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Johnny Damon is going to bat for Donald Trump ... saying toward the end of his baseball career -- he and his teammates were straight-up scared to go out on the town in Baltimore.

Of course, Trump has found himself in hot water this week for comments he made about the Maryland city -- ones in which he called Baltimore a "rodent-infested mess."

Damon says he thinks Trump's choices of words were a little harsh ... but he tells TMZ Sports he agrees with 45 -- saying back when he played in the MLB, he didn't love hitting the road there.

"He's not wrong," Damon says ... "Baltimore was one of the best places to visit when I broke into the league in '95. And, at the end, we didn't really, like, enjoy going back."

Damon -- who's been an outspoken Trump supporter for years -- added, "Towards the end, it started getting a little scarier."

Johnny says Trump's comments will actually HELP the city .. telling us he thinks the criticism should lead to a change in the area.

"I think Baltimore is a great town, and this is raising awareness and hopefully they can go in and spend the hard tax-paying dollars to actually make a difference."

For his part, Trump had a similar sentiment on the situation, saying at the White House earlier this week, "Those people are living in hell in Baltimore. They're largely African-American -- you have a large African-American population -- and they really appreciate what I'm doing and they've let me know it."

Lil Uzi Vert says people who think he shaded Lil Nas X -- including X himself -- are tripping and just don't understand etiquette on Twitter ... where sending a heart is all that's required.

Allow us to explain -- Lil Nas was trending, again, this week when he shared a screenshot of his DM asking Uzi to collab with him on a "Panini" remix ... but getting no reply. Fans accused Vert of leaving X on read ... a clear sign of disrespect, or at least indifference.

But, Lil Uzi tells us he did reply by sending a heart, which suggests he's interested ... and if Lil Nas X wants to collab, Uzi says he's all for it.

Uzi's kinda got a point for not hitting X back with a longer reply ... Uzi says they've never met. Sounds like that's about to change though.

We also had to ask Uzi about the flashy new (but used) $1.7 million Bugatti he debuted at his blowout birthday bash. He's still flaunting it, but not down to talk price. Umm, spoiler alert? Sorry, Uzi.

A$AP Bari just took another big L stemming from his sexual assault case ... because the judge tossed his countersuit against his victim.

According to new legal docs ... the rapper's defamation suit against the woman, listed as Jane Doe, and all claims he made against her have been dismissed.

The reason it was tossed is because the woman filed a police report and a lawsuit, and the judge ruled both are protected speech ... so Bari can't sue her over what she told cops or claimed in a suit.

As we reported ... Bari pled guilty to sexually assaulting the woman in a London hotel in 2017. As part of his plea deal, he was ordered to pay a $5k fine and pay the victim $3,150 ... but he avoided jail time.

In leaked video of the incident, Bari's seen chasing the woman around the room and ordering her to give him oral sex.

While his plea deal concluded the criminal case, the civil case is still ongoing. Doe sued the hip-hop designer for sexual assault in late 2017, and he countersued in August 2018 claiming she was a liar and trying to extort him for a big payday.

Wendy Williams and Kevin Hunter are looking to unload the New Jersey mansion they called home for many years ... the estranged couple just put their former family home on the market.

Wendy and Kevin, who are going through a divorce, just listed their sprawling Jersey residence for a cool $1.895 million.

The pad is pretty sweet ... the 5,700-square-foot home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, including a master suite with huge walk-in closets, plus a marble bath, jacuzzi and steam shower.

The amenities are top-notch too ... the backyard features a basketball court, patio and a koi pond.

There's a wood-burning fireplace in the family room, a home office, and a gourmet kitchen decked out with granite, custom cabinetry, high-end appliances, walk-in pantry and a huge island ... oh, and there's a two-story rotunda.

Jamie Silverman from Coldwell Banker has the listing.

This video is AMAZING!!!

Cleveland Browns player T.J. Carrie -- who had a risky open-heart surgery at 14 -- shared his story with a young fan dealing with a heart condition on Thursday ... and it'll hit you in the feels.

10-year-old CJ DeJohn has been battling a serious heart condition -- hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart -- which has required numerous surgeries throughout his life.

CJ attended Browns training camp as part of A Special Wish Cleveland on Thursday ... shadowing a Cleveland.com reporter and getting the opportunity to interview players.

One player in particular, Carrie, shared an inspiring message that hit close to home for CJ ... showing the young fan his own surgery scar ... and telling him to never let his condition hold him back.

"I don't want you to ever worry about that, okay? 'Cause you can still accomplish and do everything you want to do in life," Carrie says. "So, I want you to keep dreaming, and make sure you dream as big as possible, okay?"

"Because my dream was to be right here where I'm at and there were a lot of people who said I wasn't gonna be here because of my heart condition."

Carrie -- who was diagnosed with a coronary artery anomaly as a freshman in high school -- went on to get drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2014 ... and he wants CJ to chase his dreams too.

"But, look where I'm at now. So, what does that mean for you? That means whatever you dream, you can accomplish. Don't never let no one tell you can't do that."

Karamo Brown's willing to forgive Mario Lopez for making comments he believes are harmful to transgender youth and their parents ... but he's not fully letting him off the hook yet.

The "Queer Eye" star was outside 'GMA' in NYC Thursday when we asked what he thought about Lopez issuing an apology, in which he admitted his remarks were "ignorant and insensitive."

Karamo tells us that's a good first step, but thinks the TV host needs to further his education on the topic ... and Brown's willing to be his teacher. In fact, he's already sent an open invite to Mario to hit him up.

Karamo's costar, Jonathan Van Ness, has been way more critical of Lopez since the comments he made in a June interview with Candace Owens went viral. Mario said it was "dangerous” for parents to trust their children when they challenge the gender they’re presumed to be at birth.

Jonathan tweeted ... "If you’re not raising a child who is part of the LGBTQ+ community you should really be quiet. You don’t need to understand what you do not know." He also accused Mario of "casual transphobia" and being small-minded, and said his "lack of understanding and need to judge" is what leads to violence against the community.

The powerful FaZe Clan gaming team is suing its most famous member, Tfue ... claiming the 21-year-old has "betrayed" the team and damaged the brand by trying to weasel his way out of their contract.

21-year-old Tfue (real name Turner Tenney) is one of the top gamers in the world -- and has earned MILLIONS of dollars thanks to his dominance in Fortnite.

Earlier this year, Tfue called out FaZe Clan publicly -- painting himself as a victim who was taken advantage of by a big gaming team who pressured a then-20-year-old to sign an unfair contract.

The biggest issue at the time was that Tfue claimed FaZe Clan's contract called for 80% of his brand deals and 50% of his merchandise profits ... and Tfue felt it was unfair.

But now, FaZe Clan is firing back in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York ... essentially saying boo-hoo, you signed the contract and need to live up to it.

"Though a rookie athlete, Tenney was an adult when he signed his contract," FaZe says ... adding, "An initial rookie contract is a risk that the organization takes; most young players young careers never take off."

In fact, FaZe Clan says they believe Tfue has made more than $20 MILLION in earnings since joining FaZe Clan in April 2018 and he's only forked over $60,000.

FaZe says TFue was just your average "skilled gamer" when they found him -- and they transformed him into a bankable gaming pro.

FaZe says the deal they have in place with Tfue locks him up until 2021 -- and the fact he's trying to bail is complete BS.

FaZe says they recognized Tfue was a star and offered significant bonuses along the way -- including an offer to increase his revenue shares in the company substantially. They also claim they offered Tfue a 7-figure salary ... but Tfue refused to play ball.

Instead, FaZe claims Tfue trashed the company publicly ... violating a non-disparagement clause in his contract.

Now, FaZe is suing for their share of Tfue's earnings -- and to shut him up from divulging confidential information about the Clan.

We spoke with TFue's attorney Bryan Freedman who tells us, "Faze Clan’s lawsuit in New York is a ridiculous and obvious attempt to avoid the consequences of its clear violations of California law"

"Filing the lawsuit in New York is actually an admission that Faze Clan has no defense to these violations of California law. Ask yourself, why is Faze Clan is afraid to litigate its wrongful conduct in California? The answer is obvious. Faze Clan will lose."

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard got Senator Kamala Harris good during the Presidential debate Wednesday night, but Harris later shot back -- essentially calling Gabbard a loser -- so now the war begins.

Gabbard appeared on "TMZ Live" Thursday and blasted Harris for dismissing her as a one-percenter attacking a "top tier" candidate.

Watch the clip ... you hear the disdain in her voice as she calls the post-debate attack "pathetic" and a "cheap smear."

ICYMI ... Gabbard went after Harris for prosecuting marijuana users when she was California Attorney General. She also attacked Harris for withholding evidence in death penalty cases where the death row inmate was wrongly convicted. We asked if such attacks are below the belt if the candidate has evolved ... Gabbard stayed strong.

Bombshell news in the gaming world ... Ninja is leaving Twitch -- and he's going to a direct competitor.

The move will land Ninja -- the most famous gamer on Earth -- with Microsoft's Mixer platform, Twitch's biggest competition with gamers in the livestreaming space.

Unclear how much cash Mixer shelled out to get Ninja to jump platforms, but we guarantee the numbers are HUGE.

Ninja is widely considered the most important gamer in the space and Mixer is clearly banking on Ninja bringing his massive fan base with him.

FYI, Ninja has more than 22 MILLION subscribers on YouTube ... and a HUGE chunk of those people watched him stream on Twitch every day.

The 28-year-old made the announcement on social media Thursday ... saying, "I'm super excited!"

"I'm honestly at a loss for words. I'm freaking out in the best of ways and I'm really just excited ... I feel like I'm gonna get back to the streaming roots."

Ninja says everything about his streams will be the exact same -- just on a new platform.

As we previously reported, Ninja said he makes around $500,000 per month just from streaming.

He also has big endorsement deals with brands like Red Bull.

Hostages huddled inside an Arizona convenience store banded together to subdue a man police say fatally shot a customer moments before ... bum-rushing the suspect and tackling him to the ground in a wild incident that was caught on video!!!

Footage from the intense standoff is insane ... you see the gunman pacing around an aisle when one of the hostages suddenly engages him, wrestling him to the ground. As the struggle continues, an employee rushes over and starts smashing the alleged killer over the head with a crate.

With the gunman subdued, more hostages got in on the action ... stomping, kicking and absolutely pummeling the man as he squirms on the floor.

The unreal scene went down May 9 at a Circle K gas station in Phoenix ... and the surveillance video was just entered into evidence in the alleged killer's murder trial.

Cops shot the alleged killer, 53-year-old Joel McClain Carson, who police say walked into the store and killed a customer with a gunshot to the back of their head.

In the video ... you see the gunman barking at an employee to lock the doors, then he barricades the entrance with a donut display ... all while holding a handgun.

Once the hostages overpowered the gunman, they ran to the exit, broke down the barricade, unlocked the door and got the hell outta Dodge.

Roughly an hour later, a SWAT team makes its move ... entering the store before shooting and injuring the alleged killer.

Lil Uzi Vert broke the bank celebrating 25 years of life ... throwing a lavish birthday party in NYC and dropping over a million bucks for a luxury car that used to belong to Floyd Mayweather!!!

The Philly rapper pulled out all the stops Wednesday night for his bday bash ... partying the night away with celeb friends and tons of smokin' hot babes at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge.

Jordyn Woods, Wale, Gunna, Casanova, Bernice Burgos, Pop Smoke, Shiggy, DJ Clue and a bunch of others turned up ... and Uzi was literally looking like a kid in a candy store, because guests chowed down on candy sushi, cotton candy, popcorn and pretzels.

Uzi rolled up to his party in style ... hopping out of Floyd's former Bugatti. We're told Uzi dropped $1.7 million on Mayweather's whip, and he threw down another $20,000 to get the car rush-delivered from Los Angeles.

Lil Uzi bought the 2012 Bugatti Grand Sport from celebrity car broker RD Whittington ... and we're told it's the same car Floyd got before his 2017 superfight against Conor McGregor.

The Bugatti looks a little different now ... thanks to some sweet custom work by CarEffex, which tricked it out with a $10k custom wrap.

BTW ... when Floyd first copped the Bugatti, he threw down $3.3 MILLION. So, Uzi got a steal.

Back to the party ... Lil Uzi Vert guzzled champagne and there were Uzi-themed cocktails, courtesy of D'usse. He cut into a birthday cake decorated in diamonds and dollar bills -- the party theme was "Dripping Green & Diamonds."

Speaking of diamonds ... as you can see in the pics, Uzi was rocking tons of new ice from celeb jeweler Eliantte. Gotta have that bday bling!

Pro golfer Thorbjorn Olesen was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London on Monday after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman mid-flight ... and then PEEING in the aisle.

Officials say 29-year-old Olesen -- who placed 6th at the 2013 Masters -- was a drunken menace on his flight from Nashville to London ... screaming at passengers and acting like a moron.

The most serious allegation is the alleged molestation of a female passenger. The details surrounding that particular incident is unclear.

During the hellish flight, a witness told The Sun ... Olesen began urinating right in the aisle of the 1st class cabin.

Olesen was traveling with fellow PGA star Ian Poulter -- the two had competed in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis over the weekend.

Poulter reportedly tried to diffuse the situation during the flight ... and when he felt Olesen was under control, he decided to take a nap.

But, when he woke up, Poulter's rep says the golfer learned about the wild allegations against his fellow golf pro. In other words, Poulter feels he doesn't deserve a single ounce of blame.

The Met. Police Dept. (the agency which took Olesen into custody in London) tells TMZ Sports Olesen was booked on several charges including "suspicion of sexual assault, being drunk on board an aircraft and failing to comply with the orders of cabin crew."

We also reached out to British Airways, which said, "Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights, and not to suffer any form of abuse."

"This sort of behaviour (they used the "u") will not be tolerated, and the appropriate action will always be taken."

Olesen was eventually released from custody and the incident is currently under investigation.

For what it's worth ... Olesen finished 27th in the tournament over the weekend and tweeted, "Not much to say, other than I’m pretty disappointed with today’s performance!"

"Now for some time off and practice to get things right."

Heidi Montag's been sticking up for her man in the ongoing feud with his former bestie, Brody Jenner ... but she's also confident she can help mend fences.

Heidi and Spencer Pratt were leaving Matsuhisa Wednesday night in Bev Hills when we asked the couple about her saying her husband's an easy scapegoat on "The Hills: New Beginnings" ... especially for Brody.

Spencer pooh-poohs it a little bit, but suggests the 2 bros will be able to work it out ... just maybe not until season 2 of the show. Always leave 'em wanting more.

Heidi also insists there's nothing but love for Jenner -- even as she jabs him a little -- and says she's prepared to extend the olive branch and bring the buds back together.

For those who don't know ... Spencer and Brody's tensions have been rising all season as they've aired grievances about the past and called each other out for perceived slights. Pratt has described their volatile relationship as "very Game of Thrones-ish" ... which doesn't sound promising.

Still, he seems more optimistic here.

Kurt Rappaport, the mega-realtor who claims his estranged wife is extorting him for millions and threatened to ruin his life if he doesn't pay up ... allegedly got into a heated argument over having children, and that's what ended the marriage ... this according to estranged wife Sarah Mutch.

Mutch filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, which claims last February, 16 months after they married, they were at dinner with friends and the topic of having children came up. The former Guess model says one of the people at the table commented that Kurt didn't seem interested in having children.

She says she thought they would have children and realized he had no such intention. They got into a heated argument on the way home. She says when they got home he began screaming at her, saying all she cared about was money and she was a "greedy monster." She says she then told him she wanted a divorce.

She claims there was a pattern of verbal abuse over a period of years, claiming he tried to slam through doors when she would lock herself away from his outbursts.

As we reported, Rappaport claims she threatened to ruin his life with false allegations if he didn't cough up millions. He filed a police report claiming she was trying to extort him with lies.

She says in the new docs, she never threatened to ruin his career and was never physically violent with him ... something he alleged in his extortion lawsuit.

As for the money dispute, she says she gave up her modeling career at his request so she could be available for business events and travel, and to care for his 3 kids.

She says she has no money ... claiming he gave her $50,000 when they split up but she only had access to $41,000. She says because she got no spousal support, as required by the prenup, she had to use that money for living expenses.

She wants him to pay for a lawyer so she can determine if she should challenge the prenup, which gives her $45,000 a month for half the duration of the marriage ... and the marriage only lasted 16 months.

Smokey Robinson would like the real, good Republicans to please stand up ... because he says it's up to them to rid the country of its "canker sore" President.

We got the Motown icon at LAX Wednesday night and asked him about John Legend's profanity-laced tirade about Donald Trump ... Smokey seems to second that emotion, though way more low-key.

Robinson tells us he doesn't feel compelled to get too political himself, though ... because at this point anyone who's logical knows what needs to be done. The problem -- he says Republicans aren't listening to logic and speaking up.

Smokey goes on to slam the GOP for putting its party first and the good of the U.S. second ... and suggests its members are either afraid of something or obsessed with power.