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Novak Djokovic's attorneys say Australian border officials screwed up when they denied the tennis star entry into the country ... claiming he had COVID-19 last month, meaning he didn't have to comply with the vaccine mandate.

Attorneys for the 34-year-old tennis superstar filed docs with an Australian court on Saturday, according to the NY Times, arguing officials went against the advice of their own immunization advisory group when they canceled Novak's visa, believing he received a bogus exemption allowing him to skirt Australia's strict vaccine mandate.

Djokovic's lawyers say Australian health officials previously suggested recent COVID infections could exempt travelers from needing the vaccine. Novak's lawyers say their client had COVID in mid-December ... and should've been granted entry.

In fact, the attorneys say border officials "radically and fundamentally" misapplied guidelines set forth by the immunization health officials.

FYI, it wasn't publicly known that Djokovic had COVID in December 2021. However, it was known he contracted the virus in June 2020.

Of course, the defending Australian Open champ had his visa canceled when he landed in Melbourne on Thursday. Novak opted to appeal the decision, so rather than instantly being deported, he was taken to a quarantine hotel run by government officials.

Novak's family says he's being held captive ... while Australian officials have insisted the #1 tennis player in the world can leave whenever he wants.

Even before Djokovic touched down in Melbourne, his impending arrival kicked off a raging debate in the country ... with many upset, believing the tennis star was going to get preferential treatment.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison even got involved ... vowing to investigate the medical exemption Djokovic received, in order to check its legitimacy.

Djokovic has a hearing on Monday ... where his fate will be determined. If the cancelation of the visa is upheld, Novak won't only have to worry about missing this year's tournament. He could be banned from entering Australia for several years.

The lawyer for Travis McMichael claims the judge in the case was pressured by the President, former Presidents and celebrities to hand down the harshest sentence.

Attorney Jason Sheffield tells TMZ, he believes the die was cast from the jump, saying the "decision-makers" were under a microscope. He says he's referring to the police, prosecutors, judge and jury.

Sheffield says anyone who voiced sympathy for his client was criticized and threatened, adding, "So the decision-makers face the same fate if they don't acknowledge the narrative that has been perpetrated by Ben Crump and Lee Merritt, as well as the national media, former presidents Obama, Trump and [current President] Biden, and top-level sports athletes and entertainers."

All 3 defendants were convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. Travis and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after the judge described their lack of remorse and callousness. William "Roddie" Bryan was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Sheffield calls the sentence "scripted, because nobody wants to be on the other side."

Former President Barack Obama said of the case when he spoke at an HBCU graduation ceremony during the pandemic, "We see it when a Black man goes for a jog and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn't submit to their questioning. Injustice like this isn't new."

Donald Trump called the cellphone video showing the horrific murder "very disturbing."

President Biden's statement ... "Ahmaud Arbery's killing -- witnessed by the world on video -- is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country."

Pete Davidson whipped a crowd into a frenzy Friday night, when he jumped on stage and performed with Jack Harlow!!!

Jack was performing at The Novo in L.A. when he invited Kim Kardashian's BF to join him, and Pete didn't miss a beat. They danced around the stage as they performed "SUVs (Black on Black)."

You hear folks in the crowd saying they can't believe Pete joined Jack. It just underscores how Pete's celebrity has skyrocketed since hooking up with Kim. It's not to say Pete wasn't a celeb before, because he was, but Kim brought the whole thing to another level.

Betty White was a known animal lover who supported a number of organizations throughout her life ... now one of them is stepping up to honor her in one of the best ways possible!

The CEO for Guide Dogs for the Blind, Christine Benninger, tells TMZ ... Betty was a true friend of the org for more than 35 years ... and that's why they'll be naming one of their Golden Retriever puppies after her.

The name of the pooch -- BettyRose. It's is a nod to Betty's character on "Golden Girls."

The doggie will go to a puppy raiser when she's around 6 weeks old. Betty herself became a raiser when she adopted a Golden Retriever named Pontiac. He was her puppy for many years.

We're told there will also be a tribute to Betty in October in San Fran ... where staff and volunteers will share stories about Betty and play a video montage to honor her decades of dedication to the organization.

GDB is the largest guide dog school in North America, and Betty's legacy will continue to live on through the org and little Ms. BettyRose.

Shawn Mendes may be something of a poser, but give the guy a pass!!!

Shawn looked great as he emerged from the ocean blue Friday in Miami. He spent about 2 hours on the sand ... outside the Soho House.  One sunbather tells TMZ Shawn looked "pensive, almost like he was meditating."

Apparently, he went down to the beach with friends, but spent at least some of the time in solitude, although he did jump in the water from time to time.

The question ... are Shawn and Camila Cabello back together? They were out walking their dog together the other day. We say "together" because they got the Golden Retriever, Tarzan, together during quarantine. Now they announced their breakup so it could just be Shawn wants some time with the pooch. But, people are buzzing that this looks like more than just a canine custody arrangement.

Whatever's going on with them ... Shawn's making it clear if he is indeed single, he's in top dating shape!

JoJo Siwa chatted with a 5-year-old cancer patient before surgery ... telling her everything would work out and she would kick cancer's butt.

As you see in the conversation between JoJo and Blakely Bergenfeld ... JoJo's a pro at putting her young fans at ease ... patiently answering the little girl's questions.

Blakely's parents, Jason and Kimberly Bergenfeld, tell TMZ ... the cancer diagnosis was sudden, after the little girl began experiencing headaches and fevers during a recent family ski trip.

We're told Blakely's parents took her to a pediatrician when they got back to L.A., and the doctor noticed her liver was swollen and rushed her to the ER at L.A. Children's Hospital.

Blakely's dad says his daughter underwent a series of tests, and that's when doctors discovered cancer in her kidney. She underwent surgery to remove a giant tumor on her kidney Friday.

We are told the surgery went even better than planned. She had to have her kidney removed because it was close to rupturing and would have been terminal if they had not treated it in time. The doctors also found tumors on her liver and lungs, which were removed. The doctors will know in the next few days exactly what stage and type of cancer she has, but she is stable and past the first step on her road to recovery.

It's been a whirlwind few days ... we're told Blakely had appeared completely healthy before she started feeling ill.

JoJo got involved after learning of Blakely's diagnosis through 'Dance Moms' star Kira Girard and her husband, who are close friends with the Bergenfelds.

Blakely is a huge JoJo fan and was supposed to meet her at the Nickelodeon awards last March before it was canceled due to COVID.

Amy Schneider is on a roll ... she just became the 4th player in "Jeopardy!" history to rake in more than $1 mil in non-tournament play, and she's still in the game!!!

Amy, the first transgender contestant to qualify for the show's Tournament of Champions, won her 28th game on the show that aired Friday night, taking her winnings north of $1M ... to be specific, $1,019,001.

She was stoked, saying, "It feels amazing, it feels strange. It's not a sum of money I ever anticipated would be associated with my name."

Amy has now won more loot than any other female contender, and she's now the record-holder for most consecutive wins by a female contestant.

She joins 3 others who broke the million-dollar mark -- Ken Jennings, who pocketed $2,520,700, James Holzhauer, who scored $2,462,216, and Matt Amodio, who won $1,518,601.

Amy's had a tough time recently, after getting robbed a few days ago.  She said, "Hi all! So, first off: I'm fine, But I got robbed yesterday, lost my ID, credit cards, and phone. I then couldn't really sleep last night, and have been dragging myself around all day trying to replace everything."

It's unclear if the robber/robbers knew she was on a "Jeopardy!" winning streak.

She also fell ill after the robbery. But, things are clearly looking up.

So, as Kim and Pete travel the world, Kanye has hooked up with a new gf, or so it seems. And, Trump was in Biden's crosshairs on Jan 6th. So, we gotta ask ...

Antonio Brown's NFL career is over -- at least, that's what legendary NFL coach Dick Vermeil thinks ... telling TMZ Sports he can't see another team giving him a shot after his wild, shirtless exit from the Buccaneers.

"I can't believe somebody would," Dick tells us. "A man demonstrates what he is by what he does and he answered everybody's evaluation questions when we saw him doing that stuff."

Of course, Vermeil is referring to AB taking his pads and jersey off and heading to the locker room -- in the middle of Sunday's game against the Jets -- after a disagreement with coach Bruce Arians.

"I have never in my 30-something years of coaching from high school, junior college, Division I and the NFL -- I have never seen anything like that," he added.

Vermeil -- who coached the Eagles, Rams, and Chiefs -- gives Tampa Bay credit for trying to help AB get his career back on track by signing him last season ... but says the controversial star was never going to change his ways.

"I think sometimes even though you're trying to do the right thing that you bring your own problems," Vermeil said.

"You create your own problems by bringing people that have been a problem," he continued, "What makes you think that you're gonna change 'em?"

Vermeil says he never would have given AB a shot to begin with ... saying, "I try to stay away with players that had problems because you have enough problems with players who don't have problems."

"To bring somebody in with a profile like he has, you only asking for problems."

The new year is all about self-care and these scrubbing celebrities know the first step to getting a clean start in 2022 is a good fresh cleanse in some classic soap and water!

Soapy stars like Chiara Ferragni, Dua Lipa, Kara Del Toro, and Sofia Resing have taken to the tub … and they are sharing their lavish night in with their fans!

Plenty of other soaking celebs -- such as Alex Rodriguez, Chris Hemsworth, and Kali Uchis -- are only missing a rubber duck to complete their look!

Wade through these fun photos of bathing beauties!

Affion Crockett is remembering late actor Sidney Poitier as a "king" ... and thanking him for kicking open the door and paving the way for Black entertainers.

We got the comedian at LAX and asked how he's remembering Sidney ... and Affion says he wouldn't have a platform today without Poitier changing the landscape of how Hollywood viewed Black men.

Affion says Sidney was more than a trailblazer ... also remembering him as a prolific actor and orator, and marveling at the way he carried himself and represented his craft.

As we reported ... Sidney died at the age of 94, and tons of tributes are pouring in for the first Black man to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Bella Hadid color you wild! Be on your best model behavior and see if you can bundle up all the sneaky switches!

The celebrity personality was seen bracing herself for the winter cold in this accessorized outfit on the streets of New York City last week ... and we have made a few changes to the original pic! So, put your fashion foot forward and see if you have the fierce talent to uncover the differences in these two super similar snaps!

Scottish singer Lulu, who sang the huge, hit, title song for one of Sidney Poitier's most famous movies, is reflecting on his death ... and thanking him for inspiring her.

Lulu tells TMZ ... Sidney was "my friend, my teacher, my inspiration."

She famously sang the theme song for Sidney's 1967 movie, "To Sir, With Love." The film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Original Score written from a motion picture or TV show.

Sidney starred in the film, alongside Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall ... and Lulu!

Lulu also tells us the movie, "rises above the fray and leads by example," ... comparing it to the way Sidney lead his life. She says SP empowered and educated those around him, so they could choose to follow his lead.

Remember ... Sidney is credited with breaking barriers in Hollywood for Black celebrities ... and Lulu clearly was moved by working with him.

'Love & Hip Hop' star Lyrica Anderson is waving the white flag on her marriage to A1 Bentley ... because she just filed for divorce.

Lyrica beelined it to a Los Angeles courthouse Friday to file divorce docs after more than 5 years of marriage.

It's unclear what led to the split ... but they have been very open about marital problems, sharing their issues on reality TV ever since they eloped back in 2016.

Lyrica was previously accused of cheating on A1 with Nicki Minaj's ex, Safaree Samuels ... and the drama was a major storyline on the 2018 season of 'L&HH: Hollywood.'

Lyrica was pregnant at the time of the cheating allegations and A1 and his immediate family demanded she takes a paternity test, which revealed A1 was the father.

LA gave birth to the couple's baby boy in November 2018 ... and as she told us back then, she survived a major health scare shortly after bringing Ocean Zion Bentley into the world.

Aaron Rodgers is going after yet another member of the media ... this time, he eviscerated a Boomer Esiason report that said he was planning to boycott the Super Bowl if the Packers make it.

"Dumbest f***ing story ever," Rodgers said.

Esiason -- a former NFL star who's now an analyst and WFAN radio show host -- went on his morning show Friday and said a trusted source told him Rodgers is planning something diabolical for SB week if Green Bay gets there.

On the show, Esiason had his co-host read a text in which he claims a source said Rodgers will "threaten the NFL by saying he won't play in the big game or next season if they don't eliminate some of the COVID-related rules."

Esiason claims the text went on to say ... "He's told Jordan Love to be ready ... Super Bowl week will be set on fire and send [Roger] Goodell in a frenzy navigating the situation."

Rodgers got word of the report a couple hours after it dropped -- and sent out a tweet with laughing emojis.

"#fakenews," he said. "#boycottfakenews."

Rodgers then played around with Packers' third-string QB Kurt Benkert over the report ... adding, "Were you just mad I only told @jordan3love to be ready and not you?? #grudge #boycottvideogames"

"Anchorman" star David Koechner's recent DUI arrest has his estranged wife worried for the safety of their kids -- and she's asking the court to put buffers in place to protect them.

Leigh Morgan Koechner filed docs Friday in L.A. asking for Koechner's visitation with their children to be suspended and for "safeguards be put in place to ensure (Koechner's) sobriety."

As for what those measures include ... Leigh requests the actor submit to drug testing as well as use a Soberlink device to monitor alcohol consumption.

TMZ broke the story, Koechner was busted for DUI around 3 PM in L.A. on New Year's Eve. Law enforcement sources tell us he had two flat tires when he was pulled over and blew a .13 in the field and .12 back at the station.

Koechner's fighting Leigh's visitation request, stating none of the couple's kids were in the car at the time of the arrest and claiming he's driven the kids -- with Leigh's knowledge -- since the incident. Koechner also says he's working on his sobriety with professional help.