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Michael Jackson may be remembered as the 'King of Pop' ... but his pal Lionel Richie remembers him as being one stinky dude -- literally nicknamed 'Smelly'!

The "American Idol" judge talks all about it in his new memoir "Truly," which debuted Tuesday. He writes the late Quincy Jones is the one who offered up the unique nickname ... and MJ didn't take it too personally as he laughed along, "realizing that he was oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t changed or washed his clothes for a couple of days or so."

Lionel says it wasn't the "Thriller" hitmaker's fault -- he was constantly on the road and he couldn't simply hire a dry cleaner, 'cause they would often steal his clothes as a souvenir! He also couldn't just drop by a department store for new clothes due to his level of fame, he further reasons.

A scorned husband isn’t denying a thing -- admitting he set fire to a Virginia lawmaker, accusing him of an affair with his wife, Mary Alice ... even though she’d already filed for divorce weeks before the attack.

Yup, we finally got the why behind Shotsie Michael Buck-Hayes' alleged actions -- laid out by a Danville PD investigator during Tuesday’s prelim hearing, months after his July arrest.

Shotsie flat-out told cops he bought gas to kill Danville City Council member Lee Vogler -- then used a lighter to spark the blaze.

Police body cam shows officers swarming D4vd’s Texas family home -- just days after Celeste Rivas' body was discovered in his Tesla -- responding to a report of gunfire.

The footage shows cops walking up to D4vd’s Hempstead home with guns drawn on September 18 ... after a 911 caller claimed they heard gunshots outside the home, a woman screaming and someone dead.

When officers knocked, it was the singer's parents who answered, looking stunned and very confused.

Chantel Jeffries is kickin' off another scorchin' year around the sun -- and although it was quite tricky to narrow down her hottest shots -- TMZ is a pro at honing in on the goodies, so sit back and enjoy the smoke show!

Go coconuts over the deejay's bikini pics that range from brown triangular tops to blue thong bikinis ... and neon green swimwear that'll have you totally parched!

Chantel makes sunset hour look effortless -- we're just tryin' to get in on some of that glow, ya know?!

If you needed another reason to hop on our "TMZ After Dark" tour (and trust, we’ve got plenty) -- Justina Valentine gave the ultimate sales pitch by turning the weekend into a full-blown rager!

The 'Wild N Out' rapper totally owned the crowd ... freestyling wild about everyone on the party bus -- like a private concert on wheels.

Check out the full vid ... Justina even dropped a bar about Ray J, who made a special -- and shirtless -- guest appearance during this night out in Hollywood.

Keith Urban separated from Nicole Kidman and is already involved with a new woman ... at least that's what Nicole and Keith's inner circle and the Nashville community believes.

Multiple sources connected to Nicole say "all the signs point to the fact Keith is with another woman. Let's just say, Nicole doesn't dispute that, but she's still shocked over it."

One Nicole source adds, "It's all over Nashville."

Tom Holland sat down for a panel recently and made it quite clear that he and Zendaya are still on the road to marriage ... after an interviewer called her his "girlfriend."

When an off-camera reporter says, “I brought my daughter and she got to meet your girlfriend” ... Tom is quick to say “fiancée" into the mic -- making sure no one gets it twisted.

We broke the story that the famed couple had gotten engaged back in January ... and this is seemingly the first time he’s publicly confirmed the engagement to his 29-year-old Marvel co-star since.

A California teenager who once dated Celeste Rivas back in middle school is speaking out ... saying she had a troubled home life before running away -- and her mom treated her badly.

In an exclusive interview with TMZ ... 15-year-old Damien Hernandez and his mother, Jamie, told us about his relationship with Celeste at a Lake Elsinore middle school  ... Celeste was in the 7th grade, and Damien was in 8th grade.

Damien says he met Celeste when she was looking for something serious, describing her as "kind." He says her troubled home life made her unhappy, noting that her mom did not treat her well.

Marshawn Lynch is now up for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but in the meantime, the iconic running back is huddling around a new business venture -- his own weed brand!!!

TMZ obtained video of Mr. Beast Mode connecting with actor Anthony Anderson and fans at the Dodi launch inside long-standing cannabis brand's Originals Family Farms' flagship facility in South Los Angeles on September 27.

The football legend was in high spirits, even shooting dice with a few fans ... that's probably because his newly minted stash is cultivated, manufactured, and distributed by Originals!!!

We want you to be a part of TMZ, so every weekday, between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM PT, we take you inside our newsroom via live stream.

You never know what you're gonna get ... a big story that breaks, an argument erupts in the room, or someone's just joking around.

Your comments are a big part of the stream, and the staff spends a lot of time speaking directly to you. Every day is different!

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark has spoken ... and she wants Dolly Parton to play her in a biopic about her life!

Check out our chat with the actress -- she gushes that DP's got "all the assets they need" for her to portray her in a hypothetical film about her life. Hey Dolly, what do you think?

As you know, Elvira -- born Cassandra Peterson -- rose to fame in the '80s as the vampy, gothic host of "Elvira's Movie Macabre," where she would provide playful and often risqué commentary on horror films.

Lola Young is taking an extended break from the spotlight after she passed out during a performance over the weekend.

The "Messy" hitmaker announced on Instagram Tuesday she will be "going away for a while" and that all her shows will be canceled for the foreseeable future. She did not go into further detail about where exactly she will be going during this performance hiatus.

She thanked fans for their support but also apologized in her announcement, pleading ... "I really hope you'll give me a second chance once I've had some time to work on myself and come back stronger."

Kelley Wolf was a no-show in divorce court with Scott Wolf ... turns out she’s checked into a treatment center.

The prosecutor Wendy Crossland said Kelley couldn’t make Tuesday’s hearing on her misdemeanor charges since she’s in a Utah mental health facility -- Crossland added they haven’t had any recent contact with her while she’s in treatment.

The judge noted the court will "reset these matters with notice" to Kelley.

Another day, another eye-popping plane incident ... Check this one out -- an allegedly inebriated British man is physically pulled off a Ryanair plane by French police after he reportedly tried opening the emergency door mid-flight.

You can see the man is in shock that police want to take him off the plane and he refuses to move, all while cursing at the cops. The police don't put up with it for long ... they grab the man with so much force he's flung onto the passenger recording the incident across the aisle from him.

The man eventually accepts his fate ... but a younger guy identifying himself as his son continues to verbally berate authorities as well -- and gets his own escort out.

Cops say Terence Crawford's "high rate of speed" was what sparked his now-viral incident with police officers in Nebraska over the weekend.

According to Omaha Police Department documents TMZ Sports has obtained, Crawford allegedly blew by a cop in his blue, four-door sedan at around 1:27 AM on Sunday.

After Crawford was pulled over, police ended up ordering the boxing star and his passengers out of the vehicle at gunpoint when a firearm was allegedly spotted on the driver's side floorboard.

Federal prosecutors are full steam ahead to lock up Diddy ... asking a judge to sentence him to more than 11 years in prison following his conviction on prostitution-related charges.

In a new court filing -- obtained by TMZ -- prosecutors say they want "at least 135 months' imprisonment" for Diddy, along with a $500k fine.

Judge Arun Subramanian is set to hand down Diddy's sentence on Friday in NYC.