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Taylor Swift has been complaining she's been blocked from performing her early hits during the AMAs because of her old label, Big Machine, but the label tells us she's dead wrong ... Taylor can perform her entire catalog if she wants.

A Big Machine exec tells TMZ, "Taylor Swift can 100% perform all of her catalog, past and present, on the AMAs." The official adds, BM has no issue with her performance going out on the live broadcast, because it recognizes it doesn't have the right to block her. The official says, "Our confusion with her statement is that we have no legal right to stop this and have never tried. She and her team both know this."

Fact is ... Big Machine is correct. Labels can't block artists from performing any songs -- theirs or others -- live, and since the AMAs are airing live ... have at it, Taylor.

BTW ... it's interesting. Taylor performed "Shake it Off" -- a song from her Big Machine catalog -- live on "Good Morning America" on August 22.

The Big Machine exec says, "We are excited for all her fans, as all of the confusion has now been cleared up, and we now welcome Taylor to perform all of her hits on the AMAs."

The father of the 16-year-old who killed two of his classmates in a terrorizing school shooting was an avid hunter who had no problem posing with his kills.

We've obtained photos of shooter Nathaniel Berhow's dad, Mark, on various hunting and shooting excursions. While most of the photos are pretty standard -- two of them are particularly disturbing -- one of Mark posing with a dead goose and another that shows him holding what appears to be the heart of a freshly killed animal.

Mark died in 2017, and his obituary read, "An avid sportsman, he loved big game hunting and fishing of all kinds."

In another photo, Mark poses with his family, including Nathan, during an apparent hunting trip. A former childhood friend of Nathaniel told KTLA Mark used to make his own bullets.

On Friday, cops announced they'd recovered several firearms at Nathan's home, six of which were registered to Mark. The origin of the gun used in the attack remains unclear.

As we reported, Nathan opened fire at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, CA Thursday, killing two students. Berhow allegedly turned the gun on himself, but is still in custody and being treated at a local hospital.

Tyron Woodley says the UFC would be crazy not to sign Logan Paul to an MMA contract ASAP ... because he's PROVED he's got all the right ingredients to be a smash hit.

Woodley says he was super impressed with Paul's performance against KSI -- and advised him after the match to take ANOTHER fight.

"I think you should go and do it again," Woodley told Paul ... "You looked good, you just didn't win."

But, Woodley DOES think he can win in the UFC -- and says he wouldn't be surprised if Dana White signs the 24-year-old to a contract in the very near future.

"Logan Paul fits the exact demographic," Tyron said on 'The Hollywood Beatdown.' "He's got a huge following, great build, he looks athletic, he's a Division 1 wrestler, he's insane and he's gonna talk a lot of s**t so the press conferences are gonna be insane."

Woodley continued, "I wouldn't be surprised in the next 2 months if we see some breaking news on Logan Paul getting a couple fight deals with the UFC."

If he does get to the UFC, Woodley says there's only ONE fighter he wouldn't help Logan prepare for ... CM Punk. Check out the clip to hear why.

Lizzo may have bitten off more than she could chew by claiming a Postmates driver stole her food ... because the driver is now coming after her in court.

Tiffany Wells claims in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Lizzo has really screwed up her life when she went on social media and posted a picture of Tiffany claiming she pilfered the meal she was delivering to Lizzo's Boston hotel back in September.

Lizzo belatedly acknowledged she was wrong and Tiffany did nothing wrong. In fact, Tiffany went beyond what she had to do to find Lizzo in the hotel, but she was nowhere to be seen so Tiffany eventually left.

Tiffany also notes Postmates sided with her, and she moved on to the next delivery like she was supposed to after she couldn't reach Lizzo.

Tiffany says she's received threats and is concerned for her safety. She no longer works for Postmates because of the Lizzo incident. She says she lives in fear and is subject to ridicule and humiliation, along with stress and anxiety.

She's suing Lizzo -- who has more than a million twitter followers -- for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Aaron Carter's mom was caught on video brutally smacking one of his dogs ... and now the singer is at war with PETA.

Aaron is trading blows the animal org after it called out Aaron and his mother, saying, "Dogs are family -- not for IG likes. SLAPPING them or SELLING THEM for a profit when millions are homeless in shelters is cruelty."

The whole incident went down Wednesday night while Aaron was on Instagram Live as he and his mom were driving across the state. At one point, you can see the pug make its way onto the middle console from the back seat when, out of nowhere, Jane violently slaps the dog ... sending it to the backseat.

After PETA put Aaron on blast, the singer responded with an expletive-laced tirade saying, "My message is f*** you, PETA. F*** you, PETA. F*** you, PETA. Whoever is running your f***ing organizations and campaigns, you can f***ing suck my d***." Classy.

Aaron -- who was briefly hospitalized the day after the dog-slapping incident -- also threatened, "I'm gonna sue the s*** out of PETA. I'm gonna take htem for millions of dollars, and then I'm gonna give back money to a community that actually does help animals."

Jamie Foxx couldn't keep his hands off Kate Beckinsale at a fancy party ... and the timing is interesting considering both are recently single.

Jamie and Kate looked pretty comfortable with each other Thursday night at Catch LA, dressed to the nines for a Golden Globe Ambassadors party in West Hollywood. Jamie's got his arm around Kate's lower back, and she's pushing right up against his body.

Sure, they did the thing where ya take a couple of pics with other friends, including Tyrese -- some call that cover -- but Kate and Jamie stayed close together, even in the group shots.

The cozy pics have some folks wondering if there's something brewing between Jamie and Kate. They certainly LOOK like they would make a great couple.

TMZ broke the story ... Kate is no longer married to Len Wiseman -- earlier this month a family law judge made their divorce official.

Jamie's back in the single lane too ... he split from Katie Holmes this summer after 6 years of dating.

The Cleveland Police Dept. is NOT investigating Myles Garrett for assault stemming from the helmet attack on Steelers QB Mason Rudolph, a spokesperson tells TMZ Sports.

We asked if the CPD was planning to arrest the 23-year-old and we were told quite simply, "No."

"The person who was hit would have to file a report. There is no criminal complaint filed," Cleveland PD Public Information Officer Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia tells us.

The incident went down in the final seconds of the game at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland -- when Garrett and Rudolph tussled after a play ... followed by Garrett ripping off Mason's helmet and swinging it at his head.

After the game Garrett spoke about the incident -- "What I did was foolish, and I shouldn’t have allowed myself to slip like that," Garrett said ... "It’s out of character."

"I lost my cool and I regret it," he added ... "It’s going to come back to hurt our team. The guys who jumped into the scrum, I appreciate my team having my back, but it never should have gotten to that point."

Rudolph also commented ... saying, "I thought it was pretty cowardly and bush league."

"I’m not going to back down from any bully. I felt like I had a bone to pick with him. I appreciate the line always having my back, but I was angry."

We spoke with "Friday Night Lights" director Peter Berg after the game -- and he told us the scene looked like something out of "Game of Thrones."

As for punishment, Berg says a 4-game suspension is probably fair.

Other stars, like ex-NFL linebacker James Harrison, seem to be calling for harsher punishment.

"That’s assault at the least... 6 months in jail on the street.. now add the weapon and that’s at least a year right?!"

President Trump's former confidante, Roger Stone, is guilty of lying to Congress during the Russia election interference probe -- a federal jury convicted him on all 7 counts he was facing.

Stone looked very optimistic on his way into a federal court in Washington, D.C. -- clutching his wife and a Bible closely -- but after one full day of deliberations, the jury returned guilty verdicts across the board.

He was facing 7 counts of making false statements to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Stone becomes the 6th Trump aide or associate to be convicted in trials stemming from Robert Mueller's probe -- and, of course, the guilty verdict comes with the backdrop of the Trump impeachment hearings.

FBI agents busted Stone -- who also worked on Richard Nixon's 1972 campaign -- during a January raid at his Florida home.

He was indicted for lying to the House Intelligence Committee during his 2017 testimony.

President Trump reacted swiftly to the news his pal got nailed by, predictably, calling out Hillary Clinton, Mueller and several FBI agents.

Kim Petras is making a huge splash ... first with music fans, and now with the infamously anti-LGBTQ Westboro Baptist Church ... with a bombshell right under its nose.

Kim, an up-and-coming singer who is transgender, has her mug plastered all over 4 electronic billboards in Topeka, Kansas. That's not exactly where you'd expect a singer who's blowing up in the gay community to promote, but it starts to make sense when you realize Topeka is HQ for the hatemongers at Westboro Baptist.

Sources connected to Kim tell TMZ ... they don't know who put the billboards up but they were clearly designed to yutz the church -- known for its campaigns against several entertainers, gay and straight. They once went after Blake Shelton simply because he supports the LGBTQ community.

The billboards are all near the church and, we're told, purposefully directed at Westboro. Pretty great, huh?

So far, Westboro's yet to fire any shots at Kim -- whose music's been compared to early Lady Gaga -- but that's probably only because it didn't know she's transgender, or that the billboards were an intentional jab.

Taylor Swift's claim Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta from Big Machine are blocking her from performing her own songs at the AMAs is a complete fabrication ... according to the record label, which thinks she made a calculated move to harm its people.

Big Machine says it was shocked to see Taylor's comments Thursday, and denies ever saying she could not perform at the awards show or blocking her Netflix special. It adds ... "In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere."

To be fair, Swift never said BM was keeping her from performing ... she specifically stated it was keeping her from performing her own songs, and using her own songs and performance footage in the Netflix documentary.

Big Machine also claims Taylor's admitted to owing the company millions of dollars and it says it was optimistic the 2 sides were working toward resolving the issue ... but then she bailed.

Instead, BM says "Taylor made a unilateral decision last night to enlist her fanbase in a calculated manner that greatly affects the safety of our employees and their families.

The label adds ... "Taylor, the narrative you have created does not exist."

Taylor's spokeswoman says "Big Machine is trying to deflect and make this about money by saying she owes them, but an independent, professional auditor has determined that Big Machine owes Taylor $7.9 million of unpaid royalties over several years."

Despite Big Machine's denial, Swift's friend, Selena Gomez, has her back 100 percent. Selena says she's "sick and extremely angry" over the situation, and accuses the label of "greed, manipulation and power."

Gomez says of BM ... "You've robbed and crushed one of our best song writers of our time an opportunity to celebrate all of her music with fans and the world." She goes on to praise Swift's character, talent and strength ... and says she knows Taylor will not stop fighting.

Halsey echoes many of the same thoughts, accusing BM of making an awful business move and being mean and vindictive. She says the label is banking on people not sticking up for Taylor ... but says it's "barking up the wrong tree."

Amber Portwood allegedly threatened the YouTuber who posted clips of her machete incident with her baby daddy ... and that could get her in big trouble with her probation officer.

The Marion County District Attorney tells TMZ ... Katie Joy -- the woman behind a YouTube account that's been documenting Amber's domestic violence case -- reached out to the D.A.'s Office and accused Amber of making threats.

We're told the D.A. passed it along to the probation officer overseeing the "Teen Mom OG" star's case. As we've reported, Amber pled guilty to 2 felonies -- domestic battery and intimidation. She got 906 days of probation, but if probation is violated the judge can send her to the slammer for a long time.

In this clip from Amber's Instagram Live ... Katie claims Amber's speaking directly to her, when she says, "I know your address." Portwood says someone is going to get what she has coming to her, and Katie claims Amber's clearly referencing her.

Remember ... Katie's YouTube account, Without a Crystal Ball, published video and audio of the entire blowout between Amber and Andrew Glennon.

Sources close to Katie tell TMZ ... she's getting threats from Amber's fans hoping she dies, and she's afraid one of Portwood's fans will attack her.

We're told Katie has not filed a police report because she's not sure what cops in Minnesota -- where she lives -- would be able to do.

The QB has landed!

Colin Kaepernick flew into Atlanta on Thursday to get ready for his NFL workout -- and our sources say he's already in game mode.

Kap touched down around 5 AM in hopes of getting through the airport without fanfare -- and he pretty much did.

We're told he was with a very small group of people and the person who shot the pic tells us, "He looked like he was focused."

Of course, Colin was decked out in Nike gear -- no shock considering he has a deal with the Swoosh, which has stuck with him through everything.

Next up for Colin ... showtime on Saturday -- when roughly a dozen NFL teams will have reps at the Atlanta Falcons facility to evaluate the 32-year-old.

There's been a ton of stuff going down behind the scenes ... Kap's camp wanted the workout on a weekday so more NFL team decision makers could attend. He also wants a list of team reps attending the workout, something the NFL says it will NOT provide.

Tyler Christopher -- best known for his appearances on "General Hospital" for 20 years -- got a break from the judge in his public intoxication case because the judge rejected the plea of a cop who begged hizzoner to put Tyler into a treatment program for alcoholism.

The Morgan County Prosecutor's Office tells TMZ ... Tyler pled guilty to 2 counts of misdemeanor public intoxication following his Monday night arrest in Martinsville, Indiana.

Tyler was booked Monday on his 47th birthday and stayed locked up until his release two days later.

Tyler was ordered to pay a $440 fine. He's got until next week to fork over the dough. And, that's it ... he didn't get probation and the judge did NOT order him to enter into an alcohol treatment program.

That's significant because according to the arrest report ... cops requested "the judge consider the possible sentence of a treatment facility for Tyler Christopher's alcohol issues, as well as consider restitution to [the Uber driver] for the damage to his vehicle from Tyler Christopher urinating in his back seat."

Tyler squared things up with the Uber driver. TMZ broke the story ... Tyler passed out in the back seat of an Uber driver's car and urinated himself on the night he was busted.

Chicago-born T'Keyah Crystal Keymah was only 28 years old when she showed her funny side with characters like Cryssy, Hilda Hedley, Mrs. Buttman and Leslie Livingston with Homey The Clown on the '90s alternative sketch comedy TV show, "In Living Color" on FOX.

Keymah was cast alongside huge stars on the rise including Jim Carey, Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, David Alan Grier, Jennifer Lopez ... and of course the entire Wayan's family brood.

Keymah is also well known for playing the mom, Tanya Baxter -- opposite Raven-Symone -- on "That's So Raven."

Carmelo Anthony tells TMZ Sports he WILL be back in the NBA this season -- and he's even open to returning to the New York Knicks!

Everyone's been wondering about Melo's basketball future ever since he parted ways with the Houston Rockets back in January.

35-year-old Anthony has previously said he wants to get back in the league -- however, no one has pulled the trigger yet.

But, it sounds like Melo's got something cookin' ... because when we saw the 35-year-old leaving The Henry in L.A. on Wednesday night, he was VERY optimistic about his return.

"We're figuring it out," Melo told us ... noting that he was NOT in town to speak with the Lakers or the Clippers.

When we pushed back and asked if he'll be on a roster this season, Melo told us ... "For sure. 2000%."

There are reports the Knicks could be interested in Anthony -- interesting considering the way things ended back in 2017 -- but Melo says he's down to return.

"We open man. We open to every opportunity."

In fact, Melo even defended Knicks head coach David Fizdale ... saying the team's lowly 2-9 record isn't all his fault ... "It's a lot of things that goes into that."

So, where will Melo end up this season? Stay tuned ...

Popeyes is no longer a breeding ground for violence over its chicken sandwich ... the mania's finally died down at many locations.

We hit up the store on world-famous Hollywood Blvd., which is normally swarmed just because of tourists ... but there was only a small line of customers. Also, everyone was cool as a cucumber.

It's a far cry from the scenes we saw across the country earlier this month when the fast food chicken joint brought back its massively popular chicken sando, causing insane lines and wild moments of mayhem.

As we reported ... there was a fatal stabbing at a Popeyes in Maryland, and there was a rash of videos showing brawls between employees and customers alike ... all dealing with lines out the door and at the drive-thru.

Question is ... is the bloom off the rose, or are hungry customers just too fearful of potential violence?

We're not trying to start another rush, but if you're spicy chicken curious ... looks like the coast is clear.

Guess George Lopez struck a chord when he told us some fried chicken stuffed between a bun ain't worth risking your life.