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Jason David Frank was beloved for playing the hero on-screen -- but according to a friend, his true heroism happened in real life as he battled mental health issues for years.

Mike Bronzoulis, a prized MMA fighter and one of Jason's closest friends, tells TMZ ... since they became friends in 2010, Jason was always open with him about bouts of depression and mental health struggles -- though he kept it private from most people.

Mike says Jason had multiple family members die from suicide, and his mother also died a few years ago after battling cancer. These deaths took a heavy toll on him ... despite having tons of friends and getting love from thousands of fans, he often felt very lonely.

Jason kept a very busy schedule, but through all of it tried to find peace by motivating his fans ... whether it be meeting in person or posting videos on social media.

Mike says he last spoke to Jason roughly a week before his death. He even got a voicemail from Jason ... saying he needed to talk, and he was going through a lot. Mike didn't realize Jason left that voicemail until after he died.

As we reported, Jason died by suicide after getting into a heated argument with his wife in a Texas hotel.

Mike tells us he and Jason's other friends will always remember him as an incredibly giving person ... but one who also wrestled with inner demons.

Pete Davidson and Emily Ratajkowski have gone as public as you possibly can in Hollywood -- attending an NBA game together ... sitting courtside, no less.

The new couple -- who've been maintaining a relatively low profile lately -- blew the doors wide open Sunday by crashing the New York Knicks' showdown with the Grizzlies, snagging the best seats in the house ... and not trying to hide the fact they were a pair whatsoever.

While there didn't seem to be any obvious PDA between them ... Em and Pete were all smiles, and not shying away from cameras either. In fact, the Knicks' own Twitter account posted a photo of them cheesin' it up, and tagging EmRat too.

It's pretty funny ... their presence was actually acknowledged during the broadcast, although the TV guys didn't seem to know who Emily was, 'cause they skipped over in the namedrop.

They also didn't seem to know PD all that well either ... completely butchering his name.

They were sitting next to Ben Stiller and Jordin Sparks -- so there was a lot of star power in the house. But for Pete and Emily to pop is a big deal, seeing how they've seemingly been trying to lay low as they've hit the town in and around NYC.

They were spotted hanging 2 weeks ago in Brooklyn -- the first time they'd been seen on camera amid rumors they were linking up. Pete did something similar with Kim Kardashian ... trying to keep it on the DL for a while, then finally embracing the spotlight.

Seems like he's fast-tracking things this time around, though ... nothing says we're dating like a night out at MSG during primetime TV.

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A pilot and a passenger are hospitalized in serious condition Monday after an insane plane crash, but they're clearly counting their blessings.

The small plane hit an electrical tower Sunday afternoon in Montgomery County, Maryland and became lodged in the structure, 100 feet above the ground. It appears the pilot was on final approach to a nearby airport, although it's unclear if he simply misjudged the altitude or experienced a mechanical problem. Visibility was poor because of fog.

It took rescuers 7 hours to remove the pilot and passenger from the precariously mounted aircraft as they gingerly went about extricating them.

Both were rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries -- trauma and orthopedic injuries as well as hypothermia.

The crash knocked out power to 120,000 customers in the area.

In order to rescue the occupants, clamps were mounted on the cables to prevent static electricity from causing a catastrophe.

Blueface and Chrisean Rock aren't sweating his arrest for attempted murder ... 'cause they partied their faces off last weekend, just days after he was in handcuffs.

The rapper couple attended two different events in Phoenix on Friday and Saturday. The first was hosted by CR at a club called Monarch, where she brought out her BF ... the 2nd was helmed by Blueface himself at a joint called Tru Ultra Lounge.

TMZ obtained video of the latter -- and as you see, only good times are on their minds ... as Blueface and Chrisean raged, drank, danced and even performed.

Blueface got on the mic at one point, and Chrisean boogied down. They looked pretty tight throughout the night ... sneaking in kisses and cozying up. You'd never know he'd landed in some boiling hot water just days earlier.

As we reported ... Blueface was arrested Tuesday in Vegas for attempted murder, where undercover cops swarmed in, taking him into custody in dramatic fashion.

He bailed out the next day and is due back in court in January. BF doesn't seem concerned, and ditto Chrisean. She's been fully in his corner since the arrest.

As for the attempted murder allegation ... we've learned there was an altercation in October where Blueface is alleged to have fired a gun at a guy who was fleeing a strip club after a joke was taken the wrong way. Blueface is in the video, allegedly firing the shots. Cops say the alleged victim was grazed by a bullet.

If the Niners win the Super Bowl this year, they might need to give Mike Posner a ring -- 'cause the singer-turned-breathing-instructor tells TMZ Sports he gave the team lung lessons before the season ... and it was so effective, it brought some of the SF players to tears.

The "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" artist has been all about the impact of oxygen on the body over the past couple years ... working with famed motivational speaker Wim Hof to become a certified breathing trainer.

Posner got so good at the techniques, the 49ers invited him out to give them a lesson just before they kicked off their year ... and the 34-year-old said it was VERY impactful.

"That was the best session I've done, honestly," Posner told us out at LAX this week. "The guys are in tears at the end. Everyone is opening up. And it just opens up your heart."

Posner said things went so well with the NFC West squad, he felt like the team got on a "natural high."

"It almost feels like you took a drug," Posner said, "but it's just your own breath."

Clearly, the 49ers have been using Posner's techniques this year ... they've been one of the strongest teams in their conference, and look like a legit Super Bowl contender.

As for if Posner will try to repeat things with other sports teams -- he told us yes, explaining he just got done with a session for the Duke men's basketball team.

Instagram model Gena Tew, who disclosed she is HIV positive, is facing even more issues following eye surgery ... we're told she's gone completely blind in one eye.

You'll recall -- Gena underwent surgery in August, after losing her vision in her left eye following her HIV diagnosis. There was reason to hope the procedure would restore her vision.

Gena tells TMZ ... she's become completely blind in that eye for a second time -- all she can see is pitch-black darkness. We're told her vision was better for roughly 5 days after surgery, before it reverted.

She says doctors have prescribed new meds, but all the drugs have done is made her sick. Doctors are considering another surgery, but no decision has been made.

Gena's seen some improvement in other areas. She's been putting some weight back on recently, going from 90 lbs to 105 lbs. She's also regaining her ability to walk, with the help of a walker.

Reality television fan favorite Paula Pickard -- the sweet and innocent off-and-on girlfriend of Mike Sorrentino -- was just 21 years old when she made her first appearance on season 1 of MTV's "Jersey Shore" back in 2010.

Aside from accompanying 'Mike The Situation,' Paula joined the rest of the Jersey Shore legends including Nicole 'Snooki Polizzi, DJ Pauly D, Jennifer 'JWoww' Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Angelina Pivarnick and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.

Although she first appeared on season one of the hit show, Paula and 'The Sitch' did not become a 'situation' until season 6 in 2012.

Kim Petras is doubling down on her continued partnership with Dr. Luke -- this as his trial against Kesha is set to get started next year.

The singer got into a number of testy exchanges Sunday with a ton of Twitter users who were dogpiling her over a tweet she sent out that read, "get talented or good at anything then talk to me." One person responded, "stop defending dr luke first then."

Petras's since-deleted response ... "5000000 ppl work with him why y'all only coming at me. I have nothing to say or be ashsamedof at all. go away." She continued to fend off bird app users who were furious with her ... slamming her for what they perceived as her defending her longtime producer Dr. Luke, who's been accused of sexually assaulting Kesha.

Luke, of course, has vehemently denied Kesha's allegations time and again, and even sued her for defamation over her repeated claims -- a civil case that's finally going to court in July after years of litigation between the two of them. She first accused him back in 2014.

After a lot of back and forth with an army of Kesha supporters, Kim gave up the fight ... deleting most of her tweets from Sunday and suggesting she was sick of arguing.

Her point about other artists working with Luke is worth noting though -- while she does have an extensive professional relationship with him, she's far from the only one. Other big-name stars have collaborated with Dr. Luke ... even after Kesha went public with her claims.

Doja Cat is among some of the celebs who've teamed up with Luke, as has Saweetie, DaBaby, The Kid Laroi, Tyga, Lourdiz, and several others who have the guy listed as either a writer or co-writer on tracks of theirs.

Kim Kardashian has broken her silence on the Balenciaga scandal -- in which they featured children posing with BDSM-themed accessories.

The A-lister -- who's been tied to the fashion house for years now -- issued a statement Sunday in response to the ongoing backlash against both Balenciaga themselves, but also over the fact that she's remained silent thus far ... with fans calling on her to speak out.

Kim says, "I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been shocked and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened."

She adds, "As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society -- period."

Kim ends by saying, "I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again."

Now, she doesn't say what exactly Balenciaga told her to explain this way -- publicly, they've basically pleaded ignorance and blamed everything on the set designer and production co. heading the campaign ... going so far as to sue both parties for $25 million this weekend.

Folks were furious that little girls would be made to pose in suggestive positions, alongside teddy bears rocking dominatrix-inspired leather outfits and other BDSM toys. Not just that, but court docs referencing a famous child porn case were snuck into the background too.

The photographer who shot it said he had no control over the set pieces and was simply following orders -- and while Balenciaga has claimed to have had no knowledge of the items being staged the way they were, many have called BS ... especially since this went live.

Despite a ton of outrage from normies -- causing the ad to get yanked -- most high-profile celebrities have stayed tight-lipped on it all, including ones who have close relationships with Balenciaga ... with Kim being at the top of that list. Bella Hadid was also under fire.

Many thought this would cause stars to cut ties with Balenciaga en masse, but it doesn't sound like Kim's doing that.

Disney's newest animated movie -- which features an openly gay character -- got crushed at the box office ... and the LGBTQ crowd is worried this might've been the plan all along.

We're talking about "Strange World," which came out this weekend to abysmal ticket sale numbers -- raking in just $18.6 million over the 5-day weekend, starting Wednesday. That's well behind projections ... where 'SW' was supposed to be coming in between $30-$40 mil.

According to reports, the film is expected to end up in the red long term -- somewhere in the ballpark of at least $100 million, considering the $180M budget and marketing expenses.

It's that same marketing, however, that's got allies upset at the Mouse House ... they feel like there wasn't a peep about this flick pre-release, and that it's no wonder it tanked. In fact, some are going into conspiracy mode -- suggesting Disney was banking on a failure.

Here's the theory ... Disney could use the poor performance as rationale to not include LGBTQ characters going forward -- pointing to this new character, Ethan, as evidence to back the would-be decision. Out there, we know, but that's a legit convo taking place right now.

Of course, there's no evidence to support this ... at least not yet. Still, some are floating it anyway and think Disney was looking for an excuse for less representation on-screen.

Naturally, there's another side of this discussion -- the "Go Woke, Go Broke" faction, who've been thumping their chests about Disney's efforts to include more diversity in its characters of late ... which they think is the real reason for flops like this and 'Lightyear,' among others.

Terrell Owens knocked out a man outside a CVS in Los Angeles after the guy allegedly harassed people in the store ... and TMZ Sports has obtained video of the fight captured by a witness.

The incident went down Saturday night around 11:30 PM at the pharmacy in Inglewood, CA.

Owens tells us he intended to quickly stop by the store and grab a few necessities. While inside, T.O. says a 49ers fan approached him and they had a friendly conversation. That's when things took a turn.

Terrell says a second man -- the guy who was ultimately clocked -- started talking crap to the fan Owens was conversing with. The aggressor threatened to beat up the men outside, according to witnesses.

The group eventually made their way outside to the sidewalk in front of the store. Terrell was playing peacemaker, according to a witness.

Unfortunately, the heckler who allegedly started the confrontation just minutes earlier inside the store took an unprovoked swing at Owens.

A mistake ... and the fight was on.

After sizing up the man, the 48-year-old Hall of Famer landed a looping right punch square to the guy's chin, sending him to the pavement.

A few seconds later, the man returned to his feet ... seemingly a lot less willing to fight.

As a player, Terrell was one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. But, even as he approaches 50, he's still in absolutely awesome physical condition.

With the situation under control, Owens walked to his Tesla and drove away. It's unclear if the alleged heckler went inside for an ice pack and Advil.

Odell Beckham Jr.'s free agency is off to a rocky start -- the guy was yanked from an airplane this weekend in Florida ... this after cops say he was passing out before takeoff.

The famed wide receiver was escorted off a flight Sunday that was leaving the Miami airport for L.A. ... but it never got off the runway, because law enforcement's saying they had to step in when OBJ was allegedly freaking out the flight crew with his loopy state of mind.

Miami-Dade PD says they were called to respond to an American Airlines flight, where attendants were apparently trying to get Odell to buckle up before they hit the skies. However, according to cops, the crew claims he was in and out of consciousness.

American called first responders, as they were worried for his health ... but when the cavalry arrived, Odell is alleged to have refused to get off the plane -- which forced everyone else to deplane, before OBJ finally walked off on his own with uniformed officers in tow.

Odell was quiet as he made his way through the airport ... with onlookers recognizing him immediately. Cops say he did all this without further incident and was able to make other arrangements in the end. Nothing else came of it ... including arrests/citations and the like.

The dude's supposed to start making visits all over the country in the coming days to see which teams might wanna try swooping him for their roster.

Minka Kelly appears to have a new man in her life -- and when you see who it is ... it might just make you a believer in true love again.

The actress hit the town Saturday night in L.A. with none other than Dan Reynolds, the frontman of Imagine Dragons. The two of them rolled up together to dine at a  joint called Cafe Stella in the Silverlake neighborhood, with MK driving and DR riding shotgun.

There weren't any traditional signs of PDA between them ... aside from the gentle stroke of the hair that Dan delivered to Minka as they were parking to get out.

Eventually, they popped into the restaurant -- where we're told they hung out for upwards of several hours. In other words, it looks like a good old-fashioned date night ... and it's interesting that Minka's out here with Dan, who just recently became single himself.

The singer split up with his wife of 10+ years, Aja Volkman, this past September -- so it seems he's already moving on to greener pastures. Minka, for her part, was recently linked to Trevor Noah for about 2 years, and before that ... "Grey's Anatomy" star Jesse Williams.

Sean Taylor was honored by his old NFL team with a life-size memorial in his honor at their stadium -- but the big reveal left fans less than impressed ... and actually pretty pissed.

The Washington Commanders unveiled their Sean Taylor tribute Sunday at FedEx Field ... showing off a wire mannequin that was wearing ST's former number and vintage Washington uniform, from when he played with them back in the 2000s before he was tragically killed.

While it might look somewhat cool at first glance ... the more folks took it in, the more angry they became -- because many felt this was a shoddy commemoration of the late free safety, especially when you consider the attention to detail ... or lack thereof.

For starters, the gear's all mismatched -- a Nike jersey, Reebok pants and Adidas cleats (soccer cleats?). The fact the org couldn't even get all the same branding together here speaks volumes in the minds of football fans who were very much looking forward to this.

If you watch the video of the moment the drape was pulled off ... you can actually see Sean's family looking on toward the right side, and in our eyes -- they seem underwhelmed.

There's also the material that the mannequin itself is made of ... hollow wire, which a lot of folks also see as big time disrespect. Plus, there's not even face mask tape on the helmet, which was Sean's signature look. Frankly, many are saying this looks thrown together.

Donald Trump is slamming Kanye West -- calling him "seriously troubled" ... for showing up with "white nationalist" Nick Fuentes to their supposed one-on-one meeting.

The 45th President posted a fiery message to his Truth Social platform Saturday night ... saying Ye crossed the line by bringing Fuentes and others to Mar-a-Lago for the dinner.

DT said ... "So I help a seriously troubled man, who just happens to be black, Ye (Kanye West), who has been decimated in his business and virtually everything else, and who has always been good to me, by allowing his request for a meeting at Mar-a-Lago, alone, so that I can give him very much needed "advice."

Trump went on ... "He shows up with 3 people, two of which I didn’t know, the other a political person who I haven’t seen in years. I told him don’t run for office, a total waste of time, can’t win. Fake News went CRAZY!"

As we reported ... Ye and Fuentes were filmed walking together Tuesday at Miami International Airport. Kanye also tweeted he was going to meet with DT ... "First time at Mar-a-Lago. Rain and traffic. Can't believe I kept President Trump waiting. And I had on jeans. Yikes. What you guys think his response was when I asked him to be my running mate in 2024?"

Then, on Thursday, Kanye released a video announcing his 2024 candidacy and mentioning his get-together with Trump and Fuentes. The rapper also claimed Trump made degrading remarks about Kim Kardashian.

As a result, Trump issued an initial statement... "Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago. Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about." But, DT curiously left out how Fuentes was able to pass through Mar-a-Lago security.