TV

Jason Brown -- the head football coach featured on seasons 3 and 4 of "Last Chance U" -- has resigned after sending texts to one of his players saying, "I'm your new Hitler."

The scandal broke last week after the Montgomery County Chronicle newspaper published text messages Brown sent to freshman Alexandros Alexiou, who was born in Germany.

Brown's controversial career at Independence Community College in Kansas has been documented on the Netflix series "Last Chance U" for the past 2 seasons ... where he often used strong, explicit language to chew out players.

Regarding Alexiou, Brown had reached out via text to scold the player for racking up more "points" in the team's disciplinary point system -- in which players get dinged every time they violate team rules.

"410pm on field u German f*ck," Brown texted to Alexiou ... “u have 17 points toward your 25 points. U got an extra point for not hanging the lion poster as instructed."

"I’m your new Hitler," Brown added ... "Figure out your life.”

The school launched an investigation into Brown last week -- but on Sunday, the coach announced his resignation.

"It is with strong emotions that I announce my decision to resign as Head Football Coach at Independent Community College," Brown said in a statement.

After listing his accomplishments, Brown said ... "The events of the past few weeks has led me to resign."

"Given what has most recently been allowed to transpire, it is clear, that it will be nearly impossible to stay here."

"More plainly, the Montgomery County Chronicle has greatly diminished my ability to do my job, and has set this football program back significantly, and the cumulative effect of all these detrimental factors I believe clearly constitute a constructive discharge of my employment."

Brown added, "I urge all the naysayers on campus and in town to really look at yourself in the mirror and do a self-evaluation of yourself before so harshly judging others."

Brown has coached at ICC for 3.5 years.

Beverley Owen -- the actress who originally played Marilyn in "The Munsters" -- has died.

Beverley's daughter, Polly Stone, tells TMZ ... the actress died on February 21 after battling ovarian cancer. Beverley was surrounded by friends and family at her home in Vermont. We're told Beverley was diagnosed in January 2017 and had kept it private.

Fellow cast member Butch Patrick, who played little Eddie Munster on the show, shared the news on Facebook. He said, "Beautiful Beverley Owen has left us. What a sweet soul. I had the biggest crush on her. RIP Bev and thanks for your 13 memorable Marilyn Munster episodes."

Beverley left the role after just one season to marry producer Jon Stone. They were married for nearly a decade and have two daughters. Pat Priest took over for Beverley and starred as Marilyn for the remainder of the series.

Beverley's first TV gig was in "As the World Turns" back in 1956. She then appeared on other shows, including "The Doctors," "Kraft Mystery Theater," "Wagon Train," "The Virginian," "Another World" and "Bullet for a Badman" before earning stardom on "The Munsters."

Terrence Howard had a complete meltdown on the set of "Empire" after Jussie Smollett was arrested for allegedly staging his "attack."

Sources on the "Empire" set tell TMZ ... Thursday was a complete disaster on set after Jussie turned himself into Chicago Police. Terrence was so upset he refused to come out of his trailer for most of the day.

A source close to Terrence tell us ... the actor didn't believe Jussie's account from the get-go, he felt the story never added up. We're told Terrence grilled Jussie periodically as holes began to emerge.

Tensions between Terrence and Jussie boiled over after the 2 Nigerian-American brothers who allegedly helped Jussie stage the attack, Abel and Ola Osundario, were detained by police ... we're told Terrence confronted Jussie once again, screaming at him to come clean.

Further illustrating his disdain for Jussie ... we're told Terrence was nowhere to be found Thursday night when Jussie addressed the cast and crew.

Terrence was not alone in his feelings ... we're told many others on the cast and crew felt Jussie was lying and ultimately that's why producers decided to remove Jussie from the set for the final 2 episodes ... it was just too disruptive.

Interestingly enough, Terrence posted a video Saturday that was seemingly in support of Jussie. The clip shows Jussie playing with Terrence's son ... and a caption that read, "All your lil homies got you... We love the hell outta you."

Nevertheless, it doesn't take away from what we know happened on Thursday.

Austin Rogers -- the "Jeopardy!" sensation who captivated America in 2017 with an impressive 12-game winning streak -- is clapping back at anyone blasting the show's All-Stars format ... calling those hating-ass haters a bunch of losers.

We got Austin on the horn after fans voiced their anger on social media following the show kicking off its All-Star series earlier this week and he tells TMZ ... people need to get over it. The usually jovial and hilarious "Jeopardy!" champ wasn't pulling punches in defending the show.

For the uninitiated, "Jeopardy!" is trying its first-ever All-Stars series by pitting previous winners and fan favorites against each other in 6 teams of 3. It's a 10-episode tournament ... which got off to a rough start after the long intros and explanation meant airing only a single round of competition.

Check out the vid ... Austin says people are always hesitant to change, and adds anyone who's not feeling the All-Stars series can watch any of the nearly 300 regular episodes. Or, take a chill pill.

Jason R. Moore's super chill for a guy whose show just got axed -- in fact, he's way less upset about the situation than one of its biggest fans ... Eminem.

"The Punisher" star -- who played Curtis Hoyle on the Netflix series -- was leaving a Starbucks Friday in Studio City and gave us a thoughtful take on the show being canceled, and why he saw it coming.

Jason was also pretty stoked to learn Eminem's a big 'Punisher' fan ... as the rapper made clear on Twitter this week.

Sadly for Marshall, Jason doesn't think there's a chance to revive the show -- at least not with the current cast -- for many reasons ... unless they can go back in time and get Eminem to yell at the Netflix honchos.

The Chicago PD claims Jussie Smollett paid Ola and Abel Osundairo $3,500 to fake an attack, but sources connected to the case tell TMZ that's just not the case.

Our sources say the brothers made a deal with Jussie to train him for 5 weeks so he could get in shape for an upcoming music video. Jussie had said to Ola that he wanted abs like his. Both Abel and Ola agreed to train Jussie, and also give him a 5-week nutrition plan.

Our sources say Jussie told the brothers he would pay them for their services, but no specific amount was discussed.

A few days before the "attack," Jussie wrote the brothers a check for $3,500. The memo line read, "5 weeks training nutrition plan."

Our sources say Ola and Abel told the grand jury they were paid for the 5-week program and not for the "attack." One source connected with the brothers did say Ola and Abel felt the amount was "a little high" but no one ever specifically said anything about any of the money being part of a scheme.

Charles Barkley's not the only one getting laughs at Jussie Smollett's expense -- Trevor Noah's team spoofed the "Empire" star hard ... and it's pretty hilarious.

"The Daily Show" put together a fake movie trailer mocking Jussie's "attack" -- which Chicago PD now believes was a publicity stunt -- and how it came to be ... featuring the show's newest star, Jaboukie Young-White, as Smollett.

The trailer for "Jussie's Lie" has it all -- from the actor allegedly being dissatisfied with his "Empire" salary and getting pissed when his hate letter didn't receive enough attention ... to planning the "attack" with Nigerian brothers, Abel and Ola.

And, they don't forget about the 2 AM trip to Subway for some grub, either.

In the end, Jussie (Jaboukie) looks at the camera -- rope in hand -- and pronounces ... "I'm the gay Tupac."

Jussie Smollett might have gotten the idea to stage his own attack after Lee Daniels talked about his cousin getting assaulted because he's gay ... at least that's what some members of the "Empire" cast think.

Sources close to the "Empire" production tell TMZ ... some cast members think Jussie's gears started grinding in his head days after Lee posted a video on Instagram on January 10 calling out homophobia. In that same post, the "Empire" creator captioned it, "This past week my cousin was beat up for being gay and I am sick of hearing these stories."

Our sources say Lee then showed up to the set and shared more about the story. Everyone was visibly upset that Lee's family had gone through this horrific ordeal. The sources now say this might have been where Jussie got the idea to take matters into his own hands ... and become an LGBT hero.

The Chicago PD Superintendent says Jussie's motive was money -- he felt he was underpaid on the show. Interesting ... because Lee Daniels is the guy in charge of the cash register.

As you know by now ... cops say Jussie's "attack" was a hoax and allege the actor paid 2 Nigerian brothers $3,500 with a personal check. Jussie's been charged with felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.

The Jussie Smollett "attack" has enraged millions of Americans, but for Killer Mike, it's no big deal.

We got the rapper Friday at LAX, and his take is very different from most. He says, after all, Jussie's an actor and actors assume roles. Here, he just allegedly assumed the role of a liar.

Killer Mike acknowledges Jussie screwed up but says a mea culpa will do, and after that, we all need to get a life and move on.

Ice Cube and LL Cool J just got major reinforcements in the pursuit of sports TV supremacy -- we're told they just secured several BILLION dollar commitments in their push to buy a group of regional sports channels.

As we previously reported, the rap legends are part of a powerful group -- including the BIG3 and billionaire Alex and Ani jewelry founder Carolyn Rafaelian-- looking to bid on a block of 22 regional sports channels, including the YES Network.

The channels are currently owned by Disney but the Justice Dept. is forcing the company to sell them off to break up their monopoly in sports TV (since they already own ESPN).

Now, we're told Cube's group has backing from private equity partners -- and he met with the group earlier this week to hammer out their purchasing strategy.

In other words, they're figuring out how much they want to bid for the stations.

If Cube and LL win the bidding, we're told there's already a plan in place to run a full slate of content that caters to a younger audience because they believe there's a hole in that market.

Jussie Smollett needs to know he still has throngs of backers -- who will remain by his side -- IF he would just admit the crimes he's committed ... at least according to his friend, Bishop O.C. Allen.

We got the influential Bishop -- who once served on President Obama's Advisory Council -- out in Atlanta and wanted to see if he had a message for the embattled "Empire" star.

Allen told us there is unwavering support for Smollett if he changes his tune. The Bishop says it's critical Jussie admit any wrongdoing.

Jussie and the Bishop are tight. They joined Lee Daniels and Sen. Cory Booker for a 2016 Hillary Clinton fundraiser, which was held at Bishop Allen's ATL home.

You know much of the "Empire" cast and crew wanted Smollett booted off the set -- and they got their wish Friday morning.

T.I.'s older sister, Precious Harris, has died ... according to her daughter.

Precious died Friday, just over a week after getting in a super serious car accident in Atlanta. Her daughter shared a tribute to her mom, saying ... "From my bestfriend on earth to My beautiful angel in heaven."

She added ... "I love you so much. I’m so heartbroken but the way you looked so @ peace this past week has confirmed that you are resting... no more asthma attacks... damn but baby I am going to miss you."

Sources close to the family tell us Precious has been on life support since the accident and was never responsive.

We're told Tip and Tiny are devastated. T.I. was incredibly close to his sister, and so was Tiny. Tip shared a message, too, saying ... "We Love You Dearly Baby Girl...."

As we told you, T.I. and Tiny shut down production of 'Friends & Family Hustle' last week, after learning Precious was involved in a wreck earlier that morning.

It's unclear what led to the car crash, but here's what we know ... sources say Precious hit a pole, which triggered an asthma attack. Precious -- who often appeared on the show -- was taken to a hospital and placed in ICU.

For Precious' 66th birthday bash last May, Tiny gave her a shout-out and said, "I hope you know how much u mean to me. Always been my road dawg. Love u much! Hope you enjoyed your day!!"

7:25 AM PT-- Fox just announced it's scratching Smollett from the end of the current season. The statement says, "The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. Jussie has been an important member of our EMPIRE family for the past five years and we care about him deeply. While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out."

The statement continues, "We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”

Fox says Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer all signed off on the decision to remove Jussie.

It's clear they heard the complaints of Smollett's cast members.

Jussie Smollett betrayed the trust of his "Empire" coworkers and damaged the show's image, and now several cast members want him written off immediately ... according to our sources.

We're told many of the "Empire" actors are "f**king furious" and feel if FOX honchos don't fire Jussie, he should quit on his own ... because he doesn't deserve a spot on the hit show.

The feelings of animosity stem from the fact everyone on set had Jussie's back after the "attack," but in light of the new evidence police have laid out ... many of them feel hurt and embarrassed.

We're told almost everyone on set is worried about how Smollett's damaged the show's reputation ... and could continue to do so if he remains part of the cast.

Now, our sources say there are still some cast and crew members who believe Jussie's telling the truth because they can't fathom him pulling off a hoax like this. We're told arguments have erupted over how best to handle the situation.

It seems Smollett is well aware of the dissension on set. TMZ broke the story ... Jussie showed up on set Thursday after the madness outside the court and apologized to everyone, but insisted he's innocent.

We're told he's changed his number because certain pissed off cast members were blowing up his phone. He's only given his new number to the people still in his corner.

Jussie was arrested Thursday and is facing a felony charge of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. He was released from custody after posting a $10k bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the Osundairo brothers.

Chicago PD Superintendent Eddie Johnson says Jussie's dissatisfaction with his "Empire" salary motivated the ruse and claims Smollett was also responsible for the hate letter sent to Fox Studios.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson says it's a lock -- Jussie Smollett sent that letter 8 days before the "attack" -- but various law enforcement sources tell TMZ the chief overstated things.

Federal law enforcement sources tell us they're still investigating the letter and have drawn no conclusions. Both federal and state law enforcement sources say the operating theory was that the 2 brothers -- Abel and Ola Osundairo -- may have mailed the letter because, when cops raided their apartment and seized magazines, there were pages missing.

We're told authorities are trying to determine if the pages have the lettering found in the letter. They're also checking the postage stamp against the stamps found in the brothers' apartment. As we reported, the brothers deny sending the letter.

Obviously, if the brothers sent the letter, it comes back to Jussie -- because they would have done it at his behest -- but as one federal law enforcement source tells TMZ, "I think he [Johnson] went too far. We're not there yet."

Charles Barkley WENT OFF on Jussie Smollett on "Inside the NBA" on Thursday -- saying if the actor really wanted to be a hate crime victim, he shoulda just gone to Liam Neeson's neighborhood.

It's just one of SEVERAL shots Barkley took at the "Empire" actor during the show -- but it was definitely the strongest.

Remember, Liam Neeson recently revealed that he once grabbed a weapon and went hunting for a "black bastard" in Northern Ireland after a friend of his claimed she was raped by a black man.

People RIPPED Neeson for the comments -- because it's racist as hell -- but now he's become the punchline for Barkley's Jussie Smollett jokes.

"Jussie ... you wasted all that damn time and money! You know what you shoulda did? Just went out into Liam Neeson's neighborhood! Coulda solved all your damn problems."

The guys also aired a fake $3,500 check -- like the one Jussie supposedly gave to two brothers to beat him up. Barkley laughed wildly while that one aired.

There's more ... Charles addressed the viewers:

"America, let me just tell you something. Do not commit crimes with checks! If you're gonna break the law, do not write a check! Get cash man!!

That's when Shaq finally stepped in and told Barkley to shut it down.