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The "Vanderpump Rules" cast just got leaner ... Bravo is booting 4 of its leads over past racism that recently resurfaced, and 2 of the fired stars were there from the very beginning.

The network that airs 'VR' dropped the hammer Tuesday -- announcing Stassi Schroeder, Kristen Doute, Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni would not be returning for any future seasons, citing inexcusable racist comments and behavior that have come to light.

Stay with us, this is a doozy. Long story short, a former costar of theirs named Faith Stowers -- one of the only black women to ever appear on 'VR' -- recently recounted her time on the series, bringing up a story about how Stassi and Kristen once called the cops on her.

She says they lied to police, saying Faith fit the description of another woman who was robbing men in L.A. in 2018 -- and the 2 of 'em even copped to doing it. Luckily, nothing ever came of it for Faith, but no one really knew about this until last week ... when she spilled the tea.

Fast-forward to now ... and Stassi and Kristen have been on an apology tour that's proving to be too little, too late. Not only were they fired, but they lost a lot of outside business deals and endorsements as well ... and their publicists quit too.

Stassi and Kristen were series regulars since the launch of 'VR' in 2013.

As for the guys ... people online dug up a bunch of old racially insensitive tweets between them. They were rookies this past season, and were supposedly hated among the fan base. So, no love lost there!

Now, if you're wondering what Lisa Vanderpump had to say about this ... she half addressed the scandal, as it relates to the fellas, on the reunion episode last week, saying she kept them on her restaurant staff -- after knowing about their tweets -- because, well, we've all made mistakes.

Hartley Sawyer just lost his TV job in a flash, after a collection of tweets in which he made racist comments and joked about sexually assaulting women surfaced this past week.

The actor -- who played Ralph Dibny, AKA Elongated Man on "The Flash" for the past 3 seasons -- has been fired by the show over the years-old tweets, which included racist and misogynist language in what appears to a be a poor attempt at humor.

Sawyer's Twitter account has been deleted, but his old tweets began to circulate at the end of May. In one from 2012, Sawyer says ... "The only thing stopping me from doing mildly racist tweets is the knowledge that Al Sharpton would never stop complaining about me."

In another from 2014, he tweets ... "Out at dinner and just exposed myself as a racist, AGAIN."

Many of his former tweets seem to also center around sexual assault and violence toward women, including this in 2012 -- "If I had a wife I would beat the hell out of her tonight lol."

A few more horrific examples, "Ice Breakers: all women should be in sex farms" and "Outside of the 7-11 where I assaulted my ex-girlfriend lol."

This gem, from 2014, had to make his coworkers feel great ... "Enjoyed a secret boob viewing at an audition today."

You get the point ... he HAD to go. The CW and the production companies for the series say they've parted ways with Sawyer for season 7, saying ... "we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and polices, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce."

Hartley's issued an apology, saying ... "My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply." He added, "I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then."

President Trump vs. Roger Goodell??!

It's not a full-blown war (yet) -- but POTUS is clearly not happy with the NFL Commish for admitting the league was "wrong" in how it handled kneelers in the past.

Remember, Goodell issued a video statement on Friday saying ... "We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest."

Fast-forward to Sunday night ... when Trump weighed in on Twitter.

"Could it be even remotely possible that in Roger Goodell’s rather interesting statement of peace and reconciliation, he was intimating that it would now be O.K. for the players to KNEEL, or not to stand, for the National Anthem, thereby disrespecting our Country & our Flag?"

The President has been highly critical of Colin Kaepernick -- and other kneelers -- over the years.

Back in 2017, he called for NFL owners to fire any player who didn't stand for the National Anthem.

"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'get that son of a bitch off the field now. Out. Out. He's fired!'"

So, how will Goodell react to Trump's new statement? The world is watching ...

If Conor McGregor were a rapper this would be his biggest hit song, "I'm retired" -- a track he's already dropped twice, but is now releasing for a 3rd time.

Conor tweeted his alleged retirement late Saturday, saying ... “Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting,” and added, "Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!”

This retirement announcement -- his 3rd in just 4 years -- came with a pic of Conor and his mom, and a note about buying her a house ... despite the fact he already pimped out his mother's crib in 2017.

Nice emotional touches that make ya think, maybe he means it this time???

Well, consider the fact he tweeted right after UFC 250 had wrapped Saturday night in Vegas -- a time when Conor, no doubt, knew people were talking about when he'd get back in the Octagon. UFC Prez Dana White had already said Conor would get the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje's summer fight.

Remember, Conor previously retired in 2016 and 2019, but always came back for bigger and bigger paydays -- but this time he told ESPN he really REALLY means it because, "The game just does not excite me."

No one actually believes Conor. Especially with the maniacal way he's talked about a rematch with Khabib ever since he lost back in 2018. He also recently threatened to kill Justin Gaethje when they finally clash.

Still, Dana's heard the retirement talk all before and totally took it in stride after UFC 250, saying ... “If Conor McGregor feels he wants to retire, you know my feelings about retirement. You should absolutely do it. And I love Conor. There’s a handful of people that have made this really fun for me, and he’s one of them.”

Soooo ... see ya in September, Conor?

Twitter's CEO is making a massive contribution to Colin Kaepernick's cause -- dedicating millions to the QB's fund to pay legal costs for protesters who get arrested while fighting for justice for George Floyd.

Jack Dorsey announced the donation Wednesday on his own platform, saying he's putting up $3 million of his own money into a new fund he calls Start Small, LLC ... aimed at Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp.

JD says the dough will "advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization to elevate the next generation of change leaders."

As we reported ... just last week, Kap's Know Your Rights Camp started a "legal defense initiative" to cover mounting legal bills for the "freedom fighters" on the ground in Minnesota, where George was killed, and it's since expanded nationally.

Colin said he's already amassed a top-notch team of defense attorneys to help out, but they've been asking for donations from supporters on the outside.

Well, Jack has answered the call with a HUGE 7-figure donation ... and you know Team Kap is happy.

As we previously reported ... The Weeknd has also donated $200,000 to Kaepernick's initiative.

Jack's pledge continues a string of donations to noble causes ... he previously donated $1 BILLION to COVID-19 relief, and joined forces with Rihanna for a $4.2 million grant for domestic abuse victims in Los Angeles.

More backlash against Drew Brees -- this time it's former NFL star Antonio Cromartie calling the QB a "coward" and "stupid MF" over Drew's position against NFL kneeling protests.

"[Drew Brees] you a coward!!! You are the damn problem,"
Cromartie said.

FYI -- Cromartie was one of the players who took a knee during his stint with the Indianapolis Colts -- and believes he was cut and subsequently blackballed from the league as a result.

So, as you can imagine he didn't take too kindly Wednesday when Brees said, "I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America."

Here's Cro ...

"You are in the locker with nothing but Black men. For you to sit here and think [the kneeling protest] was about a f**king flag. A Flag don’t give a sh*t about the black community."

Cromartie listed several black people who died as the result of police brutality -- including Tamir Rice, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Philando Castile.

"The list goes on you stupid MF," Cro added.

"That’s why we took a knee. Some of us lost our jobs because we wanted to take a stand 4 those that couldn’t."

"And you on here talkin abt a damn flag."

Cops pulled a drive-by on some black kids in Los Angeles. Seriously, and it's all on video.

To be fair to cops, the video doesn't show how this interaction started, but the conclusion is suspicious. The group of about 5 to 6 apparent teens -- many with backpacks and skateboards -- were walking on a sidewalk, and not in the middle of a protest.

Suddenly, an L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. cruiser pulled up on the street corner and unleashed a hail of rubber bullets on the group of kids ... who were already running away from the cops.

Again, we don't yet know what sparked this confrontation, but here's what's clear from the video -- at the moment the shooting started, the kids were calmly walking together down the street. The video caught the attention of Lil Nas X who tweeted, "This is why we need to push as hard as ever this time."

To Lil Nas' point ... this appears to be exactly the kind of police behavior against which millions are protesting right now.

We've reached out to the Sheriff's Dept for more information.

NYPD officers allegedly urged police to shoot and run over protesters -- at least that's what was heard over the citywide police scanner ... but the question now is whether those words came from a cop or someone who stole a radio.

As protesters marched toward the 77th Precinct in Brooklyn, you could hear someone on the scanner calling in to describe the scene before another voice urges cops to, "Shoot those motherf*****s."

Later in the evening, the scanner picked up what sounded like officers saying they were surrounded by protesters near the intersection of Albany and Dean Streets in Crown Heights. A voice on the scanner responds, "Run them over."

Obviously, the scanner broadcasts are beyond alarming IF they really came from police officers. NYPD tells us ... they're aware of the comments and are looking into it.

TMZ independently found the radio transmissions on a website that records police scanners -- so the audio is legit. However, law enforcement sources tell us ... during this latest wave of civil unrest, police radios have gone missing, and there is a possibility the transmissions on the scanner did not originate from police.

As you know ... NYPD officers have been physically clashing with protesters for days, with an officer appearing to pull a gun on demonstrators, and cops appearing to drive a police car into a crowd of protesters behind a barricade.

Additionally, 2 NYPD officers were injured -- one of them seriously -- Monday night in separate incidents in the Bronx.

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has also ripped Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD for their response to protests.

"They’ll Do ANYTHING for Clout!! Cardi and Offset tried to tell y’all."

That's LeBron James taking aim at two women who used the chaos in L.A. as photo opportunities ... and yeah, the King is BIG MAD over it all!!

Here's the deal ... rioters and looters wreaked havoc on stores and shops in Santa Monica all day and night Sunday -- and on Monday, two women showed up to take pics with the rubble.

While citizens aided in the rebuilding effort ... one woman faked the use of a power tool on storefront plywood and then bolted off.

"This lady stopped someone boarding up a store in Santa Monica so she could hold the drill for a picture, then drove away," one witness said of the scene. "Please don’t do this."

Another woman posed in front of a store that had been ransacked just hours earlier ... with a witness there saying, "This girl is making her boyfriend take a picture of her in front of a smashed T-Mobile. Oh my God!"

Both scenes were blasted HARD on social media ... with LeBron calling them out as clout chasers -- and P!nk lashing out at the fake power drill woman as well.

"What is wrong with these entitled a**holes?!" the "What About Us" singer said. "Who the f*ck are you and who are your parents you horrible person. How can anyone defend this???!!!"

For their part, the alleged women in both videos have yet to go public explaining their sides of the story.

USC athletic director Mike Bohn just went scorched-earth on a school booster for "abhorrent and blatantly racist" tweets ... revoking the person's privileges to Trojan season tickets.

A Twitter user operating under the handle "@SoCalMAB" -- an account that has since been deleted -- fired off several disturbing tweets over the weekend during national protests.

In some, the user -- whose account had a profile picture of former USC receiver Michael Pittman standing next to a female fan -- advocated to "shoot the protestors."

The tweets got so nasty ... Pittman himself felt the need to intervene, telling the account to remove his picture from the profile ASAP.

"@SoCalMAB if you truly believe the things you have said, I politely ask you to take me out of your profile picture," the Indianapolis Colts rookie said. "This is disappointing, I know my true Trojan family would never. In times like this, it is important for us to stand together."

Bohn said on Monday the school launched an investigation into the tweets after they were made aware of the disturbing content ... and after they identified the fan as a school booster, they dropped the hammer.

"Following an immediate investigation into the matter, we informed the individual that their season ticket and Trojan Athletic Fund membership privileges have been revoked and their payments will be promptly returned," Bohn said. "Their account has been flagged in our system to prevent future purchases."

Bohn added, "Thank you to the USC community for helping us identify this individual so that we could move swiftly to terminate our relationship. We stand in solidarity with the Black community."

Donald Trump sounded like a southern governor in the '50s or early '60s Saturday morning, boasting that the protesters at The White House had a surprise in store -- attack dogs.

The President said nothing about the reason for the protests. Rather, he talked about how safe he felt inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. ... "Great job last night at the White House by the U.S. @SecretService ... I was inside, watched every move, and couldn't have felt more safe. They let the 'protesters' scream & rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard -- didn't know what hit them."

He went on ... "The front line was replaced with fresh agents, like magic. Big crowd, professionally organized, but nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would have been greeted by the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons I have ever seen."

And, then the most bizarre comment ... "Many Secret Service agents just waiting for action."

He suggested the young agents were the most aggressive, seemingly quoting a Secret Service officer ... "'We put the young ones on the front line, sir, they love it, and ... good practice.'"

Donald Trump has his own way of handling the civil unrest in Minneapolis, following the brutal cop killing of George Floyd -- he wants the looters shot.

True-to-form Trump tweeted his outrage, "....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"

That last threat -- "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" -- is lifted from a threat made by a former Miami police chief back in 1967 ... after brutal police practices resulted in civil unrest.

Now, check this out ... Twitter immediately tagged Trump's post, saying, "This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible." Translation -- Trump's appalling, yet predictable, call to violence is irresponsible, but we need to know that's his mindset.

And, he all took an insulting, gratuitous shot at Minneapolis' Mayor, "I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right....."

Mayor Frey shot back, "Weakness is refusing to take responsibility for your own actions. Weakness is pointing your finger at somebody else during a time of crisis."

Shameik Moore is trying to clarify his controversial remarks about the George Floyd killing and police brutality ... after his rant sparked backlash and outrage.

The actor -- best known for his work as the voice of Miles Morales in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" -- says he's sorry for offending folks Thursday in the black community with several heated tweets.

Shameik weighed in on the Floyd killing by saying the black community needs to learn how to deal with police better, and stop blaming everything on racism.

He also called out the community for black-on-black violence, suggesting that's the bigger problem African-Americans need to tackle.

Shameik didn't call for an end to police violence, instead asked if the black community could find ways to avoid being killed or hunted. Saying, he wants to see how they can help stop these recurring incidents.

He does say "power-hungry policemen" should be reprimanded and punished for their behavior and treatment of blacks, but adds folks have been hoping for better treatment since before he was born, and not much has changed.

Shameik says he gave his take on the situation after seeing a video of a young black man "barking" at a cop, and simply wanted to start a conversation on how to de-escalate interactions with police.

President Trump is speaking out about the killing of George Floyd, saying federal law enforcement is on the case ... and promising there will be justice.

POTUS tweeted Wednesday about George's death, saying ... "At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd."

He went on to say, "I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served!"

It's interesting ... we already knew the FBI was involved, but the fact the DOJ is jumping in right away as well is pretty telling. Seems the President is aware of how angry and fed up millions of Americans are after seeing the video of George's killing.

It's a more emphatic reaction than he had several days after the video surfaced of Ahmaud Arbery getting shot to death -- saying it was a horrible thing, and he was awaiting the results of several investigations.

In any case, it's good to see the case has caught the attention of the most powerful person in the country ... who can actually do something about this at the highest level.

Conor McGregor was chased by alligators, before he went on the attack against a runner, people in a crowd and then, of all people, Dana White -- but obviously, there's a catch.

The UFC honcho posted the parody, and it's hilarious!!! Conor glides across a river as a gator gives chase, but the UFC star is unfazed.

Cut to Conor going on a tear ... attacking runners, spectators and even a bullfighter, before turning on Dana himself and opening a can of whup-ass.

It's a little life imitating art ... what with Conor's past hijinks where he threw dollies into tour buses, smashed cell phones and even punched an old guy who didn't want to drink his whiskey.

As it turns out, time DOESN'T heal all wounds ... 'cause China's state-run TV network is holding firm on blacking out NBA games following Daryl Morey's support for Hong Kong protesters last year.

Remember, the Houston Rockets GM started an international crap storm for tweeting "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong," with a pic of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in October.

The Tweet created a ton of backlash in China ... with massive Chinese e-commerce site Taobao yanking all Rockets merchandise and CCTV pulling NBA games from broadcast.

China Central Television released a statement to the Global Times in Beijing earlier this week ... "reiterating its consistent stance on national sovereignty" -- AKA, the NBA is still banned from TV.

The statement comes one day after Michael Ma -- son of CCTV co-founder Ma Guoli -- was named the CEO of NBA China ... which initially led people to believe the NBA could return to programming.

But, all that speculation can be put to rest with CCTV shooting down the rumors.