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Brandon Hantz -- a veteran of the "Survivor" universe -- has been arrested on charges of racketeering conspiracy and arson ... while several of his alleged associates are facing murder charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas unsealed a 22-count indictment Wednesday charging Hantz and 13 others with a variety of crimes ... alleging they're all members or associates of the Bandidos motorcycle gang in the state.

According to prosecutors, the Bandidos are engaged in a turf war with a rival gang -- B*EAST ... and, the Bandidos allegedly put out a "smash on site" order against their rival, which means members are instructed to assault and even murder members of B*EAST.

Irv Gotti's funeral service went down in NYC on Wednesday ... and the late music czar's industry friends all supported his final sendoff!!!

Sources from inside the funeral service tell TMZ Hip Hop that Irv's service brought out the game's biggest stars, alongside his family ... his Murder Inc. artists Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd, Charli Baltimore and Vita were all present, as were Jay-Z, Fat Joe, Steve Stoute, Hype Williams, Benny Boom, Angie Martinez, the Ruff Ryders and more.

Ja was captured choking up delivering a passionate eulogy for his lifelong friend, while Hov looked on ... and we're told not a dry eye was in the house when more stories began to flood in.

Brittney Griner backed out of a planned speaking engagement this week ... after she found a note in her hotel room that she took as a threat.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the WNBA superstar was slated to talk at the Women Grow Leadership Summit in National Harbor, Md. -- but bolted from the event on Monday morning after discovering a piece of duct tape near her entryway that had the words "Gay Baby Jail" written on it.

We're told Griner -- who is gay and was, of course, once imprisoned in Russia for marijuana possession -- was mortified at the message ... and immediately canceled her scheduled appearance to return home.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson's run-in at 'Saturday Night Live's 50th-anniversary special was nothing more than an unplanned catch-up at the show's taping ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... staff at the event at 30 Rock asked Kim if she wanted to cut the line, but Kim didn’t want to do that in front of the actors and comedians waiting.

We're told KK didn't want to be a diva, so she stood in line and waited. Enter Pete ... who was one of the next people in line, not far behind Kim, so they ended up chatting a bit while waiting to get into the studio.

Family drama with Harvey Weinstein ... he's suing his own brother from jail, claiming his sibling tricked him into guaranteeing a $45 million loan and then left him holding the bag.

Harvey filed a lawsuit Thursday against his brother, Bob Weinstein, and Hollywood executive David Glasser ... a former executive at Weinstein's now-defunct film company, The Weinstein Company.

In the suit, Harvey alleges Bob and David concocted a calculated financial conspiracy to leave him personally liable for a $45 million loan as a way to push him out of the company and set the stage for his downfall.

DJ Diesel -- aka Shaq -- was once again bringing the house down Friday night .... when he was scratching to a huge crowd for his annual Fun House party before the Super Bowl, which was packed with a who's who of celebs.

The NBA icon held his big bash at Mardi Gras World -- about a mile from Bourbon Street -- where he once again ruled the DJ booth with sick beats, bumping them for the crowd.

Make no mistake ... Shaq's pre-SB gala ain't just about tunes and dancing ... as it's true to the Fun House moniker, with carnival rides, games, tons of circus performers ... and, naturally, drinks!

A heated exchange went down between Bhad Bhabie and her mother ... with the women coming to blows inside the rapper's home ... and it's all on video.

The "Gucci Flip Flops" rapper just posted and deleted video of herself getting into a physical altercation with her mom, Barbara Bregoli, in her living room ... and it's intense.

The footage shows Bhad Bhabie's mom coming down the stairs and trying to get past a doggy gate before BB comes up from behind and hits her.

President Donald Trump almost had an uninvited guest plop down on the White House lawn ... but Secret Service shut the intrusion down within seconds.

Check it out ... tourists took a moment to take in POTUS' official residence, when a man dressed all in black made a beeline for the metal fence surrounding the popular landmark.

Onlookers could barely believe their eyes when the bold looky-loo began to scale the towering barrier ... with one witness repeatedly saying the word "bro" in disbelief.

Diddy was admitted to a New York hospital last week after experiencing pain with his knee ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the music mogul was taken to a Brooklyn hospital from the Metropolitan Detention Center on Thursday.

According to the NY Post, Diddy was at the hospital for a medical scan (MRI) because his "knee was bothering him." The rapper reportedly has a history of knee issues.

John Erwin, the voice of several well-known TV characters from the 1960s through the '80s ... including He-Man and Morris The Cat ... has died, TMZ has learned.

Erwin's rep tells TMZ John passed away from natural causes on December 20, 2024, in his California home ... but the information is just coming out now.

John was from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and spent most of his career in voice work for animation roles. He voiced the character Reggie Mantle on "The Archie Show" in the late '60s.

Lily Collins is officially a new mother ... welcoming her first child to the world via surrogate earlier this week!

The longtime film and TV star's surrogate gave birth earlier this week in Northern California ... and she just posted about the baby a moment ago ... sharing a picture showing the little one in a blanket with her name -- Tove -- written in gold letters on a white blanket.

She wrote in the caption, "Welcome to the center of our world Tove Jane McDowell. Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again…"

YFN Lucci is a free man after spending a year behind bars in Georgia -- and he's looking to get right back into the rap scene with a positive message.

On Friday, the hip hop star walked out of Burruss Correctional Training Facility in Forsyth, GA, and was met outside by his family and creative team, who arrived in Rolls-Royces and Escalades, according to his high-powered attorney, Drew Findling.

Findling says Lucci is ready to rebuild his life after he pled guilty to one count of violating The Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. As part of a plea deal, Lucci was sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus 10 years probation ... but he got credit for time served going back to the spring of 2021, so he's now been released.

Harvey Weinstein is begging to go back to court for his rape retrial ... mainly because he doesn't think he'll "hold on" much longer behind bars.

The controversial former film producer -- who is set to be retried in New York City after his 2020 sexual assault conviction was overturned last year following an appeal -- pleaded to move up the court date in a Manhattan courthouse Wednesday ... where HW looked worse for wear.

Weinstein, who was wheelchair-bound and frail-looking during the new court appearance, said he doesn't think he'll be able to attend the current April 15 start date ... as he doesn't think he can survive his incarceration on Rikers Island.

OnlyFans star Lily Phillips is rethinking her plan to screw 1,000 dudes in 24 hours ... telling us U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently threw a wrench in her ambitious sexcapade.

Lily tells TMZ she got detained at the Las Vegas airport last week after authorities recognized her ... and straight-up told her that if she went through with her "work," she'd never set foot on U.S. soil again.

The Brit tells us she was mainly in town for the AVN porn awards ... and she says she did plan to pull off the stunt to coincide with the event. But, after getting warned about messing with her tourist visa, she ditched the "work" and just had fun at the show instead.

If Taylor Swift hasn't secured her suite for the Super Bowl yet, she better act swiftly -- TMZ Sports has learned only a limited number of luxury boxes are available after the Chiefs and Eagles punched their tickets for NOLA ... with the most expensive price tag approaching $3 MILLION!!

Caesars Superdome is hosting the Big Game on Feb. 9 ... a venue with 165 recently renovated seating areas for fans with the fattest pockets.

The suites range from 20 to 45-person boxes ... with prices starting at $500k and surpassing $2 million -- depending on the view of the action that comes with it.

Skai Jackson announced she gave birth to her first child over the weekend -- but the father was MIA ... and for good reason -- he was locked up!

According to legal docs, Deondre Burgin has been cooling his heels behind bars at the Hamilton County Jail in Ohio since November and, as a result, Burgin was a no-show for the birth of his kid with Skai -- famous for her roles on Disney Channel sitcoms like "Jessie" and "Bunk'd."

Back in November, Burgin was given a 90-day sentence after he violated his parole from an earlier theft and weapon possession case as a juvenile, according to Hamilton County court records.