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Nicki Minaj's wax figure unveiling in Berlin has drawn the ire of the Internet, but here's the thing -- she gave it her stamp of approval ... more than 4 years ago.

Turns out, the "new" Nicki wax figure at Madame Tussauds Berlin isn't new at all ... it's the same one unveiled in August 2015 at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas. We're told Minaj's wax likeness was moved to Germany because the museum loans statues out frequently to mix up the attractions at its various locations.

Also, for all the haters claiming Nicki's being disrespected because the figure doesn't look anything like her ... she disagrees. Our sources say, her team actually worked with the museum on the project in 2015, and she signed off on it before it went public.

Laura Dern's "Marriage Story" character isn't anything like the real-life divorce attorney she's supposedly based on ... so says the woman herself, who's kinda salty about the portrayal.

We ran into Disso Queen Laura Wasser Tuesday night at Craig's in WeHo and asked how she felt about the movie ... which many have speculated is not-so-loosely based on director Noah Baumbach's 2013 divorce from then-wife Jennifer Jason Leigh, who used Wasser.

Check it out ... Laura says there's not much similarity between herself and Dern's feisty Nora Fanshaw, who reps ScarJo in the movie and comes off as deceptively aggressive. Spoiler alert ... she ends up winning on behalf of her client, but the way she gets there sorta sucks.

LW has a funnier way of putting it -- she's a bit blunter in describing how LD was depicted, and she says it couldn't be further from the truth in how she handles her biz.

The Clemson vs. LSU championship game on Monday will be one of "the more secure places in America" -- with fighter jets patrolling the skies -- so says Sen. Marco Rubio.

With Iran vowing revenge on the U.S. -- and reportedly offering an $80 MILLION bounty on President Trump -- some people are concerned the Superdome could be a major target, especially since Trump is scheduled to attend the game.

But, Rubio isn't concerned one bit ... in fact, he believes Trump's presence will ensure top-notch safety efforts and insists fans should focus on enjoying the game.

"[Trump] being there will probably make it one of the more secure places in America for those 3 hours that he's there," Rubio tells TMZ Sports.

"It's already tight security to begin with because of the size of the event, but him being there will be even more so."

Rubio continued ... "I kind of understand what he travels with in terms of security and all of the things he brings with it. The whole airspace is restricted. They'll have fighter jets up there. So, not your typical event."

Rae Sremmurd's stepfather -- who helped raised them since they were young -- is dead after a shooting in Mississippi, and police have their brother in custody.

Tupelo PD says officers were dispatched Monday night to a home where they found a man who'd died on the scene from at least a couple gunshot wounds. According to our law enforcement sources ... Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi's younger half-brother, Michael Sullivan, is being held for psychiatric evaluation.

At this point, they're calling the 19-year-old a person of interest in the shooting.

The Lee County Medical Examiner tells TMZ the victim is 62-year-old Floyd Sullivan. He's Swae and Slim's stepdad. He's raised them ever since the boys were in middle school, and moved to Mississippi with their mother, Bernadette. Floyd also has a son, Floyd Jr., from a previous relationship.

Police say no one else is being sought in connection with the killing.

It's unclear how much Slim or Swae know about what went down. We've reached out to a rep for the duo, but so far ... no word back.

The "Jeopardy!" boys facing off for G.O.A.T. status already have tons of cash to their names -- and with even more up for grabs ... we noticed they have very different spending habits.

TMZ did some digging, and it turns out Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer have chosen to splurge (or not splurge) on unique causes -- and you'd be surprised at who's done what with their dough. BTW, this new 3-day tourney's got a million-dollar cash prize.

That said ... let's get into the numbers a bit.

Starting with Ken, the guy's racked up a grand total of about $3.5 million in "Jeopardy!" winnings over the years between his regular 74-game streak in '04 and other tournaments he's competed in since. Looks like KJ's an investor type -- he's got quite the portfolio.

Ken's got a crib with an estimated value of $2.1 million in Seattle. He's also pledged 10% of his OG $2.52 mil haul to the Mormon church and has announced a couple other donations. Other monies are tied up in stocks and bonds.

James seems a bit more charitable, at least publicly. He's pulled in around $2.7 mil from "Jeopardy!" and a good amount has gone to charities like Project 150, Communities in Schools of Nevada, Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation and the Lustgarten Foundation.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Jax Taylor knows full well what he's saying about the new cast isn't nice, but he's saying it anyway ... on the heels of attacking a fellow veteran on the show too.

Jax and his wife, costar Brittany Cartwright, were out Tuesday night in NYC and said except for 2 newbies -- Max Boyens and Brett Caprioni -- the rest of 'em aren't his cup of tea. That's putting it lightly. You gotta see his choice words.

Then there's this ... while on 'Watch What Happens Live' after the season 8 premiere Tuesday night, Jax also went after Ariana Madix in a vile way, appearing to out her as a lesbian.

Ariana was watching, apparently, and fired back on social media, saying ... "I DO like women AND men. It's called being bisexual. Ever heard of it?"

So, why does Jax have his undies in a bunch over all his costars? Hard to say what his beef is with Ariana, but as for the new blood around Lisa Vanderpump -- Jax admits he just doesn't know 'em ... and he doesn't like new people.

Rare Jack Nicholson sighting at Staples Center on Tuesday -- where the Hollywood legend returned to his old stomping grounds to watch the Lakers crush the Knicks.

... and during the game, he became BFFs with rap star Tory Lanez!

Remember, 82-year-old Jack used to be a regular at Lakers games -- and was even considered the Lake Show's #1 fan!

But, a few years ago, when the Lakers were in the thick of sucking ass ... Jack basically stopped going to games and even offered to sell his floor seats to TMZ (we couldn't afford 'em).

Good news though ... the Lakers are GOOD AGAIN (they're in 1st place in the West) and Jack is excited enough about LeBron James and co. to return to his courtside seats!

You can see in the pic, Jack and Tory became fast friends -- the 3rd guy in the pic is fashion mogul Umar Kamani. Jack's 27-year-old son, Ray Nicholson, was also there!

A bunch of other big stars came out for the game including Jimmy Iovine, Michael Che, Hannibal Burress, Andy Garcia and more!

Final Score -- 117 to 87, with LeBron dropping 31 points in 31 minutes.

DaBaby is flying free and clear for an alleged brawl at DFW Airport ... because prosecutors will NOT file charges against him.

The melee went down last month when the rapper and a friend were accused of attacking a food stand employee. We're told DaBaby's lawyer, Michael Heiskell, presented video evidence to the Tarrant County D.A. showing his client didn't commit the assault ... and as a result prosecutors are falling back.

We obtained footage from the fight, showing the final moments of the scuffle ... which became an issue again following DaBaby's arrest in Miami last week. He allegedly beat up a concert promoter for shorting him $10,000 on his fee,

Lisa Vanderpump just couldn't resist taking a swipe at Bravo for skipping out on the tab for a "Vanderpump Rules" party ... but fortunately, the newest cast member has deep pockets.

Check out this video from Monday night's bash at Hyde on Sunset, where the cast was celebrating the 8th season of "Vanderpump Rules" ... Lisa grabs the mic and puts the network on blast for refusing to foot the huge bill. Shots fired!!!

Our sources say Randall Emmett, who is joining the show this year -- along with his company Emmett Furla Films and 310 Nutrition -- stepped in and dropped about $50,000 to throw his new cast members a lavish party complete with tons of food and an open bar.

Randall's engaged to "Vanderpump Rules" star Lala Kent, and he just produced "The Irishman."

Too Short even showed up for a short set thanks to David Weintraub Entertainment. ... we're told the two are super close.

Seems Randall's already endearing himself to the cast -- money and famous friends will do the trick. Lisa certainly likes him, a lot more than she likes those cheapskates at Bravo.

The rappers are already lining up to work with Antonio Brown after the NFL superstar released his first-ever music video ... with O.T. Genasis saying he wants to get in the studio with AB!!!

As we previously reported, the All-Pro receiver just dropped his rap single "Whole Lotta Money" ... which is about ... well, you know.

TMZ Sports spoke with the "Big Shot" rapper at LAX to get a critique on the track ... and while he doesn't hate it, O.T. says there's some major room for improvement.

"It's not bad," O.T. tells us. "He needs a little bit of tweakin' on his verses at least."

O.T. added ... "It's dope, the cadence is dope."

How dope is it??? Dope enough for the guy behind the insanely huge hit, "CoCo" to actually willingly hit the studio with AB as long as he keeps working on his craft.

We asked O.T. to give us a rating out of 10 ... to which he says "4.5" BUT "with a possibility of an 8."

O.T. gets real for a second and says it's gonna be tough for AB to be taken seriously because people will view him as a football player, but admits there's one athlete who was able to pull off a straight-up banger.

And, just like AB ... the song is about money.

East Coast-native Jeremy Blackman gained fame in the late '90s when he took the role of the super-smart, quiz kid Stanley Spector -- who carries the kids team and sings a few lines from the opera "Carmen" -- in Paul Thomas Anderson's third feature film, "Magnolia."

Jeremy Blackman wets himself during a taping of the show "What Do Kids Know?" but wasn't alone in the scenes ... the game show is hosted by Jimmy Gator, played by Philip Baker Hall, the trash-talking adult contestant, Luis, played by Luis Guzman and Stanley's aggressive stage dad, Rick, played by Michael Bowen.

"Mob Wives" star Drita D'Avanzo's husband just got swept up in a huge weed sting operation in New Jersey ... and he's facing two new drug charges.

Prosecutors in Jersey say they are charging Drita's hubby, Lee D'Avanzo, with fourth-degree conspiracy to possess marijuana and fourth-degree possession of marijuana in excess of 50 grams.

Lee is one of 24 people arrested as part of a yearlong investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Narcotics and Criminal Enterprise Unit. The sting, dubbed "Operation on The Ropes," uncovered what prosecutors say was a scheme to secretly convert legit candy, like Nerds Rope and Sour Patch, into illegal THC-infused products.

Authorities in Jersey say they executed over a dozen search warrants, resulting in the seizure of 21,000 packages of candy infused with suspected THC, plus another 1,100 lbs. of suspected marijuana and over 6,000 flavored THC vape cartridges.

All told ... officials say the drugs carried a street value of $1.9 million.

This is Lee's second round of drug charges in the past two months. As we reported, Lee and Drita were busted last month on a slew of guns and drug charges after NYPD raided their Staten Island home.

"Ink Master" star Oliver Peck is packing up his tools and saying goodbye to the show in the fallout after his blackface scandal ... TMZ has learned.

Peck says his exit is a mutual decision, telling us ... "After filming 13 great seasons of Ink Master, the producers and I have decided it’s best to part ways." He also acknowledged the blackface pics, saying, "The offensive photos of me which recently surfaced from many years ago can only be a distraction to the amazing show I have loved being a part of and its many talented artists."

He ended on a conciliatory note, saying ... "I want to thank the show’s cast, crew, contestants and awesome fans. It’s been a blast and an honor and I wish my friends and colleagues the very best in whatever the future holds." He's been on as a judge since 2012.

Peck's now ex-employers at Paramount Network also denounced the scandal, saying ... "We, like many others, were appalled when we saw the photos of Oliver. We were glad to see his apology and accept that he is taking full responsibility for the damaging impact of his actions."

Blac Chyna's living wild and dangerously -- even in front of her kids -- according to Rob Kardashian ... who wants her parenting time reduced to just weekend days with a nanny present ... and some of the allegations include chasing people with knives.

Rob just filed new legal docs seeking primary custody of their 3-year-old daughter, Dream. He claims his baby mama is out of control, and people close to the situation can back it up ... including his sister, Khloe.

According to the docs ... Chyna regularly parties hard in her house with Dream present and invites strangers over to join her. Rob says she's drunk all the time, and a former employee of Chyna's alleges she spends $600 on alcohol almost daily and can down an entire bottle of Hennessy.

Chyna's accused of snorting cocaine and making violent threats to people in her home ... and getting physical by throwing objects, including knives and lit candles. One alleged incident involved Chyna hurling sharp objects at her hairdresser.

Rob claims Dream's behavior has changed for the worse -- along with her personal hygiene -- due to Chyna's parenting. He says Dream's started "naked twerking, and acting out sexual positions that she said her mom taught her." He says his daughter arrives to him with messy hair, dirty teeth and dirty nails.

Rob also claims Chyna's influence has resulted in Dream developing a potty mouth ... including saying "bitch" and "What the f**k?" Rob says these are not terms she hears at his home.

As for Khloe ... she claims in the docs that she's noticed a behavioral change in Dream at her play dates with her cousins. Khloe says when Dream first gets back from being with Chyna, she's "more in defense mode" and is "decidedly more aggressive."

The Screen Actors Guild buildings in L.A. and NY are on high alert after phone threats, one of which was related to President Trump and U.S. tensions with Iran.

Law enforcement sources in NY tells TMZ ... someone called SAG's office in Manhattan just after noon PT and threatened an attack, saying something to the effect of ... "I'm going to blow up the L.A. and NY SAG Offices."

We're told the phoned threat on the West Coast was less specific, though still plenty terrifying. In L.A., the caller said he was unhappy with POTUS and the situation with Iran ... according to a law enforcement source -- a clear reference to the drone attack that killed Iran's Gen. Soleimani.

We're told SAG-L.A. deemed the threat credible, immediately evacuated, and got cops involved. SAG HQ in NY did not evacuate, but NYPD responded and took a report for aggravated harassment.

In L.A., the bomb squad is on the scene, conducting a sweep of the building.

'Bachelor' Nation might do a double-take at this -- one of the Victorias from this week's premiere went quite a ways with Peter Weber ... but probably not the one you thought.

The pilot stud was recently spotted hand-in-hand with contestant Victoria Fuller, who made her debut to the show during Monday night's episode kicking off the 24th season, to mixed reviews. Welp, it looks like she stayed in the game long enough for hometowns.

TMZ obtained video taken from this past October showing Peter walking along with the 25-year-old Medical Sales Rep and former model. We're told this was shot in Victoria's stomping grounds of Virginia Beach ... which means she was one of the last 4 girls.

Funny enough, a ton of fans seemed to think Victoria P would actually be one of the final four. It's possible she still is, but we know for sure VF went the distance herself.

Now, in the clip, you see the pair walking their dog, whom we're told is hers and is named Buxton. Later, you see them embracing in a kiss after a live band plays at a bar called The Shack. Clearly, VF left her mark ... even though she comes with some controversy.

As soon as Monday's episode aired, old modeling photos of Victoria F circulated ... showin' her rocking gear for a White Lives Matter campaign on behalf of the White Marlin Marina.  Fact is ... this White Lives Matter is designed to bring awareness to conservation of marlins.