Sex

The woman playing the role of Melania Trump and T.I.'s personal lap dancer in the rapper's salacious video has no regrets taking the gig, despite getting a bunch of death threats.

Melanie Marden tells TMZ ... her life has been threatened on a daily basis. She can't believe people are so riled up they're going after an actress just trying to make a living.

And, speaking of people with time on their hands, Melanie takes aim at the First Lady's reps for taking the rap vid waaaay too seriously.

The actress thinks everyone needs to chill and focus on real problems, like finding a cure for cancer.

Dennis Hof's longtime pal in the sex biz, Heidi Fleiss, tells us the famous brothel owner's sugary diet and poor eating habits played a major role in his death.

Heidi would know better than anyone ... she's known Dennis forever and tells us he was constantly chowing down on an insane amount of Fudgsicles before and after dinner, and things got so bad recently, Dennis could barely walk.

Dennis' eating habits were so out of whack, Heidi says the famous pimp equated a Taco Bell salad to kale. She's convinced Dennis' declining health was a direct result of his poor diet, and believes it contributed to Hof's death.

The two longtime friends were planning to turn things around with a health retreat, but Heidi says they never got the chance.

As we first reported ... Dennis' Love Ranch has been shut down in the wake of his sudden death, and the future of his other brothel, the Bunny Ranch, is also up in the air.

The criminal case against Harvey Weinstein is on the verge of collapse as prosecutors and cops are clashing over allegations the lead detective engaged in repeated acts of witness tampering.

Law enforcement sources are clapping back Thursday at prosecutors' allegations that lead detective Nicholas DiGaudio instructed one of Weinstein's alleged victims to delete relevant information from her phone prior to turning it over to prosecutors.

Sources familiar with the case say DiGaudio is calling BS ... claiming he only told the alleged victim she could do whatever she wanted with "intimate stuff" from her phone before turning it over to investigators, including potentially embarrassing photos.

As for the prosecutors' assertion that DiGaudio also told the alleged victim "we just won't tell [the assistant D.A.]" about the deleted photos, sources say he has "no recollection" of ever making that statement.

This is another huge setback for prosecutors. They already agreed to dismiss a sexual assault case where the alleged victim claimed she was forced to engage in oral sex with Weinstein ... this after a witness came forward and said she told Detective DiGaudio the alleged victim told her the sex was consensual. DiGaudio allegedly told the woman not to cooperate.

Prosecutors say they will still go forward with the remaining charges, but whenever the D.A. and the cops are at odds, the case is on life support at best.

You're gonna have to go somewhere else to fulfill your wildest fantasies ... because we've learned Dennis Hof's famous Nevada whorehouse closed its doors the day he died.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the Love Ranch was shut down Tuesday immediately after the owner's death.

Dennis was the sole owner of the famous brothel where Lamar Odom overdosed, and no one else is legally permitted to run the biz. The Love Ranch had its prostitution and liquor licenses stripped, 'cause Dennis was the only name on the paperwork.

Other sources tell us sheriffs hit up the Love Ranch Wednesday night and took away the girls' permits to legally prostitute themselves. The women have been told to hit the road.

It's been a long time coming ... we're told sheriffs have been trying to close the Love Ranch ever since Dennis announced he was running for State Assembly.

The brothel's future looks bleak ... the Love Ranch can't reopen until someone else locks down licenses, and that person will have to prove they own the property, prove it can be financially stable and pass background checks. It's not clear who will inherit the property.

There's still some good news for those starved for sex ... Hof's other whorehouse, the Bunny Ranch, is still operating.

But, get those last pumps in quick, we're told the D.A. is exploring whether to shut down the Bunny Ranch as well.

Steve Penny -- the former president of USA Gymnastics -- was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Tennessee on Wednesday stemming from allegations he tampered with evidence in the Larry Nassar case.

Officials say Penny went to the famed Karolyi Ranch training facility in Texas and removed documents linked to Nassar's sexual assault case.

It's interesting considering one of Penny's former top staffers testified back in June that she told him about Nassar's misconduct and was told to keep her mouth shut.

The Walker County District Attorney says Penny was indicted by a grand jury roughly 3 weeks ago. They tracked him down at a cabin in Tennessee this week and took him into custody.

"The indictment further alleges that the removal of the documents was done for the purpose of impairing the ongoing investigation by destroying or hiding the documents," the U.S. Marshals said.

Prosecutors say Penny had the documents be sent to him at USA Gymnastics headquarters in Indianapolis. Officials still have not located the documents.

If convicted, Penny -- who resigned as USA Gymnastics president in 2017 -- faces up to 10 years in prison.

Attorney John Manly -- whose firm represents more than 180 of Nassar's sexual assault victims -- says his clients are "grateful" for the arrest.

"Mr. Penny is exactly where he belongs for his enabling a pedophile."

The case against Harvey Weinstein suffered a massive blow when prosecutors had to admit the lead detective on the case advised one of the alleged victims to delete information from her phone.

Prosecutors sent a letter Wednesday to Weinstein's attorney, Ben Brafman, informing him that NYPD Det. Nicholas DiGaudio had a conversation with the alleged rape victim about the contents of her phone before she turned it over to the D.A.'s Office.

According to the letter, the woman was concerned about prosecutors seeing things on her phone. It's unclear if that info was relevant to the case -- but the problem for prosecutors is, according to the letter, Det. DiGaudio told her to delete anything she was concerned about, and added ... "we just won't tell [the assistant D.A]."

It's a huge setback for the prosecution, especially on the heels of the Lucia Evans bombshell. As we reported, DiGaudio failed to disclose a witness statement to prosecutors -- and, as a result, the sexual assault charge against Weinstein was dropped.

The D.A.'s Office says it's still moving forward with the case against Weinstein.

Dennis Hof was the picture of health before his untimely death, and there are no obvious signs he was under the influence when he died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us no drugs or alcohol were found near Hof's body Tuesday when paramedics arrived at his Love Ranch home in Crystal, Nevada. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Sources close to the late owner of the famous Bunny Ranch brothels say Hof did not drink or take drugs of any kind -- and insist even his signature cigar was fake.

Also interesting ... we're told 72-year-old Hof was given a clean bill of health just 2 weeks ago after undergoing cataract surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Our sources say Hof appeared to be in tip-top shape last weekend during his birthday celebrations.

We're told friends became concerned Tuesday when they weren't able to get a hold of him, as sources say he was always up by 4:30 AM and easily reachable by cell unless he had company.

Since he wasn't answering Tuesday, his pals assumed that was the case ... until Ron Jeremy discovered his body at his home around 11 AM.

Hof was in the middle of a campaign for State Assembly in Nevada before he passed.

Dennis Hof -- the owner of the famous Bunny Ranch, and Love Ranch where Lamar Odom overdosed -- has passed away at the age of 72.

Law enforcement sources tell us they got a 911 call from Hof's Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada around 11 AM. We're told the call was for an unresponsive male. Detectives are currently on scene ... no foul play is suspected.

Hof had recently celebrated his birthday with a weekend-long bash that included celebs like Ron Jeremy, Flavor Flav, Afroman and Johnny Buss. According to Hof's campaign manager, Jeremy was the one who discovered his body.

Hof shot to superstardom as the star of the HBO series 'Cathouse' -- which followed him as he ran his famous brothels in Nevada.

Hof bragged about being a pimp -- and came up with his own catchphrase, "There's no business like ho business."

The most infamous incident under Hof's watch went down in October 2015 when Lamar Odom overdosed after a bender at Hof's Love Ranch South. Blood tests later revealed Lamar had cocaine in his system. Odom was placed in a coma for 3 days after the incident.

In a recent interview, Lamar revealed he suffered 12 strokes and 6 heart attacks while hospitalized for the incident.

Hof was a master when it came to publicity -- he famously hired Tiger Woods' mistress Devon James to work at the Bunny Ranch back in 2010. He fired her and at the time said, "I wish nothing but the worst for her."

Hof was currently in the middle of a campaign for State Assembly ... winning the GOP primary in June.

Cardi B and Offset were out on the town Friday night -- LATE -- Migos performed with Drake at an L.A. concert.

The couple left Poppy in WeHo Saturday at around 2 AM ... mostly in silence, although Cardi was happily posing super hard for a slew of paparazzi.

Offset and crew performed at Staples Center to a packed house earlier in the evening.

We asked Cardi if her 26th birthday went off with a bang ... referring to her birthday wish that her husband put her in 30 different positions ... like a New York pretzel.

Cardi B knows how to get a man ready for love, grinding all up and down Offset on her thirst quest for birthday sex.

CB celebrated her 26th bday Thursday night in Los Angeles at an album release party for Offset's cousin, Quavo ... and the "I Like It" rapper looked like a leopard in heat as she teased her hubby with some textbook booty shaking. Rawr!

The club was packed, and Offset had the best seat in the house as Cardi twerked the night away.

Cardi made it clear she wanted to end her bday with a bang ... and we're confident she got her wish. Let's be real, there's no way Offset's turning that down!

Cardi B is a woman who knows EXACTLY what she wants ... and if she gets it, her new Lamborghini ain't the only thing she's gonna be riding for her birthday.

The "I Like It" rapper posted this hilarious video Thursday on Instagram to celebrate her 26th birthday. Cardi thanked fans for the good wishes, which she was in need after saying she ate some bad fish that, in her words, left her swollen and looking like Mrs. Puff from Spongebob SquarePants. #LMFAO

As we reported ... Offset gifted her a brand new Lamborghini, but there's one wish that's still unfulfilled.

Ringo Starr found a silver lining in NOT being one of the OG Beatles when we asked him about Paul McCartney and John Lennon's hands-on bonding sessions.

We got the drumming legend at LAX and brought up Paul's recurring dreams about John and George Harrison -- which he revealed in a recent interview. Ringo's not bothered by it, and laughingly told us why he's constantly on Paul's mind.

Then we gently waded into Beatles' masturbation history. You'll recall Paul didn't mention Ringo in the bizarre tale of group self-pleasure.

Just watch, because the reaction from Ringo and his wife, Barbara Bach, is hilarious.

Harvey Weinstein's still keeping up with A-list actresses like Nicole Kidman -- whether they like it or not -- he just has to do it the way normies do ... at the magazine rack.

We got these shots of Weinstein making a pit stop at a Westport, Connecticut gas station over the weekend. Witnesses say he was picking up some snacks, but couldn't resist checking out Nicole's cover shot on the latest Marie Claire issue. He was, apparently, less impressed with Jennifer Aniston and Gwen Stefani's covers.

Nicole and the disgraced movie mogul have some history. Some of it good -- she starred in a few of his movies, including "The Hours" and "Lion" -- and some of it contentious.

Nicole didn't call out Weinstein by name, but about a year ago when his accusers were coming forward, she said ... "I support and applaud all women and these women who speak out against any abuse and misuse of power -- be it domestic violence or sexual harassment in the workforce. We need to eradicate this behavior."

John Mayer wants to can the idea that men must be alpha males and take what they want -- including women -- and replace it with a new doctrine focused on respect and sensitivity.

The guitar-slinging crooner was doing a cancer benefit show Sunday night at the Modell Performing Arts Center in Baltimore when he went off on a tangent about toxic masculinity, which he called a "bulls**t" alpha male contract that's nailed into boys' heads from a young age.

He says the sentiment that a man should get an erection at the sight of every woman he wants is crap. John added the so-called "trauma" men might feel when a woman turns them down ... is something men just have to get over.

His new idea on how to raise boys ... teach 'em that the world isn't theirs, and they're not definitely not entitled to every woman. It's worth noting this rant came right after John performed "Daughters."

He never calls him by name, but it's pretty clear John's referring to newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Amber Rose's 4th annual SlutWalk is underway, with hundreds of women -- and men -- taking to the streets to march against rape culture ... with no shame to their game.

Amber arrived for her women's rights event in Downtown L.A. rocking a white wedding dress, and was joined by fellow SlutWalkers in some very interesting costumes -- or lack thereof -- with plenty of signage speaking out against slut-shaming.

Attendees this year are also big on advocating for body positivity and to decriminalize sex work. Some of the notable signs include "Jesus Died for Strippers Too," "Sex Work is Real Work" and "Sex Workers are the Healers of Society" ... and many more.

Amber's event's taking some heat online for the mixed messaging, with people saying the original intent of her Walk 4 years ago was to protest rape culture ... and now it's lost focus.

But, Amber tells TMZ ... there are a multitude of issues facing women today, and they're trying to face as many as they can in a positive way.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, protests to Brett Kavanaugh being confirmed to the Supreme Court are happening ... and Rose says she wishes she could bring her Walk to D.C. to join the fight.

The man who pretended to be Justin Bieber, trolling the Internet looking for the singer's fans and strong-armed one of them to send nudes, will spend some serious time behind bars.

TMZ broke the story ... Bryan Asrary was arrested back in 2017 after police determined he forced a 9-year-old girl to send him naked photos in 2014. Asrary allegedly found the girl through Bieber's Instagram page, sent her a message saying he could arrange a meeting with the singer ... and then later posed as Bieber himself.

Asrary -- posing as Bieber -- told the girl to send him naked photos and threatened to hurt her if she didn't comply ... the girl sent photos and a video.