Holidaze

The military veteran who got his microphone turned off during a Memorial Day speech when he started talking about Black history is turning the page ... after he says one of the people involved apologized for it.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter tells TMZ ... he received a call Friday from James Garrison in which James told him he's sorry for the events that transpired on Memorial Day at the Ohio cemetery where Kemter spoke.

Garrison is one of the 2 Ohio American Legion Post Officers who allegedly made the call to cut Kemter's mic when he began discussing the role freed Black enslaved people played in the formation of the holiday. The other is Post Officer Cindy Suchan.

Though the Lt. Col. tells us he's only spoken to James and not Cindy, he considers the issue to be resolved and wants to move on.

Kemter adds that he played no part in the American Legion of Ohio calling for Garrison and Suchan to resign over the incident, and so far it seems they've not stepped down. We've reached out to them ... no word back.

The retired vet also says he's been overwhelmed by the response to his speech, with many people thanking him for bringing to light how African-Americans contributed to the first Memorial Day by paying tribute to the Union soldiers who died.

A military veteran's mic was intentionally cut off while he delivered a moving speech acknowledging Black Americans' role in creating the Memorial Day holiday -- and folks are justifiably outraged.

The American Legion of Ohio is upset about how retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter was treated during his speech Monday during a Memorial Day ceremony at an Ohio cemetery.

Kemter was about halfway through his speech when he started discussing how freed Black enslaved people were involved in an early event honoring Civil War dead.

At that moment, his microphone was cut off and he tapped it and requested for it to be turned back on ... but it didn't happen. The Lt. Col. powered through without the mic, and he delivered his message about Black history.

Kemter says he initially thought it was a glitch, but later learned the organizers did it intentionally because he refused to modify his speech. According to organizers, Kemter's discussion of Black history "was not relevant to our program for the day."

The vet says he's disappointed they chose to censor him, and the Ohio American Legion has his back. The org wants the event organizers who cut Kemter's mic to resign ... and they've also warned of disciplinary action.

Honestly, the disrespect shown to Lt. Col Kemter reminds us of this classic "Forrest Gump" scene where his mic was cut as he spoke about the Vietnam War.

While the 'Gump' scene played funny in the movie -- no one's laughing about what happened to Kemter.

The City of Oakland really came through on its promise to pay tribute to late comedian Paul Mooney ... by declaring May 19 will henceforth be known as "Paul Mooney Day."

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife proposed the resolution to name a day after Mooney and recognize him for his "uncompromising social and political commentary and iconic contributions to Black arts and entertainment."

The resolution calls Paul "an Oakland treasure—a trailblazing comedian, writer, producer, film and television actor with a career spanning four decades" and says his legacy is "a shining example of the talent in Oakland."

Councilmember Fife tells us the city council passed her proposal unanimously Wednesday, so May 19 -- the day Mooney died -- will now be named in his honor for years to come.

As we first told you ... Oakland officials were looking to honor Paul even before he passed away, but that mission sadly became more urgent last week. Fife says after Mooney died, she made a number of calls to people he was close with about how to do it ... including comedian and Oakland native, Luenell.

Greta Van Susteren is OUTRAGED people are supposedly swapping "Mother's Day" for a gender-neutral term to be PC -- but the truth is ... she might be fuming over nothing.

The ex-FOX News personality -- who's now anchoring another political show on Gray Television -- tweeted a bizarre sentiment Sunday, going after folks who have the audacity to say "Happy Birthing Person's Day" ... instead of saying "mother."

Greta writes, "To all those who reject the term “Mother’s Day” in favor of “birthing persons’ day” you have just slighted all the incredible mothers who adopted children."

So, on the face of it, she seems to be trying to one-up the easily-offended crowd with even more offense of her own -- but she's not the first right-leaning public figure to make a fuss over the term "birthing persons."

Sen. Ted Cruz also had something to say about it as well, but he was way more obnoxious.

In classic "YOU WON'T CANCEL THIS!!!" fashion ... Cruz posted an erased-out Mother's Day scribbling, and wrote in "birthing people's."

Here's the thing, though ... their indignation seems to be a big waste of energy.

For starters, hardly anyone actually says "Birthing People/Person's Day" -- at least not widely -- nor is it becoming a new norm. And, even if people do say it ... so what? Them choosing to say that doesn't prevent anyone else from saying "Mother's Day" -- and the same applies in reverse. No one's shaming anyone for saying "Mother," soooo ... to each their own?

This all seems to stem from Rep. Cori Bush using the term in a tweet this week while describing her pregnancy experience ... in which she claimed different doctors had encouraged her to abort her baby, and to just get pregnant again -- suggesting racism was at play.

Rather than listening to the substance of her remarks, it looks like some clung to the "birthing people" term ... and never looked back.

Phylicia Rashad was strangely thrust into a conversation about Bill Cosby and his so-called "enablers" -- which the Internet was NOT putting up with ... especially on Mother's Day.

Twitter was celebrating their favorite TV moms Sunday, and Phylicia was right up there near the top of the list ... with many remembering and paying tribute to her starring role on "The Cosby Show" as Cliff's wife, Clair Huxtable. That is, until someone took the convo left.

A lady who goes by Lisa Talmadge rained on everyone's parade, tweeting a bizarre claim, and didn't even use Phylicia's proper name in making it ... or her TV character's name for that matter.

She wrote, "Claire Huxtable was an enabler of the longest and most prolific drug rape predator In US history, Bill Cosby. Everyone on set knew he was a sadistic predator. Everyone. 75 women drugged and raped by Cosby and he got away with it because of enablers."

For starters, it's CLAIR Huxtable. Second, Mrs. Huxtable is not a real person (she's fictional and only exists in the show). More importantly -- and as Twitter users furiously noted in response -- Phylicia isn't responsible for what Cosby was accused of, or convicted over.

As countless people pointed out, Phylicia wasn't his boss on the set ... if anything, she was more of an employee of his, and a co-worker -- nothing more. To suggest she knew what was going on behind the scenes -- something she herself has already denied -- is absurd.

Now, for the record, Phylicia has come to Cosby's defense ... most memorably in 2015 when the sexual assault allegations against him resurfaced, which she brushed off at the time as a group of people trying to tarnish the man's legacy, and a conviction of guilt in the media.

After Cosby was convicted of assaulting Andrea Constand and incarcerated over it ... Phylicia has somewhat softened her stance, but she still seems to equivocate at times. Bigger picture though ... she's supported "The Cosby Show" and has asked folks to compartmentalize.

It's Mother's Day again -- and if you thought Hollywood would skip a beat due to COVID, you're wrong ... because they laid it on thick for mama bear, just like years past.

Scores of celebs made sure to shout out that special lady in their lives on Sunday, posting heartfelt tributes for their moms ... while also posing for shots with them too. This year feels especially poignant, as we're finally turning a corner in the pandemic and are going strong.

Among the stars who shared the love ... Reese Witherspoon, Priyanka Chopra, DJ Khaled, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Strahan, Lenny Kravitz, Gene Simmons, Drake, Usher, Usain Bolt, Jimmy Fallon, J Lo, Ryan Seacrest, Matthew McConaughey, Addison Rae, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Schumer, Elle Fanning, Sammy Hagar, Vince Neil, Lea Michele ... and VP Kamala Harris.

One post that was notably meaningful was Ryan Dorsey's ... who made sure to remember Naya Rivera, his late ex-wife and the mother of his own child, Josey, who died last year.

He wrote, "🖤❤️🖤We can’t say the word happy but we’ll say thank you for being a mother & giving me this sweet amazing boy.🖤❤️🖤#mothersday." Ryan threw up a photo of Naya and Josey sitting at a booth with what looks to be some ice cream in front of them.

As you know ... Naya drowned last year at Lake Piru in Ventura County, after taking Josey out on a boat ride, but somehow getting sucked under the water when trying to re-board.

Oscar De La Hoya took a break from training for his return to the boxing ring ... to SING with a mariachi band on Cinco de Mayo, and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 48-year-old hit up Maestro, a Mexican food restaurant in Pasadena (he's like the mayor over there) and started feeling himself when the mariachi band began to play.

So, Oscar -- who once released a Latin Pop album back in the day -- decided to grab the mic and take over the lead singing duties.

Look, he ain't exactly Marc Anthony ... but it's not bad for a guy who was mowing down his dinner just minutes before taking the stage.

The crowd loved it and cheered him on as he sang hits like "Amor Eterno" by Rocio Durcal and "Sigo Siendo el Rey" by Vicente Fernandez.

FYI, Oscar's self-titled album was released in 2001 and actually got nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album alongside Shakira, Christina Aguilera and Luis Miguel!!!!

Oh, he lost to Shakira's MTV Unplugged album -- which, in her defense, still holds up.

As for the boxing side of things, Oscar announced he'll be returning to the ring on July 3 ... but his opponent has still not been announced.

A Louisiana mother believes a doctor refused to perform surgery on her son after racially profiling him over a Christmas sweater that jokes about Santa being a "gangsta wrapper."

Shelly Jack claims her 17-year-old son was refused medical service by a surgeon at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Ville Platte because the guy was offended by the funny shirt, allegedly believing it to be an endorsement of gang activity.

Jack says her son made an appointment to get a bullet removed from his leg by a surgeon, but after they arrived she claims the doctor went off about how the "gangsta gear" was disrespectful ... and told them he wouldn't help a gang member.

But, Shelly tells KATC3 ... her son is not involved with any gang -- he was shot trying to pull a friend away from a fight at an apartment when shots rang out and he got hit.

Fortunately, Jack says her son was able to make an appointment with another surgeon several days later, but she's filed a complaint with Mercy Regional.

Vin Diesel has a security problem ... with his neighbors, who say the actor's security team act like they own the hood.

Vin is renting a place in a gated community in the Dominican Republic, and neighbors say he has 12 aggressive security guards protecting him and his fam.

The neighbor next door says the last straw was this Easter, when the guards blocked pedestrians and traffic so Vin and his kids could bicycle.

The neighbor wrote a letter to Vin, obtained by TMZ, in which he says, "For a few weeks I have personally witnessed and heard from fellow homeowners the unprecedented and abusive display of your security people around our homes and beach. Interrogating us, blocking our street with five or six SUV's. Stopping residents while walking when you ride your bicycle."

The neighbor goes on ... "In over ten years the homeowners in Fundadores Juanillo Beach have never endured and suffered such absurd comportment by anyone renting a home in our very small, private and very secure community."

The neighbor, who's from New York, had a tinge of sarcasm when he wrote, "You should know that you are visiting a community where no one is a threat to you, or anyone else that visits us."

A source close to Vin tells TMZ, the actor's been going to the DR for 20 years, and he's gotten along great with everyone. As for the Easter incident, the source says Vin was riding his bike with his kids and handing out Easter baskets to workers in the community. The source adds there was extra security because Vin's entire family was there.

Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley's tour of love continues -- the engaged couple hit up Disney World during Easter weekend ... and they couldn't keep their hands off each other!!

Of course, the NFL MVP and actress are fresh off a romantic getaway to Mexico ... which was the very first time we got a glimpse of the duo together since Rodgers announced their engagement back in February.

37-year-old Rodgers and 29-year-old Woodley now appear to be a lot more comfortable showing their love for each other out in public ... holding hands and hugging while walking through Disney in Orlando.

In fact, the couple adorably decided to wear matching Star Wars-themed masks ... and while Woodley added some Minnie Mouse ears, Rodgers settled for a ballcap and Star Wars shirt.

Remember -- Rodgers is a grade-A Star Wars super-nerd ... so we're sure he couldn't wait to get the VIP treatment while checking out the SW: Galaxy's Edge area during his visit.

The couple has a lot to celebrate -- Rodgers' debut episode as interim host of "Jeopardy!" premiered on Monday ... and Woodley hyped up her man by praising his man bun and "super sexy, super attractive" look.

What are ... relationship goals, Aaron??

The Easter bunny's back at the White House after a 1-year hiatus ... albeit with a different look this year, but, hey, something's better than nothing.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden brought out the Easter bunny Monday during a White House ceremony to commemorate the holiday. They took the opportunity to also urge Americans to get vaccinated.

It's pretty cool considering the bunny did NOT make an appearance last year due to the pandemic. It's also the second consecutive year the annual White House Easter Egg Roll -- which draws tons of kids and has been hosted on the South Lawn almost every year since 1878 -- was canceled due to the outbreak.

But now, Peter Cottontail and Co. are getting back in the biz ... the bunnies have hopped back to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Things Lincoln Riley is good at ... coaching football, drawing up plays and winning games.

Things the OU head coach is bad at ... brisket -- clearly.

The 37-year-old Sooners head man showed off his Easter dinner on social media Sunday ... and the meat he cooked was so dry, some questioned whether it was actually pumpernickel!!

Check out the photo Riley shared ... the meat was cooked to a crisp -- and the poor dude was ROASTED over it!!!

The comments were relentless ...

"Dear Lord, please see what real TX brisket looks like and never cook a brisket again.  Ever."

"If you drop your phone in water you could put it in a bag with this brisket to dry it out."

"This mf loves football so much he eats it for dinner."

"Did you pull that out of Jesus’s tomb?"

"I don’t know why everyone is roasting this. That pumpernickel looks delicious."

For his part, Riley seemed to defend the cooked cow in the wake of the backlash ... writing to one critic, "Haha ask @BwylieSTRONG if it was legit....."

That guy, OU's Director of Sports Performance Bennie Wylie, had Riley's back ... adding, "Unbelievable... Brisket tacos on point!"

Good news, bad news for Chiefs fans ...

The good ... hey! Patrick Mahomes' family is absolutely adorable!!!

The bad ... despite having surgery TWO MONTHS AGO, the K.C. star quarterback's foot/ankle is still in a protective boot.

Mahomes' fiancee, Brittany Matthews, posted an Easter Sunday family pic featuring herself, Patrick and their newborn daughter ... and it created quite the stir in the NFL world.

You'll recall ... Mahomes injured his toe at some point in the Chiefs' playoff run last season, and the 25-year-old needed surgery just a few days after K.C.'s Super Bowl loss to repair the damage.

Most thought Patrick would be good to go for workouts at this point ... but Matthews' photo shows the quarterback still clearly has quite a bit of recovering left to do.

Thankfully, Mahomes said on Twitter late Sunday he's not worried about anything regarding the injury ... despite still being in the boot.

"Lolol yeah," Mahomes said in response to Pat McAfee asking about the injury. "all good."

The Chiefs are set to begin Organized Team Activities in just 2 weeks ... and seems unlikely Patrick will be good to go by then.

With the season 5 months away though ... probably not the time to be sweating things too much in K.C. yet.

The Easter bunny is long overdue for a major makeover ... and with these sexy stars slipping into some ears and a fluffy cottontail, it looks like the hare has some serious competition!

The hottest celebs hopped on the long-eared look and shared these sweet snaps in bunny costumes and in the spirit of the holiday we're sharing them with you ... And trust us, they're way sweeter than some stale Easter candy!

The Easter Bunny's making a comeback of sorts, and this time it doesn't just mean Spring is sprung, it's a sign Americans are getting ready to celebrate Easter like it's 2019 ... for better or worse.

The bellwether in this case -- bunny costume sales, and they're super hot with Easter less than 2 weeks away. A rep at HalloweenCostumes.com, the world's largest costume retailer, tells TMZ ... its Easter category sales are up over 75% year-to-year.

For instance, this time last year -- as the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns were beginning -- the retailer had sold just 49 bunny costumes. This year, with COVID cases flat or dropping in most places, they've sold 171 ... and expect to sell out before Easter, which is April 4.

The easy explanation for biz boomin' is two-fold -- the decrease in cases and the increase in availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Not to mention the loosening of restrictions in many states, and total lack of them in others.

What's more ... the CDC also recently said vaccinated people can visit indoors with unvaccinated people of a single household without masks or social distancing if unvaccinated people are in the low-risk category. Great news for grandma and grandpa heading into the holiday!

Important to note, though, that if no one in your family's been vaccinated, the CDC is still recommending keeping celebrations within your household, and gathering virtually with others. And, of course, outdoor gatherings, if weather permits, are most ideal.

More quarterback drama for the Seattle Seahawks ...

The guy who backs up Russell Wilson is being investigated by police for allegedly punching a man in the face at a bar on St. Patrick's Day ... TMZ Sports has learned.

25-year-old Alex McGough -- a 7th round pick in 2018 out of FIU -- was allegedly at the Green Parrot Pub in Tampa, FL when an altercation broke out ... and things got violent.

TMZ Sports spoke with the alleged victim, 24-year-old Anthony Albino -- who tells us he was reconnecting with an old friend at the bar when McGough approached him and accused him of shooting his shot at his girlfriend.

Anthony says the NFL player got heated -- and all of the sudden, McGough socked him in the face out of nowhere.

In video taken after the alleged incident -- and obtained by TMZ Sports -- you can see Anthony with red marks on his face ... surrounded by bloody paper towels he used to clean himself up.

Anthony says he suffered minor injuries from the incident ... including a bloody nose and a gash to his elbow.

We're told Anthony went to cops the following day and filled out a report with the intention of pressing charges.

So far, McGough has neither been arrested nor charged with a crime -- but our law enforcement sources confirm the incident is under investigation and officers are hoping to speak with McGough soon

We've reached out to McGough's camp for comment ... so far, no word back.

The Seahawks signed McGough to its practice squad back in December 2020 -- and he's currently listed as the #2 quarterback on the team depth chart.