Lady Gaga tricked millions upon millions of Super Bowl viewers into thinking she jumped 260 feet down into Houston's NRG Stadium -- or at least she fooled the people watching on TV.

Turns out Gaga's leap was pre-recorded, and anyone inside the stadium would've known it if they looked up. What really went down after the pre-recorded footage aired was ... cameras picked up Gaga suspended halfway over the middle of the stadium.

The revealing footage made the rounds on social media after the broadcast made it look like Gaga dropped in from the roof.

She still deserves props -- NO stunt double.

50 Cent is running the show Monday night for TMZ ... stepping in for Harvey and dropping some knowledge about today's biggest stories.

50 didn't hold back about Malia Obama's dance fest onstage at Lollapalooza, his favorite Kardashian chick, and his pal, Floyd Mayweather Jr., spending $50k just for maintenance on his rides.

And "Power" fans don't wanna miss this -- we grilled Fiddy about his character finally returning to the show.

Chad Johnson's threatened to rip limbs off this competition on "The Bachelorette" ... and judging by these pics, he's built to get the job done.

Chad -- hated by almost all the other dudes on the show -- showed off his sculpted bod for a recent photo shoot. Keep in mind, he's a realtor and not a model.

Chad's camo pants could be seen as a jab at his biggest rival for JoJo, who happens to be a Marine.

** WARNING -- YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING ... BUT KINDA AWESOME. OKAY, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED **

So, we were talking to "House of Cards" actor Jimmi Simpson about a report that John Travolta will only stay in hotel rooms that have been vacant for 24 hours ... when something gross came up.

Not about John. Not about Jimmi. It was a revelation about the wife of a TMZ staffer who got a SUPER GNARLY virus on her foot while staying at a hotel in Paris.

Our very own Dax Holt decided to share an insanely graphic pic of his wife's foot after her 4th surgery to remove the Plantar wart ... and it's intense.

Don't worry, she's fine now ... but she'll never shower in a hotel without flip flops ever again.

... and neither should you!

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton finally stopped hiding from fans and cameras, and they picked country music's biggest night for their coming out.

The pic we got of their fingers interlocked -- while sipping drinks at a CMA after-party -- kinda tells the story!

Cops stormed Lil Wayne’s Miami Beach mansion, and seized a costly chunk of his art collection -- and if he wants to see his precious paintings again, he'll have to cough up some serious Monet.

Ha! C'mon, Weezy ... don't Dali.

Jay Z's genius has reached a new high because when Beyoncé showed up for Tidal's big concert, she brought the streaming company's new mascot -- or so it seems.

Bey's extreme cleavage has some people thinking Jay's using his wife’s whappers to push Tidal over the top. Even if it doesn't work, we still got to see boobs ... so that's a W for everyone!

Chris Brown is fighting back against a looming ban from traveling to the land down under. Aussie politicians want to keep him out because of the Rihanna beating.

But now CB has a whole legal team on the case, trying to sway the vote in his favor. Crikey!

Scott Disick hosted a huge nightclub party in Atlantic City, but something was VERY different about this paid appearance. Lingerie-clad dancers and big boobs had ZERO impact on him!

In fact, lord D is more like Bored Disick when it comes to the club scene. We suspect Kourtney's got something to do with this epic change.

Pope Francis has landed and America is losing its collective mind. Crowds gathered, babies got kissed and the Pontiff displayed his extreme Popemobile ... protective bubble NOT included!

Like we said, Francis is EXTREME!! And so cool.

Kylie Jenner went out and about sporting an unusual disguise -- her own face!! The 18-year-old was damn near unrecognizable while car shopping in Calabasas.

The zero make-up transformation is a stunning look at what really lies beneath her typical super glam look: Just a kid.

Nicki Minaj’s ex Safaree Samuels has finally removed the last of his ginormous Nicki tattoos, possibly because he realized having a shrine to your ex on your chest won't help ya pick up new chicks.

His only other option was dating Nicki's twin sister -- who doesn't exist ... so, yeah. Bye, bye tatts!

Here's your feel good moment of the day ... when Lance Corporal Jarrod Haschert learned Ronda Rousey ACCEPTED his invite to the Marine Corps Ball ... and he was totally pumped!!!

Haschert appeared on "TMZ on TV" Tuesday -- when Harvey broke the good news ... that Ronda saw his viral video invitation and thought he was cute!

Check out the clip ... Haschert's reaction is awesome -- especially when we told him that Ronda wants him to find 3 dates for some of her friends.

Congrats!!!

Batman’s new GF on “Gotham” ... Natalie Alyn Lind doesn’t just love bats, she also loves fish -- which is why she attended a funeral for uncle’s dead goldfish.

But that's not as weird as what happened to a raccoon in Toronto -- and that's not as weird as the guy who protects celebs from critters ... dead or alive.

Kelly Clarkson blurted out her big news during her L.A. concert ... she's expecting baby #2! Fans were so excited ... that some of them went out and ran up $100 bar tabs! And yes, some of them work at TMZ.

Get ready for adventures in ridiculous-expense-reports.