You Might Want to Rethink

Milwaukee Bucks player Meyers Leonard says he sometimes contemplated leaving his basketball career behind amid the fallout from using an antisemitic slur on a video game stream ... but ultimately felt it would be a "coward's way out."

Leonard -- who last played in the NBA in 2021 -- said there were times he wanted to "run away" due to the backlash he faced after the incident ... admitting he made enough money to pack up his things and start a new life elsewhere.

But now that he's back in the league, Leonard is opening up on his experience.

"It’s a mixed bag of emotions, for sure," Leonard told reporters Wednesday. "It’s certainly the hardest two-year stretch I've ever had in my life, as an adult, as a man."

Leonard said being without a team was an "extremely difficult time," and called his use of the slur an "ignorant mistake." He also apologized again to anyone he offended.

As we previously reported, the Milwaukee Bucks signed Leonard to a 10-day contract on Monday, opening up the possibility for the seven-footer to step foot on an NBA court once again.

Meyers -- selected 11th overall in the 2012 NBA draft -- added it's been an uphill battle since his whole life changed, but believes he's put in the work to convince people he's remorseful.

Leonard reaffirmed that he doesn't hate anyone, and said he's thankful for the "amazing relationships" he's forged with people in the Jewish community along the way.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg had a weirdly tense and terse reaction when a reporter asked him about the residents suffering in the wake of the East Palestine train disaster, refusing to answer questions, saying he was on "personal time."

Buttigieg was in Washington D.C. Tuesday, when a reporter with the Daily Caller approached him and asked what he would say to the folks in East Palestine. His response -- "I'd refer you to about a dozen interviews I've given today, and if you'd like to arrange a conversation, make sure to reach out to our press office."

When the reporter persisted, Buttigieg, who was walking with his husband Chasten, brushed her off, saying, "... I'm taking some personal time and I'm walking down the street."

That wasn't the end ... the reporter asked when the former presidential candidate would go to East Palestine, he said he'd "share that when I'm ready."

And then the bizarre turn ... he stopped and asked the reporter if he could take a picture of her. It seemed like an intimidation tactic ... the reporter later Tweeted, "I guess he didn't like that so he took a pic of me ... just doing my job, sir."

Former NBA star Dwight Howard was ejected from a Taiwan basketball league game over the weekend ... after members from both teams got into a wild skirmish on the court.

It all went down on Sunday ... when Howard's Taoyuan Leopards were playing the Taiwan Beer HeroBears.

As Howard's teammate, Chen Hsiao-Jung, was looking to get separation from HeroBears guard Chiang Yu-an ... he elbowed him in the face -- sparking a big fight.

You can see in broadcast footage of the game, the guys immediately went after each other ... and a flurry of punches ensued. Then, all hell broke loose -- with players from both sides inserting themselves into the mayhem.

At one point, an assistant coach ran onto the court and threw multiple punches at Hsiao-Jung -- before the referees restrained him.

The fracas -- which started near midcourt -- spilled over to the other side of the court, and multiple people ended up on the ground as more punches were thrown near the sideline.

Cameras didn't catch Howard too involved in the melee -- he actually appeared to be playing peacemaker -- but he was eventually ejected nonetheless.

Boston sports radio host Tony Massarotti made a racially insensitive joke on air about two Black men on Friday ... and on Monday, he apologized for it, calling the comments "insensitive" and "hurtful."

Massarotti, a former sportswriter for The Boston Herald and The Boston Globe, was on the mic for his "Felger & Mazz" show on 98.5 The Sports Hub when he asked his cohost, Michael Felger, who was doing the show remotely, about two Black guys sitting behind him.

"I wanna know now who the two guys behind you are," Massarotti asked Felger, who was doing the show from a New Orleans hotel, according to WCVB.

"They can't hear us, right? Okay, so I would be careful if I were you. Because the last time you were around a couple of guys like that, they stole your car."

Massarotti said he was attempting to "poke fun" at Felger -- who reportedly had his car stolen in New Orleans in the fall -- but admits his remarks "hurt the cause" for people who believe in racial and social equality.

"Late in the show on Friday, I made some comments that angered and upset some people, and rightfully so," Massarotti said. "I wish I could take them back. I can't."

"So I owe everyone an apology. It's not who I am. It's not who we are. I can tell you that until I'm blue in the face -- those of you who know me will believe it."

Tony also said his comments came off as "ignorant" and he was regretful for that. He also apologized to his cohosts for dragging them into the controversy.

So far, no punishment for Massarotti has been revealed by 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Someone allegedly tried to pull a Doctor Evil with the iconic Hollywood sign -- both in terms of his ridiculously wacky demands ... as well as his overall smarts. 😅

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a man called Hollywood PD Sunday threatening to blow the famous L.A. landmark to smithereens with pipe bombs -- that is, unless he was paid a WHOPPING $10,000 (insert Mike Myers pinky move here).

Big claims for big stakes, we suppose.

Here's the problem ... we're told the dude didn't even dial the right department. In attempting to reach L.A., our sources say he actually dialed cops in Hollywood, FL.

Unclear if he realized he had the wrong number, but in any case ... we're told the Florida HPD hit up their L.A. counterparts to let 'em know what was going on, nutty as the whole thing seemed.

We're told LAPD checked it out, and found no credible threat at all. Our sources tell us there've been no arrests, but the case is under investigation.

For context, the Hollywood sign is under 24/7 video surveillance, so it's always watched closely -- and there are additional safety measures in place if anyone tries to tamper with it. Of course, some have been successful getting to it in recent years ... but it's no easy target.

Just another day in the City of Angels ... not to be confused with Florida's so-called "Diamond of the Gold Coast."

Madison Beer is a hot topic with LAPD ... not because she's breaking laws, but because a caller from Germany is repeatedly -- and falsely -- informing cops Madison's contemplating suicide.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... LAPD's received more than 15 calls since the beginning of this year about Madison, with the most recent one coming this past Sunday. We're told each time it's been a male caller who claims she was going to harm or kill herself.

Sources say cops have spoken to Madison, who told them she's just fine and has no clue who's responsible for the mystery swatting calls. We're told the police will keep that in mind going forward.

We're also told cops determined the call was coming all the way from somewhere in Germany but haven't figured out much else yet. The case is still under investigation.

We've reached out to Madison for comment ... so far, no word back.

Swatting's been a growing problem for police around the country. For those unware, it's a form of prank call -- often done to live streamers online -- with the goal being to get a big police response to raid the victim's home.

Don Lemon's absence from the "CNN This Morning" desk nearly got lost in the sauce at the top of the show Monday ... which could be additional writing on the wall for his time at the network.

Poppy Harlow -- who may or may not be in her "prime," according to Don -- opened the show with Sara Sidner sitting next to her and ran down the big breaking story about President Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine.

Sandwiched between that news and announcing her other cohost, Katilin Collins, being in Poland ... Poppy said, "Don has the day off."

It was literally one second and if you weren't looking for it, you'd surely miss it. Obviously, the honchos at CNN didn't want to make a big deal about the late decision for Lemon to sit out Monday's broadcast ... on the heels of his misogynist comment last Thursday about Nikki Haley.

Now, Don also had Friday off -- that was scheduled prior to the Haley remark -- and he spent it lounging on a Miami beach ... seemingly not having a care in the world.

But, as we reported, his Monday absence was not pre-scheduled, and staffers found out in a memo circulated this weekend about the 'This Morning' lineup switch.

It's unclear if Don's skipping today was his decision or his bosses'. No one's spilling that tea just yet ... as the fallout continues from Lemon saying Haley was "not in her prime" at the age of 51 -- because, as he put it, Google says a woman's prime is in her 20s, 30s, "and maybe 40s."

Former UFC star Nate Marquardt is in the crosshairs of the LGBTQ community ... after he tweeted an anti-gay response to a commercial that showed two men kissing.

The 43-year-old, who famously knocked out Tyron Woodley in a 2012 fight, fired off the offensive comments after he said he saw the ad while watching ESPN+.

In his tweet, he said the commercial was "disgusting" and that he had to tell his kids "look away so they don't see two men kissing."

The former fighter, a devout Christian, added a throwing up emoji.

Immediately, the ex-Strikeforce Welterweight Champion was panned by fans for the remarks ... but he doubled down on his stance in further tweets.

As of Monday afternoon, the posts were still up on his social media page.

"Euphoria" star Angus Cloud has found himself in the crosshairs of the CHP after his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run ... and now, cops wanna talk.

The whole thing went down Tuesday in Marina del Rey where a witness tells us, Cloud and another male were driving around in an SUV that rear-ended a Toyota and then took off into a nearby parking lot.

We're told at least one person, a female, in the Toyota suffered injuries to her legs and arms -- with bruising and redness.

After the chaos from the accident settled down, the witness -- who knew the people in the Toyota -- went to look for Cloud and the SUV in the parking lot where he says Angus and the other person in the car had driven, but they were nowhere to be found.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... while the "Euphoria" star is not officially a suspect in the case, his name has been floated for possible involvement -- cops want to speak with him to determine if he was involved and/or responsible for the wreck.

BTW ... hit-and-run can be charged as a felony in California.

Things aren't lookin' up for Travis Barker -- the drummer messed up his finger for the second time in 2 weeks ... and he shared the gnarly pic for all to see.

The Blink-182 bandmate posted the injury Sunday, showing his ring finger in pretty bad shape ... with what appears to be some sort of lump, or even a bone out of place.

He captioned the disturbing digit photo, "Again" -- because he messed up the same finger earlier this month, which he also proudly shared with fans.

That time, his finger was also swollen, the patient's one-word description was simply, "F***." He told his fans he smashed his finger during rehearsals, dislocating it and tearing ligaments. Unclear if the latest bang-up is more of the same, though.

Obviously, a finger injury could be brutal for a drummer like Travis ... and he's less than a month away from the Mexico kickoff of his band's world tour.

FYI -- he's supposed to be rockin' out with the group for a year straight.

Ya can't say Trav is holding back in rehearsals, but maybe he should!!!

James Gunn just dropped another truth bomb about how the 'Superman' fiasco came about -- and it sounds like Henry Cavill was kinda being used as a pawn ... or so it seems.

Here's the deal ... the new co-chief of DC Studios responded to fans Sunday who inquired about an IG Story he threw up over the weekend, which touched on when exactly he'd been hired to start working on new DCU flicks -- including a big priority, 'Superman: Legacy.'

In his IG Story, Gunn clarified that while one film he's in charge of has already gone into pre-production -- 'Creature Commandos' -- both that movie and his 'Superman' project had actually been getting worked on quietly behind the scenes before he and Peter Safran were officially hired, which was on Oct. 25 ... a day after Cavill said he was "back" as Supes.

He further confirmed in follow-up tweets -- noting he'd been hired to write 'Superman: Legacy' over SIX MONTHS ago and that his movie was always going to be separate from Zack Snyder's version of the character ... the same one Cavill briefly thought he was reprising.

The bottom line is this ... James is saying he already had the green light to start charting a path for a whole new Superman storyline, but it doesn't appear Cavill was aware of that.

According to him, he was told by the WBD to announce he was officially returning to the role ... even though it now seems clear Warner had no real intentions of pursuing that -- evidenced by the hiring of Gunn/Safran as co-bosses, and their decision to give HC the boot.

In other words, Cavill appears to have been getting jerked around. As for who's to blame ... well, hard to say. There've been so many changes at WB over the past 2 years -- with execs coming/going -- it's not really clear if Cavill was totally misled (and by whom). Alternatively, there might've just been a miscommunication that led to the confusion/psych-out. 🤷🏽‍♂️

All we know, Henry probably ain't gonna be working with them again after this. His next few films are all with different studios -- and we don't see a water tower in his immediate future.

More bad news for Tesla -- somebody driving one of their vehicles died this weekend after crashing into a firetruck ... and happened to be in the same model that's now facing a recall.

The accident happened Saturday in Walnut Creek, CA -- where officials say a Tesla Model S plowed into a fire engine that was blocking off a freeway to cover another crew that was clearing a separate accident on I-680. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, and a passenger in the car as well was transported to a hospital ... their condition is unknown.

Photos taken from the crash site show the Tesla completely crushed, and the truck was severely damaged as well. A few firefighters who were on the truck suffered minor injuries.

Law enforcement says it's unclear if the driver was under the influence or if they were using a self-driving feature. If it's discovered the driver was, in fact, using the autopilot -- which has since come under major scrutiny -- it could spell more trouble for the EV company.

Tesla is currently under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- which is looking into how their automated driving system works in response to emergency vehicles on the road ... this after at least 14 crashes under very similar circumstances.

Roald Dahl's classic books are apparently too dated for the 21st century -- because his former publisher and his own posthumous company have edited the crap out of them.

Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company -- which oversees his collection -- teamed up with Inclusive Minds last year ... tasking them to pour over RD's published works (specifically, ones for kids) and to alter passages as they see fit, to remove offensive language.

According to reports, hundreds of changes have been made in everything from "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" to "James and The Giant Peach" ... and other Dahl books in between.

One of the more noticeable tweaks that many are pointing out is the fact that Augustus Gloop -- the gluttonous kid who falls in the river of chocolate and gets sucked up a tube -- is no longer described as "fat," which is what Dahl had previously referred to him as.

Here's an old passage describing Augustus ... "A nine-year-old boy who was so enormously fat he looked as though he had been blown up with a powerful pump. Great flabby folds of fat bulged out from every part of his body, and his face like a monstrous ball of dough.'

The 2022 re-write goes like this ... "A nine-year-old boy who was so enormous he looked as though he had been blown up with a powerful pump. Great folds bulged out from every part of his body, and his face was like a ball of dough." In this instance, they got rid of "fat."

While some words were removed, others were completely added in anew -- so, not Dahl's original text -- including one new passage from "The Witches." In that book, there's an idea about witches hiding in plain sight ... who are actually bald under their wigs.

The main character is describing his plan to ID witches in public to his grandmother -- going around and pulling women's hair to see if they're a witch. In the original text, the grandma replies ... "'Don't be foolish,' my grandmother said. 'You can't go round pulling the hair of every lady you meet, even if she is wearing gloves. Just you try it and see what happens.'"

The rewrite is wild ... "'Don't be foolish,' my grandmother said. 'Besides, there are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.'"

There are countless other examples circulating on Twitter right now -- including ones where Inclusive removed gendered terms, like "female" -- and a lot of people are saying these changes are ridiculous -- and just another example of woke culture going too far.

Tiger Woods is being called out by a women's empowerment group for his tampon prank at a PGA Tour event ... saying how dare he, especially with a daughter at home.

Kara Sugar, CEO of the Women's Global Empowerment Fund, tells TMZ ... Tiger's tampon moment was not only misogynistic but also tone-deaf and straight-up disrespectful to women and girls all over the world.

Sugar ripped the golfing legend, wondering if he's intimating "periods are embarrassing or shameful or a sign of weakness?"

As you know ... Tiger was playing his Friday round at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles with Justin Thomas when he hit his ball further than Justin and handed a Tampax to his friend and competitor. The misguided sentiment -- Justin hits "like a girl."

The women's group says it's sad to see Tiger do this because he's a grown man with a daughter ... and they feel the joke distracts from the serious issues involving mental health and periods, which women and girls around the globe face.

Tiger gave an apology/non apology, saying "It was supposed to be all fun and games. Obviously it hasn't turned out that way. If I offended anybody in any way, shape, or form, I'm sorry."  In other words, not really an apology."

Tiger Woods is now apologizing for slipping a tampon to Justin Thomas after outdriving him on a hole during a round of golf on Thursday ... saying "it was supposed to be all fun and games."

"Obviously," the golfing legend added, "it hasn't turned out that way."

Woods played the prank -- which many have deemed to be sexist -- on his golfing buddy on the ninth hole of the duo's opening round at the Genesis Invitational ... after putting his tee shot some 20 yards past the 29-year-old PGA Tour star.

You can see in video of the two as they walked toward their balls on the fairway ... Woods handed over the Tampax, and when Thomas saw what it was, he immediately dropped it.

The guys then shared a big laugh and a side hug ... before continuing on with their round.

Woods, a father of a 15-year-old daughter, was panned for the move ... and following his second round at the event on Friday, he insisted he didn't mean to offend anybody with his actions.

"If I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I'm sorry," Woods said.

The 47-year-old went on to explain he and Thomas play jokes on each other all the time.

"I think this did not come across that way," he said. "But, between us, it was different."

A family dealing with the fallout of the toxic chemical disaster in Ohio say their health and their property are in decline with no end in sight ... and they're pissed at the fed's response.

Nathan Izotic, whose family owns a home two miles from the train derailment that unleashed toxic chemicals into the air, water and ground, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and shared what life is like for folks in the area ... and it ain't pretty.

Despite getting the green light to go home, Nathan says he and his family are still suffering from headaches, confusion, tiredness, vomiting and difficulty breathing ... he says the air smells like burnt plastic, there's a chemical sheen and rainbow coloration in the creek running through their backyard and everything reeks of chemicals.

In perhaps the most damning sign of what's happening ... Nathan says there's absolutely no sign of wildlife anymore ... and his dog keeps throwing up.

Of course, it's been two weeks since the Feb. 3 train derailment that started the environmental disaster, and Nathan says folks are fed up with a lack of relief from the feds.

The way he sees it ... authorities and the EPA are "pissing down our backs and telling us it's not raining."

Nathan wants to see investigations and accountability from railroad operator, Norfolk Southern ... and he and his wife are planning to take legal action.