YouTube

J Balvin is issuing a mea culpa for a music video of his that portrayed Black people -- especially women -- as animals ... namely, dogs ... who were literally on all fours.

The Colombian reggaetón star took to IG to apologize for the controversial visual offering of his track "Perra" with Dominican rapper, Tokischa, who's of African descent herself. The track's all about how she (Tokischa) is a dog in heat ... and looking for a male to bang.

Naturally, the video would be provocative ... but it seems Balvin and co. went all in on the canine theme -- getting a lot of their dancers/background actors in animal-style makeup, in which many of these folks of color were made to look like actual pooches.

Not just that, but some of the Black people are in cages at certain points, Tokischa is depicted in a dog house throughout the video and eating from a bowl ... and the most striking image is when J Balvin himself is walking a couple of Black ladies on leashes.

The project was slammed by several critics, but the biggest may have been Colombia's very own Vice President and Chancellor Marta Lucia Ramirez ... who deemed it sexist, misogynistic and flat-out racist. After all the backlash -- it was taken down by Balvin.

In his video, Balvin says he's sorry to anyone who was offended ... especially women, and especially Black women. He says he didn't mean for it to be interpreted as degrading -- noting he was simply trying to help give some shine to an up-and-coming artist in the Dominican Republic.

Balvin says his work has always been about tolerance, love and inclusivity -- and after hearing how it affected people ... he felt the need to come on and address it on camera.

The guy even apologizes to his own mother at one point ... so you can tell he's taking it seriously. While the video was removed from YouTube ... the official audio is still up.

YouTube stars Charles & Alyssa Forever went on a huge shopping spree at a Spirit Halloween store in Arizona ... but after they got what they wanted for a video, they returned the merch.

The YouTubers strolled in to the Spirit Halloween costume store in Tempe earlier this month, and we're told they spent over $1,000 on costumes and accessories.

The store's employee, Tracy, tells us she recognized the couple when they came in ... and she helped them shop for several hours and even gave them a 20% discount on one of the items.

Tracy says she asked the YouTubers if they needed the costumes for a party and Charles told her ... "Something like that."

Not long after, we're told staff at the store noticed the couple posted 2 videos wearing the costumes ... and then they were shocked when Charles' sister came in and returned almost $900 worth of used gear.

Some of the costumes worn and returned by the YouTubers include ... Chucky, nun, priest, escaped convict, policeman, nurse and hospital gown costumes. They also purchased a flask.

We’re told store staff decided not to put the flask back on shelves because of the obvious ... someone may have already put their mouth on it.

While it sounds like this may rub some folks the wrong way at Spirit ... fact is, the store can't do anything or investigate because it’s not illegal, and the return policy is very flexible.

Charles and Alyssa tell TMZ ... they used the costumes for a video about cheap Halloween costumes for couples on a budget, and they wore the costumes for a couple minutes and never stepped foot out of the house in them.

The couple says they specifically asked about the return policy when they were shopping, and felt comfortable returning what they paid for ... not thinking it would be a big deal.

The YouTubers say there was no wear and tear and it was like trying the costumes on in the store ... only they did it at home and took them back.

Charles and Alyssa say they didn't use all the items, never touched the flask with their mouths, packed the costumes back nicely and returned a lot of items that didn't fit.

They say they followed the return policy and don't think they did anything wrong ... and point out Spirit should benefit from getting a video shout-out.

Tommy Fury says it's a wrap for Jake Paul's boxing career -- telling TMZ Sports he's going to knock the YouTuber-turned-fighter into retirement when they face off in the ring.

Fury -- lil' bro of boxing champ Tyson Fury -- finally agreed to be Paul's next opponent last week ... after initially saying the offer wasn't worth getting out of bed for.

We caught up with the 22-year-old earlier this week at LAX and had to ask what made him change his mind ... and he tells us the negotiations started to make sense.

"Things are looking up now between that fight," Fury says, "so hopefully we should get it closed in the next few weeks so we'll see."

Of course, Fury believes he's gonna win this bout -- he's a 7-0 light heavyweight going up against Paul, who's also undefeated, but hasn't gone against an actual boxer.

"This is an easy fight for me. A real easy fight," Fury tells us, "I've been doing this job since I was 7."

"He's not a boxer. He's gonna see that when we fight."

Fury added, "I will end his boxing career. There’s no more Jake Paul after we fight. That’s it."

In fact, Fury believes he's doin' Paul a favor ... 'cause at the end of the day, winning this fight doesn't get him anywhere "in boxing terms."

"Beating Jake Paul doesn't get me a world title shot," Fury says, "It doesn't get me any respect to any of the fighters because everyone knows what the fighters think of him."

"All it is, is a good payday, an easy fight."

Jake Paul turned himself into one of the biggest stars in combat sports, and now The Problem Child tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to recreate the formula and turn Amanda Serrano, arguably the greatest female fighter in the world, into a giant star.

"Amanda’s the number one pound-for-pound female boxer and greatest Hispanic female athlete of all time, and she hasn’t been treated fairly in her career. She’s a superstar and she needs that extra backing or help." Paul, joined virtually by Serrano, told us.

Paul just signed Serrano to his promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) ... and says the plan is to turn Serrano, the unified featherweight champ (41-1-1), into a famous, big money fighter.

"Slowly but surely, we’re knocking that wall down and she will become a superstar with our guidance. She’s already a superstar but just taking it to the next level," Paul says.

"She needs to be on billboards. She needs to be sponsored by the biggest companies in the world. She embodies so much and is so powerful and we’re just gonna help her out."

The question is ... why does Amanda trust her career with the most polarizing figure in combat sports?

"I’ve seen him and what they’ve done in the last two years. How he’s made his name boxing, coming from YouTube, an influencer and I'm just excited to see what he’s done with himself and I'm excited to see what he can do for me," Serrano told us.

"I’ve been in this sport so long and never got the fair shake of it and I’m excited to have him as part of my team to help me with the other end of it."

We asked Jake if he plans on signing other fighters ... and building out his promotion company.

"That’s the idea with Most Valuable Promotions, but we’re not in a rush. If we end up only signing one, two, three fighters, then so be it. It’s about quality over quantity and right now our focus is fully on Amanda."

First, Floyd Mayweather ... next, Mike Tyson??

That very well could be a reality for Logan Paul ... 'cause Iron Mike says he's now down to box the YouTube star -- claiming the fight could earn the two a fortune!!

Tyson revealed on his latest episode of "Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson" that he'd have zero issues stepping into the ring with either Logan or Jake Paul ... adding the scrap could net a $100 million payday.

"Hell yeah," Tyson said when rapper Freddie Gibbs asked if he'd box the two YouTube stars. "That would be a lot of money."

Tyson seems to think boxing Logan would make more sense than fighting Jake ... considering the elder Paul bro is a bit heavier.

As for if Logan would do it ... Tyson certainly thinks so -- telling Gibbs, "For $100 million bucks, they'd do anything. They don't care about getting beat up."

Tyson -- who's coming off a great performance against Roy Jones Jr. -- had previously told us he was eyeing Lennox Lewis for his next bout.

But, if Logan's down ... seems Tyson would have no problem moving on to that tilt.

Claressa Shields isn't playin' around when it comes to Jake Paul ... the boxing and MMA superstar is throwing down the gauntlet, challenging The Problem Child to a fight, and promising to beat his ass.

TMZ Sports talked to the 26-year-old 2x Olympic gold medalist who just recently vowed to NEVER fight on a Paul undercard, claiming it'd be disrespectful to her incredible career.

"I wasn't talking s**t about Jake Paul yesterday. What I was speaking was facts. Jake Paul gets inside a boxing ring with me, he's getting his ass whooped!"

And, Shields is down to put her money where her mouth is ... and if the YouTuber turned boxer doesn't want to a real, sanctioned fight -- Claressa is down to spar and let his cameras roll the entire time.

"I bet you Jake Paul would get hurt, he probably get dropped, he would have a newfound respect for me if we spar or fight," Shields says.

"I'm not calling Jake Paul out because I know how the world looks at women fighting men, they look at it like 'oh no, ew' but I spar men daily and that's the truth."

Claressa -- the only fighter, male or female, to hold all 4 major titles in multiple weight classes -- also took issue with Paul addressing female boxing star Amanda Serrano -- who he just signed to his MVP promotions -- as the greatest female fighter ever.

"I'm the motherf***kin' GWOAT! I saw him make that post today with Amanda Serrano. He needs to know that I'm the GWOAT."

(BTW, there's ZERO beef between Claressa and Amanda. In fact, Shields says she has "love and respect" for Serrano.)

Bottom line, Shields -- who returns to the PFL MMA cage October 27 -- has a message for Jake ... and anyone else who thinks she can't handle herself in the ring because she's a woman.

"Cut the s**t! Don't disrespect my skills. Look, just because a man is a man and he's in boxing doesn't mean that they can beat me and there's a lot of guys who's been in boxing for years who cannot do nothing with me, let alone Jake Paul".

Tana Mongeau could be the next big YouTuber to enter the boxing ring ... 'cause the social media superstar tells TMZ Sports she's gotten "crazy" offers to fight -- and she's definitely not saying "no."

The celeb boxing world has blown up in recent years ... with guys like the Paul bros., KSI and Austin McBroom cashing in on people wanting to see them take some punches.

But, there's been a MASSIVE lack of female representation in YouTube fighting ... and one name that's been rumored to change that is 23-year-old Mongeau, who has nearly 5.5 MILLION followers on the platform.

So, when we ran into TM at LAX recently, we had to ask if she was going to cash in and take a fight.

"We've had some crazy offers," Tana tells us. "A lot of the people who I want to fight don't wanna fight. Not that I'm scary, I don't know why but we're trying to figure it out right now for sure. It’s definitely not a 'no.'"

One person Tana says she wanted to face off against is her hated rival and ex Bella Thorne, but claims the actress wants nothing to do with it.

Speaking of exes, does this mean Tana wants to be the next Jake Paul of boxing?!? Not quite.

"I think comparing myself to Jake Paul is something I try to stay away from for my mental health," Tana joked.

But, don't get it twisted -- Tana says if someone backs up the Brinks trucks she will 100% start training and taking it seriously.

Tommy Fury is sick of Jake Paul using his name for cred in the boxing world ... he's ready to take on the YouTube star, and says he'll make short work of it.

Tommy was leaving L.A. Friday for his home back in the UK ... and made it clear to our photog he was annoyed his name was used by Jake to promote his fight against Tyron Woodley.

Jake's not even a real boxer -- so says Tommy -- because he's only fighting MMA opponents. BTW ... Tommy honed in on Woodley's punch that sent Jake into the ropes.

Tommy makes it clear ... Jake's never gonna be a real competitor -- at least against him -- so might as well get it over with now.  Fury knows the fight would draw a huge audience, and that means $$$$$$$$$$$$$. And, that's why Tommy calls it a "win-win."

As for predictions ... lights out within 3 minutes.

There's no doubt Jake would accept the challenge. It could draw a record-breaking audience on Pay-Per-View, although it's a little weird for someone like Tommy -- who's on track in the world of boxing -- to actually get in the ring with the likes of Paul.

Piper Rockelle says P!nk's comments about her and allegations of exploitation not only hurt her feelings, but unfairly painted her mom as some kinda monster.

The 14-year-old YouTube star already denied P!nk's claims, telling TMZ her parents -- specifically her mother -- are not sexually exploiting her, as the singer claimed. But, Piper's now revealing P!nk's scorching social media post really affected her emotionally.

According to Piper ... when the bikini photos P!nk called into question were taken, Piper had COVID so she was at home hanging in her pool a lot, and SHE wanted to take the pics to show off her favorite bathing suit.

She adds that a lot of kids her age do that, and she doesn't seen any harm in it at all.

Piper goes on to defend her Mom against P!nk's accusations, calling the singer's statement "100 percent not true." She says her mom's always making sure she's happy and wants to keep doing what she's doing.

Canelo Alvarez was asked point-blank whether he'd fight Jake Paul ... and he DIDN'T say no.

31-year-old Alvarez was leaving Beauty & Essex in L.A. ... when a photog asked the world's top pound-for-pound pugilist about boxing the 4-0 fighter.

Here's how the conversation went ... translated from Spanish to English.

Photog: "What do you think of Jake Paul? Are you gonna give him a chance?"
Canelo: "Not right now."

Photog: "Why don’t you want to give him a chance?"
Canelo: "He’s not ready."

Photog: "Do you think it might be a good option?"
Canelo: "If he wants someone to fight, we have this guy right here ..." (Points to a friend)

Photog: "What needs to happen in order for you to give him a chance?"
Canelo: "He needs to keep improving. Good luck."

Photog: "What do you think of a fight between you and your brother vs. the Paul bros?"
Canelo: "No."

Of course, Paul -- who has wins over AnEsonGib, Nate Robinson, Ben Askren, and Tyron Woodley -- told TMZ Sports back in June that Canelo was on his (future) hit list.

Alvarez has not been a fan of Paul's foray into the squared circle ... previously telling us he believed the Paul brothers were disrespecting the sport.

But, now it seems Alvarez has changed his mind about Jake ... even if he stopped well-short of guaranteeing they'd someday fight.

BTW, Canelo was at Beauty & Essex for a meeting with Kendall Jenner ... and it seems a partnership with her 818 Tequila is in the works.

Jake Paul's retirement lasted a whopping 25 hours ... 'cause the YouTube superstar-turned-boxer says he's officially back in the fight game again.

"Updated status: I’m coming out of retirement," Paul tweeted on Tuesday.

Hey, we tried to warn ya -- there was a super slim chance Jake was actually retiring for good when he claimed he was walking away from the sport on Monday ... especially since he's poised to get a FAT paycheck from the Tyron Woodley fight.

Just as expected ... Paul is back.

Remember, "retiring" really doesn't mean much in boxing and MMA -- a ton of guys have gotten back in the ring after calling it quits.

The legend Muhammad Ali retired a couple times ... and George Foreman and Randy Couture are among others who stepped away before changing their mind.

More recently, Conor McGregor has retired at least 3 times in his career ... and that may very well be the guy Jake is channeling with this latest publicity stunt.

Jake's quick return now opens the door for a Woodley rematch ... which Paul claims could happen as long as Tyron holds his end of the deal and gets the "I Love Jake Paul" tattoo.

P!nk seems quite concerned a teen influencer is being used by her parents in an unsettling way -- but the kid's speaking for herself, saying she is in the driver's seat here.

Piper Rockelle -- a YouTuber who just turned 14 -- tells TMZ ... "The first thing I want everyone to know is that my mom doesn't make me do anything. Quite the opposite, I'm a kid who had a dream and my mom is amazing enough to help me live it out."

She adds this of P!nk's worries ... "I don't think P!nk has ever seen one of my YouTube videos because if she did she'd see it's just my friends and me having fun and acting like ourselves. The content we make is the kind of stuff anyone can watch."

ICYMI ... P!nk took to social media over the weekend to address what she considered the over-sexualization of children -- and specifically name-dropped Piper to make her point. The singer seemed to take exception with a bikini photo posted to Piper's IG recently.

Piper touches on that too, telling us she rocked the bikini 'cause ... well, it's summer, adding she doesn't see anything sexual about a 14-year-old wearing a 2-piece in and of itself.

The YT'er told us she just did a crash course on P!nk, and learned she started following her dreams for stardom right around the same age Piper is now ... so, she questions why P!nk's giving her flak for doing the same thing.

Tyron Woodley is going to lose to Jake Paul -- IF you listen to the oddsmakers -- who are DEAD WRONG, according to UFC star Michael Chandler, who tells TMZ Sports his college wrestling teammate is going to drag the YouTube star to a place he's never been.

We spoke to 35-year-old Chandler about tonight's Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight ... and asked him for his prediction.

"I believe Tyron wins the fight. I believe Tyron takes Jake Paul to a place where he's never been before. Where he's never been in his past amateur-level sports accomplishments. Tyron Woodley is one of the best fighters in the world. Multiple time world champion."

Full disclosure, Michael and Tyron are tight. They wrestled together at the University of Missouri ... where Woodley was like a big brother to the younger Chandler.

For what it's worth, Vegas has 24-year-old Paul (3-0) as a favorite over the 39-year-old future UFC Hall of Famer.

In order to win $100, you'd have to risk roughly $195. If you bet on Tyron, you put up $100 to win around $150 -- depending on the sportsbook.

Of course, the lead-up to the boxing match has been a mix of fun with some trash talk. That is until a media event this week when someone in Jake's crew apparently said something sideways to Tyron's mom, Deborah.

Since then ... no more playing games for the fighters.

But, the long wait is almost over ... and the men get to finally put hands on each other on Sunday.

And, if somehow, someway Woodley doesn't win the fight ... Chandler -- who is also close with Ben Askren (who was KO'd by JP) -- is ready to step up and rep for Missouri.

Still don't know who's gonna win the big Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight?? Here's a last-minute prediction from one of the greatest EVER -- Mike Tyson -- who tells TMZ Sports he's going with the Problem Child on Sunday night!!

Tyson -- who's tight with Jake -- has openly been supportive of the YouTuber's skills in the ring leading up to the fight ... and hasn't shied away from telling folks Jake's gonna beat the ex-UFC champ.

But, with the fight rapidly approaching, we had to ask if Tyson's pick has changed at all ... and yeah, nope!!

Tyson says it's all because Paul hasn't lost yet ... and it's obvious Iron Mike doesn't see that changing against Woodley.

Tyson admits "it's gonna be a tough fight," but thinks it's Paul's fists that'll prove too much for The Chosen One.

There's been so much drama between the two fighters as Aug. 29 approaches ... with Tyron's mom even getting in the middle of a verbal altercation with Jake's crew on Thursday.

Interesting conversation with Jake Paul ... who did his best to channel Mike Tyson when talking to TMZ Sports, threatening to eat Tyron Woodley when they fight this Sunday.

"I might eat this man. I might eat this man on television."

Yes ... serious shades of Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield.

Lucky us, there's more ... 24-year-old Paul sent a message to the 39-year-old future UFC Hall of Famer.

"Hey Tyron, hope you're not afraid of hippo tigers, because I'm a hippo tiger and you just pissed me off. And, when a hippo tiger is pissed off, he does crazy s**t."

It's reminiscent of Iron Mike's epic tirade in 2000 ... when Tyson, talking about Lewis, uttered the now-infamous phrase ... "I want your heart. I want to eat his children."

We also talked to Jake about the verbal altercation between his squad and Woodley's mom, Deborah ... and The Problem Child told us there's plenty of blame to go around.

Bottom line -- Paul and Tyson finally get to put hands on each other this Sunday ... when they square off on Showtime PPV.

Absolute chaos broke out at the Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley press conference just now ... with the UFC star's own MOTHER getting into it with the YouTuber's camp!!!

It all went down after the two fighters faced off and posed for pictures ... with everything seemingly going according to plan.

But, as the cameras cut back to commentators Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell, a verbal scuffle broke out behind them ... and it was none other than Deborah Woodley in the middle of it.

There were chairs knocked over as a crowd formed around DW ... and security and police worked their way in to try and calm down the crowd.

As all this was going down, Jake was spotted steering clear of the area and appearing to head back to his spot.

The announcers broke down what they heard ... claiming Tyron demanded "a f***ing apology" and was shouting "you think it's a game."

Tyron was clearly LIVID over Jake's camp confronting his beloved mom ... and the guy had to be escorted out of the room.

The whole ordeal went down for several minutes ... and Thomas even called for security to step in and get everyone out of the area.

Once Tyron left the room, he was spotted yelling at pro boxer and Jake's training partner, J'Leon Love ... who denied ever saying anything to his mother.

Jake and Tyron are set to fight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Sunday night ... and yeah, it just got personal.