Taylor Swift's loyal fans have been on the attack ever since their idol pointed the finger at Scooter Braun and co. ... but now, they've ramped things up by sending death threats.

Sources tell TMZ that Swifties of all ages have been threatening to kill Scooter and other Big Machine staffers -- including big wig Scott Borchetta -- since T-Swift claimed they were holding her back from performing old hits at the upcoming AMAs.

We're told death threats have been sent across multiple mediums -- over social media, over text and through emails.

Our sources say Scooter's wife and young children have been mentioned as targets. Even Scooter's Ithaca Holdings office in Nashville had to be shut down last week because of some of the more intense threats ... and cops have been notified.

BTW, our sources tell us these aren't just loud-mouthed kids coming at the Big Machine crew -- adults are also chiming in and making threats on their lives ... clearly it's serious.

SHOOT THE J ... SHOOT IT!!!!

Dave Chappelle worked on his jumper at Lakers practice on Monday -- and if that's not the most L.A. sentence of the day, we don't know what is.

Chappelle linked up with the whole squad at the team facility and even posed for pics with LeBron James, who was wearing some REALLY short shorts (are Dave's arms bigger than Bron's BTW?)

But, when the team took the court, Chappelle went with 'em and even got pointers from Lakers guard Quinn Cook to improve his stepback game, according to Lakers reporter Dave McMenamin.

Of course, ya can't watch Dave hoop without thinking about that legendary "Chapelle's Show" skit with Charlie Murphy ... you know the one, THE PRINCE BASKETBALL GAME!

Chappelle kept his street clothes on this time around ... and while we wasn't exactly hitting all his shots, he's no Chance The Rapper either.

No word on why Dave was at practice ... but the team HOOKED HIM UP with his own custom Lakers jersey!! Wonder if they brought pancakes too?!

The 2 men who sued Michael Jackson's estate and were the subject of the gut-wrenching "Leaving Neverland" documentary ... are set to get their day in court to press their sexual abuse claims against the singer's estate.

As you may know ... Wade Robson and James Safechuck sued MJ for sexual abuse, but their lawsuits were dismissed in 2017 -- partly due to the statute of limitations. Both men appealed their rulings and the cases have been stuck in appellate court ... until now.

We've learned the California Court of Appeal just issued a tentative ruling which would overturn the dismissals, on grounds a new California law extended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. That means Robson and Safechuck can have their cases heard before a jury.

It's not a done deal. As we said, the ruling is tentative. Oral arguments are set for this week, and the justices could change their minds, but typically the tentative ruling stands.

Now the MJ Estate has a number of other objections to claims, which will be addressed by the trial judge.

Wade and James' story aired on HBO in January, and their molestation claims sparked a movement to mute Michael Jackson and further tarnished his legacy. Jackson's family called "Leaving Neverland" an unfair "public lynching."

We reached out to reps from the MJ Estate and reps for the alleged victims. They all had no comment.

A giraffe at the Cincinnati Zoo has died after what appears to be a bad reaction to a recent surgery done on its hooves ... which was supposed to mitigate a major health issue.

The zoo says that the male giraffe, named Kimba, passed away Sunday after it had collapsed to the ground early that morning in the zoo's giraffe barn -- where the staff had been monitoring a pregnant female giraffe who's supposed to go into labor any day now.

It's unclear how exactly the giraffe ended up dying -- the Cincinnati Zoo says they're awaiting the results of a necropsy to learn more about what exactly happened -- but they note that Kimba had been dealing with complications from a surgery he had done on his hooves last week. The photo above shows Kimba getting that work done by a team of specialists.

The surgery was meant to help Kimba fight off chronic lameness in his legs -- something the zoo says he'd been experiencing since last summer ... which was causing mobility issues.

The surgery was basically a hoof trim, and based on what the doc told them ... it was supposed to make him "sound" again -- but unfortunately, it sounds like it didn't take. Kimba was 12 years old, and had sired 6 calves, including a 7th on the way now.

Of course, this is the same place where Harambe the gorilla was shot and killed a few years ago after a child fell into his cage and got dragged around by the animal.

Sad news all around.

Graphic novel icon Frank Miller claims his ex-wife's being super sketchy by hiding and secretly selling some of his famous drawings ... this according to a new lawsuit.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Frank claims Lynn Varley's illegally holding onto a slew of sketches he drew as references for the final illustrations for his comics and graphic novels.

What's more, Frank claims Varley's already sold some of his sketches through her art dealer --- offering them for sale to "under the table" to collectors. Literally, under the table.

In docs, he claims one of Varley's reps kept Miller's sketches in a binder under a table at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego. Miller claims when a potential buyer would ask about the sketches, the rep would pull out a separate binder from under the vendor's table.

Frank claims Varley got some of his work as part of their divorce settlement, but also insists HE is the rightful owner of others she's been secretly selling. He's suing for her to turn over the sketches and wants a full accounting of what she's already hocked and for how much.

Miller, of course, is the famed comic book writer and artist behind "Sin City," "The Dark Knight Returns" and "300."

Kim Petras has no clue who is responsible for placing those bombshell billboards right under the nose of a homophobic church ... but she loves sticking it to Westboro Baptist!!!

The transgender singer spoke to us Monday on "TMZ Live" after her mug started popping up on electronic billboards right down the street from the hatemongers' HQ in Topeka, Kansas ... and Kim says she's tickled by the fact folks at Westboro Baptist have to see her every day.

While Kim is coy about who is ultimately behind the placement of ads purposefully directed at the infamously anti-LGBTQ church -- she has a few ideas -- the up-and-coming singer takes a stab at the campaign's endgame and tells us why the move fits her brand.

Bella Hadid raised eyebrows after deleting a post on which Selena Gomez had made an innocent enough comment -- but we've learned fans/social media blew this one way out of proportion. Shocker.

Sources connected to the supermodel tell TMZ ... Bella actually went out of her way to reach out to Selena this weekend to squash any potential beef. We say potential, because the Internet (yes, EVERYONE on the web) thought Bella had shaded the singer. 'Memba ... they're both exes of The Weeknd.

You see, what had happened was ... Bella posted this pic of herself, and Selena commented, "Stunning." Harmless, right? Well, Bella later deleted that post, but fans screen grabbed, reposted and insinuated Bella first ignored Selena (by not following her back) ... and then deleted the post out of spite.

Selena caught wind of this and commented on the fan page that reposted ... "That sucks," adding a sad face emoji for good measure.

We'll cut to the chase here -- the drama's over. Our sources say the former friends-turned-foes had a chat after the big deletion. We're told Bella told Selena it was never about taking a shot, the model simply deleted because she didn't like the pic.

She also said there are no hard feelings over The Weeknd. Selena briefly dated him in between his multiple rounds of dating Bella ... once upon a time.

The reason people were even looking into this social media activity might have to do with the fact both ladies unfollowed each other in 2017 when that Abel drama was in full swing.

Since then, Selena followed Bella again ... but as of Monday, it doesn't look like Bella has returned the favor. Not that we're trying to stir anything up.

A 26-year-old female amateur MMA fighter died Sunday morning ... just one day after collapsing in the ring following a brutal loss at an event in England.

The Hampshire Police Dept. confirmed they were called to Southampton General Hospital around 1 AM on Sunday to respond to a woman who suffered a life-threatening brain injury.

The woman, Saeideh Aletaha, had competed at the Fast & Furious Fight series event at Central Hall in Southampton, England on Saturday ... and reportedly collapsed in the ring.

According to local reports, an ambulance was called to the venue around 9 PM and Aletaha was rushed to the hospital in "a serious and life-threatening condition."

Cops say Aletaha died at the hospital Sunday morning -- and they're now investigating her death.

Organizers behind the F&FFS event posted a statement early Monday morning essentially saying Aletaha knew what she signed up for ...

"All competitors get in [the ring] prepared that they may be injured and this is something not expected to happen 99.9% of the time."

FFS organizers say they had a full medical team on-site -- with doctors, paramedics and an ambulance -- along with an "experienced team of staff with numerous first aiders."

Exile Gym, where Aletaha trained, posted a tribute to the fighter ... saying, "Saeideh Aletaha was a lovely character with a beautiful soul. Her dedication to the sport was 110% travelling miles every day just to train."

"She found her place with us just a few months ago but has become apart of the family and will be sorely missed."

Taylor Swift can perform "Shake It Off" and any of her other early hits at the AMAs this Sunday ... because she's gotten the all-clear from both Big Machine and Dick Clark Productions.

DCP and BM say, "The Big Machine Label Group and Dick Clark Productions announce that they have come to terms on a licensing agreement that approves their artists' performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms."

They go on to say ... "This includes the upcoming American Music Awards performances. It should be noted that recording artists do not need label approval for live performances on television or any other live media."

As we reported, Taylor said she was being blocked by Big Machine -- the label she signed with when she started out and recorded her first 6 albums -- from performing her early hits.  It was always clear she could perform these songs in a live broadcast, but the issue was what happens to the AMA show after it airs on TV. Now, DCP and BM have made it clear ... the subsequent re-broadcasts are within the scope of a live performance.

Taylor has not yet responded.

Officials are on the hunt for multiple suspects who entered a backyard NFL watch party in Fresno, CA and opened fire -- killing 4 people and injuring 6 more.

Around 35 people were at a home Sunday evening to watch the L.A. Rams vs. Chicago Bears game -- it's being described as a "friends and family gathering."

But, around 6 PM PT, "unknown suspects" snuck into the party and opened fire -- striking multiple people.

Cops say 3 people died at the scene and a 4th died at the hospital. 5 people are still hospitalized in critical condition but expected to survive and a 6th person suffered minor injuries.

Fresno Police Lt. Bill Dooley told the media ... "Everyone was watching football this evening when unknown suspects approached the residence, snuck into the backyard and opened fire."

Cops say it does not appear the victims knew the shooters -- and officials do NOT believe it was gang-related at this point, but they have not ruled it out.

No one has been arrested and cops have not identified a suspect.

Kanye West is going back for an extra helping of ranch -- he just scored another massive property in Wyoming!!!

Kanye plunked down a huge chunk of change -- $14,495,000 -- for an estate called Bighorn Mountain Ranch ... a sprawling property outside Cody, WY, known for its beautiful hikes and climbs.

The ranch has mountains, rolling hills, canyons and bluffs filled with wildlife -- as well as some of the best trout fishing in the state, thanks to the creeks running through the 6,713-acre property.

BMR has been around since 1906, but it's pretty modern now with 2 heated helicopter pads. There are also several log cabins and lodges with walk-in saunas and sweeping views of the surrounding mountain ranges.

If you're looking for world-class elk hunting, hit up Ye ... his new pad has that along with deer, antelope, pheasants and turkey. Sounds like he's gonna love roaming around the property on his ATVs.

It's Kanye's second massive, $14 million ranch in the Cowboy State. As we first told you, back in September he scooped up Monster Lake Ranch. Now, he's planning to build a huge amphitheater on that land.

Dax Hayden and Bill Vacek of Hayden Outdoors Real Estate had the listing.

Halsey's stirring the pregnancy pot with a hand gesture that could mean there's a bun in the oven ... or a bad meal just wasn't sitting right.

The singer was out Sunday with her boyfriend, Evan Peters, in Santa Monica -- where they both went in for a drawn-out rub of Halsey's belly, and they both seemed pretty happy about it. Toss in the fact she was wearing a baggy jumpsuit ... and ya get the rumor mill in full swing.

The couple went on to hit the beach, going into full-blown make-out sessions a few different times. They certainly look smitten after just a month or so of dating -- Halsey and Evan went public just this past October.

Prior to hooking up, Halsey was reportedly dating singer Yungblud as recently as this summer -- and before that, she was linked to Machine Gun Kelly and, of course, G-Eazy.

Evan was engaged to actress Emma Roberts for 3 years until breaking things off just a few months ago. He's mostly known as a regular on "American Horror Story," but he's been in a ton of stuff over the years ... including roles in the most recent 'X-Men' movies.

The team that drinks super expensive, rare cognac together ... wins titles together??

Los Angeles Lakers hope so, 'cause LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo sipped on the $3,000 a bottle Louis XIII at a fancy L.A. hotel this weekend.

The All-Star studded private dinner went down Saturday night at Mr. C Beverly Hills ... and it was all to celebrate AD gracing the cover of Haute Living magazine.

H.L. and XO hosted the event and invited all AD's superstar teammates ... and his agent, Rich Paul.

There was (very, very expensive) booze ... but there wasn't any crazy turn up this time.

We're told the Lakers stars sipped on Louis XIII ... but all left before 10 PM 'cause they had a game Sunday night against the Hawks.

The Lakers -- 11-2 for the season and in 1st place -- won the game easily, 122-101.

Eddie Van Halen is back home, hanging out with his son after suffering through a few rough days in a hospital with what we're told were complications from his cancer treatment.

Sources close to the legendary guitarist tell TMZ ... he was admitted to the hospital last week with intestinal issues and abdominal pain. We're told both were the result of a bad reaction to the drugs Eddie is taking to battle throat cancer.

He was released Sunday and we're told he's doing fine now.

We broke the story ... the rocker has been flying between the U.S. and Germany for 5 years to get radiation treatment. Eddie believes he developed the cancer from a metal guitar pick he used more than 20 years ago -- he would hold the pick in his mouth and has been told it could be the source of the cancer.

When he got home from the hospital ... we're told Eddie and his son, Wolfgang, hung out and rehearsed music. If ya don't know, Wolfgang became Van Halen's bassist in 2006.

Rock on, guys!