Jennifer Lopez Ticked After Gym Door Lockout Tells Paps 'F*** You, Bye' ...

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Jennifer Lopez got locked out of a workout session and then later took out some frustration on the paparazzi with an f-bomb ... and it's all on video.

J Lo was trying to get inside Tracy Anderson Method Studio in Studio City for a Wednesday afternoon workout, but her key card wasn't working ... and she ended up waiting outside the locked door before someone let her inside.

Following the workout, Jennifer was not in a good mood despite the endorphin release ... swearing at paparazzi as she climbed into a waiting SUV.

J Lo told the photogs ... "Go away. F*** you. Bye." While we can't tell for certain if she was truly mad, it certainly seemed like a not-so-friendly delivery. She and her team then sped off.

Jennifer's been on the defensive lately it seems ... earlier this month, she caught some heat for her new alcohol brand and shot back with a video response.

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WORKOUT LOCKOUT

Now, the paps are catching her wrath.

Jason Aldean Slammed by NAACP in Tennessee Over 'Small Town' Video

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Jason Aldean's hit song, and its accompanying music video, about small towns in America is sparking huge debate across the country ... and, now the NAACP is joining the convo.

The Tennessee chapter of the civil rights org is strongly condemning the country singer -- President Gloria Sweet-Love tells us Jason's tone, his message and the imagery he's using are all deeply offensive to people of color, especially Black people.

Sweet-Love says the Tennessee State Conference NAACP, as an organization, finds the song/music vid for "Try That in a Small Town" awful and racist.

She adds, in their eyes, the lyrics are bad enough, but Aldean's adding insult to injury by filming the video in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN ... where a Black man was lynched in 1927.

Making matters worse -- GSL says the KKK has recently been hanging flyers in that town as well, and Aldean's project is only adding unneeded fuel to a fire.

Sweet-Love goes on to say she believes Aldean's track is clearly promoting racism and violence, adding Tennessee doesn't need that -- instead, she says the focus of artists should be uniting people, and protecting their children and communities.

While Aldean seems to be inviting rancor ... Sweet-Love says he should, instead, apologize now -- echoing what a lot of others have said about this, including Sheryl Crow.

As we've reported ... JA himself has vehemently denied promoting any racism or violence in the song -- and says it only reflects the community he's familiar with ... not to mention sentiments he says people he knows share. In other words, he ain't walking back anything.

CMT has already yanked the song/vid from rotation ... and Sweet-Love says TN's NAACP chapter appreciates that gesture, telling us it was the right move all things considered.

We discussed the controversy surrounding the song on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Dog The Bounty Hunter Dylan Threats Weren't Serious ... Still Disagree with Lifestyle

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"GIVE THEM GRACE"

Dog The Bounty Hunter is clarifying some controversial and threatening comments he made about transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney ... and now says he wasn't serious.

The former reality TV star went on the "Two Guys From Hollywood" podcast and attempted to explain his threats of physical violence as all bark and no bite.

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"I'M DROPPING HIM"

TMZ broke the story ... Dog's daughter, Lyssa Chapman, apologized after her father's shots at Dylan and added, "Get that punk down. Rebuke Satan out of [Dog] and just give him a couple black eyes. That's exactly and I mean that. If I ever see him, I'm dropping him."

Now, Dog's backtracking ... at least when it comes to the threats, which were part of a larger homophobic rant.

Dog says he's never actually beat anyone down, and he wants to show people mercy and give them grace.

What's more, Dog says if Dylan was ever attacked by thugs he would jump in to help DM ... and he says he's sorry for contributing to Dylan feeling unsafe.

Still, Dog says nothing changes the fact he disagrees with Dylan's lifestyle ... and he's still worried Dylan is influencing children to transition, and that's why he's so upset.

While he was reluctant to use female pronouns for Dylan, saying "she's a he" -- he now says he understands, and compares it to his own preference to be called Dog and not Duane.

Not exactly the point, Dog ... but we can all agree walking back the violence is a positive.

Jason Aldean Controversial Song Climbing Charts ... As Outrage over Song, Music Video Continues

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Jason Aldean's new song has been hit with loads of controversy for its lyrics and music video ... but apparently, fans are still digging it -- because it's a chart-topper.

"Try That in a Small Town" has been called out for being threatening toward people with anti-police and anti-American beliefs. The song was first released in May, but it's been climbing the charts on multiple platforms lately ... and hit the #1 spot Tuesday on iTunes for songs in the U.S.

It's also #9 on Amazon's Hot New Releases list -- and his recently released video's trending on YouTube, reaching #12 amongst all things music on the site. Remember, CMT pulled the video from its channel this week as anger ramped up.

As we reported, Jason's been getting called out for his track and the music video ... which was filmed in front of the Tennessee courthouse where an 18-year-old Black man was lynched almost 100 years ago.

Jason claimed there was no ill intention behind the lyrics, telling his fans it had nothing to do with race ... but instead was just about growing up in a tight-knit community.

Fellow singer Sheryl Crow let him have it Wednesday, saying folks in small towns are sick of the violence happening in our country -- adding his song only supports more hate in America.

We discussed the controversy surrounding the song on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Miranda Lambert Selfie Fans Post Their Photos ... 6 Ladies Up in Front?!?

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Miranda Lambert might've had good reason to go off on some front-row fans who were snapping photos at her concert -- 'cause there were half a dozen of them ... all on their feet, blocking the view of the people behind them.

One of the ladies in question -- who's now copping to being part of the group that got chastised by Lambert -- posted two pics she says were being taken right before the country singer paused her show over the weekend to give them a piece of her mind.

As you can see ... there are six women pictured here, who are at the foot of the stage, with ML right behind them -- who's trying to get the show on the road. More importantly, all of 'em are standing ... and from the looks of it, apparently blocking the view of others.

On its face ... it sure looks like they, perhaps, might've been a distraction -- that's certainly how Miranda felt anyway, proven in her mini tirade ... which her audience had backed.

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ENJOY THE SHOW

Miranda actually caught flak for this ... as some felt she'd overreacted to what many presumed was a couple of girls firing off some low-key selfies during her set. However, that's clearly not the case -- it was a much larger gathering ... and a bit of a photo shoot, it seems.

BTW, the lady who posted these definitely thinks Miranda was in the wrong -- evidenced in her caption.

She writes, "These are the 2 pictures we were talking when Miranda Lambert stopped her concert and told us to sit down and not take selfies 😱." She's echoing what many said about Miranda's response -- mocking her, essentially -- but now ... ML might be vindicated!

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Jason Aldean Denies His Song Is Pro-Lynching ... As Music Video Causes Uproar Online

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Jason Aldean is speaking out after being accused of putting out a racially-charged music video ... and while the internet's outraged with his video, Jason is defending the lyrics.

The country singer took to social media Tuesday, opening by saying he's been "accused of releasing a pro-lynching song" -- referring to his track, "Try That in a Small Town," which was released in May but has been making the rounds since the music video dropped last week.

He says folks thinking it's about his distaste for the Black Lives Matter protests got it way wrong ... adding the "dangerous" accusations have no merit.

JA tells his fans the single's all about the community where he grew up, and how neighbors would take care of each other no matter what.

He does not address certain lines in the song ... such as telling people to take their anti-police mentality to a small town, adding "See how far ya make it down the road."

As for the MV, Jason only touches on it briefly -- simply saying the footage is from news clips. But, it's the location he chose to film his video, mixed with the context of the song, that had people up in arms.

The singer's video was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN -- the place where 18-year-old African-American Henry Choate was lynched in 1927 after being dragged through the streets, accused of attacking a white girl.

CMT pulled the music video from its rotation Monday, so Jason's got some convincing to do.

We discussed the controversy surrounding the song on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Drake vs. Rap Gatekeepers You're Not Doing Enough For the Culture!!!

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Drake is severely neglecting his responsibilities to the hip hop community while also being the biggest rapper in the game ... at least, that's what several of the top gatekeepers in rap would have you believe.

Rap Radar's Elliott Wilson couldn't stomach seeing Drake interviewed on TikTok star Bobbi Althoff's "The Really Good Podcast" ... and ripped him for being too comfortable with talking to hip hop outsiders -- his beachside chat with Lil Yachty notwithstanding.

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Drake interviewed with RR back in 2019 and Elliott thinks he should continue to talk to hip hop podcasters, even if his outlet isn't the one getting the exclusive.

Dishing the tea is one thing but Hot 97's Ebro Darden took Drake to task even further, on Apple Music's "Rap Life Review," for never addressing Black social issues.

Ebro discredited Drake's diss of Childish Gambino's "This Is America" ... noting how CG chose to speak out when the country was in turmoil while Drake played the background where it's safe!!!

The pile-up came to a head Tuesday when DJ Akademiks had plenty of "told-you-so's" for his Rumble audience ... after having a rant similar to Elliott and Ebro's go viral back in March.

Ak thinks Drake's silly interviews are just measures to expand his youth reach but says it's criminal he hasn't even been interviewed by rap media's leading platform ... "The Joe Budden Podcast!!!"

Drake's currently on tour, kicking it with Steph Curry and all. It gets busy at the top ... he'll respond when he gets a minute!!!

'Gladiator 2' PETA Targets Cast & Director Over Alleged Animal Use

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Ridley Scott allegedly has his actors interacting with live animals on the set of "Gladiator 2" -- something PETA has become aware of, and which it's urging the production to halt.

The animal rights org fired off a handful of letters over the past few days -- all obtained by TMZ -- and they're aimed at the director and his big-ticket cast ... Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and others.

In the correspondence to Ridley, PETA says it's received whistleblower complaints alleging he's using both horses and macaque monkeys on set while shooting in Malta ... including a claim at least one of the horses recently collapsed. PETA is presuming the alleged collapse is due to extreme temperatures on the Mediterranean island.

It says, "Scorching summer heat and oppressive costumes are a dangerous mix for horses, who are naturally skittish animals, prone to flight and injury, and vulnerable to the stresses of a film set. The film and TV industries have a past riddled with on-set horse injuries and even deaths. We sincerely hope Gladiator 2 avoids adding another death to that list."

PETA also lists the dangers of working with live macaques, saying they're unpredictable and can hurt humans. They also say these monkeys are often ripped from their mothers at a young age for these types of film settings ... calling their alleged use unethical.

Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike, PETA says it's heard rumors "Gladiator 2" is continuing production this week, and asks Ridley to leave live animals out of it completely, suggesting he use CGI animals instead.

We've reached out to Ridley, Paramount, and the production company behind 'G2' ... so far, no word back.

BTW, we're told a similar letter was fired off to all the actors attached to 'Gladiator 2.'

In addition to the lead stars ... others like Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Lior Raz, Joseph Quinn, Derek Jacobi, Matt Lucas, Peter Mensah, Mike Parish, and Chi Lewis-Parry were implored by PETA to Ridley and relay the org's concerns. It's unclear if any of them received or read the letter.

Johnny Bench Apologizes For Antisemitic Jab ... About Ex-Reds GM

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MLB legend Johnny Bench is sharing his regret after making an antisemitic comment about late Cincinnati Reds general manager Gabe Paul over the weekend ... admitting his words were "insensitive."

Several former Reds stars were in attendance to honor Paul's enshrinement in the franchise Hall of Fame on Saturday ... and at one point, Pete Rose made a comment about the Jewish executive's involvement in his first professional deal.

"When I got out of high school in 1960, Gabe Paul signed me to a contract for 400 bucks a month," Rose said ... to which Paul's daughter, Jennie replied, "That cheap ... never mind."

That's when Bench made his controversial comment ... adding, "He was Jewish."

Most of the crowd laughed at Bench's jab ... but the 2-time World Series champ later apologized for the comment.

"I apologized to Jennie for taking away from her father the full attention he deserves," Bench said. "Gabe Paul earned his place in the Reds Hall of Fame, same as the others who stood on that stage, I am sorry that some of the focus is on my inappropriate remark instead of solely on Gabe's achievement."

Jennie addressed the bad joke after the fact ... telling The Athletic she might have said something to Bench had she heard it at the time.

Miranda Lambert Stops Show, Berates Fans ... No Selfies, Listen to the Music!!!

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ENJOY THE SHOW

Miranda Lambert wants people to listen intently during her concerts -- which she made clear at her concert, in pretty dramatic fashion, no less.

The country singer was performing at her Vegas residency Saturday night, and right as she was about to launch into her song, "Tin Man," she hit the pause button to address some ladies near the front, who were apparently snapping photos ... of themselves!

As Miranda explains, she was upset by the fact that the unidentified women were taking selfies instead of listening to her sing ... so much so, she felt she needed to say something.

She told her band, "I'm gonna stop for a minute" ... the music cut off, and Miranda actually motioned to the women to stop and put their phones away. Presumably, they did, because she started over and got into the vocals.

Still, it was clear she was quite peeved by what she perceived as a couple of rude fans.

BTW, the crowd cheered her on during this ... so we're sure NO ONE else in the audience took a selfie! 🙄

Bebe Rexha Puts Boyfriend On Blast ... For Weight Gain Text

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Bebe Rexha is putting her boyfriend on blast for fat-shaming her while they were texting.

The singer posted a message on her Instagram Sunday, containing a screenshot of Keyan Safyari's text, critiquing her body in the most unflattering way. Keyan told Bebe she was beautiful and he loved her, but that he would always be honest because he cared about her.

Then he wrote, "Would you rather I lied to you? You gained 35 pounds obviously you gained weight and your face changes?" Keyan then justified his hurtful words by saying Bebe calls him "chubbs" whenever he packs on 3 pounds.

Keyan also encouraged Bebe to seek out a therapist and do the "retreat thing" to get to the root of the possible issues in their relationship.

The couple started dating in 2020, but their current status is unclear. And they don’t seem to be in a good place.

We covered the drama in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Luke Combs 'Fast Car' Cover Sparks Discourse Re: Tracy, Country Racism

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Luke Combs' cover of Tracy Chapman's hit, "Fast Car," has been dominating the country charts -- but amid its success ... some have wondered if racism is afoot in the genre.

Here's the deal ... think pieces have been published of late that delve into this topic -- including one from WaPo, which really kick-started this conversation -- and they're all posing the same question ... why didn't TC resonate with the same audience Luke has???

The answer that a lot of these articles seem to land on -- after interviewing subjects, etc. -- is that, even today, it's hard for Black artists to break through in country. And they're using the example of Luke thrusting new life into "Fast Car" as their exhibit A for that argument.

Of course, in reaching this conclusion ... the word "racism" is getting thrown around a lot.

In fact, the author of the WaPo article put it quite succinctly in promoting her work -- writing, "As Luke Combs's hit cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' dominates the country charts, it’s bringing up some complicated emotions in fans & singers who know that Chapman, as a queer Black woman, would have an almost zero chance at that achievement herself."

Unfortunately for her, it doesn't sound like the Internet's accepting her theory at face value ... and pushing back on the implication that "Fast Car" was some obscure song that's only now getting mainstream recognition -- while also trolling WaPo as reaching for outrage.

You can see how folks are reacting for yourself, but as many of them are pointing out ... "Fast Car" was a monster hit when it was released in '88, and helped Tracy break out into music, not to mention accolades that followed after, including Grammys and other awards.

Even commercially, the song killed ... soaring on a number of charts around the world, and peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 list at the time. Bottom line ... it seems like people are scoffing at the notion that Tracy's missing out/getting snubbed amid Luke's use of it.

And as others are also clarifying ... "Fast Car" was not originally released as country song -- and that, perhaps, the reason it's booming in the country scene right now is because a huge country star did their own rendition with it. That's also known as ... a crossover cover.

We're also just now getting to a huge part of this ... namely, the fact that Tracy has gone on record to applaud Luke for his cover -- and more importantly, the enormous amount of royalties this has generated for her ... seeing how she's the original songwriter here.

Tracy said, "I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.'" In other words ... she seems to be more than fine with this.

Carry on, folks ... nothing to see here.

Live-Action 'Snow White' 7 Dwarves Morph Into Norms ... After Dinklage Complaint

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The new live-action "Snow White" movie is sure gonna look different from what most people remember about the fairy tale classic -- 'cause there are hardly any dwarves to be found.

A handful of on-set photos were published this week -- with production going down in the London area -- and based on the images here ... you can see Disney's made a conscious decision to lose most of the heigh-ho crew and replace them with random, ordinary people.

Take a look ... there's only 1 little person featured in the 7-man (and now woman) brigade. There's also a man in blue leading the charge who doesn't seem to be a "dwarf" himself.

As for the others ... aside from the shorter guy toward the front, the rest of the dwarves are of typical height. In fact, the last one in the very back actually looks to be quite tall. The dwarves, as it were, are also of mixed races and genders ... but it's very clear they're the ones that Snow White meets in the woods and befriends through her magical adventure.

Speaking of SW ... the woman who's seen here in the red hood is actually Rachel Zegler's stand-in. No word on why Zegler herself wasn't on set for this day of shooting, but she's already been spotted out in the whole Snow White getup ... looking kinda Disneyland-esque.

Also worth noting, Disney has tried clarifying what's being depicted in these pics. They say there are 2 stand-ins for a couple of their main actors -- Zegler and a guy named Andrew Burnap -- and that these photos weren't official film photos. Sooo ... pickup shots then?

What Disney appears to concede in their ever-evolving statements about these pics is that this is, in fact, what the movie will look like as it pertains to portraying the classic dwarves as we know them ... aka, they're pivoting away from having 7 "dwarfs" on camera together.

Remember, they actually said they'd be doing this on the heels of Peter Dinklage's viral tirade about the film ... when he went on Marc Maron's podcast to rail against the fact they were going to feature dwarves in a manner he characterized as backwards and insulting.

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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING???"

While some were outraged about the fact that Zegler, a Latina, would be playing Snow White ... he was more concerned about showing little people in a demeaning way, and Disney heard him loud and clear ... changing course. At the time, they said ... "To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community."

Time will tell how the public receives this ... "Snow White" is coming out next spring.

RFK Jr. Suggests COVID Designed to Go Easy on Jews, Chinese

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. floated a theory this week, suggesting COVID-19 was manufactured to attack certain races/ethnicities, and to skip others ... including Jewish people.

The Dem presidential hopeful was at a dinner in NYC Friday when he made the inflammatory comments -- which were actually caught on camera and published by the NY Post. In the clip, RFK Jr. starts out by talking about bioweapons, and then moves on to the virus.

He says there's evidence backing the notion that COVID was designed to be "ethnically targeted," adding there are studies that show it hit certain demographics harder than others.

As he explains -- to the clear discomfort of others around him -- COVID was allegedly more prone to latch onto and "attack" Caucasians and Black people because of their genetic makeup ... but then says Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese folks are the most immune to it.

The guy hedges things a bit by saying it's unclear if the virus was purposely designed to act in this way, but it seems clear he's trying to entertain a conspiracy theory here -- and a lot of people have called his remarks antisemitic and racist. And yet, RFK Jr.'s defending himself.

He said NYP was mistaken, adding, "I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews."

RFK Jr. went on ... "In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered." He linked to a NIH study about genetic susceptibility pertaining to COVID.

Unfortunately for him, the damage is already done ... dude's getting dragged over this.

Ron Perlman Threatens Studio Exec In Rant ... 'Be Careful, Motherf*****'

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Ron Perlman is super pissed at the studio executive who wants to bleed striking writers dry before coming to the table to end one of two Hollywood strikes ... so much so, he's making threats.

The "Hellboy" star did not mince words in a since-deleted social media rant Friday, making some ominous threats towards the anonymous studio exec who was quoted as saying studios are purposefully delaying negotiations with the Writers Guild of America "until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses."

In the video, an incensed Ron says ... "Listen to me, motherf*****, there's a lot of ways to lose your house. Some of it is financial, some of it is karma, and some of it is just figuring out who the f*** said that -- and we know who said that -- and where he f****** lives."

Ron continues ... "There's a lot of ways to lose your house. You wish that on people, you wish that families starve, while you're making $27 f***** million a year for creating nothing? Be careful, motherf*****. Be really careful, 'cause that's the kind of s*** that stirs s*** up."

The rant comes in response to a Deadline article this week that quotes anonymous studio executives as revealing their strike plan is to let writers fall into dire straits in order to force a studio-friendly deal.

Ron's union, SAG-AFTRA, is now on strike too ... and things are getting very ugly in Hollywood.

Kelly Rowland My Biggest Blunder ... Ruining Bey's Gender Reveal!!!

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SLIP OF THE TONGUE

Kelly Rowland admits accidentally blowing the gender secret during Beyoncé's first pregnancy still haunts her to this day!!!

The ex-Destiny Child singer remembered her royal screwup while speaking on Billy Mann's "Yeah, I F*cked That Up" podcast, referring to it as the "worst moment" ever.

Back in 2011, she told Bang Showbiz, "[Jay-Z] is going to buy that little girl every single thing possible ... she won't be spoiled but she will be very well looked after" ... and her pronoun choices allowed the world to pick up on the fact the baby was a girl.

She also suggested Bey was even disappointed with her loose lips, but the moment didn't derail their friendship.

The two recently joined forces for Knowles-Rowland Project ... a $7.2 million construction for a 31-unit housing project for homeless residents in Houston.

And of course, that baby girl grew up to be Blue Ivy, who's currently dancing alongside her mother on the "Renaissance" World Tour.

Kelly's spoiler is now water under the bridge. Jay always said you gotta learn to live with regrets!!!