You Might Want to Rethink

Controversial L.A. councilman Kevin de León got into a knockdown, drag-out fight with an activist ... while attending a Christmas tree lighting and toy giveaway event, of all places.

The video starts as de León is slamming Jason Reedy down onto a table, and the 2 of them continued wrestling into a hallway ... as people around them tried to break it up. Reedy is an organizer for a tenant rights group, and apparently has beef with de León.

After the fight ended -- with no serious injuries -- de León claimed it all started with Reedy headbutting him. He said the "self-proclaimed activists" assaulted him during the "community holiday event to the dismay of a multitude of families and children who were there to celebrate a Christmas tree lighting and to receive toys and food."

The incident's not all that shocking -- de León has been under fire since a leaked recording of him and other council members making racist remarks came out in October. Two of the council members resigned, but de León refused to step down and, instead, issued an apology.

After Friday's scuffle, Reedy's attorney told the LA Times, de León is “a disgrace.”

The Liver King's recent bombshell admission might be bad news for his wildly successful supplement companies ... 'cause he expects to lose customers over his steroid use.

45-year-old Brian Johnson joined "TMZ Live" to discuss his decision to come clean about doping ... and he says he understands the harm he's caused by lying about it for years, and accepts all criticism coming his way.

"I know that I f****ed this up," LK said Friday. "I owe this. This is on me to deal with, and I deserve all the hate and criticism that I'm getting. I'll deal with this."

Before he ever became the viral Liver King with millions of followers, Johnson was already raking in the dough through his Heart & Soil and Ancestral Supplements company -- which reportedly earned him $100 million a year.

Now that he's come clean, LK foresees a drop in sales ... but says that's not what's most important to him.

"I'm sure it's going to affect the revenue, but everyone needs to understand this was never why we got into this," he said.

"I hope that customers remain, but what matters more than anything is nose-to-tail nourishment better be in your diet. If you don't want to get it from one of my companies, I hope you'll get it from somewhere else."

R. Kelly isn't admitting a damn thing when it comes to the "I Admit It" album that dropped Friday -- speaking from jail, he calls the recording a plot to screw him over in court.

TMZ obtained this audio Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, says he recorded Friday shortly after they'd met. The disgraced singer immediately shuts down the notion he'd put out any music right now, much less something with the lyrics, "I Admit It," because he's trying to appeal his latest federal conviction.

Even more mysterious ... Kelly seems to insinuate the album recordings aren't even his voice. He says, "I hope people recognized my voice and know that" he wouldn't be recording in the middle of a legal battle.

As we reported, it certainly looked and sounded like he'd release a 13-track album, with the title track addressing many of the allegations leveled against him.

After just a few hours, though, the project was pulled from Spotify and Apple Music -- as Kelly's label, Sony Music, denied any involvement in the recording or in distributing it to the streamers.

His legal team later told us, they were investigating to figure out who may have released the music. BTW, we know it was uploaded by Ingrooves, a distributor owned by Universal Music Group ... with no ties to Sony Music.

Also, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed R. Kelly didn't produce any songs using equipment in prison.

During this voice recording, he seemed to want to prove it's not his voice on "I Admit It" -- so, he broke into a few bars of his song, “When A Woman's Fed Up."

He thinks there's a clear difference, but listen for yourself.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship star Tai Emery is giving fans two big reasons to check out her fight ... telling TMZ Sports she might show her boobs in the ring again -- even if it means she gets fined!!

Emery -- whose OnlyFans page exploded in popularity when she went viral for flashing the crowd following her impressive BKFC debut -- spoke with TMZ Sports ahead of her next fight against Po Denman in Thailand ... and she says there's a chance she frees the nipple again on Saturday.

"If there's gonna be salute of t***ies back to me, guess what, guys -- you will just enable me to just flash even more," she says.

Emery, who charges $10 a month for fans to access her content, saw a 6,150% increase in revenue after pulling the stunt the first time ... but claims she was told she will be punished if it happens in Thailand.

"I will be in trouble," Emery said. "I will be fined. The last I heard was half a million to a million baht (Thailand currency), so I don't know what that conversion is in U.S. dollars, but yeah, I have 100% been warned and told it's a no-no."

FYI -- 500,000 baht equals about $14,405 ... so it's nothing to scoff at. But, Emery says she ain't making any promises.

"It's fine, but I can't control myself in moments like that. Everything else just takes over."

Despite the newfound attention, Emery, who has a modeling background, says she's always going to be herself ... and is focused on the task at hand, defeating Denman.

"This is something anyone's career has been building to ... and I really truly believe my personality and my talents and athleticism," Tai said, "like this is the fit for me."

Olive Garden is saying arrivederci to a controversial restaurant manager who allegedly got so fed up with employees calling out for work they demanded proof even if a staffer's dog died.

A message reportedly sent from the disgraced manager to employees and obtained by KCTV read, "Our call-offs are occurring at a staggering rate. From now on, if you call off, you might as well go out and look for another job. We are no longer tolerating ANY EXCUSE for calling off. If you’re sick, you need to come prove it to us. If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us."

The manager, who worked at an OG location in Kansas, continued their rant by claiming they'd not taken a single day off in more than 11 years at the franchise.

Allegedly writing, "Do you know in my 11.5 years at Darden how many days I called off? Zero. I came in sick. I got in a wreck literally on my way to work one time, airbags went off and my car was totaled, but you know what, I made it to work, ON TIME.”

Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons is apologizing for slamming President Joe Biden over the Brittney Griner deal ... admitting he was speaking "out of emotion" and wasn't educated on the topic.

The 23-year-old was livid after the Griner news broke Thursday morning ... solely because retired Marine Paul Whelan has been behind bars in Russia since 2018 after being accused of spying.

Parsons -- whose father is a military vet -- was irked after finding out Whelan wasn't part of the deal to bring BG home ... saying, "Wait nah!! We left a marine?!! Hell nah."

The 2021 first-round pick clarified he was thrilled Griner was on her way back to U.S. soil ... but explained, "I just have family who have served and it’s crazy to me the President wouldn't bring him home too."

"I'm the furthest thing from a Trump supporter but I'm not a fan of Biden either."

Parsons later backpedaled on his stance ... saying he talked things over with some people and now has a better understanding of the situation.

"I should have been more educated on the topic and not tweeted out of emotion for my family and other who have served," Parsons tweeted. "For that I apologize."

"Also if what I'm told about the attempts to bring Ret Marine Paul Whelan home are true then the best outcome was accomplished. I pray Mr. Whelan comes home but am extremely happy for Brittney and her family."

"I am not too prideful to admit when I've made a mistake."

A Deion Sanders mural at Jackson State University was defaced -- but not by the student seen in a viral video circulating online ... TMZ Sports has learned.

A rep for JSU tells us the mural depicting Coach Prime in a Jackson State hoodie and hat was recently messed with, though it's unclear when it exactly happened -- and the culprit remains unknown.

The school rep says the student seen wiping Deion's mural, which initially went up for football season/Homecoming around October, was trying to clean it up ... and received permission from the university to do so.

We're told it's unclear if police are investigating the mural's initial defacement.

The video of the student wiping the Sanders tribute made rounds on social media this week ... in the aftermath of the coach announcing over the weekend that he was leaving JSU for Colorado.

Young Nudy is looking to do serious bodily harm to whoever's stealing his unreleased tracks and putting them on the Internet ... and, frankly, he has the beating all planned out.

Nudy hopped onto Instagram fuming with rage after learning a whopping 172 of his songs were placed onto a popular illegal music download site.

Previously unreleased songs from other Atlanta-based rap stars -- Future, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Gunna -- also hit the platform, but it's Nudy who's springing into action ... promising to take his sweet time sniffing out the culprit.

Nudy denied being friendly like other rappers, and says when he finds the hack, he won't hesitate to pull up to deliver a royal ass whooping!!! Sounds like he means it, too.

Elon Musk has reportedly been turning Twitter's office space into sleeping spaces for employees putting in extra time -- and he's pissed the city of S.F. is looking into whether or not the new setup violates any codes.

Twitter's CEO fired back to a report Tuesday that said S.F.'s department of building inspection would be launching an investigation into claims that parts of the company's HQ were retrofitted to include makeshift bedrooms.

Forbes reported mattresses were set up in some Twitter office rooms, with other homey modifications. Recent reports also suggested a handful of employees were spending the night due to the intense nature of the job and long hours under Musk's new regime.

Well, Elon didn't take too kindly to the idea of San Fran cracking down -- responding to a tweet about the news by writing … "So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. Where are your priorities @LondonBreed!?" London Breed is S.F.'s mayor.

He also attached an article about a toddler who OD'd after coming across fentanyl on a playground. Luckily, the kid survived.

One thing Elon's tweet didn't address though ... whether or not the employee bedrooms exist.

Popular Streamer IShowSpeed is coming under fire for a gross racist exchange he had with a Chinese fan at The World Cup ... with people urging he do better.

IShowSpeed -- who has 14M subscribers on YouTube and nearly 6M followers on Instagram -- is in Qatar for the massive soccer tournament, and has live streamed a lot of his time in the stands.

The controversial clip shows the streamer call attention to an Asian fan in an Argentina jersey. Speed asks why he's wearing the gear -- seemingly pointing out he doesn't look Argentinian.

From there, he shouts, "Konnichiwa!" -- a formal word for "hello" in Japanese -- several times at the fan. The fan tries to explain he's not Japanese, but Chinese ... and then ISS begins rambling off nonsense with an accent.

Naturally, and rightfully so, Speed's fans have littered the comment section on his social media pages denouncing the exchange. One wrote, "Stop spewing macro-aggressions and racism towards Asian people and use your platform for something positive."

Another said, "You failed Asian Americans and Asians everywhere. We all make mistakes. But grow up. Do better. Be a better example for the youth." While another simply wrote, "ishowracism should be your new name from now on."

The 17-year-old attempted to offer up an explanation as to what he was thinking, but it didn't really help his cause. He says he thought the man was Japanese -- though he doesn't explain why -- and that his adrenaline was pumping during the video.

"Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause is goin' OFF on the People's Choice Awards, claiming organizers didn't let her bring her boo, G Flip, to the event -- while her costars got a plus-one.

Chrishell went on a Twitter rant Wednesday morning, prefacing it with, "I am on the sauce a bit." Oh boy ...

She then took it out on the award show ... "people's choice didn’t allow me to bring my partner to the awards. I could ONLY bring a plus 1 if it was a cast member. Wtf Sure this means I will never be nominated again but honestly fu."

What really set her off was the fact, according to Chrishell, all of her 'Sunset' costars were invited, and some of them were allowed to bring plus ones. The final indignity for Chrishell -- "I was nominated for best [reality] star and yet they said NO. Again fu."

To her point, Chrishell's ex-bf and costar, Jason Oppenheim, was at the PCAs with his new GF, Marie-Lou Nurk.

Heather Rae El Moussa and her hubby Tarek also came together to the ceremony ... while Tarek is best known for his HGTV show, "Flip or Flop," the series wasn't up for awards.

As you know, Chrishell and G Flip confirmed they were a thing back in May during the reunion special for "Selling Sunset" -- which was around the same time they were featured making out quite a bit in G Flip's music video, "Get Me Outta Here."

FYI -- costar Davina Potratz also seemed to get blocked from bringing a guest ... commenting on Chrishell's post, "I wanted to bring someone too but couldn't."

Kathy Hilton's dry lips wait for no one ... as Mariska Hargitay and the People's Choice Awards audience learned when Kathy applied gloss right onstage, and on camera, making for a totally awkward moment.

The "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star had just won Best TV Drama Star of 2022 and was in the middle of delivering remarks ... when KH was caught on camera standing behind Mariska, and felt that was the best time to give her lips some shine.

Kathy was up there because she and her other 'RHOBH' costars were the presenters, but we're guessing she didn't realize she was still visible on TV. Then again, the live audience would still see her. So, yeah ... awkward!

There were other standout moments as well, including Olivia Wilde's appearance for her "Don't Worry Darling" win as the Drama Movie of 2022.

OW accepted the PCA with grace ... totally glossing over the film's behind-the-scenes drama -- she made no mention of the beef at the center of it.

She said, "We made this movie in 2020 when many people were not confident that audiences would ever return to theaters if they ever reopened, yet … crew members showed up every single day during a pandemic to make something that they hoped that you guys would show up for. And you guys did show up. And we are so, so grateful."

Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner accepted the award for Reality Show of 2022 -- thanking audiences for continuing to tune in and allowing them to live their lives on camera and embracing them on a new network, Hulu.

Another highlight ... Shania Twain's Music Icon Award, which was accompanied by a live performance from her. When she accepted, she said, "This is such a privilege and dream really."

Other winners included Lizzo, who won the People's Champion Award, Adam Sandler as the Comedy Movie Star of 2022, as well as Carrie Underwood winning the Country Artist of 2022.

The CFO for an NYC hotspot -- frequented by celebs -- was caught serving up rage to an employee she's accusing of stealing and selling recipes to a competitor, and we have audio of her brutally racist rant.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Naomi Ram of Jue Lan Club called staffer Jose Luis Toxqui and another employee into a back office in August. From there, she not only accused them of giving out free drinks from the bar, but also accused Jose and his girlfriend -- who works at competitor restaurant Sei Less -- of stealing Jue Lan's recipes.

The verbal tirade is stunning, Ram announces, "Somebody is going to f***ing go to jail tonight ... I will f*** your ass up in f***ing immigration. I will f*** you the f*** up."

Toxqui, who is Mexican, remains mostly silent throughout Ram's attack, as she also accuses him of giving out free drinks at the bar, before asking, "You ever been sent to ICE motherf***er?"

We've split the entire audio into 2 clips ... but in the one above, Ram really ramps things up, yelling, "I will make sure you never step foot back in this country."

She then delivers her most vicious attack, saying, "You little f****ing Mexican illegal pieces of s*** like you, shouldn't f*** with people who f***ing have money and f***ing who know f***ing s***!"

After this exchange, Toxqui ended up filing a police report against Naomi for harassment, and he told NYPD he hadn't stolen anything from her or the restaurant.

According to Page Six, Toxqui sued Ram for assault, battery and unpaid wages in September. During at least one part of the audio, it does sound like Ram might have physically assaulted Toxqui.

The dispute is scheduled to go to mediation in January.

When Page Six wrote about the dispute -- without the audio -- an attorney for Ram said, "Neither our office nor our clients have been provided with the purported audio recording, nor have we had the opportunity to listen to or verify it, and so we cannot comment on it. However, we intend to vigorously defend the litigation in the appropriate forum and not through the press.”

Alicia Keys isn't going to argue with any fans who want her Kanye West and Fivio Foreign collab "City of Gods" to be the sequel to her classic "Empire State of Mind" duet with Jay-Z.

In fact, she seems to think both tracks rep the Big Apple just fine!

We caught up with AK out in NYC and asked her thoughts on the records being related, and the topic seemed to perk her interest ... as she labeled "City of Gods" a straight-up vibe.

The Grammy Award-winner recently admitted she and Jay have been hesitant to deliver a follow-up to their iconic tune for the past 13 years -- but it's not like "City of Gods" isn't a powerful record in its own right.

The song was released in February as Fivio's lead single for his debut album "B.I.B.L.E." and has since been certified gold by the RIAA.

A woman apparently wasn't taking any crap from a police department in Texas, she was allegedly dropping it off ... in buckets.

46-year-old Mindy Stephens, the wife of an assistant fire chief, is allegedly the stinky delivery woman in question ... according to KAXN, she pulled up in front of the Electra Police Department last month and made the drop-off.

Cops say an officer went out front to investigate, and found 3 5-gallon buckets -- weighing a total of 50 pounds -- filled with what appeared to be feces. He also observed Stephens in a hazmat suit walking towards an SUV with a trailer attached.

The officer reportedly asked her what she was doing ... and she allegedly told the cop she was dropping off the buckets of "human s***," and then drove off. A Lieutenant reportedly reviewed security footage and recognized Stephens' voice as the suspect.

Police say they contacted city officials about the issue, and said they'd call Stephens about picking the buckets up, but she allegedly refused -- telling officials it wasn't her problem.

Stephens was then charged with illegal dumping -- a Class B misdemeanor ... as well as a violation of the Texas health safety code. She was booked last week and was released the following day, after posting her $2K bond.

Believe it or not, this isn't Stephens' first run-in with the law, she reportedly got charged with aggravated assault back in 2020 after allegedly puncturing a man's hand and arm with a set of keys.

Punches were thrown, lots of them, in Monday night's TCU-George Washington women's basketball game ... a wild fistfight erupted, resulting in eight players being ejected.

It all went down at the Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, TX ... TCU forward Bella Cravens got pissed after GW guard Essence Brown pulled her hair while trying to take the ball away.

It's unclear if Brown acted with intent, but that didn't matter to Cravens ... who immediately went after Brown, sparking the WWE-style showdown on the court.

In the clip, the two women come face-to-face, and Cravens pushes Brown ... that's when things escalated, with punches being thrown from both parties.

Women from both teams tried to separate the two, but in the midst of that, a player from TCU pushes Brown in the back, and she appears to lose her balance.

TCU's head coach Raegan Pebley address the incident, saying, "We never want to be a part of anything like that. We don't ever want to be a part of anything like that."

"Whenever something like that happens right in front of a bench as opposed to the other sideline or the middle of the floor, it's super vulnerable."

Pebley said she thought the officials -- who ejected eight players, including Cravens and Brown -- did a good job of managing the chaos in that moment and throughout the game.