You Might Want to Rethink

You can't intentionally hit your opponent in the balls. Period.

That's an NBA rule Luka Doncic broke on Sunday night -- whacking Collin Sexton right in the man junk during the Mavs vs. Cavs game ... earning him a swift ejection.

The two were battling for position under the basket in the 3rd quarter when things got physical ... and Luka threw what looked like a hammer-fist right into Sexton's no-no zone.

The refs called Doncic for a flagrant 2 -- which means automatic ejection -- and when you check out the replay, you can see why.

Ouch.

After the game -- which the Mavs won -- Luka insisted he didn't MEAN to hit Sexton in the groin ... it was an accident!

"It obviously wasn't on purpose," Luka said ... "Just two guys fighting for a rebound, I guess."

He continued, "That kind of stuff happens a lot of the games you know ... I don't know. That's my explanation."

Simon Cowell is getting back on the horse -- or, more accurately, back on the bike ... this after breaking his back on one of these damn things less than a year ago.

The 'AGT' host was spotted cruising along on another electric bicycle Sunday in Malibu with his girlfriend, Lauren Silverman, and his young son, Eric ... who all had bikes of their own. Interestingly, though, it was only Simon who seemed to be using a motorized version.

You can tell it's an electric bike by that little box stuck to the down tube of the frame -- they help propel the bicycle forward with more acceleration as you pedal, giving you a boost.

The fact Simon's once again riding one of these raises eyebrows at first glance. Of course, Simon practically shattered his spine on this exact type of model back in August ... when he was testing out a new electric bike of his, in none other than the courtyard of his own home.

If he almost got paralyzed from just that setting ... this one here -- out in public, along a windy bike bath with other riders zipping by -- is definitely a lot more dangerous, potentially. Still ... it looks like he's got the hang of it, but seeing this does make one worry a bit.

Simon went through a 6-hour emergency back surgery at the time ... and has undergone intensive rehab since then to get back on his feet. Welp, now he's back on his ass.

Greta Van Susteren is OUTRAGED people are supposedly swapping "Mother's Day" for a gender-neutral term to be PC -- but the truth is ... she might be fuming over nothing.

The ex-FOX News personality -- who's now anchoring another political show on Gray Television -- tweeted a bizarre sentiment Sunday, going after folks who have the audacity to say "Happy Birthing Person's Day" ... instead of saying "mother."

Greta writes, "To all those who reject the term “Mother’s Day” in favor of “birthing persons’ day” you have just slighted all the incredible mothers who adopted children."

So, on the face of it, she seems to be trying to one-up the easily-offended crowd with even more offense of her own -- but she's not the first right-leaning public figure to make a fuss over the term "birthing persons."

Sen. Ted Cruz also had something to say about it as well, but he was way more obnoxious.

In classic "YOU WON'T CANCEL THIS!!!" fashion ... Cruz posted an erased-out Mother's Day scribbling, and wrote in "birthing people's."

Here's the thing, though ... their indignation seems to be a big waste of energy.

For starters, hardly anyone actually says "Birthing People/Person's Day" -- at least not widely -- nor is it becoming a new norm. And, even if people do say it ... so what? Them choosing to say that doesn't prevent anyone else from saying "Mother's Day" -- and the same applies in reverse. No one's shaming anyone for saying "Mother," soooo ... to each their own?

This all seems to stem from Rep. Cori Bush using the term in a tweet this week while describing her pregnancy experience ... in which she claimed different doctors had encouraged her to abort her baby, and to just get pregnant again -- suggesting racism was at play.

Rather than listening to the substance of her remarks, it looks like some clung to the "birthing people" term ... and never looked back.

Elon Musk cast doubt on Dogecoin during 'SNL' -- but now, it seems his company is trying to take that back ... by sending a satellite to the moon ... funded exclusively by the cryptocurrency.

A company called Geometric Energy Corporation announced Sunday that they'll be launching an 88-lb cube to the moon sometime in early 2022 ... with the help of none other than SpaceX, Elon's pride and joy for space exploration. SpaceX confirmed the news, BTW.

They say this is gonna be the first-ever commercial lunar payload that's paid for entirely with Doge ... meaning, SpaceX is accepting the crypto from Geometric -- which will presumably fundraise/buy Dogecoin for this mission ... one they're calling DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon.

The cube -- which will be equipped with high-tech cameras/sensors to help obtain "lunar-spatial intelligence" upon touchdown -- is flying passengers aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Elon hasn't commented on the momentous moment just yet -- but one of his SpaceX execs did. Tom Ochinero, the Vice President of Commercial Sales, says ... "This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce." He adds, "We're excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!"

Two things about this -- one, it looks like Elon wasn't kidding in April when he said SpaceX would be sending an actual Dogecoin to the moon. Also, this appears to be major damage control after Elon agreed with Michael Che Saturday, saying Dogecoin was a "hustle."

That comment helped send the meme coin plummeting ... losing upwards of 37% of value in a matter of minutes. Now, it looks like they're trying to re-legitimize it once more.

Phylicia Rashad was strangely thrust into a conversation about Bill Cosby and his so-called "enablers" -- which the Internet was NOT putting up with ... especially on Mother's Day.

Twitter was celebrating their favorite TV moms Sunday, and Phylicia was right up there near the top of the list ... with many remembering and paying tribute to her starring role on "The Cosby Show" as Cliff's wife, Clair Huxtable. That is, until someone took the convo left.

A lady who goes by Lisa Talmadge rained on everyone's parade, tweeting a bizarre claim, and didn't even use Phylicia's proper name in making it ... or her TV character's name for that matter.

She wrote, "Claire Huxtable was an enabler of the longest and most prolific drug rape predator In US history, Bill Cosby. Everyone on set knew he was a sadistic predator. Everyone. 75 women drugged and raped by Cosby and he got away with it because of enablers."

For starters, it's CLAIR Huxtable. Second, Mrs. Huxtable is not a real person (she's fictional and only exists in the show). More importantly -- and as Twitter users furiously noted in response -- Phylicia isn't responsible for what Cosby was accused of, or convicted over.

As countless people pointed out, Phylicia wasn't his boss on the set ... if anything, she was more of an employee of his, and a co-worker -- nothing more. To suggest she knew what was going on behind the scenes -- something she herself has already denied -- is absurd.

Now, for the record, Phylicia has come to Cosby's defense ... most memorably in 2015 when the sexual assault allegations against him resurfaced, which she brushed off at the time as a group of people trying to tarnish the man's legacy, and a conviction of guilt in the media.

After Cosby was convicted of assaulting Andrea Constand and incarcerated over it ... Phylicia has somewhat softened her stance, but she still seems to equivocate at times. Bigger picture though ... she's supported "The Cosby Show" and has asked folks to compartmentalize.

There could be one less award show next year if the Hollywood Foreign Press Association doesn't get its act together, 'cause Tinseltown is threatening to not play ball anymore.

You mighta heard about the drama this week with the HFPA -- a non-profit made up of int'l journalists who put on (and vote for winners of) the Golden Globes each year. They've been under a barrel lately due to a major lack of diversity in their ranks -- and after coming out with a new plan to increase membership among POC ... they're still getting torched.

Netflix and Amazon spoke out over the past couple days and said ... they're not participating with anything HFPA puts on until they expedite this reform process beyond what they're already planning, which they say isn't doing nearly enough to address their issues.

Ditto for Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo -- who are saying the same thing ... specifically calling on their peers to "step back" from HFPA (and the Golden Globes by extension).

ScarJo's statement is especially harsh, as she alludes to sexual harassment issues the org has apparently fostered over the years, even invoking the name of Harvey Weinstein.

She told Variety, "As an actor promoting a film, one is expected to participate in awards season by attending press conferences as well as awards shows. In the past, this has often meant facing sexist questions and remarks by certain HFPA members that bordered on sexual harassment. It is the exact reason why I, for many years, refused to participate in their conferences."

ScaJo adds this ... “The HFPA is an organization that was legitimized by the likes of Harvey Weinstein to amass momentum for Academy recognition and the industry followed suit. Unless there is necessary fundamental reform within the organization, I believe it is time that we take a step back from the HFPA and focus on the importance and strength of unity within our unions and the industry as a whole."

If you're unfamiliar with what all the fuss is about -- HFPA was reported to have had ZERO Black members for several years now, something the hosts of this year's Globes show -- Tina Fey and Amy Poehler -- lampooned over and over during the NBC broadcast in February.

Some high-profile members even trotted out during the show and committed to "doing better" ... but their current goals are pretty weak, according to the movers and shakers, who are the lifeblood of the Globes to begin with. Without studios or talent, there's no show.

Here's what HFPA plans to do ASAP -- admit 20 new members with a focus on Black recruitment, increasing membership by 50% over 18 months, losing the "must live in SoCal" requirement, opening membership to journos beyond print, no more promo gift handouts, a stricter code of conduct for press junkets and hiring a managing staff ... like CEOs and stuff.

A Chinese rocket -- or at least part of one -- is barreling toward the Earth right now in an uncontrolled reentry, where it's expected to land ... somewhere unknown, which is terrifying.

Scientists and astrophysicists have warned the public at large ... be aware that debris from this rocket -- which is said to be around 100 feet tall and weigh about 22 tons -- will be crash landing on Earth sometime between Saturday evening and early Sunday morning.

They say it's expected to be back on our planet somewhere between 4:30 PM PT and 12:30 AM PT, and as far as the where ... well that's still up in the air at this point (pun intended!).

At this point ... the rocket could hit virtually anywhere in North America, Central America, Africa, Australia and some areas in Western Asia. Most of Europe and South America seem to be safe ... based on calculations scientists project as it gets closer and closer.

Now, if you're wondering how this was allowed to happen in the first place -- people are blaming China's reckless deployment of this rocket to launch a piece of a new space station of theirs into orbit back in late April ... but they just let the booster float up there afterward, with no action plan of bringing it back. Now, Earth's gravitational pull has roped it back in.

As a result, the rest of us are left to deal with this mess and hope none of that debris lands in our backyard (or on our heads). They say there's a very small chance of that happening, as most of the rocket is supposed to burn up in the atmosphere once it touches down.

Still though ... it's scary, and has left a lot of people on edge as the weekend forges on.

As freaky as a predicament this is -- the good news is that people also seem to have a good sense of humor about it ... posting jokes and memes about the rocket landing on them. That includes some celebs too, BTW ... including Larry the Cable Guy and Billy Eichner.

Mariah Carey didn't seem too amused by a small-time artist sampling her smash hit for his own remix -- telling him to get ready for a legal battle ... but it looks like she's just joshin'.

The singer responded to an A&R consultant who posted a music video from rapper/singer YTK doing his own version of "Shake It Off' -- only his take is a lot more ominous and street-friendly, 'cause he calls it "Let It Off" ... as in, let off rounds of gunfire. Still, it's catchy.

The video had started to catch fire online ... people appeared to be pretty down with it, and there was a mini viral campaign of sorts to help make it into a legally-cleared song.

So, the A&R guy wrote ... "Mariah Carey has 24 hours to respond." Welp, she responded alright ... but wasn't very receptive (on the surface, anyway). MC replied, "How about y'all have 24 hours to respond to my lawyers." She also posted a GIF of her saying, "GTFO."

Daaaaaammmmnn ... pretty feisty, huh??? Eh, not exactly -- apparently, Mariah was joking with her aggressive clap-back ... at least, according to the A&R exec who started this whole thing.

He elaborated on what was happening behind the scenes, saying he'd actually hit up none other than Questlove to help him get the song cleared for YTK ... and, apparently, Quest was on board to help make it happen. Also ... it sounds like Mariah's cool with them using the song, but the hold-up at this point might be Sony ... which appears to hold the rights.

Bhad Bhabie is calling BS on her critics who say she was way too young to post videos on OnlyFans, chalking it up to jealousy.

We got BB, formerly known as Danielle Bregoli, Friday at The Grove, and she launched on folks who want to change the age of entry on the OnlyFans site from 18 to 21, arguing at 18 it amounts to child grooming. Danielle says these folks are just bitter over her success, and success she has had -- at least monetarily.

BB pocketed a million bucks in just 6 hours in her OnlyFans debut and she thinks the criticism comes from people who are butt-hurt by her cash flow. By the way, OnlyFans confirmed she did indeed cross the million-dollar mark in 6 hours ... a record for the site.

LaKeith Stanfield's under fire for his involvement in a Clubhouse discussion about Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitism that devolved into a cesspool of hateful conspiracy theories and comments about Jewish people.

The recently Oscar-nominated actor was a moderator for a discussion on the Clubhouse app Wednesday night, and although he's not accused of spewing any anti-Semitic speech himself ... many are outraged he did nothing to speak out against it either.

The Clubhouse discussion Stanfield was monitoring began when another chat -- titled, "Did Min. Farrakhan Tarnish His Legacy by Being Antisemitic?" -- got shut down by its moderator for becoming too inflammatory.

Instead of ending the convo, someone launched the second room titled, "Someone Ended the Room About Farrakhan" ... and that's where things got very disturbing, with one participant describing comments as "worse than things that I’ve read or heard about neo-Nazis saying."

When a Jewish woman in the room confronted Stanfield about why he was allowing the hate speech to continue unchecked, he skirted the issue and implied he was trying to remain neutral ... according to The Daily Beast.

For some people in the room that was inexcusable behavior from an influential Hollywood star with 79,000 followers on the Clubhouse app ... and they question his intentions.

Now, LaKeith did join another Clubhouse chat Thursday moderated by a panel of Jewish educators who wanted to address the hate speech they had witnessed ... and he admitted he fell short moderating.

He said if he continues to choose to be a moderator in a certain room, he needs to pay "attention to what is actually being discussed and determine if that’s a discussion that you really want to get into."

Stanfield also explained he lacked knowledge about "the origins of Judaism in Jewishness," but suggested he enjoys Clubhouse because he learns a lot from it.

He said ... "I've been in a couple rooms where a lot of s**t has been discussed and talked about, very heightened emotional states. It’s been very enlightening and interesting to me."

LaKeith's response was well-received within the room. Outside of it, however, you gotta wonder how a 29-year-old man didn't see the grossly anti-Semitic remarks for what they are ... hate speech.

State legislation meetings rarely go THIS off the rails -- in the middle of a debate, a Colorado lawmaker called a colleague "Buckwheat" ... pissing off another legislator who is a Black woman.

Richard Holtorf, a Republican legislator who reps the eastern part of the Centennial State, made the shocking comment while discussing military rules of engagement during a House session. But, as he tried getting to his point, Holtorf looked at a colleague, it's unclear who, and said, "I'm getting there. Don't worry, Buckwheat. I'm getting there."

He quickly followed that up with ... "That's an endearing term, by the way." The scene led to an immediate recess and a shouting match with Rep. Tom Sullivan, and Rep. Leslie Herod ... who is Black.

For you young'uns ... Buckwheat was an African-American character on the '40s and '50s film and TV series 'Little Rascals' -- also known as "Our Gang" -- which espoused stereotypes and racial gags. Eddie Murphy also famously portrayed an adult Buckwheat on 'SNL' skits in the early '80s.

The NAACP, as well as other civil rights groups, deem the character a derogatory portrayal of Black people.

Holtorf ultimately apologized and told FOX31, "I had no intentions of insulting, hurting anyone’s feelings, or being racial or using a racial slur in anyway."

He explained the term this way ... "Where I'm from in eastern Colorado, as a country boy, I’ve had people call me that term many times. Buckwheat. It has a different connotation where I’m from."

Italians now have an option for who makes their most beloved food -- their favorite neighborhood pizzaiolo or ... a machine!!! Yeah, some folks ain't happy about option dua.

A company called "Mr. Go Pizza" rolled out pizza vending machines Thursday in Rome -- offering 4 kinds of pie which take just 3 minutes to make, and cost as little as $5. The machine kneads the dough, puts on toppings and bakes ... all in a small glass window, so customers can see the magic.

Well, as you can imagine, in Italy ... not everyone thinks it's magic. A couple early reviews: "Acceptable" if you're in a hurry, while a student from Naples (birthplace of pizza) said it tastes like a bread wrap.

Look, it's one thing if machines/robots wanna take over the world -- we all kind of expect that -- but can't we keep A.I. out of our pizzas???

No word on Mr. Go Pizza's expansion plans, but if it's in Italy today, can Brooklyn, the Jersey Shore and Chicago be far behind?

Kyrie Irving's wallet is now $35,000 lighter ... and it's all 'cause the NBA says the point guard won't stop ghosting media members.

The NBA announced Wednesday evening it's hit Irving and his Brooklyn Nets team each with $35k fines for "violating league rules governing media interview access."

The NBA says Irving has repeatedly refused to show up for postgame media availability sessions -- a big no-no for players.

Of course, this ain't the first time the league has had to step in and slap Irving with a fine for this ... back in December, he was hit with a $25k fine for dodging media during training camp.

At the time, Kyrie famously appeared to react to the fine in a viral social media post in which he wrote, "I do not talk to Pawns. My attention is worth more."

Irving later explained his "pawns" comment was NOT a jab directed at reporters.

"Not even referring to you guys as pawns or media," Irving said. "It's just really how I felt about the mistreatment of certain artists when we get to a certain platform of when we make decisions within of lives to have full control and ownership."

The mother of the Florida 6-year-old paddled by her principal had the tables turned on her -- as investigators grilled her kids about alleged neglect at home.

The family's attorney, Brent Probinsky, tells TMZ ... the little girl and 2 of her siblings -- plus a cousin for whom the mom cares -- were yanked out of class Tuesday by officials with the Florida Dept. of Children and Families, and questioned one by one.

Probinsky tells us this was done without the mother's knowledge, and he only learned about it after the fact when the Dept. came to him seeking to talk to the mom.

As for what all the fuss was about -- we're told the kids were asked if their mother is abusive in the home ... to which the children said no. Probinsky says the investigators then told him they wanted to follow up with the mother to ask why she didn't step in and intervene during her daughter's paddling.

Apparently, investigators were acting on a tip about the mom allegedly being neglectful -- but so far, there doesn't appear to be any evidence of that. Probinsky says it's an outrage law enforcement would come after the mom, when the real culprit's on camera in the paddling video.

As Probinsky previously explained -- there's a number of reasons the mom didn't step in ... for one, she's undocumented and was afraid of repercussions.

There was also a language barrier, and the mother didn't know what was about to happen.

The Derek Chauvin trial juror who was photographed at an MLK rally last year -- wearing a shirt with the words "Get your knee off our necks" -- will absolutely be a key factor in Chauvin's attempt to get a new trial ... TMZ has learned.

As you know, Chauvin's defense attorney Eric Nelson filed a motion Tuesday requesting a new trial. The docs made no specific mention of the juror, Brandon Mitchell, but did use the words "jury misconduct."

Sources familiar tell us the Mitchell issue is on the table and WILL be addressed during arguments in court to support the motion for a new trial.

If you missed it, Mitchell -- one of the only jurors from the trial who has since spoken out about the guilty verdict -- went to a BLM-organized rally last August in D.C. to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington. Mitchell was photographed there wearing a shirt with MLK's photo and the words ... a pretty clear reference to George Floyd's killing.

Also highly relevant is the fact George's family members spoke at the rally. Now, here's why this could be problematic.

Mitchell told the Star Tribune he answered "no" on the early jury questionnaire when asked 2 questions about attending demonstrations against police brutality -- one specific to Minneapolis, and one asking generally.

Now, Mitchell defended his answers, saying the rally was NOT a protest against police brutality, per se, or even in support of George Floyd, but more so geared toward MLK.

He told the Star Tribune, "I'd never been to D.C. The opportunity to go to D.C., the opportunity to be around thousands and thousands of Black people; I just thought it was a good opportunity to be a part of something."

That's his side of the story, but Chauvin's defense will certainly see it differently -- that Mitchell was an activist who had very clear bias when he became a juror.

Remember ... Mitchell has been very outspoken since the all-guilty verdict came in -- a verdict he says that he and his fellow jurors reached fairly easily ... once they sorted through some legal jargon in the instructions. He also said there was no pressure to vote guilty.

Aaron Rodgers WILL sit out the entire 2021 season if the Packers don't make him happy ... so says Brett Favre, who made it clear his former teammate ain't bluffing about a holdout.

The Hall of Famer explained his thoughts on the Green Bay drama during his "Bolling With Favre" podcast this week ... saying the Packers better fix the issues with their QB -- or else.

"Knowing Aaron, and I think I know him fairly well, if he has a grudge, whether it be against the organization or a player or an arch rival or family, friends -- he ain't budging," Favre said.

"Whatever the issue is, if it's not resolved -- or even if it's resolved but he feels like they got one up on him -- he ain't going to play," Favre continued. "Knowing Aaron, he would sit."

Rodgers currently has a multitude of problems with the Packers org. ... most notably, he's reportedly in a pretty nasty spat over his current contract situation.

But, the QB is also upset over several personnel moves the team has made recently -- including when they picked quarterback Jordan Love in the 1st round of the 2020 NFL Draft instead of a top wideout.

Favre says he's not sure exactly what Rodgers' biggest gripe is with the team ... but he's warning his former squad to fix things ASAP.

"He would forgo a lot of money [by sitting out]," Favre says, "but he's also got a lot of money."