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9:36 AM PT -- JC tells us, "Anyone who loved my father and respected his work should see Max Anderson as we do. My father was a loving and trusting man. He was all about love. He should never have been in business with a man like Max Anderson."

Kirk E. Schenck, attorney for Stan's Estate, says, "Elder abuse is becoming all too common, especially against high net worth individuals who have been highly functioning professionals during very sophisticated careers. Elder abusers use a systematic application of fear and alienation to mask their lies and financial wrongdoing."

Stan Lee's daughter, who's in charge of his family trust, is going after a business manager she claims almost literally robbed her father blind ... taking advantage of his old age in order to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a lawsuit, Joan Celia Lee says Max Anderson managed Stan's memorabilia bookings -- the countless events Stan attended to sign autographs and meets fans -- but she says he was originally a Comic-Con security guard who befriended her father in a "sinister plot" to gain his trust. She compares it to one of Stan's Marvel comic book plots.

According to the suit, Anderson commonly gave Stan contracts and deals to sign ... even though Stan was in his late 80s and unable to read or understand what he was signing. She says her father suffered from severe degeneration of his vision .. and Max knew it.

Most alarming are JC's claims of "violent interactions" between Anderson and her father. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says Anderson got physical to pressure Stan into giving him "total control" of business affairs. JC claims others -- drivers, security guards and others -- witnessed these physical threats.

She also claims Anderson was skimming tons of cash from her father while taking him on the road to fan conventions. JC calls out one example from NYC Comic-Con in Nov 2017.

In the suit, she says Anderson collected $800k in revenue for Stan's appearance ... and kept more than $700k for himself -- although he was only contracted to get 10 to 25 percent.

At another event, in Mexico City, JC says Anderson severely overworked her father ... making Stan sign and authenticate hundreds of merchandise items "until the point where Lee was worn out." She claims this marathon signing session left Stan unable to walk or talk ... yet he got none of the revenue.

Stan died in November 2018, and JC claims the abuse continued through March 2018 when Stan discovered what Anderson was up to and fired him. She believes Anderson conspired with one of Stan's nurses and another one of Stan's employees in the memorabilia biz.

She's suing all 3 of them for elder abuse, breach of contract and stealing.

So, Shaquille O'Neal was on his way to the gym in L.A. ... when all of a sudden he got caught up IN JONAS BROTHERS MADNESS!!!!

It's hilarious ... Shaq starts off asking our guys why hundreds of people are screaming and going crazy across the street -- and when he finds out it's all because of a Jonas Bros. event, he LOVES IT!!

But, we also talked hoops with Shaq ... specifically about Drake, who's been heavily criticized for taunting Golden State Warriors players and going crazy on the sidelines during the NBA Finals.

"Drake is a smart guy," Shaq says ... "He knows what he's doing. It's called marketing, people!!"

Shaq also tells us he thinks the criticism of Drake is a load of crap -- and compares Drake to Clippers' chairman Steve Ballmer, who's famously animated at Clippers games.

"[Drake] is just having fun, having a good time ... as a guy sitting there watching on TV, it's very entertaining."

Shaq also weighs in on the NBA Finals drama between the Warriors and the Toronto Raptors -- and explains why this series is GREAT!!

But again, the best part of the clip is Shaq's unbridled passion for Nick, Joe and Kevin -- even though he only knows one of their names!!!

Nick Cassavetes is looking for someone to forget about "The Notebook" -- just for a moment -- and grab their checkbook instead ... because his baller crib is on the market.

The famed director is listing his incredible Hollywood Hills mansion for sale at $4,799,000. The 4,370 square-foot house features 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and it sits on a 20,436 square-foot lot in the exclusive Mt. Olympus neighborhood.

It's rare to find privacy up in the Hills, but this beaut offers that and more -- heated pool and spa plus walls of sliding glass doors that open to the patio. The views are incredible too ... on a clear day, ya just might see heaven -- or at least the Pacific Ocean. That's a close second.

As any great director would have it, Nick's realtor put together this awesome video to give you the full experience of living here. All ya need is a few mil to make it happen!

"Fast N' Loud" star Richard Rawlings likes to move fast -- he's in the fast cars biz after all -- and introducing to the world his new bae and love of his life.

We got Richard out Sunday leaving Craig's in WeHo where we couldn't help but notice him surrounded by two beautiful ladies but only one who revs his engine ... his new, smokin' hot GF!! The other equally gorgeous woman is his pal and fellow car-freak, Courtney Hansen, host of the History Channel's "The Ride That Got Away."

Check out the vid ... Richard makes it crystal clear he's met the one ... just weeks after his divorce was finalized.

We broke the story ... Richard filed for divorce back in March. He'd been married to Suzanne Rawlings twice ... first in 1999 and then again in 2015.

No doubt about it ... Richard's moved on and already off the market and seems like he's down for the count.

BTW ... Richard gives us an update on his beloved Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat that was stolen from him back in September 2018.

Georgia born Ty Pennington was in his late 30s when he shot to stardom as the supercute carpenter and all around nice guy, in the long-running home renovation show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC.

Before the handsome handyman was moving buses on 'Extreme Makeover' ... Ty Pennington was also on the TLC show "Trading Spaces" from 2000 - 2003 where he only hooked up a single room in a family's home.

Pennington parted ways with the hit home show in 2012 after revamping hundreds of homes and helping countless families along the way.

Fab 5 Freddy says Linda Fairstein was "evil" to the Central Park 5, and until she says sorry for her misdeeds ... she deserves every bit of backlash she's getting.

We got the hip-hop legend outside a West Hollywood cafe, and asked about Ava DuVernay's new Netflix series about the case, "When They See Us." As a native New Yorker, Freddy said he remembers the case well -- specifically how the boys were convicted in the media, even before the verdicts.

Freddy says Fairstein -- as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan D.A.'s Office -- knowingly ruined the kids' lives by interrogating them under duress to get false confessions. He says she needs to admit that publicly if she wants the public's forgiveness.

Even though all 5 were exonerated in 2002, Fairstein has maintained she got the case right.

Freddy says that's why he's also backing the #CancelLindaFairstein. She went on to become a successful author, and the movement calls for boycotting publishers and distributors of her books ... east until she shows contrition.

He's also pissed about Donald Trump, who infamously took out newspaper ads at the time calling for NY State to reinstate the death penalty for the Central Park 5. Freddy says the now-President should be big enough to apologize now.

Fat chance ... Trump said in 2016 he still believes the wrongfully convicted men are guilty, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Abby Lee Miller's spent enough time behind bars to write a celeb prison survival guide -- so Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin might wanna pay close attention here.

Abby was on "TMZ Live" Monday for the first time since she was sentenced to 1 year in prison after her conviction for bankruptcy fraud. She got out in March 2018 after serving 8 months ... so we asked her what Felicity -- who already pled guilty -- should expect on the inside.

Check out the vid ... Abby admits being a celebrity had its benefits for her -- and says inmates ate up her Hollywood stories, and she suspects they'd do the same for Felicity.

The downside of fame while in prison? Abby says it's the corrections officers, and it's a major downside ... based on her experience. Watch, you have to see her vivid description of one particular run-in.

As you know, prosecutors want Felicity -- and also Lori, if she's convicted -- to do hard time for their role in the college admissions scandal. Of course, it's not like either woman would end up in a maximum security prison.

Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias just caught a major break in his domestic violence case -- 'cause he won't be prosecuted if he takes care of some business.

The L.A. City Attorney's Office tells TMZ Sports ... Urias will NOT be charged with domestic violence, but only if he completes certain requirements first. We're told he needs to participate in an informal hearing before the City Attorney, which brings in both parties to talk things out.

Urias also must not commit any acts of violence against anyone, while also being required to complete a 52-week DV counseling program in person. If Urias doesn't keep his nose clean for a year, the City Attorney's Office reserves the right to prosecute him on this case.

As we reported ... Urias was arrested last month in L.A. after witnesses saw him getting into an argument with a woman, allegedly shoving her around. When cops arrived, the woman denied anything physical had taken place.

El Chapo wants to feel the sunshine during the day and some peace and quiet at night -- but a judge is shooting him down at every turn ... 'cause it's just too damn risky.

The former Mexican cartel kingpin recently filed a motion requesting at least 2 hours of outdoors recreation time per week while he's held in custody at a federal prison in New York, plus access to the general pop commissary so he can buy goodies.

Chapo was also looking to get access to some earplugs so he could sleep easy at night and get rid of ear pain he says he's been experiencing in the joint.

Well, a judge didn't bite on any of it, and his reasoning is pretty damning. First, the court says Chapo's request for outdoors time is a nonstarter (he's currently being held under strict restrictions) because the U.S. government's worried he'll try to escape again.

The judge cites his previous two escapes, and says there's no way in hell they're letting him catch some sunshine under their watch. Moreover, the judge points to the fact that Chapo has been very well-behaved while in custody ... but says that's not a reason to give him rec time. If anything, the judge says the restrictions have only helped encourage good behavior.

Translation ... you're staying inside, buddy.

Lastly, the judge says Chapo ain't getting his hands on anything from the commissary 'cause the items can be easily weaponized. He won't get any earplugs either due to a safety concern -- namely, not hearing guards during an emergency, directly or indirectly.

Kawhi Leonard is suing Nike over his "Klaw" logo ... claiming he drew the symbol himself -- and saying the footwear giant has NO right to copyright it.

It's all in a new lawsuit filed by the Toronto Raptors superstar ... in which he says the famous logo of a "K," an "L" and his jersey number actually came from his own hand, pen and paper back in 2011.

"Leonard traced his notably large hand, and, inside the hand, drew stylized versions of his initials, "KL," and the number that he had worn for much of his career, "2," the lawsuit states.

The problem for Kawhi? He says he permitted Nike to use the logo after he signed a contract with the shoe giant in 2011 ... but they filed for a copyright of the logo "without Leonard's knowledge or consent."

Now, Leonard is suing ... saying they had no right to do that -- adding that when he initially gave permission to use the symbol, it was to "mutually benefit" both parties.

In his lawsuit, Leonard wants control of his logo back ... and is also claiming Nike "committed fraud on the Copyright Office" by registering his logo.

Danielle Bregoli fell incredibly ill after boarding a flight -- with intense stomach pain -- and it got so bad, she had to get off the plane and head to a hospital.

Sources close to the rapper tell us, Bhad Bhabie was at the Fort Lauderdale airport Monday morning and boarded a flight to L.A. when we're told she started having bad stomach cramps, which she's been experiencing the past few days.

Our sources say after she got seated on the plane, the pain got worse so she spoke to the flight attendants about what she was feeling. Her team decided it was best for her to get off and get checked out.

We're told her security team took her to the hospital where she underwent testing, but everything came back negative. She's been advised to rest for a few days, and her rep tells us she's back at home and will try to return to L.A. Tuesday.

Some folks on social media posted that they saw Bregoli looking "irritated" and "not happy" at the airport Monday morning. We're told it was due to her health issues.

Okay, we're gonna tell ya right off the bat "Jeopardy!" fans ... SPOILER ALERT!!!!

If you've been watching James Holzhauer's ridiculous, record-setting hot streak on "Jeopardy!" ... ya probably heard about the footage of Monday's episode that leaked on the Internet ... and now we can tell you for sure if it was real.

It was. That revelation came to light when Monday's episode started airing in certain cities across the country. Viewers witnessed James' reign get stripped away from him when he lost in Final Jeopardy to a woman named Emma ... who basically bet the farm to beat JH and the other contestant.

That's gotta sting for James, seeing how he got it right, but simply didn't have confidence enough to wager enough. He ended up with $24,799 to Emma's $46,801. He noted in an interview afterward that even if he doubled down, it wouldn't have been enough if Emma also answered correctly and wagered slightly more than him.

Unfortunately for him, she did exactly that. James doesn't seem to busted up about it ... on Monday, he referenced the Drake curse -- usually reserved for sports competitions.

Prior to Monday's loss, James was on a roll ... having won 32 games in a row and racking up almost as much as the 2004 "Jeopardy!" champ, Ken Jennings -- just over $2.5 million. James fell short of that by $58,484 ... and with that, Ken continues to hold the record for prize money.

That doesn't mean James doesn't hold a few records of his own on the show though. He won the most money in one game, and for 11 times during his streak ... he went an entire game without buzzing incorrectly. Not too shabby for second place all-time.

Question ... what is a bitter-sweet bummer? The floor is yours, James.

Fergie wants to go back to the way things used to be ... and be called Stacy Ann Ferguson.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Fergie's asking the judge to restore her former name. She made the request in divorce docs where she also asks that the judge terminate the court's ability to award support for both her and Josh Duhamel.

TMZ broke the story ... she legally switched to her stage name -- Fergie Duhamel -- back in August 2013. At the time she had been married to Josh for nearly 5 years.

As we first reported ... Fergie filed for divorce on Friday. It came as no surprise at the time ... they've been apart publicly since September 2017 when they announced they were breaking up. According to the new docs ... the couple lists the date of separation as April 1, 2017.

Fergie's also asking for joint and legal custody of their 5-year-old son, Axl.

9:09 AM PT -- A few key takeaways from Monday's hearing:

-- Spacey's legal team wants to get its hands on the alleged victim's actual phone because they believe they can extract messages they claim were already deleted, and excluded from the digital date the prosecution turned over.

-- Spacey's lawyers also want to get a hold of the alleged victim's mother's phone, because they believe that too could contain messages or information that could help Spacey's case.

-- The defense implored the judge to send the case to trial ASAP, as they believe the prosecution is inadequately prepared ... and filed charges prematurely without having their ducks in a row. Unfortunately for Kevin and co., that ain't gonna happen. The judge said the nature of the case and the juror selection process alone won't allow the trial to started until the fall, at best.

Kevin Spacey caught a lot of people by surprise Monday -- showing his face at a pretrial hearing in his groping case.

The disgraced actor is in a Massachusetts courthouse right now facing off with a judge in a pretrial hearing, which pertains to evidence his legal team has been trying to obtain from the prosecution team -- namely, cell phone data from the alleged victim.

Spacey's attorney gripes that the prosecution had access to the alleged victim's phone in late 2017 for about two weeks, and did not disclose that fact to the defense until very recently ... which Spacey's lawyer is pissed over. He believes there's exculpatory evidence on that phone that can help prove Spacey's innocence, and that the prosecution was purposely hiding it.

Even crazier ... Spacey's attorney claims that messages were deleted from the phone that made reference to the alleged victim's "frat boy" tendencies, and he was never made aware of that until now. He also says a lot of messages and screenshots on the guy's phone have been "cleansed" and deleted that could hurt their case. Long story short ... he's outraged.

KS has been a no-show for the majority of hearings in this case, so he surprised everyone by showing up suited and booted Monday morning. The last time he was in court was January, when he was arraigned in the case ... in which he pled not guilty. He popped up in L.A. a couple months later.

A former employee of R. Kelly told a grand jury the singer regularly recorded tapes of his sexual encounters with underage girls and kept them as trophies ... and they're now believed to be in the hands of the feds.

Sources directly connected to the case tell TMZ ... the ex-employee testified in front of a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois Thursday, and claims to have been in possession of multiple tapes in which the singer engages in sex acts with minors.

We're told the former employee told grand jurors R. Kelly paid a large sum of cash to the employee and in return, the employee handed a tape over to the singer. We're told somehow the tape in question ended up in the hands of Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.

Our sources say the ex-employee testified they gave the feds several other child sex tapes featuring Kelly.

We're told the former employee said R. Kelly's crew knew full well Kelly had a penchant for having sex with underage girls, but rather than blow the whistle on him, they actually helped the singer procure young girls.

R. Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, tells TMZ, "This seems to be the same claims that were made in the state case. We will address them in court."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois declined to comment.

As we've told you ... the federal grand jury in IL has heard testimony from alleged victims who say the singer and his camp transported them across state lines for sex when they were underage.