You Might Want to Rethink

Dave Chappelle's all about making things right, which is why he hand-delivered tickets to a couple who fell victim to a Craigslist scam ... so they could make his Valentine's Day show after all.

The comedian surprised his swindled fans in Charlotte Thursday by showing up at the restaurant they were at and delivering tix to see him perform at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center that night.

Their story caught Dave's attention after it was reported Wednesday that the woman, Deidra Dickens, thought she had purchased tickets to his V-Day show for her and her husband -- a huge Chappelle fan -- but got scammed.

Dickens claims she paid $500 for 4 tickets to a seller on Craiglist, but after she sent the money ... that person went silent and she never got them.

What they got ended up being way better, though ... because Dave delivered in person. He also chatted and snapped some pics with the couple, but made sure to tell them to get their tickets from reliable sources from now on.

George Lopez is ripping Sen. Ted Cruz to shreds over his idea to use money seized from El Chapo to fund President Trump's border wall.

We got the comedian Thursday at LAX, and asked him about Cruz's suggestion that the billions seized from El Chapo's drug cartel should be used to secure the southern border. Needless to say, George has very strong feelings about the wall, Ted and ... the senator's head and ass!!!

El Chapo was found guilty on 10 federal drug charges Tuesday, and the Mexican drug kingpin is now facing life in prison. Prosecutors are seeking $14 BILLION in drug profits and assets from El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel.

Deadmau5 is softening his stance on not issuing an apology for using homophobic language while streaming on Twitch ... admitting his original statement was "an insult to injury."

ICYMI -- the DJ and producer got hit with a suspension from the video game streaming site after reportedly referring to a troll as a "f*cking c**k-sucking stream sniper f*g" while playing PUBG.

Deadmau5 didn't help his cause after the incident ... refusing to apologize and saying his words were "intended to insult a f*ckin asshat who was being a f*cking asshat."

The 38-year-old says he's had time to cool down ... and now understands the backlash.

"I know what I said was wrong, and my hastily composed non-apology was an insult to injury," Deadmau5 says.

"I realize that trying to somewhat dismiss it as 'gamer culture' was even worse. I don't know why I did that. But I do know it was stupid and insensitive and I feel even more ashamed. This was my worst moment."

Deadmau5 also apologized for going after Twitch for the temporary ban ..."It was all around an incredibly irresponsible and insensitive thing to say nonetheless. Especially for someone who has a reach."

"What I said was incredibly stupid, and I don't actually hold those beliefs, at all. I let some gamer get the best of me, and in that moment I completely lost control."

"Sometimes I just f*ck up. I do mean well. And I'm at least man enough to know when I've f*cked up. And I've f*cked up."

Deadmau5 says he plans to stay out of the spotlight until he knows he's a better person.

Comedian Russell Peters got involved in a serious situation at a jewelry shop, when he hopped to action and helped take down a wannabe thief ... and it's all on the security footage.

In the vid, obtained by TMZ, Peters is seen walking around the NYC Diamond District store Tuesday scoping some bling with one of the workers, while a man in a dark stocking cap is being attended to nearby by another employee.

All of a sudden, the guy in the cap gets up and darts away but gets stopped at the door ... which gets Russell's attention. The employee appears to try to apprehend the man, who gets physical and tries to make a break for it, but Peters and the other worker quickly grab him and hold him down before an officer shows up.

Law enforcement sources tell us the 27-year-old perp attempted to make off with a ring valued at $150,000 before he was apprehended by witnesses. Peters is listed on the police report as one of those witnesses.

If you're surprised the funny man is such a badass, don't be. Russell's trained in jiu-jitsu for years under famous black belt Jean Jacques Machado, who also trains Joe Rogan.

Basically, the suspect's lucky Russell only slapped an armbar on him!

Cops have charged the man with robbery and criminal possession of stolen property.

Our sources say Russell was at the store because he's friendly with the owner, and it's safe to say ... his friends and family discount just went up a little bit.

Colton Underwood says somebody touched him inappropriately at his charity event in San Diego and, as a result, he cut his appearance short and got the hell outta there.

The current 'Bachelor' star explained on social media why he left his Legacy Foundation Garden Party early ... saying, "I was grabbed and touched inappropriately while people were throwing cameras in my face." Colton doesn't name the person who got handsy.

We have tons of video and photos from the event, and from all we can see ... Colton seemed to be enjoying mingling with his fans. There is NO evidence in these images of anyone groping him.

Although he's clearly upset about how the night ended, Colton still apologized to all the fans he didn't get to meet due to his early departure. As he put it, he "had to do what was best for me as a human being. I didn't sign up to be a piece of meat or a zoo animal."

'Bachelor' alums like Becca Kufrin, Garrett Yrigoyen, Blake Horstmann and Tanner Tolbert all showed up for the event.

Thomas Markle agrees with George Clooney -- the press is treating Meghan Markle like crap ... but he's pissed off at George's comments on his relationship with his daughter.

Sources close to Meghan's father tell TMZ ... he's upset the actor chimed in over the letter the Duchess of Sussex sent him -- which has now been posted by multiple media outlets.

ICYMI -- George said in a recent interview he found the broadcasting of Meghan's letter to her dad "frustrating" and "irresponsible." We're told Thomas took this as a dig ... and thinks Clooney should "do a little research before he talks about Meghan and her father."

To be fair, Clooney seemed to be slamming the outlets more than Meghan's dad. He said, "I can't tell you how frustrating that is, just seeing them broadcast a letter from a daughter to a father. She's getting a raw deal there, and I think it's irresponsible and I'm surprised by that."

True enough, he doesn't mention Thomas, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to read between the lines ... Thomas set the ball in motion by releasing it. It sure seems that's the way Thomas is reading it, and that's why he's ticked off at George.

Our sources say, Thomas believes he's getting a raw deal in the press ... and Meghan's friends are to blame.

6:40 PM PT -- A show source tells us Safaree just arrived to the reunion in the last hour ... making a dramatic entrance halfway through the reunion. We're told he failed to make his contractual obligation of the full day and it's still possible there will be consequences from the network.

Safaree just did a total 180 on his commitment to attend the 'Love & Hip Hop' reunion ... a move that could cost him some serious cash.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ, Safaree was supposed to appear in Atlanta Wednesday to shoot the 'LHH' show. We're told last Friday he was committed to do the special -- but he had a change of heart on Monday -- backing out due to what he called safety and mental health concerns.

Our sources say VH1's parent company, Viacom, promised Safaree they'd put necessary measures in place to make sure he felt safe -- including additional security if a fight broke out -- but he wouldn't budge.

Safaree's no-show certainly didn't sit well with network honchos ... who fired off a legal letter warning Safaree if he didn't attend, he could be on the hook for substantial damages.

Safaree's manager, David Weintraub, tells us he's encouraged the reality star to fulfill his obligations to the network. However, the decision on how he handles his contractual commitments is ultimately up to Safaree.

Kandi Burruss is a boss, and those bagging on her for taking a month off from her son's life to do "Celebrity Big Brother" are a bunch of lame-os ... so says her hubby, Todd Tucker.

We got Todd and his whole brood Wednesday at LAX and he staunchly defended his wife for choosing to take part in the reality show.

If you didn't know ... the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star caught some flak over the weekend when some fans called her out for missing her son, Ace's school recital.

Todd is having none of it ... and wanted to make it perfectly clear that Kandi's decision to join the CBS hit show only came AFTER she sat down and talked to the whole fam. In fact, her daughter, Riley was at the airport, too, and co-signed on that sentiment.

Check it out ... Todd has got a message for the haters.

He's also got a prediction on who is gonna win when the 2-hour finale airs Wednesday night.

Steve Harvey's come-to-Jesus chat with his "sister," Mo'Nique -- about Hollywood blackballing her -- got seriously heated to the point she pretended to punch him ... 'cause ain't no fight like a family fight!

Steve and Mo's intense showdown aired Wednesday on his talk show, and neither held back. He tried to make the point that she was destroying her own career by continuing to publicly blame Oprah, Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels for blackballing her.

As you know, Mo'Nique's been banging the drum against that power trio for years, and also tried to launch a Netflix boycott when it, in her eyes, lowballed her for a comedy special.

Mo'Nique angrily told Steve she didn't want to back down because her integrity is more important than money -- prompting Steve to fire back she was cutting off her nose to spite her face.

He repeatedly said he was coming down hard on Mo because he loves her and wants her "to come through" all the drama, but that did nothing to calm things down. As they say, it's a thin line.

Steve says he hopes to bring all the parties together for peace talks and apologies. The Nobel folks will be watching if he can pull that off.

Famed DJ Deadmau5 says he will NOT apologize for using homophobic language while streaming on Twitch -- saying the slurs were only "intended to insult a f*ckin asshat who was being a f*cking asshat."

The man behind the megahit "Ghosts 'N' Stuff" got hit with a temporary suspension from the video game streaming site after reportedly referring to a troll as a "f*cking c**k-sucking stream sniper f*g" while playing PUBG.

Deadmau5 believes the ban is unfair -- and fired off a fiery new statement announcing he will no longer work with Twitch ... which is a HUGE deal considering he has 500,000 Twitch followers.

But, the statement is far from an apology ... in fact, he DEFENDS the offensive language he used during his live stream and accused Twitch of having a "double standard" when it comes to meting out punishment.

"I'm not going to stand for twitch's double standard when it comes to censoring and suspending me for harmless sh*t," the DJ said.

"While we've had some fun partnerships here and there, and they were a great company to work with... im gunna have to cut this one short. I dont have the capacity to deal with that kind of sh*t."

He added, "While what i said was generally toxic as f*ck, and not an ideology i hold closely to my moral standing by a f*ckin longshot."

"While it was intended to insult a f*ckin asshat who was being a f*cking asshat.... it wasnt 'directed at an entire group of people who have a sexual orientation that differs from my own'. f*ck off with that sh*t."

"I know who i am, and i dont have to f*cking sit here and cry and defend my f*cking self with the obligatory 'IM NOT THAT PERSON, I AM SORRY' reflex. If im sorry for antying, im sorry that we live in a world where bottom feeding pieces of sh*t can sit there starring at a monitor, watching me play videos games, and just waiting for someone to get tilted so he can get a few fucking clicks. thats what i'm sorry for."

And, if you think Deadmau5 is bluffing, you're wrong -- he's already deleted his Twitch channel.

Daymond John's defending Katy Perry's "blackface" shoe design, and even says it's possible Gucci was trying to pay homage to a genre of art with its controversial sweater -- but most likely it was something more calculated.

The "Shark Tank" star was outside Craig's in WeHo Tuesday night and talked to us about Gucci's blackface debacle. Remember, Daymond has a ton of knowledge about clothing design -- see FUBU -- and he took us behind the curtain ... saying Gucci cooked up that sweater knowing what the public response could be.

His take is interesting, because he says not everything that appears to be blackface at first glance is definitely so ... but you gotta know your history.

As for Katy Perry's shoe, the business guru sides with the singer and doesn't believe it should be considered offensive or racist ... and gives a full tutorial on what does and doesn't qualify as blackface (or whiteface).

Adrien Broner says he doesn't get why everyone is all "bent out of shape" about the Gucci sweater that ignited a boycott ... telling TMZ Sports, "I don't care, it's just a sweater!"

Remember, stars like T.I., Soulja Boy and Spike Lee called for a Gucci boycott over a sweater that resembles blackface ... with T.I. calling the fashion item "racist and disrespectful."

But Broner seems to think the boycott is a massive overreaction -- and on his way into 1 OAK in L.A. he told us, "You can wear whatever you want to wear."

"I don't care! It's just a sweater! Why's everyone getting so bent out of shape about it?!"

Broner also said he's NOT wearing Gucci though -- explaining he's more of a Dolce & Gabbana kind of guy.

The decision seems to be motivated by fashion, not social justice.

AB's pal, Floyd Mayweather, also refuses to boycott Gucci -- in fact, he went on a MASSIVE shopping spree at the Gucci store in Bev Hills this week and proudly proclaimed that NOBODY tells him how to feel or what to wear.

Don't worry ... this didn't end like the Harambe situation, but it did get extremely tense.

An 8-year-old girl in China was rescued by a courageous security guard who hung upside down in the giant panda living space ... pulling her to safety. And, all the drama was caught on video.

The girl reportedly fell backward off a fence last weekend, dropping more than 6 feet into the enclosure at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

Check it out -- the panda bears approach the girl as the guard attempts to pull her up with a bamboo pole to no avail ... and the crowd begins to really panic. He eventually ditched the pole and stretched upside down to reach the girl with his bare hands ... and pulled her up to safety.

Three pandas -- which aren't always super cuddly and friendly -- were creeping closer at the time, but never got to the girl. They seemed more curious than vicious.

The guy who created that freaky King Cake Baby character -- the New Orleans Pelicans mascot -- claims the movie "Happy Death Day" jacked his freaky face ... and now he's suing to get revenge.

The man behind the suit is Jonathan Bertuccelli -- an artist who created the intentionally weird looking mascot back in 2009. It's been seen everywhere from NBA games to Mardi Gras and even "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

In his suit, Bertuccelli claims he was shocked when he saw the killer in the movie "Happy Death Day" and the upcoming sequel "Happy Death Day 2U" wore a mask that looked just like his KCB mask.

Bertuccelli says NO ONE involved in the movie ever called him up to ask for permission -- or even credited him -- and he's pissed at Universal City Studios, Blumhouse Productions and everyone else attached to the film.

"A side-by-side comparison of KCB and Happy Death Day mask clearly shows that the visual attributes and aspects which have made KCB a celebrity mascot were copied and so substantially similar that the two are seen to be the same."

Bertuccelli also cites numerous people on social media who pointed out the similarity over the past few months.

So, what does he want?? Money. Lots of money.

In fact, Bertuccelli believes the movie has made more than $200 MILLION in revenue -- and he feels entitled to at least 50% of the profits.

Clippers stud Montrezl Harrell took policing loud-mouth fans into his own hands again Monday ... telling a courtside heckler to "shut the f*ck up, now!"

It all went down at the L.A.-Timberwolves game in Minnesota ... when Harrell's Clips were getting ribbed by some guy with floor seats at the free-throw line.

Montrezl wasn't in the mood to hear it ... and turned to the dude and screamed, "Be a fan, bro. Sit over there and be a fan. Shut the f*ck up, now!"

It ain't the first time Harrell's gone after a heckler ... back in December, he threatened to "smack the sh*t out" of some guy who was chirping at him on the way to the locker room.

Of course, Harrell's one of MANY who have had incidents with fans this season ... guys like Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin have hit back hard at smack-talking guys in the stands.

Doesn't seem the clapbacks are ending anytime soon ... but if anybody wants to learn how to calmly deal with the situation -- don't forget Julius Randle's advice!!!

Childish Gambino is being called a "house slave" by an artist who claims his own tune was ripped off for Gambino's latest Grammy-winning work. Warning ... VERY hot take ahead.

Jase Harley explained to us Monday in NYC why he was upset with CG walking away with 4 Grammys for his monster hit, "This Is America" -- which took home Record of the Year among other top accolades during Sunday night's award show.

It's a bit tough to follow Jase's logic, but he apparently feels Gambino set black culture back by not attending the show and speaking on behalf of the racial issues he raises in the song ... and, perhaps most importantly, not acknowledging Jase as an inspiration.

This was a thing a few months back when the song first dropped -- people accused Gambino of ripping Jase off, 'cause 'TIA' sounds a lot like Jase's track, "American Pharaoh."

At the time, Jase appeared to be chill with the whole situation ... and even said he was "extremely humbled" that 'Pharoah' might've served as an influence for Gambino.

Well, it looks like all that is out the window now -- 'cause Jase makes a very controversial analogy that invokes slavery.