You Might Want to Rethink

Yes, the Lakers are playing like crap right now, but there's one thing they should NOT do -- trade Russell Westbrook ... so says Ty Dolla $ign, who tells TMZ Sports he believes the Purple & Gold can still turn things around with the current squad.

Brodie has been getting a ton of criticism for his sluggish start to the 2022-23 campaign ... with many calling for the Lake Show to end the Russ experiment pronto.

Ty isn't in that group ... 'cause when he was leaving Dash Radio earlier this week, he told us he thinks people are going too hard on the former MVP.

"Don't do that," the crooner told us. "Some of us have ups and downs somedays. But there's definitely going to be the ups again. Shoutout to my brother, Russ, man."

Ty defends Russell's recent blunders ... saying, "Certain times we have f***ing bad shots."

Luke Bryan brought out Governor Ron DeSantis as a special guest during one of his concerts this week ... and it doesn't look like the internet is very happy about it.

The country singer was performing Friday in Jacksonville, FL, and at one point in the show ... he brought out RDS to join him onstage, this after announcing they were gonna be raising money that night for relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

The Gov. comes out to some pretty strong applause and begins throwing hats into the crowd ... and, eventually, Luke embraces him when they finally come face to face.

One Twitter user -- who seems to have shot this video -- wrote ... "DeSantis  just walked out on stage at Luke Bryan. It’s deafening in here." Her clip has now gone viral with retweets and quote tweets, with A LOT of people expressing their disapproval over DeSantis' cameo.

The reactions speak for themselves ... folks are saying that LB is "off the playlist" now because of his perceived politics -- when, in reality, all he did was say he wanted to contribute to fundraising efforts in the state to help people still struggling to recover.

The fact he yukked it up with DeSantis, though, seems to be shocking some Twitter users. Luke's considered a pretty likeable, mainstream celeb (he's a current judge on 'American Idol') -- and the notion of him welcoming DeSantis with open arms is apparently ... jarring.

Luke, for his part, hasn't said he supports DeSantis' policies one way or another ... again, all he did was say he was going to fundraise on behalf of Florida. A line crossed, we suppose?

Henry Cavill is stepping away from "The Witcher," and a new Geralt of Rivia has been tapped ... one Liam Hemsworth.

The announcement came down Saturday, and it's kinda shaking up TV land ... as HC has helmed the lead role for 3 seasons now, to much acclaim. Now, though, he says he's outta there and passing on the baton for round #4 -- and the timing makes total sense.

Henry writes, "My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4. In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf."

He goes on to wish Liam luck playing a character he says he adored. Liam, meanwhile, is embracing the new job ... saying, "Henry, I’ve been a fan of yours for years and was inspired by what you brought to this beloved character."

LH adds, "I may have some big boots to fill, but I’m truly excited to be stepping into The Witcher world."

The news is a big deal, but also predictable. Fact is, Henry is back for the DCEU as Superman -- thanks, in large part, to The Rock -- and there's at least one more movie he's gonna do as the Man of Steel, if not more. Seems HC wants to clear the deck for that.

Like we said, Henry has gotten rave reviews for his performance as Geralt -- with many viewing it as his post-Superman era and giving him kudos for leaving DC behind ... which, for a long time, didn't seem to want him back to reprise his iconic role.

Barack Obama was in full-blown stand-up comedy mode Friday night in Georgia -- where he skewered Herschel Walker as wholly unqualified for the Senate ... among other occupations.

The ex-Prez was stumping for Rev. Raphael Warnock -- who's running to maintain his Senate seat in a highly contested race -- when he started to lay out comparisons between the current Senator and Walker ... going on to crack jokes at the latter's expense.

Watch ... BO admits Walker was a football great once upon a time, but says that alone doesn't mean he should be considered for jobs he has no experience in -- stuff like flying an airplane or surgery -- and that common sense people would ask those basic questions.

Barack hilariously compares the sitch to him being hypothetically tapped to be a running back ... something he says he absolutely would be terrible at, and that no one would want him doing. In the same vein, he says HW shouldn't be taken seriously as a would-be Senator.

Walker's now-infamous badge moment during the debate was also poked at by 44 -- with Barack likening it to playing cops and robbers. The crowd was busting up at his jokes.

For his part, Walker didn't find it funny ... but did fire back at the former President in his own campaign speech Saturday. He insisted he wasn't a celebrity, but rather ... a "warrior for God." Walker also went on to say Obama's been absent while he's been on the front lines.

Lizzo dressed up as Blueface's girlfriend, Chrisean Rock, for Halloween this year -- but the getup is catching some backlash ... because some perceive CR as someone not to mock.

Lizzo trotted out a costume Friday that was, no doubt, meant to recreate Chrisean's look -- missing tooth and all -- and while it was in good fun ... there's been a lot of reactions online that aren't in favor of it and are actually condemning turning Chrisean into a Halloween gag.

The reason ... many feel like Chrisean isn't in the healthiest relationship as it pertains to Blueface. There've been much harsher terms used to describe their sitch.

Fact is, Chrisean and Blueface are in constant ups and downs -- either fighting or loving up on each other ... sometimes in explosive fashion. It's made for some great entertainment on the internet, but there's also been much concern for Chrisean these past several months.

The latest twist in their rocky relationship ... it's all being documented for a new show, "Crazy in Love," which has sparked controversy in and of itself. Some see it as exploitative.

With that in mind ... there's a good portion of bird app users who are taking offense to Lizzo's cosplay, as they feel she's making fun of someone who they see as needing help.

FWIW, Chrisean herself appears to dig it ... she's retweeted/commented on Lizzo's videos. Of course, there's also the usual fatphobic crowd clowning Lizzo over this ... but their hate is pretty much white noise at this point. Not even Lizzo is letting it get to her anymore.

Tiger Woods was mistakenly -- and HORRIFYINGLY -- dragged into a political ad this week, calling for cop killers and mass murderers to be sentenced to death.

The legendary golfer's 2017 DUI arrest footage was front and center in the campaign ad, dubbed "Just Intentional," which was released Thursday by Kris Kobach, the Republican nominee for Kansas Attorney General.

In the ad, Kobach put his Democrat opponent, Chris Mann, on blast over his opposition to capital punishment, splicing in Wood's arrest along with images of two convicted murderers currently on Kansas’ death row.

Kobach’s spokesperson Danedri Herbert told FOX Digital the ad agency they hired was to blame for the error, but they caught it and fixed it within minutes.

Herbert went on ... "What a happy accident that media is going to pick this up and expose Chris Mann as a soft-on-crime liberal Democrat who will let cop killers and mass murderers off easy for their heinous crimes."

A new ad was cut, replacing the Woods footage with images of what appears to be a prison inmate.

Jerry Jones should pull off a trade for a star wideout ... so says Troy Aikman, who tells TMZ Sports he believes his former team could benefit big time from adding another weapon.

Dallas has largely stayed out of big-name acquisitions in both free agency and the trade market over the last few years ... but Aikman says they should seriously consider going after guys like Brandin Cooks, Chase Claypool and D.J. Moore before the trade deadline passes on Tuesday.

As for why ... Aikman made it clear he's not so sure the 'Boys have enough talent around Dak Prescott on offense to go land a Super Bowl title.

"I do know you better have some offense in today's NFL if you're gonna win games," the Hall of Fame QB tells us. "The way you have offense is you have weapons and you gotta have more than one or two."

Aikman points out that the team lost Amari Cooper in the offseason, and seems to be missing him -- or a player of his caliber -- so far through seven games this year.

Troy didn't name names on who he'd advise Dallas to pursue -- but it's obvious, if he were Jerry, he'd make a deal with someone.

"Could they use another weapon? Yeah," he told us. "I think when they lost Amari Cooper this past year, he was a guy that definitely garnered some attention in coverage and it opened a lot of other things up."

"It would help them, for sure."

Aikman also spoke with us about a myriad of other hot-button NFL topics ... including the NFC East, Daniel Jones, and Matt Ryan. He also shared his opinion on Aaron Rodgers' controversial comments earlier this week.

Check out the clip ... you'll be WAY more football knowledgeable after it!

Kanye West's school may be shut down for good ... because we've learned educators there have been quitting in protest.

Sources connected to Donda Academy tell TMZ ... the main issue preventing the school from running as usual is a recent wave of staffers quitting due to Kanye's antisemitic rants.

We're told Kanye's hateful comments, his musings on George Floyd's death and his 'White Lives Matter' clothing have pissed off educators at Donda Academy, and that has triggered the departure of a growing number of teachers and staff.

As we reported ... Kanye made his return to social media Wednesday night, saying, "My school is being shut down." He later deleted the post.

Also Wednesday night, the school's principal, Jason Angell, blasted out an email to students' parents, informing them "at the discretion of our founder, Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately."

TMZ broke the story ... in a bizarre twist, a parent sent out another email around midnight Wednesday to parents and students, reading, "Join us tomorrow morning in worship for the return of Donda Academy. With the help of our parents and community, we are back and returning with a vengeance!"

So, some parents are already finding new schools for their kids, and others want to stay at Donda. Those parents are trying to rally and get students to gather at the school Friday morning ... but the fate of the school is up in the air.

One of the most die-hard celebrity Laker fans is resorting to a public plea to turn things around ... with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea calling on GM Rob Pelinka to do something ASAP.

"Either blow it all up and rebuild, or mortgage the future to fix the lack chemistry and skill on this basketball team," Flea said in a passionate Twitter post on Wednesday.

"Do not let another season meander its way down the drain, wasting the great LeBron James’ sunset of his career."

The cry for help comes after the Purple & Gold's abysmal 0-4 start to the season ... and as Flea has put it recently -- "This Laker team is not equipped to win."

Many have criticized Russell Westbrook's play ... but really, the Lakers' struggles are far beyond just one player.

It's getting so bad for the Lakers, LeBron has already started posting cryptic Instagram messages ... saying, "How long will you be taken for granted."

Kanye West is back on Instagram, and taking the opportunity to get his followers up to speed on his side of all his drama ... including confirmation he just lost a massive amount of wealth in a single day.

The rapper put up some posts Wednesday night and early Thursday morning after IG lifted restrictions ... one being a meme about "Ye cutting ties with Kanye West," and the other about the specifics of his designs for Adidas and Gap. Perhaps trying to add some humor, he included the caption, "I haven't got super model p**** in over a month."

Ye was pretty defiant, though, about the Adidas divorce shaving $900 million off his net worth -- according to Forbes -- and he's pinning the loss on Endeavour CEO Ari Emanuel.

He directed one post at the talent agency powerhouse that reads ... "I LOST 2 BILLION DOLLARS IN ONE DAY AND I’M STILL ALIVE THIS IS LOVE SPEECH I STILL LOVE YOU GOD STILL LOVES YOU THE MONEY IS NOT WHO I AM THE PEOPLE IS WHO I AM."

Remember, Ari publicly urged companies and individuals to cut ties with Kanye following his antisemitic comments.

After almost all of his biz partners ran for the hills, Forbes now puts Ye's net worth around $400 million.

As we reported, he's hustling to try to make new deals ... Ye hit up Skechers HQ Wednesday -- uninvited, mind you -- with the possible goal of finding a new manufacturing and distribution partner for Yeezy.

The star players on Kanye West's Donda Academy basketball team will not be able to showcase their talents on one of H.S. hoops' biggest stages this year ... and it's all because of Ye's controversial antisemitic comments.

The Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics announced Donda has been scrapped from this season's schedule ... claiming West's "words and actions violate our values as a company and a country, and what we seek to ensure at all of our events -- a spirit of diversity, sportsmanship, inclusion, equity and mutual respect."

The tournament -- which has five national locations -- is a huge deal at the high school level ... and has hosted future NBA superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant in the past.

Donda was originally slated to compete at the December 11 event in Louisville.

It's a huge bummer for the whole roster of kids -- including five-star guards Robert Dillingham (who's committed to Kentucky) and AJ Johnson ... as well as the other players on the squad who are also ranked nationally.

Scholastic Play-By-Play feels for the young athletes ... adding, "While we are firm in our reasoning for this decision, it does not diminish our heartache and regret for Donda's hardworking athletes who will lose out the most as a result of Kanye's actions."

"Unfortunately, we cannot in good conscience host an organization founded and directed by Mr. West at our events."

Kurt Warner clearly believes the finish line is here for both Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers ... saying this week that he believes both dudes need to seriously consider retiring after struggling to start this year.

"I think both of those guys look like they're exhausted," the Hall of Famer told PEOPLE ... before adding, "Maybe it is time to walk away."

38-year-old Rodgers and 45-year-old Brady are off to some of the worst starts of their careers in 2022 ... with the duo combining for a sad 6-8 record so far.

The legends also haven't been wowing anybody with their arms on the field ... Rodgers has no games with over 255 passing yards, and Brady has only crossed the 300-yard passing mark twice this season.

Warner seemingly believes it's all due to the wear and tear finally catching up to the grey beards ... and he's now urging the duo to take a long look at hanging up their cleats for good.

"It's okay to go, 'You know what? It's not how it used to be,'" Warner said, "'I may not be who I used to be,' or, 'It's just too hard overall to get everybody up to the standard.'"

He added that pressures of off-the-field lives for both guys might be playing into the subpar performances as well.

Warner, of course, knows a thing or two about the ending of a legendary football career ... he was one of the best to ever do it, before he finally called it quits following the 2009 season.

He said it wasn't easy to get to the end, but he eventually made peace with it -- and he appears to be advising the guys to follow a similar path.

"As I was going through the last couple years, it was becoming more and more prevalent that, 'Okay, this is taking too much from me and it's not just about enjoying the game anymore,'" Warner said.

Britney Spears is trashing Selena Gomez for something she said 6 years ago -- even though signs point to them being pretty good friends today.

The singer delivered a bizarre message Tuesday that looks to be aimed in Selena's direction -- based on the caption anyway. BS cites a specific line Selena dropped at the 2016 American Music Awards, which references women showing their bodies on social media.

She writes, "Don't you just love the nerve of women who stand firmly getting awards and speak on their beliefs about not showing their bodies on Instagram ???!!!!! They say "This is NOT something I would do" yet those women are the very ones who get 4 million dollar budget videos made about sucking and licking on homemade ice cream!!!!"

Britney goes on to say she thinks it's hypocritical for someone engaging in a sexually suggestive music video to criticize others for showing off their curves for the Gram.

The clues she mentions all point to Selena. Like we said, SG's the only person in recent memory who touched on "bodies on Instagram" while also going on to star in a 2020 music video featuring ice cream cones. The song is "Ice Cream" by K-Pop girl band BLACKPINK.

The IG post is still live on Britney's page, but she's edited the caption to just show 3 roses.

Selena's loyal fans definitely see it as a diss, and they're telling Britney to back off. Frankly, her attack seems to be coming out of nowhere ... and the even stranger thing is Selena was one of a few celebs who attended Britney's wedding this year.

Of course, we know Britney's fully leaned into posting her nudes online ... despite controversy it's stirred, especially among her own family members.

As usual, it's hard to make sense of Britney's POV. There is a trend, though ... less and less people on her side as she posts some weird and unprovoked hot takes.

Selena, for her part, hasn't responded to this. Something tells us she won't.

Originally Published -- 7:04 AM PT

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could save their season ... if Rob Gronkowski unretired?!

Warren Moon fully believes that -- with the Hall of Famer telling TMZ Sports he thinks the 3-4 Bucs could turn everything around if Gronk came back this year.

Moon tells us he got the opinion based on everything he's seen out of Tom Brady on the field through seven games. He says he's witnessed the GOAT struggling in the pocket ... and missing an old reliable on important downs.

"He's been a security blanket for [Brady] for so long," Moon said of Gronkowski. "Whenever there's a key play that needs to be made, especially down in the redzone or whatever -- and they had a tough time scoring in the redzone last week -- that's the guy he would usually go to, Rob Gronkowski."

Brady's numbers haven't been horrible so far in 2022 -- he's got 8 passing TDs to just 1 interception -- but something does appear to be off. He only has one multi-TD game this year, and just two performances of over 300 passing yards.

Moon clearly believes Gronkowski could change all of that, and even help out the locker room with his "infectious personality" ... but there's just one problem -- he's not sure if the tight end is even considering coming out of retirement.

Gronk has said repeatedly over the last few months he's done, although his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has claimed it wouldn't surprise him to see a comeback.

Antonio Brown is standing firm in his support for Kanye West ... releasing a lengthy statement explaining his decision to remain as president of Donda Sports -- citing his "dedication to freedom of speech, thought, and opinion."

The NFL receiver -- who joined the Donda staff earlier this year -- addressed the massive controversy surrounding Kanye following several antisemitic statements ... saying, "the world's reactionary and selective outrage at comments in the media made by my brother, Ye, have inflamed and sparked rampant conversation and reflection."

As companies like Adidas and Balenciaga cut ties with West, AB says the timing is not a coincidence.

"The people and brands that have relentlessly profited from Black ideas and Black culture chose to distance themselves at a very specific time: a time that demonstrated their prioritization of certain groups over others."

He added ... "None of us in this world are free of judgment, yet we live in a time where scrutiny and pessimism have driven our dialogues on cultural issues toward diatribes."

"Sensationalism and groupthink have forced people to not speak their minds and act out in fear rather than love. For these reasons, I stand by my dedication to freedom of speech, thought, and opinion."

Brown says he decided to speak out because he is against discrimination of any kind ... but makes it clear he's standing by Kanye's side.

"I remain true to the mission of Donda and our amazing staff and community," he says ... adding he believes Kanye's comments were taken "out of proportion" by the media.

"I remain committed to bringing new ideas, experiences, and designs to our world I remain in support of the humanity that is Ye."

The statement comes on the heels of sports superstars Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown voicing their issues with Ye's comments ... which led them to leave Donda Sports.

Kanye West’s empire is dwindling by the day, and although he still has Candace Owens on his side -- one of Ye’s closest advisors says that's not a good thing.

Ye’s longtime collaborator Consequence called out Candace Tuesday … labeling her association with the team “an experiment,” and posting a short clip of Ye greeting a crowd while wearing his infamous 'White Lives Matter' shirt.

Cons slammed the 'WLM' shirts, calling them a bad idea from the jump.

Fact is that tarnished Yeezy gear did begin the spiral that saw Ye on the outs with the likes of CAA, Vogue, Balenciaga and now Adidas ... which cost him his billionaire status, according to Forbes.

The German shoe giant kicked Ye to the curb Tuesday due to his repeated antisemitic remarks -- but Candace has unflinchingly defended him, demanding Adidas cash him out what he's owed.

If you remember, it was also Candace who helped Ye tout the 'WLM' tees earlier this month, much to the disbelief of many of his supporters.

Cons is the first from the old G.O.O.D Music camp to speak out against the disastrous trail blazed by Ye … but his thoughts do align with Kareem “Biggs” Burke, who helped manage Ye’s career during the early days with Roc-A-Fella Records.

Biggs recently told TMZ Hip Hop ... Ye’s 'WLM' movement was harming the Black community in spite of any beef with the actual Black Lives Matter organization.