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Two people directly connected to Jessica Simpson have spoken with 2 divorce lawyers in the last 2 months ... specifically about Jessica's marriage to Eric Johnson ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... late last month someone close to Jessica went to a Los Angeles divorce attorney and said Jessica was unhappy in her marriage and wanted to arrange a meeting with the attorney and Simpson. We do not know if this was done at Jessica's behest, but we're told the message to the lawyer was clear. We're also told up to this point Jessica has not made contact with the lawyer.

And, we've learned someone on Jessica's team made contact with another Los Angeles divorce lawyer regarding matters that were divorce-related. Again, so far we're told there has been no follow-through.

Robert Vito -- an actor who starred in a 'Spy Kids' movie and several other shows in the early 2000s -- was arrested Friday on a felony domestic violence charge ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... officers responded to Vito's L.A.-area home Friday night after they received a call about an alleged domestic violence incident.

Our sources say Vito and his girlfriend allegedly got into a verbal argument which turned physical ... and, Vito apparently pushed her into some furniture. Cops also tell us Vito allegedly threw his young son onto the couch before knocking him down.

Diddy's lawyers say they've received a trove of discovery material from the government over the past 6 weeks — and they’re going after the federal prosecutors' assertion there's a possible second victim.

According to legal docs filed Friday and obtained by TMZ, Diddy's attorneys attacked the government's claim there was a potential second victim of Diddy's alleged sex trafficking operation.

As you know, the original indictment pointed specifically to one unnamed victim, who seems to be his ex-girlfriend, Cassie, based on the allegations. The feds charged Diddy with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Incoming Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says one of his first orders of business is tackling Erik and Lyle Melendez's bid for freedom ... and the clock's ticking.

Hochman, who just defeated incumbent George Gascón at the ballot box, tells TMZ ... if the Menendez brothers' resentencing case lands on his desk on his first day as D.A., on December 2, he will hit the ground running, poring over documents and talking to all parties involved.

While Gascon has recommended resentencing, Hochman says he's got to review the case and the law before coming to a decision ... but time is of the essence because the resentencing hearing is set for Dec. 11 ... giving Hochman a little over a week to work with.

Now that the election is over, Plies is coming hard for his sisters-in-Kamala Harris -- filing a lawsuit against Megan Thee Stallion, GloRilla, and Cardi B for copyright infringement!!!

And according to Plies, Soulja Boy can't claim "first" to using the beat on one of his big tracks ... which he says was taken from one of his old songs!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained legal docs filed by Plies on Wednesday claiming his 2008 track "Me & My Goons" first got jacked by Soulja Boy in 2010 on his "Pretty Boy Swag" anthem.

Police in Argentina are continuing their investigation into Liam Payne's death ... conducting another round of raids on the homes of 2 hotel employees and a "friend" of the former One Direction singer, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources in Buenos Aires tell TMZ ... officers conducted the raids Tuesday night, while also searching the hotel lockers of the workers and reviewing security footage from the hotel, CasaSur Palermo.

We're told cops believe the workers had contact with Liam before the entertainer plunged to his death from the balcony of his third-floor room into a courtyard on October 16.

Go ahead and forget about Dre allegedly threatening his former therapist ... a judge says Dr. Dre's spicy texts aren't all that menacing after all.

The therapist, Dr. Charles Sophy, was in an L.A. courtroom Tuesday, asking the judge to sign off on a permanent restraining order against Dre -- Sophy was granted a temporary one last month, but at the hearing, he had to produce evidence.

Dre only appeared in court by Zoom, but Sophy was there in person and testified he feared for his safety due to Dre's knowledge of him, and his past behavior ... which Sophy claims is "consistent with the text messages" he received from Dre.

Dr. Dre admits using colorful language to chew out his ex-marriage counselor, but denies threatening him in any way... and says Dr. Charles Sophy only feels threatened because Dre is Black.

Doctor to doctor, Dre's officially responding to the lawsuit filed by his former Dr. Sophy -- who had counseled Dre and his then estranged wife Nicole, prior to their divorce. In the suit, Sophy claimed Dre fired off several threatening texts, accusing Sophy of turning Dre's kids against him.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Dre admits using crude language in some texts to Sophy, but says he never made any "credible threat of future violence" that would require Sophy to get a restraining order, which he did last month.

Los Angeles County D.A. George Gascón is setting the record straight, saying his push to recommend resentencing for the Menendez brothers isn’t about public buzz or winning an election -- it’s about doing what he personally believes is right.

On "TMZ Live," Harvey didn’t hold back on grilling Gascón about all the renewed public interest playing into the Menendez brothers’ case -- saying the considerations of their case are purely based on the evidence.

Gascón shot down the hype factor, telling us his decision came down to what he feels is right -- and not because of public opinion, or an effort to win votes.

A new witness in the Diddy criminal case says he has a manuscript belonging to Diddy's late girlfriend, Kim Porter ... but her best friend tells us Kim never tried to write a book.

Lawanda Lane, Kim's best friend and the caregiver of Kim and Diddy's twin daughters, tells TMZ ... she was best friends with Kim for 30 years, including 20 years living under the same roof, and there was never a manuscript written by Kim.

Kim's BFF tells us she was with Kim every day and Kim never wrote anything down ... and she says the family doesn't know who new Diddy witness Courtney Burgess is, even though the guy claims he's one of Kim's former associates.

Teddi Mellencamp is officially pulling the plug on her marriage ... because she's filed for divorce from her husband.

The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum beelined it to court Friday and filed to divorce Edwin Arroyave after 13 years of marriage.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Teddi lists October 20 as the date of separation, and she's going with the boilerplate "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split.

The internal investigation MrBeast commissioned after his longtime co-host Ava Kris Tyson was hit with serious grooming allegations found no evidence of such claims ... but the probe did turn up some isolated instances of workplace harassment and misconduct.

MrBeast hired Alex Spiro from the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to investigate his company back in July, following sexual misconduct allegations ... and, after reviewing millions of documents and conducting interviews with current and former employees, the firm concluded that allegations of pedophilia, grooming, and child porn involving company employees and minors were without basis.

Spiro's report, obtained by TMZ, says the sexual misconduct allegations were "soundly rejected, including by alleged victims."

A man who claims he has sex tapes from Diddy's parties, and the real Kim Porter memoir says he's been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

We got attorney Ariel Mitchell and her client, Courtney Burgess, Thursday outside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan and they told us they'd just finished testifying for the grand jury.

Courtney says he was initially contacted by agents from the Department of Homeland Security ... one of the federal agencies involved in the Diddy criminal case.

The assault video showing Diddy beating his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura wasn't released by the feds, they claim ... saying CNN got it from someone else -- and, Diddy's arguments claiming otherwise are straight-up false.

Prosecutors filed a motion in U.S. District Court in opposition to a motion Diddy filed earlier this month alleging he believed the government gave the video to the popular cable news channel back in May ... and, they basically say this can't be true 'cause they didn't even have it yet.

According to prosecutors, federal agents had searched for the video early in the investigation, but it had mysteriously disappeared from the hotel's server ... and didn't crop up again until CNN released the footage on May 17.

Huge development for Erik and Lyle Menendez ... the L.A. County D.A. is pushing for a path to freedom that could set the brothers free in a matter of weeks.

L.A. County D.A. George Gascón just said he "strongly" supports the Menendez brothers' request for clemency.

TMZ broke the story ... Erik and Lyle's lawyer, Mark Geragos, filed legal docs Tuesday with California Governor Gavin Newsom, asking him to grant clemency to his clients.

Diddy's facing a mountain of lawsuits from anonymous accusers, but now at least one of them has to reveal their name ... or take an L in court.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge in New York just ruled a woman suing Diddy for an alleged sexual assault she claims happened 20 years ago must reveal her identity or have her suit dismissed.

The woman is suing as a Jane Doe ... and her lawsuit is one of the 120 suits Texas attorney Tony Buzbee says he's filing against Diddy.