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How'd Kevin Hart get by Super Bowl security to party with the Patriots on Sunday??

Robert Kraft's son had to personally vouch for him!!!!

It all went down on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf after New England beat the Rams ... when the comedy icon was held up on his way to the confetti party.

The video is great ... Hart thinks security is just jokin' around not letting him through the gates -- when he suddenly realizes they ain't!!!

Kevin tries to crack a couple jokes to get through ... but still no dice!!!

Enter Patriots president Jonathan Kraft ... who rolls up to security to save the day -- telling everyone, "He's good! He's good! And, his wife!"

If this all feels familiar ... it's 'cause it is -- remember last year Hart was denied the chance to head up to the stage to celebrate the Eagles' Super Bowl championship???

For his part ... Kevin was able to joke about the whole thing afterward -- penning a social media post with a bunch of laughing emojis.

Kraft had the bling, Gronk had the booze ... and EVERYONE was having a great time at the New England Patriots victory party after the Super Bowl.

TMZ Sports has footage from inside the event -- where you can see billionaire Pats owner Robert Kraft turnin' up with a giant diamond chain around his neck that says, "Champions."

Rob Gronkowski was living his best life too -- sippin' on a bottle of booze somebody passed off to him ... and telling people, "I am big pimpin'."

Snoop was the main performer at the shindig at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta -- along with The Chainsmokers and Meek Mill.

After the show, Snoop told us Tom Brady personally asked him to perform -- and he obliged ... because you can't say no to the G.O.A.T.

The food at the party was also lit -- we're talking chicken and waffles, mahi mahi tacos and an OPEN BAR!

He tried. He failed.

A New England Patriots fan tried to sneak into the team locker room celebration after the Super Bowl by taking a security officer's jacket and trying to blend in ... but he got caught.

Several people recorded video as the ACTUAL security team realized there was a FRAUD in their midst.

You can see the real security team question the faker -- and demanding he fork over the jacket immediately.

Atlanta Police Dept. officers were called over to help as the man tried to explain himself -- saying someone had given him the jacket ... but he never ID'd his alleged accomplice.

At one point the man tried to walk away from the situation, but he was stopped by officials who were trying to identify the man. He was a wearing a badge so it shouldn't be too hard.

APD tells us stadium security handled the incident and they're not sure if the man was arrested.

We're working on it ...

Of course, the Patriots have had locker room issues in the past -- investigators found that former TV reporter Mauricio Ortega had been habitually stealing items from Super Bowl locker rooms for years ... including a game-worn Tom Brady jersey.

Conor McGregor is BACK in America -- this time, no violence ... just cuteness!!

The UFC superstar and his 1-year-old son, Conor Jr., just arrived at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, in matching purple suits ... and they're both STYLIN'!!!

Conor is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan -- he became with friends with Jerry Jones in 2018 -- but since they're not in the big game, unclear who Conor will be rooting for.

One thing's for sure ... Conor ain't missing an opportunity to flash his mug at the biggest sporting ever of the year!!

By the way, look at Conor McGregor Jr.'s designer kicks -- sweeeeeeet!!!!

The A-list stars are starting to arrive at the stadium -- Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Hart and Ludacris are already there.

So is Rams superfan YG -- he's been a good luck charm for the Rams this season, this is good news for L.A.

Donald Trump -- the man who complained the NFL was eliminating too many big hits -- admits tackle football is "a dangerous sport" and he'd have a "hard time" allowing his son to play.

POTUS sat down with CBS News' Margaret Brennan who asked Trump if he would allow 12-year-old Barron play football if he wanted to.

"It’s very, it’s a very tough question," Trump said ... "It’s a very good question. If he wanted to? Yes. Would I steer him that way? No, I wouldn’t."

When asked to elaborate, Trump said, "I just don’t like the reports that I see coming out having to do with football -- I mean, it’s a dangerous sport and I think it’s really tough."

He added, "I thought the equipment would get better, and it has. The helmets have gotten far better, but it hasn’t solved the problem."

"So, you know I hate to say it because I love to watch football. I think the NFL is a great product, but I really think that as far as my son -- well I’ve heard NFL players saying they wouldn’t let their sons play football. So ... it’s not totally unique, but I would have a hard time with it."

Back in 2017, Trump complained that the NFL "ruining the game," by calling too many penalties on big hits.

6:00 PM PT -- Elliot Tebele, founder of F**kjerry, addressed the company's recent backlash a few hours ago, saying ... "Effective immediately, we will no longer post content when we cannot identify the creator, and will require the original creator’s advanced consent before publishing their content to our followers. It is clear that attribution is no longer sufficient, so permission will become the new policy."

He added ... "We want to apologize to anyone who feels we have wronged them in the past. We want to do the right thing by creators by seeking permission and giving them the credit they deserve."

11:00 AM PT -- Add Whitney Cummings to the list. She also posted an "Unfollow F**k Jerry" message and thanked writer Megh Wright for starting the movement.

Colin Hanks and John Mulaney are now at the forefront of a growing list of actors and comedians who are speaking out against the social media agency Jerry Media ... and are encouraging people to unfollow the incredibly popular @f**kjerry account.

Hanks and Mulaney both shared posts Saturday blasting FJ for stealing content and jokes from comedians and profiting from it. Mulaney urged his followers to "unfollow this garbage account" while Hanks went a step further, calling the Jerry Media honchos hustlers and con men.

Colin's comments stem from the recent duo of Fyre Festival documentaries, one of which (the Netflix one) was produced by the F**kjerry team. Since the release of the films, there's been a lot of public backlash against FJ for their role in the Fyre Fest scam ... and it's resulting in lost followers.

There's more -- on Friday, Comedy Central announced it was pulling its ads from the FJ account, saying it has "no plans to advertise with Jerry Media in the future."

For a company that reportedly makes thousands of dollars for a single Instagram post, a loss of advertisers would be a huge blow.

Move over Tiger Woods ... Amy Bockerstette is officially the biggest badass on the links -- 'cause the Special Olympian was invited to play a hole with PGA tour stars this week ... and she parred!!!

It all went down during a practice round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open ... where Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar invited Amy to take a shot at the course's famous 16th hole.

Amy -- who has Down syndrome -- showed absolutely ZERO nerves off the tee box ... smashing her drive just short of the green in a bunker.

But, there were no worries about hittin' it fat from the trap ... 'cause Amy hit a shot outta the sand that woulda made Tiger himself jealous!!!

Then came the best part ... SHE BURIED THE PUTT FOR PAR!!!!

The crowd went nuts ... the PGA tour stars loved it ... and Amy shrugged it off like it was just another day at the range!!

Of course, Amy's certainly been in bigger situations ... she is, after all, the first-ever collegiate golfer to compete with an intellectual disability.

NBA superstar Anthony Davis says he never wanted his trade demand to go public ... but now that it's become the talk of the entire league, he's explaining why he wants outta NOLA.

AD's agent, Rich Paul, made the trade request public earlier this week -- which ultimately cost Davis $50k -- but, now we're finally hearing straight from the 25-year-old why he's ready to move on.

"I feel like it's my time," Davis told reporters on Friday. "I gave this city, organization, fans, everything I feel like I could."

Davis also refutes any reports claiming he requested to be moved to L.A. or New York.

"We never gave the Pelicans a destination."

Neal James -- known as "Banjo Man" on the popular Animal Planet series, "Call of the Wildman" -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The Washington County Coroner's Office tells TMZ, James had been battling heart issues for years now. He died of natural causes at his Kentucky home.

James became a sensation on the reality show, due largely in part to his friendship with the show's star ... "The Turtleman" Ernie Brown Jr. He endeared himself to fans with his twangy voice, easy-going attitude, long beard and, of course, his banjo.

It wasn't long ago when James suffered a heart attack ... prompting him to take to YouTube and say he's "seen the other side" and it's beautiful, but he was in no hurry to get there. James thanked his friends, family and the medical community for helping him continue living.

Seems the ice has thawed between Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Donald Trump -- because Kraft just praised POTUS on live TV ... and thanked him for his support of the team in the Super Bowl.

Kraft appeared on "Fox & Friends" early Friday morning where was asked how he felt about Trump sending a congratulatory tweet to the Patriots following their big win in the AFC Championship game.

"We can use every fan who wants to support us from wherever they are in their standard of life," Kraft said.

When asked if he's spoken with Trump -- or gotten advice from the President -- Kraft continued to throw nice words Trump's way.

"I have a lot of people who give me advice and he's been very supportive and I know he's working very hard to serve the best interest of the country."

It's interesting considering the relationship between Kraft and Trump has been rocky over the past few years.

The two were VERY close for years but then clashed in April over Trump's handling of the Colin Kaepernick kneeling situation.

Remember, Trump called for NFL owners to fire any "son of a bitch" who doesn't stand for the anthem.

Kraft called Trump's statements "divisive" and "horrible."

But, it seems it's all water under the bridge now.

Makes us wonder if Trump is also repairing his relationship with Tom Brady -- who he was also very close with.

However, Gisele has become a very outspoken critic of Trump ever since he took office and Tom and Trump have seemingly had a falling out.

But now, with Trump publicly supporting Brady again ... it'll be interesting to see if Tom returns the love.

President Trump has been keeping up on the news about the Jussie Smollett attack, and says it's horrible.

The President spoke Thursday morning from the Oval Office and when a reporter asked him about the "Empire" star's case, he replied, "That I can tell you is horrible. I've seen it ... last night. It doesn't get worse, as far as I'm concerned."

It was a pretty brief response ... he didn't elaborate on any details of the case.

Remember, Jussie says his attackers yelled, "MAGA country" as they fled after beating him, pouring bleach on him and putting a rope around his neck.

Unfortunately, Trump was not asked specifically about the MAGA remark.

Julian Edelman was SO impressed with the way a 7th-grader handled being bullied by her classmates ... he straight-up gave her 2 tickets to this weekend's Super Bowl!!!

Dejah Rondeau is a badass 13-year-old who just so happens to play quarterback for her New Hampshire school's football team.

Problem was ... some of her classmates had an issue with a girl being their signal-caller -- and her parents say she was bullied over it.

"Some people don’t want to accept a female quarterback. She’ll have to put in 110 percent when others are putting in 50," Dejah's mother told Seacoastonline.com.

But, Dejah overcame it all ... and managed to thrive for her team -- and that caught Edelman's eye.

The Patriots and their star WR invited her to the team's facility last week for being so brave in the face of adversity ... and gave her TWO tickets to see them play the Rams on Sunday!!!

"My respect level for you is just through the roof because you just ignored all the noise and you played the game we all love -- and that’s football," Edelman told the girl.

Dejah's reaction??

"That was crazy! I never knew -- I never thought that would ever happen. I was just really excited to go!"

Artie Lange is back in custody ... and his latest mug shot is very sad and disturbing.

The comedian was in court Wednesday in Essex County, New Jersey. We're told he was taken into custody after his hearing after testing positive for cocaine and morphine.

Law enforcement sources say the mark under Lange's nose is a scab that started to bleed.

The same day he was sent back to jail, someone managing Artie's Twitter account announced he would be undergoing a long term treatment program, adding ... "He loves and respects his fans... updates coming soon.. and it’s time."

We broke the story ... Lange pled guilty to heroin possession at the end of 2017 and went to an inpatient drug rehab program after he got out of jail. He was later sentenced to 4 years probation.

The judge also ordered him to complete an outpatient drug program and complete 50 hours of community service.

Lange's latest bust will likely result in a probation violation ... so he's looking at more tough times ahead.

Originally Published -- 10:22 AM PT

11:46 AM PT -- Artie's attorney, Frank Arleo, tells TMZ Artie was "taken into custody so that the Drug Court could re-evaluate him and recommend a course of treatment. Once that is done, he will be released. Artie is committed to getting better."

Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird appeared in court Wednesday to face new charges that he threatened to murder his GF multiple times during a violent altercation back in September.

As we previously reported ... Bird allegedly brutalized his GF at his Massachusetts apartment during a Sept. 7 incident -- allegedly choking and terrorizing her for hours.

Officials say Jabari roughed her up badly ... and she was only able to escape after Bird appeared to be having "seizure-like" symptoms during the end of the attack.

Jabari was arrested for assault and battery, strangulation and kidnapping ... and later pled not guilty to the charges in court.

On Wednesday, prosecutors tacked on TWO additional charges -- threats and witness intimidation -- alleging in court docs Bird told his GF he was going to MURDER her during the altercation.

"If you don’t stop talking I’m going to kill you," the victim alleges Bird said, according to court docs.

She added that Jabari also said while kicking her, “Tell anyone about this, I don’t care where you are, I’ll find you and I’ll kill you."

Bird appeared in Brighton Municipal Court Wednesday to face the new charges ... and once again pled not guilty.

Jabari is due back in court next month.

For his part ... Jabari released a statement shortly after the September incident saying, "I'm taking some time away from the team as I deal with my legal and medical issues. I apologize to my family, the Celtics organization, my teammates, the fans and the NBA for the unnecessary distraction that I have caused."

Kacy Clemens -- son of MLB legend Roger Clemens -- says bouncers at a Houston bar beat him so badly during a New Year's Eve event, they may have destroyed his pro baseball career.

Clemens and his pal, Conner Capel, have sued the Concrete Cowboy in Texas -- claiming they were just hanging out when bouncers singled them out and ordered them to move out of a spot in the bar while they were trying to order their first drink of the night.

Both men are minor league baseball players -- Kacy is a 1st baseman in the Blue Jays organization and Conner is an outfielder with the Cardinals organization.

The guys claim they complied with the bouncers' orders -- but the hired muscle manhandled them anyway, eventually beating them so ferociously they sustained serious damage to their faces and bodies.

In fact, Conner says he suffered a fractured skull -- and took photos of the bloody aftermath.

A lawyer for the alleged victims has suggested Kacy may have injured his throwing arm in the incident. He also claims Conner will have to see a neurologist for at least 5 years.

According to the lawsuit, cops showed up at the bar that night and determined neither Kacy nor Conner were intoxicated. One of the bouncers was arrested for assault.

9:21 PM PT -- According to local reporter Rob Elgas, Smollett was seen on surveillance camera walking on the opposite side of the street from the two persons of interest. Elgas claims both Smollett and the unidentified people then walk off camera (on different cameras). Smollett is unaccounted for on camera for about 60 seconds. He then reappears on surveillance entering a condo building with what appears to be street salt on his sweater and the rope around his neck. Jussie arrives at a friend's place where police arrive to take a report.

We've confirmed with law enforcement sources that Smollett refused to turn his cell phone over to authorities after telling them he was on the phone with his manager during the incident.

5:43 PM PT -- Chicago PD just released this screengrab from the surveillance video but, as you can see, it's virtually impossible to make out a single feature of the "persons of interest."

Cops say the two people in the image were walking on New Street near the intersection with E. Illinois Street between 1:30 AM and 1:45 AM. They're about a block from the Subway restaurant Jussie had gone to Tuesday morning ... and roughly halfway between the restaurant and Jussie's home.

Our law enforcement sources tell us detectives have scoured camera footage in the area and, to this point, haven't seen any sign of the alleged attack or Jussie's assailants.

Cops say they want to speak to the persons of interest to determine if they witnessed or were involved in the incident. As you can see from this image ... they've got their work cut out for them.

Cops investigating the Jussie Smollett attack say they finally have a lead from surveillance video ... but they're gonna need the public's help to locate multiple persons of interest.

Chicago PD says detectives were able to find a camera angle that revealed "persons of interest wanted for questioning" in the assault and battery of the "Empire" star. Cops are careful not to call the people suspects in the case.

Police say they'll be releasing images of the persons of interest shortly.

We broke the story ... Jussie says two men in ski masks jumped him, beat him up, doused him with bleach and left a rope around his neck before fleeing. He says they yelled, "MAGA country" as they got away.

We've confirmed Jussie's manager Brandon Z. Moore told police he was on the phone with Jussie during the alleged attack. Brandon says he told cops he clearly heard the MAGA comment as well as the racial and homophobic slurs.

We know the attack happened somewhere near Jussie's residence in Chicago, and that police were reviewing cameras -- city-owned and from privately owned buildings in the area.

Originally Published 3:11 PM PT