Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie had an aggressive and public dispute days before she allegedly disappeared -- and things got so bad, the couple was booted from a Wyoming restaurant ... according to a possible witness.

A woman named Nina Celie Angelo says she and her boyfriend were at The Merry Piglets, a restaurant in Jackson Hole, August 27 and spotted the couple in a "blowout of a situation." Angelo says Gabby and Brian were sitting at the table next to hers.

Angelo claims Gabby was hysterically crying, and at one point Brian and Gabby were even fighting with the restaurant hostess before Gabby went out and stood on the sidewalk.

Angelo says she doesn't know what started the fight, but thought it had to do with the bill.

Brian allegedly came back into the restaurant several times to argue with staff after Gabby left, and Angelo claims he had an "aggressive" demeanor.

We called Merry Piglets to ask about the incident, but they had no comment. They would not specify if they've spoken to authorities, but Nina said she's reported all this to law enforcement.

Brian allegedly returned to his parents' Florida home on September 1 ... without Gabby.

As we've reported, Gabby's body was discovered by investigators Sunday afternoon in Wyoming. After an autopsy, the coroner ruled her death a homicide, but has not released a cause of death yet.

Brian Laundrie would be better off dead than alive at this point in the Gabby Petito case -- at least that's how Geraldo Rivera feels ... despite there being so many unanswered questions.

The FOX News personality gave us his unfiltered take on the streets of NYC Wednesday when we asked what he made of the saga, and the fact that Brian is still nowhere to be found. In true Geraldo fashion, he did not hold back whatsoever -- he says the dude should off himself.

He's a little flip here, but GR seems to mean what he says ... adding Brian should have some dignity and spare us his hypothetical BS rationale -- assuming he's ultimately charged -- by just drowning himself in a Florida swamp.

Oof ... harsh.

Now, Geraldo does wind it back a little when our photog suggests Brian should give up and turn himself in -- conceding, yes, at the very least. You can tell he's fired up about this story, but there's a major problem with his solution.

It leaves too many loose ends, and wouldn't serve as true justice ... especially not for the Petito family, who are seeking the truth about what happened to Gabby and WHY.

Gabby Petito's family's going after the lawyer for Brian Laundrie's family for using one of her photos on Yelp ... and they're warning him he better not do it again.

The Petitos' attorney, Richard Benson Stafford, sent a cease-and-desist letter to attorney Steven P. Bertolino demanding that he remove the photo of Gabby from his Yelp business page ... and gave him a deadline of 2 PM Wednesday.

It seems Bertolino complied, because Gabby's pic no longer appears there, but Yelp has added a notice to his page saying his business is being monitored.

In addition, Gabby's family's warning Laundrie's family lawyer to not use any of her photos on any of his other accounts -- social media or otherwise -- to promote his business ... or they'll take legal action.

As of now, it doesn't look like Bertolino has any other accounts featuring photos of her.

Obviously, the situation between the 2 families is very tense ... as the coroner has ruled Gabby's death a homicide and her fiance, Brian -- a person of interest believed to be the last person who saw her alive -- is also missing.

With all that happening, legal issues are inevitable ... and this seems to be just the start.

Gabby Petito's death has put her fiance, Brian Laundrie, in the crosshairs of law enforcement, but TMZ has learned prosecutors are not making a move until 2 primary loose ends are tied up.

Law enforcement sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Laundrie is their suspect, despite the fact he's being officially called a person of interest. That said, we're told federal prosecutors are now in a waiting game, in large part because they don't know if Laundrie is still alive.

What's more ... our law enforcement sources tell TMZ, even if Gabby was murdered -- which seems to be the case since the Coroner has already ruled her death a homicide -- they would need to prove who did it. Our sources point out, it's possible Laundrie left Gabby out in the wilderness and someone else killed her ... whether it's probable or not, it's still possible.

As for why federal prosecutors will handle the case, it's because Gabby was apparently killed in the Grand Teton National Park, which is federal land.

We're told law enforcement is viewing Laundrie as their prime suspect, but there's a leap between that and actually charging someone with murder.

As we reported, a witness called 911 and told the dispatcher Laundrie had slapped and hit Gabby shortly before she went missing.

Anthony Johnson's death has left his family scrambling to find a way to cover his burial -- something his wife says isn't being made easy with the empty lip service they're getting.

Lexis Jones Mason tells TMZ ... she and her family have been getting a ton of what she describes as "fake love" left and right in the wake of her husband's sudden passing earlier this month ... which she's quite upset about, seeing how she needs financial assistance.

This interview's heartbreaking -- Lexis fights back tears as she explains how the Johnson family has started a GoFundMe, but have come up way short of the $20k goal they set to properly bury him and give him the service he deserves ... so far raising less than $800.

And, in spite of people apparently telling her they'd donate and chip in ... Lexis says much of that just hasn't materialized, and seems folks would rather lend emotional support instead of actually helping out in a way they really need right now.

Lexis isn't asking for a handout either, BTW ... literally just enough to do right by Anthony. And, as many know, funerals are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

While she says she doesn't expect anything from anyone, Lexis would absolutely appreciate any donations friends or fans of AJ could contribute. And, if no one comes through, Lexis says she'll probably cremate him -- and will go back to work ASAP to cover that on her own.

Willie Garson -- famous for his role in the "Sex and the City" series and movies -- has died ... according to his close friends.

"Bosch" star Titus Welliver broke the news of Willie's passing with a post that said, "There are no words. I love you dear brother. We are fewer," and he attached a photo of Willie.

Willie's fellow actor and friend Rob Morrow also posted a tribute.

Sources connected to the 'SATC' star tell us he'd been battling cancer, though we've not confirmed it as his cause of death.

Willie was a fan fave from the hit HBO series ... playing Sarah Jessica Parker's male BFF, Stanford Blatch -- a gay socialite who Carrie Bradshaw often called "Stanny."

He didn't appear in every episode, but for the 27 he did pop up for over the course of 6 years ... his scenes were always memorable.

Willie was also in both 'SATC' movies ... and he's at least slated to appear with SJP and co. in "And Just Like That..." -- the new HBO Max series. We know he shot scenes in NYC this summer with Sarah Jessica and Mario Cantone.

WG's roles went well beyond 'SATC' though -- he's been in tons of shows and movies throughout his career ... including stuff like "White Collar," "Hawaii Five-0," "Quantum Leap," "Girl Meets World," "Mr. Belvedere," "Just Shoot Me!" "Big Mouth," "Supergirl," and many, many more.

He's got a total of 170 acting credits to his name, dating back to the '80s.

Willie was 57. He leaves behind his son, Nathen.

Gabby Petito's body has, indeed, been recovered in Wyoming -- and the Coroner says this was a homicide.

As we reported, the Teton County Coroner was conducting the autopsy Tuesday on the remains cops found over the weekend in Grand Teton National Park. The Coroner's Office is now confirming the body is Gabby's. Attorney Richard Stafford said the same.

Before today, the feds simply said they believed it was Gabby. You'll recall the corpse was found near an area where the white van she and fiance, Brian Laundrie, were traveling in was spotted.

While Laundrie has not yet been named a suspect, the FBI is conducting a manhunt for him. As you know, Laundrie had returned to his parent's home in Florida ... without Gabby.

Plus, the guy has mysteriously disappeared without a trace ... although, there was a potential sighting this week. A man in Baker, FL reported that he believed he saw a man matching Brian's description pop up on his deer cam ... some 500 miles away from North Port, FL, where Brian lives.

Gabby and Brian had been on a cross-country road trip together for months now -- documenting their stops in a white van they'd taken out. Another thing that was also caught on camera was an alleged domestic disturbance ... the aftermath of which a police officer filmed on his body camera upon pulling them over.

While Gabby was distraught, Brian denied he'd hit her ... despite a 911 caller claiming he did exactly that. In any case, the cop cut both of them loose after they both refused to press charges.

The Rolling Stones are officially out on their first-ever tour without Charlie Watts, and the loss was obvious at their first show ... which they dedicated to the only drummer they've ever had.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and co. performed Monday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA -- a private gig for Patriots owner Robert Kraft -- and before things got started, MJ made sure to shout out Charlie, who died last month.

The last 3 Stones -- Keith, Mick and Ron Wood -- stood shoulder-to-shoulder as Mick explained how much they miss Charlie, on and off the stage, and recalled the memories they'd all made together over 59 years.

You could hear Mick start to choke up a bit as he dedicated the show to their late drummer ... and raised his drink to the crowd.

Mick telegraphed his thoughts, wondering out loud what song they'd open with, and admitting he was a little emotional.

A cross made of stones is serving as a makeshift memorial for Gabby Petito in Wyoming ... on the exact site where cops believe they found the missing 22-year-old's body.

As we reported, the feds announced Sunday they'd found the remains of a young woman at the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area in the Bridger-Teton National Forest ... where the van used by Gabby and her fiance, Brian Laundrie, was spotted days earlier.

An autopsy is scheduled Tuesday to confirm the body is Gabby's, but the stone cross memorial is already set up right where investigators searched for her in Spread Creek.

As you know ... Gabby's story became national news when Laundrie showed up back at his Florida home without her on Sept. 1, even though they had taken the cross-country trip together and were documenting it on social media.

However, Gabby's family claims they lost touch with her in late August and Brian allegedly refused to give them any info on her location or what happened between them.

The family reported her missing on Sept. 11, and Laundrie was named a "person of interest" but never arrested.

Shortly after that, it was revealed the couple had a domestic dispute in Utah on Aug. 12, and even though a 911 caller alleged Brian slapped Gabby ... an official police account of this entire incident reportedly claimed "no one reported that the male struck the female."

Nevertheless, the couple was eventually released with no arrests in mid-August, and Gabby went missing sometime after that ... though it's still unclear exactly when.

Sad news ... Tommy Lasorda's widow, Jo, has died at 91 years old -- just a few months after the MLB legend's passing.

The Dodgers announced Jo -- who had been married to Tommy for 70 years -- died Monday night at her home in Fullerton, CA. They added she was "surrounded by her loved ones."

"We send our deepest condolences to the Lasorda family at this time," the Dodgers said.

Jo and Tommy met at a minor league baseball game and later got married in 1950. They had two children together.

They were often spotted at Dodgers games together ... even well after Tommy's retirement in 1996.

As we previously reported, Tommy -- one of the greatest baseball managers in the history of the game -- tragically died in January after suffering a heart attack. He was 93 years old.

Funeral services for Jo have yet to be announced.

Lil Peep and XXXTentacion straight-up jacked another artist's original guitar riff for their hugely successful collab, "Falling Down" ... so claims the artist in a new lawsuit.

Richard Jaden Hoff -- who used to go by the stage name K.R.i.O. -- is suing the late rappers claiming the guitar riff in his June 2018 Soundcloud track "Under My Breath" was sampled in Peep and XXX's track that dropped just 3 months later without his permission.

Specifically, Hoff claims his guitar riff in "Falling Down" is looped, sped up, filtered and equalized. He says that while Peep and XXX altered the riff, it remained substantially similar to the guitar part in "Under My Breath" and a blatant ripoff."

"Falling Down" quickly gained commercial success ... with over 20m plays on Spotify and over 21m views on YouTube. The single also hit No. 13 on Billboard's Hot 100.

The track ultimately landed on Lil Peep's second studio album, "Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 2."

There's some weird timing here -- XXX was shot dead 5 days after Hoff dropped his track on Soundcloud. Lil Peep had already died following an overdose in November 2017 -- so, "Falling Down" was a posthumous hit for both rappers.

What's really odd is Hoff's lawsuit, for copyright infringement, is written like Peep and XXX are still alive. He's NOT suing their estates and refers to both of them in the current tense and says they're residents of California. Might be time for a Google search, Hoff.

Tom Ford's husband, the longtime fashion journalist, Richard Buckley, has died.

Richard died on Sunday night at his L.A. home with Tom and their son, Jack, by his side. According to Tom's reps ... Richard died of natural causes after a long illness. The type of illness was not disclosed.

Tom and Richard were together for 35 years. Richard met Tom at a fashion show in 1986 on an elevator ride. Tom has said it was love at first sight. They tied the knot in 2014 following the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Even though it took them nearly 3 decades later to say "I do" ... Tom has said he knew the moment he laid eyes on Richard that it'd become something special. He had once said, "Our eyes locked and within a month we were living together."

Tom and Richard welcomed Jack in 2012 via surrogacy. Richard was a giant in the fashion world. He started his career in fashion journalism at New York Magazine in 1979 and later would go on to work at Women's Wear Daily and Vanity Fair.

Richard -- born in Binghamton, NY and raised by a military family that traveled the world --- would later move to Milan and ultimately find himself at the top of his journalistic career when he became the European editor of Mirabella magazine in 1990. At the same time ... he was also a contributing editor at Italian Vogue while Tom was on the design staff at Gucci.

Richard and Tom later relocated to Paris so Richard could take on the role of editor-in-chief at Vogue Hommes International. He held on to the top editor position from 1999 to 2005.

He was 72.

The Packers' big win over the Lions didn't come without a heavy price tag for Aaron Jones, who says he lost a pendant containing his dad's ashes on the field in the victory.

The Green Bay star -- who scored FOUR touchdowns in the Pack's 35-17 drubbing of Detroit -- told reporters after the game he believes he lost the necklace at some point during one of his endzone runs.

Jones, though, was far from torn up over losing his dad's ashes ... in fact, he seemed to be at peace with it -- saying if he was going to lose it, he's sure glad it was in a touchdown scamper at Lambeau Field.

"If there was any place to lose it, that's where my dad would have wanted me to lose it," the 26-year-old running back said. "I know he's smiling."

Jones got the pendant -- a small black locket in the shape of a football -- sometime in the past few months ... following the tragic death of his dad, Alvin Jones Sr., who passed away in April at 57 years old from COVID-19 complications.

Aaron and Alvin were VERY close ... and in an emotional press conference back in May, Aaron revealed he was dedicating the rest of his football career to his pops.

Aaron said Green Bay's grounds crew was helping him look for the jewelry after the game had ended ... though as of Tuesday morning, it still hadn't been found.

Aaron, though, reiterated to reporters he's sure his father would've been grinning ear-to-ear following his huge game regardless.

"Just go home and tell him, 'I did it, Dad,'" Jones said of what he would've told his father after the game if he were still alive. "Went out there and played at a high level and gave it my all."

Patty Perez -- AKA, "Goddess Patty," who made a memorable cameo in a 'Jackass' film -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

The actress and Internet sensation's daughter, Priscilla, tells us ... Patty passed away last Friday at a hospital in Reno, where she lived -- and where she was being treated for complications related to her type 1 diabetes, which she'd been dealing with since birth. BTW, this wasn't COVID-related

Priscilla says her mom's kidneys were failing -- the result of a lifelong struggle with her health and weight that she'd endured for years and years.

Patty lived her life out loud despite her health concerns. She ended up becoming featured in 'Jackass 2' back in 2006, as well as "Jackass 2.5" the following year -- portraying herself in a hilarious skit they filmed with Jason Acuna, AKA Wee Man ... and gaining notoriety from it.

It was a segment of the film that they called "Magic Trick" in which they'd make WM disappear. The means for that, as it turned out, was having Patty jump onto him while lying on a bed ... and her body practically enveloped him. Johnny Knoxville shows up at the end, cracking up and asking where Wee Man went -- it's pretty hilarious.

Patty went on to star in one episode of "My Big Fat Fetish" ... where they showcased her sitting on guys who wanted to pay for that type of pleasure. There are other clips of her on the Internet, in which everyday activities are seen as a struggle for her.

Her family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral and other expenses -- for now, they have a $6,000 goal. Priscilla also tells us, "We want to express our immense gratitude for the love and kindness everyone has shown to our mom." She adds, "Being able to entertain and bring light and happiness to people was the highlight of her life. She was so proud of the work she did in the film industry."

Patty's survived by her four children, her mother and her grandchildren. She was 57.

George Holliday -- the man who filmed Rodney King's beating at the hands of the LAPD in the '90s, which eventually triggered the L.A. Riot -- has died after contracting COVID-19.

Holliday passed away Sunday while hospitalized in Simi Valley, CA where he'd been since mid-August -- this according to one of his close friends and his business partner. We're told he'd been bedridden with pneumonia, and finally succumbed to the virus after a few weeks. We're told he wasn't vaccinated.

There's also this ... people close to George tell us that he was on a ventilator the last few days of his life. We're told when he was first admitted, he had an oxygen tube, but his condition worsened and eventually, he was put on the ventilator.

We're told he was plagued with blood clots and internal bleeding toward the end. His outgoing voicemail referenced he was in the hospital with COVID.

Holliday's claim to fame is the historic and horrific video he captured in 1991 ... which showed 4 LAPD cops swinging batons down on a cowering King, who was trying to protect himself from the blows.

If not for Holliday's quick and decisive move to start recording the madness from his apartment balcony across the way ... it's almost certain no one would've caught wind of what had been done to King that night in March of '91.

The tape ended up as the impetus for bringing charges against 4 officers -- all of whom ended up being acquitted in criminal court ... a decision that sparked the 1992 L.A. riots.

Businesses were destroyed, cars and property were set ablaze ... and people were outright fighting with law enforcement on the streets for nearly a week straight -- resulting in more than a billion dollars in damages.

King did end up winning a civil lawsuit ... and was awarded $4 million.

Holliday put his infamous video camera up for auction just last year -- with a starting bid at nearly a quarter of a million dollars. He said it had come to symbolize more than he could ever imagine, especially in the wake of George Floyd.

He was 61.