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Piers Morgan says Kanye West distancing himself from politics -- save one really important issue -- is probably a good idea ... 'cause he thinks Ye's become a laughing stock.

We got the Brit Tuesday night leaving Craig's in WeHo where we asked what he made of Kanye saying his eyes were now "wide open" and that he'd been used to spread political messages he didn't believe in. Piers isn't so forgiving ... telling us Kanye's become a joke.

He thinks it's wise for Yeezy to chill on talking politics, 'cause he says the dude can't make up his mind on where he stands. But, Piers does agree with one thing Kanye appears to be advocating for now ... common-sense gun laws.

10/31 -- Candace says she never once said Kanye designed the t-shirts for BLEXIT ... calling it a lie. She added, "This is a lie that seems to have made its way around the world; a lie I would like to again correct for the record. Kanye was completely right to feel used in that regard and as I have done personally, I would like to publicly apologize to him for any undue stress or pain the effort to correct that rumor has caused him, his business relationships, or his family. He simply never designed them."

Candace also said Kanye's tweets were "aimed at me and only me, rightfully, for my personal failings."

4:15 PM PT -- Kanye contacted us to make it clear he did not mention Donald Trump in his tweets, and he's getting out of politics altogether.

As for being "used" ... he says he was specifically referencing Blexit, and that's it.

Kanye West says he's been used by people to spread political messages and he's now done with it.

Kanye just fired off a series of tweets apparently distancing himself from politics. He said, "My eyes are now wide open and now realize I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative."

Kanye all but says the culprit is ultra-conservative Candace Owens. He said, "I introduced Candace to the person who made the logo and they didn't want their name on it so she used mine. I never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it."

Owens had said, "Blexit [black exit from Democratic Party] is a renaissance and I'm blessed to say that this logo, these colors, were created by my dear friend and fellow superhero -- Kanye West."

Ye went on to thank his family and community for "supporting my ACTUAL beliefs and my vision for a better world." He also expressed compassion for people seeking asylum and parents fighting to protect their children from violence and war.

And, he said he supports common-sense gun laws.

10/22 -- Peña tweeted an apology later Sunday night, explaining that he was 12 years old when he first started using social media and was "very impressionable and was seeking attention."

He states in his apology that he has grown and matured a lot since those tweets, and hopes that everyone close to him knows he has "evolved as a human being." He explains, "I lead with love. I was a child and am now a man asking you to accept the apology of a young boy."

Viral sensation and self-proclaimed deer whisperer, "Brother Nature," started trending this weekend for all the wrong reasons -- old and incredibly vile tweets ... which invoked names like Jay-Z and Chris Brown.

20-year-old Kelvin Peña quickly turned his Twitter account to private Sunday, after people started re-posting screenshots of his old tweets from 2011 and 2012 ... many of which were racist, sexist and anti-Semitic. It's unclear what might've sparked the deep Twitter dive.

Nonetheless, what was revealed was quite disturbing. One such tweet said "Jay Z look like a monkey." Another one said ... "when I grow up I wanna be like Chris Brown. So if my girlfriend tried to look through my phone while driving I can choke and punch her :D".

There's a lot more that are even more disgusting -- tweets that say things like ... "HEIL HITLER" ... "Wanna hear a joke? Women's rights" and "TL stopped loading .. too many coons on my TL that's why f***." FWIW ... dude claims to be Dominican and Puerto Rican.

Peña first garnered attention (and views) back in 2016 with a viral video called "Money and the deer squad" which featured a deer he named Canela. He went on to put out more videos of himself interacting with Canela and other animals he encountered in "the wild" ... and eventually dubbed himself Brother Nature.

As we've seen lately with these viral types ... nothing stays buried for long. We reached out to Brother Nature's camp for comment ... so far, no word back.

Quavo is setting the record straight after Lil Peep's stans got furious at what they thought were lyrics mocking the late rapper's death ... and he's doing it by announcing a self-imposed rule.

The Migos rapper tweeted out a message Monday that addressed the massive backlash he received over the weekend on the heels of dropping his solo album, "Quavo Huncho."

On the song "BIG BRO," Quavo raps ... "Think you poppin' Xanax bars, but it's Fentanyl // Think you're living like rockstars but you're dead now."

Tons of people took that as a diss aimed at Lil Peep, and were justifiably pissed over the apparent low blow. But, Quavo clarified his intent behind the lyrics, saying, "Lil Peep Is A Legend A Real Rockstar N E V E R will speak on the deceased."

He went on to explain that he believes in God, and doesn't question his plans ... adding that he had a 10-year barber who died from Fentanyl use. He capped off his tweet with ... "RIP TO ANYBODY WHO LOST THERE LIFE TO DRUG ABUSE!"

As we reported ... Peep died from a Xanax and Fentanyl overdose. Many other drugs were discovered in his system as well. He was 21 years old.

Elon Musk is going all George Clooney/Rande Gerber ... at least it seems that way because he appears to be serious about getting into the tequila game.

Musk has filed legal docs to develop a Tesla-brand tequila. This started as an April Fools joke ... where he tweeted Tesla had gone bankrupt and "Elon was found passed out against a Tesla Model 3, surrounded by Teslaquilla bottles, the tracks of dried tears still visible on his cheeks."

Well it appears it wasn't a joke, because Elon filed docs saying his company intended to manufacture the booze, ID'ing it as "distilled agave liquor."

He even tweeted the mock up of the bottle, adding, "Teslaquila coming soon."

Kanye West took a break from family time in Africa to get in touch with the world via social media once again, and his purpose was to speak out against mind control ... and oddly, social media.

Ye returned to Twitter Saturday afternoon after going dark last week, and live streamed himself from Africa, talking to the camera while constantly rubbing his forehead ... appearing to be deep in thought and focused on his words.

But ... as he even admits ... he also seems sleep deprived.

Kanye captioned his vid "Mind control," and started off by railing at social media and discussing how he's hurt by people trying to tell him what to do. He says it feels like they are trying to touch his brain ... and he hates it.

He adds to his social media bashing by saying it told us all Hillary Clinton was going to win the presidency, and claims social media falsely wants you to believe people don't like him when in fact ... "Everybody loves Ye!!"

There's more -- a lot more -- including Kanye declaring "I am the best living recording artist," boasting about his IQ and assuring us all he's not crazy ... he just needs some sleep.

Lindsey Graham is going high in response to Chelsea Handler going low ... after she claimed to out him on Twitter.

We got the Senator from South Carolina Friday at Reagan National Airport, and asked him about Handler's #NationalComingOutDay tweet. Instead of blasting her -- as many others have -- Graham insisted Chelsea had every right to say whatever she wants. As he put it ... it's a free country.

Graham did tell us, "To the extent that it matters, I'm not gay" -- but it was definitely a measured response.

Some of the backlash against Chelsea -- who's no fan of Prez Trump or Sen. Graham's support of Brett Kavanaugh -- has been that she's stooped to using homophobia to attack him.

Graham gave us his own take on belittling people for the sake of comedy.

BTW ... it's not the first time Chelsea's directed a homophobic tweet at Graham. She did it back in January asking, "@LindseyGrahamSC what kind of d*** sucking video do they have on you for you 2 be acting like this? Wouldn't coming out be more honorable?"

That didn't take long -- fired "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn is bouncing back from controversial tweets by landing a gig writing "Suicide Squad 2."

As you know ... Disney canned Gunn in July over a bunch of years-old, yet horribly offensive tweets -- including comments about 9/11, AIDS, the Holocaust and rape.

Despite the controversy, Warner Bros and DC Films confirm they've snatched up Gunn ... and he'll now be tasked with improving the studios' much-maligned 'Suicide' franchise.

For what it's worth, Gunn's old 'Guardians' cast backed him immediately after Disney and Marvel let him go, saying he was the victim of "mob mentality." Selma Blair also publicly supported her friend.

Deadline first reported Gunn's new job ... which most superhero movie fans have said is exactly what DC needs -- a taste of the Marvel Cinematic Universe success. Critics might say ... at what cost?

Kanye West has done it before and now he's done it again ... he's deleted his Twitter and Instagram.

Ye went dark around 1:45 PM PT Saturday without warning or any announcement as to why. However, his social media disappearance comes after a controversial week in which he tweeted that the 13th amendment should be abolished ... which he later clarified, saying he meant it should be amended.

He's also received a ton of backlash for voicing his support of Donald Trump and wearing his red #MAGA hat ... after last week's "Saturday Night Live."

Not saying his knack for landing in hot water because of his social media activity is why his accounts are now down ... but it's a possibility.

There's is another possible explanation, though -- Kanye told us he's traveling to Africa soon to record music and complete his latest album. So, maybe he's on his way and just doesn't want any added distractions.

But, who knows.

Kanye deleted his social media in May 2017 and stayed off for almost a full year until April, but since then he's been pretty active ... especially in spurts.

Kim Kardashian's nearly gone bust ... but she's hanging by a thread.

Kim posted this picture and captioned it "Chanel vintage, lets please be specific." Not really sure what that means, but who the hell cares. The pic no doubt accentuates Kim's assets ... front and center. Talk about wearing the hell outta a sKIMpy bikini. #SorryNotSorry

It's no nip slip but still a win-win ... you head into the weekend with another trademark Kim K reveal.

10/5 5:45 AM PT -- Bette deleted the tweet and apologized, saying, "The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me. Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black."

She finished by saying, "I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize."

Bette Midler chose to make a point about women in a very provocative way ... and people are PISSED about it.

Bette tweeted Thursday -- in the midst of protests in D.C. by women who strongly oppose the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh -- "Women, are the n-word of the world."

She added to her point by saying women are ... "Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years."

Midler ends her tweet by saying women "are the most disrespected creatures on earth."

In 2 hours, her tweet has elicited almost 7 thousand replies, many of which are blasting her for minimizing racism while at the same time hurting the feminist movement.

Others are pissed that Midler, a rich white woman, is comparing the plight of women to the history of mistreatment of black people.

And, there are some just demanding she delete the tweet immediately. She hasn't ... yet

Imagine President Trump sliding into your DMs -- okay, now take a deep breath because it's not THAT bad, but most likely you DID just get a text from him ... and a dead serious one at that.

If you haven't looked down at your phone recently ... FEMA sent out the first nationwide presidential alert text on behalf of POTUS Wednesday at 2:18 PM ET. It was just a test, and the real thing would only be used during a national crisis when it would be necessary to immediately contact all citizens.

We had our cameras set on Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star and at Time's Square -- and the moment the message hit was pretty obvious -- check out everyone who pulled out their phones.

Interestingly, the text is neutral and contains zero messaging directly from Trump -- "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." FEMA says the Prez gives the go-ahead to send the text, while FEMA drafts and sends the actual message.

If you're wondering ... the system doesn't allow 45 to wake up in the morning and decide on a whim to send a blast message to all Americans. Still gotta see Twitter for that.

Cristiano Ronaldo is firing back against allegations he raped a woman at a Vegas hotel back in 2009 -- saying, "Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in."

The soccer superstar is being sued by Kathryn Mayorga -- who claims she met CR7 at Rain Nightclub in the Palms hotel in June 2009 and he invited her up to his penthouse suite to party and hot tub.

There are photos of Mayorga and Ronaldo hanging out at the nightclub together that evening.

While changing her clothing, Mayorga claims, "Ronaldo entered the bathroom, exposed his erect penis and asked [her] to perform fellatio."

Mayorga says she refused and wanted to leave -- but Ronaldo "pulled [her] into a bedroom and onto a bed and attempted to engage in sexual intercourse."

Mayorga claims she tried to fight Ronaldo off -- but he turned her onto her side and sodomized her while she screamed "no, no, no."

In her suit, Mayorga claims she reported the incident to the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. -- but didn't identify Ronaldo by name out of fear of retaliation.

Mayorga claims immediately following the 2009 incident, Ronaldo and his team of "fixers" coerced her into signing a settlement and nondisclosure agreement -- in which she got $375k in exchange for her silence. She's seeking in her lawsuit to void the deal.

Now, Ronaldo is speaking out ... adamantly denying the allegations.

"I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me," Ronaldo said.

"Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense."

"My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations."

Kanye West and his father are buggin' out -- in a good way -- to celebrate his old man beating cancer.

Ye just announced in a very unique way that his dad, Ray West, has kicked cancer's ass ... by sharing a photo of a plate full of bugs.

West says ... "My dad and I are going to eat this plate of bugs to celebrate him beating cancer. No more fear."

Kanye's in Detroit Tuesday ... so it's unclear where he was able to find this cuisine.

We broke the story ... Ray was diagnosed with prostate cancer in July -- not stomach cancer as was first believed -- and Kanye dropped everything to help out upon getting the news.

Fortunately, it seems like it's all good for his dad now.

Kanye West says he hasn't fully formed his views on abolishing the 13th Amendment -- which outlawed slavery -- but he promises he'll be ready to explain it when he appears Monday on "TMZ Live."

We got Kanye Sunday leaving Mel's Diner in WeHo after flying back from NYC, following his 'SNL' appearance.

Kanye started explaining the origin of the Constitution, but our photog called out the fact that the 13th Amendment was passed long after the Constitution was ratified -- December 1865 to be precise. And, the driving force was not a founding father -- it was Abe Lincoln.

Kanye insinuated there might be evidence Abraham Lincoln might have been black. FYI, there's no credible evidence to support this theory.

Kanye tweeted a clarification of his 13th Amendment comment ... "The 13th Amendment is slavery in disguise meaning it never ended. We are the solution that heals."

In case you're wondering, here's how the 13th Amendment goes ... "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Elon Musk is getting a job title change ... because he'll no longer be a Tesla chairman after reaching a settlement with the SEC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled with Musk after hitting him with a lawsuit this week for misleading investors after he tweeted in August ... "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured."

According to the legal docs ... Musk will have to pay a civil penalty of $20 million as part of the settlement and give up his role as chairman of the board for at least three years. He has 45 days to relinquish his chairman title.

Tesla will also pay a $20 mil fine and appoint 2 new independent directors to the board. However, Musk will remain CEO of Tesla.

As we reported ... the SEC alleged Musk's tweets caused significant confusion and disruption in the market for Tesla's stock, and ended up hurting investors' wallets. It also wanted to "prohibit him from acting as an officer or director" of any public company.

In losing his chairman role, it looks like the SEC will get part of its wish. It should be noted the settlement is still subject to court approval.