Controversial S#!T

Carole Baskin bought a home late last year ... with funds from her Big Cat Rescue org ... TMZ has learned.

Carole and her husband Howard got the Odessa, FL house for $895,000. The deed, obtained by TMZ, lists Big Cat Rescue as the property owner. There is no mortgage evident from the deed, so it appears the property was purchased outright with Big Cat Rescue funds.

BCR is a charitable org and Carole is the CEO. Carole tells TMZ, she bought the place after she and Howard sold their sanctuary/headquarters and moved the cats to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas.

Melania Trump is recalling the first time her now-husband, Donald, made a pass at her ... revealing 45 went about the flirtation in an unconventional way.

The former First Lady shared the memory in her memoir, titled "Melania," confessing Donald approached her at a 1998 Fashion Week party ... while on a date with someone else.

As Melania put it ... the former prez made his way over to her at the industry event, even though he was escorted by an "attractive blonde woman" that evening.

"American Horror Story" alum Naomi Grossman is coming to Ryan Murphy's defense amid the growing debate surrounding "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."

ICYMI ... the Menendez brothers have made it clear they aren't fans of the show, with EM previously bashing the Netflix drama as a "dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime."

Yet, when we caught up with Naomi in Santa Monica, California, she voiced her shock at the siblings' outrage ... since she felt the show painted Lyle and Erik as "total victims."

Chappell Roan was back at it, moaning and groaning -- this time airing out some old classroom drama as she went full savage mode at a former teacher, boldly dubbing her a "b****" onstage.

You gotta check out the clip -- Chappell took an expletive-filled detour while introducing her track "My Kink Is Karma" at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, yelling into her microphone, "I usually dedicate this song to my ex but I dedicate this song to my f****** theater teacher ... who kicked me out, b****! I'm here!"

A fan shared the star's no-nonsense statement online, tagging it with, “F*** the theater teacher that kicked out Chappell. We ride at dawn!"

Sally Field is opening up about her own "illegal" abortion experience ahead of the November election ... as she hopes her story will resonate with voters.

The Oscar winner shared her "traumatic" story in a video posted to Instagram Sunday evening, where she confirmed she got pregnant at 17 just after graduating high school.

As she put it ... she didn't have family support or finances to go through with the pregnancy, and so, a family doctor arranged to take her to Mexico so she could get an abortion.

Alec Baldwin's film "Rust" is gearing up for its world premiere at Poland’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Cinematography Film Festival next month ... but it’s being slammed as tone-deaf by industry peers of the late Halyna Hutchins.

Many are raising concerns about whether it’s appropriate to showcase the controversial Western at an event that Hutchins, who was from neighboring Ukraine, regularly attended -- since she died on the set of the film 3 years ago after being hit by a bullet fired from a loaded prop gun.

The festival -- which will also host a special panel to honor Halyna’s life -- promoted the upcoming premiere on IG with several stills from the movie -- but the comments section is anything but hyped for the event.

The creative director of Beyoncé's company, Parkwood Entertainment, is catching heat from a congressman ... who thinks an influencer allegedly promoting violence "has no business" shaping culture.

New York Congressman Ritchie Torres took to IG Sunday, posting a screen-cap of an earlier post by Andrew Makadsi depicting a man who reportedly set his arm on fire Saturday at a protest in Washington, D.C. ... Torres accuses Makadsi of glorifying the self-immolation of an anti-Israel activist.

Torres posted on the eve of October 7, which marks a year since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251.

Talk about a heavy topic for some late-night laughs ... "Saturday Night Live" went all in on Diddy, who’s currently behind bars on charges related to racketeering, sex trafficking and other serious crimes.

On the show's "Weekend Update" segment, Michael Che quipped alongside a pic of Diddy, “It was reported that the U.S. added 245,000 new jobs. Unfortunately, they were all 'Diddy accusers.'”

The audience erupted in laughter as Michael kept it rolling, saying, "It was announced that Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking case has been assigned to a new judge. One that Diddy hopes is cool with rapes."

Utah State is joining a growing list of schools forfeiting volleyball matches against San Jose State ... in an apparent protest against a transgender player.

The Aggies are the fourth program to boycott against the Spartans this season ... after it was claimed in a lawsuit, filed by former college swimmer Riley Gaines, that a member of the SJSU roster is a biological male.

Gaines notably competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the NCAA championships in 2022 ... and has since become an activist against trans women competing in women's sports.

Caitlin Clark's popularity is being used to catapult the WNBA's racism conversation to the forefront ... so says retired legend Sue Bird, who claims the negative treatment from fans has been an issue long before the Indiana Fever superstar was drafted.

Clark's fellow WNBA ballers have spoken out on their mistreatment numerous times this season ... which has led many to believe it's the new spectators she brought to the league that are majorly at fault for the hate.

Bird weighed in on the subject on her "A Touch More" podcast with her ex-USWNT superstar wife, Megan Rapinoe ... and she said given her 21 years in the league, she knows damn well Clark wasn't indirectly responsible -- she's just being used as a "pawn" in the situation.

Jaylen Brown stirred up a stink online with Ice Spice's Munchkins fanbase when he declared her "Think U The S**t (Fart)" song was the worst flood of diarrhea hip hop music ever experienced ... a comment on par for the opinions and buttholes equation, claims "Fisherrr" rapper Bay Swag!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Bay Swag in NYC earlier this week ... he, Ice Spice and Cash Cobain helped spread the sexy drill movement with the "Fisherrr (Remix)" earlier this year, which marches to the same drum as Ice's "Fart."

Of course, that means nothing to the 2024 NBA Finals MVP ... JB says Ice's pooting was the first song that came to mind ... and Bay Swag tells us JB has a right to feel that way, even if he doesn't agree.

Gary Estes, the Texas man who spent $4,000 to destroy a Taylor Swift guitar, is shaking off criticism following the highly debated viral moment.

The 67-year-old has spoken out in the aftermath of the controversial video, which saw him bidding thousands of dollars to obtain a guitar allegedly signed by the pop star ... only to smash it with a hammer directly after buying it.

Estes says he didn't have any "malicious" intentions behind the destructive gesture ... clarifying it "was just a joke" -- and one he didn't even come up with.

Homer Simpson will continue to strangle Bart on "The Simpsons" ... with the showrunner telling TMZ the "gag" was never really going to end.

Here's the deal ... the iconic cartoon just premiered its 36th season ... and besides confusing fans by calling the episode the series finale -- it wasn't -- the episode peppered in shock value when Homer strangled Bart ... a bit most assumed was purposely ended last year.

In an episode that aired last November ... a character noted Homer's firm handshake -- to which he responded ... "See, Marge, strangling the boy paid off." He then follows up and says ... "Just kidding, I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed."

Rob Schneider was one of millions to share their condolences following Dikembe Mutombo's death ... but his tribute to the legend stuck out in particular -- as he used the tragic news to push his anti-vax stance.

The comedian went to X to mourn Mutombo's passing on Monday ... starting it off by saying, "Rest in Peace..."

Many wish he would've just left it at that ... as the rest of his post -- which quoted a video Mutombo made in 2021 to promote the Covid vaccine -- speculated if getting the jab had anything to do with the former All-Star's death.

Anna Delvey's clarifying her parting comment on "Dancing with the Stars" ... saying she told the audience she didn't learn a dang thing from her experience 'cause the judges' advice didn't help her stay on the show.

Delvey -- who was eliminated from 'DWTS' last week alongside Tori Spelling -- stopped by Spelling's podcast "misSPELLING" to discuss their shared exit from the show.

ICYMI ... Spelling gave a long, elegant answer reflecting fondly on her short tenure on the show just after she was eliminated. When Anna was asked a similar question, she straight up told the hosts she learned "nothing."

Travis Kelce might be feeling the criticism online ... but, he was only feeling love in his locker room Sunday -- 'cause his teammates wore shirts to back their captain.

CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson posted pics of the tight end's colleagues decked out in black t-shirts with photos of the star adorning the front and back of the gear.

According to her, the shirts were purchased by K.C. wide receiver Rashee Rice "to honor their leader and a guy who has mentored all of them."