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Cruella de Vil is painted as being traumatized by Dalmatians in Disney's latest offering ... supposedly, because these "mongrels" killed her ma, which is getting a lot of head scratches.

The villain from "101 Dalmatians" gets her own backstory in the new "Cruella" flick, which is headed up by Emma Stone ... and word on the street is that part of why Cruella has it out for this breed is that they were sicced on her mom ... in a release-the-hounds fashion.

Different clips and stills have surfaced showing the flashback scene, which shows kid Cruella having to watch the woman who raised her, Catherine, get pushed over a balcony ledge by three seemingly rabid Dalmatians, who go after her on Baroness von Hellman's command.

She plummets to her death ... and the implication is that Cruella's left scarred for life -- and partially explains her obsession with the pooches going forward. In case you forgot, the OG Cruella was notorious for literally skinning Dalmatians and using them as furs.

Disney apparently doesn't quite go that far in the movie -- although different reviews say they allude to Stone's Cruella having that idea on her mind. We should also note that the character has a voice-over moment where she explicitly says she doesn't blame Dalmatians, but a lot of folks just aren't buying that ... and are calling Disney's origin rationale lame.

What the studio heads/writers did here (according to PO'd viewers) is make Dalmatians the fall dog -- when, in reality, they're actually super friendly pooches ... and don't have a rep for attacking like the movie portrays. Folks say it's a cop-out explainer that's lazy and inaccurate.

A Nashville hat shop reeks of anti-Semitism after making light of Star of David patches Jewish people were forced to wear during WWII ... by giving it an anti-vaxx twist.

The place is called hatWRKS ... and they posted a since-deleted Instagram photo featuring a woman proudly rocking a yellow patch -- made in the same style as what Nazis used to brand Jews with in the midst of the Holocaust -- with lettering reading, "Not Vaccinated."

There's a cold-blooded caption attached too, which says ... "patches are here!!! they turned out great. $5ea. strong adhesive back .... we'll be offering trucker caps soon."

Of course, the post caused an uproar online and elsewhere -- and rightly so. People note that comparing what happened to Jewish people to what anti-vaxxers perceive is happening to them right now is absolutely ludicrous, asinine ... and downright wrong. They're not the same -- not even close, and trivializing that history with a patch like this is beyond offensive.

So, what do the owners of this mom-and-pop shop have to say for themselves??? Apparently nothing so far -- it doesn't seem they've responded to the mounting criticism, other than removing the grotesque photo.

If you thought Future was done talking smack about Lori Harvey ... well, you were wrong -- 'cause the dude had even more bars for her, as well as her new man, Michael B. Jordan.

Rapper 42 Dugg previewed an extended version to his new single "Maybach" -- which initially featured Mr. Hndrxx and a memorable bar aimed at Lori and her dad, Steve -- but this time ... it looks like Future had far more to say about his ex, whom he split from last year.

The OG line was a not-so-subtle dig at Lori/Steve -- it goes ... "Tell Steve Harvey, I don't want her." Nothing too bad on the face of things ... although he was catching flak.

Welp, that backlash is only doubling now in light of what else he apparently had to say about the whole situation in the booth. The extended verse goes something like this ... "Must've forgot to tell her daddy she begged me not to leave ... She didn't have a choice but to go f*** a lame after me // Realest n**** hit the t*** she damn near OD."

Lots to unpack there -- but the takeaway, really, is that Future clearly isn't over Lori ... at least that's what the consensus on the Internet seems to be, anyway. After hearing that, it's hard to argue against ... Future does sound quite salty about the relationship, both old and new.

The diatribe against the Harvey's seems to stem from an interview Steve gave back in February ... when he was asked about Lori dating Michael -- and Steve responding with something to the effect of ... at least she's with one I can actually approve of now.

It appears Future took that personally as a shot -- but, frankly, it could've been about Diddy too. Who the hell knows??? In any case, Future got what he wanted off his chest, and threw Mike under the bus too.

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler seemed to be moving along nicely with their divorce, but it's stalling ... and we're told it's because he wants a piece of her company.

Sources close to the ex-couple tell TMZ ... the reason it's taking a while to finalize their divorce is because Jay's seeking 50 percent ownership of Uncommon James, Kristin's chic jewelry and apparel line.

We're told Cutler's insisting he should get a stake in UJ because Kristin launched it while they were married ... and well before he filed for divorce in April, 2020.

Our sources say Kristin doesn't feel she owes him anything from Uncommon James, however, because she says Jay didn't put any of his own money into the company. She claims she funded it ... and is pushing back hard.

Whether or not that's true, we do know Cutler was at the opening of Cavallari's Chicago location for support ... because it was featured on her reality show.

As we've reported ... after the divorce filing last year, things got contentious between Kristin and Jay for a while, but they seemingly worked it all out, agreeing to 50/50 custody of their 3 kids. They even hinted they were getting close again in January.

Bill Maher has a message for all the celebs who are running for office or thinking about it ... "You're not good enough, you're not smart enough, and doggone it, it completely doesn't matter that people like you."

Maher's back after a mild COVID bout, with a blistering and, dare we say, dead-on attack. He's incredulous the likes of Caitlyn Jenner, The Rock and Matthew McConaughey, among others, are either running or seriously considering it.

As for The Rock entertaining a run for President in 2024 ... Maher says the fact that he thinks he can tackle the hardest job in the world is proof he has poor judgment.

As for Caitlyn ... Bill calls her a "background character in a reality show not about her."

And, poor Randy Quaid thinking of running for Governor of California ... Bill calls him a "guy rooting through your recycling bin."

And, Matt thinking of becoming the Guv of Texas ... Bills says "not alright, alright, alright."

Mr. Maher seems in disbelief Americans are still all in with celeb candidates after 4 years of Trump.

Jay-Z had mad love for DMX, despite their fierce competition ... and he felt this way for years.

Jay was on the season premiere of "The Shop: Uninterrupted" with LeBron James and Maverick Carter, and talked about years past when he boycotted the Grammys after X was overlooked for a single nomination, despite having 2 #1 albums in 1999. Jay won his first Grammy but was a no-show as a way of standing with X.

As Bad Bunny, WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike and SpringHill CMO Paul Rivera looked on, Jay recounted his relationship with DMX.

Jay went down memory lane, remembering his first meeting with X at a Bronx pool hall. He paid homage to his friend, saying he became a better rapper by watching X perform.

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle may have something in common ... they've both gotten vaccinated.

You'd think Kate would be fully vaccinated by now, but nope ... she got her first shot Friday at the London Science Museum. Seems London's a little behind the U.S. of A. in the vaccine department ... Kate, who's under 40, just became eligible.

Kate said after getting poked, "Yesterday, I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine ... I'm hugely grateful to everyone who is playing a part in the rollout. Thank you for everything you are doing," adding she's "hugely grateful."

Her hubby, Prince William, got his shot a few days before at the same site.

It's unclear which vaccine they both received. They'd be entitled to either Pfizer or AstraZeneca.

The Chinese government tries to keep a tight lid on what its people can and cannot see, so it's not surprising it's censored parts of the "Friends" reunion show.

In case you haven't seen it yet, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and K-pop megastars BTS all made appearances on the show, but if you live in China you won't see any of them because they were 86'd.

The government has a bone to pick with all of them. Let's review.

Lady Gaga pissed off Chinese officials by having a sit-down with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet.

Justin Bieber posted a photo of Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine ... a memorial honoring Japan's fallen soldiers.

As for BTS ... well, they've pissed off the government for various acts, including what officials believe is a snub by overlooking China's contribution in the Korean War.

Gene Simmons appears to be making good on his plan to leave California for Nevada ... he just dropped over $8 million for a rockin' mansion near Las Vegas.

The KISS star nabbed a 6-bed, 8-bath palace in Henderson with 11,000 square feet of living space and distinctively modern features ... like a floating pathway entrance over a koi pond and floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

Gene and his family jewels will have room to move -- the place has seriously spacious rooms inside ... and outside there's a pool, hot tub, built-in barbecue and a courtyard. Desert cool, baby!

We broke the story ... Simmons put his recently renovated Beverly Hills mansion back on the market in March for $25 million.

He'd initially listed it for $22 mil, but then took it off the market and made several improvements.

Around that time, he told reporters he was leaving California, saying ... "There are earthquakes, fires and pandemics every year. Even though there is nice sunshine, I’m done."

Gene must be serious, because along with buying a new home in Henderson ... he slashed the asking price on his Bev Hills home to just under $20 mil. As they say, priced to move!!!

J Lo and Ben Affleck have gone 0 to 100 in a nanosecond, and Donald Trump has some serious problems in New York, which could land him in criminal court. So we gotta ask ...

Sorry, fight fans ... Chuck Liddell says there will be no upcoming boxing match with Jake Paul -- the UFC legend tells TMZ Sports he'd HURT the YouTuber if a scrap ever went down.

Liddell told us out in L.A. that even though the two have beefed publicly over the past couple weeks ... it just makes no sense for Jake to box him, even at Chuck's current age.

"He's not good enough to fight me," the 51-year-old said of the 24-year-old.

"It just doesn't make sense for him. None of it makes sense for this guy. He's going to risk getting hurt like that?!"

If you're wondering why it's even being rumored ... it's 'cause the two went after each other on social media following Jake's huge win over Ben Askren.

A fan on Twitter asked Chuck to shut Jake up ... and Liddell responded, "I’m ready anytime for that clown."

Paul fired back a short time later, posting a pic of the two after the Askren fight and saying, "This guy Chuck Liddell begged me for a pic after my fight and now is talking s*** on Twitter."

Don't let these two almost identical images of Ray Romano have you stopped in your tracks! Make sure to stay focused and try your best to spot the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The comedian was seen on the set of a new project filming in Queens, New York, earlier this week ... and we have made a few changes to the original pic of him! Take a really good look around both of these photos and see if you can find the differences between these two super similar snaps!

Bryan Callen's officially divorced and while he's paying a nice chunk o' change in support, their assets are split pretty evenly ... right down to their 2 pups.

The actor and comedian best known for "The Hangover" and the ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs," finalized his divorce with Amanda Humphrey earlier this month, and according to the docs, Amanda gets their Santa Monica crib worth around $3.4 million. She'll also keep a leased 2019 Lexus GX 460 Sport Wagon and several bank accounts.

Bryan will pay Amanda $11,496 every month in spousal support, and $8,504/mo. in child support for their 2 kids ... 13-year-old Stella Quinn and 9-year-old Finn Cook.

Speaking of the kids, Bryan and Amanda will share joint legal custody, and have already hammered out a visitation schedule. Their 2 dogs are kind of a package deal with Stella and Finn -- the pets will be with Amanda, but when the kids are with Bryan he'll get the dogs too.

However, Amanda keeps their horse. Of course.

Now, Bryan's walking away with a Venice home worth nearly $2 million, his 2014 Toyota Prius and his leased 2019 Tesla Model S. He'll also keep the rights to his podcast "The Fighter and the Kid" and some of his bank accounts.

Time for some fun in the sun ... and it looks like these famous families have the right idea!

Stars like Ryan Lochte, Spencer Pratt, Chrissy Teigen, Kandi Burruss and a bunch more celebs have been making a real splash with their loved ones while heading out to the pool and getting in some quality time together!

Kylie Jenner, Gabrielle Union, Michael Phelps, Hilary Duff, and Cristiano Ronaldo are just a few of the other stars to name that have also been sharing some sweet family photos.

Kim Kardashian is getting protection from a man she claims is trying to get inside her home -- a man who says he's in love with her -- and he's getting dangerously frustrated.

Kim's lawyer, Shawn Holley, beelined it to court Friday and got a temporary restraining order ... to protect Kim from a 32-year old man named Charles Peter Zelenoff, who she says has been harassing her for months.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kim claims the guy keeps posting about his desire to pursue a physical relationship with her, and he's got a lot of troubling posts about trying to enter her home.

In the docs, Kim says the guy has filmed videos outside the edge of her property and she claims he's getting increasingly frustrated about not getting inside ... and she says she's scared the man was able to find her home, because she's never shared her address.

She says the guy is dangerous -- he has 2 recent convictions for battery.

Kim is blunt ... in the documents, she's asked her relationship with the guy ... her response, one word -- "stalker."

Marilyn Manson raped one of his ex-girlfriends and forced her to watch a gruesome home movie that made it seem like he killed a young fan ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The shock rocker is being sued by a Jane Doe who claims she started dating him back in 2011, and while she claims their relationship was romantic and gentle at the outset, she says things quickly took a turn for the worse.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the woman claims Manson once showed her a home video he called "Groupie" and kept locked in safe. She claims Manson told her the video was shot in 1996 after his band played a show at the Hollywood Bowl, and she claims the footage includes sex acts, humiliation and a gun.

In the docs, the woman claims Manson's home movie shows him tying a young fan to a chair and forcing her to drink a glass of a band member's urine, threatening her with a gun and possibly pistol-whipping her. Doe claims the video left her scared for her own life.

The woman also claims Manson raped her when she went to return a key to his home. She claims Manson forced her to the ground and raped her while she was face-down. After the alleged rape, she claims he threatened to kill her.

Doe is going after Manson for damages and she wants a declaration that Manson's acts and conduct broke the law. As we've reported ... Manson is also being sued for sexual assault by his former assistant, plus "Game of Thrones" actress Esme Bianco. Cops also say he's wanted in New Hampshire for an alleged assault at a concert.

We reached out to Manson's reps ... so far, no word back.