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There are growing calls for a city councilman in Alabama to resign after he stood up in the middle of a meeting, and loudly asked, "Do we have a house n***er in here?"

John "Tommy" Bryant blurted out the racial slur in a Tarrant City Council meeting Monday night that was open to the public -- and he showed zero remorse afterward even as residents and city council members alike reacted with shock and disdain.

It all started when Mayor Wayman Newton, who is Black, brought up some of Bryant's wife's controversial social media posts. At one point you can hear a resident also chime in before Bryant finally stands up and, in a shockingly comfortable manner, drops the epithet.

You can hear gasps in the room after Bryant drops the n-word. Now, he claims he only repeated it because Newton allegedly used the word during a previous meeting.

Bryant doubled down and defended his actions ... telling CBS42 it's "ok for me to repeat it because as I said before, I wanted everybody to know what the mayor had said. He said it in a derogatory manner. I said it so that people would know what the mayor said."

Joe Pytka -- the director of Michael Jordan's original "Space Jam" -- is going off on LeBron James' reboot, calling it an uninteresting mess ... and that's about the nicest thing he has to say.

Pytka -- who's also known for directing popular music videos and commercials in the '80s and '90s, including the "I Am Tiger Woods" ad -- tells TMZ ... "Space Jam: A New Legacy" is so boring, he couldn't finish it in one sitting.

In fact, he says it took him 5 separate sessions to complete its 2-hour runtime.

The director has several issues with the reboot, starting with LBJ. Pytka points out when "Space Jam" was made in 1996, MJ wasn't just the best basketball player ... he was the biggest celebrity in the world.

Joe says LeBron's an incredible athlete and a very good actor, but adds ... "The truth is that LeBron ain't Michael." On top of that, Pytka says his film tied the plot to MJ's personal life -- retiring from hoops to play baseball -- while the new movie's missing a personal connection to LeBron.

Pytka's just getting started ... he feels the 1996 "Space Jam" featured a far superior supporting cast with Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley and Bill Murray. In 'New Legacy' ... he says he can't even remember one thing Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard or the others did.

The director also thinks the reboot's soundtrack is "insignificant" while the OG's is classic, but his biggest beef is what happened to Bugs Bunny. No spoilers here, but Joe sees Bugs' role in 'New Legacy' as "heartbreaking."

Pytka says this new BB has no connection to previous depictions -- something they paid close attention to with the OG "Space Jam." In short, he says the new version "looked like one of those fluffy dolls you buy at an airport gift shop to bring your kid when your business trip has taken too long."

Take all this with a grain of salt, because Joe acknowledges his "Space Jam" was mostly panned by critics -- just like this reboot -- but it still became a cult classic.

Dozens of gunshots sent celebrating Milwaukee Bucks fans running for their lives after Tuesday night's NBA championship game ... and video from the scene is chilling.

It all happened near Fiserv Forum, where just minutes prior to the chaos, Giannis Antetokounmpo had helped earn Milwaukee an NBA title with a victory over the Suns.

Multiple cameras captured the terrifying images from the streets surrounding the arena ... and in footage from WISN12 News' broadcast -- you can see just how horrifying the situation was.

Gunfire erupted loudly and repeatedly near hundreds of fans who were celebrating the victory ... and it all grew so intense, people could be seen sprinting from the area in fear.

Milwaukee Police have not given specific details surrounding the shots yet -- but officials did say in a statement Wednesday that 3 people were injured in shootings shortly after the Bucks won it all.

According to cops, a 19-year-old woman, a 32-year-old man, and a 22-year-old man all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police added they've launched an investigation into it all.

Just before the gunfire broke out ... the scene was epic in Milwaukee -- with more than 60,000 fans cramming into areas near the stadium to watch the game and then celebrate the win afterward.

Some were seen climbing on street poles after the victory ... while others were caught on camera leaping into the Milwaukee River.

"American Pickers" will remain a one-man show for the foreseeable future ... 'cause TMZ's learned it has no plans to bring back Mike Wolfe's ex-cohost Frank Fritz, and it has nothing to do with their fallout.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... Frank stepped away from the show a while back to deal with health problems that required back surgery. This, on top of already dealing with Crohn's disease. Frank hasn't appeared on the show since a March 2020 episode.

When Frank stepped away, we're told the show had to go on. They continued filming with just Mike at the helm.

Frank had been a staple on the show since 2010, but recently said he hasn't spoken to Mike in 2 years ... and his old cohost didn't reach out after the surgery. Frank's since lost nearly 70 pounds through exercising in an effort to have a better handle on his Crohn's battle.

It's no secret the ex-'Pickers' duo hasn't gotten along for years, but our sources say Frank's only off the show because he left to tend to his health. Although, he recently said he'd like to be back, we're told producers feel the show's doing fine with solo Mike.

Frank's speculated Mike's angling to get his own brother, Robbie, as a cohost -- he has been on the show lately -- but we're told that's not happening either.

The only replacement Mike's made in his life so far is with his new girlfriend ... after his wife filed for divorce.

Sports fans are still demonstrating very bad behavior while attending games, but one Yankees fan really paid the price for his shenanigans ... by getting completely owned by a security guard after running on the field.

The chaos went down during the top of the 6th inning against the Phillies Tuesday night, when the fan made his way onto Yankee Stadium field and started racing across the outfield.

He made it to center field before a stadium security guard took him down with an impressive tackle ... then kept slamming him to the ground as he tried to escape.

The security guard's apparent wrestling skills were enough to contain the fan -- who NYPD has ID'd as 25-year-old Leonardo Lertora-Leiva -- until about half a dozen other security workers showed up to help escort the guy off the field ... to the delight of the crowd.

NYPD tells TMZ ... Lertora-Leiva was arrested for running onto the field of an active MLB sports event and disrupting it. He was booked for 3 misdemeanors, including criminal trespass.

As we reported, another Yankees fan was just banned for life from attending MLB games in the Bronx -- or anywhere else for that matter -- after he threw a ball onto the field Saturday night during a game against Boston, and hit Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo.

Dillon Francis is imploring everyone to follow in his footsteps and get vaccinated. Yes, it can be a matter of life or death, but also ... it can save his and other people's jobs.

We got the famous DJ leaving Erewhon Tuesday in L.A. and wondered if he had any trepidation about the rising COVID-19 cases -- largely due to the Delta variant -- and how it could affect his upcoming tour dates.

For starters ... the "GO OFF (Nuthin' 2 It)" hitmaker tells us most of his scheduled gigs are outdoors. So, all good there. But, that being said, Dillon also didn't waste time urging anyone and everyone to get vaccinated because, as he put it ... "I'm trying to have a job."

He's not just looking out for numero uno, either -- Dillon says vaccination especially helps those in the service industry like servers and bartenders, whose livelihoods almost completely disappeared during pandemic shutdowns.

He tells us he got the shot as soon as he could -- and it's that kinda effort that undoubtedly helped reopen America and allow for packed concerts and restaurants to be a thing again.

The Larry O'Brien Trophy is coming back to Milwaukee after a 50-year drought -- Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks just eliminated the Phoenix Suns to win the NBA championship!!

The Greek Freak was nothing short of insane on the court during Game 6 on Tuesday ... earning 50 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks. He also went 17-19 from the charity stripe.

The Suns kept it a close game -- the final was 105 to 98 ... but the Greek Freak and Co. proved to be too much for PHX.

The Deer District -- the fan zone outside Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee -- went absolutely insane as their beloved team won it all ... jumping up and down and chanting for the new champs.

The win all but certainly cements Giannis' spot in the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame -- the 2-time regular season MVP scored over 40 points in 3 of the 6 games in the series.

Giannis finished with an average of 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5 assists and shot 62% from the field on the series.

Of course, with those kind of numbers, Giannis was the obvious choice for Finals MVP -- the first of his career.

It's a devastating loss for Suns superstar guard Chris Paul ... who was just 2 games away from winning his first ring.

The celebration is just getting started in Milwaukee ... so be sure to check back for all the (probably) drunken debauchery in the morning.

Britney Spears publicly beefing with her little sister, Jamie Lynn, is having no impact on the "Zoey 101" reboot moving forward ... so says Chris Massey.

We got the former Nickelodeon star -- and Jamie Lynn's costar -- Tuesday in L.A., where he told us he's heard the exact opposite of what his fellow 'Zoey' alum, Paul Butcher, said online the other day ... about the #FreeBritney drama potentially derailing the show's revival.

Check it out, Chris tells us he's been in touch with Jamie Lynn fairly recently, and that as far as he knows -- the plan is still to bring back the show ... even though he admits they have been somewhat delayed.

However, he also acknowledges JLS is going through some family drama -- namely Brit crushing her little sis on social media over the conservatorship and an old award show beef.

Chris says he's not sure why Paul made it seem like the reboot was off ... and even has a message for his old pal. He wants to have a little chat to clear the air, and any rumors he might've inadvertently caused with his TikTok post.

BTW, Chris gives us a bit of insight into what he remembers about Britney and Jamie Lynn's relationship ... albeit from many years past. Although Britney's making it seem like it's no love lost between them, he remembers a time it was clearly much different.

Sha'Carri Richardson isn't competing in the Olympics -- but she's still making it onto millions of TV, phone and tablet screens across the world -- thanks to a new collab with Dr. Dre and Kanye West.

The Dre Beats commercial just aired during Game 6 of the NBA finals between The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns.

The ad features Richardson donning a pair of the famous headphones while hitting the track and a never-before-heard Kanye song called, "No Child Left Behind" playing the background. West repeats the lyrics, "He's done miracles on Me" throughout the clip -- seemingly referring to God.

It's the first official listen the public-at-large has gotten of West's upcoming album, titled "DONDA" ... after his late mother. The Beats ad also worked as an announcement that the album will drop Friday.

Richardson has become the most talked about name in sports over the last few weeks after getting suspended and then disqualified from the 2021 Tokyo Game after a positive test for marijuana ... so it makes total sense why Kanye would want to collab for some album press.

Ben Crump says the huge stash of cash Jeff Bezos just donated to Van Jones could go a long way for a cause they both care about deeply -- helping Black people learn the law.

The civil rights attorney tells TMZ ... he plans to talk to his good friend Van about using some of that $100 million Bezos donation to help partially fund something Ben's been working on for a while ... namely, a one-stop-shop law facility in Florida.

It's called The Ben Crump Social Justice Law Center -- nestled in St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami Gardens -- and the aim is to bring underserved and underprivileged African-Americans the opportunity to study to become lawyers.

We're told the initiative is specifically targeting 1st-generation Black college and law students.

The startup is already underway, as Ben says they've been accepting donations for some time, but he adds Van's assistance could help put a bow on the work being done.

During Van's acceptance speech of Bezos' Courage and Civility Award he alluded to making sure the $100 mil got into the hands of grassroots activists.

Dog lovers will appreciate this ... New York Mets catcher Tomas Nido just showed major love to his adorable pup -- by getting a tattoo of the canine on his leg!

TMZ Sports has learned the baseball player wanted to get some ink to celebrate his beloved pet last week ... so he hit up artist Keith Hernandez from Bang Bang Tattoo in New York City.

We're told the 27-year-old handed over a portrait of his Yorkie, Louie, that he got 8 years ago ... and Hernandez then went to work.

The artist took a few hours to do the piece ... and it all ended up coming out pretty incredible!!

Check out the details ... the drawing of Louie -- which will now sit on the inside of Nido's shin forever -- looks SUPER real, right down to the fluffy hair and little dog outfit.

We're told Nido got one more tat while he was in the shop ... getting the letter "E" inked behind his ear -- a shoutout to his 8-month-old daughter, Eleni.

In total, Nido ended up sitting in the chair for about 3 or 4 hours ... and we're told he's planning to head back to the shop in the near future to get more ink done.

New York native Andy Milonakis blasted onto the scene in 2005 with wacky antics, a bizarre hip hop career and viral video moments -- all while confusing audiences with his prepubescent appearance even though he was nearly 30 years old -- that culminated with his MTV sketch comedy program "The Andy Milonakis Show."

Andy went on to find big parts in movies like "Waiting..." and "Mac & Devin Go to High School" ... but he's found much more success doing voice-over work in animated programs like "Adventure Time" and "Future-Worm!"

Chrissy Teigen says she's learned a valuable lesson following her bullying scandal, and it goes like this ... stay out of other people's s**t!!!

Chrissy was heading to pick up her daughter in WeHo Tuesday and attracted a gaggle of photogs because, let's face it ... public Chrissy sightings are a rarity these days. Anyway, one of 'em asked what she thought about Addison Rae catching flak for introducing herself to Donald Trump at UFC 264.

Check out Chrissy in action ... she had an answer locked and loaded, one that seems to be part of her plan to get out of what she dubbed "cancel club."

As for that club, we ask Chrissy how long she anticipates being a member, and it's clear she hasn't lost her sense of humor ... or reality. For now, she says she's focused on living her life and taking care of her family.

As you know ... Chrissy's current situation stems from Courtney Stodden revealing they were the victim of Chrissy's cyberbullying years ago. Then, more bullying claims followed, and Chrissy vented that being "canceled" has been an awful experience.

You can bet Dolly Parton's getting a big O-vation tonight for the surprise she put together for her husband's 79th birthday.

The legendary country singer got dolled up in an iconic Playboy Bunny suit Tuesday to give Carl -- her husband of 57 years -- a special 79th birthday gift ... recreating her original Playboy cover from 1978.

Carl's a lucky dude, because the fact is ... DP's plan was to share this gift with the whole world. You might recall, she told "60 Minutes Australia" back in March 2020 she'd be down to pose again when she's 75.

Fast forward to now ... Dolly is 75, but, as she explained, Playboy's not in any condition to make it happen. No matter, she's holding up her end of the bargain.

Goes without saying ... Dolly's still got it, and she ain't afraid to toot her own horn as you see in the video. She asks -- rhetorically, we think -- if Playboy should pay her anyway for a photoshoot.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is tearing Jeff Bezos a new one after he thanked Amazon employees and customers for footing the bill for his trip to space.

We got the Congresswoman Tuesday on Capitol Hill, and asked what she made of the richest man in the world giving major props to workers and online consumers for literally paying for his roughly 10-minute rocket voyage this morning.

ICYMI ... it was an awkward moment, and one Jeff didn't seem to realize came off as tone-deaf. There wasn't much context to his comment, but AOC thinks she has a good idea of what he meant -- as she says that's right up Amazon's alley (AKA, free rides on the backs of others).

You gotta watch her go off here ... it's beyond scathing, this is downright brutal -- calling Bezos out for allegedly overworking employees, busting unions and, of course, avoiding paying taxes via loopholes in the law.

We asked her if there was a silver lining in the fact that Bezos made a $100 million donation to Van Jones and organizations/causes he sees fit -- but it sounds like she thinks it's mostly an empty gesture.

One of Donald Trump's allies -- who also happened to scoop up Neverland Ranch after Michael Jackson lost it -- is facing federal charges for acting as an agent of a foreign government.

Thomas Barrack was busted Tuesday in L.A. after the feds accused him of acting and conspiring to act as an agent of the United Arab Emirates between April 2016 and April 2018. The 7-count indictment also charges Barrack with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 2019 interview with the FBI.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of NY Jacquelyn Kasulis says Barrack, who chaired Trump's 2017 inaugural committee, "abused his access to government officials to illegally advance the interests of foreign governments."

There are 2 other defendants whom the feds claim capitalized on Barrack’s friendships and access to Trump and other high-ranking officials to advance their goals without disclosing their true allegiances.

According to court docs, Barrack informally advised senior U.S. government officials on issues related to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East as early as January 2017. Prosecutors also say Barrack sought appointment to a senior role in the U.S. government, including the role of Special Envoy to the Middle East.

Barrack, who founded Colony Capital, is the former owner of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. He purchased it for $22.5 million a year before MJ's death. Barrack ultimately sold the property in December 2020 for $20 million to the billionaire Ron Burkle.