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Santas of all varieties -- malls, town squares and backyards -- are back to putting smiles (mostly) on kids faces, thanks to the COVID vaccines, but with omicron creeping ... it's still not as jolly a gig.

While last Christmas hit while the pandemic was still raging ... 2021 is our first with the advent of mass vaccination, and several Santa orgs tell us that means they can get back to doing what they do best.

For instance, Santa Jim in central NJ tells us he is fully vaccinated, and when doing private events at homes ... he looks for customers who are willing to be temperature checked and masked. That's the adults, anyway, but for the kids ... it gets a little tricky.

As Santa J pointed out ... most tikes under 5 haven't gotten the shot ... so, it falls on the Santas to try to keep everyone -- including himself -- as safe as possible, and how they choose to do that is as individual as Santa's reindeer.

One Philly Santa, aka Chuck Gill, tells us there are 2 kinds of Santas -- standing or sitting. The standing ones, like himself, mostly do meet and greet photos with kids. Chuck says, at his events, he requires them to be vaxxed and masked -- and while he's aware of other Santas doing the more traditional sit-down thing, he says they're also requiring vaccinations and face masks.

In the Midwest, things are a bit different ... according to Owen Davenport from the Indiana Santa Claus Society. He says he's not wearing a mask, nor does he require it of the kids sitting on his lap. Yeah, he's the sitting kind and, clearly, feels safe.

Owen says he's had 3 shots, and his crew of elves are all vaxxed too -- but he will mask up if a family requests it. Still, unless a family says otherwise ... Santa Owen only takes mask-free photos.

Down in Texas, HireSanta.com CEO Mitch Allen is back to sending out Santas to malls, tree lighting events, parades and more ... but he stresses they do not ask about children's vaccination status because that's a state and county government issue. Plus, he knows most of the really young kids just aren't eligible for a shot.

What they are doing is social distancing ... often putting Santa on his throne while kids sit on a bench about 4-6 feet in front of him. It still allows for a good photo, while keeping everyone safe. Interestingly, his company doesn't require vaccination for Santas -- hey, it's Texas -- but he says they hire both vaxxed and unvaxxed in order to meet demand.

He adds that the omicron variant has meant more calls from customers requesting fully vaxxed Santas for their events. Mitch says the Santa biz has been hard hit by the pandemic -- many choosing to retire, which has slashed his roster by around 10 percent compared to the good ol' days of 2019.

Big Sean finally got his chance to address Kanye West saying signing the guy to a deal was the worst thing he'd ever done -- and let's just say ... he had a lot to get off his chest.

The Detroit rapper was up to bat on the "Drink Champs" podcast, and during the sprawling interview -- Ye's remarks from about a month or so ago were brought up ... which BS did not shy away from in the slightest.

For starters, Sean says he was hurt by Kanye's words ... and took the very public shot personally -- this after thinking it was funny/absurd at first. He explains why, and it basically boils down to his loyalty and dedication to Ye's label G.O.O.D. Music ... and to Ye himself.

Check it out ... dude says he's been available to Kanye on the drop of a dime over their time together, and not just that ... but was apparently also the first one to suggest Kanye run for POTUS. Eventually, he pivots to money ... citing cash he says he's owed from Ye/G.O.O.D.

The amount Sean claims he's due ... around $6 mil or so, although he notes he's not sure if this is even on Kanye's radar. Still, he says that while he thought UMG was the one screwing him at first -- he says he finally learned G.O.O.D. Music was allegedly pocketing extra profits off the success of his many albums ... the most put out by any G.O.O.D. artist, he points out.

Sean also addresses Kanye's gripe about him and John Legend endorsing other candidates while Ye was running for President last year ... but BS denies he ever did so, saying he purposely stayed silent out of respect for Kanye.

There's a lot to unpack in the 3-plus hour-long interview ... but the takeaway here is, Sean was quite angry after hearing Ye trash him so publicly. He says Kanye actually reached out shortly thereafter to reconcile, but Sean says he shot him down.

Jennifer Lopez was the main attraction in Bev Hills Friday ... but not for her singing -- rather, for her shopping.

J Lo hit up Valentino and then Dior on Rodeo Drive, and a throng of shoppers and tourists gawked as she eyed fancy dresses for possible purchases.

She also gave the once over to some glasses and coats.

She definitely wasn't in a talking mood, but still ... fans got an eye-full, even if she was partially hidden by her mask.

Interesting ... whether the 2 families will blend for XMAS, especially after Ben's interview with Howard Stern. There have certainly been combos of the 2 families ... Ben's kids and J Lo's have intermixed, but as for one big celebration with everyone -- no word on that.

TMZ broke the story ... Ben and Jen are looking for a house in L.A., but so far no deal. As they settle in, it'll be interesting to see how everything shakes out with the blended families.

Chrissy Teigen thinks she was being tricked by our photog, who asked if people at her XMAS celebration would be wearing masks, but the fact is ... it's a legit question in the middle of this pandemic, and the irony is -- what she said is the exact right answer.

Chrissy tweeted, "TMZ just asked me if I'd be wearing a mask at my family Christmas and I said no? and now I feel like I've been tricked into a story about how I won't wear a mask this Christmas. just know I am pro mask but don't really wear one inside with my husband and kids I guess?"

There's no trickery ... Chrissy made it clear, she'll only have 8 folks around the table for Christmas dinner, and everyone is vaccinated except Miles, who is only 3. Now it's true ... with the Omicron variant even fully vaccinated people may be spreaders -- especially if they haven't been boosted -- and she wasn't specific about that. Nevertheless, there's no hard-and-fast rule if everyone's vaccinated except a small child -- a lot depends on testing and how careful the others have been.

Fact is -- Chrissy's an influencer, so what she does will register with others, and she made it clear the only ones who were invited are immediate fam and everyone who can get vaccinated did.

Flavor Flav says his life flashed before his eyes last week when a giant boulder nearly crushed him to death on the road -- and his takeaway is ... be grateful for every day.

The Public Enemy gave us the blow-by-blow of the freaky accident from Tuesday when he was driving from Vegas to L.A., and had to cross the treacherous La Tuna Canyon ... which was pouring down rocks and debris on account of the bad weather.

Watch how FF explains the moment a 6-foot boulder graced the front of his car ... it sounds like the thing was just inches away from taking both him and the vehicle down below.

Flav tells us he's just thankful he survived the ordeal, and he's taking stock on the things that are important in life ... explaining folks should treat each day like it's their last, and tell loved ones how they feel while they're still here.

He also has some suggestions on how to avoid this type of wreck in the future for other drivers, and the first thing he wants ... some freakin' signs out there to warn people, but more importantly -- something to catch the rocks from sliding down.

Jake Paul is only 24, but he's suffering from memory loss and slurred speech, and it's largely because of boxing -- and it could get even worse with tonight's fight.

Jake appeared on "In Depth With Graham Besinger," and talked about something boxers rarely discuss when they're still in the game -- how boxing messes up their head.

Jake told Graham, "I notice it in conversations with like, with my girlfriend or friends, like, not remembering something that I should be able to remember that happened a couple days ago."

He went on ... "Sometimes in my speech, where like every hundredth or two hundredth word, I'll mess up or, like, slur, which I didn't do that before."

Jake says his problems actually started with football, but are clearly worsened by boxing. He doesn't even remember how many concussions he's suffered -- somewhere between 20 and 30.

Again, something boxers don't say ... Jake says he's scared about the long-term effects, although he thinks certain psychedelic drugs could help abate the problems.

It's pretty shocking he's saying all this when he's about to square off with former UFC Champ Tyron Woodley Saturday night. He beat Tyron by split decision in the past and the rematch promises to be fierce.

Jake said his doctor was blunt -- stay away from the ring, but that's not gonna happen.

Chris Noth is starting to get the cold shoulder in Hollywood ... he's in the market for a new agent, after his dropped him due to the claims of rape and sexual misconduct.

The "Sex and the City" actor's reps at A3 Artists Agency gave him the ol' heave-ho Friday ... the day after he vehemently denied 2 separate allegations -- one from a woman in 2004, and the other from a woman in 2015.

But, now Noth is facing a 3rd accuser ... a woman, using the pseudonym, Ava, told Daily Beast she was an 18-year-old hostess at an NYC restaurant in 2010 when the actor allegedly sexually assaulted her. She claims he drunkenly groped her and pulled her onto his lap when he had an erection.

Noth's denying that as well ... a rep told People, "The story is a complete fabrication, and the alleged accounts detailed throughout read like a piece of bad fiction. As Chris stated yesterday, he has and would never cross that line."

Sure looks like Cheryl Hines just got Jennifer Garner-ed ... her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is passing the buck on who suggested their holiday party guests should be vaccinated, and the blame's falling at her feet.

The backstory here is RFK Jr. is an established anti-vaxxer -- or at least anti-vaxx mandate -- for children, so some guests were shocked to see invites to his and Cheryl's shindig included a recommendation attendees should be inoculated ... according to Politico.

Kennedy's explanation to Politico was, "I guess I'm not always the boss at my own house."

🤔

Well, he didn't call Cheryl out by name, but  ... the insinuation's pretty clear.

Kennedy also said his guests weren't carded at the door -- it was more of an honor system type thing.

Cardi B is delivering some bad news to fans hoping to get their hands on one of her dolls ... the product won't be released over production delays and concerns about the product's quality.

Here's the deal ... Cardi and Real Women Are -- a fashion doll brand -- joined forces to make a limited edition Cardi B doll, which they started taking pre-orders for in March at $35 a pop, but shipping deadlines were missed and folks started thinking it was all a scam.

The Real Women Are Instagram started to get flooded with unhappy customers wanting to know where their Cardi B-inspired doll was and demanding refunds.

Welp, brace yourself Bardi gang.

The role of Grinch will now be played by a rep for Cardi B, who tells TMZ ... the dolls will not be released as a result of COVID-related manufacturing and shipping delays. We're also told Cardi herself had concerns the dolls wouldn't meet her high-quality standards.

Dorothy Wang is making the jump from one rich reality show to another ... and one coast to another -- she's starring in a new Netflix show that's a spin-off of the popular "Bling Empire."

Production sources tell TMZ ... the spinoff will be set in New York City, but will still focus on Dorothy's lavish lifestyle ... just in a new setting. Big Apple retailers gotta be licking their chops!

We're told filming is starting in early January, and Dorothy will be joined on screen by some of her super-rich friends.

As you know ... the OG "Bling Empire" follows a group of wildly wealthy Asian and Asian-American celebs in Los Angeles, including Dorothy's close friend Christine Chiu.

Dorothy has a history with this sort of TV show ... she famously starred on all 4 seasons of E!'s "Rich Kids of Beverly Hills."

Kim Kardashian's one big step closer to getting that "Esq." after her name, and Elon Musk is TIME's Person of the Year -- pissing off a LOT of people in the process. So, we gotta ask ...

Jake Paul knows Tommy Fury will be glued to the TV when he faces off against Tyron Woodley on Saturday ... and that's why he tells TMZ Sports he's planning to troll the hell outta TNT before his big fight.

You surprised??

We spoke with the Problem Child before his big rematch with the former UFC champ ... and asked if he thought his original opponent would be tuning in.

"100%," Jake said. "Tommy, you know, this could've been you."

"I have a message to send to him during my walkout. People will see my message for Tommy Fury while I'm walking out. It's pretty funny."

Now, Jake is known to be a world-class troll, even when it's time to rumble -- remember, this is the guy who wore a basketball chain and had matching music for his entrance before the Nate Robinson fight.

We also talked all about the upcoming fight ... and Jake says he can't wait to silence his critics again.

"I'm feeling really good," he added. "To me, it doesn't matter who I fight and this is an opportunity to right my wrongs. Last fight, obviously, I still won. But now, I wanna knock him out. That's a big opportunity to show people how much better I've gotten since then."

We also spoke with Tyron ... and he's guaranteeing to knock Jake out and make that extra money.

The fight card -- also featuring Deron Williams and Frank Gore -- is set to go down at 6 PM PT on Showtime.

Christmas is right around the corner and before you can rock around the tree, you have to cut one down first!

Tons of celebrities, including Andi Dorfman and Camilla Belle, were seen this month hunting for the best tree to bring home!

It looks as if a lot of stars had help with some of the sweetest sidekicks you ever saw! Famous families – like Malika Haqq, Brie Bella and Melissa Joan Hart – took a stroll through the Christmas tree farm with their little ones to start a tradition!

Slice through these festive photos of stars searching for Christmas trees to deck their halls with!

Saweetie will be more than just a celebrity face when she returns to her alma mater next semester as a guest lecturer ... we're told she will be quite involved in the classroom.

Here's the deal ... the rapper is teaching a course within the business school at the University of Southern California, and she'll be taking on a bigger role than she did back in October when she spoke in one of her former professor's classes.

Albert Napoli, professor of entrepreneurial studies at USC Marshall School of Business, tells TMZ ... Saweetie will actually be involved in facilitating the lessons and coming up with the structure in her spring semester courses.

We're told Saweetie will be the guest lecturer in 2 semester-long courses, Venture Feasibility and Venture Initiation, which count toward student degrees in entrepreneurial studies.

Saweetie made a surprise appearance in one of Professor Napoli's classes in the fall semester -- naturally, she was a huge hit with students -- and we're told she's passionate about teaching and sharing her experiences working with different brands.

As a guest lecturer, we're told Saweetie will have an active role in creating specific lesson plans -- she won't just be dropping by the classroom to give students something to post on social media.

In addition, we're told she'll be a guest speaker in the summer when USC holds a 4-week program for high school students.

It sounds like the Trojan alum's got a future on campus ... we're told she's in talks to formally instruct a class on her own within the entrepreneurial studies department, but it's going to take time to hammer out the deal.

Skee-Lo's famous 1995 single "I Wish" is about to put some money in someone's pocket ... because the royalties just sold on the open market.

The songwriter royalty streams for the iconic hip-hop song just went up for sale through the Royalty Exchange with an initial asking price of $375k -- but, apparently, that number was too high ... for everyone. The eventual buyer dropped a mere $245,000 to scoop up the rights for "I Wish". Quite the bargain!

The deal is similar, in principle anyway, to the mega-transaction Bruce Springsteen pulled off this week -- selling ALL his publishing and royalty rights to Sony for $500 million.

As for Skee-Lo ... we're told his hit track's recently been paying off more due to increased plays on streaming services -- "I Wish" has been streamed more than 103 million times on Spotify alone, and the royalties paid out nearly $28k in the past 12 months.

Skee-Lo released the song way back in 1995 and it was an instant hit, rising up the charts and eventually earning a Grammy nomination.

You know how it goes ... "I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish I had a girl who looked good I would call her, I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat and a six four Impala."

Skee-Lo's single is certified gold for selling over 600,000 copies.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Bianca Ryan ruin your holiday! Jingle all the way and see if you can rock around all the sneaky switches!

The singer and winner of the first season of 'America's Got Talent' was seen getting in the spirit during the Holiday Tree Lighting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania earlier this month ... and we have made a few changes to the original pic! So, have yourself a merry little Christmas and make a list of the differences in these two super similar snaps! Better check it twice!