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9:12 AM PT -- Sofia Vergara's attorney, Marty Singer, tells TMZ it was actually Sofia who first sent a demand letter to RCH on October 4 ... claiming the company was responsible for $5 million in damages for overcharging Sofia, doing substandard work and delaying the project.

Singer says RCH never disputed the claims, but has now filed a lawsuit of their own ... Singer says he's confident Sofia will prevail and receive significant payment.

Sofia Vergara skipped out on paying a contractor more than $1.7 million for a huge renovation of her luxurious home in Beverly Hills ... or so the contractor claims in a new lawsuit.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, the actress hired Reside Custom Homes in April 2022 to perform construction work on her $26 million mansion located in the Beverly Park neighborhood.

RCH claims Vergara agreed to pay for the work plus the contractor's fee, but claims she never followed through once the work was done.

RCH says the project was substantially completed by December 2022, but then Vergara allegedly asked for significant extra work beyond the scope of the agreement, which ended up extending the job until March 2023 ... when Sofia finally moved back into the home.

According to RCH, Vergara asked the contractor to install clay plaster in 3 powder rooms, an office, the dining room walls, the cabana bathroom and the guest house living room. She also wanted the company to remove and replace a flight of stairs.

RCH says it fronted the money for the additional work in order to finish the improvements and claims Vergara promised to pay the bill ... even allegedly telling RCH she'd approved one of the invoices for nearly $900K and "already" gave directions to her money manager to pay the bill.

But RCH says Sofia never followed through and now owes the company a whopping balance of $1,700,492.64.

We've reached out to Vergara's rep ... so far no word back.

Farrah Abraham's taking another shot at love, courtesy of her OnlyFans page -- where she first linked with her boo -- but she's taking steps to make sure he isn't using her for fame for online clout.

After posing a collage of Thanksgiving clips with the mystery guy -- set to the tune of Doja Cat's "I wanna show you off" -- the ex-"Teen Mom" star confirms the new romance started in 2021 when they communicated on OF ... but really got serious this year when they matched on a dating app.

Farrah tells us she's enjoying getting to know her man, now that she's overhauled her dating habits following 3 months of training with a dating/relationship coach. She's aiming for zero drama this time around, after a string of questionable flings ... hence making the new guy sign a non-disclosure agreement.

As of now, she isn't too worried as her BF isn't a public figure. All she'll say about him is they are similar in age and he works in tech, business sales and marketing ... and he purchased a second home near to where she lives after they went official in late September.

Farrah did add that her new squeeze is sober, and they're "inspiring each other" and deepening their connection through meditation, swimming and travel.

The reality star, and mother to 14-year-old Sophia, says she's holding off till winter break before introducing him to her family ... but is grateful they first got to know each other as friends.

Russell Westbrook found himself quarrelling with fans yet again on Monday night ... and this time, he needed to be separated from the tiff by not only his teammates, but his opponents as well.

The Clippers star got into the heated spat with what appeared to be a couple of men at Crypto.com Arena toward the end of L.A.'s 113-104 loss to Denver.

Video from the scene shows Westbrook began verbally jarring with the courtside fans during a break in the action late in the fourth quarter ... before he returned as the final buzzer sounded to argue some more.

The 35-year-old point guard was clearly peeved at the guys ... though, thankfully, a referee, his teammates, and a few Nuggets players helped pull him away from it all.

Afterward, Westbrook refused to say specifically what the altercation was all about ... though he seemed to insinuate the fans had said something inappropriate about his family.

"Fans think they can say whatever they want," he told a throng of media members. "I'm not going to say [what they said] now because it's not appropriate, but I'm just protecting myself."

"Just unfortunate fans think they can get away with saying anything and, personally, I won't allow it."

Of course, this is hardly Westbrook's first heated incident with hecklers ... just seven months ago, he got into a screaming match with a man following a playoff game in Phoenix. Numerous other times recently -- including several instances during one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022 -- he beefed with fans as well.

On Monday night, Westbrook explained that now that his children are older ... he's simply refusing to take any cross-the-line shade from fans.

Micah Abbey not only kicked butt in this year's animated reboot "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" ... but the 16-year-old also made big bucks doing so.

According to his minors contract, obtained by TMZ, the teen star was bringing in the dough ... earning $5,000 a day for each recording session to voice the role of Donatello, with a guaranteed payday of $50K!!!

According to the contract, Micah could've scored much more from bonuses, including another $225K if the movie had hit $300M at the domestic box office.

It ended up grossing around $118M domestically, so, no bonus round for Micah.

Despite not hitting the huge box office target, the movie -- which also starred John Cena, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne -- was largely received as a treat for most fans, who've given it a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Gilbert Burns is back.

6 months after tearing multiple muscles in his left shoulder during his UFC 288 scrap with Belal Muhammad, Durinho tells TMZ Sports he's ready to climb back in the Octagon, and he knows who he wants to fight!

First, the injury.

"I'm clear. No pain. Shoulder is moving good. All range of motion is back. Strength," Gilbert says, "I'd say anything March or April, UFC 299 or UFC 300, I'll be ready to go."

As for who Gilbert wants in his return fight, he has an opp in mind ... though much could change with the upcoming welterweight title fight at UFC 296.

"I would love to fight Colby [Covington]," Burns said of the number 3 ranked contender, who will face champ Leon Edwards on December 16.

"I think Leon Edwards is gonna get the win, but who knows when he's gonna come back. Or when either one of these guys is gonna come back. That would be my number one pick."

Whatever happens at 296, Gilbert will see it with his own two eyes ... 'cause he says he'll be at T-Mobile Arena.

"I think after that night I'm gonna see who I'm fighting next."

Of course, Burns lost by unanimous decision in May ... when he was injured early in the fight. Because of the circumstances, it's tough to say who would've won if GB didn't get hurt, unless you're Gilbert. He's totally confident he would've kicked Belal's ass.

American actor Matthew Glave was 35 years old when he was cast to play Glenn -- Julia's cocky, wealthy and deceitful fiancé who gets handsy with other women and goes head-to-head with a wedding singer -- in the romance/comedy film "The Wedding Singer" back in 1998.

Matthew hit the big screen with Hollywood legends like Adam Sandler as the wedding singer who helps Julia and (an absent) Glenn plan their wedding, Robbie, Drew Barrymore as the New Jersey waitress who wants to find love, Julia and Christine Taylor as Julia's cousin and bestie, Holly.

Tragedy struck on the high seas as a passenger tragically died aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

A passenger tells TMZ that a 16-year-old boy lost his life after falling from the balcony to the deck Saturday ... as the 'Allure of the Seas' vessel headed from Port Canaveral in Florida to Nassau, Bahamas, in the early hours. It’s unclear if the fall was accidental.

We're told extensive efforts were made to save his life ... with an announcement urging passengers to donate blood at the medical tent.

However, a source with knowledge tells us the boy passed away later at the hospital ... not on the ship.

Photos we obtained also show the aftermath of the devastating scene ... with caution tape on the balcony and a tent on the deck visible.

Don Lemon is backing Elon Musk's trip to Israel ... after the tech mogul touched down in the Middle East Monday to survey the destruction left behind by Hamas.

The ex-CNN host landed at LAX Monday, telling us it's possible the billionaire's trip could be seen as damage control after he was accused of being antisemitic. However, Lemon believes Elon will still learn something worthwhile -- PR move or not.

In case you missed it, Elon wrote on X there was "truth" in a post that suggested Jews hate white people ... obviously getting a ton of heat in the process.

Don believes the more Elon sees during his trip, the better ... including the damage inflicted by Israel in Gaza -- only warning he should only visit if it's safe to do so.

While Elon is a divisive figure, Don notes his contributions to electric vehicles and space industries have made him influential in world history -- so naturally, it should be a good thing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show him around his country.

Government officials joined Elon during a tour of the wreckage of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in one of the targeted villages that day.

D.L. Hughley's advising T.I. and Tiny's son, King, to listen to a voice of reason, and understand why his meltdown during an Atlanta Falcons game is "embarrassing" to his parents.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with D.L. Monday at LAX, where he called King's outburst -- insisting he grew up half-poor -- absolutely "insulting" to Tip and Tiny's lifetime accomplishments.

ICYMI, King ended up in his father's headlock inside their luxury suite at Mercedes-Benz Stadium -- the end result of King claiming he knew about the trap life from growing up at his grandmother's house, and even experienced roaches crawling on his face.

D.L. says King grew up a reality star via VH1's "The Family Hustle," and says any roaches he encountered were actually paid actors!!!

As a father himself, D.L. thinks King's words cut even deeper than they seemed in the video. He says all decent parents take pride in their kids being fed and clean, and D.L. says King's childhood passes that test with flying colors.

D.L. tells us his own kids wouldn't dream of spewing any such disrespect -- he says they're older and know better.

King was still fuming on social media -- a day after squaring off with his parents -- but D.L. is certain he'll eventually come around and see how silly this all is.

11/27 5:49 PM PT -- We've obtained video showing the 26-year-old streaker being swiftly carried away from the "It's A Small World" ride by police ... all while hog-tied and completely nude. They attempted to cover the man with a blanket as they carried him through the park ... to no avail.

11/27 10:34 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us the 26-year-old man was arrested for indecent exposure and being under the influence. He was then taken to a hospital to get checked out ... but was eventually booked for the two misdemeanors.

4:53 PM PT -- Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... this wayward guest was immediately removed from Disneyland following the incident. In other words, he's long gone.

A streaker stripped down at Disneyland and started crawling all over the place during the 'It's a Small World' ride ... this while folks were stuck in their boats and staring in shock.

Check out these wild videos that are making the rounds online right now ... apparently, this happened within the past couple hours or so -- although it's a little unclear what exactly precipitated this. In any case, it left guests with their mouths open ... rightly so.

From what we can gather from reports/accounts, the attraction was shut down for a bit Sunday -- and, apparently, during that pause ... this fella hopped out of his boat, undressed and started monkeying around near the actual robots and all the elaborate set pieces.

In one video, you can hear somebody yelling at him to stop and get down ... warning him of the danger he was dabbling in. Of course, he didn't listen ... and kept on scurrying about.

At some point, somebody snapped him outside of the ride ... and it looks like he went for the full birthday suit look out in the sunshine.

The jury's out on whether this man has been apprehended yet ... but ya gotta imagine it's only a matter of time. We've reached out to Disneyland for comment, so far no word back.

Shield your eyes, children ... there's naked weirdos roaming, and they're baring it all!

Derek Chauvin's loved ones remain in the dark over what exactly led to him getting stabbed in prison as well as his current condition -- and they're furious over it ... so says his lawyer.

Attorney Gregory M. Erickson -- who reps Chauvin -- tells TMZ the guy's immediate family still knows absolutely nothing about Chauvin's stabbing ... including how it happened and who did it.

Erickson says he spoke to one of Chauvin's relatives Monday ... and tells us a prison official contacted Chauvin's father to confirm he was in stable condition -- but no further details were provided whatsoever, which is frustrating the family.

Obviously, the media has been all over the story ... and the family has had to get their updates from news reports, which Erickson says is unjust and cruel.

He tells us he points the finger directly at the federal facility in Tucson, AZ -- where Chauvin is currently being held -- for being slow to the draw on updating his next of kin ... and for a lack of transparency in general.

Not just this ... but Erickson says the prison should've prevented this stabbing from happening in the first place -- noting Chauvin is the most high-profile person in custody since, arguably, O.J. Simpson ... and that any other inmate getting near him should've been kept at bay -- if not completely frisked to make sure weapons stayed far away.

Since the stabbing Friday ... Gregory adds he's attempted to contact prison officials 8 times, to no avail. As far as next steps -- Erickson says he and the family will weigh their legal options if they don't get more answers soon ... but it's unclear what those may be.

A Bureau of Prisons rep refused to discuss Chauvin's situation for privacy/safety/security reasons. But, they noted to us ... "we can inform you generally that the Federal Bureau of Prisons takes seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody, as well as maintain the safety of correctional employees and the community."

Tiffany Haddish is getting serious about her early morning DUI arrest on Friday -- a major shift in tone after briefly responding comically during a stand-up set less than a day later.

In a new interview, the actress admits she needs to "get help" to "learn balance and boundaries" in the aftermath of her second DUI -- the first coming in January 2022 -- vowing "this will never happen again."

The "Girls Trip" star told ET's Kevin Frazier about the events leading up to her arrest ... saying she dozed off in her Tesla after a long Thanksgiving day of feeding underprivileged people and performing at L.A.'s Laugh Factory -- not realizing her vehicle had blocked off a portion of the street after parking itself.

TMZ broke the story as part of Tiffany's arrest unfolded on camera ... with cops throwing her in handcuffs and escorting her to the back of a police car in Beverly Hills ... booking her on suspicion of DUI.

But, less than 24 hours after her stint in a jail cell, the star honored a scheduled gig in Long Beach ... freshening up her set by weaving in a joke inspired by her arrest.

But, despite leaning into comedy to address the bust, afterward, Tiffany steered clear of any more dramas ... opting for the passenger seat instead of driving home after the set.

WWE legend Tammy Sytch has been ordered to spend roughly the next decade and a half in prison for her role in a 2022 car crash that killed a 75-year-old man.

Sytch learned her fate inside of a Volusia County courtroom on Monday morning ... three months after she pled no contest to, among other charges, one felony count of DUI causing death.

Sytch -- wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles on her wrists -- addressed the courtroom for a few minutes during the hearing, which lasted several hours and featured testimonies from people affiliated with the case, including a medical expert who evaluated the former wrestling personality in the spring.

Sytch broke down in tears during her speech and apologized for her actions. At one point, the 50-year-old also turned to the victim's family and said, "I know my words are not enough but please know that I think about you every day."

When the judge ultimately sentenced her to 17 years in prison, Sytch appeared stoic -- before she was taken out of the courtroom by officials.

Sytch -- also known as "Sunny" in the ring -- has been locked behind bars since May 2022 ... after prosecutors claimed she drunkenly slammed her car into Julian Lasseter's, killing him during a horrific March 2022 crash in Florida.

According to authorities, Sytch barreled into Lasseter while he was stopped at a traffic light. They alleged that at the time of the wreck, she had a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher.

Sytch was hit with eight total charges over the incident ... and, at first, she pled not guilty to all of the charges, though she changed her pleas in August after reaching an agreement with prosecutors.

Following the plea deal, she had been facing a prison sentence of up to 25 years.

The judge also said during Tuesday's proceedings that Sytch will be required to serve 8 years of probation following her prison sentence ... and her driver's license has been permanently revoked.

3:25 PM -- The Arena Group just released a statement on the matter ... insisting allegations that it published AI-generated articles on the Sports Illustrated platform are simply "not accurate."

"The articles in question were product reviews and were licensed content from an external, third-party company, AdVon Commerce," The Arena Group said. "A number of AdVon’s e-commerce articles ran on certain Arena websites. We continually monitor our partners and were in the midst of a review when these allegations were raised."

"AdVon has assured us that all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans. According to AdVon, their writers, editors, and researchers create and curate content and follow a policy that involves using both counter-plagiarism and counter-AI software on all content."

"However," the statement continued, "we have learned that AdVon had writers use a pen or pseudo name in certain articles to protect author privacy -- actions we strongly condemn -- and we are removing the content while our internal investigation continues and have since ended the partnership."

The human writers at Sports Illustrated say they're appalled by allegations that their upper management has posted AI-generated articles on their platform ... and now, they're demanding answers.

Futurism dropped a bombshell report on Monday alleging SI, for months, has been using AI to create fake authors as well as content.

The outlet reported Sports Illustrated would use images from a site that produces AI-generated headshots for fake author pages, and then would attribute stories to them. At times, according to the report, the stories would be AI-written too.

In a scathing statement released later Monday afternoon by SI's writers -- who call themselves the SI Union -- they said they were "horrified" by the report ... and they now want action from their parent company, The Arena Group, ASAP if it's all found to be true.

"We demand answers and transparency from Arena Group management about what exactly has been published under the SI name," the SI Union wrote. "We demand the company commit to adhering to basic journalistic standards, including not publishing computer-written stories by fake people."

The Union also said in the statement they "deplore being associated with something so disrespectful to our readers."

"For nearly 70 years, SI staff members have held themselves to the highest possible ethical standards," they continued. "As members of the SI Union, we are proud to be part of that legacy and work every day to protect it. We expect management to do the same."

According to Futurism, The Arena Group did not respond to questions about the alleged fabrications ... though the outlet claims "all the AI-generated authors disappeared from Sports Illustrated's site without explanation" after it reached out.

Elon Musk is in Israel right now and seeing the destruction left behind by Hamas with his own two eyes -- and it seems like he's doing this to combat accusations of antisemitism.

The techie billionaire touched down in the Middle East Monday, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials as they toured the wreckage of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in one of the targeted villages that day.

Musk was taken to a specific home in this village -- known as a kibbutz there in Israel -- and it's said to be where a 4-year-old American-Israeli girl was taken hostage by Hamas.

As EM was being shown the aftermath -- burned homes and destroyed buildings/roads -- a baby's crib was displayed with bullet shell casings inside ... which his translator/guide says came from weapons used to fend off the attackers and to protect the Israeli citizens.

Elon took it all in and listened attentively -- even snapping some photos as they passed all the wreckage throughout this particular kibbutz. While it was most certainly a somber and serious moment ... some couldn't help but notice something peculiar about his appearance.

Of course, we're referring to the fact that Elon was wearing a bulletproof vest -- as was everyone else in the group ... but his looked rather small on him, almost humorously so.

It goes without saying ... this visit is no laughing matter, especially for Elon -- who's under fire for what was a recent embrace of an antisemitic tweet ... not to mention a report alleging pro-Nazi content was appearing alongside mainstream advertisements on X.

Elon has pushed back on that latter claim -- and even went to court over it -- but in general ... he's fending off accusations of antisemitism on his platform, and it appears he's trying to quell all that by showing face in Israel. As he wrote, "Actions speak louder than words."

Chris Brown is taking some heat, with some labeling him antisemitic, after he was spotted in Dubai with Kanye West, listening to Ye's new song about screwing a "Jewish b****."

On Sunday, Chris Brown took to Instagram to set the critics straight about exactly who he was in a fiery message reaffirming his gang affiliations. "Let me make this perfectly clear before y'all try to use me as a pawn ... Ima a Piru, I aint Muslim or Jewish so don't start no s*** wont be no s***!!!" Breezy wrote.

"Im trying to be peaceful but please do not wake up the demon in me! ... Go on about your f****** day."

In another message, the R&B megastar turned down the aggression but still highlighted his point that he wasn't a hateful person.

"I'm pro life and I [make] music for the entire world!!!!!! So please do not get tricked into thinking I spread hate or am kool with it! This is for the million of young kids that look up to me and may be confused"

If you remember, Akon recently told Shannon Sharpe he feels Chris could've succeeded Michael Jackson's musical legacy but let his ties to the street hold him back ... and don't forget the attack on Rihanna.