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LeBron James is vowing NOT to engage in Twitter wars with President Trump before the election ... saying he "damn sure won't go back and forth" with #45.

The 4-time NBA champ has engaged in mutual verbal combat with POTUS in the past ... including his famous "bum" remark when defending Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors' outspokenness against visiting the White House.

POTUS also recently ripped into the superstar ... calling him "nasty" and "a hater" for his political stance and accusing him of hurting the NBA's rankings.

Bron -- who's actively pushing to get more voters via his "More Than A Vote" campaign -- spoke with the New York Times about his public beef with Trump ... and he makes it clear he's not entertaining a long-term battle.

"I don’t go back and forth with anybody," James says. "And I damn sure won’t go back and forth with that guy."

"But, we want better, we want change in our community. We always talk about, 'We want change,' and now we have the opportunity to do that."

King James also spoke out on his decision to campaign for more voting rather than a particular candidate in 2020 ... saying, "We’ve been talking about voter suppression, we’ve been talking about police brutality, systemic racism."

"We’ve had so many things going on, and voter suppression in our communities happens to be at the forefront. So that’s something we wanted to educate our people on."

You know you messed up when O.J. Simpson thinks he has the moral high ground on you.

The Juice decided to take time away from his search for the real killer Monday to tee off on Jeffrey Toobin ... clowning the CNN analyst for his Zoom penis incident.

As we previously reported, the lawyer, author and legal analyst exposed himself on Zoom last week during a work call with the New Yorker staff and WNYC radio.

Toobin claims he thought he was not visible to others on the call, and thought he was on mute as well.

Spoiler: He was not.

Enter O.J. ... who made a video mocking Toobin over the incident.

"Damn, Jeffrey Toobin," Simpson said ...  "At least Pee-wee Herman was in an X-Rated movie theater, I'm just sayin'."

The reference ... Pee-wee actor Paul Reubens was arrested in 1991 for masturbating in an adult movie theater in Florida.

There's a connection between O.J. and Toobin -- Toobin famously wrote the 1997 book, "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson."

The book was later adapted into the FX TV series, "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" ... which portrayed Simpson as the obvious person who killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

Simpson's video did not go over well with some of Toobin's co-workers -- including CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who fired back at the ex-NFL star on social media.

Cardi B is turning off Twitter because she says her fans are toxic -- especially after her decision to get back with Offset -- and she's not about to let them treat her like a Disney star.

CB's Twitter account is non-existent as of Monday -- this after she apparently deactivated it this weekend. The move to go dark follows a wild rant she went on Saturday on IG Live, in which she called out her fans for getting all up in her biz about her marriage.

It seems a lot of her followers are expressing concern -- or are just flat out pissed -- about her getting back with her husband. Cardi says some have even reached out to friends of hers, asking them to intervene ... suggesting she's not well for the reconciliation.

Welp, Cardi had more than ENOUGH of it.

She literally cussed out her fans ... telling them to stay in their lane, and said she's grown and will do whatever the hell she wants.

Cardi also invoked JoJo Siwa and Ariana Grande in her tirade -- saying teenage fans were engaging with her and acting as if she's a former child Disney star or something. NOPE!!!! Cardi checked them on that and told 'em to butt out ... 'cause she's got real problems.

BTW, CB also gave a little bit of insight into why she can't just up and go date someone new so easily ... saying she's not your average Jane who can play the field on the low.

Remember, already Cardi touched on this issue of an over-invasive fanbase infiltrating her real life, but in much more joke-y terms. Now, she's not playing ... some fans have crossed the line, for her, and she's taking a timeout because of it.

Kim Kardashian hasn't endorsed a candidate for the Presidential election -- despite the fact her husband, Kanye West, is running -- but now her sis, Kourtney Kardashian, is endorsing him and catching major heat for it.

Kourtney posted a photo sporting a "Vote for Kanye" hat Thursday ... seemingly encouraging her more than 100 million social media followers to get behind a candidate who will only appear on the ballot in 12 states. She also included a link to his merch website where fans can purchase that hat for $40.

The move pissed a lot of people off who felt Kourtney's using her platform to distract from the 2 candidates who actually have a shot ... Joe Biden and President Trump. Not to mention the shameless promo for his gear.

One user wrote, "How sad 2 c that U support Kanye. A vote 4 him is a vote 4 Trump. I thought U may b the only Kar-Jenner that had some intelligence. I was wrong! U must b enjoying the enormous tax breaks & stimulus checks. U r a multimillionaire w/out a conscience! How sad 4 your children,& your soul!"

Kourtney is the first person from the Kardashian/Jenner fam to publicly support Kanye's run for Prez. Earlier Thursday, Kim posted a photo on IG thanking her fans for getting her to the 190M follower mark and encouraging them to vote ... she did not endorse a specific candidate.

Kanye recently released his first campaign ad, a video with a strong emphasis on religion.

Ice Cube's scoffing at the notion he's being used by President Trump to win over Black voters -- he says that's irrelevant to his mission, and he's calling out Joe Biden for balking on joining it.

The rapper and actor joined "TMZ Live" Thursday to address critics who've been attacking him, claiming he went to the "dark side" by teaming with POTUS. On Wednesday, Trump's administration announced Cube was involved in creating its Platinum Plan ... which would pump $500 billion into Black communities and provide better access to education and jobs.

Cube told us his sole focus was getting the administration to adopt elements of his Contract with Black America ... in order to improve Black lives. He insists he is NOT attempting to sway Black votes toward either candidate.

He also points out he's never met with the Prez, but has sat down with members of both parties in an effort to make both "get with the program" ... meaning, his CWBA.

So far, it sounds like one side's been more open to getting with his bipartisan program than the other ... and Cube suggests the Biden campaign's squandering a golden opportunity.

A Trump surrogate is claiming Ice Cube joined forces with the President's campaign to help Black people -- something Cube is now addressing, and not entirely denying.

Cube was forced to respond Wednesday after the Internet went up in flames upon hearing he'd supposedly teamed up with the Trump administration to draft its Platinum Plan, to address issues in the Black community. The plan purportedly dovetails with Cube's own Contract with Black America.

He tweets, "Facts: I put out the CWBA. Both parties contacted me. Dems said we’ll address the CWBA after the election. Trump campaign made some adjustments to their plan after talking to us about the CWBA."

When someone accused him of going over to "the dark side," Cube fired back that all politicians are pretty much on the dark side when it comes to helping African-Americans ... which is his ultimate priority, regardless of who he needs to work with to achieve that.

All this hubbub started when senior Trump advisor Katrina Pierson tweeted what some considered fairly shocking news -- namely, that Cube had "stepped up" to work with the Trump administration to develop DT's "Platinum Plan."

Trump's plan -- which he first discussed in Atlanta last month -- includes proposals like increasing capital in Black communities by as much as $500 billion and providing better access to equitable education and job opportunities.

While this development might've been a curveball to many, it really isn't that surprising if you've been following Cube's messaging lately -- he pretty much told us right here on "TMZ Live" about a month or so ago that he'd sit down with both parties to flesh out these issues.

Demi Lovato's ex-fiance looks and sounds pretty broken up over their split ... he says he still hasn't spoken to her, and he's tired of people bullying him online.

We got Max Ehrich at LAX Thursday and he told our photog he's not bothered by her new song about their split, but what's really grinding his gears are the social media trolls coming after him.

As we reported ... Demi was frustrated with her ex going ham about their split -- Max somehow compared Demi and their breakup with Jeffrey Epstein -- and she leaked her new breakup song, "Still Have Me."

Max says the people in his mentions need to back off and stop bullying him, because they don't know what happened between him and Demi.

It's interesting ... while Max claims he learned about their breakup while reading the tabloids on set, he's telling the trolls not to believe everything they read.

Despite getting the silent treatment from Demi, the "Young and the Restless" actor tells us he wants the best for Demi and he hopes people can give them privacy.

It's clear Max is having a rough time with the breakup, and he says he's gonna need some time for himself before he's ready to jump back into the dating world.

The Travis County medical examiner has wrapped up its investigation into the death of pro gaming star Byron Bernstein -- aka "Reckful" -- and determined he died by suicide.

Bernstein's ex-girlfriend broke the news of his death on July 2 on social media. No details were released at the time. Officials in Travis County, Texas subsequently launched a probe to find out exactly what happened to the 31-year-old.

Now, the M.E. has released the findings of its investigation -- which say emergency responders raced to the scene of the incident and tried to resuscitate Bernstein, but to no avail. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials say Bernstein had been under significant stress ... including dealing with money problems and a breakup with a former girlfriend.

The investigators also noted Bernstein had a history of depression, and had previously attempted suicide several years ago.

Bernstein was a legend in gaming, especially at "World of Warcraft" -- where he was the #1 ranked player in the world for 6 straight seasons.

He famously won the Major League Gaming "WOW" tourney back in 2010.

He later became a streaming sensation on Twitch -- where he amassed a following of more than 900,000. He also developed a big following on YouTube and Twitter.

Bernstein had talked publicly about his battle with depression in the past, saying it started when he was 14.

Just last year, Byron appeared on the HealthyGamerGG show to talk about his issues and revealed he was diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 as a child. He also said his brother took his own life after a battle with depression years ago.

RIP.

Eddie Van Halen's wife is heartbroken over the death of her life partner ... as is the rest of the rock world, who are sharing personal tributes to the late, great guitar legend.

Janie Liszewski posted a remembrance Wednesday, writing ... "My husband, my love, my Peep." She adds, "My heart and soul have been shattered into a million pieces. I never knew it was possible to cry so many tears or feel such incredible sadness. Our journey together has not always been an easy one but in the end and always we have a connection."

She went on to say their love will stay alive. She said instead of saying goodbye ... she'll simply say "so long," as she hopes they'll meet again in heaven one day. Janie also asks Eddie to watch over her and their shared Pomeranian pooch, Kody.

Janie's been with Eddie 11 years now -- they got hitched in 2009. Prior to that, he was married to Valerie Bertinelli for over 20 years ... who also posted in his honor.

Other salutes have been pouring in from rock icons from the same era and beyond -- including messages from Gene Simmons, who called Eddie a "Superhero," adding he's "heartbroken." Ozzy Osbourne said Eddie "Made it look so easy," and his former bandmate Sammy Hagar, said he was "heartbroken and speechless."

Other tributes came in from Nikki Sixx, Flea, Paul Stanley, Geezer Butler, Billy Idol, Keith Urban, Tony Iommi, Pantera, Pearl Jam and so many other acts. They all had kind words to share, most touched on the fact that Eddie was a trailblazer and an inspiration for their own careers.

Moreover, it wasn't just musicians who weighed in on Eddie's passing -- comedian Dane Cook said Eddie's music made him feel alive. Mark Hamill called Eddie, "One of Rock's most extraordinary guitar virtuosos and Jimmy Kimmel said a chat he once had with Van Halen was, "two of the best hours of my life."

As we reported, Eddie died Tuesday after a battle with throat cancer. He was 65.

"Schitt's Creek" co-creator and star Dan Levy is pissed with Comedy Central ... claiming the network's execs in India censored a gay kiss to promote the show over there.

Levy blasted the network Tuesday but he did more than that -- he also brought receipts ... an edited video promoting season 5 in India that did NOT show the kiss that DID go down between his character and Dustin Mulligan's character.

Check out the video ... Dan posted a scene from season 5 that shows the cast playing spin the bottle. Mulligan's character goes to kiss Levy's character, but the kiss appears to be edited ... while a shot of 2 women kissing was left in the clip.

Dan ripped Comedy Central, tweeting ... "This is a show about the power of inclusivity. The censorship of gay intimacy is making a harmful statement against that message. #loveislove." This is deeply personal for Levy, who is gay in real life and plays one of the first openly pansexual characters depicted on TV.

We've reached out to Comedy Central for comment, so far no word back.

Donald Trump's takeaway from COVID ... hey, the flu kills people and we learned to live with it, so why not do the same with coronavirus?

It's unbelievable, but maybe not. Trump grossly exaggerated the number of flu-related deaths ... he says annually it's 100,000, but it's WAY less than that.

And, the most fundamental point ... do people with the flu go to Walter Reed and have more than a dozen doctors try to keep them alive by pumping them with experimental drugs and oxygen?

If it's just like the flu, why did Trump gasp for air after climbing a single flight of stairs when he returned to The White House?

It's clear ... Trump is actually doubling down with his head-in-the-sand approach to COVID. What's worse ... he's needlessly exposing White House staff to the virus. The idea that he took his mask off the second he arrived is just beyond any sense of compassion or basic human responsibility.

By the way ... in case you didn't hear, The White House is not doing any contact tracing for the Amy Coney Barrett event at which nearly a dozen people ended up with COVID.

President Trump was up and at 'em this morning with one message on his mind that he felt the need to repeat over and over and over AND OVER again -- America, vote ... MAGA.

DT sent out a barrage of tweets early Monday, and they were all different versions of the same sentiment -- here's why folks oughta punch their ballots in for him ... with his signature all caps font, of course. In all, he had about 15 or so bullet point reasons to vote Trump.

Just to name a few of the most amusing ... 401(k), LAW & ORDER, STOCK MARKET HIGHS, STRONGEST MILITARY EVER, PRO LIFE, FIGHT THE CORRUPT FAKE NEWS MEDIA ... and, of course, SPACE FORCE!!!! There's more, but you get it, we're sure.

He also had a friendly reminder for residents in key swing states he needs to win to defeat Biden (who's ahead in the polls in a lot of these places). He told people in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Texas Monday was the last day to register and offered a link so they could sign up ... a link that leads to a site that literally pushes you to vote for Trump.

We'd give him credit for promoting the democratic process, but since he's leading would-be voters right to his own punch card ... we'll hold off on the kudos for now. One last note we'll make about Trump's back-to-business mentality on Twitter ... some are calling it "roid rage."

As you mighta heard, Trump's now on a steroid called dexamethasone, which helps fight off inflammation in the body caused by disease and/or viruses. While there are different reports on the potential side effects, one that keeps getting brought up is the possibility of "delusions of grandeur" and general outbursts or acts of anger -- y'know, 'cause of the 'roids and all.

No, Hassan Whiteside did NOT threaten to leave America and move to Hawaii in the wake of that insane debate Tuesday night ... insisting he was framed on social media.

After the Trump vs. Biden debate, someone posted a tweet that appeared to be from the 31-year-old NBA star's official account, saying "i can't do this for four more years f*** america bro im moving to Hawaii"

The quote went viral (because it's hilarious) -- and was even picked up by some pretty big websites.

But, Hassan -- the REAL Hassan -- went to Instagram on Wednesday to call BS on the whole thing.

"If you want some clout, ya ain't gotta make fake tweets about me! You ain't gotta make fake tweets," Hassan said.

So, fake news ... but glad he cleared it all up.

A pro cyclist has been booted off his racing team indefinitely ... and the squad's honchos say it's all because the dude got into an aggressive Twitter exchange over opinions on Donald Trump.

Here's the deal ... 19-year-old Quinn Simmons -- a rising star in cycling -- commented on a Dutch journalist's social media post Wednesday, showing his support for POTUS.

In the original post (which has since been deleted) ... the journalist wrote, "If you follow me and support Trump, you can go. There is zero excuse to follow or vote for the vile, horrible man.”

Simmons responded by writing, "Bye" with an emoji of a dark-skinned hand waving. The cyclist later told a commenter "That's right" after the person had called him a "Trumper."

Turns out, Simmons' racing team -- Trek-Segafredo -- didn't like the exchange one bit ... and hit him with an indefinite ban.

But, the team says the punishment was NOT for Simmons' pro-Trump political views ... but rather, they say they just didn't like the way he went about expressing them.

"He was suspended for engaging in conversation on Twitter in a way that we felt was conduct unbefitting a Trek athlete," the team said in a statement.

Added the team's manager, Luca Guercilena ... "We hold all Trek staff and management to a high ethical standard and our athletes are no exception."

For his part, Simmons released a statement on it all ... writing, "As an American rider, I have always been proud to represent my country. Riding for an American team has been a lifelong dream. A big reason I chose this team was because of the American values behind it."

Simmons continued, "To those who found the color of the emoji racist, I can promise that I did not mean for it to be interpreted that way. I would like to apologize to everyone who found this offensive as I strongly stand against racism in any form."

Conor McGregor says he's got his next fight on deck ... and it's not in the Octagon -- it's a boxing match against Manny Pacquiao!!!

So ... is this real, or is the dude blowing major smoke??

Here's the deal -- Conor went on a mini-rant on Twitter on Friday ... posting Instagram DMs with Dana White that seemingly show he was begging for a fight prior to his retirement in June.

"I was pushing hard for the season," Conor says. "Multiple opponents, multiple dates offered throughout. All to take place back to back."

He added ... "Then when covid hit and the talk was that I would have to wait for crowds again, I walked away from the situation. I was waiting long enough at that stage."

This all came to a head after Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez said he wanted his retirement fight to be against McGregor ... which Conor seemed to be down with back in February, according to the DMs.

Nothing was able to come to fruition ... and now Conor is telling his 8.2 million Twitter followers he'll be back in the fight game ... just not for UFC.

"Anyway all water under the bridge who gives a fook," Conor tweeted. "I’m boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East."

While the news is extremely exciting, it must be taken with the biggest grain of salt on the planet -- Conor has been known to use his platform to express his frustrations in the past.

It IS pretty interesting, however, that Conor recently posted footage of himself training in the ring ... so, coincidence??

White has also previously spoken on the possibility of setting up a Conor vs. Manny fight -- saying, "I don’t care about that s**t."

So ... there's that.

Story developing ...

The parents of those 2 toddlers in the viral video showing them running toward each other and joyfully embracing are going after President Trump for twisting it to push his own divisive agenda.

Both sets of parents are suing Trump, his campaign and the person responsible for doctoring the heartwarming 2019 video to make it have a "Racist Baby" theme. Let us explain ...

The original clip shows the 2-year-olds -- one black, one white -- on a sidewalk in NYC after the first day of school ... hugging and clearly elated to see each other.

According to the legal docs -- and anyone with eyes -- the vid went viral "as the epitome of love and unity" and "enjoying the warmth and companionship" of a friend.

The parents say a week after the adorable video went viral, someone made a manipulated version which "created a negative and racist overtone."

The doctored version -- which is made to look like a CNN Breaking News clip -- takes a small portion of the original vid where the black toddler is running away from the white toddler, and according to the suit, "maliciously" added the graphic ... 'Terrified Todler(sic) Runs From Racist Baby' and thereafter, 'Racist Baby Probably A Trump Voter.'"

Fast-forward to June 18, 2020 ... President Trump tweets a post featuring the doctored video. The parents claim he did this "to exploit the children's images for his own purposes and gain" ... and to push "his brand of sensationalism in complete disregard for the truth."

Though the doctored vid was removed for violating Twitter rules, the parents claim it racked up 20 million views in a short period of time and the ordeal has caused them great distress, fright, shock, anguish and humiliation.