President Trump

The actor who played Tim Allen's eldest on "Home Improvement" wants to end the stereotype associated with "The Simpsons" character Apu, and he's donating a lot of money to make it happen.

Zachery Ty Bryan gave $25k to the Apu Screenwriting Contest, which is being spearheaded by producer Adi Shankar. Shankar's contest is crowdsourcing short scripts for Apu that do NOT involve Indian stereotypes.

The contest got a big up from Kanye West, who shared Shankar's contest announcement on social media, and Zach, who just worked with Adi on a film, has more in common with Kanye than just saving Apu. He's also a massive Trump fan, and says it's time for all Americans to get behind 45.

His relationship with Tom Brady might be over, but Donald Trump's still cool with Bill Belichick -- with POTUS appointing the Patriots coach to his new Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

Trump will be appointing a handful of his pals to the council including Herschel Walker, golfer Natalie Gulbis, beach volleyball star Misty May-Treanor and Mariano Rivera ... according to Axios.

Remember, Belichick has been friends with Trump for years and famously wrote him a letter back in 2016 congratulating him on a "tremendous campaign."

Gulbis and Walker have both appeared on "Celebrity Apprentice" with Trump.

The point of the council is to help find ways to motivate kids to be more active.

Belichick spoke about the new position, saying "The Council's mission aligns with my beliefs and several of the Bill Belichick Foundation's goals and values as they relate to sports, youth athletics and personal health and wellness."

"The physical fitness of children in our country is an apolitical issue that is extremely important to our future. When I was contacted by Ivanka Trump and asked to participate, I was humbled to be asked and honored to accept, as I would have done for any administration."

If you're thinking no one would pay $28k to see Donald Trump naked, think again because Zak Bagans did -- but wants to make it clear he's just in it for the history of it ... and maybe some dough.

The "Ghost Adventures" star and Haunted Museum owner outbid everyone for "The Emperor Has No Balls" statue ... better known as "the naked Donald Trump statue" Wednesday at Julien's Auctions.

The statue was made by West Coast anarchist collective INDECLINE and Zak says he was drawn to its mysteriousness. Five naked Donald Trumps popped up around the U.S. last year and at the time no one knew where they came from. The one Zak bought is the only one that wasn't ruined or confiscated.

It was estimated to fetch $20k at auction, but Zak was willing to pay $8k more than that. He's clearly betting the value will only go up, and someone will overpay him down the line.

Damon Wayans Jr. thinks Kanye West's forgetting what life was like before he was a celebrity, and that's why he put on the MAGA hat, but ultimately, he's willing to let the whole thing slide.

We got Damon Wednesday at LAX, where he admitted he's not the biggest fan of Kanye's music -- but he thinks the comment he made about President Trump and slavery during "TMZ Live" will earn him a new fan base. Damon's even got a name for them.

Julius Erving says he's not hurt by Kanye West's comments about slavery being a choice -- he's more hurt by comments that have come out of Donald Trump's White House.

We spotted the NBA Hall of Famer at Ronald Reagan airport in Virginia on Wednesday -- and with such an extensive background in civil rights activism, we had to ask about the Kanye West interview on "TMZ Live."

"He's entitled to his opinion," Erving said.

As for the impact of Kanye's statements on slavery, Erving explained -- "It doesn't hurt me personally because he's only one individual."

"It hurts more to hear things that are coming out of the White House."

Eric Reid has followed Colin Kaepernick's lead and has filed a collusion grievance against the NFL ... and sources tell us President Trump's name is involved.

The 26-year-old safety has not been signed since his contract with the 49ers ended at the end of the 2017 season and many believe it's because he participated in Kaep's kneeling demonstration during the national anthem.

Reid is a former Pro Bowl safety who racked up 67 tackles and 2 interceptions last season -- and many believe he should have easily gotten a roster spot in 2018 based on his talent.

Bleacher Report had Reid ranked as the 10th best safety in the league in 2017.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells us ... Reid's grievance invokes Trump's name -- essentially claiming POTUS has intimidated owners into not signing players who kneel.

In fact, one NFL source described it as the "Bezos Effect" -- meaning owners are afraid if they cross Trump, he'll publicly attack them like he did to Amazon because he doesn't like Jeff Bezos.

Trump has regularly trashed players who took a knee during the anthem -- in fact, he just went after them during a rally in Michigan last week.

The NFLPA has issued a statement saying, "Our union is aware that Eric Reid and his legal representatives filed a collusion claim, which will be heard through the arbitration process as spelled out in our collective bargaining agreement."

Kanye West shouldn't just laugh off gang threats in L.A. ... so says Matt Barnes who says the real gangsters in Los Angeles don't mess around.

The ex-NBA star was leaving Catch when we talked about Kanye's appearance on "TMZ Live" -- including Yeezy's reaction to Daz Dillinger's recent call for the Crips to "f*** up Kanye."

"You gotta be careful," Barnes said ... "They don't play out here with gangs so you're treading on thin ice."

Barnes also reacted to Kanye's confession about getting liposuction -- and says it shows Kanye is "not in a comfortable, secure place as a man."

Barnes says a lot of what Kanye is talking about these days -- from Trump to his views on slavery -- are "bullsh*t" -- but he believes the old Kanye can still be saved.

Anthony Scaramucci says comedian Michelle Wolf crossed the line when she went after Sarah Huckabee Sanders' looks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner ... calling the roast ridiculous.

We got the Mooch outside Catch Monday night and he had a lot to say about Michelle's 20-minute set that saw her gut Trump's administration ... including his press secretary, who was sitting just a few feet from Michelle.

If ya haven't seen it ... Michelle told Sarah, "I loved you as Aunt Lydia in 'The Handmaid's Tale.'" And Michelle was just getting started.

Dennis Rodman damn near packed President Trump's complete bibliography when he went to North Korea last year ... and then gifted the set to Kim Jong-un.

We got a shot of the 8 books, all translated, the NBA Hall of Famer handed over in June 2017 to North Korea's sports minister, Kim Il Guk. The set includes "The Art of the Deal" and "Time to Get Tough." We're told the sports minister handed them over to Jong-un.

TMZ broke the story ... Rodman's ecstatic his friends, Kim Jong-un and Trump, are getting along. He thinks the books might have greased the wheels for Jong-un to have a change of heart about his dealings with the Prez and America, in general.

Stormy Daniels has filed a second lawsuit against Donald Trump ... this time claiming he defamed her by questioning her story about being threatened by a man in Las Vegas over her alleged sexual encounter.

Daniels says Trump lied when he tweeted, "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!"

Daniels had worked with an artist who drew a sketch of the man she claims approached her in a Las Vegas parking lot and threatened that if she opened her mouth about Trump -- presumably the story that she had an affair with him -- her daughter might not have a mother.

According to the lawsuit, Stormy says not only did Trump defame her by saying she's lying, he's accusing her of committing a crime -- falsely accusing someone of committing a crime.

She also says she's been exposed to death threats since Trump tweeted his statement.

Jared Kushner was the target of a deranged man who showed up at Trump International Hotel in New York City with a metal pole ... allegedly with the intention to harm 45's son-in-law.

Law enforcement sources in NYC tell us ... 30-year-old Matthew Pilling was found trespassing through the hotel early Sunday and was escorted out by security. We're told Pilling came back a few hours later, armed with a metal pole ... trying to break into the hotel's kitchen area. We're told security immediately called the NYPD.

Our sources say officers discovered a note on Pilling indicating he wanted to harm Jared Kushner and then jump off the hotel's roof.

Donald Trump says Colin Kaepernick would have been A LOT better off if he would have just "honored" the American flag and stood for the national anthem.

Trump didn't mention Kaep by name during his rally in Michigan on Friday -- but it's obvious he was talking about the QB, who remains unemployed.

"We defend our flag and we honor our flag," Trump said ... "and if others honored our flag, they'd be a lot better off wouldn't they?"

The crowd roared and Trump continued ... "We put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance and we stand for the national anthem."

Again, the crowd went wild.

Dennis Rodman is ecstatic his friends, Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, are getting along ... especially because he believes he played a big part in bringing the peace.

We spoke with the basketball Hall of Famer about North Korea's newfound friendliness with the U.S. and its historic summit with South Korea ... he tells us it's simply been the result of open communication and good old-fashioned diplomacy.

Rodman also points to his June 2017 visit to N. Korea -- in which he supplied Jong-un with some of Trump's books -- as a catalyst for the dictator's change of heart about the Prez and the American people.

Dennis is clear he doesn't want to take the credit for the good vibes happening right now ... but he can't hide his joy in the role he played.

Kanye West has upset Chicago, but if he really wants to help the city, he can start by calling out President Trump instead of being his pal ... so says one city official.

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Chicago's 35th Ward Alderman, tells TMZ his people are extremely disappointed in the rapper, and although they've always had his back ... they can't defend his support of Trump.

Ramirez-Rosa calls Kanye's recent public support of Trump "reprehensible" ... and blasts him for supporting a Prez who he feels has brought a lot of harm upon people of color.

The Alderman says Kanye can make it up to them, though ... by meeting face-to-face with people in his city who are being hurt by Trump and reconnecting with his hometown.

Stormy Daniels is demanding she and her attorney have a say in the government's case against Donald Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen.

Stormy and Michael Avenatti filed a motion to intervene which, if granted, means she would be able to participate in Cohen's case. You'll recall the feds seized a ton of documents from Cohen's office, and it appears Stormy thinks some of them could relate to her dealings with Trump and Cohen.

In particular, the "hush" agreement she's fighting to have invalidated would likely be included in Cohen's files. The documents could include her privileged communications with her attorneys which she might not want to go public.

Michael Cohen has given notice to Stormy Daniels ... she's not getting any information from him under oath, because he's pleading the 5th.

Cohen filed a declaration with the court in Daniels' case, saying, "Based on the advice of counsel, I will assert my 5th amendment rights [against self incrimination] in connection with all proceedings in this case due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI and U.S. Attorney ..."

Cohen is asking the court to put the civil case on ice while the FBI investigates. In his declaration, Cohen notes the FBI executed 3 search warrants on his residence, office and hotel room and seized various electronic devices, and it all relates to the civil action filed by Daniels.