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Justin Bieber is publicly denying religion played a role in him abruptly pulling the plug on his Purpose tour with just 14 shows to go.

Biebs was grabbing lunch Tuesday in Bev Hills when a pap asked about the sudden decision to quit. Justin seemed perplexed at the suggestion it had anything to do with his spirituality.

As TMZ first reported ... multiples sources connected with Hillsong Church, which Justin attends regularly, say he absolutely canceled the tour because he's "rededicated his life to Christ."

Justin claims he already told us what's wrong ... when he said he just needed to rest after 2 years on the road.

Three deadly king cobras were illegally shipped into the country under cover of U.S. postage stamps and potato chips.

Federal agents arrested a California man for smuggling the killer reptiles using the U.S. Postal Service back in March. The snakes were discovered by Customs and Border Protection agents who inspected the package and discovered the 2 foot long cobras -- each in its own potato chip canister. The cobras can grow up to 18 feet long. On the non-lethal side ... he also allegedly smuggled 9 turtles.

Feds say the man admitted similarly smuggling TWENTY other king cobras in 2 prior shipments ... but they were all DOA.

The sssuspect was charged Tuesday with one count of illegal importing and faces up to 20 years in prison.

As for the 3 cobras -- we're told 2 are in the San Diego Zoo, and the other is getting snake charmed ... by God. It died.

One of the girls who got switched at birth on TV has asked a judge to switch her relationship status in real life ... Katie Leclerc wants a divorce.

The "Switched at Birth" star, who plays Daphne Vasquez on the show, filed court docs last week against her husband, Brian Habecost.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Katie is asking the court to put the kibosh on any requests from Brian for spousal support.

Michael Phelps isn't taking a shred of blame for viewers' disappointment over him not racing an actual great white shark, and says he stands by the "incredible" made-for-TV event.

The 23-time Olympic gold medal winner opened himself up to his critics on Facebook and addressed the backlash from his Discovery Channel special. You'll recall, no doubt, Phelps lost to the shark ... but it was a CGI shark.

Phelps claims everyone involved in the man vs. beast production made it very clear what the "race" would entail, but people chose not to listen and now they're hatin' ... which he calls "shocking."

Speaking of shocking -- Michael didn't race a real shark, but REALLY did swim in 53 degree water!

5:45 PM PT -- Sources close to the production of "Life of Kylie" tell TMZ the lip design in question was independently created by a third party, and Kylie herself had nothing to do with the process.

Kylie Jenner is the Robin Thicke of bleeding lip art ... and one artist is so fed up with KJ's "inspired by" argument that she's taking Jenner to court.

Sara Pope -- an experienced painter whose work has been featured in L.A., Japan, the UK and NYC art galleries -- says Kylie copied her "Temptation Neon" logo and used it to promote a new reality show.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sara says she created her most famous piece of art in 2015 -- a bright, glossy set of lips in a "lip bite" pose. She says Kylie made her own eerily similar graphic, plastered it on social media and used it to promote "Life of Kylie."

Sara says Kylie's got a history of lifting other people's work ... pointing to the infamous Notorious B.I.G./Tupac Shakur t-shirt fiasco and yet another lip artist. She's suing Kylie and NBC Universal ... E!'s parent company.

We've reached out to Kylie's camp and E! ... so far no word back.

Celine Dion and her backup dancer, Pepe Munoz, are only inseparable onstage, because she's still a single woman ... TMZ has learned.

Photos of the two hanging out together in Paris sparked rumors the singer was dating again after the death of her husband Rene Angelil. Rene died in January 2016.

Our Celine sources tell us the relationship is completely platonic. Pepe's a dancer on her international summer tour, and they know each other through mutual friends in Las Vegas.

Pepe also has a side hustle as a fashion illustrator, so that's why he was spotted all over Paris with her -- including at a couture fashion show. Celine's tour was rolling through town, and we're told they simply share common interests, but are only close pals.

Senator John McCain got a standing O on Capitol Hill Tuesday as he returned to vote on a health care bill that would start the process of repealing Obamacare ... this after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

McCain flew into D.C. Tuesday just to vote on the controversial health bill -- which ended up passing with the help of his vote -- following his brain cancer diagnosis last week. As we reported ... he had a blood clot removed that tested positive for glioblastoma, and was resting from the procedure.

McCain put the vote for the bill at 50-50, meaning Vice President Mike Pence had to issue the tie-breaking vote ... and he pushed to move it forward.

It is too late for Justin Bieber to say he's sorry to members of his tour crew ... who feel he totally let them down without the slightest hint of a warning ... according to sources close to the Purpose tour team.

We're told Biebs' crew members were blindsided when they got word he was calling it quits. They claim there was no explanation given along with no heads-up ... and now around 200 people are out of work and pissed.

Our sources say the crew also didn't believe Bieber when he said he needed to rest, because he just had a month off in Laguna Beach and L.A. ... and regularly played sports and partied during that downtime. As we first reported, the real reason Justin bailed is because he's dedicating himself to Christ.

Still, tour members feel betrayed, and think this is more bratty behavior from Bieber, and his lack of sympathy for them is on full display.

Justin Bieber pulled the plug on his Purpose tour because he "rededicated his life to Christ" ... sources connected to Hillsong Church tell TMZ.

Bieber's decision seemed to come out of the blue, but our sources say it was squarely based on what Bieber believes is religious enlightenment. Bieber said he canceled due to exhaustion, but that's simply not true. Plus, his remaining touring schedule was not taxing travel-wise.

We're also told Bieber's crew is "incredibly pissed off at him" because it has impacted their financial well-being without any warning.

Bieber has been virtually joined at the hip with Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz over the last few months -- including at a huge church event in Australia -- but we're told Lentz did not advocate for cancelling the tour.

2:25 PM PT -- Barson's attorney, Michael Steinger, tells TMZ he has documentation showing their 2016 Hyundai was in perfect working order. Also, he says data collected from the car's computer proves Jerome and Linda were both wearing their seat belts at the time of collision.

Venus Williams says at least one of the victims in the Florida crash that left one man dead was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident ... this according to new court docs obtained by TMZ.

The tennis star is firing back at the estate of Jerome Barson -- which is suing Williams for wrongful death, claiming she was responsible for the T-bone accident that killed the 78-year-old and seriously injured his wife.

In new court docs, Williams doesn't point out which person wasn't belted in -- but says the injuries could have been reduced had they both been buckled up.

As for the injuries, Williams also says in the docs Jerome's wife's injuries were NOT bad enough to recover damages in a lawsuit under FL law. It's puzzling since Linda Barson claims she suffered a cracked sternum, a shattered right arm and a broken wrist, hand and fingers.

Williams also alleges the Barsons failed to adequately maintain and repair the vehicle in a safe condition -- suggesting they could have avoided the crash with a properly functioning car.

There's more ... Williams points out that "third parties" -- presumably the other cars besides her and the Barsons -- contributed to the hectic scene at the intersection that led to the crash. Williams says those drivers should be held responsible as well.

Video of the crash shows Venus was trying to drive through an intersection when another car turned in front of her, causing her to stop before clearing the intersection. The Barsons T-boned Venus claiming they had the right of way and couldn't avoid her car, which was stopped in an area where it shouldn't have been.

The documents were first obtained by the DailyMail.

Frank Sinatra's fourth and final wife, Barbara Sinatra, has died ... almost 20 years after her famous husband passed.

Barbara died Tuesday at her Rancho Mirage home in California after months of declining health ... according to a rep for her org, the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Foundation.

The rep told the Desert Sun ... "She died comfortably surrounded by family and friends at her home."

Barbara married Frank in 1976 and remained his wife for nearly 22 years -- the longest of his 4 marriages. She made a name for herself as an advocate for victims of child abuse, building up her foundation with Frank's help.

The Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Foundation provided counseling to child abuse victims, among other services. Barbara and Frank did not have any children together.

Lucky Whitehead was telling the TRUTH -- he was not the man arrested for shoplifting on June 22, this according to Prince William County officials who say the REAL perp was an imposter.

We spoke with Commonwealth's attorney, Paul Ebert, who says the case against ex-Dallas Cowboys WR Lucky Whitehead has been dropped after an internal investigation into the arrest.

Long story short ... Ebert says the man was only "verbally identified" by the arresting officer at the crime scene. The arrestee did not have I.D. on him.

The man told cops he was Lucky Whitehead and gave them Lucky's information, including birthday and social security number, Ebert says.

The officers ran the information through the DMV system and believed the man they had arrested matched the photo of "Lucky Whitehead" that was on file.

After Lucky publicly declared his innocence, claiming he wasn't even in the state of Virgnia at the time of the arrest, officers went back and reviewed surveillance video at the convenience store. Footage showed the suspect was NOT Lucky Whitehead.

Cops are now on the hunt for the man in the video.

Lucky's agent, Dave Rich, tells TMZ Sports, "Lucky is thrilled justice was served and his name was cleared. It's a shame that he came into town to do a camp for kids and he ended up getting cut by his professional football team."

The Prince William County Police Dept. has also issued a statement:

"Upon reviewing the June 22, 2017 arrest of an individual named 'Rodney Darnell Whitehead, Jr.', the police department is confident that the man charged with petit larceny, and who is subsequently being sought on an active warrant for failure to appear in court, is not Lucky Whitehead of the Dallas Cowboys."

"The man charged on the morning of June 22 was not in possession of identification at the time of the encounter; however, did verbally provide identifying information to officers, which included a name, date of birth, and social security number matching that of Rodney Darnell Whitehead, Jr."

"Officers then checked this information through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) database. The DMV photo on file was then used to compare to the man who was in custody."

"Officers acted in good faith that, at the time, the man in custody was the same man matching the information provided. At this point, the police department is also confident in confirming that Mr. Whitehead’s identify was falsely provided to police during the investigation."

"The police department is currently seeking the identity of the man involved in the incident. Since the identifying information provided by the arrestee during the investigation was apparently false, the police department is working with the Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to clear Mr. Whitehead from this investigation."

"The police department regrets the impact these events had on Mr. Whitehead and his family."

Mark McGrath's dropping some good ole showbiz wisdom on Justin Bieber when it comes to his now canceled world tour -- THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

Sugar Ray's frontman was at Catch Monday night and was blunt about his take on Justin pulling the plug in the homestretch of his Purpose tour. Yes, it sounds a little like your dad's ... "When I was your age" speeches, but Mark's speaking from experience, and on behalf of fans.

TMZ broke the story ... Justin canceled his 14 remaining shows with little explanation, other than needing some R&R.

Bottom line ... Mark says that's NOT a good enough excuse.

Tinashe's petrified of an obsessed fan who traveled from Boston to L.A., because she says he thinks they're married and will ultimately end up hurting her.

The singer requested and obtained a restraining order against Martin Murphy ... alleging the 25-year-old is convinced they're husband and wife. She's frightened because she says he's now trying to reinstate his Massachusetts license to carry a firearm.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Tinashe says she was alarmed to find out Murphy drove to L.A. back in June, and ended up close to her and her parents' house. She says the situation's so bad, Murphy's father is also on board with keeping him the hell away from her.

Rudy Giuliani insists he won't stab Jeff Sessions in the back for the Attorney General post -- and says President Trump should field all questions about the job ... not him.

We got the former NYC mayor at Reagan National in D.C. and asked if he'd take the A.G. job if asked by his pal, the Prez. Rudy deflected like a Washington pro ... saying he doesn't answer hypothetical questions.

What he didn't say was ... no.

And even though Trump's labeled his current A.G. "beleaguered" and "weak" -- RG went out of his way to call Sessions a "good friend."

Rapper and activist Killer Mike has different words for both men. But that's a whole other 'Oprah.'

Drake doesn't just have Lil Wayne's back ... he's got Weezy's face tattooed on his left tricep now.

People started noticing the new ink over the weekend at Houston Appreciation Weekend where Champagne Papi was the main event.

Drake's got several mugs on his bod already -- including one of his mom and dad, Aaliyah and 2 of Sade -- so Weezy makes sense. Drizzy's on his label, they've been tight for years and Wayne famously took Drake under his wing.

Obvious question: can he make Lil Wayne smile when he flexes? That would be so dope.