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Sam Asghari posed alongside none other than Brad Pitt this week -- and the snap could be a dig at his ex, Britney Spears ... who's historically been infatuated with the mega A-lister.

Sam posted some pics of himself and BP at "Moneyball" director Bennett Miller's art exhibit in Beverly Hills Thursday night -- claiming he got "a lot of great skin care tips with the man himself." The photo itself features a very glossy-looking Sam, next to a pristine Brad.

BTW, Bennett's gallery combines AI with the history of photography, working with a DALL•E image generator to make his exhibit pieces -- and the reason that's relevant is because some have raised an eyebrow on this photo ... wondering if it's actually the real McCoy.

Some folks have pointed out the fact that the snap of Sam and Brad looks a little touched up -- unclear if that's the case, but this is definitely the real BP ... other photos of him there are circulating online right now. So Sam isn't pulling a fast one.

Sam's rep, Brandon Cohen of BAC Talent, tells TMZ ... Sam was honored to be in the room of great talent and artists to support Bennett Miller. Sources at the event tell us Sam and Brad bonded over the acting business.

Now, on the subject of Britney ... she's admitted in the past that Brad was her first celebrity crush ... and has been a bit obsessed with him for decades -- frankly, who hasn't, right?

When Sam and Britney were engaged back in 2022, Sam stumbled upon a framed, shirtless pic of Brad in "Thelma & Louise" inside their home ... to which Britney responded, "The one and only." He kinda poked fun at her about ... and he's made jokes about Brad online too.

Brit also posted -- then deleted -- a photo of young Brad Pitt on her Instagram last year, and said she shared it "because he looks so much like my uncle" ... so take that for what you will. The point is ... it looks like Sam got his opportunity to meet the dude and he took it.

Considering he very much knows about Britney's love for Brad ... you gotta wonder if he was extra eager to post these pics -- perhaps to rub it in her face a bit post-divorce. Who knows!

Anyway, Brad still looks great ... so here's a little look back at the guy and his dreamy ways.

Jason Sudeikis has been looking like a real single fella lately -- and during a night out in Hollywood this week ... he looked to be getting cozy with a potential new flame.

The 'Ted Lasso' star hit up the popular Bird Streets Club in WeHo Thursday night -- where he linked up with actress Elsie Hewitt ... giving her a nice little hug, and her reciprocating. She also grabbed his arm in a somewhat tender way ... and they went inside together.

There isn't much more PDA here beyond what you see in the pics -- but they certainly seem to indicate the two of them are friendly ... and perhaps more. They are, after all, both single.

JS reportedly split with 'Lasso' costar Keeley Hazell a couple years back -- this, of course, on the heels of his ugly breakup with longtime girlfriend/baby mama Olivia Wilde ... which was widely covered. Now, here he is chatting it up with Elsie -- but it's hard to tell what this is.

If they are, in fact, dating -- which we're just not sure of at this point -- it'd be an interesting trend for Jason in the age department. She's 27, and Keeley is 37 ... whereas Olivia's 39.

On its face, it feels like he might be going a little younger with his pool of potential partners.

While Jason and Olivia have both clearly moved on since splitting up -- they continue to co-parent pretty well ... they're constantly seen getting together with their 2 kids in tow.

Anyway, as for Elsie here ... she sure is a hot ticket, we'll give her that. And, she's also one of these young rising stars in the biz -- with roles on 'Dave' and other shows/movies.

One last thing of note ... Elsie was recently dating Benny Blanco, who's obviously now with Selena Gomez. So, like we said ... she appears to be available and ditto for Jason.

Lynn Yamada Davis -- an elderly social media influencer chef with a massive following -- has passed away ... her family has confirmed.

The "Cooking With Lynja" star passed away on January 1 at Riverview Medical Center, New Jersey, from esophageal cancer ... something her daughter, Hannah Mariko Shofet, told The New York Times.

The publication adds that Lynn had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019 and later with esophageal cancer in 2021. Now, she's succumbed to her cancer battle after nearly 5 years.

Like we mentioned ... Lynn was widely beloved on the social media app, amassing about 17 million followers ... all thanks to her hilarious and wholesome cooking videos. People simply loved her content, whether it was for the good eats, or her very sweet/funny personality.

Lynn's achievement also earned her a coveted place on Forbes' 50 over 50 list in 2022. She started the channel during the pandemic in 2020 with her youngest son, Tim Davis, telling NYT it was entirely his mother's idea.

LYD got to travel the world and meet new people since her social media success, says her other son, Sean Davis ... adding his mom's final chapter was "exactly how she would have wanted it to be written."

Her TikTok account has been kept active by her family since her passing ... and her family confirmed she asked for the rest of her pre-recorded videos to be edited and live.

Heartbroken fans have flooded Lynn's social media page with their tributes ... thanking her for giving them joy through her cooking. She was 67.

RIP

Ava DuVernay's just like the rest of us ... thrilled that Angela Bassett's finally bagged an Oscar at the Governors Awards, but she's also clarifying it's its own thing -- separate from an Academy Award at the big show.

TMZ got the director out in NYC, where she made the distinction between the Governors Awards and the prestigious, world-renowned Academy Awards coming up in 2 months ... where bagging a shiny gold statuette is the pinnacle of every actor's career.

Ava says it was high time for the Academy to honor Angela's body of work. Of course, she's also been nominated for 2 acting Oscars -- Best Actress for 1993's "What's Love Got To Do With It" and Best Supporting Actress for 2022's 'Wakanda Forever' -- but has yet to win one.

With that said, Ava -- who's one of the Academy Governors herself -- was thrilled to witness Angela get this well-deserved recognition ... and made it clear the Governors Award and Academy Awards are separate entities.

She also raves about getting to watch Ms. Bassett do her thing, and was especially inspired by her acceptance speech.

As for Angela ... she was stoked to be highlighted -- urging fellow Black actresses to think of who their ancestors intended them to be ... telling them to remain courageous.

She also paid tribute to the empowered women she's represented in her roles -- real queens like Tina Turner, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King ... and, of course, Wakanda's fictional Queen Ramonda.

Farm life has apparently been treating Kelis well ... something the Internet can collectively agree on ... because she's aging like fine wine, and she's got some cool content to boot!

The singer/rapper posted yet another update on her little California farm -- something she's been doing routinely lately as she grows her social media presence. Kelis' following has been ballooning too ... but many suspect it's because she looks so damn good in these clips.

Anyway, for this latest offering ... Kelis proudly announced a couple additions to her animal family this week  ... a newborn baby goat and a micro-donkey she hilariously named Smokey Robinson, but fans genuinely seemed to care more for what the "Milkshake" singer had in those jeans.

Yes, she's certainly a shapely woman ... something people just can't help but remark on!

While Kelis' agricultural report may have been largely ignored by horndogs on Twitter/IG ... she does have some interesting info here about the habits of new mothers in the animal kingdom. Of course, for the straight men out there ... it's a little hard to focus.

With that said, Kelis is a legitimate farmer ... she's got beans, greens, potatoes, chickens, turkeys, virtually everything you can name for a substantial farm and also starred in her own Netflix cooking show a few years ago.

Bill Murray was her Old MacDonald for a couple of months last summer but that relationship has since fizzled. On its face, it looks like Kelis may be single right now.

Ariana Grande has been the focus of a lot of gossip as it pertains to her romantic relationships lately -- something she tackles head on in her new single ... in raunchy terms.

The pop star dropped her new single, 'Yes, And?,' Friday ... and it's stirring up buzz for many reasons -- but one of the biggest takeaways fans are noticing right away is the fact that she addresses all the scrutiny over her split with Dalton Gomez/hookup with Ethan Slater.

The lyrics kinda speak for themselves here ... AG sings this during the bridge, "My face is sitting, I don't need no disguise // Don't comment on my body, do not reply // Your business is yours and mine is mine // Why do you care so much whose d**k I ride?"

The chorus is also telling in terms of how she deals with all the noise aimed her way, with her crooning ... "'Yes, and?' // Say that shit with your chest, and // Be your own fuckin' best friend // Say that shit with your chest // Keep moving like, "What's next?'"

Of course, her words here reflect what's been a whirlwind romance for her and her new Broadway boyfriend -- which dovetailed with her divorce to Dalton ... all of which came together somewhat messily last year. Despite that, AG's apparently tuning out the haters.

Now, the track itself is quite solid -- an upbeat dance-friendly, '90s-esque bop ... and it's certainly a good introduction into her solo comeback ahead of her new album dropping.

However, even on the musical front ... there are some heads turning over what some think is a familiar sound here -- namely, the fact that the beat feels very 'Vogue'-coded, if not a rendition of it. As far as we can tell, Ari didn't sample Madonna ... but damn, it is similar.

Anyway, it's just a footnote of analysis of the song -- by and large, everyone is digging it.

Mia Farrow's younger sister, Tisa Farrow -- who acted in movies in the '70s -- has died.

Her older sibling just announced her death Friday ... with Mia saying on Instagram that Tisa passed unexpectedly just a couple days prior on Wednesday, "apparently in her sleep." She adds, "If there is a Heaven, undoubtedly my beautiful sister Tisa is being welcomed there. She was the best of us - i have never met a more generous and loving person."

Mia goes on to say, the family at large is going through a hard time in light of this sad news.

Tisa used to be in showbiz back in the 1970s, but didn't nearly work as much as Mia -- and she certainly wasn't as famous either. Tisa was a teenager when she started acting in Hollywood, making her film debut way back in 1970 in "Homer," a hippie counterculture flick.

Overall, Tisa had 15 acting credits ... including a starring role in the 1979 horror film, "Zombie." She also starred in 1978's "Fingers" and made an appearance in the 1979 Woody Allen picture "Manhattan" ... right before Woody began his relationship with Mia.

While Mia was blowing up in her career way back when, she was actually pretty close to Tisa -- there's photos of them hobnobbing together in and around Hollywood as young, aspiring actresses.

Tisa quit Hollywood in 1980 and went to Vermont to be a nurse. She was 72.

10:55 AM PT -- Peter Thomas has broken his silence on his recent arrest ... taking full responsibility for what went down last week.

In the clip, filmed from a plane and posted on his Instagram Friday, Peter says his phone has been blowing up and wanted to address the incident -- claiming he refused to blow for a breathalyzer test during the ordeal, and was in the hospital due to his high blood pressure.

He says he willingly turned himself in, and it was a quick process ... thanking the Cobb County Police Department for how they handled the whole thing.

Peter admits he's never been arrested for DUI and is mindful -- adding his younger brother died as a result of drunk driving in the past ... before thanking everyone for their concerns.

Cynthia Bailey's ex-husband, Peter Thomas, has been arrested for DUI, TMZ has confirmed ... after allegedly weaving between lanes and flying through a red light.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, officers in Atlanta say they spotted Peter weaving without tags on his SUV last week, so they followed him -- claiming he blew through a red light after exiting the interstate.

PD then pulled him over, and said they detected "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" coming from his car ... and said Peter had "watery, glassy, and bloodshot eyes."

After some field sobriety tests, Peter was placed under arrest for DUI -- they say he agreed to a blood test, but when he and cops arrived at the hospital, they say he changed his mind.

They initially brought him to Cobb Adult Detention Center, but he was denied due to blood pressure ... so he was brought back to the hospital and was left with staff -- what a night.

Cops later obtained an arrest warrant for Peter, and he was charged with DUI alcohol, as well as a slew of other traffic-related charges. According to journalist Kiki Monique, Peter was released later on the same day after posting his $3k bail.

The former "Real Housewives of Atlanta" first got in front of the camera in season 3 along with his girl, Cynthia Bailey -- the 2 got engaged and married on the show, but he bowed out of the series in season 9 when he and the model got divorced.

Fab Morvan was thought to be a longtime bachelor, but his recent divorce smashed that reputation -- now we know when exactly he got hitched ... and it was a while ago.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Milli Vanilli singer's estranged wife Kim Marlowe -- who filed for divorce earlier this week -- lists their marriage date as Dec. 3, 1998 ... while going on to point out they separated just earlier this year ... on Jan. 2.

She cites irreconcilable differences as the official reason they're going their separate ways -- and she's asking for spousal support from Fab. She also wants to make it so FM can't ask for any alimony on his end. The couple apparently didn't have any kids together.

In terms of how she wants to divvy up their shared marital assets ... Marlowe says all that should be figured out in the discovery process as their divorce plays out in court.

Pretty standard stuff all in all, but again -- the noteworthy thing is that Fab here seems to have tied the knot secretly more than 2 decades ago ... and nobody knew about it!

Now, it's worth noting ... Marlowe is claiming they separated just a couple weeks ago -- which is shocking, 'cause Fab has been very publicly living his life with his current partner, Tessa Van Der Steen, and their 4 children ... with whom he apparently lives in Amsterdam.

Lil Nas X's "J Christ" single was already predestined to piss off Christians -- but the newly released track has a new enemy to deal with ... Kendrick Lamar fans.

The rapper dropped his latest offering Friday, and right off the bat ... hip hop heads heard a striking similarity between 'J Christ' and K.dot's 2017 smash hit "Humble." Can't blame 'em for comparing the two tracks -- fact is, they do indeed sound very similar beat-wise.

"J Christ" is produced by Lil Nas X alongside respected hitmakers, Gesaffelstein and Omer Fedi ... but the energetic bassline and piano melody feel like a carbon copy of Kendrick’s Grammy-winning track, which was produced by Mike Will Made-It and Pluss.

As you can imagine, a good handful of Twitter/X users let LNX have it on social media for seemingly being unoriginal ... not to mention continuing to use his religion for clickbait.

The credit and blame here kinda all goes to LNX -- he wrote and directed the visuals, and packed on the religious imagery … also, the infamous Satan Nikes make a return in the video, and the rapper alternates conducting cheerleading routines in both Heaven and Hell.

So, on top of the Kendrick thing ... some feel like he's just back to fanning the flames generally speaking. Of course, there are many who are feeling the song ... diff'rnt strokes!

One more thing ... the celeb impersonators hired for the video stayed in character to hit the track's release party -- Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran -- and an unflattering Ice Spice hit the red carpet to celebrate … and imitate.

Julia Roberts is proud of her G-rated career, and says NOT getting naked on camera -- ever in her career, mind you -- sounds like a choice to her.

The Oscar winner says she's opted to represent herself as a woman by not stripping down for her roles, and being physically vulnerable -- although, she's quick to say she's not shading other women who decide to do it.

Julia told Vogue UK it's just basically a deliberate decision ... as she put it, "choosing not to do something as opposed to doing something."

What makes that path interesting is that she has starred in some sexually explicit movies, such as Mike Nichols' "Closer" ... and, of course, her most famous/beloved role is as a prostitute! Albeit, a prostitute in a Disney movie.

Speaking of the biz in Hollywood ... she tells the publication it's totally changed since she started out -- everything seems too cluttered now, and being famous looks exhausting, she says.

An international soccer star found a new way to get under his opponent's skin ... by twisting it!!!

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger did something we've never before seen on the soccer pitch ... he gave his former teammate turned Atletico rival Alvaro Morata a "titty twister" during the match!

It all happened during the Spanish Super Cup semifinals earlier this week.

During the game, Rudiger was captured on video approaching Morata and grabbing and twisting his nipple as the forward reacted with anger, pushing AR.

What's funny ... the two know each other well. They were teammates for 18 months with Chelsea. Still, Morata didn’t take kindly to the gesture.

Surprisingly, there was no penalty (for the purple nurple or the push) ... proving while touching balls isn't allowed in soccer, nipples are fair game.

Although a lot less people are talking about his actual play, Rudiger scored one of his squad's 5 goals in the winning effort over Atletico.

Zendaya unfollowing everyone -- including her boyfriend Tom Holland -- is stirring breakup rumors, and while they haven't been seen together in months, don't read too much into that ... based on what we've learned about their holiday.

As you might've heard, the actress hit the unfollow button on, quite literally, everybody on her IG account last week, which came outta nowhere. She's offered no explanation, and most alarming to fans is the fact her purge included Tom.

TH isn't addressing it, but on his end, he's still following his significant other.

That alone is hardly a smoking gun they've split -- though some are jumping to that conclusion -- but there's also this ... we did some digging and turns out, Tommy and Zen haven't been photographed together since right before Halloween.

Their last public pics were on October 25, when they were making a grocery run in L.A. and wearing protection -- both were masked up. Since then, however, no sign of them in public.

Fast-forward to Wednesday -- about a week after the unfollow spree -- and we finally saw them out in L.A. again, but solo. Zen was seen driving around town during the day with a pal in the passenger seat.

Tom, meanwhile, was out Wednesday night at Members Club -- a swanky WeHo spot -- and appeared to be rolling solo.

Now, IF these 2 are broken up, it's news to some in their inner circle. One source with direct knowledge tells TMZ the couple spent NYE with each other, which proves just because we don't SEE them together ... it doesn't necessarily mean they're not.

Of course, it's possible they've split since then, but if so ... we're told they haven't shared that news with loved ones.

As for Zendaya's mass unfollow -- too early to tell what that indicates, because that's also a thing celebs often do to grab attention ahead of announcing a new project.

So, where does that leave us? No hard proof they're together, but also no evidence they've split. Kinda right back at the beginning.

The viral video of a tall "alien" on a hill in Brazil may have already been debunked ... according to an international basketball star who's claiming to be the subject in the clip.

Italian athlete Felipe Motta, who plays for Brazil's Flamengo club, posted online about the confusing clip after it made the rounds -- but as others thought the lanky being was from a different planet, he says the clip shows him on a hike on the island of Ilha do Mel.

He says he was on a trail and enjoying the sweet view when the video was taken from a low angle, and everyone went crazy over it ... which, believe it or not, isn't new for him.

Felipe claims his 6-foot-5-inch height is something that folks have always poked fun at -- and he showed off all tall guy struggles he deals with on the daily ... but jokingly admits he'll warn people the next time he decides to take a hike.

As we reported, locals claimed they saw at least 2 figures up on the hill ... with the woman who filmed the video saying it's impossible for a human to get up there.

The Brazilian government posted about the viral video, but appeared to play it off as a hoax as a way to get folks to come visit the island ... but Felipe is looking to put the theories about it to rest.

The suit Nicole Kidman wore in her memorable AMC ad is heading to the auction block ... and heartbreak's gonna feel real good for whoever gets an outfit like this.

Nicole's grey, pin-striped Michael Kors suit is a part of Sotheby's new "Visions of America" series, and is expected to fetch $5-10k ... that's a whole lotta popcorn.

The iconic fit is known by AMC theatergoers everywhere for being pretty dazzling -- just like the images on a huge silver screen, to quote the ad that plays before every flick in the chain's theaters.

Nicole's ad quickly gained a cult following, debuting as theaters opened after the pandemic shut it all down ... and fans today are reciting her lines, cheering, and even saluting the actress when she shows up.

It's spawned a bunch of (unofficial) merch like shirts, pins, hats, bumper stickers, and more -- all referencing Nicole's brief time on the screen.

Her ad also has been getting the true parody treatment -- with the 'SNL' cast and even the promotion team behind "Saw" getting in on the fun. Also, it's just become a pop culture phenomenon in general ... people recite this thing when they go to AMC theaters now.

Kevin Hart says you won't ever see him opening up the Oscars as the host, because while he's fine doing standup in packed arenas and stadiums -- he says a theater full of A-listers is a tough room for comedians.

It's been 5 years since Kevin stepped down from the gig after old homophobic tweets surfaced, but that's not why he's advising other comics against the job ... instead, he's referring to something Jo Koy might've learned the hard way.

Kevin tells Sky News the Oscars got it right one year -- 2019, the year he backed out -- by using a bunch of personalities to cohost the ceremony throughout the evening, but they haven't gone back to that formula.

He admits he'd have an advantage hosting award shows, because he has so many established relationships with the guests -- but he says for others, it's a grind.

Basically, he says the days of comics hosting award shows, at least comfortably, are over Jo Koy might agree with that after his jokes about Taylor Swift and Barbie's "big boobs" bombed at the Golden Globes.

Kevin had Koy's back, though ... saying there's too much pressure now on what's considered jokes and what's not.

Jimmy Kimmel's returning for his fourth stint at the Oscars this year ... he's been relatively tame so far, so we'll be watching to see how his fresh batch of jokes go over.

BTW, we got another big-time comedian to weigh in on Jo's handling of the job -- namely, Anthony Anderson ... and he seems to be in alignment with Kev here on how tough of a gig these types of award shows are.

As he told us at LAX this week ... you get with your writers and do the best you can with the amount of time you're given. In Jo's case, he says he had about a week before showtime. Noted!