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An L.A. jury says Ricky Garcia, from the boy band Forever in Your Mind, was indeed sexually abused by his former manager back when the singer was a teenager ... TMZ has learned.

The jury returned the verdict Friday, finding Joby Harte liable for childhood sexual abuse, gender violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury also hit Harte with an 7-figure judgment -- awarding Ricky $5.5 million in compensatory damages, and another $1 mil in punitive damages.

The verdict brings an end to a lengthy case for Ricky, who was 20 years old back in 2019 when he filed the lawsuit against Harte ... alleging he had groomed and assaulted him for several years, starting when Ricky was just 12.

Ricky joined Forever in Your Mind after auditioning for season 3 of "The X Factor" -- he impressed Simon Cowell enough to get an invitation to join the group. He was also a child actor, co-starring in more than 30 episodes of the Disney Channel show, "Best Friends Whenever."

But, in his lawsuit, Ricky said show biz took a dark turn for him when Harte took the band on trips he described as songwriting sessions. The singer says Harte got him drunk and he woke up naked on Harte's bed.

On other occasions, Ricky says Harte forced him to perform sex acts while he was under the age of 18. He said he was afraid he'd lose his career, so he remained silent for years ... until he and his mother confronted Harte, and then filed the lawsuit against him.

Anthony Joshua dropped Francis Ngannou three times inside two rounds ... including a massive right hand that left The Predator out on the canvas!

The 34-year-old former 2x heavyweight champion was sharp from the very start of the bout ... putting 37-year-old Francis down in the first round with a hard straight right. Ngannou returned to his feet and even landed a hard punch towards the end of the round.

In the second, AJ again knocked Francis down ... but the former UFC champ beat the count, and the round continued.

But, just a short time later, Anthony uncorked a devastating right that landed flush to Francis' face, bending him backward (similar to the way Ngannou stopped Stipe Miocic), and immediately prompting the referee to stop the fight.

No count needed.

Ngannou, as doctors and medical professionals rushed in, remained down on the canvas for a couple of minutes ... and was even given oxygen.

Thankfully, Francis eventually got back on his feet, and appeared to be okay.

Despite less than 6 minutes of fighting, AJ encouraged Francis, who pushed Tyson Fury to the brink last year, to stick with boxing.

Promoter Eddie Hearn, who has worked with many of the biggest and best in the sport, called the KO punch one of the "most destructive knockouts" he'd ever seen.

Bella Hadid is still doing the cowgirl thing as she continues to date Adan Banuelos -- which is exactly why the stars of 'Farmer Wants a Wife' thought it'd be a good idea to grab a snap!

Check out this cool pic, obtained by TMZ, that shows the supermodel hanging out with the cast from this season of 'FWAW' -- which is currently airing on FOX -- down in Arlington, TX this week ... where they were all at a rodeo that the boys were participating in.

Pretty fortuitous run-in -- it's not every day you see A-list stars at this sort of event -- and obviously the fellas couldn't pass on getting a photo with Bella. If you're unfamiliar with these studs -- they're actually 3 of the dudes that are competing for love on the reality show.

There's Ty Ferrell, Brandon Rogers and Mitchell Kolinsky ... the only one missing here is Nathan Smothers -- who's also one of the four farmers in search of a bride on Season 2.

We should note ... our sources tell us the three 'FWAW' stars were not in production during this little meet-and-greet with Bella -- we're told they were just there for a promotional appearance.

As for Adan ... he was at this rodeo too, and we're told he was actually competing -- hence Bella's presence. It's pretty obvious that she and the professional horse rider are still going strong ... this after having first been spotted out in the Fort Worth area back in October.

They were looking hot and heavy then ... and now, all the way in March, it looks like Bella's fitting in quite nicely. No word on whether she's living out there with Adan -- but it seems like she spends quite a bit of time in the Lone Star State these days.

We'll say this ... the taxes are certainly better than they are in NY or L.A., FWIW.

Also ... she's killing these cowgirl looks lately. Then again, she's always sizzlin', regardless.

Swifties are coming to Travis Kelce's defense after he was caught texting during Taylor Swift's recent "Eras" tour concert ... with the message being, give the guy a break!

Check out the video ... you see the Chiefs tight end being filmed by a fellow concertgoer at the Singapore show he went to this week -- and while Taylor was belting out "I Knew You Were Trouble" ... TK was checking his phone, right at the peak of the song.

The person who filmed this seemed to be throwing some shade Travis's way -- by suggesting he wasn't being attentive enough .... with a caption, reading "It's giving supporting bf."

Despite what the TikToker might've been trying to imply here -- T-Swift's legion wasn't biting ... with a ton of people jumping to speak up for Travis ... and rightly pointing out how ridiculous any type of scrutiny or criticism over this really is. Dude's just checking his phone!

A few Swifties even noted that this is the first time that Travis has ever been seen looking at his phone while cheering on his sweetheart.

Besides, we know Travis is a supportive boyfriend -- evidenced by the fact that he's literally there in Singapore right now. As we reported earlier today, Trav was having a great time at the concert -- he was even caught dancing his tail off to Taylor's jams.

There's no denying he's a true fan of the Grammy winner ... remember, Travis attended the "Eras" tour before he and the pop star even got together. And, since getting with her -- he's made a huge effort to be at some of her international tours ... including in Australia.

Clearly, he's a supportive significant other ... and it seems her fans know that quite well. Here's hoping Trav can shake off the shade ... because it really ain't all that deep.

The guy's allowed to look away for a moment, y'all ... it should go without saying.

Tom Brady is currently by a pool near an ocean ... but he's clearly in desperate need of some more water -- posting a shirtless selfie Friday that screamed he's thiiiiirssssstyyyyy!!!

The New England Patriots legend dropped the peacockin' pic on his Instagram page ... knowing damn well he looked sexy as ever.

Chillin' in the backyard of his new Miami mansion -- Brady busted out some smoldering eyes, a light 5 o'clock shadow, some pumped-up pecs and a gold chain for the snap ... while joking he was having a "pool party."

"Where is everyone??" he said, adding two emojis.

Tom also shared a couple more pics of his new pad -- which was just recently completed -- and, yup, you can see it still definitely looks like a place fit for a man worth roughly half a billion dollars.

The timing of the barrage of posts appears to be somewhat notable ... as they come on the heels of his ex, Gisele Bundchen, getting emotional while talking about their divorce in a sitdown interview with "GMA" anchor Robin Roberts.

President Joe Biden is not-so-privately expressing frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu and how he's handling the war in the Middle East ... saying Israel's PM needs to see the light -- as in Christ.

The Prez was talking to Senator Michael Bennet from Colorado on the House chamber floor Thursday after his State of the Union address -- which he didn't seem to realize was being recorded by a stealthy cameraman.

You can tell Joe was trying to have a private convo -- evidenced by what he said, which got picked up on a hot mic... "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting."

Joe obviously was using a phrase that means coming to some grand realization about something -- but the phrasing is raisin' some eyebrows ... y'know, since BN is Jewish.

It seems like his staff realized he was misspeaking -- 'cause an aide rushed over and got into his ear, seemingly telling him to zip it and move on. Joe did exactly that, or so it seems.

Biden was pressed about this on Friday when he was getting ready to board Air Force One for a campaign trip to Philadelphia ... with reporters asking him why he made the comment.

At first, Biden says he didn't say it in his speech -- but when reporters ask him about what he told lawmakers after the SOTU ... he blamed the media for "eavesdropping."

In his SOTU, Biden announced he's directing the U.S. military to install a seaside pier in Gaza that will allow for a massive influx of aid to Palestinians ... but take a listen, it sounds like he wants Netanyahu to do more in terms of humanitarian aid too.

The self-described comedian who accused Matt Rife of performing oral sex to get ahead in Hollywood is walking back his salacious claim -- Nima Yamini says he was just joking.

In a video posted Friday, Nima says he was just doing a parody bit when he alleged Matt performed fellatio on a couple of Hollywood execs who promised fame in exchange.

TMZ broke the story ... Matt's considering legal action over the claim, and, interestingly, Nima didn't clarify the whole casting couch tale until after we posted about Matt's intentions.

However, Nima says that's not why he's walking it back ... instead, he says he's pissed at a conspiracy-pushing social media account that reposted his original video -- without his permission -- and made it seem like a serious allegation.

He insists that was never his intention.

Nima says the whole thing was meant as satire, and he doesn't know Matt personally and has never met him -- let alone ever being in the same room as him with Hollywood honchos.

What's more, Nima says the "joke" should not discredit Matt or how hard he's worked to become a famous comedian.

With Nima doing some serious backpedaling here, it will be interesting to see if Matt follows through with his legal threats.

Deion Sanders is on his way to being a grandpa ... his eldest daughter, Deiondra, just revealed she's pregnant with R&B singer Jacquees' baby!

The 31-year-old called the pregnancy "a miracle" when she announced the news on Friday morning ... explaining that doctors had told her for years it would be difficult to have a baby due to a myriad of health issues she's undergone throughout her life.

"I never thought I'd be here but here we are," Deiondra wrote on her Instagram page. "I'm having this baby to give hope to all the other women that may be in my situation. No matter what Doctor’s say, GOD HAS THE FINAL SAY!"

"The miracle growing in me is not just a coincidence but a divine blessing."

Jacquees, too, was thrilled to announce their bundle of joy had been conceived ... writing on his IG page that all of this is "My definition of real LOVE."

Coach Prime weighed in as well ... saying he's excited to be a granddad, even if he believes he's still a bit too young for the title.

"I Love u baby," the Colorado Buffaloes head coach said, "and I'm glad u said u ain't having a baby to keep a man."

"You've always had a MAN in your life that u call DADDY & ain't gon ever ever let u DOWN especially when I'm UP."

Deiondra is Deion's oldest child who he had with his first wife, Carolyn Chambers. The NFL legend has four other kids, two of whom he currently coaches in Boulder.

Patrick Mahomes is leaning into his dad bod era ... going shirtless by the pool during his vacation down in Mexico -- with a couple bebidas in hand, no less.

The Super Bowl LVIII champ and in-game MVP kicked back and relaxed Thursday, lounging around a lavish Los Cabos beach resort in standard gringo attire ... board shorts and a straw hat. The Chiefs QB looked like he was enjoying himself -- with Brittany right by his side.

It's pretty obvious ... Patrick's enjoying some R&R, fully embracing the offseason after a grueling season that culminated in a second straight Super Bowl title. What better to unwind than double-fisting a couple canned beverages ... which is exactly what he did here.

Hard to tell if these are beers or seltzers, but they do look refreshing.

As you know ... Pat's on a Mexican getaway this week with family and friends, and we've already gotten a look at his wife Brittany's bikini bod.

Remember ... BM's nursing a back injury, but she's powering through ... which is a lot easier to do from a resort in Cabo. Patrick and Brittany have their kids in tow ... and they look to be joined by another couple.

Now, Pat's clearly letting it all hang out here ... no shame to his game, nor should there be. The three-time Super Bowl champ also showed off his dad bod during the NFL playoffs, when he went shirtless during the locker room celebration, which went viral at the time.

Patrick defended his physique in the aftermath ... and he's clearly not shy about it here either.

TMZ Celebrity Tour bus riders were in a huge treat to end the week -- 'cause Andrea Bocelli was in town ... and he came aboard to put his pipes on display for one lucky rider!

We ran into the legendary Italian tenor out in the streets of Hollywood Friday -- where we happened to be doing our TMZ Celebrity Tour ... and one of our guides spotted Andrea and his son, Matteo, in the heart of the city, opting to hop off and interview him.

It made for a pretty epic conversation if we do say so ourselves. Check it out ... not only did AB give us the time of day -- telling us all about his upcoming projects -- but he also obliged us by coming on the bus and chopping it up with the riders.

The dude was super sweet ... and once he was on the bus -- he did someone a huge favor.

He didn't do "Ave Maria" here -- but Andrea did sing the next best thing ... and that would be "Happy Birthday" to one of our tour guide guests. Of course, phones were out for this one.

Just goes to show ... you really do see famous people on the TMZ Celebrity Tour -- and it's 100% worth its weight in gold, especially when awesome stuff like this happens. We'll admit ... even we were a little star-struck with Andrea's pop-in here, 'cause the dude's an absolute icon.

John Mulaney's ex-wife is dropping a new memoir in the near future -- and while some think she's gonna torch John over their uncoupling ... those folks are s*** outta luck.

Here's the deal ... Anna Marie Tendler -- who was married to the comedian for 7 years before things fell apart and they divorced in 2021 -- announced this week that she's got a book coming out later this summer, and it's called 'Men Have Called Her Crazy.'

The title in and of itself seems to suggest she'll go to town on some dudes in her life -- and her caption seemed to further fuel that notion. She wrote, "I have been writing this book for two years. More accurately though I have been writing it for close to four decades."

AMT adds, "I have never been more proud of any work. It is a story about mental health; about being a woman; about family. And finally, about the endless source of my heartbreak and rage -- men."

Of course, people in her comments think she's bull-horning her intentions ... namely, taking John to task over what some characterize as a messy divorce, which Anna has said left her heartbroken. John started dating Olivia Munn shortly thereafter, and had a kid with her too.

John caught some flak over all this at the time -- and now, Anna seems primed to speak about it all. Here's the thing though ... we know for a fact she absolutely won't.

Sources with direct knowledge -- who've already read Anna's memoir -- tell TMZ that John is never mentioned in her forthcoming offering ... either directly or indirectly.

Not only are we told that he isn't named in the book, but there's no alluding to him or their marriage -- in other words, John makes no cameos in this whatsoever ... literally nothing.

In terms of what is in the book ... our sources tell us Anna mostly focuses on her mental health journey -- and she does, in fact, touch on men in her life, both explicitly and implicitly -- but we've been assured ... none of those fellas are John.

That might come as a bit of a shock to some ... and perhaps a letdown for others. We're sure Anna's book is good reading regardless -- but if you're looking for tea in this, you won't find it in her memoir.

President Biden invited a bunch of Gen-Z influencers to the White House to watch his State of the Union address -- and one person in the mix has the inside scoop on how it went.

Tiffany Aliche -- an author and renowned financial expert -- came on "TMZ Live" Friday to break down what it was like Thursday evening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. with all these young whipper-snappers and Tiktokers around ... 'cause there were a crap ton of them.

Aliche -- who's built a massive following on Instagram and TikTok educating people about money -- tells us that she was one of over 60 influencers who attended the highly publicized evening ... and that there was a mix of internet personalities in attendance.

So, no ... it wasn't just political influencers -- fashionistas were there, too, it seems.

The message was clear for those in attendance ... Biden and his staffers wanted to reach Gen Z -- with Tiffany recalling that POTUS praised the content creators as "critical" to his campaign since they have a massive reach. Out with the old, as they say!

On whether this influencer effort will sway young voters to vote for Biden this fall ... Tiffany isn't certain -- but she does think it helped with raising awareness.

As for the vetting process required ... Tiffany says she was surprised that she wasn't asked about her political preference before being invited. The only conditions ... respect the White House as a historical building and a military compound.

She didn't even have to post if she didn't want to -- which sat well with Tiffany.

Other influencers invited to the White House ahead of the State of the Union included strategist Keith Edwards, activist Aaron Parnas, and "The Real Friends of WeHo" star Joey Zauzig.

Saudi Arabia's first humanoid male robot inappropriately touched a female reporter's butt at an event introducing him to the world ... and the cringe-y interaction is all on video.

The AI robot, named Muhammad, got caught on camera pulling a pretty pervy earlier this week in Riyadh, at something called DeepFest ... which is an AI get-together where people gather to talk tech, artificial intelligence and noteworthy breakthroughs.

Muhammad was supposed to be on the of standouts at this function -- but he ended up making a splash for all the wrong reasons. As you can see, the bot tried copping a feel.

It was standing on a platform behind TV journalist Rawya Kassem -- when it slowly moves its right arm towards her, attempting to touch her booty in the middle of her report ... and seemingly making contact.

Rawya turns back and motions at the robot to back off ... shooting the robot a nasty glare before continuing on with her report. The robot already looks super real, resembling a man wearing a long gown below a red and white keffiyeh ... making this all the more creepy.

"134 Innocent Hostages including 6 Americans are still being held by Hamas, Gazans and Palestinians. Not one word DEMANDING THEIR RELEASE from our President."

That's Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl ripping into Joe Biden ... and suffice it to say, he wasn't a fan of POTUS' State of the Union speech Thursday night.

63-year-old Pearl, who is Jewish, laid into the 81-year-old president for failing to adequately pressure Hamas to release over 100 hostages that they took during the October 7 attacks in Israel during his third SOTU speech.

"On Oct 7th the Jewish People experienced the worst genocide since the Holocaust and we hear more about the suffering of Gazans than the constant threat for survival Israel and the Jewish people live with everyday!" Pearl wrote on X.

"And let's reward them with another State and launching pad for terror. Your lack of support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel was loud and clear Mr President!"

Of course, the coach is referencing Biden's push for a "two-state solution" in the region ... something he clearly believes is a bad idea.

On Friday, Pearl, who has been at Auburn since 2014, wasn't ready to move on ... and again went to social media to air out JB.

"President Biden saying 'I won't rest until we get the hostages home' isn't getting it done," Bruce tweeted, referencing a line from the president's speech, before urging action from POTUS and one of his top cabinet officials, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.

Pearl is referencing a line from Biden's SOTU ... where he said, "We will not rest until we bring their loved ones home." The coach wants much more done.

"Send [Blinken] to Qatar and tell Hamas leaders they have a limited number of days to release all hostages and surrender. If they refuse Israel gets the green light to destroy Hamas and them!"

The United States, Israel, and Hamas, as well as other involved parties, are negotiating in Cairo, in an effort to strike a deal for a temporary ceasefire which would presumably lead to the release of at least some of the more than 100 remaining hostages.

Janelle Brown is remembering happier times in the wake of her son, Garrison Brown's death -- posting a photo of the last time her whole brood was together.

Just a couple days after reflecting on Garrison's passing -- which occurred earlier this week -- the "Sister Wives" star shared a sweet family memory ... throwing up a pic on her social media that featured all six of her kids, whom she shares with her ex, Kody Brown,

The picture, Janelle says, was from Christmas ... and she wrote, "I had all my children together last Christmas. It was amazing as it's hard with everyone's busy lives to coordinate time like this. I am extremely grateful now that we had pictures taken."

The holiday allowed for Janelle to snap a pic of herself with her kids and grandkids -- the image marking the last full family photo for the reality star ... and obviously more poignant now in the wake of Garrison's passing.

The new upload marks Janelle's return to social media after announcing Garrison's death, who died by suicide on Tuesday -- this after she confirmed that her son had passed away.

We broke the story ... Garrison -- who appeared alongside Janelle and Kody on "Sisters Wives" -- took his own life at his home in Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff PD told us that Garrison's brother Gabriel was the first to discover him.

While we're told that Garrison died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound ... an investigation is still reportedly underway. Cops spoke with Janelle the day he died -- and she alerted them to alarming texts he'd sent to people they'd worked with before, and that raised red flags.

Garrison is survived by several family members -- as the Browns were famous polygamists before Kody's respective splits from wives Meri, Christine and Janelle over the last couple years. He was only 25.

RIP

Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin are reportedly engaged -- and not just that ... but, apparently, they've been set to be married for years.

According to multiple outlets, the Coldplay singer popped the question to the actress a while back ... although it's unclear exactly when he might've gotten on bended knee. Some reports suggest he might've popped the question as far back as 2020, if not earlier.

These same reports go on to suggest the couple are in no rush to get hitched -- doesn't sound like there's any concrete plan on setting a date and saying 'I do.' So, they're chillin'.

One report even goes so far as to suggest that Chris' ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, is fully on board with them getting married ... which jibes with how she and Dakota interact in public ... they're pretty chummy.

Of course, Dakota's also been playing stepmom to Chris and Gwyneth's two kids, Apple, 19, and son Moses, 17 -- and GP's even been super open about how their love for their kids keeps their co-parenting relationship strong post-divorce, which came two years after their "conscious uncoupling" back in 2014.

As for Chris and Dakota, they've been linked since 2017, with a brief bump in the road in 2019, when they briefly split. They got back together, of course, and have been happily dating ever since ... but with this new update, it seems they've been fiancé/fiancée to one another.

Dakota might've been telegraphing this all along she's been spotted bling on her ring finger in recent years -- and some reports suggest that it was an engagement ring after all.