W. Kamau Bell is ripping the Kennedy Center Honors … he says the only folks taking home hardware are celebs who are cool with President Trump … which is a problem for him, because he says Trump is a fascist.

The comedian and TV host joined us on “TMZ Live” Monday and took shots at the honorees from Sunday’s 48th Kennedy Center Honors.

Trump hosted and helped pick the honorees … including Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, and KISS.

While Bell says everyone who made the cut was talented, he says the main criterion was being down with Trump. We pushed back and said the same held true when Barack Obama was president … but Bell says the main difference is that Trump is a “dictator.”

Bell — who also got in jabs at Gloria and KISS — tells us he wouldn’t accept a Kennedy Center Honor during Trump’s presidency … he says there would be no way to accept the award without getting political.

An arrest has been made in connection with the shooting of New York Jets player Kris Boyd … a person of interest was taken into custody in Buffalo on Monday, TMZ Sports confirmed.

Law enforcement sources say a 20-year-old man was arrested in Western New York just hours ago … and is currently on his way back to the Big Apple to face charges in the case.

NYPD and U.S. Marshals were both part of the apprehension.

Boyd was shot outside NYC hotspot Sei Less — an Asian fusion restaurant a few blocks away from Times Square — around 2 AM on November 16.

The 29-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, leaving him fighting for his life in critical condition. A few days later, KB took to his Instagram to share an update with his followers, saying he was starting to breathe on his own.

“I’m sorry, I have no words at the moment.. Just grateful! I’m coming along, starting to breathe on my own now. Sincerely appreciate everyone!”

Cops later shared a photo of a man they were looking for (it’s unclear if this is the individual who was arrested) in connection with the shooting.

A few days ago, Boyd made his return to the Jets’ facility in New Jersey … and his teammates were pumped to have him back.

“It’s not something that we at all thought or knew was going to happen today, so it was a good surprise to see him with such high hopes and positive energy,” Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert said.

“It was cool, a good moment for us to get back around him and for him to be around us.”

Pound the alarm, Barbs, it’s Nicki Minaj‘s birthday … and TMZ is celebrating by looking back at some of her hottest photos from her stellar career.

Nicki is 43 years old as of today, and she’s never been one to shy away from the cameras — far from it — so we’ve got plenty of hot shots to pore pour over.

The result is a gallery that checks all the boxes … and you just need to click through to see all of Nicki’s looks over the years, of which there are many.