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One of the white men involved in the viral riverboat brawl in Alabama is feelin' the heat online by way of his small business ... which has been getting nothing but 1-star reviews since going viral.

Chase Shipman shared his involvement in the Montgomery, AL fight on the Facebook page of his shop, "Vasser's Mini Mart" ... about 50 miles away in Selma.

He claimed he was one of the first to try and get away from the situation, but when folks connected the dots and saw him right in the middle of the melee, they flocked to the store's Yelp page and let him have it.

Since Saturday's brawl, Vasser's has gotten over 300 1-star reviews -- and virtually all of them seem to be in the days following the viral attack ... with many calling the owner "racist," "liar," and "gross."

One even wrote, "DO NOT SUPPORT THESE MONSTERS!!!"

As we reported, the wild fight went down after a riverboat was trying to pull into the dock, but was being blocked by some people in a pontoon boat. The security guard tried telling them to move, which is when all hell broke loose.

While folks online have been coming after Chase and his friends for the attack, they're also praising the other Black individuals who hauled it down to the ruckus to help defend the guard.

William Friedkin, the famed filmmaker who directed "The Exorcist," has died.

The news was confirmed Monday by his wife, Sherry Lansing, who says he passed in L.A. -- but the exact details of his death have yet to be revealed. It's a big hit to the film community -- as Friedkin was an influential force behind some of the 20th century's most iconic movies.

While he might best be remembered for his work on the 1973 horror flick -- which, by all accounts, changed the genre forever -- WF had several other notable credits to his name ... including the Oscar-winning "French Connection," which he also directed.

Other films he helmed included ... "The Brink's Job," "Sorcerer," "Cruising," "To Live and Die in L.A.," "Rampage," "Deal of the Century," "The Guardian," "Blue Chips," "12 Angry Men," "Rules of Engagement," "The Hunted," "Killer Joe" and lots of others.

He also directed a handful of episodes for memorable TV shows ... like "Tales from the Crypt," "The Twilight Zone," "Rebel Highway," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "CSI" and more.

Friedkin was a diverse director ... dabbling in all types of flicks, from horror to drama, and even comedy. While some of his work is more well-known than others, he was respected in all regards -- and certainly carved out his own corner in pop culture.

The last time we saw him, he was out here in L.A. signing autographs and talking "Get Out."

Friedkin was 87.

RIP

Aqib Talib's brother, Yaqub Talib, has been sentenced to 37 years behind bars for his role in the shooting of a youth football coach last summer.

Yaqub learned his fate inside a Dallas County courtroom on Monday morning. Aqib was in attendance for the proceedings. The older Talib was remanded into custody immediately following the sentencing.

Neither brother spoke to reporters as they made their way inside of the courthouse ... and prosecutors say Yaqub did not speak during the sentencing hearing either.

Yaqub was accused of shooting Michael Hickmon during a heated dispute at an Aug. 13, 2022 youth football game involving a team that the Talib brothers were helping coach.

According to a lawsuit against the Talibs filed by Hickmon's family, the Talib brothers were upset with Hickmon -- who was helping coach the opposing team -- over a call on the field ... and confronted him over it after abruptly ending the game.

During the altercation, Hickmon's family claimed Yaqub pulled out a handgun and fired five shots at Hickmon, striking him multiple times ... leading to his death.

40-year-old Yaqub was charged with murder shortly after the incident ... and he eventually pleaded guilty last month.

Aqib's attorney said in a statement at the time of Hickmon's death that the ex-NFL star was "very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life" ... though the former Super Bowl champion has not spoken out over it all since.

Chrisean Rock spent a good chunk of her Sunday pouring her heart out to thousands of her IG followers, vowing she and Blueface will never be together again in any capacity ... despite their forthcoming baby together.

The pregnant reality star accused Blueface of physical and emotional abuse but ultimately blamed herself for her own issues.

According to Chrisean, she turned a blind eye to Blueface's bad behavior, drank too much alcohol and neglected her mental health -- but she's optimistic motherhood will keep her on the right path.

She also claimed her new quasi-skinhead hairstyle was due to Blueface allegedly ripping her braids out during a brawl, and not a rebellious fashion statement.

But, the "Moonwalking in Calabasas" rapper says those are all lies and he's not letting them go unchecked!!!

Blueface and his girlfriend/child's mother Jaidyn Alexis reacted to Chrisean's IG explosion with their noses turned up ... claiming it's Chrisean who starts the physical confrontations and then hides behind her pregnancy.

He also tells fans don't believe any of her crocodile tears ... and posted alleged DMs of Chrisean attempting to cuddle with him right after her final bow.

Nelly and Ashanti are displaying the kind of PDA you'd expect from a pair of platinum-selling artists ... through a loving karaoke session, of course.

On Monday, the "Country Grammar" rapper shared a vid of him and Ashanti posted up in a restaurant booth while singing their hearts out to Usher's "Nice & Slow" ... which could also be a metaphor for their relationship's pace!!!

It's a pretty adorable moment; Nelly and Ashanti keep their heads locked together as they belt at the top of their lungs and Ashanti even provides the adlibs.

Nelly and Ashanti publicly rekindled their romance earlier this year but have been mum on labels or intentional plans. They're just going with the flow and the tides have been turning in their favor.

Beyoncé's fans had to wait out a storm in D.C. just to see her perform live, and she returned the favor by shelling out a lot of dough to make sure they could get home afterward.

The singer's show Sunday was hit with really bad weather just before the concert was set to begin at FedEx Field in neighboring Maryland -- with lightning storms and a downpour of rain coming down in the area ... and forcing everyone to shelter in place for a hot minute.

There's tons of video showing the D.C. Beyhive huddling up by the thousands in and around the stadium as they waited for the green light ... reports say they were waiting about 2 hours.

Eventually, the elements subsided enough so that the show could start -- but even as Bey did her thing on the big stage, it was still pretty freaking wet out there, as you see.

More importantly, because things were running late from the jump ... the local Metro's train service hours had to be extended, something that doesn't come cheap -- and an expensive tab that somebody had to cover.

In the end ... Bey's 'Renaissance' tour company footed the bill, coming out to $100,000, all told. This allowed the trains at the surrounding 98 stations to run for an extra 60 minutes, and it sounds like that might've bled into the wee hours of Monday morning.

Donald Trump is dancing on the U.S. Women's National Team's grave after its early exit from the World Cup ... mocking Megan Rapinoe and dogging the squad for being too woke.

#45 went to Truth Social to sound off on Team USA after their disappointing loss to Sweden over the weekend ... and he pointed the finger at their political beliefs for getting in the way.

"The 'shocking and totally unexpected' loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden," Trump said.

"Many of our players were openly hostile to America -- No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. WOKE EQUALS FAILURE."

Trump -- who has famously beefed with Rapinoe after she said she wasn't going to visit the "f***ing White House" to celebrate USA's 2019 World Cup win -- also singled her out for airmailing her penalty kick attempt that could have helped the Red, White and Blue advance to the next round.

"Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!!! MAGA."

Of course, Rapinoe has always been outspoken in support of equal pay, LGBTQ+ rights and social justice ... even kneeling for the national anthem in recent years, something that left Trump pissed.

"Barbie"s worldwide box office domination has expecting parents thinkin' plastic when it comes to baby names ... because folks are interested in naming their kids after the popular dolls.

BabyNames.com tells TMZ ... their site has seen a 300% uptick in searches for "Barbie" in the month of July. "Ken" has also blown up, with searches increasing by 200% in the same month.

Not as much as Barbie, but that holds up -- he's just Ken.

We're told a handful of users are also adding the titular names to their favorites list. According to the website, Barbie means "stranger," while Ken means "handsome." Barbie peaked in popularity in 1964, while Ken peaked in 1963.

As we reported, the Greta Gerwig flick has been crushing it in theaters -- it pulled over $162 mil in the U.S. alone in weekend one ... and it's already passed $1B worldwide.

The fan-favorite character, Allan -- played by Michael Cera -- has had a positive outcome on the Mattel reseller game ... because eBay listings for the rare doll have skyrocketed after the movie's release.

Sadly, we're told there's been no search increase for the name "Allan" when it comes to baby names. Sorry, dude.

Quavo recently pushed his "Rocket Power" album back a bit, but he's still busy hosting his 2nd "Ultimate Back 2 School Giveback" ... which benefitted 270+ Atlanta local families!!!

The event, held at The Gathering Spot in Atlanta, was bittersweet with the absence of his late nephew Takeoff ... but Quavo and the family honored the fallen Migos rapper with commemorative "94 Rocket Power" jerseys, referencing the year of Take's birth.

Fellow Atlanta-bred artist 6LACK also showed up to support the Quavo Cares and Tender Foundation collab. No child went home empty-handed ... backpacks, notebooks and pencils were all dished out and 2 kids even won iPad Minis!!!

Quavo's giveaway served grades pre-k all the way to high school and kept the youth busy with apparel giveaways, popsicles for the hot weather, a live DJ, a sensory station, and more games.

Leave the leash, treats, toys and water bowls at home -- these dogs are totally content on riding waves -- and make for some pretty cute pics, too.

The annual World Dog Surfing Championships went down near San Francisco Saturday, and it featured tons of pooches who threw on their life vests and went out to catch some waves ... all in the name of charity and good fun.

The event is pretty self-explanatory -- you place your pup on a surfboard and take 'em out to sea, push them up onto a relatively small wave (whitewater, really) and see how long they can stay on. In the case of some of these doggos, they were able to cruise pretty far!

As far as how this is scored ... it comes down to confidence, style and, of course, how long they can maintain their balance. As it turns out, there were some top dogs to be crowned.

Seven different categories were under consideration -- including Small/Medium/Large/XL solo rides ... as well human-dog and dog-dog tandems. There was also a category for best in show -- and that ended up going to a little guy named Carson, a Terrier of some sort.

Like we said ... this thing benefits great causes -- including raising money for nonprofits pertaining to dog rescues, surfing and environmental efforts. Folks who attended also had the opportunity to adopt shelter and rescue dogs ... a win-win for pets and prospective owners.

Kim Kardashian used her voice to try to spring Master P's incarcerated brother C-Murder from prison, but the gesture was a slap in the face to his alleged victim's family.

George Thomas, brother of the slain Steve Thomas, tells TMZ Hip Hop ... whenever a celebrity such as Kim Kardashian advocates for C-Murder, it's like reopening the same wound that cut the family so deep years ago.

He says the advocacy from Kim K and other celebs has made it impossible to properly mourn Steve, who was only 16 at the time of his death, adding the family is constantly reliving the pain.

George says there's a mountain of evidence pointing to C-Murder as the killer, and thinks it's just celebs -- not the common man -- who want the ex-No Limit rapper freed from prison.

Kim jumped on a new Louisiana law Thursday that allows the incarcerated to prove their innocence, and seems to think it could be C-Murder's ticket out. She noted C's conviction is based on the testimony of two men -- both of whom have now recanted their testimony.

George says he's all for Kim using her voice to help innocent people, C-Murder is not that guy -- his conviction was upheld in 2011 and he even appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case.

C-Murder was found guilty of second-degree murder for the beating and shooting death of Steve. He was sentenced to mandatory life in prison.

A massive brawl along the docks of a river in the deep South unfolded this weekend -- and it was pretty black and white as far as what was going down ... quite literally.

This wild scene took place Saturday at Riverfront Park in Montgomery, AL -- where multiple eyewitnesses say a riverboat was trying to pull in, but couldn't ... because some locals in a smaller pontoon boat were blocking the space, something a security guard tried rectifying.

That's where this first video picks up ... the man in the white shirt -- who's Black -- is said to be a guard/dock worker of some sort, and he was telling these white dudes to move. It erupted into a 4-on-1 deal, with the white guys wailing on the man ... while others watched.

Soon, though ... other Black people jumped into the mix to come this gentleman's aid -- including somebody who threw themselves into the water from across the way to swim over.

Eventually, the initial fracas came to an end ... but it was far from over. Another group of Black individuals -- who were apparently staffers on the riverboat -- saw what happened and raced down to confront the white assailants ... and another beatdown ensued all over again.

This time, the 4 white men on the boat were very clearly outnumbered ... and all hell broke loose. People were getting punched, knocked down -- it was straight up pandemonium.

Naturally, the cops arrived and multiple people were arrested. While there might've been some confusion, at first, as to what started all this ... Montgomery's mayor, Steven Reed, made it clear it was the white guys who antagonized this ... and consequences are coming.

Ne-Yo is pulling back on his controversial comments about parents who allow their kids to be transgender ... claiming he's always been an advocate for inclusiveness.

The singer said Sunday night, "After much reflection, I’d like to express my deepest apologies to anyone that I may have hurt with my comments on parenting and gender identity."

He also said he's "always been an advocate for love and inclusivity in the LGBTQI+ community, so I understand how my comments could’ve been interpreted as insensitive and offensive."

As we reported, Ne-Yo had folks pretty ticked off by a Saturday interview with VladTV's Gloria Velez, in which he condemned parents who affirm their child's gender identity.

He said he grew up with only 2 genders, and has no problem with others identifying however they want -- but added, "It becomes my business when you try to make me play the game."

He told Gloria, "I feel like parents have almost forgotten what the role of a parent is. If your little boy comes to you and says, ‘Daddy, I want to be a girl.’ And you just let him rock with that? He’s 5. He can’t drive a car yet, but he can decide his sex?"

In his Sunday night mea culpa on X, Ne-Yo added ... gender identity is "nuanced," and he plans to "better educate myself on the topic, so I can approach future conversations with more empathy."

Originally Published 6:59 AM PT

"The Bachelorette" alums Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick have said their goodbyes ... calling it quits on their engagement after 4 years together.

They announced the split in a joint statement, posted on Instagram Sunday ... saying they're "saddened with heavy hearts to share that we have decided to end our engagement," breaking the news after filling in family and close friends.

Kaitlyn and Jason say they're thankful for those that gave them "time and space to process the life-altering decision as there are many emotions and changes to navigate."

They add they'll be co-parenting their 2 dogs, Ramen and Pinot ... and say they'll be remaining friends despite the breakup -- writing, "We feel grateful to be ending our engagement with love and respect for each other," adding it's "heartbreaking" to say goodbye.

Fans of the show remember Kaitlyn first appeared on Chris Soules' season of "The Bachelor," then returned to "The Bachelorette" the same year as the season's lead. As for Jason, he was on Becca Kufrin's season in 2018.

Kaitlyn and Jason met in 2019 when he jumped on an episode of her "Off the Vine" podcast -- they started dating that same year and announced their engagement in May of 2021.

Justin Gaethje is arguably the hottest fighter in the UFC right now after his highlight-reel knockout of Dustin Poirier, and that's why Conor McGregor is calling out the lightweight star on social media ... he's clout chasing, according to JG's manager.

TMZ Sports talked to Ali Abdelaziz days after his star client went home with the BMF belt, which he won during the main event of UFC 291. While people were in awe of Gaethje's fight-ending head kick, The Notorious wasn't one of them ... Conor quickly hit up Twitter and trashed Justin.

Just jealousy, according to Ali.

"Conor McGregor, he lost himself. He doesn't know who he is. He's a guy who isn't even a fighter. He's a retired fighter. He's not in the USADA program, he probably weighs almost close to 200 pounds. He just wants clout," Abdelaziz told us.

"Justin Gaethje's a gladiator. Dustin Poirier's a gladiator. Kamaru Usman, Islam, Max Holloway, all those guys are gladiators. He's not a gladiator anymore."

Speaking of Poirier, McGregor hasn't fought since breaking his leg against Diamond at UFC 264 in July 2021.

"Conor McGregor is a pretender right now," Abdelaziz said.

"He gets in fights in bars and at Grammy's, street fights. He gets in fights when he has security there to protect him."

Conor is/was supposed to fight Michael Chandler (who coached opposite him on TUF), but that fight hasn't yet been made, and reports indicate McGregor isn't in the USADA test pool yet, meaning he couldn't fight for at least 6 months.

Listening to Ali, it very much seems Conor and Justin is NOT going to happen. Question is, who will it be? Abdelaziz breaks it down.

Mitch McConnell -- one of the most powerful politicians in the country -- was drowned out by calls to retire during a speech in Kentucky over the weekend.

The 81-year-old Senate Minority Leader -- who has been battling health issues for several years -- was giving a speech at the Fancy Farm Picnic in his home state of Kentucky Saturday when the crowd turned on him BIG TIME.

Check out the video ... McConnell -- a staunch Republican -- was taunted by his constituents in the heavily red state. For over a minute, people were loudly chanting, "Retire," while booing him.

But McConnell didn't seem to let it bother him as he carried on, finishing his address. The only problem was ... you couldn't hear anything he was saying over all the jeers from the audience.

McConnell has been struggling with health problems, which have spilled out into the open. During a recent press conference, McConnell froze up mid-sentence at a podium and stood there for more than 30 seconds with a blank stare on his face.