Controversial S#!T

Russell Brand's production company got paid a nice chunk of change for performing at a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. event earlier this year ... and we're talking tens of thousands.

TMZ pulled Team Kennedy's FEC filings ... and it shows the campaign shelled out more than $68,000 to Russell's production company for "Event Entertainment - Travel Expenses" after he appeared at a campaign event for RFK Jr. and his running mate Nicole Shanahan.

Russell performed at RFK Jr.'s event in May out in Nashville -- and it was called "Night of Comedy," alongside other comedians including Rob Schneider, Dave Landau, Jim Breuer, Katherine Blanford, Jeff Dye, and Mike Binder. Russell reportedly did a filmed set where he went after legacy media and scoffed at coronavirus mandates and vax requirements.

Dana White compared cancel culture to coming out, Bianca Censori bounced around in another risque outfit and Jon "Bones" Jones cracked a joke about his cocaine usage ... all this and more on TMZ's hot takes.

On "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles discuss Dana White's controversial metaphor equating cancel culture with being gay in the 1980s.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker rarely keep their hands to themselves -- so their latest sex confession shouldn't be all that shocking ... but it will be to a lot of people!

During Thursday's episode of "The Kardashians," the Poosh founder admits she and Travis snuck in a banging when she was already 3 centimeters dilated while pregnant with their son, Rocky.

As shown in the episode ... Kourtney first began feeling contractions on Oct. 29, 2023, and they headed to the hospital that evening, as KK was 2 centimeters dilated and experiencing light bleeding.

Senator Ted Cruz is getting serious about tackling deepfake AI-generated porn with his latest bill ... which is all about forcing tech companies to do the right thing, and swiftly too.

The Texas senator came on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... telling us how the "Take It Down Act" will federally charge individuals who publish non-consensual content online -- and more importantly, mandate big tech companies to take down such content within 48 hours.

TC tells us he got the idea to propose the bill after jumping in to help a Texas high school girl whose deepfake pics ended up on Snapchat for 9 months due to a boy at her school.

A celebrity basketball tournament slated to go down at a high school in New Jersey next month has been axed ... after the event's raunchy theme sparked outrage in the community.

The "Nuttin But Azz" Celebrity Baddies Basketball contest was all set to go forward on July 21 at West Side High School in Newark ... but after a video promoting the event featured girls shaking their butts in tiny thongs at the H.S.'s gym -- officials pumped the brakes on it all.

According to Newark Public Schools spokesperson Nancy Deering, the event "was supposed to be a community basketball event sponsored by" a local politician ... but once the promo hit social media -- everything changed.

Jonathan Majors is set to take on the lead in a new supernatural revenge thriller -- marking his official return to the screen after his assault trial, in which he was convicted.

The actor will play the role of a CIA interrogator -- whose sanity takes a perilous dive as he grapples with malevolent forces threatening the woman he loves. The movie doesn't have a major studio attached to produce or distribute ... for now, it's just an indie flick.

Despite his legal woes, JM's got some serious backup on this project -- it'll be directed by Martin Villeneuve, the younger brother of Oscar-nominated director Denis Villeneuve ... something sources connected to Jon have confirmed to TMZ.

Dana White's ripping cancel culture, saying it's stopping people from being their true selves in public -- and he's using an interesting metaphor to make his point ... gay people.

The UFC CEO sat down with Shannon Sharpe for an episode of his "Club Shay Shay" podcast ... and, they dove into people getting "canceled" -- something White says doesn't scare him one bit.

Watch the clip ... Dana says he only cares about the opinion of a small group of people -- his family and loved ones -- and everything outside of that's just white noise. He then launches into a comparison that's raising eyebrows among some ... but ringing true for others.

Kim Kardashian is taking her new career in acting seriously -- willing to give up a cosmetic procedure to pursue it ... but isn't willing to do certain things for a full transformation.

The reality star was talking about her new on-camera escapades on the latest episode of "The Kardashians" -- confirming her new comedy, "The Fifth Wheel," was the subject of a bidding war ... which ultimately went to Netflix.

While talking about the whole ordeal with pals -- she says she didn't think studios would take her seriously at first ... but now, she's apparently getting flooded with acting opportunities.

Taylor Swift's private jet ended up in the crosshairs of a political protest -- environmental activists tagged multiple planes at an airfield she'd landed at ... but missed the target.

Just Stop Oil -- a British environmental activist group focused on human-caused climate change -- took responsibility for the vandalism Thursday ... confirming they were specifically going after Taylor's private plane.

The org says protesters Jennifer Kowalski and Cole Macdonald entered the private airfield at Stansted airport around 5 AM ... and sprayed paint on PJs using rigged fire extinguishers.

Frightening moment on a Texas road ... two cyclists were knocked off their bikes and run over by a car ... and it's all on video.

The horrifying footage -- captured on Monday -- shows the cyclists pedaling hard in the right lane of a road just outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport ... when a white SUV comes up from behind and rams into them, knocking them off their bikes.

One biker gets knocked off their bike entirely and goes toppling to the ground ... while the other biker stays upright a bit before eventually going down too, and getting crushed.

Louisiana's getting back to basics in its education system, 'cause a new law requiring schools to display some of the oldest written rules in every class just kicked in ... and holy cow!

The new law demands a poster-sized display of the Biblical laws hung in every public classroom in large, easy-to-read font. The bill went into effect Wednesday after the period for Governor Jeff Landry to sign or veto the bill lapsed.

The posters -- which will also include a four-paragraph statement to put them in context by explaining how the Ten Commandments used to be a core tenet of American education -- must go up in the classrooms by the start of 2025.

Katy Perry is facing backlash for again working with music producer Dr. Luke ... almost 7 years after being dragged into his legal battle with Kesha -- who seems to have chimed in.

According to Rolling Stone, Katy is collaborating with a slew of music producers for her untitled 6th studio album. Per the report, Katy has tapped the producers who helped make hits on her albums "Teenage Dream" and "Prism" ... including Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Stargate, among many others.

Because Katy is going back to Dr. Luke well for her new tunes -- Kesha's fans are PISSED and dragging her for the decision ... calling it a betrayal. And Kesha seems to agree.

Sabrina Carpenter needs a clear path for herself free of adoring fans -- and that's exactly what her security provided this week across the pond ... in not-so-subtle terms.

The singer's bodyguard got filmed shoving people outta the way upon her arrival to London BBC Radio 1 Studios Tuesday ... specifically, photographers that were trying to snap pictures of her as she was heading into the building.

There was one dude on her staff who was leading the way with some pretty rough shoves -- getting handsy with paps and roughly powering through to make way for his client.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun got grilled on Capitol Hill this week ... and he just admitted the aerospace giant has a history of retaliation against whistleblowers.

The Boeing boss was in D.C. Tuesday -- where he was appearing before U.S. senators for a hearing meant to address all the issues at Boeing lately -- and he was asked straight-up about whistleblowers speaking truth to power ... acknowledging for a fact retaliation happens.

Pressed if Boeing fired any staffers who were responsible for the retaliation, Calhoun was unable to give any specific numbers ... but he said retaliation is a thing at Boeing and people have been fired as a result. He promised Senator Blumenthal to get him specifics.

Ariana Grande is clapping back at folks dragging her online for switching up her speaking voice mid-interview -- she says it's intentional, and necessary to protect the golden goose ... that voice of hers.

Here's the deal ... a clip from Ariana's recent appearance on Penn Badgley's "Podcrushed" podcast is making the rounds on social media ... with folks pointing to a drastic change in her voice in the middle of conversation. It happens at about 35 seconds in, in the clip above.

Ariana's speaking in a lower voice before her pitch suddenly gets higher as she changes topics ... causing some online to accuse her of being fake.

FUBU's head honcho Daymond John says he's surprised to see there's a TV series based on his company that's in the works -- and according to him ... it doesn't have his blessing.

TMZ Hip Hop linked up with Daymond Monday in Bev Hills -- this on the heels of the announcement that Radar Pictures and For Us By Us Studios are teaming up to bring FUBU's origin story to the small screen.

Thing is ... Daymond tells us he was never approached about this -- and says it's actually his story to tell ... writing off the announcement as clickbait, and not viewing it as authentic.