Kids

A child was booted from her daycare because she wore a shirt promoting the Black Lives Matter movement.

6-year-old Journei Brockman had been enrolled in daycare at Arkansas' His Kids Preschool for 6 months. The little girl wore a shirt to the school with the words, "Black Lives Matter" emblazoned on it.

Her mom, Deval Brockman, told Fox16 she was contacted by an employee from the school who had issues with the shirt, saying she didn't like it. Brockman says she was told her daughter should not wear the shirt to school again.

Journei came to school a week ago, wearing a shirt with an image of a raised fist. Brockman says when she returned to pick up her daughter, she was told, Journei could not come back. Brockman says someone from the staff told her the shirt encouraged racism.

She also says the school's director schooled her, by saying, "I am not going to tell you how to raise your child, but you need to reevaluate how you're parenting her."

Brockman has filed a complaint with the state. As for the school Director, Patricia Brown told Fox16 ... "We feel a childcare environment is not a place for a parent's political views to be addressed or played out, regardless of race."

Brockman fires back ... “If I’m supporting something, I’m going to wear it, my child is going to wear it, to help say that our voice needs to be heard."

A heated racial exchange in a Detroit area parking lot -- between a white woman and black mom and her daughter -- led to the woman pulling a gun and pointing it right at the mother's face.

The argument allegedly started Wednesday evening because the white woman bumped into Takelia Hill's 15-year-old daughter, Makayla, as she was entering a Chipotle in Orion Township, MI.

Makayla claims she moved out of the way, but tells The Detroit News ... "She bumped me and I said, ‘Excuse you.’ And then she started cussing me out, and saying things like I was invading her personal space."

Takelia then got involved and that's when the racial tension started rising. As the white woman and a male companion got into their SUV, Makayla and her mom accused them of being racist. The man got out of the car and asked, "Who the f**k do you think you guys are?"

The white woman shouted, "White people aren't racist, no one's racist" -- and then started to back out and leave ... but Takelia was apparently behind the SUV or near it. She claims they were about to hit her, and it sounds like Takelia banged on their window -- and that's when the white woman got out with her pistol ... and aimed it directly at Takelia's face.

The white woman screamed, "Don't you f***ing jump behind my car. Get the f**k back! Back up! Get the f**k back! Back the f**k up!"

Thankfully, the woman finally decided to put the gun down and get back in her SUV to leave ... as cops were called. Takelia says the incident traumatized her and her 3 daughters ... who were in their vehicle.

We've reached out to police, who say they are still investigating the incident but a report has been taken.

Christina Ricci has just filed for divorce from her husband after almost 7 years of marriage ... TMZ has learned.

The "Casper" and "Addams Family" star filed in L.A. County Superior Court Thursday morning to divorce film producer James Heerdegen, whom Ricci met in 2011 while they working on the set of the show, "Pan Am." They got married on October 26, 2013, in NYC.

Ricci cites irreconcilable differences as the reason why she wants to end the marriage. She's asking for sole legal and physical custody of their 5-year-old son, Freddie.

Our sources say there is no prenup but Christina was the main money earner. And, then there's this ... Ricci was granted an emergency protective order by cops after an altercation in which she claims James spit on her. The altercation went down exactly a week ago in her L.A. home.

Heerdegen, who was not arrested after the incident, has been ordered to stay away from Ricci.

Ricci's repped by attorney Samantha Spector in the divorce.

Offset's got a few requests in his ongoing paternity case with one of his baby mamas ... and chief among them -- he wants their 4-year-old daughter to have his last name.

The Migos rapper filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, in his case out of Fulton County, Georgia requesting that his daughter, Kalea, take Offset's last name. Offset's gov't name is Kiari Cephus. In docs, Offset says he's the biological father to Kalea, who was born in 2015.

The rapper's baby mama, Nicole Marie Algarin, named the girl Kalea Marie Algarin, but Offset's requesting the name be changed to Kalea Marie Algarin Cephus. There's more ... Offset is asking for joint legal and physical custody of their daughter.

As we first reported ... Nicole, who goes by the stage name Shya L'amour, filed docs last October asking for more child support from the rapper. Offset claims he is already paying support and says both parties should be financially responsible for their daughter.

A British journalist reporting live from home got yanked back into the field of family life during her broadcast -- and it's freakin' adorable ... even if the anchor didn't think so.

Sky News' foreign affairs editor, Deborah Haynes, was live on the air Wednesday with presenter Mark Austin -- and they were talking shop about a new law across the pond that'll allow millions of people in Hong Kong to -- y'know what, let's just get to Deborah's cute kid.

Her young son -- who can't be more than 5 -- storms into the room she's doing her live shot from ... and saunters over to bring something of the utmost importance to her attention -- biscuits. Highest priority!!!

Deborah handled the situation as gracefully as she could, excusing herself from the chat for a moment to address her boy's pressing concerns ... namely, if he could have 3 biscuits.

She haggled and gave him the okay for 2 -- but by then, the camera had cut back to Mark in the studio and he was already moving on, seemingly irritated by the interruption. He kept it relatively chill too though, saying that's what happens when reporting amid a lockdown.

Of course, that phenomenon isn't specific to coronavirus or WFH, per se -- and the Brits oughta know that first-hand. This reminds us of another very famous/very funny kid-trusion a few years back that happened live on the BBC, before COVID-19 was running rampant.

American professor Robert Kelly was doing a live shot from home to dish on South Korean policy, when his own two young children sashayed into the room ... only to have his wife fly in after them and yank them out.

Tampa cops responded to a call about a woman in distress who was walking in the street with her kids ... and it turned into a gutwrenching scene of the children being ripped away from their mom.

Police got the call of a woman "under severe mental distress." When they arrived in the downtown area, they saw her walking in the road with her 5 barefoot kids.

The way police handled the situation is raising lots of questions ... in particular, whether this was the way to handle and de-escalate the situation.

You see one cop holding the woman against a fence, while one of her daughters stands by her side. Then, another cop held the girl with one hand as he restrains 3 of her brothers who are trying to free their sister from the officer.

Police eventually took the woman to a hospital for a psychological evaluation. They also took the kids to the hospital so they could be near their mom.

This is yet another example of how important it is for police to assess non-violent situations and figure out ways of de-escalating without causing needless trauma, force or worse.

The African-American woman who was denied entry to a Baltimore restaurant because of her son's t-shirt is shunning the establishment's apology ... because the incident traumatized her 9-year-old boy.

Marcia Grant and her spokesperson, Michelle Watts, tell TMZ ... the restaurant, Ouzo Bay, has a well-established practice of discrimination, and an apology from the restaurant group rings hollow at this point and does nothing for Marcia and Dallas.

The way they see it ... why would Marcia and her son, Dallas, accept an apology at this point? The restaurant wouldn't allow him to sit down due to a dress code it very clearly -- thanks to Marcia's video -- did NOT apply to a white child.

Watts tells us this was Dallas' first bout with blatant discrimination, and it's had a major impact on him ... one his mother fears will change him forever.

We're told the family has no plans to ever eat at an Atlas Restaurant Group property again, and Marcia's retained civil rights attorney Donte Mills.

Watts says it's obvious from the video ... the only difference between Dallas and the white kid, who was allowed to dine at Ouzo, is their race. They were both wearing very similar clothing.

As for the restaurant manager who turned away Marcia and Dallas ... Watts says his actions show how much people need to learn about the deep, lasting effects of racist acts.

The Atlas Restaurant Group says it fired 2 managers because of the incident, revised its dress code policy and will "continue to implement our diversity and inclusion training."

Family over everything ... including the NBA.

Dallas Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein will NOT join his team in the Orlando bubble when the NBA season resumes ... and it's all because he's got a kid on the way.

The 26-year-old -- the 6th overall pick of the 2015 Draft -- has a baby due in July with his partner and clearly doesn't want to miss that experience, according to The Athletic.

Plus, Florida is experiencing a surge in positive COVID-19 tests ... so it also seems Willie doesn't want to put himself in harm's way while preparing to parent a newborn.

Cauley-Stein was only traded to the Mavs back in January -- and has just played in 13 games with Dallas.

The Mavs are the 7th ranked team in the Western Conference playoff standings -- which means they'll be included in the playoffs.

The regular season resumes on July 30 -- but Mavs players will report on July 8. If the Mavs make a run to the Finals, they would be in the bubble environment all the way until October.

Forget Big Ben and Tom Brady ... Antonio Brown has turned to a high school quarterback to gear up for his NFL return!!

Meet Peter Zamora, a 17-year-old rising junior, who tells TMZ Sports he's been working with Brown for the past few months to help the embattled wide receiver get back in the league.

As for how Pete got that role ... the story is wild -- Pete says he stumbled on a workout with Brown and other NFL stars like Jerry Jeudy and Deshaun Watson at a Florida field back in March.

The Deerfield Beach HS QB tells us they saw his big right arm ... invited him to Brown's gym -- and just a few weeks later, he ended up being one of AB's personal QBs.

Zamora says he throws passes regularly to Brown now ... working out for a couple hours at a time and tossing somewhere between 50-to-75 passes to the former NFL All-Pro.

Pete tells us he hasn't seen AB lose a single step despite not playing in the NFL since September ... and says the guy still belongs on a pro field.

"He hasn't lost any gears," Zamora said. "He's still fast as ever and he's still a top receiver in the league. I feel like a team should definitely sign him."

As for off-the-field, Pete says Brown's been but nothing but a gentleman to him ... adding, "I think he's a well-spoken guy. A very encouraging, very positive guy."

Shout out to 3 Ohio cops who ended up playing football with a group of kids after someone called police to complain 5 black children had the nerve to be ... playing outside.

The incident unfolded, of all days, on Juneteenth in Shaker Heights, Ohio ... where you can see on video the trio of officers stuck around to take a few snaps and play with the kids ... instead of arresting or sending them home.

One of the kids' mothers, Wendy Brown, reportedly said cops told her, "I don't know who would do it, but someone called police on the kids, they said they were playing in the street so we came by." Wendy said the cop also told her, "We used to play in the street as kids."

They obviously channeled their inner children to join the fun. It was a pretty awesome scene as one of the kids played QB and tossed a spiral downfield as 2 cops battled for the ball.

As Wendy told FOX8, "We encourage them to go outside and just be kids, so they were just playing football out in the street like they do any other time." She recorded the pickup game with the officers and the video is spreading like wildfire.

A Baltimore restaurant is apologizing to an African-American woman and her son, who were clearly the victims of discrimination when the manager refused to seat them ... for reasons that made no sense.

The Atlas Restaurant Group was reacting to cell phone video shot by Marcia Grant as they tried to get a table at the Ouzo Bay restaurant. You hear the manager tell them they can't be seated because her son's wardrobe violated the restaurant's dress code.

Here's the problem ... there was another child in the restaurant -- a white child -- who was allowed in and he was dressed almost identically to Marcia's son.

The manager was unmoved, but unable to explain the different treatment.

Atlas Restaurant Group said they were “sickened," adding, "While dress codes across Atlas properties are the result of ongoing input from customers, in no way are they intended to be discriminatory." Atlas now says children under 12 accompanied by a parent will no longer be subject to a dress code.

Atlas said the manager has been placed on "indefinite leave."

Did you know Cam Newton has 7 kids? Neither did we!

The 31-year-old -- who's usually pretty private when it comes to his personal life -- opened up about his offspring in an emotional Father's Day post on IG.

"I’m a proud father of seven," the ex-Carolina Panthers star said.

"A daddy isn’t defined as the man who makes the child (not an all instances) but rather a MAN who extends his hands and time to help with the child’s raising and his heart to LOVE the child through anything!"

He continued, "Blood doesn’t always make you DADDY being a dad comes from the heart."

"Anybody can make a baby but it takes a real man to raise a child! Kudos to all the real men worldwide happy Father’s Day to us."

He also named all 7 of his kids -- Jaden, Shakira, Chosen, Sovereign-Dior, Camidas, Caesar, Cashmere.

We know what you're thinking ... doesn't Philip Rivers have a bunch of kids, too?

Yep -- Rivers has 9 KIDS!!

Tory Lanez made a huge difference this Father's Day, helping 100 black men recently out of incarceration celebrate with their families for the first time on the outside.

The rapper and his Dream City Fund launched 100 Black Fathers with Van Jones and Cut50. The initiative is a partnership with Amazon Music, Door Dash and criminal justice reform organization Dream Corps to provide free dinners and gifts for the former inmates and their loved ones.

The 100 fathers were released from incarceration during the pandemic, so the food deliveries were of course "contactless." Their children got their hands on some Amazon gift cards codes, and gave them to their dads, no doubt leading to some hugs and huge smiles.

Tory is pretty passionate about the project ... he wrote an open letter to each of the fathers offering his support and empathy, because it's not every day you're released from prison straight into a pandemic and period of social and civil unrest.

TL wrote, in part ... "You're with your family. You deserve to enjoy today! I’m grateful to be a very small part of it. I know as a Black father raising Black children in this world, things aren’t easy."

Karen is canceled ... at least when it comes to baby names.

The name, which has become a slang term for an overly demanding or entitled middle-aged white woman, is fast becoming the way of the pet rock -- extinct -- because parents know the name's become toxic.

Honchos at Babynames.com tell TMZ ... none of their millions of website users have added the name Karen to their favorite name lists in the past year, and over the past decade, they've seen a 75% decrease in popularity.

Karen is trending in the world of baby names, we're told, but for all the wrong reasons ... babynames.com says it's seen a 10-fold increase in searches for the meaning behind the name, but expectant parents are running for the hills ... no Karen's in their baby reveals.

The moniker was originally a Danish form of the name Katherine, meaning pure, but that reference is now dated and irrelevant. We're told Karen was most popular from 1938 to 1968, but it's seen a steep decline in the past two years, as more and more examples of "Karens" flood social media.

Offset got showered with love on Father's Day by the 2 very important ladies in his life -- his wife, Cardi B, and their almost-2-year-old daughter.

The family trio hit up Tao restaurant in Hollywood Sunday night to celebrate dear old dad's special day, and the parents looked super flashy while Kulture went with downright adorable ... in a plaid dress with matching shoes.

The kid was also holding some sort of toy she seemed real happy about.

Though Offset was the man of the hour, it was Cardi who walked out at the end of the dinner with a huge bouquet of flowers ... but it looks like Kulture snagged one of those for herself too.