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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Cheryl Hines doesn't deserve to be bullied over Donald Trump because his endorsement doesn't mean his wife is a Trump supporter ... quite the opposite.

RFK Jr. joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us Cheryl had some trepidation about him suspending his own presidential campaign and throwing his support behind Trump, even though she was the one who actually brought the two candidates together in the first place.

Cheryl's getting tons of heat for RFK Jr. hopping on the Trump train, especially from folks in Hollywood ... but her husband makes it clear ... she's NO Trump supporter.

Mariah Carey did NOT have any contact with her sister before she died ... because an alleged drug addiction drove a massive wedge between the two siblings.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Mariah never once contacted her sister, Alison, before she passed ... and instead spent the past week with their dying mother, Patricia.

Mariah was estranged from Alison ... and our sources say it's all because Alison suffered for many years from addiction. We're told Mariah tried supporting Alison, both emotionally and financially, but it wasn't enough to get Alison back on the straight and narrow.

Brittany Cartwright is dropping the curtain on her marriage ... she just filed to divorce Jax Taylor.

The "Vanderpump Rules" alum and "The Valley" star beelined it to court Tuesday and filed divorce documents after 5 years of marriage ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In the docs, Brittany is going with irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The estranged couple previously announced their separation in February, and Brittany lists the date of separation as January 24, 2024.

8/29 -- 12:01 PM PT -- Roberto Orcí's spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister tells TMZ ...  "Ms. Taylor’s counterclaim is an attempt to retaliate against her husband with fabricated allegations after he got a restraining order against her, filed for divorce, and sued her in June for assault, battery, and financially abusing him when he was vulnerable and trying to get treatment for alcoholism. Her history of violent behavior is well documented, having been arrested at least twice during their marriage--once after she tried strangling her husband and he called the police, and once when a Vegas hotel called the authorities after Mr. Orci showed up in the lobby, locked out of his room by his wife, bloodied and half dressed. Ms. Taylor was also detained after assaulting immigration officials at LAX."

The statement concludes, "Before Mr. Orci’s recovery, Ms. Taylor would ply him with alcohol and beat him relentlessly. On separate occasions, she hit him with a baseball bat, shot him with a taser then sprayed him with Mace, threw him down a set of stairs, and punched him multiple times while he was driving. In 2022 and 2023, she transferred without her husband’s knowledge at least $1.2 million from their joint bank account to foreign banks. Now, she is fabricating salacious allegations in a desperate attempt to extract more money from him."

"The Blacklist" actress Adele Heather Taylor is responding to allegations of domestic violence from her estranged husband, screenwriter Roberto Orcí ... claiming in a new countersuit that she's the real victim ... accusing him of rape and assault.

8/27 -- 11:08 AM PT -- The Los Angeles District Attorney tells TMZ the Michael Madsen case has been declined for filing by our office due to insufficient evidence.

Michael's rep tells TMZ ... "We are thrilled that Michael Madsen is able to put this behind him and look forward to our continued collaboration with more great things coming from this veteran and respected actor."

Michael Madsen spent part of his weekend in jail ... because cops arrested him after he allegedly pushed his wife.

6:36 AM PT -- Lil Baby's attorneys, Drew Findling and David Chesnoff, tell TMZ ... "To be clear, Dominique Jones has a valid Georgia Carrying a Concealed Weapon (CCW) Permit. On his behalf we are actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding his arrest in Las Vegas."

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ -- Lil Baby was seen at the Encore in Vegas in the club, and was seen on video being passed a gun. After cops arrived and investigated ... he was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm without a permit.

Nevada does not recognize Carry Concealed Weapon permits issued in Georgia.

Lil Baby landed behind bars Monday in Las Vegas ... 'cause he got busted for possessing an illegal weapon.

The rapper (real name: Dominique Jones) was arrested Monday night for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit – a felony – and hauled off to the Clark County Detention Center, where he was being held on $5,000 bail.

Forget Gatorade, Conor McGregor's road back to the UFC Octagon is apparently being fueled -- at least in part -- by beer!!

Check out footage TMZ Sports has obtained from the MMA star's sister's wedding earlier this month -- the 36-year-old nearly downed a whole pint of suds in a matter of seconds at Erin McGregor and Terry Kavanagh's ceremony out in Ireland.

Conor, of course, is currently trying to work his way back to the UFC following a three-year hiatus ... but it's clear he put a pause on his training regimen to celebrate his older sibling's nuptials in style.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's divorce is messy and VERY complicated ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... because the estranged couple has no prenup, everything they acquired over their roughly 2-year marriage is community property, which means the assets acquired during the marriage are divided equally. But, that's not as easy as it sounds ... not by a long shot.

One of the biggest assets in play is Ben's hugely successful production company, Artists Equity (AE), in which he's partnered with his best bud, Matt Damon. As a result, Damon could get dragged into the ugly divorce, since he's a major stakeholder in the company.

"Once Upon a Time" star Lana Parrilla's summer has been far from magical ... cops say she had an unwanted visitor trespass on her palace property.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a mystery man was spotted by security in front of the home belonging to LP -- best known for playing Regina Mills/the Evil Queen on the ABC fantasy drama -- earlier in August.

We're told when security confronted the man, he took off onto the property grounds ... prompting guards to call in LAPD officers, who rushed to the Los Angeles-area home.

Diddy is firing back at Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones ... saying his lawsuit is nothing more than a cash grab dressed up as a sex trafficking and RICO conspiracy.

The rap mogul and his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, filed a motion to dismiss Jones' second amended complaint in Manhattan Federal Court Monday, attacking all the claims against Diddy point by point.

But mainly, Diddy is accusing Jones of trying to score a quick settlement by throwing around salacious allegations just to hurt his reputation.

Lily Allen’s former pup has been rehomed and is living her best life with the new family ... TMZ has learned.

Animal Haven NYC tells TMZ ... Lily’s black Lab, Mary -- who she once shared with David Harbour -- has found a tail-wagging happy ending after the singer returned her to the rescue group months after her May 2021 adoption.

Tiffany Lacey, Executive Director of Animal Haven, tells us it's always their policy to take back animals if an adoption doesn't work out -- which is not uncommon with other pets too.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s $68 million Beverly Hills pad is still high and dry ... sitting unsold after more than a month on the market.

We spoke to multiple L.A. real estate sources who tell us there's been no movement on the mansion -- so seems like even the drama of the pair's recent divorce news isn't enough to nudge things along.

We’re told the 12-bedroom, 24-bathroom palace has had plenty of showings since it was listed publicly in July ... but no serious offers or deals are in place.

O.J. Simpson lives on ... in the form of jewelry containing his ashes.

Malcolm LaVergne -- O.J.'s longtime lawyer and now executor of his estate -- tells TMZ ... the Juice's remains have been transformed into cremation jewelry, which was divvied up among his 4 adult children.

Simpson was cremated back in April, following his death, and we're told his kids signed off on having their father's ashes turned into an assortment of jewelry. As executor, Malcolm also had to provide written consent to the process.

To those hating on Bronny James, John Salley's got a message for y'all -- pipe down!!!

The former Lakers center defended LeBron James' son and L.A.'s decision to pick him up in June's NBA draft this week ... saying straight up, all of the teenager's detractors are simply "mad they didn't think of it or do it" themselves.

"Listen," the four-time NBA champion told TMZ Sports out at LAX. "If my dad had the power, if my dad was the leading scorer, if my dad was able to take a pay cut so I could get a check -- it's like no other business."

Blake Lively's getting by with some help from her friend Taylor Swift, who's hosting a celeb-packed weekend celebration for Blake's 37th birthday at her Rhode Island seaside mansion.

TMZ got the first shots of Taylor and her man Travis Kelce chilling at the $17 million pad on Saturday. It looked like a romantic weekend getaway for them but turns out they were also prepping for their big-name guests to arrive.

Later in the day, birthday girl Blake showed up with hubby Ryan Reynolds -- and the couple shared a smooch outside on one of the home's many sun-kissed decks.

9:40 AM PT -- Nicki’s attorney, Judd Burstein tells TMZ … “Mr. Peak has been harassing Nicki on social media for years on end to no avail."

"He has now graduated to seeking to shake her down financially with manifestly false allegations and legally frivolous claims. He will regret having gone down this disreputable road when he is forced to pay her legal fees as required by California law.”

Nicki Minaj has a pissed-off Barb on her hands -- one of her avid fans claims Nicki publicly humiliated him by calling him a mentally unstable stalker and ... so, now he's suing.

The New York rapper was named as a defendant in the suit filed by plaintiff Tameer Peak in L.A. Superior Court – and the allegations paint Nicki as a full-blown bully.

According to the documents, obtained by TMZ, Tameer refers to himself as one of Nicki's most ardent followers for the past 15 years, and claims he helped her career by promoting her 2023 album, "Pink Friday 2."