You Might Want to Rethink

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins says a Dallas Stars fan crossed the line before Monday night's game ... claiming he was taunted over the death of his teammate Matiss Kivlenieks -- and now the team is investigating.

Merzlikins -- who was friends with Kivlenieks before his tragic passing in July -- says he was walking out of the tunnel before taking the ice in Columbus when a fan in a Stars sweater started heckling him.

The 27-year-old addressed the incident with reporters after the 4-1 win, saying he truly believes the nasty remark resulted in karma on the ice.

"I was expecting a shutout because I believe in karma," Merzlikins said. "There are some stupid people in this world. It was really bad what happened in the tunnel when I was walking out. There was a fan from Dallas who (provoked) me about Matiss."

"After the first period, the three posts that I got, I really believed in karma. I saw that he was really there."

Merzlikins says he did not respond to the fan or get upset over the comment ... adding, "stupid people don't really come in my head."

Here's a firm lesson that alligators are NOT the slowpokes they're often made out to be -- especially when they're in their liquid turf ... these bastards are fast and furious!

Check out this wild video of a guy who was swimming in a lake down in Campo Grande, Brazil over the weekend, when he had a freaky run-in with the apex predator that was on his ass as he was trying to swim to shore.

It seems the man had no idea he was being scoped out by the gator -- but once he did realize he had company ... he tried to book it.

As he's approaching the shore, you see the alligator torpedo its way toward the poor dude -- and it actually takes a chomp on his torso, only to release him as he continues to flee. Give credit to this fella for keeping his swim going, 'cause the animal could've easily latched on and taken him under.

Looks like the gator pierced some skin, as the man was indeed bleeding when he emerged. Hard to tell how bad the injury is -- but he's lucky to have walked away in one piece.

Waka Flocka's wife, Tammy Rivera, is fuming over a CVS employee who she believes racially profiled and harassed her -- but she's also making an appeal to save the woman's job.

ICYMI, Tammy went off Sunday with a couple of video posts ... one of them from inside the CVS in DeKalb County, GA as the alleged profiling was going down. Tammy said she frequents this CVS and knows all the employees, but the woman she encountered this time was new.

Tammy claims the staffer eyeballed her constantly, up and down every aisle, and yelled at Tammy for opening a hair accessory she intended to buy. The whole scene escalated when the clerk tried to kick TR out of the store, and police were called.

She eventually left the store to avoid trespassing charges, but Monday morning Tammy called her CVS to file a complaint, and she got a quick response from the general manager ... who called back to apologize.

A rep for CVS tells TMZ ... it has a "firm non-discrimination policy" and it's committed to ensuring that all customers are "treated with respect and are offered courteous customer service." The rep added they've launched an investigation.

Tammy tells us she's told CVS she doesn't want the woman to get fired, but instead, would like to see her get more education and training. As Tammy put it ... if it happened to me, it's probably happened to other Black or Latina customers.

J Balvin is issuing a mea culpa for a music video of his that portrayed Black people -- especially women -- as animals ... namely, dogs ... who were literally on all fours.

The Colombian reggaetón star took to IG to apologize for the controversial visual offering of his track "Perra" with Dominican rapper, Tokischa, who's of African descent herself. The track's all about how she (Tokischa) is a dog in heat ... and looking for a male to bang.

Naturally, the video would be provocative ... but it seems Balvin and co. went all in on the canine theme -- getting a lot of their dancers/background actors in animal-style makeup, in which many of these folks of color were made to look like actual pooches.

Not just that, but some of the Black people are in cages at certain points, Tokischa is depicted in a dog house throughout the video and eating from a bowl ... and the most striking image is when J Balvin himself is walking a couple of Black ladies on leashes.

The project was slammed by several critics, but the biggest may have been Colombia's very own Vice President and Chancellor Marta Lucia Ramirez ... who deemed it sexist, misogynistic and flat-out racist. After all the backlash -- it was taken down by Balvin.

In his video, Balvin says he's sorry to anyone who was offended ... especially women, and especially Black women. He says he didn't mean for it to be interpreted as degrading -- noting he was simply trying to help give some shine to an up-and-coming artist in the Dominican Republic.

Balvin says his work has always been about tolerance, love and inclusivity -- and after hearing how it affected people ... he felt the need to come on and address it on camera.

The guy even apologizes to his own mother at one point ... so you can tell he's taking it seriously. While the video was removed from YouTube ... the official audio is still up.

The smoking gun that claimed the life of Halyna Hutchins might've been more than just an on-set prop -- it was also being fired recreationally, even when cameras weren't rolling.

Multiple sources directly connected to the 'Rust' production tell TMZ ... the same gun Alec Baldwin accidentally fired -- hitting the DP and director -- was being used by crews members off set as well, for what we're told amounted to target practice.

We're told this off-the-clock shooting -- which was allegedly happening away from the movie lot -- was being done with real bullets ... which is how some who worked on the film believe a live round found its way in one of the chambers that day.

Obviously, authorities would want to speak to anyone who had been using the weapon for target practice, and -- more importantly -- to whoever was putting the gun back among others used for filming.

We've reached out to law enforcement to see if that's happened yet.

Dr. Fauci might be getting grilled anew -- Congress wants to know why his branch of the NIH allegedly funded research that saw puppies being tortured in the name of science.

A bombshell report from The Hill -- based on docs a nonprofit called the White Coat Waste Project claims to have obtained via FOIA -- suggests the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases partially funded experiments being conducted in Tunisia between late 2018 and early 2019, in which upwards of nearly 4 dozen young beagles were being killed.

WCWP alleges these docs show the NIAID, under the umbrella of the NIH, paid anywhere between $375k up to $1.68 million in grant money for drug research ... which was apparently being carried out on 44 puppies, this despite the fact the FDA condemns such practice.

Some of the twisted experiments alleged to have been carried out include putting puppies' heads into mesh containers, and letting sand flies eat them alive. Some of the puppies are also said to have been left out in the desert overnight for 9 days straight -- where there, too, they were devoured by the infectious flies ... which can carry deadly viruses.

The lab workers are alleged to have silenced the dogs' barking by surgically removing their vocal cords, so they could work in peace. As a result of these ghastly claims, 24 members of the House of Representatives have fired off a letter demanding accountability.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R) led the charge, but got support from several colleagues across the aisle ... including signatures from Reps. Ted Lieu, Cindy Axne, Steve Cohen, Jimmy Gomez, Josh Gottheimer, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mike Quigley, Terri Sewell and other Dems.

Lil Nas X jokingly said he had a new song coming out with Boosie Badazz -- but the latter didn't think it was funny ... and hurled every homophobic slur he could at the guy.

The Louisiana rapper unloaded on LNX Saturday with an expletive-laden diatribe that's shocking -- calling Nas X the f-slur, among other things ... while also telling the 'Montero' artist that he should kill himself.

Boosie writes, "STOP TROLLING ME F***** LOL 📷U A WHOLE BITCH PLAYING WITH A GANGSTA SMH U CAN KEEP SUCKING D*** N GETTIN F***** N YOUR ASS."

As if the horrendous homophobia wasn't enough, he continued ranting and telling Nas X to kill himself, claiming he'd be doing the world a favor if he did so.

Yeah, we know ... it's wild, and about as unhinged as we've ever seen Boosie on this topic.

The hate speech comes on the heels of an IG video Nas X made, where he claimed he had a new collab coming out with Boosie ... obviously, a troll comment, as everyone knows Boosie would likely never agree to something like that ... based on his well-documented history.

Lil Nas X doesn't appear to have responded to Boosie's rant just yet -- but something tells us he'll have something to say. This one just goes way too far not to address.

Sisqo is giving Drake some sage advice on how to deal with doppelgängers ... he says it's best not to drag them to court.

We got the "Thong Song" singer in New York City this week and asked him what Champagne Papi should do about his imposter down in Miami who is going clubbing all over South Beach.

Sisqo's a bit of an expert in this particular area ... remember, he infamously dealt with a lookalike back in 2017, when the imposter was able to score all sorts of perks at New York Fashion Week.

The Drake impostor recently cropped up in Miami, and he's been getting tons of attention.

Sisqo says whenever Drake finds the guy's true identity, it doesn't do a lot of good to sue him ... a departure from Sisqo's original reaction to his own impostor.

Despite threatening legal action back in the day, Sisqo says he never followed through with a lawsuit ... after finding some common ground with the fake Sisqo.

YouTube stars Charles & Alyssa Forever went on a huge shopping spree at a Spirit Halloween store in Arizona ... but after they got what they wanted for a video, they returned the merch.

The YouTubers strolled in to the Spirit Halloween costume store in Tempe earlier this month, and we're told they spent over $1,000 on costumes and accessories.

The store's employee, Tracy, tells us she recognized the couple when they came in ... and she helped them shop for several hours and even gave them a 20% discount on one of the items.

Tracy says she asked the YouTubers if they needed the costumes for a party and Charles told her ... "Something like that."

Not long after, we're told staff at the store noticed the couple posted 2 videos wearing the costumes ... and then they were shocked when Charles' sister came in and returned almost $900 worth of used gear.

Some of the costumes worn and returned by the YouTubers include ... Chucky, nun, priest, escaped convict, policeman, nurse and hospital gown costumes. They also purchased a flask.

We’re told store staff decided not to put the flask back on shelves because of the obvious ... someone may have already put their mouth on it.

While it sounds like this may rub some folks the wrong way at Spirit ... fact is, the store can't do anything or investigate because it’s not illegal, and the return policy is very flexible.

Charles and Alyssa tell TMZ ... they used the costumes for a video about cheap Halloween costumes for couples on a budget, and they wore the costumes for a couple minutes and never stepped foot out of the house in them.

The couple says they specifically asked about the return policy when they were shopping, and felt comfortable returning what they paid for ... not thinking it would be a big deal.

The YouTubers say there was no wear and tear and it was like trying the costumes on in the store ... only they did it at home and took them back.

Charles and Alyssa say they didn't use all the items, never touched the flask with their mouths, packed the costumes back nicely and returned a lot of items that didn't fit.

They say they followed the return policy and don't think they did anything wrong ... and point out Spirit should benefit from getting a video shout-out.

Reality star Harry Jowsey is under fire after a clip from his podcast calling James Charles a homophobic slur made it online, only to be deleted shortly after it was posted ... and Jowsey is already apologizing.

The former "Too Hot to Handle" star dropped a new episode of his popular 'Tap In' podcast Tuesday, and about 8 minutes in you can hear him talking to someone in the room about makeup guru James Charles ... claiming Charles is making advances on him.

Jowsey says, "James Charles is trying to f*** me ... the makeup artist. You don't know who he is? Just some f*****."

It appears the comment was not supposed to make the podcast's final cut, and seemed to be more of a conversation between Jowsey and a member of his team. However, listeners were quick to grab the audio and post it online.

The original version of Jowsey's podcast was 40 minutes long, and it's now only 27 minutes ... so it appears an editor cut the James Charles comment as well as other segments of the episode out and re-uploaded the shorter version.

Harry tells us, "I'm deeply embarrassed that I used such an offensive term so casually in conversation. I spoke with James already privately and I look forward to using this as a learning experience and not forgetting the weight that my words carry. I also want to sincerely apologize to the entire LGBTQ+ community who I wholeheartedly support.”

The comment is somewhat surprising considering Jowsey recently said he was an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, saying trans women are women and sharing he had hooked up with Nikita Dragun.

As for Charles and Jowsey, it doesn't appear the two have any sort of solid friendship, though we have seen them at the same events.

James Charles has not yet commented on the audio.

Netflix's top dog is apologizing for how his words about the Dave Chappelle special may have come across to some employees -- but he's not changing his actual stance.

Ted Sarandos gave some new thoughts on the drama over at his company that's been brewing for 2 weeks now -- confessing he "screwed up" in his initial email to Netflix staffers (which leaked), where he defended "The Closer," while also downplaying transphobic concerns.

The guy says he should've led those emails with humanity first, and acknowledged that there were a group of people that were hurting over the sheer nature of Dave's stand-up.

As far as what Sarandos says he might change in hindsight, he says he probably would've mentioned that content can, in fact, have real-world impact ... be it bad or good, something he seemed to dismiss by analogizing Chappelle's special to first-person shooter games.

That said, he's standing firm on his main point -- namely, that this special, specifically, does NOT fall under hate speech, does NOT cause real-world harm ... and won't be taken down. So, essentially, Ted's apologizing for how he relayed that sentiment ... not the sentiment itself.

He noted their business has to appeal to a variety of customers with differing tastes and views than some of his employees -- and that's just something they'll have to accept.

Sarandos also said content that literally has a call to action to cause harm or remove protections from a certain protected group would cross the line -- but he simply feels Dave didn't cross that with 'Closer' ... even if some at Netflix feel differently.

There are certainly a group who are still riled up over this -- because there's an employee walkout happening Wednesday that's in direct protest to Netflix's decision to keep it up.

Ye is turning more heads in NYC than normal by covering his entire face with a mask that even he would have to admit is ... just beyond the pale.

The artist formerly known as Kanye West is strolling around the Big Apple in your standard-issue ball cap, shades, Balenciaga leather jacket -- oh, and one of those rubber or latex masks he's been wearing a lot lately!!!

This one is super light-skinned, though, to put it lightly. Hell, who we kidding? It's downright Caucasian.

Ye is even wearing something around his neck to keep the same skin tone from his head to chest. He did miss a spot -- from the back, you can see his real skin.

No one really knows what the hell he's up to with these masks. As we first reported, he's filed to trademark "Ye" for use on designer COVID-19 face masks, but we figured that was more akin to the surgical style masks we've been wearing since early 2020.

The full masks might be COVID-safe, but it's gotta be hot as hell in there. If Ye can make these things popular, there's nothing he can't do!!!

A guy thought by some to be a dead ringer for Brian Laundrie got the fright of his life when agents came storming through his hotel room.

The so-called doppelganger's name is Severin Beckwith ... he was hiking the Appalachian Trail with a pal and staying at a hotel called the Fontana Village Resort & Marina in North Carolina recently -- and U.S. Marshals gave him a rude awakening.

Beckwith tells the New Yorker he heard a knock at their hotel room door ... and before he knew it, a gang of federal agents with riot gear and shields were busting in, guns raised and pointed at his face -- proceeding to pin him down and check for signs he was Laundrie.

Apparently, one of the agents who was checking him out said he had a notch in the upper part of his inner ear -- just like Laundrie -- but luckily, Beckwith was eventually cleared.

After providing an ID and showing he didn't have Brian's tattoos, Beckwith was cut loose ... while also being warned he should shave his beard for the foreseeable future. Beckwith's rocking a shaved look (like Laundrie, who's bald). Witnesses in that area claimed to have seen Laundrie lately.

As for who ratted out Beckwith ... he says he suspects it was one of the hotel employees, who apparently fired off a photo too, which the agents showed him during the ordeal.

Drake might wanna reconsider the hatred he reportedly had for his 'Degrassi' character being in a wheelchair -- because lots of kids in wheelchairs actually felt validated thanks to his portrayal.

Madeline Robinson, executive director of Wheelchair 4 Kids, tells TMZ ... she hopes the rapper knows his role as Jimmy Brooks on 'Degrassi' really helped a lot of young people.

She says he actually made them kind of cool and, though he might not have known it, he instilled confidence and made their lives a little better. Robinson says Drake's character brought much-needed representation.

She explains ... kids in wheelchairs are often left out of things like getting invited to birthday parties or movies. She asked, "When was the last time you went to a mall and saw a kid in a wheelchair hanging out with other kids?" Sadly, she says it's rare.

ICYMI ... a writer of the Canadian teen drama show recently claimed Drake threatened to quit and took legal action against the show to get a rewrite, removing Jimmy's character from the wheelchair.

The writer claimed Drake made the demand because he worried it made him look soft. Jimmy was left paralyzed after a shooting, but ultimately underwent stem cell surgery ... allowing his character to stand with crutches in the season 7 finale.

It should be noted ... the show's writer also added that Drake relented and agreed that his character being in a wheelchair was a powerful moment on TV.

Patrick Mahomes' brother says he meant "absolutely no disrespect" by dancing on a Sean Taylor memorial Sunday ... explaining the whole thing was a complete misunderstanding.

Jackson Mahomes -- who's gained fame over the last two years for his TikToks -- recorded himself stepping on a swath of grass at FedExField that had been spray painted to honor Taylor.

The moves -- set to a popular song -- were seen as wildly inappropriate ... given that the Washington Football Team had chained off the area in order to recognize Taylor, who was having his number 21 retired 14 years after his tragic death.

Fans blasted the younger Mahomes on social media ... with others noting that he and Patrick's fiancee, Brittany Matthews, had even been standing on the logo prior to the dancing.

Jackson issued an apology hours after the Chiefs left the stadium with a win, deleting the TikTok and saying WFT officials had actually "directed" him to be there.

"I want to sincerely apologize for accidentally being on the Sean Taylor #21 at FedEx Field," Jackson said. "We were directed to stand in that area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family."

This is not the first time Jackson has created a headline at a Chiefs game this season ... just a few weeks ago, he doused a trash-talking Ravens fan with water.

Patrick said after that incident he was hopeful his brother would "learn from it."

This is just insane ... a woman not only went nuts on a plane to push her COVID conspiracy theory ... she brought her own mic along for the ride.

Check out the video ... she launches mid-flight into a rambling, incoherent tirade over her  COVID conspiracy theory. She proudly announced her beliefs to the captive audience on the plane ... and with the assist from the mic, her voice was amplified for all to hear.

At one point she immodestly boasts how she's not bad to look at, as the passengers are clearly expressing their displeasure.

The passenger who shot the video hilariously confesses they paid for wifi on the plane so the video could be quickly posted. Big thank you from TMZ!

It's unclear what happened once the plane landed, but as everyone knows by now, flying has become a s*** show with tirades and fights an everyday occurrence.