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L.A. cops have a dark culture when it comes to grizzly death scenes, keeping "ghoul books" with photos of famous people who met violent deaths.

As we reported, Vanessa Bryant is suing the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. among others after learning 8 deputies took personal cellphone photos of the remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and then passed them around to co-workers, family, friends and even strangers.

Deputy Doug Johnson testified he did not regret taking photos of the remains, claiming he was ordered to do so by a higher-up, even though that higher-up had said he gave no such order.

Johnson said he took 25 photos, although another officer claimed it was more like 100.

The deputy admitted he took shots of Kobe's remains, although he says he didn't know at the time it was the famed basketball star. He also took pics of a body in a ravine near the crash site ... a body of a black child with long hair ... presumably Gianna.

Johnson stuck to his story, saying he would not have done anything differently.

Vanessa, who is suing for, among other things, emotional distress, broke down at times during the testimony.

Crazy week! Raids, custody wars and some really sad passings. So, we gotta ask ...

Bill Maher made an incredibly strong case Friday night that Hollywood is ruining itself by pigeonholing actors into narrow lanes based on their heritage, sexual orientation, identity, etc.

The "Real Time" host made his case and, frankly, you gotta listen to it because it cuts to the core ... that casting directors now take their cues from the casting cops.

He lays out his case, beginning with John Leguizamo, who was incredulous James Franco was picked to play Fidel Castro, saying "No more appropriation Hollywood ... Boycott! This f'd up."  Bill noted John, a Columbian actor, ain't Venetian but he played one ... nor is he a little French man nor an Italian plumber ... but yeah, he played them too.

As he says, "People become actors so they can spend their lives not being who they are."

He notes Sean Penn snagged an Oscar for playing gay activist Harvey Milk ... that was once considered courageous ... now it's the opposite.

Eddie Redmayne played a transgender woman, but he now calls that a mistake. Bill asks if the logical conclusion to that is transgender people can only play transgender people, yet that's clearly not something they would want.

Ditto straight people playing gay people ... something Tom Hanks says he now regrets. So can gay people play a straight romantic role? The idea is to get rid of the prejudice, not the roles, and for that allies are necessary.

On on the subject of Hanks ... should he have played Forrest Gump, who was mentally challenged?

Kim Kardashian is a billionaire, in case you didn't know, and she's opened up her massive SKKN headquarters to remove any doubt.

Kim is showcasing her massive, 40,000-square-foot office space ... and gotta say ... it's pretty damn awesome.

The bells and whistles are impressive ... a massive kitchen, amphitheater, model glam room and private glam room, and on and on.

Kim didn't cheap out with decorators and designers ... Tommy Clements and Waldo Fernandez did the decor while Michele Lamy and Rick Owens designed the furniture.

Check out the glam room filled with robes, chairs for models and other stuff used for tailoring clothes.

Kim also gave a peek into her photo studio ... pretty cool. As for why she has a "private" glam room, she says it's where she kicks back and watches TV ... not a cord-cutter we guess.

Then there's the luxury shower with a chair inside so Kim's publicist Tracy Romulus can talk business with her while she washes down.

The L.A. Mission thinks Kanye West needs to turn his words into action, and the org. is frustrated he hasn't followed through on his vow to help the homeless get jobs and housing ... folks familiar with the Mission's struggles tell TMZ.

Kanye got all inspirational Friday, posting this on IG ...  "look to the homeless as the biggest inspiration for all design." It's unclear what he meant, but it resurfaces some of the promises the rapper made last year, when he visited the Mission and vowed to use his companies to help the homeless get jobs, education and housing.

Our sources say little if anything has been done since.

Kanye waxing philosophical isn't moving the ball forward for the homeless crisis in L.A.

As we reported, Kanye met with leaders of the org. last November, where he laid out ambitious plans on how to tackle City's biggest challenge -- the homeless crisis. We're told folks from the Mission have attempted to contact Ye several times since the meeting, to no avail.

Kanye has done some good for the homeless ... among other things, he donated 1,000 meals and spent time encouraging volunteers and L.A. residents to join in and help. He also held a Sunday Service at the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row back in 2019.

We're told the L.A. Mission wants to work with Kanye, because he's a huge star with a megaphone and could do a lot of good.

Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and Meek Mill were high rollers Friday night in NYC's Rockefeller Center ... and it looked like a blast!

The "Girl on Fire" singer threw an awesome party for close friends and family, celebrating the release of "KEYS II" ... a deluxe edition of her double album "KEYS."

Alicia and Swizz showed off their rink skills, dancing and holding each other, taking smiling selfies and even smooching as they rolled along.

Alicia also got jiggy by herself ... busting moves just like back in the 70s!

And, then there was Meek ... he was having fun with a young woman, circling the rink as they held hands.

The Philly rapper was also cutting it up with Busta Rhymes off to the side. Guess Busta wasn't in the skating mood.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield and his wife of more than two decades are no more, TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the former couple tell us James filed divorce docs against Francesca Hetfield in Colorado earlier this year. Surprisingly, the filing was never reported, and the couple kept it out of the spotlight.

We're told the two are still in touch, as they have kids together.

James and Francesca met in 1992, and got hitched in 1997. They have two daughters and a son together. James credited Francesca over the years for helping him through tough times, including his anger management issues.

In one interview, James said Francesca once threatened to take the kids out of the house if he couldn't get his temper in check.

The Cowboys have a problem at wide receiver ... and it seems Antonio Brown is willing to help out -- telling TMZ Sports this week, "Tell Jerry Jones to call me!"

Dallas' receiver room took a big hit this month, when free agent acquisition James Washington injured his foot. With Michael Gallup already out while recovering from ACL surgery, the team now has just one truly proven player at the position ready to go for Week 1 -- CeeDee Lamb.

Brown appears to be down to change that in Big D -- saying out in Bev Hills that he wants the Cowboys owner to give him a shout ... presumably to talk about a contract.

Of course, it's unclear how serious Brown is about it all -- he's been extremely focused on his music career this offseason, and has even created a new dance for one of his songs that's since gone viral.

It's also unknown if Jones would want AB -- considering all of the baggage that he seemingly carries and drops off whenever he joins teams.

As for his last squad -- the one that cut him following his wild outburst at MetLife Stadium -- Brown told us he still misses the Bucs and their QB, Tom Brady.

"Tell him I miss the passes," he said of TB12. "I'm still open!"

Wiz Khalifa almost has his Los Angeles mansion off his hands, with an interested buyer about to pull the trigger.

Wiz is selling his Encino home for $4.5M, which turns out to be about $1M more than what he paid for it back in 2019, so it's a nice little profit.

The mansion is a modern beauty, with 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling glass doors, a home movie theater, a pool and a spa. Oh, and a waterfall to boot.

TMZ broke the story ... Wiz isn't moving too far away from his old crib, he'll be living it up, just a few miles down the street in a newly built $7.6 mil mansion.

Wiz's new mansion comes with a guesthouse and a gym.

The wet hair look has flooded your IG feed all summer long, but taking in all the slickness and so-called instant shots ... and while the source of the soggy stars may be the ocean, a pool or even a shower ... the soaked results never leave you high and dry!

Making her posed exit from the water, Kim Kardashian's hair just so happened to be flawlessly doused with beachy body, while a misted Heidi Klum looked back at it with her imperfectly perfect hair. And, Maluma kept the waterworks flowing and captured every last drizzle.

Willie Garson's former L.A. home is now officially off the market, his estate found a buyer nearly a year after his death.

The late "Sex and the City" actor's bungalow in Valley Village sold last week for $1.9 million, a jump from it's original $1.695 million listing price. The home was on the market for a month.

Willie bought the 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath home back in 2005 for just over a million dollars. The Spanish-style home features 10,399 square feet of living space and comes with a ton of charm.

The living room has beamed vaulted ceilings, built-in bookshelves and a fireplace. The backyard is very private, and the new homeowners can enjoy a pool and spa.

TMZ broke the story ... Willie -- who was famous for his role in the "Sex and the City" series and various movies -- died last September after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

You may have to improvise and just go with the flow to solve this frigin' difference of 'Parks And Rec' star Aubrey Plaza. Unlike a lazy intern ... if you have high hopes of finding the changes in these two similar shots ... you must pay close attention.

The on-trend comedian was recently taking a SoHo stroll in New York City and gearing up for the release of her newest film "Emily The Criminal." Go ahead and grab your clutch and make your way towards the differences in these images.

Shocking news in the baseball world ... Fernando Tatis Jr. -- one of the best players in the MLB -- has just been suspended 80 games!

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the ban on Friday afternoon -- after he and the league say the San Diego Padres' all-world shortstop tested positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.

According to the MLB, Tatis' suspension will begin immediately.

The Padres, meanwhile, said in a statement that they were "surprised and extremely disappointed" to learn of the positive test.

The team added that they "fully support" MLB's joint drug prevention and treatment program and "are hopeful that Fernando will learn from this experience."

After sitting out all of this season with a wrist injury, Tatis Jr. was just about to return to the Padres within the next few days.

And, everyone in the org. was stoked for it -- because the team just added stars Juan Soto and Josh Bell at the trade deadline ... and figured the duo, plus Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and the rest of the roster, would then push for a World Series run.

Tatis Jr. will now be ineligible to compete in the postseason this year -- and due to the length of the ban, he'll have to serve part of the suspension in the 2023 season as well.

Anne Heche has died from injuries she suffered last Friday after driving her car through a Los Angeles home ... her rep tells TMZ Anne is "brain dead" and under California law that is the definition of death.

The rep adds life support machines are keeping Anne's heart beating for the purpose of preserving her organs for donations, however, the rep made it clear ... Anne has no brain function.

The actress died Friday at an L.A.-area hospital ... she was rushed there in a coma, in critical condition and never regained consciousness. We're told she suffered a severe anoxic brain injury -- complete oxygen deprivation to the brain.

Anne had a long and successful career in Hollywood, getting her start playing Vicky Hudson and Marley Love in the soap, "Another World," winning a Daytime Emmy.

When Anne moved over to the big screen, she landed roles in some huge movies ... including "Donnie Brasco," "Volcano," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "Six Days Seven Nights," "Return to Paradise," the "Psycho" remake and "Wag the Dog."

Anne also starred in a number of TV shows, like "Men in Trees," "Hung," "Aftermath" and "The Brave" ... and she also did voice work for the animated TV series "The Legend of Korra."

During the first year of the pandemic, Anne was a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars."

Anne famously dated Ellen DeGeneres back in the day ... starting in 1997 until their highly-publicized split in August 2000 ... she ended up marrying cameraman Coleman Laffoon, whom she met on Ellen's stand-up comedy tour.

Heche had a child with Laffoon, but their marriage ended in divorce. Her next relationship was with her "Men in Trees" costar, James Tupper, with whom she had her second child. They split in 2018 after 10 years together.

TMZ broke the story ... LAPD sources say Anne was under the influence of cocaine and possibly fentanyl on Aug. 5 when she committed at least 2 hit-and-runs before crashing through a home and causing a fire.

Anne sustained significant injuries in the crash, including severe burns and lung damage.

Anne was 53.

RIP

Kanye West has a lot of construction going on at his Malibu home, and it's possible he's now working on a new relationship too ... after being spotted with a mystery woman.

Kanye and the brunette -- who did her best to keep her face hidden from cameras -- hit up Ye's nearly $60 million Malibu beachfront home. Unclear if the woman is just a friend, or something more, but she was decked out in tights, an oversized hoodie and possibly Balenciaga sunglasses.

Of course, if you know anything about Kanye and his recent girlfriends -- like Julia Fox and Chaney Jones -- they're almost always exclusively dressed in Balenciaga.

No word on how far along house construction is, Ye's completely gutted it ... but you gotta imagine it'll be quite the spectacle once finished.

As we've reported, Kim and Kanye have been on friendly terms as of late -- following her split with Pete Davidson -- but the home Ye bought next to Kim's remains unchanged ... so it doesn't look like he has any plans to actually move in.