You Might Want to Rethink

A triumphant return to Argentina on Tuesday nearly turned disastrous for Lionel Messi and a couple of his other star teammates ... who were all almost thrown off the roof of a bus by a low-hanging street wire.

The scary moment happened as Messi and the Argentinian national team were taking laps around Buenos Aires to celebrate their World Cup title over France.

Messi -- sitting beside Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi -- didn't see a power line coming his bus' way ... and it almost clocked him and his teammates right in the heads.

It actually ended up clipping Paredes -- who lost his hat in the collision -- but, thankfully, all of the guys were able to move out of the way ... and keep the World Cup party going.

The scene was WILD in Argentina as the guys made their way through Buenos Aires following the close call -- thousands of fans lined streets for the second day since the big win ... this time, with some climbing to the top of the city's Obelisco to cheer on the soccer team.

It was chaos around the guys' bus, too ... as everyone tried to get an up-close look at the new world champs.

Despite the scare earlier in the day and the pandemonium in the streets ... everyone made it back home OK -- including Messi, who took the World Cup trophy with him to bed.

"Buen día!" he said in his caption on the pic.

Daniel Seavey cannot seem to shake one obsessed fan who apparently insists on being in the dude's immediate presence -- she was just arrested for allegedly getting into his house, and trying to plant one on him.

The Why Don't We bandmember's manager, Randy Phillips, tells TMZ ... DS was once again confronted by the same young lady, Eissa Amira, who has continually pestered him in 2022.

Remember, he's had multiple issues with her dating back to July, and it looks like she persists.

This time, we're told, Amira slipped into his L.A. home Sunday night through an open sliding back door (without permission, mind you) ... and made her way into Seavey's bedroom, where he was hanging out on his bed. Randy says Daniel looked up and saw Amira hovering above, scaring the bejesus outta him.

We're told Amira then tried to bend down and kiss Daniel, which forced him to physically remove her from his home -- part of which he got on video.

You can see Seavey walking her down his driveway and telling her to get lost.

Rather than scram, we're told Amira plopped down on his doorstep until the cops arrived and threw on the handcuffs. Randy says Amira kept yelling, "I love you, Daniel!" ... as she was thrown into the patrol car.

Amira allegedly broke into the singer's house before. Daniel even got a restraining order against her back in August after claiming she broke into his home and slept in his bed.

Unfortunately, it seems like that piece of paper isn't prompting her to stay away.

Although we're told she was booked for misdemeanor violation of the restraining order, Daniel's team tells us he isn't going to pursue new charges on this latest incident ... as long as her parents, who live on the East Coast, can get her out of Cali.

People are calling out The New York Times for a recent crossword layout shockingly in the shape of a swastika, and to make things worse, it debuted on the first night of Hanukkah.

Sunday's tone-deaf puzzle debuted with a ton of criticism -- featuring a massive swastika in the dead center of the grid. The puzzle's designer described it as a simple "fun whirlpool shape," but obviously not everyone had the same thoughts.

Many blasted NYT for the antisemitic design -- regardless of whether or not it was intentional ... with one saying, "How did this get approved without somebody noticing?" and another noting, "A hidden Happy Chanukah message in today's @nytimes crossword?"

Even Donald Trump Jr. blasted the news org ... writing, "Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle."

The Grateful Dead has become the target of a lot of criticism after many are calling out the poor timing of the band's recently released "Idaho is Dead" shirts in light of the 4 college students murdered in the state.

The band just posted new shirts on their official IG account. The caption read, "Check out the new Idaho United States Of Dead T-Shirt with artwork designed by @dreyfus.art. Available now at dead.net!"

As you might imagine, some folks immediately called out GD for being insensitive ... pointing to the fact that 4 college students from the University of Idaho were brutally murdered at an off-campus house, last month. Of course, that case remains unsolved.

One user wrote, "With the recent Idaho tragedy the first shirt is totally insensitive" ... another said, "Weird timing of a play on words considering the idiho4 😢🥺".

Grateful dead is selling similar shirts for other respective states on their website. For example, they are already selling "California Dead" shirts on their site.

The fan who caught Aaron Judge's historic 62nd home run ball has no regrets about rejecting a $3 million offer, despite it only raking in half that number at auction.

Cory Youmans, the Texas Rangers fan who caught the ball in Arlington, saw the ball sell for $1.5 million over the weekend at auction ... but Cory says he's at peace with how things played out.

"Congratulations to Joe! Given the historical significance of #62, it was important to me that the selling process was fair, accessible, and transparent," Youmans said Sunday in a statement.

"As this chapter comes to an end and I reflect on catching home run ball #62, I'll always remember the kindness of the fans around me on that exciting night in Arlington," Youmans said. "It was the epitome of how sports brings humans together, and I'll cherish that memory forever.”

Remember ... Youmans caught the ball on Oct. 4, and the Yankees initially tried to bargain with him to give it up, but Cory refused.

As expected, CY began receiving offers for the ball, culminating in a $3 million offer from a private buyer, which Youmans turned down, thinking he could make more if the ball went to auction.

Unfortunately for Youmans, that wasn't the case. As for the new owner, the auction says it was sold to a "prominent Midwestern businessman and collector," though the person wasn't identified.

A dog owner's going through a ruff patch ... because she's gettin' called out for alleged animal abuse after making her pup look like the mean one himself, Mr. Grinch.

The TikToker showed off her dog's transformation, going from its natural color to getting dyed green -- and even red and white to resemble the titular character's Christmas sweater.

The now-viral clip's captioned "When your groomer slays making your dog into the Grinch," but it might've gained traction for all the wrong reasons -- because people are up in arms over the supposed mistreatment of the animal.

The comment section ran wild ... with some saying "Kinda looks like animal abuse to me," "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should," and "Poor Puppy." Some were in the owner's corner though -- mentioning some dyes are pet safe.

However, some puppies have skin allergies and could get severe reactions in the process, but it's unclear if this doggo fits that bill.

The owner clapped back to all the noise ... showing the dog chillin' on the bed with the sarcastic caption "He's super abused."

Elon Musk seems to have heard all the Twitter criticism loud and clear -- which is why he's leaving his position at the company in the hands of the people ... quite literally.

The Chief Twit took to his favorite platform Sunday, and started off by apologizing for what sounds like Twitter's no-more-personal-promotion policy ... in which they'll ban anyone who plugs other social media profiles of theirs on Twitter.

He wrote, "Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again." After that, he posed a question and interesting proposition, asking ... "Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll."

It's a simple Yes/No poll, and as of this writing ... nearly 6 million people have weighed in, with about 58% in favor of Yes, and 42% saying No. There's still about 10 hours left to vote.

In a somewhat ominous and cryptic follow-up post, he wrote ... "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it." To us, that means he will, in fact, abide by the outcome ... like he previously has in other polls. Bringing Trump back comes to mind.

Now, there are some cynics who feel like this an empty promise from Elon -- as they suspect he'll simply install a sock-puppet CEO ... while he continues to pull the strings BTS. He will still be the majority owner of Twitter, after all -- so he could still presumably call the shots.

He did recently allude to that type of carte blanche rule earlier this year when he was discussing his Content Moderation Council -- basically saying, what I say goes, period.

Elon, however, appeared to shoot this notion down -- saying he doesn't have somebody else in mind for the gig ... and that there is no successor. He says no one would really want this job. Time will tell if he follows through, and what that'll mean for Twitter at large. 👀

Vox Populi, Vox Dei!

Jack Johnson has gotten legal protection against a female fan he says poses a serious and alarming risk to his safety.

The "Better Together" singer testified at a hearing in Los Angeles Thursday about a woman he says keeps popping up at his shows and hotels, trying to get close to him.

Jack called into the hearing and the judge was convinced the woman is dangerous enough to warrant a 5-year order of protection.

TMZ broke the story ... Jack got a temporary order of protection two months ago, claiming the woman has been hounding him for years, with things escalating to the point where she recently confronted him at a hotel he was staying at on tour. He says she got in his face and it was so frightening cops came and detained her.

James Cameron met fire with fire after storming through a crowd of autograph-seekers that he had no intention of satisfying ... fleeing the scene with a message from a little birdy.

The famed director was leaving the WGA building in Beverly Hills Saturday, this after they held a special screening of his new film ... 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' which hit theaters this weekend. On the way out, there was a crowd for JC -- but he was in no mood to please.

Rather than stop and sign stuff that these folks were desperately hoping he would ... Jim just powered his way through without giving anyone the time of day, or the power of ink.

When it became clear he wasn't autographing squat ... the fans turned on him, jeering him as he got into his waiting SUV -- and even condemning his movie ... shouting, "F*** Avatar!" James had something for them almost immediately -- flipping them off out of his window.

Unclear what had him so sour ... but it's a pretty hilarious interaction nonetheless.

50 Cent trolled the hell out of Megan Thee Stallion -- and while he's catching flak for it, the real question that seems to be getting asked is ... does he single out women to beef with???

That's the conversation taking place on Twitter right now -- this after Curtis posted a meme this weekend that showed MTS morphing into Jussie Smollett. He captioned it, "Damn i’m confused all this shit going around 🤷🏽‍♂️ i don’t know what to think. LOL."

In other words ... he doesn't seem to believe Megan's claims against Tory Lanez. Nothing all that profound, but his poking fun has gotten bird app users all fired up over whether this is par for the course -- aka, going after females -- or if he's an equal opportunity rabble-rouser.

The debate was sparked by one woman who wrote, "50 cent literally only brings that energy towards women. A coward." While she turned off her replies, people are retweeting this and pointing out the countless feuds Fitty's been in with prominent men over the years.

Some of the fellas 50 Cent has publicly beefed with (in emphatic terms) ... The Game, Floyd Mayweather, Fat Joe, Diddy, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Young Buck, Benzino and, of course, Ja Rule. Oh, and he's had a lot of issues with his own son, Marquise.

Now, the guy has also gotten into it with a fair amount of famous women as well -- most notably ... Vivica A. Fox, Lala Kent, Madonna, Teairra Mari and even Oprah Winfrey.

There's also been several times where 50 has made clear ... he's not afraid of the smoke, apparently from anyone. But, on the issue of whether he's got a deeply-rooted hatred of women (especially WOC) -- the evidence seems to support that he clowns everyone.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly want a sit-down with the Royal Family to air out unsettled grievances, in hopes of an apology -- this after not feeling satisfied post-Netflix.

According to The Sunday Times, a source close to the Sussexes says Harry and Meg would very much like a meeting with senior members of the monarchy -- presumably, King Charles, and Prince William -- to tackle issues they just laid out in their series, "Harry & Meghan."

The reason they wanna hash it out once and for all ... this source, cited by The Times, claims they feel short-changed in the accountability department. Namely, they assert the Royals never addressed their problems head-on, nor did they ever own up to anything.

In light of Buckingham Palace moving mountains to make things right with Ngozi Fulani -- who was recently at the center of a race-related scandal at the hands of a high-ranking Royal official -- this source says H and M feel they're owed the same type of courtesy.

There's also the issue of Charles' coronation in May, which The Times says Harry and Meghan are expected to attend -- although, it's unclear by whom. They cite a senior Royal source who says, "If they want to get in touch with the King, they know where he lives."

Apparently, Harry and Megan would like to reach some sort of reconciliation before then ... but it's sounding like an icy one-way street and the feeling isn't mutual. Not only is Charles reportedly taking an aloof approach to the whole thing, but The Times also claims they've been told Will has no plans to speak to his brother for the time being.

The vow of silence is also one that the Royal institution as a whole is planning to maintain now that the Netflix series is over. Despite claims that palace aides and/or staff might've gone out of their way to plant stories about Meghan -- not to mention allegations of racism aimed at their son, Archie -- it seems the Royals are staying out of the mud on this one.

None of the Royals have responded to anything discussed in the special ... they've simply been carrying on with their duties heading into the holidays. If this report is to be believed about Harry and Meghan's wishes, things might come to a head sooner than later.

Sylvester Stallone has some heartbroken fans after an event with the "Rocky" star allegedly sold more photo-op packages than could be accommodated ... and now they'll get refunds.

Sly was booked for a gig last weekend in L.A. called "Experience With Sylvester Stallone LIVE" -- sponsored by a company of the same name, Experience With -- where folks shelled out to have a nice dinner, hear Sly talk onstage and bid on signed memorabilia.

Naturally, there were different ticket packages available -- including some top-tier ones that included a meet and greet and promised a pic with the legend himself ... with pricing options from $750-$1,250.

What ended up happening, though ... Sly wasn't able to get through all the photo ops. We've seen an alleged email organizers sent to disappointed fans that read, "The reason the photos did not go as planned is that Mr. Stallone had to leave the event earlier the expected and was not feeling 100%. Our events can be very demanding, we have to respect the celebrities wishes at all times."

Of course, fans were pissed ... but a source close to Sly tells us the email wasn't accurate. We're told Sly's contract committed him to a certain time with the photo-ops and he actually stayed longer than he had to ... they blame organizers for selling too many of the photo packages for the time allotted.

Ticket buyers flooded Experience With's social pages, and openly wondered whether they'd be getting reimbursed for the Sly incident ... it appears there were quite a few people who were left empty-handed, without any guidance from EW about what was going to happen.

Welp, Experience With is setting the record straight -- telling TMZ everyone who paid for an upgraded photo op ticket with SS and didn't receive one will be reimbursed accordingly.

Experience With also clarified they got through about 60% of the photos so the number of people left hanging amounted to around 100 ... and not 300 like some had claimed online. They also say this sorta thing happens from time to time with their celebs, as these can turn into long nights.

Britney Spears' dad, Jamie Spears, is spilling his guts for the first time about the conservatorship and his role in it ... defending the legal apparatus by calling it necessary.

Jamie spoke to the Daily Mail, explaining that he feels like he saved Britney's life and career by putting her in a conservatorship all those years ago ... noting that, for a time, it was working pretty well for her -- getting her back on track music/performing-wise.

He says, "Not everybody's going to agree with me. It's been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? And I don't know if she'd be alive. I don't."

JS also says the conservatorship allowed Britney to have a relationship with her children -- Jayden and Sean -- adding ... "For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool. Without it, I don't think she would have got the kids back."

Jamie also says he himself deeply misses Sean and Jayden, touching on a falling-out in recent years following an altercation where he was alleged to have gotten physical with one of them. In the wake of that, it seems things are still touchy -- although, Jamie says he's back in touch with their dad, Kevin Federline, and that he's hopeful for a reunion one day.

Of his family as a whole, Jamie says ... "The family's a mess. All we can do is keep praying." Another somewhat shocking claim he makes -- that it was he and Kevin who actually raised the boys together, which is why not being with them hurts so much.

Back to the conservatorship ... he once again sticks by his decision to start one for Britney, saying it allowed her to have a semblance of a normal life again, and pulled her out of financial ruin. Despite a lot of allegations that have been made by both Britney, her lawyer and her legion of #FreeBritney fans ... Jamie says no one really knows the truth.

He says, "I don't mind taking that beating because I know it's not true, and because I don't want to start something else. For my daughter to end up going further down the hole than she had been." He didn't address specific claims of Britney's -- including the notion that she was being spied on at one point, not to mention allegedly being overly-medicated/isolated.

On the issue of a reconciliation, Jamie made it seem like he was closer to coming together with Kevin and the boys before Britney -- he's not on speaking terms with her ... although, the report says he is living with or near her younger sister, Jamie Lynn, in Louisiana.

The man charged with the fatal mass shooting at a Colorado gay bar last month was locked behind bars for a 2021 kidnapping ... but a judge later tossed out the case and released him, possibly leading to the massacre, according to new court documents.

First some background ... in June 2021, Anderson Aldrich allegedly held his grandparents at gunpoint inside their Colorado Springs home after he became irate upon learning they were moving to Florida because he was making a bomb in the basement. But, his grandparents managed to flee and call 911.

A SWAT team arrested Aldrich after a brief standoff. Investigators recovered Aldrich's homemade bombs and firearms for a planned terrorist attack. He was charged with menacing, kidnapping and crime of violence.

Two months later, Judge Robin Chittum expressed concerns over Aldrich stockpiling weapons and explosives during a court proceeding, according to legal docs obtained Friday by the AP. At the hearing, Chittum also referenced Aldrich's struggles with mental illness, saying he needed treatment or “it’s going to be so bad."

Fast forward to July 2022 ... during another hearing, there was no mention of Aldrich’s violent tendencies or his mental health status. Then Chittum granted a defense counsel’s motion to dismiss the case and drop all charges against Aldrich just before trial. The reason? Aldrich's grandparents stopped cooperating, although other relatives warned the judge in a letter that Aldrich would kill someone if released.

Elon Musk has let several prominent journalists out of Twitter jail ... he just reinstated their suspended accounts for doxxing him -- or so he claimed.

The Twitter honcho released a statement late Friday ... "The people have spoken. Accounts that doxxed my location will have their suspensions lifted now."

Of course, Musk is referring to a Twitter poll he took Thursday night, asking voters if the reporters' accounts should be promptly restored or put on ice for 7 days. A majority of people -- over 58 percent -- voted to have the accounts reinstated immediately. So Elon obliged.

As we reported ... Musk came under fire earlier this week when he suspended the accounts of at least 7 journalists, including Donie O'Sullivan (CNN), Drew Harwell (Washington Post), Matt Binder (Mashable), Ryan Mac (New York Times) and Micah Lee (The Intercept). The Chief Twit accused the reporters of tracking his private jet using publicly available data and doxing him online by disclosing his personal details and whereabouts.

But, the journalists insisted they never published Elon's private information, and believe the real reason Musk temporarily shut down their accounts is because of their unfavorable coverage of him. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff also blasted Musk for suspending the accounts.

No, Draymond Green ain't pillow soft for having a heckler booted from an NBA game earlier this week ... so says Michael Rapaport, who tells TMZ Sports the Warriors star was in the right in the situation.

Green had the courtside fan kicked out of Tuesday night's Warriors vs. Bucks game in Milwaukee -- claiming the man threatened his life during a trash-talking sesh.

The man has since said he did no such thing -- but when we got Rapaport out this week ... the comedian, who's usually full of hot takes, said he was siding with Green in the spat.

"Even though Draymond Green is not, you know, you know," Rapaport said out in NYC ... "Fans are inappropriate sometimes. It's a family-friendly event."

Rapaport said fans need to treat games as if they were going to Disneyland -- as in, behave themselves extra carefully -- otherwise, they should be subjected to ejections.