CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

9:36 AM PT -- JC tells us, "Anyone who loved my father and respected his work should see Max Anderson as we do. My father was a loving and trusting man. He was all about love. He should never have been in business with a man like Max Anderson."

Kirk E. Schenck, attorney for Stan's Estate, says, "Elder abuse is becoming all too common, especially against high net worth individuals who have been highly functioning professionals during very sophisticated careers. Elder abusers use a systematic application of fear and alienation to mask their lies and financial wrongdoing."

Stan Lee's daughter, who's in charge of his family trust, is going after a business manager she claims almost literally robbed her father blind ... taking advantage of his old age in order to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a lawsuit, Joan Celia Lee says Max Anderson managed Stan's memorabilia bookings -- the countless events Stan attended to sign autographs and meets fans -- but she says he was originally a Comic-Con security guard who befriended her father in a "sinister plot" to gain his trust. She compares it to one of Stan's Marvel comic book plots.

According to the suit, Anderson commonly gave Stan contracts and deals to sign ... even though Stan was in his late 80s and unable to read or understand what he was signing. She says her father suffered from severe degeneration of his vision .. and Max knew it.

Most alarming are JC's claims of "violent interactions" between Anderson and her father. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says Anderson got physical to pressure Stan into giving him "total control" of business affairs. JC claims others -- drivers, security guards and others -- witnessed these physical threats.

She also claims Anderson was skimming tons of cash from her father while taking him on the road to fan conventions. JC calls out one example from NYC Comic-Con in Nov 2017.

In the suit, she says Anderson collected $800k in revenue for Stan's appearance ... and kept more than $700k for himself -- although he was only contracted to get 10 to 25 percent.

At another event, in Mexico City, JC says Anderson severely overworked her father ... making Stan sign and authenticate hundreds of merchandise items "until the point where Lee was worn out." She claims this marathon signing session left Stan unable to walk or talk ... yet he got none of the revenue.

Stan died in November 2018, and JC claims the abuse continued through March 2018 when Stan discovered what Anderson was up to and fired him. She believes Anderson conspired with one of Stan's nurses and another one of Stan's employees in the memorabilia biz.

She's suing all 3 of them for elder abuse, breach of contract and stealing.

Abby Lee Miller's spent enough time behind bars to write a celeb prison survival guide -- so Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin might wanna pay close attention here.

Abby was on "TMZ Live" Monday for the first time since she was sentenced to 1 year in prison after her conviction for bankruptcy fraud. She got out in March 2018 after serving 8 months ... so we asked her what Felicity -- who already pled guilty -- should expect on the inside.

Check out the vid ... Abby admits being a celebrity had its benefits for her -- and says inmates ate up her Hollywood stories, and she suspects they'd do the same for Felicity.

The downside of fame while in prison? Abby says it's the corrections officers, and it's a major downside ... based on her experience. Watch, you have to see her vivid description of one particular run-in.

As you know, prosecutors want Felicity -- and also Lori, if she's convicted -- to do hard time for their role in the college admissions scandal. Of course, it's not like either woman would end up in a maximum security prison.

El Chapo wants to feel the sunshine during the day and some peace and quiet at night -- but a judge is shooting him down at every turn ... 'cause it's just too damn risky.

The former Mexican cartel kingpin recently filed a motion requesting at least 2 hours of outdoors recreation time per week while he's held in custody at a federal prison in New York, plus access to the general pop commissary so he can buy goodies.

Chapo was also looking to get access to some earplugs so he could sleep easy at night and get rid of ear pain he says he's been experiencing in the joint.

Well, a judge didn't bite on any of it, and his reasoning is pretty damning. First, the court says Chapo's request for outdoors time is a nonstarter (he's currently being held under strict restrictions) because the U.S. government's worried he'll try to escape again.

The judge cites his previous two escapes, and says there's no way in hell they're letting him catch some sunshine under their watch. Moreover, the judge points to the fact that Chapo has been very well-behaved while in custody ... but says that's not a reason to give him rec time. If anything, the judge says the restrictions have only helped encourage good behavior.

Translation ... you're staying inside, buddy.

Lastly, the judge says Chapo ain't getting his hands on anything from the commissary 'cause the items can be easily weaponized. He won't get any earplugs either due to a safety concern -- namely, not hearing guards during an emergency, directly or indirectly.

Kawhi Leonard is suing Nike over his "Klaw" logo ... claiming he drew the symbol himself -- and saying the footwear giant has NO right to copyright it.

It's all in a new lawsuit filed by the Toronto Raptors superstar ... in which he says the famous logo of a "K," an "L" and his jersey number actually came from his own hand, pen and paper back in 2011.

"Leonard traced his notably large hand, and, inside the hand, drew stylized versions of his initials, "KL," and the number that he had worn for much of his career, "2," the lawsuit states.

The problem for Kawhi? He says he permitted Nike to use the logo after he signed a contract with the shoe giant in 2011 ... but they filed for a copyright of the logo "without Leonard's knowledge or consent."

Now, Leonard is suing ... saying they had no right to do that -- adding that when he initially gave permission to use the symbol, it was to "mutually benefit" both parties.

In his lawsuit, Leonard wants control of his logo back ... and is also claiming Nike "committed fraud on the Copyright Office" by registering his logo.

Former NFL WR Jabar Gaffney just cut a deal with prosecutors after his ex-teammate, Lito Sheppard, accused him of wrecking his car ... and he'll avoid jail time if he keeps his nose clean for the next few months.

For the record, Jabar still DENIES the allegations ... saying prosecutors had the wrong guy all along.

Here's the backstory -- Lito says last year, on June 17 ... his 2013 BMW suddenly stopped working in the middle of the road when he was on his way home from a restaurant in Jacksonville.

Sheppard says when he viewed surveillance footage of his car in the restaurant's parking lot ... he claims he saw Gaffney and Gaffney's GF pouring sugar into his gas tank and slashing his tires.

Cops arrested Jabar a few weeks later ... charging him with felony criminal mischief -- and he was facing up to 5 YEARS behind bars for the offense.

But, Gaffney -- who was teammates with Lito in Philadelphia in 2006 -- just cut a deal with prosecutors last month ... agreeing to enter into a pretrial intervention program -- this according to court records and a rep for the state attorney's office.

Gaffney's attorney, Seth Schwartz, tells TMZ Sports the ex-WR will have to pay around $840 in restitution to Sheppard as part of the deal ... but if he keeps his nose clean for the next 6 months -- the charge will be dropped.

As for Jabar, he adamantly denies he was the man seen on video destroying Lito's car ... saying the guy looks nothing like him.

In fact, Jabar's attorney says in surveillance photos prosecutors relied on to build their case ... there don't appear to be tattoos on the alleged suspect's left neck ... but Jabar is covered in ink.

So, why did Jabar take the deal? Schwartz tells us it would have cost Gaffney thousands of dollars to take the case to trial and fight the charge.

"The cost of trying the case was extreme," Schwartz says ... "But this was a not guilty all day."

9:09 AM PT -- A few key takeaways from Monday's hearing:

-- Spacey's legal team wants to get its hands on the alleged victim's actual phone because they believe they can extract messages they claim were already deleted, and excluded from the digital date the prosecution turned over.

-- Spacey's lawyers also want to get a hold of the alleged victim's mother's phone, because they believe that too could contain messages or information that could help Spacey's case.

-- The defense implored the judge to send the case to trial ASAP, as they believe the prosecution is inadequately prepared ... and filed charges prematurely without having their ducks in a row. Unfortunately for Kevin and co., that ain't gonna happen. The judge said the nature of the case and the juror selection process alone won't allow the trial to started until the fall, at best.

Kevin Spacey caught a lot of people by surprise Monday -- showing his face at a pretrial hearing in his groping case.

The disgraced actor is in a Massachusetts courthouse right now facing off with a judge in a pretrial hearing, which pertains to evidence his legal team has been trying to obtain from the prosecution team -- namely, cell phone data from the alleged victim.

Spacey's attorney gripes that the prosecution had access to the alleged victim's phone in late 2017 for about two weeks, and did not disclose that fact to the defense until very recently ... which Spacey's lawyer is pissed over. He believes there's exculpatory evidence on that phone that can help prove Spacey's innocence, and that the prosecution was purposely hiding it.

Even crazier ... Spacey's attorney claims that messages were deleted from the phone that made reference to the alleged victim's "frat boy" tendencies, and he was never made aware of that until now. He also says a lot of messages and screenshots on the guy's phone have been "cleansed" and deleted that could hurt their case. Long story short ... he's outraged.

KS has been a no-show for the majority of hearings in this case, so he surprised everyone by showing up suited and booted Monday morning. The last time he was in court was January, when he was arraigned in the case ... in which he pled not guilty. He popped up in L.A. a couple months later.

A former employee of R. Kelly told a grand jury the singer regularly recorded tapes of his sexual encounters with underage girls and kept them as trophies ... and they're now believed to be in the hands of the feds.

Sources directly connected to the case tell TMZ ... the ex-employee testified in front of a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois Thursday, and claims to have been in possession of multiple tapes in which the singer engages in sex acts with minors.

We're told the former employee told grand jurors R. Kelly paid a large sum of cash to the employee and in return, the employee handed a tape over to the singer. We're told somehow the tape in question ended up in the hands of Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.

Our sources say the ex-employee testified they gave the feds several other child sex tapes featuring Kelly.

We're told the former employee said R. Kelly's crew knew full well Kelly had a penchant for having sex with underage girls, but rather than blow the whistle on him, they actually helped the singer procure young girls.

R. Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, tells TMZ, "This seems to be the same claims that were made in the state case. We will address them in court."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois declined to comment.

As we've told you ... the federal grand jury in IL has heard testimony from alleged victims who say the singer and his camp transported them across state lines for sex when they were underage.

Jenelle Evans and David Eason were threatened at their home moments after losing custody of their daughter ... when they received a white powder substance by mail.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, cops responded to Jenelle and David's North Carolina home back on May 15 to report the suspicious package. It appears cops responded to a 911 call made by David.

The couple reported the substance just moments after they lost custody of their 2-year-old daughter, Ensley. CPS removed her around 11:30 AM ... and cops responded for the white powder around noon. The case remains under investigation, and it's unclear if the powder was a real threat or a hoax.

As we've reported ... the ex-'Teen Mom' star and David also lost custody of 9-year-old Jace and 4-year-old Kaiser after a judge decided there were serious issues with the couple that put the children at risk.

The mailed threat is just the latest fallout since David brutally killed the family's French bulldog, Nugget. In addition to their custody issues, MTV fired Jenelle from "Teen Mom 2."

As we first reported ... the couple has said they'll go to therapy in an effort to regain custody of the kids.

One of the men who was wrongfully convicted as part of the Central Park Five says karma's a bitch for ex-prosecutor Linda Fairstein, who's getting crucified on social media in the wake of a new show about the case and its aftermath.

Raymond Santana -- who was one of the teenagers arrested, prosecuted and eventually convicted in connection to the brutal 1989 rape and beating of a female jogger -- tells TMZ ... the online movement to #CancelLindaFairstein and boycott her books is warranted.

Fans have taken to Instagram and other platforms, calling for retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to remove Fairstein's book collection from their shelves on the heels of Netflix's new series, "When They See Us" -- which covers the how the case was handled by Fairstein and others, as well as how it impacted Raymond and the rest of the so-called CP5.

He believes Fairstein -- who became a successful author of mysteries and children's books -- is facing her comeuppance right now, which he takes no issue with. In fact, he says it quite bluntly ... "Even if it's 30 years later, she has to pay for her crime."

Fairstein was head of the Sex Crimes Unit for the D.A.'s Office, and she reportedly got confessions from the boys under duress and pressure from police. All 5 men were eventually fully exonerated in 2002, despite having spent years behind bars.

Raymond also takes a jab at the many reporters and civilians who were quick to label them as criminals before a trial got underway, including Donald Trump ... who called for their execution in a newspaper ad that circulated quickly after the crime.

6/2 -- Neymar himself has responded to the rape allegation, posting a lengthy video on Instagram ... which he captioned in Portuguese ... "Because of extortion, I am being forced to expose my life and family." In the video, which is filmed in Portuguese, he says in part, "I'm being accused of rape. Yes, it is a heavy word, a very strong thing ... what happened was totally the opposite of what they are talking and saying," Neymar said. "I'm very upset at this moment."

He went on to show WhatsApp messages that he says were sent between himself and the woman in the days leading up to the alleged incident, which show multiple intimate photos being exchanged. It appears a few more messages were sent afterward as well.

6/1 4:41 PM PT -- Neymar's father and agent, Neymar dos Santos, has come out to call the rape allegation a "set-up." In a local television interview, Neymar's dad roughly said, "If public opinion is not cleared up, and if we can’t show the truth rapidly, this will snowball. If we have to show Neymar’s WhatsApp and the conversations with this girl, we will, because it is clear that it was a trap."

Brazilian soccer star Neymar has been accused of rape -- and the alleged victim has gone to authorities in Brazil to file a report ... according to multiple outlets.

AP says they've obtained a police report filed Friday in Sao Paulo, in which the unnamed woman claims to have been raped by Neymar on May 15 at a hotel in Paris. She alleges that after exchanging messages on Instagram, a representative for Neymar's soccer team -- Paris Saint-Germain F.C. -- bought her a plane ticket and booked her a room.

She reportedly went on to tell police that around 8 PM that night, Neymar came to the room seemingly drunk and had forceful sex with her.

Neymar's reps have not responded for comment at this point. He's currently in Brazil preparing the Copa America, which kicks off next week.

Kim Kardashian's mission to help convicted murderer Kevin Cooper prove he's innocent is enraging the mother of one of his victims, who says Kim needs to read up on the mountain of evidence that shows Cooper is guilty as sin.

Mary Ann Hughes tells TMZ she was disgusted to see Kardashian embracing death row inmate Cooper in photos -- "It makes me feel sick to my stomach and I pity her. For what she's doing to us, there's nothing to justify what she's doing to us, the immense pain she is causing us."

She added, Kim "obviously has not read all of the actual evidence -- she has bought into half truths perpetrated by the defense. If she actually sat down and read the transcripts of all the trials and appeals, she would be sick to her stomach to be in the same room with him."

Mary Ann's 11-year-old son, Christopher, was sleeping over at a neighbor's home in Chino Hills, CA back in 1983 when he was murdered. Cooper was convicted of using a hatchet to slay the neighbors, Doug and Peggy Ryen, their daughter Jessica and Christopher. The Ryens' 8-year-old son survived the attack.

Kim has been on a remarkable mission -- alongside multiple high-powered attorneys -- to help non-violent drug offenders get early releases from prisons. She started with Alice Marie Johnson's release last year, and has successfully freed 17 more inmates in recent months.

But, Mary Ann says Kardashian's on the wrong side this time and believes Cooper's attorneys "are using her for her reality show status because they can't use the truth to try to help Kevin Cooper. The truth just condemns him."

As we reported, Kim went to visit Cooper at San Quentin prison on Thursday, and she's successfully lobbied California Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom to order additional DNA testing in Cooper's case. Kim says she hopes the results will show Cooper is innocent. He's long maintained he was framed.

Mary Ann says it's absurd for Kim to think the "pile of evidence" against Cooper was planted. She says he's "100 percent guilty and the evidence shows it. If you want the whole truth, read the 94 page document on the website of the San Bernardino County D.A." ... which was filed in response to Cooper's last attempt to win clemency.

Mary Ann points out a woman who claims Cooper raped her in 1982 in Pennsylvania testified against him during the murder trial -- something she thinks Kim needs to know. "She portrays herself as being for women's rights and for the women's movement and yet she is supporting a rapist and a murderer."

The elite commercial crimes division of LAPD met with the L.A. Dodgers recently to give advice on how to avoid being hit by scumbag burglars ... and the message was simple, STOP FLEXING ONLINE!!!

It's not exactly rocket science ... cops say criminals are targeting high profile people who are showing off their valuables on social media -- and with athletes, it ain't hard for the bad guys to find out when they're on the road.

We've already reported on burglary crews who have targeted homes belonging to Dodgers, Rams, Lakers and other major stars living in L.A.

Of course, the LAPD advised the players to beef up their private security and make sure their homes are being monitored during road trips and vacations.

But, the bigger message was clear ... stop baiting the criminals by showing off what's inside your homes!!!

Arcangel got a gift from the legal gods ... he won't face charges for delivering a side kick that sent the mother of his children flying into a wall.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... prosecutors in Las Vegas are rejecting the domestic battery case due to a lack of evidence. That seems odd because cops arrested him after viewing surveillance footage of him kicking the woman.

We reached out to the D.A.'s Office about that video, and they told us the case was rejected for "lacking prosecutorial merit." They would not elaborate any further.

We broke the story ... cops say Arcangel was caught on camera kicking a woman last month at The Cromwell Hotel. According to the arrest report, the woman said she's his baby mama and they had an argument that led to what Arcangel described as a "little kick thing."

Cops say the "little kick" looked more like a brutal side kick on video, but Arcangel insisted it was just horseplay.

This is the rope Jussie Smollett says his "attackers" wrapped around his neck on a cold Chicago night.

Prosecutors just released a slew of evidence from its investigation that led to 16 criminal charges against the former "Empire" star and then an abrupt dismissal of all charges.

TMZ broke the story ... Jussie claimed he was attacked by 2 men near his Chicago apartment in the dead of winter. He said they put a rope around his neck and then poured bleach on him and then left, screaming, "This is MAGA country!"

According to a receipt from the Crafty Beaver Home Center, the rope cost $2.99 and was presumably purchased by the Osundairo brothers. Everyone seems to agree, the brothers are the ones involved in the incident. They say it was staged at Jussie's behest ... Jussie says it was real.

5:33 PM PT -- Kim just posted a photo from her visit, saying, "I had an emotional meeting with Kevin Cooper yesterday at San Quentin's death row. I found him to be thoughtful and honest and I believe he is innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted."

Kim Kardashian was on San Quentin's death row Thursday ... on a mission.

Kim, sporting a noticeably baggy black jumpsuit, took her prison reform efforts on the road to one of America's most notorious prisons ... with the goal of freeing an inmate who has been awaiting death since 1983.

61-year-old Kevin Cooper was convicted of committing 4 heinous murders in Chino Hills, CA in the '80s and sent directly to death row. Between then and now, the death penalty was suspended, reinstated, there was a gas chamber and then death by lethal injection ... and all the while Cooper sat waiting to die, always proclaiming his innocence.

As we reported ... back in October, Kim asked then-Governor of California Jerry Brown to look into Cooper's case because of evidence Cooper has been framed. Brown's ordered DNA testing, in no small part due to Kim's campaign. California's new Governor, Gavin Newsom, ordered additional testing in February.

Newsom's waiting for final DNA test results, but Kim decided to pay a visit so she could have her first face-to-face with the guy she's trying to free. Kim, who wore all black, spent 2 hours with him and is more convinced than ever he was framed.

As for now ... Cooper will not face execution, because Governor Newsom is a death penalty opponent who has suspended all executions while he is in office.

We're guessing Cooper's happy to have KK on his side ... Kim and her legal team have freed 17 inmates gaining freedom over the past few months.

2:15 PM PT -- Meek has just accepted the Cosmopolitan's apology. His lawyer, Joe Tacopina, tells TMZ, "We appreciate the Cosmopolitan's apology and will no longer pursue legal recourse at this time."

Meek Mill has received the public apology he was promised by The Cosmopolitan.

The Las Vegas hotel and casino says ... "We apologize to Meek Mill for how we handled the situation on Saturday, May 25, as we did not act in a respectful manner and were wrong."

The Cosmo goes on ... "Meek Mill has not had any prior incident on our property. The Cosmopolitan has zero tolerance for discrimination and we pride ourselves on providing an inclusive environment. We look forward to welcoming Meek Mill back to the resort."

Meek is expected to post soon that he accepts the apology, and we're told the threat of a lawsuit will disappear.

As we told you ... Cosmo was expected to express regret and accept fault for ordering the rapper off its property last Saturday and threatening to arrest him for trespassing if he didn't comply. Video of the incident showed a security guard telling Meek it was because of a prior incident ... but didn't give specifics. Now, they say there was never a "prior incident."