You Might Want to Rethink

A zoom celebration of Black History Month was interrupted by some racists who hurled the n-word for all to hear, but, as host Aldis Hodge said, were too cowardly to show their faces.

"Straight Outta Compton" star Aldis, along with Reginald Johnson and Malyia McNaughton, were on the call when an uninvited guest blurted out, "Aldis Hodge, my n*****. I heard you're like a famous actor, my guy."

Aldis and company kept their cool as they tried to boot the disembodied racist from the room.

Malyia then resumes the conversation, talking about the importance of Black History Month, when another voice chimes in, "When's white history month?"

At that point, the co-hosts decided to address the haters. After another uninvited guest hurls the n-word, Aldis lowers the boom, saying, "If you're brave enough to speak to me in such a callous way, I would love to see your face so we can speak face to face."

Of course, the invitation is not accepted, and Aldis labels the racists "cowards."

Bill Maher took aim at cancel culture, saying it's become McCarthyism in reverse.

Maher ended 'Real Time' Friday night with a blistering attack on cancel culture, using examples like Chris Harrison and Justin Timberlake, but warning it's not just about celebrities anymore ... he says it's coming to a neighborhood near you. Bill grouses he can't keep up anymore with who's on the s*** list.

Maher scoffs at the Chris Harrison and "The Bachelor" -- which he calls the "F*** a Stranger Show." And, he says San Francisco has canceled Abe Lincoln. In case you didn't know, back in the day, Lincoln embraced white supremacy ... despite ending slavery.

James Charles is denying accusations he's grooming a 16-year-old boy ... he claims the person making the accusation told him he was 18 before they started flirting over social media.

James just addressed a video making the rounds on social media where a boy claims JC is "grooming" him. His accuser claims James sent him sexually-explicit messages and pictures on Snapchat.

JC says the boy sent him lewd photos first, and he didn't start "flirting back" until the kid told him he was 18.

The boy posted his accusations in a video, with alleged screengrabs of his back and forth with James.

In hindsight, James says he shoulda confirmed the boy's age before flirting with him. JC says their conversation led him to realize the kid was way younger than he allegedly claimed, and that's when James says he ended the virtual interaction.

Ted Cruz is already cracking jokes about his infamous trip to Mexico during the deadly winter storm in Texas, and his audience -- in Florida -- is loving it.

The Senator, who'd been on the PR ropes since jetting to Cancun, took a shot -- at himself and his haters -- by opening his speech at CPAC in Orlando with a shout-out to the host city, but added, "It's not as nice as Cancun." Ba dum tss.

Ted tries to let the punchline sink in and waits a few beats before wrapping up the rest of the joke -- which, btw, didn't exactly kill, even with a conservative crowd. It was definitely mixed applause.

As you know ... Cruz jetted off to warm and sunny Cancun while his constituents were without power, some literally freezing to death. He was shamed into flying back the next day.

Rachael Kirkconnell -- "The Bachelor" contestant who sparked the racism controversy this season due to her past -- says she's making changes for the better, and telling her defenders to stand down.

Rachael -- who's one of the remaining finalists still vying for Matt James' final rose -- says she's going to use her platform and privilege to amplify voices in the fight against racism.

She specifically calls on white people to step up, take accountability and work toward "racial progress and unity" ... which simply starts with being vocal, not staying silent.

Rachael has a lot more to say, but concludes by telling people who are excusing or defending her past behavior to "please stop." She doesn't mention host Chris Harrison by name ... but, of course, his staunch defense of Rachael is why he won't be on the 'After the Final Rose' reunion episode.

As we've reported ... it was Harrison's excusing of Rachael's actions -- and historical racism in general -- that landed him in hot water and led to him apologizing and stepping away from the show.

It's unclear when or if he'll return to the franchise, but the controversy's clearly not going away anytime soon.

A woman dressed in a ball gown and heels went off-roading in South Beach, slammed into a store, nearly hit someone ... then casually fled the scene, but cops still nabbed her.

The bizarre hit and run went down shortly after midnight Tuesday, and a witness recorded the aftermath of the crash, where he says a homeless woman on the street was almost run over.

The decked-out driver appears to be unscathed and surprisingly calm ... especially as she gets her gear out of her smashed-up Dodge Charger and orders a ride.

She continues to ignore the incredulous crowd as her Uber shows up and she hops in ... but she doesn't get too far.

Police arrive at the scene and enlist the help of the guy who recorded the incident, and he helps ID her as other officers appear to be arresting her.

Incredible video shot less than 24 hours after the raid on the U.S. Capitol shows Donald Trump joking around with golf legends Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam ... while the rest of the country was still in shock.

Remember, Player and Sorenstam had each been booked to receive the Presidential Medal of Honor -- the highest civilian award in the country -- from Trump at a White House ceremony set for January 7.

The issue ... the insurrection at the capitol occurred on Jan. 6 -- where 5 people died and many more were injured. Several buildings in the Capitol complex were evacuated and locked down.

Yet, Trump forged ahead with the medal ceremony -- but decided to make it a private affair instead of a big public display.

Footage of the ceremony was captured by reporter Graham Bensinger -- and shows Trump joking around with the golfers as if everything was normal.

"Gary earned the title 'Mr. Fitness,' Trump said ... "He just told me, he said, 'Sir, lose a couple of pounds.' I said, 'Okay, Gary’' ... he said it in front of Annika. That was very rude, don't you think?!! How rude can you be?"

The jokes were met with huge laughs from people in the room -- and both Player and Sorenstam proceeded to praise Trump when they stepped in front if the mic.

"I want to say thank you for all that you've done and the service to our country," Sorenstam said ... "particularly, during the coronavirus crisis. I know it's been very tough and challenging, but many congratulations on the rollout of the vaccine and warp speed."

Player added that Trump's White House has "changed the world for the better."

In the weeks that followed, Trump was impeached -- with officials accusing him of inciting the insurrection.

Bensinger sat down with Sorenstam one month later for his show "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" -- and she admitted she's heard the negative criticism about her decision to accept the award while others like Bill Belichick declined.

"I've received quite a bit of positive feedback from friends and family. But, then there've been some not so positive," Sorenstam said ... "And, I've heard those, and I've listened to those."

Bensinger asked specifically what the negative criticism has been.

"I'm gonna be honest, I haven't been on social media since then. The other things that I've heard, the negativities: not necessarily my achievements, but the timing."

As for Trump, after he was impeached ... the case went to the Senate, where he was ultimately acquitted.

There are a lot of questions surrounding why cops didn't take a sample of Tiger Woods' blood after his rollover crash ... but the fact of the matter is, there was simply no reason for them to do so because there was no evidence Tiger was impaired at the time of the crash.

Law enforcement sources tell us there were no drugs or alcohol inside of Tiger's GV80, nor did he show any signs of impairment when he was pulled out of the wreckage. In fact, cops say he was awake and alert on the ambulance ride over to the hospital ... so the guy wasn't totally out of it by any means.

Beyond that, if cops want to draw blood to see if someone's under the influence -- they need a warrant to do it, and for that ... they need probable cause, none of which existed in Tiger's situation. Again, there was no evidence of impairment.

All evidence indicates Tiger was in a rush, was going too fast on a treacherous road and lost control of his vehicle.

TMZ broke the story, Woods was seen driving very fast out of his hotel just minutes before the accident and almost struck a director's car for the show "Grown-ish" which was shooting at the same hotel Tuesday.

L.A. County Sherriff, Alex Villanueva, came out Wednesday and said there were no criminal charges forthcoming for Tiger -- and he seemed pretty emphatic about it ... almost like he wanted to end any speculation to the contrary.

As we reported, Woods was busted for DUI in 2017, where he clearly appeared impaired after failing a number of field sobriety tests, but that wasn't the case this time.

The area where Tiger Woods crashed is known as a dangerous spot, where other vehicles have lost control in the past ... and actually features a safety net to help prevent exactly what it appears happened to Woods.

TMZ spoke with a number of locals who live in the Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates area -- where Tiger's 2021 Genesis GV80 lost control and rolled over in a nasty wreck -- and we're being told the same thing by all ... it's a gnarly bend, that catches up with you if you're going too fast and unfamiliar with the area.

As for the road's layout -- where cops say Tiger flipped -- it's a massive downhill grade that cuts into a tough turn. There have even been fatal accidents at the same spot.

Tiger rolled over right at the apex of the turn -- for reasons that have yet to be determined -- but it's no surprise to a lot of folks familiar with the roads there ... who tell us it's incredibly easy to pick up speed as you're zooming down, even without accelerating.

As if that's not enough evidence, there's even a runaway ramp built-in right around that section to help vehicles that have lost control and need an emergency slow-down. It's made of thick gravel, but that just goes to show ... the place is perilous, to say the least.

The Sheriff's Office touched on the velocity factor too during their presser Tuesday ... saying they've clocked people going as fast as 80 MPH or higher in the area, the speed limit is 45.

On top of whatever else might've been going with Tiger at the time of the accident -- we broke the story he was allegedly seen speeding out of the hotel shortly before the crash -- it's clear the elements weren't in his favor at this specific location. It's a beast of a street.

With Chris Harrison stepping aside for Matt James' "After the Final Rose" ceremony, it's up in the air who will fill his shoes -- but we've learned it might be someone outside the franchise.

Sources directly familiar with the production tell TMZ ... ABC appears to be seeking someone who's not part of 'Bachelor' nation to replace Harrison for the swiftly-approaching shoot. That means no former bachelors, bachelorettes or their suitors ... no matter how popular they are.

Essentially, our sources say producers now seem to have their sights set on someone without ties to the series -- but who's still part of ABC's talent pool. That said, they did make a run at one alum.

We're told Rachel Lindsay -- the first Black 'Bachelorette' -- was asked to take up the mantle, but she declined. She's publicly suggested they consider FS1 sports analyst Emmanuel Acho -- who's not only Black, but also outspoken on issues of race. Let's face it, that's going to be a major topic when cameras roll for 'ATFR.'

Despite Rachel's endorsement, Emmanuel's rep tells us no one's reached out to them yet.

Fans have also been clamoring for Tayshia Adams -- the second-ever Black 'Bachelorette' -- to step up in Harrison's place. She's been vocal about the show's racism controversy lately, but producers have not tapped her

It's unclear if ABC's specifically looking for a POC for this gig -- but all signs seem to point to that being highly considered. It's gonna be a sensitive episode ... not just because of the Harrison fallout, but a potential faceoff between Matt and Rachael Kirkconnell, who's rumored to be the winner.

Chrissy Teigen has no regrets about requesting a Twitter unfollow from President Biden because she's a realist, and figures the Prez doesn't run the account anyway.

We got Chrissy leaving E Baldi in Beverly Hills shortly after she lost her @POTUS follow, and she reiterates what she tweeted about feeling free ... but this time without all the profanities. Sorry.

She concedes it's all in good fun though, and not like she really thinks Biden was scrolling through his feed and reading her tweets in the first place. In fact, she doubts he even knows about the whole follow-unfollow saga.

Either way, Chrissy says she adores the Prez and suggests the fact he's in office has made her a different person on the social media platform ... much more peaceful.

'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star Sheree Whitfield is free to love whoever she wants ... now that the guy she wants is free from prison!

Sheree's boyfriend, Tyrone Gilliams, tells TMZ ... he was released from prison in Kentucky last week and ever since then he's been spending lots of QT with Sheree. We're told they've mostly been spending time in Philly ... going out and enjoying cheesesteaks, naturally.

We're told Sheree's helping him acclimate back into life on the outside ... which includes helping him catch up with the latest technology.

True 'RHOA' fans know Tyrone and Sheree dated briefly nearly a decade ago, but he cut off contact when he realized the feds were going to indict him in a wire fraud case. Tyrone was ultimately sentenced to 10 years back in October 2013.

They reconnected around her birthday in 2016, and decided to start dating again -- which meant communicating as much as possible, and Sheree visited him in prison.

Things went south, though, in 2018 when Tyrone says he lost an appeal ... so they stopped dating.

Now that Sheree's single and he's scored an early release -- due to COVID spreading in prison -- he says the time was right to rekindle that old flame.

"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."