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Hulk Hogan's former close friend is not shying away from the upcoming Gawker movie ... instead he wants to collab with them ... and, he's got lots of insight 'cause he was at the center of the scandal!

A rep for Bubba the Love Sponge -- a famous radio DJ whose wife wrestled between the sheets with the Hulkster in the now-infamous sex tape -- tells TMZ ... Bubba's not currently working with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on their movie, but he's willing to collaborate.

We're told he feels the story's already out there, so Bubba's not hiding from it ... and, he wants to ensure the pair get the facts right in their flick.

Luke Bryan's selling his Florida beachfront home ... and someone finally pulled together the kinda scratch he was looking for -- 8 figures worth -- to part ways with the property.

TMZ has learned the country singer has a pending sale for his five-bedroom, five-bathroom home on the Sunshine State's panhandle. Luke was asking $12.95 million -- an astronomical price -- but one buyer clearly thinks it's worth it.

The 4,645-square-foot house sits on over an acre of land in Santa Rosa Beach complete with a Gulf adjacent pool -- for days when walking those 100 or so extra steps just doesn't seem worth it -- heart pine floors, elevated ceilings and a modern kitchen full of the newest appliances.

The fan who caught Shohei Ohtani's historic 176th home run is about to be a whole lot richer ... TMZ Sports has learned the man's putting the ball up for auction -- and it's expected to net him a small fortune!!

The guys over at Heritage Auctions tell us ... Jason Patino -- who snagged the record-setting baseball after Ohtani blasted it toward him in an April 21 victory over the Mets -- is selling the memento on their block, and they're figuring it'll eventually go for around $200,000.

The ball, of course, holds a ton of value ... as it marked the official breaking of Hideki Matsui's MLB record for dingers by a Japanese-born slugger.

George Floyd’s ex, Roxie Washington, is backing Kamala Harris’ VP pick, telling TMZ ... she's not buying the backlash against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the 2020 BLM riots over George's murder.

Roxie says she doesn't really get why there's so much hate against Walz regarding the civil unrest that erupted back then, because she doesn't get what he was supposed to do about it.

Instead, her anger's directed at Mayor Jacob Frey ... as she believes it was his job to protect the city.

When Taylor Swift returns to the stage, London authorities and Wembley Stadium will be taking extraordinary steps for security -- including some specifically deployed to stop potential terrorists ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Taylor's 5 upcoming shows at Wembley will be relying on additional private security specializing in counterterrorism, partly in response to the Vienna terror plot foiled by U.S. and Austrian officials.

We're told the private security force will also be deployed because of ongoing London riots that are placing a major strain on local police.

Andrew Bryniarski -- best known for his role as Leatherface in 2003's 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' -- has been ordered to stay away from his former roommate.

A judge ordered the actor to stay 100 yards away from Lance Berg, who says he and Andrew were roommates. Berg claims the actor physically attacked him multiple times ... including once when Berg claims Bryniarski became so enraged over a dispute about stealing food he shoved Berg down, spraining his wrist.

In another incident, Berg says Andrew came up and slapped him so hard he went temporarily blind in one eye.

Tim Walz wasn't just coaching football to cash checks ... so says one of his former players, who tells TMZ Sports Kamala Harris' Vice President candidate was a smart mind who always got the most out of the team.

We sat down with Seth Greenwald -- who happens to be a coach himself at Hamline University now -- a few days after Walz was announced as Harris' running mate ... and he described the ex-Mankato West High School (MN) football team's leader as a "guy's guy."

"He was energic, super knowledgeable," Greenwald said. "He wants to be hands-on, whatever he's doing he's got 10 toes down. That's the thing that stands out for him. He's the same guy then as he is now for the most part, obviously he has evolved and he's taken on different roles."

Israel Adesanya's returning to the Octagon for a scrap with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 ... and the former champ is now breaking down exactly where his beef stands with the current middleweight title holder.

"It's not personal, I just want him to take accountability for his remarks," Izzy recently told TMZ Sports ... just days before his August 17 main event.

Said "remarks" go back to when Du Plessis -- who was born in South Africa -- said he was gunning to become the first "real African" champion in the UFC ... something Adesanya (born in Nigeria before ultimately moving to New Zealand for a better educational opportunity) took serious umbrage over.

San Diego Comic-Con got pretty rowdy ... 'cause TMZ obtained a record of police activity from around SD's convention center last month -- and it looks like officers have had their hands full.

According to the report ... one person was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, 5 got citations, and 12 other incidents triggered ongoing criminal investigations ... and we're told all were related to activity in and around Comic-Con.

There's a pretty wide variety of alleged violations, but here's the gist ... cops say some people were throwing punches, and stealing whatever they could get their hands on.

Jay-Z is staking legal claim to the master recordings of his iconic debut album ... and it's a "buyer beware" notice, of sorts, to anyone getting ready to drop more than $1 million to buy Damon Dash's share of Roc-A-Fella Records.

TMZ Hip Hop has learned Jay's attorneys just made a legal filing that might normally fly under the radar, but here's why it's suddenly very relevant. As we first reported, Dame's third of Roc-A-Fella is going up for auction later this month, and the label's only real asset is Jay-Z's 1996 album, "Reasonable Doubt."

While Roc-A-Fella currently holds the copyright on the record and all its tracks ... Jay's attorneys have now filed notice that those rights will revert to one Shawn Carter/"Jay-Z" in 2031.

Jennifer Lopez is not interested in talking about her rocky split from Ben Affleck but she continues to wear her flashy wedding band from him while out and about.

We got J Lo leaving lunch in Beverly Hills on Friday and asked her how she and Ben are doing amid their very public separation. Jen's response to our cameras? Absolutely nothing.

Seems Jen will not be addressing the split anytime soon, but the disappearing and reappearing act of her wedding band drags on.

Travis Scott has been released from a Paris jail and no charges have been filed for an alleged assault ... TMZ has learned.

As TMZ reported, Travis was arrested early Friday at a fancy hotel in the Olympic City, after getting into a fight with his bodyguard. A hotel security guard stepped in to break up the fight, and the hotel claims Travis attacked him. He was arrested and taken to jail.

Now Travis' rep tells TMZ ... "Travis Scott has been released with no charges." We're told there are no plans for him to be charged in the future, although we have not been able to confirm this with Paris prosecutors.

Major celebrities are working behind the scenes to secure prominent appearances at the upcoming Democratic National Convention ... but the Kamala Harris campaign isn't accommodating everyone ... for fear of making the DNC feel too Hollywood.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … the Harris-Walz campaign wants to be smart about celebrity involvement, and is working hard to avoid the Chicago-based DNC being painted as a "Hollywood liberal elite" event.

Our sources say the campaign feels Hillary Clinton gave celebrities too big a platform back in 2016 and it backfired on her ... and they don't want to overdo the Hollywood aspect to the point where it turns off everyday folks.

Christina Ricci's walking away from her home sale with exactly what she wanted ... taking millions with her to a new pad, as she got every dollar of her original listing price.

Our real estate sources say Christina sold her home in the L.A. suburb of Woodland Hills for $2.249 million, the exact price she asked when she put it on the market back in June.

Ricci's house was only on the market for 50 days -- not every celeb is that lucky -- before someone snatched up the 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom home in the popular neighborhood.

Justin Gatlin ain't blaming Noah Lyles one bit for hitting the Olympics track while positive for COVID ... telling TMZ Sports the opportunity to secure a medal simply outweighed the other risks -- at least, in his mind.

Of course, there were many detractors in the sports world who felt differently ... as they believed the American endangered his fellow competitors and others in the area when he chose to run the 200-meter final on Thursday in Paris while symptomatic for the coronavirus.

But Gatlin -- a USA track legend -- told us on Friday he would have done the exact same thing ... explaining, "this is an Olympic dream you have, man."

Joe Haden's retired from the NFL, but he's still racking up wins ... TMZ Sports has learned he just scored a huge profit on the sale of his L.A. mansion.

The former Browns superstar bought the place for $4.3 million in 2016 -- but we're told he punted it just a few days ago for a whopping $6.5 mil.

It's unclear who the buyer was -- but we know Stephen Sweeney of The Beverly Hills Estates repped them ... and we also know the new owner got a sick house in the deal.