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Lamar Jackson just dropped some bombshell news -- the NFL superstar announced he requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens earlier this month ... claiming the team is not interested in paying him what he deserves.

The former MVP shared his intentions via Twitter minutes ago ... giving his fans a direct update on his NFL future.

"As of March 2nd I requested a trade from the Ravens organization for which the Ravens has not been interested in meeting my value," Jackson said Monday. "any and everyone that’s has met me or been around me know I love the game of football and my dream is to help a team win the super bowl."

"You all are great but I had to make a business decision that was best for my family and I," he added. "No matter how far I go or where my career takes me, I’ll continue to be close to my fans of Baltimore Flock nation and the entire State of Maryland. You’ll See me again"

Of course, Jackson's contract situation has been a hot topic this offseason ... with the Ravens placing a nonexclusive franchise tag on the former first-round pick, which allows him to sign an offer sheet with another team.

Lamar made it clear he wanted to be locked in long-term with a big payday ... but that didn't happen.

As it turns out, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was speaking with the media as Jackson sent out the tweet ... and he said he expects Lamar to be a Baltimore Raven come Week 1.

"Thinking about Lamar all the time, thinking about him as our quarterback, we’re building our offense around that idea," Harbaugh said. "I’m just looking forward to getting back to football and I’m confident that’s gonna happen."

Jeremy Renner's recovery from his snowplow accident continues to go well -- so much so, in fact, that the guy is already walking again ... albeit, with a little help from technology.

The actor posted a video Sunday that shows him strutting his stuff in an anti-gravity treadmill. The reason we know that -- besides just looking at it -- is 'cause JR himself alludes to the fact that he's only using a certain percentage of his body weight as he works his legs.

Watch ... it sounds like he's getting quite a bit of assistance, but it's encouraging to see he's up and moving like this -- especially since the incident went down just a couple months ago.

Jeremy also has had a great caption that further elaborates on how he's doing. He writes, "I now have to find OTHER things to occupy my time so my body can recover from my will."

In other words, he wants to rehab harder than his body might allow at times -- but the fact he's going hard is, frankly, par for the course for him. The dude's a workhorse, and you can clearly see he wants to get back to normal ASAP ... and hopefully will be soon.

Again, it's remarkable how far along he's come since January ... when he was crushed by a massive machine that nearly killed him. Remember, he broke over 30 bones and needed major surgery. Since then, however, he's been on the grind ... documenting his journey as well.

A CNN writer has spurred a healthy debate about Internet culture, and has posed the question of whether it's okay for white people to use Black memes ... he says it isn't.

John Blake published a piece Sunday that's gotten a big reaction online. It's titled, "What’s ‘digital blackface?’ And why is it wrong when White people use it?" In the analysis article, he makes his argument -- namely, using these memes/GIFs is modern-day minstrel show fare.

For starters, he describes digital blackface this way ... "[It] involves White people play-acting at being Black," citing a Teen Vogue writer who defined it. He goes on to quote that author as saying, "[T]he Internet thrives on White people laughing at exaggerated displays of Blackness, reflecting a tendency among some to see 'Black people as walking hyperbole.'"

Blake continues to reference Teen Vogue in zeroing in further ... "[Digital blackface] includes displays of emotion stereotyped as excessive: so happy, so sassy, so ghetto, so loud… our dial is on 10 all the time — rarely are black characters afforded subtle traits or feelings."

Now for the haymaker from Blake, who says digital blackface is wrong and that it should be halted. The reason ... he says it's embedded in racist traditions of making fun of Black people -- and while Twitter users in 2023 might not necessarily see it that way from the outside looking in, that's certainly how it's being perceived by many ... intentionally or not.

There are countless Black memes that the Internet regularly recycles -- including some that feature famous people from TV shows and/or movies -- but there's one that Blake focuses on in particular as his Exhibit A ... namely, the 2012 Sweet Brown interview from Oklahoma.

Brown had just experienced a legitimate tragedy at the time -- she was dealing with an apartment fire -- and while her remarks were animated/memorable ... they were coming from a serious place of fear. And yet, the internet made a whole autotune song out of it -- seemingly discounting her real-life feelings and simply making a joke out of the whole thing.

Ditto for Antoine Dodson's TV news interview from years ago, where his family also had just gone through a truly terrifying encounter -- but his comments also went viral.

Elon Musk says Twitter is now worth less than half of what he bought it for -- and, if you'll recall, that was like $44 billion ... so, yeah, a BIG drop-off indeed.

The Chief Twit made the new valuation in a company-wide email he sent to remaining employees -- this per the NYT, which says it got its hands on a copy. In the internal memo, EM says Twitter is currently worth $20 billion ... $24 billion less than his purchase price.

While that may seem abysmal, Elon actually told his workers that -- for a time -- things were at risk of being much worse after he took the reins ... explaining Twitter was 4 months away from running out of money and going bankrupt at one point over the past several months.

In his note, he reportedly goes on to say that "radical changes" he's imposed were necessary to save money -- including the mass layoffs and other cost-cutting measures (i.e. auctions, etc.). The Times reports EM also said Twitter should be looked at as an "inverse start-up."

Now, as for why he was spilling these deets to the Twitter fam ... the Times says he was explaining their new stock compensation package. Basically, Twitter employees will receive stock grants for the holding company he used to buy Twitter -- the "X Corporation" -- which will operate under the current $20B estimate. Workers will then be able to sell and cash in on their privately held stock every six months. His other company, SpaceX, acts similarly.

Lil Nas X's presence on social media has got him in some hot water once again ... with people saying his tweet about 'gays' in Africa is incredibly insensitive on the heels of serious anti-gay legislation in Uganda.

The "Old Town Road" rapper was met with a ton of backlash Wednesday after he tweeted "where do the gays be in africa i wanna come there". The tweet came on the heels Uganda parliament passing one of the most sweeping anti-gay legislations in the world.

The law punishes people with up to 10 years behind bars for simply identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or anything other than male or female.

More shockingly, citizens can be sentenced to life behind bars for committing gay sex acts and be sentenced to death for "aggravated homosexuality" -- a broad term to include sex acts committed by force as well as incest.

After LNX's tweet, folks quickly hopped on social media to express their disdain, for what they see as an extremely dangerous message. One user wrote, "This is so insensitive especially after Uganda just announced the harsh punishment of even identifying as being LGBTQ” ... and many others backed these same sentiments.

As you know, this isn't the first time he's been in the hot seat for his social media postings, recently issuing an apology for making a trans joke online.

Amazon Prime’s new mega-hit show "Swarm" grabbed viewers’ attention when it aired Chloe Bailey's steamy sex scene, and has now taken a firm hold of the audience with a full-frontal viewing of Rory Culkin.

Macaulay and Kieran's little bro made an unannounced cameo in a March 17 episode of the series, in which he and Dominique Fishback’s character, Dre, have a one-night stand after meeting at a club. The next morning, a completely nude Rory delivers a sleeping Dre a glass bowl full of strawberries … with his flaccid penis squished up against the side.

Fans of the psychological horror series lost their minds, filling social media with every measure of reaction, with most super impressed by the physique Rory is packing in the scene.

But it wouldn’t be the Internet without haters, and some folks thought the scene was "unnecessary" and "gross."

According to IndieWire, the plotline came from a real-life experience of co-creator Donald Glover, who said he once presented a hookup with a post-coital bowl of cherries. It apparently went well enough he included it in "Swarm."

Since its premiere, the show has been all the rage ... with huge ratings and tons of online buzz.

Seems about right.

A new show Chloe Bailey is in -- where she's shown having sex -- has sparked a debate about racism and colorism in Hollywood ... and now, Halle Berry's been roped in.

You might've noticed the latter is trending this weekend, and the reason is because of this discourse that's taken off since Donald Glover's latest TV series, "Swarm," debuted on Friday ... which starts out with a scene depicting Chloe doing the deed in very graphic detail.

Since then, there's been a lot of chatter about her decision to do the sex scene ... some say it's a great move/good for her, and others feel like it falls in line with other choices she's made of late -- like putting out a single with Chris Brown -- that some think are ... not so wise.

As one Twitter user put it ... "Where is a Chloe Bailey’s mentor pls??? She’s been making terrible decisions lately, she should have never done that sex scene in Swarm and I’m not even gonna go into her most recent collab." A lot of other folks reacted similarly.

On Saturday, that convo shifted when someone brought up Halle in comparison. She tweeted, "Halle Berry getting back shots role got her an Oscar right?" The point she was making ... Halle also did risqué stuff in her day -- "Monster's Ball" being the prime example, for which she won an Oscar -- but that, in and of itself, did not diminish her work/accolades.

This user was essentially saying Chloe's sex scene won't define her acting career, and that it's unfair to suggest she'll be derailed 'cause of it. Basically, stop giving her premature flak.

However, another Twitter user responded ... suggesting Halle enjoys the benefit of a lighter skin complexion and even went so far as to claim that she's "white passing." Obviously, she isn't -- Halle looks Black, not white ... which is literally what white-passing means.

Semantics aside, however, this woman's point (as she further explained on her page) is that Halle fits Hollywood's traditional white European beauty standard ... more so than Chloe, or any other dark-skinned Black woman for that matter. Therefore, she believes Halle has had an easier time in showbiz than Chloe might in this specific regard ... aka, baring it all.

In other words, this user feels like colorism is still very much alive and well in the entertainment industry ... and that darker-skinned Black performers will have a tougher go in comparison to any of their lighter-skinned counterparts -- which might be valid.

Of course, there's also the Bailey sisters factor here ... namely, the fact that Chloe's also-famous sibling, Halle Bailey, has a more buttoned-up rep than her older sis, perhaps, does.

Halle (Bailey) is literally starring in "The Little Mermaid" with Disney -- very family-friendly, etc. -- and she generally avoids controversy of her own doing. Chloe, on the other hand, is under a microscope more often ... and tends to get labeled as the wild child of the two.

Colin Cowherd has a new hot take that Sports Twitter is NOT reacting well to whatsoever -- and it entails Michael Jordan ... not really being all that great without some key pieces.

The FS1 broadcaster jumped on his own podcast network, The Volume, this week to talk about the NBA G.O.A.T. ... arguing that MJ's legacy and success are largely tied to two specific dudes that helped him achieve the status he enjoys -- Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen.

It doesn't sound like that wild of an opinion, but the way CC puts it is a bit harsher and cold-blooded, in his typical matter-of-fact style. Here's how he worded things ... "So, he tried baseball. He failed. He tried ownership, he was awful. He tried the Wizards, it bombed."

Cowherd adds, "Everybody understand, take out Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson -- this whole Michael Jordan mythology is sort of just that." He goes on to say MJ has always been a bit of a selfish player and guy, and that he'd never been great at building community.

Colin finishes by saying Michael has been really good about building wealth for himself, noting that's fine ... and that it's just a reality of who he is. The larger context of his convo here has to do with reports that MJ will sell his majority ownership stake in the Hornets.

As for how the Internet is taking this POV ... not great. Bird app users are kinda crapping on him with memes and jokes, suggesting that Colin's downplaying Mike's individual greatness.

UFC fighter Jeff Molina is opening up on his sexuality after a video showing him performing a sex act on another man was leaked to social media this week ... saying he was stripped of the opportunity to announce he is bisexual the way he wanted.

The 25-year-old shared an emotional statement to Twitter on Friday ... saying, "Not the way I wanted to do this but the chance to do it when I was ready was taken from me."

"I've tried to keep my dating life private from social media," Molina continued. "I've dated girls my whole life and suppressed feelings I had throughout high school being on the wrestling team, throughout college pursuing MMA, and even after making part of the dream happen and getting into the UFC."

"The thought of my buddies, teammates and ppl I look up to looking at me different let alone treating me different for something I can't control was something I couldn't fathom."

Molina -- 11-2 so far in his career and 3-0 in UFC -- has previously shown support for the LGBTQ+ community ... wearing the Pride Month shorts for his fight in June 2022.

Molina -- who's currently suspended for his alleged role in a betting scheme -- said he was not planning to come out during his career ... adding he wanted to be known for his skills rather than being the "'bi UFC fighter' that I'm sure would just be translated to 'gay UFC fighter.'"

Molina's announcement makes him the first openly LGBTQ+ male member of the UFC.

"At the end of the day I know my character, morals, and who I am as a person. As much as I'm getting hated/s****** on I'm getting an equal amount of support & it means a f*** ton."

Ice Spice recently checked a huge mark on her bucket list -- gaining a Twitter follow by Nicki Minaj, who appears to be digging her career progression!!!

The trailblazing rookie rapper is featured on the new cover of "Dazed" magazine, where she discussed being a Barb, having a birthday on New Year's Day and posed for a photo spread where she hunches over a chair while grabbing her crotch.

Nicki shared the mag cover on Twitter and validated the article's "People's Princess" title while urging people to get the issue from newsstands.

Ice's head was definitely spinning from being recognized by the Queen Barbie. Just a day before, Nicki followed IS on Twitter, fulfilling Ice's November 2020 wish of being noticed online.

Nicki's warming orientation is sharp 180° from her interaction with Latto last year when the "Big Energy" rapper was basking in her freshman buzz — the two engaged in a terse phone call and acidic tweets that spilled onto the internet ... but all signs point to an actual collaboration beween Ice and Nicki that will have all fans munchin'.

WWE star Ridge Holland -- who inadvertently broke Big E's neck during a match last year -- says he's received death threats and been called "racist" ... one year after the tragic incident occurred.

Remember, Holland and Big E were fighting on SmackDown last March ... when E's neck was broken after a belly-to-belly suplex went wrong. The WWE Superstar later said doctors told him the injury could've killed him.

Big E has been out of ring action ever since ... and fans appear to be pissed at Ridge over the injury to the former WWE champ.

"Death threats. Threats to my family. Lobbying for me to lose my job. Being labeled as racist. Great stuff keep ‘em coming," Holland tweeted.

TMZ Sports recently spoke with E -- who's been sidelined as he rehabs his neck injury -- and he told us he doesn't know if he'll ever compete in a ring again, adding I "want to make the best decision" on his future with the company.

"I gotta see what the scans say," E said. "Talk to doctors, and then go from there." "Right now, before I know anything, I'm not going to make any rush to judgments or anything. See how everything looks."

Tems stood out at the Oscars, blocking the view of people sitting behind her ... and while the folks there were polite, Twitter gave her an earful.

The Nigerian singer -- who was on hand Sunday for her musical work on 'Wakanda Forever' -- had one of the more noticeable getups at the award show ... a massive white dress that was jutting out and upward at her shoulders, which made her look like a human flower.

The problem ... when she sat down, her 'fit sorta caused a big distraction -- both onscreen for viewers, and certainly for everyone else sitting in the rows behind her.

During the broadcast, there were several moments where you could see the people right behind Tems peering over her shoulder to get a glimpse of the stage or of Kimmel. It was pretty funny ... they were obviously challenged by her dress and had to do peek-arounds to see the action. It doesn't appear anyone said anything to her.

The same can't be said for the bird app ... 'cause a lot of users there were pretty angry at the fact that she wore something so big, and which would presumably cause some blind spots in the theater. A bunch called it "rude" ... others found it hilarious. Mixed bag.

Rebel Wilson had some less than kind things to say about Meghan Markle -- like she's cold as ice -- and now fans have dug deep and discovered why Meghan may have been frosty toward Rebel.

Rebel recently appeared on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live" ... recounting a meeting she had in Santa Barbara with Harry and Meghan. She says Harry was cool, but Meghan was "not naturally warm."

There may be a reason why Meghan didn't welcome Rebel with open arms, because last year at the BAFTA Awards, Rebel was presenting an award and said, "Our next package is for Outstanding British Film. From drama to horror to fantasy. Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah had it all."

Fans jumped on Rebel's confusion, saying she should know full well why Meghan was bent out of shape.

Chris Rock and now Rebel ... jokes can be a dangerous thing.

Damian Lillard is denying he liked a tweet about Ja Morant which insinuated the Grizzlies star isn't "hood" amid his recent gun incident.

The controversy started when Dame allegedly liked a tweet fired off by a fan that read ... "Notice Dame is actually from the hood but he don't go around acting like Ja Morant who is from the suburbs trying to act hood"

The alleged screenshot showing Lillard's "like" started going around social media and obviously had fans believing the long-time NBA star was calling out his counterpart. But, Lillard attempted to shut down that conversation.

"Let em lie," the 32-year-old said on social media. "F*** I look like liking that."

Of course, Morant brandished a handgun on Instagram Live while partying at a strip club late Saturday night, leading to him leaving the Grizzlies for at least two games.

Morant issued a statement saying he'd "take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being."

In addition to flashing the weapon, Ja was already under fire after more was learned about an alleged incident during a pickup basketball game. Morant, in a lawsuit, was accused of beating up a teenage boy, before allegedly intimidating the 17-year-old with a gun in his waistband.

As for the tweet, some fans aren't buying Dame's denial, saying he could've just unliked the tweet once people noticed. But, Lillard isn't mincing words ... he says he didn't like the message.

"I don’t care who is and is not from the “trenches," Damian wrote.

People think Disney's choice to make Tinker Bell Black in the upcoming "Peter Pan & Wendy" flick instead of making a new character for a person of color is a terrible move ... and now Twitter is up in arms over it -- what a shock.

In case you missed it, Disney dropped the trailer for the live-action film Tuesday, with fans getting a first look at Yara Shahidi as everyone's favorite pixie ... but a bunch of people are complaining about the switch-up, saying it feels like the company's more interested in image than inclusivity.

Twitter's in a frenzy over Yara's role -- with one person writing, "Disney loves to race swap these days instead of creating original and new characters that are POC."

Another echoed that, saying Disney's more focused on race-swapping original characters as opposed to putting in the time to make a new product with a more diverse cast.

Others say Tinker Bell has always been known as a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes -- and diverting from the original material isn't right.

As you know, Disney recently made this same move with "The Little Mermaid," casting Halle Bailey as Ariel.

As for who would make a great fit for Tink, Twitter's got that answer too -- a bunch of folks are saying longtime Disney Channel alum Dove Cameron would've filled the role perfectly.

The internet has practically burst into flames after a fake dating rumor was seemingly made as a joke -- one that pinned Pete Davidson and Ice Spice as an item.

The fake rumor is the latest to grab people's attention, and it's becoming a growing trend -- while similar posts like "Curious George found dead on the highway" garners virality while obviously being a joke, this one didn't get the same results.

Twitter clearly ran with it, albeit missing the "this is satire" warning -- with many freaking out online over the dating "news."

The comedian's been compared to Marvel's Thanos, dating beautiful women like the villain takes infinity stones ... and one person even made a hilarious reference to "Breaking Bad," saying Pete "can't keep getting away with this!"

Of course, we know it's all BS -- as we reported, Pete's currently entangled with Chase Sui Wonders. The couple was recently packin' on some PDA at the Daytona 500.