You Might Want to Rethink

Elon Musk says Twitter is now worth less than half of what he bought it for -- and, if you'll recall, that was like $44 billion ... so, yeah, a BIG drop-off indeed.

The Chief Twit made the new valuation in a company-wide email he sent to remaining employees -- this per the NYT, which says it got its hands on a copy. In the internal memo, EM says Twitter is currently worth $20 billion ... $24 billion less than his purchase price.

While that may seem abysmal, Elon actually told his workers that -- for a time -- things were at risk of being much worse after he took the reins ... explaining Twitter was 4 months away from running out of money and going bankrupt at one point over the past several months.

In his note, he reportedly goes on to say that "radical changes" he's imposed were necessary to save money -- including the mass layoffs and other cost-cutting measures (i.e. auctions, etc.). The Times reports EM also said Twitter should be looked at as an "inverse start-up."

Now, as for why he was spilling these deets to the Twitter fam ... the Times says he was explaining their new stock compensation package. Basically, Twitter employees will receive stock grants for the holding company he used to buy Twitter -- the "X Corporation" -- which will operate under the current $20B estimate. Workers will then be able to sell and cash in on their privately held stock every six months. His other company, SpaceX, acts similarly.

Ted Nugent kicked off Donald Trump's latest rally with a homophobic insult aimed at Volodymyr Zelensky ... falsely claiming the guy's gay while demanding a refund.

The rocker was one of the first speakers for the DT event down in Waco, TX Saturday ... and when he took the stage, he started ranting and raving about the Biden administration's spending decisions -- including where they've sent money and supplies.

He started out by saying he (as an American) didn't give the OK for JB and co. to surrender a bunch of U.S. military equipment to the Taliban ... referencing the exit out of Afghanistan.

Then, he went straight into bigotry -- saying he also didn't sign off on the government sending billions of dollars in aid to embattled Ukraine amid their ongoing war with Russia. Here's how Ted put it ... "I want my money back! I didn't authorize any money to Ukraine to some homosexual weirdo. I want my money back! I want my freedom back!"

He went on to say that the crowd might wanna write this down ... adding, "Men don't give me my rights, God gives my rights." The crowd was eating it up and cheering him on.

There's more to TN's rant. He talked about securing the border, banning abortion, etc. He even strummed his guitar a bit -- so it made for quite a speech. Oh, and Mike Lindell (the MyPillow guy) was also there ... he spoke too, calling DeSantis "Trojan Horse Ron." 😅

Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are on the ground as well -- two of Trump's biggest defenders -- and they're decrying the supposedly looming criminal charges against him ... calling it political persecution. Those charges have yet to be announced, BTW.

Trump himself is set to arrive shortly ... it'll be interesting to see what he says. This would mark his first public appearance since word of him possibly getting arrested came down.

As for the Zelensky dig from Ted ... obviously it's completely out of line, and completely inaccurate. Not only is it laced with hate, but it's simply not true -- VZ is a married man (to a woman), and he's continuing to battle Putin for his country's sovereignty and borders.

Frankly, it's fine if Ted's not cool with the aid we've sent, and could've made his point about that without stooping to lies and conspiracy theories ... not to mention outright homophobia.

Kendrick Lamar's Grammy Award-winning collaborator Rance of 1500 or Nothin' says rap music produced today is missing some serious must-haves for success.

We spoke to Rance at LAX this week, and while he praised sampling for being the culture's core creation process, he frowned upon new producers who don't understand the beats they're making.

Rance compared the language of music to language in general and producers should learn the basic chords just like one would learn their ABCs but thinks most artists are "playing it safe" at the behest of their record labels.

The veteran musician has been in the studio with other music heavyweights such as Jay-Z, Bruno Mars, Snoop Dogg and Ludacris, so his opinion is more educated than formulated!!!

It's not just rookies swinging for the low-hanging fruit, either. Missy Elliott pimped out two of her classic records this week ... BIA's "That Bitch," which borrows from her 1999 hit "She's a Bitch," and new girl group Flo's "Fly Girl" single, which updates Missy's 2002 smash "Work It" were both released.

Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton's duet is inappropriate for elementary school kids to sing ... at least according to a Wisconsin principal who's banning "Rainbowland" from a spring concert.

Here's the deal ... first-grade students at Heyer Elementary in Waukesha started the week preparing for their upcoming concert, with "Rainbowland" as part of the initial setlist.

The song was played in the first-grade class Monday, but by Tuesday the principal sent an email to the music teacher informing her Miley and Dolly's 2017 duet was no longer allowed.

Some parents say their children came home upset Wednesday after learning they couldn't sing it ... with the kids wondering why it was a big deal.

Superintendent Jim Sebert told multiple news outlets "Rainbowland" was dropped because it "could be perceived as controversial" according to recent school policies.

The song is from Miley's album "Younger Now" ... and she's said it was inspired by the paint in her recording studio. Dolly says the track is about "hope and positivity in dark times."

Some of the lyrics are, "Living in a Rainbowland/ The skies are blue and things are grand/ Wouldn't it be nice to live in paradise/ Where we're free to be exactly who we are."

While both singers have openly supported the LGTBQ community, neither has said the song has any intentional connection to it.

The superintendent told local news outlets, "The main question was is the song appropriate for the age level and maturity of the students."

How ironic is this -- Luka Doncic just got hit with a $35k fine on Friday ... after the NBA superstar made a money gesture toward a referee during the controversial ending of the Warriors vs. Mavericks game.

ICYMI ... the Mavericks hooper made the gesture after he missed a contested layup with 1.7 seconds left in the game at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday -- when he felt he was fouled, but didn't get a call.

Of course, Doncic's signal was clearly an expression of frustration -- after all, the Warriors got two free points in the third quarter after a questionable officiating decision ... and the Mavs ended up losing, 127-125.

Regardless of how the Mavs feel about the officiating that night, the league penalized the four-time All-Star minutes ago, saying the hand signal was an "inappropriate and unprofessional gesture."

Doncic wasn't the only Maverick pissed off at the refs  ... team owner Mark Cuban is protesting the loss, saying the officiating potentially cost them that game.

"Worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA."

So yeah ... Cuban can expect a fine to come his way, too.

CeeLo Green is responding to backlash over his horseback entrance to a birthday party ... he says the idea was all in fun, and he meant no ill intent towards the horse.

The singer broke his silence Friday after being dragged for the horse incident, explaining ... "I felt like it could be fun and funny to make a grand entrance on this beautiful animal for a very special occasion."

Remember ... CeeLo rode into Wednesday's party on a horse, with the animal looking nervous around all the lights and partygoers, jolting around and slipping on the tile floor ... causing the horse to buckle and sending CeeLo crashing to the ground.

PETA came out strong against CeeLo ... telling us, "It doesn’t take a genius to know that horses don’t belong at a noisy, crowded party, where slippery floors and strobe lights can agitate these vulnerable animals."

CeeLo says he was just trying to show love to his late friend Shawty Lo -- the party was in Shawty's honor -- and he's chalking it up to his sense of humor.

CG claims he "went through all the proper channels to make that happen with no ill intent towards the animal." But he admits, "It should've been short and sweet but some malfunctions happened and it is what it is but know that I'm ok and yes the horse is ok as well."

Ugly scene following an NCAA women's basketball game on Thursday night ... a Bowling Green State Univ. player was socked in the face in a handshake line.

The sucker punch went down just seconds after BGSU beat Memphis, 73-60, in a round of 16 game in the women's NIT.

Broadcast cameras showed Bowling Green's Elissa Brett got into some sort of argument with Memphis' Jamirah Shutes ... before Shutes reared back and threw a straight right at Brett's face.

The punch connected flush -- sending Brett crashing to the court. Shutes was immediately restrained by her coach.

Brett stayed down for several moments -- eventually bursting out into tears. She was, thankfully, ultimately able to walk off the court under her own power.

It's unclear what sparked the incident, after the game, BGSU head coach Robyn Fralick told reporters, "We’re still trying to figure out all those things out and what happened."

BGSU, meanwhile, released a statement late Thursday night saying cops are now involved in the situation.

"The incident that took place following tonight's home WNIT game has been turned over to the BGSU Police Department," the school said.

"Bowling Green State University Athletics does not make comments about active police investigations. Our priority is with the health, safety and support of our student-athletes."

CeeLo Green intended to make a memorable entrance into a birthday party honoring Shawty Lo, and memorable it was ... for all the wrong reasons.

CeeLo was in attendance for Shawty's bday bash at The Bank in ATL Wednesday and decided he'd join the party on horseback. You can see from the jump, the horse is nervous around the crowd and lights -- as employees try to get the animal steady -- then all hell breaks loose.

The horse jolts around, and its legs slip on the tile floor, causing the animal to buckle -- and sending CeeLo to the ground in the process.

Luckily no one was hurt, and CeeLo made a quick recovery, getting back up onto his feet to enjoy the rest of the party.

Of course, folks on social media had a field day with the whole thing ... quickly posting the moment and joking about his fall from grace.

As you know, Shawty Lo, whose birthday is March 22, died in a car crash back in 2016 ... but his friends and loved ones still gather to remember and celebrate his legacy.

They might also want to take the time to remember horses are likely better left outside.

Tyson Fury is LIVID with Oleksandr Usyk after their fight negotiations came to a screeching halt this week ... with the heavyweight champion calling his potential opponent a "bug-eyed, gappy teeth, ugly little rat bastard" after the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

"You little slimy f***er," Fury (33-0-1) said in the scathing clip on Thursday. "Tried all week to get out of it, begging for a rematch [clause] like a little girl. You got your rematch [clause] and didn’t even want to fight at that."

Fury and Usyk (20-0) were initially slated to fight on April 29 ... but that ain't happening now, after both sides couldn't see eye-to-eye over how to handle a potential second bout.

Fury claims his team presented the best possible outcome ... but ultimately, Usyk never wanted to fight him in the first place.

"You little shithouse p***y," Fury added. "Always know, p***y, that you were never man enough to tangle with the Gypsy King ever in your life, you little s***house. You little 14-stone coward. You little s***bag, you rat little bastard."

Fury wasn't done there ... but you get the gist.

There's still hope the fight between the two undefeated boxers -- which would have been a four-belt unification bout -- can still happen ... but fans will have to wait.

Mark Cuban ripped the NBA refs who officiated his team's Wednesday night game against the Warriors, accusing the crew of screwing up a critical call in a crucial game, potentially costing the squad a win (and maybe even a playoff berth), and now his Mavs are protesting the 127-125 loss.

The call in question went down in the waning moments of the 3rd quarter at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, when Warriors center Kevon Looney had an uncontested dunk on an inbound out of a timeout because the Mavs were lined up on the wrong side of the court, which Cuban blames on the refs.

"For those wondering about the play with 1:54 to go on the 3rd, let me explain what happened," Cuban tweeted. "The ref called Mavs ball. The announcer announced it. Then there was a timeout. During the time out the official changed the call and never told us."

He continued ... "Then when they saw us line up as if it were our ball, he just gave the ball to the warriors. "Never said a word to us. They got an easy basketball. Crazy that it would matter in a 2-point game."

Cuban called it the "worst officiating non call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA," adding, "All they had to do was tell us and they didn't."

"There was quite a few people out of position," Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said. "It's correctable, but you first have to admit there was a mistake."

After the game, crew chief Sean Wright gave the refs side of the story, and they're saying they didn't do anything wrong.

"Initially on the floor, the original signal was in fact Golden State ball as this can be seen on video," Wright told The Athletic. "There is a second signal but that signal is for a mandatory timeout that was due to the Mavs."

And, sure enough, video seems to support what the officiating crew is saying.

Meanwhile, GSW coach Steve Kerr said he was confused when he saw the Mavs lined up on the other end of the court because he felt it was pretty clear the Warriors were getting possession of the ball.

Buddy Hield has just been fined $25,000 by the NBA ... and it's all 'cause he flipped off someone during the Pacers vs. Hornets game on Monday night.

League Exec Joe Dumars announced the punishment for the Indiana star on Wednesday afternoon ... after he was spotted shootin' the bird not once, but twice while on his team's bench.

The incident occurred with 11:30 left in the second quarter of the game ... as Hield was sitting next to Tyrese Haliburton.

Cameras showed Buddy appeared to be locked in on something ... before he discreetly tried to flash his left middle finger. Eventually, he just let the single-barrel salute fly.

Unclear who Hield was flipping off or what caused him to make the gesture ... but he seemed to crack a sly smile in the video, so it's possible it was all in jest.

Nick Lachey has been ordered to attend anger management and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings after going off on a paparazzo in Los Angeles ... TMZ has confirmed.

Nick flew off the handle last year after spotting a woman who was filming his wife and himself after a night out a Mastro's in Bev Hills. Nick was enraged and caught on camera reaching for the woman's phone.

The L.A. County D.A. tells TMZ ... Lachey was never charged with a crime ... instead, the D.A. has a diversion program where someone can avoid prosecution ... in Nick's case, he won't be charged with assault and battery if he attends AA and anger management.

The woman, Jody Santos, spoke to Daily Mail about the incident, saying, "He's had plenty of time to apologize, but instead he just figured I would go away. What he did was wrong. Attempting to bust his fist through my car window when all I was doing was taking photographs of him. He should have been thanking me for the free publicity. I mean, really. Talk about an oversized ego."

Chaeyoung -- a member of the K-Pop group Twice -- is apologizing for wearing a swastika on her shirt ... saying she didn't realize what the symbol was.

The singer took to IG for her mea culpa, writing ... "I sincerely apologize regarding the Instagram post. I didn't correctly recognize the meaning of the tilted swastika in the t-shirt I wore."

She adds, "I deeply apologize for not thoroughly reviewing it, causing concern. I will pay absolute attention in the future to prevent any situation similar from happening again."

Unclear when she wore the top in question, but there's a photo that shows her posing at a restaurant with a Sid Vicious graphic tee, where he's depicted in black and white ... and baring a swastika on his own shirt.

You could argue she's just a Sex Pistols fan, but some called it antisemitic -- and she obviously felt a correction was needed. As for her explanation ... some aren't buying it.

The fan who stormed the pitch and attacked a player during a Europa League match last month has been hit with a massive ban ... with Dutch club PSV announcing the intruder is persona non grata for the next 40 YEARS.

Remember, the spectator interrupted the PSV vs. Sevilla match at Philips Stadium in the Netherlands on Feb. 23 ... when he ran onto the field and punched Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović in the face.

PSV said in a statement the culprit -- currently serving a two-month prison sentence -- is not only banned from the club for four decades, but he's also forbidden from entering the area around the stadium for two years ... and is facing a possible fine imposed by UEFA.

PSV also added that the 20-year-old man should have never been allowed to enter the stadium to begin with ... as he was already serving a ban for a prior incident, but he was able to get through the gates with a friend's ticket.

Of course, prison time and a 40-year ban wasn't the only thing the guy walked away with -- he also got his ass beat, as Dmitrović leveled him with one punch after the ambush, dropping him to the ground.

The intruder tried to put up a fight ... but security, with help from players from both sides, was able to escort him off the field.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton's Broadway outing turned into a real stinker last week -- 'cause someone pooped near them ... and it may be a thing.

The former First Lady and First Kid attended a production of "Some Like It Hot" in the Big Apple, and according to Page Six -- staffers claim there was crap found within eyeshot at intermission ... it sounds like it was in the same aisle in which they were sitting.

Unclear if HC and CC reacted or even noticed, but Page Six says they stuck around for the second act ... and that the doo-doo was cleaned up swiftly and without issue.

As for the culprit ... the outlet reports, citing sources, it was an elderly person who let it blow.

Now, here's the crazy thing ... a source is telling PS it was just a one-off and an accident -- but other sources they're talking to say this might be a repeat offender. Someone they talked to says it's the 4th such time it's happened.

It's a mystery for now, we suppose -- and it doesn't seem anyone's doing much to get to the bottom of it.

BTW, Hillary and Chelsea are far from the only celebs hitting this play -- other stars who've swung by include Martin Short, Kristin Chenoweth, Hank Azaria, Spielberg and more. Here's hoping their shows weren't as crappy.

Stormy Daniels is feeling the effects of Donald Trump's possible looming arrest ... we're told her life is being threatened, so she's beefing up her security.

Stormy's attorney, Clark Brewster, tells TMZ ... his client recently received lots of "vitriolic messages" on social media, including some very concerning direct messages.

The alleged threats come on the heels of Trump announcing Saturday he expects to be arrested Tuesday by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg over the notorious Stormy Daniels hush-money case.

Stormy's attorney says she's taking extra precautions -- her team doesn't want to share specifics, for fear of tipping off someone who might want to do her harm. ... Brewster has only said in the past, "Stormy for years has had security when she needs to."

As for some of the nasty online comments, Stormy's been called a "Worthless Whore," "degenerate prostitute" and an "extortionist who should be in prison."

Remember ... Bragg has been investigating Trump for allegedly making a $130,000 payment to Stormy ahead of the 2016 election. Trump is accused of brokering the deal with the porn star to buy her silence over their alleged affair, accusations Trump has long denied.

Stormy, we're told, has been threatened before over DM ... and her attorney says Stormy knows what steps to take to ensure she's safe and comfortable.