CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Whitney Houston's only Emmy award is about to go up for auction IF Emmy honchos fail in their last ditch effort to block the sale ... TMZ has learned.

The Television Academy says it's going into court Wednesday morning to request a restraining order against Heritage Auctions ... which plans to put Whitney's 1986 Emmy statuette up for grabs on Friday.

Heritage is hawking the award on behalf of Whitney's estate -- but the Television Academy has strict rules about its awards. According to the Academy, all winners sign an agreement that their heirs or successors must "return the statuette to the Academy, and we hold it in storage in memory of the recipient.”

A rep for Heritage tells TMZ ... they've asked the Academy multiple times to produce Whitney's signature on that agreement, but no dice to this point. Heritage says it's moving forward unless a judge drops the hammer.

They expect the award to sell for upwards of $10,000. By the way, Whitney won the Emmy for her performance on the Grammys. Weird, right?

Johnny Manziel says he can explain how his car got wrecked in Dallas -- claiming he was the VICTIM in a brutal hit-and-run crash and the cops are involved.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Manziel's Nissan GTR sustained all sorts of damage to the driver's side of the car this week ... in an incident that also set off his airbags.

We spoke with Manziel's rep, Denise Michaels, who tells us ... "Johnny told me his car was T-boned and the driver just rode away right after. He reported it to police."

But here's the weird thing ... we spoke with Dallas PD and as of Tuesday afternoon, we were told there was no record of an incident involving Manziel.

9:14 AM PT -- The Dallas PD is now saying they DO have a report from Manziel -- though it's unclear when the report was filed.

Cops say the accident occurred Monday night -- and Manziel claims he has a witness from his car and an impartial witness who can corroborate his story.

Dr. Rachael Ross, a former host on "The Doctors," threw a hissy fit over her Daytime Emmy dress, ruined it and stiffed the stylist ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Stylist Ali Levine claims in a new small claims court lawsuit she did God's work trying to get Rachael ready for the big shindig last month, only to get the boot without getting full payment.

A rep for Ali tells TMZ, she worked with Rachael, fitting her in a one-of-a-kind Pia Gladys Perey gown, which she says Rachael ruined by smearing makeup all over it.

We're told the designer went the extra mile and offered Rachael other options, but the doc went all diva, rejecting them all and eventually hiring another stylist.

Ali isn't suing for the ruined dress ... the designer owned it. But she wants full payment for all her time. She's suing for the balance ... $559.75.

Sounds like a good case for "The People's Court." Hint.

The guy behind celeb emoji apps for Amber Rose, Steph Curry, Rick Ross and Future just got arrested for stealing, and thanks to a YouTube star ... the whole bust was recorded.

Cops say they got a call for a stolen camera at LAX Monday. When they arrived, they were told Oliver Camilo had yanked the equipment from a passenger on his plane. Unfortunately for Camilo that passenger was a friend of YouTuber DOSEofFOUSEY.

You can see in DoF's video ... Camilo initially denied jacking the gear, but after a ton of prodding ... gave it up and ended up in handcuffs.

DoF chose to blur Camilo's face but our law enforcement sources tell us it's the celeb app creator.

Plus, Camilo himself told us he planned to turn in the camera to lost and found. He says he was shocked by how aggressive DoF was, and that's why he didn't want to hand it over right away. He actually thinks the whole thing was some weird YouTube video experiment.

When it comes to the shooting at T.I.'s concert, T.I. is very clear -- he ain't saying crap about it, but he will pray like a mother about it.

We asked Tip about Troy Ave's attempted murder indictment for opening fire last month at the NYC concert. As a convicted felon, he had a lot to say about how Troy can pull through the case.

Check out the clip ... T.I.'s silence on the actual shooting reminds us of the ole saying: Snitches get stitches, while guys who've done time on gun charges get real religious.

Kylie Jenner has an admirer so desperate to get at her, he's tried to bust through her security gate multiple times ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us the uninvited man showed up at The Oaks -- the gated community where Kylie, Khloe and Rob Kardashian all live -- and told security guards he was there for a meeting with Kylie.

When guards turned him away ... the man rammed into the gate, cracked it and then sped away.

We're told he returned a couple weeks later and pulled the same routine -- once again cracking the gate and fleeing, but it wasn't a clean getaway.

Security cameras captured his license plate, and cops tracked him down. We're told they interviewed the guy, and he admitted to ramming the gate out of frustration because the guards were "rude."

He's now been charged with 2 misdemeanor charges of vandalism.

Q Parker from 112 came under siege on Father's Day when his expensive ride was snatched during an ATL pit stop.

The singer tells TMZ it all went down Sunday morning on his way home from the airport after a show in Philly. He pulled into a gas station in College Park, Georgia to check a tire that was low on air.

He says, out of nowhere, someone jumped into the driver's seat. Q says he tried to make his way back into the car, but the thief -- who Q says looked 14 -- floored it and took off.

The $90k Audi A8 is still missing, and there are no suspects ... but there's a popular 14-year-old out there.

The jogger who rock legend David Crosby hit with his car ... is getting $3 million to settle a lawsuit.

Jose Luquin sued Crosby over last year's accident in California's wine country ... where the singer, doing 55 mph in a Tesla, hit Luquin as he was jogging with his 14-year-old son. Luquin suffered a broken leg, arm, and shoulder and also damaged a kidney.

As we reported ... Crosby himself called 911, and told responding officers he had not been drinking.

However, in the lawsuit filed by Luquin's attorney James McKiernan ... Luquin claimed Crosby had ingested "alcohol and/or prescription drugs and/or non-prescription drugs and/or other intoxicants and hallucinogens."

In the settlement -- first reported by CalCoastNews.com -- Crosby did not cop to being intoxicated. Luquin is getting $2,950,000 and his son is getting $50,000.

It's unclear if that's coming out of Crosby's pocket or his insurance company. We've reached out to Crosby's camp ... no word back.

Rapper Troy Ave dodged a murder charge in that NYC shooting at a T.I. concert, but he was indicted on 5 other felonies that could land him in prison for decades.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a grand jury has indicted Troy on one count of attempted second degree murder and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Troy's bodyguard, Ronald McPhatter, was killed during the shootout last month, but clearly ballistic testing did not lead back to the weapon Troy was seen firing that night on video.

His attorney, Scott Leemon, tells TMZ ... "The video does not show everything nor explain what happened in the VIP room before Troy came running out, as a victim, after he was shot."

Leemon says he will ask the judge to release Troy on bail this week at his next hearing.

Comedian Lil Rel Howery gets praised for his punchlines but jailed for his punches.

Chicago cops say "The Carmichael Show" star was sitting shotgun Sunday night when another car slammed into his ride from behind.

According to the CPD, Lil Rel began arguing with the other driver and things got so heated he socked the guy in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Cops arrested Lil Rel and booked him for misdemeanor battery. He was released on a $1,500 bond Monday morning.

Huge week for Michael Phelps ... the 30-year-old Olympic legend officially completed his probation from his '14 DUI arrest on Sunday -- meaning he's essentially got a clean slate!

Anton Yelchin's Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo never got the fix that very likely could have saved his life ... TMZ has learned.

According to NHTSA docs, obtained by TMZ, the recall on Yelchin's SUV had not been addressed -- meaning he was susceptible to the PARK problem with the shifter.

The recall notice went out on May 14, 2016 ... and says, "Drivers may inadvertently fail to achieve the PARK position before exiting."

As we've reported, the problem is a driver might think the car is safely parked, when it's actually in neutral.

A 2016 version of the Bling Ring may be prowling Hollywood and other areas where celebs live ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

As we reported, Kevin Hart, Chris Brown, Scott Disick and Blac Chyna are among the celebs who have been hit. Our law enforcement sources tell us, there are markers in all of the burglaries that make detectives think the crimes are related.

Most important ... Hart, Brown, Disick and Chyna all run in the same circle ... Kevin not as much as the others. Cops say all 4 were hit when they were out of town. The burglars zeroed in on jewelry and, when there were large sums of cash in a safe, the bad guys knew exactly where to look.

Cops believe the burglars may know their targets, and cops are worried this is just the beginning. We're told the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. that covers Calabasas and Hidden Hills has put the word out to LAPD's Hollywood division to be on the lookout for the burglars, especially in the hills.

Gennady Golovkin dished out karmic justice when he KO'd Dominic Wade back in April -- 'cause Wade had beaten the hell out of a woman in the months before the fight ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Larry Flynt's Hustler Club insists its strippers are independent women, but a former dancer is calling BS ... saying she was forced to work under house rules with ZERO benefits.

Hustler classifies its exotic dancers as independent contractors -- most strip clubs do -- but in a lawsuit against Hustler Club in San Francisco ... former stripper Angelynn Hermes says the club told her what to wear, how much to charge for private dances and forced her to work 3 days a week.

Her point -- where's all the independence??

Angelynn says she was only paid tips at Hustler, and she had to share that with the club and other employees -- all while receiving NO hourly wages. In the suit, Angelynn says the club is violating Cali labor law, and she wants the money she's owed and then some.

We reached out to the club. No word back on the lawsuit, but we found out they have $2 Tuesdays!

Season 4 'Amazing Race' winner Reichen Lehmkuhl can't stand his last name because it's too hard to pronounce ... which raises the question -- why can he stand his first name?

Reichen, who once dated Lance Bass, filed a name change petition with the L.A. County Superior Court ... asking to chop his last name in half ... from Lehmkuhl to Kuhl.

Reichen explained in his legal docs, "I don't like my last name. It is too hard for people to spell or pronounce."

It begs the question ... why not get a 2 for 1 special and mess with his first name? Reichen is pronounced rye-hen ... kinda like the German version of Ryan.