Sex

12:45 PM PT -- Terrence Shannon Jr. breaks his silence on the not guilty verdict ... saying on Friday, he's thankful to those who stood by him during the case.

"I knew I was innocent of these horrible crimes and I had faith in God that someday everyone else would know that too," Shannon said on Instagram.

"I am so grateful to all of you for believing in me, especially my family, friends, and legal teams whose support kept me going.

Shannon said he's ready to move on from this and focused on "my path forward."

Gypsy Rose Blanchard says she never had a chance to properly explore her sexuality -- including potentially being attracted to women -- but when she was locked up ... she did.

In the latest episode of Lifetime's "Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up," GRB reveals she was immersed in a journey of self-discovery at Missouri's Chillicothe Correctional Center -- a state prison for women -- after her girl crushes as a kid made her question her sexual identity.

Gypsy dropped the bombshell, saying she experimented with ladies while behind bars ... this after being confused about her attraction to women while growing up.

Kevin Spacey is crying about losing his home and owing millions in legal fees ... and TMZ has the first look inside the Baltimore pad he says is going up for auction.

No wonder Kevin is upset ... he used to live in an East Coast palace right on the water in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, a 6-bedroom estate with over 9,000 square feet of pure luxury.

Kevin's place has sweeping views of the Baltimore skyline, a home theater, massive master bathroom, plus a sauna, rooftop terrace, spiral staircase, several verandas and a freaking elevator.

Ariana Grande is finally speaking on the troubling allegations against her former employers at Nickelodeon ... voicing her support for the alleged victims who've spoken out.

The pop star made an appearance on Penn Badgley's "Podcrushed" podcast Wednesday, where she looked back at her time as a child star on the network ... and noted she was devastated for her peers who've shared their alarming experiences.

The singer -- who first rose to fame on "Victorious" and "Sam & Cat" -- recalled pushing the humor envelope on her shows ... thinking it was cool then, but grimacing about it now.

Contestants on Donald Trump's old NBC reality show, "The Apprentice," were tested many, many ways before being fired ... and one test allegedly involved their genitals.

Trump's TV apprentices were subjected to STD testing ... according to a new book, "Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass," written by Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh.

Per Ramin, Trump wasn't the one concerned with contestants having sex on set ... the guy behind the STD testing was apparently Mark Burnett, the show's producer.

Kevin Spacey broke down into tears to reveal a hard truth: he's destitute -- so deep in the hole, in fact, that he's about to lose his home ... this on the heels of his #MeToo scandal.

In his first major TV appearance in years, the embattled actor disclosed on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" Tuesday that his Baltimore home, where he lived while shooting "House of Cards," is now up for auction -- and he was soon planning to pack his stuff into storage.

When Piers pressed Kevin on why it had come to such an extreme ... he candidly admitted he simply couldn't foot the debt he owed -- which he says amounts to millions.

Kanye West is showing signs of being a cuckold, at least based on the raunchy texts he allegedly sent the former employee suing him for sexual harassment ... so says "Couples Therapy" star Dr. Jenn Mann.

The good doc tells TMZ ... Kanye's alleged texts --- which are central to the lawsuit filed against him -- convey a kind of enjoyment of knowing about women he's sleeping with having sex with someone else, and wanting descriptions of their encounters.

Remember ... Ye's former assistant Lauren Pisciotta claims in her lawsuit Kanye once texted her, "See my problem is I be wanting to f*** but then after I f*** I want a girl to tell me how hard they been f***ed while I'm f***ing them. Then I want her to cheat on me ..."

Tiffany Haddish once told Leonardo DiCaprio she wanted to shag -- but with one major condition ... which sounds a little controversial, even though she's clearly joking.

Speaking on SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" Thursday, the actress recounted the first time she met Leo -- with her saying, "I told him, 'I want to f***, but only if you're in character from 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape.'"

As you may know ... Leo starred in the 1993 flick alongside Johnny Depp ... playing the role of Arnie Grape, a young boy with special needs.

Before her reality TV escapades, Luann de Lesseps was just your average high schooler -- who, like many of us, lost her V-card at 18 during a high school dance to an older man.

The 'RHONY' alum confessed to being a "late bloomer," grappling with insecurity over towering above the boys at her school -- until she took charge, orchestrating her own cherry-popping night like a boss.

Luann told Bustle ... "We had sex in the car, which is so prom," -- going on to casually name the guy who ushered her into adulthood as Jim.

Pro-Palestinian protesters had a hot take of their own on Kamala Harris, Ray J is taking tons of credit for the Kim K sex tape and Delonte West is in trouble ... and the TMZ crew has hot takes on all three.

Over on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles break down the off-air protest that interrupted Kamala's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show.

Ray J thinks his sex tape with Kim Kardashian altered the course of porn history, but some in the game say otherwise ... highlighting Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton as the OGs.

You may have heard Ray's hot take this week -- namely, that his sex tape with Kim from 2007 paved the way for OnlyFans and the adult entertainment industry at large -- but Riley Reid, a bona fide OF star these days, is kinda crapping on his opinion.

Riley -- who has over 2 million followers -- tells TMZ ... yes, Ray and Kim's sex tape was influential at the time, but she actually gives more credit to Pam and Tommy Lee's sex tape -- which was stolen and illegally released -- a bit more historical credit in this regard.

Humans and animals aren't the only living organisms with same-sex couples ... some plants and fungi are also essentially lesbian and gay -- so says a pro who knows all about this.

Dr. Patricia Kaishian -- who worked on this new Peacock doc all about queer animals -- has been researching plants and fungi for years ... and she joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and shared some of her strangest findings ... same-sex reproduction!!!

It's pretty incredible, the good doctor says the plant and fungi worlds are way more complex than simply being comprised of just males and females ... and she says some organisms have figured out how to have offspring without a mate of the opposite sex.

Ray J is convinced he and his ex Kim Kardashian made self-produced XXX content mainstream ... claiming their infamous sex tape led the way for today's adult creators.

The singer addressed his sex tape legacy on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast, telling host Shannon Sharpe the world would be a very different place without "Kim Kardashian, Superstar" ... in every respect.

He says ... "Probably more people would be going to college... there might not be any OnlyFans and other things like that ... Are we a part of the cure or are we a part of the disease? I don't f***ing know. I'm just trying to make it right."

"Deadpool & Wolverine" officially secured a hard R rating -- but don't expect any sex or nudity this time around ... although, we've learned Disney isn't to blame for that.

Here's the deal ... the official MPA rating is kinda historic -- it's the first R-rated flick in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- and like fans were promised, it ain't for children under 17. However, eagle-eyed moviegoers noticed something was missing from this 3rd installment of the Ryan Reynolds franchise ... naked bodies.

'D & W' is rated-R for "strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references" -- whereas the the previous 2 installments included nudity and sex acts.

Taylor Swift rushed to Lady Gaga's aid, an Amazon tribe rushed to porn websites after getting the internet for the first time, and *NSYNC star Chris Kirkpatrick rushed back to the field after a softball injury ... all this and more on TMZ Hot Takes.

Lady Gaga is NOT pregnant despite some wild rumors and on "TMZ Live" Charles and Derek explain why Taylor Swift suddenly got involved.

More legal woes for Kanye West ... plus Zachary Quinto and Brandon Pettigrew getting aggressive ... makes for plenty of fuel for some flaming hot TV takes.

First up, on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles break down the latest lawsuit against Kanye ... including some very lewd videos and text messages he allegedly sent to a former assistant.