Viral

A movie about Serena and Venus Williams -- focusing on their dad teaching 'em tennis -- is, apparently, getting blasted as sexist ... even though they're literally the ones behind it.

Count this as the biggest bad hot take of the week ... and Twitter mostly agrees -- this person seems to be woefully misinformed on the making of "King Richard" -- not to mention the real-life history of Serena and Venus in general -- which stars Will Smith as their father in the titular role, and sees a young Serena and Venus turning into sports prodigies.

A woman named Dr. Jessica Taylor laid into the fact that this flick was more about their pops than them, per se, which she found insulting for some reason ... and to which she expressed outrage, almost on their behalf.

She writes, "Did they seriously make a film called ‘King Richard’ about the success of Serena and Venus Williams - but it’s about their dad, Richard?" What Dr. Taylor fails to realize, it seems, is that Venus and Serena are executive producers of the film.

So the "they" she's referring to here is actually VW and SW ... and the internet let her know about it, with one person responding -- "Venus and Serena wanted it that way. They are literally the executive producers of the movie. Please sit down somewhere"

Unclear if this message got through to the good doctor, because she followed up with yet another equally tone-deaf remark ... saying, "I get this has annoyed people but I genuinely didn’t expect a film about two of the most powerful, successful and amazing black female athletes to be named after a man, or centre a man."

She adds, "I would have loved this film to be all about them, and not a man. That’s it really." The implication, in our eyes, is that there's sexism afoot with the way it's presented.

Of course, what Dr. Taylor, again, does not seem to understand ... Serena and Venus are obviously onboard with this approach to the film, as it's one they wanted to tell and even signed on to shepherd. They've spoken about this in interviews, too, saying they wanted to highlight the role their father played in their lives -- and the gratitude they feel for his hard work.

Funny enough, there are other film critics who are coming to the table with the same POV as this Twitter user -- finding fault in the fact that Will gets most of the shine, and not the girls.

Kid Rock feels like PC culture is going too far -- so much so, in fact, that he wanted to put it into a song ... complete with a visual element that's getting some attention.

The rapper just dropped his latest track, 'Don't Tell Me How to Live,' along with a music video ... which is all about how he thinks woke-ness, as it were, is ruining the country -- not to mention the next generation of kids, whom he thinks are gonna be raised to be "p****es"

It's an interesting tune -- and definitely NOT subtle whatsoever in the message KR is trying to communicate ... namely, his apparent frustration with what he considers over-sensitivity.

With lyrics like ... "So what the f***'s up with all the backlash? // You snowflakes, here's a news flash!" ... it's pretty on the nose. In fact, he gets even more direct ... singing, "And, these minions and their agendas // Every opinion has a millennial offended // But this amendment one, it rings true // And if you don't dissent, bitch, then see number two."

Yeah ... he weirdly invokes the Second Amendment, which seems to imply violence. That aside, though -- there's actually a lot of people who might agree with Kid, generally, about cancel and/or call-out culture -- but the thing is ... his own behavior of late has warranted it.

Just earlier this year, he was caught on camera dropping the homophobic f-slur super casually -- and a couple years ago, he was filmed yet again going on another bizarre rant against Oprah, which appeared to have some racial undertones.

If Kid Rock thinks being anti-woke is equivalent to hurling slurs and unabashed insults whenever you want -- well ... he might wanna check the definition again, 'cause it ain't that.

A smash-and-grab heist of a Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco ended up looking like an action movie when the police showed up -- and it was all captured on crazy video.

Check out this wild scene of people ransacking the luxury retailer in Union Square Friday, with a ton of people flocking in and raiding the place for most everything it had. Bystanders caught tons of bodies storming into the front doors once the windows were busted.

It doesn't appear to be tied to any type of demonstration or anything like that -- so far, this seems to have been a random act of looting ... that folks happily took advantage of once it was underway.

As you can see ... folks helped themselves to a number of items inside, walking out with armfuls of products (big and small) and casually -- albeit somewhat briskly -- walked away from all the action -- trying to get the hell outta there before the police arrived.

Word is ... the people that stormed the store actually pushed over a security guard who was standing watch inside -- this LV was closed at the time of the incident -- and they had their run of the place. That is, until the cavalry got called in ... and, boy, did they come in blazing.

Watch this video of an SFPD squad car roaring up to the chaos and peeling in front of a parked convertible Mustang that, for whatever reason, was just chillin' there ... and which the cops apparently thought might've had something to do with the break-in.

Three officers surround the vehicle and start pulverizing it with their batons ... breaking in the windows and smashing up anything they can as they demand the driver get out of the vehicle. Eventually, they detain him and get him in cuffs -- but it's unclear what involvement, if any, this person may have had with what was happening just feet away.

In any case, it would seem the cops had reason to believe this car was carrying would-be culprits inside -- because the ferocity with which they pounced is pretty shocking.

Anyway, the aftermath of it all made for quite a mess ... glass scattered everywhere, as witnesses milled about and took video of everything. As for the police, they told local media they've already apprehended several suspects they believe were involved in the theft.

English cricketer Alex Hales is owning up to wearing blackface for a Tupac costume in 2009 ... saying it was "incredibly reckless and foolish."

32-year-old Hales is speaking out after a picture of him donning dark makeup on his face and body was published this week ... claiming it was supposed to honor his favorite rapper at a music-themed costume party.

"The theme was musicians and Tupac is, was and always will be my favorite musician, so I went as him," Hales said in the video.

"Obviously, I realize this is incredibly disrespectful and I want to apologize for the offense this has no doubt caused."

He continued ... "It was incredibly reckless and foolish on my behalf and I apologize for that, and apologize to the club for the embarrassment it would have caused them."

"I deplore all forms of racism and discrimination."

The apology comes amid allegations of widespread racism in the sport ... as former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq says his experiences were so bad, he needed medication to deal with the mental health issues.

Rafiq accused Hales of other racism as well ... claiming Hales' dog, "Kevin" was named after a blanket racist term his teammates used to describe black people, which he adamantly denies.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry continues to claim they have no idea what happened to tennis star Peng Shuai ... who suddenly vanished over 2 weeks ago after accusing a powerful Chinese official of sexual assault.

Zhao Lijian, ministry spokesperson, was asked about Shuai's disappearance, telling media ... the situation is "not a diplomatic question and I'm not aware of the situation."

FYI, the Chinese Foreign Ministry deals in all things foreign policy for the country. The Foreign Minister is typically one of the most powerful posts in China.

Peng accused former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, who is in his 70s, of sexually assaulting her 3 years ago at his home in China.

Just minutes after going public with the allegation, the social media post was deleted. Peng has not been heard from since.

There's been widespread concern for Peng's safety ... and some of the biggest tennis stars in the world have spoken out.

Serena Williams recently wrote ... "I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai. I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent. Sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time. #whereispengshuai"

Current stars Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic also expressed fear over her well-being ... as did legendary player Billie Jean King.

To make the story even more bizarre, Chinese state media released a statement, SUPPOSEDLY written by Peng, where the Wimbledon doubles champ retracts her previous statements on the sexual assault, adding, "I am not missing, nor am I unsafe."

In the statement, Peng also claims ... "I've just been resting at home and everything is fine."

Bottom line, almost no one believes Peng wrote the statement.

To their credit, the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) has doubled down since the suspicious statement was released, calling on independent proof that the tennis player, one of the countries biggest athletic stars, is okay.

“The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts,” Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO said.

He continued ... “I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her.”

Even the United Nations Human Rights Office called for a transparent investigation into Peng's disappearance.

'Gorilla Glue Girl' is sticking it to us with more chatter about her hair fiasco -- only now, she's doing it with a beat, and she's recorded it ... notably without an assist from Nicki Minaj.

Tessica Brown is releasing her very own track, remixing snippets from her original viral TikTok video, with additional lyrics she raps. It's called "Ma Hair," and we're told it's due out Friday.

TB's manager, Gina Rodriguez, says Tessica recorded it in Hollywood last month, and the track was put together by independent music producer/engineer Phil Valley. Apparently, Tessica wrote this jam all by herself ... and it's the first time she's ever rapped.

As for *why* she's bringing us all back to February -- when this whole sad incident first went down -- well, we're told Tessica simply wanted to reclaim her voice for her own purposes and thought this would be a neat way to do it.

As you may know (and may have heard) ... there's been a lot of remixes made over the past several months that feature audio from Tess' OG clip -- but she didn't authorize any of those.

Here's the kicker to this whole thing ... Tessica and her team actually reached out to Nicki Minaj's camp in hopes of getting her on the track. Of course, NM shouted out 'Gorilla Glue Girl' in her recent song, "Fractions."

After the name-drop, which GGG and co. loved, they figured Nicki might be down to collab ... but Rodriguez says they never heard back from her.

New York City's mayor-elect is ready to hit to the ground running -- and smoking, apparently -- because he came to the 'Late Show' bearing gifts ... including the herbal variety.

Eric Adams is fresh off his election day victory and will replace Bill de Blasio in January, and he stopped by Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show Tuesday with a tote bag full of knickknacks he doled out one by one.

First, he presented a blanket, for SC and his boo to cuddle, then a GSD NYC T-shirt ... but the third gift is what's getting the most attention. Mr. Mayor-elect whipped out some rolling papers and what appeared to be a bag of marijuana -- he said he'd hand it off to Stephen backstage.

BTW, it wasn't real ganja -- Adams' team cleared that up after the fact, saying he didn't bring actual herb on set, even though it is legal in NYC ... and Adams does, in fact, support it.

The bamboo rolling papers were real, though ... so, at least Colbert got that!

Anyway, there was a final gift that won over the crowd -- Adams pulled an Oprah with gifts for the entire audience. No, everybody didn't get a car, but it was something to help promote NYC.

Carole Baskin is still fighting to have footage of herself removed from "Tiger King 2," and telling us how the series producers allegedly pulled some shady moves to deceive her.

We spoke to the big cat animal rescue owner herself just a day before Netflix is set to debut its sequel to the smash-hit series ... and Carole gave us the behind-the-scenes intel she says led to her filing a lawsuit to stop her image and likeness from being included in 'TK 2.'

For starters, Carole told us on Tuesday's "TMZ Live," she is NOT trying to stop Netflix from putting out a second installment -- she just wants any tie to her nixed from the final product.

As for why she wants out of the project? Well, Carole says she also hated the OG "Tiger King" ... and she alleges producers pitched it to her like it was going to be a "Blackfish"-styled expose on animal abuse. She even claims they even showed her an early promo cut which was exactly that.

As you now know ... "Tiger King" ended up playing as more of an anti-hero tale, with Joe Exotic as the heroic lead, and Carole as the "bad guy" nemesis.

That's Carole's biggest gripe -- what she calls the flat-out misrepresentation of her and her mission ... something she tells us is still haunting her to this day in the form of harassment and threats from rabid fans.

She also addressed what Jeff and Lauren Lowe told us Monday -- namely, that they're gearing up to sue Carole for allegedly tipping off the feds to violations at his now-shutdown Tiger King Park.

Carole says Jeff's fury is misplaced, and everything that's happened to him in the wake of "Tiger King" is his own doing. She claims her team got plenty of video evidence of animal abuse at Jeff's place, and she's airing it on her new Discovery+ show, "Carole Baskin's Cage Fight."

Somewhere Laura Ingraham is still confused as hell about what happened on her own show Monday night -- an exchange with her guest that she unwittingly turned into a classic comedic moment.

So, Ingraham was chatting with Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo about "woke storylines" in Hollywood productions when he brought up "You" -- the Netflix show, that is -- and an episode that mentioned measles.

But, Laura immediately thought he was talking about her, and it was painfully clear she's not aware "You" is a thing. With a horribly confused look on her face, she said, "When did I mention measles?"

Now, Raymond's confused too, and yells back at Laura, "No! It was on "You!'" -- which only enrages her more. You gotta see it.

Folks of a certain age (and knowledge) will see this as a modern, and accidental, take on Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's classic, "Who's on First?"

Sounds like Ingraham might be binging 3 seasons of "You" this weekend.

Adele helped a guy propose to his girlfriend in star-studded fashion -- but if they get their way, she could be back for the actual nuptials themselves ... not to mention Oprah too!

We spoke to the couple who got engaged in front of Adele and a whole lot of other celebs on primetime TV, no less ... asking if they'd like to see another round in the presence of the singer -- and, go figure, they say hell yeah.

Check out the interview ... Quentin Brunson and Ashleigh Mann give us the blow-by-blow of how they even got selected for the special moment -- plus, what it was like IN the moment -- and it's about as magical as it appeared on the CBS telecast.

On the issue of tapping Adele again for their special day ... they tell us they'd absolutely love to have her perform at their upcoming ceremony, and not just that -- but they want O herself to officiate!

Unclear if those ladies will oblige ... but considering the history they all share now, it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. We'll keep tabs one way or another.

The prosecutor in the Kyle Rittenhouse case is drawing fire for pointing an AR-15 directly at the jury ... and critics are comparing his conduct to the fatal shooting on the "Rust" set.

Assistant D.A. Thomas Binger was in the middle of his closing argument Monday, when he tried to stage a re-enactment of the scene captured on drone video, just before Rittenhouse opened fire ... killing 2 and wounding a third.

Binger was trying to show the jury how ominous the 18-year-old defendant was on the streets of Kenosha back in August 2020 ... by grabbing the gun in open court and pointing squarely at the 18 people in the jury box ... 12 of whom were selected to decide the fate of Rittenhouse.

Binger violated the first rule of gun safety ... don't point the weapon at human beings just for show. As you know, one of the protocols broken on the "Rust" set was just that ... Baldwin was pointing the gun at the Assistant Director and the Cinematographer.

The demonstration drew the ire of a bunch of folks on social media ... "Rittenhouse prosecution DA points a gun at the jury, finger on the trigger, to give an example of what it looks like working with Alec Baldwin on a movie set."

Another wrote, "Binger and Alec Baldwin need to attend a firearms safety class taught by Kyle Rittenhouse." And, there's more ... "Prosecutor in Rittenhouse case aimed a gun with his finger on the trigger at the jury while saying someone was reckless with his gun."

Wyclef Jean was inadvertently strumming one man's pain with his fingers -- or rather, with his shoulders ... and that guy, crazy enough, was the head honcho of a major auto company.

The Fugees rapper was on hand Monday night for the Range Rover Leadership Summit -- a one-day event where bigwigs from Jaguar Land Rover North America gave speeches, touted their success and made product announcements ... and, naturally, partied their faces off afterward.

That's where this video kicks in ... you see Wyclef -- who'd been hired as entertainment for the festivities -- raging with none other than CEO and President Joe Eberhardt.

They were part of a big group that had moseyed over to the Edition Hotel in WeHo, where Jaguar Land Rover hosted its after-party -- this following the main action at the Academy of Motion Pictures earlier in the evening. Safe to say ... Wyclef and co. got a little carried away.

Check out this wild scene ... you see WJ spinning Eberhardt on his freakin' shoulders, and the guy's digging it -- that is, until they both go tumbling to the ground ... head-first.

It wasn't too hard a fall, or didn't seem to be anyway -- but it's clear JE was left a little rattled by the drop, and we're told he had to leave early and was slightly hurt. Wyclef, meanwhile, looked embarrassed by the whole thing.

Affion Crockett is taking steps to ensure another "Karen" can't step on his stage during a comedy set.

We got the comedian at LAX Monday and asked about the woman who rudely interrupted his stand-up act ... and what he's doing to make sure it never happens again.

Affion is chalking the incident up to booze and the age of social media ... but he says it was still alarming for someone from the crowd to get so close to him, so he's beefing up his security moving forward.

As we reported ... Affion was performing Friday at the Comedy Zone in Jacksonville, FL when a woman barged on stage and tried ripping his material.

Affion says he tried to get an explanation out of the woman, but says she was too drunk ... and still doesn't know what set her off because he was harmlessly joking about sex.

Bryson DeChambeau launched a ball OVER the net at Topgolf this weekend ... and the majestic drive was all captured on epic video!!

The PGA star -- who's by far the longest driver on the Tour -- hit up the popular golf spot on Saturday ... and it didn't take him long to begin punishing balls from an upper-deck bay.

Check out the footage the 28-year-old posted to his TikTok page ... during one of his tee shots, you can see he hit a ball that cleared the fence over 200 yards away!!!

The computers at the golf spot registered the speed of the ball at a staggering 201 MPH -- something DeChambeau was clearly pleased with.

"@topgolf we might need to get taller nets🤪," Bryson said after posting the vid.

Of course, we shouldn't be too surprised by the shot ... DeChambeau does these kinds of things regularly on the actual course -- hitting drives over 400 yards!!

SZA wasn't about to relive Astroworld Fest all over again -- which is why she brought her latest concert to a dead halt ... just to make sure a fan who'd passed out was okay.

The singer was performing in Salt Lake City Thursday at the Union Event Center -- when at some point during the show ... she pumped the brakes on everything after noticing someone had apparently fainted out in the audience, and may have needed help.

This video was captured by a TikTok user and posted the next day ... and it shows SZA addressing what happened just last weekend in Houston, where she performed earlier in the day ... before mass casualties started to go down during Travis Scott's headlining set.

SZA says people passing out in crowds is quite common -- but what is abnormal is people dying ... and she says that's gotta change going forward, starting right then and there.

She actually forces stagehands to bring out water to the person in distress, and anyone else who may need to rehydrate. In a second video ... SZA starts to get flustered when nobody working in the venue promptly attends to the person who'd fallen unconscious -- and the crowd is fully behind her in her indignation.

It's pretty astonishing to see ... and as SZA alludes to herself, it may start to become the norm at live shows going forward, regardless of the crowd size. She seems to be saying that the artist should take responsibility if they see something ... and ditto for concert-goers.

As we reported ... a total of 9 people have died since the concert last Friday -- with one more on life support right now ... 9-year-old Ezra Blount, who was trampled in the chaos.

Sounds like SZA is putting her foot down on fans walking the line of life and death on her watch ... and won't let people fall victim to that, not as long as she can help it.

Kanye West is seeing double -- and so are the people of NYC, it seems, after an army of would-be clones took to the streets ... in what appears to be a tease of new music to come.

On Saturday night, a good dozen or more people were spotted near Union Square and the surrounding area -- and all of them were rocking a matching outfit that Ye himself wore a few weeks ago ... the black Gap Round jacket and the skin-colored full face mask and cap.

They did not have his Balenciaga rain boots on -- swapping those for Balenciaga dad sneakers instead -- but there's no question they were paying homage to KW's look.

As for what they did ... nothing really. Different videos and photos show them just milling about the area, minding their business in unison. Eventually, though, they did start to parade down the sidewalks together ... walking as one big Kanye clone troupe, as it were.

Nobody really said anything or explained why they were out there ... in what clearly seems to be a concerted effort of some kind. Some folks have a good hunch, though, as to the meaning behind all this -- and it may have to do with his "DONDA" album.

Fact is ... Ye has been teasing a re-release of late, with billboards springing up in major cities, promoting what may turn into another listening event -- similar to what he held down in Atlanta before dropping the highly-anticipated record.

So, he certainly appears to be up to something. With all that said, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that this 'Ye' clone thing is a publicity stunt to get buzz for the newest drop, which would presumably have new mixes and/or all-new tracks entirely.