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The woman who just overtook Taylor Swift as the youngest self-made female billionaire isn’t letting that get to her head -- she's shaking off the Taylor Swift "dethroning" talk, and making one thing clear ... she’s a proud Swiftie first, mogul second.

Lucy Guo -- the 30-year-old Scale A.I. co-founder with a billion-dollar-plus empire -- tells TMZ Taylor’s the icon, and yep, she fully fangirled when she met her at Coachella last year.

Lucy kept the Swift praise coming … saying Taylor was super chill, and they even bonded over knowing folks in Ice Spice’s circle.

Too $hort's says he's got the win-win solution to get hip hop music poppin' again -- by having all the new rappers comb through his catalog and discover a classic sound of their own!!!

The Oakland OG tells TMZ Hip Hop that veteran gatekeepers and freshman artists both need to do some soul-searching about the piss-poor product they've been pumping out -- and the repetitive subject matter that gives rap, a bad wrap!!!

It's kinda funny hearing a fan shout out $hort's trademarked "Biatch!" from the street as he complains about rap's misogyny but he sees the writing on the wall.

Grab a fedora and cue John Williams ... 'cause a few "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" items are going up for auction!

Indy's bullwhip, whip holster, and belt set from the 1989 film are going on sale in September at Propstore ... the first ever trio of these items sold together as a set.

The lot's expected to go for a treasure chest equal to any Indiana find ... with early estimates gauging the set will go for somewhere between $250K-$500K.

Dogs on Skid Row are being fed fentanyl, bred for money, and otherwise abused and neglected, and politicians are doing nothing about ... so says an animal rights activist.

Joey Tuccio -- an advocate for and rescuer of animals, who works with the nonprofit Starts With One Today -- stopped by "TMZ Live" to shine a light on dogs living on Los Angeles' notorious Skid Row ... a collection of streets in downtown where many homeless people live.

Tuccio says there are about 100 dogs living in the area ... and, while he doesn't want to see people's pets taken away, he's concerned about the dogs he's seen, which he says some people are using as guinea pigs to test fentanyl.

Luigi Mangione’s alleged unhinged manifesto might actually work in his favor -- at least according to one top defense attorney sounding off on the case.

Defense attorney Katie Cherkasky told us on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... there's no question -- Luigi gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in NYC back in December. But the real fight’s over the terrorism charge, and she says Luigi’s own words might be what gets it tossed.

Katie says Luigi’s own words lay it out -- in his chilling blueprint, he wasn’t out to spark mass panic or hurt anyone else ... he had one target, and one target only.

"Cheers" star George Wendt died from cardiac arrest, TMZ has learned.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released GW's death certificate Thursday.

The certificate lists George's immediate cause of death as cardiac arrest ... with congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and hypertension as underlying causes.

Sex parties and X-rated pranks -- not exactly kidnapping and torture, but new bombshell videos and photos reveal that kind of wild, bacchanalian atmosphere during the bizarre crypto kidnapping case that's landed John Woeltz and William Duplessie in jail.

TMZ obtained this footage showing their alleged victim -- Italian businessman Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan -- hanging out, grinning and frequently shirtless, with other partygoers inside the Manhattan townhouse Duplessie and Woeltz were renting.

Brittany Eady was a no-show for the taping of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" reunion ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the series tell us the 'RHOA' stars are filming the show on Thursday in Atlanta, but Brit skipped out despite being invited to join her fellow costars and Andy Cohen.

Our sources tell us the reunion show is still moving forward without Brit ... it's Hollywood, after all, and the show must go on. Our sources say the rest of the cast is currently on set.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus offered a full-throated mea culpa to the LGBTQ+ community on Thursday ... saying his department made a mistake by so quickly dismissing the hate crime allegation in the shooting death of Jonathan Joss.

The "King of the Hill" voice actor was shot to death Sunday night on his own property in the city, allegedly by neighbor Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez during a heated exchange ... but Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, called the shooting a homophobic hate crime. The next day ... police said in a statement there was no evidence of a hate crime.

Chief McManus told reporters on Thursday that the announcement was "way too premature" ... and he took full responsibility. In the same breath ... the chief reassured the LGBTQ+ community their safety was of the utmost importance to police.

If you're inspired to place an order for a Kylie Jenner boob job ... then get in line!!!

Dr. Garth Fisher -- a well-known Beverly Hills surgeon -- was given a shout-out by Kylie this week as she credits him for her knock-out knockers.

His office tells us they have been flooded with calls requesting to book consultations, all with the same inspo details ... the one and only Kylie Jenner.

Pete Hegseth is using homophobic reasoning to attack the legacy of an American icon, which could lead to him banning gay people from the military next ... so says our very own Harvey Levin.

The TMZ founder discussed the Secretary of Defense's decision to rename the United States Naval Ship Harvey Milk on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... starting off by telling a story about his own experience hiding his sexuality during his teens and 20s.

Harvey talks about concealing this huge part of himself from his friends, family and his fellow servicemen in the Air National Guard -- the latter of which he had to do in order to avoid a dishonorable discharge.

Terrence J claims he's drawing a blank in selecting hip hop's top businessman ... probably because his top pick is a bit problematic at the moment!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the former "106 & Park" host outside LAX on Tuesday ... he's pumping a new financial podcast titled "Money Talks" that's all about the Benjamins and shares he's been most impressed with Daymond John's guest advice thus far.

Of course, you too can get Daymond's invaluable advice every Friday on "TMZ Live"'s "Follow The Money" segment, so it's no surprise Terrence gravitated to the pointers that help save his pennies.

Donovan McNabb says Saquon Barkley landing the "Madden NFL 26" cover is "absolutely well-deserved" ... but breathe easy, Eagles fans -- the former face of the game tells TMZ Sports he doesn't believe in the infamous "curse" surrounding the honor.

We caught up with McNabb -- who graced the cover of the iconic series back in 2005 for "Madden NFL 06" -- and talked to him all about the running back joining him as the only other Philly great to receive the recognition.

McNabb believes the folks at EA Sports would have made the right call in either Barkley or quarterback Jalen Hurts ... especially after what they were able to accomplish in winning a Super Bowl this past season.

Jonathan Joss, the "King of the Hill" voice actor shot and killed Sunday, was a deeply complicated man whose demons helped lead to his tragic fate, his ex-girlfriend tells TMZ.

Brandy Trejo, who dated Joss for 13 years during the height of his career, tells us … Joss was the most "self-destructive person" she ever met … and to her, it seemed like he couldn't stand it when something good happened to him.

What's more ... Brandy says she witnessed him drive his neighbors crazy for years with his outbursts and outlandish behavior ... so when she learned a neighbor allegedly killed him in an argument -- she was not shocked.

12:30 PM PT -- A spokesperson for Warner Bros./Discovery tells TMZ ... “We dispute Mr. Simmons’ allegations, stand by the filmmakers and their process, and will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded allegations.”

9:23 AM PT -- Attorneys for Russell Simmons -- Imran H. Ansari and Carla DiMare -- tell TMZ, "Russell Simmons has filed a claim of defamation in court regarding the film 'On the Record.'

"Despite voluminous support for Mr. Simmons in the form of credible information, persuasive evidence, witness statements, and calls for further investigation by notable members of the media, politics, and the civil rights movement, the defendants simply disregarded it, and released, and continue to re-release globally, a film that tremendously disparaged and damaged Mr. Simmons with its salacious and defamatory accusations, that he vehemently denies.”

Russell Simmons claims HBO Max ignored mountains of evidence refuting the sexual assault claims against him when it produced a documentary about the cases ... and now he's suing the streamer for $20 million.

According to docs filed in New York, Simmons says the 2020 documentary "On the Record," "disregarded or suppressed" more than 20 witnesses who refuted the allegations multiple women made against the music mogul.

Simmons says that information was readily available to several bigwigs at WarnerMedia, the parent company of HBO Max, including CEO John Stankey. He claims civil rights leaders and members of Congress urged HBO to review the evidence supporting Simmons' denials ... although he doesn't name any of them.

Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer is all for the FBI telling their agents to lay off the Pride Month celebrations this year ... but she says it's not about the LGBTQ+ community.

Catch the clip ... Jennifer tells us the reasoning behind the email sent out by a rep for the Federal Bureau of Investigations to all employees -- coming after the transition from the Biden to the Trump administrations -- was to put a stop to gathering during company hours and using FBI time and resources.

Coffindaffer claims that so much money and energy go into banquets thrown for monthly events -- such as Pride Month, Women's History Month, and Black History Month -- putting an end to these events will allow FBI agents to focus on their core mission ... putting bad people in prison!!!