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Britney Spears is feeling nostalgic about family, including her dad Jamie Spears, and it's the latest sign she's warming to the idea of a father/daughter reconciliation.

The singer posted a slew of throwback family snaps Tuesday -- most showing her carrying her now-teenage sons when they were much younger, but one also shows Jamie next to Brit ... holding his grandson's lunchbox and a juice box.

Britney didn't caption the photos, but as we told you, she's opening the door to the possibility of reaching out to her father -- so, the pic could be seen as her extending an olive branch to Jamie.

TMZ broke the story ... doctors had to amputate one of Jamie's legs after 5 unsuccessful surgeries to combat a massive infection. In addition to his ailing health, Jamie's had to cope with the barrage of criticism over his handling of Britney's conservatorship -- with the singer publicly blasting him on social media herself.

However, we were told the star softened towards him recently ... even missing him sometimes and considered sending him money to help him out.

We're told Jamie's totally open to reconnecting with his daughter, and would love nothing more than to be on good terms again with Brit.

As you know, she's also been getting along with mom Lynne, who flew out for Britney's 42nd birthday bash over the weekend and she's also communicating with sister Jamie Lynn.

Brandi Mallory died from complications due to obesity -- this according to her official autopsy report.

TMZ obtained the document from the Fulton County Medical Examiner, citing the "Extreme Weight Loss" star's weight, an enlarged heart, and some elevated blood indicators suggestive of prediabetes all as factors in her overall health.

The paperwork says there was no sign of a recent injury and there was no reason to suspect foul play either. The report does note there were trace amounts of marijuana and alcohol in her system ... but the coroner says neither played a role in her death.

Here's how they put it in the autopsy ... "It is my opinion that Brandi E. Mallory died of complications of obesity was considered a significant condition contributing to the death." It also lists her death as natural when it comes to the manner.

TMZ broke the story ... Mallory was found dead in an Atlanta strip mall parking lot after being seen entering her car the night before. A concerned bystander called 911 and said he suspected there was a body in the car, as he noticed it hadn't moved for a long time.

Mallory competed on Season 4 of the ABC series back in 2014, and had been involved with the program as recently as 2018.

She was only 40.

Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are going strong -- and, apparently, their respective exes are too ... as they're now reportedly dating.

Page Six cites sources claiming Marilee Fiebig and Andrew Shue are seeing each other romantically, and have been for about 6 months now. The outlet says the pair bonded over their divorces from the 2 former 'GMA3' co-anchors, who are still together.

According to the report, they initially had the divorces and the scandal as the common denominator, but now their relationship has transcended all that messiness and both have moved on from their broadcasting exes.

It's interesting ... the report goes on to dish more alleged deets about how and whether they viewed it all as cheating.

Marilee and Andrew also reportedly found out about Amy and T.J.'s romantic relationship in the summer of 2022 -- although, the public didn't learn about it until November of that year.

Of course, when ABC caught wind of it, it eventually cost them their jobs. Both T.J. and Amy have denied it was an "affair," insisting their marriages were over before they got involved. From the sound of this new story, though, their exes seem to think that's BS.

T.J. and Amy started separate divorce proceedings last December, as their relationship started to go public.

Jessey Lee's ex-wife claims he's abused her and their kids, and now she's trying to get court ordered protection, but Jessey's denying it ... and claims she's lost all parental rights.

Crystal Hoang Lee -- who was once married to Jessey and has 2 children with him -- ran to court in L.A. this week to file for a temporary restraining order ... and her docs, obtained by TMZ, include shocking allegations of violence.

In the TRO request, Crystal claims Jessey's most recent date of alleged abuse against her was on Nov. 25 of this year ... and she claims he hit one of their children when they wouldn't go to sleep. She also alleges he caused her to have a miscarriage, but the docs don't include any further detail.

If you read through the docs ... she lists several other allegations of abuse from previous years -- ranging from hitting the kids, to hitting her, leaving the family to go gamble, uprooting the children and placing them in different schools.

Still, it appears the court wants to hear more details -- for now, a judge has denied Crystal's request for the TRO, and scheduled a hearing in 2 weeks, when she'll have a chance to lay out all her alleged details.

Jesse's rep tells us, "Mr. Lee has no knowledge of this restraining order. He actually was granted a restraining order against Ms. Hoang on Nov 21st. He has been awarded full exclusive custody of the children and they currently live with him. Ms. Hoang has no access or parental rights. There is absolutely no truth to any of these allegations."

Jeffrey Dahmer's father, Lionel Dahmer -- whose relationship with his son was dissected in a recent Netflix series -- has died ... this according to a new report.

Lionel passed away Tuesday while in hospice care in Medina County, Ohio ... according to The Sun, which broke the news. The exact circumstances of his death are unknown.

The guy is obviously famous for his relation to the notorious serial killer ... who murdered, dismembered and cannibalized upwards of 17 men between 1978 and 1991.

Once Dahmer's crimes came to light ... Lionel was one of the only people who defended him, and did countless interviews trying to explain and justify why his son had done what he did. Lionel chalked up Jeffery's murders to his troubled upbringing and mental illness.

He even appeared alongside Jeffrey for one MSNBC interview when the killer was already behind bars. Lionel said he still loved his son regardless and would stick by him.

Of course, Jeffery was murdered in prison in 1994 ... something Lionel decried and resented.

Lionel and his son's relationship was portrayed in great detail in the 2022 Netflix limited series, "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" ... which had Evan Peters playing Jeffrey and Richard Jenkins playing Lionel.

The show certainly depicted Lionel as caring for his kid ... but also, somewhat absent from his life -- and at several different points, the character brushed aside Jeffery's attempts to tell his dad about his misdeeds.

Sofia Vergara just got some court-ordered protection for herself and her son from a man she claims has been relentlessly stalking ... despite the fact he was recently released from jail and on parole for committing the same crime in the past.

In legal docs obtained by TMZ, Sofia claims a man named Gregory Brown is a "mentally unstable stalker" with "a delusional belief he personally knows her and has a relationship with her and her family," including her 32-year-old son Manolo.

Vergara says his "aggressive and harassing conduct" has left her in fear for her safety and caused her anxiety and emotional distress.

She says, despite being jailed for trespassing and vandalism at her property earlier this year, Brown remains undeterred in his relentless pursuit of her.

Vergara claims Brown has made multiple efforts to gain access to her and her son ... including allegedly obtaining unauthorized access into the gated community by hiking from the hills in July 2023.

Most recently, in November, she says Brown mailed her a disturbing letter, writing, "he'll be seeing and hearing her very soon, my love," and signing off as "Gangsta."

Joshua Jackson and Lupita Nyong'o clearly don't want anyone to know they're spending a whole lotta time together -- going to great lengths to avoid being snapped together during a joint grocery run.

The Oscar winner made a valiant attempt -- albeit unsuccessfully -- to duck out of view when arriving with the "Dawson's Creek" star to Erewhon in L.A. Monday. Lupita ducked in the passenger's seat, but was still spotted.

Despite their foiled plan, Joshua continued to maintain the illusion of a solo outing as he headed into the store first ... with Lupita following suit minutes later.

While the pair have yet to confirm their relationship, their shenanigans suggest their relationship is beyond friendship.

Joshua and Lupita have known each other for years ... with their connection seemingly heating up in October at Janelle Monáe's concert.

While there was no PDA at the show, the outing raised eyebrows ... especially considering Lupita called it quits with her BF, Sal Masekela, the same day ... and swiftly deleted all traces of him from her IG.

Susan Sarandon's antisemitic rant has now cost her a role in a project -- just the latest hit to her career after she bashed Jews.

The actress has been dropped from a short film she was set to star in called "Slipping Away" -- this according to the co-founder of the production company that was putting it together.

David Barroso of PTO Films tells Page Six ... "As a company, PTO Films would like to make it clear that Susan Sarandon’s views do not reflect the opinions of our organization. We were considering her for a short film, but due to her recent statements, we have decided to pursue other options."

"Slipping Away" had been listed as an upcoming title on Sarandon's IMDb page, but it's gone now. There are 4 other future productions she's attached to -- three of them are in post-production and one is still in pre-production. Unclear if her roles in those are affected yet.

Remember ... Sarandon caught heat for speaking up at a pro-Palestine rally in NYC recently, but what she said specifically ended up costing her. The antisemitic comment in question was ... "There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country."

George Santos is saying a big "f*** you" to everyone at HBO ... vowing to go after the channel/streaming platform for developing a new movie about his controversial political career.

The recently-booted congressman sounded off to TMZ after HBO optioned the rights to Mark Chiusano's new book "The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos" ... blasting it as defamatory and misappropriating his name and likeness.

Santos says he has zero involvement in the "fictitious story" the movie plans to sell to the American people ... and is vexed about the filmmakers and book's author not speaking to him or getting authorization to write about him.

However, he says he's not concerned about how he'll be represented in the doc ... because he's working on a project that best fits his narrative. As for HBO, Santos vented, "F*** them and their chicken s*** deal with no inside information or reality of facts."

We're not sure how he'll navigate any potential comeback trail following his expulsion from Congress last week ... but ya gotta applaud the hustle.

The decision came following a controversial time in office, which included multiple felony charges.

For now, he's been busy advising his fans to "let the haters hate" on Cameo for $200 a vid.

BTW, we talked to the guy whose book this HBO film is based on ... and he tells us he tried his best to get GS to get involved in the story, to no avail though.

Someone must've had beans before the Tampa Bay Lightning's shutout win over the Dallas Stars on Monday ... 'cause star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy's postgame interview was interrupted by a big fart!!

The hilarious sequence was captured on video ... when the 29-year-old Russian athlete was asked in the locker room about bouncing back from an 8-1 loss to the same team just two days prior.

Vasilevskiy started to give his earnest response to the inquiry ... but as he paused to collect his thoughts, one of his teammates (we're assuming) squeaked out a toot.

Naturally, Vasilevskiy couldn't help but giggle over the whole thing ... and all the reporters joined in on the laugh.

"Uhh ... what was the question??" Vasilevskiy said with a smirk before trying to get back on track.

Eventually, the keeper returned to the topic at hand ... breaking down his stellar night with 25 saves on 25 shots on goal.

It hasn't been too stinky of a season for the Lightning -- they're currently 11-10-5 on the campaign.

1:35 PM PT -- Grace Jabbari also shared a recording allegedly of Jonathan Majors blowing up at her during another incident when she came home tipsy after going out with friends.

In the recording, jurors heard Majors yelling at Jabbari, telling her she needed to be more like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama -- and that she had moved away from "the plan." In the recording, Majors exclaimed, "I'm a great man. A great man! There needs to be a great woman who makes sacrifices."

Jonathan Majors once lost his cool when his accuser Grace Jabbari mentioned her ex-boyfriend's dog -- at least according to her testimony in Majors' assault trial.

Jabbari -- who flew in from London to take the stand in an NYC courtroom -- spoke to the jury under oath Tuesday, and described how she first met him, how they got involved, and at what point he allegedly started to show aggression around her.

Remember, prosecutors told jurors Monday during opening statements that what allegedly happened between them in March was actually just the boiling point of what they claim had become a controlling and abusive relationship ... something Jabbari testified to on the stand.

Jabbari said she met Majors on the set of 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' -- where she was hired as a movement coach -- and explained that their relationship got serious quickly. However, at one point in December 2021 ... she testified she saw the first flashes of anger from him when she claims he flipped his lid after she brought up her ex's pooch.

Jabbari says she was actually meeting Majors' own dogs at the time, and he was giving her instructions on how to behave around them -- to which she replied that she was already familiar with dogs on account of her ex-boyfriend, who had one. That's when she alleges JM lost his cool and started to raise his voice at her ... apparently angry she'd brought it up.

In court, she's quoted as saying ... "How dare I mention him" and "It's embarrassing to him that I dated him. His dog is pathetic. That kind of stuff." She also said this was the first time she ever became afraid of him ... and she testified things only got worse from there.

Jabbari went on to describe other alleged instances where Majors lost his temper -- testifying he once threw a candle in her direction and dented her wall ... and that he allegedly once knocked her headphones off her head, among other alleged moments of berating.

She also stopped and cried a lot during her testimony. At this point, it doesn't sound like she's gotten around to describing the alleged assault in question -- although prosecutors already alluded to it Monday, when they alleged he threw her around like a rag doll in the car after she saw a text from what she thought was a woman ... something he's denied.

Meagan Good was back in court looking on as Majors sat at the defendant's table during Jabbari's testimony. He reportedly did not look at Jabbari while she was on the stand.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann are falling deeper into the debt hole -- she just got hit with a new credit card lawsuit ... meanwhile, a different judge just ordered him to pay 5 figures.

The embattled couple had some new legal docs come their way Tuesday -- in Kim's case, she's now being sued by Chase Bank over a balance they claim is way past due ... they're suing her for $4,624.02

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Chase attached a bunch of statements from her account to demonstrate she's been behind on payments dating back to Nov. 2022.

The balance, they allege, has only ballooned ... and now, they say they want their dough. Remember, Kroy also got sued by Chase Bank over another credit card account he had with them ... and in that instance, they alleged he owed quite a bit more -- about $13,000.

Speaking of KB, he got hit with a judgment in a completely separate case -- although, it pertains to the same sort of allegations. Discover is suing him over a balance it says he owed, which had grown to $11,275.45 ... and was past due.

Per new legal docs, Kroy never officially filed a response in that suit -- and now, a judge has signed off on a default judgment saying he's gotta fork over that full amount ... plus $111 of court costs.

As we've reported ... Kim and Kroy have been facing a lot of these types of lawsuits lately -- and it's all part of the mosaic of their financial woes ... which go well beyond the credit cards.

Britney Spears' dad, Jamie Spears, had his leg amputated a month ago, TMZ has learned, and we're told there is hope for a father/daughter reconciliation.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Jamie had a massive infection in one of his legs that landed him in a hospital for weeks. He had 5 unsuccessful surgeries to contain the infection, and doctors decided the only way to proceed was amputation.

Jamie is not doing well. He's had other ailments and has been downcast amid the torrent of criticism over his handling of the conservatorship ... something he thinks is terribly unfair. Remember, Jamie is the one who moved from Louisiana to care for his daughter back in 2007. Lots of people who were involved back then say Jamie may have saved Britney's life.

Now here's the interesting twist. Our sources say Britney has softened toward her dad recently. There have been times when she's said she misses her dad, and once even talked about sending him money to help him out.

As for Jamie, our sources say there's nothing he'd rather have than a reconciliation with his daughter, and harbors no ill will.

As we reported, Britney's been trying to mend family fences as of late. She invited her mom Lynne to L.A. over the weekend for her 42nd birthday party, and we're told they got along great. They have been talking on the phone for weeks and are forging a new relationship.

Britney also invited Jamie Lynn to the party, although she was out of town and couldn't attend. BTW, we know Britney is communicating with her sister. Her brother Bryan did join in the fun over the weekend.

Our sources say Britney misses her family and now that she's told her truth in her memoir, she wants to reconnect. Jamie would be the last piece of that puzzle.

What's interesting ... whether reestablishing a relationship with her dad would have an impact on the legal action in play over allegations over the conservatorship.

Tragedy has again struck the bodybuilding world ... former Mr. Universe, Shaun 'Dinosaur' Davis, has passed away at the age of 57.

The cause of death is unknown at this time.

Davis's friend, Kuldeep Bhardwaj, confirmed the reports of Davis' death on Facebook, sharing a photo of the British bodybuilder.

"I’m absolutely devastated," Bhardwaj said in the FB post.

"Rest in Peace my friend you was a true inspiration right from the day I met you at school, through your amazing bodybuilding years and after. Your smile and laughter will be missed."

Davis, a massive man at 334 lbs., had a great career, winning several competitions including the prestigious Mr. Universe title in 1996.

He also won Mr. UK, Mr. Europe, Mr. Pro Universe and Mr. Britain, among others.

Davis was forced to retire after battling kidney issues ... and even received a transplant in 2009 after three years of dialysis.

Tributes from fans are flooding social media, with fans sharing stories about the larger-than-life man who someone described as a "wonderful, inspirational person."

Sadly, several bodybuilders have passed away this year including pioneer Lisa Lyon, Neil Currey, Gustavo 'The Freakin Rican' Badell, and Bill Graham.

Amy Robach thought her boyfriend, T.J. Holmes, had taken his own life as their tumultuous final months at ABC came to a close -- a harrowing story she just shared on their podcast.

The former 'GMA' anchors-turned-lovers got into this ugly chapter on their just-launched media venture -- and it's mostly Amy recounting how scared she was in 2022 when she briefly thought T.J. had killed himself ... this as they were on their way out at the network.

Amy says T.J. started sending her alarming texts in the past tense, where he said she *was* the love of his life, etc. -- and it spurred her to rush over, with her father in tow, to check on him.

Amy says they accessed T.J.'s apartment with the help of his doorman ... and they found him sprawled out on his bed, where Amy believed he might already be dead. She gets pretty emotional telling this part, as it's clear it was a scary moment for both of them.

Eventually, it became clear he was still alive, but was in an unconscious state ... and they were able to wake him up.

T.J. says he doesn't remember much of that, but does explain he'd gotten off work that day and started pounding vodka and weed edibles -- which landed him in that condition.

Elsewhere on their first pod episode, Amy described the tough time they endured after being ousted from their TV jobs, calling it the "year from hell." She even said she "wanted to die" during parts of the scandal -- but clearly, they're back and ready to work on their new project.

They've told their 'GMA' story ... so we'll see what else they discuss on the podcast. Definitely an engaging, and sorta creepy, start though.