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Maitland Ward crossed paths with convicted child molester Brian Peck on the "Boy Meets World" set before she knew he was a bad seed.

We got Maitland in Bev Hills and she told us about her experience with Brian, the 'BMW' guest-star who, in the early 2000s, was convicted on child sexual abuse charges.

Maitland says she was always suspicious of Brian ... saying he always wanted to hang around the cast, including Rider Strong and Will Friedle, despite being much older than them.

The way Maitland remembers it ... Brian made her feel like he was jealous she might get in between him and the cast ... and she's not surprised Brian got in tight with Rider and Will, because she felt that was always his intention.

As we reported ... Rider and Will recently talked about Brian's case on their "Pod Meets World" podcast, expressing shame and regret for ever affiliating themselves with him.

Brian spent a year behind bars as part of a plea deal he copped after being accused of molesting an unidentified Nickelodeon child star ... and now he's set to be featured in an upcoming documentary about Nick's ugly underbelly.

Maitland says she didn't know Brian was a pedophile, just that there was something strange and off-putting about him. She really respects the guys for shining new light on it.

Kelly Rowland wants to talk about her new flick, but everyone wants to hear about her bolting from "Today" over the dressing room, and Taylor Swift is pissed off at the guy tracking her flights. So we gotta ask ...

WWE superstar Grayson Waller says the biggest must-see event in Australia this weekend ain't the Taylor Swift concert in Sydney ... it's something going down 2,400 miles away -- the Elimination Chamber!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the Sydney native ahead of the big wrestling event ... and while he's happy to see Tay Tay and Travis Kelce made their way through his old stomping grounds with the singer's tour in town, he says the REAL draw is over in Perth.

The Aussie Icon takes a few jabs at the Super Bowl champ -- playfully comparing him to a wombat (fitting, considering Traylor went to the zoo this week) and accusing Kelce of ducking him by being so far away.

"I'm not surprised that Travis flew all the way to Sydney to be as far away from me in Australia," Waller said. "I'm sure they'll put on a good show, but it's nothing compared to what I do."

Waller even extends an invite to the Kelce bros to hit up WrestleMania in Philly in April ... saying it all makes sense with Jason being an Eagle and Taylor hailing from Pennsylvania.

While he says it would be a lot of fun, Waller says the Kelces wouldn't stand a chance him in the ring ... despite Travis and Jason being world-class athletes.

Bobbi Althoff's leaked AI deepfake video nearly broke the internet recently ... and even though she called it fake as hell, TMZ knows how the technology fooled thousands.

Paul Dawes, CEO of More.AI, gave TMZ the lowdown ... saying it scours all available 2D footage to find patterns to create original content. In Bobbi's case, there's already a ton of online content for AI to use as a basis for creating the deepfake vid.

The same goes for other celebs, politicians, and any branded entities ... all prime targets for AI manipulation.

AI programs have a harder time deepfaking 3D images ... but judging how quickly things are evolving with the technology, it's only a matter of time before it masters that too.

What's more ... a lot of these AI programs are open-source, so even if a company shuts down, the open-source code is still available for the public to use. Yikes.

Of course, he reminds us social media has a big responsibility in controlling the content being distributed. Unfortunately, online platforms are inundated with all sorts of offending content without much oversight.

For now, he says the best we can do is buy enough time so regulatory tools can prevent people from being subjected to sexually explicit images of their likenesses.

Of course, AI has already violated the privacy of Bobbi and many others ... so the misuse of AI-generated content is definitely a concerning issue in the new age of the internet.

Do you have what it takes to choke down the discreet differences in these two shots of Drew Barrymore and a big wiener? You may wanna look away until after you've eaten!

Celebrating her 49th birthday earlier this week, Drew was out in NYC with her co-host Ross Matthews (not the hot dog), and she was stunned when the iconic meals on wheels showed up to the party ... even rolling out the red carpet for the birthday glizzy!

sink your teeth into the almost identical photos and see if you can swallow the differences.

It's the weekend, and there's no better time to catch up on our TV clips than right now!

Kicking things off on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Mike talked about Travis Kelce crashing Taylor Swift's first Sydney show in Australia -- which he traveled thousands of miles to attend ... and where he made a big impression on the Aussie crowd. Safe to say, he's a rockstar!

Travis has already left Sydney since, and his trip was short ... but boy, was it memorable.

Next up is "TMZ on TV," where the work crew discussed Kanye West's wife's new (but familiar) look in Milan ... where she and her husband are still promoting his most recent album.

Bianca has a slightly switched-up 'do ... but the rest of her looks awfully familiar.

Lastly, we land on "TMZ Sports" ... where Babcock and Mojo talked Floyd Mayweather's pricey watch.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

It was a frisky February in Hollywood .... with celebs leaping into the special occasion and adding the "sex" right into the bissextile month! Smokin' shots of the hottest and bodice were flaming the feeds so quick it had IG algorithms overheating!

Feelin' fine during the winter weather, "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather showed off his washboard abs in Cuba and was lookin' MONEY, Kendall Jenner spread the love in some revealing red-hot lingerie, and Demi Rose hit Brazil and could barely keep her top on ... Dios Mio!

Tom Sandoval is fighting Ariana Madix as she tries to force a sale of their home ... claiming he loaned her a big chunk of change that he wants back before selling the crib they shared.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Tom alleges he loaned Ariana $90,000 and that she hasn't paid him back.

More importantly, Tom wants Ariana to fork over the dough before a judge potentially orders them to sell the house and split the proceeds.

In his response to Ariana's lawsuit, he also says he has a lien on the house that's directly tied to this alleged loan to her -- and he says no sale can go down until this is dealt with.

As we first told you ... Ariana is suing Tom over the Los Angeles house they co-own. They lived there when they were a couple, but Ariana wants to sell it and split the money now that they've broken up as a result of his cheating scandal.

Tom's so far resisted ... and now it looks like he's digging his heels in even further and claiming she needs to settle up with him over this loan before selling the house. As for the other allegations Ariana made in her original suit ... he issues general denials against them.

Remember ... Tom and Ariana bought the place back in 2019 for around $2 million, and like most real estate in Los Angeles it could probably sell for more now.

Tom's also recently said he's offered to buy out Ariana, making a $3.1 million cash offer to keep the place for himself.

Travis Kelce's trip to Sydney has been cut short -- he's leaving Taylor Swift behind so he can beeline it back to Vegas ... where he, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are gonna party!

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Travis is currently aboard a private flight that's going from Sydney to Vegas -- and it's gonna be a long journey that sees him landing in Sin City Saturday morning. Quick turnaround, no doubt ... he just landed in Sydney Wednesday (US time).

It's already Saturday there now ... so he'll be going back in time in a bit. In any case, when he arrives in Vegas -- we're told TK is set to reunite with his teammates, including his QB and other players ... which our sources say had been the plan all along dating back to the SB.

Our sources say this 2nd Vegas get-together with the team isn't for any particular reason or occasion -- we're told this is just another celebration to ring in the big Super Bowl win.

And if you're wondering ... didn't they already do that the night they actually won??? The answer to that is yes -- but they're going back again and doing a little déjà vu Vegas-style.

This will actually be the third Vegas trip for Travis in two weeks -- he was obviously there for the game itself and the festivities after ... but remember, he was also just in Vegas earlier this week on a random Monday, where he played a little golf and chowed down with friends.

In fact, a few eyewitnesses who saw Trav in Vegas that day might've actually blown his and the Chiefs' cover here -- a DJ who plays at Toca Madera said he'd been approached about doing a private gig for the guys on Friday evening, but if that's still going down as mentioned ... Trav obviously ain't gonna be there for that. He'll be 30,000 feet in the air.

Of course, with Travis flying out of Sydney ... that also means he and Taylor are parting for now -- which seems to be their new reality as she gets back into the swing of touring.

Fact is ... she'll be busy traveling the world for the foreseeable future, and while ya gotta imagine he'll tag along for some of those stops -- it's not reasonable to expect him to be there for all of it ... and that's manifesting here in this short Sydney visit from him.

The real question will be ... how long can they realistically sustain this sort of schedule/situation? So far, Taylor and Travis still look head over heels -- so on its face, they seem to be able to make it work for the time being. We'll see as the months go on.

Anyway, Travis is up in the air and on his way back to the States. Usually, people are leaving Las Vegas ... but in this case, it's the opposite -- here, he's Vegas-bound.

"Stranger Things" creator Ross Duffer's movie director wife is dropping the curtain on their marriage … she just filed for divorce.

The Hollywood producer's writer/director spouse, Leigh Janiak, beelined it to court Friday and filed to divorce her husband after 9 years of marriage ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In the docs, Leigh is going with the boilerplate "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split.

Ross and Leigh, famous for directing horror projects like "Honeymoon" and "The Fear Street Trilogy," tied the knot in January 2015 ... and she says the date of separation is TBD.

They first met way back in 2006 at a Los Angeles production company, where Leigh was an assistant to the producer and Ross was an intern.

There won't be any child custody or child support issues to hash out ... because they did not have any kids. Leigh is asking for spousal support.

Ross and his twin brother, Matt Duffer, are best known for writing, directing, and producing the Netflix hit series "Stranger Things." The twins also wrote and directed a 2015 horror flick, "Hidden."

Wendy Williams is speaking out on her recent health diagnoses -- and while she's grateful for the love and support she's been getting ... she isn't addressing the elephant in the room.

The former talk show host -- who's been out of the spotlight for a couple years now as she's dealt with private issues -- issued a statement Friday that touched on the fact that her team says she's now afflicted with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

Wendy says, "I want to say I have immense gratitude for the love and kind words I have received after sharing my diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Let me say, wow!  Your response has been overwhelming."

She adds, "The messages shared with me have touched me, reminding me of the power of unity and the need for compassion. I hope that others with FTD may benefit from my story. I want to also thank the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration for their kind words of support and their extraordinary efforts to raise awareness of FTD."

Wendy finally finishes with this ... "I continue to need personal space and peace to thrive.  Please just know that your positivity and encouragement are deeply appreciated."

It's good to hear from Wendy directly, of course ... but the one thing people really wanna know about her right now is -- where exactly is she, and how is she holding up???

The documentary from Lifetime that's coming out this weekend makes it seem like Wendy is going through a really hard time ... and there appears to be drama brewing between the team handling her affairs right now and her own family. Basically, it's messy and complicated.

Sean Evans' ex, Melissa Stratton, says he dumped her once the world caught wind that he was dating a porn star -- something she says he was cool with at first ... but changed his mind later on.

We talked to the model/adult film actress Friday in L.A. just ahead of a podcast she was heading into at the No Jumper store -- more on that later -- and our photog chopped it up with her to get the story on what exactly happened between her and the "Hot Ones" host ... who's quite private.

According to Melissa ... things were going swimmingly between her and Sean for at least a couple months, and she says they were having a great time together as a new couple.

We even asked her about the Super Bowl -- where she was posting tons of pics of him that weekend -- and MS says they were actually going around introducing each other to friends at that point ... which makes the split all the more sucky, 'cause she says she liked him.

As for why things fell apart ... Melissa says her work in the porn biz was ultimately to blame -- and more specifically, how her being in that industry would affect his image.

The way she tells it ... he had a little bit of a flip-flop in opinion over whether he was actually okay with her past and current line of work. Melissa claims he was on board at the beginning -- but suggests that once their relationship fell into the public eye ... he got skittish, which she gets and has no hard feelings about.

Sean, of course, hasn't said crap about it all ... and his team hasn't gotten back to us either.

Tammy Sytch is getting comfortable in her new digs -- a state prison in Florida -- after the WWE Hall of Famer was shipped off to the place she could call home until 2040.

51-year-old Sytch, who was sentenced to 17 years behind bars after she killed a man while driving drunk, also posed for a new mugshot ... and she doesn't exactly look thrilled.

The wrestling legend had been at the Florida Women's Reception Center in Ocala before she was moved to Lowell Correctional Institution ... just a mile away.

Lowell is an all-women's facility, the oldest in the state, and holds around 1,000 inmates.

Tammy's still got more than a decade and a half left on her sentence ... so she's got a lot of time to fill. Thankfully, LCI boasts several different programs for inmates like Tammy, including cosmetology and cooking classes.

There's even a vocational program on equine care -- AKA horses -- and operating heavy machinery.

The prison also offers aid to inmates battling alcohol addiction... something Sytch has struggled with over the years.

As for the grub at Lowell, it's not exactly like eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant, although perusing the menu ... it could be worse.

Lowell rotates four different menu options, over and over and over ... week 1, 2, and so on.

Sytch can look forward to breakfast options like "buttery oatmeal w/ brown sugar," pancakes, breakfast sausage patties, and scrambled eggs.

Lunch ... meatloaf, peanut butter and jelly, sloppy joe, and buffalo chicken are a few of the different foods.

As for dinner, Sytch will be served everything from a fish patty to turkey hot dogs (2 of 'em), chili mac, and even meatballs.

Tammy may also have an opportunity to hold down a job in prison ... though a rep for Lowell tells us she does not yet have a work assignment.

An unidentified high-altitude balloon has been spotted flying over the U.S. -- and its presence has been concerning enough to get the military involved ... sound like déjà vu?

The U.S. government is now tracking the wandering balloon, U.S. officials told CBS News ... adding that while its origin and purpose are still unknown, they've determined it not to be a threat.

Sources say the anonymous balloon has been on the move ... drifting eastwards in the jetstream, with one official revealing it was over Colorado Friday morning.

Of course, this ain't the States' first overhead balloon encounter. You'll remember ... a Chinese spy balloon hovering up in the skies in Feb 2023 had everyone up and down the country talking. Now, a year later ... there appears to be another one cruising high above.

The spy balloon was reportedly floating around 40,000 feet when it was fired down in U.S. territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina by the USAF upon President Biden's orders.

China was pissed as hell ... condemning the downing of their air balloon as an "excessive overreaction." The diplomatic tensions were definitely soaring ... as high as those balloons!

Charles Melton is the toast of the town these days -- but if you've been noticing he's looking a little single during awards season, well ... that's because he's fresh off a breakup.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the actor -- who's been making the rounds over his performance in "May December" these past couple months -- is no longer dating Chloe Bennet ... whom he'd been with for much of 2023.

Their relationship was pretty low-key --- they weren't really spotted in public together all that much since hooking up in the Spring -- but now ... we're being told they're officially over.

Unclear when exactly things fell apart, but our sources tell us they quietly split at the end of last year -- which kinda aligns with the fact they haven't been seen with or around one another to kick off the new year. No word on who ended things ... sounds like it just fizzled out.

Chloe -- who's an actress herself -- was spotted out in January with "The Bear" star Lionel Boyce ... and them hanging out got some thinking they were a new item -- but we've been assured they're just good friends.

The last time Charles and Chloe were seen together was actually way back in August -- when they went to a Taylor Swift concert ... and were photographed strolling out side by side.

Before Charles, Chloe had famously dated Logan Paul ... and CM himself has been around the block too -- he's been linked to Camila Mendes, Chase Sui Wonders and a handful of other starlets around his age.

Now, the homeboy's on to bigger and better things besides TV -- he's a bona fide movie star!

Chloe's doing just fine, too, BTW ... she's been steadily working a lot lately, and is steadily on the rise in Hollywood. All's well that ends well -- and the good news ... these two hotties now appear unattached and on the market.

Travis Kelce has to be happy Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are no longer beefing ... 'cause he once had to make a tough choice between them, and he kinda gave the nod to Katy.

An old interview with Travis from 2016 that he did with AfterBuzz TV is being resurfaced and recirculated in the wake of Katy crashing Taylor's concert down in Australia Friday ... and in the clip, Travis is playing the classic game "FMK," but the PG-version ... Kiss, Marry, Kill.

Travis is given 3 options ... Taylor, Katy and Ariana Grande ... and after he reluctantly chooses to "kill" Ariana -- noting he actually thinks she's great -- he was left with Taylor and Katy as the final 2 ... and he picks Katy for marriage and Taylor for kissing.

It's super silly and all in good fun ... but little did he know back then, he'd end up with one of these ladies -- although, he obviously crossed paths with Katy as well in the company of TS.

It's pretty funny to see Travis in this throwback -- obviously, the Taylor reference is the stand-out here -- but his flowing hairdo is also pretty wild to see. These days, he rocks a regular fade.

In any case, he seemed pretty stoked on marrying Katy at the time ... which is interesting -- because in 2016, she and Katy were still feuding and had bad blood back then.

Of course, the two pop stars have since patched up their relationship ... to the point where Katy was singing "Bad Blood" Friday at Taylor's first Sydney show -- the ultimate sign they're all good now.

Katy was singing along from the VIP tent ... where she was joined by Rita Ora and Travis. So yes, Travis was standing next to and hanging out with the woman he was once smitten with over Taylor.

Unclear if Travis brought this funny clip up with Katy Friday during the concert ... but frankly, we doubt it ... and it's entirely possible he doesn't even remember this.

It was a lifetime ago ... and he's clearly very happy with Taylor now.

Anyway, Travis and Taylor are still going strong as her "Eras" tour picks back up and he celebrates another Super Bowl championship with the Kansas City Chiefs. Whether Katy's in the mix there with them or not ... he's only got eyes for Tay Tay these days.