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Diddy chose to do the right thing over money -- evidenced in the fact that he turned down a fortune to make sure his former artists have control of their own music .. TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the media mogul and Bad Boy label honcho is making an unprecedented move in the music industry right now -- namely, handing over the publishing rights to several of his former BB acts ... and forsaking a lot of cash to do so.

Word of this started to percolate just a few days ago, when Cam'ron took to social media to announce that Ma$e had finally sealed the deal with Puff and secured his catalog for himself.

It sounds like that had been a long time coming, but what we're told is ... Ma$e is far from the only ex-Bad Boy artist to be receiving the rights to their music -- several others have recently signed deals with Diddy to do the exact same thing, including some huge names.

Our sources tell us that some of the other artists to have gotten a similar deal recently include ... Faith Evans, The Lox, 112, the Notorious B.I.G.'s estate, and others. BTW, Diddy is hooking up the writers who were working with him too ... they're getting a cut in all this.

Here's the kicker ... in opting to do this -- which we're told Diddy sees as the noble move -- he actually sacrificed quite a bit of dough, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Our sources say Diddy has been approached for Bad Boy's entire portfolio and was offered a king's ransom for it all ... but he turned that down and chose to go down this route instead.

Again, we're told the rationale for this boils down to wanting to revolutionize the industry with this to empower artists and to switch up the dynamic -- which has been a certain way for a long time. As part of his legacy, Diddy's hoping to enrich others in his community.

This is a big part of Diddy's identity lately -- as seen with other charitable efforts he's taken -- and now ... he's mirroring that same energy here as a label exec, choosing people over personal wealth. Our sources say he hopes others in the music biz will follow suit.

Diddy's empire is already as big as they come, so the fact he's breaking a small piece of it off and giving back to those who helped him build this is a pretty awesome thing to see.

Dodgers star Julio Urias was arrested Sunday night for felony domestic violence in Los Angeles, TMZ Sports has learned.

Details surrounding the arrest are not currently clear ... but we know the 27-year-old starting pitcher was taken into custody at the LAFC vs. Inter Miami game (he was there to watch Lionel Messi) just after 11 PM, and transported to an LAPD jail, where he was booked around 1 AM.

Urias was listed at 6'1 and 240 lbs. on his jail booking sheet.

Bond was set at $50K ... and after 4 hours behind bars, Urias -- who is earning over $14 million this season -- posted and was released around 5 AM Monday morning.

It's not the first time Julio has been arrested for domestic violence. Back in May 2019, Urias was involved in an alleged incident at the Beverly Center mall in Beverly Hills. Urias was accused of pushing a woman he was with, however, the alleged victim told investigators she simply fell.

Ultimately, prosecutors did not charge Urias with a crime. Still, Urias was suspended 20 games by MLB for violating their Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy.

Urias, who will be a free agent after this season, last pitched for the Dodgers on Friday, September 1 ... a subpar outing for him, giving up 5 earned runs in 5 innings of work.

Julio, who won a World Series in 2020, has a court date scheduled for later this month.

Story developing ...

Smash Mouth's lead singer, Steve Harwell, has died ... TMZ has learned.

The rock band's longtime frontman -- who was one of the original founding members dating back to 1994 -- passed away Monday morning at his home in Boise, Idaho as a result of liver failure -- this according to his manager.

We're told he was surrounded by family and friends and passed peacefully and comfortably.

TMZ broke the story ... Steve had been in hospice and was given only days to live this past weekend. As such, he was receiving end-of-life care at home with friends/family. We'd been told he succumbed to his health battles over alcohol abuse, among other ailments.

Remember, SH announced he was retiring from performing a couple years ago following a show in which he was found to have been slurring his words and acting erratic onstage.

His passing marks a tragic day for Smash Mouth fans -- of which there are many. His band skyrocketed to fame in the late '90s and early 2000s, on account of their album "Astro Lounge" ... which featured some of their most famous songs, like "All Star."

Of course, their involvement in the "Shrek" film put them on another level of fame -- as did their cover of The Monkees' hit song "I'm a Believer." Around this time, they were huge. Other notable tracks that Steve contributed to ... "Walkin' On the Sun," "Then the Morning Comes," "Can't Get Enough of You Baby," "Pacific Coast Party" and "Why Can't We Be Friends."

Steve dealt with hardships through much of his life -- his infant son died at only 6 months due to leukemia -- and he himself had been diagnosed with illnesses over the years too.

Despite this, he carried on with a smile and did what he loved in music and performing ... bringing joy to many, many listeners throughout his career. Steve was only 56.

Joe Jonas has been shopping for divorce lawyers, as TMZ first reported, but he's not giving up the symbol of marriage ... he was wearing his wedding ring Sunday night at his concert.

Joe and his bros performed at the Moody Center in Austin, and the gold band on his ring finger was impossible to miss.

It's unclear what message he's sending, but it comes after fans noticed he had not been wearing the ring recently and people began to wonder if the marriage was in trouble.

TMZ broke the story ... Joe and wife Sophie Turner have been having problems for the last 6 months and Joe's team has contacted at least 2 divorce lawyers over the past few days for the purpose of ending his marriage.

Sophie was rocking out at Yankee Stadium at the Jonas Brothers’ kickoff concert last month but has been MIA ever since.

As we reported, Joe has been caring for the couple's 2 young children most of the time over the last 3 months, even as the band toured the U.S.

TMZ also noted that regardless of whether he rocks the ring or doesn't ... our sources are firm on this much -- their marriage is circling the drain and on its way to family court in due time.

Hollywood's elite came out in force Sunday night to watch soccer star Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team go up against the Los Angeles Football Club.

Will Ferrell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Tom Holland, David Beckham, Selena Gomez, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis were all on hand to enjoy the match-up at BMO Stadium in LA.

Oh, and some royalty showed up too ... Prince Harry was seen smiling from ear to ear as he took in the Major League Soccer game, but his wife, Meghan Markle, was MIA.

Harry was sitting in a box seat near Ferrell (co-owner of LAFC), DiCaprio, and the other famous faces in the crowd. At one point, Harry appeared giddy while tightly gripping his LAFC scarf, leaving no doubt which team he was rooting for.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori can't seem to stay out of trouble in Italy ... the couple was reportedly barred from using a Venice boat rental company due to indecent exposure.

The ban stems from an incident last Monday when the rapper and his model wife were riding in a water taxi through the historic island city, according to Daily Mail Australia.

One photo caught Bianca kneeling in front of Kanye, who was seated on a bench with his hand gripping the back of her head. Another snap showed Kanye's pants pulled down from behind, revealing his butt crack.

The water taxi company, Venezia Turismo Motoscafi, was totally in the dark until the images surfaced in the media.

Now, a rep for the company has issued a statement, saying, Ye and Bianca are "no longer welcome" on its vessels.

The spokesperson insisted the driver didn't see "these obscenities" because he was too busy operating the boat. If he had, he would have immediately reported Ye and Bianca to the authorities.

What's more ... the rep claimed a third person, who was with Ye and Bianca, blocked the driver's view of the couple.

Jimmy Fallon's spinning quite the story about the creator of the Timothée Chalamet puppet he uses on the 'Tonight Show' ... at least according to the guy, who says he had nothing to do with shutting down one of Jimmy's skits.

Here's the deal ...  Jimmy told the tale on his new podcast, "Strike Force Five" -- which he launched with fellow late-night talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver.

In the pod's premiere episode, Jimmy said Timothée wasn't a fan of the look-alike doll, and the plan was to have the actor destroy the puppet during a 'Tonight Show' appearance ... that is until Chris Alan, the puppet creator, chimed in and said he was offended. According to Jimmy, the whole bit was then scrapped.

Chris tells us he was shocked when he heard Jimmy on the podcast because according to him, it's 100% false. He says no one reached out to him about killing the puppet ... and, if they had, he wouldn't care, because the 'Tonight Show' bought it from him.

Now, he does say he had a convo with Timothée's team when the "Dune" star was going to be a 'Tonight Show' guest in 2019. Chris says they planned to flip the script on the host with a Fallon puppet.

Chris whipped one up in just 3 weeks time, but at the last minute Timothée's team scrapped the whole idea.

Obviously, we're not talking capital crimes here, but in fairness to Chris ... he feels like Jimmy's podcast tale is painting him as a villain.

Britney Spears has been steering clear of a bunch of different social media deals, TMZ has learned ... despite a potentially big payday for some Instagram posts.

We've learned several companies have contacted Britney's reps, asking if she'd promote their products online for a decent chunk of change.

We're told Britney has turned thumbs down on the offers, in part because she wasn't crazy about the companies. We're also told the companies wanted more than just a post ... they wanted a photo shoot and some video of her pitching the product.

There is big money to be made ... we're hearing Gwyneth Paltrow gets around $100k for a single Insta post promoting products, and Kim Kardashian has snagged around a million bucks for a single post.

Britney has around 42 million followers on social media, so she could make a killing, but for now, she's taking a hard pass.

Jeanie Buss is usually rocking power suits in business meetings, but over the weekend -- she was decked out in all white on the beach ... this after getting married, TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the Lakers owner got hitched to comedian Jay Mohr Sunday during a small, intimate ceremony in Malibu -- where about 20 close friends and family members in attendance ... and the bride and groom looking happy as can be.

As you can see in this photo, Jay was over the moon when Jeanie said "I do" ... sweeping her off her feet and holding his bride up with a gorgeous backdrop behind them. BTW, our sources say there weren't any famous people in attendance ... meaning no players.

That's reflected in the vibe here -- super casualchill, but Jeanie looks great in her gown -- which is quite traditional. It's a great ending for a couple who's been together for years now.

While she first went public with their relationship just in 2021 ... we know she and Jay had quietly started dating as early as 2017 -- this after she broke it off with one-time fiancé Phil Jackson in 2016. Since then, Jeanie and Jay have been inseparable -- and very in love.

They announced their engagement in December 2022 ... and now 9 months later, they're man and wife.

Sure, Terence Crawford's the undisputed welterweight champ, but out of his 40 professional fights, the only legit threat was Errol Spence ... so says Canelo Alvarez who tells TMZ Sports he respects the dude a great deal, but their resumes aren't comparable!

Obviously, Crawford (40-0) has been the talk of boxing since his TKO win over Spence on July 29, with many calling him the face of boxing, and the world's best pound-for-pound boxer.

Since then, Alvarez has been hounded with questions about whether he'd fight Crawford. We asked Canelo if he was tired of talking about Bud.

"No, look, like I always said, I respect Terence Crawford," Alvarez told Babcock. "He's a very talented fighter but he just won one big fight."

"If you see his record, he just beat one good fighter in Errol Spence. Other than that, I don't think he's beaten other great fighters like Spence."

Alvarez, on the other hand, has fought a bunch of beasts over his legendary career 59-2 career, including Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, and Gennady Golovkin. Up next is the undisputed super middleweight champ, Jermell Charlo, who he's fighting on September 30 in Las Vegas.

"Jermell Charlo is a great fighter, he's a talented fighter and he's undisputed in his weight class," Alvarez said. "It's going to be a good fight so I'm happy to be in this kind of fight, in the big fights."

"The fight is almost here so I'm excited. I'm excited because I feel great."

These gorgeous gals have had their ovens turned on for 9 long months and are in desperate need of a water break! But before their little miracles pop out of the oven, can you guess the mystery mom who's rockin' the baby bump?!

Whether gearing up for a laborious day of work or just going out with a glow for a night out on the town, these hot Hollywood mommas deserve some R&R!

Lay your celeb knowledge out on the (delivery) table and push through our gallery to see which celebs are ready to pop, lock, and drop it!

Hurricane Chris was found not guilty of 2nd-degree murder in March ... a grueling three-year battle, the "Ay Bay Bay" rapper says cost him over a million dollars in potential earnings.

It's a point of contention for Chris, who tells us the Shreveport police didn't properly investigate the scene back in June 2020 and he's now preparing to sue for all damages and lost wages.

A jury determined Chris acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Danzeria Farris Jr. at a Texaco station in their hometown ... but only, he claims, after a key investigator was nailed on the stand for failing to track the witnesses and identify the threat on Chris' life.

Chris says the situation left him remorseful, as he's actually friends with some of the deceased's family members. He's excited to resume his career ... which will include acting.

Chris says he had to miss out on auditions for hit TV shows such as "Snowfall" and 50 Cent's "BMF" ... roles he says his real-life experiences would've enabled him to slay.

On the music front, Chris is aiming for a comeback with a pair of mixtapes he plans on dropping before the year is up.

Before this cute kid in her floral dress turned into a famous comedian, she was just roaming around the fields of Livingston, New Jersey with lemons in hand, hangin' with all her siblings and chasing her Hollywood dreams!

You probably first heard of this funny gal on late-night TV where she brought on other fellow comedians such as Michael Yo and Heather McDonald. And in more recent years, she's provided a plethora of laughs on Netflix ... i.e.: hosting and partaking in a 'high spelling bee' in her swimming pool.

Need another hint? Bert and Bernice!

Chrisean Rock is now a mom, 'cause she just gave birth to her son ... and she did on the 'Gram, no less.

The rapper was livestreaming her delivery Sunday on from her Instagram account, which captured her on a hospital bed with friends and family all around -- this while she pushed, screamed and, eventually, cried tears of joy.

Indeed, the baby appears to have been secured safely ... but it was a process. At one point in the livestream, Chrisean could be seen/heard saying -- "Get this n**** out!" as doctors worked on her. No word on how long she was in labor, but the baby boy has arrived.

Chrisean's baby daddy, Blueface, was nowhere to be seen in her video ... there's footage circulating of him online right now that appears to show him in a different city entirely.

He's made it clear throughout this whole saga ... Chrisean isn't his #1 anymore, even as he's been confronted with paternity. Remember, he's got other children from different women.

Anyhoo, Chrisean seems to have had some kind of support system around her. With that said, her pregnancy has been controversial ... with many weighing on how she'd carried herself through parts of it, including instances of her smoking with a bun in the oven.

President Biden says he hasn't a chance to visit East Palestine -- where a disastrous train derailment occurred -- but his critics say ... that's BS, seeing how often he vacations.

Joe was in Florida Saturday surveying the damage left behind by Hurricane Idalia, and while he was talking to the media ... one reporter asked him about an awful event from months ago -- bringing up the Ohio city and wondering why POTUS hasn't gone to see it.

Of course, the journo noted that the Prez explicitly said he'd get around to it at some point -- but as of now, he has yet to make an in-person appearance in East Palestine ... and now, months later, there doesn't seem to be any indication he plans to in the near future either.

JB's response to this is getting roasted -- he says he hasn't occasion to go visit East Palestine, arguing that he's been too busy with all the engagements he's had to attend to ... including some overseas.

President Biden even said he was considering going to East Palestine this week -- but adds he was reminded he has elsewhere to be. Joe finished by saying he'd made sure the people of East Palestine had what they needed to recover ... but even that is being questioned.

Some of the scrutiny he's facing here has to do with his track record on vacation days since he's been in office -- and there's been many ... upwards of 40% of his presidency, in fact, is said to have been spent away from the White House/on overnight stays out of D.C.

We've seen a lot of this for ourselves these past few months ... the dude has been hitting the beach a ton this summer -- especially out in Delaware, where he has a summer home.

There've also been quite a few bike rides Joe's gone on since being sworn in, and just last week ... he was out in Lake Tahoe. And yes -- he goes to Camp David a lot too with his fam -- and the record is starting to stack up against him, as far as his haters are concerned.

Emma Stone is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for a new movie of hers -- where she's in some balls-to-the-wall sex scenes, baring it all ... even though her character's technically a child.

This one's a little dicey, but it's being talked about a ton this weekend among attendees at both the Telluride Film Festival here in Colorado and the Venice Film Festival in Italy -- where her latest offering, "Poor Things," got screened ... and which is getting rave reviews.

The movie's about a lady who gets brought back to life, Frankenstein-style, but this time ... with the brain of a young kid. So, she's back all doe-eyed/naïve -- and apparently horny too.

As far as what age she's supposed to be portraying in the film ... it's hard to pin down exactly, but some outlets have used the term "infant" to characterize the type of child she's playing (in an adult's body). Essentially, her role as Bella supposedly plays out a sexual liberation odyssey ... and word is, this one is raunchy as hell -- with ES embracing all of it.

If that sounds controversial, well ... that's because it is, but that's not stopping the director, Yorgos Lanthimos, from heaping on the praise -- let alone apologizing for the content.

During a press interview at Venice, Yorgos said Emma was with him every step of the way in terms of playing out the graphic sex he wanted to show on camera ... noting she was fearless in doing so and had no shame to show anything off. So, yeah -- full nudity it seems.

While the subject matter might come across as, perhaps, a little too edgy ... film snobs who are there and have seen it are groveling over "Poor Things" -- calling it a sensation, and also claiming that Emma is definitely going to be a front-runner for Best Actress come 2024.

BTW, Emma's flick is far from the only one at these film fests that apparently dabbles in hanky-panky. A good handful of others are said to do the same ... including some portraying gay relationships. S/O Jacob Elordi, Barry Keogan, Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott.