TMZ.com Home

Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, allegedly sent her threatening text messages after his 2020 arrest for domestic battery ... years before she spoke out about forgiving him.

TMZ obtained court docs filed in Brian's 2020 criminal case, which show alleged threats he sent to Hayden after his arrest.

Brian was arrested on February 14, 2020, after he allegedly struck Hayden in the face with a closed fist at an Airbnb in Wyoming. Officers say they arrived to find Brian intoxicated and locked out of the home.

McKenna West is fighting back against the temporary restraining order preventing her from seeing baby Gabriel ... claiming she is presumptively the legal mother of the child in the state of Texas, where the baby was born.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, McKenna says a Texas judge signed off on the temporary restraining order ... but she says they got it all wrong.

McKenna gave birth last week to the baby she calls Gabriel after the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, asked her to abort the baby due to a heart defect. The temporary restraining order gives custody and full decision-making authority to the infant's biological parents, who are from California.

In the new filing, McKenna claims the judge issued the order in violation of the law. She says she is the presumed parent under Texas law and insists the order violates her rights.

Brian Hickerson was asleep in another room when Hayden Panettiere went into cardiac arrest ... and sources tell TMZ it was Brian's brother who discovered her.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Brian and Hayden were both inside an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday afternoon -- when Zach Hickerson entered the residence and found Hayden in a chair in the living room.

We're told at the time Zach arrived, Brian was sleeping in a separate bedroom.

Ron DeSantis has suspended Michael Allen Caruso -- a Palm Beach clerk he had appointed and a former state representative -- after Caruso was busted for allegedly kidnapping and molesting a young child.

The 67-year-old was arrested and booked on 5 felonies Tuesday ... molestation, kidnapping, luring and enticing a child, lewd and lascivious exhibition, and child abuse ... according to multiple reports.

According to the Miami Herald, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office report says Caruso is accused of repeatedly molesting the child, who is his relative and is under 12 years old.

Diane Keaton's "Three Little Pigs"-inspired Los Angeles mansion officially has a new owner ... and it sold for $18 million.

TMZ has learned the deal has closed on the sprawling 9,219-square-foot estate ... with the sale price coming in $5 million below its most recent asking price and nearly $11 million under the original $28.9 million listing.

As we previously reported ... a buyer was found last month after the property went under contract. It had returned to the market in June for just under $23 million following several price cuts and a removal.

"Remember the Titans" actor Ethan Suplee shared a dark moment in his addiction battle while paying tribute to his costar Hayden Panettiere ... recalling the time he smoked heroin at their big movie premiere.

Ethan revealed on Substack that he was high on heroin at the film's 2000 premiere at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, smoking drugs in a bathroom just moments after sharing a sweet moment with Hayden.

Ethan said Hayden -- who was just 10 at the time -- ran up to him and jumped into his arms.

He recalled ... "Holding her I was lighter, some of her energy and innocence washed over me, and for a moment my smile was genuine."

Victor Willis died of liver cancer ... according to his widow, who announced his cause of death on social media.

Karen Willis, revealed the Village People singer died of primary liver cancer with metastasis.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Victor's widow wrote ... "Primary liver cancer runs in Victor's family as his mother also died of primary liver cancer, and so has several other relatives."

Karen was also the one to break the news of his passing back in June, writing at the time that he'd died after "a short but aggressive illness."

A sailor aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln is so worn down, when his mom asks how he's doing he tells her, "Just get me a gun and a bullet."

The sailor's mother, Danielle, joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us morale aboard the carrier has plummeted during its extended deployment in the Middle East.

Danielle says her son recently finished a 16-hour shift and sent her a photo of his meal -- one lonely pile of slop resembling dog food. He sarcastically called it "great" before heading off to pull another six hours of watch.

PK Kemsley is continuing his jet-setting love with London-based babe Tatiana Kharchylava ... because the couple is cozying up on a getaway to Greece ... and we have them on video.

Check it out -- the lovebirds hopped on a boat at the luxury Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel on Tuesday in Athens. They looked ready to soak up the sun, with Tatiana wearing a teeny bikini under a flowy cover-up, while PK let loose by unbuttoning his top.

No PDA ... but the two are clearly going strong as they enjoy their Euro summer.

Hayden Panettiere's estranged mom just broke her silence over her daughter's shocking death ... and she used the opportunity to dump on Hayden's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

Lesley Vogel told NBC News ... "This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson."

It's worth noting ... Brian loathed Lesley as much as she hated him ... telling TMZ back in May, "Hayden's mother is by far one of the worst people I've ever met in my life ... I just can't with her. She's terrible."

As TMZ reported ... Brian and his brother Zach were at the scene when Hayden died on Sunday in a South Carolina apartment.

Kim Zolciak says she couldn't care less about Kroy Biermann kissing Jillian Green ... but she's still taking shots at her estranged husband.

Kim and her boyfriend, Kyle Mowitz, were spotted out together on Monday and a photog asked about their respective exes packing on the PDA.

The 'RHOA' alum insisted they don't give a crap about Kroy and Jillian ... and then she took a savage swipe at Kroy, suggesting he's looking for his next provider.

Jeanie Buss is fighting like hell to keep the Los Angeles Lakers in the family ... but all five of her siblings are making it clear they're ready to move forward with selling their remaining ownership stake.

Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss released a statement in response to Jeanie's plans to contest the sale on Tuesday ... and they certainly haven't changed their minds, saying they "remain united in that decision."

"We intend to move forward thoughtfully, respectfully and through the appropriate process," the statement said, according to Shams Charania.

Hayden Panettiere's shocking death has put a target on Neutrogena's back ... and it's getting ugly for the skincare brand that cut ties with her years ago, allegedly over her postpartum comments.

Here's the deal ... Hayden was the face of Neutrogena for several years -- but that all came to a screeching halt after she talked about her postpartum depression back in 2015 while a guest on "Live! with Kelly and Michael."

The company allegedly wanted to boot her then and there after she walked off stage -- but Hayden said her agent saved her job in the moment.

Still, once her contract expired, she was cut loose ... and her fans haven't forgotten ... or forgiven.

New legal drama with McKenna West and baby Gabriel ... the surrogacy company she's suing for allegedly threatening to force an abortion is firing back ... and they want her lawsuit thrown out of court.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, Vicki Ferrara, who runs Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists, denies all claims of wrongdoing in the case brought by McKenna in Alaska.

You'll recall ... McKenna was the surrogate for Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, who sought to terminate the pregnancy after doctors determined the baby had a heart defect.

McKenna initially scheduled an abortion but later refused and flew to Texas to have the baby.

Waffle House fired viral employee Rockstar Riley for "repeated violations" of company policy, TMZ has learned.

As you know, RR's viral video about the restaurant chain blew up on social media ... but Waffle House tells TMZ he got the axe for filming content at work.

The company told us in a statement ... "Waffle House ended its employment relationship with Mr. Riley following repeated violations of Company policy prohibiting unauthorized filming of promotional media content on Company property."

Eric Bieniemy shared some great news about his wife, Mia, on Tuesday ... telling reporters she's on her way to making a full recovery -- while praising her toughness after allegedly being shot by their own son Elijah last month.

The Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator met with the media for the first time since the late-July incident ... and while he didn't get into specifics on what went down at his Virginia home, he did explain he got Mia's approval to return to the team's training camp as she recovers.

Bieniemy said he was tuning in to camp remotely as his wife received medical treatment ... so he really didn't miss much during his time away.