You Might Want to Rethink

Disgusting scene on the ice in the Ukrainian Hockey League over the weekend ... where a white player blatantly and vilely directed a racist gesture at his Black opponent.

The disturbing incident all went down in a game between HC Kremenchuk and HC Donbass ... when Andrei Deniskin got into a mid-match tiff with Jalen Smereck.

You can see in broadcast footage of the game ... after the two were separated, Deniskin began making a banana peeling and eating motion with his hands and mouth toward Smereck.

The move was so obviously racist, Deniskin was ejected from the game ... and he was immediately ripped for the move by viewers and onlookers.

Smereck's team, HC Donbass called the act "outrageous" ... and the UHL has since launched an investigation into it all.

In fact, the general manager of the UHL, Eugene Kolychev, promised to follow the probe "closely" ... and in a statement, he added, "I declare that there is no place for #racism in Ukrainian professional hockey."

For his part, Deniskin reportedly issued an apology in a now-deleted Instagram post ... writing in the caption, "I respect all people regardless of race or nationality."

Tony Robbins can be added to the long list of folks spewing COVID-19 misinformation with misguided jokes and phony statistics, and unfortunately ... he spread his message to a bunch of salespeople.

The controversial self-help guru was a featured speaker at something called Funnel Hacking Live in Orlando, a 3-day conference held by Russell Brunson ... aimed at boosting attendees' sales success by listening to motivational stories.

Of course, that's right up Tony's alley, but he used his time to mock science and the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, while firing up the anti-vaxxers in attendance by questioning the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Let's break it down -- first, Tony rips nighttime curfew laws in Australia by joking the virus only comes out at night. As most everyone knows, the curfew is designed to keep people from packing indoor bars and clubs and spreading COVID.

Next, Robbins pokes fun at the concern over the unvaccinated spreading the virus, when in reality ... the unvaccinated population largely accounts for the spread of the Delta variant and the lion's share of hospitalizations and deaths.

Finally -- like many others before him who have spewed false info about COVID -- Robbins equates it to other everyday risks like driving your car ... but makes up his own statistics to fit his narrative.

Tony claims 1,200 people die per day in the U.S. in car accidents, when the actual number is closer to 100 daily, while ignoring that more than 2,000 people have died from COVID every day over the past 2 weeks.

Ohio State has booted one of its linebackers off the team ... after the dude had a complete meltdown on the sideline during the Buckeyes' game over the weekend.

K'Vaughan Pope -- a senior who had played in over 30 contests for OSU since 2018 -- lost it during Ohio State's 59-7 win over Akron on Saturday.

Pope was reportedly so upset over his role in the defense and his playing time ... he ripped off his gloves and threw them into the stands -- and then tried to take off his jersey too.

Pope was eventually escorted to the locker room ... and just minutes after the tirade -- while the game was still going on on the field -- he tweeted (and later deleted), "f*** Ohio State."

He also added in a second tweet, "good lucc to my teammates."

On Sunday, roughly 24 hours after the incident, head coach Ryan Day announced Pope would no longer have a spot on OSU's football team over it all.

"K'Vaughan will continue to have the use of programs that benefit our student-athletes, such as our Student-Athlete Support Services Office, and we will support him with his progress toward graduation," Day said.

"He will remain on scholarship through the duration of this semester."

For his part, Pope apologized for the outburst ... writing in a tweet Sunday, "I made a mistake and know that I need to be better and do better. I’m going to take this time to reflect and work on my mental well-being."

Machine Gun Kelly got an earful Saturday night at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, when the fans turned on him and began booing and flipping him off.

Check out the video ... the fans unleash on MGK. As for why ... well, maybe a couple reasons. First, a lot of metal/rock fans aren't happy he went from rapper to rocker. It's partly a purist thing, and partly shade that maybe he pivoted to rock out of necessity.

The second reason -- MGK trashed Slipknot recently, saying he was happy to not be a 50-year-old wearing a mask. Corey Taylor of Slipknot was the target, and MGK wasn't done with him, claiming Corey did a verse for MGK's album, "Tickets to My Downfall" but, as MGK put it, "it was f**king terrible," so it was 86'd from the album.

Corey proceeded to own MGK with receipts in the form of email screenshots, in which it was pretty clear -- MGK loved Corey's track but it was Corey who passed.

Anyway ... a good time was had by some.

A woman got an unexpected (and apparently unwanted) visitor during a boat trip -- it was a sea lion fearing for its life ... who tried hitching a ride as orcas started to close in.

Watch this wild encounter that was captured by a woman who goes by @nutabull on TikTok and lives on Vancouver Island ... where there's plenty of this type of action in the open waters.

Her videos start with the animal already aboard -- which startles her, 'cause she doesn't know where the heck it came from, or how it made its way up. This pinniped's got hops!

Another thing she immediately recognizes in the distance ... that she and/or her vessel are becoming the epicenter of a pod of killer whales that were starting to circle ... seemingly in pursuit of this little guy, who might normally become fish food in the wild.

The orcas get right up against the boat and start to pop out to take a peek at their would-be meal ... who's in no rush to get back into the water, despite this woman demanding he scram.

It's honestly hilarious, but also kinda sad -- because we all know damn well that as soon as it jumps back in, it's almost certainly going to be eaten. There's at least like 3 whales there!

We don't wanna spoil the ending. But, let's just say ... rest easy, sea lion. You lived a long and prosperous life, were sure. Ah damn it -- guess that sums it up. BTW, this woman's rationale for giving it the boot is pretty funny too ... replying to someone in her comments.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s name got dragged into R. Kelly's federal trial on multiple sex crimes in a pretty outrageous way -- his attorney says the singer should be acquitted because he's just like MLK.

Yeah, try to catch your breath. Closing arguments are going down Thursday in the federal court in Brooklyn, NY -- and defense attorney Deveraux Cannick drew the comparison by telling the jury Kelly is demanding prosecutors prove he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt ... the same way Dr. King fought for Constitutional rights.

He went on to quote a part of MLK's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, declaring ... "Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press."

His point seemed to be that Dr. King wanted the government to uphold the Constitution, and Kelly's doing the same ... in his sex crimes trial.

Mind you, Kelly's attorneys only called a handful of witnesses to the stand during the trial -- most of whom merely stated they hadn't seen Kelly doing anything illegal. The singer himself chose not to testify, although that's not uncommon.

Cannick also claimed prosecutors encouraged witnesses to lie on the stand.

Debra Messing became a huge TV star in the late '90s, and apparently, she thinks "Saturday Night Live" operates the same as it did back then ... because she doesn't have a clue why Kim Kardashian's hosting it.

The "Will & Grace" star took the bait after it was revealed the reality star would become the first Kardashian to host 'SNL' next month by airing her grievances on Twitter.

Debra questioned the choice, then added a back-handed compliment by saying ... "I know she is a cultural icon, but SNL has hosts, generally, who are performers who are there to promote a film, TV show, or album launch."

She added, "Am I missing something?"

Yep, she's missing something. The world changed, and reality stars are at the center of pop culture and Lorne Michaels is not only a great producer but a businessman who's in the business of getting ratings ... and that's exactly what's gonna happen when Kim hosts.  Remember a decade ago, when actors groused that reality stars like the Kardashians were famous for doing nothing? Debra clearly hasn't let it go.

What's more, the Kardashians have a massive project coming to Hulu, a leading TV and film streaming service ... so Messing is clearly just out of the loop.

You may recall ... when Elon Musk was tapped to host last season, many people were up in arms about it because he's not an entertainer.

Oh yeah, and one of those people ... was Debra Messing.

As for shading Kim, fans let Messing have it, one saying, "Yes Debra, you are missing something. Like the last 40 years." Another jabbed, "She’s arguably one of the most famous people in the world. It’s a smart decision by SNL ... Ppl who say she’s famous for being famous would kill to be famous for being famous. She uses her platform for positive things. Everyone RELAX"

Lil Baby needs to bend his ear for a minute ... celeb jeweler Ben Baller's offering sound advice on how the rapper can avoid another fake Patek Philippe watch fiasco.

We got Ben out in WeHo Tuesday morning to get his take on the "Drip Too Hard" rapper dropping $400,000 for one of the most luxurious watches in the world ... only to find out it was a total fake.

Ben -- who has done sick bling work for the likes of Elon Musk, Kid Cudi and A$AP Rocky, to name just a few -- says it all comes down to building relationships. How, specifically?

The celeb jeweler tells us Lil Baby's best bet is to hit up Patek Philippe authorized dealers on and buy small, establish yourself as a loyal client and build your way up.

For the uninitiated ... Lil Baby was hyped about copping the 40th-anniversary Nautilus Patek Philippe watch. Problem was ... after posting a pic on Instagram ahead of his arrival at the Met Gala, watch aficionados realized -- and alerted Lil Baby -- his watch was a fake.

The rapper was furious ... to the point he publicly called out the jeweler who sold him the watch, Rafaello & Co. The jeweler has since admitted it sold the rapper a fake by mistake.

The company also issued a public apology, gave Lil Baby a full refund and gifted him 4 diamond rings "as a token of our sincere apologies."

That's cool and all ... but Ben Baller's other big advice for Lil Baby -- never, EVER buy a Patek Philippe from a jeweler. The watch game right now is so insane ... there's only one place you'd wanna go to spend this kind of money for a luxurious watch.

Nicole Richie is probably wishing for a fire extinguisher on her 40th birthday ... because her hair was set ablaze during her birthday dinner.

The actress posted a video Tuesday showing herself blowing out the candles on a cake to ring in the big 4-0 -- and all seemed to be going well, until she reached the final candle ... and flew a little too close to the sun.

Some stray strands of her locks made contact with the flame below, and the fire quickly jumped onto her body and started climbing up. It actually looks like the other side of her head might've caught fire as well -- but that was quickly put out by someone nearby.

However, her right side was still caught in the flame ... and she starts to scream as it spreads. The video cuts out before we can find out what happens next -- but we're assuming NR is okay.

Her caption to this read, "Well... so far 40 is 🔥." Pretty jokey, so you gotta figure she walked away from this relatively unscathed. Still, pretty freaky nonetheless.

A cheerleader at a Missouri high school says the athletic department is blocking her from joining her team on the field this year ... because officials claim her wheelchair might damage the football turf.

Lacy Kiper -- who was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type 5 that breaks her bone easily -- told FOX 8 that this would have been her second year cheering, but Truman High School is keeping her from being with the team.

The reason behind the school's restriction -- Lacy claims she was told it's due to her wheelchair potentially damaging the turf.

"They didn’t want my wheels, I guess, to be too heavy and damage a little bit of the turf for me to get stuck in it," the 18-year-old says.

"But, even for the basketball gym, they said no. And I was like, 'That’s a floor that I go on all the time.'"

Lacy's father, Charles, is totally against what the school is doing ... but told the outlet he is willing to do anything to allow his daughter to join the team on the field this season.

"I told the school I would put her on the mats if they want, I will be there at every game if they want," Charles says.

"I'll make sure that she's got someone to assist her in anyway to be a part of this team and they have pretty much turned me down on most everything."

The Independence School District released a statement on the matter ... saying it cannot explain its side of things due to not having consent from Lacy's parents.

"The District cannot substantively respond to such inaccuracies without consent to release student records from the parent. In this matter, the parent chose not to sign HIPAA and FERPA releases to allow the District to respond."

Bills fans were at it again this weekend as their team got set to face the Miami Dolphins -- busting out the foldable tables for body slams ... only this time, making it combustible.

Check out this crazy video showing a rowdy bunch from the so-called 'Mafia' raging in the parking lot of Hard Rock Stadium ahead of kickoff ... and carrying on their tailgate tradition of throwing themselves (or each other) into Lifetimes -- cracking it in the middle.

They were doing the same here ... except, it was one dude being hoisted up by a couple others, who then tossed him onto a table that was on fire. Looks like a lighter fluid job.

Sure enough, he hits it -- but the table doesn't really snap like it's supposed to ... and even freakier, the guy seems to get caught in the flames for a quick minute. Luckily, he's able to jump out in time before catching on fire himself and runs to safety. Probably a little toasty, we're sure.

As dangerous as the table stunt already is, this takes it to a whole other level -- and it goes without saying ... don't try this at home, kids.

Marvel's newest action hero actor, Simu Liu, allegedly once compared being a pedophile to being gay -- which he likened to a genetic mutation and an illness ... and something he was sympathetic toward.

The lead star of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is in the crosshairs of Twitter right now, as people have resurfaced old Reddit posts from an account that's being attributed to him ... and which even appears to have ID'd itself as belonging to Simu at various points.

The account has since been deleted, and a lot of those posts are scrubbed, but content lives forever on the internet ... and many of the posts in question -- including the pedophilia ones -- have been screen-grabbed and cataloged ... and the dude's catching major heat for it now.

The pedophilia posts are the most outrage-inducing ... as the account literally says pedophilia is no different from being gay, from a biological standpoint. It goes on to dissect research that the owner of the account says they'd done for a role of theirs in which they played a pedo.

We won't get into the nitty-gritty -- you can read their full take above -- but let's just say ... the user here suggests pedophiles need help -- but NOT conversion therapy, something that's been used (controversially so) among certain groups to "treat" gay people's sexual orientation.

The user also makes it clear that taking advantage of minors is wrong -- but the whole argument is weird and convoluted ... and gets into dicey territory. Of course, this person roping in LGBT folks to get their point across makes it all the more inflammatory.

Simu himself seems to have responded to this controversy -- linking back to a 2019 tweet of his in which he says he's only advocated for positivity in his life, and to direct any anger at him to "the system that did this to ALL of us."

He also replied to that with this new thought, "Twitter is a slanderous place sometimes, and it feels good to shut down trolls and bad faith actors who want to drag your name through the mud." Unclear what that might mean exactly, or if it's an admission of ownership of the posts.

JoJo Siwa says her relationship with Nickelodeon isn't fractured beyond repair amid a dispute over her upcoming tour ... but she says it's gonna take a lot for them to mend fences.

We got JoJo outside the Loews Hotel in NYC and asked her about Tuesday's beef with Nickelodeon. She says the network's blocking her from performing songs from her recently released musical when she embarks on a 37-city tour in January.

JoJo told us her problem is Nickelodeon treating her like she's just a brand ... and forgetting she's a person too.

You can tell from her tone ... JoJo's ticked off the relationship's gone south. She says she's frustrated folks with less tenure than her at Nickelodeon are trying to call the shots on what she can and can't sing.

While JoJo says her home network's not supporting her ... she's turning to other child stars like Bella Thorne, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato for sage advice.

Sounds like JoJo's hopeful they can still come to an agreement before her tour, but she also leaves open the possibility of going against the grain.

Lil Mo is calling out Fat Joe for referring to her as a dusty bitch crackhead during "Verzuz" ... saying he's way outta line, and totally insensitive to all people battling addiction.

Here's the deal ... Fat Joe came under fire after ripping Lil Mo and another female rap legend, Vita, during his Tuesday night musical showdown with Ja Rule. He said Ja must have found them in a "crack house."

Lil Mo tells TMZ ... Fat Joe's comments are "vile" and "disrespectful" and he should know better than to use those degrading terms, especially in light of recent celeb deaths, like Michael K. Williams, from drug problems.

In fact, Lil Mo says Joe's disses were actually triggering to her, because -- even though she's clean now -- she's dealt with her own opioid addiction issues in the past.

Fat Joe ended up apologizing publicly -- he also says he told Lil Mo and Vita sorry to their faces -- and Remy Ma rushed to his defense on social media, but Lil Mo says he shouldn't get off the hook so easy.

Usher is standing up and speaking out for his pal Jermaine Dupri ... telling us JD definitely has bangers to compete with Diddy on "Verzuz" -- despite what the latter says about it.

We got Mr. Raymond out Wednesday in Hollywood, where we asked about this back and forth his music industry friends and mentors had about a potential song-for-song showdown on the big stage.

Sounds neat, but Puff made it seem like he was too good for all that -- or too good for JD, rather ... suggesting the dude doesn't match him on hits. To that, Usher says ... hold up!

When we explained what Diddy's saying in response to Jermaine's proposed matchup -- namely, that JD isn't on his level, Usher gave us a side-eye look ... and then defended his longtime producing partner -- who literally made "Confessions" go diamond, among many other accolades.

You gotta watch how Usher breaks it down here -- because on the one hand, he clarifies that Jermaine absolutely has a catalog of hits that could stand up to Diddy's ... but he stops short of declaring who'd be the winner. His allegiance is clearly torn down the middle.

If you didn't know, Diddy gave Usher his start in the music industry and they have deep ties -- but Jermaine has worked with him more often, and has helped Usher reach unimaginable success. It's a tight rope of a convo, but Usher handles it pretty well.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Met Gala dress looks like a carbon copy of one designer's own brand -- at least according to the designer, but she doesn't want a fight ... just a collab.

An IG user who goes by the Velvet Bandit posted photos of AOC in her "Tax the Rich" dress stacked up against some artwork she claims to have designed ... and says something looks a little too familiar. Specifically, she's talking about the font and typeface of the words themselves.

VB writes, "@AOC stepped out at the Met Gala wearing a dress designed by @aurorajames that looks hella similar to my design. 😳"

Velvet continues by saying her own "Tax the Rich" thing went viral on TikTok after putting her work up all around Sausalito, CA, and she adds ... "This dress bears the same likeness as my handwriting." Sounds ominous, but she simmers down.

The street artist doesn't seem particularly litigious ... saying she admires both AOC and the designer of her dress, Aurora James, and would like nothing more than to work with them.

She says she's a lunch lady and a single mom, and doesn't have the time or influence to try to reach out to famous people for gigs.

Instead, she's asking people to tag and/or share this with the congresswoman and her designer, adding ... "They need a female street artist working on their team, dontcha think? It would be an honor. Obviously they have fabulous taste." Well ... (de)escalated quickly. 😅