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Jussie Smollett and/or his attorneys are prepared to sit down with police, and that decision staved off a grand jury at the 11th hour ... TMZ has learned.

Ola and Abel Osundairo were at a Chicago courthouse Tuesday, ready to testify before the grand jury ... according to sources connected to the case, however, that was nixed at the last minute. We're told they got a call that Jussie's legal team -- and possibly Jussie himself -- had agreed to talk to police.

End result ... the grand jury was postponed. We're told the meeting between cops and Jussie's team has not happened yet. We're also told the grand jury will not convene Wednesday morning.

As for the ongoing investigation into the "attack" ... we're told law enforcement believes it happened when it did, January 29, specifically because Jussie knew the Osundairo brothers were leaving for Nigeria the next day. Our sources say that trip was pre-planned, and not connected to the alleged attack.

Also, we're told the FBI met with the brothers Tuesday to talk about the hate mail that was sent to Jussie at Fox Studios in Chicago. The feds are checking to see if the postal stamp on the letter matches stamps police seized at the brothers' home in Chicago.

We're told the FBI is also looking into the ripped out magazine pages found in their home ... to see if there's any match to the cut-out letters used in the racist and homophobic letter.

Our sources say the brothers told police they had nothing to do with the letter, and only saw it in a photo on Jussie's phone.

We reached out to the Osundairos' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, for comment ... and she said, "All the facts will come out soon."

Rich the Kid's playing hard to get in his divorce case ... so claims his estranged wife who wants the judge to make him pay for being a pain in the ass.

Antonette Willis has filed new legal docs claiming she's been trying to serve the rapper with papers, but he's nowhere to be found. And, in her multiple attempts, she's racked up tons in legal fees and wants him to pony up some of the dough to pay her lawyers.

In the docs, Antonette says Rich has been shelling out $4,500 for her rent and around $3k in other expenses. She says she has no income and her expenses -- which includes $1,225 per week in a luxury car rental -- makes it hard for her to pay her lawyers. She wants $30k from him to help with her legal bills.

She says Rich can afford it cause he makes well over $100k per month.

This is just the latest in their ongoing divorce. TMZ broke the story ... Antonette filed for divorce in March 2018. She claimed he forced her to have multiple abortions and alleged he was violent.

Russell Wilson could be the guy who replaces Eli Manning as QB of the NY Giants ... and it's all 'cause of Ciara -- so says Colin Cowherd.

The FS1 star reported on his show, "The Herd," that he's hearing from sources "in the entertainment agent world" that Russ' wife would absolutely prefer New York over Seattle.

And, with Wilson's Seahawks contract expiring after the 2019 season ... he says it all makes too much sense -- and thinks the deal could actually go down.

"[Ciara] would prefer to live in New York, and the Giants need a quarterback. And there's nobody in the draft they love."

Cowherd added, "A lot of things add up."

Cowherd says because Eli's career is all but over ... and since Wilson can essentially force his way out of Seattle after his deal ends -- he thinks Ciara could get her way.

Colin also thinks it'd be a winning move for Wilson on the field too -- saying the 30-year-old could become a much bigger star than he ever was in the Pacific Northwest.

R. Kelly is leaving the Chicago recording studio where he produced some of his biggest hits.

The singer's lawyers, Melvin Sims and Steven Greenberg, tell TMZ ... Kelly is moving out because court-ordered restrictions made it impossible for him to keep his creative juices flowing.

As we've reported ... a judge limited the studio's working hours after city inspectors found tons of building code violations.

Kelly's people say he's struggling to adjust to the sweeping changes -- especially cutting off his overnight access -- so he's looking for a new place to record. They insist 24-hour access is the widely accepted industry standard, so his 9 PM curfew has impaired his "musical innovation."

Gwyneth Paltrow's going on the attack against the guy who sued her over a ski incident, and says he has the story completely backwards ... because SHE was the injured victim that day.

Gwyneth filed a countersuit against Terry Sanderson over their February 2016 run-in at Deer Valley Resort in Utah. In docs, she says she was skiing around 11:55 AM on one of the easier runs, making "short turns."

According to her suit, obtained by TMZ, Gwyneth has the resort's incident report ... which states Sanderson "took her out from behind." Further, she says in the report Sanderson is quoted as saying, "That she appeared right in front of him, thus admitting he was the uphill skier."

When Sanderson sued Gwyneth, he claimed she was out of control and hit HIM from behind. He also claimed he suffered several injuries.

In her suit, Gwyneth says Sanderson and one of his friends told ski patrol they were fine.

Now, Sanderson is suing Gwyneth for more than $3 million. For her part, Gwyneth is pulling a Taylor Swift -- she's suing him for a whopping $1. Her point is she doesn't need the money, and is merely suing for the truth.

Kylie Jenner is having enormous trouble processing the revelation her best friend was involved in a cheating scandal with her sister's baby daddy ... and she doesn't know if her relationship with her BFF is worth saving.

TMZ broke the story ... Khloe Kardashian ended her relationship with Tristan Thompson for good after he allegedly hooked up with Jordyn Woods over the weekend ... making out with her at a house party.

Sources connected to the Kardashian klan tell us, at first Kylie didn't believe it but then, after doing some recon, it sunk in ... that her best friend may have crossed the line. We're told somehow Kylie got in touch with others who were at the party and her doubts evaporated.

The question now ... what happens to Kylie's relationship with Jordyn? The two have been inseparable ... socializing, doing business together and even living together at times. The reality ... at the time of this post, Kylie doesn't know what to do.

As for the rest of the Kardashians -- our sources say none of them are the least bit surprised Tristan did it again. We're told the family warned Khloe about taking Tristan back after last year's cheating scandal ... but ultimately backed off because it's Khloe's life and her decision.

What they weren't expecting, much like Kylie, is Jordyn's role. We're told it would've been less painful if it was a random chick, like the times before.

Even if Khloe's done for good, everyone thinks she'll still maintain a civilized relationship with Tristan for the sake of baby True.

Being president is pretty cool ... but Barack Obama's biggest accomplishment came on the hardwood ... 'cause 44 says he's the man behind Stephen Curry's dangerous jumper!!

Obama and Curry hosted a town hall meeting for the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance in Oakland on Tuesday ... and naturally, Barry had to let the jokes fly when introducing the 2-time MVP.

"Even Bulls fans have to acknowledge that it's been fun to watch the Warriors and the greatest shooter of all time -- because I gave him some tips right before, about 5 seasons ago, there's film of this in the White House."

Steph doubled down on the quip ... saying Obama fixed his "chicken wing" jumper as well as his resume ... calling him "the best mentor" (which might not be a joke).

The duo traded zingers before getting serious about helping minority youth in America, the work their MBK Alliance has accomplished in the 5 years of its existence ... and what needs to happen moving forward.

Godfrey seems flummoxed by the Jussie Smollett situation, but he's pretty sure the "Empire" star is lying ... and it's time for him to start an apology tour.

The comedian was outside the Laugh Factory in Hollywood Tuesday night when he gave us his take on the alleged attack, but possible hoax, involving Jussie ... whom he suggests might have a mental problem.

Godfrey tells us he feels duped -- like so many others -- because Jussie's story tapped into racial sensitivities and took advantage of the divisive climate these days. He also points out certain details of the alleged attack he finds shady ... like how Trump supporters don't watch "Empire."

According to Godfrey, it's time for Jussie to start saying sorry to everyone he's hurt -- the gay community, the black community ... and the MAGA fans he threw under the bus. Gotta think Kellyanne Conway would agree.

Meghan Markle took her fetus for a night on the town Tuesday -- hitting the famous Polo Bar restaurant for dinner with her pal Serena Williams ... and we've got the video.

Her Royal Highness had a busy day -- she flew into New York for her baby shower at The Mark Hotel earlier in the day ... where friends like Abigail Spencer and Jessica Mulroney helped celebrate the mom-to-be.

Afterward, it was off to Ralph Lauren's Polo Bar -- famous for its $20 "RRL Hot Dog" -- which comes with sauerkraut, sweet relish & mustard on a toasted brioche bun.

If she didn't have the dog, she missed out.

On the way out, 37-year-old Meghan strutted to her waiting SUV while clutching a fancy black Stella McCartney purse.

FYI, everything Meghan touches seems to sell out in minutes -- guessing royal fashion-aholics already snapped up the remaining stock.

Serena followed Meghan and got in the same SUV.

Ja Rule's found a couple of Fyre Fest silver linings -- one involving event planner Andy King, who famously offered oral sex for crates of Evian, and the other has to do with Ja's business sense.

The rapper was at Newark Airport when Adam Glyn asked him if he had any insight on the infamous scene in Netflix's "Fyre" documentary ... where Andy King admitted he nearly took one for the team as the festival was imploding.

Ja says he knew nothing about that happening at the time, but he was grinning from ear to ear after hearing Andy has now made a name for himself.

In fact, Ja Rule says even though he hasn't seen the Netflix doc, he'd love to see more good come out of it.

Check out the clip ... the rapper -- who BTW is still feeling the Fyre -- says he learned a lot from the experience and even offers young visionaries and entrepreneurs some sage advice.

The ball is in Jussie Smollett's court, and we're told the ONLY way he can stave off a grand jury investigation is to meet with cops and somehow convince them the "attack" was real.

As we reported, police "urgently" want a follow-up interview with Jussie ... this comes after Ola and Abel Osundairo told police they staged the so-called attack at Jussie's behest and even got paid for doing so.

We're told the call has gone out to his lawyers, but cops have not heard back. It's now complicated by the fact there are rumblings Jussie has a new lawyer -- Mark Geragos.

Our sources say cops are waiting to see if Geragos makes contact with them. Our sources say if Jussie refuses to speak with police -- which is almost a certainty -- the case will go directly to the grand jury.

Even if Jussie speaks to police, unless he pulls a rabbit out of a hat and convinces them the "attack" was real, the case is still going to the grand jury.

Our law enforcement sources say the grand jury will decide whether to indict Jussie on the felony crime of filing a false police report.

T.I.'s gonna be rocking nothing but tighty-whities soon -- and not high-end ones -- because he's adding Burberry to his fashion boycott list in response to its noose hoodie fiasco.

Tip ripped the brand Tuesday, just as he did Gucci and Prada last week, and dismissed Burberry's apology for the controversial design -- a new hoodie with drawstrings tied into a noose. His words for Burberry were sharp ... "These aren't coincidences" ... clearly referring to the other fashion house blunders.

The backlash against Burberry started Tuesday after a model pointed out that the company made her wear the controversial sweater on a runway despite her objections. It wasn't until she went public, that Burberry issued its full mea culpa.

Not good enough for T.I., whose boycott list is now at 4 -- Gucci, Prada, Moncler and Burberry -- for their use of racist imagery.

He's also called out his longtime nemesis, Floyd Mayweather, with a diss track over his continued, and some would say brazen, support for Gucci.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has officially been booted off the advisory board of a prominent LGBTQ organization after making comments deemed "transphobic" about trans athletes.

As we previously reported, the 62-year-old wrote a strongly-worded op-ed about why trans athletes physiologically born as men should NOT be able to compete against women.

Martina said it's "insane" and "cheating" and says people born with male physiology have a dramatic physical advantage over cisgender women.

Now, the LGBTQ non-profit Athlete Ally has announced it has removed Navratilova from the group's advisory board Tuesday -- and blasted Martina in a statement.

"Martina Navratilova’s recent comments on trans athletes are transphobic, based on a false understanding of science and data, and perpetuate dangerous myths that lead to the ongoing targeting of trans people through discriminatory laws, hateful stereotypes and disproportionate violence."

"As an organization dedicated to addressing root causes of homophobia and transphobia in and through sport, we will only affiliate with those committed to the same goal, and not those who further misinformation or discrimination in any way."

"Given this, Navratilova has been removed from our Advisory Board and as an Athlete Ally Ambassador, effective immediately."

So far, no response from Navratilova.

In her op-ed this week, Martina says her goal is to make sports fairer -- and based on her research, she concluded trans women (born with male physiology) have a distinct competitive advantage.

She also warned in her article that people who take her position are being unfairly labeled as "transphobic."

A key Donald Trump staffer has just invoked Jussie Smollett's name, slamming the media for believing him.

Kellyanne Conway just appeared on CNN and was being grilled over who's a bigger liar -- Trump or former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe?

Conway, Counselor to President Trump, shot back, saying McCabe -- who was fired for leaking info to the media and then lying to authorities about it -- and Smollett were birds of a feather.

Here's a blossoming celeb pairing we're all here for ... Drake and Adele!!!

We're told the music superstars kicked it last weekend for one fun night ... galavanting around L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. Try this on for #SundayFunday -- we're told Drizzy and Adizzy (??) chowed down at Jerry's Famous Deli before moving the party next door to Pinz Bowling.

Sorry, no photos ... the dynamic duo rented out the entire joint for themselves and a couple friends.

Then, it was off to Chill N Vape Lounge, where we're told Drake bought a Juul and some pods -- mango and peach. Flavor matters to Aubrey.

You can stop thinking what you're thinking ... we're told the evening was purely platonic.

As for the root of the friendship ... Adele hit up one of Drake's concerts back in October, and we're told they met after the show and bonded.

No word on who said "Hello" first.

Tekashi69's blooper reels from his Valentine's Day sex shop commercials are hilarious, and at least one product he pushed could probably suit him well in jail ... a sex doll!!!

We've obtained behind-the-scenes footage from the commercial shoots, and as you can see ... Tekashi has a real connection with the blowup doll.

We're told 6ix9ine filmed the ads for Romantic Depot back in November, several days before getting busted by the feds on racketeering and various other charges.

It's funny ... we're told a Romantic Depot salesperson asked Tekashi if he wanted the doll for free, and he replied, "Are you crazy?!? My mother would bug if she saw this under my bed!!!"

Check out the final cut ... 6ix9ine's a pretty good salesman. We're guessing Willy Loman would be proud.