Politix

Roe v. Wade is one of the landmark cases in American legal history and remains a lightning rod for the pro-abortion vs. pro-life debate today ... and some news about "Jane Roe" is a bombshell.

Norma McCorvey -- the famous plaintiff in the case -- makes the claim in an upcoming documentary, "AKA Jane Roe," that she never actually changed her mind in 1995 and was actually against abortion ... she said she was paid off.

According to the doc -- which premieres this Friday on FX -- McCorvey's decision to come out as pro-life in 1995 was a financial one ... because she claims she only did it after receiving money from anti-abortion groups, including Operation Rescue.

Norma was filmed in 2017 -- just months before she died -- and said of the pay-off ... "I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and they’d put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say." She added ... "It was all an act. I did it well too. I am a good actress."

In what she described as a deathbed confession, Norma revealed to the filmmakers she actually was still pro-choice, saying ... "If a young woman wants to have an abortion, that’s no skin off my ass. That’s why they call it choice."

Of course, McCorvey's reversal on abortion in the mid-90s was chalked up as a huge win for pro-life groups ... as it seemed Jane Roe had come over to their side.

Politicians like AOC have already weighed in. She says ... "Wow: Norma McCorvey (aka “Roe” of Roe v Wade) revealed on her deathbed that she was paid by right-wing operatives to flip her stance on reproductive rights. So, like many right-wing operations, it turns out a huge part of the anti-choice movement was a scam the entire time."

Joe Exotic's legal team is hours away from pulling up to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. with the goal of bending Donald Trump's ear for a pardon, and it turns out this isn't the first time Joe wanted to bend Trump's ear.

Turns out Joe was something of a Donald Trump fan back in 2016, despite the fact Joe himself was running for President. Joe attended a Trump campaign event just outside Oklahoma City and plunked down $1,000 to meet and greet DT.

Joe left the home where the shindig was going down to smoke a cig, and when he tried to go back in he says he was blocked by the Secret Service. He says they told him once anyone left they couldn't get back in, but our sources say Joe was acting "starstruck" and the agents were taken aback by him ... they say he was acting a little odd.

Joe seemed to think the reason he was not let back in was because when he showed his ID, the agents saw he had a concealed-carry permit.

So, under the heading -- if you don't succeed, try, try again -- Joe's legal team will be rolling up to The White House Tuesday to ask Trump for a pardon. As you know Joe was convicted of hiring a hitman to kill his archnemesis, Carole Baskin, along with animal-related crimes. Lots of people think Joe didn't get a fair shake at trial, and his legal team is making a full-court press to spring him from the big house.

Stay tuned ... it's gonna get interesting.

President Trump is going all-in on pushing hydroxychloroquine as a way to fight the coronavirus ... because he says he's taking the stuff himself!!!

That's right, folks ... Trump claims he's been taking the drug he can't stop talking about -- which is commonly used to treat malaria, but also lupus and arthritis -- for a couple weeks now.

He doesn't seem to have any qualms about it either ... despite the FDA warning that the drug is unproven against COVID-19 and shouldn't be used outside a hospital setting.

POTUS also claims many other people are taking it -- including frontline workers and doctors -- and seems to be suggesting hydroxychloroquine can be used as a preventative measure against the virus ... though there's no scientific evidence to back that up.

Trump insists there's nothing dangerous about using it and continues to claim he's heard very good things about it. He adds ... "And, if it's not good, I'll tell you right, I'm not going to get hurt by it."

As for his proof of some of the "good stories" he's heard, he mentions one doctor in Westchester, NY who is allegedly using it to treat patients ... and hasn't had any die.

Joe Exotic's new legal team is true to its word -- they hit the road bright and early Monday AM, heading for Washington D.C. ... where they hope to ask President Trump to pardon the 'Tiger King' star.

Team Tiger's leader, Eric Love, just shared a video update from the official "Please Pardon Joe Exotic" tour bus ... saying they're en route to The White House with one goal in mind.

Love says they have some live entertainment onboard to pass the time -- it's a 1,300-mile drive -- and he's really loving all the support and encouragement from Joe's fans along the way.

As we first told you ... Love and the rest of the Exotic's legal dream team out of Fort Worth are hoping their trip to the nation's capital will grab the President's interest, in case the Texas-style video asking him for a pardon didn't do the trick.

Team Tiger's stance is not just that Joe's not guilty of trying to get Carole Baskin killed ... he was actually framed.

Exotic's lawyers are also appealing Joe's conviction and pursuing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against several people involved in his criminal trial.

Of course, a pardon from POTUS is a huge ask ... but it's not outside the realm of possibility. Trump joked about it when talking about the 'Tiger King' at a coronavirus briefing ... so it's already on his radar.  If he thinks Joe can help him in November ... who knows?

An E.R. doctor, who goes by Dr. Bill, is irate that the federal government is spending millions of dollars on Blue Angels flyovers while medical workers have to wear painters masks and the hungry go without food ... and he says it's all to make President Trump look good.

Dr. Bill didn't say where he works, but he's pissed at the flyovers by the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, which salute health care workers in various cities.

The doc says it costs $450k for one Blue Angels flyover and another $450k for the Thunderbirds. The Air Force and Navy pilots have been buzzing various cities, drawing big crowds from below, but Dr. Bill says it's a shameful waste of money.

He holds up a painters mask with contempt, noting they don't provide nearly the protection of the scarcer N-95 masks. He's also ticked off some of the essential services that could be funded in lieu of flyovers.

Van Jones says while America's now coping with a pandemic, black America's been battling epidemic violence, poverty and disease long before coronavirus came along.

The Reform Alliance CEO was on "TMZ Live" Friday to talk about his CNN special, "The Color of Covid" -- and he didn't mince words when describing the challenges facing many minority communities.

Van says there's always been an epidemic of death in neighborhoods of color. He says, "You’re worried about invisible bullets from the virus? We've been dodging real bullets the whole time." He says that mentality explains the recent massive crowds gathered for parties in Atlanta and Chicago.

Black and Latino communities also face different health risks as the nation reopens, due to underlying health problems that have gone unchecked for years. As Van, and many doctors, point out ... hypertension, heart disease and diabetes immediately put you in the at-risk category for COVID-19. Of course, staying home only creates economic hardship.

Van says the federal government needs a better battle plan, one that offers better medical AND economic stimuli to people of color.

Golf superstar Rory McIlroy says he's been REJECTING opportunities to play with President Trump "out of choice" ... claiming he doesn't agree with "anything" POTUS has been saying recently.

Remember, Rory and The Donald played a round of golf at Trump International in Florida together back in 2017 ... a move he defended as not "an endorsement nor a political statement of any kind."

While Rory praised Trump for being "charismatic" and "nice" on 'The McKellar' podcast this week ... he admits he will not hit the links with him again, despite several opportunities.

"Most people that he came across that day he was cordial to, he was nice and personable," McIlroy says. "That was my only interaction with him the day I had with him."

"But, that doesn’t mean that I agree with everything -- or in fact, anything -- that he says."

McIlroy then went IN on his former golf buddy for his handling of the coronavirus ... saying he's using the pandemic for his own political gain.

"We’re in the midst of something that’s pretty serious right now and the fact that he’s trying to politicize it and make it a campaign rally and say we’re administering the most tests in the world like it is a contest -- there’s something that just is terrible," McIlroy says.

"It’s not the way a leader should act. There’s a sort of diplomacy that you need to have, and I don’t think he’s showing that ... especially in these times."

Rory -- the #1-ranked golfer in the world -- says he wouldn't golf with Trump again if he had the chance ... but admits he probably won't get another opportunity.

"I don’t know if he’d want to play with me again after what I just said. But no, I wouldn't."

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is terrified for her sons in the wake of Ahmaud Arbery's killing, and she says the tragedy has her family -- like so many others -- shaken and angry.

Bottoms called Ahmaud's case just the latest incident in a disturbing history of African-Americans being targets of violence -- and she told us about its impact on her city, her state and her own house ... when she joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live."

The Mayor says Ahmaud's murder hits close to home because her family's been personally affected in a similar way. It's all making her rethink "the talk" African-American parents must have with their sons -- particularly her own 18-year-old.

Typically that's about how to react with law enforcement, but Mayor KLB says she never thought to prepare him for the scenario of armed citizens ambushing him in broad daylight while out for a jog.

She added, there's a major void at the top of government when it comes to leadership for young, black men ... something she hopes will change come November. On that note, the Mayor doesn't feel President Trump's done much to fix the problem -- quite the opposite -- but she has some advice for him on how he can start helping.

Joe Exotic's massive new legal team is chomping at the bit to ask Donald Trump for a presidential pardon for the 'Tiger King' ... and they're ready to flood the White House!!!

Eric Love, the super-colorful figure leading Joe's legal team, just checked in from the HQ in Ft. Worth, Texas ... telling us they're hitting the road bright and early Monday en route to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

As you can see ... the big bus wrapped in a plea to get Joe sprung from prison looks all gassed up and ready to go to D.C. ... and Eric says they're gonna enjoy the weekend then get down to brass tacks.

As we first reported ... Joe's legal team produced a Texas-style video asking POTUS for a pardon, claiming the 'Tiger King' is not only NOT GUILTY of trying to get Carole Baskin whacked ... he was also FRAMED.

Joe's army of lawyers will attack on all fronts ... they're appealing Joe's conviction, asking Trump for a pardon and even pursuing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against a bunch of people involved in Joe's criminal trial.

As you know ... there's also evidence the alleged hitman had an ax to grind with Joe, because he told us his testimony against Exotic was "payback" and he wished he could've done even more to hurt Joe.

And, as we previously reported ... Trump actually joked about a pardon for Joe when talking about the 'Tiger King' at a coronavirus briefing.

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is killing it when it comes to the autograph market -- with the value of DT signed baseballs more than doubling in price since he took office.

Authentic Trump signed baseballs are selling in the $2,000 to $3,000 price range ... a huge jump from the $1,000 price point most memorabilia shops were getting for DT balls when he moved into the White House in 2017.

In fact, Steiner Sports -- one of the biggest sports autograph dealers in the country -- is asking $2,663.99 for an authentic Trump signature on an MLB baseball.

TMZ Sports spoke with Ken Goldin, who runs Goldin Auctions -- another major player in the sports collectibles market -- who says Trump memorabilia is still in super-high demand, despite the criticism he's received in office.

"The more he's in the news, the more demand there is," Goldin tells us.

Goldin recently sold a copy of the Trump impeachment documents with Donald's signature for a cool $81,000 ... and says the buyer was NOT a Trump fan.

Goldin says some of the biggest Trump collectors are actually Trump haters!

"People who even are not fans of his probably would say, 'Hey, I'd like to have a signature baseball, this is kind of unique."