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NLE Choppa is flexing his knowledge of the United States government on Election Day '24 ... going hard for your presidential candidate is cool and all, but make sure you're tapped into your local representatives!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the newly minted movie director and his fellow visionary Ben Marc in Bev. Hills on Tuesday ... Choppa tells us he voted for God -- whether he wrote it on the ballot or it's a figure of speech is up in the air.

Choppa celebrated his 22nd birthday a few days ago with a screening of his and Ben Marc's "The Wash" film and shared some educational tips with his fellow Gen-Zers -- voting for your best interests locally will actually help your presidential pick thrive!!!

Diddy's not running his trademark "Vote or Die" campaign for the 2024 presidential election, in part because he's in federal custody ... but, he's still able to exercise his civic duty.

The Bad Boy Records founder is locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he awaits his criminal trial ... but he hasn't been convicted, so he still has the right to vote ... and we found out how he could go about casting a ballot.

Honchos at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the agency that operates MDC Brooklyn, tell TMZ ... Diddy can vote in the 2024 election using an absentee ballot mailed from the federal jail.

Tom Hanks is defending his work against folks who get paid to review his films ... and he says a lot of the movie critics out there are "c***suckers."

The Oscar-winner teed off on movie critics during an epic rant on Conan O'Brien's podcast ... ripping them for some of the responses he's gotten over his long career in Hollywood.

One movie sticks out to Tom and Conan ... his 1996 flick "That Thing You Do!" It was Tom's debut as a screenwriter and director and it got bad reviews at first, but now it's considered a cult classic and Tom says one critic who ripped the film is now doing a 180.

Kim Kardashian is sure to say "crikey" when she hears how she played a role in one crocodile winning big at an annual croc race Down Under.

Check it out ... one reptile, aptly named Kim Krocdashian, emerged victorious after facing off against other small saltwater crocs at a race in Darwin, Australia on Monday.

The beast, measuring just over 3 feet in length, took off down the grassy track at the Berry Springs Tavern ... leaving several rivals in its wake.

Elon Musk went in hard on Jennifer Lopez ... saying it's rich she's warning people about Donald Trump but was mum about ex-boyfriend Sean "Diddy" Combs for all these years.

Musk appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast and did not mince words ... "J Lo was like his ex-girlfriend and it's like now deciding she's like warning people against Trump. How many people did she warn against Diddy, right? Oh zero, ok. Maybe we shouldn't trust her."

As you know, J Lo and Diddy dated from 1999 to 2001. Several allegations against Diddy supposedly occurred during that time frame, including an alleged assault against a 13-year-old girl.

Peanut the Squirrel's tragic fate is stirring emotions across the Internet, but at least one town leader in Chemung, NY -- where Peanut's owner lives -- isn't rattled at all, and seems over the whole ordeal.

Chemung Town Supervisor George Richter tells TMZ ... he has no knowledge of the squirrel saga exploding on his turf. Remember, Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, claim 2 of their rescue pets -- Peanut and Fred the raccoon -- were unjustly seized last week, and killed over alleged rabies concerns.

While the story's gone viral, Richter says he has no plans to advocate on behalf of the late Peanut, nor Mark and Daniela -- making it clear he won't be speaking to Governor Kathy Hochul about the raid.

Gayle King's weighing in on Megan Thee Stallion's recent confession that she fibbed about not hooking up with Tory Lanez -- and honestly, she's not taking it too personally.

We caught up with Gayle on Tuesday, and she told TMZ that Megan's lie during her 2022 "CBS Mornings" interview about the July 2020 shooting is ultimately on the star herself -- but there are no hard feelings on her end, and she's still totally rooting for her.

Gayle dives deeper in the clip, explaining she initially wanted to give Megan space to share her side, especially since so many people doubted her story. Ironically, Megan still ended up lying to her -- but Gayle stands by her decision to give her the platform.

The L.A. Dodgers fan who had a firework explode in his hand during a viral World Series celebration-gone-wrong last week has lost two of his fingers, his dad announced this week.

Kevin King Sr. told Fox 11 Los Angeles his 25-year-old son, Kevin King Jr., is now without the pointer finger and the middle finger on his left hand ... and has already undergone two surgeries to repair the damage the firework caused.

Unfortunately, King Sr. said King Jr. will require a third procedure soon.

Waka Flocka Flame is one of hip hop's most vocal Donald Trump supporters, and it turns out his chatterbox has been his only political contribution -- records show he actually never cast a vote for his ace!!!

The "No Hands" rapper addressed his spot being blown up on Election Day after a social media user inserted Waka's gov't name on didmyfriendsvote.org ... all those pro-Trumpisms weren't backed up at the polls!!!

Waka brushed off the critics on social media ... insisting Americans are just second-class citizens and swore to his critics that his celebrity stature was bigger than the actual vote, with an extra emphasis that he sees donkeys as sheep --- baaaaaa!!!

Peanut The Squirrel should be alive right now, because it's improbable the fully domesticated animal had rabies ... so says an infectious disease expert.

NY state officials killed the internet sensation last week in order to test Peanut for rabies, but a doctor well versed in rabies says authorities might have jumped the gun in impulsively testing for the disease.

Dr. Edward R. Rensimer tells TMZ ... the CDC's position is that squirrels are not considered to be carriers or spreaders of rabies and to his knowledge, there's never been a recorded case of squirrel-to-human rabies transmission.

LeBron James joined the legion of hip hop heads who "reminisce over" DJ Clark Kent -- honoring the late producer's memory for his millions of followers to see!!!

The King was feeling reflective ahead of the Lakers matchup last night against the Detroit Pistons, and posted his flawless kick game ... the Nike Air Force 1 Low DJ Clark Kent "The List" exclusive sneakers.

LeBron also soundtracked the Clark Kent homage with Freddie Gibbs' newest single "On The Set" ... after proclaiming his new album "You Only Die 1nce" to be the bee's knees.

Martha Stewart's criticism of Ryan Reynolds' "very serious" off-camera persona should be taken with a grain of salt ... given the fact the actor's been quite vocal about his past anxiety hurdles.

A source close to Ryan tells TMZ ... the actor has made no secret about his anxious and racing mind ... which means sometimes he shuts down around people.

As our source puts it ... Blake Lively's husband likes being quiet over being "on" ALL the time.

Members of the famed Jackson family arrived at a Los Angeles-area cemetery Monday to say their goodbyes to Tito Jackson ... more than a month after the singer's death.

The founding member of The Jackson 5 was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California -- where his own brother, Michael Jackson, was entombed after his 2009 death at the age of 50.

The King of Pop's children, Paris and Blanket Jackson, were notably in attendance at their uncle's funeral ... as they were seen mingling with their family members outside the packed service.

Beyoncé is using a jaw-dropping transformation and a new music video to encourage American fans to get out and vote ... with Pamela Anderson as her ultimate muse.

Check it out ... the singer dropped a new visual for her "Cowboy Carter" anthem "Bodyguard" Monday ... donning a variety of looks made famous by the "Baywatch" actress.

In fact, the chart-topper is labeled "Beywatch" on YouTube ... and features Bey wearing the iconic red swimsuit worn by Pamela in the series.

Dr. Dre admits using colorful language to chew out his ex-marriage counselor, but denies threatening him in any way... and says Dr. Charles Sophy only feels threatened because Dre is Black.

Doctor to doctor, Dre's officially responding to the lawsuit filed by his former Dr. Sophy -- who had counseled Dre and his then estranged wife Nicole, prior to their divorce. In the suit, Sophy claimed Dre fired off several threatening texts, accusing Sophy of turning Dre's kids against him.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Dre admits using crude language in some texts to Sophy, but says he never made any "credible threat of future violence" that would require Sophy to get a restraining order, which he did last month.

Taylor Swift's brother, Austin, took swift action to protect one excited fan from a combative security guard ... intervening before someone emerged as the "Anti-Hero."

During the singer's "Eras" tour stop in Indianapolis over the weekend, a fan wearing a Travis Kelce costume tried to get the attention of the Kansas City Chiefs tight end ... who popped up in the VIP section of the stadium to cheer on his superstar girlfriend.

As the passionate Swiftie -- who donned a full NFL getup, helmet and all -- tried to get Travis to look over at her, the guard grabbed her by the elbow and began guiding her away from the floor.