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We now know why Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" music video was edited ... because the production company skirted the rules and used FOX footage without permission.

Sources connected to the music video production tell TMZ ... back when they were producing the video, the company that produced it reached out to FOX on May 8 and asked for permission to use the 6 seconds of video shot by FOX 5 Atlanta ... showing violence at a BLM rally.

We're told the folks at FOX asked for more information ... specifically the lyrics of the song. We're told the production company sent FOX a link to the song -- which was released May 19 -- but the protocol was to send the lyrics in writing, which they never did.

The music video was released July 14 and the footage was in the vid, projecting on the courthouse behind Jason.

Our sources say a week ago, FOX reached out to the production company and asked them to remove the video to avoid any legal action -- which was described to us as a "polite ultimatum" -- and the production company complied.

So the new, edited video has actually been online for an entire week before anyone noticed.

The federal government goes to great lengths to keep alien spacecraft secret from the public, even killing its own citizens ... at least that's what a whistleblower is strongly suggesting.

The bombshell claim was levied during Wednesday's historic Congressional hearing on UFOs ... with former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch hinting murder has been a key part of a government conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrials.

Ya gotta see the exchange on Capitol Hill ... Rep. Tim Burchett straight-up asks Grusch if he has any personal accounts of people being murdered over something they've seen in our skies.

The whistleblower's answer is revealing ... "I have to be careful answering that question. I directed people with that knowledge to the appropriate authorities."

Grusch is one of 3 whistleblowers from our military testifying under oath about UFOs and secret government programs allegedly involving extraterrestrial technology. He claims almost 95 percent of UFO sightings go unreported, mainly out of fear of being blackballed, or worse.

The 2 other men being sworn in are Navy fighter pilot commander David Fravor, a witness of the infamous "Tic Tac" UFO sighting, plus former pilot Ryan Graves.

Grusch also testified the U.S. has known about extraterrestrials since at least the 1930s, with the feds covering up a longstanding government program that retrieves and reverse engineers UFOs ... or as he put it, "non-human" spacecraft and pilots.

It's not only politics that makes for strange bedfellows -- Ice Cube's unloading on Barack Obama, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19 vaccines and more ... with, of all people, Tucker Carlson.

The duo rolled through South L.A. together for an episode of Tucker's show on Twitter -- and they quickly found common ground on several topics ... starting with former President Obama. Cube said he was proud America had elected a Black man, and thought maybe "this guy is gonna be the guy."

But, ultimately Cube feels Obama -- like all of his White House predecessors -- did nothing to change his life.

Tucker and the rapper/actor also bro'd out on BLM ... Cube's criticism being the org didn't improve things for the Black people he knows and loves, while Tucker's voice-over and editing attacked BLM for allegedly misappropriating millions of dollars.

Interestingly, Tucker -- a staunch and vocal proponent of police -- never asked Cube about writing the song "F**k Tha Police." 🤔 Interesting.

Jason Aldean has quietly trimmed a portion of his controversial music video for "Try That in a Small Town" ... and one of the pieces he ditched is from a BLM protest.

The country singer's video is now missing 6 seconds of its original upload. What's missing -- footage of violence at a BLM rally, projected on a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teenager was lynched in 1927.

The scrubbed footage was shot by Fox 5 Atlanta. We reached out to Fox 5 to find out if they asked that the footage be removed ... so far, no response.

It's unclear why the footage was stripped from the project, but as we reported, Jason received major backlash over the song last week -- after folks accused him of going after the BLM movement.

Jason was adamant, the song is not an attack on BLM or in any way racist. It has soared up the charts since the controversy erupted after the music video was released.

Jason stood by his video again last week -- telling a concert crowd he's a proud American and is hoping to put the country back to "what it once was before all this bulls*** started happening to us."

We discussed the controversy surrounding the song on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Bronny James is doing well enough after his health scare that his parents are "relieved," sources with knowledge tell TMZ Sports.

LeBron and wife Savannah put everything on hold Monday after Bronny suffered cardiac arrest while practicing at USC.

TMZ broke the story ... Bronny, who was unconscious, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and taken to the ICU.

We're told Bronny is doing much better ... well enough that his parents are calmer. Not to say, of course, they're not anxious to know what caused Bronny's heart to stop, but they seem to have gotten enough reassurance from his doctors to tamp down the fear. One word used to describe them -- "optimistic."

One sign that must have reassured LeBron and Savannah -- Bronny was only in ICU for a short time.

LeBron and Savannah have yet to say anything publicly about Bronny's situation ... but his brother, Bryce, posted a pic with Bronny Tuesday and a heart emoji.

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's romance came as a surprise to the Broadway actor's now-estranged wife who feels he abandoned his family ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Lilly Jay -- who married Slater back in 2018 -- tell us she's devastated her family's been torn apart. She's also upset their young son, who was born in August 2022, won't have both his mom and dad around constantly, now that they've split.

Our sources say Lilly and Ethan aren't on good terms now that the Ariana relationship is full steam ahead.

We're also told, for her part, Lilly feels like he's completely turned his back on his family.

What's more, we're told Ariana actually used to hang out with both Ethan and Lilly while they were still a happily married couple, and she even liked his Instagram tribute to Lilly on Mother's Day this year. Remember, we're told Ariana and Ethan's romantic relationship started several months ago.

The whole thing has left Lilly feeling betrayed and heartbroken ... according to our sources.

Additional sources close to the situation tell us, "It's understandable that emotions are high and it's hard seeing your ex move on, especially in such a public way, and her friends are trying to protect her. But Ari and Ethan are just trying to lay low and be respectful of their exes as they pursue this new relationship."

TMZ broke the story ... Ariana and Ethan first met on the set of "Wicked" and their relationship grew from there. Sources close to them have maintained both Ariana and Ethan were split from their spouses -- Dalton Gomez and Lilly -- when they got together.

Sources tell us while they haven't yet filed divorce docs, there's definitely one on the horizon for Ariana and Dalton.

As for Lilly and Ethan ... it doesn't appear either has filed yet, but it sounds like things are beyond repair.

Ariana Madix fired some shots at Tom Sandoval during her dream come true appearance on "Love Island USA" ... in a game all about knowing your partner's true colors.

The "Vanderpump Rules" star made her villa debut Tuesday night, hosting the "Mr. and Mrs." game for this season's islanders -- telling contestants she "can't wait to see who's actually been taking the time to get to know one another."

A great setup for a jab at Tom -- then saying "Take it from me, it's important to know who you're dating or sharing a bed with." Ariana adds, "If they're not the one for you, trust me, it's better to find out sooner rather than later."

'VPR' fans remember "Love Island" was the topic of a pretty dramatic convo between Ariana and Tom just before their split. She was talking with him about spending quality time, and he responded, "I don't have time to watch 50 goddamn episodes of Love Island."

As we reported, Ariana was over the moon Tuesday, sharing a first look at her time gathering around the fire pit in Fiji ... and her recent appearance is on top of multiple brand deals, joining the cast of "Dancing with the Stars," and filming a new season of "VPR."

Kevin Spacey is cleared of sexual assault charges in his UK trial -- a London jury just found him not guilty.

The verdict was handed down in Southwark Crown Court Wednesday in London after 2 days of jury deliberation.

Spacey was originally facing 13 counts including sexual assault, indecent assault, and causing a person to engage in a sexual activity without consent. The 4 indecent assault charges were dropped, with the judge citing its removal as a "legal technicality." He was found not guilty of the remaining charges.

It's a huge victory for Spacey, who had been facing the possibility of life in prison if he'd been convicted.

As we reported, Spacey's been on trial in London for allegedly sexually assaulting 4 men from 2001 to 2013. The trial kicked off at the end of June, and he was spotted looking cheerful as he headed into court for the first day.

Prosecutors claimed Spacey performed oral sex on a man while he was asleep, was aggressively "touchy-feely" with one of his drivers, and even groped a man backstage -- something the alleged victim said was done "with such force it was painful."

A lot came out during the trial -- for starters, one of his alleged accusers compared him to his serial killer character in "Se7en" ... telling cops in a prerecorded interview the actor was "a bit like that. A bit creepy. Maybe not quite as bad."

Spacey took the stand last week, describing one of the accusers as funny and charming, describing himself as a "big flirt" and insisting what went down between them was gentle and consensual.

He admitted he really liked the man, but claimed he never knew he would "stab me in the back" 20 years later. Spacey said he thinks his 4 accusers were attacking him after regretting being intimate with him.

Elton John's name came up during the trial because one of the accusers claimed he was groped by Spacey while driving to the singer's annual White Tie and Tiara Ball in either 2004 or 2005.

The Rocket Man himself actually testified remotely during the trial, saying Spacey only attended 1 of his bashes in 2001, not 2004-05. Elton's husband, David Furnish, also said Elton's recollection of the timing was backed up by photos of the past events.

In closing arguments, Spacey's defense team told the jury, "It is not a crime to have sex, even if you’re famous" -- adding it's also not a crime to sleep with someone "of the opposite sex, because it’s 2023 and not 1823."

Timbaland's back in the studio -- with real humans, after entertaining the thought of AI -- with his longtime pals Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado!!!

The "Dream Team" trio was apparently up late in the studio on Tuesday night ... sharing several pics of themselves with huge grins, a good sign the tunes are turning out right.

Nelly dialed in remotely from FaceTime while Timbaland and Justin were together in-studio ... but the reunion was still full circle.

Back in 2006, Timbaland oversaw the production of both JT and Nelly's blockbuster albums ... "FutureSex/LoveSounds" and "Loose" ... with both projects selling millions of records, opening the door for more collabs as the artists owned the dance floors for years.

A scene straight out of a Hollywood thriller unfolded in NYC, as a crane not only caught fire, but collapsed and crashed into a neighboring building ... sending people below running for cover.

The crane was operating on a vacant building near Hudson Yards when it caught fire. Emergency crews responded almost immediately but were essentially helpless as it burned hundreds of feet in the air.

Eventually, the flames got to be too much, and the crane snapped ... striking a neighboring building and falling to the ground.

Lionel Messi Mania is in full effect down in South Florida -- the soccer superstar scored two more goals for his new Inter Miami team on Tuesday night ... and a ton of celebs were there to celebrate.

The former Barcelona star suited up for the MLS squad for the second time in less than a week ... and he dazzled once again.

Coming off a game in which he netted the match-winner ... Messi poured two more balls into the net in just 78 minutes -- lifting his team to a 4-0 win over Atlanta United.

As it was last Friday night in his debut, celebs flocked to DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to get a glimpse of the soccer G.O.A.T.

DJ Khaled, P Diddy and Camila Cabello were all there ... and Inter Miami owner David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham rolled out the red carpet for them.

The A-listers sat in front-row seats ... and, at one point, DJ Khaled's son even got in on the action, helping escort Messi onto the field before play officially began.

Khaled was pumped over it all afterward ... thanking Beckham for the experience in an IG post.

Judge Greg Mathis got into it with some Los Angeles City employees ... but there are drastically different stories from each side as to just how intense things escalated.

Law enforcement sources tell us an employee from the L.A. Dept. of Water and Power made a report Tuesday accusing Mathis of threatening workers with a gun after a heated confrontation. According to the employee, Mathis got pissed after they asked him to move his vehicle -- words were exchanged -- and things escalated to the point of Mathis allegedly flashing and pointing his gun at the workers.

However, we spoke to Mathis, who has a much different story. Mathis tells us the employees were actually blocking his vehicle in, and he was unable to pull out of his driveway.

Mathis says one of the employees got smart with him when he stood in the street, saying if he didn't move, he'd get run over by their work truck. Mathis took that as a threat, and tells us he informed he had a weapon -- though he says he NEVER showed the gun, let alone pointed it at anyone.

Eventually, both sides cooled off ... and the LADWP employees continued on with their work further down the street.

Megan Fox is offering a helping hand to a friend in need -- this after the girl's father was diagnosed with cancer ... and it seems her good work is doing wonders for the cause.

The actress and model shared the link to a GoFundMe Monday, made for 64-year-old Michael Boyce by his daughter, Brittney -- who's Megan's nail tech.

M.F. says Michael was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and is asking her fans to help chip in towards his medical expenses ... and on the site, Brittney says her dad wasn't planning on retiring and had already missed a lot of work, and will likely be missing more.

Brittney says his new prescription isn't covered by insurance, and he already had to pay $1k out of pocket -- and that's not even a month's worth -- so she's hoping the money raised for her pops will help relieve the money pressures so he can focus on getting better.

Megan's reposting seems to have boosted Michael's donations quite a bit -- in just 3 days, the GoFundMe has climbed past $7,600 -- the goal's been raised to $60k.

While Megan's sharing certainly helped, she's been facing some backlash online ... with folks saying the "millionaire" is off base to ask others to pitch in when, in their minds, she could just cough up the loot herself.

It's no secret Drake loves his mom ... but he proved it in a huge way at his NYC concert Tuesday night, celebrating her in front of a sold-out crowd.

Drake escorted the family matriarch, Sandi Graham, onto the stage at Madison Square Garden and sat down on a leather couch alongside her.

He then cracked open a composition book and started rapping, "Look What You've Done," a 2011 tribute song he wrote for Sandi, his uncle and his grandmother.

As Sandi grooved to the lyrics, Drake slightly turned his head to her and sang, "You love me and I love you."

The two then embraced in a big hug before Drake ended by repeating the phrase, "Look what you've done," causing Sandi to get choked up with tears.

The audience also got emotional, shouting and wildly clapping.

If and when Bronny James needs advice on how to come back from a scary heart issue ... Ronny Turiaf, one of LeBron's old basketball pals, tells TMZ Sports he'll be there no questions asked for the teenager.

Turiaf, of course, famously underwent open heart surgery back in 2005 ... after docs found he had an enlarged aortic root. The procedure was terrifying -- it lasted hours ... and the former NBA player didn't know if he'd ever be able to hoop again even when he made it through it successfully.

But, he went on to recover fully ... playing 10 years in the NBA -- including one championship season with LBJ in Miami in 2011-12.

Now, Turiaf tells us he's more than willing to provide a helping hand for James' oldest son when it comes time for the USC star to try to get back on the hardwood following his heart scare on Monday.

"If Bronny ever wants to talk, I'm sure that I'll be more than happy to talk to him," Turiaf said on Tuesday, the 18th anniversary of his own heart procedure. "If at any given time he wants to talk, I'm always available."

TMZ broke the story ... Bronny was raced to a local hospital on Monday after he collapsed during a workout on SC's campus. Thankfully, he was able to be treated following the cardiac arrest ... and now, he's out of the ICU and recovering.

While it's unclear what ailment ultimately caused the issue for Bronny ... Turiaf was optimistic it'll all work out going forward.

Morgan Wallen's got a new favorite pair of boots ... at least, according to The Shoe Surgeon, who supplied the country star with some high priced you-know-what-kickers.

Dominic Chambrone, aka The Shoe Surgeon, tells TMZ ... Morgan debuted his custom Tecovas during his concert this past Saturday night at L.A.'s SoFi Stadium, and these babies are literally one of a kind.

We're told MW stopped by Dominic's studio a few months ago, and a design in his concept room really caught the singer's eye -- a pair of shoes inspired by professional BMX rider Nigel Sylvester's Air Jordan 1's.

The boots are hand-dyed python skin with yellow suede binding, and it's all hand scuffed to mimic Nigel's shoes. The finished products were hand-delivered to Morgan before Saturday's show, where he took 'em out for a spin onstage.

BTW, Dominic's cooked up customs for some other celebs recently ... like singer/rapper Peso Pluma and soccer star Kellyn Acosta.