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Tekashi69's claim the tattoo artist who inspired his name used to be on heroin is costing that man dearly ... at least according to the ink master himself, who says his wife left him over that drug abuse allegation.

Takashi Matsuba spells it out in his ongoing civil suit against the rapper -- and in the new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, he says he's entitled to a default judgment because Tekashi's old lawyer withdrew from the case and Tekashi's failed to retain new counsel.

But, in re-explaining the alleged harm he's endured, Matsuba makes this startling confession -- "I lost a number of friends, but by far the most important one is my dear wife. We divorced last year, because she no longer trusted me after Hernandez's false statements about me were broadcast on Hulu and Showtime."

Matsuba goes on to explain that his tattooing business has essentially collapsed by "the false suggestion that I may be a drug user."

You'll recall ... Matsuba was pissed over a couple 6ix9ine documentaries that name-dropped him -- one on Hulu, and another on Showtime. While he seems pissed about the Hulu reference, it's the Showtime doc that's in his legal crosshairs ... they're defendants too.

Sandra Bullock's boyfriend, Bryan Randall, has died, after a private battle with ALS ... TMZ has confirmed.

Bryan's family tells us, "It is with great sadness that we share that on August 5th Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a 3 year battle with ALS."

They say Bryan decided to keep his struggle with ALS a private matter, adding, "Those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request."

They add, "We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours."

People was first to report the news.

Sandra and Bryan first met back in 2015 when he photographed a birthday party for her son, Louis -- they went public later that year. Despite keeping things between them mostly under wraps, she called him the "love of my life" in 2021 during her time on "Red Table Talk."

She even said at the time that they shared her 2 kids together -- 13-year-old Louis and 10-year-old Laila, both of whom she adopted.

There were reports that the couple was on the rocks and were allegedly living separately last year ... although his battle with ALS could've contributed to living apart.

Bryan was 57.

You may know him as Ashtray from "Euphoria," but Javon "Wanna" Walton is out to make a name for himself in a completely different industry ... telling TMZ Sports his goal is to be a boxing champion!!

The 17-year-old actor recently signed with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions ... and he told us he's shifting his focus from entertainment to fighting.

"This is something I want to do for the rest of my life," Wanna said. "It's something I've been very passionate for a very long time, and it's something that I care about a lot."

"Boxing to me, is just a release," Wanna added. "I love every minute of it and, I mean, the ultimate goal is world champion and defending my titles for a very long time and becoming a Hall of Famer. That's the real goal for me."

But this isn't something that just came up out of the blue -- Wanna explained his parents would watch boxing all the time when he was a kid ... and naturally, he fell in love with the sport.

In fact, Wanna -- who started training when he was four years old -- now has 80 amateur bouts under his belt, including multiple tournament wins and Georgia state titles ... and went into detail on why he decided to team up with Jake's promotion.

"I wanted to go somewhere where I knew that I was gonna be valued, and a place that I knew that they were going to care about me a lot, and a place with a lot of talent," Wanna added. "Everyone over at MVP is very talented and they've all done such amazing things in their career."

Wanna praised Jake for being a "very sharp" and "super laid back" guy ... and told us he hopes to learn from the YouTuber-turned-boxing star.

We asked Wanna straight-up where he saw himself in 10 years ... and he's confident in his future.

Paul Reubens was a busy man before his sudden passing this week -- as he privately battled cancer, the guy was hard at work almost right to the end ... and there'll be something to show for it in the near future.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the 'Pee-wee Herman' star had been actively involved in various different film/TV projects in the final months of his life, including an upcoming HBO documentary (focused on his titular character) that was announced in 2021.

The doc is being helmed by the Safdie brothers, and we're told producers were able to get all of the interviews and insights from Paul himself before he died Monday.

Our sources say Paul had good and bad days toward the end, but when he was feeling up to it ... he was able to get quite a bit done ... spending upwards of 40 hours on interviews he did for the HBO doc. Between that and other interviews from over 25 different friends/collaborators, our sources say the 'Pee-wee' doc has over 1,000 hours of footage.

In addition to this documentary ... we're told Paul was working on his memoir ... a first draft of which Paul completed prior to his death. So, yes ... we'll get to hear his story from his POV somewhere down the line.

Jeremy Allen White is just like his character on "The Bear" -- head over heels and crazy in love with a woman who's caught his eye ... only here, she shares his occupation.

The actor was in L.A. Saturday, and very publicly smooching with model/actress Ashley Moore -- going heavy on the PDA, no doubt. Check it out ... the two of them weren't hiding their infatuation for one another, with their lips locking and arms all wrapped up too.

When they weren't laying it on the thick with the affection ... they were either walking side by side, or looking deep into the other's eyes -- with wide smiles as they enjoyed the day.

Of course, this is interesting for a number of reasons -- the biggest being that Jeremy's in the middle of a divorce with his estranged wife Addison Timlin ... with whom he shares children.

Interestingly, he was just hanging out with Addison last weekend ... and there, too, he was showing the love -- giving her a ton of hugs and even a kiss on the head. Some speculated that meant the two of them were getting back together ... obviously not, though.

No word on where Jeremy met Ashley -- there's no shared projects between them that we can see -- but however they crossed paths ... he's very clearly taken with her and then some.

And if you're wondering who the heck she is to begin with -- well, that's fair. She's not really big time (yet), and only has a handful of TV/movie/music video appearances under her belt. She is, however, an up-and-coming model ... and has done campaigns with the best of 'em.

Oh, and she's a total smoke show ... typical beautiful model-type of the L.A. variety, indeed.

Angus Cloud's death was viewed as a possible overdose by cops -- and we've heard rumblings he may have even taken his own life ... but his mom's denying that last part.

The "Euphoria" actor's mother, Lisa Cloud, took to Facebook to pen an emotional message, writing ... "Friends, I want you all to know I appreciate your love for my family at this shattered time. I also want you to know that although my son was in deep grief about his father's untimely death from mesothelioma, his last day was a joyful one."

She goes on to describe was Angus was doing that day, saying he was reorganizing his room and placing items around the house ... which she believes meant he had an intention to be around for a while. Lisa also says he'd been talking about wanting to help family members with college, among other signs that -- in her eyes -- point to him not being suicidal.

Then, Lisa says this point blank ... "I don't know if or what he may have put in his body after that. I only know that he put his head on the desk where he was working on art project's, fell asleep and didn't wake up. We may find out that he overdosed accidentally and tragically, but it's abundantly clear that he did not intend to check out of this world."

She adds, "Social media posts have suggested his death was intentional. I want you to know that is not the case. To honor his memory, please make random acts of kindness part of your daily life."

It's interesting that she's batting down any notion of suicide. Not only did a family statement released at the time suggest he died by suicide ... but sources familiar with the situation have further assured us that Angus was, indeed, having suicidal thoughts of late.

Unclear if there's more evidence to indicate he may have taken his life -- like a note, for example. In any case, his mother's backing that he was in high spirits -- which we've seen ourselves -- in his final days ... despite having a hard time dealing with his father's death.

BTW, Lisa appears to have been on the scene in Oakland when Angus was found ... first responders cited her as being the one who called 911 that fateful Monday morning.

He was 25.

Jamie Lee Curtis is setting the record straight on her stance on the SAG-AFTRA strike ... she took to Instagram to clear up the confusion, writing, "On Thursday I attended a beautiful charity event celebrating the groundbreaking for the new campus of @projectangelfood and I was inevitably asked about the strike and I made a comment about wanting to be like Switzerland. All of a sudden the clearly desperate news cycle machine is all over me to clarify those comments."

She continues, "I FULLY SUPPORT the @sagaftra strike, have volunteered making signs multiple times and have donated to the relief fund. I SUPPORT the leadership and SUPPORT our demands. I'm a rank-and-file union member. I am not on any negotiating committee. I believe we have to look at all sides in any conflict in order to find resolution, solution and a fair and equitable settlement."

She concludes her post by asking the public, "Can we end this now and not turn this into some ridiculous news cycle story AND GET BACK TO THE TABLE AND NEGOTIATE?"

Jamie Lee Curtis seems to be walking that line of unwavering support for the SAG-AFTRA strike and taking an ambivalent stance on it ... you can be the judge on where she lands.

The actress made a bunch of remarks about the strike Thursday, when she showed up to a charity event in L.A. and was asked for her thoughts on it. Here's what she said, in part, to Variety, "I’m hopeful that we can all see all sides. I’m more Switzerland. I’m not a polarized person here. I don’t like the rhetoric on both sides."

She adds, "Any settlement means nobody’s happy. So there will be a settlement and not everyone will be happy. I don’t like the them vs. us. The fact that there’s a them and an us bothers me. It’s one industry and I hope that all of the sides can recognize the oneness of our industry, and that we are interdependent, and that AI is not interdependent, that human beings are and at the end of the day our interdependency with each other will prevail."

In a video interview with Reuters, she echoed that ... saying she's hoping she can be "Switzerland" in all this, and that both sides can see the benefit in continuing conversations.

That same day, she said this to Collider ... "Streaming completely eviscerated that old idea, and the new idea has taken place and people are making fortunes on it, and denying the artists a chance to make a living. That's where we are. It is a crossroads. We have hit it."

JLC continues ... "And this dual Writers' Guild and Screen Actors Guild strike is to say we are taking this stand now, for the future. So our sacrifices today are for the future of the industry, future of artists, future of other storytellers. And it's just crucial."

This last remark is much less equivocating, and comes across as clear support/solidarity for SAG -- but based on what she said to other outlets, it's clear she has mixed feelings about the whole thing -- the same way Stephen Amell also does ... which he, too, expressed.

His sentiments, by and large, weren't received well, and even though he clarified ... it still didn't sit right with certain folks. So far, Jamie isn't receiving the same level of backlash.

Taylor Swift is no stranger to signing huge deals, and we've learned there's another one on the horizon ... with camera crews following her "Eras" Tour journey throughout the world.

Camera crews have been present at just about every "Eras" Tour show thus far -- getting plenty of shots of Taylor, her fans and some behind-the-scenes content. It might seem standard for tours these days, but the scope of the crews with Taylor show she's got something more in the works.

We've spoken to sources who say there's not yet a plan for the project -- whether it'll end up on streaming or in theaters. It could be a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, a company with which she has history.

While the details are sparse on how the footage will be used, you can bet Taylor's fans will eat it up ... especially those who couldn't attend "Eras" in person.

As we reported, plenty of stars came out for the first two of 6 L.A. shows -- and Taylor had a super sweet moment Thursday night with Kobe Bryant's daughter, Bianka, when she presented her with a hat and a hug in the middle of the show.

Bethenny Frankel and her powerhouse attorneys have reportedly been hearing from dozens of angry NBC reality stars ... this after they fired off a legal threat to the company, detailing allegations of horrible treatment on their shows.

According to the New York Post ... roughly 80 cast members -- both men and women -- have reached out to Bethenny and lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos about the alleged abuse by the Peacock Network and its subsidiary Bravo, which broadcasts many of the reality programs. Bethenny -- who shot to fame on the 'Real Housewives of New York' -- is spearheading the fight against NBC, but there's no word yet on next legal steps.

TMZ broke the story Friday ... Freedman and Geragos sent the letter to NBC execs, accusing production employees of subjecting cast and crew to a litany of torment. Among their grievances were distributing porn, exploiting minors, covering up acts of violence, plying cast members with booze and denying them food, sleep and mental health treatment.

Freedman talked all about it Friday on TMZ Live ... saying there's been hundreds of mentally ill people exploited by these reality shows, and he finds it "deplorable."

A spokesperson for NBC issued a statement, claiming they're “committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows.”

It's becoming more clear why the death of Angus Cloud's father hit the actor so fast and hard ... his dad was suffering from stage 4 cancer leading up to the actor's own death.

The late "Euphoria" star's dad, Conor Hickey, died from fluid buildup around his lungs and heart, with stage 4 cancer in those same organs ... this according to his death certificate.

The doc, obtained by TMZ, shows Angus' dad had stage 4 mesothelioma ... which may explain why his sudden passing hit Angus like a ton of bricks.

TMZ broke the story ... Angus' family says he struggled in the wake of his dad's very quick cancer battle, laying his father to rest in Ireland a week before he died in the family's Oakland home.

The circumstances of his dad's death could explain how serious things were for Angus mentally ... and it brings some insight into his final days.

Remember ... a source close to the family told us Angus had been struggling with thoughts of suicide since returning home from his dad's funeral ... and he was staying in the family home as he tried to work through the grief of losing his father.

As we first reported ... Angus' mom called 911 about a "possible overdose," claiming her son didn't have a pulse.

Since Angus' death, a mural went up down the street from his home ... and a candlelight vigil was held at the same spot, which has become the central gathering place for people wanting to pay their respects.

Betty White's former L.A. home -- where she lived for decades -- has been wiped off the map ... and now a massive new building is rising up in its place, totally changing the lot.

The late actress had a relatively modest Brentwood property -- modest for A-list celebs, at least -- but the new mansion being built on the same piece of land is a big departure from Betty's style ... as seen in photos of the new construction.

From above, the new home is starting to take shape ... there's a main house rising way above the other structures, and the early stages of a new pool and spa are coming along too.

Remember ... the new owners, a dentist and his wife, filed for a permit to bulldoze Betty's old house back in November ... and by April, her old home was practically gone.

Now, there's literally no trace of Betty's roughly 3,000-square-foot home ... which once had 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms and a pool.

Betty first moved to this Brentwood address way back in the '60s, right before her Hollywood career took off ... and she lived there until her death on New Year's Eve 2021. Along the way, her home became a staple of celebrity sightseeing for tourists.

Mark Margolis -- popular for his roles in "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" as "Tio" Hector Salamanca -- has died.

A statement from his team Friday revealed the actor died at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC Thursday after a short illness. Mark's wife and son were at his bedside when he died.

"Breaking Bad" fans will know Margolis as Hector Salamanca on the show -- the silent and wheelchair-bound drug lord who could only use a bell to communicate.

Margolis was praised for the role, and Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2012. Mark also played Salamanca in "Better Call Saul."

While he seemingly left his biggest mark on television, Mark's career spanned several decades -- with roles in "Scarface," "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and "Black Swan."

Mark is survived by his wife, Jacqueline -- who he was married to for 61 years -- his son Morgan, Morgan's wife Heide and his three grandsons.

He was 83.

Billie Eilish took time out of her Lollapalooza set to honor Angus Cloud ... performing one of her tracks featured on "Euphoria" and shouting out the late actor in a heartwarming tribute.

The singer took to the stage in Chicago Thursday night to perform a bunch of her hits for the massive crowd ... and it was about an hour into her set when she started "Never Felt So Alone" -- a song by Labrinth in which Billie is featured.

Billie's fans went wild just hearing the intro, singing along with her from beginning to end. Billie shouted, "RIP to Angus Cloud, everybody" once it was over, before moving on to her next song.

It's a pretty touching tribute ... especially with the track being a big hit on Angus' show.

As we reported, the actor's costar Dominic Fike also shouted him out at his show earlier this week ... getting emotional while talking about Angus to the crowd.

The City of Angels is officially the City of Swifties -- Taylor Swift has kicked off her 6 sold-out shows in Los Angeles, and fans had a lot to go wild over on night number 1.

Taylor took the stage Thursday night at SoFi Stadium for her "Eras" tour ... rockin' the crowd of over 70,000 after a killer opening act by HAIM. She brought the sister group back out later in the night to perform "No Body, No Crime" together.

TS had a surprise for her L.A. fans ... dusting off "I Can See You" from "Speak Now (Taylor's Version") -- the first time she's ever performed it live. Safe to say, the crowd went ballistic.

Swifties also pointed out a fun fact -- Taylor sang "August" from her "Folklore" album in August for the first time ... pretty neat.

It was a star-studded event at SoFi ... Vanessa Bryant was there with her daughters, Natalia and Bianka. tWitch's wife Allison Holker was in the crowd, as was Ashley Tisdale, Nick and Vanessa Lachey, and "Outer Banks" star Madelyn Cline -- and that was just Thursday.

As we reported, the LAPD is working with Metro to help with the flood of fans heading to and from SoFi while Taylor's in town ... beefing up the amount of officers throughout the big Metro system.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department said it's "providing a similar level of visibility as the 2022 Superbowl" ... in other words, LAPD ain't messing around when it comes to Taylor!!

"Euphoria" star Javon Walton is remembering his late costar Angus Cloud as one of the most genuine people he's ever met ... telling us there's not a lot of folks like Angus out there.

Javon and Angus played brothers on the hit HBO series for two seasons ... but their brotherly bond runs deeper than the "Euphoria" script. Javon says Angus had "the purest soul ever" and it's still tough to process just how suddenly Angus died.

Javon, who recently signed with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions, tells us Angus took him under his wing from the beginning, and always wanted to see him thrive and succeed.

TMZ broke the story ... Angus died Monday at his family's home in Oakland, CA, where his mom called 911 to report a potential overdose.

Angus Cloud got an emotional send-off ... in the form of a candlelight vigil in his hometown.

The vigil went down Wednesday night at the Oakland mural that just went up honoring the late "Euphoria" star.

Local artist Darin Balaban, who painted the 9-foot-tall mural on the wall of an Oakland car wash, tells TMZ ... around 50 people showed up to the mural for a candlelight vigil, with many bringing flowers and pictures of Angus and placing them at the base of the wall.

Others brought liquor and Guinness beer, and the group played music and sang songs together ... swapping stories and even adding to the Angus mural.

We're told some shed tears, but there were also a lot of smiles as people remembered the young actor.

Video from the vigil shows the group singing Ben E. King's famous song, "Stand By Me."

TMZ broke the story ... Darin and a group of Angus' friends collaborated on the mural, mashing up 3 photos of the late actor, and the artwork is already becoming a gathering place for those wanting to pay their respects.

As we first reported, Angus died Monday at his Oakland home, where his mom reported a possible overdose ... and he was pronounced dead at the scene.