You Might Want to Rethink

Future wants some respect put on his name for giving young rappers a style to run with and a way to make a living, and he's got a point ... so says a fellow Atlanta rap legend.

We got Big Gipp -- who's part of Goodie Mob, Dungeon Family and other OG rap groups out of ATL -- and he says Future's recent Twitter rant calling on up-and-coming MCs to thank him for pioneering their styles and ad libs is more than just warranted ... it's overdue.

Gipp does mention a few rap acts by name -- calling out Migos and Lil Baby -- but it's unclear who exactly Future was referring to during his extended gripe.

Johnny Depp is throwing out all the rules on exes and tattoos, 'cause he's changed his Amber Heard-inspired knuckle ink yet again ... and added a dash of chaos.

Fellow Hollywood Vampires bandmember Tommy Henriksen posted a photo of Depp's infamous tat last week, showing the actor's changed his previously reworked SLIM-to-SCUM message to now read SCAM. He used the anarchy symbol for the 'A.'

What's kinda creepy about it is, the tat is still fresh and the scarring makes the red ink seem like a scab. You'll recall ... Johnny already changed the OG tat -- which initially read SLIM (his old nickname for Amber) -- to SCUM in the wake of their divorce.

Anyway, it's clear Johnny's still willing to bleed over Amber -- and over his art too.

Kanye West is apparently half man, half robot ... based on his wardrobe amid this intense heatwave.

Ye hit up the Chateau Marmont in WeHo on Monday night and opted for shorts, which makes sense. But, what's with what looks like one of his trademark long sleeve, 100% cotton tees?

It was unusually hot over the weekend in L.A. and temperatures are slowly dipping this week, but it's still too hot and humid outside to be rocking long sleeves ... in our humble and sweaty opinion. (Sorry for bitching, America. L.A.'s used to perfect weather).

'Love & Hip Hop' star Milan Christopher insists his castmate Teairra Mari's revenge porn case is NO case at all ... because he claims SHE, not her ex-bf, leaked the sex video behind the lawsuit.

Quick refresher ... Milan's the guy who was with Teairra when she allegedly smashed her ex Akbar Abdul-Ahad's car with a metal pole. She claims he posted their sex vid to humiliate her after she dumped his ass.

However, Milan tells us Teairra's claims just don't add up when he thinks about the timeline the morning she told him about the allegedly leaked video. He also has a theory about why she'd lie. Hint: it involves professional help.

As we reported ... Teairra sued Akbar, along with 50 Cent ... and her lawyer, Lisa Bloom, claims to have a significant piece of evidence implicating Akbar, who denies being the source of the leak.

The dude who shoved Brock Lesnar at UFC 226 says he ain't done with the WWE monster just yet ... and now he's threatening EVEN MORE violence!

Okay, backstory ... remember when Brock shoved DC in the Octagon after Cormier beat Stipe Miocic?

If you watch closely, you can see a guy from Cormier's camp step in and PUSH Brock in retaliation -- actually knocking the ex-UFC champ off-balance.

That dude is Cormier's 5'3"-ish boxing coach, Rosendo Sanchez -- and we called the guy up to ask one very important question ... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!

Sanchez says it was all about having his friend's back -- and when he saw Brock attack Cormier, "I'm like, 'F*ck it, I'm going in!'"

Rosendo wasn't done with the trash talking there ... telling us that when Cormier finally gets in the Octagon with Lesnar for real, it ain't gonna be pretty.

Could Kobe Bryant come back from retirement at 39 years old to play one final season with LeBron James?

Matt Barnes says that would be dope as hell ... but highly unlikely.

There have been rumors (mostly wishful thinking) that Mamba would lace 'em up for one last ride in the Purple & Gold to take a run at the Golden State Warriors alongside King James.

We know Matt and Kobe are friends -- so, we asked ... is it a real possibility?

Long story short ... Barnes says don't bet on seeing #8 or #24 back on the court -- but, "that would be dope though."

We also asked Barnes what he thought about Patrick Beverley telling TMZ Sports his Clippers are BETTER than the Warriors ... and Matt hits the NBA with a dose of cold hard reality.

Ben Simmons believes his ex, Tinashe, has been tailing him and showing up at the same places he parties with gf Kendall Jenner ... and it's gotten so bad he's seriously thinking of significantly beefing up security.

Sources close to Simmons tell us ... Tinashe's been suspiciously popping up regularly at places he goes with Kendall ... way past the point of coincidence. You'll remember, the singer showed up at Delilah Thursday, and a couple weeks prior she surfaced at Poppy in WeHo when Ben was there.

We're told Ben is convinced Tinashe cannot accept the fact he ended their relationship and has moved on with Kendall. He believes she's showing up to keep tabs on him so she can see if there's a chink in the armor between him and Kendall.

Our sources say Ben thinks she's become so obsessive he doesn't want to take chances ... especially because of Kendall, and that's why he's talking about hiring extra muscle.

Sacha Baron Cohen's back to his old tricks ... pranking politicians. And it was former Veep Dick Cheney's turn.

Sacha teased a clip Sunday on Twitter about his upcoming new project ... and for unknown reasons Sacha decided Cheney was his next perfect victim by getting him to sign his "waterboard kit." Seriously. And Cheney -- a huge proponent of the controversial interrogation technique during his time in office -- gleefully obliges with his John Hancock.

After signing it, Cheney actually says, "That's a first. That's the first time I ever signed a waterboard." Unclear what's creepier -- that Sacha thought of this and actually asked Cheney, or that the former VP of the United States of America had no qualms signing a "waterboard kit."

As for Sacha, apparently the comedian/prankster has been undercover secretly filming a new show for a year. Showtime has been pimping a new comedy it dubbed as "perhaps the most dangerous show in the history of television," and it appears as though that is what Sacha has been working on. That show's slated for July 15.

Just for kicks ... here's a taste of Sacha in action. Sorry, Ron Paul.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has some words for folks confronting Trump associates in public -- especially at restaurants -- and it starts with c ... CHIIILLLLL OUT.

We got President Trump's Press Sec. Sunday in D.C., where we asked if the country should simmer down with all these restaurant run-ins lately. She says it'd be great if that would happen, and not just for liberals ... sounds like she's talking to conservatives too.

If you've been living under a rock these past few weeks ... Trump staffers have been getting accosted at eateries, and elsewhere, left and right. Sarah was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in June, and former EPA chief Scott Pruitt was asked to resign while dining.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was also screamed at by protesters while eating at a Mexican restaurant last month. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell got a taste of that as well this weekend while leaving an eatery in Louisville, KY.

A heated competition's brewing over Nickelodeon's "Double Dare," but Viacom -- which owns the popular game show -- isn't playing around ... and filed a lawsuit to prove it.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, a man named Charles Armstrong -- Prez and CEO of Armstrong Interactive -- filed trademark paperwork in January for "Double Dare" ... months before Nickelodeon aired the reboot of the show on June 25.

Viacom admits in the docs it let its trademarks for "Double Dare" expire in 2001 and 2002, but claims it has continuously used the name since the show's debut in 1986 for TV programming, live events and merch ... therefore, it never lost the rights to the name.

The company also claims Armstrong has a slimy history of squatting on classic kids' TV titles in an "illegal scheme" to "exploit the goodwill of other popular shows" ... including "Wonderama," "Kids Are People Too" and "Romper Room."

Regardless, Armstrong allegedly fired off a cease and desist letter to Viacom in May, warning the media company that if it went ahead with its relaunch of "Double Dare" ... it would be doing so "at its own risk" of legal action.

Viacom risked it and, along with airing the reboot ... is now suing Armstrong to get a judge to declare that "Double Dare" belongs -- and always has -- to Nickelodeon.

LiAngelo Ball says he's going to be a Los Angeles Laker!

... Eventually.

We got Lonzo's little bro at LAX on Wednesday ... and we just had to ask about his dad's prediction that Gelo will join up with Zo in the purple and gold.

"Yeah, I will," Gelo says. "Probably later. I think I will."

Just one problem ... Gelo says nobody from the NBA has called about putting him on their roster -- so sounds like it'll DEFINITELY be later rather than sooner.

LaVar is still confident he'll get to the pros -- and guaranteed at least TWO titles once the Lakers sign Gelo.

Arsenio Hall says that if there were a comedy college, he and Roseanne Barr would've graduated from the same class, but he's sure got a funny way of dealing with her recent racist tweet.

We got Arsenio at the Laugh Factory in WeHo Thursday before his stand-up act at the Wear Your Voice Magazine fundraiser and asked him whether or not it was time to give Roseanne another shot.

The two have known each other for years ... they both had their own TV shows in the late '80s/early '90s and, by the sound of it, they've also spoken since the fallout from her racist tweet.

It's just breathtaking ... Donald Trump sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to North Korea with a gift for Kim Jong-un ... a copy of Elton John's "Rocket Man" with Trump's John Hancock on the CD cover.

Pompeo just left for Pyongyang to meet with the North Korean dictator about denuclearization.

During Trump's meeting with Kim, he asked if the dictator knew the song ... he did not -- this according to a North Korean newspaper.

"Big Brother" houseguest Kaitlyn went from zero to stupid real quick when she dropped the n-word Thursday night during the show's online live feed.

She was talking to 2 other guests -- Tyler and Scottie -- about making a quick transition ... when Kaitlyn, who is white, decided it was the perfect time to quote Drake's "0 to 100" ... and NOT the clean version. She said, "I did go zero to 100 n**ga, real quick."

Seems like she realized her idiocy real quick too ... because she immediately said "Oops," and continued mumbling lyrics to the song as if to say ... I was just singing a song, I'm not racist!

All 3 of 'em must have remembered at that moment producers JUST finished warning them about this kinda crap ... after Angela and Rachel worried their tans would make them look too "ghetto."

David Cassidy's ex-gf has some misguided outrage about his family storing his ashes ... because it's not what it seems.

Sources close to Cassidy's family tell TMZ ... David's ashes have been tucked away in a cremation unit since his November. David's ex, Maura Rossi, is now nuclear, claiming something untoward is going down.

Rossi thinks David has already been forgotten by his entire family and thinks they are dishonoring his memory by letting his ashes sit in storage. She says she's so upset, she can't even sleep or eat.

But here's the deal. We're told the plan all along was to wait until this summer to spread David's ashes in a place that was near and dear to his heart ... Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs.

David was a horse racing nut, and wanted his ashes spread around the 154-year-old race track, which he frequented for more than 3 decades.

It's unclear when exactly the family's fulfilling David's final wish ... but, it's a good bet it'll come on August 18, when Saratoga hosts the "David Cassidy Memorial Race." Benches at Saratoga and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame already bare his name.

As we reported ... David died after his organs failed. He was 67.

Chuck Liddell says he's not just taking the Tito Ortiz fight because he's missing the sport -- telling TMZ Sports he wouldn't have signed on if he wasn't getting a fat ass paycheck.

We broke the story ... the 48-year-old legend hooked up with Oscar De La Hoya to return to MMA for the first time since 2010. Chuck and Tito finally signed their deals last week and Liddell is excited.

"I never get tired of hitting that guy," Chuck told us outside of Sushi Nishi in Calabasas ... "He never stops running his mouth. I really don't like him."

Chuck has scored the W in both of his previous fights with Tito -- and says he's going for the knockout this time around too.

As for the money, Chuck says he's getting paid handsomely -- and the size of his check was a huge factor in his decision to come out of retirement.