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Drake took full advantage of the Dodgers being out of town Thursday ... setting up a date on L.A.'s field with Johanna Leia -- and the whole thing looked like it was taken right out of a Drake song.

While Justin Turner and the boys were in Miami wrapping up their series with the Marlins ... the rapper took advantage of the opportunity to borrow their arena for a cozy date night -- and it's clear, he balled out for the occasion.

A helicopter camera spotted the 34-year-old at a table with Leia near the dugout on the third-base side of the field ... and there was a white table cloth, multiple dishes, flowers and even a personal bartender for the couple.

In fact, the two appeared to have gotten personalized Dodgers jerseys for the occasion ... with Leia rockin' hers right at the table!

Drake recently sat between Leia and Michael B. Jordan at a Sierra Canyon H.S. basketball game. If you're unfamiliar, Leia is the mom of Sierra Canyon star and UCLA commit Amari Bailey, who's teammates with LeBron James' son, Bronny James.

And, with Drake often attending the games to catch Bronny in action ... it's possible the new relationship started courtside.

Only fitting basketball would bring new love to Drake's life, right??

Tekashi69 is a reputation slayer ... so says a Japanese tattoo artist in a new lawsuit claiming the rapper jacked his name and defamed him by calling him a heroin addict.

The tattoo artist, Takashi Matsuba, filed legal docs in NY claiming his reputation is in danger thanks to Tekashi69. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Matsuba claims 6ix9ine "has created confusion and the false public perception that" Matsuba is associated with Tekashi69. He says he’s not.

Matsuba says the confusion is easy to see … the rapper’s moniker is substantially similar to Matsuba's first name. Only 1 letter's different.

Matsuba says in the Hulu documentary "69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez" ... there's a scene where the tattoo artist's name "TAKASHI MATSUBA" is superimposed on the screen. He claims the director's then heard saying "Peter's roommate, a Japanese tattoo artist named Takashi would inspire Danny's new persona, Tekashi69."

Matsuba also has beef with Showtime, claiming the documentary on that channel defamed him in the March documentary "Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine."

Matsuba says Tekashi's heard in the doc saying, "There was this tattoo artist named Takashi from our neighborhood. And he was this heroin addict. He did heroin to create. He did it to get himself in his little world. He did it to be himself. And that’s where I got the name Tekashi from. And that’s who I am.”

Matsuba says the quote is false and defamatory because he has never used heroin.

The tattoo artist says the quote is damaging to his profession because "tattooing requires the use of needles, and heroin is connected in the public’s mind with hypodermic needles.”

Matsuba says he demanded producers to edit the documentary to remove his image, name and likeness from the Hulu doc ... but says they've refused. He's suing for damages.

"American Pickers" star Michael Wolfe is already off the market ... he's got himself a hot new girlfriend on the heels of his wife filing for divorce.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Mike's dating a model named Leticia Cline. She's a bit of a reality TV star herself, having appeared on the old WB dating show "Beauty and The Geek."

It's unclear how long they've been dating and how they met, but we're told the relationship is "pretty serious."

Mike and Leticia have been hanging out since at least April, when they were spotted together at a printing shop in Norfolk, VA, where she customized a jacket.

Our sources also say Leticia's been accompanying Mike on 'Pickers' shoots, including one at the end of June in San Francisco, and another this week at a different California location.

TMZ broke the story ... Jodi Catherine Wolfe filed for divorce back in November after nearly 10 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. She says they separated in June 2020 -- so, Mike's wasting no time getting back on the horse.

It appears Mike and Leticia have known each other for a few years ... back in early 2018, she posted a photo of them together.

In addition to her reality TV background, Leticia's also appeared in "Playboy" and "Maxim" ... and once went on Howard Stern's radio show and rode his Sybian vibrator in the nude.

Tristan Thompson's pockets could get a little more swollen soon ... he's just been awarded a nice chunk of change in the libel case against his paternity accuser.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the court has entered a default judgment in favor of Tristan against Kimberly Alexander for the amount of $50k ... plus 10% interest per year until it's paid off. She's also gotta fork over $2,901.75 in court costs.

TMZ broke the story ... Tristan was headed to a victory after the court said it was leaning towards awarding Khloe's ex more than $50k. He sued Alexander for libel last year and wanted $100k in damages after claiming her allegation he fathered her child hurt his reputation, and cost him endorsement deals because companies saw him as a brand hazard.

The judge ultimately slashed the damages in half because Tristan didn't specifically lay out which endorsements he lost due to Alexander's allegations.

Christina Haack's new relationship is all thanks to smoking TOAD venom -- an experience that helped her re-center, figure things out ... and land a new man.

The "Flip or Flop" star revealed she's got a new boyfriend, Joshua Hall, who she says she met in the spring when she was in a "state of fear or fight-or-flight" and after she smoked toad venom to get rid of her anxiety. Anyway, they immediately hit it off.

Haack says the trippy experience helped her "reset" her brain and brought her into a better headspace ... something she credits to being able to work on finding love once again.

Christina also addressed her haters, who took shots at the mother of 3 getting back into the dating world so soon, saying ... "So yes 'another relationship' and guess what. I’m 38 -I’ll do what I want."

Like we told you ... Christina and her ex, Ant Anstead, announced they were separating in September, before she filed for a divorce a few months later. It was finalized just last month.

They first linked up in 2017 while she and her "Flip or Flop" costar, Tarek El Moussa, were going through their own split at the time.

How do you spell "most interesting teenager in America?" Zaila Avant-garde!!!

Zaila entered the history books Thursday by winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee, becoming the first Africa-American champion. The 14-year-old also became the first winner from the state of Louisiana.

The teen took home the title after she correctly spelled "murraya" -- a type of tree -- but not before she joked that the word contained the last name of a comedian ... to the delight of Bill Murray fans everywhere.

Along her way to becoming the first Black American to win in 93 editions of the competition, Zaila also had to spell words like "querimonious," "solidungulate," and "Nepeta." The only other Black winner was Jamaica's Jody-Anne Maxwell in 1998.

There's much more to Avant-garde than her spelling though ... which she only began doing competitively 2 years ago. She's also a gifted basketball player who holds 3 Guinness world records for dribbling skills ... and even her last name is special. Her father changed it from Heard to Avant-garde in homage to the jazz legend, John Coltrane.

The #FreeBritney movement is feeling extra artistic after Britney Spears' impassioned testimony -- a massive art display, made of yarn, is echoing her call to end the conservatorship.

The artist behind the impressive yarn art, London Kaye, tells TMZ ... she used about 36,000 feet of yarn to create 5 iconic Britney looks and the "Free Britney" signage, and the whole thing stands 15-feet tall.

London hung the art outside the Britney Spears The Zone Museum in Los Angeles, it went up Wednesday and she says it will stay there for about 2 weeks.

London is an L.A.-based street artist who ya might recognize from "The Amazing Race," season 29. She says the Brit tribute recreates the singer's outfits from "...Baby One More Time," "Oops!...I Did It Again" and "Toxic" ... and took her about a week to make.

As you know ... Britney wants to end her conservatorship after 13 years. Celebs like Paris Hilton, Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus have had her back ... and now she can add these yarn figurines to the movement.

Lil Baby and NBA star James Harden have been stopped by police in Paris ... with a report claiming the rapper was arrested for weed.

Harden and several other men were swarmed by cops during an apparent search on the popular Avenue Montaigne. In one video circulating on social media, the Brooklyn Nets superstar can be heard saying he doesn't understand what's going on as cops begin to search him.

One photo shows an officer holding what appears to be a vaping device ... unclear who it belongs to or whether is contained the alleged marijuana.

Baby was seated in the back of a police van and appeared to be handcuffed ... local reports say he was among 3 people arrested for some sort of marijuana-related charge. The report said the vehicle the men were traveling in was pulled over and officers could smell marijuana. There were allegedly 20 grams of weed discovered.

We reached out to the Paris Police Dept. who would only tell us the incident was currently an active investigation.

Lil Baby and Harden are in the French city for Paris Fashion Week.

The fence around the U.S. Capitol is coming down in a move signaling a desire to put the January 6 attack in the nation's rearview, but Capitol Police are pissed ... especially because it's being replaced with bike racks.

Sources within the law enforcement agency tell TMZ ... the rank and file are upset about officials deciding to remove the perimeter fencing -- beginning Friday -- that was put up following the insurrection due to ongoing security concerns.

Capitol Police officers were informed via email Wednesday that bike racks will replace the fence to restrict access to the building's West Terrace -- the area where Trump-supporting rioters clashed with police -- but we're told that's the part that has them the most enraged.

If you recall ... bike racks were used by the insurrectionists as weapons against the police, and our sources say the Capitol cops feel the much larger fencing provided more safety and protection from potential future riots.

Also, the bike racks didn't do much to stop an attack last time ... so we're told, many Capitol Police officers are incredulous at this plan being repeated.

In addition, our sources say there are concerns over Capitol Police having enough manpower to secure the building without the fence ... because more than 75 members have left the force since Jan. 6, and we're told more are planning to quit.

We're told the remaining officers want the fence to be kept up until proper training's completed to prepare for potential future attacks, but until then many are feeling apprehensive ... especially with D.C. tourism back in full swing.

Worth noting -- the extra barricades around The White House that were installed over the past year, beginning with the riots following George Floyd's murder, were taken down earlier this week ... allowing people to walk right up to the fence on the North Lawn.

Shohei Ohtani's monster 2021 season ain't just bringing awareness to MLB nationally ... the Angels superstar is opening eyes across the GLOBE -- so says Rick Ankiel.

The former St. Louis Cardinals star -- who was the last MLB player before Ohtani to have huge success as both a hitter and pitcher -- broke it all down for TMZ Sports this week ... explaining Shohei is just that electric.

"Look, there’s nothing the guy can’t do on a baseball field," said Ankiel, who Ohtani just passed on the all-time MLB home run leaderboard.

"Watching what he’s doing, it definitely is must-watch TV ... every time I see it, I stop."

Ankiel says because of Ohtani's ties to Japan ... the incredible year he's having is bringing eyeballs to the sport that may have never been brought otherwise.

"I think you’re going to have a lot of kids who are seeing him maybe for the first time on the All-Star Game, looking up to that and going out in the backyard and trying to hit like Ohtani, and pitch like Ohtani and try to be that growing up," Ankiel said.

"I think it’s fantastic."

Ohtani has a ridiculous 32 home runs already this season with a stellar .279 batting average ... and he's the clear-cut favorite for AL MVP at the moment.

Oh, and by the way, he also has a 3.49 ERA and a 4-1 record as a pitcher.

Tennessee native Russell Sams was in his mid-twenties when he was cast as the cig smoking trouble-maker Dick -- who disrupts the luncheon with Paul and their uptight moms with his loud antics and crude conversations -- in Bret Easton Ellis' 2002 dark drama "The Rules of Attraction."

Russell shared the big screen of the "American Psycho" prequel with a long list of A-List actors including Ian Somerhalder as the bisexual best friend, Paul Denton, Swoosie Kurtz as the flabbergasted mother, Mimi Jared, and Faye Dunaway as Paul's posh mom, Eve Denton.

Mr. Nice Guy is officially dead and gone -- Conor McGregor just UNLEASHED an epic amount of smack talk on Dustin Poirier at their UFC 264 press conference just minutes ago ... vowing to absolutely wreck the guy as soon as they enter the Octagon on Saturday.

Of course, Conor was unusually kind to "Diamond" before their fight back in January ... showing serious respect for Poirier and acting the complete opposite of his wild self.

But, yeah, Thursday night was WAY different.

"I'm gonna go drill his head, put holes into it and take it off his shoulders," Conor said. "That's the goal here! He's done here! This is it for him! This is the end of the road."

Both guys went at each other from the jump by getting in each other's faces -- with Conor grabbing Poirier's signature hot sauce off the table and throwing it off the stage.

Conor was later asked straight-up if he has respect for Dustin ... and he didn't hold back.

"I don't give a f*** about him to be honest," McGregor said. "I don't give a rat's ass about him. He's Buster Douglas is what he is, and that's the way he's gonna go down."

"He's gonna be known for that. It was a fluke win and I'm gonna correct it on Saturday night."

As for Dustin, he had a different tone -- "I don't hate anybody up here. I'm at a different place mentally, man. Respect to him and everything he's done."

TMZ Sports got in a few questions with Conor as well ... asking when he believes he'll be a billionaire ... and ya gotta hear what he has to say.

There's a lot of history between the guys -- Conor got the win their first go-round in 2014 ... with Poirier getting the win in January.

Steven Avery -- the man at the center of the Netflix series "Making a Murderer" -- is dealing with another personal blow ... the death of his mother.

Dolores Avery passed away Thursday morning, according to Avery's attorney, Kathleen Zellner. Zellner included a message to Avery's fans, saying, "He needs your support now more than ever." She also included his mailing address at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin.

Steven's brother, Earl, tells us Dolores had been in hospice care for 3 weeks before her death ... ultimately passing from dementia. He said the last time she spoke to Steven was likely 8 or 9 months ago.

Dolores, who always maintained her son was innocent, died just one day before Steven's 59th birthday.

Steven and his nephew, Brendon Dassey, were convicted of killing photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005 after cops say her remains were discovered in a burn pit on the Avery family's property. Steven was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2007.

Zellner took on Steven's case in 2016, arguing he had his rights violated and detectives had gathered evidence that went beyond their search warrant. More recently, she's stated she has more witnesses that should warrant a new trial for Avery.

Zellner has asked the appeals court to put Avery's recent appeal on hold and send his case to circuit court to hear the testimony of the new witnesses.

Dolores was 83.

Tekashi69 is back on his grind to be the Internet's #1 celeb troll, and this time he's targeting Blueface over a fresh tattoo.

So, get this ... Blueface recently got a tattoo on the side of his head and it raised a lot of eyebrows because the precious real estate the "Bleed It" rapper carved on his dome was reserved for his celebrity jeweler ... NYC Luxury.

The clowning was swift ... and Tekashi got right in the mix by chiming in on DJ Akademiks' IG post with not-so-veiled comments implying Blueface is broke and can't pay for his bling.

Tekashi wrote, "He definitely owed them money for unpaid jewelry" ... followed by "NYC Luxury" and a bunch of laughing and skull emojis, as in ... dead ass laughing.

Not helping matters is the fact Blueface -- who already sports Yves Saint Laurent and Corvette logos on his head -- doesn't exactly look thrilled with the finished product.

In any event ... the trolling is a far departure from when Tekashi vowed a little over a year ago to be on his best social media behavior after being sprung from prison early.

TMZ broke the story ... Tekashi's attorney, Lance Lazzaro, said the rapper wouldn't start beef or troll other artists because the feds would be watching. Sure, 69 has no restrictions regarding his social media use ... but he still vowed not to post anything inflammatory.

That all seems to be out the window. Remember, Tekashi nearly came to blows with Meek Mill in Miami earlier this year ... and now this. It's also pretty ironic for 6ix9ine, of all people, to be commenting about anyone getting ink on their face or head. Pot and kettle much?

Joe Exotic's estranged husband has a new man in his life ... and he's letting everyone know on the heels of the 'Tiger King' star announcing he's looking for new love, too.

Joe's ex, Dillon Passage, just revealed he has a new boyfriend named John. Dillon says he intended to keep their relationship private, but adds "lately I’ve been having a hard time dealing with things happening in my life and John has been my rock and helping me get through it all."

So, Dillon shared a few pics of himself with John as an "appreciation post."

This news comes a few months after we broke the story that Dillon left Joe and the 2 were heading for divorce, but just days after Joe announced his 'Bachelor King' contest.

According to the 'Tiger King' star, the contest is for men -- over 18 only -- who can fill out an application online to possibly be the next romance in his life ... once he's out of prison, of course.

What's interesting ... Joe says the situation with Dillon, his current husband, is still "up in the air," though he implies Dillon no longer wants to be married to him.

Our sources say official divorce paperwork has still not been filed, and Dillon tells us ... "Joe and I are still on great terms and supportive of each other. We will always be in each other's lives."

Kim Kardashian now has legal protection against the man who allegedly showed up to her home on multiple occasions and sent a package containing Plan B and a diamond ring ... thanks to a restraining order.

KK filed docs Wednesday against Nicholas Costanza, whom she claims is the person who disturbingly shipped Plan B pills and an engagement ring to her home earlier this month ... a package that was intercepted by Kim's security team.

In her filing -- from attorney Shawn Holley -- Kim says Costanza has shown up to her property a handful of times this year ... including once in February, and then again in late May. She claims he sprung up at her gated community, telling guards he was there to pick her up for dinner on one occasion.

On top of the alleged behavior ... Kim says Costanza's been obsessing over her online as well -- posting a bogus marriage cert and other bizarre messages, alluding to her waiting for her "knight in shining armor" (which he clarified as himself).

A judge agreed with Kim's concerns and granted the temporary order ... Costanza will have to stay at least 100 yards away and refrain from contact.

This ain't the first alleged stalker who's been trying to get at her either -- remember, she filed for and received a separate restraining order against another man who said he was just dying to get into her pad.