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The guy who unleashed that racist tirade on his Black neighbor -- before getting hauled away by cops -- could have more trouble on the horizon ... as prosecutors in New Jersey dig into past allegations of similar incidents.

Sources with direct knowledge of the case tell TMZ ... Edward Cagney Mathews is being investigated by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office ... not just for last week's ugly run-in and arrest, but for several other allegations -- including a 2016 confrontation with a Black woman named Jazmyn Jene.

Jazmyn tells us she exchanged words with Mathews within the condo community where they both lived, and she captured a good chunk of their wild -- and seemingly threatening -- interaction on camera.

In the video, Mathews openly claims to have cops in his back pocket, and he's giving Jazmyn 2 options: handle a dispute they were having cordially, or legally. He strongly suggests the legal route won't work, because he's so tight with cops ... they wouldn't do anything to him.

Eventually, things get racial -- Jazmyn accuses him of hurling the n-word -- which Mathews somewhat denies by clarifying he did use the word, but not the way she's suggesting. You can see in the video ... it's a pretty weak defense.

Now, she says she did report the incident at the time, but nothing came of it. However, since Mathews' arrest -- as scores of angry neighbors jeered and hurled objects -- Jazmyn says investigators have apologized to her for not acting earlier.

We're told Jazmyn has shared the video of her run-in with Mathews with law enforcement, and it will be included in prosecutor's expanded probe.

Kamala Harris' stepdaughter is making international headlines for all the right reasons ... as she makes her Paris Fashion Week debut for Balenciaga.

Ella Emhoff, the Second Gentleman's daughter from a previous marriage, hit the runway Wednesday for Balenciaga couture's Fall/Winter 2021/2022 show. Ella's got that stern, deadpan model look down pat, and wore it well with an oversized black suit and shawl.

If it seems like the Veep's stepdaughter was invited merely because of her newfound connection to the White House ... we'd have to say, it didn't hurt. Ella turned heads with her fashion at the Inauguration, and it was there where she reportedly attracted honchos at IMG Models.

Fashion fans probably recall her Miu Miu tartan coat and burgundy moiré dress by New York designer Batsheva Hay -- or you're like us, and just had to look up what a "moiré" dress is.

Shortly after her debut on Inauguration Day, Ella signed with IMG Models and made her fashion runway debut in February for Proenza Schouler at New York Fashion Week -- and then landed her first cover for a European fashion magazine.

U.S. track star Sha'Carri Richardson is breaking her silence on being left off the Olympic team ... saying she's come to terms with the decision and is looking to move past the situation.

The 21-year-old -- who was a gold medal favorite to win the 100m race at the Tokyo Games before testing positive for marijuana -- had her Olympic dreams officially squashed Tuesday when U.S. Track and Field organizers elected to keep her off the 4x100 relay team ... despite her 30-day suspension set to end prior to the event.

TMZ Sports spoke with Richardson on Wednesday about getting snubbed ... and she explained she's not upset or pissed about how things transpired.

"Honestly, that news didn’t bother me because me and my team were realistic, so we kind of figured that they would say that in the first place," Richardson told us at LAX.

Richardson garnered support from celebs from Gabrielle Union, Patrick Mahomes and Cardi B over the past few days ... with others demanding an exception to be made to allow her to compete.

All things considered, Sha'Carri tells us she's doing "fine" and maintaining a positive outlook on the ordeal.

"I understand the situation that’s going on. So, I’m accepting of it, and I just know what I have to do moving forward in my career."

Richardson -- the fastest woman in America -- previously said she smoked weed to cope with the loss of her biological mother, which caused incredible amounts of stress as she prepared for the U.S. trials last month.

The USATF released a statement applauding Richardson's accountability ... but said it would be "detrimental to the integrity" of the team if the organization included her on the relay.

The police officer who allegedly deleted a witness video -- while his body cam was rolling, no less -- is now facing a lawsuit over the incident.

The Philly cop -- ID'd in the suit as Officer Burnett -- just got slapped with a lawsuit by Jacob Giddings ... the guy who claims his footage was scrubbed back in March while Burnett was trying to take him into custody on an arrest warrant.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Giddings says he was pumping gas when Burnett ran his tags, identifying Giddings as someone who had a warrant out for his arrest. While Giddings was in his vehicle, he says Burnett approached him from outside ... asking him to step out of the vehicle without an explanation.

Things allegedly escalated from there. Giddings claims Burnett began trying to forcibly remove him from the car. BTW, Giddings says he had begun recording with his phone at this point ... feeling uneasy about the whole thing.

After a lot of tussling -- and the arrival of a 2nd officer -- Giddings says he surrendered, and was cuffed and put into the back of a squad car.

Giddings says Burnett then proceeded to search his car and found the phone that had been recording. Giddings makes a bombshell claim -- he says Burnett ran over his phone, with Giddings' own vehicle, in an attempt to destroy the evidence!

Giddings claims that after realizing the phone was STILL recording and not destroyed at all, Burnett then took it upon himself to delete the video -- only to play dumb when asked by Giddings if it was still on there. He's suing for assault, battery, excessive force and illegal search and seizure.

Of course, Giddings says Burnett's own body-cam was rolling during what Giddings says was the moment he tried getting rid of evidence ... and Giddings insists it's the smoking gun that proves his case.

A Nashville man is lucky to be alive after a firework was thrown inside his convertible, and then blew up in his face ... quite literally.

20-year-old Colin Kirby was heading home Sunday night in downtown Nashville ride with the top down on his BMW, when suddenly an Infiniti pulled up next to him at a stop light. Someone inside rolled down a window and chucked a lit explosive into the car.

It was all recorded too, BTW ... Kirby's buddy was tailing him from behind, and his dashcam captured the insane, and explosive, encounter.

The firework went off right near Kirby's head -- causing minor burns and a temporary loss of hearing, but nothing more serious beyond that. It also torched the inside of Kirby's whip ... and the aftermath photos look pretty bad.

"Girl you look good once you vax that thang up, you handsome young brother once you vax that thang up" ... yes that's Juvenile remixing his famous song for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The New Orleans rapper just dropped a vaccine remix to his 1999 classic, "Back That Thang Up" ... teaming up with Mannie Fresh and Mia X to give folks yet another reason to get their shots.

Juvenile's even got a music video for "Vax That Thang Up" as part of a collab with the dating app BLK, pushing vaccines as the safest way to have sex in the pandemic.

"Dating in real life, you need to vax that thang up, feeling freaky all night you need to vax that thang up" ... well said, Juvenile.

The music vid's fun, the message is great and the remix flows perfectly ... so bravo to all involved.

For his part, Juvenile says he wanted to do something positive for his community and to show how much he cares about protecting not only himself but also his family.

Darnella Frazier, the teenager whose video of George Floyd being killed went viral, has been left shaken by a death at the hands of police once more -- but this time, it's personal.

The teen's uncle -- 40-year-old Leneal Frazier -- was struck in his car by an oncoming Minneapolis Police squad car early Tuesday morning as the cops were pursuing an armed robbery suspect ... an impact that ended up killing him, and seriously hurting the officer.

Leneal was not involved in the chase whatsoever -- he was simply making his way to his girlfriend's house through what some are saying was a residential area. According to reports, the cop car changed lanes heading northbound, hitting Leneal at an intersection.

Darnella's mother confirmed to local media that it was her brother who was killed -- and Darnella herself took to FB to share the tragic news with a devastating post.

She writes, "I honestly can’t believe I’m making this post right now...I’m so hurt...nothing feels real. I woke up to the most horrible news. MINNEAPOLIS police Killed my uncle MY uncle... Another black man lost his life in the hands of the police! I asked my mom several times “he died??”. I couldn’t accept what I was hearing and still can’t."

Darnella went on to describe how she was still processing Leneal's death, and how she was filled with sadness, adding this as well ... "Minneapolis police has cost my whole family a big loss...today has been a day full of heartbreak and sadness ... It’s not fair how the police can just go around killing people." She's also angrily questioning why cops were engaged in a high speed chase on residential roads.

Of course, Darnella's famous for being one of the few who recorded Floyd's murder under Derek Chauvin's knee last May. Her now-viral video was central to Chauvin's conviction, and also earned her several commendations, including one from the Pulitzer folks.

As we've reported ... observing Floyd's death emotionally scarred Darnella, so losing her uncle in another police-involved incident seems like textbook PTSD.

T.J. Newman wrote her first book about a thrilling flight from Los Angeles to New York, but her journey to get the novel published was a turbulent ride ... full of rejection.

The flight attendant turned author joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and shared the personal battles that went into getting her novel off the ground. "Falling" is about an airline pilot whose family is kidnapped right before he takes off -- and if that sounds like a movie, Hollywood thinks the same thing.

There was a bidding war for movie rights, even before the book was released.

T.J. says she wrote more than 30 drafts, and was rejected a whopping 41 times before finally finding an agent to help get her debut published.

Well, it finally dropped today after what T.J. describes as a long and hard road where she didn't know what she was doing ... and naturally she's feeling grateful and overjoyed.

Rachel Nichols has been AXED from covering the NBA Finals ... with the ESPN reporter losing her sideline gig following her controversial comments regarding Maria Taylor.

Nichols sparked outrage after leaked audio from 2020 went public over the weekend ... when she claimed the decision to have Taylor host Finals coverage was due to ESPN "feeling pressure" about adding more diversity among on-air talent.

In the audio -- which was leaked by an ESPN employee to the New York Times -- Nichols is heard saying, "If you need to give [Taylor] more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity -- which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it -- like, go for it."

"Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away."

While Nichols apologized for her comments and praised Taylor on Monday, ESPN has decided to keep her on the bench for the 2021 Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns.

The network announced rising star Malika Andrews -- who's been an NBA insider since 2018 -- will take over the mic starting Tuesday night ... saying, "We believe this is the best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA Finals."

It's unclear if the move is permanent, but ESPN says Nichols will continue to host "The Jump."

How's Joey Chestnut recovering from his 76-hot dog, 22,800-calorie 4th Of July feast???

MIXED GREENS AND VEGETABLES, BABY!!!

TMZ Sports got the planet's greatest eater out in NYC just one day after he put away a world-record number of wieners ... and he told us the key to recovery from here is simply salads and greens.

"I'm still bloated," the 37-year-old legend said. "If I start sweating, I'll smell like meat. But I go in knowing that it's going to take a couple days to recover."

"As soon as I can, I'm going to start eating a salad, greens and high fiber."

It's a miracle Chestnut can even consider eating again at this point ... 'cause the dude consumed about two weeks worth of food in 10 minutes at the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Sunday.

In total, Chestnut plowed through 1,368 grams of fat, 1,824 grams of carbs and 836 grams of protein.

Chestnut obviously didn't feel wonderful -- at least physically -- outside of his hotel Monday ... and because of it, he seemed to hint that an ending to his eating career could be on the horizon.

"I tried pushing a little bit harder but I'll tell you what, last year I felt I recovered a little bit quicker," Chestnut said. "This year, I'm getting older and I don't know how much more I can push it while I'm getting older."

"It's like anybody. You have to be aware of your body.”

That said, Chestnut added, "As long as it’s still fun and as long as I’m healthy, I’ll be doing it. I hope I can keep making gains, but it’s going to get harder and harder. I can see that coming."

Claudia Conway's breathing a sigh of relief, and it sounds like her mom, Kellyanne Conway, is too -- the update on their relationship status is they're a-ok ... but probably still complicated.

The teen daughter of Trump's former advisor -- not to mention a rising TikTok star in her own right -- took to her fave platform to give her followers the lowdown on where things stood between dear old mom and her. As you know, they've had a tumultuous relationship over the past year and change.

Check it out ... CC says they're getting better with one another, explaining they've both gotten help they each needed, and are working through their differences. It's actually super encouraging to hear -- seems like the mother-daughter duo have had some solid heart-to-hearts of late.

Claudia also provides a bit of context on Kellyanne herself -- without getting into the nitty-gritty -- about stuff she herself has been through in her own life ... something her daughter appears to appreciate now, and which could possibly explain some of their blow-ups.

Their rocky run-ins are well documented. Between Kellyanne appearing to snatch Claudia's phone away mid-sentence (and subsequently grounding her from electronics) last October to the even more shouting matches Claudia captured in January ... it's been a wild ride.

The latter situation sparked a brief criminal investigation into what was going in the household, but nothing serious ever came of it. They did seem to make a bit of peace when Claudia auditioned for and actually competed for a bit on 'American Idol' -- and Kellyanne appeared on the show to support her.

A man unleashed a racist diatribe against a Black neighbor -- and even invited protesters to his front door ... but he might not have expected them to show up in droves, especially when he was being hauled off to jail.

Check out this wild encounter that was captured in Mount Laurel, NJ Friday, which led to an even crazier follow-up Monday ... when scores of people landed on this guy's driveway to decry a rant he'd gone on days earlier, who let him know what they thought of his venomous words.

The perp has reportedly been identified as Edward Cagney Mathews ... and he now faces criminal charges for a heated confrontation he had with one of his Black community members -- including alleged harassment and bias intimidation, over which the cops arrested him.

As for the initial face-off itself ... it's truly something to behold (in a bad way, we mean). Mathews hurls just about every epithet he can at the Black neighbor, including multiple uses of the n-word, "monkey" ... and even questions whether the man knows America's laws, saying "this isn't Africa" ... seemingly mocking what he perceived as a foreign accent.

It's unclear what exactly this was all over -- but in any case, you can tell Mathews took things way too far in what might amount to one of the most bigoted moments we've seen in a while. Even when what appears to be a security guard (or possibly even a cop) shows up to calm things down, he ratchets up the tension again ... demanding the guard put the "n******" in their place.

He told the person filming exactly where he lived, and encouraged people to show to find out "what (he's) about" ... and sure enough, they came rolling deep -- apparently protesting him for the past couple days ... to the point cops had to come escort Mathews away in custody.

That didn't stop people from unloading, though ... and we mean that literally. They chucked water bottles, garbage and debris at both Mathews and the police as they got into the squad car and drove away.

Paul Rudd once gave Seth Rogen a massage -- which might sound goofy ... but there's a twist that makes it all the more hilarious, the details of which Seth shared to much fanfare.

The actor/director dished on the hilarious story out of nowhere Monday on Twitter, telling the tale of the time his good pal, Paul, cloaked himself as a masseuse at a parlor Seth was at ... which he didn't really realize until well into the back rub.

In Seth's own words, he writes ... "Once I was in the spa in a hotel in Vegas getting a massage. When I finished I turned over and to my shock Paul Rudd was massaging me."

He goes on to give the nitty gritty of how the heck PR might've been able to sneak his way into such a scenario, adding ... "He saw me go in and convinced the masseuse to let him take over, thinking I'd notice immediately. I didn't, and Paul did the entire rest of it."

If that sounds like something Paul Rudd would do in a movie, turns out ... it's actually a stunt he'd pull in real-life as well. As the internet has pointed out, it's very on brand for him (and maybe for Seth too).

Of course, it'd be remiss of us not to mention that these two guys have some famous history with massage/beauty parlors ... perhaps most notably from "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" -- when they watched Steve Carell get his chest hair waxed off, a majority of which was real.

Hollywood heavyweights rolled through en masse for a 4th of July bash in the Hamptons -- courtesy of Michael Rubin -- and it was a who's who of fame ... and dancing.

The 76ers team owner hosted what might perhaps be the bash of the year Sunday -- a "White Party," where folks are encouraged to dress in all white, and rage til the early morn'. That's exactly what his guests did ... and they didn't pass up the dance floor either.

Check out these pics of the festivities, including who swung by for a good time -- A-listers like Jay-Z, Beyonce, Meek Mill, Travis Scott, James Harden, Yo Gotti, Jon Bon Jovi, J Balvin, Winnie Harlow, Bobby Shmurda and more showed face ... the latter of whom, our sources tell us, talked possibly collab'ing with Mr. Balvin. More to come on that soon, we're sure ...

The entertainment was top-notch, too ... we're told Meg Thee Stallion got on stage in an area of the property that was converted to a club -- plus, Lil Baby and Tinashe grabbed a hold of the mic as well. Even Cactus Jack got in on the fun ... DJ'ing for a bit and then doing an impromptu performance of "The Scotts" with Kid Cudi, who also attended.

And yes, like we mentioned ... these stars were showing off their moves, including JT from the City Girls and her boo, Lil Uzi Vert, who led the charge with a dance-off. Peep this.

LUV went straight up into break-dancing mode ... and the dude can get down! JT was filming him as he did his thing -- and safe to say, those watching were in awe at what they were seeing. Not only is he a good musician, but the guy can break it down like it's nobody's business.

Speaking of dancing ... TikTok star Charli D'Amelio was getting her groove on as well. JT filmed a clip of the 17-year-old grinding with her girlfriends, and she event twerked a bit too.

We don't know if we should crown this guy Dad of the Year, or Gutsiest Dad of the Year ... because he could easily fall into both for this incredible feat with his kid and a baseball.

Check out this insane clip of what seems to be a relatively new father holding his child at the Arizona Diamondbacks game Sunday, where they were in Phoenix facing the visiting SF Giants. Of course, when you go to a live game ... ya gotta look out for those foul balls.

They can come at you fast when coming off a player's bat at the plate ... and that's exactly what happened here for this fella. His instinct was ... catch the damn thing, barehand!

Watch for yourself -- he literally releases the baby that he's holding in his left hand/arm to reach up and snag the ball midair (which he successfully does) ... and an instant later, he swings his arm back down to catch the falling kid (again, he pulls it off somehow).

BTW, we forgot to mention ... Papa Bear here was also carrying a beer in his free hand -- so it's literally like a circus stunt. He spilled a little while making the amazing catch(es), but the suds stayed mostly intact. As freaked as people were, they were equally impressed.

Stephen Dorff came out swinging against Marvel and its latest big screen offering, "Black Widow," as well as its lead star in Scarlett Johansson ... for whom he says he feels sorry.

The veteran actor straight-up bashed ScarJo's newest flick in an interview with the U.K.'s Independent outlet ... saying, in part, "I still hunt out the good shit because I don't want to be in Black Widow. It looks like garbage to me. It looks like a bad video game. I'm embarrassed for those people. I'm embarrassed for Scarlett!" Tell us how you really feel!

Steve went on to add this for good measure ... "I'm sure she got paid five, seven million bucks, but I'm embarrassed for her. I don't want to be in those movies. I really don't. I'll find that kid director that's gonna be the next [Stanley] Kubrick and I'll act for him instead."

SD continued on with his diatribe, expanding the scope to include the film industry at large -- which he characterized as a "big game show" -- but his main gripe seems to be with what he considers selling out to the big studios ... and maintaining some sense of artistic integrity.

That's interesting coming from Steve ... seeing how he's been in superhero movies himself -- including a Marvel fan fave, 'Blade' -- but also another superhero film that many considered "garbage" ... his 2015 appearance in "American Hero," which was like a farce of the genre.

One could argue -- as many online are right now -- that Stephen's other film credits aren't necessarily Kubrick-esque either. He's been in a bunch of films that some might consider bullish and not-that-artsy (aka, B-films) ... including "Felon," "Carjacked" and lots of others.