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Viola Davis' new movie has sparked a fierce debate about Hollywood covering hard truths through a lens -- including slavery ... resulting in some calling for a boycott of this one.

"The Woman King" hit theaters this weekend, but almost as quickly as the hype for the flick started soaring ... the pushback also began -- with some calling for an outright shunning because of what they perceive as whitewashing the history of the subjects depicted.

The criticism ... the African tribe shown on screen, the Dahomey, as well as their all-female military regiment, the Agodjie, are presented as righteous, empowering liberators in all the marketing thus far ... when in reality, they were knee-deep in the Atlantic slave trade.

The record isn't pretty ... Dahomey was one of a handful of tribes in the 17th/18th/19th centuries that captured and sold off Black slaves to Europeans -- a means of trade they continued for a good while ... until the Brits actually forced them to stop in the mid-1800s.

The trailer doesn't allude to any of this whatsoever ... it just shows Viola training a new wave of recruits for the Agodjie and battling against what appear to be white colonizers in a showdown. Because of this, it seems, a good handful of folks are crying foul -- alleging the studio, Sony, is attempting to rewrite history and downplay the Dahomey's part in all this.

While some have made it clear they're against glorifying anyone who facilitated the slave trade, white or Black, and appear dead set on boycotting ... others are arguing people should see the film for themselves, saying it DOES in fact tackle the issue with nuance.

However, there've been some historians weighing in -- who are both educated on this subject and have seen the movie -- and they say ... yeah, 'TWK' does blur the lines a bit by making the Dahomey look more like victims of circumstance than willing participants.

We haven't seen it yet, so we can't say for sure what is or isn't shown. What we do know is that the reviews are glowing -- but many critics aren't showing their cards on this specific issue of the slave trade and how the Dahomey's relationship to it is handled in the movie.

With that said, it seems reasonable to have folks go see it with their own two eyes and make up their own minds. While it's within everyone's right to boycott/call for a boycott -- it seems sorta silly without having absorbed the material and debating it after the fact.

PnB Rock's body is ready to be released to his family, but the process behind the scenes has been drama-filled between them and officials ... and actually required police intervention.

Sources tell TMZ ... PnB Rock's mother wanted her son's body right away because of religious reasons, but the medical examiner wouldn't give it up because his death's part of a larger homicide investigation. PnB's brother, PnB Meen, alluded to this online -- saying the family was having issues with the M.E. -- making him question how PnB's Janazah would go.

Janazah is a Muslim funeral ceremony ... and there are certain rules that come with conducting one -- including getting a burial started within 72 hours.

We're told PnB Rock's mom flew from Philadelphia to Los Angeles after being notified her son had been shot and killed Monday, and she went straight to the medical examiner's office to ID the body and try to get it released to the fam.

Our sources say Rock's mom was adamant the body needed to be released ASAP because their customs. We're told things got heated when the family was informed their request for immediate release could not be met and that LAPD was called to the L.A. County Coroner's office to help calm things down.

Our sources say PnB's mom also didn't want an autopsy performed, because it goes against their religion ... but we're told the M.E.'s office told her they had to conduct an autopsy by law.

TMZ broke the story ... PnB Rock was shot and killed Monday while dining at a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles restaurant in South Los Angeles.

The M.E. released the autopsy findings Friday, saying PnB Rock died from a gunshot wound to his back/chest, classifying his death as a homicide.

With PnB Rock's body finally getting the green light to be released into his family's possession -- after tons of back-and-forth between his loved ones, legal team, LAPD and the M.E. -- we're told the plan is for his family to take the body back to his Philly hometown for a funeral.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is flexing his pick-me muscles after challenging Gov. Ron DeSantis to a debate -- so much so, it's sad ... at least according to a dude famous for calling elections.

Political analyst and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver -- who once correctly predicted the presidential outcomes in nearly all 50 states in the '08/'12 elections -- had some harsh words for Newsom Friday ... this after GN threw down the proverbial gauntlet against DeSantis.

After Dan Rather floated the idea -- Newsom piggybacked ... "Hey @GovRonDeSantis, clearly you're struggling, distracted, and busy playing politics with people’s lives. Since you have only one overriding need -- attention --let's take this up & debate. I’ll bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray. Name the time before Election Day. @CNN."

The hair gel thing is in response to a crack RDS made about Newsom asking the DOJ to investigate the Martha's Vineyard stunt (more on that later) ... the Gov. clearly registered it.

Enter Silver ... whose political hot takes get noticed, and this one was no exception. He blasted Newsom, writing -- "Hard to think of more of a pot-calling-the-kettle-black situation than Gavin Newsom calling someone else attention-starved. Like DeSantis, he's trying to run a 2024 (presidential) campaign while dozens of his colleagues are in tight midterm races."

The dude's getting dragged for seemingly coming out in defense of DeSantis/on the attack against Newsom -- but on the issue of trying to soak in the spotlight and frame himself as a natural foil to the Florida Gov. ... Silver is not really wrong about Newsom here.

As we've seen over the past few months, Newsom has gone out of his way to troll DeSantis ... and has often name-dropped him in an effort to slam his policies in his state. Some political pundits say Newsom's ramping up for a presidential run -- and apparently thinks DeSantis will too, wanting to set the narrative early in a would-be matchup in 2024.

Of course, this latest dustup between them stems from a wild episode this week -- when Govs. DeSantis and Abbott dumped planes and busloads of Venezuelan migrants at both Martha's Vineyard and VP Kamala Harris' D.C. residence ... just to make a political point.

Those moves are now being labeled as outright kidnapping and human trafficking -- or at the very least ... using real people as pawns to score cheap headlines and outrage points.

Prince Harry got to wear his military uniform after all as he and his family continue to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II -- a change that reportedly came from the King himself.

Harry was in a full armed forces getup Saturday, alongside his brother Prince William -- who was also in uniform -- as well as 6 other of QE2's grandchildren, including Princess Anne's kids, Prince Andrew's daughters and Prince Edward's young ones ... who are 18 and 14.

Will was the head of the Queen's coffin, and Harry was at the foot ... with the other grandkids covering the edges. They stood in silence for 15 minutes during a special vigil just for them.

It's interesting Harry's wearing this ... remember, he was in civilian clothes earlier in the week when they were taking his grandmother's casket to lie in state, while Will was in uniform. Now, after a reported change of heart by King Charles, he got to wear military garb as well.

BTW, he ain't the only Royal (who's been on the outs) who got a special pass for this occasion ... Prince Andrew was also granted permission to wear his military uniform during a vigil held among the Queen's children on Friday, again ... reportedly at the King's behest.

Blueface attacked his girlfriend's father this week -- but it wasn't out of nowhere ... the guy literally swung at his daughter's boyfriend first, and seems to have connected.

TMZ has obtained the video that everyone's been wanting to see as it relates to this scuffle -- actual surveillance footage from Friday evening in Baltimore, which shows Blueface actually deliver the knockdown blow to her Chrisean Rock's dad ... whose name is unknown.

This is an entirely new angle than what's been floating around on the internet -- terrible shaky shots of the aftermath that don't really capture or show anything clearly whatsoever.

Now, it's unclear what exactly was going on here or what might've precipitated this -- but it seems the rapper was meeting Chrisean's larger family, with a film crew on hand, at the Four Seasons at around 6:30 PM ... this following their lovey-dovey display at NYFW.

In the clip, you can see the couple facing off with a group of people -- presumably Chrisean's brood -- in a tense convo ... and eventually, a man in black approaches Blueface, only to swing on him unexpectedly in what can only be described as a sucker punch.

He appears to graze Blueface, who stumbled back, and a would-be fight breaks out -- with Blueface attempting to swing back on the man but missing. He wasn't done yet though ... in the second half of our video, you see Blueface charge that same man (who's reported to be Chrisean's father) and finally get his licks in ... punching the dude and toppling him over.

Chrisean has since admitted the guy who Blueface retaliated against was, in fact, her pops -- but it sounds like she's on her boo's side with this one ... 'cause she was crapping on her old man in since-deleted tweets, saying he was an absentee dad/claiming he was abusive.

Blueface, meanwhile, took to his IG to say he was Chrisean's daddy now ... and seemed to be laughing off the entire episode. We're told cops were called to the scene, but folks had scattered by the time they arrived -- we've reached out to Baltimore PD for comment.

This isn't the first time Blueface and Chrisean have been involved in violence -- although lately, they've been in mutual combat against each other. Now, it's leaking out elsewhere.

Good luck, you two! 😬

Kanye West has tipped his hand in his divorce case -- how custody is going to work.

Ye jumped on the 'Alo Mind' podcast Friday and said, "Even to this day, I'll still give Kim advice on things that can help, because that's gonna go to the kids. She's still got [them] 80% of the time -- raise those children."

The reason that's significant ... sources connected to the former couple tell TMZ, Kanye hasn't engaged with his lawyer -- whoever that is now, because he's gone through 5 already -- about the remaining issues in the divorce ... custody and property settlement.

There's a trial set for December if Kanye stays radio silent, and so far his side hasn't engaged Kim Kardashian's team about all this. But, saying Kim gets 80% is the first time we've heard any sort of structure, which is the first step in hashing out an agreement.

Hundreds of thousands of people will make their way past Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, but one guy is getting all the attention for rushing the casket and getting tackled and arrested.

It happened late Friday ... a guy in line rushed toward QE2's casket and pulled the flag that draped it.

He was swiftly tackled by British police and held on the ground. This all went down on a live feed.

The guy was arrested for violating the Public Order Act. It's unclear what he intended to do.

The lines are so long, people will wait as long as 28 hours to say their final goodbye.

Kanye West is ready to expand his Donda Sports brand -- now signaling he wants to sell athletic gear ... not to mention an apparent side biz that he's hoping will take flight.

His company, Mascotte Holdings, just filed for a few new trademarks -- including one that'll significantly grow his Donda Academy in the retail space ... and a couple others that seem to suggest he's got another label in mind that's for the birds -- in this case, literally.

According to the paperwork, seen by TMZ, Ye's aiming to lock up the rights to Donda Sports ... specifically for the purpose of slapping it on a ton of products that run the gamut of sportswear and accessories he wants to hawk to potential customers.

Some of the items that could bear the Donda Sports name, if the application is approved, include ... bags of all varieties, fanny packs, luggage, wallets, umbrellas and blankets.

He's also looking to get some ol'-fashioned Donda Sports apparel ... applying for trademarks for shirts, jackets, hats, shoes and other clothes. In other words, if you can wear it ... it looks like Kanye wants to sell it to you with his new signature line plastered on top.

There's more ... in addition to wanting to trademark Donda Sports merch, it looks like Ye's got something else cookin' in the background -- something he calls "Donda Doves" (the team name) and "Dove Sports," which sounds like an offshoot to his larger 'Donda' endeavor.

For "Dove Sports," Kanye wants the exclusive right to use this label for athletic services such as training sessions, competitions, tournaments, camps, seminars, field trips and even traditional educational frameworks ... like classes, workshops and seminars.

"Donda Doves," meanwhile, seems to be more geared toward game-day equipment -- the docs indicate he wants this on baseball bats, basketballs, hockey pucks and more. He also wants to use this brand for things like posters, mugs, sporting goods and online retail stores.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky hit the studio Friday night ... adding more fuel to the rumor mill she's gonna drop another album!

She's been seen at the L.A. studio several times recently, so the seemingly endless wait for more music may be coming to an end.

RiRi was there with BF A$AP, who is mounting an aggressive defense to weapons charges. He's been hit with felony firearms charges for allegedly shooting A$AP Relli. Relli has filed a civil suit against Rocky as well.

Rocky's new lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told TMZ Friday, "Rocky didn't commit a crime. It was an extortion attempt by a former associate, who threatened to make false criminal accusations if Rocky didn't pay him."

Tacopina tells us he has 2 eyewitnesses who back Rocky's story ... not only that Relli wasn't hit by bullet fragments, but that no shot was even fired. In other words, Tacopina says Relli has made up the story in a "get rich quick scheme."

Newly single Tyler Stanaland was spotted gettin' close and personal with his "Selling the OC" costar Alex Hall -- on the exact same day, his divorce from Brittany Snow was announced.

An eyewitness tells TMZ ... Tyler and Alex hit up SOTA Wednesday night in Corona Del Mar for some sushi with friends -- including castmate Polly Brindle.

We're told Tyler and Alex weren't overly intimate, but seemed more than friendly -- touching each other as they walked out the bar. Tyler can also be seen sniffing Alex.

Our witness says the two ended the night by strolling down the street, side-by-side.

The timing is worth noting -- Tyler was havin' a good time with Alex and co. the day we learned about his split from the "Pitch Perfect" star. According to sources close to them, the breakup had more to do with distance than the cheating rumors.

Sources close to Tyler, a former pro surfer, tell us there's nothing going on between him and Alex -- claiming it was just a group of 6 out to dinner. But, the eyewitnesses say, something's fishy about that, and it wasn't the sushi.

The Queen's death has brought Harry and William together, but will it stick? And, Britney and her dad may end up settling their legal dispute, but hard feelings remain. So, we gotta ask ...

"Toy Story" could be getting a new sequel ... because of a mysterious breakfast date.

Check out these pics of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen chowing down low-key and somewhat undercover at a somewhat out-of-the-way restaurant in L.A.

They had breakfast at the restaurant inside the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel on the Sunset Strip a few days ago -- the pics just surfaced. They were both wearing shades and sitting away from the normies.

As you know, Tom was the voice of Woody, and Tim voiced Buzz Lightyear in the 1995 flick. There have been several sequels since, but neither were in the last one -- "Lightyear" -- which was released in June.

Tom took a shot at "Lightyear" producers during an interview, saying he wanted to do the sequel with Tim but "they didn't let Tim Allen do it. I don't understand that." It's clearly politics -- Tim's don't align with most of Hollywood, but Tom clearly doesn't think that matters.

Bill Maher begs to differ with the maxim, "There's no time like the present," because he says the past is being unfairly dragged.

Maher made a case against the concept of "presentism" -- making moral/ethical judgments about the conduct of people in the past based on current norms.

His argument is laced with some pretty hysterical jokes, like people who think they're better than George Washington because they have a gay friend and GW didn't. As he said, if GW were alive today, he'd probably have gay friends and if the people today were alive back then they wouldn't.

Now speaking of Washington -- whose legacy is tarnished by the fact he was a slave owner -- Maher tries to make the case that -- despite the fact slavery is horrendously wrong -- it has been the norm throughout history, pointing to the Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, the British ... and then he lands an hysterical joke, which you gotta watch.

As he put it half jokingly, human beings are generally terrible people.

Short story -- he thinks judging people from the past using current standards is stupid, and we shouldn't start altering, dismissing or ignoring history to conform to present values.

Rajon Rondo has settled a lawsuit in Los Angeles, according to court filings ... stemming from a 2020 incident where the NBA star was accused of assaulting a woman in a parking lot.

In docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the attorney for the plaintiff, Toktam Jorshari -- who sued Rondo for assault and battery -- filed a notice in an L.A. court, indicating the parties had reached a settlement.

Now, a judge must dismiss the case ... which should be a formality.

We broke the story ... Jorshari sued Rondo after claiming she was injured during an altercation with the hooper and his GF outside an apartment complex in July 2020.

In the suit, Jorshari alleged the former Clippers PG was upset about how close her car was parked to his pricey, $300k Rolls-Royce ... which she says led to Rondo's GF attacking her.

TMZ Sports obtained video of the incident (which didn't have audio) ... and Rondo appears to nudge the woman with his elbow, causing Jorshari to confront his GF.

Jorshari claimed she suffered injuries from the confrontation ... after being punched in the face and head multiple times by Rondo's GF

At the time, Jorshari's attorneys said of the incident ... "no man should ever put their hands on a woman."

"Especially an NBA basketball player with superior height and strength. The video speaks for itself," they continued.

Rapper Tee Grizzley's not only mourning his friend, PnB Rock ... he's also got drama at home after burglars made off with $1 million in bills and bling.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... burglars smashed a window at Tee's house about 2 weeks ago in his Porter Ranch neighborhood outside Los Angeles. We're told the jewelry alone they found was worth more than a mil, and they also walked away with a ton of cash.

According to the police report, no one was home at the time of the break-in, and there's an open investigation.

Tee's havin' a rough time these last few weeks -- as you know, PnB was shot and killed Monday while eating lunch at a Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. The murderer, who's still on the loose, stole several diamond chains off the rapper.

Tee released the music video for part 4 of his "Robbery" series the day after Rock's death, opening with a "Rest In Heaven" message for PnB.

FYI, the track has nothing to do with Tee or PnB's situations ... it's a fictional story he'd been working on before either incident happened.

Even Hollywood's biggest stars get a little salty from time to time ... and they're using their own fish-eye lenses to share their underwater moments straight from Davy Jones's locker!

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth went down under and popped a squat, while pro dancer Derek Hough flexed his mussels while he took over, what looks to be like, King Triton's throne. And, Shaun White and Nina Dobrev were mer-maid for each other after a couples snorkel sesh.

Take a deep dive into our gallery of stars hangin' under the water.