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MC Lyte hired an artist to work with her on a project, but never paid him for his contributions ... this according to a lawsuit.

In legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Christopher Smith claims he was hired as an artist, animator and writer on a project for MC Lyte's entertainment management and production firm, Sunni Gyrl, but he says he was never paid for his 1,228 hours on the job. He claims he's owed a total of $38,375.

In the docs, Christopher claims after he was let go from the project, MC Lyte and her biz partner Lynn Richardson sent him a check for $11,250 ... but he says it bounced.

Now, Christopher is suing MC Lyte, Richardson and Sunni Gyrl ... and he wants the cash he claims he's owed.

We reached out to MC Lyte for comment ... no word back, so far.

Britney Spears now has a new temporary conservator ... and, as expected, it's Jodi Montgomery.

The appointment was made official Monday in an L.A. courtroom where a judge appointed Jodi after Britney's father, Jamie Spears, formally requested to relinquish his powers of conservatorship due to personal health reasons. As we first reported ... Jamie filed the docs last week to step down at least through January 20, 2020 -- and handpicked Jodi, Brit's care manager, to be his replacement, temporarily.

We know no one involved opposed Jodi's appointment, but the bigger issue will come within the next week ... once a court appointed evaluator files a report about Britney's care and medications she was given. TMZ broke the story ... Dr. Timothy Benson -- who was responsible for her treatment -- died from an aneurysm.

The evaluation could be critical of Jamie's stewardship and, if so, could open the door for Kevin Federline and/or Lynne Spears to launch a challenge to Jamie returning to the conservatorship.

As you know, Jamie is currently under criminal investigation for allegedly getting physical with Britney's 13-year-old son, Sean.

Jamie's asking the judge to give Montgomery the same powers he has, including:

1. The power to restrict or limit visitors by any means.
2. The power to retain caretakers and security for Britney on a 24-hour basis.
3. The power to prosecute civil harassment restraining orders.
4. The power to communicate with expert medical personnel regarding Britney and to have full access to her medical and psychiatric records.

BIG PAPI'S BACK!!!!!!

David Ortiz is making his first appearance at Fenway Park since he was nearly killed in the Dominican Republic last June ... and Sox officials say he's going to throw out the first pitch!!!

Ortiz almost lost his life after a gunman fired a bullet into his lower back outside of a DR club on June 9 ... but after several surgeries -- Ortiz says he's been feeling MUCH better.

So much so, the guy decided to hit up the Red Sox game Monday night to give his former squad a little bit of a boost heading into a rivalry game with the Yankees -- and fans are fired up!!!

Unclear if Papi will take the mound for the first pitch or just throw the heat from the infield grass ... but either way, it'll be a welcome sight for EVERYBODY in the baseball world!!!

By the way, the Yankees have paid their own tribute to the Sox legend recently ... superstars Edwin Encarnacion and Gary Sanchez went to visit him before they started the series last week.

Props for the cool move!!!

Sarah Palin's husband is pulling the plug on their marriage -- he has filed for divorce after more than 30 years together.

Todd Palin filed the docs last Friday in Alaska's Anchorage Superior Court, where he asked a judge to dissolve his marriage due to "incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife."

That's a mouthful to essentially say, "irreconcilable differences." Todd's filing asked for joint legal custody of their only remaining minor child, their son Trig, who is 11. The couple has 4 other children together.

Property and shared assets, however, will have to be divvied up down the road ... according to Todd's docs.

Sarah -- who was elected Governor of Alaska for 3 years in 2006 and a one-time VP hopeful alongside Sen. John McCain -- is reportedly worth around $12 million. That's on top of whatever Todd's worth.

Bobby Brown was removed from a flight and the incident ended with everyone having to deboard while cops sorted out the mess ... causing Bobby to miss his flight.

Sources onboard the jet -- which was scheduled to leave LAX for Boston Monday morning -- tell us ... Brown was sitting in first class when he was involved in some sort of altercation before the plane took off.

We're told the incident led to the airline ordering everyone off the plane. Brown was held at the entrance door while everyone else got off, and cops were called to the gate to speak with him.

Our sources say, once he was off the plane, Brown could be heard yelling at the officers that he had to get to his brother's funeral. At one point, there were 4 cops surounding him ... but they were able to calm him down.

BTW, as far as we know ... a Brown family source tells us it was actually one of Bobby's cousins who passed.

Eventually, everyone was allowed back on the plane -- except Bobby. It's unclear if he was arrested, but we've confirmed he did not get back on the plane ... which has since departed.

Flight records show the flight was delayed almost an hour.

We reached out to Bobby's camp ... so far, no word back.

Guess is in hot water with a mural artist who claims the clothing giant straight-up jacked his work to pimp reggaeton megastar J Balvin.

Mural artist Douglas Hoekzema -- aka Hoxxoh -- is suing Guess claiming the company never got his permission to use one of his popular murals, dubbed "HoxxoH," as the background for its J Balvin collection campaign.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ ... Hoxxoh says he completed the mural in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood back in 2015, and owns the copyright to the mural.

In his suit, Hoxxoh says Guess -- as part of its marketing campaign -- photographed the "Mi Gente" singer in front of the mural with models wearing his Vibras collection. Hoxxoh says Guess plastered the images on billboards, catalogs, social media posts and videos -- all without his greenlight.

The artist -- known for his large-scale murals across Miami -- says his work is instantly recognizable because of its "distinctive motif of interlocking and radiating curves" ... which is easily visible in the Guess campaign.

"On behalf of the entire NBA and half of the rappers on the Billboard charts, I want to thank you for giving your daughters their daddy issues!"

That's NBA superstar Blake Griffin giving it to Caitlyn Jenner at the Comedy Central "Roast of Alec Baldwin" -- proving absolutely nothing is off limits ... and it's all hilarious!

Blake and Caitlyn were on the dais for the show (which airs Sept. 15) -- and it's customary for roasters to go after each other in addition to burning the guest of honor.

What's interesting about this situation ... Blake famously dated Caitlyn's daughter, Kendall Jenner, beginning back in 2017 -- so it's not like the NBA star was going after a stranger.

Comedy Central only released a snippet of Blake's set -- but so far, so good.

Here's another joke ...

"Caitlyn completed her gender reassignment in 2017 ... finally confirming that no one in that family wants a white d*ck."

Post Malone is preparing for the apocalypse with a $3 million compound tucked away in Northern Utah ... and the first images of the property prove it's a pretty sweet place to await the end of the world!!!

We did some digging on the compound Post's been quietly living in, since buying it early last year ... and the place is simply amazing.

Post's pad is in a super secluded area outside Salt Lake City, and the property sprawls over 6.75 acres of natural beauty, with breathtaking views of the canyons, mountains and city skyline ... best seen from the expansive pool deck in the backyard, and through the floor to ceiling windows covering the home.

The rapper spared no expense keeping himself occupied as he waits for doomsday ... the 5-bed, 6-bath mansion is 12,702 square feet with a fire pit, basketball court, wine cellar, home gym and hot tub ... and Post is putting in a recording studio and 30 bunk beds for his best buds.

Post says he's adding to the home with a massive underground bunker, which he says will survive the end of days. He says he loves living out in the sticks, where he can do what he calls, "cowboy s***," like shooting guns.

Looks like a pretty sweet place to kick back and smoke his own weed. Hopefully, Post doesn't put the apocalypse bunker to the test any time soon.

Jerry Rice says Antonio Brown deserves an Academy Award for the performance he put on in Oakland ... 'cause the superstar played EVERYONE like a fiddle to ultimately land with the Patriots.

The G.O.A.T. weighed in on the disastrous few weeks surrounding AB's time with the Raiders on 95.7 The Game on Monday ... saying Brown got exactly what he wanted all along, and channeled his inner Denzel Washington to make it happen.

"He was a Denzel Washington and he won the Oscar," Rice said. "He won an Oscar, guys. Imma be honest with you. Because He had all of us sold. Then all of a sudden, you started to get all of this drama, what was happening with the Raiders."

It seems Rice is insinuating that Brown had a master plan from the beginning to sabotage things in Oakland to force the team to cut him so he could sign with Bill Belichick's Pats.

"He was a Denzel all the way and he pulled it off. He really did."

Jerry admits AB personally played him too ... saying he took AB at his word when he said he wanted to be a San Francisco 49er earlier this year.

New footage of that insane brawl involving Philadelphia 76ers player Mike Scott and a bunch of Eagles fans shows the 6'8" baller throwing wild HAYMAKERS ... and the video is crystal clear.

31-year-old Scott -- a Virginia native and big-time Redskins fan -- got into an all-out brawl with Eagles fans Sunday before the game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly.

It's still unclear exactly why the brawl broke out in the first place -- though there are rumblings it had to do with a coffin some Eagles fans had brought to the tailgate.

There's been speculation Scott thought the coffin was there to mock late Redskins star Sean Taylor, though that has NOT been confirmed.

The new footage is wild -- showing Scott throwing a ferocious overhand right at an Eagles fan ... followed by a 2nd haymaker that sends the guy flying to the ground.

A flock of Eagles fans give chase and close in on Scott while another man desperately tries to hold Scott back.

Eventually, things simmer down and everyone went their separate ways. Scott has not been arrested or charged with a crime. Neither were the other men involved.

Madonna's concert series in New York City should be a great time for fans of the "Material Girl," but anyone trying to sell rip-off materials -- hats, t-shirts, posters, etc. -- better think twice.

Live Nation -- the company promoting Madge's upcoming shows at Brooklyn's Howard Gilman Opera House -- has filed legal docs as a preemptive strike against "bootleggers" attempting to hawk bootleg Madonna merchandise nearby the venue.

According to the docs ... Live Nation wants folks attempting to sell unauthorized concert gear to be banned at all 17 shows scheduled in September and October. This includes apparel, buttons, tour books and anything else that jacks Madonna's trademarks without permission.

Live Nation claims bootleggers cause huge financial losses, and it's asking the court to order them to turn over any rip-off merch for destruction ... and give cops the power to seize unauthorized items found in the area.

President Trump got into some name-calling online with John Legend and Chrissy Teigen -- and the latter cranked things up to 10 by calling DT a "p***y ass bitch" in response.

The vulgar insult was fired off Sunday after 45 tweet complained about no one in the Democratic Party giving him props for doing some major work in criminal justice reform -- taking aim at John and Chrissy in the process, but avoiding using Chrissy's name.

The Prez wrote in reference to the First Step Act he signed into law last year ... "But now that it is passed, people that had virtually nothing to do with it are taking the praise. Guys like boring musician @johnlegend, and his filthy mouthed wife, are talking now about how great it is - but I didn’t see them around when we needed help getting it passed."

Well, Chrissy absolutely took notice of the omission -- she's pretty good at this whole Twitter thing, in case you didn't know -- and clapped back at POTUS with a vicious reply.

She wrote back to him, saying ... "lol what a p***y ass bitch. tagged everyone but me. an honor, mister president." Chrissy said she did NOT want #PresidentP***yAssBitch to trend ... sarcastically, of course -- but #filthymouthedwife ended becoming a top-used term, instead. #TeamChrissy is trending now too.

Worth noting, Trump blocked Chrissy on Twitter back in 2017. The federal appeals court has since ruled Trump can't block people from his official Twitter account -- but it's unclear if he has UNblocked Chrissy.

John got in on the mud-slinging as well, begging Melania to basically come get her man ... and give him the attention and praise he's so desperately craving.

Guess who's not gonna be Chrissy's #MCM?

The doctor who was responsible for Britney Spears' medical treatment died suddenly, just weeks before the judge in her conservatorship case will receive a report focusing on whether she was receiving appropriate treatment.

Dr. Timothy Benson died in Santa Monica, CA on August 24. The cause of death has not been disclosed, but sources tell us the 48-year-old psychiatrist died from an aneurysm.

The timing is significant. Sources connected to Britney tell TMZ the judge will receive a report within the next 10 days from a court-appointed evaluator who has spent more than 3 months determining if her medical and other care was appropriate.

Our sources say, during a hearing last spring, questions were raised about Britney's medical care. It's no secret ... Britney's mom, Lynne, has been critical of Jamie Spears handling of the conservatorship and the medical care her daughter has been getting. The questions revolved around the medications Britney was receiving for her serious mental health issues.

The evaluation was ordered after questions were raised over Britney entering a mental health facility earlier this year. Sources connected to Jamie claim the medicine she was taking had lost its efficacy, and doctors were struggling to find a new combination. But, others say they were baffled by what they felt was a sudden turn -- they say Britney was going full steam ahead with a new show, and then suddenly became all but incapacitated.

Some have questioned Dr. Benson's expertise in treating serious mental health issues. He developed a name for himself working with NBA and NFL teams, inspiring athletes to achieve success. He's a board-certified psychiatrist, but we're told some people in Britney's life felt she needed someone who worked full-time on serious mental health issues.

The evaluator's report is just one issue facing the judge. As we reported, Jamie has filed papers and will appear in court Monday asking a judge to temporarily relieve him of conservatorship duties until January, and put her case manager, Jodi Montgomery, in the conservator's role during the interim.

Jamie says he's ill and can't perform the duties, but there's a bigger issue. He's prohibited from having any contact with Britney's kids after allegedly putting his hands on 13-year-old Sean. Kevin Federline filed a police report and cops are investigating.

It seems improbable Jamie could be Britney's conservator until the case is resolved, since the conservator is ultimately responsible for the welfare of the children and that's hard to do when you can't interact with them.

Our sources say Monday's hearing should be non-eventful. We're told there's no real objection to Montgomery stepping in for the short term. But, depending on the evaluator's report and the way the assault investigation goes ... Jamie's long-term prospect for staying conservator is up in the air.

Illegally recording a phone conversation in California carries a maximum 1-year jail sentence ... which could be a BIG problem for Antonio Brown if Jon Gruden wants to stick it to the WR.

Patriots fans might want to pay attention ...

Obviously, the issue here is the video Antonio posted on social media Friday night (when he was still a Raider) which contained pieces of a phone call between AB and Gruden.

It seems obvious Gruden didn't know he was being recorded at the time of the call -- and if Antonio was in California (a 2-party consent state) when he pressed "record," he committed a misdemeanor crime.

It's all spelled out in California Penal Code 632 -- an invasion of privacy statute that essentially forbids the recording of a conversation without the knowledge/consent of both parties.

If convicted, it carries a maximum 1-year jail sentence, $2,500 in fines and other penalties.

So, if Gruden believes AB was in CA during the call (which is likely considering Brown was staying in a home near Raiders HQ in Northern California), Jon COULD report Brown to authorities with the intention of having Antonio prosecuted.

Of course, even if Brown was convicted, it's VERY unlikely he would get jail time -- but a criminal investigation/conviction would likely force the NFL to take action as well.

The NFL's Personal Conduct Policy not only allows the league to suspend a player for a criminal conviction, but it also allows the Commish to discipline a player who "undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL personnel."

To our knowledge, the NFL has never dealt with an alleged illegal recording situation before -- so there's no precedent -- but it's clear they DON'T need a conviction to mete out punishment.

Ezekiel Elliott was neither charged nor convicted of a crime when the league hit him with a 6-game suspension following a domestic violence investigation in 2017.

Will Gruden or the Raiders choose this option? Again, unlikely ... but it all depends on how pissed off they are at the WR.

Who's feeling petty?!!?

A Cleveland Browns fan was hospitalized Sunday after suffering a seizure and falling off of a van while tailgating in the stadium parking lot ... and it was captured during a live news broadcast.

40-year-old Andy Shepherd -- a die-hard Browns fan -- was standing on his van taking pictures of the pre-game celebration when he suddenly collapsed and fell off the van, slamming onto the concrete.

It just so happens a reporter from Cleveland 19 News was broadcasting live from the parking lot while covering the game ... and the footage went viral.

What people didn't know ... Shepherd's son says his father is epileptic and takes medication to prevent seizures. The family says the fall was a result of an epileptic episode and they're upset some people are making a joke out of the situation.

Shepherd was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a broken shoulder, broken ribs and a fractured skull. His son also claims he's dealing with a blood clot and needs surgery.

The good news ... Andy's son says his dad is on the mend but he's still in the hospital. He's started a GoFundMe campaign to help with medical costs.

Swae Lee's ex-girlfriend allegedly struck him with her hands and her skull, cops were called ... and she ended up in cuffs.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the Rae Sremmurd rapper and his ex, Marliesia Ortiz, had an argument at Swae's home outside L.A. in early August, and she allegedly began throwing objects at him.

We're told Ortiz then went on the attack -- striking Swae and delivering a headbutt -- before his security kicked her out.

According to our sources ... she actually then called 911 claiming Swae sexually assaulted her, but when cops arrived she changed her story. We're told Marliesia admitted to starting the altercation by breaking items in his house and hitting him, but claimed the rapper also strangled her.

However, we're told neither Swae or Marliesia had any visible marks on them, but based on the evidence ... cops decided to arrest her.

The L.A. City Attorney has decided to hold a City Attorney hearing with both parties over the incident, but so far ... no charges have been filed.

Interesting note -- Marliesia told us she was done with Swae back in March, and accused him of cheating and being verbally abusive. Seems like she wasn't done with him for good.