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Podcaster Adam22 is fending off his haters, saying letting his wife, Lena The Plug, have sex with another dude on camera was a great business move -- and, now there's hard data to back that up.

A rep for Pornhub tells TMZ ... since word spread last month about Lena's new scene with Jason Luv, searches for her have skyrocketed 2,010%. "Adam22" lookups also climbed by a whopping 4,068%, and searches for Jason have grown by 1,440%.

All those massive increases are compared to 2 weeks before the buzz around Lena's scene. Bottom line is ... she's now the site's top trending model ... a big leap from #23.

If ya don't know, Lena and Jason's big scene dropped Thursday night on OnlyFans ... and while PH's post-debut analytics haven't come out yet, it's safe to say all 3 of them will continue to soar in popularity on the site.

As we reported, Adam was catching flak for letting his wife -- whom he'd just married a few months before -- sleep with Jason, but he's insisted it was great for their careers.

We got Adam22 out on Friday in L.A. ... and he says Lena's new scene has already brought in a boatload of cash.

And, this might sound weird to some, but he says it's actually improved their sex life ... after watching the scene together a few times.

The verbal abuse on Twitter obviously isn't bothering Adam, who gave wifey a Lambo to congratulate her on all the success!!!

Regardless of what you think ... business is boomin'.

Levitating in this majestic pic is a woman who is no stranger to the spotlight, and when she's putting on a show ... you can expect her to bust out the "pencil sharpener" dance move. See if you can erase the alterations made to the image!

Madonna, Elton John and Miley Cyrus are just a few name-drops this star has collabed with, but aside from her stellar singing skills, she's quite the fashionista -- and just last weekend she bedazzled at the "Barbie" premiere, looking fantastic in sheer!

Do you have the moves to identify this scrambled star?

Luke Combs' cover of Tracy Chapman's hit, "Fast Car," has been dominating the country charts -- but amid its success ... some have wondered if racism is afoot in the genre.

Here's the deal ... think pieces have been published of late that delve into this topic -- including one from WaPo, which really kick-started this conversation -- and they're all posing the same question ... why didn't TC resonate with the same audience Luke has???

The answer that a lot of these articles seem to land on -- after interviewing subjects, etc. -- is that, even today, it's hard for Black artists to break through in country. And they're using the example of Luke thrusting new life into "Fast Car" as their exhibit A for that argument.

Of course, in reaching this conclusion ... the word "racism" is getting thrown around a lot.

In fact, the author of the WaPo article put it quite succinctly in promoting her work -- writing, "As Luke Combs's hit cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' dominates the country charts, it’s bringing up some complicated emotions in fans & singers who know that Chapman, as a queer Black woman, would have an almost zero chance at that achievement herself."

Unfortunately for her, it doesn't sound like the Internet's accepting her theory at face value ... and pushing back on the implication that "Fast Car" was some obscure song that's only now getting mainstream recognition -- while also trolling WaPo as reaching for outrage.

You can see how folks are reacting for yourself, but as many of them are pointing out ... "Fast Car" was a monster hit when it was released in '88, and helped Tracy break out into music, not to mention accolades that followed after, including Grammys and other awards.

Even commercially, the song killed ... soaring on a number of charts around the world, and peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 list at the time. Bottom line ... it seems like people are scoffing at the notion that Tracy's missing out/getting snubbed amid Luke's use of it.

And as others are also clarifying ... "Fast Car" was not originally released as country song -- and that, perhaps, the reason it's booming in the country scene right now is because a huge country star did their own rendition with it. That's also known as ... a crossover cover.

We're also just now getting to a huge part of this ... namely, the fact that Tracy has gone on record to applaud Luke for his cover -- and more importantly, the enormous amount of royalties this has generated for her ... seeing how she's the original songwriter here.

Tracy said, "I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.'" In other words ... she seems to be more than fine with this.

Tom Cruise is flying high in the new 'Mission: Impossible,' but the flick itself is already coming in for a mediocre landing at the box office ... at least that's the outlook.

The early ticket sale numbers are in, and with the pace it's currently at right now ... 'Dead Reckoning: Part One' is projected to rake in about $78 million domestically through its 5-day run. The movie got released early this past week, with full screenings starting Tuesday.

The problem with that figure, assuming it holds true through Sat/Sun, is that the early estimates had 'M:I 7' coming in at a way higher amount ... about $90 mil in North America.

While the early global box office numbers have helped boost 'Dead Reckoning' to a total projected opening of about $122 mil thus far ... the movie is still well below its reported budget of $290 million (for just Part 1, mind you). At this rate, it needs to have the kind of legs "Top Gun: Maverick" had to make its money back ... let alone turn a profit.

Meanwhile, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are waiting in the wings ... with both set to come out next week, and likely knocking 'M:I 7' down a few notches. "Barbie," particularly, is expected to take the cake among the 3 films ... with a projected domestic opening of $93 million.

Considering all the marketing that's gone into "Barbie," ya gotta figure their actual haul will be somewhat close to that number ... not to mention whatever "Oppenheimer" snags as well.

In any case, this appears to be bad news for Tom and co. ... again, only if these figures work out how they're expected to. Funny enough, Tom has been embracing all the summer blockbusters -- encouraging moviegoers to go see all the big flicks coming out, including his direct competition. He did this publicly amid reports that he was actually pissed BTS.

The irony, of course, is that Tom is a huge advocate of seeing movies in theaters ... and he's repeatedly gone on record as touting that as his ultimate goal as he continues his legacy.

The new live-action "Snow White" movie is sure gonna look different from what most people remember about the fairy tale classic -- 'cause there are hardly any dwarves to be found.

A handful of on-set photos were published this week -- with production going down in the London area -- and based on the images here ... you can see Disney's made a conscious decision to lose most of the heigh-ho crew and replace them with random, ordinary people.

Take a look ... there's only 1 little person featured in the 7-man (and now woman) brigade. There's also a man in blue leading the charge who doesn't seem to be a "dwarf" himself.

As for the others ... aside from the shorter guy toward the front, the rest of the dwarves are of typical height. In fact, the last one in the very back actually looks to be quite tall. The dwarves, as it were, are also of mixed races and genders ... but it's very clear they're the ones that Snow White meets in the woods and befriends through her magical adventure.

Speaking of SW ... the woman who's seen here in the red hood is actually Rachel Zegler's stand-in. No word on why Zegler herself wasn't on set for this day of shooting, but she's already been spotted out in the whole Snow White getup ... looking kinda Disneyland-esque.

Also worth noting, Disney has tried clarifying what's being depicted in these pics. They say there are 2 stand-ins for a couple of their main actors -- Zegler and a guy named Andrew Burnap -- and that these photos weren't official film photos. Sooo ... pickup shots then?

What Disney appears to concede in their ever-evolving statements about these pics is that this is, in fact, what the movie will look like as it pertains to portraying the classic dwarves as we know them ... aka, they're pivoting away from having 7 "dwarfs" on camera together.

Remember, they actually said they'd be doing this on the heels of Peter Dinklage's viral tirade about the film ... when he went on Marc Maron's podcast to rail against the fact they were going to feature dwarves in a manner he characterized as backwards and insulting.

While some were outraged about the fact that Zegler, a Latina, would be playing Snow White ... he was more concerned about showing little people in a demeaning way, and Disney heard him loud and clear ... changing course. At the time, they said ... "To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community."

Steph Curry sinks it from deep on the basketball court, and he can do the same on the golf course too ... just take a look at what he did in Tahoe this weekend.

The Warriors star was playing in the American Century Championship tournament Saturday, and he took a big swing on the 7th hole ... which is a whopping 152 yards to the green. Welp, he had no issue getting the ball there -- in fact, the dude hit a freakin' hole-in-one!!!

Check it out ... he lets off a beautiful swing, and the ball goes soaring where it needs to be. As the announcers note, he can really play ... proven by the fact that he sunk it in one shot.

His celebration was just as awesome ... SC goes running toward the green with his arms extended, this as the crowd goes wild all around him. Steph takes a victory lap around his landing zone and hugs it out with his team and caddies. Indeed, it was quite something.

BTW, the dude's been pulling off crazy trick shots like this throughout the tournament ... including a fantastic putt yesterday, which looked magical as it veered left and went right into the hole. Movie stuff, really.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. floated a theory this week, suggesting COVID-19 was manufactured to attack certain races/ethnicities, and to skip others ... including Jewish people.

The Dem presidential hopeful was at a dinner in NYC Friday when he made the inflammatory comments -- which were actually caught on camera and published by the NY Post. In the clip, RFK Jr. starts out by talking about bioweapons, and then moves on to the virus.

He says there's evidence backing the notion that COVID was designed to be "ethnically targeted," adding there are studies that show it hit certain demographics harder than others.

As he explains -- to the clear discomfort of others around him -- COVID was allegedly more prone to latch onto and "attack" Caucasians and Black people because of their genetic makeup ... but then says Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese folks are the most immune to it.

The guy hedges things a bit by saying it's unclear if the virus was purposely designed to act in this way, but it seems clear he's trying to entertain a conspiracy theory here -- and a lot of people have called his remarks antisemitic and racist. And yet, RFK Jr.'s defending himself.

He said NYP was mistaken, adding, "I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews."

RFK Jr. went on ... "In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered." He linked to a NIH study about genetic susceptibility pertaining to COVID.

The mystery of whether "Raquel" (now Rachel) Leviss has all the cards in her negotiations with Bravo is a mystery no more, because we've learned she's bound by an existing contract.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Bravo has a contract with Leviss which binds her to Season 11 of "Vanderpump Rules."

Leviss' rep tells TMZ, "She has been under contract ... She is just renegotiating possible terms."

The word "possible" is highly relevant, since Bravo has a right to lock Leviss in at the rate mentioned in her contract. It's not uncommon in the reality world for some cast members to try and get a bump, but Bravo could reject that and Leviss would still be bound by her contract.

There is a wild card. TMZ broke the story, Leviss left the mental health facility she called home for 2 months about a week ago. Although we're told she's doing a lot better, she could almost certainly quit the show if she felt it would compromise her mental health and a doctor agreed.

In case you didn't see our story Friday, she's now going by her government name, Rachel, because her therapists convinced her all the detractors who are using that name as a slight would be disempowered if she embraced the name.

Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky might be separated ... but the two are still having fun at each other's expense.

Case in point ... Mauricio posted a series of recent Instagram photos looking buff with his shirt off inside a gym. In the caption, he admits he was fat and out of shape six years ago ... but his plan is to get more fit each year going forward.

Kyle then jumped in the comments section and playfully needled her hubby of 27 years, writing, "Must be Ozempic," with 2 laughing emojis. Maurico responded with three smiling and crying emojis.

Clearly, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars were joking around about the controversial weight-loss medication.

Nice to see the pair sharing a light moment after they reportedly split earlier this month, although they haven't gone far from one another ... the couple are still living under the same roof as they try to iron out their differences and take care of their kids.

Taylor Swift took a break from her Eras Tour to go out and vote in her hometown of Nashville ... and she's calling on her millions of fans to follow suit.

The pop star posted a message to her Instagram story Friday ... informing her Tennessee neighbors early voting for their city officials and some state seats had already begun. She also attached a photo of herself wearing a sticker that read, "I voted today."

Taylor continued, "We have the opportunity to choose those who will represent us for the next four years ... I urge each and every one of you to do the same and make your voice heard."

She ended by providing a link to her followers instructing them on how to get to the polls for early voting.

Politics has piqued Taylor's interest in the past. In 2018, Taylor endorsed Phil Bredesen, who was running for the Tennessee Senate seat as a Democrat, but he lost to Republican Marsha Blackburn.

The following year, Taylor penned a letter to Republican Tennessee Senator, Lamar Alexander, encouraging him to get behind the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation.

Even though the legislation had already been passed by the House of Representatives, a number of Republicans voiced their opposition to it.

Taylor has also tweeted about her views against racism and police brutality.

Tom Holland is playing a gay man in a new TV show ... but it's not sitting well with some of his 'Spider-Man' fans while others are defending him.

Holland -- who recently announced he will return to the superhero role in "Spider Man 4" -- came under fire on social media Friday for his part in the Apple TV series, "The Crowded Room."

In one scene, Holland and another man have steamy sex, which sparked the online outrage.

One person tweeted, "Tom Gone Wrong #NotMySpiderMan."

Another wrote, "LMAOOOOOOO dis is really somebody’s favorite Spider-Man"

It's probably a mix of unabashed homophobia and people who think only a gay actor should play a gay role.

But some of Tom's fervent supporters responded to the online haters by arguing previous 'Spider-Man' actors had taken similar LGBTQ roles, such as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

Denise Russo, famous for appearing on VH1's "The X-Life," died from a lethal combination of two of the most powerful drugs on the streets ... TMZ has learned.

According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner, Denise died from the toxic effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine in what's being ruled an accidental overdose.

We broke the story ... Denise was found unresponsive on the floor of a friend's home in San Diego back in March and was pronounced dead.

Police said drug paraphernalia was found at the scene, and the medical examiner notes the same thing ... saying paramedics arrived and performed "aggressive attempts at resuscitation" on the 44-year-old.

Denise was featured on the 2011 reality show, which followed the lives of extreme sports athletes and their partners ... she was dating professional skateboarder Pierre-Luc Gagnon at the time. Denise and Pierre-Luc had a son together, but had since broken up.

Britney Spears' memoir is a hot commodity, but she may not do the audio version, and boy, is the Kevin Costner divorce ugly. So we gotta ask ...

Mark Zuckerberg is getting the ultimate stamp of approval from the world's best pound-for-pound MMA fighter ... with featherweight G.O.A.T. Alex Volkanovski giving a personal guarantee that Zuck's ability would impress even his most ardent critic.

Volkanovski joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... and talked about his recent training session with the Meta CEO in Northern California.

"I guarantee you, you guys would be very surprised," Alex said of Zuck's aptitude on the mat.

Of course, we've seen Mark train in the past ... but what really took people by storm was his physique in a shirtless photo he posed for along with Alex and friend/gym-mate, Israel Adesanya.

"As you can see from that photo, I think that's what raised a lot of eyebrows, he's in shape," Volk said ... but it's not just about vanity, the muscles are functional.

"I mean you can see it that he's in shape but he really is in shape. It's not just looks, he really is, mate. He trains, he's pretty athletic, he's coordinated and he's committed," Alex explained, adding, "He's got a passion for it."

As for whether Zuck gave Volk any inside information on the fight ... the UFC champ clearly believes Mark is training for a reason.

"Man, I'm telling you he's serious. I don't know how serious Elon is, but I'm telling you, he's training!"

There's more ... we also talked to Volkanovski about his latest title defense against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 -- another dominating performance.

A-listers Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman are one heck of a dynamic duo to say the least, but can you put YOUR star power to the test and detect the discreet differences in these A-list images? Ready? Action!

The two movie stars paid a visit to London earlier this week ahead of their newest project's release, Paramount+'s "Special Ops: Lioness," and they sure dressed the part, looking fierce AF in front of the city's skyline.

Thumbs up if you can score the changes!

Neyo White, the TikToker who says an infamous chemical peel led to severe burns, is now feeling like a million bucks ... 'cause he just scored a huge payday in court.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, Neyo was awarded $1 million in damages at the end of June in his lawsuit against Diamond Facez Skin Care Bar in ATL and the woman he says administered the peel, who's also the CEO.

Here's the breakdown of the damages ... Neyo is getting $750K in compensatory -- two-thirds of that comes from the company, and the rest comes from the CEO. He's getting another $250K in punitive damages.

We reached out to Diamond Facez Skin Care Bar for comment ... so far, no word back.

In case ya forgot, Neyo went viral last year after his treatment from hell ... which he said landed him in the hospital with painful burns.

He told us all about the scary aftermath of the peel and insisted he was definitely going to be taking legal action.

Neyo, who has since started his own skincare line called Neyo Skincare Brand, eventually got laser treatments to fix the burns -- seeing an almost immediate difference, which was a huge boost to his confidence.