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Imagine if jury duty always included a live performance from Ed Sheeran -- that's what jurors got during his trial for allegedly ripping off Marvin Gaye's classic, "Let's Get It On."

Ed took the stand Thursday in a Manhattan federal courtroom, and at one point had his guitar with him to show the jury exactly how he writes songs, in general, and in particular ... his 2014 smash hit, "Thinking Out Loud."

He strummed the song's chords and sang the opening line ... "When your legs don't work like they used to before," and then testified he and co-writer Amy Wadge had nothing like Marvin's sexy times tune in mind when they wrote 'Thinking Out Loud.' Instead, he said their song was about maintaining love into old age.

He also explained, "When I write vocal melodies, it’s like phonetics." For instance, he says he first sang the song's hook as, "I'm singing out now" ... before it later became, "I'm thinking out loud."

The fact Sheeran was allowed to sit on the stand and give a live, although brief, performance could go a long way in swaying the jury. They're only human, so there's always potential for a "star-struck" factor -- and, sadly, Marvin Gaye isn't alive to sing in support of the plaintiffs.

As we reported, the estate of Ed Townsend -- co-writer of "Let's Get It On" -- is suing Sheeran, claiming his song copies the melody, harmony and other elements of Marvin's 1973 #1 hit.

During his testimony, Sheeran admitted he doesn't pour a heck of a lot of time into writing any of his songs ... saying he draws inspiration from whatever's happening in his life, and rarely takes more than one day to complete a song.

The 2023 NFL Draft is finally here ... and the biggest prospects are bringing their incredible fashion sense to Kansas City -- with some amazing 'fits and iced-out accessories!!

Texas Tech linebacker Tyree Wilson made quite the statement in a two-piece black suit ... which features a ton of blue and pink flowers splattered all over it.

The 22-year-old also paid homage to his school with the TT logo stitched inside the jacket!!

Boston College receiver Zay Flowers also had a custom jacket for his big night ... and honored his fam with photos inside the jacket. USC wideout Jordan Addison is bracing for his impending NFL money ... 'cause he got pictures of $100 bills stitched in his blazer.

Bryce Young -- who's projected to be the no. 1 overall pick to Carolina -- arrived with his parents and had on an expensive Dior jacket that might look familiar if you watched Travis Kelce's Saturday Night Live gig.

"You wait for this moment for so long and it's finally here," the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner said. "As a little kid, you know, you always dream of moments like this."

Some soon-to-be NFL rookies kept it simple and sweet ... like Alabama's Brian Branch, who wore an all-white fit, and Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson, who elected to go all black.

Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba and C.J. Stroud looked sharp as hell, too ... especially thanks to their massive diamond chains.

A pair of boxing gloves worn by Michael B. Jordan in his latest blockbuster, "Creed III," is up for auction ... and can be yours for the right price!!

SCP Auctions is offering a pair of cream-colored Grant boxing gloves worn by MBJ, who stars in the film as Adonis "Donnie" Creed, son of Apollo Creed, to the highest bidder.

The gloves show visible signs Jordan wore them while filming the latest installment in the Rocky-adjacent series ... which had huge success across the world. In fact, the movie grossed almost $156 million domestically and $116 million internationally, for a total of $272.1 million worldwide, according to box office figures.

Creed III tells the story of Adonis' childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian "Diamond Dame" Anderson, played by Jonathan Majors, resurfacing to fight Creed, according to IMDB.com.

Speaking of the embattled Majors ... a pair of boxing gloves he wore while filming Creed III is also up for auction with SCP.

The 10 oz. XL Grant gloves are black with gold and bronze accents, and their condition indicates they were used by Majors, whose character was the main antagonist in the film.

MBJ directed, produced, and starred in "Creed III" -- and if you didn't know already judging by the success of the movie, Creed IV's on the way!

Lamar Jackson isn't going anywhere -- the superstar quarterback just agreed to a humongous 5-year, $260 million deal to remain with the Baltimore Ravens ... making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

The team announced the news on Thursday ... saying they were FINALLY able to reach a number that would satisfy both sides after months of heated negotiation.

Of course, Jackson revealed back in March he had requested a trade out of Baltimore ... after the team placed a nonexclusive franchise tag on the former first-round pick.

At the time, Lamar claimed the Ravens were not "interested in meeting my value" ... but it's safe to say that's no longer the case.

The monster deal includes $185 million in total guaranteed money, according to reports.

Jackson shared his immediate reaction via the Ravens' Twitter account ... saying, "You know, for the last few months, there's been a lot of he say, she say. A lot of nail biting, a lot of head scratching going on."

"But for the next five years, there's a lot of flock going on. Let's go, baby!!"

Tyler, the Creator is telling fans to enjoy his tunes while he's alive and well, because when he dies ... his music will officially stop.

The Golf Wang curator was explaining this tidbit to the crowd last night during his Estate Sale Show at The El Rey in Los Angeles.

Tyler just dropped a deluxe edition of his Grammy Award-winning album "Call Me If You Get Lost" that featured 8 previously unreleased songs ... and told fans he felt the songs were too good to sit in the vault.

The veteran rapper felt it best he let go of the tracks now because he says his living will prohibits his music from being posthumously released ... especially with "random" artists he wouldn't ever collaborate with while he was alive!!!

Fact is, deceased artists have proven to be cash cows over the years. So, whoever's distributing Tyler's music can't be thrilled with his will ... not that anyone's rushing him to the grave.

Ya gotta imagine Don Lemon and Kim Kardashian have plenty to catch up about -- like possible new career paths -- and they got into it at the Time100 Gala.

Kim and Don were deep in discussion Wednesday night in NYC ... along with Don's longtime partner Tim Malone, who was all smiles. We're guessing his sudden departure from CNN, and her saying she'd leave reality TV to be a full-time lawyer were hot topics for them.

Kim buzzed around a lot at the event ... bumping into Salma Hayek, Gayle King, and Padma Lakshmi.

As for Don, he certainly didn't look down in the dumps about his firing. As we reported, he looked pretty chill and happy throughout the night. Hey, no alarm clock going off before dawn can change your life!

Don also told TIME he's gonna have the summer of a 12-year-old, laying on the beach with Tim. He was even asked what kind of influence he thinks he's left at CNN -- a question he redirects to his former colleagues.

And as you know, Kim revealed earlier this week ... she'd ditch TV to become a lawyer full-time, saying she's already passed the baby bar and plans to take the real bar in 2025.

FYI -- Kim was named one of TIME's Most Influential People of 2015, and last year SKIMS made its list of Most Influential Companies.

Don Lemon doesn't look down in the dumps over being out of a job ... in fact, it's quite the opposite.

Don was all smiles Wednesday at the Time100 Gala in New York City, mugging for the cameras despite his recent firing from CNN.

While Don lost his high-paying job Monday after 17 years at the cable news outlet, he's got a support system to fall back on ... he was joined at Wednesday's event by his longtime partner, Tim Malone, and they both appeared in great spirits.

Fact is, Don's going to have options in TV news despite his CNN ouster ... as we first reported, NewsNation is interested in adding Don to a growing roster of high-profile anchors.

Don, we're told, was making about $7 million a year at CNN ... and our sources say NewsNation would be comfortable offering him a seven-figure salary.

In other words, Don doesn't have too much to worry about even though he's unemployed ... and it looks like he's confident he's going to land on his feet.

Dwyane Wade, dad to a transgender daughter, says he's no longer living in Florida despite being a legend in the state, thanks to what he believes are restrictive policies infringing on the rights of LGBTQ residents.

The 41-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer recently sat down with Rachel Nichols for her show 'Headliners' when he revealed he is no longer a resident of the Sunshine State.

"That's another reason why I don't live in [Florida]. A lot of people don't know that," D-Wade responded when Nichols asked what message he'd send to state legislators.

The 3x NBA champ continued ... "I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions."

Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, and many state-level lawmakers have passed controversial legislation, including the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, amongst other laws, and Wade flat out says his family wouldn't be comfortable.

"You know, obviously, the taxes is great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would not be accepted or feel comfortable there. And, so that's one of the reasons why I don't live there," Dwyane told Nichols.

Of course, Dwyane's 15-year-old daughter Zaya came out as transgender in 2020. She's since legally changed her name and gender. Wade has been very outspoken in his support of his daughter.

The Wades aren't alone in leaving the state. Despite an influx of people moving to places like Florida, Texas, and Tennessee in the last few years, many have already left those areas.

Wade ultimately played 15 seasons in Miami, delivering three NBA championships to South Florida. Now he's gone.

Tyrese Gibson says he can pay the more than half a million bucks for child support and his ex-wife's lawyers -- but he still thinks the judge did him dirty, and that's why he's gonna keep fighting it in court.

Tyrese laid it all out Wednesday at LAX, one day after he was ordered to pay $636K -- with $237K going to his ex-wife Samantha Lee Gibson for back child support and $399K going to her attorneys.

He's got no doubts he can cover the steep fee, and confirms he'll always support his kids ... but insists he won't be takin' this ruling lying down, and instead plans to appeal it.

You gotta see him boldly declare his battle will be one for the ages ... one that actually changes laws for all child support cases in Georgia. He believes you'll be hearing Gibson v. Gibson cited in future court hearings once he gets what he sees as justice.

As we reported, Tyrese refused to pay the $10K/month the judge ordered last August ... which is why he was held in contempt Tuesday in court.

He even ripped Judge Farmer on social media ahead of the hearing ... and the judge certainly clapped back, at least financially, with his ruling.

Fat Joe is fed up with the medical industry duping its patients into paying unfair prices ... personally flying himself from NYC to Washington D.C. to do something about it!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with the Don Cartagena as he visited Capitol Hill to rep "Power to the Patients" ... the nonprofit that targets and tackles hidden healthcare fees.

As we told you earlier this week, Joe will be in town through the weekend alongside Busta Rhymes, French Montana and Rick Ross for a special PTTP-helmed concert to bring awareness to the millionaire CEOs of nonprofit orgs. and other associated horseradish ... but today, he was all bars without the beat!!!

We also caught Joe's speech as he addressed the crowd as a proud Bronx native but lashed out at the economic forces that hold Black and Brown people back ... comparing their cries for help as effective as a "dog barking at the moon."

Pras is guilty of committing fraud according to the jury in the federal trial where the Fugees rapper was accused of trading political influence in exchange for millions from Malaysian fugitive Jho Low.

During the trial Pras admitted accepting $20 million from Low for a photo-op with then-President Barack Obama as he ran for reelection -- and also helped set up a scheme to illegally funnel money to the Obama campaign through straw donors. Prosecutors were not going after the Obama campaign.

High-profile witnesses Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions took the stand during the case.

Pras reportedly blamed his decision to participate in the schemes on the bad advice of an attorney, but that clearly didn't sway the jury as he's now looking at up to 20 years in prison.

We spoke to Pras outside court during the heat of the trial and he didn't have much to say. The jury clearly felt he said more than enough in court.

Nicki Minaj is on a musical tear like grraah at the moment ... even without a new album out on the market!!!

On Tuesday, her recent single, the Lumidee-sampling "Red Ruby Da Sleeze," crossed the 500k sales mark ... which makes it eligible for a shiny Gold-plated plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America!!!

The track has been lighting up the charts and actively competing with her Ice Spice collaboration ... the "Princess Diana (Remix)" — which shot to No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, making it the first song by the duo to reach that milestone!!!

Matter of fact, the new "Princess Diana" is so popular, it's been outselling the next 13 top-selling songs COMBINED ... according to a new Forbes report.

Morgan Wallen's "Last Night," Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" and Post Malone's greatest hits track "Chemical" are just a few of the heaters Nicki and Ice have been topping as of late.

Drake Bell looks to be in a bad place -- inhaling from a balloon that appears to be filled with nitrous oxide ... a troubling move that comes amid some tumultuous weeks for him.

The former child star was sitting in his car Tuesday outside of his L.A. home sucking on a fully inflated balloon. In one of the photos, you can see a cannister of some sort -- which resembles a typical nitrous oxide container.

Of course, huffing nitrous is a dangerous but popular method of getting high -- a few seconds of euphoria and head rush -- without using hard drugs.

BTW ... this is not Drake's first rodeo with nitrous oxide -- he was pictured doing the exact same thing back in December, and, in that instance his young son was in the car too.

And yes, inhaling nitrous oxide without a medical professional's supervision or guidance is, indeed, bad for one's health.

As we reported ... Drake's clearly been going through it of late. He told Twitter users last week that he was contemplating suicide after the trolling and attacks over his child endangerment conviction in 2021 -- which has led to people labeling him a "pedophile."

On top of that ... his wife filed for divorce just a couple days prior, this after he was reported missing in Florida -- only to pop up on the radar again in what turned out be a false alarm.

We know Drake has been thrust into a child custody battle with his now-estranged wife -- and, apparently, it's gotten so ugly behind the scenes ... he's been sending scary messages to his family that made them worry for his safety and his life.

The guy's had a lot of ups and downs in recent years -- everything from a choppy music career to even more legal issues like a DUI bust and bankruptcy.

As we reported, family members called police a couple weeks ago, because they were so worried about Drake. These images won't ease those concerns.

Gisele Bündchen's new chapter of life has her going all in on philanthropy work -- givin' back in a major way to help battle the growing childhood homeless crisis in Florida.

The supermodel announced Tuesday she'd be gifting a whopping $1 mil to the Miami chapter of Lotus House, the nation's largest women's shelter, which just broke ground on a new state-of-the-art facility called The Children's Village.

We're told the new facility's goal is to focus on the needs of the community's youth, and to keep the momentum going on preventing homelessness in the area. Gisele's gift will go toward a new playground as well as more programming within the village.

The 7-figure donation was a no-brainer for Gisele, who said ... "Building a solid community for children is so important, especially for those who are vulnerable and in need."

She's stoked about the playground, too ... adding it'll be extremely beneficial to kids' physical health, social interactions, and overall self-confidence.

Lotus House has been open to those in need since 2006 -- growing from 34 beds to serving more than 10,000 women and children. Today, the facility has more than 80% of its guests successfully exiting... far above the national average.

Disney is escalating its beef with Ron DeSantis ... it's now suing Florida's Governor for what Disney claims is a targeted campaign of retaliation, and one that's hurting the company's bottom line.

The Walt Disney Co. filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against DeSantis, ripping the Republican presidential hopeful as being "patently retaliatory, anti-business, and patently unconstitutional."

In the suit, Disney claims DeSantis is waging a "relentless campaign to weaponize government power" to punish Disney's political views ... with Disney saying the Governor's actions are now threatening its business, jeopardizing its economic future in Florida and violating its constitutional rights.

Disney says it regrets having to sue DeSantis, but the company says he gave them no choice ... pointing out DeSantis recently talked publicly about wanting to tax the hell out of Disney and build a state prison next to Walt Disney World.

In the suit, Disney says it's being "forced to defend itself against a State weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment" ... with Disney claiming DeSantis is orchestrating a retaliation campaign against the company simply because Disney "expressed an opinion with which the government disagreed."

Although the suit references the "government" in several places, Disney is not suing the state of Florida.

Remember ... the beef started when Disney came out in opposition to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation, which DeSantis has championed. DeSantis then started targeting Disney's special tax district, which has essentially allowed Disney to self-govern in Florida since the 1960s.

Disney says the lawsuit is a response to DeSantis' hand-picked board of supervisors moving to undo a recent development deal Disney struck to strip the board's power over WDW.

Despite the astronomical numbers that came out of today's hearing, Tyrese's attorney Tanya Mitchell Graham isn't too down about it. She tells TMZ ... they will file an appeal as soon as the judge's order is entered. She's also filed a motion for a new trial which will be heard next month.

As for the money -- Tyrese doesn't have to pay it all at once. The judge set May 15 as the due date for about $258K of it, but Tanya says that could be pushed back once their appeal is filed.

Also, the judge made a point of saying Tyrese has been paying child support all along, just not the $10K/month the court ordered -- instead, he's been paying $2,236/month. The $237K represents the monthly difference he owes, plus interest.

The judge Tyrese publicly called out before his child custody hearing is ordering him to fork over nearly $250K to his ex-wife, and almost $400K to her attorney!

The actor/singer was in Fulton County court Tuesday to deal with his ongoing child support battle with Samantha Lee Gibson -- the main issue being Tyrese refusing to pay the $10,000/month he was ordered to pay last August, because he felt the judge was "racist" and biased against him.

Also, as he stated on the stand today, Tyrese feels the $10K is excessive -- he claims Samantha doesn't need that much, because she makes good money on her own.

Leading up to today's hearing, Tyrese ripped Judge Kevin Farmer in a video calling on people like civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Martin Luther King III to show up in court to support him in his fight against the judge. They weren't there.

Inside court, the judge fired back at Tyrese for his failure to cough up the money he'd been ordered to pay, and held him in contempt of court. He could have been arrested, but the judge cut him a break ... well, aside from the staggering amounts of money he's gotta pay now.

Tyrese was ordered to pay a total of $237,944 in back child support for their daughter Soraya and $399K for Samantha's attorney fees. He also has to foot a $17K bill for the special master ... a referee, of sorts, appointed by the judge to handle minor disputes during the case.

You'll recall, Tyrese incurred Judge Farmer's wrath during last summer's hearing and was nearly held in contempt back then -- so, maybe it's not all that shocking today's proceedings were so testy.