You Might Want to Rethink

"Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that."

LeBron James is FURIOUS about Devin Booker's snub from the All-Star Game ... saying the Phoenix Suns star was more than deserving to make the team in 2021.

The Western Conference reserves were just announced Tuesday ... and while huge names like Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul and Zion Williamson were picked, 24-year-old Booker didn't make the cut.

Of course, Booker is averaging nearly 25 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists a game ... with the red-hot Suns sitting at 4th place in the conference standings with a 20-10 record so far this season.

Apparently, that wasn't enough for the NBA coaches ... who each voted for 7 reserves to rep their conference in the game.

King James fired off about the snub on Twitter ... and he wasn't the only one.

Blazers guard CJ McCollum also expressed his dissatisfaction with Book getting left out ... saying, Damn @DevinBook really didn’t make it ? That’s craxy . Bruh really cold too smh. Sick world"

LBJ also weighed in on Lillard not being named a starter for the ASG ... saying he's the second most disrespected player behind Booker.

Now, there's still hope Booker sneaks into the festivities and becomes a replacement for AD, who is dealing with a calf and Achilles injury.

Travis Scott's whipped up another frenzy over the launch of one of his new projects ... this time it went down in front of a newsstand.

The rapper surprised fans Tuesday by announcing a pop-up shop in WeHo to promote his new "i-D Magazine." As you can see ... it drew a HUGE crowd clamoring to see him, and maybe get an autograph.

Eventually, Travis had to be escorted from his excited fans by security to his getaway ride ... but not before hyping them up one more time.

The shop was apparently selling limited edition Cactus Jack merch to go with the 'Utopia Issue' magazine collab with Spike Jonze and Robert Rodriguez.

As you may recall ... Travis was promoting another one of his Cactus Jack projects -- a combo meal at McDonald's -- back in September when he drew another massive crowd that nearly mobbed him before he was whisked away.

Chrissy Teigen's Twitter dreams came true when she got a follow from President Biden, and now they've come true again ... because he clicked "unfollow."

Let us explain -- the popular supermodel tweeter pleaded for a follow from Biden on his inauguration day, and hours later ... she was one of only 11 accounts @POTUS was following. The rest were all his family and staff.

Chrissy was thrilled, but apparently ... since January 20 she has not felt like she can be her Twitter self with the Prez keeping an eye on her feed. So on Tuesday, she made this request -- "In order for me to flourish as me, I must ask you to please lord unfollow me. I love you!!! It’s not you it’s me!!!!"

Almost immediately afterward, @POTUS was no longer one of her followers, and Chrissy replied ... "b***h f**k s**t suck the d I am FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!"

UCLA has dismissed runner Chris Weiland from its track and cross country teams over video and text messages featuring racist and homophobic slurs.

Unclear exactly when the video was shot -- but it's bad. During the footage, which has gone viral, Weiland can be seen and heard griping to a woman about a girl he believes cheated on him.

During the conversation, which takes place at night inside of a car, Weiland bashes his lover's other man ... calling him the n-word and the homophobic f-word.

When complaining to the woman on the call, Weiland says his lover "wants to be with this f**king f****t who has no future. She's going to be with a stupid n****r who's going to be in community college all his life."

When the woman on the call urges Weiland to calm down and control his emotions, Weiland threatens to "beat the f**k" out of the other guy.

Video of the conversation was posted on Instagram this week and it BLEW UP quick -- with star UCLA athletes including gymnast Margzetta Frazier calling for the University to take swift action.

Weiland allegedly sent text messages to his ex-lover using similar offensive language. Those text messages were also posted to social media.

UCLA track coach Avery Anderson issued a statement Monday saying Weiland has been dismissed from the program.

But, Avery also confirms he was aware of the video months ago -- and suspended him -- before eventually allowing Weiland back on the track and cross country teams.

"When first learning of this a few months ago, I was disgusted and immediately suspended him indefinitely from the team," Anderson said.

So, why was he reinstated? Anderson says he wanted to give Weiland an opportunity to learn and grow from his mistakes.

"Even in my disgust, as a coach, my intentions are always to lead and educate and make the change happen that I want to see in this world. I can talk about changing the world, or I can put in the work to do so. And that is what I have done over the last few months with this individual. In January, I decided to reinstate him to the team."

Now, Anderson says he's had a change of heart.

"After team members and the athletic community expressed concern, it became clear that his continued involvement with the team is incompatible with the culture of mutual support and respect we’re fostering. I now realize that the decision to reinstate him was not the right decision, and that the action today is best for the well-being of our team."

Dr. Dre seems to be letting out his frustrations over his pending divorce with Nicole Young in his music -- and he's not being very subtle about it either.

A new track was previewed Monday night by DJ Silk, which features Dre and Aftermath pal KXNG Crooked. Dre drops some explicit lyrics about his estranged wife and their nasty divorce proceedings.

Dre raps ... "Trying to kill me with them lies and that perjury // I see you trying to f*** me while I'm in surgery // In ICU death bed on some money s*** // Greedy bitch take a pic // Girl you know how money get."

As we've reported ... Dre went right back to the studio after being released from his recent health scare -- suffering what could've been a fatal brain aneurysm.

Silk only played a few bars, so it's unclear if Dre makes any other references to the divorce or Nicole on the track.

Dre and Nicole's legal war hasn't seen a pause whatsoever since she filed for divorce last summer -- most recently she filed a motion asking for access to their home amid suspicions of a mistress, and was granted temporary spousal support ... a one-time payment of $2 mil.

Ted Cruz thinks those who leaked his wife's texts about their Cancun plans are a bunch of "assholes," but we wonder ... did he stop and look in the mirror before saying this?

The Senator from Texas aired his grievances during an appearance on a political podcast called 'Ruthless.'

Anyway, he was asked right out the gate about the fallout after being caught fleeing his freezing home state to vacay south of the border. Instead of apologizing and copping to the bad decision ... TC was back to playing the blame game -- this time going after the neighbors who were part of the OG group chat.

He says his wife, Heidi, is "pretty pissed" about those text messages she sent to friends and neighbors that leaked to the media. Ted even describes her confronting some of them upon her return ... a little witch-hunting after some fun in the sun.

Then comes his analysis of the whole thing ... in which he describes them as politicized meanies who lack tact -- only his language is much more blunt, of course.

Cruz made a crack about the Zodiac killer -- a running gag he leaned into and which was pretty funny ... or would be, anyway, under different circumstances. He also touched on their dog, Snowflake, whom they abandoned ... even though he insists it was fine, saying it had heat/care at the ready. Interesting, since Heidi had complained the house was an icebox.

There's also an interesting anecdote about Heidi's beach photos.

The mariachi band that made Ted Cruz's stoop a stage performed at a discount, saying the Senator's actions were so despicable, they would've played it for free if they could.

TMZ spoke to Jose Antonio Solis of Mariachi Mi Mexico -- the group that brought their song and dance to Cruz's front door Sunday -- and he says they took nearly $100 less than normal for the gig in Ted's well-to-do Houston neighborhood.

Normally, Solis says their hourly rate runs $475, but they agreed to $400 flat. Solis says he understands Ted and the fam wanting to get away from the cold, but not when the people Ted represents are dying.

Solis says they would've played the gig for free, but lost out on recent money because of the storm.

Mariachi Mi Mexico was hired by a fella named Bryan Hlavinka ... whom Solis says told them there was a GoFundMe account set up specifically to pay them to play.

'Jeopardy!' was short on guest hosts after Ken Jennings' stint expired -- so a chief showrunner had to lace up himself and get on the field ... which turned out to be a beaut of a decision.

Executive producer Mike Richards stepped in Monday to serve as host of the quiz program -- kicking off the broadcast by introducing himself and explaining to viewers at home why there wasn't a more well-known face on their TV sets ... like a celeb, or a 'Jeopardy!' alum.

Long story short ... the team behind the scenes had a hard time booking someone -- which he explains was, in part, due to COVID fears -- so he decided to take up the mantle himself and present answers to this week's contestants. He says it best ... the show must go on.

As the rest of the half-hour played out ... it became clear Richards was a natural, and the reviews online were stellar. People loved him -- his style, his wit and humor ... all very reminiscent of the late, great Alex Trebek.

The show went off without a hitch -- and Richards says he'll be doing hosting duty for the next 2 weeks.

As we reported, the show's already announced a slew of celeb guest hosts in coming months, but folks seem to really like Mike!

Tekashi 6ix9ine's free to run his mouth because he has bodyguards, but his baby mama says she doesn't ... and fears his escalating beefs are putting their little girl in harm's way.

Sara Molina tells TMZ ... she thinks the rapper's been unhinged lately, going off on Instagram Live tirades and trading barbs with Chicago rappers like Lil Reese and 600 Breezy.

Sara says unlike 6ix9ine -- who can afford hired muscle to keep him safe while he stokes feuds with other rappers -- she and their 5-year-old, Saraiyah, are much more exposed ... and she's concerned they might become a target for his enemies.

6ix9ine's baby mama also claims he hasn't made any attempt to rekindle his relationship with Saraiyah -- so he's oblivious to the potential danger to her.

Sara tells us she doesn't want anything from Tekashi other than to think about their daughter's safety and stop provoking possible violence, stay inside, and stay away from them.

A man in Oregon might now hold a dubious distinction -- the highest recorded blood alcohol content -- because cops say he was .77 during a DUI arrest.

The incident went down earlier this month a couple hours outside of Portland -- where cops say they were called about a hit-and-run. They tracked down a white Ford Explorer and after pulling it over ... "observed the driver to be HIGHLY intoxicated." The all-caps emphasis was made by the Warm Springs PD.

Cops say Nathan Danzuka fled in the Explorer and a short pursuit began until he crashed into a concrete barrier about half a mile from the initial stop.

When the dust settled ... cops say Danzuka's blood alcohol content was 0.77%, which is more than nine times the legal limit. Goes without saying ... his driver's license was suspended and he was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation and placed into custody. Cops say criminal charges are pending for the 28-year-old motorist.

A woman walking in the middle of a street sideshow got launched into the air when a car hit her, but miraculously ... she walked away!

The crazy incident went down Sunday night in Oakland where what appears to be a souped-up Pontiac was burning rubber. In the middle of laying down a donut, the driver made serious contact with the woman.

She, and others, were clearly risking life and limb by standing so close to the action.

You can see she tried to brace for the impact but it did her no good ... she immediately went airborne and spun in the air before crashing down hard on the pavement -- her shoes even went flying.

The miraculous part ... the stunned crowd can't believe she gets up as if nothing happened. That might have been the result of adrenaline, but she did walk away ... seemingly okay.

A teenage football player says he's truly sorry for trash-talking Cam Newton at a camp over the weekend ... explaining, "I never meant to humiliate & let anyone down."

If you missed it, the young footballer and the former NFL MVP really got into it at a 7-on-7 event in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Cameras caught the player calling Cam "ass" and ribbing the 31-year-old for being an upcoming free agent.

Cam -- who helped sponsor teams at the event -- responded by telling the kid he was "rich" and asking to see his parents.

The clip quickly went viral ... with several current and former NFL players chastising the player for going after Cam.

Leonard Fournette -- a newly crowned Super Bowl champion -- wrote on Twitter, "Any young athlete watching this video please don’t be this kid."

"Don’t miss your chance to learn something from someone who has been their at the highest level in this sport.... STAY HUMBLE."

Cam himself later commented on the drama ... explaining his role in the situation and adding he does everything he can to help kids at events like these.

Late Sunday night, the player -- identified as Perkiomen Valley HS's Jseth Owens -- issued a statement apologizing for the way everything went down.

"I did not intend for it to get as far as it did!" said Owens, a junior linebacker and wide receiver. "As a football player, I let my competitive side get the best of me & it was a huge miscommunication."

"It was in the midst of the moment & I realize now how a lot of you took it as disrespect."

Owens continued, "I apologize & hope I can be forgiven."

The sick George Floyd Valentine's Day gag in L.A. found legs and went on over to Nevada, where a high school student used a twisted line as a Sadie Hawkins dance invite.

This photo was captured recently on a sports field at Foothill High School in Henderson, NV -- not too far outside of Vegas. It depicts what appears to be a female high school student holding up a poster with a request that someone be her date to the Sadie's dance.

The poster features a hand-written message and a crude drawing of Floyd. The writing reads, "If you went to SADIES w/ me it would take my BREATH away! George Floyd."

Yeah ... nothing subtle about that at all.

The Clark County School District says it's investigating the matter, and Foothill also posted this message on its site -- "Foothill and CCSD will not tolerate racially insensitive behaviors that contradict an inclusive community and impact the school culture of our students."

This is in the same vein as a Valentine with George Floyd's photo that was being shared among LAPD officers -- which captioned, "You take my breath away." Someone reported it to higher-ups and it too is now being investigated. LAPD also said it had a zero tolerance for such behavior.

Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly revealed the late Jeffrey Epstein had secret videotapes of Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton ... now detailed in a new book, claiming to have heard it straight from her mouth.

Former CBS producer Ira Rosen gave the alleged first-hand anecdote in his book, 'Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes,' which just hit the market this past week. According to folks who have reviewed it, Rosen claims he duped Maxwell into spilling the beans.

At some point before the 2016 election, Rosen asserts he arranged a meeting with Maxwell and put on his best poker face to get her to admit there were secret tapes of Trump -- but apparently coming to find out Epstein was in possession of alleged tapes of Clinton too.

He says he told her, "I want the tapes. I know he (Epstein) was videotaping everyone and I want the tapes of Trump with the girls." To that, Rosen claims Maxwell responded she didn't know where they were, to which Rosen emphasized the prospect of Trump possibly winning the presidency if the alleged tapes didn't come to light.

He claims Maxwell then looked him dead in the eyes and said the following -- "I am the daughter of a press baron. I know the way you people think. If you do one side, you must do the other. If you get the tapes on Trump you have to do Clinton."

Rosen claims Maxwell then said it was all pointless, because Hillary was way ahead in the polls at the time, so there was no need for the story to come out. Beyond that, he claims she told him Epstein never disclosed to her where those alleged tapes were, so she couldn't even get to them if she wanted.

Of course, both men have ties to Epstein, and have been pictured with him many times over the years. Clinton has downplayed their friendship, and denied ever flying on Epstein's private jets ... while Trump has also distanced himself from Epstein, and denied any impropriety.

Huge pieces of a plane started raining down from the sky and onto the front yards of a handful of Colorado residents, but luckily ... everyone seems to be okay.

Check out these photos that were captured and posted out in Broomfield, where police shared images of massive chunks of debris from what appears to be the turbine engine and other parts of the plane laid scattered about on the lawns of folks in neighborhoods below.

It's pretty freaky ... but it sounds like, for now, nobody was struck by any of this stuff falling from the sky -- which appears to have broken off from the wings and other parts of the aircraft.

Broomfield PD is instructing folks not to touch the debris and to leave it where it landed, so that the National Transportation Safety Board -- the federal agency that investigates situations like this -- can come out to take a look, and determine what's what.

BPD posted more photos of other parts of the plane, which seem to have landed at a park ... on a turf field, no less. Again, it's a miracle no one was hit by any of it -- just about anything falling from that high of an altitude could easily kill someone who wasn't paying attention.

It sounds like if you were in the area and outside, you couldn't have missed this ... because people captured footage of the plane when it first started going up in flames -- and it apparently made a loud boom noise. You can see a huge cloud of black smoke it left behind in the air too -- and it certainly disrupted neighbors in the area.

BTW, people on the flight itself caught some of the malfunction live ... and it looks terrifying. Imagine being on board and having to wait for this to be resolved ... not being able to do a thing about it.

This story has a happy ending ... the plane -- a United flight -- is said to have landed safely at Denver International Airport -- where it had departed on its way to Honolulu. Investigators are looking into what caused the engine failure.

Jim Henson's sense of humor is getting a shout-out on the heels of his beloved series hitting Disney+ -- but as we look back, it's clear his puppets weren't always made just for kids.

The 'Muppets' creator used to work on TV commercials for Wilkins Coffee back in the day (from the late '50s through the early '60s) in which he used early versions of puppets he had to peddle java for the food brand. Millennials are just discovering them ... and are in awe.

One guy wrote, "can't stop laughing at these early jim henson commercials where one guy just kills another for not liking wilkins coffee." Yep, that's the gist of these throwback spots -- it's basically one Henson puppet murking another puppet who refuses to drink the Wilkins.

Some of the pranks are harmless, like kicking the puppet off a tree they're both resting on -- but as you watch on ... you'll see some of the sketches become increasingly violent.

In some of the ads, the stockier puppet gets shot at with a gun, bonked over the head, cut with a razor, electrocuted, boiled alive, tossed off buildings and hot air balloons ... and a lot more. It's all in good fun -- but many are pointing out just how graphic they seem to be. Somebody uploaded a full 14-minute clip of all the Henson Wilkins ads, and it's eye-opening.

Henson also had a stint of doing ads with Claussen's Bread -- in which Kermit himself appeared -- and they too are pretty damn dark ... albeit somewhat watered down.

Of course, "The Muppets" is laced with a ton of adult humor too -- so it's no surprise, really, that some of Henson's material with his prized creations pushed the envelope. Just check out this early 'Muppets' toy commercial, where the dolls threaten violence onto the viewers if they don't buy them.

A lot of this stuff aired in the '50s, '60s and '70s ('Muppets' have been around a long time) ... so something tells us Henson and co. could get away with edgy scripts back then. By the time the '90s rolled around, though, 'Muppets' underwent major rebranding ... to be more kid-friendly.

Anyway, most episodes of "The Muppet Show" are now available to stream -- and folks are remembering the genius who brought it all to life. Henson died of pneumonia in 1990.

He was 53.