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Liam Payne's pal Roger Nores is still wrapping his head around being cleared of manslaughter charges tied to the singer's tragic drug-fueled death -- and the main thing he wants now is an apology from Liam’s dad, Geoff.

Roger appeared on "TMZ Live" Thursday, explaining that even though Liam’s dad is the reason he faced charges, he’s holding no grudges -- BUT for that defamation lawsuit to go away, Geoff needs to show some real remorse.

Roger tries to understand Geoff's actions, acknowledging to us that there's no greater loss than losing a child ... and how that feeling of responsibility could drive someone to blame others, even when they don’t have all the facts.

Blake Lively says she has people to corroborate her complaints against Justin Baldoni ... and, while JB and his team want them to reveal their names, there's one major reason they aren't -- they're terrified of receiving the same treatment as the A-list couple.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... it shouldn't come as a surprise that the two cast members from "It Ends with Us" who will testify in support of Blake are hiding their identities -- 'cause they don't want to deal with the abuse like Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, are receiving.

Our sources say Steve Sarowitz -- a partner in Wayfarer Studios -- allegedly comparing his retaliatory plan to Israel's campaign against Hamas, plus his willingness to empty coffers to take them down, would rattle anyone ... especially those just getting started in the industry!

As you know ... Blake filed an amended complaint earlier this week in which she said multiple people from the 'IEWU' set would come forward to corroborate her claims of sexual harassment against Justin Baldoni.

She didn't reveal their names ... and Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, blasted the whole complaint as hearsay -- from people who were "clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims."

Baldoni’s camp tells TMZ … "Ms. Lively, Mr. Reynolds, and their paid representatives initiated this campaign which has severely impacted many private individuals, their livelihoods, and their families.

"Since they’ve yet to show any evidence and continue to blame others for the online vitriol resulting from their own actions, they are now speaking on behalf of alleged third parties who have not come forward themselves.

"Wayfarer, Justin, and their representatives have no ill will nor vendetta against anyone who speaks up in any circumstance and have first-hand experience with and empathy for the struggles of going against incredibly powerful individuals in pursuit of the truth."

Justin and Blake are both living their lives in spite of the growing legal fray ... with Justin cooling off in Hawaii, while Blake hit the Big Apple for the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special last weekend.

Hurricane -- the Secret Service dog that took down an intruder outside the White House in 2014 -- may be gone ... but, the Service honored his heroism one more time before he passed.

Marshall Mirarchi -- Hurricane's handler and close pal -- stopped by "TMZ Live" to talk about the heroic Belgian Malinois ... and, he got teary-eyed early remembering the dog he had for most of his adult life.

Marshall then lays out Hurricane's last day ... saying he took him back to Washington, D.C. so he could see his old workspace -- the White House -- one more time.

Christopher Reeve's son, Will, has a new doc dropping -- where he travels to all the places his dad visited around the globe ... and the journey's made him feel closer to his father.

TMZ caught up with Will ... and he tells us he literally followed in the footsteps of his iconic "Superman" dad -- hitting spots from a tiny Alaskan village to a remote lagoon in Mexico, even linking up with the sons of the men who guided Christopher back in the day for the full experience.

Will tells us the ABC doc "Will Reeve: Finding My Father" has been years in the making ... driven by his desire to experience the adventurous, action-packed life his dad lived before a horse-riding accident incapacitated him.

Xzibit's estranged wife is back in court claiming she's still experiencing extreme financial hardships since they split in 2021 ... and now she's asking the judge to force the rapper to fork over more money to get back to the luxury life she once had.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained court docs obtained by X's ex, Krista Joiner, on Thursday, hoping to modify her existing spousal support from the West Coast rapper after she says her lifestyle has been downgraded.

According to Krista, she and the 12-year-old son she shares with Xzibit had to move out of the 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom home they were renting for $10K a month ... and she doesn't have the means to buy herself or son designer clothes.

Erik and Lyle Menendez may have been badly beaten and broken in their early days of prison, before falling into relative obscurity in recent years ... but, all that changed when Ryan Murphy and Netflix got involved with their story.

A source in the California Department of Corrections tells TMZ ... when "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" came out in the fall, the brothers became high profile inmates again.

We're told their prison pod was buzzing with excitement when it looked like they were definitely getting out of prison, when former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was still in charge ... though the November election of Nathan Hochman has dampened the celebratory mood.

Damontas Sabonis has an idea to clam up all the haters of the NBA's All-Star Game ... just go back to East vs. West!!

The Sacramento Kings center told TMZ Sports out at LAX on Wednesday that if the backlash to Sunday night's iteration of the Association's midseason showcase causes Adam Silver to hit the drawing board again ... the commissioner should consider returning the game to its old conference vs. conference ways.

Sabonis, though, was one of the few who didn't seem to mind the new mini-tournament format ... explaining to us he thinks "it's fine how it is."

A$AP Rocky's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, is riding high after the not guilty verdict -- though he did confess he was this close to a heart attack right before it was read.

Tacopina swung by "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... revealing that when the judge polled the jury before reading out the verdict, his heart sank -- convinced they'd lost the case. In fact, he says the moment was so intense, he swears it felt like years were shaved off his life.

Check out the clip -- JT dives deeper into the nerve-wracking moment, admitting he’d never had a jury polled in any of his NYC cases ... saying the tension was so thick he even asked if it was standard practice in California.

Pat Boone says Walt Disney would be appalled by the state of Disney today ... claiming the company's sold out its ideals to make a quick buck -- and, the company ain't for families anymore.

We caught up with the legendary singer and actor at LAX Tuesday ... and, he tells us that the founder of Disneyland "must be spinning in his grave" because Boone says the company's trying to shed its identity as a family filmmaker.

Boone says the company just wants to make money ... which is absolutely not what Disney envisioned when he founded the company.

LaVar Ball -- the father of basketball stars Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball -- had his foot amputated after suffering a serious medical issue, TMZ Sports has learned.

We're told the Ball family patriarch underwent a recent procedure to have his right foot removed ... but despite it all, he is in great spirits and doing well.

LaVar made a name for himself with his grandiose plans for his sons -- he created the Big Baller Brand, which developed signature shoes for all three hoopers.

Cardi B's voluptuous Valentine's Day with NFL star Stefon Diggs didn't disrupt the rap queen's scheduled family time -- on the contrary, she hosted a grand feast that made her server's night!!!

Sources tell TMZ Hip Hop Cardi rolled up with a large crew to White Horse Tavern, one of the oldest pubs in Manhattan's West Village. It's a living artifact -- established in 1880!!!

We're told Cardi's bunch was about 10 people, including kids, in what looked to be her grandpa, cousins, and relatives ... no sightings of Offset, or her new football flame, though.

"The UK's Hottest MILF" and OnlyFans creator Chrissie Wunna is scared for her life after she says a mystery man has shown up at her West Yorkshire home -- and attempted to gain entry -- several times over the last week.

She claims to TMZ the pictured hooded person has routinely trespassed on her property and banged on her front and back doors ... and even went as far as climbing up the side of her house to aggressively knock on a window in hopes of grabbing her attention.

Chrissie -- who temporarily relocated herself and her two young kids to a hotel as a safety precaution -- says she's grown accustomed to getting recognized in public, and even has fans lining up at her door with gifts ... but she calls this "next level."

Ryan Serhant and his wife are in it for better or for worse, he says ... 'cause despite online speculation about their marriage coming to an end, TMZ has learned their union is still intact.

The real estate reality TV star is addressing speculation and rumors about his marriage floating around Reddit claiming he and his wife, Emilia Bechrakis, were heading for divorce ... because fans noticed he hadn't posted photos with her on his Instagram in a while.

However, all is well between the two -- because the Netflix star tells TMZ ... "We are still very happily married! Celebrating 14 years together. And yes she still puts up with me 😆."

Kim Zolciak says her estranged husband needs psychological help ... and is asking a court to appoint medical professionals to evaluate Kroy to see if he has CTE.

The reality television star filed the document in family court Tuesday ... claiming she believes Kroy is suffering from the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy -- better known as CTE, a cognitive disease sustained by many former NFL players.

Zolciak claims Kroy -- who played football in the NFL for 8 years -- regularly devolves into profanity-laced outbursts about her in the presence of their four minor children ... and has even used physical violence against her. She's also accusing him of "extreme sexual promiscuity."

Blake Lively's new allegations against Justin Baldoni are missing one critical thing -- cold hard proof he did her wrong ... at least that's how Justin's attorney is reading the documents.

Bryan Freedman tells TMZ, he found Blake's amended lawsuit -- filed late Tuesday night -- "underwhelming" when it comes to any new facts or anything damning against his client.

Freedman says the suit is "filled with unsubstantial hearsay of unnamed persons who are clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims." He adds that his clients -- Baldoni, his publicists, and Wayfarer Studios -- "have been transparent in providing receipts, real time documents and video showing a completely different story than what has been manipulated and cherry picked to the media."

A$AP Rocky dodged a guilty verdict this week, but one juror isn’t personally letting him off that easy -- saying she believes a crime may have been committed, but other factors kept him from being convicted.

Freelance journalist Nique Laclaire spoke with a juror after Rocky’s not-guilty verdict Tuesday, and the woman revealed some jurors -- made up of 7 women and 5 men -- did believe the alleged prop gun was actually a real firearm ... but "Unfortunately they didn't have enough evidence to convict on the charges that were handed down to us."

The juror said it was "kind of a little mysterious the way it disappeared and they couldn't produce it as evidence."