You Might Want to Rethink

An elected official and U.S. Army veteran who is Asian made a stunning point at a town hall meeting in Ohio ... taking off his shirt and displaying some pretty severe war wounds, and then asking the crowd if that was patriotic enough for them.

Lee Wong is an elected official in West Chester, Ohio. He also served in the military for 20 years. In the middle of the town hall, he decided to make a point about the anti-Asian wave in this country. It's interesting ... no one in the crowd made a comment to prompt the display, but it was clearly on Wong's mind.

He said, "There are some ignorant people that will come up to me and say I don't look American or patriotic enough." That's when he took his shirt off and asked, "Is this patriot enough?"

Wong said he was beaten up in Chicago soon after coming to the U.S., and that's what prompted him to join the military, adding, "I have put up with a lot of s*** in silence ... too afraid to speak out, fearing more abuse and discrimination."

He went on to say, "We need to be kinder, gentler to one another because we are all the same, we are one human being on this Earth."

There's this thing these days about reading the room ... and it looks like Chet Hanks skipped a chapter.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson's son blasted out his moniker for next season -- "White Boy Summer." To be fair, he says he's not aligning himself with Donald Trump or NASCAR ... nevertheless, he's getting dragged big time.

Chet's clearly playing off Megan Thee Stallion's 2019 hit, "Hot Girl Summer," but his riff is still problematic.

After explaining he'll be celebrating "White Boy Summer" in the spirit of Jack Harlow, he asks, "Let me know how you vibe with that." Well, his vid sent bad vibes around the internet.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has come up with a novel idea on how to repair the neglected roadways around the country -- a tax on mileage driven, and he's getting dragged.

The former presidential candidate said the Biden Administration is noodling on the idea and it's showing "a lot of promise."

Here's the criticism ... it's unfair to people who live in rural areas. because they have to drive further by necessity than urban dwellers.  But, more fundamentally, a mileage tax in big cities like L.A., New York City, Chicago and on and on hit middle and lower-income people harder than people who are well-to-do and can live smack in the middle of their city. People who are not well off typically move to suburbs far, far away from the city center.

Buttigieg, already nicknamed "Pothole Pete," has a tough job to sell ... the infrastructure plan will cost $3 TRILLION. The term "infrastructure" has been redefined broadly to include pre-K programs and childcare.

Find someone who's loyal to you like Jamal Crawford's loyal to his Blackberry.

Yep, in the age of iPhone and Android .. the 41-year-old NBA star still rocks a Blackberry device -- AND HE'S DAMN PROUD OF IT!!

The 3-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year was outed as a Berry-user during a Thursday interview with Candace Parker on "NBA on TNT" ... and once J.C. copped to the using the relic, Shaq and the rest of the crew came with the jokes!

"They still got BlackBerry?" one voice said while Shaq and Candace piled on.

So, why is Crawford so adamant about living in the past when it comes to his phone?!?!

"It’s the keyboard," Jamal said proudly ... "You know, I don’t gotta spend time erasing stuff. It’s the keyboard. It shows my loyalty. Once I switched over to Blackberry I never left."

Crawford’s loyalty came with a price … explaining his NBA teammates had to send him separate messages since he couldn’t join the group chats.

"With my teammates, I couldn't be on the group texts. They had to send me stuff on the side since I didn’t have [a smart phone] ... it was coming up green."

For the record, it looks like Crawford's rockin' a Blackberry Key2 -- which came out in 2018 and features a full QWERTY keyboard.

Demi Lovato admits the real reason she said, "yes" when her ex-fiance popped the question is she thought it meant her life would be completely stable -- something she quickly realized was NOT the case.

The singer opened up about her engagement to Max Ehrich, and how she rushed into what appeared to be a serious relationship with the 'Young and the Restless' actor. Remember, he proposed last summer after just 4 months of dating, and almost all of that was in quarantine.

Demi told Entertainment Weekly, the size of the ring made things real but "the second it was off, I was like, 'You know what? I'm good. I don't need that.' I just don't need an object on my finger to make me feel like I've got my s**t together."

She added, "It looks like stability, but it doesn't mean that it is. And, I don't actually grow through stability. I find that I like living not in chaos or crisis, but in fluidity. It's not [being] stuck and stagnant in an ideal or a tradition that was placed upon us by the patriarchy."

Demi even highlighted the fact that a year ago, she hadn't even met Max, and marveled at how much has changed in the last year. Demi and Max met in March, he proposed to her in July ... but they split by September.

Monaco's Prince Albert has Queen Elizabeth's back, or so it seems ... 'cause he's ripping Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for discussing Royal family matters on primetime TV.

Albert was asked for his 2 cents about Harry and Meghan's sit down with Oprah, and he told the BBC the CBS primetime special was the wrong time and place for them to be pouring out their feelings.

The Prince said he certainly understands the pressure Meghan and Harry must have been under ... but that being said, he says they should have kept their feelings private and held these conversations "within the intimate quarters of the family."

That's in line with the Queen's approach -- remember, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying the Sussex's issues would be dealt with privately as a family. Perhaps not surprisingly, the head of Monaco's Royal family thinks that's the way to go.

As we reported ... Meghan and Harry are upset the Palace told them baby Archie isn't entitled to security because he doesn't have the title of Prince.

They also accused the Royal Family of shocking racism ... alleging one or more members of the Royal family expressed concern Archie's skin might be too dark when he was born.

Killer Mike says Americans better hope Amazon workers form unions in their warehouses, because when workers get treated like crap ... crap ends up on customers' doorsteps.

The Atlanta rapper and activist joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and told us why he's going to an Amazon center in Alabama to supports the unionization efforts there and across the country. It'll be put to a vote in 'Bama next week.

Killer Mike says the crappy working conditions Amazon workers claim they're facing -- like being forced to pee in bottles, allegedly -- makes for crappy Amazon deliveries that will only get worse. He says the path to better treatment for workers is unionization.

But, it's not only great for the employees ... watch the clip, Mike explains why it's potentially a big win for the general public. A move he believes is not only a win for 'em, but will pay off for the public. Everyone wants joy and happiness, right?

Mike will be in Bessemer, AL Friday with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Danny Glover to visit a new Amazon fulfillment center, where workers are trying to organize. Amazon's against the union, and there have been tons of protests outside that warehouse and others across the country.

Radio hosts in New York compared their toast preferences to famous Black women's skin tones during a segment ... and yeah, it came off every bit as bad as you'd think.

The racially-charged convo aired Wednesday morning on Buffalo's 97 Rock, with Morning Bull Show co-host Rob Lederman comparing toasted bread to a trio of black celebs -- Serena Williams, Halle Berry and Gayle King.

Lederman says he toasts his bread in line with how attractive he finds certain Black women ... essentially saying Serena is too dark for his taste, Gayle's not even a thought and Halle is just right.

The fallout has been swift ... Cumulus Media, which owns the station, says it already fired Lederman and suspended the other co-hosts, including Rich "Bull" Gaenzler and Chris Klein.

A white woman is now persona non grata at a NYC bakery after calling one of its Black employees the n-word -- and cops are aware of the situation too ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us a harassment complaint was filed after an unidentified lady hurled the racial slur at Victor Kamara ... the Davidovich Bakery employee who was working the cash register on Sunday, when the ugly incident went down.

We're told an argument erupted between the woman and Victor after she was asked to put on a mask, but refused to do so ... only to call the guy a "bitch ass n*****" when he told her not to look at him a certain way. She left the scene shortly thereafter.

Our sources say the NYPD typically won't make arrests for harassment complaints like this ... unless they happen to occur in an officer's presence. It's unclear how the department may proceed if they find her and verify the claims. Still, we're told the cops are investigating.

Enraged NYers are also taking a closer look at the woman's social media, and there are several disturbing posts. Perhaps the worst is a Columbus Day post showing her kids -- whose father is Black -- because her caption celebrates the trans Atlantic slave trade.

As for the bakery ... management tells us this woman isn't just banned from this establishment, but from all of Essex Market in the Lower East Side, where the shop is located. We're told security guards have been alerted to be on the lookout for her.

When it comes to Victor himself, we're told his bosses are fully behind him -- and applaud him for how handled the situation ... especially as a relatively new employee, just about two months in.

If you're a guy and didn't care about pollution before today, you might wanna rethink that stance -- because your manhood (and that of any future son's) is being seriously truncated because of it ... so says a scientist.

Dr. Shanna Swan -- a professor of environmental medicine and public at NYC's Mount Sinai Hospital -- made the startling claim in a new book of hers ... explaining that, based on her research, male penises are getting historically smaller due to manufacturing byproducts.

The substance in question is called phthalates, which are chemicals created in the production of plastics ... which, when exposed to the human endocrine system, screws with our natural hormone process -- a dynamic that Dr. Swan says is affecting our reproductive organs.

She cites different peer-reviewed studies in her findings, which say there's a scary trend of modern-day babies being born with noticeably shorter members -- which she directly links to the phthalates she says are seeping into our toys and even some foods we eat.

Dr. Swan says the same effect was observed in rat fetuses exposed to phthalates ... and now it's being seen in humans as well -- which she calls a crisis in the making.

This is part of a larger problem which has also been touched on elsewhere -- the fact that men's sperm count and viable sperm world-wide is plummeting. Dr. Swan estimates that if this continues at the rate it's at now ... we'll all be virtually impotent by 2045.

The NHL just canned one of its referees after the guy was caught on a hot mic admitting he called a questionable penalty against the Nashville Predators because he wanted stick it to the team.

It all went down Tuesday night during the 2nd period of the Predators vs. Red Wings game -- when ref Tim Peel blew the whistle on Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson for tripping Jon Merrill.

It sure seems like Merrill flopped -- even the announcers commented, "That's such a dive" -- but Peel seemed locked in on calling Arvidsson for the penalty anyway.

Moments later, a hot mic captured referee Tim Peel explaining why he made the call ... and his explanation is troubling.

"It wasn’t much," Peel said of the tripping penalty, "but I wanted to get a f***ing penalty against Nashville early in the ..."

The audio trails off before Peel completes his thought -- but it sure sounds like Peel had out it out for Nashville, which is a huge problem for the NHL. Refs are NOT supposed to have an agenda when it comes to calling a game.

The NHL immediately launched a probe into the remarks ... and it took just hours before the league formally fired the 53-year-old ref.

The league didn't hold back in explaining the decision either ... saying straight up there was "no justification for [Peel's] comments."

"Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game," league exec Colin Campbell said in a statement.

"Tim Peel's conduct is in direct contradiction to the adherence to that cornerstone principle that we demand of our officials and that our fans, players, coaches and all those associated with our game expect and deserve."

Peel had been reffing in the NHL for more than two decades ... and had been reportedly set to retire after his scheduled final game late next month.

As for the impact of the penalty ... it didn't seem to affect the Preds much -- they still went on to win the game over Detroit, 2-0.

Now, the big question ... why did Peel want to penalize Nashville -- and did he unfairly target other teams during his career???

D.L. Hughley says folks who are splitting hairs about the Colorado shooter's race are missing the point -- and that point is this ... easy access to guns is the true root of America's mass shooting problem.

The comedian, author and activist gave us his thoughts Tuesday at LAX about the 10 people killed Monday in Boulder when cops say Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire in a grocery store.

Although the release of Alissa's name had the phrase "He's Muslim" trending Tuesday on Twitter, D.L. says people pushing that narrative are missing the point ... especially because the vast majority of mass shooters in America are white.

Regardless of what race or religion the shooter turned out to be, D.L. says it wouldn't change the bigger issue ... the ease with which folks can purchase weapons like an AR-15 -- which Alissa used -- and also stockpile large amounts of ammunition.

He draws an interesting parallel between hoarding guns and cold medicine -- explaining one of those purchases will get you more stares than the other ... and it ain't the one you might think.

A guy claims he found the tail end of some shrimp in his cereal -- something General Mills assures him can't be the case, but he's definitely not buying it.

Writer/Producer Jensen Karp documented what he claims was a gross morning breakfast session Monday, posting pics of various artifacts he says he found inside his new box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He says he found shrimp tails in there ... 2 of 'em to be exact!!!

Jensen started by asking (and officially tagging) CTC's Twitter account why there were apparently crustacean remnants in his just-unsealed box ... which sparked quite a journey of what he describes as excuses and gaslighting.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, at first, responded by apologizing and asking for more details ... while also offering a new box as a quick remedy. Then, CTC claimed, upon further examination, its quality control team came to the conclusion that they weren't shrimp tails ... but simply large, dried-up sugar clumps!

Jensen -- who's married to "Boy Meets World" star Danielle Fishel, BTW -- didn't seem to accept that answer ... as he posted close-up shots of the alleged shrimp tails. He claims he went digging even further and found more gross stuff ... including a small piece of string and tiny specks of black gunk on some of the cereal.

Some folks on the Internet theorized the stuff might be mouse or rat droppings ... which opens up a whole other can of worms that makes us gag just thinking about.

As for where things ended here ... Jensen says he's heading back to Costco -- where he bought the cereal -- to get some answers. He's also waiting for more from CTC's parent company General Mills.

We, too, have reached out to General Mills ... so far, no word back.

"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening needs to do something about Apu, because the character is the reason many Hindu kids get bullied ... at least according to a Hindu-American org.

Matt's getting pushback from the Hindu American Foundation for his recent comments on Apu -- he told USA Today he's proud of the character, despite HAF and many others claiming Apu is a walking stereotype.

Shereen Bhalla, spokesperson for HAF, tells TMZ ... Apu has been the predominant face in pop culture for the 3 million Hindus living in America, and the character makes the community feel marginalized.

Bhalla also says Apu's bad for kids growing up Hindu, because they may not feel proud of their identity due to Apu being used as a punchline, and she adds ... the stereotypes of him on "The Simpsons" lead to bullying in schools and online.

HAF, the nation's largest advocacy and education organization for Hindu Americans, says there are a few changes Matt could make to address the problem ... like taking longtime Apu voice actor, Hank Azaria's advice to hire an Indian actor to play Apu.

Two more female massage therapists have filed lawsuits against Deshaun Watson ... with one accuser claiming the NFL star was so aggressive with her, she was "scared for her life."

TMZ Sports has obtained the two new suits -- bringing the official number to NINE total against the Houston Texans QB -- and in them, Watson is accused of more disturbing actions against women -- though he's denied ALL of the allegations from all of the accusers and said he's the target of a baseless money grab.

In one of the new lawsuits, a female masseuse -- identified as Jane Doe to protect her identity -- says she was first introduced to Watson in June 2020 after the NFL player had booked her through her manager.

Doe says she showed up to Watson's hotel in the Houston, Texas area to administer the massage ... but claims things quickly went sideways.

In the suit, the woman says a short time into the massage ... Watson became aggressive, and "groped her buttocks and vagina and then pushed her buttocks into his face."

The woman says she then slapped Watson, told him she didn't want that ... and claims the QB then apologized.

Doe says Watson then asked her to clean massage oil off of him because he had to leave for practice ... but she claims the quarterback "began using his penis to touch [Jane Doe's] hand."

She says was "mortified" by his actions ... and covered Watson's private area with a towel so she could finish wiping the oil off and leave.

Doe claims Watson only paid her $100 instead of the agreed-upon $300 ... saying the QB had told her manager that she "had not given him what he wanted."

Two months later, on Aug. 17, 2020 ... the woman says Watson reached out to her over Instagram to get another massage.

In her suit, the woman says she did not realize it was the same Watson ... and scheduled an appointment with the Texans player that same night at the spa she worked at.

Doe claims when Watson arrived ... she immediately recognized him and scolded him for "inappropriate" behavior in their previous meeting.

The woman says Watson apologized and "told her something to the effect that he had never been rejected by a woman before."

Doe claims she told Watson she was a lesbian and was not interested in him ... and says Deshaun "agreed to not be inappropriate again."

But, Doe says a short time later, Watson became aggressive ... made comments about her body.

The woman says she continued the massage in order to avoid trouble with her manager ... but she says at one point Watson pulled her close and said he wanted to ejaculate.

In the suit, Doe says she told Watson to "stop acting like a pervert" ... but says Deshaun continued with the sexual misconduct anyway.

The woman claims Watson asked her to perform oral sex on her ... and then "forced [Jane Doe's] mouth onto his penis." She says Watson's actions were so inappropriate, they made her "scared for her life."

Doe says Watson continued to push for oral sex -- and when she declined ... Watson let her go and then began masturbating in front of her.

The woman is now suing for unspecified damages.

The second suit filed on Monday contains similar allegations ... with another "Jane Doe" female masseuse alleging Watson was inappropriate with her during a March 2021 massage in the Atlanta area.

In the suit, the woman says Watson "put his penis on her hand" during their appointment ... but when she quickly moved away and made it clear she wouldn't go further with him -- she says the quarterback got dressed, paid her and left.

The woman is also suing for unspecified damages.

According to the attorney of the two women, several more lawsuits could be filed against Watson soon ... with Tony Buzbee claiming 22 women in total have come forward to him with allegations of sexual misconduct against the QB.

Buzbee added he's been in contact with both the Houston Police Department and the Houston District Attorney, cooperating in the potential criminal investigation into the claims.

For Watson's part, he's denied any wrongdoing ... insisting the entire thing is an effort by Buzbee to score an unwarranted payday from lying clients.

Saweetie said 'Take care' -- but Quavo did NOT say "take Bentley" in response ... despite what the Internet has accepted as fact.

Rumors were swirling this weekend that the Migos rapper had his now ex's luxury ride repossessed as payback for breaking up with him so publicly this past week -- but we're here to tell you definitively ... there's simply no truth to it.

Sources directly connected to Quavo tell TMZ ... he didn't repo the Bentley, and anything suggesting otherwise is flat-out false. Reports surfaced Saturday that Quavo sent the Repo Man out to Saweetie's home in the wee hours of the morning to take the car back.

Supposedly, he leased it and never put it in Saweetie's name -- and a deal he struck with the dealership allowed him to end the contract early ... which he's alleged to have done in the wake of their split. That's a cool story and all -- but we're hearing it just didn't happen.

You don't have to take our word for it either -- there's literally no evidence of this going down ... no photos or video suggesting anyone repo'd anything. The whole thing's based on speculation, as is often the case with these things.

A little backstory on this Bentley ... Quavo gifted it to Saweetie back in late December of this past year as an early Christmas present. It had a bow on it and everything -- and Saweetie was ecstatic at the time when it was unveiled to her. Makes sense, it is a beaut after all.

Of course, this all comes after Saweetie declared she was single -- while also strongly suggesting Quavo cheated during their time together as a couple. Quavo responded to her, basically saying he was disappointed in her and that she wasn't who he thought she was.