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Timothy Busfield was free as a bird Wednesday for the first time since surrendering to cops last week ... and we have pics of him after his release.

"The West Wing" actor was draped in all black, carrying a bottled water as he walked without the shackles or armed guards we'd grown accustomed to seeing him with since January 13, when he turned himself in on child sex abuse charges.

Busfield was picked up by a limo from his posh New Mexico Airbnb -- $750 a night -- and was joined by a member of his legal team.

His wife, Melissa Gilbert, was also snapped, waving goodbye to him from the doorway of the castle-looking estate.

Blake Lively basically bent over backwards to save her shaky relationship with Taylor Swift just before suing Justin Baldoni ... a move that may have ensured her most powerful ally was in her corner before launching this long and chaotic legal battle.

In a December 2024 text thread, obtained by TMZ, Blake awkwardly reached out to Taylor to check in because she "felt like a bad friend lately."

And Taylor just straight up agrees with her ... "You're not wrong," she wrote.

Good thing Blake reached out!

According to Taylor's texts, there had been a cold shift in the way Blake talked to her, which made Taylor feel more like an employee than a friend.

Justin Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, is confident newly unsealed documents from Blake Lively's lawsuit against his client will end up clearing Baldoni's name ... especially in light of what a movie executive had to say about Blake.

Here's the deal ... newly filed legal docs show Sony Pictures executive Andrea Giannetti referred to Blake as a "f***ing terrorist" amid rising tensions on the "It Ends With Us" set.

Giannetti said she called Blake a "terrorist" in a comment to producer Jamey Heath ... lashing out at Blake after learning the actress threatened to walk away from the film unless a list of demands was met.

Taylor Swift is spinning the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni beef to look like she got betrayed by her former BFF, Blake ... but it looks like Taylor was all-in on crapping on Baldoni.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Taylor texted Blake in early December 2024, referencing Baldoni and the upcoming New York Times hit piece ... with Taylor texting, "I think this bitch knows something is coming because he's gotten out his tiny violin."

The text message was revealed Tuesday as part of Blake's unsealed deposition.

"Too Hot To Handle" star Madison Wyborny and Leah Peters from "Big Brother 26" had a pretty scary encounter, watching a stranger walk onto their property ... but they're keeping a sense of humor about it.

Law enforcement sources tell us LAPD responded to a trespassing call at the ladies' residence around 1:20 AM today. We're told the suspect, described as a Black male holding a white blanket, was seen entering the property through a gate and was later spotted on the upstairs balcony.

A source connected to Justin's legal team tells TMZ ... it would be next to impossible to serve Taylor with a summons, and the text messages speak for themselves, so they won't need her as a witness.

Taylor Swift may have dodged depositions in Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, but she will 100% be called as a witness by Baldoni if the case goes to trial ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge told us ... given the now-clear involvement of Taylor Swift in the raging dispute between Baldoni and Lively, the singer will be called to the stand to download the jury.

What's more ... we're told Baldoni will call Swift as a hostile witness. Translation: Taylor clearly had a bias against Baldoni, so his lawyer, Bryan Freedman, can really put her on the hot seat by asking leading questions.

Timothy Busfield is a free man -- at least for now -- after his lawyer had the prosecutor on the ropes, arguing the whole case was rooted in revenge by angry parents.

Busfield and his lawyer appeared Tuesday afternoon before an Albuquerque judge, taking apart the prosecutors' evidence, piece by piece.

As we reported, Busfield has been charged with child sexual abuse, involving 2 boys who were part of the cast of "The Cleaning Lady" in 2022. Prosecutors claim Busfield touched them inappropriately.

YNW Melly just scored a huge legal win ... because prosecutors in Florida dropped witness tampering charges against him on the cusp of his trial.

The "Murder On My Mind" rapper was set to stand trial on the state charges ... jury selection was set to begin Wednesday ... but now he can turn his attention to his double-murder trial.

Melly's attorney's Drew Findling and Carey Haughwout tell TMZ ... "On behalf of Jamell Demons, we welcome the dismissal of the alleged tampering and gang related charges in court this morning. As his newly retained legal team, it became immediately apparent to us that no crimes had occurred. Unfortunately, for 652 days while these charges were pending, the State did not reach the same conclusion until the cusp of trial."

Unclear why the charges were dropped ... prosecutors had alleged Melly was colluding with is co-defendant Cortlen Henry and another inmate to prevent Melly's ex from testifying in the double-murder case.

In an online hearing Tuesday, Russell Brand was granted bail on two new charges of sexual assault and rape. Brand was already facing five other charges, including alleged rape and sexual assault.

Brand appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, England via videolink from his home in Florida on Tuesday. He reportedly spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth, The Guardian reports.

Brand's currently scheduled to appear at Southwark Crown Court in London on February 17th.

The actor and comedian was charged with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault last month. Authorities told TMZ the charges stemmed from alleged incidents with two new female accusers.

Brand said in a video statement posted on social media at the time ... "I pray that anyone that I've harmed or hurt in my years of mindlessness, of sin, have been healed, and for the absolute truth of who I am to be revealed."

The actor was already facing five charges of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault, based on allegations from four different women ... he pled not guilty to the charges last May. That trial is set for June 3rd.

Timothy Busfield is being edited out of an upcoming Amazon MGM movie following child sex abuse allegations against him ... TMZ has learned.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... the movie, "You Deserve Each Other," has already wrapped -- so he'll have to be digitally cut out of scenes.

Penn Badgley, Meghann Fahy, Justin Long, Natalie Morales and Ana Gasteyer star in the rom-com, which has yet to announce a release date.

This comes after Busfield was reportedly dropped by his agents at Innovative Artists last week.

Prince Harry’s legal battle against a powerful British tabloid publisher is heating up -- with the Duke of Sussex returning to court to take them on over allegations of unlawful information-gathering ... along with a host of A-listers.

Harry arrived at London’s High Court on Monday looking confident in a black suit … acknowledging a few spectators as he headed inside.

Elton John and actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost join Harry as part of the group, claiming Associated Newspapers Limited -- the publisher of the Daily Mail -- hired private investigators to place listening devices in homes and cars and record private calls. There are also claims of ANL engaging in impersonation and deception to access personal info.

Dog the Bounty Hunter's son Garry Chapman -- who was fired, then reinstated, from a police force in Alabama last year -- is suing the department ... He says they only disciplined him to teach him a lesson for calling out a dirty cop.

Remember ... Chapman's employment was terminated last year after his involvement in a fatal high-speed car chase. He was later reinstated, but he says he should've never been fired in the first place.

In court documents, obtained by TMZ, Chapman alleges the police department, along with Priceville, Alabama, Mayor Sam Heflin, used the tragic incident as an opportunity to smear his name and get rid of him -- something Chapman alleges they were working on for some time.

As we all impatiently wait for the next batch of the Epstein files to drop, a mystery has surfaced from the old batch ... a very puzzling, four-legged (we think) mystery.

Check out this bizarre photo of what appears to be a shaggy pooch stuffed, or sitting, in a garbage bag ... which was placed inside a cardboard box.

The pic was buried inside a mountain of documents and visual footage released last month by the Department of Justice as part of the now-stalled rollout of the Epstein files.

The snapshot was overshadowed by all the attention on pics of famous people like Bill Clinton, Chris Tucker and Mick Jagger, but we dug it up for you now.

Timothy Busfield -- accused of child sex abuse -- has a strong moral compass, and he's universally loved by professional colleagues ... so says his wife, Melissa Gilbert.

The "Little House on the Prairie" star vehemently defended her husband in a letter to the judge in his case while the court weighed whether to allow him out of custody prior to his trial.

In the letter MG describes Busfield as her "love" and "rock" in both business and life ... adding he's the "beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family."

Nick Reiner's murderous rampage that resulted in the horrific death of his parents may have been fueled by more than mental illness -- meth may have played a big factor.

We sent a camera to Exposition Park near downtown L.A. -- where Nick was arrested -- to ask people about the drug culture in the area, and whether they ever saw Nick there.

One of the people we spoke with -- featured on the most recent episode of the "2 Angry Men" podcast -- said flatly ... Exposition Park is a drug den where users can get anything they want, including meth. He also said Nick looked familiar.

Timothy Busfield is kissing and telling for the sake of his freedom -- gabbing on about his sex life with Melissa Gilbert -- and himself -- in a court filing Friday for his child sex abuse case.

The actor and director spilled the intimate details in relation to a psychosexual evaluation he underwent this week ... with his defense hoping it would prove he's no threat to society as the prosecution fights for him to remain behind bars before his trial starts.

In the filing, obtained by TMZ, Timothy says he has a satisfying sex life with wife Melissa ... and she was happy to agree -- although he admits that due to their age, they cuddle more than they get down and dirty.