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Taylor Swift's highly anticipated new album hit a glitch on Spotify Thursday night when the streaming giant literally crashed as her record dropped, causing mass confusion online.

The Grammy-award-winning artist released her 10th album, "Midnights," right at the stroke of midnight and, not coincidentally, that's when Spotify went down.

But, things got right back on track for Taylor ... as Spotify quickly repaired the problem so her millions of "Swifties" could enjoy the music.

During the outage, though, her fans went into panic mode on social media.

“Spotify crashed following the release of Taylor Swift’s new album #TSmidnighTS,” one freaked-out fan wrote, adding, “something went wrong.”

“YALL DONE BROKE SPOTIFY," said another nervous fan.

A third "Swiftie" said, “Spotify literally broke for like a minute!!! I was in panic mode,” before a fourth posted the app’s error message, tweeting, “Really @Spotify? On a night like this? I am fuming #TSmidnightTS.”

But, all's well that ends well. Taylor treated her "Swifties" to a special edition of the album with seven extra tunes that dropped 3 hours later on Spotify.

If there weren't enough proof the world has gone crazy and mental health is a critical issue for our survival ... check out this horrific story of a 23-year-old who allegedly stabbed his mother and dog with a samurai sword before he was Tased by police.

It happened Tuesday night in L.A. ... Eric Herrera is seen on video dazed, holding the sword as police implore him to drop it. In short order, a cop Tasers Herrera, and you see him fall to the ground.

Neighbors say the scene looked like it was right out of a horror movie, as they watched it all unfold. One neighbor says it appeared Herrera was in the midst of a mental health crisis.

The woman was pleading for help, screaming, "I'm your mother!"

There are conflicting reports about the fate of the family dog. The most recent report is that the dog seems to have survived the attack, but that's unconfirmed.

The mother's condition has not been released, but KTLA says a relative told the outlet the woman is in stable condition.

Kanye West is catching heat for using the r-word to describe President Biden ... condemned by folks who advocate for folks with Down syndrome and disabilities.

Ye lashed out at Biden in his interview with Piers Morgan, saying POTUS is "f***ing r-word" for not seeking input from Elon Musk, and now the epithet is sparking outrage.

Jordan Kough, Executive Director of the National Down Syndrome Congress, tells TMZ ... the r-word is hateful to all people with disabilities, and it's very disappointing to see Kanye embrace it. Even worse, Kough believes Ye knows it's highly offensive.

The NDSC says the r-word strips humanity from folks with disabilities ... and Kough is encouraging Kanye, and others with big platforms, to consider the power of their words.

Over at the National Disability Rights Network, Kanye's losing tons of support. Executive Director Marlene Sallo says disability advocates appreciated when Kanye once said his bipolar disorder was his superpower, but now those same people are super upset to see Ye use an "outdated and hateful" word.

The NDRN is going a step further ... calling for Kanye to apologize. Good luck with that.

Ye's also being denounced by the National Down Syndrome Society ... a rep there tells us the r-word has no place in public discourse, regardless of whether it's aimed at someone with a disability or not.

As we reported, Kanye's on a tear against lots of groups ... making a slew of antisemitic remarks ... most recently during his chat with Piers, when he stated he only wanted to go "death con 3" on Jews who have screwed him over.

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis' dog walker is still reeling from the loss of Gordon, and speaking out about it for the first time ... saying there was no warning her time with the pup was ending.

Now, the L.A.-based dog walker's remaining anonymous, but says she was hired by Olivia and Jason in the fall of 2020. She admits being star-struck meeting Jason for the first time -- in a letter to Gawker she hilariously says, "I was suddenly willing to kill for him."

Interestingly she didn't have that reaction to Olivia, and in fact, never actually uses Olivia's name in the letter ... only referring to her as Jason's ex.

Seems she's chosen a side in the split! Anyway, she had an instant bond with Gordon.

She describes their walks together as "my happiest mornings during COVID's most depressing drawn-out flop era" ... but that all ended when she got a text that simply read, "No more Gordon walks."

She was pretty beat up over the news ... adding there was no reason given as to why their time together had to end. She says she only recently found out -- through the ex-nanny's allegations -- Gordon was dumped so OW could spend more time with Harry Styles, and rehomed ... allegedly with her NY dog walker.

As we reported, Olivia and Jason deny those allegations from their former nanny. Sources close to the couple told us their kids were pretty upset when he was given away, but so was everyone else.

Fivio Foreign is blaming arena production staffers for his recent performance woes during the Brooklyn Nets' halftime show ... and says he needs a redo to make the city proud.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Fivio at the scene of the crime -- Barclays Center, the Nets' homecourt -- and his view of the disastrous performance is his production team would've handled things perfectly, unlike the one he worked with that night.

Fivio says everything was fine during soundcheck, but at halftime, his inner earpiece was lower than the crowd noise ... and the sound was delayed in his ear.

ICYMI, Fivio got fried on social media because the Brooklyn rapper seemed to forget his lyrics altogether for a full 3 songs.

Fivio tells us Internet reactions didn't phase him much ... he remembers getting trashed online when his sound went out performing with Kanye West during one of his many Donda events last year.

He's also laughing off haters claiming he was too high to remember the words -- Fivio tells us that chapter of his life is over, and he dropped a few bars about it.

Kathy Hilton is doubling down on feelings toward Lisa Rinna and Erika Jayne ... calling them out as villains who are desperate to stir up s*** --  and her recent falling out with her sister Kyle Richards is proof.

We got the 'RHOBH' star and her pal, Faye Resnick, at La Scala in Bev Hills Wednesday ... she says the handwriting's on the wall ... Erika and Lisa are fabricating drama for the show at Kathy and Kyle's expense.

Fans of the show know Lisa and Erika went ham on Kathy, calling her out for badmouthing the cast, including Kyle and her fam -- the explosive reunion episodes showed in living color the toll it all took on the 2 sisters.

Kathy reiterated her ultimatum -- producers are going to have to choose her or the "bullies." Kathy says if the bullies return, she's history.

Halloween is now super scary for the 4 daycare workers who scared the crap out of children at a Mississippi childcare facility ... because they're now facing felony charges and possible prison time.

The 4 women are facing 3 counts each of felony child abuse. As you see in the video, which has exploded online, one of the women in a horror mask terrifies the little kids -- who look like they're 3 or 4 years old. The kids understandably lose it ... screaming and crying.

Another daycare worker is facing 2 misdemeanor charges -- failure to report abuse and simple assault.

All of the employees were fired by the daycare owner.

What's interesting ... whether the parents of the kids will sue for infliction of emotional distress.  Seems like kind of a layup.

Amanda Bynes and her ex-fiancé Paul Michael are giving it another shot -- they've reunited, but this time they're taking it slow, 'cause no one's talking about walking down the aisle.

Sources close to the off-and-on-again couple tell TMZ ... Amanda and Paul are dating after breaking up and calling off their engagement in the summer ... and they're even living together again at Amanda's L.A. home.

They called it quits in July, but we're told the breakup only lasted about 2 weeks. By early August they were back at it and dating again.

Amanda posted a pic Saturday showing her holding a guy's hand. We've confirmed that was Paul in the photo ... so, the post was a not-so-subtle hint they might be back together, and that is the case. 💯

Our sources say Paul and Amanda, who've been hot and cold for 3 years, have broken up a few times but always seem to work things out and get back together.

Celebrities often go all out when it comes to their Halloween costumes ... and a lot of them look smokin' hot in their garb, so we've gotta ask -- Who'd you rather?!

Cowgirls have always been a popular costume choice during the spooky season ... and Draya Michele & Kim Kardashian have been down this road before ... so which one's hogtied your heart?

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are 2 of the hottest rappers in the game ... not only for their bars, but for their Halloween outfits, too! So who caught your eye?

Ric Flair is on the fence about whether he'll ever wrestle again ... telling TMZ Sports he'll "never say never" to taking another match -- but for right now, he's retired.

Of course, the 73-year-old Nature Boy and his son-in-law Andrade El Idolo whooped Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett in what was billed as his "Last Match" back in July ... but as recently as September, he's flirted with the idea of coming back once again.

We spoke with Flair about whether he's 100% done ... and even Naitch isn't too sure if he'll ever return.

"I don't know," Flair told us out in LA this week. "I've already promised [I was done] once. Right now, I'm not doing anything. But, never say never."

Flair even gives us a flex to prove he definitely still has the muscles -- but given the health issues he had leading up to and during the last match, it's understandable why he's not adamantly vowing to come back.

Flair previously said he passed out twice from dehydration during the event ... and leading up to it, he had plantar fasciitis.

In the meantime, Naitch -- who was hanging with manager Darren Prince -- has been working alongside Mike Tyson for his "Ric Flair Drip" cannabis ... and he says it's been "raining money" since his partnership with Tyson 2.0.

If it really is the end of Flair in the ring ... he had one of the most memorable careers ever.

Before this Miami native made her way out west to Los Angeles to be a model and movie star, she was putting on her most beautiful blue dress and posing for pictures in Silver Lake, CA.

It wasn't "2 Fast 2 Furious" for this gorgeous gal to make her way back to Miami where she was in Will Smith's "Miami" music video. This cute kid had some hard training days to accomplish everything she has, and that includes playing alongside Denzel Washington in two big movies.

A few thriller movies she's starred in include "Ghost Rider," "Lost River" and "Urban Legends: Final Cut."

Mississippi State football player Sam Westmoreland was found dead on Wednesday at a church ... cops tell TMZ Sports.

A spokesperson for the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's Office says they discovered the offensive lineman's body after they were called out to Blackjack Missionary Baptist Church in Starkville regarding a death investigation.

The spokesperson said they canvased the scene after arriving ... but cleared it a couple hours later.

The OCSO official did not release a cause of death ... saying a probe into the case is still ongoing.

They added, though, that they had "no reason to suspect foul play" at this point.

Westmoreland had just joined the Bulldogs roster this year ... and was playing offensive tackle while majoring in industrial technology at the school.

"Sam was a beloved son, brother and teammate, and a tremendous young man with a limitless future," MSU head coach Mike Leach said in a statement Wednesday. "He will always be remembered and deeply missed by everyone who knew and loved him."

Westmoreland was just two days away from celebrating his 19th birthday.

Jay-Z famously sips on D'Ussé, but he no longer wants to own the liquor brand -- TMZ Hip Hop's learned he's selling it to his partners at Bacardi, but he suspects the company's playing a high stakes "shell game."

As we first reported ... Jay's filed docs demanding Bacardi open up the books on its 50/50 partnership with him on D'Ussé -- the top-shelf cognac they've co-owned since 2012 -- and now we know why.

According to docs, Jay's company, SC Liquor, exercised its right to a buyout about a year ago. Under their agreement, Bacardi now has to "negotiate in good faith" to come up with a fair price for Jay's stake in D'Ussé. Therein lies the problem ... Jay thinks they're not playing fair.

In the docs, SC Liquor says Bacardi's subsidiary, Empire Investments Inc., is trying to "stall and stonewall" all efforts to get financial info on the valuation of D'Ussé.

Keep in mind, no one's done more than Jay to hype the brand, shouting it out in countless verses -- and after a year of Bacardi dragging its feet, Jay thinks their endgame is lowballing him on the price.

Even further, Jay accuses Bacardi of mismanaging in all sorts of ways with the intent of lowering profits.

As for how much it might be worth -- the documents reference a potential value, but Jay's lawyers redacted those numbers. We do know both sides are not seeing eye-to-eye on the value, because they've each thrown out a potential value -- again, it's redacted -- but Jay described their number as "well below" fair value.

If you're wondering why Jay-Z -- who's already a billionaire many times over -- might be haggling over the price, there's BIG liquor money at stake here. Remember, George Clooney and Rande Gerber sold their stake in Casamigos tequila back in 2017 ... for nearly $1 billion!!!

Tia Mowry's giving off super positive vibes ... about her life, her family and even her estranged husband -- just a couple weeks after filing for divorce.

Tia was wrapping up a grocery run when we got her in L.A., and she opened up about how life's been for her and Cory Hardrict -- because to fans observing online, it seems like there's still a ton of love between them.

The exes have been supporting each other in the comment section of their social media posts -- and Cory even posted a video flat-out sending love to "my wife."

We asked Tia the obvious ... any chance of reconciliation? She didn't say no, and instead hit us with, "I'm just taking everything a day at a time, and that's all I'm going to say to that." 🤔

Tia also told us she and Cory are "amazing" at co-parenting in the wake of their split.

Kim Plath, star of TLC's "Welcome to Plathville," has been arrested for DUI ... following a gnarly crash a few months back that cops say sent her straight to the hospital.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops arrived at the scene of an accident in Florida In June, finding Kim's vehicle flipped upside down, in a ditch filled with water.

Police say Kim was notably intoxicated after the incident, with the smell of booze coming from her mouth -- the report says she was then taken to a nearby hospital so her injuries could get looked at.

After an initial inspection by cops, Kim was simply charged with careless driving, but investigators got a blood sample, and waited months for the results.

Her lab results came back in September according to the report, revealing she was in fact under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash's son, Tristen, who recently started working with his father's podcast, tragically passed away this week ... it was announced Thursday.

He was only 26 years old.

No cause of death has been revealed.

Sean Ross Sapp shared a statement on behalf of Tristen's parents, Kevin and Tamara, confirming the terrible news -- adding the family is asking for privacy during this difficult time.

Tristen's death comes seven months after Kevin lost one of his best friends in the wrestling industry, Scott Hall, who died earlier this year at 63.

Today actually would have been Scott's 64th birthday.

Rest in peace.