You Might Want to Rethink

Rose McGowan is clearly disappointed in Asia Argento for allegedly sexually assaulting Jimmy Bennett but adds, Asia's case makes her realize even the accused deserved due process.

Rose issued a lengthy statement Monday about Asia, Jimmy and her paying him $380k. Rose appears to side with Bennett, saying, "There absolutely should be no leeway or tolerance for sexual assault. Hard stop. NONE," ... adding that victims shouldn't be told how to talk about their abusers.

Rose also says Asia sent text messages to a mutual friend of theirs in which Asia admits to having sex with Jimmy ... even though she'd flat-out denied any sexual relationships with him.

Rose admits she needs to evolve when it comes to her reaction to cases like Asia's -- and perhaps even Weinstein -- saying, "However as allies to the victim and voyeurs of an event we should find a better way to balance support of the victim with due process for the accused."

She also calls on Asia to be better, honest, fair and "the person you wish Harvey could have been."

Like we told you ... the L.A. County Sheriff's Department wants to talk to Bennett to see if a criminal investigation is warranted.

Ivanka Trump just broke in a big way from her father, calling John McCain a "true hero," adding that he served with distinction for more than six decades.

Donald Trump was just shamed into acknowledging John McCain was an honorable American, belatedly saying, "Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment."

BTW, the flag was raised after a day at half-staff but Trump clearly bowed to the outrage and pressure.

More John McCain disrespect from Donald Trump -- who refused to even acknowledge the late senator in front of reporters Monday at the White House.

POTUS held a meeting in the Oval Office -- sitting with Melania -- when ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl began asking question after question about McCain.

Despite the fact he was in spitting distance from the President, Trump ignored Karl and stared blankly at the pool of photographers.

Karl followed up with Trump in the White House Cabinet Room -- while Trump was sitting next to Vice President Mike Pence -- but still, no acknowledgment from 45 when it came to McCain.

Further insult from the administration came early Monday morning as the White House flag was returned to full-staff after it had been at half-staff to honor Sen. McCain. Interestingly, it's now been lowered again.

Trump has been extremely critical of McCain for years -- claiming he should not be hailed as a hero because he was captured in battle during the Vietnam war.

Trump famously said he likes people who did NOT get captured.

McCain -- who passed away on Saturday after battling brain cancer -- took a thinly-veiled shot at Trump (and his walls) in his farewell letter ... saying:

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down ..."

McCain was 81.

Swae Lee was left bleeding and livid after a fan threw something on stage at a concert he was performing at this weekend ... which riled him up enough to threaten to sue.

The Rae Sremmurd rapper was opening for Wiz Khalifa Sunday night at the Starplex Pavilion in Dallas, when at one point a fan threw an object on stage "like a baseball" that smacked Swae in the face and busted his lip open. It also might've knocked out his tooth, as he indicated himself.

It's unclear what exactly the object was, but some eyewitnesses are saying it was either a phone or a wallet, because it contained an ID inside that Swae was trying to read aloud in getting a name for the perpetrator. He was stopped by people around him, including bandmate Slim Jxmmi who tried to drag him away. It's pretty clear though ... Swae wanted the person's info, and he wanted folks to see his injury.

He asked cameras to zoom in on his face, and they obliged. Needless to say, it looked pretty gruesome. His mic was eventually cut off and he stormed off stage in a rage.

Swae later tweeted about the incident, saying the fan was a girl ... and that the injury was bad enough to keep him off tour for at least a few days.

Remember when Alexi Lalas said Wayne Rooney was washed up -- and explained why it would be a mistake for D.C. United to sign him???

Yeah, so do we ... that was in May before Rooney joined the MLS and SET THE LEAGUE ON FIRE!! Since then, Rooney's been a beast on the pitch -- so we went to Lalas to see how he felt about being so wrong.

His response was amazing.

"This would not be the first team that should be paying me in order to be motivating their players," Lalas joked ... "So I say, 'You're welcome D.C. It's my gift to you, it's my gift to you, Wayne, and my gift to soccer.'"

The 32-year-old has already racked up 3 goals and 3 assists in the 8 games he's played with D.C. United -- and the team is 5-2-1 in games Rooney has played in.

Plus, the INSANE play Rooney made during the August 12 game against Orlando City S.C. went crazy viral and some are hailing it as one of the greatest plays in MLS history.

It all went down during stoppage time of a 2-2 tie ... when Rooney chased down an opposing player around midfield, stole the ball with a slide tackle and fired up a 50-ish-yard cross to a teammate who headed the ball for the game-winning goal.

Ya gotta watch ... it's nothing short of spectacular.

On a serious note, Lalas says Rooney's presence is making his teammates better -- and the sky is the limit for D.C. United.

University of Michigan fans shouldn't point their fingers at Ohio State over the Urban Meyer scandal, 'cause the Maize & Blue don't exactly have clean hands either ... so says an ex-OSU football star.

Buckeye legend Shawn Springs -- the #3 pick in the '97 NFL Draft -- says he's definitely not proud of what went down at Ohio State and knows the school needs to do better. But, trash talk doesn't help anyone.

He also points out that OSU ain't the first big school to mess up -- and he's got this message for everyone throwing stones at the Buckeye athletics program.

"I would ask them what school they went to, and tell me a school that hadn't went through some type of trials and tribulations or problems."

"I can't name one. I know my Michigan buddies, they won't even mention anything. They have no room to talk up there, that school up north."

Springs wasn't specific about which scandal he was referencing -- but UM's had their fair share (remember the basketball scandal with Chris Webber?).

Shawn believes, in the end, the scandal will force the current OSU football players to rally together and it could make them better and stronger than ever before.

The Big Ballers ain't gonna like this ...

Ex-NBA star Al Harrington says the Lakers made a HUGE mistake in the 2017 NBA draft ... because he thinks they should've taken Jayson Tatum.

You know how it went ... the Lakers took Lonzo Ball with the #2 pick, while Tatum fell to the Boston Celtics at #3.

Thus far, it's been a win for the C's, as JT was a finalist for last year's Rookie of the Year award, and Lonzo had a solid but inconsistent season.

Harrington says he LOVES Tatum's game ... and thinks if you re-drafted the class today, he'd go #1.

"Yes, the Lakers made a horrible decision ... That kid is the goods."

Harrington says it's not just the game either, telling us he likes what Tatum has between the ears.

"That kid wants to be great, you know what I'm saying ... sky's the limit for son."

Urban Meyer says he flubbed his news conference following the announcement of his three-game suspension Wednesday ... and is now trying to make up for it by apologizing to Courtney Smith.

"Let me say here and now what I should have said on Wednesday," the coach tweeted.

"I sincerely apologize to Courtney Smith and her children for what they have gone through."

As we previously reported ... Meyer was hit with a three-game ban after university officials say he "failed to take sufficient management action" when it came to the handling of assistant coach Zach Smith and his alleged domestic violence toward Courtney.

Meyer caught serious heat when discussing the suspension with reporters ... mostly for the crass tone he took when he was asked if he had a message for Courtney.

Now ... Meyer is realizing he messed up, saying he should have handled that question -- and the entire Zach Smith situation -- differently.

"My words and demeanor on Wednesday did not show how seriously I take relationship violence. I sincerely apologize. I was taught at a very young age that if I ever hit a woman, I would be kicked out of the house and never welcomed back."

"I have the same rule in my house and in the Football Program at Ohio State. Over the years, we have worked hard to educate and remind our coaches and players of the seriousness of relationship violence."

Meyer added, "I understand my lack of more action in this situation has raised concerns about this commitment. I once again apologize for this, and I extend my empathy to all women, men and families who are affected by relationship violence."

Faizon Love was a sex-crazed boss who went so far as sending his personal assistant an XXX video ... so claims an assistant who quit after 17 days on the job.

Tashiana Luke is suing the comedian/actor and his company, Dough Boy Inc. and claims Faizon would regularly make unwanted sexual advances. According to docs obtained by TMZ ... Tashiana says one night Faizon texted her, "I shot a test scene. [W]hat do you think" and the message included video showing a young woman performing oral sex on Faizon. He dodged jail time.

Tashiana says she was hired June 9, 2016 and quit on June 26 ... saying Faizon, who less than a year ago was caught on video brutally beating down an airport valet employee at Columbus International Airport, made it an intolerable work environment.

She says Faizon would regularly ogle her and say, "Your ass looks nice in those pants." She says he'd also remind her, in a sexually suggestive way, "You know you need your tuition paid" ... implying she should perform sexual favors for him in return for employment.

Tashiana is suing for sexual harassment and seeking unspecified damages.

Derek Holland has issued an apology for doing an insensitive Asian impression on an MLB talk show ... saying, "It's embarrassing what I did."

The San Francisco Giants pitcher went on MLB Network's "Intentional Talk" on Wednesday and brought along Giants staffer Haro Ogawa to be his "hype man."

Yet throughout the interview ... Holland solely used Haro as a prop for the offensive jokes ... including using an Asian accent and several martial arts-style bows.

After the Giants' win over the Mets on Thursday, Holland apologized vehemently for the offensive bit.

"I want to be held accountable for everything I've done and caused with all of this," Holland said.

"It's embarrassing what I did. I was just trying to have some fun. Haro and I just entertaining and just trying to take it to a different level and make the interview a little more exciting and I obviously crossed the line with that."

"Whatever I have to do to take care of the situation, I will do it."

Holland -- who also said he apologized personally to Ogawa and Japanese bullpen catcher Taira Uematsu -- made sure to tell reporters the act was solely his idea.

Nicki Minaj wants this on the record -- she F****** LOVES Kylie Jenner (but not Travis Scott) ... and will NOT be playing into a catfight narrative!!! GOT IT?! Got it, Nick.

The NY rapper cleared the air Thursday on her 'Queen Radio' show over a vid TMZ posted showing Kylie trying to avoid Nicki on the VMAs red carpet this week, saying Kylie's nothing more than an innocent bystander in this clear beef between Nicki, Travis and the music biz.

Nicki says Kylie is doing what anyone would do -- standing by their man. That's a bit of a flip from what Nicki tweeted over the weekend, blaming Kylie and Stormi for pumping up Travis' album sales. Now ... she insists they're all good.

Tekashi69 was looking worse for wear Wednesday morning as he went into court -- and it's probably 'cause he was out partying all night ... rockin' the same outfit.

Here are photos of 6ix9ine at Harris County Courthouse in Houston, Texas Wednesday morning to face arraignment in his assault case from earlier this year -- in which he's been accused of choking a 16-year-old kid at a mall. If he looks tired and disheveled ... here's why.

Tekashi was literally a few states over just hours beforehand, partying it up at Mr Jones nightclub in Miami. Yep, those are the same clothes in both sets -- minus the chain and bling, of course. Ya gotta clean up a little bit before showing up in front of a judge, right?

We broke the story ... Tekashi's legal team filed docs asking the court to use his government ID, Daniel Hernandez, during his criminal trial. He's worried his stage name's gonna get dragged through the mud if it's allowed to be uttered on the stand. His arraignment was pushed to September.

2:55 PM PT -- Trump weighed in on the verdict as he landed in West Virginia for a rally, and he wasted no time distancing himself from the whole proceeding.

Paul Manafort had a bad day ... a jury found him guilty of 8 counts -- 5 tax fraud charges, 1 charge of hiding foreign bank accounts and 2 counts of bank fraud -- which could land him up to 80 years behind bars. He was not acquitted on a single charge but the jury deadlocked on 10 other counts. The judge declared a mistrial on those 10 counts.

As we reported ... his downward spiral started last August when the FBI stormed Manafort's house in Alexandria, Virginia to seize docs related to Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia interference of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Manafort surrendered to the FBI a couple months after and was indicted on multiple federal charges ... including laundering more than $18 million through foreign banks which was used to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Madonna tried (and failed) to adequately pay tribute to Aretha Franklin at the VMAs this week -- and while many of Aretha's fans are pissed ... the woman's own kin isn't.

We spoke with one of Aretha's nephews, Tim Franklin, who says the family was not upset over Madonna's awkward VMAs speech about how Aretha led her to who she is today. It was long-winded and rambling ... but more importantly, all about herself and not Aretha.

Tim tells us not only are the Franklins not mad, but they believe Aretha herself would not have been upset either. While they didn't catch Madonna's misfire, their point is this ... Aretha's far bigger than any kind of tribute, and her fans shouldn't be so sensitive. She wouldn't have been, according to Tim.

Madge herself addressed the controversy Tuesday, saying her "tribute" was never meant to be a full-blown thing or production. She says she was instructed to share a personal anecdote about Aretha, and that's exactly what she did. Considering the tight restraints of a televised award show, Madonna says ... "I could never do her justice in this context or environment."

As we reported ... Aretha died last Thursday from advanced pancreatic cancer. Tributes of all forms have been coming in from across the country since she passed.

Jimmy Butler had himself one helluva Monday -- squashing beef with Dwyane Wade and going on a lunch date with a smokin' hot Instagram model ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

First, D-Wade ...

Everyone saw Dwyane clap back at Jimmy last week when the Minnesota Timberwolves star commented "WELL DAMN" on a hot photo of Wade's wife, Gabrielle Union.

Wade wrote to Butler, "Put well damn in caps on my wife photo again and you’re gonna see what the good, the bad and the ugly is like."

So, when we saw Butler at The Ivy in L.A. we had to ask if there was real smoke between the two. Butler answered and seemed to put the whole thing to bed.

Speaking of bed ... Butler's lunch date was an absolute dime -- and while he tried to play coy when leaving the restaurant, we ID'd her as famous Instagram model India Love.

Love is an aspiring rapper who's been romantically linked to stars like The Game, Rick Ross and Drake. She's basically a she-pimp (get it, gurl!) with 3.7 million IG followers.

No word if she and Butler are an item -- but we wouldn't hate if they were!

Safaree says he isn't worried about potentially running into his ex, Nicki Minaj, on the red carpet at the VMAs ... but he does have some advice for her.

We got the 'Love & Hip Hop' star Monday as he was heading to Radio City Music Hall in NYC to attend the MTV awards show when he took some clear shots at Nicki on the heels of their online beef ... not to mention all her other Twitter squabbles this week.

As we reported ... Safaree claimed Nicki once tried to stab him with a knife in 2014 -- she called him a liar. Nicki also called out Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner over the weekend for working together to push his album sales past hers on the charts.

Safaree's got some thoughts on that too ... pick your battles, Nick. And grow with the times.

Our guy also asks if he beefed up security to avoid any nasty run-ins with Nicki on the red carpet -- like MTV brass is already doing to accommodate the feuding exes -- but he insists he's only rolling deep as a result of his robbery earlier this year.

Trevor Bauer is much less pissed off at ESPN today ... 'cause it turns out the company DIDN'T actually air a tweet that he says made him look like a "lunatic" after all.

ICYMI ... the Indians superstar is famous for being a baseball brainiac -- and when he broke his leg last week, a reporter had some fun at Trevor's expense with the diagnosis news.

"Trevor Bauer says that the doctors' timeline for his return is based on outdated mainstream medicine and he's begun a course of blood transfusions and colloidal silver to rid his body of CIA nanites," Ringer staff writer Michael Baumann tweeted.

"He anticipates missing two starts, three tops."

Bauer initially found the tweet hilarious ... but when he believed MLB Network and ESPN ran with the tweet as fact -- he was not happy.

"Presenting it as fact on tv, thus painting me as some lunatic that’s off his rocker, is not ok at all," Bauer tweeted.

He continued in another tweet: "Hey @MLBNetwork and @espn I would like public statements on social media and on your networks clarifying that the information you wrongly reported as fact earlier regarding my recovery timetable and process is false and not a quote from me. The report is damaging and absurd."

Turns out ... ESPN didn't actually run the tweet -- which caused Trevor to issue a 35-second apology video Monday evening.

"It appears the information I was given and what I believed to have seen was wrong, and ESPN never aired the fake tweet."