The little girl who fell overboard on a recent Disney Dream cruise, prompting her father to dive in and save her ... was, in fact, sitting on a railing before the almost-tragic accident.

A rep for the Broward County Sheriff's Office in Florida tells TMZ ... the 5-year-old girl was sitting on a railing and lost her balance, then fell backward through a porthole -- and her father immediately jumped into the water after her.

Authorities estimate it was only 20 minutes between the child's fall and the successful rescue of father and daughter ... and the sheriff's office praised the Disney crew for their quick reaction and life-saving efforts.

Diddy might be headed off to prison, but his image will recover given a little time ... so says prominent defense lawyer Jose Baez.

The lawyer who repped Casey Anthony and Aaron Hernandez joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday -- hours after Diddy was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking.

Jose says Diddy's going to "bounce back" from this ... especially in the music industry, where he guesses artists will be willing to overlook his convictions if it means making a hit record.

Joe Tacopina is taking a victory lap at the expense of federal prosecutors ... because he's always said the racketeering and sex trafficking charges against Diddy didn't add up -- and a jury agreed.

The famous defense attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and ripped prosecutors for bringing what he says were trumped-up charges against Diddy.

Joe, who's been banging this drum for months now on our weekly series on Tubi, "TMZ Presents: United States V. Sean Combs: Inside the Diddy Trial," says the evidence and testimony never pointed towards racketeering or sex trafficking.

Nancy Grace says Sean "Diddy" Combs is getting off easy for one major reason -- the cross-examination of Cassie Ventura and "Jane" ... but she's absolutely disgusted and "shattered" by the jury's decision to acquit him of sex trafficking.

Make no mistake, Nancy firmly believes jurors in Diddy's federal trial got it wrong, and they should've convicted him on all 5 counts -- not just the 2 counts of prostitution -- but she acknowledges Diddy's lawyers did their jobs when they showed both of his exes frequently consented to freak-offs.

What's enraging to Nancy is that she sees the verdict as another case of "rich man's justice," ... saying Diddy only got off because he can afford high-powered attorneys, and because jurors frequently hesitate to convict famous people.

Diddy's team is preparing for his possible release by ramping up security at his Miami estate, where he would return if he's allowed out while awaiting sentencing … TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … within the last couple of hours, the music mogul's team began making arrangements for his potential return -- including increased security measures at his waterfront estate on the exclusive, guard-gated Star Island.

We’re told security has been beefed up both at his property and at the entrance to the island, as media and paparazzi have already started swarming the area in anticipation of his release.

Ilia Topuria is opening up on his brutal (and shocking) knockout of Charles Oliveira ... and talking about who could be next -- and he's putting two big UFC stars on notice!

The 28-year-old newly crowned lightweight champ joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... just days after he put Oliveira's lights out with a crushing combo of punches in the UFC 317 main event.

As it goes, everyone wants to know what's next for the champion. Two names that have been talked about most ... Paddy Pimblett and Islam Makhachev!

Halle Bailey found the perfect way to relax in Italy after her grueling custody battle with her ex, DDG -- with the company of a new beau while her buns baked in the sun!!!

"The Little Mermaid" actress was in Positano, Italy, on Saturday, where she and her mystery man were spotted splashing, kissing and cuddling under the Mediterranean Sea.

Halle looked happy posing her bikini bottom for her chocolate, dreadhead man -- but couldn't prevent her thong, th-thong, thong, thong going up the wrong, wr-wrong, wrong, wrong way!!!

Sydney Sweeney may have been spotted rubbing shoulders with single A-listers like Orlando Bloom and Tom Brady during Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding weekend ... but TMZ has learned she's not dating anyone.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … the actress is very much single despite the swirling speculation after she was seen spending time on a stroll through the streets of Venice, Italy with both Bloom and Brady.

Our sources say she's not interested in dating anyone after calling off her engagement to fiancé Jonathan Davino. We broke the story ... the former couple separated in January.

A sanctioned matchup between Adrian Peterson and his poker rival is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality ... as TMZ Sports has learned the NFL legend and his opponent have just received an offer to settle their differences in an actual ring.

Damon Feldman, the founder of Celebrity Boxing, tells TMZ Sports ... he wants to make a real scrap between Peterson and Joe "Baby Joe" Castaneda happen after he saw the two go at it over cards at social club in Houston, Texas in May.

"Let's take that to the ring," Feldman said in a video message to the guys. "You can't just battle it out on the street anymore -- let's take it to celebrity boxing."

The family of Xana Kernodle is livid over the plea deal offered to accused murderer Bryan Kohberger ... and they told prosecutors they had better not dare go through with it.

Kim Kernodle, Xana’s aunt -- who was so furious she was in tears -- tells TMZ ... prosecutors floated the idea of a plea deal a few days ago and the family made it clear ... NO WAY.

When we spoke with Kim, she was on a conference call with prosecutors. She says prosecutors told her the defense approached prosecutors with a plea deal, and the prosecution went along to "spare the families" the pain of a trial. Kim says that's ridiculous, because at least 2 of the families -- hers and the Goncalves family -- wanted Kohberger to face a jury.

"The Golden Bachelor" Gerry Turner is weighing in on Mel Owens' turn as the star of the show -- saying it’s fair game to call out the new guy for wanting to ditch women over a certain age.

Gerry makes it clear to TMZ that Mel’s own 45-to-60 age-limit window -- and his intention to immediately axe anyone older -- is a bad look ... and he's urging the 66-year-old to be more open-minded about age and all the possibilities that can come out of it.

The TV star reflects on his own 'Golden Bachelor' days -- saying producers told him to stay receptive when he asked for women 65 and up. They promised gems on both ends of the age spectrum ... and turns out, they were right.

Katy Perry is seeking court-ordered protection from a homeless man she claims keeps showing up to her home uninvited ... and her security team believes the guy won't take "no" for an answer.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Katy filed a temporary restraining order against a 43-year-old man named Ross Elliott Hedrick. She says he's a transient and has twice visited her property in Santa Barbara, California.

Katy filed the TRO on June 18 ... and in her request, she also seeks protection for Orlando Bloom, noting he is her "partner" who lives with her. As we first reported, Katy and Orlando have since split.

The "Last Friday Night" singer claims Hedrick visited her Santa Barbara estate multiple times in May ... she says he was arrested after the first unwanted visit and then returned a week later.

Rumors have been circulating that Lady Gaga and Elton John both demanded a huge pile of money to perform at the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez ... but TMZ has learned it's all BS.

Here's the deal ... with the Venice mega-wedding in the rearview mirror, gossip has been spun into headlines -- such as both superstars wanting a fee of $6 million apiece to perform for the 200 who's who guest list -- which Bezos passed on.

Insiders for both icons tell TMZ ... the whole story is laughable ... 'cause it just didn't happen. We hear that neither Elton nor Gaga was even approached to play the wedding -- let alone demand such a gigantic fee.

Arnold Vosloo -- the actor famous for playing the villain in "The Mummy" -- is now facing his own real-life horror … divorce!

Arnold's wife, Sylvia Vosloo, recently pulled the plug on their marriage -- citing “irreconcilable differences” after nearly 27 years together, according to court docs, obtained by TMZ.

But here’s the twist ... the docs list the date of separation as April 2022, meaning these two have been living separate lives for over three years.

Post Malone is back on the market -- because he's no longer in a relationship with Christy Lee ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the former couple called it quits a little under a month ago after being together romantically since the start of the year. It's unclear whether the pair remains on friendly terms.

The couple was first spotted together in January during a dinner outing in Rome.