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Michael B. Jordan really doesn't want to believe Travis Scott's joining Maroon 5 for the Super Bowl 53 Halftime Show ... because he thinks it goes against what Trav should be standing for.

Much like Al Sharpton -- who flat out called Scott a hypocrite when we talked to him -- Jordan implies Travis is betraying the boycott against the NFL for how it's treated Colin Kaepernick and its handling of the kneeling controversy.

MBJ says, "We're still trying to stand behind something right now," and suggests by taking the Super Bowl gig ... the rapper's setting the cause back.

Justin and Hailey Bieber are now a family of three ... after the addition of an adorable little pooch just in time for the holidays.

Hailey shared the big news on Instagram Saturday, posting a pic of her "Christmas baby" on her story ... a puppy named Oscar Bieber. It's hard to say for certain, but it looks like he's a Maltese Yorkie.

Hailey also shared a vid of the lil pup on her bed playing around with Justin and a pic of Oscar sleeping ... yep, pretty frickin' cute.

The recently wed couple have really been enjoying the honeymoon phase lately -- kissing at hockey games, shirtless piggyback rides, etc. -- so it's only natural to take their marriage to the next level and get a dog.

The child Dikembe Mutombo flew to the U.S. to remove a massive tumor from his face has sadly died after he suffered a "rare and unpredictable genetic reaction to anesthesia" during surgery ... TMZ has learned.

8-year-old Matadi Sela Petit from the Democratic Republic of Congo died Friday night after complications from his delicate surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. ... according to The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation.

The foundation says ... "We are devastated by the loss of Matadi and our heart goes out to his father, his mother and the rest of his family, and all his old and new friends."

We broke the story ... Matadi went into cardiac arrest during his surgery and was transferred to the ICU, but we didn't know why his operation wasn't completed. Now we know it was due to his bad reaction to the anesthesia, but despite the best efforts of his medical staff ... he was never able to recover.

Matadi's operation was led by Dr. Ryan Osborne from Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Osborne volunteered his services, after being inspired by the good work of Mutumbo. The family had been staying at the Ronald McDonald House since arriving in Los Angeles last week.

As we showed you ... the former NBA star flew Matadi to the U.S. a week ago for free surgery in hopes of removing the life-threatening, massive tumor on his face. We captured their meeting at LAX.

Mutombo told us the boy had been shunned in society -- pulled out of school and secluded to his home -- because of his condition, so he wanted to help him out.

His foundation says Matadi was "was a pioneer, and his memory will inspire us to continue to develop efforts and partnerships to improve the lives of the children of the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

He was 8 years old.

Danny Trejo's got a big problem with Donald Trump's master plan to build a big beautiful wall along America's southern border ... he doesn't think it will work.

We got the "Machete" star at Los Angeles Mission Friday helping serve food to the homeless, and asked for his take on the President's demand for border wall funding and the government shutdown.

Danny tells us Trump's wall plan is futile, because no matter how high it is ... he's not accounting for how far below ground it needs to go. The actor also suggests POTUS has delusions of grandeur ... and just wants his name on something rivaling China's famous landmark.

Trejo's not against more border security, though ... he just believes there are much smarter ways to use funding for it.

BTW, Trump revealed an interesting potential design for his border wall Friday ... it definitely doesn't address Danny's concerns.

Ariana Grande's putting a tumultuous week behind her ... and getting back to business.

The pop star was spotted at a home in the Hollywood Hills Friday, all glammed up to shoot a music vid. Ariana's back to her classic look too -- a sexy black getup ... to go with her long ponytail.

As we've reported ... it's been topsy-turvy times lately for Grande. Not long after the release of her massively successful "Thank U, Next" video, she got into it with Kanye West on Twitter and subsequently offended her ex-fiance, Pete Davidson, with a comment about mental health.

After Pete posted an ominous note suggesting he was suicidal, Ariana rushed to check on him at 30 Rock ... but he refused to see her.

12/22 12:50 PM PT -- Trina released a statement on her ex-husband's passing, saying ... "a chapter permanently closed for my sons and I. For over 16 years, Gabe Solis was an essential part of our lives."

She also apologized to friends and family who weren't aware of Gabe's situation and found out through the media ... specifically the Solis Family. Trina added ... "He was a father to my boys, a son, brother, and friend to many and I would appreciate privacy and respect as we grieve his unexpected departure."

Trina Braxton's ex-husband, Gabe Solis, has died after a battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us Solis died Thursday in Texas, where he hails from, and we're told he was surrounded by friends and family.

Trina and Gabe wed in 2003 but divorced in 2015, and their on-again, off-again relationship was a frequent topic on the family's reality show -- "Braxton Family Values" -- even after they divorced.

The former couple also appeared on an episode of "Iyanla: Fix My Life" earlier this year -- more than 2 years after their split -- to hash out their issues and work on a plan to finally move on.

In the episode, Gabe confronted Trina about her verbal abuse and bullying and let her know how it affected him during their marriage. Despite their rocky road ... the 2 remained close friends.

We're told Gabe's health issues were kept under wraps and his passing comes as a surprise to many close to the family.

He was 43.

RIP

Cardi B shook things up in a big way Friday night, and Offset was right there with her.

Cardi rocked the house at the Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Offset was cheering her on. We got this video of Offset in a mask leaving the backstage area after Cardi's set. He watched the entire concert from that area.

The video shows Cardi chillin' at one point and Offset is near her in the orange pants.

Goes without saying ... the concert was sold out.

Earlier in the day, we got Cardi and Offset having a blast on a jet ski ... she was in the back holding on tight.

Logan Paul hates everything about the wrestling story out of New Jersey, where a white referee forced a black high school wrestler to cut his dreadlocks before his match ... and says that ref should be out of a job for good.

We asked the YouTube star for his thoughts on the incident as he leaving The Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills Friday, and he summed it up pretty good, saying ... "That's f***ed!"

Paul was a stud wrestler himself back in H.S., and tells us he was never asked to cut his hair, so he thinks it's ridiculous Andrew Johnson was put in that position ... and feels badly for him.

As we reported ... NJ state athletic officials are investigating the ref, Alan Maloney, and he will not be working any matches while they do so. Maloney had previously been disciplined for making a racist comment in 2016, and obviously many believe what he did to Johnson was racially motivated.

Al Sharpton is calling out Travis Scott for agreeing to perform at the Super Bowl ... in fact, he's calling him a hypocrite.

We got the Reverend Friday in a rainy NYC, and he couldn't be stronger ... he says Travis is betraying the NFL boycott by drawing people to the game by his presence with Maroon 5 during the halftime show.

Sharpton feels strongly that people need to turn their backs on the NFL for what they did to Colin Kaepernick and others who expressed themselves by taking a knee to protest injustice.

Demi Lovato broke her silence on the overdose that nearly killed her ... making it clear it was a near-death experience.

Demi went on social media to say she's "grateful to be alive," and is now sober and getting the help she needs.

She goes off on the media for making up crap about her to sell stories, saying, "If I feel like the world needs to know something, I will tell them MYSELF."

She goes on to say, "Someday I'll tell the world what exactly happened, why it happened and what my life is like today but until I'm ready to share that with people, please stop prying."

TMZ broke the story ... Demi almost died earlier this year after OD'ing at her Hollywood Hills home. She was hospitalized for 10 days before going to rehab for extensive treatment.

The white referee who ordered a black high school wrestler to either cut his hair or forfeit the match is now being investigated by NJ state athletic officials, TMZ Sports has learned.

And, while the investigation is active, sources tell us the referee will NOT be working any matches.

The incident involves Buena Regional High School athlete Andrew Johnson -- who was seen on video getting his dreadlocks chopped off before a match this week.

In the footage, Johnson looks distraught. People are furious, claiming the ultimatum was racially motivated since the ref, Alan Maloney, has previously been disciplined for making a racist comment in 2016.

The way it's being explained to us ... Maloney has not been formally suspended or disciplined for the Johnson incident, but officials feel it's best to keep him off the mat while they gather information.

A source connected to Maloney tells us his position is that he was merely enforcing a rule about hair maintenance -- and insists race was not a factor.

Meanwhile, we spoke with a rep for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association -- which oversees high school sports in NJ -- a who gave us the following statement.

"The NJSIAA has been in direct contact with school officials and is now awaiting official incident reports. A report also has been requested from the referee involved. In addition – and as per its formal sportsmanship policy – the NJSIAA has provided initial information to the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights and will continue to send updates as they become available."

"At this point, the NJSIAA is working to determine the exact nature of the incident and whether an infraction occurred."

"As a precautionary measure, given the degree of attention being focused on this matter, the NJSIAA will recommend to chapter officials that the referee in question not be assigned to any event until this matter has been reviewed more thoroughly in order to avoid potential distractions for the competing wrestlers."

LeBron James railed on the NFL, saying the owners are a bunch of white guys who treat their players with extreme disrespect.

LeBron made the comments on his HBO show, "The Shop," contrasting the football league with the NBA. James said, "In the NFL they got a bunch of old white men owning teams and they got that slave mentality ... and it's a little like, 'This is my team. You do what the f*** I tell y'all to do. Or we get rid of y'all.'"

The Lakers star is clearly referring in part to Colin Kaepernick allegedly getting blackballed by NFL owners who were outraged by the kneeling movement the QB triggered.

NBA YoungBoy's concert exploded into violence Friday night, after someone ran up on him and tried stealing his chain.

The rapper was performing in South Carolina, sitting on his bodyguard's shoulder in the crowd, when a fan snuck up on him and tried yanking the bling off his neck. You see NBA YoungBoy jump off his bodyguard's shoulder and punch the dude in the face.

The bodyguard breaks up the fight, but it doesn't take long for the crowd to go at each other.

NBA YoungBoy got back on stage and started rapping with Quando. Problem is ... the guy who tried stealing the chain started heckling him, and Quando stopped the music and throws down a challenge ... if anyone had an issue with NBA YoungBoy, they should speak up or forever hold their peace.

Nicki Minaj's new boyfriend wasn't just convicted of attempted rape -- he also went to prison for killing a guy ... and now we know the story behind his manslaughter conviction.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Nicki's new man, Kenneth Petty, rolled up on Lamont Robinson one early morning in April 2002 and opened fire on him on a street corner in Queens, NY.

We're told Petty drove to the crime scene with a group of cohorts, hopped out of the car, walked across the street where Robinson was hanging out, pulled out a gun ... and shot him in the stomach 3 times. Our sources say he then fled in the vehicle with the group.

We're told police who investigated the crime at the time did not believe robbery was a motive -- they suspected it to be a targeted hit over a gang beef. One investigator who was on the OG case told us he could only recall the shooting was over some "bulls***."

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Lamont -- who only survived for a short time -- ID'd Kenneth in a photo lineup when police went to question him in the hospital. The docs say he nodded his head to confirm Kenneth had shot him, as he couldn't speak. He died soon afterward.

Kenneth was initially charged with 2nd-degree murder, but pled guilty to a lesser charge of 1st-degree manslaughter. He served 7 years in prison, and got released in 2013.

As we reported ... Nicki's beau also did nearly 4 years behind bars after being convicted of attempted rape as a 16-year-old about a decade prior.

Like we've told you, Nicki isn't fazed by Kenneth's checkered past ... as we're told, she and Kenneth have already discussed having babies and getting hitched.

TMZ broke a big story ... Travis Scott will join Maroon 5 for the Super Bowl halftime show, and Alfonso Ribeiro wants some serious loot from Fortnite over the Carlton Dance. So, we gotta ask ...