CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

John Mayer's ex-manager plotted to jack "American Idol" champ Phillip Phillips out from under his contract with the show -- according to a new lawsuit, but the bigger news is Phil is a freakin' millionaire!

In the suit ... 19 Entertainment, the management company for all 'Idol' singers, claims Michael McDonald (not the singer or the actor) gave Phillips the opening act gig on a John Mayer tour back in 2013, and spent that time cozying up to him.

McDonald has a management company called Mick Management -- and in the docs, 19 Ent. says McDonald lured Phillips to sign ... partially out of desperation because founding client Mayer was bailing.

Cut to December 2014 ... when Phillips informed 'Idol' he wanted out of his contract, presumably to jump ship to Mick Management.

19 Ent. isn't giving up its cash cow without a fight, because while some people think Phillips has been a commercial failure -- 19 Ent. points out he reportedly netted about $5 million in 2013 and even more in 2014.

And that's for a guy who's only had one major hit and one moderate hit!

Bottom line, Phil's 'Idol' overlords want at least $4 million from McDonald for poaching their guy.

A Nevada state senator is coming out swinging in defense of UFC superstar Nick Diaz -- claiming his 5 year ban for weed is a complete load of crap.

TMZ Sports spoke with Senator Tick Segerblom of Senate District 3 -- which includes parts of Las Vegas -- who says he's not happy with the punishment doled out by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

"I think what they did was totally inappropriate," Tick says ... "[marijuana] is a recognized medicine in the Nevada constitution so how can you punish someone for taking medicine, particularly since it doesn’t enhance your ability to fight?"

He added, "They need to rethink this punishment and then ultimately change their rules."

FYI -- Diaz tested positive for weed after his UFC 183 fight in January.

6:25 PM PT -- Rick Ross tells TMZ ... "It has been brought to my attention that serious allegations have been made against an independent contractor, who's services I use often. And while I am not directly involved or implicated, as a man and a father, I take this very seriously. I don't believe any woman's safety should be compromised and she should never be forced to do anything outside of her will, regardless of the circumstances."

Ross adds, "While I personally have no knowledge of the specifics surrounding these allegations, it is my hope that this is rectified quickly and with sensitivity."

Rick Ross is being sued by a woman who claims she was raped during Grammy weekend after being drugged in Rick Ross' van.

The woman -- who is ID'd as Jane Doe in the lawsuit -- claims she was at the W Hotel in L.A. where she met up with Rick and his entourage, who had invited her to go to Cannabis Cup ... a weed convention.

She says she got in the van with Rick, a guy named Thaddeus "Black" James, a DJ, 3 security guards and the driver. She says she was offered a glass of booze and shortly thereafter became dizzy and eventually passed out.

She says the next thing she knew, 2 hours had passed and she was in the van with Black.

The woman says she went back to Black's hotel room and passed out again. She woke up at 8 AM, examined herself and realized her clothes had been removed and she had been sexually assaulted.

The woman believes Black is the one who raped her.

She's suing Black but also Rick Ross ... because she says Black was Ross' agent and he should have been supervising him, and it was Ross' van.

We've reached out to Rick Ross ... so far, no word back.

The woman who claims Chris Brown and his entourage forcibly threw her from a tour bus says she has proof she was manhandled .... graphic photos.

We're told the woman is telling friends Chris was the culprit who yanked her off the bus, causing what she says is significant bruising.

As we previously reported -- Chris was at a Colorado strip club filming a music video -- when the woman refused to give up her cell phone on his tour bus and was removed.

She's claiming assault ... and cops say Chris and his posse are persons of interest.

Cops tell us they have security footage showing the woman leaving the bus but they haven't seen her photos.

We're told the investigation should wrap up next week.

Chris is calling BS and says it's simple ... he's an easy target and she's looking for a payday.

Stephen Baldwin just can't catch a break ... it looks like he's fallen behind on his taxes again ... this time to the tune of more than $90k.

According to legal docs he owes $30k to the state of New York and another $60k to Uncle Sam himself.

It's not the first time Baldwin's had collectors at his doorstep ... back in 2012 he was arrested for dodging his tax returns. He was ordered to pay the state of NY $300k.

Tyga is getting hit from every angle on the money front.

Kylie's BF just got slapped with a tax lien from the State of California to the tune of $19,124.98. He allegedly shorted the Golden State on his 2009, 2010 and 2011 tax bills.

$20k would ordinarily be chump change for a rapper at his level, but he already owes his landlord $70k in back rent, and has lawsuits piling up.

It's also not the first time Uncle Sam has come after Tyga ... the feds hit Tyga last year with a $100k delinquent bill.

Former NBA superstar Larry Johnson was nearly a million bucks in the hole with one of his baby mamas -- but he found a way to make her happy ... hand over the keys to a house!!

Move over Ashley Madison ... the infamous, mysterious Heidi Fleiss black book is about to go on sale on eBay ... TMZ has learned.

The book was the talk of the town back in '93 when the Hollywood Madam was at the top of her game.

Fleiss' threat to make her "black book" public sent shock waves through Hollywood. At the time, the only name she publicly identified was Charlie Sheen, who acknowledged he was a customer.

Fleiss was the daughter of a well-respected, L.A. pediatrician, and she used her family connections to amass an A-list clientele. She told Larry King, "These are the richest people on earth that I'm dealing with ... They'll pay $3 million on a hand of blackjack and have five hands going."

As for the book, it's 28 pages, encased in a red Gucci planner. The people selling the book on eBay say the names include actors, musicians, sports figures, agency execs and politicians.

Lindsay Lohan just went down in flames in spectacular fashion, after a judge threw out her defamation lawsuit against Fox News Channel for claiming she and her mom did cocaine together.

Lindsay and mama Dina sued for comments made on FNC back in February 2014 when a guest said, "Lindsay Lohan's mom is doing cocaine with her." The guest also called Dina an enabler.

The judge in the case on Friday shut Lindsay down, saying, "Truth is a defense."

The judge also dismissed the case Dina filed, saying she's a public figure, the comment wasn't made maliciously. It probably didn't help that Lindsay once made a frantic call to her dad in the back of a limo, saying Dina was there and, "Mom's on cocaine."

One thing ... the judge threw out Lindsay and Dina's lawsuit against FNC and Sean Hannity. As for the guest who made the comment, it's unclear if her case was thrown out as well.

Rachel Uchitel's ex-husband was arrested for calling her multiple times, and at least in one case, wishing she dies during her looming brain surgery ... TMZ has learned.

We're told Rachel claimed Matt Hahn called her repeatedly on 9/11, allegedly saying among other things, "I hope you die." Rachel told cops he said this in front of their 3-year-old daughter, who was with him at the time.

Rachel will undergo serious brain surgery on Tuesday.

Hahn -- a former Penn State running back -- was arrested by NYPD for aggravated harassment. Rachel now has an order of protection.

"American Idol" alum Constantine Maroulis just got a big win in court because the domestic assault charges he was facing have been dropped ... but there's a catch.

A judge dismissed the case after Maroulis and his baby mama, Angel Reed, agreed they wouldn't get violent with one another.

The judge said if their relationship -- whatever it is -- is violence-free for the next 6 months, Constantine is in the clear.

Reed had claimed Maroulis kicked her in the groin and pulled her hair during the August fight at their NJ home. Maroulis claimed he had acted in self-defense and got a restraining order against her.

The couple has a 4-year-old daughter.

Terrell Owens could go from suspect to victim in that Starbucks altercation thanks to the video showing a heinous racist tirade ... and ultimately it may lead to a hate crime charge.

Jared Fogle has some sort of ailment he wants to keep very private.

We've obtained legal docs in which Fogle's lawyers ask the judge in his criminal case for permission to leave his home confinement for a medical evaluation.

Fogle has been under house arrest at his parent's home since agreeing to plead guilty to child pornography and travelling across state lines to have sex with minors.

Fogle wants the details of his medical condition kept secret, along with the time and place he'll get evaluated.

It would seem the evaluation would have some connection to his upcoming sentencing in November, where he faces between 5 and 12.5 years in prison. The condition, if it relates to the sex charges, might help convince a judge to give him the lower end.

Stevie Wonder's dead attorney and right-hand man for decades duped him into signing a contract he never saw ... a contract that makes the singer pay the lawyer's family indefinitely and forever ... so claims Stevie.

Stevie just filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, in which he says his longtime lawyer, Johanan Vigoda, put a contract in front of Stevie's face when he was 21 years old. The deal was, Stevie would pay Johanan 6% of all music royalties. But there's a clause that says payments to the lawyer's family go on "forever."

Johanan died in 2011, but Stevie's record company continued to pay Johanan's widow. Stevie says he didn't realize payments were being made for nearly 2 years, and when he caught wind, he ordered payments to be stopped. He claims he trusted Johanan and the lawyer never said the 6% would survive his death.

Stevie says in his docs he was betrayed by a man he trusted and wants a judge to declare he no longer has a duty to pay royalties, because the attorney took advantage of a blind man.

Johanan's widow has filed her own lawsuit, demanding Stevie pay from the time he stopped and forever in the future. She wants $7 mil minimum.

Darren Sharper got some great news -- considering he's sitting in jail waiting to find out how long he'll be in prison ... he's now officially a candidate for the NFL Hall of Fame.

The former Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints safety got the nod in his first year of eligibility for the honor ... but it would be pretty controversial if he's selected.

As we've reported ... Sharper is awaiting sentencing for multiple rapes in multiple states. He's struck a plea deal and will most likely only serve 9 years in prison for all the crimes.

Right now, Sharper's just on the initial list of 103 candidates, which will get cut down to 25 ... before the final inductees are selected. Soooo ... Sharper is certain to have a prison cell before he has a serious shot at having a bust in Canton.

Chris Brown is at the center of an assault investigation after a woman claimed she was forcibly thrown off his tour bus in Colorado ... TMZ has learned.

The incident went down Monday night outside Platinum 84 Gentleman's Club in Denver where Chris, French Montana, and Fetty Wap were shooting a new music video.

We're told a woman, who was not part of the production, claims she was forcibly thrown off Brown's bus after refusing to give up her cell phone. There were strict "no cell phone" rules, because no one wanted video or photos secretly shot.

The woman also claims her cell phone was broken in the melee.

Law enforcement sources tell us the woman filed a report for 3rd degree assault ... and cops say Chris and his entourage are "persons of interest."

We're told cops have surveillance footage from the strip club, which shows the woman leaving the bus.

Cops want to interview Brown and his posse.