Breaking News

1/27/18 3:30 PM PT -- Suge's former lawyer, Matthew Fletcher, tells TMZ ... his actions and methods while representing Suge were "legal and routinely used by every competent attorney in the world." Regarding allegations of bribery, he says ... "There is absolutely, 100% certainly not a single witness who has ever even insinuated that I spoke with them period! And with even more certainty, there is not a single witness or person who has ever had a conversation with me in which I offered them anything to testify."

Both Fletcher and Culpepper were released from custody late Friday.

Two of Suge Knight's former attorneys are behind bars for allegedly trying to bribe witnesses in his murder case.

Attorneys Matthew Fletcher and Thaddeus Culpepper were arrested on charges of acting as accessories after the fact ... a felony.

The allegations surround Suge's murder case over an incident at Tam's burger joint in Compton. Suge ran over 2 people, killing one of them. He claims he was acting in self-defense.

Fletcher allegedly tried to pay witnesses who were at Tam's to say they saw the victims and others in possession of a gun -- a critical point in Suge's defense ... this according to documents obtained by the L.A. Times.

Culpepper allegedly tried to pay an informant to say he was present during the incident at Tam's and would testify in a way that was favorable to Suge.

Nelly's girlfriend is standing by her man amid new sexual assault allegations, calling them "false claims" ... and says she knows because she was there to witness what really went down.

It's interesting -- Shantel Jackson admits Nelly "f*cked up" and says they're working on their relationship ... but suggests there's no way he could have sexually assaulted the anonymous women now accusing him because she was "at those venues, in the dressing rooms, and on that tour bus."

Jackson adds ... there are women out there dealing with real issues of sexual assault, but the movement to bring about positive change is being discredited "when people lie."

As we reported ... Monique Greene accused the rapper of raping her on a tour bus in Washington, and now claims the 2 new women went through a similar ordeal as her.

Check out Shantel's full statement below.

The NFL Network is firing back at the former wardrobe stylist who claimed she was sexually harassed by on-air talent like Marshall Faulk and Donovan McNabb ... saying she approved of the inappropriate behavior.

NFL Enterprises -- which runs the football network -- filed its response to Jami Cantor's lawsuit on January 18 ... denying all of her claims and asking the court to throw it out.

As we previously reported ... Cantor made several claims of sexual harassment from 2006 until she was fired in 2016. She alleges Faulk pulled out his genitals in front of her and asked invasive questions.

Cantor also claims McNabb sent texts to her asking if "she was a squirter" and telling her she "looked like the kind of girl that squirted when getting f***ed," ... and accused Warren Sapp of urinating in front of her.

Ike Taylor, Eric Davis and Heath Evans were also named in the suit.

The response claims Jami "approved, consented to, authorized, and/or ratified" all of the misconduct ... translation -- she was cool with it.

The response also claims the network properly addressed any concerns that may have been raised by Cantor during her time with the company.

Casey Affleck is backing out of presenting at the upcoming Academy Awards ... TMZ has learned.

The Academy tells us ... Affleck notified them he won't be presenting the Best Actress award at the Oscars on March 4, which is traditionally always presented by the Best Actor winner from the previous year.

According to our sources ... Casey has a lot of respect for the Oscars, and doesn't want the Best Actress category to be about him presenting. We're told he wants the attention to be focused on the nominees ... and doesn't want his presence to impact the winner's special moment.

As you'll recall ... Casey won at the 2017 Oscars for his role in "Manchester by the Sea," despite controversy surrounding past allegations of sexual harassment against him.

It's official ... Vince McMahon is bringing back the XFL -- and Tim Tebow already has an invite to play.

The WWE honcho made the announcement Thursday afternoon ... saying the new XFL will launch in 2020 and will focus on more exciting football with zero political distractions.

That means players will be required to stand for the National Anthem.

Vince says the league will launch with 8 teams -- 40-man rosters -- and nobody with a criminal background will be eligible to play. Vince says the quality of the individual matters as much as the quality of the play.

When asked specifically about 3 players -- Johnny Manziel, Tim Tebow, and Colin Kaepernick -- Vince danced around Johnny and Colin ... but extended a casual invitation to Tebow.

McMahon insists there will be no crossover between the WWE and the XFL -- which means completely different announcers.

Vince also says he will not be the face of the league and will hire an accomplished people to run the XFL.

As far as the length of the game, Vince says he's gunning for 2-hour games.

Vince says he's confident the league will succeed this time around, 'cause the team has a 2-year runway ... and will be listening closely to what the fans want.

He even asked fans to submit ideas to the league office.

Simone Biles is giving the judge who signed Larry Nassar's "death warrant" a big, public thank you ... telling her, "YOU ARE MY HERO" for sentencing the ex-Team USA doc to 175 years in prison.

Simone -- who earlier this month revealed she was sexually assaulted by Nassar -- thanked judge Rosemarie Aquilina in a tweet just hours after Nassar learned his fate in a Michigan courtroom.

In the same message, she also gave a shout-out to all of Nassar's victims who gave impact statements in court "for being so brave and speaking like the queens that you are while looking at that monster."

6:00 PM PT -- A rep for Questlove tells us he denies the "ridiculous allegations" in this suit, adding ... "Racism is REAL and exists throughout the world and for these gentlemen to claim victim is not only disrespectful to Questlove and his band mates, but to all that truly endure racism on a daily basis."

3:36 PM PT -- A rep for NBC tells us, "NBC is committed to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We have strong policies in place that protect against discrimination in any form. The decision about these plaintiffs was the company's alone."

Questlove demanded NBC fire two white camera guys on the 'Tonight Show' over a racist group text they never asked to be a part of ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Camera operators Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino just filed suit against the TV network and the leader of The Roots after what they claim was misappropriated blame and racial retaliation from Questlove after each of them received a racist text he caught wind of.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, a stagehand sent Decker, Cimino and Roots member Mark Kelley -- who's black -- a text during a taping of the 'Tonight Show' last year, which they say they never asked for or responded to. They say they tried explaining this to NBC execs in an attempt to distance themselves from the vile text, which they feared would be associated with them.

Questlove got wind of this and demanded that NBC fire the camera operators, which NBC did.

Who the hell would wanna destroy the actual "Field of Dreams?"

That's what the people who operate the ballpark in Iowa want to know after some scumbag tore up the field during an evil joyride Monday night.

The field in Dyersville, Iowa touts itself as the "home of the iconic movie set" for the 1989 baseball flick -- thousands of fans visit the field every year.

But, field officials say someone drove a truck through the field -- putting 4-inch gashes all over the field and turf and damaging the sprinkler system.

"We cannot fathom why a soul on this planet would desecrate this holy ground," field operators said on social media.

"We pray for whomever did this to our special place that they find peace in their hearts. Before Opening Day, April 1, we will work toward repairing this damage."

Ex-WWE superstar Enzo Amore has broken his silence about allegations he raped a woman back in October -- claiming his accuser is lying and he's working with cops in an effort to clear his name.

Amore has lawyered up and his attorney issued a statement saying, "Over the last two days, Philomena Sheahan has made multiple public accusations against Eric Arndt (also known as Enzo Amore with the WWE), including allegations of sexual misconduct concerning an October 2017 incident in Phoenix."

"Mr. Arndt fully and unequivocally denies those accusations."

"He is cooperating with the authorities in this matter and looks forward to having it resolved in a timely manner. Neither Mr. Arndt nor his counsel will be making any further public comments on this matter."

As we previously reported, the Phoenix P.D. is investigating Amore after Sheahan claimed he raped her repeatedly in an Arizona hotel room, despite repeated pleas to stop.

The WWE has officially "released" superstar Enzo Amore in the wake of allegations he raped a woman in Arizona back in October.

The company issued a statement saying, "WWE has come to terms on the release of Eric Arndt (Enzo Amore)."

As we previously reported, the accuser went public with her story on Monday -- claiming Enzo and two friends got her "f*cked up" in a Phoenix hotel room and Enzo raped her.

The woman filed a report with the Phoenix P.D. Cops are actively investigating.

So far, no word from Enzo.

Alas, Cristiano Ronaldo's perfect face finally has a flaw ...

Just a few days after taking a cleat to the face during a match against Deportivo, the Real Madrid star hit the practice field in Spain with a big ol' shiner on his left eye.

CR7 was also sporting a bandage over the corner of his eye -- where it appears he suffered the laceration that left him bloody during the game.

Ronaldo seemed to be in pretty good spirits during the workout -- despite the fact his face may never look the same again!!!

Kidding, he's still beautiful.

Alright, guys ... this might actually be a thing.

Tennis superstar Genie Bouchard and the guy who won a date with her by betting on last year's Super Bowl are going back to the big game ... after NFL Canada (Genie's home country) offered to take them as guests.

The best part -- SHE ASKED HIM!!

"OMG. Back to where it all began?! And with the Patriots too?! I’m in! What do you say?" Genie tweeted at Missouri University student, John Goehrke.

Of course, John accepted -- "This keeps getting better. I’m in!"

You know the story -- Genie made a bet with John last year when the Falcons were up big on the Patriots ... agreeing to a date if the Pats pulled off a comeback.

They did ... and they've since gone on (at least) a few dates -- including a bikini beach sesh in Miami.

Kobe Bryant was just nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his movie, "Dear Basketball" ... but it begs the question, Time's Up?

In a time where huge Hollywood stars are crushing people like Aziz Ansari, James Franco and others ... ya gotta remember, Kobe was formally charged with raping a woman back in 2003.

Remember, Bryant admitted having sex with a 19-year-old hotel staffer in Eagle, Colorado -- but insisted it was consensual.

By his account, things went south when Kobe asked the woman if he could ejaculate in her face during the sexual encounter. Kobe claims the woman denied his request and he stopped cold. The woman clearly saw things differently.

When approached by police, Kobe asked the cops if he could pay her off to make the situation go away.

Kobe was charged with sexual assault -- but the case was dropped when the accuser stopped cooperating with prosecutors. At the time, she claimed she was receiving hate mail and death threats.

She filed a civil suit against Kobe, which he later settled. There are reports he paid around $5 million, though Kobe claimed he never paid her a dime.

Kobe later released an apology saying, "I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year."

Kobe added this part ... which sounds a lot like Aziz's explanation:

"Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter."

So, the big question ... how will Hollywood react if Kobe wins?

James Franco was not nominated for an Oscar, and there isn't a shadow of a doubt the reason is that 5 women have accused him of sexual misconduct.

It's a stunning statement ... Franco won the Golden Globe and the Critics' Choice Awards for Best Actor. The voting was partially completed before the allegations surfaced but obviously there were enough outstanding votes afterward to make a difference.

Here's what's interesting ... Kobe Bryant was nominated for Best Animated Short for "Dear Basketball." As you know, in 2003, Kobe was charged with raping a woman in Eagle, Colorado ... something he denied, claiming it was consensual. The case was dropped after the alleged victim refused to cooperate. Kobe settled a civil suit with the woman for a reported $5 million.

Neil Diamond is hanging it up on the big stage because he just revealed he's been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

The iconic pop singer made the announcement Monday, saying he was retiring from concert touring upon receiving his diagnosis. The third leg of his 50th anniversary tour -- originally set to launch in March -- has been cancelled on doctor's orders.

Fans are said to be getting refunded in full.

Neil said in a statement ... "I plan to remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come." He added ... "My thanks goes out to my loyal and devoted audiences around the world. You will always have my appreciation for your support and encouragement."

Neil finished by saying ... "The ride has been 'so good, so good, so good' thanks to you."

He'll be presented with a Lifetime Achievement award at the Grammys this weekend.

The Phoenix Police Dept. has opened up an investigation into allegations made by a woman who claims she was raped by WWE superstar Enzo Amore back in October. The WWE has also suspended him indefinitely.

The woman went public with her story on social media Monday -- claiming Enzo (real name Eric Arndt) along with 2 friends got her "f*cked up" in a hotel room on Oct. 19 to the point where she passed out.

The woman claims Enzo then restrained her and, "it happened."

The Phoenix PD says officers responded to a local hospital on Oct. 23 for a call about a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted. Investigators were assigned to the case. The investigation is still open.

As for the WWE, the organization has suspended Enzo ... saying, "WWE has zero tolerance for matters involving sexual harassment or sexual assault."

"Until this matter is resolved, Eric Arndt has been suspended."