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Selena Gomez is heading to the big screen to play one of the biggest music icons ever in Linda Ronstadt. -- with a personal sign-off from the legend herself ... TMZ has learned.

The speculation got kicked into high gear Wednesday after SG posted a photo of herself reading Linda's 2013 memoir, 'Simple Dreams' ... without much context or anything at all. That was enough to get folks to wonder if they were collaborating, or if Selena was teasing a future acting gig. Mind you, this was around the same time she said she was taking another break from social media.

Anyway, sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that Selena has, in fact, been tapped to portray Linda in a forthcoming biopic -- although, we're told it's in the very early stages ... and the rest of the deets about other cast members and a studio being attached are hazy.

With that said ... what we do know is that Linda personally approved of Selena herself, and we're told she's happy that SG is attached to the project -- feeling like she's the perfect fit. In fact, our sources say Selena actually met with Linda a couple months ago at her home where they spoke privately.

We're told Linda and her team are directly tied to the production -- so they'll oversee this ... with our sources noting the plot will revolve around her book ... which was optioned.

Of course, people are losing their minds about this news for a couple different reasons -- one, Selena certainly feels like great casting for something like this ... 'cause she does have a passing resemblance to Linda. Plus, they're both of Mexican descent -- so there's that.

Naturally, there's also the singing element -- Linda's got a unique, robust voice ... and Selena is obviously a trained professional singer herself. So technically, she can pull this off.

With Selena's casting, ya gotta figure this is gonna be a splashy film with some major talent ... and with biopics like this in the recent past -- there may even be awards buzz around it.

Life's coming fast for Danielle Bregoli AKA Bhad Bhabie -- she's about ready to pop with her first child and also unveiled her very first movie role to kick off 2024!!!

The upcoming film "Drugstore June" rolled out its official trailer on Wednesday, which billed BB under her real name and joined an ensemble cast.

The film reunites BB with her longtime director Nicholaus Goossen, who primed her for the bigtime shooting a bunch of her star-studded videos in the past ... including "Gucci Flip Flops" with David Spade and "Trust Me" with Bella Thorne, Theo Von and Ty Dolla $ign.

Danielle plays a girl who works at a smoke shop and the cast is rounded out by Bill Burr, Beverly D’Angelo, Esther Povitsky, Miranda Cosgrove, Haley Joel Osment and many more.

Celebrity chef Curtis Stone says foodies should be wary of McDonald's' new Double Big Mac ... and he thinks the mega burger should come with its own freakin' warning.

Curtis joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to talk about the Golden Arches' super-sized creation, which Australians have been chowin' down on for a while, and is about to return to the U.S. for a limited engagement.

According to Curtis, this 4-patty beast is an eat-at-your-own-risk kind of situation, and should have a health warning attached to it ... but his concerns don't stop at the caloric intake -- which is around 740 calories, for the record.

Curtis thinks McDonald's has often provided a lack of food information to its customers -- namely the "100% beef," which could be a mixture of all kinds of meat cuts -- and folks should always know exactly what they're ingesting.

He also thinks companies like Mickey D's dominate the country by adhering to peoples' cravings, but Curtis tells us why that's doing a lot more harm than good.

Jonathan Majors is explaining why he keeps bringing Coretta Scott King's name into his relationships ... telling us Martin Luther King's widow is an inspiration.

The actor invoked Coretta's name in his first sit-down interview since being found guilty of assault and harassment, drawing the ire of Coretta and MLK's daughter ... and now he's responding to pushback.

Jonathan tells TMZ ... "My intention was to convey my utmost respect for Coretta Scott King, her achievements, and both her personal legacy and the one she shares with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King."

In his ABC interview, Jonathan praised girlfriend Meagan Good for sticking by his side ... saying, "She's an angel ... she's held me down like a Coretta. I'm so blessed to have her."

As we reported ... Dr. Bernice King seemingly called out Jonathan online after the interview aired, posting ... "My mother wasn't a prop."

Now, Jonathan tells us Coretta "is a great woman, a very important figure in American and world history, and someone both Meagan and I are inspired by and deeply admire."

Jonathan's trial also included audio clips where he's telling his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari to be more like Coretta and Michelle Obama. Jabbari's the woman he was convicted of assaulting and harassing.

Aaron Rodgers' time on Pat McAfee's show is done -- for this football season, at least -- after the ESPN host announced Wednesday morning that the 4x NFL MVP would NOT be returning to his normal Tuesday morning time slot during the playoffs.

"So, Aaron Rodgers Tuesday, season 4, is done," McAfee said Wednesday morning, despite the fact Rodgers was reportedly supposed to join the show for several more weeks.

Pat continued ... “There will be a lot of people who are happy with that, myself included to be honest with you. The way it ended, it got real loud. I am happy that he’s not going to be in my mentions going forward, which is great news.”

Sources tell TMZ Sports this wasn't a network decision -- we're told Pat determines which guests appear on the show -- but ESPN is on board with the move from what we're told.

In other words ... this was McAfee's call.

Of course, the Rodgers spot on "The Pat McAfee Show" has become the most can't-miss segment on the ESPN airwaves, but it's also brought with it a ton of controversy, especially over the last two weeks when AR seemingly linked Jimmy Kimmel to Jeffrey Epstein.

Rodgers later clarified his comments, saying he wasn't implying the late-night host was a pedophile.

But, that didn't stop Kimmel from taking even more jabs at the quarterback Tuesday night.

Perhaps this indicates the war between Aaron and Jimmy is over ... as the Jets signal caller won't have Pat's massive platform to respond.

Rodgers, who has appeared on Pat's show for years, is usually a guest through the playoffs ... but that won't be the case this season.

As for whether the Rodgers spot is back for season 5 ... there's been no indication either way.

11:00 AM PT -- TMZ has obtained legal docs spelling out what allegedly happened and when as it pertains to the 'SuperChef's arrest ... and what we've discovered are very disturbing accusations.

Per the arrest warrant, Darnell Ferguson's estranged wife called 911 to report he'd broken into her Louisville home on Jan. 2, and proceeded to allegedly attack her. The alleged victim claims once Ferguson was inside, he started punching walls and eventually lunged at her and grabbed her by the neck ... allegedly choking her out and threatening to kill her.

She told police she eventually lost consciousness, and when she came to ... she claims Ferguson then ripped off her shorts and demanded to see her privates. His estranged wife alleges he then said she was his and nobody else's ... making her fear he'd sexually assault her.

In the end, it doesn't sound like that occurred ... because the woman told cops he left, but not before allegedly snatching her credit/debit cards and ID. Law enforcement says they observed visible injuries on her, which they say was enough to warrant the charges.

Ferguson has already been arraigned, and he's pleaded not guilty -- with his bond set at $10,000.

Darnell "SuperChef" Ferguson cooked up his own arrest in Kentucky ... getting hit with a slew of serious offenses.

Ferguson was booked into the Louisville Metro jail on Tuesday afternoon on two felonies – burglary and strangulation, a rep for the correctional facility told TMZ.

He also faces five misdemeanors – assault, menacing, criminal mischief, terroristic threatening and theft receipt of stolen credit and debit card.

We don't know yet the circumstances surrounding his legal troubles, but we've reached out to the Louisville Metro PD for answers.

According to his profile on the Food Network website, Ferguson is a "celebrity chef, restauranteur and entrepreneur" who currently hosts "Superchef Grudge Match" and shares recipes and videos on their social media.

He has appeared on three seasons of Guy Fieri's "Tournament of Champions," which pits the world's culinary masters against one another in cooking competitions.

Ferguson has also popped up on two other cooking shows on the OWN network -- "The Big Holiday Food Fight" and "Food Fantasies."

The NFL is continuing to milk the Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift love story big-time ... formally dubbing the Chiefs star "Travis Swift" in an official video it put out this week.

The league dropped its nickname for the Kansas City tight end in a YouTube clip that previewed the Chiefs' upcoming wild-card round game against the Dolphins.

In the footage -- which was posted Tuesday night -- a narrator can be heard explaining that Miami will have to "take on Travis Swift Kelce" when it heads to Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday.

The league then flashed to a shot of Swift laughing and hanging out in a suite at one of Kelce's games earlier this season.

The video received a mixed reaction from fans who caught the quip ... with some calling it disrespectful -- while others loving it for Swift.

Of course, the Chiefs and the NFL have been pulling moves like these ever since Swift first showed up at a Kelce game in September ... changing their X page backgrounds and even making a Hallmark movie-themed game preview that had Swift Easter Eggs inside of it.

11:33 AM PT -- Silt PD is now saying they found no credible evidence of DV against Rep. Lauren Boebert in their investigation of Saturday's altercation at Miner's Claim in Colorado.

The department released the results of their findings Wednesday, and are basically pointing the finger at Jayson here -- saying Lauren was cooperative and helpful that night, whereas they claim Jayson was "highly intoxicated, yelling at officers, and was uncooperative with the investigation."

They say due to the lack of evidence of domestic violence against Lauren, they're closing the matter ... and letting the D.A.'s office deal with Jayson on everything else he's accused of.

TMZ has obtained the arrest warrants issued for Lauren Boebert's ex-husband -- describing two different alleged incidents over the course of a few days that paint Jayson as pretty out of control ... at least according to law enforcement.

First, in the docs pertaining to Saturday evening's altercation between the Congresswoman and her ex -- obtained by TMZ -- cops say they got a call for potential DV, only to then get another call from Boebert herself ... which dispatch says featured LB saying "I just touched your nose" and Jayson yelling, "She punched me in the face."

Eventually when officers arrived, they say they ran into Lauren and Jayson on the outside the Miner's Claim restaurant in Silt, Co -- where they determined Lauren and Jayson had come there to hash things out and discuss the future of their relationship. Boebert is quoted in the docs as saying they were trying to get on good terms, but things got ugly.

For whatever reason, cops say things appear to have gotten physical -- Jayson was claiming Lauren punched him in the face, Lauren said it was nothing but a touch with her finger. As they were trying to go back and forth and collect info from them and witnesses, cops say Jayson started acting boisterously and refused to stay put and follow commands -- allegedly demanding more booze and refusing to leave the joint when he was asked by management.

After a lot of back and forth, the docs say Jayson had to eventually be "physically escorted off the premise" and even tried to stop officers "by grabbing the door frame." He was not arrested that evening over whatever happened, and neither was Lauren. Fast-forward to Tuesday, and a separate arrest warrant was issued over another alleged incident.

The Garfield County Sheriff's Office says they got a call from Lauren and Jayson's 18-year-old son, Tyler, to report some kind of physical altercation Tyler claims occurred with his dad.

Long story short, Tyler alleged that Jayson was at their family home and got pissed because Tyler had his baby sleeping in a laundry basket with clothes in it, which allegedly erupted into a brawl between father and son, with Tyler saying Jayson stuck his thumb in his mouth.

Tyler also claims Jayson grabbed a rifle at one point, and Tyler eventually called his mom, Lauren, who told him to call 911 ... and when Tyler told them what happened, officers were able to get an arrest warrant for Jayson for prohibited use of a weapon, harassment, and assault in the third degree.

We've reached out to Boebert's office for comment ... so far, no word back.

Hunter Biden's causing chaos in Congress ... with Republicans and Democrats at each other's throats over a "white privilege" jab aimed at President Biden's son.

Hunter made a surprise appearance Wednesday on Capitol Hill, strolling into a hearing where lawmakers were starting the process of holding him in criminal contempt of Congress ... and his presence caused quite the stir.

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace quickly took aim at Hunter, saying ... "You are the epitome of white privilege, coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a Congressional subpoena to be deposed, what are you afraid of?

Nancy didn't stop there, adding ... "You have no balls to come up here."

Hunter sat quietly as chaos ensued with lawmakers yelling over one another before order was somewhat restored.

Soon after, Hunter left the room and the attention followed ... but the "white privilege" remark left a mark ... at least with Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who said it was a "spit in the face" as a Black woman. Jasmine ripped into Nancy and the GOP, saying if anyone is the epitome of white privilege it's them.

BTW, there was even more chaos once Hunter abruptly left the room ... he was being followed by a massive crush of reporters -- a couple of whom asked him about his prior drug use, particularly as it pertains to crack. Check it out ... it's absolutely wild.

Lukas Gage is clarifying some comments he made about a dating app ... telling us they shouldn't be perceived as a swipe at his estranged husband, Chris Appleton.

We got the "White Lotus" star Tuesday near DOGPOUND Gym in West Hollywood and our photog asked him if he was dissing Chris with his dig at Raya ... a private, membership-based social networking app.

Remember ... when we got Lukas last week -- after his Hinge profile had just popped up -- he told us he went with Hinge over Raya because he was looking for "real ones" and not "influencer" types.

Some took Lukas' words as a shot at his estranged husband ... seeing as Chris is a celeb hairstylist.

But, Lukas is pumping the brakes on that front ... telling us he wasn't throwing shade at Chris and everything is all good with his ex.

Bob Saget's widow, Kelly Rizzo, took time to honor her late husband on the second anniversary of his untimely death ... reminding others to hold their loved ones extra tight.

Kelly wrote about her late husband Tuesday, saying it's felt like both "a week and an eternity" since his passing -- and the rest of her remarks were pretty emotional, even 2 years later.

She used one of the last selfies he took onstage for her post ... which, according to her, was a great example of him "doing what he loved to do…making people laugh…making people happy."

She continued, "I will forever be grateful that I got to share life with this extraordinary person for 6 years. What a blessing. And grateful I can look back on endless memories and photos and videos with smiles, laughter, and yes…still tears."

Kelly then reminded folks to "hug your loved ones," and admitted she's "blown away by the fact that Bob hasn't faded from all your hearts in the slightest."

She did the same last January, remembering her "brilliant, adorable" husband a year after he died ... saying, in part, "the gratitude I have that we have each other is immeasurable."

As you know, Kelly lost her husband at the beginning of 2022 ... after he was found dead in his Orlando, FL hotel room. Authorities determined he died from blunt head trauma, apparently falling backward and hitting his head.

There was an outpour of folks honoring Bob after his shocking death -- including his longtime pal and "Full House" costar, John Stamos, who wrote, "I am broken. I am gutted. I am in complete and utter shock."

Celebs came out in droves to send him off at his funeral ... including John, Norman Lear, Dave Coulier, John Mayer, Jeff Ross, Ted Sarandos, Dave Chappelle, Kathy Griffin, Chris Rock, Judd Apatow, and many more.

Shanna Moakler ain't sparing any of her exes ... blasting Oscar De La Hoya over how their relationship ended.

The former Miss USA claims she was blindsided after watching Oscar on TV attending the Latin Grammy Awards in L.A. with his now ex-wife Millie ... telling Bunnie XO's on her 'Dumb Blonde' Podcast he told her he was going to NYC for a work trip at the time.

She says a lawyer came to her Bel-Air mansion the next day ... ordering her to move out with their baby daughter, Atiana immediately.

Shanna adds Oscar told her he wasn't happy she sued him for child support when they met up IRL a month later ... warning if she sued him for palimony, he wouldn't see her or the baby until she was 16 cause he had more money than God.

Oscar was true to his word ... Shanna says he didn't see his daughter until she was around 16.

They dated for 3 years from 1997 -- even getting engaged in the process.

Meanwhile, Shanna dropped a further slew of relationship bombshells during the podcast.

She claimed that her ex, Travis Barker, was trolling her online when they were together and also slammed his new wife, Kourtney Kardashian's family ... again.

Kevin Hart's ex-wife, Torrei Hart, says there's no feud going on between her former boo and Katt Williams ... this after she said she'd be touring with Katt following unkind words.

Torrei cleared the air while leaving the Hollywood Improv Tuesday night, shutting down rumors of bad blood -- pointing out the fact that Kev's a lover, as the man himself told us earlier in the day.

What's more, Torrei's positive she wasn't brought onto Katt's 3-night tour as a dig to Kevin ... 'cause she and Katt have been close for 2 decades now, so this couldn't have been a random hire.

Remember, Kevin and Torrei got divorced back in 2011, but she says they're still tight ... and she's even down to do some touring with him, too -- but he'd have to do the heavy lifting!

As we reported, Kevin gave us the same positive vibe in NYC Tuesday, showing support by wishing the 2 the best of luck on their shows. On its face, Kevin's words echoed Torrei's here ... namely, suggesting everything's kumbaya between himself and Katt.

Kevin could've sung a different tune, based on the smack Katt said about him -- saying on Shannon Sharpe's podcast that the comedian is just an industry plant, among other insults.

Kevin responded to Katt at the time ... telling him to get that hate off his chest.

Unless we hear differently from Katt on the matter, it sounds like all is well between the once-married couple ... although we'll admit, the timing of this all is very suspicious.

Pete Davidson was arguably serving up some serious disrespect at Aretha Franklin's funeral ... turning up to the 2018 service high on ketamine, at least according to him.

The comic detailed the drug-induced blunder in his Netflix special "Turbo Fonzarelli" ... the quipping that he was so high at the 2018 service, that he went up to the late icon's family, telling them, "Hey! I'm just here to pay my R-E-S-P-E-C-Ts!" Yeesh ... that's bad.

The ex-SNL star jokes Aretha wasn't around to know he was under the influence ... but if she were, she'd ask "what the f***" he was doing at her funeral and who the hell he was in the first place.

That's a fair assessment -- as at the time, he wasn't that famous and only attended the service as then-fiancée Ariana Grande's plus one. Still though, he was pretty known.

Now, Pete adds he was embarrassed being out and about while using ketamine -- which he used for 4 years to treat depression -- though the drug comes with a range of dissociative and hallucinogenic side effects. It doesn't seem like Pete's using ketamine anymore.

The audience clearly found the story hilarious ... but Pete sounds low-key ashamed of his actions at the time -- and perhaps for good reason, 'cause it is a pretty wild confession. That said, he's attempted to get the bad habit under control with 7 rehab stints over the years.

June 2023 was when he last checked in to rehab ... also addressing his post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.

Machine Gun Kelly's new signature guitar is being picked apart ... with critics saying the razor blade design promotes self-harm with impressionable youth.

Schecter Guitars just released a new instrument called the Machine Gun Kelly Razor Blade and it's being universally ripped online ... with tons of folks saying it promotes, glorifies and advocates cutting.

The issue ... razor blades are often used by people who cut themselves on purpose -- and not just that, but there's a stereotype about fans of pop-punk/emo rock engaging in self-harm ... which only heightens this convo, considering Kelly's affiliation with the genres.

In light of all that ... the company's Instagram post announcing the new MGK signature guitar is being bombarded with negative comments -- with folks slamming the guitar as Schecter's worst offering ever.

In introducing the guitar at a recent gig, Machine Gun Kelly explained it's "kind of an ode to Tickets To My Downfall, the line on title track and also an ode to my 20s and all the crazy times that I had." Unfortunately, folks are calling this out as promoting cutting, even if indirectly.

MGK's heard all the noise, and now he's singing a different tune ... saying, "I'll never explain my art because art is conversational and always up for interpretation, but I will say, most of you constantly interpret it wrong."

Seems like the early negative feedback may be affecting the sale price ... Schecter originally listed the guitar for $2,169 but the price tag has already been slashed to $1,499 ... a $700 reduction.

Ecuador has been thrust into utter chaos after a major drug lord escaped from prison over the weekend -- spurring cartel gang members to wreak havoc all throughout the country.

Cities like Guayaquil and others are being subjected to stickups and raids on the behalf of thugs who are running amok in the streets ... storming TV stations, holding people hostage at gunpoint, and in many cases -- outright executions of law enforcement officials.

The videos making the rounds online right now are absolutely stunning in the worst possible way -- these cartel killers are recording themselves indiscriminately opening fire in public.

Like we said ... it's bedlam of the highest degree, and the disturbing images surfacing are causing alarm in the international community. Ecuador's government has already issued a state of emergency, and military personnel has been deployed to get a handle on things.

There've been countless arrests -- but it's unclear if this attempted crackdown will be effective ... Ecuador has been at the center of corruption allegations for years, so it remains to be seen if their criminal justice system can keep things in check there.

As far as what sparked all this ... it appears to be stemming from a brash prison break for a guy named Adolfo 'Fito' Macias -- who busted out on Sunday, and who leads Los Choneros.

Now, he and his goons are a putting on a show of force ... and being met with pushback not just from law enforcement, but from citizens as well -- many of whom are taking up arms.