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Jussie Smollett might have secured his return to "Empire" -- despite ongoing controversy over the alleged Chicago "attack" -- when he kicked it in NYC with a pretty powerful show exec.

TMZ got this video of the actor leaving lunch at a Lafayette restaurant Wednesday, and he told us he was feeling "pride" about his work on the show. Turns out, he may have been feeling optimistic as well ... because the guy he was lunching with was showrunner Brett Mahoney.

Sources close to Mahoney -- who's publicly voiced his support for Jussie in the past -- tell us the lunch Wednesday was a casual hangout, and not the first time the 2 have seen each other since Jussie wrapped on "Empire" amid his scandal.

We're told Brett's been telling his friends Jussie's future on the show is still up in the air, but it's unclear if the topic was broached during their lunch.

You'll recall, earlier this week, "Empire" creator and executive producer Lee Daniels said the same -- that they're currently considering bringing Jussie back.

Now, let's connect the dots ... seems unlikely that Mahoney would break bread with Jussie if he thought they were about to 86 him from the show.

Another strong sign for Jussie ... the letter his costars Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard wrote imploring network execs to let Jussie stay on the show. They said he's innocent and "filled with integrity" and they want to "put this behind us and move forward.”

The NY Post first reported Mahoney was lunching with Jussie. We'll see how it plays out, but that meal might end up being the crucial moment "Empire" and its star smoothed things out.

Ace Hood surprised the hell outta his girl ... first by playing some Beyonce in the background before getting down on one knee and proposing to her!!!

The "Bugatti" rapper proposed to longtime GF, Shelah Marie, Tuesday night at Komodo Miami ... where Ace also surprised her by gathering around 20 of their closest friends. It started with dinner for two but morphed into an epic celebration when their friends witnessed the romantic proposal.

Check out the vid ... Shelah had no idea what was about to go down but she definitely was suspicious ... because Beyonce's "Formation" suddenly started blaring from the speakers.

The proposal -- for good reason -- immediately triggered Shelah to go into dancing mode. The entire crew celebrated at the restaurant with Martell Cognac cocktails.

Shelah, BTW, is a self-help guru. And, if anyone needed help last night, it was Shelah ... 'cause she had no idea which hand the ring was supposed to go on.

Things are heating up between WWE superstar Charlotte Flair and fellow wrestler Andrade ... with sources telling us the couple is getting very serious, very quickly.

And, check this out ... we noticed Charlotte's been wearing a ring on her wedding finger.

We've been making calls to a ton of people to find out if the two are engaged but no one seems to know for certain. At the very least, no one is outright saying "no."

The two have been dating for a while and made their first public appearance together during Wrestlemania weekend earlier this month. That's when we first noticed the ring on Charlotte's finger.

The two have since gone on vacation together -- enjoying a romantic trip to the Dominican Republic ... where Charlotte continued to rock the ring.

So, are they or aren't they?? Unclear ... but one thing's for sure -- they're a good lookin' couple!

Atlanta Falcons legend Roddy White was arrested in Georgia earlier this month -- after he was pulled over for a stupid carpool lane mishap ... and cops noticed a warrant out for his arrest.

Gwinnett County police officers say they saw the 37-year-old WR crossing the double lines to enter the carpool lane on I-85 on April 12 -- a big no-no -- and claimed Roddy's bonehead move put other drivers in danger.

During the stop, cops ran Roddy's name in the system and that's when things went from bad to worse ...

Turns out, there's a warrant out for Roddy -- who allegedly blew off a court date from a previous legal situation.

Cops say Roddy's driver's license had also been suspended -- so, he was arrested and hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and processed. His car, an Audi A8L, was impounded.

Unclear what the previous violation is ... but it seems to be another traffic-related incident since his license was suspended.

The whole thing sounds VERY similar to the case of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette -- who was arrested in Florida earlier this month when a routine traffic stop revealed a warrant and suspended license too.

In Fournette's case, he had failed to pay a speeding ticket -- and then failed to show up to court. When he was stopped on April 11, cops handcuffed him at a car wash and took him in.

Fournette later paid the fine and now the case is closed. Seems like White will have a similar outcome.

We reached out to Roddy for comment -- so far, no word back.

Colts owner Jim Irsay just added another sweet piece of history to his impressive collection ... a super famous John Lennon piano!!!

We're told Jim paid a whopping $718,750 for the piano Lennon used to write The Beatles' eighth studio album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." As we first reported ... the famous piano went up for auction earlier this month ... with Irsay rising above the rest.

The piano is one of several Lennon stored and used at his famous Kenwood house on St. George's Hill estate in Weybridge, England. Legend has it, this was his favorite piano, which itself is a piece of history ... it's a John Broadwood & Sons piano that dates back to 1872!!!

The piano also features a plaque that says, "On this piano was written: A Day in the Life, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Good Morning, Good morning, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite and Many others. John Lennon. 1971."

Jim's clearly ecstatic after hauling the relic piece.

He's a HUGE music memorabilia collector. Jim also owns the Yellow Cloud electric guitar Prince used in concerts from the late 80s. He also paid nearly $1 million for Jerry Garcia's one-of-a-kind "Tiger" guitar. And, he's also the proud owner of the Fender Stratocaster used by Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival back in 1965 ... after dropping another near $1 million.

Roman Polanski says he got the raw end of the deal when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave him the boot ... so he's suing the organization to get back in.

The disgraced director filed new docs saying the Academy went back on its word to give him serious consideration after it expelled him in May 2018. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Polanski says the Academy offered to reconsider its decision but instead summarily denied him re-entry in January.

According to the suit, Polanski says "The Academy was supposed to provide reasonable notice of any adverse action to be taken against a member and a reasonable opportunity for a member to be heard."

Polanski says he never got a fair shake ... claiming the Academy violated its own rules when they kicked him out. Polanski -- admitted to the Academy in 1963 and whose films have won 8 Oscars -- is suing to get reinstated ... stat.

As you know by now ... Polanski remains a fugitive from justice in Europe for raping a 13-year-old girl 40 years ago in the U.S.

The two women accused of running the Orchids of Asia Day Spa claim Florida officials have leaked the naked surveillance video of Robert Kraft ... and they want the leakers punished ASAP.

The lawyers for Hua Zhang and Lei Wang have filed new court documents calling for emergency action after new reports say the unblurred Kraft spa video is being shopped to various media outlets.

In court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, the women claim the only agencies that had access to the video were the Jupiter P.D. and the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.

The women claim the "logical conclusion" is that someone in one of those groups is responsible for the leak.

The leak would constitute a violation of the court order barring officials from releasing the video -- and the women want the judge to hold groups in criminal contempt.

The women claim release of the video would "egregiously jeopardize their rights to a fair trial." Kraft has previously argued the same point.

Unclear if/when a judge will rule on this issue -- but it should happen soon.

There's been a war over the video -- multiple media outlets have argued that officials are obligated to release the footage. Kraft, along with Wang and Zhang, claims the footage was obtained illegally and if released would taint potential jurors.

As one Ball brother tries his best to cover up his tattoos ... another is proudly putting his ink on display -- 'cause LaMelo Ball just got a MASSIVE chest piece done, and he seems to love it!!

Of course, Lonzo Ball famously covered his Triple Bs a couple weeks ago ... but TMZ Sports has learned the same artist that did Zo's cover-up put new ink on Melo last month too.

Tattoo artist Herchell Carrasco tells us the youngest Ball brother wanted wings and his jersey number on his chest ... and says the whole piece took about 4 hours to complete.

We're told there's still about an hour of work left to be done ... but seems Melo is stoked with the art -- 'cause he made sure it was poking through his tank during his workout Thursday!!

Tattoos have been a huge topic in the Ball family -- in addition to Zo covering up the BBBs with dice a couple weeks ago ... 'memba when LaVar Ball famously flipped out over LiAngelo Ball's ink on their Facebook reality show last year??

7:37 PM PT -- Law enforcement says Brittney told cops she was attacked by Remy after she entered the backstage area at Irving Plaza.

Brittney claims they "exchanged words" in the greenroom -- relating to an attack on Remy's stepdaughter, Dejanae, that happened a few weeks ago -- and Remy threw the punch. Brittney claims Remy accused her of knowing about the attack on Dejanae.

Brittney went to the hospital for treatment, and then filed a police report.

On Remy's side, sources close to her say there's no validity to this story.

Remy Ma is being investigated by police for allegedly punching another woman at a concert in New York ... law enforcement sources confirmed to TMZ.

'Love & Hip Hop' star Brittney Taylor claims Remy Ma punched her right eye Tuesday night during the Pretty Lou Benefit Concert at Irving Plaza near Union Square. Brittney and Remy have beefed on the show in the past.

Remy Ma was scheduled to perform at the event, which featured a set from Fat Joe.

Our law enforcement sources say there's an open assault investigation stemming from an altercation at the event, which included a female being punched. No charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.

Britney posted a picture of her black eye on Instagram and said ... "So, here am I on my way to a very important meeting and it’s hard to even focus because of what occurred last night. I didn’t wanna bring it to social media because Its pretty embarrassing and not a good look tbh. I tried my best to cover it up with make up and move on but that still didn’t work. My Question is @remyma why did you really do this?”

Remy Ma has been in trouble with the law before ... she was arrested on an attempted murder charge in 2007 and served six years in prison. She is currently on parole.

We've reached out to Remy Ma's team ... So far, no word back.

Naomi Osaka is VERY close to being off the market ... 'cause the #1-ranked women's tennis player in the world is getting REAL close with rapper YBN Cordae!!!

In fact, Cordae made a recent cameo on Naomi's IG -- leading many to think the appearance was their public coming out party.

But, sources close to the two tell TMZ Sports ... while they're spending a lot of time together lately -- and they like each other -- they're not "officially" an item. At least, not yet.

As one source put it, "Just give it a week."

21-year-old Osaka has been a BEAST on the pro tennis circuit -- famously beating Serena Williams at the U.S. Open back in 2018. She was also just named in Time's 100 most influential people.

21-year-old Cordae is a fast-rising star in the rap game -- he's backed by Dr. Dre and recently hung out with Diddy. He's the real deal.

Cordae is part of the YBN collective -- one of the hottest young groups in music. He is also expected to be named to XXL's Freshman list in 2019.

Just this week, Osaka posted a video with Cordae -- and captioned it, "Can’t take this guy anywhereeeee lol"

P!nk ain't afraid to get down and dirty ... not when it comes to cleaning her own Hollywood star, and especially when it's for Jimmy Kimmel's cameras.

The pop singer was going to town on her star Tuesday around 7:30 PM in the middle of Hollywood ... as cameras from paps and bystanders rolled. What ya didn't know is some of those cameras were rolling for Kimmel's show. P!nk was filming at Kimmel's studio yesterday, and it appears they took the skits to the streets.

Check out the vid ... you can see P!nk -- who got her star back in February -- down on her knees wiping away with some disinfecting wipes. She also had a roll of paper towels and a scrub.

Some might call it dirty business, but in Hollywood ... it's just show business, baby.

Tyga's flaunting some incredibly expensive new bling that serves as a reminder to his haters ... you've been defeated, JUST LIKE SATAN!!!

The rapper dropped a whopping $500,000 for this insane Archangel chain ... featuring St. Michael trampling on Satan. Straight outta the New Testament! Tyga commissioned Ben Baller and IF & Co. Jewelry for the 18k white gold masterpiece, which weighs a little over 4 pounds.

How's this for attention to detail ... St. Michael's halo features a pear-shaped solitaire of VVS clarity diamonds. Ben also added baguettes to the feathers of his wings. The Cuban link is also one-of-a-kind, featuring two different sized diamonds, and check out the vid -- the cross is a gem.

According to Ben ... Satan getting stomped represents Tyga's haters being defeated. Tyga's new chain is also a nice gift after his huge comeback in 2018 -- in the music world, anyway -- with his track "Taste" helping him climb the charts.

While he was at it, Tyga splurged on his boys too ... scooping up 10 extra smaller versions of his chain for his crew. It pays to roll with Tyga! Unless, of course, you're Ferrari or Rolls-Royce.

BTW ... Tyga just dropped a new single "Goddamn" and the track's cover art features him wearing the new bling.

Notre Dame WR Javon McKinley is about to be off the hook in his drunken cop-punching case ... TMZ Sports has learned the Irish stud just struck a deal with prosecutors to have his charges dropped.

We broke the story ... McKinley -- a SUPERSTAR back in his high school days -- allegedly battered 2 officers in a drunken attack near ND's campus last February.

Cops say they were dispatched to help McKinley, who was passed out in the back of an Uber at 3:50 AM ... but he became combative when they tried to give the assist.

Cops say as they were walking McKinley -- who they say reeked of booze -- back to his dorm room, he freaked out, punched a male and a female officer and tried to flee.

When they eventually found the 20-year-old ... they arrested him and hit him with 2 counts of misdemeanor battery and 1 count of misdemeanor underage drinking.

But, prosecutors tell us they agreed to drop the charges on Monday as long as McKinley completes a misdemeanor pretrial diversion program. It's all but a done deal at this point.

We're told Javon must complete a substance abuse evaluation, perform 40 hours of community service, pay fines and fees and keep his nose clean for the next 2 years.

For his part, prosecutors say McKinley was eligible for such a sweet deal because he "sought out and apologized to each person involved in the incident."

4/14 -- A source close to Dina tells TMZ ... "This is a storm in a tea cup. There was no meeting scheduled as of yet because Dina was already suspicious that he was media hungry and she is in talks about doing several new shows -- including a dating show. Bottom line is it’s a non-story and this guy wants his 15 minutes of fame. He just proved her suspicions correct."

Dina Lohan's not gonna be meeting her online boyfriend anytime soon -- 'cause he dumped her right before they were set to finally see each other face-to-face ... TMZ has confirmed.

Jesse Nadler tells TMZ ... he recently broke up with Dina after they got into a blowout argument over a book he promoted on his Facebook, which Dina thought was about another woman. She flipped out on him, even though he denied it ... but it was too late.

Jesse says Dina tried apologizing to him, but he was over it ... telling her they're through.

That sucks, 'cause the long-distance couple of 5 years were supposed to actually meet in person for the first time pretty soon. They've been online dating since 2014.

We've talked to Jesse before, and he assured us that his relationship with Dina was a natural progression that started as platonic but moved into romantic ... even though they'd never actually met.

As for whether there's any chance Jesse and Dina can patch things up ... he tells us he doesn't see them getting back together.

Oof ...

The baseball Barry Bonds smacked for his last-ever home run is hitting the auction block ... and it could fetch $750,000 (!!!!!!!!!) -- TMZ Sports has learned.

Baseball's home run king launched the final dinger of his career -- No. 762 -- on Sept. 5, 2007 ... when Bonds took Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez deep at Coors Field in Denver.

It was a mad scramble to catch the ball -- and turns out, for good reason ... 'cause the first time the ball went up for sale back in 2008 -- it sold for $376,612.

Now, we're told the ball is set to hit the auction block on Monday at Goldin Auctions -- and it could fetch three-quarters of a million dollars by the time bidding ends!!!

The ball is a pretty remarkable piece of history ... it has dirt smudges all over it and comes with three separate affidavits that prove its authenticity -- and it could be all yours if ya got the cash.

Bonds -- in addition to being MLB's all-time home run leader -- was a 7-time MVP, 14-time All-Star and 8-time Gold Glove winner.

The Game accused LAPD officers of insulting Nipsey Hussle's family while chatting on their radios and manning Thursday's funeral at Staples Center ... but LAPD says it's not them.

The rapper posted the audio Friday, blasting LAPD, saying it, "seems to be LAPD officers intercepted on police radio & caught disrespecting Nips parents, his home-going & celebration."

In the audio, you hear someone take shots at Nipsey's parents. Another person's heard saying, "What they should've done after the funeral is drove the mother f***er and put him in the ground before he starts stinking up the place."

The LAPD tells TMZ ... the department is NOT conducting an investigation, contrary to reports, because they've determined it's not their officers on the radio frequency. LAPD says its department broadcasts using digital frequencies and the audio Game posted doesn't appear to be a digital frequency.