in June -- took to Instagram Saturday and directed an open letter to Lupone about her comments regarding the show.

Patti has been filmed publicly saying the show -- with a primarily Black cast -- is far too loud for her liking ... a phrase Kecia says is "racially microaggressive."

2:40 PM PT -- TMZ has just obtained exclusive video ... showing Jason clearly saying "Who is the f***** now?" 3 times to the person who first hurled the slur at him -- this after Jason got shoved to the ground by the dude.

12:56 PM PT -- More video has emerged from the incident involving Jason Kelce ... with the new angle showing the person whose phone Kelce smashed demanding it back.

A scuffle ensues, broken up by people standing near Kelce ... before he appears to yell back at the man "Who is the f***** now?" -- seemingly referencing the comment that was screamed at him earlier.

Tucker Carlson claims he was once violently attacked by a demon as he slept ... and despite all the naysayers ... one paranormal expert absolutely believes him.

Here's the deal ... the popular TV personality appeared in the new documentary, "Christianities?" ... where he revealed he'd once woken up to find huge claw marks on his sides and shoulder -- ones that didn't match his own hands. He says in no uncertain terms ... demon attack!

"Ghost Hunters" star Steve Gonsalves tells TMZ ... those quick with the jokes and totally dismissive should slow their roll ... 'cause something very well could have happened to the dude beyond typical comprehension.