Religion/ Spirituality

People are calling out The New York Times for a recent crossword layout shockingly in the shape of a swastika, and to make things worse, it debuted on the first night of Hanukkah.

Sunday's tone-deaf puzzle debuted with a ton of criticism -- featuring a massive swastika in the dead center of the grid. The puzzle's designer described it as a simple "fun whirlpool shape," but obviously not everyone had the same thoughts.

Many blasted NYT for the antisemitic design -- regardless of whether or not it was intentional ... with one saying, "How did this get approved without somebody noticing?" and another noting, "A hidden Happy Chanukah message in today's @nytimes crossword?"

Even Donald Trump Jr. blasted the news org ... writing, "Disgusting! Only the New York Times would get Chanukah going with this is the crossword puzzle."

One of Kris Jenner's grandkids is officially a man, at least in Jewish culture, because Mason Disick was bar mitzvah'd Saturday!

Mason turned 13 just a few days ago, so on Saturday he stepped up and read a passage from the Torah, at least that's what we're assuming.

We don't know which temple did the honors, but Kourtney and Scott hosted a reception at Offsunset in L.A. Saturday night.

We're told a number of Kardashians joined in the celebration, including Kris, Kim and Kylie.

We don't see Travis Barker in the photos, so we don't know if he was there or if it was just too weird given the "situation."

As for Scott and Kourtney ... we're told they got along fine.

Scott arrived hand-in-hand with Reign, who is younger but shares a birthday with Mason.

Kourtney posted a throwback pic with the caption ... "December 14th … one of the best days of my life, twice and forever. my birthday boys ❤️❤️"

Kanye West's 2019 gospel album "Jesus Is King" made Billboard history several times over -- but gospel music legend Marvin Sapp is sympathetic to other artists who, he says, fell victim to Ye's immense celebrity!!!

Marvin thinks gospel music is far too welcoming ... something he lamented with VladTV, saying the genre jumps to include artists in its ranks just because they happen to make a song or 2 about God.

He also cited Lil Nas X's country music controversy over his "Old Town Road" hit as an example.

Marvin called Kanye's popularity at the pulpit "unfair" ... suggesting Ye doesn't actually live out the lifestyle that reflects gospel music.

"Jesus Is King" became the first album to top the Billboard 200, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rap, Christian and Gospel albums charts at the same time ... and many artists saw their efforts totally erased from memory upon its release.

Marvin released his fifteenth studio album "Substance" back in June ... and as you can probably guess, it didn't get anywhere near the amount of attention as "Jesus Is King."

Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete ... a spokesperson for the company announced Monday.

Irving, whose future with the retail giant was in question after they suspended him for tweeting about a controversial, antisemitic film ... has cut ties with the NBA star, according to NBA insider Shams Charania.

As we previously reported, Nike put its relationship with Ky on ice on November 4 ... suspending Irving. Despite satisfying the team and league with his apology, as well as other steps, the Swoosh indicated their relationship with Irving was probably done after the suspension.

In an interview with CNBC, Phil Knight, cofounder and chairman of the manufacturing conglomerate, said Irving's relationship with the company was "likely over."

"Kyrie stepped over the line. It's kind of that simple," Knight said. "He made some statements that we just can't abide by, and that's why we ended the relationship. I was fine with that."

Kyrie joined the Nike family in 2011 ... releasing his signature Kyrie 1 basketball shoe in 2014 as a member of the Cavs in his third NBA season.

Sacha Baron Cohen did his classic 'Borat' bit to go after Kanye West during the Kennedy Center Honors, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband was among those applauding ... as he made his first public appearance since he was attacked.

The actor/comedian reprised his iconic role for a speech Sunday night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C., where George Clooney, Gladys Knight, U2 and a few other artists were honored.

During the ceremony, SBC came out dressed as the misunderstood Kazak journalist and went right after Ye's antisemitic remarks, saying ... "Before I proceed, I will say I am very upset about the antisemitism in US and A. It not fair. Kazakhstan is number 1 Jew-crushing nation. Stop stealing our hobby. Stop the steal! Stop the steal!”

He added, "Your Kanye, he tried to move to Kazakhstan and even changed his name to Kazakhstanye West. But, we said: No, he too antisemitic, even for us."

If you're unfamiliar, the 'Borat' character is known for making antisemitic jabs -- but everyone knows it's ironic humor, because Sacha is Jewish.

He even sang a parody of U2's "With or Without You," changing the lyrics to "With or Without Jews."

Later in the evening, Borat got lost and Sacha reappeared as his normal self.

Now, while his standup was certainly a highlight from the night, seeing Paul Pelosi in the building, alongside Rep. Pelosi was just as eye-opening.

It marked his first public outing since an attacker struck him with a hammer, back in October, inside the Pelosis' San Fran home.

Paul's skull was damaged, and required surgery ... but at the Kennedy Center, he seemed to have recovered well. He was wearing a hat, possibly to conceal his injuries.

Bella Thorne is not only friends with Elon Musk, she's also a big fan of his decision to temporarily kick Kanye West off the platform for spreading antisemitic hate.

We caught up with Bella in Miami, where she's hitting Art Basel, and asked about her relationship with the Chief Twit, and her thoughts about him shutting down Ye. Although Elon's said he wants Twitter to be HQ for free speech ... she's certain Ye's Thursday ranting is NOT that.

Bella says Elon has every right to ban the rapper's account, because IF that's what free speech is then he shouldn't have it ... and neither should anybody else.

You'll recall, Kanye was suspended from Twitter for inciting violence ... after posting a highly offensive mashup of a Nazi swastika with a Star of David. Of course, that came immediately on the heels of countless other vicious remarks he's made.

ICYMI, Elon and Bella had people talking about their unlikely friendship when he hit up her Halloween party with his ex-wife Justine Wilson.

Bella made it clear she's fond of the guy, calling him "very cool."

Kanye West's antisemitic ranting is now on the White House's radar ... and President Biden is not only calling him out, but also anyone who does NOT speak out against Ye.

The prez doesn't mention Ye by name, but it's clear who and what he was referring to Friday morning when he tweeted, "I just want to make a few things clear: The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure."

The tweet comes immediately on the heels of Elon Musk shutting down Ye's Twitter account because he posted a graphic combining a swastika with the Star of David. He also ranted all day -- on Twitter and on "Infowars" with Alex Jones -- about loving Hitler and Nazis.

President Biden's tweet also adds what seems like a shot at Donald Trump. He said, "Instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity."

Remember, Trump's been widely criticized for having dinner last week with Ye and white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago.

Even Sen. Mitch McConnell, a former Trump ally, condemned him by saying, "There is no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy."

Kanye West is back in Twitter's doghouse for spreading more antisemitic hate ... but this time his account was PERSONALLY suspended by the platform's new CEO -- Elon Musk.

The rapper ran afoul of Twitter's policy against inciting violence after posting an altered image showing the Jewish symbol of the Star of David with a Nazi swastika.

Elon wasn't having it, tweeting a reply to Ye early Friday ... "I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended." Kanye's tweet was swiftly removed ... it's not clear how long his suspension is for. His account was suspended once before in October (pre-Musk) after he posted antisemitic remarks.

Kanye's final tweet -- one of Elon getting hosed down by Ari Emanuel -- to which Elon called "fine" and said, "Frankly, I found those pics to be helpful motivation to lose weight!"

Before his latest Twitter drama, Kanye appeared with white nationalist Nick Fuentes on Thursday's "Infowars" show hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Ye praised the Nazis and Adolf Hitler, seemingly in the throes of a mental breakdown.

During their bizarre discussion, Jones tried to denounce the Nazis, but Kanye wouldn't let him, insisting, "They did good things too, we are gonna stop dissing the Nazis." And, before a commercial break, Kanye shockingly admitted, "I like Hitler."

Kanye West is in the middle of a serious mental breakdown live on-air with Alex Jones, spewing hate against Jewish people and praising Hitler and Nazis.

West has been live for more than an hour on "Infowars." He's clearly erratic, at times nonsensical, hateful and dressed with his face fully covered by a mask.

During the majority of his ramblings, Kanye said, "I see good things about Hitler ... Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler." He then claimed Hitler invented highways and microphones.

Jones -- the host of "Infowars" who was hit with a nearly $1 billion judgment for his lies about Sandy Hook -- seems lost and unable to control Kanye.

At one point, Jones actually attempted to denounce Nazis, to which Kanye responded, "They did good things too, we are gonna stop dissing the Nazis."

During another moment just before a commercial break, Kanye squarely says, "I like Hitler."

Of course, Kanye's been sharing his antisemitic beliefs for more than a month now, but this time he's noticeably in the middle of a major mental episode -- at times barely even able to catch his breath as he unleashes hate.

As we've reported, Kanye's been traveling the country with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who has been at Kanye's side -- even hitting up Mar-a-Lago for dinner with Donald Trump.

The controversial, antisemitic film Kyrie Irving shared on Twitter -- "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" -- is not being removed from Amazon ... says company CEO Andy Jassy.

"As a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a lot of different viewpoints, we have to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable — objectionable and they differ from our particular viewpoints, Jassy said, who is Jewish, at The New York Times' DealBook Summit in New York City.

Jassy's comments come in the face of the retail giant facing public backlash for still carrying the book and film on its platform, which Irving shared last month.

"The reality is that we have very expansive customer reviews," he continued ... "For books with a lot of attention — especially public attention — customers do a good job monitoring other people."

Jassy told the New York Times it's a slippery slope when deciding what type of content should no longer be sold on the platform ... adding instances where violence or pedophilia is being encouraged is more "straightforward."

Of course, Jassy's comments aren't going to sit well with Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), who publicly campaigned for Amazon to join Barnes & Noble in taking the book/film down.

Kanye West has been spewing antisemitic remarks for weeks, but apparently has no issue plastering the Star of David on his concert merch -- which came to light when he took his daughter shopping.

Kanye picked North West up from school Tuesday -- just hours after TMZ broke the story he and Kim Kardashian had settled in their divorce. Interestingly enough, North's shirt displayed the Star of David with a cross in the middle along with the words Donda and the date 8.5.2021.

The shirt was actually part of the merch collection Kanye released during the "Donda" album listening event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium more than a year ago.

What's not clear is the intention behind the design of the merch ... many have said the cross inside the Star of David symbolizes Christianity being central to Judaism, while others have said it simply shows a harmony between the two religions.

As we've reported, Kanye's been on an antisemitic tear -- blaming Jewish business and media leaders for his latest demise and wronging him in the past.

On Monday, he stormed out of a podcast interview with Tim Pool after the host pushed Kanye on his rhetoric and said he didn't agree with what he'd been saying.

Kanye West is trying to breathe new life into his Donda Academy -- this time in a new, holier location, even though the school has all but crumbled.

Pastor Ronald Nagin of Cornerstone Christian Church tells TMZ he and Kanye have had 3 face-to-face meetings over the last month, and Ye expressed interest in leasing some of the church space in Northridge, CA -- in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley -- for the Donda Academy.

We’re told Kanye believes CCC is an improvement from Donda's old space in Chatsworth -- where Ye reportedly relocated to last year. Prior to that, Donda Academy was operating out of Simi Valley.

As for what Ye likes about Cornerstone, Nagin says he likes the fact it offers a bigger space with more classrooms and a sanctuary. Worth noting … if Ye pulls the trigger on this, he’d only be utilizing a portion of the grounds -- not all of the church property.

While Nagin notes this isn’t a done deal yet, the wheels are in motion … because we’re told Cornerstone’s lawyers are drafting up a lease for Ye right now.

It’s not a one-way street of interest either … Nagin says the church views Donda Academy as a good fit for them too. We’re told Kanye's priority is providing good education in a Christian environment, which is right up the church's alley, as Cornerstone has had many schools operate out of the church in the past.

Of course, the biggest issue -- Kanye losing his students and teachers, who've recently fled for other programs. If he's successful in locking down the new space, he'll have to recruit a lot of new students, and convince the old ones to come back.

If you’re wondering whether Kanye’s recent bigoted and antisemitic comments are going to be a hindrance, the answer is no -- Nagin tells us he considers Ye a good guy and a friend. He even swung by this week for service, separate from the negotiations over the would-be rental space.

It’s interesting … word is, Donda Academy has been a bit of a bare-bones operation that’s sometimes open, sometimes not amid Ye’s erratic behavior -- so, uprooting it again wouldn't be as strange as it seems from the outside.

While Kanye West insists Alex Jones is a good Christian man, Alex's ex-wife begs to differ -- she says Jones is coming up short on supporting his children.

Kelly Jones is going off on her ex-husband on social media, claiming Alex is behind on child support payments ... despite "conning" Ye to believing he's a Christian.

In a series of tweets, Kelly alleges Alex hasn't paid child support for the past 2 months, and won't even help buy braces for their youngest daughter ... even though she says he has plenty of money to spend on himself.

Kelly even included what she claims is an email she sent to Alex last week, begging him to help her and their daughter with bills, and asking for him to, at the very least, settle up on the $2,000 of support she claims he owes.

TMZ has not seen any court records that support Kelly's allegation, but we've reached out to Alex for his response to her claim. So far, no word back.

Alex's ex-wife started blasting him online after we reported on Kanye's latest rambling interview, where Ye says Elon Musk should let Jones back on Twitter because he's a Christian ... and America's a "Christian country."

Kanye West says the Balenciaga scandal is proof that Hollywood's celebrities are muzzled -- and speaking of silence ... he thinks Elon Musk should let Alex Jones break his.

The rapper was leaving a Messianic church Saturday where he was met with a small crush of paps who were ready to record him ... but not question him at all. Instead, KW just started speaking freely about his antisemitism scandal/fall from grace -- among other issues.

Ye suggests more people were outraged by what happened to him than what materialized publicly -- which he says is also evident in the lack of celebs who've decried Balenciaga.

Of course, he's referring to a wildly inappropriate ad campaign featuring little girls posing with BDSM-themed teddy bears ... not to mention court docs referencing a child porn case snuck into the background. The company apologized, but is still reeling from the fallout.

After that thought, Ye transitioned to another one ... namely, Twitter's continued ban of Alex Jones' account, which Kanye says should be reversed by Elon immediately.

His rationale there boils down to ... Christ. Yep, you gotta hear how Kanye phrases this one -- because it has strong echoes of his new pal, Nick Fuentes, who has often called for America to get back to its Christian roots -- which he usually couples with white nationalism.

As you know, Kanye has cozied up to Fuentes in recent weeks ... who accompanied Ye to a dinner at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday where Trump was present. KW has also brought Milo Yiannopoulos onboard ... so a lot of alt-right guys, and now -- he's singing Jones's praises.

Former NBA big man Marcin Gortat is inviting Kyrie Irving to come with him to his home country of Poland ... explaining to TMZ Sports he believes the trip would help educate the Nets star on Jewish history.

Gortat, who is not Jewish, was born and raised in Poland ... a country that experienced the terrors of World War II, Nazi Germany and the horrors of the Holocaust.

He told us out in LA this week that he found Kyrie's promotion of the antisemitic film "Hebrew to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" to be "completely wrong" ... and he then extended the 30-year-old an invite to Poland to help him learn why he feels so strongly about it all.

"If he wants to learn something about the stuff he was talking about," Gortat said of Irving, "I can invite him to Poland and he will learn more about the whole situation."

Irving has issued an apology for his controversial tweet ... and after meeting with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Nets owner Joe Tsai this week -- both men said they truly believe the basketball player is not antisemitic.

Irving's indefinite suspension, however, has still remained in place -- and it's unclear when the Nets will lift the ban.

Gortat, who played against Irving multiple times during his 12-year NBA career, wouldn't say whether or not he believed the punishment was fitting ... noting it was a team decision.

Shannon Sharpe says it's time to get past the latest Kyrie Irving controversy ... telling TMZ Sports that the Nets star's mea culpa is enough for him to be ready "move on" from it all.

Sharpe explained his stance on the matter to us out at LAX on Friday ... saying now that Irving's apologized -- and both NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Brooklyn owner Joe Tsai have deemed him to be not antisemitic -- he's down to put the whole saga in the past.

"He's done what they asked him to do," the Hall of Famer said. "He's apologized."

Sharpe did acknowledge that Irving's apology may not have been as prompt as some people would have liked -- but he went on to say it's still enough in his eyes.

"Hopefully, he meets with some of the people that were offended by the link he posted," Sharpe said, "and then, yeah, I agree, I'm ready to move on."

As we reported, after Irving tweeted out a link to the antisemitic film "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!" and then refused to apologize for it ... he was hit with an indefinite suspension by the Nets.

But, since that time, Irving has said he's sorry ... and apparently had productive meetings and conversations with both Silver and Tsai about it all this week.

Clearly, Sharpe -- who has been critical of Irving on FS1's "Undisputed" in the past -- believes that's all enough.