You Might Want to Rethink

The UCLA shoplifting situation has been escalated to the White House -- with President Donald Trump calling Chinese President Xi Jinping to ask for help.

Trump spoke with President Jinping about the issue while in Beijing last week -- one day after LiAngelo Ball and 2 teammates were arrested for allegedly stealing sunglasses from Louis Vuitton.

According to the Washington Post, President Xi promised to look into the issue -- and said the players would be treated fairly.

Sources told the Post charges against the players have already been reduced and a resolution is expected shortly.

As TMZ Sports previously reported, Alibaba founder Jack Ma -- one of the richest and most powerful men in China -- has also personally gotten involved to help get the players home quickly.

If convicted, Ball and the other players could reportedly face up to 10 years in prison.

Conor McGregor is explaining why he "lost it" at an MMA fight in Dublin on Friday -- saying the ref had no business trying to throw him out of the cage.

He also offered up a "f**k yous" to all of his critics.

You remember the incident -- Conor illegally scaled the cage at Bellator 187 after his training partner, Charlie Ward, won by knockout ... and EXPLODED on veteran UFC ref Marc Goddard for breaking up the party. He slapped a regulatory official square in the dome too.

After the fight, everyone was asking the same question -- why did Conor go batsh*t insane?

McGregor tweeted (and then deleted) early Monday morning, saying:

"Bloke KO'd on floor bout a minute straight and ref trying to say fight's not over, Conor. That's when I lost it. F**k yous all."

So, what happens next? Will McGregor be disciplined for getting physical with multiple officials?

We've reached out to the UFC to see if they'll take action. Stay tuned ...

Bijou Phillips is apologizing to a "Mean Girls" star for bullying him over his sexuality.

Actor Daniel Franzese went after Bijou recently, claiming, "She body shamed me and ridiculed me about my sexuality and physically assaulted me" on the set of the 2001 movie, "Bully."

He says she loudly and repeatedly asked him in front of others if he was gay, and when he said he was bi, she followed up the next day by screaming, "Oh look! The Bi guy is here!" He says she, on a different occasion, grabbed his nipple and "twisted it hard through my shirt and laughed," and at one point during filming kicked him in the head so hard he still is not sure if he had a concussion.

Bijou tells TMZ, "I want to write to address what Daniel has said. I don't remember that time well, those years are a blur. I was a teenager and reckless in my behavior. I know Daniel to be a trustworthy and honest person, and to find out through social media that I was not the friend I thought I was to him made me so sad."

Bijou goes on ... "I am so mortified by this behavior and have contacted Daniel and apologized to him privately. I am not and never have been homophobic. I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ community and Daniel."

Keith David says the sad fact is places of worship have to increase security ... even if it means checking everyone at the door.

We got the "Greenleaf" star -- he plays Bishop Greenleef -- at LAX where he said checking worshipers just seems necessary now in the wake the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs ... at least until Congress passes some serious gun control legislation.

The way Keith sees it ... until mentally ill people are forbidden from owning guns, preachers and congregations need to help God help them.

Brett Ratner and Kevin Spacey have something else in common besides mounting sexual assault allegations against them -- their pretty mugs are still front and center at a famous Hollywood joint.

The disgraced director/producer's face is also plastered on the wall at Catch LA in WeHo ... at least it was as of Monday night. It's unclear if the restaurant is planning to make changes.

As we reported ... Spacey's also taking up space on the celebrity wall.

Dwight Yoakam thinks Marilyn Manson aiming a fake gun at concertgoers was "an inappropriate moment" -- but adds that kinda stunt is fair game in a nation as free as ours.

We got the country star Monday at LAX and he stopped short of ripping into Manson for his assault rifle prop at his show in San Bernardino ... scene of a 2015 mass shooting.

Manson chalked it up to his artistic expression ... and Dwight seemed to accept that, but made it clear he'd never pull that kinda thing.

Wanna see how fast ice hockey players can move on land?

You're in luck ... because when the Nashville Predators team bus left Catch LA restaurant without 2 guys ... they busted out the footspeed to stop their ride from ditching them!

The NHL team was celebrating Sunday night after beating the L.A. Kings the night before -- they were all in a good mood ... signing autographs and taking pics with fans.

But 2 guys were draggin' ass when it came time to leave ... so the bus took off without 'em. That's when the race was on!

Kevin Spacey's name is NOT mud in one West Hollywood hot spot, anyway ... on the wall at Catch LA.

Netflix has cut ties with him, and he might never appear on "House of Cards" again -- but Spacey's mug is still on the "It" restaurant's famous wall of celebrities. He's, ironically, placed just in front of the Dalai Lama and one over from Mr. Clean.

It's unclear if Catch plans to make a change. We're guessing NBA superstar Chris Paul, who's right next to Spacey on the wall ... would at least vote for relocation.

Marilyn Manson showed a shocking lack of empathy Sunday night as he pretended to spray the crowd with bullets from a fake semi-automatic weapon ... in a county that is still reeling from a mass shooting.

Marilyn --- in a wheelchair after a September injury that crushed his leg -- was performing at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino ... the city where a terrorist killed 14 people in December 2015.

Perhaps with that in mind -- and a penchant for controversial headlines -- Marilyn pulled out the fake rifle while performing "We Know Where You F****** Live."

A mic is attached to the scope of the rifle.

Disturbing as hell.

6:01 PM PT -- Lamar's rep says he collapsed due to dehydration after an intense workout earlier in the day without the necessary fluids in his system. They also said it was very hot in the club, while adding ... he's "doing great."

Lamar Odom collapsed at his VIP booth at an L.A. nightclub early Sunday morning ... TMZ Sports has the video.

Odom was at Bootsy Bellows on the Sunset Strip when several staffers and patrons noticed the ex-NBA star collapsed to the ground around 2 AM. You can see security rush in to help and he seems to be conscious.

The person who shot the video tells TMZ Sports he saw Odom drinking for several hours before the incident.

The issue ... Odom has a serious history with substance abuse -- he almost died from a drug overdose at a brothel in 2015.

Odom has since gone to rehab and vowed to change his life -- but he's been partying a lot lately ... from strip clubs to nightclubs.

Bobby Brown and the estate of Bobbi Kristina have reached a settlement with TV One over the dispute about the biopic on her life ... according to new legal docs.

We broke the story ... the estate joined forces with Brown in September to stop the biopic from airing. Bobby claimed the portrayal of him as a bad dad was defamatory, and Bobbi Kristina's estate claimed the show violated her right to privacy. It aired anyway last month on October 8.

It seems ... even though they weren't able to block the airing of the show, Brown and Bobbi's estate were able to score some cash in the settlement. They wanted more than $2 million in damages, but it's unclear how much they got.

Andy Dick was off the rails Thursday night, threatening to grope a TMZ female photog, steadfastly refusing to apologize for allegedly sexually harassing people and talking about killing himself.

Dick was clearly drunk as he told our photog he knows Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and others accused of sexual harassment or assault, and he says, like him, all they were trying to do was get a date.

Dick has been accused of licking people, groping their genitals and unwanted kissing. He cops to licking and, in the face of denying the other allegations, he threatens to grope our photog.

Selena Gomez is now reading to little kids ... and it looks staged AF.

The singer took a stroll Thursday at a park in Burbank where she arrived with a friend both wearing attire totally NOT conducive for a park visit. White booties? Really?!

Selena and her friend -- BTW, also wearing booties -- looked like they knew what they were there for ... to appear like little kids at heart and be moved by a little girl reading a book while sitting on the swing.

Sweet, but staged, don't you think?

Master P says people need to stop trippin' out about his FOX News interview with Tomi Lahren -- telling TMZ Sports the mission was about peace and love ... not war.

The No Limit founder appeared on "Fox News Insider" this week to talk about everything from Trump to Kaepernick to Eminem ... but P got some backlash on social media from people who didn't like him affiliating with conservative Lahren.

Backstory -- some African-Americans view Tomi as an enemy since she went after Beyonce, Jay-Z, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

So, after P talked hoops on the "TMZ Sports" TV show ... Van asked about Tomi -- and P explained why it was super important to sit down with her and talk things out.

R. Kelly is the Houdini of street charity ... at least according to the homeless guy who claims Kelly pulled a fast one with a hundo -- but our video might prove otherwise.

Kellz was leaving State Social House Wednesday night in WeHo, and had a friendly run-in with a homeless man. He clearly hands him some dough, and the guy is clearly excited about the sum. The question ... what exactly did he hand him?

Our photog thought it was a $100 bill. The guy's face screams Benjamin too! The confusion came when we asked about the donation. The homeless dude confirms Kelly gave him something, but hilariously disses the singer at the same time.

Our best guess is the guy's trying to keep his $100 on the DL, but watch and decide for yourself.

O.J. Simpson's taking a transphobic shot at Caitlyn Jenner for her claim she and Kris Jenner knew damn well O.J. killed Nicole and Ron Goldman.

Simpson was out in Las Vegas when a photog asked him about Caitlyn's recent comments. At first, he said he's never met Caitlyn and claims he barely knew Bruce, despite the fact they vacationed together. Then he started jabbing.

Watch ... O.J. seems to think his comment is lighthearted, or even a joke.

We're guessing Caitlyn won't be laughing about it, and we're sure, after seeing this ... there's bad blood between the old friends.

Btw, O.J. also makes it clear he's loving the Vegas life.