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Justin Timberlake's trying to take over the charts with his first new single in 6 years -- but Britney Spears fans are pushing back with a major troll ... getting her own track trending again.

After JT dropped "Selfish" Thursday -- which has been getting decent reviews, actually -- Brit's fandom immediately kicked into high gear to thwart his efforts ... downloading her 2011 song of the exact same name, 'Selfish' which has swiftly made its way back to the iTunes charts.

BTW, Britney's version of  "Selfish" was a bonus track from her 2011 album "Femme Fatale" and flew under the radar at the time -- so the fact it's being resurfaced right now by her loyal base is staggering ... it just goes to show the love they have for her, not to mention the power.

BS's 'Selfish' has reached #1 across different charts (like iTunes) in certain territories -- including in Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Namibia, and even the U.S. ... which just speaks to the international appeal of Britney. JT's song has also been charting well, FWIW.

This unfolding on the same day JT dropped his new single from his sixth album is obviously no coincidence -- as fans have made it crystal clear ... they believe his actions were partially to blame for Brit's public vilification in the 2000s. That's certainly how she saw it, anyway.

Fans have especially been rallying against him after his relationship with Brit was first scrutinized as part of the #FreeBritney movement in 2021 -- not to mention what she revealed about him in her memoir last year.

In fact, the tide turned against him so enormously that he ended up issuing a public apology to his ex ... saying he was deeply sorry for the times in his life when his actions contributed to her problems.

9:56 AM PT -- Yasiel Puig and his agent are addressing the brawl ... insisting he was trying to play peacemaker in the scuffle, and only defended himself when he was hit in the face.

Ex-MLB star Yasiel Puig found himself in the middle of a bench-clearing brawl during a professional baseball game in Venezuela this week ... throwing punches and getting hit as both sides duked it out.

The chaos broke out during Game 2 of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League's championship series at University of Caracas Stadium on Wednesday ... when Puig's Tiburones de La Guaira teammate Maikel Garcia knocked a two-run dinger in the bottom of the 8th inning to put their team up 10-8 over Cardenales de Lara.

As Garcia rounded the bases, he appeared to hot dog in front of the opposing team's bench ... running his mouth and slowly trotting before reaching home.

Naturally, the Cardenales players took issue with the showboating ... and one player started clapping back at Garcia.

The heated confrontation led both squads to leave their dugouts ... and a scrap broke out.

Puig -- who played in the MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland from 2013-19 -- ended up right in the middle of the violent altercation ... throwing hands and getting hit in the process.

After a few minutes, the action died down ... and both teams made it back to their dugouts.

Surprisingly, no one was ejected for the impromptu fight ... and Puig's team held on to win the contest, 12-10.

Fun fact -- another MLB star was supposed to be on the field ... as Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was playing for La Guaira prior to the tournament, but has been sitting out recently to prepare for the 2024 season.

Convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed Thursday by the state of Alabama using a new deadly procedure, as his wife and pastor looked on in absolute horror at his excruciatingly painful reaction.

Smith was ushered inside the execution chamber at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, where prison staff put him in restraints and fitted a gas mask over his face to suffocate him with nitrogen hypoxia. He became the first ever inmate to be put to death utilizing this method.

Before the execution began at 8:07 PM CST, Smith made a heart sign with his left hand to his family who was present before saying his final words through his mask: "Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards... I’m leaving with love, peace, and light."

The next 18 minutes turned into a nightmare for Smith and his two closest confidantes -- namely his wife, Deanna, and his spiritual guide, Jeff Hood, both of whom were in the witness box.

Hood later told the Daily Mail ... the execution was the "worst thing" he had ever seen, even causing prison officials to gasp while Smith died much slower than anticipated.

The pastor also said Smith started convulsing with his body popping up on the gurney after correctional officers pumped his mask full of nitrogen hypoxia, forcing him to inhale high concentrations of the gas.

At one point, Deanna cried out for her dying husband as he grabbed at his restraints, taking his last breaths before he suffocated. Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 for killing a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett, as part of a $1,000 murder-for-hire plot.

He was pronounced dead at 8:25 PM CST.

Morgan Wallen's taking cues from the biggest pop star in the world -- he's releasing a new version of an old song a la Taylor Swift, simply to thwart the plans of some former colleagues.

The singer-songwriter took to IG Thursday to give fans the rundown ... basically, he said he signed a music deal more than a decade ago without legal representation -- something he now deeply regrets -- and recorded 13 songs on the deal.

Of those 13 songs, Wallen only used 5 for his smash debut EP "Stand Alone," including one of his big hits "Spin You Around," but his former team still seems to have control over the other 8 tracks he didn't use.

Morgan said these ex-friends are dropping a 10th anniversary of "Stand Alone," but he's not involved with it, and he's not happy the unreleased songs -- which he says are not up to his high standards -- are coming out as well.

But, he's fighting back, in a way, by re-recording "Spin You Around" in Nashville earlier this week -- and he's dropping the song at the same time as the unauthorized project.

Kind of an "anything you can do, I can do better" situation -- and ripped right from the Tay Tay playbook. Remember, Taylor set out to record her 'Taylor's Version' of each of her albums since Scooter Braun bought and sold her master recordings from her OG label, Big Machine Records, back in 2020.

Morgan's situation seems a little less thought out ... and it's easy to tell that from the album cover. MW says he was on a duck hunting trip when he got the news, so he basically had to slap the art together himself out in the woods.

We'll just say it has rustic charm.

Morgan said he cringes when he hears the old songs, and he's worried fans will confuse them for some new direction he's taking.

He's not planning to work on any truly new music 'til the end of February.

A boat apparently full of migrants washed ashore this week in a Southern California beach town -- and when it touched down on land ... the people inside went heading for the hills.

This wild footage has been circulating online for the past 24 hours, and it seems to show what eyewitnesses claim was a panga boat that was dead set on landing in La Jolla, CA -- which it eventually did, in the middle of the day no less.

The people inside are purported to be undocumented migrants ... which is what makes what happens next all the more shocking -- these folks hopped out and scattered very quickly.

As you can see, several occupants from the boat come running up the beach onto the road above -- with a bunch of bystanders watching them in plain view, mind you -- and they start making their way into the nearby seaside neighborhood ... there were even kids in the mix.

As onlookers took it all in with shock ... it seems there were even some first responders who saw it happen too. You can hear sirens from some sort of vehicle, presumably a lifeguard.

As the cameraman notes ... they don't seem too eager to stop 'em, although it's unclear if they did. It's also unknown if these folks were eventually approached/apprehended. Of course, it's worth pointing out that La Jolla is in San Diego County ... a place of sanctuary here in the States, and where migrants can technically come and seek refuge/asylum.

We saw something very similar take place off the shores of Malibu not too long ago --- so, on its face, it would appear this is somewhat of a regular occurrence on the West Coast.

It's also emblematic of the ongoing border debate in this country -- don't even get us started on what's going down in Texas, where a raging conflict is reaching its boiling point.

Rick Harrison got a call from 2 of Donald Trump's sons after his own son, Adam Harrison, died from a fentanyl overdose.

A rep for the "Pawn Stars" patriarch tells TMZ ... Donald Jr. and Eric Trump reached out to Rick after learning of Adam's death. We're told the Trumps spoke to Rick on the phone to offer their condolences.

The Trump and Harrison families have a long relationship. Rick's been a vocal supporter of the former president for years -- at one point referring to himself as a "Trump guy."

When DT was in the White House, he and Rick met in September 2018 ... snapping a photo together with Rick's youngest son, Jake.

Even before the phone call, Don. Jr commented on Rick's tribute post to Adam, "I'm so sorry man."

TMZ broke the story ... Adam died last week from a drug overdose.

Rick told us fentanyl killed his 39-year-old son and added, "The fentanyl crisis in this country must be taken more seriously. It seems it is just flowing over the borders and nothing is being done about it. We must do better."

A cop who was racing to help Jim Irsay during the NFL owner's medical scare last month got a bit of an assist from Taylor Swift ... 'cause new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows the officer was blaring the popstar's music as he rushed to the emergency.

The scene was captured on a Carmel Police Dept. dash camera at around 4:30 AM back on Dec. 8 ... just after cops say someone had called 911 to report Irsay might have suffered a possible overdose at his Indiana home.

In the footage, you can see that right after the call was received ... a policeman turned on his overhead lights -- and his Swift tunes -- to try to get to Irsay's house as soon as possible.

The officer blew through stop signs, at least one red light ... and swerved in and out of lanes -- all while "Cruel Summer" poured out of his vehicle's speakers.

At one point, the cop appeared to reach a high rate of speed as Swift could be heard belting out, "He looks up grinning like a devil, it's new!"

The cop also tuned in to Kenya Grace's "Strangers" ... before he finally arrived at Irsay's residence.

Several other members of law enforcement -- including at least three other cops -- also showed up to help render aid ... though according to their dash cams, they had no music on while en route to the scene.

Cops said in a police report they ultimately found Irsay in his bed gasping for air. They said he had a weak pulse as well as constricted pupils ... and he didn't respond to a sternum rub.

However, according to the police docs, Irsay did respond "slightly" after Narcan -- a drug commonly used in opiate overdose situations -- had been administered. He was later transported to a nearby hotel, where he survived. Cops classified the incident as both "overdose" and "overdose/poisoning."

On Jan. 9, over a month after the scare, the Colts announced Irsay was dealing with a "severe respiratory illness." They added in a statement last week that Jim was still recovering from his respiratory ailment.

Barbie collectors can start counting the Benjamins, 'cause the movie's Oscar noms are about to blow up the Barbie resale market ... according to one toy expert.

We talked to "America's Toy Scout" Joel Magee -- a frequent "Pawn Stars" guest with more than 20 years experience in the collectibles world -- and he says he's expecting prices to just keep on climbing since the movie picked up 8 noms for this year's Academy Awards

JM says all the buzz around the movie and awards season is indoctrinating the young generation into collectible culture. So, whereas a few years ago the biggest buyer of Barbies might be your nostalgic Grandma Sue, it's now fashionable among the Gen Z crowd to buy Barbie.

And, Magee pulled out his magic 8 ball to make a prediction for us ... saying the mass producer of Barbie, Mattel, is really smart and loves its limited-edition drops -- so keep your eyes peeled for an Oscar-themed Barbie possibly hitting the market very soon.

Now, of course, Ryan Gosling was nominated for an Oscar while Margot Robbie missed out in the acting category, but Magee says the breadwinner has always been, and will remain, Barbie. Sorry, Ken.

Joel tells us collectors go out to buy different Barbies -- Astronaut Barbie, Doctor Barbie, Birthing Dog Barbie, etc. -- and they'll get the accompanying Ken to complete the set, but he's not the draw.

Translation: He's just Ken.

That said ... an Academy Award for Gosling will jack up those Ken prices -- Magee's talking doubling or tripling the value. And, if he's not Kenough for the voters, Joel still sees a 40 or 50% increase for the nomination alone. Cha-ching!!!

Magee's final piece of advice for collectors -- buy those limited-edition Barbies, like the Oscar Barbie he predicts could be coming down the pike.

King Charles III was hospitalized Friday in London to undergo a "corrective procedure" for his enlarged prostate – and he'll have another royal to keep him company while he's there.

Charles was admitted this morning to the London Clinic where the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, is currently resting after having stomach surgery. Following his arrival, the king paid a visit to the princess for a little bonding session.

Buckingham Palace – the United Kingdom's royal residence – released an official statement ... “The King was this morning admitted to a London hospital for scheduled treatment. His Majesty would like to thank all those who have sent their good wishes over the past week.''

The statement went on to say the king was "delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness" for those suffering from his condition.

Last week, the palace announced Charles would be having the medical procedure and postponing all public events for a short period as he recuperates.

In mid-January, Charles learned he had a benign, non-cancerous prostate enlargement after he went to a doctor for a check-up because he was experiencing "symptoms."

The father of singer-actor Harry Connick Jr. has died in Louisiana, according to the Associated Press.

Harry Connick Sr. passed away peacefully in his New Orleans home Thursday, the AP reported, although his cause of death was not disclosed. He was surrounded by his wife, Londa and two children, daughter Suzanna and his famous son Harry.

Connick Sr. was the New Orleans District Attorney for three decades, winning his first election in 1973 and unseating incumbent prosecutor Jim Garrison. He stayed as the city's D.A. for many years, getting reelected four times by developing biracial support among the city's politically powerful African American base.

After his retirement in 2003, Connick Sr. faced harsh criticism for allegedly hiding evidence that could have tipped the scales in favor of several defendants, who later had their convictions overturned.

In one case, John Thompson was exonerated for a murder he did not commit after 14 years on Louisiana's Death Row.

Thompson filed a lawsuit in state court against the New Orleans D.A.'s Office, accusing Connick Sr. of withholding key evidence that would have found him innocent at trial. The judge awarded Thompson $14 million, but the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the decision by a 5-4 vote.

In 2014, Connick Sr. again came under scrutiny when a judge tossed out the 1990 murder conviction of Reginald Adams.

Adams was released from prison after serving 34 years. His attorneys proved that Connick Sr. kept vital evidence under wraps during his trial.

Later, Adams sued the D.A.'s Office, agreeing to a $1.25 million settlement.

Over the years, Connick Sr. kept silent about his controversial reign as D.A., but he finally defended his legacy in a 2012 interview with The Times-Picayune.

He was 97.

It's just about the end of the week here, and best believe we're finishing at TMZ -- especially when it comes to what we're covering on our TV shows ... and Thursday was no excpetion.

Let's start with 'TMZ Live,' where Harvey and Charles touched an ever-growing problem in the modern world -- namely, the fact that AI is starting to get VERY good at creating deepfake imagery, especially as it pertains to celebs. In this case, Taylor Swift herself was victimized.

We spoke with an AI expert about this ... and he told us to buckle up, it's just getting started.

On 'TMZ on TV,' the gang got to talking about Jason Momoa's new Super Bowl ad -- which he was seen filming this week out in the Valley ... alongside none other than Zach Braff and Donald Faison. Yes, it's for T-Mobile ... and yes, it's another musical/dance number thing.

We'll say this ... JM looked like he was having fun -- can you tell by the 'Flashdance' tribute?

Down in the 'TMZ Sports' world ... Mojo and Babcock got to talking about this new 'Road House' movie, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The reason that's relevant to sports is because none other than Conor McGregor is also in the flick ... and he and JG face off in a BIG way.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Before this sweet girl in her red sweater turned into a singer and songwriter from Tennessee, she was just grinning from-ear-to-ear ... proudly showing off her babydoll, taking dance lessons and leading her church choir.

After briefly attending Lipscomb University where she studied communications and marketing ... she decided pursuing music was her true passion! This country-pop star is Unapologetically herself, and you can see so with her candid posts on social media.

Need one more hint? She holds the title for being the only female country artist to hit #1 with three consecutive singles.

Ginnifer Goodwin is all about a good Prince Charming ... and she trusts Disney to make the right call when it comes to his role, or lack thereof, in the live-action "Snow White."

We got Ginnifer at Porta Via in Los Angeles on Thursday and our photog asked her how Prince Charming fits into the Snow White fairytale.

Ginnifer famously played Snow White in the ABC fantasy series "Once Upon a Time" ... and she says Prince Charming was pretty important to her.

Of course, Ginnifer's talking about her husband, Josh Dallas ... she says Josh was her Prince Charming in real life ... they got married and plan to live happily ever after.

The 'Snow White' live-action remake might do away with the love story altogether ... which is causing a bunch of uproar, on top of the controversy surrounding the original Seven Dwarfs.

Personal experience aside, Ginnifer's leaving it up to Disney to decide what's best for this movie ... she says the studio's track record speaks for itself.

The director of a 'Road House" reboot is mad the movie won't run in movie theaters -- potentially costing Jake Gyllenhaal an Oscar -- but Patrick Swayze's widow says that's a highbrow aim compared to the OG film ... which was never meant to win Academy Awards.

Lisa Niemi Swayze tells TMZ ... the original "Road House" wasn't really Oscar-worthy material and it never tried to be ... it was just supposed to be a guilty pleasure.

Doug Liman directed the new 'RH' with Jake playing Patrick's main character role of John Dalton ... and he's ripping Amazon for sending it straight to its Prime Video streaming service, instead of giving it a theatrical run first.

Doug says Amazon is depriving Jake from being recognized come award season for what he says is a career-best acting performance ... and he's boycotting SXSW, where the film is set to debut.

Patrick's wife isn't bashing Doug or the new movie when she says the original wasn't geared at winning Academy Awards, though ... she's just saying the 1989 film was really just for pure entertainment.

In fact, Lisa says Patrick truly respected Jake as an actor and thought he was a great talent.

As for the raging debate over the benefits of a theatrical release versus a straight-to-streaming release ... Lisa says she's not qualified to give a hot take.

Storm Reid's at the top of her game in Hollywood -- especially after winning an Emmy -- but that doesn't make her above anyone else on campus ... yes, she's still in school!

We got the professional actress -- who just took some hardware in recent weeks -- at LAX Thursday ... she says despite bagging the Outstanding Guest Actress award in a Drama Series for her role in HBO's "The Last of Us," she's still treated the same at USC School of Dramatic Arts -- where she's studying drama/theater.

The obvious question is ... how are folks treating you after the Emmy win?!? As it turns out, Storm tells people are pretty regular with her -- and, apparently, just excited and proud of her, as they come up to congratulate her ... at least that's what Storm's saying.

Clearly, she's staying humble ... but we'll say -- it is fascinating that her shiny new accolade doesn't seem to change her dynamic between her theatre teachers, or her peers.

From this chat here ... you'd almost never know she was a decorated, pro actor!

With that said, Storm's pleased to be learning loads of new techniques from the acting curriculum ... which she's already implementing in her on-screen work.

The gist here is that she's very happy in her Hannah Montana era -- living the best of both worlds -- a Hollywood star and an average, everyday dorm-living college student.

Kurt Cobain died nearly 30 years ago -- but one man has been following the case since, and published what he claims is the official autopsy report ... unviewed publicly until now.

A private investigator named Tom Grant threw up this PDF on his Twitter account Wednesday -- writing ... "Download link for a free copy of the Kurt Cobain Autopsy Report at: http://cobaincase.com/Cobain Autopsy.pdf  Copy/paste the entire link, including 'Autopsy.pdf' into your browser window). This is the first time this report has been made public."

From the looks of it ... Tom has his own site that's been chronicling his investigation into the death case -- dating back to when Kurt took his own life in 1994 -- and it seems TG's come to his own conclusions about it all ... but the bigger point is this document he's published.

He claims it's the real deal, although ... he doesn't explain how he obtained it. Kurt's autopsy was never released back then -- and it all had to with some Washington state laws that prevent the disclosure of that type of info. They do release these docs to family though.

Anyway, you can take a look at the purported report yourself if you want ... because, we'll admit, if it is real -- it most certainly is an interesting read, for Nirvana fans or otherwise.

We won't get into the nitty-gritty of it all, because it's quite graphic ... but what we will say is that the alleged report purports to confirm what most everyone has known about his death for years -- namely, that he tragically died by suicide, and that he used to a shotgun on himself.

There's also info in here about what medical professionals say was found to be in Kurt's system at the time -- and it looks like there was a mix of substances. We've attempted to verify the authenticity of this report ... but King County officials wouldn't comment, and again cited the Washington law.

Kurt left behind his wife, Courtney Love, and his daughter Frances Bean. He was only 27.