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The debut of “When They See Us” caused a whole avalanche of backlash for CP5 Investigator Linda Fairstein, and the Beyhive came out in full force after some courtside "side-eye." So, we gotta ask …

Common says NBA teams are RIGHT for moving away from the term "owner" -- telling TMZ Sports the title "never sat right with me."

We broke the story ... multiple NBA teams -- and even the NBA league office -- have replaced the title with words like "Managing Partner" and "Chairman" over feelings that "owner" is racially insensitive in a league where the majority of the players are black.

So, when we saw Common at Matsuhisa in L.A. on Thursday, we asked if he felt the change is a good thing ... or an unnecessary overreaction?

"I'm so pleased," Common told us ... "The term owner -- it didn't sit right with me."

"The history of what we have and we are as black people in this country ... it's just not really being considerate of the history."

Common says he was impressed with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver -- who referred to one team's majority investor as "Governor" instead of "owner."

He's also giving credit to Draymond Green for speaking out about the issue on LeBron's show "The Shop" in late 2018 ... when he explained why the term "owner" should go the way of the Dodo.

Usher doesn't have eyes on the back of his head ... but he DOES have a super sick work of art.

The R&B superstar hooked up with famed L.A. tattoo artist Dillon Forte for his latest masterpiece that apparently required Usher to carve out precious real estate on his dome.

The result's a beaut -- a tat inspired by sacred geometry and an ancient Berber stone that marks the cardinal points in the sky, which allows travelers to find their way across vast distances. World history, look it up.

Usher and Dillon -- who has also worked on Chris Hemsworth and Kat Von D, among others -- met through Jennifer Love Hewitt's hubby, Brian Hallisay. It wasn't long before an introduction was made and the singer sat down for a 3-hour sesh last weekend at Dillon's Sri Yantra Tattoo Studio in Venice.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Lady Gaga overwhelm you ... Put on your poker face because it's time get serious here!

The singer was recently spotted at the opening of her style exhibit, Haus of Gaga, in Las Vegas, Nevada and we have made some small alterations to the tricky pic!

We know there's a lot to unpack here so make sure you are staying focused ... Just keep your eyes on the prize and see if you stick together the differences between these two super similar snaps!

Maybe a star will be born!

L.A. Pride Festival goers will be thinking love and inclusivity, but cops will be focused on shutting down terrorism by rolling out some new tactics for this weekend's events.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and their partners stepped up their game for the festival in West Hollywood -- including Sunday's parade -- to ensure it all goes off without a hitch.

We're told deputies closely studied recent terrorist attacks -- including the Manchester Arena bombing, the Las Vegas mass shooting and several instances of assailants using vehicles as weapons.

As a result ... we're told law enforcement will be using an array of vehicles as barriers, for the first time, to shore up vulnerable areas along the route and surrounding area. Of course, both uniformed and undercover cops will be on the scene ... and video surveillance will be heavily employed.

Our sources made it clear ... law enforcement has not received any specific threats against the festival, but they are prepared for the worst.

It's always great when Arianny Celeste throws on a bikini and hits the beach ... but the UFC star brought her equally hot friends along for a sexy shoot ... and TMZ Sports has the pics!!!

The Octagon girl G.O.A.T. -- along with Dessie Mitcheson and Kayla Fitz -- hit up Malibu for some fun in the sand ... wearing matching blue bikinis and yellow earrings.

The shoot is part of the summer campaign for Celeste's Girlfriend Box business ... and who better than Arianny herself to show off the product!!!

From models such as Jasmine Sanders and Olivia Culpo to actress Gabrielle Union, these bundled babes are serving looks in their loungewear and showing you exactly what to do with your down time this weekend. Sit back, relax, and get loose from those restricting clothes with these leading ladies slipping into something a lot more comfortable.

Take a good look at them by scrolling through our gallery of sexy stars in hot robes ... See all the hotties thriving in this snuggle style.

It clearly does not take much for these ladies to show off their famous features.

Trent Reznor claims his landlords did a piss poor job building his rental home -- which is now overrun with mold, sewage leaks and flooding -- so now he's suing the people who collect his rent.

According to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ ... the Nine Inch Nails founder claims the people who constructed the pad used crappy materials to build it on the cheap, and he suffered the consequences in the form of a dilapidated residence ... and was forced to get the hell outta there.

In the docs, Trent says there was an electrical fire in the 5-bed, 8-bath home in January that was caused by mold growing inside the walls ... and that forced him to shack up in an expensive hotel with his wife and 4 kids.

Trent claims his landlords told him they got rid of the mold and it was safe to move back in, but he says when he went back the place was still a hellhole. Trent says the work they did caused even more problems, because it closed off huge sections of the home.

In the suit, Trent says sewage leaks and flooding were also common occurrences in the house.

Machine Gun Kelly's goons ganged up on a guy, and beat the hell outta him -- on video -- and now the victim's suing the rapper, claiming he ordered the attack.

We broke the story ... Gabriel "G-Rod" Rodriguez confronted MGK back in September at an Atlanta restaurant and called him a "p***y" because he was pissed about Kelly's beef with Eminem.

Later in the evening at a Hampton Inn, video footage shows G-Rod getting jumped and viciously body slammed, kicked and punched by a bunch of dudes allegedly in MGK's crew. At least 3 of the individuals were ID'd and charged with misdemeanor battery, but cops said MGK was in the clear because he wasn't a part of it.

G-Rod's not letting him get off that easy, though ... and filed suit against the rapper and the 3 other dudes in his crew for battery. According to the docs ... Rodriguez claims Kelly instructed the bodyguards to attack him, and he's suffered serious injuries and medical expenses.

G-Rod's also suing the hotel for negligence in the incident.

As we told you, G-Rod's attorney, Blake Dolman, threatened to pursue legal action if MGK didn't cut his client a check. Guess that never happened.

Dolman tells us ... "Mr. Rodriguez looks forward to his day in court and holding those responsible for this vicious and cowardly attack fully responsible for their actions."

The actress who put up a billboard desperately trying to get Tyler Perry's attention for a job says the stunt worked ... 'cause she landed an audition.

Racquel Bailey joined "TMZ Live" Friday and revealed that -- even after the famed director kinda scolded her for the stunt -- she got a shot to audition for him. Check out the clip ... Racquel says Tyler's team reached out to her and asked her to submit a tape. Obvi, she did.

You'll recall Tyler took to Instagram Thursday to call out Racquel ... saying the stunt was the third time someone had forked out good money for a billboard to catch his eye.

Tyler essentially gave her the compliment sandwich: He appreciated the passion, said the stunt's not a good look and closed out saying he has no doubt she'll make it one day.

BTW ... Tyler also said he's seen her work -- she appeared in 2 episodes of HBO's "The Night Of" -- and liked her. So, maybe it wasn't the billboard that put her over.

For her part, Racquel says Tyler's lecture didn't faze her ... not the least bit. In fact, she says Tyler's post lit a fire under her ass.

Anthony Joshua has zero recollection of the disastrous 3rd rd. of his Andy Ruiz fight ... where he was pummeled and knocked down twice -- this according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.

Joshua was a massive favorite in the fight against Ruiz ... but was stopped in the 7th round in one of the most shocking upsets in boxing history.

Hearn sat down on DAZN and opened up about the fight and revealed Joshua legit doesn't recall the beatdown he took in the 3rd round.

"He doesn't remember anything really from the 3rd round. In fact, he's taken a little positivity that he managed to go 4 rounds after that because he says, 'ya know, my senses weren't there."

Eddie also laid any speculation to rest that the 7th round stoppage was bad ... saying he not only agreed with it, but was relieved by the ref's decision.

"100% right stoppage. If you actually watch it back, we were watching it last night, and Anthony says 'yes,' and goes to walk forward, and the ref just nudges him and he goes back on the ropes, and then the ref stops it, and I'm actually glad he did cause Anthony would've kept going all night."

AJ's loss threw heavyweight division into a tailspin ... and Hearn has activated the mandatory rematch clause -- although no date has been set.

Joey Chestnut's celebration of National Doughnut Day is a bitter pastry to swallow, because like Anthony Joshua's upset loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. -- Joey's gone down like a bag of ... y'know.

The famous wiener-eating champ strolled into Friday's second annual World Hostess Donettes-Eating Championship in Austin as the reigning champ but walked away settling for second place.

The winner -- Geoffrey Esper from Oxford, MA -- did him 35 better for this year's belt.

Chestnut entered the competition ranked No. 1 in the world, but fell short in the 6-minute competition. In case you were wondering, the guys gorged themselves on powdered doughnuts.

BTW ... in total, the entire competition feasted on an astonishing 1,160 doughnuts. The good news for Joey is he still holds the record -- he inhaled 257 doughnuts during last year's test!!

3:30 PM PT -- The judge has denied Justice's request for a restraining order ... for now. According to the legal docs, there'll be a hearing at the end of the month to determine if Avance will be ordered to stay away.

The docs also shed light on why Justice sought out the protection -- she claims Smith broke into her late father's property last week and took his belongings. She also accuses him of threatening her while John was in the hospital, both by text and in person.

Justice claims Avance is "uncontrollable" and she fears he could be physically violent.

John Singleton's family war is getting serious, and the latest battle is between his daughter and one of his old friends ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs ... John's daughter, Justice, has filed for a restraining order against Avance Smith. Family sources tell us Smith was a very close longtime friend of John's -- so close, John commonly referred to him as his cousin. Smith also worked as a security guard for John from time to time.

It's unclear at this point why Justice wants court-ordered protection from her father's friend.

What's interesting is her request comes one day after Singleton's mom, Shelia Ward, filed an emergency request for control of his assets ... specifically because someone had gone into John's locked office and taken valuables.

We don't know that Avance has anything to do with that allegation.

As we reported, other members of John's extended family have grown suspicious about some of the circumstances surrounding his death -- such as how he initially got to a hospital back in April, and who was with him in the hours before that.

They've hired a private investigator to help them find answers.

Linda Fairstein's world continues to crumble ... her book publisher has just kicked her to the curb as the fallout continues, following her portrayal in Netflix's miniseries, "When They See Us."

The Central Park 5 prosecutor will no longer have a relationship with Dutton, which confirmed it had "terminated its relationship" with the best-selling crime novelist. The move comes on the heels of an online push to boycott her publishers and distributors ... after the Netflix series dramatized her role that led to the wrongful conviction of 5 teens for the 1989 rape and beating of a female jogger.

Earlier this week, TMZ reached out to multiple people at both Penguin Random House and its subsidiary, Dutton -- the two publishing companies that peddled her 14 novels -- but they went radio silent. As did Linda's literary agency, ICM Partners. Not a peep.

Fairstein's latest book with Dutton had been "Blood Oath" back in March. Dutton dropping Fairstein's just the latest in a string of moves that led to Fairstein resigning from at least 2 nonprofits as well as from Vassar College.

Glamour Magazine also said it was a mistake to give her the Woman of the Year Award in '93 ... adding they wouldn't do it again. The backlash also included #CancelLindaFairstein all over social media.

Rihanna's latest crowning achievement calls for a yacht of fun ... off southern Italy's Amalfi Coast with her super-rich BF and a bunch of friends in tow.

RiRi, billionaire BF Hassan Jameel and several others hit up Positano, Italy and needed to cram into a small boat before pouring into a yacht for a little relaxation afloat the crystal blue waters.

The vacay comes on the heels of Forbes earlier this week naming Rihanna the wealthiest female musician in the world ... with an estimated fortune of about 600 MILLION BUCKS. Madonna was a close second at $570 mil and Celine Dion ($450M) and Beyonce ($400M) trailed behind.

Nevertheless ... pretty sure Rihanna's smile was all Hassan's doing. They've been going strong since 2017. His family, btw, is worth an estimated $2.2 billion as of 2017.

But, make no mistake ... Rihanna's the reason we can call them a true power couple.