Aaron Hernandez killed himself largely because he was suffering from CTE -- and NOT because he was agonizing over his sexuality ... so says his famous attorney.

Jose Baez -- who repped Aaron and helped him beat a double murder case -- tells TMZ ... the new documentary about his client implies Aaron was in the closet, and might have even taken his life because of that alleged secret.

That's just not the case, though, according to Baez ... who says Aaron's death was triggered by advanced CTE -- a brain disease the tight end had developed since his youth. Baez insists Aaron's sexual orientation played ZERO part in his fate.

You'll recall ... Baez was intent on getting Aaron's brain studied at Boston University, and even accused the Worcester Medical Examiner of holding onto it illegally. He also downplayed rumors his client had a love affair with a fellow inmate.

U.S. Senator Susan Collins knows tough times are coming for her, the country, and possibly President Trump ... which is why today she's finding some solace at the MLK Memorial.

We got the 4-term senator from Maine on her way there Monday in Washington D.C., and it's clear she thinks every senator should do the same ahead of the Senate trial for Trump's impeachment ... which is set to kick off Tuesday.

Collins says she wishes every senator would visit MLK's Memorial before performing their constitutional duty. She says she hopes her visit brings her strength and she's gonna need it.

The senator is in a unique position as one of just a handful of moderate Republicans. In fact, nearly 21 years ago, she broke party lines and voted to acquit President Bill Clinton.

Some Republicans are still furious with her for letting 42 off the hook. What's more, Collins is seeking re-election but the Senate trial puts her in a no-win situation -- a vote to acquit Trump means facing the democrats' wrath while a vote to convict Trump would trigger relentless attacks from Trump himself.

Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons suffered several serious and permanent injuries after getting hit by a drunk driver last week ... and now his NBA future is in jeopardy, his attorney claims.

The 31-year-old was on his way home from practice around 2:00 PM on January 15 when a man -- who admitted to drinking and had alcohol in his car -- hit Parsons and caused a 3-car wreck.

Parsons' attorneys, John Morgan and Nick Panagakis, say he may never fully recover from the accident ... claiming he suffered a brain injury, disc herniation and a torn labrum.

There's no ignoring this elephant in the room, especially because he's taking over multiple rooms ... in a hotel!!!

Ya gotta see this unbelievable video of a wild elephant roaming around the Jetwing Yala hotel in Sri Lanka. As you can imagine, it gets a wide berth upon entering the joint ... no one's rushing him at the check-in line. Yes, he packed his own trunk ... and as you can see, used it to poke around the place.

Best of all, the full-grown Asian bull elephant, -- named Natta Kota by locals -- is a repeat customer!!! The hotel says he's been wandering in from time to time since 2013, spending days napping in the shade and stomping through the resort's walkways.

The pachyderm used to be a seasonal visitor, according to the hotel, stealing fruit from vehicles and grub from the kitchen -- but now he's got a permanent residence at Jetwing and he's left in peace.

No word if he's racking up rewards points, but he's definitely a bull (elephant) in a china shop. Someone's gotta pay for that lamp!!!

Pro tip for all future Serena Williams interviewers ... whatever you do, do NOT ask about her friend Meghan Markle ... 'cause you WILL get shut down.

The tennis superstar faced the media after her Australian Open match on Monday ... and the first question wasn't about her win over Anastasia Potapova, it was about Megxit.

“Your good friend, Meghan Markle, who attended your last 2 slams, and Harry, have taken a move, a stance that many people think is extraordinary and historic," the reporter said.

"What are your feelings about that? Have you spoken to her?”

Swae Lee is making his pitch to sing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LV next year ... by showing off his falsetto.

We got one half of the hip-hop duo, Rae Sremmurd, at Beauty and Essex Sunday night and asked him about Demi Lovato singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" at next month's Super Bowl in Miami.

Swae says Demi's gonna slay it in her first live performance since suffering an overdose back in 2018. Then he puts the NFL and Roger Goodell on the clock, telling them he wants the gig come next year!!!

He's definitely got the pipes to kick things off for the biggest sporting event of the year -- ya gotta hear him sing a few bars from Francis Scott Key's banger. No autotune needed!

Seems Swae's been thinking more about the Anthem than the actual game, but we finally coax a Super Bowl pick outta him.

Diddy and Faith Evans played central roles in Notorious B.I.G.'s life and in the immediate success that followed ... so it's only fitting they'll be front and center when Biggie gets inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Sources close to Diddy tell TMZ ... the music mogul and his family will attend the ceremony -- broadcast live on HBO -- on May 2 in Cleveland. We're told Diddy may have something up his sleeve to honor Biggie ... though it's unclear if he'll perform or pay tribute onstage.

Faith tells TMZ ... she's ecstatic about her late-husband being honored as a first-ballot inductee. And, like Diddy, Faith tells us her plan is to attend the ceremony. She's also hopeful she'll be part of the night's festivities honoring Biggie.

The marriage between Courtney Stodden and actor Doug Hutchison -- 34 years her senior -- is officially over ... and he's walking away with their dog and a car.

The former couple filed new docs, obtained by TMZ, informing the court they reached a settlement on divvying up their stuff. Now, once the judge signs off, they'll be officially single in March.

As for the property split ... Doug's taking their Italian Greyhound -- cleverly named, Dourtney -- and Courtney keeps ALL of their furniture and appliances. He's also driving off with a 2001 Jeep Wrangler and his retirement dough ... plus, his personal website, which is apparently worth $100.

They're splitting up their bank accounts by branch -- she keeps Wells Fargo, and he stays with Chase. Courtney and Doug are also splitting their life insurance policy in half.

Tim Tebow is days away from saying "I do" to his South African bride, and it looks like he's getting familiar with her homeland through a super fancy warm-up to the big day.

The ex-NFL quarterback-turned-baseball player posted some awesome behind-the-scenes footage of his wedding rehearsal dinner this weekend with his fiancee, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters -- who was crowned Miss South Africa in 2017. No doubt about it ... it was an elegant affair.

Tim was in a burgundy suit, Demi-Leigh in a complimentary red dress. The evening included a proper run-through, complete with the seating arrangements for the reception ... as well as speeches from family and friends. His former college coach, Urban Meyer, was there too.

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are giving the people what they want ... finally!!!

The famous exes not only came face-to-face Sunday night at the Screen Actors Guild awards -- but they had a warm and loving embrace in front of all the cameras. Can we get an AMEN?!

Although both have been vocal about their friendship in recent years, we haven't seen this kind of PDA since they split in 2005.

A few weeks ago at the Golden Globes they had a near-miss on the red carpet, but Brad said he'd run into her at some point because "she's a good friend." Later that night they both attended the same after party and chatted for a while, but there were no photos or video of that tete-a-tete.

As it turns out, the SAGs were a perfect setting for this reunion, since they were both big winners. Jen picked up the Best Actress in a Drama Series award, just moments after Brad took home the Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture award.

During his acceptance speech, Brad joked about his role in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" being a real stretch for him -- "A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get on with his wife." You have to watch for Jen's reaction to that punchline.

As for her speech -- not that we need to add more "awww" to the moment, but -- just check out Brad watching Jen accept. JUST WATCH HIM! Oy, that smile.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro doesn't know why Jen Harley was allegedly snooping around his house before launching an attack with an eyeliner ... they're not dating and there was no invite.

Sources close to Ronnie tell TMZ ... they are absolutely not back together and Ronnie did not tell Jen she could swing by his place the night of the alleged attack.

We're told Ronnie finds it puzzling that Jen would show up on his doorstep ... after all, she's got a restraining order against the "Jersey Shore" star.

As for how Jen could've possibly slipped inside ... law enforcement sources believe she still had a key to his place. We're told there were no signs of forced entry.

Step one for any breakup ... change those locks!!! Can't say Gloria Gaynor didn't warn ya.

The Game helped some kids out of a jam with police that left everyone happy ... but he had to shell out some cash to make it happen.

The rapper was leaving Beauty & Essex restaurant Sunday night when he noticed officers were speaking to a group of kids nearby who were selling candy on the sidewalk.

We're told another business in the area called the cops and reported the kids for trying to make a buck -- AKA soliciting -- and rather than see them get in any sort of trouble, Game took matters in his own hands.

He handed out enough cash to cover the amount of candy they were selling, and even better -- he let them keep the treats, as well.

The Game told us he was "giving jewels to the youth" so they didn't get hit by the "boys in blue," and he likely would have elaborated more, but fellow rapper Freddie Gibbs crashed our clip.

Hollywood is coming to work for a special occasion this weekend -- it's the 2020 SAG Awards, and the union's biggest members showed up ready to represent.

Tons of stars were dressed to the nines Sunday ahead of the award show -- where their own peers in SAG-AFTRA vote on who put on the best performances this year on both film and television. It's honestly one of the purest award shows -- actors judging actors.

Some celebs who've shown up so far ... John Bradley, Jane Seymour, Gaten Matarazzo, Nikki Novak, Kathryn Newton, Keltie Knight, Dacre Montgomery, Chloe Coleman, Liv Pollock, Jason Winston George, Zuri Hall, Scott Evans, James Tupper, Shireen Jiwan, Priah Ferguson, Sibley Scoles, Courtney B. Vance, Renee Bargh, Erin Lim, Cary Elwes and more.

It's gonna be a big night for sure -- Robert De Niro's receiving a lifetime achievement award, which will be given to him by Leonardo DiCaprio. There's also gonna be a number of presenters ... everyone from Tom Hanks to Lupita Nyong'o will be up there.

By the way, the acting guild was just as strong behind the scenes too. Stars were hugging and kissing each other including Margot Robbie, Julia Butters, Danai Gurira, Meryl Streep and others.

The guy who helped create the children's movie, "Pete's Dragon" claims he got screwed over by his own kids when they pulled the wool over his eyes to line their own pockets.

Malcolm Marmorstein's now battling 2 of his 4 kids in court over his living trust ...which he claims they duped him into altering so his wife will be left out in the cold after he dies. Malcolm, who's 91, says his boys, Mitchell and Wayne, picked him up ... took him to meet with lawyers and shoved a stack of papers in his face.

He says he naturally trusted his sons and happily gave them his John Hancock -- only to later discover what he signed changed the way his money will be divvied up among his heirs. Even shiftier, he claims the new document forces Barbara, his wife of 14 years, to get the hell out of her home a year after Malcolm dies.

Mary Carey's still getting physical in her life after porn ... by getting in the ring and beating the pulp outta other celebs.

The famed porn star officially signed a contract with Celebrity Boxing promoter Damon Feldman -- who's arranged for Mary to slip on some gloves and go toe-to-toe with another chick on April 18 in Miami. Catfight!!!

Naturally ... the bout's going down at a strip club called the Booby Trap. We're guessing there will be no shortage of ring girls.

It's the first time Mary's stepping into the ring as a competitor, and CB's still working on finding an opponent for the retired XXX star.

Celebrity Boxing has had some issues lately with stars like Angry Bagel Guy and Lenny Dykstra dropping out at the 11th hour -- so hopefully, Mary follows through.

Mary could be in line for a nice payday ... depending on her opponent and internet pay-per-view streams, CB expects her to pull in around five figures.