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Aretha Franklin is getting dogged in death over legal bills ... TMZ has learned.

The late singer's lawyer, Gregory Reed, apparently had some trouble collecting what Aretha owed him when she was alive ... so he's now hoping her estate will cough up some financial R-E-S-P-E-C-T. It sounds harsh, so soon after Aretha's passing, but Reed's filed docs demanding the estate pony up nearly $54k to cover bills dating back 6 years.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Reed's firm says it provided a number of services to the Queen of Soul -- who died in August -- including negotiations on her final Atlantic Records contract. The firm says her last payment, for about $10k, was made in August 2012.

Seems Reed doesn't want to be added to anyone's chain-chain-chaaaain ... chain of fools.

Jenelle Evans wants everyone to know she's not in an abusive relationship with husband David Eason ... insisting she's totally fine, while trying to sweep her hysterical 911 call under the rug.

Jenelle posted a confessional Thursday explaining why she's vanished from social media and why her marriage is nothing like the domestic violence she experienced before.

The "Teen Mom" star says she doesn't care anymore if you believe her ... even if her sobbing 911 call alleging David pinned her to the ground so violently she felt her collarbone crack paints a drastically different picture than her hunky-dory dinner with the fam.

She says she's always been an open book, and doesn't understand why people think she's lying about DV.

Without dropping names, Jenelle hints David treats her better than ex-husband Courtland Keith Rogers, who was arrested in August for allegedly assaulting a different woman.

Ashanti is giving 50 Cent a taste of his own medicine after he dissed her hard on social media -- labeling him a social media bully while using one of his least favorite nicknames!

We got Ashanti Thursday at LAX, and asked her about Fiddy's latest attack over a concert she recently canceled due to low ticket sales. If ya missed it, he said ... "Do basement parties then it can still feel like it's lit." Trolling. It's definitely his thing.

Aside from saying he's 100 percent a bully, Ashanti put a nice twist on her rebuttal ... refusing to call him 50 Cent. Check out the vid -- she threw major shade with a title referencing an old rumor about the G-Unit boss being a snitch.

The Weeknd and Bella Hadid are getting VERY serious ... so serious in fact, he's asked her to come live with him in an incredible new NYC condo.

Sources close to the couple tell us the singer signed a lease on a $60,000 per month condo in Tribeca. NY Post was the first outlet to report the move. Shortly after signing on the dotted line, Abel invited longtime girlfriend Bella Hadid to shack up with him, who we're told happily obliged.

As we reported, Weeknd and Bella reconnected months ago after some time off from one another. Now it appears all the possible bad blood is way behind them, and they're strong as ever.

Massive real estate purchases certainly aren't a new thing for Abel ... he plunked down $20 million on a sprawling estate in Hidden Hills just last year.

It's good to be bi-coastal.

Megyn Kelly is a day away from settling with NBC, and we've just learned something shocking -- NBC was paying her $25 million a year and the network may end up settling for close to $50 MILLION.

Sources familiar with the negotiations tell TMZ ... Megyn's deal is 3 years firm, and she has around 1 year and 10 months to go. We're told her lawyer, Bryan Freedman, is going to have a call with NBC brass tomorrow and demand the network pay her full remaining salary, or face a lawsuit.

We're told Freedman's case is that Kelly was targeted early on after she made critical remarks about Matt Lauer on her show after he was fired for sexual harassment. Lauer was well-liked at NBC, and the staff and talent became royally pissed off at Kelly because they felt she was attacking Lauer "with glee."

Our sources say Kelly believes her comments about NBC News Chairman Andy Lack pissed off Lack and other brass, and they had it out for her.

As for ending the relationship over her blackface comment, Kelly and Freedman will argue she was treated with gross unfairness, pointing to a town hall meeting Wednesday where NBC talent, including Al Roker, blasted her and she wasn't invited to defend herself.

They also point to other NBC talent that got a pass for insensitive comments, such as Joy Reid, who made homophobic comments in a blog before she started at MSNBC, but was never punished.

And, TMZ can confirm, attorney Freedman sent an email to NBC News Prez Noah Oppenheim saying he wanted a face-to-face to discuss a settlement and wanted Ronan Farrow in the room. Farrow is about to release a book highly critical of NBC and the way it handled his Harvey Weinstein reporting. NBC shut down that request.

We're told the showdown between NBC brass and Freedman will go down Friday during a phone call.

There are a lot of pissed off NBC staffers, who are watching the network cut costs left and right, yet they made a $75 million deal with Kelly to do 2 shows, neither of which showcased the skill set that made her famous.

Caitlyn Jenner is doing a full 180 over her previous support of President Trump, now saying she was wrong about the guy ... this in the wake of mounting backlash from the LGBT community.

In an op-ed piece through the Washington Post, Caitlyn says she has come to realize there is simply no getting through to the Trump administration on issues important to her and the trans community.

She says it in no uncertain terms ... "Despite the criticism I received from segments of the LGBTQ community for engaging with this administration, I remained hopeful for positive change. Sadly, I was wrong."

Caitlyn says she went to D.C. to lobby the educate members of Congress over LGBT issues, which sound like they were outwardly successful, but after reports suggesting the Trump administration wants to strictly define gender across the country ... she says she's given up on him.

She goes in on Trump, saying ... "The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president. The leader of our nation has shown no regard for an already marginalized and struggling community. He has ignored our humanity."

She adds, "He has insulted our dignity. He has made trans people into political pawns as he whips up animus against us in an attempt to energize the most right-wing segment of his party, claiming his anti-transgender policies are meant to 'protect the country.'"

Caitlyn mentions one last clear sign that she's no longer on Team Trump by saying ... "My hope in him — in them — was misplaced, and I cannot support anyone who is working against our community. I do not support Trump. I must learn from my mistakes and move forward."

Ouch.

The Game is free to move about the country without fear of the U.S. Marshals swooping in on him -- he just got an arrest warrant dropped.

The federal judge in his sexual assault lawsuit yanked the warrant after Game's attorneys handed over the financial documents that have been requested more than 3 weeks ago. TMZ broke the story ... the judge gave Game 48 hours to hand over several records, and when he didn't ... the judge issued the warrant.

Country and blues icon Tony Joe White -- who had the huge '60s hit "Polk Salad Annie" -- has died ... according to his record label.

White died Wednesday in Nashville, according to his label, Yep Roc Music Group -- however, they did not release details about the cause of death.

He performed and wrote tunes in several genres -- including country, rock, blues and R&B -- but scored his biggest hit for himself with 'Polk Salad' in 1969.

The song was covered by the likes of Tom Jones and even Elvis Presley.

He also wrote the hits "Rainy Night in Georgia" for Ray Charles ... "Undercover Agent for the Blues" and also "Steamy Windows" -- which Tina Turner turned into a Top 40 hit when she covered it in 1989.

Over the course of his career ... Tony recorded 20 albums, with the most recent one being "Bad Mouthin'," which released was on September 28 of this year.

He was 75.

Meghan Markle's drop-dead-gorgeous looks are having unintended consequences for a writer, who claims PBS NewsHour canned him due to a comment he made about the Duchess' looks.

Hugh Heckman, an award-winning newswriter, is suing over his firing. In docs, obtained by TMZ, he says on November 25, 2017, a female coworker sitting 20 feet from his desk complained to her boss after hearing him say "not bad" in reference to a photo of Meghan they were using for a story.

He says another female employee overheard and chimed in, "Haven't you learned?"

Heckman says he was embarrassed because he didn't mean it in a sexual way, and only wanted to convey he thought Meghan "possessed charm and beauty and was a suitable match for her fiance."

He says 2 days later he was fired. In the suit, Heckman says he heard the same 2 female coworkers once call Justin Trudeau "hot," but they were not fired. He's pissed about what he calls an obvious double standard at PBS NewsHour.

Heckman is suing for wrongful termination based on gender. We've reached out to PBS NewsHour ... so far no word back.

Megyn Kelly will NOT be back on the air at NBC after her blackface remark, barring a major miracle ... TMZ has confirmed.

"Megyn Kelly Today" aired a repeat on Thursday morning, 2 days after she uncorked the absurd comment that it's okay to wear blackface at Halloween. Sources connected to the network tell us unless a Hail Mary is thrown and caught at some point today ... Megyn is gone for good.

The split with NBC comes the day after Megyn's emotional on-air apology where she insisted she'd learned a lesson due to the backlash.

The mea culpa was clearly a case of too little, too late for the Peacock ... which, to be honest, had issues with Megyn's show even before the blackface blowup. Translation: the ratings were terrible. They'd dropped more than 30 percent, year-to-year, in her time slot.

Another NBC source tells us it didn't help that Megyn's co-workers "hated" being on air with her. One specific example was during coverage of Dr. Christine Ford's testimony -- Megyn was part of the panel with Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd.

We're told the other anchors and correspondents felt Megyn was way too bluntly conservative on air. Andrea eventually left the panel, mid-coverage.

The divorce -- which, we're told is more mutual than a firing -- isn't shaping up to be quick and easy. Daily Mail, which first reported Megyn's ouster, says she's hired high-powered attorney Bryan Freedman who's scheduled a sit-down with NBC ... no doubt to discuss the terms of her departure. She has a $69 million contract.

Megyn's talent agency, CAA, also dropped her.

NBC's already said it's airing another repeat of her show on Friday.

As for what happens Monday? Stay tuned ...

The Cleveland Cavaliers are bad without LeBron James -- like, 0-wins bad -- but that's not such a terrible thing if you're a fan looking to score a REALLY cheap ticket last minute.

The Cavs squared off with the Brooklyn Nets in Cleveland Wednesday. Neither franchise has high hopes for the season, but it's still early, and the contest was only Cleveland's second at home.

However, in looking at Flash Seats -- the ticket sale and resale service launched by Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert -- you'd think the team was 0-60.

Nosebleed seats were reselling for as little as $2 an hour and a half before tip-off.

Granted, the seats suck ... but when a ticket goes for less than a bottle of water in your arena, there are some major issues.

"Ray Donovan" star Marion "Pooch" Hall had a brief day in court, and pled not guilty in his drunken car crash case.

Hall was present, with his attorney, in L.A. County Superior Court Thursday morning and entered his pleas to felony child abuse and DUI. TMZ broke the story ... Hall was charged earlier Wednesday. As we first reported, witnesses saw Hall driving with his toddler in his lap, holding the steering wheel, when he crashed into a parked car.

He blew a .25, more than 3 times the legal limit and, miraculously, nobody was injured.

In court, Hall revealed he's entered a 60-day residential rehab program. The judge told him to continue and when that's done, ordered him to attend 2 AA classes per week and get outpatient treatment ... as a condition of his bail.

7:00 AM PT -- The AP is reporting a second package addressed to Biden was located at the facility as well. Joe is scheduled to speak at The University of Buffalo tonight ... we're told the venue will undergo an extensive security sweep and all attendees will be subject to metal detectors and search.

5:45 AM PT -- Former Vice President Joe Biden has also been targeted, because a package addressed to him with what authorities believe is a bomb was sent to a postal facility in Delaware. A member of the bomb squad used a robotic device to secure the package.

6:15 AM PT -- Trump is hardly being conciliatory much less self-aware. He just tweeted, "A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"

Robert De Niro is the latest target of an individual or individuals who want to maim or kill critics of Donald Trump ... because authorities say an apparent bomb was sent to a restaurant he owns.

Law enforcement sources confirm to TMZ … a package was sent to De Niro’s NY restaurant, Tribeca Grill, and it was discovered at around 4 AM Thursday. We're told a security guard discovered the device while sorting through mail in the mailroom on the seventh floor of the building and reported it.

We've obtained a photo of the item sent to the actor, and the package bears similarities to the devices sent to a half dozen people Wednesday, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Maxine Waters and former CIA Director John Brennan. It contains 6 stamps and has the same return address, to the office of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

De Niro has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump calling him everything from an imbecile to unfit.

Authorities are in the process of removing the package from the restaurant.

Farrah Abraham is riding high on a yacht in Miami ... so are her bikini bottoms.

The ex-"Teen Mom" star is in Miami showing off her curves in a green bikini while cozying up to a pretty buff guy. The photo agency says he's the boxing trainer who's getting Farrah ready for her upcoming celeb boxing match with Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander.

Check out the gallery -- Farrah is doing plenty of bending and stretching here, although we doubt any of this is prepping her for boxing.