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Gene Simmons' disturbing revelation he puts ice cubes is hardly shrouded in mystery ... dude doesn't like warm milk.

The KISS rocker got a rise on Twitter New Year's Day by sharing his weird eating habit, with reactions ranging from bewilderment and disgust to admiration and relief ... the relief coming from the fact he wasn't trending because he died.

Turns out, Gene's been doing this for decades, and we're told he thinks it's a smart way to keep his milk icy cold. We're told he also adds ice cubes to hot foods -- like soup and ramen -- to cool 'em down. Genius.

His son, Nick, replied to his tweet -- which also strangely shows a bowl of Oreo O's and shredded wheat cereal mixed together -- saying he's been watching his dad do this for 30 years and adding ... "This is my life."

We're told Nick and Gene's daughter, Sophie, have always given him a hard time for his ice cube ways ... and Sophie's the one who encouraged him to tweet about it to see what everyone thinks.

Consensus -- yeah, it's weird man. However, some people accepted it and even offered tips to improve the practice ... like using milk ice cubes instead of regular ones so it keeps the milk cold but doesn't water it down.

French Montana has lots to celebrate ... he's lucky to be alive after his big hospital scare, so what better way to show gratitude than to buy yourself a $1.5 million whip!!!

French got a brand new blue Bugatti delivered to his pad in Vegas Sunday night. We're told it was transported by Wires Only Luxury Car Dealer in L.A. ... using a special truck to protect it from scratches or other damage.

Our sources say French wanted the Bugatti in time for New Year's Eve to celebrate the year ahead and, presumably, the fact that he ended the year on 2 feet.

TMZ broke the story ... French was hospitalized in November after experiencing intense stomach pain and an elevated heart rate. He spent nearly 2 weeks in the hospital -- mostly in the ICU -- before being released.

While our French sources say doctors could never nail down a cause, French says he believes the medical emergency was caused by partying way too hard -- 4 countries in 4 days.

"Mob Wives" star Drita D'Avanzo and her husband got one helluva surprise when NYPD raided their home and arrested them on a slew of guns and drug charges ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Drita and her hubby, Lee, were arrested Thursday night in their Staten Island home after cops executed a search warrant that uncovered two loaded firearms, a Smith & Wesson 9mm and an S&W 38 caliber gun. Cops say they also found 120 pills of hydrocodone/acetaminophen, 22 Xanax pills and a large amount of weed.

The couple was booked on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.

Drita and Lee were booked on 1 count of acting in a manner injurious to a child because law enforcement sources tell us one of the couple's kids was in the house at the time of the raid.

Trent Williams has been slapped with a demand letter to get rid of his 9 pit bull mastiffs after his neighbor's dog was mauled and killed last week ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The NFL star's Missouri City, TX neighbor is threatening a lawsuit after her 3-year-old black lab was dragged through her backyard fence and ripped to shreds on Wednesday.

Authorities are currently investigating the dog's death -- as well as the circumstances surrounding the incident -- and Linda Flowers' attorney says they're hell-bent on getting justice.

"Right now we're hoping the authorities handle it," John Kovach tells us. "If the authorities don't handle it, that's when I come in and my firm will handle it."

"In the lawsuit, I'll seek an injunction that restrains him from having those dogs at his house."

Williams claims it was Flowers' dog that initiated the attack, but Kovach says the evidence doesn't back up his claim.

Williams also addressed the incident with local reporters last week ... saying it was "dogs doing what dogs do."

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call Flowers made after the incident ... and it's very emotional.

Gerrit Cole has arrived in NYC -- and here's the first video of the superstar pitcher talking about his new team, his new $324 million deal ... and the Yanks famous NO-BEARD policy!

The 29-year-old was swarmed by fans on the way into the Mandarin Hotel in New York where he signed baseballs, posed for selfies and was super nice to the media.

The questions were rapid-fire ... but here's the gist of it.

-- Cole says signing with the Yanks was a hard decision, which is shocking considered he had 324 MILLION reasons to put pen to paper.

-- Cole explained why he's excited to be a part of one of the most storied franchises in all of pro sports ... "The history. The fans. Competitiveness."

-- And, the beard ... that famous, beautiful beard? He seems to be coming to terms with the fact it's a goner.

We asked Gerrit if he would try and keep his scruff or if he would embrace the Yanks decades-long, clean-cut tradition.

"That's nuts," Cole said ... before saying he would "unfortunately" part ways with his face-warmer. (At least that's what it sounded like he told us. It was super loud.)

The Yankees' courtship of Cole has been one of the biggest stories in baseball ... the guy had a ton of suitors in free agency these past few weeks -- from the Yanks to the Dodgers to the Angels. Everyone was willing to throw insane amounts of cash at him.

Of course, Cole ultimately landed with NY ... and despite him saying it wasn't the easiest choice ever -- he added he's sure as hell happy he made it.

Antonio Brown is gearing up for round 2 in his crazy condo trashing legal battle -- he's due in court for ANOTHER deposition -- and this time, he's leveling up his fashion game.

Just minutes before the deposition was scheduled to begin in Florida, Brown was showing off his expensive Gucci short suit at his home ... while wearing a super flossy gold chain.

The point ... Brown is trying to show he's cool, calm and collected for the deposition -- unlike the FIRST time when the opposition claims he acted like a "belligerent" lunatic.

As we previously reported, Brown is accused of going berserk at his luxury condo, causing thousands of dollars in damage, but never paying the bill.

The first deposition -- back in Sept. -- went so poorly, that a judge ordered Brown to appear at a Miami area courtroom for a do-over ... which should have started by the time this post is published.

So, how badly did things go the first time? Here are some snippets from court docs filed by the opposing attorney ...

"Antonio Brown was extremely noncompliant and flagrantly disorderly, to the point that he frustrated the totality of the proceeding."

And, there's more .... the attorney claims Brown's deposition was filled with "tumultuous tirades, defiant rants, use of profane language and refusal to comport himself in a civilized and grown-up manner."

"Once the deposition started, almost immediately, [Brown] was belligerent and pugnacious, refusing to answer the most routine of questions."

We'll see if he does better this time around. At least he looks good.

Pro hockey player Akim Aliu tells TMZ Sports the racism he was forced to endure over the years held him back from reaching his full potential ... and the proof is in the racist pictures.

You're looking at pics of Aliu at the 2011 Halloween party for the Colorado Eagles -- which, at the time, was the minor league affiliate for the Winnipeg Jets.

Aliu says when he arrived to the party, he was greeted by the team's equipment manager Tony Deynzer, who was dressed up as Aliu in blackface -- complete with a custom jersey sporting Aliu's nickname, "Dreamer."

"The hardest thing about that ... just how much planning went into that," Aliu tells us.

"He got my jersey made, so that means this was planned in advance."

Aliu says people at the party laughed at him -- and his instinct was to raise hell and cause a scene -- but he was new to the club and there were families at the party "so I tried to play it off as cool as possible."

A short time later, Aliu says he demanded to be traded to another club.

It's just one of the MANY examples of racism black players at all levels of hockey have been forced to deal with. Aliu recently made headlines after revealing NHL coach Bill Peters hurled the n-word during a locker room rant back in the day.

"It's been a tough road and obviously I’ve bumped into a lot of barriers with racism and discrimination," Aliu says.

"People don’t really understand how bad it is unless you’re on the inside of the hockey world, inside the hockey establishment. I’ve dealt with a lot. I think my career has faltered because of that."

Now, 30-year-old Aliu says he wants to help fix the racism issues affecting the sport he loves.

"I think there’s still been failure to agree to the fact that we have a systematic problem in the National Hockey League and in hockey in general. From grassroots, from Tykes to all the way up to the professional rank."

"I think [hockey officials] need to come together with minorities and people that have been affected by these issues, and talk to them, and get together and say, 'Hey, what did you guys experience? How do you feel about what’s going on? How do you feel about moving forward? What ideas do you have moving forward for us?"

Tyler, the Creator's new piece pays homage to himself, his alter ego and his latest album ... and it's helping a celebrity jeweler close out the year with a bang.

The eccentric rapper's chain features a pendant of IGOR -- the alter ego he debuted this year -- and it's dripping in a variety of diamonds. Blue, black, white and even chocolate and cognac diamonds, to be specific!

It's made out of 18k gold and comes with a shiny "T" clasp for the chain and "IGOR" emblazoned on the back.

The jeweler, Ben Baller, points out the intricacies of the piece ... including how the gradient levels of brown match Tyler's IGOR's skin tone when the light hits it, and how you can make out the curvature of the nose.

Baller's clearly proud of his handiwork -- which he says is his final piece of the decade -- and Tyler is too. Good reason for pride all round ... the thing cost $275,000!!!

Juice WRLD might've made a fatal decision as law enforcement searched his private jet -- swallowing a bunch of painkillers in an attempt to hide them from the feds.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the pilot who was flying Juice's private plane alerted authorities on the ground that the rapper's entourage had guns on them -- a big no-no in air travel. When they landed, FBI and FAA agents were waiting for Juice and company.

We're told at some point between the plane landing and the feds conducting their search ... Juice was seen swallowing several Percocet pills in what people believed was an attempt to hide them. Our sources say the pills might've contributed to his death in a possible OD.

An autopsy was performed on the rapper Monday, but additional testing, including toxicology, cardiac pathology and neuropathology is still needed before determining an official cause.

Brother Nature -- the IG influencer famous for vids with wild animals -- had someone wild out on him early Saturday morning ... punching, kicking and stomping him into a daze.

The beatdown happened in a Miami sandwich shop shortly before 6 AM, and it was all captured on video. It's still unclear what prompted the attack, but Brother Nature ended up down on his knees while the assailant teed off on his head.

The crazy part is there were several bystanders in the restaurant who refused to intervene -- even after Brother Nature was clearly down and out of it. Finally, one guy -- possibly a restaurant staffer -- stepped in and tried to break it up.

However, the unknown attacker continued dousing BN with water or soda ... and the viciousness continued outside in the parking lot. Video shows the attacker stomping on Brother Nature's head.

A video, apparently shot moments before the fight, shows Brother Nature -- whose real name is Kelvin Pena -- attempting to order food while at least one other patron is mocking him.

TMZ has confirmed Miami PD got a call around 5:45 AM for a disturbance at the restaurant, and officers responded, but no one was arrested -- everyone involved had already left.

Brother Nature has 2.7 million Instagram followers, and was featured in the Netflix documentary, "Inst@famous."

Johnny Manziel has a job in pro sports again!

TMZ Sports has learned the former QB inked a promotional deal with DAZN to promote the big Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz rematch this weekend ... which is going down at the same time as the SEC Championship.

We're told the deal with Manziel is a "one-time partnership" with DAZN ... but it could lead to something bigger. We're told DAZN made a similar deal with Saquon Barkley.

One source tells us the streaming service is trying to find creative ways to promote their content and tapping Manziel, who has a large and loyal following, could pay off big.

The hook for DAZN is that the fight starts at 12:30 PM PT and will overlap with the LSU vs. Georgia game on CBS.

Manziel's selling point is that fans don't have to choose one or the other -- they can watch the game on TV and the fight on any device.

Harvey Weinstein can't run from the law ... in fact, he can barely walk on his own.

Weinstein struggled to walk out of a New York City courtroom Friday after his bail hearing, needing assistance to make it down some steps and into his waiting SUV.

Weinstein's defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, tells TMZ ... Harvey's having health issues, including a back problem that's only getting worse. We're told Weinstein's seeing a doctor for treatment on his back, and he's in A LOT of pain.

As you know ... Weinstein is scheduled to go to trial in January after pleading not guilty to charges he raped a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and performed a forcible sex act on another woman in 2006.

Despite his physical weakness, we're told Weinstein remains mentally strong and is ready to defend himself at trial.

A$AP Rocky will NOT be performing at the Swedish prison where he was detained for several weeks earlier this year -- but hey, at least he can say he tried in good faith.

The rapper is heading back to Sweden in about a week for a concert on Dec. 11 -- and while he's expressed interest in possibly playing a gig for the inmates at Kronoberg prison ... it ain't gonna happen.

The reason ... a honcho with Sweden's Prison and Probation Service tells TMZ there were logistical and security concerns that prevented them from getting something together.

You'll recall, Rocky himself was a prisoner for a good while this summer as his assault case stalled.

As you know, Rocky told us he was very interested in heading back to the Euro country and giving back for the inmates with whom he was once jailed. And, of course, the same Prison and Probation Service that's denying him now said they were open to the idea as well.

So, what's with the cold shoulder then? Well, specifically, the Service cited a high occupancy as the main reason for saying no. There might be other issues, though, based on Rocky's written request ... which TMZ has obtained. In a letter written sent to prison officials Tuesday -- in Swedish, no less -- AR's team formally made the ask.

According to the doc, Rocky says he wanted to swing by Kronoberg while he was in town and bring a DJ and what sounds like 11 accompanying performers and tech crew members. He also requested to have 4 to 5 different camera guys there to document it.

Gabrielle Union's claims of a toxic workplace at 'AGT' has Ellen Pompeo sounding off in support of Gabby -- but now someone's also defending Jay Leno, saying his Korean joke wasn't racist at all.

You'll recall, Gabrielle reportedly feels she was canned because she complained to producers and NBC about racially insensitive situations on the 'AGT' set -- among them a joke Leno made, while guest judging, about Koreans eating dogs.

We got comedian Alonzo Bodden -- himself a "Last Comic Standing" champ -- at the Laugh Factory and he stood up for Jay, explaining why he feels it was NOT a racist joke. In a nutshell, he says there's a big difference between playing off a "common stereotype" and attacking a specific person over race.

The Leno joke was edited out and never made air, but Alonzo still laughed off any thoughts of a 'Cancel Leno' movement. He also added Leno was the least of Gabrielle's issues on the show.

She reportedly also had issues with producers' "excessive notes" about her physical appearance, wardrobe and hair -- and Pompeo weighed in Thursday, calling Gabby courageous for taking a stand.

The "Grey's Anatomy" star also called out NBC for not changing "practices or culture" after Matt Lauer's sexual misconduct scandal.

Mohamed Hadid has declared bankruptcy on behalf of his company that owns his mansion ... this after a judge told him he's gotta tear down his $100 million Bel-Air home.

Mohamed's company, 901 Strada LLC, filed docs in federal bankruptcy court the day before Thanksgiving, declaring he has between $10 million and $50 million in debt.

According to the docs, Mohamed says his Bel-Air mansion needs immediate attention -- it needs to be physically secured or protected from the weather.

That's notable because as we've reported ... a judge says Mohamed's gotta demolish the 30,000-square-foot crib because it's unsafe for a myriad of reasons and the property is a "clear and present" danger to Hadid's neighbors.

You'll recall ... Mohamed's neighbors and the city are concerned the mansion is on an unstable hillside and wasn't built to safety standards.

In the docs, Mohamed says he's over $386,000 in debt to a design and management company and over $200k in debt to a building materials company. He says he owes over $93k to a demolition company and owes over $35k to plumbers.

Terrible start to Trevor Bauer's Thanksgiving week ... a tire flew off a semi-truck and smashed up his $300,000 McLaren and the photo is heartbreaking!!!

It all went down in Houston, Texas early Tuesday ... where the Cincinnati Reds pitcher's beloved 2016 McLaren 650S was parked at the local McLaren dealership.

We're told the dealership is located next to a highway -- and earlier yesterday, a tire came loose on a semi-truck, flew across 6 lanes of traffic, ricocheted off a wall and smashed through a double-paned glass window before hitting the car!!!

The photo shows the damage to the wall, the glass and car ... it's a MIRACLE no one was hurt!!!

Sources familiar with the situation tell us the car is totaled -- but the good news, IT'S INSURED!!!

For his part, Trevor has a good attitude about the situation ... tweeting, "Yesterday, if you told me a semi truck would total my Mclaren, I would’ve believed you. If you told me it would happen like THIS? I would’ve said you’re out of your mind. If this isn’t @Mayhem I don’t  know what is @Allstate."

Bauer has reportedly made around $30 mil during his MLB career -- and is slated to make another $18 mil in the 2020 season.