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A photo of Karen Read's attorney Alan Jackson embracing her tightly from behind is as innocent as her fans believe she is in her murder case ... at least according to people in Karen's inner circle.

The photo, taken outside a Smith & Wollensky restaurant in Boston, has created a big stir around the high-profile case since it was taken on June 27. The jury was in the middle of deliberating ... deciding whether Karen had indeed murdered her police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe.

But, a source close to Karen tells TMZ ... the image is being taken out of context, as it was actually an innocent moment of celebration -- and there was "nothing to this other than goofing around."

Haliey Welch, the "Hawk Tuah" girl, is trending BIG in porn -- not that she's going into it personally, but millions of horny people are now scouring the internet for videos featuring the move she so vividly described.

A rep for PornHub tells TMZ ... the site now has a few million searches for the term "Hawk Tuah" and the numbers keep blowing up at a rate they rarely see.

In fact, the site is projecting the total number of "Hawk Tuah" searches to reach 4.7 million by the end of Tuesday -- a sign of just how much Haliey's catchphrase has captured the country's attention ... and imagination.

Rick Ross' violent face-off in Vancouver is exactly what it seems -- the end result of the rapper's recent beef with Drake ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... the Sunday night fight started when Rick was approached by several Canadians who were upset with him for dissing Champagne Papi in several videos posted well over a month ago.

However, we're told the angry Drake supporters were incited even more when Ricky Rozay ended his set at the Ignite Music Festival by pumping "Not Like Us" in the PA speakers.

PETA's imploring the Cleveland Browns to do away with their live-mascot tradition following the death of their sideline dog ... telling TMZ Sports it believes the practice is harmful to animals.

Tracy Reiman -- PETA's executive vice president -- made the urging on Tuesday afternoon ... just hours after the NFL org. revealed its bullmastiff mascot, Swagger Jr., had passed away at five years old.

Reiman said in a statement that "generations of breeding for a certain look have left bullmastiffs prone to hip dysplasia, cancer, and life-threatening heart issues, among other painful conditions." She added that she believed Swagger Jr.'s death "should be seen as a damning indictment of an industry that deliberately churns out these doomed breathing-impaired breeds."

Zach Bryan came to the rescue of "Hawk Tuah" girl Haliey Welch before his Nashville show ... arranging the VIP treatment for her after she got worried about unwanted attention in the crowd.

ICYMI ... Haliey joined Zach onstage at Nissan Stadium, making a cameo during his encore performance of "Revival." Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... HW didn't end up onstage Saturday night just for a singalong, as Zach's team had spoken with people connected to Hailey before the show.

We're told Haliey has always been a major fan of Zach's and bought her ticket for the concert well before she became the viral sensation she is today.

Prince Harry's a humble, stand-up guy who blends in as just another fellow veteran, making him deserving of the Pat Tillman Award for Service ... a former recipient tells us amid the outrage over ESPN's decision to honor the royal.

U.S. Marine Jake Wood, who won the award in 2018, tells TMZ veterans who've interacted with Prince Harry through his Invictus Games efforts say he's as real as it gets. There's no air of superiority ... he just wants to sit, swap war stories, and ensure everyone's taken care of, he says.

No doubt in Jake's eyes, Harry's down-to-earth nature, on top of him devoting a large chunk of his post-military life to veterans, solidifies his worthiness for the award.

Sexyy Red losing out to Tyla at the 2024 BET Awards caused a big stir online with fans, but if ya let Druski and DJ Drama tell it -- there were no losers that night!!!

TMZ Hip Hop chopped it up with both star personalities at LAX, where they were kidding around about all sorts of topics the day after the award show let out.

They both attended the awards and agree with the convo online ... Sexyy was hands-down this year's Best New Artist!!!

Kendrick Lamar and pgLang continue to connect dots in Compton ... helping coordinate an electronics and sneaker giveaway that has kids screaming Christmas in July!!!

The event was a community team effort co-organized by Kai Cenat, 319 Music Group CEO Wacko and Tim Hinshaw's creative studio Free Lunch.

TMZ Hip Hop was also on the scene, and the energy created by K. Dot's Pop-Up Concert was still lingering throughout Compton.

Ray J really was going through it at the BET Awards, and now we have the video to back it up -- it's a full meltdown, with him threatening to make things "ghetto" after security allegedly denied him re-entry to the show.

The footage, obtained by TMZ, shows Ray pacing around Sunday night outside the award show at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles ... and he's getting more and more animated.

Ray appears to be arguing with some security guards and he's overheard complaining about not being let inside the show ... and things escalate to the point where he rips off his shirt and declares, "I didn't bring the ghetto to BET yet, but I'm about to!!!"

Cops know Kroy Biermann and Kim Zolciak's Georgia address by heart now -- they've been there enough -- but their latest visit wasn't for the couple fighting ... cops say the problem is their massive dog.

TMZ obtained a Milton PD report in which officers say they slapped Kroy with a citation Saturday due to a neighbor's complaint about his dog, Stone, getting loose and allegedly terrorizing a neighbor.

According to the docs, the neighbor called police after spotting the dog running free in the neighborhood, and claimed Stone had been "aggressive" toward her.

Prince Harry has key figures in his corner amid the outrage over ESPN's decision to honor him with the Pat Tillman Award for Service -- at least 2 former winners say Harry is definitely deserving.

Jake Wood, a U.S. Marine and former college football player who won the award in 2018, tells TMZ … the Duke of Sussex is a natural fit for the Tillman honor because of Harry's military service and his dedication to veterans.

Jake feels Prince Harry is a good choice because he's dedicated his life to serving and supporting the military and veterans -- Harry served 2 tours in Afghanistan -- and that should be commended because there are hundreds of different ways a British royal could live his life.

Dan Ige was planning on watching UFC 303 like the rest of us ... on the couch. But before the main card kicked off ... he found himself walking into the arena to take a fight against Diego Lopes on four hours notice -- and he tells TMZ Sports he would do it all over again!

We spoke with the 32-year-old fighter days after he saved the day for the UFC on its marquee card for International Fight Week. Ige said he is still riding the high of the entire saga.

"The last 24 hours have been an emotional roller coaster," he said. "I was preparing for a night in three weeks. Then, just getting the call on four hours notice and making that walk on such a huge event, saving the card, UFC 303 as the co-main event. 19,000 fans in the arena, getting a standing ovation. What a moment, what an opportunity."

Michael Rooker says folks are sleeping on Kevin Costner's new movie saga ... telling us the film is a throwback to classic Hollywood and a departure from the "crap" TikTok generation.

We got Michael, who stars in Kevin's new epic "Horizon: An American Saga -- Chapter 1," at LAX and our photog asked him about the film's poor box office opening.

Michael thinks one of the reasons Kevin's movie only grossed $11 million last weekend is because folks nowadays are used to short social media clips and 90-minute movies ... not real, quality films with deep characters and rich storylines.

President Biden's debate gaffes are ticking off some folks who work in the White House, because they've reportedly been kept away from him ... and now it's causing a divide among staffers.

Alex Thompson, the national political correspondent for Axios, joined us Monday on "TMZ Live," and broke down the disconnect happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Alex says lots of people who work with Biden are only given access to him between 10 AM and 4 PM when POTUS is at his sharpest, and that's why they were so shocked to see his slip-ups at Thursday's debate, which started at 9 PM ET -- a time when Alex says Biden is more prone to make mental mistakes.

Jim Pons -- the man who created one of the New York Jets' logos -- is now suing the team and the NFL ... demanding he be paid for their use of his design.

Pons filed the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, in New York on Monday ... claiming he made the now-iconic emblem way back in the 1970s, after he had been working for the team as a film and video director.

Pons says in '78, the Jets were looking for a redesign -- and when he submitted his logo that featured a jet plane above the letters "E-T-S" ... team officials loved it, and began using it.

Kanye West's former chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, is slamming a new lawsuit claiming the rapper's wife, Bianca Censori, exposed Yeezy employees, including minors, to pornographic videos.

Milo tells TMZ ... he's been authorized by Bianca to stress the allegations against her are offensive, disgusting, abhorrent, and wholly false.

Milo is blasting one of the plaintiffs, Shemar DaCosta, as a "tragic, desperate, attention-seeking wannabe Yeezy staffer."