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Not everything is bigger in Texas it seems ... 'cause the porn selection just got a heck of a lot smaller -- with Pornhub blocking access to would-be users in the Lone Star State.

The porn giant's not allowing users to hop on its site because of a new age verification legislation signed into law in Texas Thursday -- which went into effect immediately ... and, as a result, Pornhub.com is no longer available if users have a Texas IP address.

Thing is ... it's not because of the state -- Pornhub themselves are responsible for blocking out their site entirely.

The bill requires people to prove they're over 18 years old before watching explicit vids ... but Pornhub is petty -- instead of just complying with the new regulation and demanding people prove their age, they opted to shut down access to people in Texas altogether.

A new message appearing on the site to people in Texas says the company believes age verification infringes on the rights of adults to access protected speech, and the overly restrictive measure isn't a real solution. Therefore, the company says it made the difficult decision to completely shut down access to the site. So ... no porn for anyone!

Pornhub's team expressed fear in its statement that users would hop over to sketchy sites that don't check age verification ... clearly not practicing safe porn surfing, from their POV. From the outside looking in, it would appear they're punishing all Texans for what their lawmakers have enacted ... which probably sucks for all the horny people wanting to watch.

As for how the public's taking this ... obviously, the reaction's pretty split. Some people are happy it'll be harder for kids to access material they deem harmful while others are calling out Texas lawmakers like Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Greg Abbott over the new law.

In any case, the issue's got lots of people tense ... for a variety of reasons, we suppose.

Drake Bell's abuser, Brian Peck, had an army of A-list support behind him during his 2004 sentencing -- and we got a hold of the letters they all wrote, including ones from James Marsden, Taran Killam and Alan Thicke ... who spoke glowingly about the guy.

TMZ has obtained a total of 41 letters written to the judge in Peck's criminal case, and while there were scores of Hollywood types lending their voices in support of the convicted child molester -- all defending his character and asking for leniency -- these 3 are the biggest names.

Marsden's letter is the longest, and he details his extensive personal history and friendship with Peck, saying he'd known him for 14 years (mind you, he wrote this in '04, so they go way back apparently) and generally vouching for his character.

JM writes, "My name is James Marsden and i am very proud to say that i've been a close friend of Brian Peck's for about 14 years now. I am from Oklahoma originally and i met Brian through an actor friend ... Brian believed in my talent as an actor and encouraged my decision to move to Los Angeles and pursue this dream i had."

Marsden goes on to say he and Brian remained close over the years, saying BP mentored and coached him -- all free of charge -- and that they formed a very close bond, with Brian serving as a role model and instilling upstanding character traits.

Marsden says based on what he knows about Brian, he "couldn't breathe" when the charges came down. He says he had lived at his house for months and had shared hotel rooms with Brian -- and he says he never felt uncomfortable or compromised being around him.

He finishes by writing, "Brian is a good person with a very healthy fear and respect for the law and, i assure you, what Brian has been through in the last year is the suffering of a hundred men. I don't want to victimize Brian, nor would he ever wish that, but i do feel compelled to shed light on the fact that (he) has learned his lesson."

Taran -- who worked on the "The Amanda Show" and who also knew Brian very well -- was equally praising in his own letter of support to the judge presiding over the case, calling him his "co-worker, my friend" and saying he's not someone who belongs in jail.

TK writes, "When I found out about Brian being arrested I was shocked. Brian is the last person I would expect to be charged of criminal activities. My first thought was 'this is a mistake.' I know many of our mutual friends had similar thoughts. It is too out of character."

Finally, there's the late Thicke ... whose letter was much shorter but just as supportive of Brian, commenting on their days together on 'Growing Pains,' a period in which Alan says Brian was a "highly professional and nurturing mentor of the young people on our television set." Thicke says BP was never inappropriate.

There are dozens of other letters by people who went to bat for Brian -- including "Boy Meets World" stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong, "Growing Pains" star Joanna Kerns and 'Suite Life' directors Rich and Beth Correll ... whose show Brian worked on briefly, post-conviction.

You can see their letters here in full too ... but there are even more, filed by actors like Ron Melendez, James Marshall, Kimmy Robertson and other showbiz players.

As we reported ... Drake is set to detail exactly what he says Brian did to him before he got his own show on Nickelodeon on the new documentary 'Quiet on Set.' "Quiet on Set' premieres across 2 nights on ID, starting at 9 PM on March 17 and 18.

Amber Rose had nothing but love to share about her former flame, Machine Gun Kelly ... whom she says is the only ex-boyfriend to apologize for treating her badly.

The model/reality star gave MGK a major shout-out to MGK during Wednesday's episode of "The Jason Lee Show" ... where she explained that she and the rapper/singer remained friends in the aftermath of their brief relationship in 2015.

As AR describes it ... aside from her ex-husband Wiz Khalifa -- Kelly was the only one to acknowledge what a great girlfriend she was. Apparently, he said as much in an apology.

Amber has dated a lot of celebs ... having previously been with Kanye West , 21 Savage, Monte Morris, Terrence Ross, MGK, Alexander 'AE' Edwards and, of course, Wiz too.

Speaking of AE -- who's currently dating Cher, and seemingly in love -- Amber has thoughts on him too ... taking somewhat of a shot at him, and sounding happy he's off her plate.

She told Jason that she's very happy for the couple -- crediting the music legend for creating stability at home for her and AE's son, Slash. AR says their kid actually goes to Cher's house often ... and she's grateful AE has someone who can hold him down and be a good model.

As you know ... Amber and AE were together for 3 years, dating between 2018 and 2021.

While we're sure Amber could spill all sorts of tea on her A-list exes ... she revealed that she has purposefully chosen to stay tight-lipped for the sake of her kids. She reminded Jason ... her kids are old enough to Google.

As for her repeated history of dating rappers, Amber kept it coy ... defending that she is "not out looking for it."

Pierce Brosnan just took a plea deal in his hot springs hiking case out in Idaho ... this after initially entering a not-guilty plea just two months ago.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ ... Pierce pled guilty to one of two charges brought against him -- namely, one count of foot travel in all thermal areas and within Yellowstone Canyon confined to trails -- after he allegedly wandered into a delicate hot spring at Yellowstone National Park in November 2023.

In exchange, the other charge was dismissed. Brosnan's guilty plea lands him with about $1,540 in fines and other court costs.

Remember ... 007 appeared to post a couple pics from an off-limits area in the park -- areas that are closed to tourists for both the safety of the springs and the safety of hikers.

Those pics got picked up by TouronsOfYellowstone -- an IG page that highlights the tourists/morons who break hiking rules in the gorgeous national park.

Shohei Ohtani just finally revealed his lovely wife -- it's Japanese basketball player Mamiko Tanaka!!

The Dodgers superstar -- who got the largest contract in sports history this past offseason -- recently announced he married "someone from my Native country of Japan who is very special to me" ... but did not disclose her identity.

Ohtani and his team put an end to all the speculation on Thursday ... sharing a photo of the newlyweds on their way to Seoul, South Korea for the Dodgers' season opener on March 20th.

The woman was quickly ID'd as Tanaka, a 27-year-old basketball player who played for Waseeda University and the Women's Japan Basketball League's Fujitsu Red Wave.

The 5-foot-11 forward/center averaged 7.8 points and 6 rebounds per game ... so they're really quite the athletic couple!!

Ohtani said he and Tanaka have known each other for three to four years ... but their actual wedding date is unknown.

He also said she had no impact on his decision during free agency ... but pointed out Tanaka has a great understanding of his profession.

Patrick Mahomes is connecting with Travis Kelce for another off-field highlight -- the pair of Chiefs superstars are getting in the restaurant industry once again with a new steakhouse in Kansas City.

The hot spot is named 1587 Prime (a nod the duo's jersey numbers) ... but their business partners over at the Noble 33 hospitality group say their involvement goes far beyond that.

Entrepreneur Tosh Berman -- who runs several popular restaurants with Noble 33 -- says Mahomes and Kelce have been "instrumental" with input about the place's concept ... and have shared cool, original ideas to bring to the business.

The two-story, 10,000-square foot eatery -- which will be located inside the Loews Hotel in downtown -- is slated to open in early 2025 ... and it sounds super fancy, with a meat display as the focal point of the whole thing, as well as "hyper-subtle" nods to the Super Bowl champions' on-field accomplishments.

There will also be a massive wine collection, which will be one of the largest in the state.

Mahomes -- who also teamed up with his favorite target by investing in Chicken N Pickle -- spoke about the decision to join forces with Kelce again ... saying, "Travis and I have become frequent visitors of Noble 33 restaurants in other cities so it only made sense to bring something special to our own community in Kansas City."

Kelce added ... "We're excited to be a part of this journey with Noble 33 to create a one-of-a-kind dining experience, and what better place to start than our very own, Kansas City."

The guys are essentially attached at the hip both on and off the field ... and now they got the perfect place to double date with Brittany Mahomes and Taylor Swift!!

Danny DeVito's getting back together with his onscreen twin -- saying he and Arnold Schwarzenegger are set to team up once again ... in a totally new project.

The actor spoke with Fox News Digital Wednesday -- days after his surprise appearance alongside The Governator at Sunday's Oscars ceremony -- and said he and AS have plans for a silver screen reunion.

In fact, Danny says this isn't just some hopeful whim -- he says a script is actually in the works, and Warner Bros. is involved ... so, it seems like this thing is really happening!

"Twins" fans shouldn't get too excited though ... 'cause DD says this is an all-new flick, not a sequel to the hit 1988 film starring Danny and Arnold as fraternal twins.

Danny said that his and Arnold's friendship stretches even further back than "Twins" saying they'd see each other every so often ... but -- as Danny joked -- they weren't pumping iron at the gym together!

Ultimately, Danny says they're hoping to start production next year ... and, he's keeping his fingers crossed the project won't be delayed.

Arnold's got a whole bunch of projects on the way according to IMDb FWIW ... and Danny's gonna be featured heavily in the 17th season of his hit show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," so the two guys are gonna have to work around busy schedules.

Aaron Rodgers is attempting to clear up his position on Sandy Hook, a day after a scathing report claimed the superstar QB denied the horrific shooting ever happened, saying that's simply not true, calling it "an absolute tragedy."

"As I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place," 40-year-old Rodgers tweeted from Costa Rica.

"Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community."

The statement comes after CNN published a report on Wednesday citing two people who claimed AR was adamant the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT was fake, attributing the following quote to the 4x NFL MVP.

"All those children never existed. They were all actors.”

Rodgers tweet seems to directly contradict the CNN story ... but not all of it. The network also reported Aaron believes, or at least did in 2013, that the shooting was an "inside job" perpetrated by the United States government.

The Jets signal-callers message does not address whether he ever claimed the shooting was an inside job.

The Kate Middleton saga continues -- in light of Kensington Palace choosing to keep their fake photo of her up on Instagram ... the platform is now warning people, this is fraudulent.

IG has officially slapped the Mother's Day picture seen 'round-the-world -- which has since been revealed to be heavily edited -- with a flag that explicitly lets people know the picture ain't authentic ... and that users would be wise to be cautious with it.

The disclaimer on her post now reads, "Altered photo/video. The same altered photo was reviewed by independent fact-checkers in another post."

A further description of their decision to label her picture with this explains that the fact-checker found the photo had been edited in a way that could mislead people, but not because it was shown out of context. Translation ... this thing was cooked up in the lab!

The third-party fact-checker that IG (Meta) is relying on for this conclusion is a company called EFE Verifica -- which is a Spanish org that specializes in this sorta thing.

BTW, Instagram is not the only company that's distancing itself from Kate's pic -- French news agency AFP (a well-respected player) came out publicly this week to say that they do not consider Kensington Palace a trusted source.

AFP's global news director said they were going to heavily vet anything that Kensington sends their way going forward ... and a notice has been sent to their teams globally.

It's a big hit to the reputation of Kensington Palace, no doubt -- and the fact that they still have this doctored image up is astounding ... especially with all the backlash, conspiracy theories and speculation that has followed on Kate's whereabouts and condition.

Of course, this head-in-the-sand approach -- remember, the Palace has yet to address more questions about this, despite everyone having reached out for further comment -- seems to be spearheaded by Prince William himself, who's continuing on like nothing's happened.

In fact, Bill was on hand Thursday for more Royal duties with the OnSide Youth Zone -- who help disadvantaged kids -- and here, he was seen making cookies with youngsters ... and he actually alluded to Kate, saying his wife was the "arty" one as he botched icing decorations.

He's been doing a bunch of work-related stuff all week, and has yet to address head-on what's up with Kate ... frankly, it's unclear if anyone's even asked him.

If his attitude here -- namely, to ignore and power on -- is any indication ... it seems the rest of the Kensington Palace team is following his lead, but Kate-Gate ain't going away.

UFC legend Mark Coleman is breathing on his own and talking to his family ... just days after he was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries sustained while rescuing his parents from a house fire.

Coleman's daughter, Kenzie, shared an emotional clip on Mark's Instagram ... just 2.5 days after the MMA great suffered smoke inhalation while saving his mom and dad from a giant blaze.

"I had to make a decision," Coleman said about the house fire from his hospital bed, "It was already horrible! I couldn't breathe!"

"I'm the happiest man in the world. I swear to God I'm so lucky! I can't believe my parents are alive!"

Unfortunately, his dog, Hammer, passed away ... and Coleman -- who retired from MMA in 2013 -- is completely devastated.

"I couldn't find Hammer!" Coleman said as he cried with his family.

A GoFundMe was set up for Coleman's loved ones as his daughters will take time off work to help him during his recovery. As of Thursday, over $68K was raised.

Regina King is finally opening up about her son Ian's suicide ... saying through tears she respects his choice to take his own life and touching on her own experience with grief.

The actress/director sat down for an interview on "Good Morning America" where she delved into Ian's tragic 2022 death ... and touched on her difficult journey in the aftermath.

RK says she thinks of grief as love without anywhere to go, and she's trying to celebrate her son for everything he is -- she even uses the present tense because she says Ian is always with her. King adds she hasn't really had time to simply sit with Ian's decision ... which she says she understands -- because it's clear to her he didn't want to be here anymore.

Regina says her favorite part of herself was being Ian's mom, and ultimately she simply has to respect the journey despite also asking herself questions about what she possibly could've done better as a parent.

As we reported ... Ian Alexander Jr. -- the only son of King and her ex-husband Ian Alexander Sr. -- took his life back in January 2022 on his 26th birthday.

At the time, Regina said, "Our family is devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian. He is such a bright light who cared so deeply about the happiness of others. Our family asks for respectful consideration during this private time. Thank you."

Ian was a regular guest of Regina on the red carpet, even calling King a "Super Mom" on the 2019 Golden Globes red carpet and posting a heartfelt tribute to her on her 50th birthday in 2021.

It seems Regina is taking the next big step in her journey ... although Ian is clearly never far from her mind.

There's still time for Jake Paul to reconsider ... 'cause Mike Tyson just shared footage of his first day of training for their upcoming fight -- and the dude looks like he's still packing a ton of power!!

The 57-year-old boxing legend proved his hands haven't slowed down all that much on Wednesday ... hitting the mitts with his coach Rafael Cordeiro.

Tyson also went shirtless to show off his impressive physique ... saying the fun is just getting started, but it's clear he's taking this fight seriously.

The big question when the fight was announced was if Iron Mike -- one of the most feared fighters to ever wear a pair of gloves -- still had it ... and it's safe to say we have answers.

Of course, former UFC champ Chuck Liddell pointed out to TMZ Sports last week that power is the last thing to go in an aging fighter -- and once Tyson makes contact with Paul, the fight will be over.

As for Jake, he's up to the challenge ahead ... and addressed rumors of tag teaming with Logan in the event and the use of headgear.

The Problem Child said it's all BS ... and anyone believing the "reports" is straight-up too dumb to be allowed to vote or drive.

Kyle Richards is trying to shut down the gossip about her split from Mauricio Umansky ... by declaring the real reason behind their separation doesn't concern anyone else.

She got choked up as she tackled a fan question on why she's been avoiding the truth about their split during Wednesday night's 'RHOBH' reunion finale .. and as you can see from the clip, it hit a nerve with her!

Even though they've been openly airing their relationship on the show for years, Kyle suddenly flipped the script ... straight-up telling host Andy Cohen, "It's nobody's f***ing business!"

She made it crystal clear that nobody needed the nitty-gritty details about their marriage falling apart after 27 years ... but with her sister Kathy by her side, she did offer a bit more insight into what went down leading up to the split.

Kyle explained like in any marriage, theirs had its highs and lows over the years, especially when kids came into the mix ... but their problems never went away. She also reveals there was a specific incident that shattered her trust in Mauricio.

Andy also asked if the ongoing rumors about Mauricio cheating bothered her ... and she admitted they did, especially when she listened to that nagging voice in her head questioning whether the rumors held any truth.

However, Kyle tried to salvage the relationship 'cause she cared deeply about her family -- only to hit breaking point when her efforts didn't pay off.

Kyle confessed she initially believed the split would be a temporary situation ... but things have now evolved into a surprisingly amicable friendship between them, making it difficult for them to pull the trigger on an official divorce.

It remains to be seen how much Mauricio will reveal about the split on season 2 of his reality show, "Buying Beverly Hills."

The "Love Is Blind" reunion left viewers scratching their heads ... as they were left with more questions than answers regarding the status of the Season 6 stars -- especially since a lot has unfolded since cameras stopped rolling, including for the reunion itself.

While Thursday's episode was certainly more successful than Season 4's live stream debacle last year ... the reunion danced around giving anyone any real closure -- especially after so much drama played out offscreen.

It's no secret that Netflix takes forever to release their reality shows -- banking it well in advance so they are never without content. Yet, this strategy has allowed for so much to get spoiled as a new season unfolds ... which is why people were left yearning here.

For example ... last night's reveal that Jessica Vestal would be joining "Perfect Match" season 2 was no surprise -- as TMZ had already obtained photos of the brunette beauty gettin' hot and heavy with "Too Hot to Handle" star Harry Jowsey -- from this past September. So, not really news.

Exes Jimmy Presnell and Chelsea Blackwell claimed to be just friends at the reunion ... but we know that they reunited for a very friendly weekend in Florida just last week. So, again ... that was a bust too, 'cause it appears (in real life) they're actually together (again).

What's likely happening is that Netflix is trying to hold back any real updates for the new season of "Love Is Blind: After the Altar" ... but it doesn't make their relatively nothing-burger of a reunion any less frustrating. Anyway, here's what happened on the 'LiB' reunion.

Despite initially being a fan-favorite, Trevor Soa was later put on blast by fans after it was revealed he had a girlfriend while filming. His defense ... even though he told the other woman he loved her before and after filming ... they were never officially a couple.

He acknowledged he was "toxic" and that he needs therapy. Unfortunately for him, Nick Lachey booted him from the reunion.

Speaking of deception ... Jeramey Lutinski and Sarah Ann Bick confirmed they are officially a couple after riding off into the sunset on jet skis together. Remember, they linked up after leaving the pods -- when Jeramey was still engaged to Laura Dadisman.

The pair -- who announced they are living together, which BTW we already knew too -- once again denied hooking up during their off-camera meetup. Jeramey's ex-fiancée, Laura, said she had no interest in hearing their excuses ... slamming both of them as "disgusting."

Jeramey also addressed the rumors he had a fiancée just before the start of production. He confirmed that he had been engaged before, but denied calling off his engagement in order to join the show.

As for Jimmy/Chelsea ... their recent reunion wasn't the only reconciliation they had post-filming. While this wasn't shared on the reunion, a backstage interview showed Chelsea explaining how she and Jimmy tried to date for four days after calling off their engagement.

Chelsea said that "nothing really changed," prompting the two to stay friends ... at that time. Since this confession, though ... we've obviously seen them together anew, so who knows.

One highlight of the reunion was when Clay Gravesande attempted to reconcile with ex-fiancée Amber Desiree 'AD' Smith. He confessed that he let his insecurities get the better of him and shared that he started going to therapy.

Clay tried to shoot his shot with AD, who he called the love of his life ... but AD stayed coy about her current feelings. She did, however, confess that she gave former pod connection Matthew a chance by going on a couple of dates.

Happier moments ... Brittany Mills and Kenneth Gorham did not romantically reconnect after their breakup, yet confirmed that they speak every day as friends. Johnny McIntyre and Amy Cortés, the only ones to make it to the altar and say "I do" ... and are still happily married.

Prince Harry and Prince William are both set to attend a memorial event for their late mother, Princess Diana -- but as for them kickin' it in the same room ... forget it.

The brothers are gearing up for a rare joint appearance at the Diana Legacy Award event at the Science Museum in London Thursday ... but Harry's not hopping on a plane to be there, 'cause he'll be beaming in virtually from his home base here in California.

So, here's how it's gonna go down, per reports ... William will kick things off, doing his speech and handing out 20 awards at the ceremony -- held to reflect Princess Diana's belief that young folks can totally shake things up and make a difference in the world.

Will's gonna be riding solo to the event -- as his wife Kate Middleton continues to be noticeably MIA -- and once he wraps up, Harry's gonna zap into the room afterward.

Reports say Harry is going to wait until William completely leaves the stage before coming on himself. Safe to say, this is not a good sign of where their relationship is ... it's still icy.

The siblings have been locked in a feud for years now, which intensified after Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah and their Netflix special. It all came to a head with the release of Harry's memoir, where he laid bare the deets of their rift.

Remember, Harry said William got physical with him back in 2019 ... claiming he grabbed him by the collar, ripped off his necklace, and straight-up knocked him to the ground -- this after he supposedly called Meghan "difficult," "rude," and "abrasive."

The death of John Wall's mother took a massive toll on him ... to the point the NBA star put a gun to his head twice, contemplating suicide.

The former Wizards guard made the shocking revelation on "The OGs" podcast with ex-NBA stars Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller ... saying he struggled badly when his mom died of breast cancer in 2019.

"My mom was my best friend," the 33-year-old said.

"I put a gun to my head twice and a lot of people that are close to me, friends at the time didn't know."

Wall explains dealing with his mom's death was his "darkest moment," combined with a litany of injuries after signing a $170 million contract extension with the Wizards.

But, Wall chose not to pull the trigger ... 'cause he couldn't bear the thought of leaving his two sons behind.

"If I take myself away from this Earth, I'm failing my kids, like, who gon' be able to raise them," Wall said.

"I know I gotta be there for them."

Instead, the 5x NBA All-Star went to see a therapist -- which he continues to do -- and now he's advising other men who are struggling with mental health to do the same.

"If you ever feel like you in a spot where you not comfortable as a Black man, African American, or any race, no offense to that, go get help. It's okay, there's nothing wrong with that," Wall said.

"I had to figure that out or I wouldn't be here today."

Wall was the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and has spent time starring for the Wizards, Rockets, and Clippers. He averaged 18.7 points and 8.9 assists during his 11 seasons.