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Buffalo Bills Punter Matt Araiza -- accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl while in college -- has been released by the team, the organization announced Saturday.

As TMZ Sports previously reported, 22-year-old Araiza was sued in San Diego County Superior Court earlier this week.

Araiza, nicknamed the "Punt God," is accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old woman, only identified as "Jane Doe" in the suit, at a Halloween party at his house on October 17, 2021.

The woman, who says she was inebriated upon arriving at the party, says Araiza gave her a drink that she later believed contained "other intoxicating substances."

Doe claims the two engaged in sexual acts outside of the punter's home. She says Araiza then led her inside, and threw her onto a bed. She claims he gang raped her with two of his Aztecs teammates -- Nowlin "Pa'a" Ewaliko and Zavier Leonard -- who are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The woman claims the sexual abuse went on for about an hour and a half, before the party was eventually shut down. In the suit she says she "stumbled out of the room bloody and crying."

Doe is suing Araiza, Ewaliko and Leonard for unspecified damages.

Araiza, shortly after the allegations came to light, adamantly denied the claims, saying ... “The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.”

The Bills initially issued a statement saying they were aware of the allegations, saying they “conducted a thorough examination,” but couldn't comment further due to the active suit.

However, after sitting Araiza (the team's starting P) during Friday night's preseason game, the Bills, a Super Bowl favorite, announced Saturday afternoon they were parting ways with the league's most talked about punter.

Buffalo GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott briefly met with the media, telling reporters the situation was bigger than football, adding Matt must deal with the serious issue.

As for specifically when the organization learned or the incredibly troubling allegations, Beane said the following.

"I know it's a question of when did we hear this or what was the timeline -- late July from her representative spoke to [Bills attorney Kathryn D'Angelo] and laid out some of the things that they were accusing Matt and others of. At that time, our process, we tried to be thorough and thoughtful. Not rush to judgment, and I would say it's not easy. You're trying to put facts around a legal situation, sometimes with limited information. So, ultimately that's where we're at today with the decision."

Araiza was selected in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL Draft ... and recently went viral after he boomed an 82-yard punt during his first game.

Araiza has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

Tiffany Haddish got up close and personal with Usher this weekend -- receiving the serenade treatment that also teetered into touchy-feely territory.

The actress/comedian was in attendance for Usher's Vegas residency show Friday night, where she had a great seat toward the front ... but which got a whole lot better when he and his team actually invited her up onstage.

Seems like he knew she was in the crowd and wanted to giver something special ... she got it and then some. Check out the video -- TH looks like a kid in a candy store up there.

As you can see ... Usher did a little dance with Tiff, grinding up on her backside and her totally leaning into it. He's also singing to her -- and eventually, has her sit down on a table on stage as they begin to act out a skit. Tiffany's a pro, so she rolls with it all to a T.

Sure looks like she had a good time -- it's also just crazy to see that Tiffany seems pretty star-struck up there. Just speaks to the fame and allure that Usher holds to this day.

Another thing this confirms ... Usher's residency show is still the hottest thing in Sin City.

It's time for What's-Twitter-Bitching-About-Now -- and today, Heather Matarazzo's character from an old Disney movie is being placed under the microscope ... maybe for good reason.

If you're seeing 'Princess Diaries' trending this weekend ... this is why. Somebody posed a question, writing ... "Who is the worst fictional friend you can think of?" The tweet took off, and it seems the consensus is ... Lilly Moscovitz from the 2001 Anne Hathaway flick.

Apparently, users on the bird app remember this performance well ... and they brought the receipts to back up their argument that Lilly kinda sucks. They might even have a point!

Folks posted compilations of scenes from 'TPD,' showing off a lot of moments between Mia and Lilly -- including a notable one from toward the beginning ... where Matarazzo (in character) is telling AH she can't believe she's not over her dad's death from 2 months ago.

There are other scenes that are getting mentioned as well ... including a good amount where Lilly is straight up hating on Mia's ascendance as a princess -- calling her a sell-out and making her feel guilty for changing into something she no longer recognizes ... while also trying to use her at various points for her own personal gain.

Indeed, in this hyper-focused context ... Lilly/Matarazzo certainly comes off as sorta s****y.

Still, it's a little absurd how this convo is unfolding in the feed ... some on Twitter seem to be genuinely upset that Lilly was such a bad friend and has since been labeled as "toxic" ... perhaps not holding up to societal standards of a supportive BFF, especially in 2022.

Of course, Lilly isn't real ... and this movie was made more than 20 years ago. More importantly, Mia stands up for herself -- and Lilly apologizes in the end, completing her arc.

If we're being honest, the fact Lilly's being discussed at all today speaks to how good of a job Matarazzo did all those years ago ... and how we really can't have good things anymore.

Aries Spears took some very personal shots at Lizzo as it pertains to her weight and appearance -- but the internet is on her side ... rushing to her defense en masse.

The comedian did an interview with "The Art of Dialogue," and when they posted a snippet of it on Friday ... all hell broke loose on Twitter. We will say this ... what Aries opined on is pretty mean and the tone of it completely overshadowed the point he was trying to make.

AS was asked if he thought Lizzo's music was a standout in this day and age -- but he immediately pivoted to an insult. He says he can't get over the fact that she "looks like the s*** emoji" ... and then continues to say she has a pretty face, but a terrible body.

Aries goes on to say the praise she and others -- whom he considers fat/unhealthy -- is ass-backwards ... adding that if people really cared, they'd send a different message to these same stars (like Lizzo) ... one that's a bit more health-conscious and honest.

Bill Maher echoed similar sentiments, but did so more tactfully. Here, Aries gets down in the gutter ... and he's paying for it with some of these Twitter responses on Lizzo's behalf.

Many are pointing out the irony of Aries criticizing Lizzo's weight, noting he himself isn't the best shape -- AS also pointed that out as well, FWIW. Still, he's being met with the same viciousness he tossed out in Lizzo's direction ... with many mocking his own looks.

Others are even arguing Lizzo is in tip-top shape -- seeing how she can dance, sing and play the flute within any given set. They say being "fat" doesn't mean being unhealthy.

President Joe Biden canceling student debt could win him and other Dems votes in November and beyond -- something Senator Ted Cruz is well aware of ... in hilarious terms.

The legislator from Texas was firing away on his podcast, "The Verdict with Ted Cruz," over JB's decision to dish out upwards of $20k for free to people with outstanding loans -- under certain parameters, of course ... saying it could have a significant impact politically.

Watch ... TC says, yeah -- it could get a certain demographic of the Democratic party off their asses and out at polling places for the midterms ... but he makes that point with some jabs.

He says the "slacker baristas" who wasted years at college with nothing to show for it now are probably ecstatic over this news -- and he worries they may even pay Joe back in key votes for both 2022 and 2024 ... assuming they put the bong down and remember to do it.

It's pretty funny that this is who Cruz thinks this will be affected ... hippy-dippy losers working at Dunkin' -- it's just such an outdated caricature. Anyway, his point is well taken.

While Biden's student loan forgiveness is being celebrated by many, it's also receiving a lot of criticism ... with some noting that the financial burden it creates falls on tax payers, not to mention screwing people who, in the past, already paid their debts fair and square.

He and his cabinet members, including the Sec. of Education Miguel Cardona, addressed that last week -- with their argument essentially boiling down to ... tough luck, this is for the greater good.

Brittany Aldean is doubling down on a hot take that some are calling transphobic -- publicly hitting back at a couple fellow country contemporaries who are outraged.

BA -- who's Jason Aldean's wife -- screen-grabbed responses to an IG post of hers from a few days ago, when singers Cassadee Pope and Maren Morris each criticized Brittany for thanking her parents for not deeming her a boy when she was young.

In the OG post, Brittany is showing herself getting dolled up -- with a caption that reads, "I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life."

CP took to social media and replied ... "You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging. But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their “tomboy phase” to someone wanting to transition. Real nice."

MM chimed in too, commenting under Cassadee's tweet ... "It's so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it. Insurrection Barbie." Morris seems to be referring to the fact that the Aldeans have spoken out strongly about Jan. 6.

Well, Brittany caught wind of it all -- backlash beyond just Cassadde and Maren -- but instead of folding ... she stuck to her guns on this one. She issued a lengthy statement, which basically says she thinks it's wrong to put kids on hormone blockers and such.

She says it's actually "evil" and presented under the guise of healthcare. Basically, she doesn't think minors should be put through that -- not until they're at least 18 anyway.

Princess Diana might've gotten the Royal treatment for most of her life, but sometimes ... she wanted to drive like a normal person ... and the car she did that in has fetched a fortune.

The late Princess of Wales was top of mind Saturday over in the UK, where an everyman vehicle that used to belong and be driven by her in the '80s hit the auction block at the Silverstone race circuit -- a ways outside of London -- and sold for a whopping $763,555!

The ride in question was a Ford Escort RS Turbo Series 1 -- and it's in great shape ... no different than when PD herself was cruising around in it between '85 and '88.

Apparently, there was a huge bidding war over this thing -- with high rollers from all over the world participating -- but in the end ... a British person walked away as the victor. Reports say this played out like a sports game, with a massive crowd cheering on the bidders.

The winner's identity is being kept anonymous. Whoever it is, they had at least an extra mil lying around ... because there was no sign they were going to slow down on the price if someone else insisted on going the distance. Silverstone officials had expected it to rake in at least $117,000 ... but no one seems to have expected to go for what it ultimately did.

Britney Spears and Elton John have hit #1 on the streaming charts in more than 40 countries, but next, they'll have their sights set on smashing music video records too ... cuz they've got one in the works.

Sources close to Britney and Elton tell TMZ ... a music video for "Hold Me Closer" is underway in some fashion -- we don't know what it would look like and whether they're even in it.

The single has been hugely successful, once again bringing Britney to the forefront of music industry conversation. In fact, we're told she was invited to this weekend's MTV VMAs -- but had to turn the show down because of a scheduling conflict that keeps her in Los Angeles.

Of course, the project with Elton has Britney fans already begging for more music.

At this time, our sources say there's not a plan for Britney to release any additional songs, or to join Elton on stage to perform the hit during his current tour ... but Britney certainly appreciates all the love.

TMZ broke the story, Drew Barrymore and Britney exchanged some super-hyped-up video messages Friday after the song's release.

Donald Trump Jr. made a dick joke to show his disdain for the redacted FBI affidavit that triggered the search of Mar-a-Lago, but he seems to be saying in the process he doesn't care if national secrets or the lives of people mentioned in the redactions are compromised.

Junior posted a pic of his dad on a golf course with a big black bar over his groin, with the caption, "redact this!!!" He had posted earlier Friday he thought the level of redactions was ridiculous.

Thing is ... the Justice Dept. made it clear, and the judge agreed -- the affidavit referenced documents Trump took from The White House, some of which had the highest security classifications, and releasing information describing them could jeopardize national security and put the lives of various people mentioned at risk.

Jr. may be trying to take people's eye off the ball, or in his dad's case the balls, but the real issue is this -- why did Donald Trump want those documents?

"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Diana Jenkins is beefing up her security big-time ... this after she was deluged with death threats from Bravo fans furious over her alleged connection to racist online comments ... according to Page Six.

Diana reportedly consulted with security experts who believe the threats are CREDIBLE and advised her to hire 4 personal bodyguards to shadow her every movement 24/7.

“She’s taking every precaution she can to protect herself and her family,” one source told Page Six.

Diana and costar Garcelle Beauvais have been feuding on the show this season. And it all came to a head recently when fans of the show accused Jenkins of hiring social media bots to post racial slurs about Garcelle's 14-year-old son Jax.

A Bravo fan account posted now-deleted screenshots of Jax's Instagram page dripping with nasty comments targeting his mom.

Diana has since posted a statement on Instagram, denying any association with the comments.

Garcelle was beside herself about what she viewed as the online trolling of her son so she posted her own message. "I’m usually a very strong woman I’ve been raised to be strong my life has taught me to be strong but when it comes to my kids!"

She continued..."It hurts it’s not OK I’ve been in tears all night it’s just a TV show people scream at your TV throw something at your TV but leave our kids alone."

Baseball is known as 'America's National Pastime' ... but in Canada it looks more like a rerun of the Jerry Springer show.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, showing 2 women getting into a free-for-all with others in the nosebleed section of Rogers Centre in Toronto last night.

As the L.A. Angels were routing the Blue Jays 12-0, the women started going at it after they got into some sort of nasty argument. Over what? We don't know.

But our sources tell us one of the women, who was sitting in her seat watching the game, had her hair pulled by the other woman from behind.

That's when everybody went all Springer -- and fists started to fly!! One guy planted his fist in the face of the woman who had her hair pulled. Onlookers were astonished, yelling, "Oh s---t" and "Wow!!"

Other people jumped in and yanked the women off each other ... the hair-puller then screamed as she dashed down a flight of stairs.

We're told her rival went after her and the two got into it again inside a tunnel at the stadium.

We're not sure what happened after that ... but we've called police ... so far no word back. Fingers crossed that no one got hurt too badly.

Gotta love those Canadians, though. They really know how to fight.

John Waters, one of the most interesting and line-pushing talents in Hollywood, joked on "Real Time" Friday night that he's become so respectable, he wants to gag!

Waters was hysterical with Bill Maher, pitching his new book, "Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance." For the uninitiated, Waters wrote, directed and/or produced some of the most out-there movies in history, including "Hairspray," "Serial Mom" and "Pink Flamingos."

It's pretty incredible ... John says the National Registry has named "Pink Flamingos" -- a movie where the main character eats a dump for all to see -- one of the great American films. Fact is ... it's a fantastic flick, and this year marks its 50th anniversary.

The Motion Picture Academy has created an exhibition around Waters' works. He says he's looking for something Divine -- the enduring character he created -- wore ... a "cheater." A cheater, for those who don't know, is a contraption with fake pubic hair. He's on the hunt for someone who has it, and would love to put it in the exhibition near Dorothy's ruby red slippers!!!

Samantha Diaz, the winner of "American Idol" in 2020, has been hospitalized with what appears to be a serious illness, but it seems she's on the upswing.

Samatha, who goes by "Just Sam," had posted a scale with the caption, "100lbs is crazyyy ... I seriously need help."

On Friday she seemed to be saying the situation is being handled ... "I'm grateful for the prayers everyone. I'm doing much better now."

The hospitalization news came Wednesday, when she said on Instagram, "Thank you to everyone that checked on me. I am ALIVE and out of the hospital."

Nappy Roots' rapper Fish Scales is recovering from a gunshot injury after getting kidnapped outside his own restaurant -- and now 911 audio, and police records, reveal the scary scene he was lucky to escape.

According to the police docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Scales was leaving his ATL brewery Atlantatucky, along with his friend Britt Robinson, to get food. When Robinson was delayed for several minutes outside, Scales went out to check on him.

Scales told police that's when an armed robber surprised him, pointed a gun at him and demanded cash as he forced Scales back inside the brewery.

Robinson was still outside when he called 911 and told dispatch multiple suspects took his gun and house keys before they went after Scales, demanding he open the safe inside Atlantatucky.

Robinson says he saw the shooter talking on a phone during the robbery ... possibly getting cues on where the money was located.

When the robbers returned with Scales, they were adamant about going to to get more money -- the cashless brewery only had $20 to $30 -- and they knew Scales' address.

After loading into the car, Scales said the robbers demanded to enter his home, and the second suspect Taser'd him in the back of the head.

After pleading to no avail, Scales eventually decided to flee the vehicle ... where the first suspect got out and began to wrestle with him, claiming, "I don't want to hurt you."

During the physical struggle, Scales was struck by a single gunshot in his left calf.

Scales began to run, and ran far enough to realize he wasn't being followed. The Nappy Roots rapper then found the closest house, banged on the door and asked the owners to call cops.

Scales also told officers he was dealing with a disgruntled employee less than a year ago, but couldn't recall the person's name. He also suspects one of the robbers was attempting to mask their voice.

Britney's back and topping the charts -- pretty amazing!!! And, how 'bout J Lo's wedding song TMZ got??!? So, we gotta ask ...

Hailey Davidson -- the transgender golfer aiming to make the LPGA Tour -- tells TMZ Sports she's very grateful for Caitlyn Jenner's support this week ... but she's striving to have a further chat with the former Olympian with the hopes that it will help "clear up some assumptions" going forward.

Jenner threw her support behind Davidson on Fox News on Wednesday, saying she believed Davidson -- unlike transgender swimmer Lia Thomas -- had no unfair advantage over her female opponents because "golf is a totally different game."

Davidson called Jenner's backing "awesome" ... but tells us she did find at least part of the conversation as a whole "a bit vague."

Specifically, the 29-year-old, who underwent gender reassignment surgery last year, says she wished Jenner had left out the sweeping assumption that she can still crush a golf ball.

"My big thing is just, I appreciate the love and support, but definitely to clear up some assumptions would be awesome," she said.

"Because I definitely don't hit it as far as people say. Like, nowhere close."

Davidson said she's reached out to Jenner in an attempt to have a conversation with her about it all. She's yet, though, to hear back.

But if the conversation does take place, Davidson tells us she's hopeful Jenner would hear her out about her golf game ... and more.

"I would love to talk to her in regards to more about how we are athletes and her experience may not be everyone's experience," she said.

"Everyone's experiences are different and everyone's built different. With what she was training to do, yeah, I'm pretty sure she's pretty big and strong."

Davidson said she, however, is not necessarily like that. In fact, she tells us after undergoing hormone treatment, she's lost a ton of power and clubhead speed.

Ultimately, Davidson said she's just hoping everyone can one day be treated equally.

"I understand [Caitlyn's] point that golf is a little different," she said. "But again, all sports are really the same in the end when it comes to the athlete."