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Ashlee Jenae's fiancé, Joe McCann, isn't letting his name get dragged through the mud anymore ... he's ready to use the legal system if necessary ... and a legal threat seemingly made an influencer take back everything she'd said about him.

Here's the deal ... earlier this month, McCann's attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, sent a letter to a woman named Lisa Durden after she posted repeatedly on X about Ashlee's death ... repeating false claims that Joe killed her in Tanzania.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, McCann's team included some of Durden's posts ... one of which read, in part, "Her fiancé sus as hell. He beat the s*** out of #AshleeJenae in the hotel while they were on vacation."

Chuck Russell -- the director behind 1994's "The Mask" and other massive films -- is dead ... TMZ has learned.

Russell -- born Charles Raymond Russell -- died unexpectedly at his San Diego-area home Wednesday, his family tells TMZ.

We've also learned the local fire department responded to his home Wednesday afternoon following a report of a medical emergency involving an unconscious male.

The cause of death remains unknown and we're told his family is currently flying to California to get some answers.

YouTuber David Dobrik threw a huge birthday bash with Snoop Dogg in attendance ... and things got so crazy, someone called the cops.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... LAPD responded to a loud party call after 10 PM Thursday in Sherman Oaks ... and officers hung around until the shindig settled down.

As you can see, Snoop even talked to the fuzz for a bit ... snapping photos with cops and shaking their hands.

In the end, we're told there were no arrests or citations issued.

Armando Niedermeier-Rubio is still having visa issues as his daughter, Hannah, remains stateside as doctors try to figure out how she ended up with a brain bleed, TMZ has learned.

The '90 Day Fiancé' star's husband, Kenny Niedermeier, tells TMZ ... Armando's still waiting for his visa extension ... and he has to head for the border on Sunday to find out if it went through.

Kenny says Armando has to fully cross the border just to turn around and meet with U.S. Border Patrol ... who will tell him whether or not his extension was approved.

Eminem's ex-wife Kim Scott unleashed a verbal barrage on police and paramedics as they tried to wheel her away following her suicide attempt ... and the explosive scene plays out on police body cam footage.

TMZ obtained the video from the police response to Kim's Michigan home ... she's visibly furious as first responders strap her to a gurney and move her toward an ambulance ... dropping F-bombs and raging at nearly everyone within earshot.

Kim also directs plenty of anger toward a man inside her house who eventually walks out ... calling him a "prick" and a "dopehead" as officers and medics work around her.

The tense trip from the front door to the ambulance is anything but quiet.

Kaylee Hottle was signed on and preparing to shoot a superhero film at the time of her tragic death ... TMZ has learned.

The actress signed on to star in the film "What Doesn't Kill Us" in 2024, and the final script was expected to be finished in August 2026. A production start date had yet to be set.

Screenwriter Andy Mingo tells TMZ ... he and co-writer Anna Campbell are currently grieving Kaylee's death but believe her character will be kept in the script.

Andy says they need to chat with Elliot and Lucas Woolrich, who created the concept for the film, but added ... "I think [they will choose] to keep her character out of respect and keep her spirit in the film."

YG's run-in with law enforcement isn't pumping the brakes on his highly anticipated VERZUZ battle with The Game ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to VERZUZ, a rap battle series, tell TMZ ... Thursday night's event will continue as planned.

YG is set to face fellow Compton rapper The Game in their "Compton Forever" VERZUZ battle, which is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 PM PT.

The confirmation comes after YG was detained during a SWAT response at a property connected to him in Burbank early Thursday morning.

Don't lose your breath, but Destiny's Child is so back ... they're going to be dropping a bunch of new music for the group's upcoming 30th anniversary, TMZ has learned.

Beyonce's father, Mathew Knowles, tells TMZ ... Destiny's Child has 10 to 15 remixes locked and loaded, including an urban and dance mix.

As of right now, it's unclear if the tracks will be released as an album ... but Mathew tells us Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams are all on board for the new drop.

1:01 PM PT -- A rep for the Maryland Medical Examiner tells TMZ … they are conducting further tests to determine if Kaylee Hottle had drugs or alcohol in her system. The tests can take up to 10 days to complete ... unclear when the report will be finalized.

Kaylee Hottle died from blunt force trauma ... TMZ has confirmed.

The Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner tells us she suffered multiple blunt force injuries. The death has been ruled an accident. The U.S. Sun was the first to report on her cause of death.

We broke the story ... Kaylee died Tuesday morning after cops say a car in which she was a passenger careened into a ditch. Two other people were also in the car at the time of the crash, though they both survived.

Dakota Mortensen and Shinia Powell's rumored romance is the real deal ... 'cause TMZ has learned the "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" stars are officially dating.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Dakota and Shinia started dating a few months ago. We're told they're not exclusive, but have been enjoying their time together.

A source close to the couple tells TMZ ... Shinia has been "a steady source of support" for Dakota through some incredibly difficult times, especially when he didn't have immediate family nearby.

We're told their friendship naturally grew into something more, and they're navigating what the relationship means for them and their children.

11:15 AM PT -- Ben Crump joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... explaining why Nolan's throat, lungs, and the original autopsy photos could help answer the biggest questions surrounding his death.

10:19 AM PT -- The Mississippi medical examiner tells TMZ ... the autopsy they performed on July 7 was "in accordance with the standard procedures and protocols followed for all autopsies conducted by the Office of the State Medical Examiner."

They added, "This case remains an active and ongoing investigation. We will not comment on the investigation or the independent autopsy that was conducted."

Nolan Wells may have suffered an injury to the back of his head, this according to the preliminary findings of the independent autopsy commissioned by Nolan's family.

The family's attorney, Ben Crump, described the "focal area of red discoloration in the soft tissue in the back of the head." It was 12 by 8 inches in length in the lower part of the skull.

There was significant decomposition such that it was impossible to know if there was bruising on Nolan's skin.

WebMD says discoloration in the back of the head can sometimes be caused by blood pooling while the body is positioned on a slab for examination.

11:31 AM PT -- Kimora Lee Simmons has no plans to give estranged husband Tim Leissner primary custody of their son ... 'cause TMZ has learned a court filing suggesting otherwise was simply a clerical error.

Kimora Lee Simmons looks like she wants her estranged husband Tim Leissner to have primary custody of their son ... which is interesting, because Tim asked for joint custody when he pulled the plug on their marriage.

Kimora just filed her response to Tim's divorce petition ... and while she agrees "that "irreconcilable differences" led to their split ... she splits from Tim on the issue of legal and physical custody of 11-year-old Wolfe.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kimora checked the box for Tim to have primary legal and physical custody ... even though Tim asked for joint legal and physical custody in his original petition.

Kimora is also asking to terminate the court's ability to award any support to Tim, and she also checked the box to request that spousal support be paid to her. She also wants him on the hook for her legal fees stemming from the divorce process.

Ryan Clark was let go by ESPN yesterday in the middle of a live show ... and TMZ has learned how it all went down.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Ryan was going to be notified on Tuesday that he was part of a mass layoff, but on Monday ... the network was made aware that a report was about to drop about the former NFL player being laid off. The report was going to be published while Ryan was filming "NFL Live" and a call had to be made ... how should he find out?

We're told ESPN honchos decided to get ahead of the news and tell Ryan during a commercial break, rather than him see an alert on his phone.

Ryan did not come back on the air after being informed he was being let go ... obviously, the news rattled him, and we're told both Ryan and ESPN agreed it was better not to return.

Andrew and Tristan Tate are gearing up for a major legal battle ... 'cause their lawyer says they're "100 percent" fighting extradition back to the United Kingdom.

Lawyer Joseph McBride tells TMZ ... fighting extradition is a high bar, but he'll argue there are special circumstances why the brothers shouldn't be sent back. He says they're not a flight risk, pointing to what he calls their total compliance with the courts over the past three years. According to McBride, they haven't missed a single court date in either their Romanian human trafficking case or Palm Beach defamation case.

McBride says the brothers were "startled" when U.S. Marshals in plain clothes wearing vests and badges approached them during Saturday's arrest and ordered them to put their hands behind their backs.

Brian Trascher helped search for Nolan Wells by air before the 18-year-old's body was found along Horn Island's shoreline ... and he believes dangerous water conditions may explain how Nolan ended up surprisingly close to where he was last seen alive.

The United Cajun Navy vice president tells "TMZ In The Know" ... weather conditions forced his team to switch tactics as the search stretched into its second day -- ultimately taking to the sky to cover more ground.

Brian says he and the pilot had been searching for about two hours on July 6 when they noticed several law enforcement boats converging on the northwest tip of Horn Island ... and they swung in close and saw a body floating face down in the water near shore.

The person found dead at a Massachusetts home owned by Rep. Ayanna Pressley's husband died from gun violence, but had no connection to the owner ... TMZ has learned.

According to an incident report, obtained by TMZ, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound. The manner of death is still pending. Cops note the next of kin have been notified.

We're told there is absolutely nothing that indicates any connection between the death investigation to the owners of the property.