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Sam Haskell Jr. is officially denying culpability in his triple murder case this week -- and the guy continues to go shirtless before a judge ... this as officials have fears of self-harm.

The murder suspect had an appearance in court Friday in Los Angeles, where he and his lawyers officially entered not guilty pleas to the 3 counts of murder Haskell is facing. Also of note ... the fact he was trotted out in front of everybody with his bare chest exposed again.

Remember, he was rocking the same sorta look when he first appeared in court last month ... something correctional officers relegated him to because of what they said were suicidal thoughts he was expressing.

Now, more than a month later of his being in custody ... he's still shirtless, something his lawyers griped about Friday -- claiming their client has not indicated he intends self-harm upon himself. Despite this, hizzoner denied Sam a shirt ... offering a self-harm vest instead.

Doesn't sound like Sam took the judge up on that ... and now, he's due back in court next month. It's unclear what exactly he's wearing behind bars, but when he's appeared in court ... he's been shirtless both times.

Remember, prosecutors allege Sam killed his wife, Mei, as well as her parents Yanxiang and Gaoshan. TMZ obtained surveillance video that appeared to show Haskell dumping something off at a dumpster shortly before he was arrested.

He remains in custody without bail.

Ryan Shazier is officially calling things off with Michelle Shazier ... filing for divorce from his longtime partner less than two months after she publicly accused him of cheating.

According to court records obtained by TMZ Sports, the former NFL star filed the docs on Wednesday.

No further details surrounding the matter were revealed, however, as a court has ordered the case to be sealed.

An attorney for Ryan declined to comment when we reached out on Thursday.

As we previously reported, Michelle went scorched earth on Ryan back in late November, claiming he sent raunchy texts to another woman.

The messages, she said, showed Ryan flirting ... before sending links to books filled with sexual content.

"Infidelity at its finest!" Michelle said in a caption on her post of the images of the messages. "I can't sit here and keep hiding anymore . You can have it. I deserve better. 🤍 This is Ryan… he’s a liar and a cheater!"

Ryan said in a statement to TMZ Sports at the time of the allegations, "Michelle and I have been living apart and are currently separated. As we work through what comes next for our family, I ask for privacy and prayers."

Jenelle Evans' husband, David Eason, is now facing a more serious charge in his criminal child abuse case as it pertains to her teenage son ... and the charge itself is troubling.

An official at the Columbus County Courthouse in North Carolina confirms to TMZ that Eason's charges have, in fact, been recently updated ... and it's bad news for him because now he's got a felony that he's facing.

We're told that, as of right now, he's in their system with one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one count of felony assault by strangulation.

Before this, we'd been told that David was facing just a single charge -- misdemeanor child abuse -- but now ... that's changed, and it appears as if a new one has been added ... which perhaps isn't surprising based on what allegedly happened.

TMZ broke the story ... law enforcement in NC accused David of roughing up Jenelle's 14-year-old, Jace, in late September and the injuries he allegedly sustained included marks on his arm and neck.

It appears that as the investigation continued, officials determined a separate strangulation charge was warranted -- which just ups the ante on the case. Of course, we'd been told there was a possibility Jenelle herself might possibly be charged in connection to this too ... but that apparently hasn't happened yet.

Speaking of Jenelle ... she was airing some grievances of her own on social media Friday -- teasing the possibility of doing a doc about her own life ... and inviting production people to hit her up for the opportunity to collaborate.

Actress Mia Goth -- known for the films "X" and "Pearl" -- is being sued by a background extra of her upcoming film in the series ... after allegedly kicking him in the head on purpose during a take.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Mia, director Ti West, and A24 are all being sued by an extra for the upcoming flick, claiming things got physical last year while they were shooting late at night.

The background actor says the scene called for him to wear a robe and be covered in fake blood from head to toe ... and he says he had to lay down in the dirt and play dead for several hours, "enduring ants and mosquitoes."

Mia, who plays Maxine, was supposed to run past the actor, step over him and look at him, then keep running ... but after a few takes, the actor claims Mia "nearly stepped" on him.

He says Mia was warned to be careful but instead, he claims she "intentionally kicked" him in the head with her boot on the following take, causing serious pain and neck stiffness. He says doctors later told him he suffered a concussion.

He claims no medical assistance was provided on set. Instead, he says Mia approached him in the bathroom and "taunted, mocked, and belittled" him ... daring them to do anything about what went down.

What's more, he says the fake blood had stuck to his body, so peeling off the blood-stained robe caused more pain -- and he claims he experienced headaches on the drive home and "nearly passed out twice" during the trip.

Fat Joe says 100 million Americans are in the red because of hospital bills ... and he's working with Congress to try and fix what he says is a greedy healthcare system.

The rapper joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us why he's advocating for big changes with the way hospitals and health insurance companies do business.

Fat Joe says most people who go to the hospital have no idea how much care is going to cost until after the fact ... and he says the lack of transparency is putting way too many folks in debt.

Joey Crack's been banging this drum for almost a year now ... and this week he brought his message to Congress' doorstep, hosting about 500 lawmakers and government officials at an event for Power to the Patients ... a healthcare advocacy group.

Fat Joe says only 27 cents of every $1 Americans are charged at hospitals goes back to doctors, nurses, staff and the actual procedures and treatments ... with the rest of the money lining the pockets of the hospitals and insurance companies.

He says folks who are already struggling to afford treatments are being told the prices are going up ... but Fat Joe says that's really just a move by hospitals and insurance companies to increase profits.

Fat Joe's calling on Congress to change the system so people aren't being unfairly charged with hidden costs and fees when they go to the hospital.

Jason Patric's brother was struck and killed by a bus this week in New Jersey ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Jordan Miller -- who's a year younger than Jason -- was walking across the street in Fort Lee Wednesday afternoon, when a NJ Transit bus barreled into him while making a left turn, according to a preliminary police account.

We're told Jordan was rushed to a local hospital, where he was initially listed in serious condition, but then took a turn for the worse and was later pronounced dead.

Fort Lee PD detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine if it was an accident or a crime. Jordan was a customer service rep at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. A Port Authority rep confirmed to us Jordan is, in fact, the sibling of Jason ... who apparently was friendly with folks in the agency.

As you probably know, Jason is a big-time Hollywood actor with a laundry list of film credits -- including "The Lost Boys," "Sleepers," "Geronimo: An American Legend," "Your Friends & Neighbors," "Narc," "The Losers," "The Alamo," and "Speed 2: Cruise Control." Jason has also appeared on some TV shows, such as "Entourage" and "Saturday Night Live" as host.

We reached out to Jason's camp ... they had no comment. Jordan was 56.

Cooper Kupp might've been in the middle of a playoff race, but the Rams star wasn't too busy to feed the men and women keeping L.A. safe this past Christmas season ... hooking up a bunch of Sheriff's Deputies with a massive serving of BBQ!

We're told 30-year-old Kupp swung by the Los Angeles Sherrif Department's Lost Hills station just before December 25, and he didn't arrive empty-handed. The standout wide receiver, on his dime, brought trays of food -- meat, sides, they had it all -- for the appreciative deputies.

The reason? Cooper wanted to thank the LASD for all they do.

Just dropping off the food would've been plenty, but to make the trip even better, Kupp hung out and took photos and signed autographs for anyone interested.

“Thank you Cooper Kupp for stopping by the station to bring dinner for the troops and taking the time to hang out for a bit. Your generosity was beyond appreciated. #weloveourcommunities” the LASD said.

Safe to say everyone had an awesome time.

It's not the first time Kupp’s helped his community ... he’s a charitable dude. CK has a history of giving back, even providing around 8,400 meals for food banks back in 2020!

Sam Asghari posed alongside none other than Brad Pitt this week -- and the snap could be a dig at his ex, Britney Spears ... who's historically been infatuated with the mega A-lister.

Sam posted some pics of himself and BP at "Moneyball" director Bennett Miller's art exhibit in Beverly Hills Thursday night -- claiming he got "a lot of great skin care tips with the man himself." The photo itself features a very glossy-looking Sam, next to a pristine Brad.

BTW, Bennett's gallery combines AI with the history of photography, working with a DALL•E image generator to make his exhibit pieces -- and the reason that's relevant is because some have raised an eyebrow on this photo ... wondering if it's actually the real McCoy.

Some folks have pointed out the fact that the snap of Sam and Brad looks a little touched up -- unclear if that's the case, but this is definitely the real BP ... other photos of him there are circulating online right now. So Sam isn't pulling a fast one.

Sam's rep, Brandon Cohen of BAC Talent, tells TMZ ... Sam was honored to be in the room of great talent and artists to support Bennett Miller. Sources at the event tell us Sam and Brad bonded over the acting business.

Now, on the subject of Britney ... she's admitted in the past that Brad was her first celebrity crush ... and has been a bit obsessed with him for decades -- frankly, who hasn't, right?

When Sam and Britney were engaged back in 2022, Sam stumbled upon a framed, shirtless pic of Brad in "Thelma & Louise" inside their home ... to which Britney responded, "The one and only." He kinda poked fun at her about ... and he's made jokes about Brad online too.

Brit also posted -- then deleted -- a photo of young Brad Pitt on her Instagram last year, and said she shared it "because he looks so much like my uncle" ... so take that for what you will. The point is ... it looks like Sam got his opportunity to meet the dude and he took it.

Considering he very much knows about Britney's love for Brad ... you gotta wonder if he was extra eager to post these pics -- perhaps to rub it in her face a bit post-divorce. Who knows!

Anyway, Brad still looks great ... so here's a little look back at the guy and his dreamy ways.

Jason Sudeikis has been looking like a real single fella lately -- and during a night out in Hollywood this week ... he looked to be getting cozy with a potential new flame.

The 'Ted Lasso' star hit up the popular Bird Streets Club in WeHo Thursday night -- where he linked up with actress Elsie Hewitt ... giving her a nice little hug, and her reciprocating. She also grabbed his arm in a somewhat tender way ... and they went inside together.

There isn't much more PDA here beyond what you see in the pics -- but they certainly seem to indicate the two of them are friendly ... and perhaps more. They are, after all, both single.

JS reportedly split with 'Lasso' costar Keeley Hazell a couple years back -- this, of course, on the heels of his ugly breakup with longtime girlfriend/baby mama Olivia Wilde ... which was widely covered. Now, here he is chatting it up with Elsie -- but it's hard to tell what this is.

If they are, in fact, dating -- which we're just not sure of at this point -- it'd be an interesting trend for Jason in the age department. She's 27, and Keeley is 37 ... whereas Olivia's 39.

On its face, it feels like he might be going a little younger with his pool of potential partners.

While Jason and Olivia have both clearly moved on since splitting up -- they continue to co-parent pretty well ... they're constantly seen getting together with their 2 kids in tow.

Anyway, as for Elsie here ... she sure is a hot ticket, we'll give her that. And, she's also one of these young rising stars in the biz -- with roles on 'Dave' and other shows/movies.

One last thing of note ... Elsie was recently dating Benny Blanco, who's obviously now with Selena Gomez. So, like we said ... she appears to be available and ditto for Jason.

Lynn Yamada Davis -- an elderly social media influencer chef with a massive following -- has passed away ... her family has confirmed.

The "Cooking With Lynja" star passed away on January 1 at Riverview Medical Center, New Jersey, from esophageal cancer ... something her daughter, Hannah Mariko Shofet, told The New York Times.

The publication adds that Lynn had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019 and later with esophageal cancer in 2021. Now, she's succumbed to her cancer battle after nearly 5 years.

Like we mentioned ... Lynn was widely beloved on the social media app, amassing about 17 million followers ... all thanks to her hilarious and wholesome cooking videos. People simply loved her content, whether it was for the good eats, or her very sweet/funny personality.

Lynn's achievement also earned her a coveted place on Forbes' 50 over 50 list in 2022. She started the channel during the pandemic in 2020 with her youngest son, Tim Davis, telling NYT it was entirely his mother's idea.

LYD got to travel the world and meet new people since her social media success, says her other son, Sean Davis ... adding his mom's final chapter was "exactly how she would have wanted it to be written."

Her TikTok account has been kept active by her family since her passing ... and her family confirmed she asked for the rest of her pre-recorded videos to be edited and live.

Heartbroken fans have flooded Lynn's social media page with their tributes ... thanking her for giving them joy through her cooking. She was 67.

RIP

Ava DuVernay's just like the rest of us ... thrilled that Angela Bassett's finally bagged an Oscar at the Governors Awards, but she's also clarifying it's its own thing -- separate from an Academy Award at the big show.

TMZ got the director out in NYC, where she made the distinction between the Governors Awards and the prestigious, world-renowned Academy Awards coming up in 2 months ... where bagging a shiny gold statuette is the pinnacle of every actor's career.

Ava says it was high time for the Academy to honor Angela's body of work. Of course, she's also been nominated for 2 acting Oscars -- Best Actress for 1993's "What's Love Got To Do With It" and Best Supporting Actress for 2022's 'Wakanda Forever' -- but has yet to win one.

With that said, Ava -- who's one of the Academy Governors herself -- was thrilled to witness Angela get this well-deserved recognition ... and made it clear the Governors Award and Academy Awards are separate entities.

She also raves about getting to watch Ms. Bassett do her thing, and was especially inspired by her acceptance speech.

As for Angela ... she was stoked to be highlighted -- urging fellow Black actresses to think of who their ancestors intended them to be ... telling them to remain courageous.

She also paid tribute to the empowered women she's represented in her roles -- real queens like Tina Turner, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King ... and, of course, Wakanda's fictional Queen Ramonda.

Farm life has apparently been treating Kelis well ... something the Internet can collectively agree on ... because she's aging like fine wine, and she's got some cool content to boot!

The singer/rapper posted yet another update on her little California farm -- something she's been doing routinely lately as she grows her social media presence. Kelis' following has been ballooning too ... but many suspect it's because she looks so damn good in these clips.

Anyway, for this latest offering ... Kelis proudly announced a couple additions to her animal family this week  ... a newborn baby goat and a micro-donkey she hilariously named Smokey Robinson, but fans genuinely seemed to care more for what the "Milkshake" singer had in those jeans.

Yes, she's certainly a shapely woman ... something people just can't help but remark on!

While Kelis' agricultural report may have been largely ignored by horndogs on Twitter/IG ... she does have some interesting info here about the habits of new mothers in the animal kingdom. Of course, for the straight men out there ... it's a little hard to focus.

With that said, Kelis is a legitimate farmer ... she's got beans, greens, potatoes, chickens, turkeys, virtually everything you can name for a substantial farm and also starred in her own Netflix cooking show a few years ago.

Bill Murray was her Old MacDonald for a couple of months last summer but that relationship has since fizzled. On its face, it looks like Kelis may be single right now.

Ariana Grande has been the focus of a lot of gossip as it pertains to her romantic relationships lately -- something she tackles head on in her new single ... in raunchy terms.

The pop star dropped her new single, 'Yes, And?,' Friday ... and it's stirring up buzz for many reasons -- but one of the biggest takeaways fans are noticing right away is the fact that she addresses all the scrutiny over her split with Dalton Gomez/hookup with Ethan Slater.

The lyrics kinda speak for themselves here ... AG sings this during the bridge, "My face is sitting, I don't need no disguise // Don't comment on my body, do not reply // Your business is yours and mine is mine // Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?"

The chorus is also telling in terms of how she deals with all the noise aimed her way, with her crooning ... "'Yes, and?' // Say that shit with your chest, and // Be your own fuckin' best friend // Say that shit with your chest // Keep moving like, "What's next?'"

Of course, her words here reflect what's been a whirlwind romance for her and her new Broadway boyfriend -- which dovetailed with her divorce to Dalton ... all of which came together somewhat messily last year. Despite that, AG's apparently tuning out the haters.

Now, the track itself is quite solid -- an upbeat dance-friendly, '90s-esque bop ... and it's certainly a good introduction into her solo comeback ahead of her new album dropping.

However, even on the musical front ... there are some heads turning over what some think is a familiar sound here -- namely, the fact that the beat feels very 'Vogue'-coded, if not a rendition of it. As far as we can tell, Ari didn't sample Madonna ... but damn, it is similar.

Anyway, it's just a footnote of analysis of the song -- by and large, everyone is digging it.

Mia Farrow's younger sister, Tisa Farrow -- who acted in movies in the '70s -- has died.

Her older sibling just announced her death Friday ... with Mia saying on Instagram that Tisa passed unexpectedly just a couple days prior on Wednesday, "apparently in her sleep." She adds, "If there is a Heaven, undoubtedly my beautiful sister Tisa is being welcomed there. She was the best of us - i have never met a more generous and loving person."

Mia goes on to say, the family at large is going through a hard time in light of this sad news.

Tisa used to be in showbiz back in the 1970s, but didn't nearly work as much as Mia -- and she certainly wasn't as famous either. Tisa was a teenager when she started acting in Hollywood, making her film debut way back in 1970 in "Homer," a hippie counterculture flick.

Overall, Tisa had 15 acting credits ... including a starring role in the 1979 horror film, "Zombie." She also starred in 1978's "Fingers" and made an appearance in the 1979 Woody Allen picture "Manhattan" ... right before Woody began his relationship with Mia.

While Mia was blowing up in her career way back when, she was actually pretty close to Tisa -- there's photos of them hobnobbing together in and around Hollywood as young, aspiring actresses.

Tisa quit Hollywood in 1980 and went to Vermont to be a nurse. She was 72.

10:55 AM PT -- Peter Thomas has broken his silence on his recent arrest ... taking full responsibility for what went down last week.

In the clip, filmed from a plane and posted on his Instagram Friday, Peter says his phone has been blowing up and wanted to address the incident -- claiming he refused to blow for a breathalyzer test during the ordeal, and was in the hospital due to his high blood pressure.

He says he willingly turned himself in, and it was a quick process ... thanking the Cobb County Police Department for how they handled the whole thing.

Peter admits he's never been arrested for DUI and is mindful -- adding his younger brother died as a result of drunk driving in the past ... before thanking everyone for their concerns.

Cynthia Bailey's ex-husband, Peter Thomas, has been arrested for DUI, TMZ has confirmed ... after allegedly weaving between lanes and flying through a red light.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, officers in Atlanta say they spotted Peter weaving without tags on his SUV last week, so they followed him -- claiming he blew through a red light after exiting the interstate.

PD then pulled him over, and said they detected "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" coming from his car ... and said Peter had "watery, glassy, and bloodshot eyes."

After some field sobriety tests, Peter was placed under arrest for DUI -- they say he agreed to a blood test, but when he and cops arrived at the hospital, they say he changed his mind.

They initially brought him to Cobb Adult Detention Center, but he was denied due to blood pressure ... so he was brought back to the hospital and was left with staff -- what a night.

Cops later obtained an arrest warrant for Peter, and he was charged with DUI alcohol, as well as a slew of other traffic-related charges. According to journalist Kiki Monique, Peter was released later on the same day after posting his $3k bail.

The former "Real Housewives of Atlanta" first got in front of the camera in season 3 along with his girl, Cynthia Bailey -- the 2 got engaged and married on the show, but he bowed out of the series in season 9 when he and the model got divorced.

Fab Morvan was thought to be a longtime bachelor, but his recent divorce smashed that reputation -- now we know when exactly he got hitched ... and it was a while ago.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Milli Vanilli singer's estranged wife Kim Marlowe -- who filed for divorce earlier this week -- lists their marriage date as Dec. 3, 1998 ... while going on to point out they separated just earlier this year ... on Jan. 2.

She cites irreconcilable differences as the official reason they're going their separate ways -- and she's asking for spousal support from Fab. She also wants to make it so FM can't ask for any alimony on his end. The couple apparently didn't have any kids together.

In terms of how she wants to divvy up their shared marital assets ... Marlowe says all that should be figured out in the discovery process as their divorce plays out in court.

Pretty standard stuff all in all, but again -- the noteworthy thing is that Fab here seems to have tied the knot secretly more than 2 decades ago ... and nobody knew about it!

Now, it's worth noting ... Marlowe is claiming they separated just a couple weeks ago -- which is shocking, 'cause Fab has been very publicly living his life with his current partner, Tessa Van Der Steen, and their 4 children ... with whom he apparently lives in Amsterdam.