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Taylor Hicks says even though Katharine McPhee's recent tweet about voting seemed to shade him pretty hard ... it's really all in good fun, and for a good cause.

We talked to the "American Idol" season 5 winner Wednesday about McPhee tweeting out "voting matters" -- along with a pic of the moment she lost to Hicks.

Taylor praised Kat's post as a brilliant way to encourage people to register to vote in the 2018 midterms. He says he and Kat remain supportive of each other -- but he still threw some playful shade back her way.

Aside from national elections, Mr. Soul Patrol would love for you to cast a vote for the third season of his food/travel show, "State Plate." It premieres Sept. 24 on INSP.

Louis C.K.'s surprise return to stand-up -- to the delight of some and dismay of others -- has full support from some very important people in the comedy world ... the guys running the clubs.

TMZ's learned several comedy hot spots in NYC would gladly welcome Louis back, despite his fall from grace last year after he copped to sexual misconduct.

Louis Faranda, talent exec of Carolines on Broadway, tells us ... the comedian is like a son to him -- they personally go back to the beginning of C.K.'s career -- and he's a longtime friend of the club.

Faranda adds ... "We all make bad mistakes in life and everyone deserves the right to be forgiven ... I totally understand the plight of the women he offended, [but] I also love Louie C.K. and CANNOT turn my back to him ever!!"

Likewise -- Al Martin, owner of Broadway Comedy Club and Greenwich Village Comedy Club, says ... "Everyone is entitled to a second chance. I would book Louis." C.K. has performed at his clubs in the past.

Bill Boggs, officer of the Friars Club, tells us it would also have Louis back. Boggs says, "We were repulsed by his actions and there’s no question about that," but he gives C.K. the benefit of the doubt that he's learned from his mistakes. "We can't punish people for the rest of their lives; we can't assume they haven't learned. People can grow and change."

These clubs are not alone. We broke the story ... fellow comedians like Marlon Wayans are glad Louis is back onstage, with Marlon telling us he feels C.K. did his time in "comedy jail."

Other comedians, though -- like Melinda Hill -- feel C.K. needs to fully apologize and make amends for his wrongdoing before he returns to the mic. Melinda says Louis is "spearheading the #MeTooSoon movement."

C.K. showed up unannounced at the Comedy Cellar in Manhattan Sunday night and did a surprise set ... after going MIA for about 9 months following a public admission of using his power to masturbate in front of women without their consent.

John McCain's casket has arrived at the Arizona State Capitol where family, friends and the public are paying their final respects to the late Senator.

The Arizona Army National Guard carried McCain's casket into the Capitol Museum rotunda Wednesday morning for a private ceremony for family and colleagues ... including remarks by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey.

During the ceremony, McCain's family was front and center honoring the somber occasion. McCain's wife, Cindy, and daughter, Meghan, were both very emotional at the sight of the casket.

The viewing will open to the public in the afternoon. McCain is the third person to lie in the rotunda in the last 40 years ... State Senator Marilyn Jarrett and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens were the others.

There will be a procession Thursday morning that will weave through Phoenix before making its way to a memorial service at North Phoenix Baptist Church.

McCain died shortly after his decision to stop medical treatment after a year-long battle with brain cancer.

Ex-Ohio State football coach Zach Smith is furious -- claiming allegations he beat his wife are wrong and he's threatening to sue the reporter who broke open the story, Brett McMurphy.

"Silence = over," Smith tweeted Wednesday ... the beginning of an angry rant directed at reporters and his ex-wife, Courtney Smith.

Smith claims McMurphy's reports about him are not only wrong -- but claims some of the images he's posted or reported on have been photoshopped.

"I am waiting for one thing that is accurate beyond a name change or photoshop session. I will see you in court you clown."

Smith also lays out his version of the "facts" -- saying:

"1. My kids are suffering because of all of this (most important)
2. I never beat my wife
3. OSU botched the investigation and worse off the 'punishment.'
4. They forced [Urban Meyer] into his statement, I hope at least... because he knows what’s real and would have never apologized.
5. President Drake is either the cause of the joke of an 'investigation' or 'punishment' or he allowed it."

Smith added, "It is very hard to be silent when falsehoods & half-truths are said about you and there is no way to defend yourself. I’ve made mistakes in my life but being a domestic abuser is not one of them! I’ll answer every question in court and under oath when the time comes & cant WAIT!"

Smith also posted a photo of his two young kids claiming they're the ones hurting the most from the scandal.

As we've previously reported, Smith was fired in July after allegedly violating a restraining order requiring him to stay away from his ex-wife.

It has since come out that Courtney called police on Zach several times over the years alleging domestic violence but he was never formally charged with a crime.

Zach has previously denied abusing Courtney, but acknowledged that things had gotten physical during heated disputes.

There's still mystery surrounding the death of Bethenny Frankel's boyfriend, Dennis Shields, because an autopsy was NOT performed.

The Chief Medical Examiner of NYC says there was a religious objection to the autopsy, so it was not performed -- and the cause and manner of death has been ruled undetermined.

We're told in New York, a religious objection can prevent an autopsy as long as police don't suspect a crime had been committed.

TMZ broke the story ... Dennis was found dead earlier this month in Trump Tower from an apparent oxycodone OD. Dennis took an unknown quantity of oxycodone Rx pills, law enforcement sources say, and the following morning he asked his housekeeper to fetch Narcan, which blocks the effects of an opioid overdose.

It's unknown when Dennis lost consciousness, but at some point the maid called 911. As we reported, the maid administered the Narcan but Dennis remained unresponsive. EMTs rushed to Trump Tower but it was too late.

Bethenny was extremely emotional during a final goodbye to Dennis. He was buried Aug. 13.

1:20 PM PT -- Fox News says, "We do not condone this language and wanted to make our viewers aware that [DeSantis] has since clarified his statement."

DeSantis says characterizing his remark as anything other than voters making "the wrong decision" is absurd.

Florida's gubernatorial race got seriously racial when Republican candidate Ron DeSantis dropped a "monkey" comment while talking about his Democratic opponent ... who is black.

DeSantis is fresh off winning the Republican primary, and while on Fox News Wednesday morning ... he was asked about going head-to-head with Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum.

DeSantis said, "The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda."

There was no pause or attempt to re-phrase -- so, either he didn't realize what he'd said, or it's blatant racial dog-whistling.

Kanye West has more to say about slavery being a choice, because he says he couldn't get his full explanation out when he was on TMZ Live.

Ye was on the 107.5 WGCI Morning Show with Leon Rogers, Kendra G, and Kyle in Chicago Wednesday, and elaborated on what he told us back in May ... that 400 years of slavery sounds "like a choice." The part he didn't say to us involves his spirit and the spirits of Harriet Tubman and Nat Turner.

Now, Kanye admits up front, this is his "non-historical opinion," but watch his perspective. Still seems like he's saying more African slaves should have rebelled ... which, let's be honest, is what upset people the first time he said it.

He did apologize for how the slavery remark "made people feel."

Just as a refresher ... here's exactly how it came out when Kanye was on TMZ Live. It's early, around 3:45 into the episode.

On his way out of the radio station, he spoke to Chicago's FOX32 about why he's back in Chicago, and also about liking President Trump ... still.

Janet Jackson clearly remembers when she fell in love with Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time" music video -- TMZ got a peek at a vid featuring the singer to celebrate MJ on his 60th birthday.

Janet teamed up with Kwaylon Rogers -- aka @BlameItOnKway to his 3.6 million IG followers -- to shoot this 1-minute, 11-second clip. Janet plays the queen passing judgment on dancers ... just like Iman did in MJ's 1992 video.

The project came about after Kway and Janet met at the Billboard Awards earlier this year. They hit it off and, soon after, Kway pitched the idea of reimagining Michael's hit video and releasing it Wednesday ... the day he would've turned 60.

Sources close to Kway tell us the group rehearsed -- with Diamond Batiste behind the camera -- for a day and shot the video the next day to Janet's liking. As you should know, MJ's "Remember the Time" video -- costarring Eddie Murphy and Magic Johnson -- was hailed as a masterpiece.

Kway and King Bach play the dancers desperate for Janet's approval in her tip of the hat to Michael -- which also features her new song, "Made for Now."

It's a great tribute on a milestone day for MJ's family, friends and fans.

TMZ broke the story ... Michael died in June 2009 after going into cardiac arrest at his Holmby Hills home. Paramedics on scene and staffers at UCLA Medical Center were unable to resuscitate him.

Michael's doctor, Conrad Murray, was ultimately found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Murray still believes he did not play a significant role in Michael's homicide.

LeBron James says white people were an acquired taste for him ... because he didn't always feel like he wanted to be around them.

James' conversation show, "The Shop," premiered on HBO Tuesday night and, while flanked with stars like Jon Stewart, Odell Beckham Jr. and Vince Staples, LBJ talked about life at his mostly white, exclusive, private school in Akron, Ohio.

LeBron candidly admits that when he first got to Akron's St. Vincent-St. Mary, he had no intention of communicating or befriending his caucasian classmates.

"Took me a while to adjust to it ... I was like, I'm not f*cking with white people, that was my initial thought to white America."

James explains where these ideas came from ... telling the guys his upbringing conditioned him to be distrustful of white people, which represented oppression to him since he grew up disadvantaged.

Didn't take long for it to change ... Maverick Carter, James' business partner and bestie since high school, chimed in explaining that by the end of the year everyone was friends, hanging out and going to the same parties.

Marlon Wayans has a simple response to Louis C.K. easing back into the comedy scene after admitting to sexual misconduct less than a year ago ... good.

The "Naked" star and comedian was hangin' outside Madeo Tuesday night when our photog asked what seems to have been on mostly everyone's minds this week, especially in the stand-up world ... was it too soon for Louis to come back? Marlon doesn't think so.

He believes there's such a thing as "comedy jail" -- when funny people go astray. Some comedians have to do time in the joint -- some for life, others for less ... all depending on the offensive offense.

Marlon also mentions something that another comedian, Melinda Hill, told us -- that comics need to get onstage so they can work out their demons.

Post Malone made it clear to us ... he "f**king hate(s) flying," but it sure looks like he enjoys the hell out of yachts and jet skis.

Post and a mystery woman had no trouble on the high seas as they spent the day in St.-Tropez, France ... soaking up the sun and ballin' like White Iverson.

PDA with an absolute babe? Check. Mobbing on jet skis? Duh. Hot shower on the back of a yacht? You know it! Now, we gotta say ... the woman looks an awful lot like Post's gf Ashlen Diaz but we're told it's not.

The rapper continues to make the most of his new lease on life following last week's frightening emergency landing in a private jet. And you can't blame him.

Luann de Lesseps is no longer facing hard time ... because a judge just put the ol' stamp of approval on the plea deal in her drunken arrest case.

The 'Real Housewives of New York' star dodged a felony charge and will stay out of jail. We broke the story, she agreed to plead guilty to battery, trespassing and disorderly intoxication for the Palm Beach County arrest. She just needed the judge's John Hancock.

As part of the plea deal, Luann has to knock out 50 hours of community service and attend 2 AA meetings a week in her home state of New York. She also can't use drugs or alcohol, and must submit to random testing during one year of probation.

As we reported ... Luann was arrested on Christmas Eve for attacking a cop during her bust. There's video of Luann telling an officer she'd kill him if he continued to touch her.

The felony charge Luann was originally facing, resisting an officer with violence, was reduced to battery as part of the deal.

12:20 PM PT -- A source close to Tyga wants to make it clear ... this is solely a business feud, nothing personal with Wayne. He's also amended his complaint and is asking for no less than $10 mil.

Tyga is squaring off with the likes of Birdman and Lil Wayne by suing both Cash Money and Young Money, claiming they screwed him out of lots of loot.

Here's the backstory. Tyga claims he made a deal back in 2009 in which he would produce 2 albums for Young Money. The albums -- 'Careless World' and "Hotel California" -- both charted big on Billboard. 'Careless World' charted #4 and 'Hotel Cali' charted 7.

Tyga claims Young Money -- run by Lil Wayne -- shorted him "significant sums."

He goes on in his lawsuit to claim in 2016 both Cash Money and Young Money agreed to pay Tyga all the royalties that he says were owed to him for years, but he didn't get squat.

Tyga says he's tried over and over to get paid, only to get stonewalled.

He wants no less than a cool mil.

Originally published -- 8/29/18 6:21 AM PT

Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow has one busy -- and bittersweet -- weekend ahead of her.

Debbie plans to attend services for Aretha Franklin in Detroit AND John McCain in Washington D.C. -- all in about 48 hours.

The Senator tells us it's going to be an incredible few days paying tribute to 2 extremely influential and powerful people.

She's not the only politician pulling double duty ... former President Clinton is also jetting to Michigan and the Capitol to pay respects.

The Queen of Soul has a star-studded tribute concert Thursday ahead of her Friday funeral.

McCain has memorial and funeral services in D.C. starting Friday and will be laid to rest on Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.

Conor McGregor told Floyd Mayweather he can take that olive branch he offered and shove it ... saying, "There is no peace here, kid."

Remember ... Floyd gushed over McGregor to TMZ Sports on Monday, calling the Irish fighter a "warrior" and even inviting him to train for the Khabib fight at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Vegas.

But Conor clearly wants no part of that ... declining Floyd's offer on Tuesday with a fat middle finger.

"F*ck the Mayweathers, except Senior and Roger," Conor said.

"There is no peace here, kid. Step up or step down."

Floyd responded to Conor's tweet later Tuesday night by posting a pic from the fight ... saying "Easiest 9 figures I ever made!"

Obviously ... there's still bad blood on Conor's end from when the two fought in the boxing ring last August. McGregor lost ... and then had to deal with Floyd's trash talk over their Forbes List rankings (Floyd #1, Conor #4) a few months later.

7:39 AM PT -- Meek surprised hundreds of kids when he showed up at his alma mater, James G. Blaine Elementary School, Wednesday morning to donate some backpacks.

Philly better not boo this Santa ... Meek Mill's doing right by the city of Brotherly Love and spreading cheer early to a bunch of kids just in time for back to school.

Meek Mill's teaming up with Puma, sports apparel Fanatics, United Legwear and Philly's luxury store Milano Di Rogue to donate more than 6,000 backpacks to students in the city.

We're told there will be 3 types of backpacks -- for elementary school, middle school and high school students. The kiddos get pencil sharpeners, rulers, glue sticks and crayons -- while it's dry erase markers, notebooks and pens for high schoolers.

Meek tells TMZ he knows firsthand what it's like for families to struggle financially around back-to-school time. He says, "Those memories stay with me and that’s why I’m committed to giving back to families in my hometown, putting smiles on kids’ faces and helping them start the school year on the right note with the right supplies."

And, get this ... we're told Meek's gonna surprise some kids Wednesday to personally hand-deliver the loot. Little advice for him though -- do NOT wear a Santa hat! That's risky biz in Philly.