Exclusive

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.

Kendrick Sampson is urging folks not to get stressed about the top-of-the-ticket choices on Election Day -- instead, he's encouraging voters to focus on local issues.

We caught up with the actor and activist ... and he tells us people often get distracted by the theatrics of the Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump showdown ... and forget they hold the power to change their local communities.

Check out the clip, 'cause Kendrick lists the ways people can make a real difference in what's happening right in their own neighborhoods, on their own streets.

Los Angeles County D.A. George Gascón is setting the record straight, saying his push to recommend resentencing for the Menendez brothers isn’t about public buzz or winning an election -- it’s about doing what he personally believes is right.

On "TMZ Live," Harvey didn’t hold back on grilling Gascón about all the renewed public interest playing into the Menendez brothers’ case -- saying the considerations of their case are purely based on the evidence.

Gascón shot down the hype factor, telling us his decision came down to what he feels is right -- and not because of public opinion, or an effort to win votes.

Kiké Hernandez's viral postgame interview of the team's "Don't give a f***" mindset took Dodger Nation by storm ... but the star utility player said it wasn't a spur of the moment comment -- 'cause that was L.A.'s motto throughout their World Series run!

TMZ Sports caught up with the newly crowned World Series champ as he worked an honorary shift at Raising Canes ... and he explained how the clubhouse didn't let any outside talk affect how they went about their business.

"We were gonna do whatever it took to win a game, to win a series," he said. "I think it showed throughout the whole postseason that we didn't really care about what anybody thought about us. We didn't really care about the outside noise."

Peanut the Squirrel's story hit hard for one New York State Assemblyman, who's now pushing for a law to stop future animal heartbreaks like the one that befell the social media star -- and he says a request for an investigation is falling on deaf ears.

Jake Blumencranz, repping Assembly District 15 on Long Island, has drafted "Peanut's Law: The Humane Animal Protection Act," which would impose a 72-hour wait before euthanizing any sanctuary animal. He tells TMZ the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Governor Kathy Hochul have been radio silent about an investigation into the matter so far.

Blumencranz, a big-time animal advocate, says all he's heard from authorities is that DEC officials were just following the rules when they seized Peanut from P'nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. And, that's exactly why he's pushing for change -- because current protocols feel way too extreme and lack compassion for the animals involved.

A new witness in the Diddy criminal case says he has a manuscript belonging to Diddy's late girlfriend, Kim Porter ... but her best friend tells us Kim never tried to write a book.

Lawanda Lane, Kim's best friend and the caregiver of Kim and Diddy's twin daughters, tells TMZ ... she was best friends with Kim for 30 years, including 20 years living under the same roof, and there was never a manuscript written by Kim.

Kim's BFF tells us she was with Kim every day and Kim never wrote anything down ... and she says the family doesn't know who new Diddy witness Courtney Burgess is, even though the guy claims he's one of Kim's former associates.

Mark Longo says he's not using the tragedy and controversy surrounding Peanut The Squirrel to drum up subscriptions for his porn page.

Peanut's owner joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and told us he thinks his OnlyFans is the reason his farm got raided in the first place.

Mark says authorities asked him if he had any cameras in his house ... a strange question to ask if they were there only because he broke the law by harboring 2 undomesticated animals in Peanut and Fred the Racoon.

Diddy's kids are still proving they're in his corner -- they banded together to wish him a happy birthday as he sits behind bars.

In an IG post, the disgraced mogul's 7 kiddos joined forces to sing happy birthday to Diddy as he turned 55 on Monday -- and they even let baby Love steal the spotlight for her own rendition of the song before Diddy gushed on the other end of the line how he couldn't wait to see them all.

At first glance, it looks like a sweet family moment, with the kids going all out in his honor -- complete with Love almost face-planting into the birthday cake they lit for their dad.

Freddie Gibbs just dropped a surprise album using Freddy Krueger's scare tactics and it's already winning over hardcore rap fans ... just ask one of the biggest, LeBron James!!!

TMZ Hip Hop recently linked with FG and his A&R, Norva Denton, at his pop-up shop for his new "You Only Die 1nce" album released on Friday ... after he plastered Hollywood with nightmarish billboards to resemble Elm Street right before Halloween!!!

Freddie's steadily getting praised for his rapping ability, and the first listen impressed LBJ so much he had to post on social media about it.

We spotted the promo a couple weeks ago and connected the dots ... Freddie says he called up FK actor Robert Englund, who happily obliged to do the voiceover and give Freddie's hip hop peers the same unnerving Krueger haunted him with as a kid.

Because of his reputation as a skilled MC, we also got Freddie's take on why the BET Hip Hop Awards cut out its biggest draw this year -- the rapping ciphers that have been going viral for many years.

Freddie tells us today's talent flat-out sucks at rapping, but he doesn't have that ailment, so here were are.

Peanut the squirrel’s heartbreaking story has tugged at the heartstrings of thousands nationwide after the rodent was seized and euthanized by authorities last week -- but a notable NYC Assemblywoman tells us despite it being a sad situation, human lives need to be prioritized.

Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the Majority Whip in the New York State Assembly, tells TMZ that while she’s an ardent animal-rights advocate and sympathizes with Peanut’s owner, Mark Longo ... she believes euthanizing Peanut was the only option, since the N.Y. State Dept. of Environmental Conservation's investigation revealed the squirrel bit someone.

Hermelyn explains to us DEC had no choice but to put down Peanut so they could test the rodent for rabies, which is deadly for 99% of humans who catch it. She also notes it's well-known there are no approved methods to test animals for rabies while they're still alive.

Teddi Mellencamp is officially pulling the plug on her marriage ... because she's filed for divorce from her husband.

The "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum beelined it to court Friday and filed to divorce Edwin Arroyave after 13 years of marriage.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Teddi lists October 20 as the date of separation, and she's going with the boilerplate "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split.

The agencies that raided a New York farm and seized Peanut the squirrel were actually there because some officials had a problem with porn ... that's what some sources connected to the drama believe.

As we reported, the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the Chemung County Health Dept. got a search warrant and showed up at Mark Longo's farm last week, seizing Peanut and Fred the racoon under the pretext Longo broke the law by harboring 2 undomesticated animals.

But, here's the deal ... Mark tells TMZ when officials showed up they asked questions that had nothing to do with the animals. Mark says one of the first questions -- "Do you have any cameras in your house?"

Frankie Muniz has McDreamy in his corner ahead of his full-time gig with the NASCAR Truck Series ... 'cause Patrick Dempsey tells TMZ Sports he hopes his fellow actor/racer crushes it!!

The 38-year-old former "Malcolm in the Middle" star -- who got into motorsports after his time in front of the camera -- was announced as the driver of the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing last week ... and, will have a full-time seat for 2025.

Dempsey couldn't be more stoked for Muniz ... telling TMZ Sports he's been closely following the guy's career on the track -- and, he's got what it takes to make some noise.

Diddy's lawyers have asked a judge to restrict statements made by potential witnesses and their lawyers outside of court ... citing one grand jury witness in particular who keeps speaking to the press.

The music producer’s team filed the documents Sunday ... asking the judge to expedite the process of responding to Diddy's motion for a gag order because one witness -- a man named Courtney Burgess -- has given multiple interviews in recent days.

TMZ caught up with Burgess and his attorney, Ariel Mitchell, outside the courthouse Thursday ... with Mitchell telling us Courtney was called to testify because he has or has seen salacious videos of Diddy and his celebrity friends.

Maitland Ward says she doesn't think a second Donald Trump presidency will benefit the porn industry ... 'cause he's got the religious right on his side -- and, they're notoriously anti-porn.

We talked to the sitcom-star-turned-porn-star Saturday about the upcoming election ... asking her how she felt about others in the adult film industry saying they were voting for DJT because he will help the adult industry.

Maitland says she's not sure what those people are talking about ... 'cause many of Trump supporters are God-fearing people who look down on the porn industry -- so, he's not likely to do porn stars a ton of favors.

A New York congressman says he and his fellow delegates want answers from the governor about Peanut the Squirrel's tragic death ... calling the raid total government overreach.

Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy -- who represents NY's 23rd district -- tells us he and other members of New York's congressional delegation plan to demand answers from the governor's office and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation early next week.

We're told they plan to ask questions about why the raid was authorized and what exactly was the reason the gov. sought a warrant for this home.