You Might Want to Rethink

Eric Bellinger understands his longtime collaborator Chris Brown's perspective when he hurled a fan's phone deep into the audience last week, but ultimately thinks it was overkill.

We caught up with EB at LAX, where he assessed both sides of CB's interaction last week with a fan in Berlin. In Eric's view ... the fan wanted to capture the moment firsthand, while Chris felt like his intimate performance was the moment.

EB couldn't help but laugh at Chris' zany nature at the end of the day and noted being the lead performer with dancers, bright lights and an earpiece can be a lot to take on.

The Grammy winner also felt like Chaka Khan was out of pocket when she referred to Mary J. Blige's rendition of her "Sweet Thing" classic track as "flat" ... before apologizing when fans went on the warpath on social media.

Like many fans, EB disagrees Mary's version was flat and notes both iconic singers have totally different styles and strengths ... pointing out how Chaka can't bop on stage like Mary!!!

Chaka blamed her acidic comments on her disdain for Rolling Stone's best singers list and EB thinks her apology was much needed.

Rebel Wilson had some less than kind things to say about Meghan Markle -- like she's cold as ice -- and now fans have dug deep and discovered why Meghan may have been frosty toward Rebel.

Rebel recently appeared on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" ... recounting a meeting she had in Santa Barbara with Harry and Meghan. She says Harry was cool, but Meghan was "not naturally warm."

There may be a reason why Meghan didn't welcome Rebel with open arms, because last year at the BAFTA Awards, Rebel was presenting an award and said, "Our next package is for Outstanding British Film. From drama to horror to fantasy. Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah had it all."

Fans jumped on Rebel's confusion, saying she should know full well why Meghan was bent out of shape.

Chris Rock and now Rebel ... jokes can be a dangerous thing.

Comedian Mike Epps could be facing serious legal trouble -- TMZ has learned authorities in his home state say they found a loaded gun in one of his bags at an airport.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, police responded to a firearms investigation Sunday at the Indianapolis Airport ... with cops being told TSA found the gun while Mike was going through the checkpoint

The docs say the comedian mentioned being in town for a show, and forgot the piece was in his bag. Upon investigation, police say they found a .38 Special Airweight with 4 rounds loaded, but none in the chamber.

The gun and ammo were all taken as evidence.

Officials for the Indianapolis Airport police tell TMZ ... Epps wasn't arrested, but the report was forwarded to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office to determine if charges should be filed.

No, Ja Morant is not throwing away his NBA career ... at least, that's according to Richard Jefferson, who tells TMZ Sports the star's latest lapse in judgment is simply a young man "making mistakes in front of the public eye."

The former NBA champ made the comments to us out at LAX on Monday -- just two days after Morant filmed himself brandishing a gun while out at what appeared to be a Colorado strip club.

Many believe the 23-year-old is tanking his own career -- as he's now not only under police investigation over the footage, but he's also been booted from his Grizzlies team for the time being.

Jefferson, though, said he doesn't have any concerns this could derail the superstar's track in the Association ... telling us he's confident Morant will learn and grow from the fallout with relative ease.

"Him and his family are good people," Jefferson said, before adding, "I believe in him. I believe that he'll kind of turn things on. And, look, we've seen men come through worse and come out on the other side."

Morant -- who was also accused of flashing a gun at a high school basketball player during an altercation with the teenager at his home last summer -- vowed on Saturday to seek out help.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Tom Sandoval certainly isn't shying away from spending time with Raquel Leviss despite the fact the two are enshrined in controversy ... making a late-night visit to her home.

Tom was spotted arriving at Raquel's L.A. apartment Saturday night, keeping a low profile in all black as he entered.

A source close to production tells TMZ Tom and Raquel were filming scenes together for the Bravo series earlier in the day, so they'd been together -- but the visit at Raquel's wasn't for cameras.

Of course, the visit comes just one day after his split from Ariana, who called it off after learning he cheated on her with Raquel. Our sources said Ariana discovered inappropriate texts on Tom's phone, as well as at least one video.

We're told Tom and Ariana filmed the day news broke about the cheating scandal in an emotionally-charged scene at their home.

You'll recall, Tom posted an apology over the weekend but didn't mention Ariana directly -- just saying sorry to coworkers, friends, and family.

ESPN's Bomani Jones is planting 🚩🚩🚩 all around the Ja Morant gun situation, and thinks the NBA star could find himself in a fatal tragedy -- much like Young Dolph -- if he keeps messing around in Memphis.

Bomani and Domonique Foxworth were discussing the now infamous scenario on "The Right Time" podcast when they brought up former Memphis Grizzlies All-Star Zach Randolph ... who experienced a few obstacles himself trying to shake the streets once he began playing in arenas.

According to Bomani, Zach's credentials in the streets actually stacked up while Ja's hood demeanor is questionable -- and he thinks it's highly relevant that Dolph was murdered at a seemingly neutral zone, like a cookie shop.

The popular Memphis-born rapper was shot and killed on the way to his annual Thanksgiving turkey drive in 2021 ... and Bomani says Ja's playing with guns with "regular people" in a city that is currently in the top 10 for murders.

For his part, Randolph started the NLess Entertainment record label that propelled Moneybagg Yo to prominence and has become a philanthropic beacon for years. Ja might need a similar turnaround.

Brandon Miller just received top honors in his conference -- despite his connection to a murder case -- with the Alabama Crimson Tide star being named Player of the Year.

The Southeastern Conference unveiled the winners of the men's basketball postseason awards on Monday ... which are selected by the 14 head coaches.

The Tide forward -- who leads the SEC this season with 19.6 points per game -- received two of the awards: Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year ... weeks after Miller's name was mentioned in a murder case.

As we previously reported, law enforcement testified that Miller was the one who brought his former teammate, Darius Miles, the gun that killed 23-year-old Jamea Harris. The mother of one was gunned down on Jan. 15 in Tuscaloosa.

Miles' friend, Michael Davis, is the alleged shooter.

Both Miles and Davis are facing capital murder charges ... but Miller isn't in any trouble with the law or his school.

This, of course, has upset some college hoops fans ... who recently chanted "lock him up" at the Bama-South Carolina game last month.

The victim's parents are also furious the university continued to let him play despite the allegations.

"He took a brief pause and it didn’t stop. It’s like, OK, slap on the wrist and go play ball," Harris' mother, DeCarla Cotton, told USA Today.

"They're worried about his career, but what about this 5-year-old boy (Harris’ son, Kaine). He’s the true victim in all this. He won’t have a mother anymore to influence his growing up and who he’s going to be."

Ice Spice had fans in a frenzy during her Rolling Loud California set Sunday ... one of 'em even attempted to rush the stage, until Ice's bodyguards treated the guy like a true munch!!!

The Bronx-bred rapper riled up the Inglewood crowd as she walked out to her recent theme song, “Princess Diana" ... when the guy attempted to profess his love to Ice in person, only to be met with the stiff hand of security.

Fans were chanting loudly for Ice when she hit the stage and even got creative with their signs, competing for a chance to be the 23-year-old's part-time snack.

Air-tight protection has been a huge part of the rap conversation as of late, especially for female artists, in light of GloRilla's security guard getting arrested for an illegal gun charge ... but Ice had wiggle room to perform and twerk for the fans.

She also performed her hits “Munch (Feelin’ U),” “In Ha Mood" and her reigning smash collabo with PinkPantheres “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2.” ... which is currently No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was recently immortalized on TikTok alongside Kim Kardashian and North West!!!

North recently went viral by drawing a portrait of Ice and scoring the video with "Boy's a Liar" ... and the breakout rapper returned the favor in person right ahead of her RL set.

A young fan was pissed after AEW star MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) threw a drink in his face at AEW's "Revolution" event, and now the promotion is trying to make things right.

It all went down Sunday night at the Chase Center in San Francisco ... MJF was fighting Bryan Danielson in a 60-minute iron match when he went after a kid in the crowd.

MJF -- widely considered one of the best heels in the business -- walked up to a woman who was standing up for the match, took her drink, then threw it in the kid's face.

The incident drew the ire of the crowd ... you could see and hear fans booing in the clip, and AEW announcer, Tazz, even said on air, "went a little too far there."

After the event, reporters asked the AEW world champion why he threw the drink at the kid, and he said ..."The kid looked thirsty. What's the second question?"

Meanwhile, AEW exec Tony Khan felt differently ... Khan condemned the champ's behavior and said he spent some time apologizing to the youngster.

“We had a serious conversation and I mean that," Khan said. "It’s not to be taken lightly. The young man, Titus, was a real pro about it. We’ll see Titus here again at AEW."

"I believe Titus is actually coming to Sacramento. I was just with him, and he was a real champ about it. The champion didn’t act like a champion there, but I think Titus was great."

Protesters in Atlanta who are against a so-called "Cop City" being built in their backyard took their fight straight to the police this weekend ... a clash that erupted in violence and flames.

APD says several of their officers were forced to respond to dozens of demonstrators Sunday -- who they say departed a music festival to descend on a construction site in a wooded area of neighboring Dekalb County, and they unleashed mayhem when they arrived.

The construction site is part of a massive, 85-acre police academy/training facility that city officials have been trying to build for years -- and which is already partially in use.

A lot of people in Atlanta have opposed its presence and have protested on and off for about a year or so -- one protester was even shot and killed earlier this year. Things had simmered down since then ... until Sunday evening.

Check out this video Atlanta PD released, which they say shows some of the attack they were under ... it's pretty insane. You see people dressed in black throwing items at officers as they scramble to close gates.

Cops say these protesters -- who they paint as agitators -- were throwing Molotov cocktails, setting off fireworks and chucking rocks and other projectiles in officers' direction. Soon enough, fires did start breaking out on some of the police equipment ... utterly wild scene.

Eventually, enough backup arrived to drive the protesters away ... and at that point, cops spread out into the surrounding woods to look for stragglers. APD says they detained upward of 35 individuals, but unclear if any of them were arrested or if they'll be charged.

Pete Davidson went from beachside lounging one day to a collision in the streets of L.A. the next ... and his girlfriend was with him for both occasions ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Pete and Chase Sui Wonders were involved in a car accident Saturday night around 11 PM. Our sources say he was behind the wheel of a Mercedes and driving at a high rate of speed through the Flats neighborhood of Bev Hills.

For some reason, we're told he lost control of the vehicle ... which hopped a curb, took out a fire hydrant and then proceeded to slam into the side of a nearby house ... dragging across the lawn and leaving skid marks on the grass.

Based on photos of the crash site, obtained by TMZ, it doesn't appear Pete went into the property ... but our sources say he did strike it and caused damage. Thankfully, nobody was hurt -- be it outside or in the home. Cops were called, however, and they responded.

We're told the preliminary view is that drugs and alcohol were not involved here, but an investigation is currently underway. Our sources also say no arrests were made on the spot, and that Pete and Chase were not cited either ... at least not for now, anyway.

Unclear what sorta interaction the two stars might've had with the homeowners, but ya gotta imagine insurance is gonna get involved for this ... at the very least. We've reached out to both of their reps for further comment ... so far, no word back.

It's pretty wild that Pete and Chase were back in L.A. in such a short turnaround ... remember, they were literally just photographed in Hawaii earlier that same day (Saturday) enjoying the beach together -- and they didn't seem to be in a rush getting back.

They must've left almost immediately after getting snapped by paps, 'cause a flight from the islands to L.A. takes a good 5 hours or so. Seems they were eager to be out and about as soon as they touched down. Pete even presented at the Kids' Choice Awards last night!

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delayed making payments in regards to her Met Gala appearance two years ago -- this according to the findings of an ethics investigation.

The NY congresswoman has been at the center of a Capitol Hill probe for about a year, and this week ... the results were released. According to the fact-finders, it looks like AOC and/or her staff were quite slow in paying people back ... to the tune of thousands of dollars.

The House Ethics Committee came down hard in their report, saying they have "substantial reason" to believe Rep. Ocasio-Cortez might have violated ethics rules for members of Congress, and maybe even broken federal laws pertaining to gifts and perks she received at the time of the Gala, when she walked the red carpet in a loud "Tax the Rich" dress.

According to them, it's unclear if AOC was ever going to pay people back for the dress, the makeup services, the hotel costs, the accessories, or anything else she received as part of her appearance ... and they go on to claim that the launch of this investigation seems to have spurred her and her staff to act. AOC has since paid off the tab ... about $7,700 all told.

Apparently, several vendors involved in getting AOC all dolled up that day were hounding her for the cash for months ... including the designer of the dress, Aurora James. And, for a while, the circumstances under which she was invited were also murky. Apparently, she was a guest of Vogue's -- but the EIC, Anna Wintour, is obviously deeply involved in prepping the Met Gala ... so it seemed fishy, at first. While it might appear like a conflict of interest, at face value, the Ethics Committee found the invite itself OK ... and aren't dinging her for it.

As for how AOC is responding ... she's pleading ignorance. She says she wasn't aware that these payments were owed and regrets that it ever got to this point. Her attorney also notes that just because the Ethics Committee might've found evidence of possible malfeasance, it doesn't actually mean anything wrong was done ... especially since she's cleared her bill.

Erin Brockovich -- the famous paralegal turned activist who helped a massive PG&E scandal in the '90s -- has seen the aftermath in East Palestine ... and according to her, it's grim.

We got Erin at LAX Friday, where she'd just arrived from a visit in Ohio ... meeting and helping folks while surveying the damage and assessing the needs of the community. As she put it to us flatly, the situation is dire there ... and residents are without clear answers.

Based on what EB's seen, she says the area -- including groundwater and residential wells -- is very much contaminated ... despite government agencies and other politicians trying to tell the folks living there otherwise. Erin says there's contradictory information flying all over.

She even describes some symptoms of sickness she says she felt just by being in East Palestine for an extended period of time -- and it sounds very hazardous and dangerous.

So, on the question of next steps ... Erin says a lot of people living in the town have already lawyered up, which is her specialty. Apparently, there are massive class action lawsuits in the works, and it sounds like Norfolk Southern -- the company whose train derailed -- might have to pay out the nose for damages these people are alleging ... assuming they settle.

King Charles has officially extended an olive branch to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle -- asking them to be among his guests at the Coronation, but the couple's saying ... eh, maybe.

His Royal Highness fired off the invite Saturday ... this according to the Times of London, which broke the story. It appears Buckingham Palace got word to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shortly after Harry's televised sitdown with Dr. Gabor Mate earlier in the day.

No word on what exactly the invitation said, but the message was clear ... roll through!

Here's the kicker, though -- Harry and Meghan are holding their cards close to the vest on their plans. Their rep says ... "I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty's office regarding the coronation. An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time."

In other words, it sounds like they have to think about it ... as there's been a lot of updates since their Netflix doc and Harry's book. Of course, they recently got word that they were getting evicted from Frogmore Cottage (although there are reports Charles is offering a full-blown flat on the palace grounds as a replacement). Plus, Harry just spilled more of his guts.

Harry took some roundabout shots at his family in the Mate interview ... saying he didn't receive enough love and affection as a child, and that he now suffers from PTSD. He also said that Meghan had "saved" him from his Royal life ... and suggested his family was out of touch and insensitive. Plus, Harry clearly said Royal life was inherently inauthentic.

PH didn't address the Coronation or where things stand between him and his brother/father ... but it was clear he feels the relationship is strained. Despite this, he also made sure to note that he felt what he was doing (sharing his story/problems) was worth it big picture.

In spite of all that, Charles sent the invite anyway -- right in the mix of more headlines and drama. It's fascinating timing ... and kind of a power move, no? Ball's in their court!

Rolling Loud got off to a somewhat choppy start this weekend with stop-and-go performances by some big-time talent ... including Travis Scott, who had his set end early.

The rapper was the headlining artist Saturday for the L.A. music fest, and while everything seemed to be going smoothly through his performance ... the dude's background tunes started to fade as he was in the middle of running through his hit song "Goosebumps."

Then, everything just stopped ... and Travis came on the mic soon afterward to say that "they" were making him cut things off early. No further explanation was offered.

There's rumblings that Travis was late for his gig, which may explain the strict time limit -- but, on its face, it feels like the Rolling Loud promoters might've not wanted things to get too crazy ... a la, Astroworld. It's hard to say ... the RL crowd didn't look to be in danger.

Anyway, that's far from the only technical issue that went down ... another huge star, Nicki Minaj, also had to deal with missing backing tracks and audio -- which she actually addressed in the moment as well. Frankly, she was pissed about it ... calling out the DJ.

It was pretty harsh ... she kept saying "kill the DJ" and was firing off death stares as the guy continued to struggle playing the right song behind her. Also awkward ... Lil Wayne -- her former mentor -- was standing right next to her, as he'd brought her out as a special guest.

Nicki was none too pleased with the screw-up ... and she seemed to take it personally.

In lighter news (maybe) ... Justin Bieber popped up at Rolling Loud too, which took a lot of people by surprise. Obviously, the crowd was super pumped when he rolled up next to Don Toliver (who was scheduled to perform) and helped sing their joint song "Private Landing."

Thing is though ... his cameo appearance here comes on the heels of the Biebs canceling the rest of his world tour, without a proper explanation. You'll recall -- JB pulled the plug on tour dates spanning all across the globe, including several counties in Europe.

Most assume it's because of his health struggles -- which have forced him to hit pause in the recent past -- but this time ... he didn't speak on it at all ... just kinda threw in the towel.

Now, here he is onstage looking just fine ... which might raise an eyebrow with his fanbase. If he can do this ... why not come on the road for us? It's interesting for sure. Justin, meanwhile, didn't seem to bat an eyelash over it at all ... he was in the zone and chillin'.

Elsewhere at Rolling Loud ... more artists hit the stage, and most everything else appeared to go pretty well. Rappers like Kodak Black, Tyga, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, 2 Chainz and looootttts of others performed, and by most accounts ... it was all gravy in Los Angeles.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Tom Sandoval is speaking out amid his cheating scandal that led to his break-up with longtime girlfriend and castmate Ariana Madix, but he's not apologizing...to her, at least.

Instead, Sandoval only showed sympathy for his friends and family in a statement released Saturday on Instagram after his affair with ‘VR’ cast member Raquel Leviss leaked out and became headline news.

Sandoval said, “Hey, I fully understand an deserve ur anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz, my friends and family out of this situation."

He continued, "Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions. This was a very personal thing.”

What's more, Sandoval and Schwartz co-own LA-based Schwartz & Sandy's Lounge, which has been flooded with terrible reviews ever since the scandal broke, prompting Yelp to pause any more write-ins.

In his IG response, Sandoval said, “Also, Schwartz & Sandy’s might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families."

He added that he's a "small part of a much bigger thing and to "direct ur anger towards me and not them," pointing out, "They did nothing wrong.”

Then Sandoval apologized -- not to Madix -- but to his business partners and employees for all the controversy surrounding him.  He also promised to take a "step back & taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees & partners.”

As we reported...Sandoval blew up his nearly 10-year relationship with Madix last week after a series of sexually charged text messages surfaced, revealing his affair with Leviss. We're told Madix read the messages, leading to an ugly confrontation with Sandoval.