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Aaron Carter's cause of death -- drowning as a result of being under the influence -- doesn't add up for his fiancée, which is why she wants a second opinion as to how he died.

Melanie Martin -- who shares a child with Aaron -- tells TMZ ... she's not satisfied with the findings of the L.A. County Coroner's Office -- which ruled Aaron's death an accident based on an autopsy following his sudden death last year.

The reason ... she says there are still elements surrounding the circumstances of his passing that don't quite make sense to her -- like the fact he was partially clothed in the bathtub when his body was found ... suggesting to her he was lucid before he died ... which could point to someone else being involved.

Another thing ... there was mention in Aaron's autopsy of a small abrasion on his left eyebrow and another one at the base of his septum. MM tells us that's a red flag to her and a sign of a possible struggle.

Because of these lingering doubts -- which Melanie says she and her son are entitled to have addressed -- she's mulling over the possibility of having Aaron's case examined a second time by a private investigator and medical professional ... only this time, private ones hired by the family.

Melanie also says she wants the additional investigation to give her peace of mind and closure ... as she believes Aaron himself would want no stone unturned.

Here's the reality ... Melanie tells us she simply isn't sure if she'll be able to pull the resources together to do it all. As you might imagine, it's very expensive, and she says she's not equipped at the moment to get it done. Still ... she's considering her options.

Fact is, Melanie is on the same train as Aaron's mother, Jane Carter -- who recently told us the death scene photos that surfaced screamed foul play ... a theory she doesn't think investigators looked into seriously enough.

Melanie says she's even tried doing a little investigating on her own -- going door-to-door for surveillance footage ... but coming up empty. She tells us she wants the homeless housekeeper who was staying with him to get a second look by cops ... not to mention drug dealers she claims had it out for Aaron, and who might've been supplying him.

If LeBron James needed any more motivation to win in this year's playoffs ... he certainly got it on Wednesday night from Dillon Brooks, who blasted the Lakers star as "old" after beating him.

The Grizzlies wing -- known as one of the biggest agitators in the NBA -- made the eyebrow-raising comments following Memphis' 103-93 Game 2 victory.

Brooks had gotten in LeBron's face repeatedly during the contest in Tennessee ... and when he was asked if he had considered that it could potentially set James off -- Brooks unloaded.

"I don't care," he said. "He's old. You know what I mean?"

Brooks then accused LeBron of only trash-talking back when the Memphis star got in foul trouble.

"I poke bears," he said. "I don't respect no one 'til they come and give me 40" points.

FYI -- LeBron had 28 points, 12 rebounds and three assists in the loss. Brooks, who said he prides himself on his defense, had 12 points, one rebound and three assists in the win.

The two teams won't play again until Saturday night for Game 3 of their series ... and something tells us LeBron's now going to be pretty pissed off heading into the tilt in L.A.

Suge Knight's name is a constant topic on hip hop podcasts these days, but the incarcerated ex-music mogul is about to tell his life story his way, and says it'll be nothing but raw, uncut facts!!!

TMZ Hip Hop spoke to the Death Row Records founder from the CA state penitentiary where he's doing 28 years for voluntary manslaughter -- and also plotting out a 10-season TV series on BLK Prime chronicling his life before during and after launching the legendary label home to Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.

Even though he's behind bars, Suge told us he plans to provide voice-over for the series like Ray Liotta did as Henry Hill in "Goodfellas" -- and each season will chronicle a different era of his life.

Season 1 will dive headfirst into Pac's stint at Death Row until his death; season 2 will focus on Biggie's presence in the Death Row/Bad Boy beef; season 3 will be about Suge's friendship turned rivalry with Diddy; seasons 4 and 5 will tackle Dre and Snoop respectively.

Death Row's reputation as a hostile work environment has been discussed for years and Suge, being the big boss that he is, couldn't deny his office had its fair share of physical dustups.

According to Suge, he intentionally brought the competitiveness he learned playing football to his office space to make Death Row as tough as its name. He says Pac and Snoop had no problem thriving in the gangsta environment but does acknowledge those crazy times took their toll on the company.

The 5 other planned seasons dig into the N.W.A-era and Eazy-E ... plus the East and West coast tensions, the Crips and Bloods and, of course, Suge's trial and conviction.

The show will begin filming this summer and stream exclusively in the fall on BLK Prime ... a network Suge promises will leave his story intact, no matter how brutal it comes across.

David Charvet, known as Matt Brody on "Baywatch" and Craig Field on "Melrose Place," is being investigated for allegedly making criminal threats ... after an apparent blowout with his ex-GF.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the actor's a suspect in a recent criminal threats report made by ex-girlfriend Katie Boskovich. We're told the 2 recently called it quits but got into a heated discussion last week, arguing about each other's lifestyles.

We're told Boskovich claimed at one point in the argument, David said that this won't end well for her -- which apparently made her fearful. She filed a police report and now the LAPD is investigating the incident.

We're told this will probably land in the prosecutor's office once the investigation wraps and they'll make a decision on whether to file a case or not.

TMZ broke the story, David and his ex-wife Brooke Burke finalized their divorce in 2020, agreeing to a 50/50 split of physical and legal custody of their kids. We also saw David packing on some PDA with another woman in St. Barts about a year before getting divorced.

Chael Sonnen says he was disgusted by the viral video of a youth wrestler sucker punching an opponent after a match ... but tells TMZ Sports the kid should NOT be permanently banned from the sport.

Of course, a 14-year-old SPAR Academy wrestler was hit with a vicious punch after beating his opponent in a local wrestling tourney at Oak Park River Forest H.S. in Illinois on April 8th.

Video of the incident went viral, and many believe the puncher should receive an indefinite ban after the cheap shot that injured the wrestler's nose.

But, Sonnen -- a former college All-American wrestler and MMA legend who currently runs his own submission grappling promotion -- feels otherwise, believing a ban will not help the situation.

"I would tell you as a coach, the worst thing that a young man should have is free time," Sonnen told us. "It's probably one of the reasons that his parents got him enrolled and enlisted him in something like wrestling in the first place."

"To kick the kid out and have him just roaming the streets and doing something else I think should be given a real consideration."

"This was a terrible moment, but it could also be a teachable moment."

The 46-year-old, rather than burying the kid, is instead showing empathy, saying he doesn't want the young man's entire life judged off a five-second clip.

"We don't know the rest of the story. For sure it was terrible action but to ban a kid for life, I think there's a discussion that at least deserves to be had."

Sonnen also feels for the injured wrestler ... though Chael points out wrestling's a physical sport, and competitors sometimes lose their tempers.

"The gentleman that you saw getting hit likely has lost his temper before, too. Maybe it was at practice, maybe he didn't hit quite as hard, maybe it wasn't caught and shown to the world but it's a very normal thing in wrestling," Sonnen said.

"Wrestlers tend to forgive other wrestlers and I bet if you asked that kid that was hit, what he wants to see happen, he does not tell you ban that kid or put him in jail."

Aside from being a child actress, this sweet girl -- rockin' her hair clip and showing off her beautiful smile -- was also a top figure skater and earned a black belt in Taekwondo while growing up on the Upper East Side of New York City.

After making her acting debut at just 6 years old in the television film "An Invasion of Privacy," her future spotlight was lookin' quite bright, and before she knew it was starring on the soap opera "All My Children." But, perhaps you know her from her days as Buffy Summers.

Need one more hint? She's acted alongside Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair!

There appears to be a reason why Jonathan Majors is being cut from projects as his team jumps ship ... he reportedly has more alleged abuse victims waiting in the wings.

The alleged victims are coming forward and cooperating with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, according to Variety.

Majors' lawyer Priya Chaudhry tells TMZ ... "Jonathan Majors is innocent and has not abused anyone. We have provided irrefutable evidence to the District Attorney that the charges are false. We are confident that he will be fully exonerated."

As we reported, Majors was arrested last month in New York City for misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment after allegedly slapping his girlfriend in the back of a taxi cab.

Variety reports the alleged incident is just the tip of the iceberg ... which explains why honchos in the entertainment industry are distancing themselves from the "Creed III" star.

Remember ... in the wake of his arrest, Majors was dropped by his management team, and a major PR firm pulled the plug on working with him. He's also been uninvited from the upcoming Met Gala.

Majors' attorney claims the alleged victim from the NYC arrest texted the actor after he got busted to say ... "she was the one who used physical force against him."

As you know, Majors has been working nonstop in Hollywood lately ... he's set up to be the next big villain in the MCU after starring in the recent 'Ant-Man' movie.

But, with other alleged victims reportedly waiting in the wings ... it appears the hits could keep coming for Majors.

Kick streamer MadiHunni is gonna need a really good dentist after one of her streams ended in pieces, literally.

Madi was vibing out by a pool with some friends over the weekend to LMFAO's song "Shots" before she slipped and completely faceplanted on the ground.

There are a few awkward moments, as she and her friends look completely stunned by her spill ... with the silence finally broken by her friend asking, "Are you ok?"

Madi grabs her mouth, apparently feeling some of her chiclets were missing, picks herself back up and checks out her teeth in the camera ... revealing two broken front teeth!

After the incident, she posted an IG story saying, "just f****** broke my front teeth on @ac7ionman's live stream" ... followed by a series of posts joking about the whole thing and asking around for dentist referrals.

She left off on a positive note, saying .... "tell me why i finally feel pretty for the first time in a month & it's right after i bust my teeth lmao"

Frank Ocean will not return to the Coachella stage for the festival's second weekend, dropping out after sustaining two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.

In a statement provided Wednesday to TMZ, Frank's reps say, "After suffering an injury to his leg on festival grounds in the week leading up to weekend 1, Frank Ocean was unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity."

They continue, "On doctor’s advice, Frank is not able to perform weekend 2 due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg."

Frank tells us, "It was chaotic. There is some beauty in chaos. It isn’t what I intended to show but I did enjoy being out there and I’ll see you soon."

TMZ broke the story, Ocean allegedly hurt his ankle on the festival grounds leading up to his show, causing some last-minute set changes ... so it appears things were much more serious than initially thought.

As we reported, fans were disappointed by the singer's performance at the festival Sunday night as he started an hour late -- there was also awkward pauses, fans could barely see Frank, and he didn't sing some of his most popular stuff. He also didn't sing some songs live, with a vocal track playing while he moved around the stage ... though the busted ankle might help to explain a few of those issues.

Now the question ... who will take his spot. As we reported, Blink-182 had a hugely successful return to the stage during the group's Friday show.

Calvin Harris also drew a massive crowd to the main stage when he hit the festival Saturday night.

Johnny Manziel's girlfriend, Kenzie Werner, says the former Heisman Trophy winner did NOT abuse her ... claiming a post on her social media page Tuesday night that said otherwise was the result of hackers -- and nothing more.

The Instagram Story went up on Werner's IG at around midnight ... and it was extremely graphic.

The post showed four pictures of Werner with various injuries on her face and her body. In one, she had bruises on her breast. In another, she had blood near her nose. The others showed markings around her eyes.

The caption on the post read, "this is from johnny manziel." It also featured a link to Manziel's Instagram page. The story remained up for a few minutes ... before it was taken down.

Werner, though, said in a new post on Wednesday afternoon she had nothing to do with it all ... writing, "was hacked last night. just got my account back. please disregard what was posted. it isn't as it seems."

Tyler Terry, a rep for Werner, tells TMZ Sports ... the photos were not related to Manziel or their relationship at all. The rep was emphatic that the former Cleveland Browns quarterback has never abused her.

We're also told the injuries shown in the pics were not related to domestic violence -- they were a result of an accident at work, where a three-liter bottle of champagne fell on her.

Manziel and Werner have been dating since at least early 2022 ... and have appeared to be a strong couple the entire time.

In fact, the two just recently took a vacation to Miami, where they joked about a bird taking a crap on the ex-NFL player's head while they were relaxing on a beach.

The Menendez brothers getting a new trial because an ex-member of Menudo is accusing their father of rape is no slam dunk ... it's more of a Hail Mary, according to a criminal defense lawyer.

Attorney Alan Jackson joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and we asked him what Lyle and Erik Menendez should be expecting from Menudo member Roy Rosselló's explosive revelation about their father, Jose Menendez.

Alan believes the chances are remote the Menendez brothers get a new trial based on Roy's accusation.

Still, Alan says Lyle and Erik's defense team will try to get the accusation before a judge and present it as new evidence in hope of overturning their convictions -- because even if it's a long shot, it's something.

The way Alan sees it ... Roy's claim is unlikely to change anything for Lyle and Erik, who were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, despite arguing their father sexually molested them for years and they only killed him out of fear.

Alan says Roy's accusation -- that music executive Jose drugged and sexually assaulted him in the Menendez family's New Jersey home -- isn't directly connected to the evidence pointing to the brothers murdering their parents with shotguns.

K-pop star Moonbin, of the popular boy band Astro, has died.

Astro's label Fantagio shared the tragic news with fans Wednesday ... saying the singer "left us and became a star in the sky." The company says it's "deeply mourning" the shocking death alongside his family, droves of fans, and fellow artists.

Fantagio says the family will hold a private funeral with close family, friends, and colleagues.

An official cause of death has yet to be revealed, but South Korean police reportedly found him dead in his apartment in Gangnam-gu, Seoul after allegedly not showing for a recent rehearsal.

Fans of Moonbin know he started working as a model in 2004 when he was just a child ... then transitioned into acting, first grabbing a role in 2009 on the Korean drama "Boys over Flowers."

He then debuted with Astro in 2016 with 5 others -- MJ, Jinjin, Rocky, Cha Eun-woo, and Yoon San-ha. They went on to come out with some hits, including "Candy Sugar Pop" and "Baby." Rocky left the K-pop group in late February of this year.

Moonbin took a brief pause from the band in 2019 due to health-related reasons but made his return the following year. The group had a concert scheduled for mid-May, but that's reportedly been canceled.

He was only 25.

Tiger Woods is still dealing with the aftermath of his horrific car accident -- the golf superstar just underwent yet another surgery on the leg he damaged in the crash.

The 47-year-old's team shared the update on social media just minutes ago ... saying Tiger had a subtalar fusion procedure to treat post-traumatic arthritis he's experienced after fracturing his ankle bone in the Feb. 2021 incident.

Woods' team says he went to Dr. Martin O'Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Institute in NYC ... and the procedure was a success.

"Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation," the statement read.

It is unclear when Woods will be able to return to the golf course ... but he hasn't been 100% ever since the accident.

As we previously reported, Tiger suffered major damage to his right leg, which included comminuted open fractures to both his upper and lower tibia and fibula during the crash. All of it required several procedures to fix.

GloRilla's gold-selling single "Tomorrow" is now at the center of a lawsuit from an artist who says the Memphis rapper and her producer Macaroni Toni sampled his nearly 30-year-old track to create their song ... but never got permission.

In docs obtained by TMZ Hip Hop ... Ivory Paynes of the NOLA-based rap group Dog House Posse is claiming Glo and Toni sampled his 1994 song "Street of the Westbank" to craft "Tomorrow" ... claiming it takes key elements from his song, like the piano, cello and drum tracks.

Glo's record home Collective Music Group and her publishing companies Warner Chappell Music and Sony/ATV Music are also named in the suit.

Her remix "Tomorrow 2" -- which features Cardi B -- is also listed, as that track also utilizes the same instrumental. Cardi is not listed as a defendant in the case.

Tua Tagovalioa just revealed he considered leaving his NFL career behind due to the numerous concussions he suffered last season ... but ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to retire.

The Dolphins QB -- who missed multiple games last season while battling head injuries -- told reporters Wednesday that the concussion that ended his season in December actually had him thinking about his future.

"I think I considered it for a time," Tua said. "Having sat down with my family and having sat down with my wife and having those conversations. But it would be hard for me to walk away from this game, with how old am I, with my son."

"I always dreamed of growing, playing as long as I could to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do. It's my health. It's my body. I feel like this is what's best for me and my family. I love the game of football."

Tagovailoa, 25, suffered what appeared to be his first head injury of the season against the Bills in September -- and then he suffered a devastating concussion just days later against the Bengals.

The scene in Cincinnati was scary ... he lost consciousness after hitting his head on the ground while getting tackled -- and had to be stretchered off the field. He was out of action the following two weeks before returning for the Dolphins' game against the Steelers in Week 7.

Tagovailoa then suffered another concussion against the Packers on Christmas, forcing him to miss the team's final two games. Some head injury experts like Dr. Bennet Omalu strongly urged him to retire.

But Tua was emphatic Wednesday it's just not going to happen now ... saying he's actually taking jiu-jitsu classes to ensure he learns how to fall safely.

R. Kelly has officially filed an appeal in his federal sex crimes case out of New York -- and he's got a laundry list of reasons why he thinks his conviction should be reversed.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the controversial singer -- who was found guilty in 2021 on 9 federal counts that included RICO charges as well as charges pertaining to sex crimes and human trafficking -- says he got a raw deal throughout the lengthy trial.

For starters, R. Kelly's legal team simply argues the government did not meet its burden of proof in court ... despite a jury convicting him on all counts. His lawyers have specific gripes about the jury and some of the evidence prosecutors were allowed to submit during trial.

For the jury, his attorneys say that at least 4 of the jurors selected have since admitted prejudging his guilt before handing down their official verdict -- and he says at least 2 of them had watched the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries, and should never have been seated on the jury.

As for the underage girls he's alleged to have groomed and molested ... Kelly seems to have an explanation for what happened in each case. He says some were, in fact, at least 18 years old when he met and engaged in sexual relationships with them -- despite prosecutors' insistence the alleged grooming started while they were still minors.

In the cases where Kelly is alleged to have met with actual minors ... his team claims he was misled by those girls at the time about their real age.

Now, on the evidence front -- his team claims there was a lot of stuff that was allowed in during the trial that shouldn't have been seen or heard by the jury ... and hurt his ability to get a fair trial.

For instance, he says details about his sex life and/or conduct and behavior with former partners or exes of his -- accounts of which dove into STDs, sexual preferences and behavior in the bedroom -- were not relevant to the crimes being alleged against him, and were simply a way for prosecutors to sway the jury.

He also pushes back on former employees/associates of his that were trotted out on the stand ... saying a lot of them falsely testified to things they had no real knowledge of and weren't privy to in their capacity as staffers.

He's asking the appeals court to reverse his convictions or, at a minimum, order a new trial. Of course, there's a second federal case in which he was also convicted out of Chicago. No appeal for that just yet