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Gene Simmons ain't lumping himself in with other musicians threatened by the emerging use of AI in the biz -- in fact, he's leaning into it, and is ready to live on as a hologram in music.

The KISS singer spoke to us on "TMZ Live" Thursday about the band's upcoming digital avatar residency ... saying he and his bandmates are ready to rock out as digital pixels for years to come, because if they don't they'll just become yesterday's news.

Gene tells us despite his band never touring as KISS in the flesh again, things for them are only just beginning -- this after selling their entire music catalog, name, and likeness to Pophouse Entertainment for about $300 million.

Rashee Rice has admitted to being behind the wheel of the Lamborghini that was involved in the massive car crash in Texas last weekend.

The Chiefs star's attorney, Royce West, just told media members at a news conference on Thursday afternoon that Rice made the admission while talking with Dallas Police Dept. investigators this week.

West said Rice is taking full responsibility for his actions ... vowing to make whole anyone who was injured in the accident or had property damaged in the wreck.

A person jacked a package off of someone's front porch by dressing up as trash -- a harebrained scheme that would make Wile E. Coyote blush ... even though it worked.

Footage from Sacramento's Omar Gabriel Munoz's doorbell cam is starting to make the rounds -- because it captures a thief who disguised themself as a trash bag ... albeit, one on the move.

Check it out ... you can see the culprit shuffle their way over to the door -- where a package lay -- and swoop it before waddling away. They made strategic pauses along the way too.

G. Dep -- one of Diddy's top rap lieutenants during his "Harlem Shake era" -- is now a free man after serving more than 13 years in prison ... walking out of the gates this morning.

Records from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision -- obtained by TMZ Hip Hop -- show Dep was released under the prison's Limited Credit Time Allowance program, which allows eligible inmates a six-month credit on their existing sentences.

Per court docs, the "Special Delivery" rapper -- who's now 49 -- will have to check in with his parole officer, refrain from possessing weapons and drugs without medical authorization, and will have to get permission to leave the State of New York ... pretty standard stuff for a newly released ex-con.

Jake Paul has moved on from punching bags -- the Problem Child just used a Soundcloud rapper to hone his boxing skills ... hitting Lil Pump with a vicious body shot!!

The internet star and fighter welcomed the "Gucci Gang" musician on his "BS with Jake Paul" podcast this week ... and about halfway through the episode, Pump asked if Paul was willing to punch him in the stomach as hard as he could -- just so he could experience what it feels like.

Pump was fully committed to the stunt ... even telling Paul he was down to end up in the hospital over it.

English actor Adrian Schiller has died ... his longtime talent agency, Scott Marshall Partners, confirmed Thursday.

In a statement released to People ... Adrian's team shared the actor passed away on Wednesday, describing his death as "sudden and unexpected."

The agency added, "He has died far too soon, and we, his family and close friends are devastated by the loss."

Stevie J posted a video that is Diddy's biggest PR offensive to date ... and the message is clear -- check out who parties with Diddy, because it's virtually every big celeb in Hollywood.

The video is a highlight reel of Diddy's 50th birthday bash back in 2019 in Bev Hills, and the guest list is the Oscars meets the Grammys meets the ESPY awards.

Among the guests ... Kobe Bryant, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Post Malone, Naomi Campbell, Cardi B, Big Sean, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Kanye West, Jaden Smith, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifah, Kevin Hart, MGK, and on and on.

Molly Ringwald had a night to remember back in the day ... because she says her daughter was conceived at the famed Studio 54 -- albeit, well after its heyday.

The actress shared the intimate deets with The Times, saying her daughter Mathilda came to be through a sex session she had with her husband Panio Gianopoulos -- explaining they banged in a dressing at Studio 54 while it was being used for the Broadway show 'Cabaret.'

Molly says this happened toward the end of her run with the production in '03 -- and it sounds like part of the reason was because she was getting a little old to have children.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard's setting the record straight on all the rumors swirling about her recent hangouts with ex-fiancé, Ken Urker ... hopping on a TikTok Live with the guy to clear the air.

During an interview Wednesday, the duo made it crystal clear there's no romantic relationship between them and no intimacy -- they say they're just 2 friends reconnecting and making up for lost time despite their history as lovers.

Gypsy also wasted no time shutting down pregnancy rumors ... saying there's no baby on board, especially since she's on birth control.

Travis Scott had the LSU campus LIT Wednesday night ... making his way to Baton Rouge and hanging with superstar athletes Angel Reese and Jayden Daniels -- and all the students in attendance went nuts!!

La Flame is dropping his new "Jack Goes Back to College" clothing and headwear capsule this week ... and in honor of teaming up with 28 universities throughout the country, he is popping up at several schools to promote the collab.

Scott and Fanatics honcho Michael Rubin arrived at LSU's bookstore around midnight ... and according to the former 76ers owner, there were thousands of fans lined up almost half the day in preparation for the launch party.

One diehard was even waited 12 hours ... and Scott showed him love by autographing his arm!!

There's a new Bigfoot movie coming out -- an indie comedy, in fact -- and one of the stars says he and his castmates had to learn how to become one with the missing link on camera.

We talked to Christophe Zajac-Denek Wednesday at LAX and asked all about this new film he's in called "Sasquatch Sunset" -- which has been a big hit in the festival circuit, and which is supposed to be a moving depiction of what life might be like for a Bigfoot family.

Christophe explains what went into the process of immersing themselves as bigfoots -- including what he calls a "sasquatch boot camp," where they learned vocalizations, walking techniques and lots of other wild behavior that might be attributed to a real sasquatch.

Stephen Colbert was choked up as he mourned the loss of his longtime executive assistant, Amy Cole.

The heartbreaking news came at the end of Monday's episode of 'The Late Show' ... and you can see Stephen struggling to talk, and looking somber as he walked off stage before a black title card popped up, saying, "Dedicated to our dear friend Amy Cole, 1970-2024."

LateNighter reports audience members who were at the taping mentioned the show started with the usual fun and games. But then, out of nowhere, things took a serious turn.

Joe Rogan crapped on "The View" after his latest guest came on and recounted what he felt was a bad experience on the show -- and he had some choice words for the ladies there.

The comedian/podcaster hosted Coleman Hughes on 'JRE' Wednesday, and they were recapping his appearance on "The View" from last week ... in which Coleman got into a testy exchange with Sunny Hostin over the topic of race and color blindness.

CH -- who has a book that argues that society needs to focus less on race and more so on class and socioeconomic status -- says he believes Sunny unfairly attacked him.

KISS just sold their entire music catalog -- not to mention their entire image -- to a company that puts on hologram shows for legendary music acts ... and they did it for a pretty penny.

The iconic rock band struck a deal with Pophouse Entertainment, selling off not only their music but their name and likeness for upwards of $300 million, per reports. BTW, this is the same company they were already set to do a full digital avatar residency with.

Pophouse is also the same company that's been doing those hologram ABBA shows -- and like we said, KISS is already teaming up with them anyway ... so this move makes sense.

No sex is being had at Tiger Woods' house -- at least, not recently -- 'cause a friend says the golfing legend has given up intercourse in order to make sure he's completely focused on getting ready for the Masters.

One of the golfing legend's buddies made the revelation to the New York Post this week ... telling the outlet The Big Cat is training for Augusta National this year like a madman.

"He's working really hard in the gym," the unidentified friend said, according to the Post. "He's eating right. He's even eliminated sex."

Jerrod Carmichael doesn't think much of Dave Chappelle -- claiming the guy's full of himself ... even alleging he demanded a public apology after Jerrod criticized his trans jokes.

The comedian did a new interview with Esquire this week, in which he reflected on his spat with Dave a couple years back in the wake of DC's Netflix special "The Closer" ... which was criticized as being anti-trans, something Jerrod himself weighed in on at the time.

During an interview from back then, Jerrod had tried offering Dave constructive criticism -- suggesting that his legacy had been marred by his leaning into making fun of trans folks.