You Might Want to Rethink

Akon's got a hot take on African-American singers and rappers blowing off the Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show, and it sounds like he's NOT exactly down with the boycott in support of Colin Kaepernick.

We got the singer/producer as he touched down in ATL, days ahead of the big game, and asked what he made of A-list celebs snubbing the NFL to stand in solidarity with Kap. Some are even calling for Travis Scott, Big Boi and Maroon 5 to take a knee during their performance -- but don't count Akon among that group.

For him, it's about time and place and he believes the Super Bowl is just too big a stage to opt out of playing on it.

Bill Maher's at it again -- he made yet another joke on his show many people are calling racist ... but this time he said it right to a black congressman's face.

Bill was interviewing Rep. Will Hurd from Texas during the one-on-one segment of 'Real Time' Friday night when he challenged Hurd to explain why he's a member of the Republican Party ... especially since he came from the CIA.

Hurd replied, "I was in the CIA for almost a decade. I was the dude in the back alleys at 4 o’clock in the morning collecting intelligence on threats to the homeland," ... to which Maher commented, "That's where they'd collect them, huh?"

It got some laughs, but then Bill added ... "Wow, by the Popeyes chicken."

Neither the audience nor Hurd seemed to really react to the comment, but it's getting a lot of backlash online. Of course, this isn't a first for Maher -- in June 2017 he dropped the n-word on his show while making a joke ... and later apologized.

Rudy Gobert, wipe away the tears and "man up" ... 'cause there's no crying in basketball -- so says Shaquille O'Neal, who knows a thing or 15 about being an All-Star.

TMZ Sports saw Shaq at his Fun House Super Bowl bash in ATL -- and asked him about Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert crying in front of reporters while discussing NOT making the All-Star team ... a story the whole NBA world's talking about.

The Big Aristotle's advice ... Stop. Crying.

"Maybe he was sad he didn't make it, but it happens like that sometimes. I remember when I made it 15 years in a row and the last year I didn't make it. I guess I wasn't good enough. But, it's not something you cry about."

FYI ... Gobert's a beast -- especially on defense -- and definitely could've been an All-Star ... but he ain't, and showing emotion opened the door for rival players to attack.

(See Draymond Green -- who trolled RG on Twitter).

"We live in a tough sport. Guys like Draymond, he knows what he's doing. He's trying to get in [Gobert's] head. It's psychological. But there is no crying in basketball Rudy. Man up."

"Put some Icy Hot on your face, Rudy."

Ariana Grande might actually have a solution to a seemingly permanent mistake on her hand -- an offer to get it wiped clean -- and make more than a million bucks in the process.

Grande took tons of heat this week when people noticed some new Japanese ink on her palm. The tat was supposed to say "7 Rings" -- like her new single -- but, when translated, actually said, "Japanese style BBQ grill." Ariana tried to fix the tat by adding characters, but now the tattoo says, "Japanese BBQ finger."

All might not be lost for the "Thank U, Next" singer ... we've learned LaserAway -- a company that specializes in hair and tattoo removal -- sent Ariana a massive offer Friday.

Sources tell us the deal is worth $1.5 mil, minimum.

The deal requires that Ariana participate in one photo/video shoot at a LaserAway location, which will be used in social media, print and viral campaigns. They're also asking Ariana for one post per month for a whole year of LaserAway content.

The offer letter -- signed by company president, Todd Heckmann -- concludes with, "Thank u, next tiny barbecue grill."

We spoke with Scooter Braun, who said, "I can't speak for Ariana as we have not received this letter, however, if they're willing to send me the offer, I'm sure I'd be happy to get a tattoo and then remove it real quick ... for $1.5 mil. Hopefully, we can make this deal before her album comes out next week -- shameless plug."

Jussie Smollett will not get up close and personal with his fans in L.A. this weekend, and it's because there are concerns about his safety just days after the Chicago attack ... TMZ has learned.

Jussie's playing a sold-out show at the famous Troubador Saturday night ... and he was scheduled to have a meet-and-greet session -- but it's been canceled.

An email was sent Friday afternoon to all ticketholders that reads, in part, "For security reasons we cannot accommodate any meet & greets." The email doesn't refer to any specific threat.

The fact Jussie's even going through with the show is a minor miracle. It was just Tuesday morning that Jussie says 2 men jumped him in Chicago, beat him, poured bleach on him and left a rope around his neck. He suffered a broken rib in the attack.

Dolphins star Xavien Howard knows a thing or two about tats -- dude's covered!! -- so here's the defensive back imparting his ink wisdom onto Ariana Grande.

The 25-year-old was out at the EA Sports Madden Bowl on Thursday when we broke the news to him that Ariana screwed up her hand tat ... TWICE.

ICYMI ... Grande tried to ink "7 Rings" onto her palm -- but left out a couple characters and got "Japanese BBQ Grill" instead. When she tried to fix it -- it got worse.

You can tell the whole drama pains Howard (something tells us he's been there before) ... but fear not, Ariana -- the NFL star has a plan for how to move on from the tattoo disaster.

"Just get it covered up with something else different. Just forget about the slogan for your album."

Translation ... better say "thank you, next" to this one.

Colin Kaepernick is not only good enough to play in the NFL right now ... he's "ready to go" for a tryout ASAP -- so says his ex-49ers coach, Chip Kelly.

Kap played under Chip back in 2016 ... and actually began his anthem kneeling protests that season. The QB is now suing the NFL, claiming he's been blackballed by teams ever since.

Chip is now the head coach at UCLA -- and, when we got him out at Craig's on Thursday night ... he seemed to agree with Kap -- saying the guy is DEFINITELY still good enough to play in the league.

In fact ... Chip tells us he's under the impression Kap could try out for a team TODAY -- and still impress.

"I think he's ready to go."

Of course, the league's commissioner says otherwise ... Roger Goodell just told reporters he believes it's Kap's skill set -- not his politics -- that is keeping him from playing.

But Chip tells us, "anybody that wants a good quarterback" should sign him.

BTW ... Chip was out at the L.A. hot spot with high school football star Puka Nacua -- one of the top WRs in the country who's visiting from Utah.

The reason this is a big deal is because Puka had previously committed to USC ... yet, here he is at dinner with UCLA's top man just days before National Signing Day.

So, can Chip flip Puka from Troy to Westwood??? We talked to Puka about it ... and it seems he's got a lot of thinking to do before putting the pen to paper.

Travis Scott might be in Atlanta prepping for the Super Bowl ... but his music is alive and well in L.A., thanks to A$AP Rocky and Drake.

A$AP played to a sold-out crowd at The Forum in Inglewood Thursday night, and his fans went nuts when Drizzy made a surprise appearance. Bringing out all-star guests isn't so unusual at hip-hop shows ... but, what was really shocking was the song they performed together -- Travis' "SICKO MODE."

You'll remember ... back in 2015, someone got it twisted and confused Travis with A$AP. Trav was PISSED and unleashed on the poor sap ... but if last night's show made it clear, there's no beef when it comes to Travis and A$AP.

Meek Mill has a VERY different relationship with law enforcement in Jamaica, 'cause when they stop him there ... all they wanna do is fanboy out and get a photo op.

This is a great story ... Meek was partying down in Kingston this week, where he was enjoying some grub and, of course, the local strip clubs. Basically, soaking in island life.

The Philly MC posted tons of video on his IG story -- most of which is hilarious -- and, apparently, as Meek and co. were leaving Kingston ... they got stopped by officers there. Meek starts recording here, and it quickly becomes clear that no one was in trouble.

Turns out, the cops literally just wanted a picture with Meek! Check out his reaction ... he seems dumbfounded they pulled the car over just for that, but ya gotta imagine he was also relieved.

You'll recall ... Meek had a very rough 2018 while trying to get himself out of prison, which he eventually succeeded in. Now, he's in full-on activist mode ... recently having teamed up with Jay-Z and a bunch of powerful people to launch a criminal justice reform org.

Desiigner's gotta pay up for blasting a girl online by claiming she's a scam artist ... and he didn't even fight it.

According to new legal docs ... the rapper's been ordered to fork over $135,777.11 to Jessica Brown for damages after she sued him for defamation and invasion of privacy. It was a default judgment ... meaning the judge sided with Brown because Desiigner didn't contest it.

We broke the story ... Brown filed suit against Desiigner in February 2018, months after he shared an Instagram post referring to her as a "fraud," and warning his followers to stay away from her and her "college scams."

Jessica, president of a company called College Gurl, claimed she educates young people on how to pay for college and helped Desiigner's sister, Siera Shelby, get into Howard University.

Shelby later left school and left some belongings behind, and Desiigner allegedly believed it was all a con job ... and went off on Brown on social media.

We reached out to him ... no word back so far.

Ariana Grande added a digit to her Japanese tattoo in an attempt to fix a translation faux pas, and the good news is it's slightly better -- but the bad news is it's still wrong. Pretty hilarious.

As we told you ... the "7 Rings" singer copped to messing up her palm tat -- which was meant to spell out the name of her new track, but because the tattoo artist forgot a couple characters, it actually translated to a Japanese style BBQ grill.

Grande shared an updated shot of her ink, though, adding ... "slightly better. thanks to my tutor for helping me fix and to @kanenavasard for being a legend. and to my doctor for the lidocaine shots (no joke). rip tiny charcoal grill. miss u man. I actually really liked u."

But, here's the thing -- Ariana's ink still doesn't say "7 Rings." We're told she added the character for "finger" to it in order to clear things up, but the placement is off. So, it now reads "Japanese BBQ finger."

Not sure if that's better or worse, but Grande's got a history of covering up regrettable tattoos ... so maybe third time will be the charm for her to figure this one out.

Or, maybe it's just time to say thank u, next.

Renewed interest in Ted Bundy has attracted tons of voyeurs to his former Utah residence -- which has become a giant pain in the ass for residents.

A tenant who lives in the 2-story, 5-unit home -- which continues to serve as a boarding house, of sorts -- tells TMZ, foot traffic at the crib has significantly increased since the release of Netflix's 'Ted Bundy Tapes' doc and Zac Efron's Bundy film trailer.

Bundy lived here from 1974-1975 -- and urban legend has it, he might've even brought some of his victims back to the home. We're told Bundy used to stay in Room #2, which has since been relabeled Room #5. The tenant says somebody currently occupies that space.

What's really upsetting ... the barrage of gawkers cropping up in increasing numbers. We're told many simply wanna snap photos of the pad, while others have the audacity to peruse the grounds to eyeball a fire escape he used to climb when he wanted to come and go unnoticed.

Ariana Grande should brush up on her Japanese the next time she wants some permanent ink, 'cause she fell victim to a tattoo faux pas that paints her as Japanese BBQ's #1 fan.

AG recently debuted a new tat on the palm of her hand which featured Japanese characters that she thought spelled out "7 Rings" -- the title of her new single.

Unfortunately for her, the tattoo artist who did the job forgot a couple key characters ... and the tat actually reads "shichirin," which translates to Japanese style barbecue grill. Her fans quickly pointed this out and she deleted the photo from her Instagram.

Ari later admitted to the mistake in a since-deleted tweet ... saying she left out the characters, and added, "It hurt like f**k n still looks tight. I wouldn’t have lasted one more symbol lmao. But this spot also peels a ton and won’t last so if I miss it enough I’ll suffer thru the whole thing next time."

Jerry O'Connell wants to play Billy McFarland in the worst way ... and his impression of B.M. makes him more than worthy.

We got Jerry and his wife, Rebecca Romijn, Tuesday at LAX and asked how they'd feel about a scripted reimagining of the "the best party that never happened" hitting the big screen.

Turns out Jerry and Rebecca are Fyre nuts, who've watched both the Hulu and Netflix documentaries.

We talked to McFarland shortly after his would-be music fest came crashing down, and at the time he explained how he and his team tried hard to make it work.

As for whether the models who were involved in promoting the Fyre Fest -- some of whom are still being indirectly roped in to the story, even now -- should feel bad about their role in all this ... Rebecca -- a former model -- actually comes to their defense.

One thing's for sure ... these two definitely know their Fyre Festival history!

12:55 PM PT -- A rep for Gwyneth tells us, "This lawsuit is completely without merit. Anyone who reads the facts will realize that."

Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly doesn't know the rules of the road mountains in Utah -- 'cause a guy claims she crashed into him during a ski trip and seriously jacked him up.

Utah resident Terry Sanderson just sued Paltrow -- as well as Deer Valley Resort -- where he claims the actress slammed into him in February 2016 as he was skiing down the mountain.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sanderson says Paltrow was out of control as she hit him from behind, which knocked him over and left him in shock. He claims she simply got up, didn't say a thing, and kept on going while he was left lying there.

Sanderson also claims Paltrow knew that a downhill skier usually has the right of way on a slope, and that he was clearly downhill from her.

He goes on to claim that a ski instructor who was tailing Paltrow stopped off and accused Sanderson of causing the collision, allegedly asking, "What did you do?" ... and skiing away without getting help for the guy. Sanderson alleges the instructor also filed a false report casting blame on him in an attempt to protect Paltrow.

He says he suffered a concussion, a brain injury and four broken ribs -- going on to claim he's suffered physical and mental injuries, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, disfigurement and medical expenses.

Sanderson is asking a judge to award him damages in excess of $3.1 million.

Both Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are effectively suspended for 6 months for their roles in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl.

Conor was hit with a $50,000 fine -- and will be eligible to fight again on April 6.

Khabib's suspension is a little different -- he was hit with a $500,000 fine and a 9-month suspension ... with the ability to get a 3-month reduction IF he makes an anti-bullying video.

Neither UFC star was present Tuesday when the case went in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. They each had lawyers appearing on their behalf.

The board agreed to a 9-month suspension for Khabib -- with the ability to reduce the suspension to 6 months if they're satisfied with Khabib's PSA video.

Khabib has about a month to complete his video if he wants to get the full 3-month reduction.

The suspension is retroactive to the Oct. 6 incident -- meaning if his PSA video is approved quickly, he'll be able to fight again in April.

Of course, Khabib went berserk after defeating Conor in the 4th round of his Oct. 6 fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas -- jumping out of the cage and fighting a bunch of people in Conor's corner.

Khabib's cousin, Abubakar Nurmagomedov -- an MMA fighter who was also involved in the brawl -- received a 1-year suspension and a $25,000 fine.

It's also worth noting ... the committee issued a stern warning to fighters regarding pre-fight trash talk -- saying possible suspensions could be levied if the heated rhetoric continues.

Remember, Conor fired off several offensive barbs toward Khabib leading up to the UFC 229 fight ... saying Nurmagomedov was a "little rat," a "fanboy bitch" and a "backwards c*nt."

Conor also went after Khabib's manager ... accusing him of being a terrorist who was pulled off a plane on Sept. 11, 2001 and detained by authorities.