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Raquel Leviss says the intimate FaceTime session she had with Tom Sandoval that ultimately led to Tom's split with Ariana Madix was recorded without her permission, and she's gotten her lawyers involved to warn everyone about sharing it.

Leviss' lawyers fired off a letter Monday to several "Vanderpump Rules" cast members and friends ... warning that the recording "was done illegally without Raquel's knowledge or consent."

Her attorneys cited a revenge porn law in the California penal code outlawing "nonconsensual pornography" ... making it a crime to invade someone's privacy and disseminate such material.

What's more ... the letter warns any distribution of the recording -- whether posted on social media or forwarded to another person -- would be a violation.

The letter doesn't specifically accuse Tom of illegally recording the conversation, but sources who have seen the video tell us it's only the two of them on the call.

The lawyers order anyone in possession of the recording to promptly delete it from their phones, the cloud or "any other manner or method in which the recording may exist."

The letter ended with stern words of caution ... "This matter should be taken very seriously."

Of course, the legal letter was just the latest drama in the lives of Raquel and Tom. TMZ broke the story ... the two carried on an affair that blew up Tom's relationship with his longtime girlfriend Ariana, who also stars on "Vanderpump Rules."

We're told Ariana found out about the affair after she read sexually explicit text messages and saw the video between Tom and Raquel.

This led to a nasty confrontation between Tom and Ariana, which closed the final chapter on their 10-year relationship. Our sources say Tom and Ariana have no plans to reconcile.

Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix aren't working toward any sort of reconciliation ... we're told the damage done is just too much to overcome.

Sources close to the estranged couple tell us ... both Tom and Ariana understand their futures will not include the other, at least romantically, and they've made it known to their friends there's no hope of getting back together.

Of course, Tom is the one who derailed things, but sources close to him say he felt the relationship was on shaky ground in the months leading up to Ariana's discovery he was cheating on her with their costar, Raquel Leviss.

As for Ariana -- she was blindsided by the whole thing -- and we're told it's too great a hurdle to jump.

Tom issued an apology over the weekend, and weirdly left Ariana out of it -- telling his family, friends and business partners how sorry he was for the way he handled things.

Our sources say Ariana's been spending most of her time at the estranged couple's $2 million L.A. home. Tom's been in and out of the house ... notably when the two shot a scene for "Vanderpump Rules" this past Friday ... but we're told he hasn't been spending nights there.

Pete Davidson and Chase Sui Wonders scared the crap out of a 16-year-old girl, who was home alone when Pete's car came careening into her home.

The girl was reading a book when Pete lost control of the Mercedes and slammed into the house. The sound was so intense the girl thought she was in the middle of an earthquake ... this according to her dad.

The homeowner tells TMZ the car struck the house just outside the living room, and it penetrated the exterior wall. The crash was so intense a window came out of it's frame. We do not know where the girl was reading, but it had to be jolting and scary.

She was not injured, and her dad says she was "a bit" traumatized.  Pete and Chase may have cushioned the blow somewhat by apologizing to her. It's a helluva way to meet famous people!

Unclear how much repairs will cost ... a contractor will eyeball the damage and the owners are waiting on the full police report before turning things over to their insurance company. Obviously, the insurance company will go after Pete to cover the repair costs.

The girl's dad says he harbors no ill will toward Pete. He's not going to sue and is just glad everyone's ok.

Kevin Gates doesn't agree with Melle Mel that Eminem's race gives him white privilege when it comes to hip hop props, and, personally, he's got Marshall in his Top 5 ... dead or alive!!!

We caught the "Bread Winner" rapper ahead of his bang-up Rolling Loud California set and he defended Em ... saying the fact he wrote the iconic track "Stan" back in 2000 should be enough to put him near the top of anyone's list.

Billboard's 50 best rapper list has stirred up emotions left and right, and Melle's just the latest artist to skewer it after he was placed at #48, while Em was #5.

KG acknowledges Melle's right to his own opinion, but says he doesn't see people as "black or white" ... just "real and fake," but ultimately he doesn't care the Furious Five legend is yapping about the list.

What Kevin does care about these days is eating and living healthy ... the primary reason he partnered with Ambrosia Collective last year for his custom line of superfood supplements and products.

He copped to being somewhat of a fair-weather vegan, though, on account of some of his bedroom activities with his woman, if you get our drift. If ya don't ... watch the clip.

Suge Knight's son was one of the many folks laughing his ass off at Chris Rock's 'Suge Smith' line ... but he's certain Will Smith's got nothing on the OG!!!

Suge J. Knight tells TMZ ... it was pretty dope to hear his dad's name thrown in during CR's comedy set -- even though it wasn't a positive reference, and his father will remain behind bars for years to come.

He says, "We all know Suge Knight as that guy who's all about that action. It's funny to see that Suge has been in jail for a minute but he still has this legendary status."

As we reported, Chris finally addressed Will infamously slapping him at the Oscars during his live Netflix special, "Selective Outrage."

CR didn't hold back at all, and the reality is ... calling Will "Suge Smith" was probably the most gentle jab Chris threw at him or his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Comedian Mike Epps could be facing serious legal trouble -- TMZ has learned authorities in his home state say they found a loaded gun in one of his bags at an airport.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, police responded to a firearms investigation Sunday at the Indianapolis Airport ... with cops being told TSA found the gun while Mike was going through the checkpoint

The docs say the comedian mentioned being in town for a show, and forgot the piece was in his bag. Upon investigation, police say they found a .38 Special Airweight with 4 rounds loaded, but none in the chamber.

The gun and ammo were all taken as evidence.

Officials for the Indianapolis Airport police tell TMZ ... Epps wasn't arrested, but the report was forwarded to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office to determine if charges should be filed.

No, Ja Morant is not throwing away his NBA career ... at least, that's according to Richard Jefferson, who tells TMZ Sports the star's latest lapse in judgment is simply a young man "making mistakes in front of the public eye."

The former NBA champ made the comments to us out at LAX on Monday -- just two days after Morant filmed himself brandishing a gun while out at what appeared to be a Colorado strip club.

Many believe the 23-year-old is tanking his own career -- as he's now not only under police investigation over the footage, but he's also been booted from his Grizzlies team for the time being.

Jefferson, though, said he doesn't have any concerns this could derail the superstar's track in the Association ... telling us he's confident Morant will learn and grow from the fallout with relative ease.

"Him and his family are good people," Jefferson said, before adding, "I believe in him. I believe that he'll kind of turn things on. And, look, we've seen men come through worse and come out on the other side."

Morant -- who was also accused of flashing a gun at a high school basketball player during an altercation with the teenager at his home last summer -- vowed on Saturday to seek out help.

Ari Emanuel will likely be on the hunt for some new security, at least temporarily, as a member of his security team shot himself in the leg while patrolling Ari's home.

Law enforcement sources tell us they got a call to Emanuel's Beverly Hills pad around 11 PM Sunday night for the shooting. We're told the security guard was either getting dressed in his vehicle for a shift, or adjusting his weapon holster when the gun went off ... striking him somewhere in the leg.

We're told the shooting itself did not happen on Ari's property.

Our sources say the security guard was transported to the hospital, though we don't know his condition. Cops believe the whole thing was totally accidental.

Worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Emanuel is the CEO of Endeavor, the entertainment and media agency that owns UFC.

Emanuel is one of the biggest names in entertainment business, earning him several tributes through the industry -- including Jeremy Piven's character, Ari Gold, on "Entourage."

Fans and MMA "experts" may believe Stipe Miocic has no chance against Jon Jones, but the man Bones Jones called the greatest UFC heavyweight ever says he's motivated by the underdog status, and has zero doubts he going defeat JJ!

40-year-old Miocic joined Babcock and Mojo on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) where we asked him, you vs. Jon aside ... give us your scouting report of Jones, the heavyweight.

"He won, good for him. That's about it."

So, yeah ... color Stipe unimpressed with the heavier version of Jones.

"I don't really have much to say because it wasn't that long of a fight," Miocic added.

Of course, Jon only needed 2 minutes and 4 seconds to choke out Ciryl Gane, one of the most dangerous men in the world at UFC 285, winning the heavyweight title Stipe held for years.

The fight between Jon and Stipe is likely to go down in July, and Jones is already around a -370 favorite (put up $370 to profit $100). Add to that all the MMA fans who have said Miocic doesn't stand a chance in the Octagon with Jon. We asked SM if he was motivated by the doubters.

"Hell yeah it does [motivate me]. I love being the underdog, I love being told something not gonna happen because I'm the guy that puts a big dagger in that."

It seems some people may have forgotten what Miocic has accomplished in the Octagon. Stipe previously beat Daniel Cormier, twice. He also defeated Francis Nagannou, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt, and others.

Speaking of Cormier, his rivalry with Jones was one of the best (and realest) in UFC history. We asked Stipe if he's considered bringing D.C. into camp to help him train. Miocic didn't say no, but it's clear this is just another fight for the firefighter from Ohio.

"No, no, I mean maybe, I don't know. Right now, just gonna keep getting better and grinding away and make myself the best I can be."

As for retirement, we asked Stipe if the Jones bout could be the last of his illustrious Hall of Fame career.

"I don't know. We'll see. I think about retiring after every fight since my first one. We'll see. Right now just gonna keep getting better, getting stronger, make myself finally tuned ready for that fight in July."

Cannot! Wait! 👊

Tom Brady has a shiny toy to enjoy in retirement -- the 7-time Super Bowl champion was spotted on his brand new yacht in Florida this week!!!

TB12 was spending time aboard the 77-foot "TW12VE ANGELS" with friends in a Hollywood, Florida marina on Sunday ... and the boat is a beaut.

The Wajer 77 superyacht is a bigger version of the Wajer 55S Brady bought in 2020 ... which he named "Viva a Vida" in honor of Gisele Bundchen's environmental conservation initiative.

In May 2021, Brady announced he was upgrading to the Wajer 77 for $6 million. According to records, the boat was manufactured in 2022 ... and was officially registered at the end of February.

At the time, Brady said he was also going to name the Wajer 77 "Viva a Vida" ... but we take it he decided to call an audible after the divorce.

As we previously reported, Brady's Wajer 77 is like a hotel on water -- it can sleep 9 people comfortably, and the former Patriots and Buccaneers legend said it would be used for trips to the Bahamas.

"With a little bit bigger boat, for us, the 77 allows us to sleep overnight really comfortably and those weekend trips would be really something," Brady said in 2021. "That would be great memories for our family for years to come."

Now that he's got a lot more time on his hands, we take it Brady will be putting the floater to good use!!!

Jeff Ross says Chris Rock is walking away with the 'W' in the Will Smith Oscars slap saga -- and he commends his friend doing so without using his hands, just a silver tongue.

We got the comedian Monday in L.A. after he'd flown back from Chris' live special in Baltimore ... and he said the whole event was just as epic as it looked and sounded on TV.

Jeff, the famed roast master, says Chris got the better of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith in the end ... and he's pretty high on how Chris handled it, even if it did take a year to address. However, he points out the special touched on a lot more than just the Smiths ... and he was impressed by its overall message.

He did have a fave bit, BTW ... the one about Beyonce and Jay-Z, which he says might be the joke of the year. We can't do it justice here -- you gotta see the special -- but it's basically about Bey being so hot she could get Jay no matter what her job was. Not so much for him, though.

Cardi B is nowhere near ready to release a new line of beauty products ... despite multiple reports claiming she is about to drop a new line with a name to honor her kids.

Sources close to the "WAP" rapper tell TMZ ... the recent flurry of news stories claiming Cardi is set to release a beauty product line called Kulture Wave are totally false, without a single shred of evidence to back up the claims.

We're told Cardi does not yet have a beauty product line ready for release ... though our sources say it's almost a guarantee CB will put something out in the future.

TMZ broke the story ... Cardi B locked up the rights to the phrase "Bardi Beauty" back in 2021, with trademarks covering all sorts of beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrances, haircare, skincare and nails.

As far as we know, Kulture Wave is just a made-up name ... and nothing more than a clever reference to her kids' names.

The band's manager and drummer, Jason Bader, tells us while the group hasn't yet seen the offer, they'd never accept it.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Tom Sandoval's cheating scandal is worth six figures to a site pushing adult content ... he's got a live streaming offer on the table, and a possible way to avoid some potential nastiness on his band's upcoming tour.

CamSoda is making an offer they hope Tom and his band can't refuse ... $540,000 to stream 12 concerts live on their site, instead of taking his show on the road and playing in front of an audience.

Tom's Enemy No. 1 in the Bravo realm now that he's destroyed a nearly 10-year relationship with longtime girlfriend and castmate Ariana Madix by cheating on her with fellow 'VR' cast member Raquel Leviss ... and CamSoda thinks Tom's going to catch tons of flak if his band plays before a live crowd, so they're offering him a way out.

Tom's band, the aptly named Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras, is scheduled to play 12 shows across the country from April through June, and CamSoda is trying to convince him to scrap the shows and live steam instead, warning him it may not be safe to play in front of a live audience.

CamSoda's vice president, Daryn Parker, fired off an offer letter to Tom, pitching the $540k live stream deal as a way to save the band from potential "Justice for Ariana" chants and tomato throwing.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, CamSoda tells Tom, "livestreaming your tour from a safe place would make the most sense" ... and they're offering the band $45k per show to pull the plug on the tour and go virtual.

Of course, CamSoda is still CamSoda, and the adult live streaming porn site adds ... "You can dress in your outfits, show some skin, and even tell your side of the story if you'd like."

Ryan McKenna, once famous for snapping a pic with Justin Timberlake at the Super Bowl, stands accused of striking a cop during his allegedly drunken arrest ... but new video shows cops tossing him to the ground pretty hard.

The clip, obtained by TMZ, shows 18-year-old Ryan with multiple cops around him as they try to detain him -- they're struggling to get his arms behind his back.

After the attempts to cuff him don't work ... you can see one of the deputies yank him by the leg, flipping him down on a concrete floor. Even after the brutal takedown, Ryan kept his arms tucked to his chest, instead of putting them behind his back.

TMZ broke the story ... law enforcement was called on the eve of this year's Super Bowl to a CPK in Naples, FL for a report of a man who was drunk and hitting his friend.

According to cops, Ryan and a 15-year-old boy got into an argument, and things escalated to the point where Ryan aggressively pushed their table and started shouting obscenities at the boy's GF.

In their report, cops admit putting hands on Ryan to calm him down, but claim he yanked their hands off his chest. Deputies then tried to detain Ryan, which is apparently when the video begins.

Cops said Ryan was taken to jail and booked for felony battery on a law enforcement officer and 2 misdemeanors -- resisting arrest and obstruction of an officer.

BTW, Ryan's mom Tracy told us her son was NOT drunk during the incident ... and instead was just joking around with his friends, trying to be funny by pushing the table.

Kodak Black lit up the stage at Rolling Loud California ... but we've learned it took a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure he stayed sober leading up to his performance.

Kodak's performance at the 3-day music festival was his last hoorah before he enters in-patient rehab next week. His lawyer, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ Hip Hop ... the artist was in L.A. with a full team of folks making sure they steered him clear of any bad influences.

We're told that team included a physician to look after his eating habits, and another person was designated to be by his side at all times and ensure he stayed on the straight and narrow.

Cohen says the "Super Gremlin" rapper doesn't usually do the after-party scene, so that was one less thing to worry about while he was in La-La Land.

ICYMI, a Florida judge ordered KB to 30 days of inpatient rehab after authorities claimed he violated his bail conditions by testing positive for fentanyl.

You'll recall, Kodak was busted in Ft. Lauderdale back in July for possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and drug trafficking ... after cops say they found upwards of 31 oxycodone pills in his car.

Mercedes Mone is putting the wrestling world on NOTICE ... telling TMZ Sports she'll fight any wrestler, anywhere, anytime -- saying, "I turn down to nobody."

We spoke to Mercedes -- formerly known as Sasha Banks in the WWE -- after she captured the IWGP championship in her New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) debut last month ... and she was hyped about performing in front of her family and friends.

"It was a moment I'm always going to remember," Mone said. "It's probably my second favorite moment of my career thus far and that's saying a lot because I've done so much in professional wrestling."

Mercedes said competing in front of a sold-out crowd at the San Jose Civic Center in California -- close to where she grew up -- was special ... adding working with her opponent, Kairi, who she defeated to become champ, was an incredible experience.

Mone told us now that she's the IWGP champ, she's got big plans. In addition to showing off her gold on red carpets, she also called out Japanese pro wrestler AZM ahead of her scheduled appearance at Sakura Genesis in Tokyo on April 8.

"I wanna see who's ready for Mercedes Mone," the champ said. "I'm always here for the check. I'm always here for the bag and whoever has the biggest bag is where I'm gonna go."