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Ray J says he's been contacted by multiple celebs who are so scared about their affiliation with Diddy ... they're going to some of the alleged victims and paying them to keep quiet.

Ray appears in TMZ's new TUBI documentary, "The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak-Offs" ... and says some high-profile people are trying to cut alleged victims off at the pass, even before they make money demands.

Attorney Tony Buzbee also appears in the doc and reveals he has sent a demand letter out to various high-profile people with an ultimatum ... pay up, or face a lawsuit.

Piff the Magic Dragon's longtime performing companion and beloved Chihuahua, Mr. Piffles, has died ... the Las Vegas magician confirms to TMZ.

The "America's Got Talent" alum tells us ... his beloved canine conjuror passed away on November 8th, just before his 17th birthday ... with Piff crediting the rescue dog for making his act sensational.

He adds ... "For over 15 years I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure of being upstaged and outshone night after night by Mr. Piffles. He came into my life when I had nothing, and set me on the path to a career I could only dream of. In the beginning, I may have rescued him, but in the end, he rescued me."

Kevin DiCicco, who is known for creating the canine character Air Bud in the movie of the same name, is no longer facing homelessness thanks to an outpouring of donations ... leaving him inspired for a comeback.

He tells TMZ ... an old pal launched a GoFundMe after learning of his situation, and it's skyrocketed to over $11K in donations after we highlighted his story. Kevin says he is overcome with shock and gratitude over the generosity.

However, he is feeling most relieved that he's no longer bound for the streets ... as he's set to receive the funds sometime next week.

"Back to the Future" fans and Universal Pictures have been asking for a new time-traveling chapter for nearly 35 years, but it ain't happenin' ... like, EVER, the franchise co-creator and writer tells TMZ.

Bob Gale tells TMZ ... 'BTTF' fans and Universal Pictures can stop wondering -- and definitely stop asking -- 'cause there will NEVER be a fourth film. And just as important, there will NEVER be a reboot or a spinoff.

We caught up with writer and franchise co-creator after director Robert Zemeckis recently said he dug the idea of turning "Back to the Future: The Musical" into a film, much the same way "Hamilton" was done.

Haters can save their breath when it comes to JJ Redick  ... 'cause his former teammate, Matt Barnes, tells TMZ Sports the Lakers coach simply "doesn't give a s***" about any outside noise.

Barnes played with Redick on the L.A. Clippers from 2013 to 2015 ... and if there's one takeaway he got from their time together, it's that the dude stays focused on what matters -- and definitely knows his stuff.

Now that Redick has landed his first head coaching gig (with the Purple and Gold, no less), all eyes are on him ... and naturally, that puts his performance under the microscope.

Bianca Censori only knows how to shop one way ... by looking super sexy.

Kanye West's wife shopped 'til she dropped Tuesday at a Williams Sonoma store in Los Angeles, all while wearing a skin-tight white mini dress and some sheer lace tights to show off her figure.

Bianca's dress barely covered up her butt and she was busting out of her dress ... but we gotta say, this is more fabric than usual as far as BC is concerned. Still, she was showing off her legs and the rest of her assets, as she's known to do.

The feds are working with local law enforcement agencies to investigate the burglaries at the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... the FBI is assisting the Cass County Sheriff's Office to investigate the Mahomes incident, and joining forces with the Leawood Police Department to probe the Kelce crime.

The FBI getting involved means this is a pretty big deal, and not just because Patrick and Travis are famous athletes.

Peanut the Squirrel is officially in the clear, testing negative for rabies after his death, but get this -- it's also emerged that both he and Fred the Raccoon were set for the chopping block days before they were seized in a raid ... and their owner is absolutely livid over it.

Mark Longo didn't hold back, telling TMZ it's hard to stomach the bombshell revelation that 4 different agencies had already given the green light to euthanize his pets 7 days before they were even taken from his Upstate New York property on October 30.

The New York Post reports state officials advised the county to euthanize the animals a week before the raid was launched. This news contradicts the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's claim that Peanut had bitten an agent during the raid ... supposedly necessitating the rabies test. Animals must be euthanized to properly test for rabies.

Ben Foster is calling it quits on his marriage to Laura Prepon ... and we're told the estranged spouses are already living separately.

In the divorce docs obtained by TMZ ... Ben cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason behind his split with Laura -- and asked the court to enforce their prenuptial agreement from 2018. He noted September 9 as their date of separation.

This coincides with what sources tell us ... as they say the "Orange Is the New Black" actress and the 'X-Men' actor broke up sometime in the last few months, and that Laura is currently living in Tennessee while Ben resides in Los Angeles.

Megan Fox figures to have an interesting, and potentially challenging, family dynamic now that she's pregnant with Machine Gun Kelly's baby ... because things sound icy between MGK and Megan's ex-husband, Brian Austin Green.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … Brian and MGK have no relationship whatsoever, which could lead to rough waters when it comes to co-parenting.

Megan has 3 kids with Brian and our sources feel MGK hasn't been involved enough in the sons' lives ... or even made an effort to be a father figure to them.

Liam Payne's death is putting a spotlight on the unseen struggles teen singers face when they put trust into stardom, even when it seems like they're thriving ... according to Jeff Timmons from 98 Degrees.

Jeff is just one of several boy banders opening up about the rollercoaster ride his group, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, New Edition, New Kids on the Block and many others endured for decades. They're all featured in the new Paramount+ documentary, "Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands."

On Tuesday's "TMZ Live," Jeff told us the sudden fame they all encountered -- mostly in the early 2000s -- was absolutely a blessing, but it was also impossible to prepare for everything that was thrown at them.

Fernando Valenzuela's cause of death has been revealed -- the Los Angeles Dodgers legend died of septic shock.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 1981 World Series champion's death certificate ... which listed decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis as underlying causes.

The medical examiner also suspects Valenzuela suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ... a rare brain disorder.

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly’s baby news has everyone buzzing -- and we've learned she’s pretty far along in her pregnancy!

Sources tell us the actress is already 4 to 5 months along ... meaning she'll be due sometime in March. While the couple already knows the baby’s sex, they’re keeping it under wraps for now -- so no word yet on whether it’s a boy or a girl.

We're told Megan's feeling confident and healthy during this pregnancy, which is definitely a relief after the heartbreak of her miscarriage, which she revealed last year.

Two people directly connected to Jessica Simpson have spoken with 2 divorce lawyers in the last 2 months ... specifically about Jessica's marriage to Eric Johnson ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... late last month someone close to Jessica went to a Los Angeles divorce attorney and said Jessica was unhappy in her marriage and wanted to arrange a meeting with the attorney and Simpson. We do not know if this was done at Jessica's behest, but we're told the message to the lawyer was clear. We're also told up to this point Jessica has not made contact with the lawyer.

And, we've learned someone on Jessica's team made contact with another Los Angeles divorce lawyer regarding matters that were divorce-related. Again, so far we're told there has been no follow-through.

10:54 AM PT -- Diddy's attorneys tell TMZ ... "Ms. Tanea Wallace has no credibility and her claims about 'freak offs' and minors are completely and categorically false. As we've said before, Mr. Combs cannot respond to every new publicity stunt, even in response to claims that are facially ridiculous. Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that the accusations against Mr. Combs are pure fiction."

A woman who says she was at what she believes was a Diddy "Freak Off" says there were minors present ... minors surrounded by adults.

Tanea Wallace, an aspiring singer-songwriter, says she was invited to Diddy's party by a Saudi Prince who flew her from L.A. to Miami. She spoke with TMZ as part of our new documentary, "TMZ Presents The Downfall of Diddy: Inside the Freak Offs."

Tanea describes in vivid detail how she observed clusters of people having sex ... many of whom seemed high on drugs or alcohol. Mind you, she says this was at 7 AM ... Tanea says the party had been going all night.

Rachel Lindsay has shut the door on a possible return to reality TV to find love ... telling TMZ she will "never" do that again.

We caught up with the "Bachelorette" alum outside of Erewhon in Los Angeles Monday, where she gave an update on how's she doing amid her divorce from her husband, Bryan Abasolo ... who she met and got engaged to on season 13 of the ABC show.

As Rachel put it ... single life has "been great," as she's focusing on having "fun" right now.