The chef who told the NFL that Antonio Brown faked his COVID vaccine card is now planning to sue the Buccaneers star ... saying the wide receiver still owes him $10,000.

Steven Ruiz spelled it all out to TMZ Sports this week ... saying after the NFL ruled he wasn't lying about Brown's bogus vaccine card --- he's planning to move forward with a lawsuit against AB.

"The game plan now is to file a lawsuit and take it from there," Ruiz said. "People provide a service and you've got to pay for it. That's it."

As we previously reported, Ruiz said he cooked for Brown regularly this past year ... but when it came time to pay a bill for it all, AB balked.

Ruiz said Brown owed him $10K, but he couldn't get the cash from the football player -- even after talking with Brown's attorney.

So, Ruiz ended up going public with his claims that Brown had sought and obtained a fake vaccine card and then later submitted it to the NFL.

The league investigated the claims ... and said it found Brown did misrepresent his vaccine status, and then suspended him three games without pay, costing him over $100K in lost salary.

Ruiz tells us if Brown had just paid up, he probably would've stayed quiet.

"If he had just probably paid me, you know what? He probably would still be getting paid in the NFL right now," Ruiz said. "He'd probably be playing the games that he could be playing and none of this would have even happened."

Master P says he’s been separated from his estranged wife for over a decade and he's ready to start a new chapter ... so he wants the judge to step in and declare him single.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Master P says there's no reason he and his ex, Sonya Miller, should remain married any longer ... so he's asking the court to restore their single status ASAP.

Master P points out Sonya filed for divorce way back in 2013 after they separated in 2010, and he says they settled all their issues in 2016 and reached an agreement, but claims the paperwork was never submitted to the court.

So, to move things along, P has now filed legal docs requesting a bifurcation of his divorce ... legal speak for both parties getting single status now, and handling the rest of the divorce issues later.

Jordan Belfort is the proud new owner of a piece of art history, because he bought it from the youngest person ever to have a booth at "Art Miami."

The "Wolf of Wall Street" dropped a fat stack on some artwork from rising artist Andres Valencia -- the 10-year-old responsible for a 29" x 11" work he's entitled, "King and Queen."

Jordan tells TMZ ... he paid $8,500 for the piece after being blown away by Andres' talent. He also says Andres sketched him something on the spot, a work Belfort describes as "shockingly interesting."

It's no wonder Andres is the youngest artist ever to have his work on display at the famous "Art Miami" gallery. Jordan says when looking at Andres' work he asked himself, "What on God's Earth is this kid seeing when he picks up his instrument to draw and paint?"

Art pieces are some of the hottest investments right now ... and Jordan says Andres' eye is "obviously something very different than the rest of us."

Channing Tatum also stopped by Andres' booth this week during Art Basel ... posing in front of his works the night before the Wolf swooped in to scoop some up.

Bizzy Bone says the on-stage brawl between Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia is just how things go in hip-hop sometimes ... and 'Verzuz' honcho Swizz Beatz has his back.

We got Bizzy at the Ritz Carlton in downtown Los Angeles on Friday and asked him about Thursday's fight at The Hollywood Palladium, where fists and insults started flying early on in the highly-anticipated "Verzuz" showdown.

Bizzy, who seemed to instigate the fight by calling out Three 6 Mafia members for "mocking" him, says it's just a part of the hip-hop culture ... and he says no one from Triller or "Verzuz" was mad at him.

In fact, Bizzy says he even talked with Swizz about the incident ... and was assured everything was all good. Some folks thought SB was talking noise about Bone Thugs on the live stream, but Bizzy says they weren't the intended target.

As we reported ... there were signs leading up to the show things might get testy between both groups, with Bizzy calling Three 6 Mafia "devil worshipers" on social media and challenging them to "denounce Satan."

Alec Baldwin's claim he's not responsible for Halyna Hutchins' death is not echoed by the woman leading the "Rust" shooting investigation -- instead, she says Baldwin, and several others, could still be charged for their roles in the tragedy.

During his sit-down with George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin said he didn't feel guilt over what went down. As he put it, "Someone is responsible for what happened and I can't say who that is, but I know it's not me."

Well, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies isn't ready to clear his name, criminally, just yet. She tells TMZ ... "Everyone involved in the handling and use of firearms on the set had a duty to behave in a manner such that the safety of others was protected, and it appears that certain actions and inactions contributed to this outcome."

Her Office, along with the Sheriff's Dept., hasn't completed their probe yet ... and she's making it clear no decisions have been made about exactly who could be charged. She says, "Once I have had the opportunity to review the complete investigation, certain individuals may be criminally culpable for his/her actions and/or inactions on the set of Rust."

And, there's this ... Baldwin's explanation for how he fired the fatal shot isn't holding water with weapons expert Steve Wolf, who says the "no trigger" theory IS possible -- but there were several other mistakes made on the set.

Steve's been working with munitions and props for TV and film for decades, so he was particularly interested in Baldwin's claim that the replica antique revolver he was holding fired without him pulling the trigger.

Steve was on Friday's "TMZ Live" when he held up a similar handgun and demonstrated exactly what Baldwin described. He pulled back the hammer on the weapon, but unlike Alec claimed ... Steve says it's just not possible for the hammer to strike and fire a bullet without the trigger getting engaged. Not normally, anyway.

He admitted there are 2 possible exceptions -- first, there could have been a mechanical flaw ... and the other possibility has to do with how the weapon was manufactured.

The Colt .45 Baldwin was using is a replica of an 1873 revolver, and it could have been made without a safety feature that is standard on such weapons now, but wasn't back in the 19th century.

Daymond John says Playboy is making its best move in years by joining forces with Cardi B ... because she'll bring her legion of young fans to the iconic brand, while also making much-needed changes to it.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and we got his reaction to Cardi coming onboard with Playboy as its first-ever creative director in residence.

Daymond says the move makes sense for Playboy on several levels as they move away from traditional print magazine and focus in on a digital rebirth -- he envisions Cardi breathing life back into a brand with a following that skews much older.

Cardi says her new role with Playboy is a "dream come true" ... and Daymond tells us why he wants to see more of those dreams becoming a reality before deciding if Playboy is a worthy investment.

"America's Got Talent" standout Jay Jay Phillips -- whose big hair gained as much attention as his talent -- has died from complications related to COVID-19.

A family member tells us Jay Jay was battling the disease at home Thanksgiving week. We're told family and friends were continuously checking in with him over the phone, and he took a turn for the worse the day before the holiday.

Jay Jay's family urged him to go to the hospital, but he just told them he needed more sleep ... and that was the last time they heard from him.

We're told Jay Jay's girlfriend and her mom -- who is a nurse -- went to check on him Thanksgiving Day and found him dead. The family member tells us Phillips was not vaccinated, but just before he got sick had started to tell people he planned on getting the shot soon.

Phillips' dad, who he lived with, is currently hospitalized and fighting for his life on a ventilator.

Jay Jay first made an appearance on season 4 of the talent competition, but was eliminated early. He came back during season 12, but was eliminated in the judge cuts just before the quarterfinals.

Phillips was 30.

Young Dolph will be forever remembered in the Memphis neighborhood where he grew up ... because the city is naming a street after him.

The City of Memphis just announced plans to change a street name to something in his honor, and the unveiling is set for Dec. 15 at an intersection near the Memphis Depot Industrial Park.

The effort is being led by city councilman JB Smiley and we're told he wanted to wait until getting the green light from the family before honoring Dolph with the gesture.

Young Dolph's family says the street name will serve as a reminder to folks in the Castalia Heights community of someone who embodies hard work and perseverance.

The family sums it up like this ... "He sent the message that someone who went to the same schools as them, and walked the same streets that they do, was able to not only create a successful legacy for himself, but also prioritized family and community."

As we reported ... Young Dolph was gunned down last month while he was inside a Memphis cookie shop.

Dr. Mehmet Oz will be back on the air hosting his TV show much sooner than he'd like ... so says one of his opponents, who has some fighting words for the talk-show host turned politician.

Everett Stern -- CEO of a private intelligence agency, and one of at least 7 other Republican candidates vying for one of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seats -- is confident he will wipe the floor with the good doc once they hit the campaign trail.

Talking trash like he was Jake Paul, Stern predicts Oz won't last 5 minutes on a debate stage before he's forced to wave the white flag. He says Oz won't be able to read off a teleprompter the way he has for years on TV, and simply isn't prepared to hash out political issues.

Stern does, however, acknowledge support from the Trump-wing of the Republican party is up for grabs ... and Dr. Oz might appeal to those voters.

It's worth noting Oz hosted the former president on his TV show back in 2016, and Oz was later named to a White House advisory council on sports and nutrition.

TMZ broke the story ... "The Dr. Oz Show" will soon be yanked off the air in all Pennsylvania markets and a few others -- including New York City -- in an attempt to ensure all the other candidates get equal air-time.

Atlanta voters weren't swayed by T.I. and Isaac Hayes III spreading fake news about mayoral candidate Felicia Moore and strip clubs -- according to one of the city's former mayors, she just got drubbed.

We got Kasim Reed, who served as Atlanta's mayor from 2010 to 2018, at LAX and asked him about Moore's gripe that celebs spreading misinformation about her plans to shutter strip joints led to her defeat in the runoff election.

Kasim says Felicia needs to just move on, because the voters clearly said "bye Felicia" at the voting booth ... pointing out she lost with just 41% of the vote, compared to the winner, Andre Dickens, who got more than 60%.

TMZ broke the story ... Felicia claims T.I. and Isaac damaged her chances by spreading fake news from an article they screen-grabbed and reposted with the headline, "Woman Running for Atlanta Mayor Promises to CLOSE ALL STRIP CLUBS!!!"

While Kasim admits T.I. and other celebs carry some weight in Atlanta, he says their influence is just a drop in the bucket compared to the 20% losing margin for Moore.

Kemba Walker getting benched isn't his problem, it's his coach's ... so says Kenny "The Jet" Smith, who tells TMZ Sports the guard is a Ferrari and Tom Thibodeau doesn't know how to drive it.

The 31-year-old hooper was removed from the Knicks rotation earlier this week ... as he's been averaging career lows in almost every major category this season.

Once backup Alec Burks came in and balled out with 23 points against the Hawks on Saturday, Thibs decided to pull Walker out of the starting lineup AND the rotation altogether.

We spoke with Smith about Kemba's benching, considering he signed a 2-year, $20 million deal this past offseason ... and he says this is not a testament to Walker's skills.

"The guy's a great offensive player and you just don't know how to use him," Smith told us at LAX. "That's really what you're saying. You're not saying that he can't play."

Smith says Thibs just flat-out doesn't know how to use the baller ... and can be of use for a team that knows what to do with his talents.

"It's the coach and the organization just not understanding what value of a guy like this, what they paid for."

To put it in simpler terms, Smith has an analogy.

Faith Evans sounds exhilarated about being back on stage after taking a long break from performing ... even though it meant wearing a heavy costume on "The Masked Singer."

The Grammy Award-winning singer joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to talk about her Wednesday night elimination in the show's semi-final round. Yep, that was Faith singing as The Skunk all season!!!

She went out with a bang, though ... belting out some Aretha Franklin classics and, as she told us, putting her "stank" on it, even though it wasn't enough to best the Bull.

It's been a while since we've seen Faith perform -- she's been taking time off to care for her autistic son -- and she explains what it was like to be back on stage, even with the heavy burden of that costume on her back.

Now, TMZ recently broke the story about Faith's husband, Stevie J, filing for divorce -- but based on some video of them in Malibu a week later, they seem pretty cool with each other.