Charlie Sheen has decided he's WAYYY too Caucasian to star in the new "Machete" movie -- so he's channeling his Latino roots and changing his name back to Carlos Estevez ... at least for now.

TMZ obtained a screengrab from the upcoming flick ... which shows Sheen will use his birth name in the new Robert Rodriguez joint. It's the first time in his professional career he won't be billed as Charlie Sheen.

It makes sense ... Rodriguez films often celebrate Latino pride (think "El Mariachi," "Desperado," "Machete") so Sheen is just getting into the spirit of the campy thriller about a rampaging Mexican assassin.

A little history ... Charlie Sheen’s dad Martin Sheen was born Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estevez, from his Spanish father's side. He made up "Martin Sheen" to get acting jobs but never changed it legally ... passing "Estevez" to all 4 kids.

Martin has said he regrets not sticking with his real name ... so this TOTALLY counts as a son-redeems-the-father story, right?

Jose Canseco's ex-GF tells TMZ ... she believes J.C. is COMPLETELY INNOCENT ... and claims the woman accusing the former MLB star of rape is nothing more than a lying publicity whore.

We spoke to Leila Knight -- who dated Canseco for more than 4 years -- and she tells us she's spoken with Canseco at length about the sexual assault accusations that have been made against him in Las Vegas.

"I've been talking to him all day ... it's obvious that it's a publicity stunt, I mean -- the girl's an aspiring actress," Knight says.

Knight also says Canseco is a "gentle person" who always tells the truth -- "If anything, he's too honest."

For his part, Canseco has denied any wrongdoing ... despite the fact he's named as a suspect in a sexual assault investigation stemming from an alleged incident on May 10.

Foxy Brown is FURIOUS over reports she trashed Jay-Z ... telling TMZ she NEVER referred to Hova as a gonorrhea-infected "tranny chaser" ... and now she's threatening to sue.

Brown is referencing reports which say Foxy recently went to a baby shower and started dishing about Jay-Z's sex life to one of the guests -- saying he secretly engages in gay sex ... and that she lost her virginity to him when she was 15 and he was 27.

There's more ... including allegations of a robbery, sex tape and STDs.

But Foxy says the report is complete BS, telling TMZ ... "The atrociousness of this story sickened me to my stomach. Any and everyone involved will be contacted by my attorney."

Foxy says, "In all my years in the music industry, these are the most disgusting and disrespectful allegations I've ever experienced. This fictitious story ... with NO audio, visual or written interview, clearly was concocted with malicious intent."

"Jay has only been wonderful to me and my family, a great friend throughout all the years I've known him and we had nothing but great success as a team."

She continues, "Beyonce, his wife, has always been gracious and sweet to me ... I will NOT let any undercover hater create discord and disrespect my name and reputation."

"This disrespect will NOT be tolerated."

Evelyn Lozada has a message for Chad Johnson ... wait, no she doesn't ... 'cause she doesn't ever wanna speak two words to her ex-husband ever again.

The "Basketball Wives" star had just arrived at LAX yesterday when we asked if she had spoken with Chad since Monday's arrest ... stemming from the time he attacked her last year.

But Evelyn -- who immediately divorced Chad after the incident -- told TMZ ... she doesn't want anything to do with the ex-NFL star ever again.

No relationship. No communication. No nothing.

She DOES say she wishes him the best. Sure she does.

Big brother is ALWAYS watching you ... and taking pictures ... just ask Soulja Boy, whose red Bentley was impounded by the LAPD thanks to incriminating photos taken by a secret network of police cameras stationed around L.A., TMZ has learned.

Our story begins on January 9, when a motorcyclist T-boned a red Bentley in Hollywood  ... leaving the biker seriously injured ... but the driver of the Bentley -- who caused the crash by making a reckless turn -- fled the scene. 

We're told a witness -- the victim's friend -- was so pissed off, he went back to the scene of the crime a few days later and nosed around, asking people if they knew who was driving the red Bentley.  He struck gold at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles ... when a valet told the guy he knew the car well ... it belonged to Soulja Boy, who frequented the area.

The witness went to police with the info ... and that's when things got Orwellian.

Turns out, the cops have access to a super-database of photographs taken by thousands of hidden cameras stationed on police cars, buildings and private vehicles all over L.A..  There are private companies that make money off the City by getting citizens and businesses to mount cameras for the database.

One law enforcement source tells us the cameras are constantly taking photos of cars all over the city -- and the average car is shot AT LEAST 1,000 TIMES PER DAY!!!

So ... the cops got the license plate number of Soulja Boy's Bentley, ran it through the database and BINGO ... a bunch of photos popped up showing the Bentley with damage that corresponded to the accident.

Soulja's Bentley is currently damage-free.   Law enforcement sources tell us the operating theory is that the rapper had the car repaired on the sly to cover up incriminating evidence. 

So cops got a search warrant and a judge agreed there was probable cause to believe the Bentley was involved in the accident, so cops went and impounded the car.

You're probably as shocked as we are about the cameras ... cops tell us they solve hundreds of crimes with these secret photographs.  So even if you're a law abiding citizen, you probably still pick your nose, so heads up.

Cops would still like more evidence, so if you happened to be eating a delicious chicken and waffle combo on January 9, and witnessed the accident, give LAPD West Traffic a call.

Wade Robson is getting paid big money to destroy Michael Jackson's reputation with child abuse allegations ... so says MJ's dad Joe Jackson.

Joe was at the airport in L.A. Wednesday when we asked about Wade's claims against the MJ estate -- that the singer sexually abused him as a child for years -- but Joe doesn't buy Wade's story for a second ... and he's not placing the blame entirely on Wade's shoulders either.

Joe's got his own conspiracy theory about who's REALLY behind Wade's allegations ... and whoever it is has a massive wallet.

This is priceless -- Amanda Bynes was flat-out rejected from a private jet flight in Jersey this weekend ... after trying to use GOOGLE as a substitute for her government ID, sources tell TMZ.

Amanda is denying anything happened -- but sources at Teterboro Airport tell us, Bynes (wearing a velour jumpsuit and giant glasses) showed up at the private jet terminal on Sunday for a flight to L.A..

According to sources, the pilot was checking passenger IDs -- it's a really small terminal -- and Bynes revealed her driver's license had been suspended ... and she had no other form of government ID.

We're told the pilot informed Bynes she needed a form of government ID to fly -- per TSA regulations -- and she then ordered him to Google her as proof, screaming, "I'm Amanda Bynes!"

The pilot called someone from the jet company to see if they could get some kind of exemption for her, but the jet rep was adamant ... no ID, no flight ... and that was that.

The private jet company wouldn't comment for privacy reasons.

 

Big trouble on the set of VH1's "Love & Hip Hop, New York" ... TMZ has learned, the stars of the show are refusing to go to work ... and it's all because they think they're getting shafted in contract negotiations.

Sources close to the show tell us, all cast members were supposed to be present Tuesday in NYC to film a trailer for the upcoming season, but only half of the cast showed up. The other half stayed home in protest because negotiations for their new contracts had gone sour.

We're told the half that did show up then got upset ... believing they too were entitled to revised contracts ... and stormed off.

We're told most of the cast members want more money -- as much as double their last contract -- but there are other problems too ... some are pissed at how they were portrayed last season and they want more say in what footage gets aired.

We're told emergency meetings have since been called with the angry cast members ... and they're hoping to get what they want by the end of the week.

If they don't ... we're told the cast members plan to stick to their guns and continue their strike for as long as necessary. We reached out to VH1 for comment -- so far, no word back.

He might not be great in October, but Alex Rodriguez is CRUSHING IT in May ... 'cause the baseball star just sold his Miami Beach mansion for a $15 MILLION profit, TMZ has learned.

We know ... A-Rod has accepted a $30 million offer for his 19,861-square-foot Miami Beach estate ... the same property he purchased in 2010 for $7.4 mil.

After he bought the place, the NY Yankees star sunk an additional $7.6 million into building his dream home -- meaning his total investment was $15 mil.

The home is unreal -- an oceanfront palace with 9 bedrooms, 11 full bathrooms (plus 2 half bathrooms), a 4-car garage, state of the art security system with 16 cameras and a Zen garden.

Plus, it's on the same street as Matt Damon!

Rodriguez quietly put the place on the market in August 2012 and was asking for $38 mil -- but ultimately, he decided to settle for a measly $30,000,000. Bummer ...

So who bought the joint? Unclear at this point ... but sources tell us the buyer is a celebrity who lives in Palm Beach.

Stay tuned ...

Catherine Zeta-Jones is out of treatment ... and back in control.

For the first time since leaving a mental health facility where she underwent some healthy "maintenance" for her bipolar disorder, the Oscar winner was spotted out in public and driving in New York on Wednesday.

Just yesterday, Catherine's husband Michael Douglas talked to "Extra" about her health -- “She’s got herself worked out with her meds and she's raring to go!”

We broke the story, Catherine entered a treatment facility back in April. She had previously sought  treatment back in 2011.

Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant just bought himself a stairway to stalker-free heaven -- because the obsessed fan he accused of following him around the world has just been ordered to stay the hell away.

TMZ broke the story ... Plant obtained a temporary restraining order against 40-something-year-old Alysson Billings earlier this month, requiring her to stay 100 yards away from the singer at all times.

But today, a judge made the restraining order permanent, ordering Billings to stay even farther away -- 300 yards -- for the next three years.

Plant claims Billings has been harassing him for the last 3 years -- showing up at his concerts around the globe, sending him bizarre gifts and increasingly threatening messages.

He says the woman believed they were in a relationship ... even though they never met.

Now that's a whole lotta (unwanted) love.