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The jury didn't buy Jussie Smollett's claim he was the victim of a racist-homophobic attack, but the leaders of Black Lives Matter certainly do ... and the org. is sticking by the actor.

BLM and BLM LA released a statement before the verdict, in support of the "Empire" actor, saying ... "So let’s be clear: we love everybody in our community ... we can never believe police, especially the CPD over Jussie Smollett, a Black man who has been courageously present, visible, and vocal in the struggle for Black freedom."

Now, after Jussie's been found guilty, BLM LA leader Melina Abdullah tells us that stance hasn't changed -- Jussie has their full support. Abdula says the organization refuses to abandon its people and stands on the principle that the justice system is corrupt.

Smollett's former "Empire" costar, Bryshere Gray, is standing by his friend as well, telling us, "My prayers, love and support is unwavering for my brother Jussie and the Smollet Family."

Smollett was found guilty Thursday on 5 of 6 felony counts of lying to Chicago PD.

From the jump, Jussie denied claims he staged the 2019 attack ... sticking to his story when he reported it to police with the rope still around his neck.

Jussie now faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but considering he has no prior criminal record ... it's unclear if he'll get any time behind bars.

Demaryius Thomas, Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowler, has died at the age of 33, police tell TMZ Sports.

The cause of death is currently unclear ... but police tell us they found Thomas deceased in his Roswell, GA home Thursday night.

Cops tell us preliminary reports suggest the death stemmed from a medical issue. They also tell us there are currently no indications that foul play was involved.

Thomas -- the 22nd overall pick out of Georgia Tech in the 2010 NFL Draft -- evolved into one of the best wide receivers in the league.

During his nine-season NFL career with the Broncos, Texans, Patriots and Jets, he made made four Pro Bowls ... and won Super Bowl 50 alongside quarterback Peyton Manning in the 2015 season.

Thomas caught 724 balls and accumulated 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns throughout his incredible career.

We also talked to his former Broncos teammate, linebacker Brandon Marshall, who tells us he and his ex-Denver teammates are heartbroken over the loss.

One of those famed teammates, legendary pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, has already posted a tribute picture to Thomas on social media ... writing in the caption, "Heartbroken."

Rest in peace.

Travis Scott says he broke his silence to start a healing process with his fans, and the families of Astroworld victims -- but an attorney for one of those families says the rapper's words did nothing to ease their pain.

23-year-old Rudy Peña was one of the 10 attendees who lost their lives last month at the festival show, and his family has since declined to accept money from Travis for funeral costs. They've also filed a lawsuit against Scott and others.

We spoke with Valerie Cortinas Fisher, the Peña family's attorney, who says the nearly-hour-long interview was painful for them to watch ... and certainly didn't start any healing for them.

Fisher says Travis' history of inciting crowds to go crazy needs to be taken into consideration when determining how responsible he is for what happened.

During the interview with Charlamagne tha God, Travis was questioned about the "rage" culture at his shows. He explained he's grown over the years, and now urges fans to "rage" by having a good time and letting loose, not by being destructive.

We had Travis' attorney, Ed McPherson, on TMZ Live Thursday ... and he said Travis insisted on speaking to Charalamagne -- despite legal risks -- to show he really cared.

Still, not everyone's buying that. Fisher says the pain is still very deep for the Peña family.

Tyron Woodley says he's gonna beat Jake Paul on December 18 ... and then he's gonna do it again, 'cause the former UFC star tells TMZ Sports there's a rematch clause in his contract.

We talked to 39-year-old T-Wood fresh off signing on to once again box the YouTube star in Tampa on less than 2 weeks' notice ... and while we were talking, Tyron revealed a third fight is in the works if he wins next weekend.

"Yes, there is a rematch clause in there," Woodley says, adding, "After I knocked you out Mr. Betting Man, are you gonna run, or are you gonna wanna try to fight someone else, or are you gonna come get this work."

Of course, Jake -- who was originally scheduled to fight Tommy Fury -- won the first fight by split decision when they faced off on August 29 (a fight Woodley believes he actually won). So, a Woodley dub would even them up at one win apiece.

As for what he's going to do this time around, Woodley tells us to expect violence.

"I bet I beat his ass. I bet if he get up, I bet I do it again. I bet if he get up, I bet I knock his ass down again."

First things first ... Woodley has to win. Then, do it all again.

Los Angeles based writer and producer Dominic DeLeo has worked behind the scenes in the entertainment industry for over 20 years ... but it wasn't until he slinked into his eye-popping pink bikini top and bared his chiseled torso as Mankini that he became Hollywood eye candy on the cast of "The Soup."

DD proved that he wasn't just another pretty face on the E! channel alongside Joel McHale ... because Mankini was accompanied by some other DeLeo 'Soup' sketches around shows like "The Walking Dead," "Planet Of The Apes" and "True Detective."

Slim 400 was the victim of what appears to be an ambush attack as he sat in a driveway ... only to be surprised and shot at multiple times.

Law enforcement sources confirm a video floating around online is the Slim 400 attack. You see the suspect walk up the driveway, gun in hand, and approach the driver's side of the vehicle, where Slim was seated.

It's unclear exactly what happens next, but you see a flash and hear a gun go off and Slim lunge at the suspect. Gunshots continue to go off as the rapper continues to move toward the street with the gunman.

As we reported, Inglewood PD responded to a call of shots fired Wednesday night, and discovered Slim in bad shape in a driveway. We're told he was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Jussie Smollett is guilty of lying to Chicago cops, and the world, about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, according to the jury -- or said more simply ... it was all a hoax.

Jurors found the "Empire" actor guilty of 5 of the 6 felony counts against him, and he stood stone-faced in court as the verdicts were read. Jussie was facing disorderly conduct charges for allegedly providing a false report to police ... with prosecutors ringing him up for each time he did it.

The first 5 counts were for lying on Jan. 29, 2019 to cops -- that's the night of the staged attack. The 6th, of which he was found not guilty, was for a separate interview with Chicago PD on Feb. 14 when he told a detective he was a victim of aggravated burglary.

The verdicts finally put the criminal side of this saga to bed. Jussie had maintained his innocence for years, insisting he did not hire brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo to stage the racist and homophobic attack in the middle of a bitterly frigid Chicago night.

The brothers watched the guilty verdict announcement from an overflow room in the Chicago courthouse.

Now that Jussie's been found guilty he'll almost certainly have to pay restitution to Chicago in the amount of $130k -- the amount the city says it dropped on investigating the hoax attack.

During the trial, defense attorneys took the calculated risk of having Jussie testify ... something criminal defendants rarely do. While on the stand, he gave his blow-by-blow account of what happened during the attack ... explaining he'd gone out at 2 AM to buy eggs because the Osundairo bros. -- who he'd hired as personal trainers -- told him he needed protein.

Most importantly, his testimony aimed to poke holes in the Osundairos' credibility. For instance, he detailed sexual encounters he claims to have had with Bola ... even though Bola had stated the exact opposite under oath -- that they had NO sexual relation.

The brothers also testified Jussie paid them to buy supplies and provided instructions on where to meet him to carry out the "attack." In the end, the trial boiled down to a he said/he said, and obviously, the jury wasn't swayed by a celeb on the stand.

You'll recall ... Jussie initially claimed 2 white males jumped him, hurled slurs at him, punched him, threw a noose around his neck ... all while screaming, "This is MAGA country!!!"

He reported the alleged crime to police ... greeting them at his home with the rope still wrapped around his neck. Soon, doubts started to surface about Jussie's story -- and eventually, the police came out and claimed the guy had made the whole thing up.

Jussie denied that, but he was ultimately charged in connection to the alleged lie ... but, stunningly, those whopping 16 charges were dismissed -- with Jussie only having to forfeit his $10k bond as punishment. After much uproar, a special prosecutor was appointed, and he charged Jussie anew ... this time only charging with 6 counts.

There was also the issue of whether the Osundairo brothers were actually Jussie's drug dealers or not -- the bros claimed they weren't (that they were simply suppliers) but Jussie's team argued they were far more than just that ... seemingly trying to ding their credibility.

Despite Jussie testifying there was "no hoax" ... the jury wasn't buying it. He now faces a possible 3-year prison sentence, but it remains to be seen if he'll actually do any time behind bars. Keep in mind, he has no prior criminal record.

He was not taken into custody, and will remain free pending sentencing.

The City of Chicago had sued Jussie over lost resources in investigating his claims, but if he has to pay back that dough as part of his sentence ... that civil suit would be moot.

The mom of ex-NBA player Corey Benjamin's daughter has been charged criminally in California after allegedly directing her daughter to sucker punch an opponent during a H.S. hoops game.

44-year-old Latira Shonty Hunt was hit with 2 misdemeanor charges ... battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If she's ultimately convicted, she faces a year in jail.

While announcing the charges, Orange County DA placed the blame right on the mother's shoulders, saying “In my opinion, it would have not happened, but for mom’s words."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the girl absolutely decked her 15-year-old opponent, sending her crashing to the hardwood floor.

At the time, police in Garden Grove, CA told us they were investigating the incident. After reviewing the video and talking to witnesses, officials decided to charge Hunt.

While her daughter isn't facing any charges, she has been punished. The league permanently banned her from competing.

As for her former professional hooper dad, Benjamin apologized for his daughter's actions, saying, "As a father, I’m shocked and disappointed at my daughter’s behavior as this is not a reflection of the values and standards that my family holds. Nor does it exemplify the values, character and spirit of sportsmanship that the game of basketball requires.”

A pilot was joined by more than just other commercial airline flights over the Pacific Ocean during a recent trip, recording what he believes was an entire fleet of UFOs.

The video, believed to have been recorded in the last few weeks, shows between 9 and sometimes up to 12 of the bright objects. You can see some light up and dim at random periods, but their pacing and speed seem to remain consistent.

According to reports, the pilot was flying at about 39,000 feet ... you can hear him say, "That is some weird s***. That is something flying," as the lights continue to grow and move.

Doubters believe the lights could be anti-missile flares shot from another plane or even ship below ... but there's no proof yet to support that either.

The published sighting comes on the heels of the Dept. of Defense announcing the launch of a UFO task force. The new government initiative has been hit with plenty of criticism from skeptics who believe the move is simply The Pentagon wanting to control and hide reported sightings.

Jimmy Buffett's hotel and restaurant chain Margaritaville is taking to the high seas, literally, turning the whole experience into a cruise ship!!!

Jimmy and team just announced the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise ship is set to sail for the first time in April, taking off from Florida and circling down to the Bahamas.

The cruise ship holds 685 passengers and features a Par-A-Dice Casino, a theater, spa, multiple pools and we imagine a pretty kick a** bar, too. Jimmy also had a hand in the boat's decor.

"To me, the only thing better than being on a beach by the ocean, is to be on the ocean," the singer said.

Travis Scott wanted to be heard -- despite ongoing litigation -- insisting on sitting down with Charlamagne the God to share his message of healing and how to fix concert safety issues moving forward ... so claims Travis' attorney.

We had Ed McPherson on "TMZ Live" Thursday who addressed some of the criticism TS has received from people thinking he shouldn't have done the nearly hour-long chat. McPherson says Travis was adamant, he wanted to talk, to let his fans, family and other concert-goers he was there for them ... and wants to help the healing process moving forward.

As for the fact Travis never fully took responsibility for the lives lost at the show, Ed echoes what Travis said to Charlamagne ... his responsibility now lies with figuring out what exactly happened, and how to prevent casualties at shows in the future.

Finally, McPherson reiterates what we've been told since the show -- Travis could not see or hear what was happening in the crowd -- and says the spot in the audience where at least 7 of the casualties took place never showed evidence of a problem during the show's live stream.

Gene Simmons is selling his Las Vegas home overlooking the strip for $13.5 mil -- turning a massive profit if he sells -- but he doesn't want just any knucklehead to live in it.

The "Kiss" Frontman joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked why he decided to sell his beautiful estate and why the price has been reduced -- originally listed as $14.95 mil.

The 11,000-sq-ft home has 6 bedrooms and has many unique features -- including a courtyard, private oasis and 11-seat theater. The singer says he bought a half-acre lot next door and planted 137 trees, so it's really like no other property seen in Vegas nowadays.

Simmons stressed that Vegas is the perfect place to live with no income, state or local tax. So, why in the world is he selling it?! He says his family doesn't want to deal with the Vegas heat or any strippers -- for that matter.

His family might share an unpopular opinion, because in recent years out-of-state buyers have flocked to Vegas, and as far as the prices of homes? Soaring!!

In fact, Simmons says he could really sell the home for nearly double its price, but insists that he doesn't just want any random knucklehead living there. Instead, he wants to meet the next tenant and for them to enjoy living there.

Sheriff Brent Lynch -- the top law enforcement official in Owsley County, KY -- was arrested for assault on Thursday after allegedly striking a teenage girl while coaching a girls basketball game.

The incident -- which was captured on camera -- went down in Perry County, KY last Friday. Lynch, a coach for Owsley County, dashed onto the court after players on both teams started fighting.

Lynch is accused of hitting a girl in the face ... and has been charged with 4th-degree assault. The charge carries up to 1 year in jail and a fine, if convicted.

He is currently behind bars in Three Forks Regional Jail ... after he was arrested by his own officers this morning.

The Sherriff -- who assumed office in January 2019 -- is listed as 6', 190 lbs. on his booking sheet. He was booked at 9:59 AM. Prior to serving in his current role, Lynch was a Kentucky State Police officer.

FYI, Owsley is a small county with a population of around 4,000 people in eastern Kentucky.

Travis Scott is doing his level best to push all responsibility for Astroworld casualties onto anyone other than himself -- that's how an attorney for one of the victims views the rapper's first interview about the tragedy.

Tony Buzbee is representing the family of Axel Acosta ... a 21-year-old who died from injuries suffered at the concert. He says he watched the 50-minute sit down with Charlamagne tha God and was offended by what he sees as Travis attempting to paint himself as a victim.

"Axel Acosta and the many others killed or injured are the victims. Travis Scott, his entourage, handlers, promoters, managers, hangers on and everyone else who enable him are the problem. Everything that Travis Scott has done or said since ten people died and hundreds of others were injured at his concert has been lawyer driven and calculated to shift blame from him to someone else."

Buzbee -- who's already filed a $750 million suit against Travis and others -- also isn't buying the artist's claim he had no idea of the mayhem fans were going through in the crowd ... even if he wasn't told in his ears. Buzbee says, "He now says he had an earpiece in, and was not told what was going on in the crowd. That raises the question: Did he have an earpiece in his eye? Why did he purposely ignore the death and mayhem occurring literally feet from him?”

Travis has acknowledged seeing at least one emergency vehicle in the audience ... and video shows him pointing it out and seeming very puzzled as to why it was there.

Buzbee believes Travis' interview was just an attempt to dodge responsibility and accountability -- and, in doing so, he says Travis "further exacerbates the pain of those that lost loved ones. Axel Acosta’s family doesn’t want to hear Travis Scott’s excuses; excuses do not assuage their grief and pain."

Josh Duggar was just found guilty on both counts by a jury in his child pornography trial ... TMZ has confirmed.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star was charged with one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography. Prosecutors claimed some of those images included minors below the age of 12.

Duggar's legal team of Justin Gelfand, Ian Murphy and Travis Story tell us, "We appreciate the jury’s lengthy deliberations, we respect the jury’s verdict, and we intend to appeal.”

Duggar was taken into federal custody, a sentencing date has not yet been set.

On November 19, the feds raided his office at the car dealership where Duggar worked in Arkansas ... DHS agents seized his computer plus his iPhone and a MacBook from inside an RV.

The two-week-long trial included testimony from digital forensic analysts along with other witnesses. One family friend claimed the former reality star confessed to molesting children in a tearful testimony on the witness stand.

Josh mainly sat with his head down during the trial, and now he will await his sentence.

He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.

It's no surprise Adele's Vegas show is a hot ticket, but it's hard to imagine anyone could have predicted just how expensive resale prices would be to see the singer live.

The rollout for "Weekends with Adele" started this week -- a series of Friday/Saturday shows at Caesars Palace from January to April -- and fans were crazy to get their hands on tickets.

Unsurprisingly, presales sold out within minutes, and tickets were quick to popup on resale services like StubHub and Ticketmaster. However, fans who didn't capitalize on the initial sale were pissed to see resale prices ... which ranged from $2k to $35k!!!

One fan wrote, "Adele out her rabbit a** mind with these concert ticket prices." Another chimed in, " ... guess we're the ones paying her husband alimony."

Of course, re-sellers can decide to sell their seats at whatever price they want -- it's up to fans whether or not to spend the money -- and they'll likely take a drop ... but the opening price is crazy, nonetheless.

Adele recently performed for some of her celebrity friends in L.A. -- including Oprah, Drake and Lizzo -- and helped pull off a surprise marriage proposal.