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Johnny Wactor's mom is devastated over the potential 5-year sentence one of the suspects in her son's murder case is facing ... telling TMZ she believes he's got zero remorse for his alleged role in the crime.

Scarlett Wactor tells TMZ she fears Leonel Gutierrez, 18 -- who pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and grand theft charges in connection with the case -- was merely charged with whatever was available for his alleged participation. But, she thinks that's not good enough.

Scarlett believes he'll probably only end up serving 1-2 years due to prison overcrowding ... and then will walk free to live a full life -- something Johnny will never get the chance to do.

Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean is all for celebs diving into politics -- a hot topic seeing as how Taylor Swift’s recent endorsement of Kamala Harris has made quite a powerful impact.

We caught up with the singer at LAX ... and he tells us he believes everyone, including big-name stars, has a right to their own opinion, especially if they use their platform for good, and have a positive message.

He admits he's not one to make grand political statements, but he's not shy about who he's backing -- check out the video to see who’s got his vote!

Wyclef Jean is not amused by Donald Trump's bizarre debate tangent about Haitian immigrants supposedly eating household pets -- and tells TMZ Hip Hop that America needs to strictly focus on the facts this election!!!

Wyclef says, "I will be forever grateful for my family’s life, for having a fair chance to live what is called the 'American Dream.'"

"One of our greatest assets in America is that we are a country of immigrants," Clef says. "I speak from the heart when I say, Haitian people living in the U.S. are good neighbors and good people. We care about humanity. We care about our neighbors."

Nikki Bella wants to keep her son with her ... asking for legal and physical custody of her son Matteo in her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev.

The former WWE star cites irreconcilable differences in the dissolution docs ... citing August 29 as the date of separation, the day Artem was arrested for felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.

Bella checked the box to block the court's ability to award spousal support to either of them.

JoJo Siwa has nothing but respect for Taylor Swift after she decided to publicly endorse Kamala Harris for president ... but she isn't ready to follow in her footsteps.

We caught up with the entertainer at LAX after the debates, where the "Dance Moms" alum applauded the pop star for speaking out ... and noted the singer's endorsement will likely have an impact.

As she put it ... "The Swifties rule the world at this point."

Shannon Sharpe's inadvertent foray into public sex could ultimately benefit him ... as one popular porn site tells TMZ Sports it now wants him on its platform so badly -- it's willing to fork out a ton of coin to get him.

The guys over at The Porn Dude -- an XXX website that gets tens of millions of views monthly -- are the ones making the offer ... saying they'll give him 100 racks if he's willing to really show off his stuff on cam with them.

"We would love to offer him a solid $100,000," they told us Wednesday, "to see him avoid the t**s and p**** defense and see him score the ultimate BBC touchdown on our set. 😄"

Jennifer Lopez has her sights set on her new home in the wake of her split from Ben Affleck ... it's a famous piece of L.A. real estate, but it's not going to be a simple purchase.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... J Lo is in negotiations to buy the Azria Estate in Holmby Hills, and she's close to striking a deal.

The 30,000-square-foot estate is listed for $55 million ... but our sources say Jennifer is trying to negotiate the price down to somewhere in the range of $30 million to $39 million.

Paola Mayfield has proven she's the "GOAT" of reality TV, but she's now looking to get that same title in the squared-circle ... 'cause she was just announced as the newest member of the upcoming season of WOW -- Women of Wrestling!!

"We couldn't be more thrilled to have Paola Mayfield join WOW - Women Of Wrestling," David McLane, co-founder of the all-female organization tells TMZ Sports. "I have been following her wrestling journey and her success on reality TV for some time now, and we can’t wait to see her take her talents and flare to the WOW ring in the new season."

Mayfield -- known for her memorable appearances on "90 Days Fiancé" and "The GOAT" -- is no stranger to the wrestling world ... having made her ring debut back in 2021.

9/12 6:31 AM PT -- We spoke with the person who posted the fake photos to their page ... and, she says, "I’m sorry this was a fake page we just wanted followers! We’re minors!"

The baby girl Dave Grohl fathered outside his marriage is NOT the little tyke who is featured in a viral social media post claiming the Foo Fighter frontman is her pops.

Dave's rep tells TMZ ... the IG post claiming Dave's the father to a baby girl named Roxie Junie Grohl is fake news.

The post is spreading like wildfire on social media, after first being shared Wednesday afternoon by an Instagram account for a user named @valeriegreyson.

Nikki Bella is tapping out when it comes to her marriage ... because she just filed to divorce Artem Chigvintsev ... only weeks after he was arrested for domestic violence.

The retired WWE star beelined it to court Wednesday and filed for divorce after 2 years of marriage ... according to online records.

The divorce filing comes nearly 2 weeks after Artem was arrested Aug. 29 for felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant for allegedly attacking Nikki -- resulting in a visible injury that triggered his arrest.

Kamala Harris might just have had the last laugh all the way to the White House -- especially if she keeps using that softer laugh she debuted during Tuesday night’s debate ... according to a body language expert.

Tonya Reiman tells TMZ Kamala’s new muted laugh is a sharp departure from her usual high-pitched cackle ... suggesting she was coached to dial it down to win over viewers.

Tonya tells us men in particular usually take offense to a woman’s guffaw, seeing it as off-putting -- so a softer, more refined laugh helps Harris seem more relatable and likable.

David Banner says he gave hip hop culture his all, and is now ready to tackle the same commitment toward his acting career ... fans should get to know the veteran "Like a Pimp" rapper by his gov't name, Lavell Crump, because he's got Hollywood all over his vision board!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Banner on Wednesday ahead of what he's labeling his marquee performance on the Will Packer-helmed "Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist" ... a star-studded affair featuring Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle and many more!!!

Banner stars as Missouri Slim, and he wants fans, fellow rappers and aspiring thespians to know he spent years honing his craft -- even back in the early days he was getting crunked up with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Lil Jon!!!

J.D. Vance's infamous "childless cat ladies" clip seems to be affecting people's feelings toward owning cats ... based on what animal shelters across the country are seeing.

TMZ did some digging, and animal rescue operations in blue states are reporting a spike in cat adoptions, while shelters in red states are seeing cat adoptions slow to a crawl ... and the places we talk to have a sneaking suspicion Donald Trump's running mate is a driving force here.

AMA Animal Rescue in New York, a solidly blue state, says there's been a surge in cat adoptions in August and September compared to previous months ... which comes in the wake of Vance's "childless cat ladies" clip resurfacing at the end of July and getting a lot of attention.

Taylor Swift’s influence is making waves in politics, whether Donald Trump likes it or not -- because a nonprofit organization has seen a massive recent surge in people signing up to vote using their online registration tool.

Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, tells TMZ that in the past two days -- which includes Taylor’s Kamala Harris Tuesday night endorsement -- they’ve seen a nearly 100% increase in people using the voter-registration tool on VOTE411.org, a go-to resource for all things election-related.

What’s more, Celina tells us they’ve noticed a big shift in user demographics. On Monday, the biggest age group was 55-to-65-year-olds -- but by Wednesday, the largest group was 18-to-24-year-olds.

Rachel Uchitel, the famed nightclub manager best known for being Tiger Woods' former mistress, is shedding light on her decision to snub "Celebrity Apprentice" over a decade ago.

We caught up with the TV personality in New York City on Tuesday, where Rachel reacted to the first trailer for the new Trump biopic, "The Apprentice" ... and spilled all about her connection to the former prez.

As Rachel put it ... she doesn't think the movie -- which follows Trump's early days as a businessman in the Big Apple -- will hurt the presidential hopeful's campaign, noting people may not like him, but they are certainly entertained by him.

"Million Dollar Wheels" star RD Whittington is the guy A-list celebs go to when they need a luxury ride, but he got a ride in a different kind of car this week ... a police car, because he got busted in a felony fraud case.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the reality TV star and celeb car broker was arrested Tuesday afternoon by Beverly Hills Police on an out-of-state warrant from Nevada, and he was hauled off to jail.

RD's the guy who hooks up celebs like Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx, Travis Barker, Bad Bunny, Kanye West, J Balvin, Lil Uzi Vert and Ray J with pimped-out cars ... and cops tell us he was arrested on a felony fraud charge for allegedly trying to pass a check with insufficient funds.