Twitter

Atlanta Falcons star Takk McKinley's Twitter fingers just cost him a chunk of change ... with the team reportedly fining the defensive end over his recent Twitter outburst.

McKinley -- a 2017 first-rounder -- seemingly called the Falcons front office clowns after the trade deadline this week ... claiming the team should have pulled the trigger when he wanted out of town last season.

"These @AtlantaFalcons turned down a 2nd round draft pick when I requested to get traded last year," Takk tweeted Wednesday.

"The same @AtlantaFalcons turned down a 5th and 6th round draft pick from multiple teams when I requested to get traded this year. I only have 17.5 career sacks."

"🤡🤡🤡"

While the team denied any actual offer was presented, interim head coach Raheem Morris made it clear he was NOT happy about McKinley's decision to air out his frustrations on Twitter.

"Takk will definitely be held accountable for his actions and everything that goes with it," the coach said.

Now, we know what that means ... with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting Takk was fined an undisclosed amount for the tweets.

Whether the two sides will be able to make up is doubtful -- the team has already declined his 5th-year option and hasn't ruled out cutting McKinley's playing time or suspending him.

As for Takk's tweet ... it's still live on his account.

No regrets??

We have POTUS, FLOTUS, SCOTUS and now ... an official title for the First Family's furry friends, DOTUS, which just became Twitter official.

Dr. Jill and President-Elect Biden set up online accounts for their 2 German Shepherds, Major and Champ, with a handle of @First_Dogs_USA. Unfortunately, some troll already snapped up @DOTUS, which is dedicated to "The Don of the U.S." -- so the Bidens settled for this.

Their bio reads, "We are the First Dogs of the USA, Champ and Major Biden,” their Twitter profile said. “You can call us #DOTUS. We love nom noms, snuggles and we can’t wait to explore the WH!”

Doesn't look like the dogs have a formal Instagram account dedicated to their White House adventures just yet ... which would be a good idea, since more people probably wanna SEE Major and Champ more so than read their canine thoughts and musings. Just a thought!

As of Monday morning, the DOTUS Twitter page has over 94k followers, and counting.

Like we told you, Major and Champ will be the first dogs in the White House since Barack Obama was there with his family's two Portuguese Waterdogs, Sunny and Bo. Not just that, but Major is the first rescue to set its paws down at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The GAP had its heart in the right place with its post-election tweet urging unity but it clearly failed to read the room ... admitting it was just "too soon."

A spokesperson for the clothing retailer tells TMZ ... the intention of its social media post featuring a red and blue hoodie "was to show the power of unity." The spokesperson added, "It was just too soon for this message. We remain optimistic that our country will come together to drive positive change for all."

The tweet backfired almost immediately ... with one person replying, "A GREAT example of why it's smart to be paused on social right now." Tons of people responded with "read the room" and another user said, "I don't think a zipped hoodie is going to cut it when everyone is this tired, broke, and scared."

Chrissy Teigen also chimed in on the since-deleted post. For the record ... the hoodie was NOT for sale.

Another big potential COVID problem for the NFL ... Ravens star Marlon Humphrey tested positive for the virus Monday after playing in 100% of Baltimore's defensive snaps vs. the Steelers on Sunday.

Humphrey announced the positive test Monday morning ... saying in a tweet, "I got the Rona hopefully I’ll be back healthy soon."

Of course, the test results now pose a massive issue for the league ... 'cause they could signal an impending outbreak.

According to multiple reports, the 24-year-old cornerback took his COVID test prior to the Steelers game ... but did NOT get the results back in time to keep him off the field.

So, Humphrey played ... and not only put his team at risk of exposure ... but the entire Steelers offense as well.

In fact, Pittsburgh tight end Eric Ebron tweeted about his worry over catching Humphrey's virus ... posting a photo of the two from the game and saying, "this was not 6ft."

The Steelers said in a statement none of their Sunday tests came back positive ... so they'll now wait to see if anyone contracted it during the game. Pittsburgh is set to play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a similar situation played out in Green Bay ... Packers running back AJ Dillon tested positive for coronavirus Monday morning after playing several snaps against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Arizona Cardinals star safety Budda Baker was wearing a hot mic when his pick-6 got spoiled by D.K. Metcalf's insane chase down tackle ... and the hilarious audio has finally been released.

.... and it's everything we could've hoped for and more!!

"How'd he catch my ass, what the (expletive?!?!)," a winded Baker said as he approached the sidelines ... completely bewildered by the Seattle Seahawks receiver's insane speed.

Of course, the 2nd quarter INT was the talk of the night as the Cards upset the 'Hawks in OT, 37-34 ... and Budda had to show love to D.K. on Twitter following the game for sprinting 90 yards to keep him out of the end zone.

"DK HAWKED MY ASS... #RESPECT," Budda said on Twitter ... while teammate DeAndre Hopkins added, "And we Hawked them."

Of course, the trash talk was all in good fun ... but the audio just goes to show how Budda was as shocked as we were to see him get caught.

Twitter's not buying what a Dutch man's selling -- that he hacked President Trump's account by guessing a very simple password, which is lucky for him ... legally speaking.

A spokesperson for Twitter's vehemently denying Victor Gevers, a Dutch security researcher, got into Trump's Twitter account last week when he guessed POTUS' password as "maga2020!" Twitter says, "We've seen no evidence to corroborate this claim, including from the article published in the Netherlands today."

It should be noted ... if Victor did, in fact, hack Trump's account -- giving him access to tweets and direct messages sent to and from the leader of the free world -- it's a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. That explicitly states it's against the law to intentionally access social media accounts without proper authorization. See, huge no-no.

According to a TechCrunch report ... Victor claims he notified Homeland Security's cyber unit division to inform them about the security breach. Victor also claims Trump's password was then changed shortly thereafter. What's more ... Victor shared what he claims to be a screenshot inside Trump's Twitter account.

The security expert told TechCrunch he guessed Trump's password on the 5th attempt. He also claims to have done the same back in 2016 when he discovered Trump's LinkedIn password was "yourefired."

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.