Controversial S#!T

Katie Couric says Bryant Gumbel gave her a hard time back in the day over maternity ... which Katie thinks spoke to something deeper, even if he was joking.

The famed newswoman stopped by Bill Maher's 'Club Random' podcast Sunday ... in which she detailed the "prickly" relationship she had with Bryant during their tenure on 'Today' together.

Katie hinted she and Bryant were never close, referring to her coworker as a guy's guy -- but still applauded his broadcasting skills.

La primera Miss IA del mundo será coronada el próximo mes en el nuevo concurso de belleza para modelos generadas digitalmente y, ¡ofrece un premio en efectivo para la chica más sexy!

Como dice la organización World AI Creator Awards, que celebra a los creadores que están a la vanguardia de la inteligencia artificial, los genios detrás de las mejores influencers de las redes sociales serán recompensados en este concurso.

Y añaden: "La creadora de IA coronada como Miss IA recibirá un impresionante premio en efectivo de 5.000 dólares gracias a nuestro socio Fanvue, además de acceso al Programa de Mentores de Imagine Education por un valor de 3.000 dólares y apoyo en relaciones públicas por un valor de más de 5.000 dólares."

12:04 PM PT -- Actress and model Claudia Jordan joined "TMZ Live" today and ripped the AI beauty pageant saying, "It's hard enough being a woman in this society, the way it is and the scrutiny we already get. Now, we have AI highering the standard of beauty where they're just so perfect."

Claudia compares this to photoshopped images in magazines, saying these AI models are just adding to women's unrealistic beauty standards.

Jaleel White says he feels blessed over his child stardom after watching 'Quiet on Set' ... admitting he felt safe and well-protected while filming for his show.

The 'Family Matters' star told "Today" he feels lucky to have felt secure on the ABC sitcom's set, especially now that the harsh realities of the biz are coming to light and learning what former child stars allegedly went through.

JW -- who famously played Steve Urkel -- gave props to his mom for his smooth career early on ... acknowledging she wasn't perfect but crediting her for shielding him from the industry's pitfalls.

Courtney Love ain't showin' much love for Taylor Swift -- in fact, she's got some harsh words for her ... not to mention for Beyoncé and a lot of other ladies in the modern pop space.

The alternative rocker made her controversial remarks in a recent interview with The Standard, first zeroing in on Taylor by calling her "not important." Love accused Taylor of being a "safe space for girls" and the Madonna of this generation.

She then ends her thoughts by saying T-Swift is "not interesting as an artist."

Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila brand has stirred up a storm at Coachella -- 'cause a local bar owner claims her team ruined a beloved mural of theirs ... even though we hear it's BS and have seen the contract saying they actively agreed to and acknowledged the potential for damage.

A watering hole in Indio, CA called Club 5 Bar let Kendall and co. set up shop at their establishment last week for a pop-up attraction to plug 818 ... complete with a bunch of custom decor and decorations ... including a massive decal-like sign on the outside.

It looks like they painted 818 branding all over the wall, but they didn't -- it's actually a separate piece they slapped on top of the wall ... which is why the owner is now pissed. You see, there's an AC/DC mural underneath that they recently had installed, which he claims is now damaged as a result of how the 818 team set this whole thing up and left it behind.

Hannah Waddingham scoffed at a photog who asked her to show more leg for his pics ... telling him to watch his mouth ... albeit in way spicier terms.

Check out the clip from Sunday's Olivier Awards at London's Royal Albert Hall ... the "Ted Lasso" star looks downright horrified when the dude requests she strut her stuff and show off more skin, furiously firing back, "Oh my God, you'd never say that to a man!'

The pap mumbles something back at her, but Hannah shuts him down ... replying, "Don't be a d***! Otherwise, I'm out of here. Don't tell me, 'Show me leg.'"

Hannah Waddingham se abalanzó contra un fotógrafo que le pidió que mostrara más pierna para sus fotos, diciéndole que cuidara su boca, aunque en términos mucho más picantes.

Echa un vistazo al clip de los Premios Olivier del domingo en el Royal Albert Hall de Londres. La estrella de "Ted Lasso" se ve horrorizada cuando el tipo le pide que muestre más piel, furiosamente respondiendo: "¡Oh, Dios mío, nunca le dirías eso a un hombre!

El paparazzi le respondió entre dientes, pero Hannah lo hizo callar y le contestó: "¡No seas imbécil! Si no, me largo. No me digas: 'Enséñame más pierna'".

Keyshia Cole's fans are rooting against her personal happiness -- the R&B superstar confirmed she's dating Atlanta rapper Hunxho on Monday, but the people are convinced she needs to let it go, already!

Hunxho hails from Atlanta and is one of the bright stars on 300 Entertainment ... who also happens to be 18 years younger than KC.

Keyshia tagged Hunxho on X claiming him to be all hers, and he reposted her message with a heart emoji.

Fans instantly accused Keyshia of entertaining an unserious relationship that she'll inevitably rant about in the near future, and simply end up blocking young Hunxho.

The 2 artists were recently spotted on a club date, and despite fan reaction ... all looks to be well, for now.

It's a cold game ... some fans/haters even wished for Hunxho to cheat and break her heart, simply to inspire Keyshia to write some heartfelt R&B.

Keyshia's doing her best to laugh 'em off, and told her critics she's hoping for the best.

Johnny Depp is looking to buy a medieval castle in the Italian countryside ... but the town isn't sold on having him, even though we know he'd show deference as a neighbor.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the actor recently toured a castle in Montalto Dora, Italy -- a small town with a little over 3,000 people living there -- as a potential addition to his real estate portfolio. However, we're told nothing is official ... but he is considering a buy.

The castle is valued at about $4 million, and it's for sale ... if he is interested in claiming it as his own.

Rob Schneider is calling BS on the notion he bombed in front of a bunch of Republican lawmakers -- calling the report a hit piece ... and even labeling it as "woke" propaganda.

Politico put out a story this week touching on an event Rob headlined late last year for a bunch of prominent figures in the GOP here in L.A. -- where a ton of senators and other high-level Republicans were in attendance ... who apparently hated his set.

The report says Rob was supposed to do a 30-minute show -- but organizers cut him off 10 minutes in because his jokes were too raunchy and off-color ... with one senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith, reportedly walking out and calling his material "gross and vulgar."

Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted many Chicago travelers' plans by blocking the entrance to the O'Hare International Airport ... forcing several people to hoof it by foot to the terminal.

Check it out ... protesters blocked the I-190 access road to the Chicago-area airport -- this as a group sat with their arms interlocked across the highway. Others stood and chanted "Free Palestine" ... and there were even drummers out there as the protest raged on.

Police were on the scene to contain the protest ... but the demonstration still caused gridlock traffic to form outside of O'Hare.

A gastropub that was once under Gordon Ramsay's control is now being run by a group of people who pulled up and called the place home ... and cops can't kick them out.

The York & Albany pub and hotel in London is currently being occupied by at least six squatters -- who appear to have barged in and cozied up at some point this month ... something that's on the local police's radar, but which they say they can do nothing about.

The Metropolitan Police told British media outlets that the squatters' presence was a civil matter and that until a crime is committed ... they're handcuffed in terms of booting them.

Kesha's on the crap-on-Diddy train right now amid his legal woes -- changing some famous lyrics at Coachella to send a message ... namely, I don't mess with you anymore, Puffy!

The singer appeared as Renee Rapp's special guest Sunday during the music festival -- and sure enough, she sang her biggest hit 'Tik Tok' ... which starts out by name-dropping Diddy, but which she switched up in emphatic terms as she took the stage.

Instead of singing, "Wake up in the morning, feeling like P. Diddy" ... Kesha sang, "Wake up in the morning like f*** P. Diddy" -- and Renee was right there with her to sing it loud too.

Drake and Rick Ross are firing disses back and forth ... taking shots at each other's appearances -- with Ross even seemingly calling out a physical challenge to Drake.

Here's the deal ... Rick Ross recently dissed Drizzy with his song "Champagne Moments" in response to “Push Ups (Drop & Give Me Fifty)” -- and, among many other roasts, he claims Drake got a nose job.

The lyrics ... "You ain't never want to be a n**** anyway, n****/ That's why you had a operation to make your nose smaller than your father nose, n****."

"All That" star Bryan Hearne is not impressed with Dan Schneider's apology ... telling TMZ the TV creator's mea culpa was a whole lot of BS.

We caught up with the former Nickelodeon child star at LAX, where Bryan blasted Dan's apology video as "crazy" ... calling it an attempt to squash controversy caused by the 'Quiet on Set' docuseries.

ICYMI ... Dan apologized for his past behavior in a 19-minute YouTube video after he was accused of misconduct by those who worked on many of his hit Nickelodeon shows. He previously denied toxic workplace claims in a statement through his reps.