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Aaron Rodgers just unloaded on a reporter who said the QB does not deserve the MVP award this year ... calling the journalist "an absolute bum."

The Packers superstar ripped Chicago media member Hub Arkush for nearly two minutes on a conference call Wednesday -- just 24 hours after the reporter said Rodgers isn't his 2021 MVP because he's a "jerk."

"I think he’s a bum," Rodgers said of Arkush. "I think he’s an absolute bum."

"He doesn’t know me. I don't know who he is. No one knew who he was probably until yesterday’s comments."

If you missed it, Arkush said Rodgers wouldn't get his MVP vote this year because of the quarterback's COVID vaccine drama and his offseason gripe with Packers brass.

"I don’t think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team, and your organization and your fan base the way he did and be the Most Valuable Player," Arkush said on Chicago's 670 The Score.

Rodgers clearly wasn't happy to hear the comments ... saying, "His problem isn't with me being a bad guy or the biggest jerk in the league 'cause he doesn't know me."

"His problem is I'm not vaccinated."

FYI, the NFL's MVP is selected by 50 voters, including Arkush -- and it's supposed to be based solely on players' performances during the regular season. Rodgers is favorite to win it this year, despite Arkush's opinion.

For his part, Arkush actually apologized for his comments earlier Wednesday -- but not for blasting Rodgers. He said he's sorry for simply disclosing his voting plans.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's new flames are more intertwined than they might've realized -- Julia Fox and Pete Davidson once played Barbie and Ken ... for a photo shoot, that is.

Pete's Paper Mag 2019 cover story is resurfacing amid news Ye is now dating Julia ... who actually posed opposite PD for the spread. They weren't interviewed together or anything -- it was Pete's show, and she just assisted as his photogenic (plastic) counterpart.

The story doesn't explain how Julia came to be recruited for the project -- but it does mention she's from NYC, just like Pete, and that she starred in "Uncut Gems," which was produced by Pete's friend Sebastian Bear-McClard. Presumably, they run in the same in the circles ... or did, back in the day.

Speaking of circles, Paper Mag is the same outlet that featured Kim posing butt-ass naked a few years back ... when she "broke the Internet." So, this all connects in a very weird way.

Some are running wild with conspiracy theories about how this all appears planned and/or concocted somehow, arguing there's no way each couple shares this history by coincidence.

A youth basketball player's father has been charged with felony assault ... after video captured him barreling over a ref during his son's game last month.

Prosecutors in King County, WA. tell TMZ Sports ... 31-year-old Mark McLaughlin has been hit with one count of assault in the second degree after they say he violently knocked over a referee in a Dec. 16 altercation, causing serious injuries to the official.

According to court documents, authorities say McLaughlin became so enraged after refs touched his son following an on-court incident at a middle school basketball game ... he ran onto the floor and forcefully shoved one of the officials to the ground.

Video of the alleged incident, filmed by a fan in the stands, showed how the scene played out ... and it's disturbing.

The footage allegedly shows McLaughlin, who prosecutors say is 6 feet 6, 215 pounds, racing in from the bleachers and walloping one of the refs.

In the video, you can see the ref hit the floor hard -- and needed help getting up while the suspect stormed out of the venue.

In the court docs, officials say it took nearly an hour and a half for the ref's face to stop bleeding ... and say he was ultimately diagnosed with a broken nose and a broken cheekbone after he was checked out at the hospital.

McLaughlin was booked into jail on Dec. 17 and posted bail on Dec. 18, according to prosecutors. He pled not guilty to the charge at a court hearing on Monday morning.

Billie Eilish will fill a headliner spot at this year's Coachella -- making her the second out of three names -- and a big question mark for Travis Scott's status with the festival.

A source with knowledge tells us Eilish has signed on as one of the event's big names for 2022. 2020's edition had Frank Ocean, Rage Against the Machine and Travis Scott as the three headliners before it was canceled because of COVID-19.

Frank is now committed to 2023's festival, and Rage Against the Machine is reportedly not headlining 2022's edition ... which left 2 empty spots with Travis.

The first was filled by Swedish House Mafia, who announced their return to music a couple months ago -- and now the 2nd will be Billie.

NASCAR just put a stop to Brandon Brown's anti-Joe Biden car sponsorship ... rejecting the driver's deal with the "Let's Go Brandon" crypto company.

The racing org. has yet to confirm the decision ... but Brown's Brandonbilt Motorsports team was highly upset with the call, releasing a lengthy statement on Wednesday.

"NASCAR did not speak with Brandonbilt Motorsports prior to making their decision to rescind the approval and multiple attempts to set-up a conversation to address this matter went unacknowledged," the team said ... adding it went through all proper protocols to get the A-OK from the org. before Brown's new car debuted last week.

"We are disappointed that NASCAR leadership has chosen to rescind approval of this sponsorship and feel they should have the confidence to own their decision to backtrack and not gaslight a team or a driver."

As we previously reported, Brown -- whose name inspired the infamous "Let's Go Brandon" chant -- struck a deal last month with LGBcoin.io, which clearly took its name from the viral moment.

But, the deal was a bit of a head-scratcher, considering NASCAR decided it would not allow any "Let's Go Brandon" related sponsorships after the meme spread like wildfire in November.

Brandon's team also took a shot at NASCAR's leadership for putting them in an "awkward position" ... essentially saying Brown's getting screwed over.

The Chicago Blackhawks game against the Jets was postponed last Wednesday, so players Caleb Jones and Connor Murphy attempted to have a nice dinner ... but while in the restaurant, thieves allegedly stuck up the valet and jacked both players cars, TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us 24-year-old Jones and 28-year-old Murphy were having dinner just blocks from the United Center on December 29 around 8 PM. We're told while the men were inside, thieves approached the valet and stuck an unknown object in their back, demanding the car keys.

Murphy's 2017 Porsche Panamera and Jones' 2021 Jeep Trackhawk were both taken. When new, the Panamera runs about $100K+ ... and the Trackhawk, $90K+.

Chicago police are currently investigating the alleged crimes.

It's unclear if Jones and Murphy were targeted ... or if the theft was random.

As for the player's careers ... Caleb, a defenseman, was the 117th overall pick (Edmonton Oilers) in the 2015 NHL Draft. He's played in 11 games for the Blackhawks this season ... his first with the organization.

Caleb comes from an athletic family. His brother Seth Jones is also a member of the Blackhawks ... and his dad is former NBA player, "Popeye" Jones.

Connor, also a defenseman, was the 20th overall pick of the Coyotes in 2011. He's played in 29 games for the team this season.

We reached out to the Blackhawks ... but so far, no word back.

Corey Gamble looks like he's got Tristan Thompson's back amid all the Khloe Kardashian drama ... because he's got a jersey with Tristan's name on the back.

Kris Jenner's boyfriend was leaving Tuesday's Lakers and Kings game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles when he whipped out a Thompson No. 13 jersey from a bag he was holding. It was game-worn too -- Tristan handed it to him at the end of the game.

Corey made a point of showing the Kings jersey to the paparazzi ... sending the message that he's supporting Tristan in the middle of a very rough week for the NBA star -- which is kinda surprising.

CG and TT have run in the same circles for years with the Kardashians ... so there's a history here -- but, let's face it, Corey's loyalty has gotta be with Kris, and it's hard to imagine she's too happy with Tristan right now.

As you know ... Tristan revealed Monday he fathered a child with Maralee Nichols, and promptly apologized to Khloe, who he was publicly dating last year when Nichols got pregnant.

Tristan also delivered a bouquet of roses to True ahead of his apology to her mother.

So far, the Kardashians have yet to publicly respond to Tristan's confession and apology -- but Corey's sending a strong message by heading home with TT's jersey.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are finished, but it appears he's now trying to create a new version of his soon-to-be ex-wife -- dressing new girlfriend Julia Fox top to bottom in Balenciaga -- a brand that has become synonymous with Kim.

Check out Julia's looks over the last week or so as the pair hit Miami and NYC. First, Julia was spotted on South Beach rocking a Balenciaga top.

Fast forward to Tuesday night in NYC. Julia wore a blue coat to "Slave Play" on Broadway -- but was in a much different look as she and Ye left dinner at Carbone. Julia was dressed almost head-to-toe in black Balenciaga -- coat, gloves, purse and top -- when she and Kanye piled into their SUV after dinner. We should note -- Carbone is a favorite of Kim's.

Interestingly enough -- Julia seems to be a fan of Kim and her Skims brand -- posing in the shapewear in the past. Not to mention, she follows Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kylie, Kendall and Scott Disick on Instagram.

Of course, Kim has almost exclusively been spotted in Balenciaga lately -- from the Met Gala to her opening monologue look on 'SNL.'

Jana Duggar's child endangerment case is settled after the reality star fessed up to her crime.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star has pled guilty to a third-degree count of endangering the welfare of a minor in Arkansas -- this according to court docs obtained by TMZ. The paperwork shows Jana entered her plea on Dec. 15 ... closing the book on her case.

As a result, she had to pay fines and fees -- totaling $880 ... with $100 of that going toward what the court describes as a Child Victim Crime Fee.

Jana, who'd initially pled not guilty, explained what this was all about last month -- when news about her criminal case broke. She said she was babysitting, and one of the kids slipped out through the front door unnoticed by accident.

Somebody saw the child outside and called cops, which resulted in Jana getting ticketed. She said it was a mistake that could've happened to anybody ... and denied doing anything to purposely put any of the children at risk. Her family backed her up in supporting statements.

The timing of her charge coincided with her brother, Josh Duggar, getting convicted in his child porn case ... which made some folks believe she herself might've been wrapped up in something more dubious than just a babysitting slip-up.

A group of rowdy Canadians are gonna have to find another way home after partying their faces off aboard a flight from the Great White North to Mexico ... which got out of control.

Check out this video ... it's a bunch of what appear to be 20-somethings throwing down in the cabin of a Sunwing Airlines plane as they jet down to Cancun for New Year's Eve. This was shot a day before NYE, BTW, so they've been there almost a full week now.

As you can see, it's pure mayhem in the aisles ... with folks smoking vapes, drinking booze and hoisting each other up for a little crowd surfing in the tightly packed area. Of course, nobody seems to be wearing masks ... or abiding by any sort of protocol whatsoever.

Indeed, it looks like a college frat party -- and if you're wondering where the flight crew was and how they could let things get this out of hand ... word is, the attendants actually gave up trying to establish order with this raucous bunch, and hid away toward the front and/or back, letting the passengers have their way -- this per local reports, citing a union rep.

There's also this ... a lot of these airplane partiers are apparently somewhat famous, as some of them have been described as social media influencers or reality TV stars in their homeland -- although, no specific names have surfaced just yet.

The bad behavior didn't go unnoticed in the end ... in fact, it's actually being thoroughly investigated by the Canadian federal government, with its own Minister of Transport explicitly calling for accountability against these folks -- calling their actions "unacceptable."

Sunwing itself has also launched an investigation ... and took further steps to punish 'em all, by canceling their flight back to Montreal which was scheduled for Wednesday.

In addition to being left stranded south of the border, the unruly crowd also faces potential hefty fines -- up to $5,000 for each violation -- and if they do this again on a returning flight home ... they could even get jail time, as Canada is super strict on COVID rules these days.

As you might imagine, cases are sky-high up there right now ... just like elsewhere across the world -- and the government has advised people to avoid international travel if they can.

Not saying this would solve the problem here, since the mob clearly overtook the situation. But ... maybe the Canadians can take some pointers from American flight attendants, who've been getting resourceful, of late, to restrain disorderly dissenters in the skies.

Kanye West is in the midst of a pretty romantic tour with Julia Fox, hitting up NYC Tuesday night ... on the heels of introducing her to his close pals, including N.O.R.E., during a whirlwind weekend in Miami.

Tuesday night Ye and the actress did a classic New York date -- a Broadway play, followed by dinner at Carbone. The couple drew plenty of attention as they entered the restaurant.

By the way, they'd just taken in a popular, provocative and perhaps appropriate play -- Julia and Ye had tickets to see "Slave Play." The acclaimed production deals with race, sex, gender, traumatic experiences and ... interracial relationships. It's been nominated for 12 Tony Awards.

The couple clearly loves the menu at Carbone, because that's also where they dined Monday night ... but that was down in Miami, where they had a double date with Drink Champs host Noreaga and his wife, Neri.

For those keeping track, we're told that was date #3 for Ye and Julia, who seemed pretty comfortable as she whispered in his ear during the MIA dinner.

N.O.R.E. and Ye have been friends for years, and here's a fun fact ... Kanye's nickname for his firstborn -- Nori -- is inspired by his old buddy.

Anyway, we're told there was nothing low-key about their outing -- plenty of fans in the restaurant spotted the famous couples and snapped shots with them.

Ye and the actress -- best known for "Uncut Gems" -- have been nearly inseparable since date #1 ... which came New Year's Day in Miami.

Our sources say they managed to keep date #2, presumably on Sunday, more out of the public eye ... but also met up with some of his friends for that one.

We're told the friend that time was none other than Future! No word if he was third-wheeling or had his own date.

Lassie lives!!! Or at least the spirit of Lassie lives on in a German shepherd named Tinsley -- the pup not only survived a car accident but helped flag down first responders to rescue his hooman!

Cops in New Hampshire say they got a call around 10 PM Tuesday for a loose German shepherd on a highway near the NH/VT border. When officers responded, the dog refused to come close to them, and it ran away. Cops followed the dog, who led them to the scene of a nasty crash.

It turns out Tinsley and his owner had been in a terrible truck accident. Tinsley was able to escape, but police realized 2 other people had been ejected from the truck and were seriously injured.

Cops called for an ambulance, and all involved were taken to the hospital for further treatment.

Urban Meyer is now saying a Trayvon Martin picture was, in fact, used to try to help enforce a "no hoodies" rule at Ohio State -- but the ex-Buckeyes head coach claims he wasn't made aware of it until this week.

Former OSU defensive back Marcus Williamson had accused Meyer and the school of using the insensitive imagery at a team meeting in 2017 ... but Meyer had denied the claim.

"We did not, and never would show a picture of Trayvon Martin," Meyer said. "My gosh, no."

But, Meyer backtracked on those comments on Tuesday ... saying after talking it over with ex-Buckeye safety Tyvis Powell -- he learned the photo was actually used. Meyer insisted, though, it was not done under his orders.

"I didn't know about it until one hour ago," Meyer told The Columbus Dispatch, "until after talking to (Powell)."

"I wasn't there (in the meeting)," Meyer added. "None of the coaches were present. It was a support staffer who was in error and apologized."

Powell said former players had told him the member of the OSU staff who had used the photo "was truly uneducated on that situation & really didn't have any idea the story behind the image."

Tristan Thompson's rough week got a bit worse Tuesday night ... with his good friend LeBron James talking serious trash right in his face during the Lakers vs. Kings game.

It all went down in the closing minutes of L.A.'s matchup with Sacramento at Crypto.com Arena ... when LBJ drove the lane for a clutch and-1 layup to put the Lakers up 118-112 late in the game.

After the play, Bron headed right to the Kings' bench and yelled, "I'm a motherf***ing problem, bitch" ... with Tristan -- who didn't play in Tuesday night's game -- standing just feet away.

One of the game's announcers clearly thought it was a message directed for his ex-Cavs teammate ... saying James "looked right at him."

Tristan's reaction is priceless ... giving a sheepish look as the Lakers went on to take the win, 122-114.

Now, LeBron and Thompson have remained tight for years -- they played 4 seasons together (winning a title in 2016) ... and have remained close since LBJ joined the Lakers in 2018.

It's been a difficult stretch for Thompson -- on Monday, he revealed he fathered a child with a Houston woman and publicly apologized to his ex, Khloe Kardashian, and daughter, True, in the announcement.

Renee Graziano allegedly smashed her vehicle into a parked SUV, and now she's been arrested for driving while impaired ... TMZ has confirmed.

The "Mob Wives" star was driving her Nissan Tuesday night in Staten Island when she struck a parked Jeep Wrangler and then rolled over to the other side of the road ... according to our law enforcement sources.

We're told officers actually witnessed Renee getting out of the driver's seat of her car ... and they say she was incoherent with dilated eyes and slurred speech.

Our sources say Renee copped to having taken an Adderall earlier in the day and was promptly taken into custody for DWI. Daily Mail first reported her arrest.

No one was in the parked Jeep she allegedly hit, and we're told Renee was taken to a hospital for a blood test.

Joe Exotic's got his hand out because he's desperate and needs to fork over some dough to the woman he so affectionately calls "that bitch Carole Baskin."

The 'Tiger King' star is launching a GoFundMe, and asking for an incredible $500,000 to cover recent legal fees associated with his ongoing feud with Carole.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... a judge sanctioned Joe and instructed him to pay Carole nearly $10,000 from a dispute over the infamous Oklahoma zoo he used to own.

What's more, Joe says he still owes $1 million to Carole's Big Cat Rescue from her trademark infringement lawsuit ... and he needs help covering that debt too.

Joe makes a heartfelt plea on his GoFundMe, saying ... "I will walk out of prison with my clothes on my back, a $1 million judgment and no home or clothes. My health is deteriorating and prison has not been kind. Simply put, I cannot get a fresh start until I pay @$&#!%! Carole Baskin back."

We're told Joe even appealed to honchos at GoFundMe to get the page approved, and it's essentially a "pay that bitch Carole Baskin back fund."