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Wizards analyst Glenn Consor is under fire for jaw-dropping comments made about Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. during Wednesday's game ... with LeBron James seemingly calling for his job.

The moment took place after KPJ hit a game-winning three-pointer to beat the Wizards, 114-111 ... with Consor saying, "Kevin Porter Jr. -- like his dad -- pulled that trigger right at the right time."

The issue??? Porter's dad, Kevin Porter Sr., was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl in 1993.

Porter Sr. claimed at the time he accidentally pulled the trigger -- which a witness later backed up -- but he spent more than 4 years behind bars as a result of the incident.

Porter Sr. later died in 2004 ... after he was shot 5 times in an incident at a bar.

Considering the Porter family's history, social media erupted in frustration over Consor's statement during the game ... including LeBron, who went off on the analyst early Thursday morning.

"Oh he thought this was cool huh!!??," James said on Twitter. "Nah we ain't going for this! Sorry but this ain't going to fly!"

He added ... "How insensitive can you be to say something like this. Beat it man! I pray for you but there's no place in our beautiful game for you!"

Others who spoke on the comments are hoping Consor mistakenly thought KPJ's father was former NBA player Kevin Porter, who led the league in assists 4 times during his 11-year career.

Porter Jr., Consor, the Wizards and the NBA have yet to comment on the situation ... but we'll keep you updated as soon as someone talks.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger says there's something that's not being talked about much, but it looms as one of the biggest threats to our country ... if Donald Trump steals the 2024 Presidential election, it could well be the end of democracy in America.

The Republican Congressman from Illinois joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and we asked him about the GOP's full-court press to install lawmakers in critical states where the party could potentially certify an election for a candidate who actually lost at the ballot box.

Kinzinger says the scariest thing leading up to the insurrection was GOP memos exploring legal technicalities for states to certify elections how they see fit ... regardless of how citizens voted.

Rep. Kinzinger says he's trying to pass election reform, but Congress has so far come up short ... and given what he's watching in his own party, he tells us he's worried about the state of our elections moving forward.

AEW star Rey Fenix suffered a horrific arm injury in the middle of his match Wednesday night ... and -- **HUGE WARNING** -- the video of the incident is extremely graphic.

Fenix was wrestling against Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus in a tag-team event with his partner, Penta Zero Miedo, at AEW Dynamite ... when the gruesome injury occurred.

Luchasaurus slammed Fenix through a table -- and as the two wrestlers hit the ground, Fenix's arm got caught in an awkward position and snapped backward.

Fenix was in an extreme amount of pain -- video from the ringside angle shows he was screaming loudly after hurting the arm.

The 31-year-old was unable to finish the match -- and he was reportedly rushed to the hospital.

No word on his condition today ... but we've reached out to AEW for comment.

Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus, meanwhile, went on to win the match as AEW personnel tended to Fenix. Jungle Boy (Luke Perry's son) tweeted afterward he hoped the star's injury wasn't too bad.

"Wishing a speedy recovery to @ReyFenixMx," the wrestler wrote. "One of the very best in the world, and one of the greatest people. It’s always an honor to share the ring with you. Much love."

Fenix is one of AEW's brightest stars -- he's known for his high-flying aerial moves, and he's a big-time crowd favorite.

Get well soon.

The organizer of the Canadian party flight says passengers are still stranded in Mexico, and he understands why millions -- including PM Justin Trudeau -- are pissed off.

James Awad, the founder of 111 Private Club -- who put the trip together -- says everyone was tested for COVID prior to getting on the flight, and the only travelers on that plane were from his group ... he chartered an entire Sunwing Airline plane solely for the event.

Awad states, "As I thoroughly reviewed the current situation, I understand why many fellow citizens are upset about the current situation."

He goes on to explain he's worked tirelessly to try to get passengers back to Canada, discussing a plan with the airline which included no food or beverage service, masks, no standing in the aisles as well as proof of a negative PCR test.

However, Awad said he couldn't come to an agreement with Sunwing because he felt passengers would need a meal on the 5-hour flight. Awad says he's attempted to charter a plane from other airlines but is also hitting a wall.

As we reported, the flight -- from Montreal to Mexico filled with Canadian partiers featured vaping, open container drinking and loud music.

Canadian PM called the event a "slap in the face" to citizens who had followed the rules and worked to try and stay healthy.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have formally released Antonio Brown ... and in announcing the news, the team called its former star a liar.

The Bucs said in a statement after officially cutting the wideout that he never indicated to their medical personnel that his ankle was too hurt to play in Sunday's game against the Jets.

Brown, of course, said the opposite in a lengthy statement Wednesday night ... claiming he did tell the team he was too injured -- and that head coach Bruce Arians still wanted him in the game nonetheless.

"While Antonio did receive treatment on his ankle and was listed on the injury report the week leading up to last Sunday's game, he was cleared to play by our medical team prior to the start of the game," the Bucs said Thursday.

"And at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play."

The Bucs went on to say that they've asked Antonio several times this week to be evaluated by "an outside orthopedic specialist" ... but say Antonio "has not complied."

"Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization," the Bucs said.

As we previously reported, Brown melted down on the sidelines of the Bucs' game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, stripping off his pads and shirt before running into the locker room.

After the blowup, Arians suggested that Brown had quit on the team ... telling Jay Glazer that he tried to get the wideout to go into the game multiple times, but AB refused and then left.

Brown, though, said Wednesday that's not the way things went down ... writing in a statement, "I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that."

"He didn't call for medical attention," Brown added. "Instead, he shouted at me, 'YOU'RE DONE!' while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs."

Arians previously said this week that Brown did not indicate to him at the time that he was hurt.

"I didn't quit," Brown insisted in his statement. "I was cut. I didn't walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out."

Brown says on Monday he saw a specialist, who told him that his ankle injury was so bad, it'll require season-ending surgery.

"What they did know until now is that on Monday morning I had an urgent MRI on my ankle," Brown said. "It shows broken fragments stuck in my ankle, the ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss, which are beyond painful. You can see the bone bulging from the outside."

Brown is now a free agent ... and he said Wednesday night he has no plans to retire.

"Once my surgery is complete, I'll be back to 100% and looking forward to next season. Business gonna be BOOMIN!"

Trevor Noah is honoring Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and others for trying to overthrow the government of their own country ... with monuments in New York City on the first anniversary of the insurrection.

The 'Daily Show' host put up an installation in the heart of the Flatiron District Thursday, which he's calling "Heroes of the Freedomsurrection."

There are 8 busts of 8 "patriots" ... Trump, Giuliani, Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, Representatives Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, plus Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon.

The monuments feature personalized engravings highlighting what Trevor says was "their involvement in that fateful day" ... and Trump's begins, "No hero played a bigger part in the Freedomsurrection than President Trump himself."

The installation is not permanent ... it's up for today only, at the corner of 23rd and Broadway.

Peter Bogdanovich -- the filmmaker behind big movies like "The Last Picture Show" and "What's Up, Doc?" -- has died.

Peter passed away Thursday at his home in Los Angeles as a result of natural causes ... his daughter, Antonia Bogdanovich, told The Hollywood Reporter.

PB vaulted to fame when he directed the critically-acclaimed 1971 black-and-white classic, 'Last Picture Show,' which earned 8 Oscar nominations ... including one for best director. He also famously directed movies like "Mask" and "Paper Moon" plus "Daisy Miller" and there's even a musical on his Hollywood resume, "At Long Last Love."

While he was known for his work behind the camera, Peter also appeared on-screen ... most notably in a recurring role playing Dr. Melfi's therapist, Elliot Kupferberg, on "The Sopranos."

Peter was twice married, but both marriages ended in divorce, he was known for dating 'Last Picture' star Cybill Shepherd, and also Dorothy Stratten ... back in 1980 when the Playboy Playmate was infamously murdered by her estranged husband.

At the time of the murder, Peter railed against Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, blaming Hef and the "Playboy sex factory" for Dorothy's demise.

Peter was 82.

Roman Reigns is back ... the Universal champion is officially free of COVID and is returning to Smackdown Friday night -- where he's expected to confront the newly crowned WWE champion Brock Lesnar -- TMZ Sports has learned.

Of course, Reigns and Lesnar were supposed to clash at WWE's 'Day 1' pay-per-view on New Year's Day in Atlanta ... but that didn't happen after Reigns tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the company to go in a different direction.

Lesnar ended up winning the title that night in a Fatal 5-way match ... defeating WWE superstars Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens, and Big E -- the reigning champion at the time.

On a recent Monday Night Raw, Brock -- flanked by manager Paul Heyman -- had some pretty strong words for the Samoan superstar.

"Before we get this party started tonight," Lesnar said, "I'd like to give a big shoutout to my good buddy, Roman Reigns, who's probably sitting at home more than likely, tuned into Monday Night Raw, tuned into the new WWE heavyweight champion. The real champion. Brock Lesnar."

"Get well soon, buddy," Lesnar sarcastically added."

Reigns and Lesnar have been feuding for years ... fighting a total of 7 times in their storied careers. They've had 4 singles matches, 2 triple threats, and 1 fatal 4-way match ... with each guy winning 3 matches apiece.

From the looks of it, Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson's first bae-cation is off to a great start ... and she's celebrating in a teeny bikini.

Kim went into selfie mode, posting a shot of herself laying out in a brown two-piece, and included the caption, "Sweet sweet fantasy baby."

We're sure Pete will co-sign on that -- as we've told you, the couple arrived in the Bahamas yesterday via a private jet and boat ... and they were all smiles as they touched down.

So far, they're enjoying some good vibes and relaxation, despite their trip coming just as Kim's ex-hubby, Kanye West, has been on a string of dates with actress Julia Fox -- they were all over Miami last weekend, before hitting NYC for dinner, at Carbone, and a Broadway play.

It's hard to ignore Kim and Julia might have the same taste (literally) -- Carbone is Kim K's fave restaurant and Julia's been decked out in Balenciaga ... which has become Kim's signature over the last year. 🤔

If the jury's still out on whether Ye and Julia are a true romance or just-for-show-mance ... Kim and Pete have definitely gotten more serious. Remember, a few weeks ago, they rented out a movie theater to watch "House of Gucci"... and this was no ordinary theater. It was the Staten Island cinema Pete's been going to his whole life.

The Super Bowl halftime show promises to be one of the most spectacular yet, thanks to Dr. Dre, but the stakes are high because if COVID somehow kills the show, Dre could lose millions.

As we reported, the show will be filled with huge stars, including Eminem, Snoop, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Dre is fronting most of the money necessary to pull off the event, and we're told it's in the millions of dollars.

Our sources say ... Dre has Event Cancellation Insurance to cover any calamity that might derail the halftime show. Problem is ... we're told there's an exclusion for COVID.

We've learned the pesky provision is called a Communicable Disease Exemption, and it's been around for years ... ever since SARS. But COVID is part of the Communicable Disease Exemption, which means the insurance policy will not cover Dre's losses if the show is 86'd.

The high, high likelihood is the show will go on as planned. There's cautious optimism Omicron will peak later this month ... and the Super Bowl is set for February 13th.

Even if there's an explosion of cases and the crowds are either scaled back or even eliminated, the game will go on ... similar to how it went down last year in the throes of the pandemic. The other possibility, the NFL has made it clear it wants fans in the stands, and if that can't happen at L.A.'s SoFi Stadium, the game could be moved to say, Dallas.

Shawn Mendes is a couple months single -- which may have opened up more time in his schedule to hit the gym -- as evidenced in new pics of the singer on the beach.

Shawn hit the sand in Miami Wednesday -- soaking up the sun, waves and some screen-time on his phone. Shawn looked somber, but hard to imagine he'd be sad taking in the beautiful views.

While he mostly appeared to be solo, at one point a few fans stopped by to chat with the singer.

It was back in November when Shawn and then-girlfriend Camila Cabello announced they were ending their relationship. In a statement, the two said, "Hey guys, we've decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever."

Bobbi Kristina Brown's old townhome in Atlanta, Georgia -- where she overdosed in the bathtub and later died -- has sold, TMZ has learned.

The 3-bedroom 4-bath pad was previously owned by Bobbi's mom, Whitney Houston, and was first listed for $599,000. The property was taken off the market in 2020, but listed again in November for $715,000 ... and sold for $715,100.

It was January 2015 when Bobbi Kristina was found facedown in the bathtub by then-boyfriend Nick Gordon. She was placed in a medically-induced coma for almost 7 months before she died. The medical examiner listed her cause of death as "immersion associated with drug intoxication." Gordon was found civilly liable for her death but was never charged. He died of a heroin overdose in 2020.

Keller Williams Realty agent Jill Rice tells TMZ, a lot of potential buyers knew the home's history, which scared some off -- but it clearly didn't matter to the buyers -- who pulled the trigger after deciding the great neighborhood and townhouse's look outweighed the negatives.

The townhouse is tucked away in a 24/7 gated community and features about 2,600 sq. ft. of living space. It's got a gourmet kitchen, a huge master suite with a fireplace and 2 guest suites with private baths.

President Biden traveled to the U.S. Capitol on the 1st anniversary of the insurrection, and he made it clear ... Donald Trump is a loser who couldn't accept his loss and was willing to destroy democracy to maintain his grasp of power.

Biden painted a picture of his predecessor watching the riot unfold with satisfaction ... a riot fueled by Trump inciting his supporters in an effort to invalidate the election results. It was extraordinary ... the president called the former president a flat-out liar.

Biden did not mince words ... saying Trump was a loser whose ego went into overdrive as he spread lies about the vote count.

It was possibly Biden's strongest speech ever ... squarely calling Donald Trump a liar who tried to ruin the United States.

Young Dolph's shooting suspect certainly didn't cover his tracks well -- twisting his music career with murder, perhaps handing investigators much-needed clues to connect him to the case.

Cops announced Wednesday 23-year-old Justin Johnson is wanted for murdering Dolph. Johnson is a Memphis-area rapper who goes by the name Straight Drop -- and used areas around the city as the background to many of his music videos.

However, it's his music video for the song "Going Straight In" released on November 21, 2021, that had fans making an eerie connection.

Shortly after Dolph was killed, detectives tracked down the getaway car -- a white Mercedes -- to a Memphis-area home. You can see very clearly, Johnson uses the same home as the backdrop to his "Going Straight In" music video.

Shockingly enough -- Dolph was murdered November 17, which means that the music video was actually posted to YouTube AFTER he was gunned down.

Antonio Brown is finally addressing the bizarre incident that ended his Bucs career ... claiming the team gave him a "powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller" and forced him to play despite knowing he had a serious ankle injury -- all leading to the moment he says head coach Bruce Arians told him "you're done!"

That's when 33-year-old AB says he removed his jersey and pads ... and walked off the Met Life football field.

"Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured. Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team," Brown said in a statement released by his attorney.

The 7x Pro Bowler continued, saying he balled until the pain got to a point where he could no longer endure it.

"I played until it was clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities. On top of that, the pain was extreme. I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that."

Unfortunately for AB, he says Arians didn't care, and demanded he go back in the game.

Brown says he responded ... '"Coach, I can't.' He didn't call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, "YOU'RE DONE!" while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs."

Bottom line, Brown says ... "I didn't quit. I was cut. I didn't walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out."

As for the Bucs, Arians claimed he never discussed an ankle injury with Antonio.

Clearly, AB and the team have two different views as to what transpired on the field ... in what was one of the strangest and surreal moments in NFL history.

If you missed the incident ... the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers were trailing the lowly NY Jets in New Jersey Sunday afternoon.

Brown -- who'd caught 3 balls for 26 yards -- was seen engaged in a very animated conversation on the sideline with star WR Mike Evans.

Then, AB, standing only feet from his teammates, removed his jersey, pads, and t-shirt until he was bare-chested. Brown threw his shirt into the stands ... and ultimately walked through the tunnel into the locker room.

Antonio was seen calling an Uber from the front of the stadium in East Rutherford, NJ ... before taking a car to NYC.

While in Manhattan, Brown says he saw several top doctors ... and was diagnosed with a significant ankle injury.

“What they did know until now is that on Monday morning I had an urgent MRI on my ankle. It shows broken fragments stuck in my ankle, the ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss, which are beyond painful. You can see the bone bulging from the outside.”

Antonio says the damage can be fixed ... but will require surgery, which he intends to have done.

As for his football future ... #81 says he plans to play again next year.

“Once my surgery is complete, I’ll be back to 100% and looking forward to next season. Business gonna be BOOMIN!"

Question is ... will there be any takers?

Washington D.C. is ramping up for another clash a year after the storming of the Capitol -- but there's some good/bad news for the cops on duty ... depending on how things shake out.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... the Metropolitan Police Dept. is planning to activate its civil disturbance units Thursday, in anticipation of round 2 from what occurred in 2021 -- which we’re told is standard when mass demonstrations are expected.

That isn't to say the cops have much reason to believe there's gonna be another major riot on their hands. Our sources say the department is mostly doing this out of an abundance of caution, and that there's no credible threats at this time for a repeat of Jan. 6. That’s the upside.

We're told the effort will be mostly organized by the feds -- FBI and Dept. of Justice -- which will help to make sure both Capitol and local authorities communicate and act efficiently. What's more -- from 6AM to 10PM only Capitol staffers, members and official visitors will be allowed close to the premises.

The not-so-great part ... we're told that if things do pop off for whatever reason, MPDC may be a little short-handed when it comes to manpower -- and that's due, in large part, to COVID. We're told officers have been going down due to omicron, and because of that ... they’re going to have to make do with what the remaining bodies they have available.

Just to give you an idea of how decimated their force is on the Capitol front ... Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger said Wednesday his squad is short about 447 officers of where they need to be, with about 153 who've retired or resigned since last year ... and another 175 or so who are out sick on any given day due to COVID or other illness.

With those numbers in mind ... here's what the operation will look like on the ground -- smaller platoons than what would normally be deployed. Whereas there are usually 35 platoons throughout the region -- with 28 officers per platoon throughout 7 districts ... our sources say the units will be much smaller on Thursday.

These groups will also be strategically placed because of limited resources -- with officers patrolling the streets, the Capitol and other highly sensitive areas ... so we're told.