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R. Kelly knew good and well that his one-time protege (and future wife) Aaliyah was a 14-year-old child the same year he married her -- which debunks a claim put forth by his lawyer that the singer was oblivious to her being a minor.

An old video of a documentary about R. Kelly from 1994 has resurfaced online and in this section ... Kelly clearly acknowledges Aaliyah's age (apparently, 14 at the time this was shot) as she records a song in the studio, with him serving as producer.

In the YouTube clip, you hear Kelly say clear as day ... "Right now I'm producing a very talented lady -- a young lady. She's 14, Aaliyah. She's real street."

Kelly went on to marry Aaliyah that same year, which reportedly got annulled shortly after. Despite this evidence of Kelly clearly being aware of Aaliyah's age, the singer's new attorney, Steve Greenberg, insisted to ABC News last week that his client was unaware of her being 15.

He says she must've lied about her age to legally marry Kelly, and that Kelly had "no idea."

R. Kelly hasn't said much about his marriage to Aaliyah or her age, but he told GQ in 2016, "I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends."

Kelly and Aaliyah appeared together for a BET interview in 1994, where they denied they were in a romantic relationship ... and played coy about her age, calling it a "secret."

In light of this new video, Greenberg tells us ... he misspoke during the ABC interview, and probably shouldn't have put words in R. Kelly's mouth, as he says he never spoke to Kelly about Aaliyah specifically.

It's official ... Maroon 5 are headlining Super Bowl LIII, and they'll be joined by the likes of Travis Scott and Atlanta hip-hop legend Big Boi.

The band announced the news Sunday with a promo video which lists themselves, Trav and Big Boi as performers for the halftime show. The NFL confirmed on their end, saying M5 will take center stage and TS and BB will be featured as guest artists.

We broke the story ... Travis signed on to perform for Super Bowl 53 late last month, despite tons of backlash from the African-American community. According to a report, Scott only agreed to do the show after the NFL vowed to donate a ton of cash to Dream Corps.

The Big Boi announcement didn't come as a total surprise. We knew organizers were scrambling to snag either him or Cardi B. Looks like they went with a homegrown artist for the big game that'll be played in ATL this year.

Little Mix member Jesy Nelson is catching tremendous backlash for playfully singing along to one of R. Kelly's most famous songs in the wake of Lifetime's docuseries.

The British singer was at a dinner party in London Saturday night with some friends, and she recorded herself dancing in her seat and singing Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)" as it played over the speakers. Her buddy who was sitting next to her got in on the fun as well.

In the clip -- which has since been deleted from Jesy's IG story -- you hear her say, "'Ignition,' R. Kelly" with an added "Ooh" for emphasis. She continues to sing along to the first verse as she playfully touches her pal's face. It's clear she had no issue with the song.

Welp, her fans didn't like that a whole lot. Tons of people tweeted their criticism at Jesy, both with shock, disgust and disappointment. One user wrote, "Jesy Nelson what the f**k? First you film a white person saying the n word and put it on Instagram and now you are bopping along with R Kelly after what has just happened?"

The user continued... "Shame on you... I'm done with you, CANCELLED. You just ruin LM's reputation too. Bye sis."

Little Mix did not comment one way or another on the allegations leveled against Kelly in "Surviving R. Kelly." It's interesting too -- Kelly has continued to secure bookings for shows in Germany despite the airing of the docuseries and the uproar it's caused in the States.

'Love & Hip Hop' star Alexis Skyy says Blac Chyna threw a drink at her out of nowhere at a party, and AS apparently waited for her outside in an attempt to square up.

The story's pretty crazy ... from Alexis' side, anyway. She claims she and Chyna were at the same party Saturday night, and BC invited her over to her section. Alexis says she obliged and the two of them had a couple drinks, which is when things went south.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Alexis says Chyna flipped out and asked Alexis to leave her section. Then ... Alexis claims BC threw a drink at her, and s*** hit the fan.

Alexis says she started swinging at Chyna and ultimately got kicked out of the party. What's even more wild is that she apparently waited for Chyna outside for quite a long time ... or at least that's how it seems from the messages she was posting on IG.

These messages were posted early Sunday morning, in which she accuses Chyna of drug use and dares her to come outside to fight in hand-to-hand combat.

Unclear if BC ever did that, as she didn't have a thing to say about the altercation on her own social media ... but Alexis ended things with a warning shot to Chyna.

12:39 PM PT -- French Montana is drastically changing his tune ... now claiming that his "heart is with the victims." He tweeted Sunday, "Let me be clear. My heart is with the victims. I never thought the people I looked up to as a kid, who sang and danced and gave me hope to become a superstar would become drug addicts, child molestors and rapists. I am hoping we as a culture create better leaders. We need them."

Definitely not in line with what he told us, but okay. Thanks, French.

French Montana seems to be saying R. Kelly should have a right to enjoy his legacy ... despite the flood of allegations that he's been a sexual predator.

We got French Saturday night leaving the L.A. Coliseum after the Rams game, and he invoked Michael Jackson's name, saying, "All the greats went down like that," adding, "Let somebody enjoy their legacy. Whatever happened, happened, man."

French said R. Kelly's M.O. was clear when he sang, "My mind's tellin' me no, but my body, my body's tellin' me yes" in his song, "Bump and Grind."

That's when our photog asks French if everyone should stop listening to R. Kelly, and French launches ... saying, "They [people] don't let nobody have their legendary moments."

Alex Honnold is f-ing incredible ... the guy who completed the first free solo climb of El Capitan is humble and almost nonchalant about his superhuman feat.

We got Alex at AMC Empire 25 Saturday night in NYC and asked about his historic climb in June 2017 ... now the subject of "Free Solo," a National Geographic documentary.

He says the 3,000-foot climb, on the mountain called the epicenter of the rock-climbing world, was not particularly scary ... meaning he really didn't think about death.

He made the 3-hour, 56-minute climb without any rope or other preventative measure that would break a certain death fall.

People have called the accomplishment the moon landing of free soloing.

Alex, who says he's going back to what he knows -- climbing -- seemed overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.

YG was all hyped up leaving the Rams game Saturday night with his battle cry, "F*** the Cowboys," despite the fact the Rams defeated Dallas minutes earlier.

The rapper was leaving the L.A. Coliseum when our photog asked who he wanted the Rams to play for the NFL championship -- the Eagles or the Saints?

Check out the vid ... it doesn't f-ing matter. YG couldn't be clearer ... the Rams are unstoppable.

Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey, have learned a valuable lesson -- before you drop a ton of cash on a new home ... double-check the pipes.

Sources close to the Biebers tell TMZ ... they were forced to leave their $100k/month crib in the San Fernando Valley last month after a major plumbing issue arose, among other problems.

We broke the story ... JB signed a lease to rent the 4 bedroom, 7 bathroom Mediterranean-style house in October, but we're told the couple's had a bunch of issues.

A pool heater broke, there was trouble with the AC and a pipe burst ... which our sources say was the final straw.

They've moved out, but there's no worry the landlord will go after them for breaking a lease. We're told this was a month-to-month deal, so they're in the clear.

Justin and Hailey have been staying at a Beverly Hills hotel ever since, and if the vid of Justin singing in front of the hotel is any indication ... they've been making the most of it.

"Love & Hip Hop Miami" star Amara La Negra tried to compose herself before addressing allegations against R. Kelly ... and then she ferociously unleashed.

The up-and-coming musical artist was leaving iHeartRadio in Atlanta Friday when we asked about the drumbeat to prosecute Kelly in the wake of Lifetime's docuseries, "Surviving R. Kelly."

Amara scoffs, saying there was plenty of proof to lock Kelly up years ago ... when he was accused of making a sex tape with an underage girl. Kelly was acquitted of the child pornography charges in 2008, but clearly ... Amara thinks there was more than enough smoke.

Forget Los Angeles ... Shaq says if he were a young baller in today's NBA -- his next free agency contract would be with the Knicks!!!

"If I was a youngster, Madison Avenue would be turning into Shaq Avenue."

It's interesting ... seeing as EVERY big-name free agent over the last several years has passed on the Knicks for other (mostly Golden State-colored) pastures.

But, the Diesel tells us he doesn't understand why dudes aren't just lining up to play in Madison Square Garden.

"People always talk about business and business after basketball. Knicks don't have a star player, so any superstar that comes there, Madison Avenue is going to open up them doors."

That could change soon ... while the free agent market ain't exactly warm for NY next summer -- a high draft pick could be in the cards.

Does that mean Zion Williamson could be the next Knicks superstar?? We know one guy who'd love to see that ...

Justin Timberlake needs to check his "Happy Gilmore" impressions at the door the next time he decides to take some cuts at Topgolf, because the company says they just might tattle on JT if he keeps breaking their rules.

If you've ever been to Topgolf -- and if you haven't, get on it STAT -- you know they really frown on anyone channeling Adam Sandler's famous character in their super fun driving range. But, Justin was a bad boy last weekend and broke their safety code with a textbook windup swing.

Topgolf tells us they're quite aware of Justin's rule-breaking ways, and they're issuing him a hilarious warning ... saying, "we aren't necessarily mad, we're just disappointed in him. We'll try to reach out to his reps, BUT we may just have to call his mom."

Fact is, the "Happy Gilmore" is a well-known violation -- it's even on the waiver you sign before starting the game -- so the company and social media went crazy after Justin posted video from his awesome time at the Topgolf in Charlotte, N.C. during a stop for his Man Of The Woods tour.

Still, it's pretty hard to be mad at JT ... and if you ask us, he totally nailed Sandler's famous swing.

We're told Justin LOVES Topgolf and frequents their locations across the country, so it's gonna be interesting to see if he pulls this stunt again.

Regina King's good looks can speak for themselves!

Here's a 25-year-old version of the "Enemy of the State" actress at a movie premiere in New York City back in 1996 (left) and 22 years later ... The now 47-year-old "If Beale Street Could Talk" award winner glowing at a party earlier this week (right).

All she does is win, win, win no matter what.

The question is ...

Mystikal is THIS close to getting the money he needs to post bail and get out of prison while he waits for his rape case trial to begin ... thanks to friends and a record deal.

You may recall the rapper was booked in 2017 for first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping after he turned himself in following a Louisiana woman who came forward.

He's been behind bars ever since (almost a year and a half), but people around him have recently rallied and he could be set free soon, pending his trial in May.

Mystikal's attorney, Joel Pearce, tells TMZ ... his client's friends and family have been raising money to help post the $3 million bail. But, what really helped is a new music deal.

Tim Yazbeck, another attorney for the rapper, tells TMZ ... Mystikal has a new record deal for 3 unreleased albums and he's hoping to get an advance within days.

Jack Swagger and CM Punk are former WWE World Heavyweight Champions turned MMA fighters ... but that's where the similarities end, 'cause Swagger tells TMZ Sports when he fights, he ain't losing.

Big facts ... Swagger -- real name Jake Hager -- was a pro wrestling superstar. But, he was also a stud on the wrestling mats in college -- earning All-American honors at Oklahoma in '06.

That's precisely why 6'7", 265 lb Swagger says when he steps into the cage to fight J.W. Kiser at Bellator 214 on January 26 ... he'll look NOTHING like Punk -- who got destroyed in both of his UFC fights.

"I'm different for so many reasons," Swagger told us ... "I've been wrestling since I was 5 years old, bro."

"I have over 150 Division 1 college wrestling matches, and I'm gonna rely on that as my amateur MMA and boxing career to help when the anxiety kicks in."

Punk -- who lasted less than 3 minutes before Mickey Gall almost choked the life outta him -- had no prior combat experience before signing with the UFC at 36-years-old ... no real wrestling, boxing or jiu-jitsu experience to lean on.

"I think the biggest thing that you're gonna see is the difference between me and him is that I am prepared. I am 100% prepared to take this fight, to go into that Octagon, go in that cage and inflict my will on anybody."

Chrissy Teigen's throwing a birthday bash for her hubby John Legend tonight, and she's asking for help from her fans on what to wear ... for her son.

Chrissy shared a couple beyond adorable shots of the couple's 7-month-old son Miles in a black tuxedo and a white one, adding ... "need your help dressing mini-john. Which one!"

She also added a poll -- which as of now has nearly 400,000 votes -- and the baby white tux is ahead big time with 67 percent.

John's 40th bday was actually in late December, but the family's celebrating Saturday night ... and there's no doubt Miles' outfit will be a hit.