Screenwriter and director Max Landis is being accused of sexual abuse and emotional torture ... as 8 women have gone public with their allegations.

The women claim the son of legendary director John Landis has a pattern of manipulative and vicious behavior. Many of the accusers claim he got violent and even raped them during their relationships.

The allegations come on the heels of one of the women, Ani Baker, taking to Twitter to warn other women about Landis, saying ... "the experience/aftermath of this person is really destructive, and it will be riddled with pain and emotional work that you don't need to spend your precious energy on."

Baker claims once, after they had sex, she playfully slapped Landis' butt and he responded by violently putting his hands around her throat and threatening to kill her.

While Baker may have opened the floodgates with her post, she's hardly the first woman to accuse Landis of abuse. He was widely accused of misconduct on social media back in 2017 when the Will Smith movie "Bright" was released -- which was written by Landis.

Actress Anna Akana wrote, "Written by a psychopath who sexually abused and assaults women, right? Cool."

The women claim Landis' MO is to use his circle of friends, which he dubbed "The Colour Society," to entice women to get close to him ... then torment them through a series of insults, intimidation, humiliation and in some cases, sexual violence. One woman described him as a "cult leader."

Another accuser, in the Daily Beast expose, claims Landis would pretend to hit her, then laugh when she flinched. Another claims he fat-shamed her, while another described him this way ... "He would systematically try to have sex with all the women I knew. We’re not people to him.”

Landis is also accused of forcing abuse and humiliation porn on a woman, and the worst of it -- forcefully holding down a woman and raping her despite her saying "no" repeatedly.

We've reached out to Landis ... no word back. He has yet to comment about any of the allegations.

Cuba Gooding Jr. remembers 2 things distinctly about his accuser -- that he absolutely did NOT touch her breast, and also that unlike most fans he meets ... she claimed to LOVE one of his worst movies.

Cuba's lawyer, Mark Heller, tells TMZ ... the actor says when his accuser approached him at the NYC club, sitting down on the couch next to him and his girlfriend ... she said she was a fan of his movies, especially "Snow Dogs." If you've seen it, you know why that would stand out to Gooding.

That initial interaction is what you see in the surveillance video TMZ obtained.

We're told, Gooding initially thought she was messing with him because she shouted out "Snow Dogs" over his Oscar-caliber classics, but he decided to be friendly since she was a fan.

As for the touching that's evident in the video ... Heller says Gooding admits placing his hand on her thigh as a cordial gesture -- as friends might do when sitting closely. Then he says he brought his hand up to her hand -- NOT her breast -- and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. Again, Gooding says it was all a "friendly gesture."

The actor insists he did not touch the woman's breast and wasn't hitting on her ... as he was ever mindful his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, was sitting in between them.

After the encounter, Cuba and Claudine went downstairs at the club to make out on a couch when the accuser confronted Gooding's security about the alleged groping. We're told Gooding says he had no idea what she was talking about and was confused about who she even was, because he'd met so many people that night. He then got up to leave.

When the case hit the media, Gooding claims he only remembered his interaction with the woman ... mostly because the surveillance video triggered his memory about her love of "Snow Dogs."

As for initial reports about club security having to break up a heated argument between Cuba and the accuser ... Heller says it didn't happen. He adds there are no witnesses nor video to support it either. 

As we reported, Gooding was arrested Thursday and booked for misdemeanor forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree ... but Heller told us he sees "no criminality" on his client's part in the security video.

Zachary Levi didn't waste time firing zingers during his opening monologue at the MTV Movie & TV Awards ... most laughed sans Princess Love.

The star-studded affair was taped Saturday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica but aired Monday night. Jada Pinkett Smith (Trailblazer Award) and The Rock (Generation Award) were just some of the honorees. Hollywood's heavyweights rolled through ... from Tiffany Haddish and Tessa Thompson to Elisabeth Moss and Melissa McCarthy.

But, things got off to an awkward start during Zachary's opener when he decided to go there. As Princess Love and Ray J sat side by side ... Zachary delivered a Kim Kardashian sex tape joke.

Check out the clip ... Ray J stands up when he hears his name but moments later is reduced to sitting with a blank stare on his face after Zachary's punch line. Princess Love was none too amused ... giving cameras the double bird.

See, awk. Guessing a great time was still had by mostly all.

Mötley Crüe rockers Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx say the new documentary about the band breaking up is the same ol' situation of ... someone getting their story all wrong, and without their permission.

The Crue dudes are pissed over the latest episode of Reelz network's docuseries "Breaking the Band," which focuses on the group's turbulent history. Neil is especially miffed about how the show portrays his departure from the band in 1992, blaming him for prioritizing motor racing over music ... so he took to social media to let it out.

Vince says ... "Breaking the band, f**king memories from a manager Doug Thaler who can't remember that he's the one who actually broke up the band! The band didn't break up because of me racing."

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#breakingtheband #myreview #motleycrue

A post shared by Vince Neil (@thevinceneil) on Jun 17, 2019 at 4:33pm PDT

He adds ... "It broke up because he was too much of a pu**y who didn't just say, 'Hey guys, let's take a week off and come back with cooler heads.' He called me an hour later and said I was out of the band! Great management!"

Neil's not alone, because Sixx also slammed the doc on Twitter by saying ... "I am very disappointed that they think they can tell our LIFE story just to sell advertising ( mostly incorrect ) and without any bodies persmission [sic]."

Nikki also claims Motley Crue didn't authorize the "bottom of the barrel" network to make a "Breaking the Band" episode about them, and their lawyers will be taking further legal action against Reelz.

Breaking the band was not authorized by Mötley Crüe. Our lawyers sent them a cease-and-desist and further action will be taken.@ReelzChannel Is the bottom of the barrel.

— xxıS ıʞʞıN (@NikkiSixx) June 18, 2019

For the record ... Neil rejoined the band in 1996 after releasing a solo album and Crüe releasing a self-titled album with his replacement.

That's the real dirt.

Mama June may have moved back into her home, but that doesn't mean her famous daughter is following behind anytime soon ... quite the opposite, actually.

Sources close to Mama June's family tell TMZ ... 13-year-old Alana -- AKA Honey Boo Boo -- adamantly refuses to move back in with her troubled mother, as long as she's got her BF, Geno, hanging off her hip.

We're told Geno being in the picture is a straight-up nonstarter for Alana. She wants MJ to ditch Geno ... and get herself into rehab.

There's grave reason for concern. TMZ broke the story ... Geno was so wasted behind the wheel a few days back, he crashed into Mama June's home and couldn't even walk. He collapsed on the ground and Mama June needed help from a neighbor to drag Geno inside.

HBB begged her mom to straighten out her life a while back, tearfully pointing out that she's currently living with her older sister, Pumpkin ... and not by choice but by necessity. It's pretty obvious she wants to be with her mom, but not in a chaotic, unstable and dangerous environment.

And, there's this ... we're told if push comes to shove and nothing changes, Pumpkin will go to court and fight to gain custody of her little sister.  Our sources say so far, June hasn't expressed interest in getting her daughter back.

Tough situation, for sure.

Bill Cosby's dishing out parenting and life advice to his fellow inmates ... no joke.

Bill's rep, Andrew Wyatt, says the famous inmate's a busy man behind bars with as many as 4 lectures per week. He's been doing this for around 3 months ... with crowds that often swell to more than 100 fellow prisoners.

Cosby's pitch ... that the inmate's lead by example for their kids and stay outta prison in the future. Cosby's urging the inmates to re-bond with their kids immediately upon getting out. Cosby's clearly trading on his all-American dad image from "The Cosby Show" ... and it's resonating with the prisoners.

Cosby works most with a group called "Man Up" -- inmates set for parole -- talking life lessons, keeping out of trouble and not getting locked up again. 

We're told Cosby's also lecturing on finding work post-prison, giving them tips on interviewing techniques. He also lectures on substance abuse -- tips on how to stay clean. As you know, Cosby was convicted of drugging Andrea Constand, as well as aggravated indecent assault, for which he got a 3 to 10-year sentence.

And, he's mixing in his life lessons with comedy, which is laced through the lectures. 

Cosby got skewered on social media for his Father's Day tweet for calling himself "America's Dad" ... but the comedian truly embraces the title in prison.

Hey, Hey, Hey...It’s America’s Dad...I know it’s late, but to all of the Dads... It’s an honor to be called a Father, so let’s make today a renewed oath to fulfilling our purpose —strengthening our families and communities.#HappyFathersDay#RenewedOathToOurFamily pic.twitter.com/6EGrF87t6G

— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 17, 2019

Wyatt says, "These are the types of men he has wanted to get his messages across to for years, and now he has a totally captive audience." 

Djimon Hounsou had himself a rough Father's Day because it sounds like he didn't even get a chance to see his son ... whom he shares with Kimora Lee Simmons.

The actor was visiting an L.A. County building Monday -- where it looked like he was handling some biz -- when a photog asked how his Father's Day went. Djimon didn't mince words ... he says it would've been nice to have seen his and Kimora's kid, Kenzo, let alone a convo.

The camera guy asks point blank how long it's been since he's seen the boy? Djimon holds up a five, but doesn't get specific about time frames. He then says he can't even recall.

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#happyFathersDay to all fathers #KLH

A post shared by Djimon Hounsou (@djimon_hounsou) on Jun 16, 2019 at 3:59pm PDT

Oddly enough, Djimon posted a photo of him and Kenzo together on Sunday ... but it's unclear if it's just an old photograph he threw up for the holiday.

As Djimon walks back to his car, someone on the street asks about fighting for custody -- but he quickly makes it clear that he's not engaging in a custody battle with his baby mama.

Kimora and Djimon dated for 5 years between 2007 and 2012 -- they had one child together, who was born in 2009. 

When the photog asked if Djimon had any message for Kimora herself ... he scoffs and closes the door in frustration. Something tells us trouble could be brewing here ...

The music video directors Tory Lanez accused of colorism are baffled, claiming if anything in the behind-the-scenes video suggests there's a culprit ... it's the people in Tory's camp. 

Capone -- half of the directing duo, Capone x Guise, that shot Nafe Smallz's "Good Love" video featuring Lanez -- says their team has zero problems with featuring dark-skinned women on camera.

In case you missed it ... Lanez claimed the directors tried swapping out a dark-skinned woman for someone lighter-skinned, but he pushed back and insisted on shooting with the darker skinned woman. A behind-the-scenes video clip -- shared by Tory -- appears to show the attempted swap ... but it's unclear who ordered it.

Capone insists it wasn't anyone on his team, adding most of the people present on the set during that particular scene were from Tory's camp ... insinuating the attempted swap came from there.

Further proof, according to Capone, is that he and Guise are heavily involved in the Afrobeats scene, and the majority of their work features dark-skinned women. On top of that, "Good Love" is highlighted by all types of beautiful black women ... including the darker-skinned model in question, who is seen several times in the music vid.

As Capone puts it ... his team would "never allow something as disgusting as what Tory Lanez is portraying."

He says he and his team are very upset their fun vision for this video has been overshadowed by Tory's allegations.

As for Tory, he's now doubling down and pushing back after people on social media claimed he staged the attempted swap to get publicity for the song, which debuted 4 days ago. He says those allegations are BS.

Kim Kardashian's West is helping convicts who were just trying to make a living selling drugs ... at least that's the way a former drug kingpin who served hard time sees it.

"Freeway" Rick Ross -- who went to federal prison in 1996 after making millions as a drug kingpin during the '80s crack cocaine epidemic -- made his sentiments clear at LAX ... selling drugs is not a violent crime -- it boils down to simple economics.

Ross says drug dealers are mostly trying to support their families, and that's why they got in the game. He praises Kim for spearheading the Lyft partnership ... which will help up to 5,000 soon-to-be-released prisoners get a ride to job interviews.

Ross tells us this is a huge deal ... even though he had a girlfriend to drive him around once he got out in 2009 ... many others at the halfway house with him weren't so lucky.

The ex-drug boss also praises Kim for doing the right thing ... even if it means working with President Trump.

As we reported, she was at The White House last week with the Prez to announce her new partnership with Lyft ... and it wasn't her first visit. Ross says Kim's doing what she has to do to make good things happen, and he's got nothing but respect.