CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

A fish head left in the freezer is the reason Antonio Brown is allegedly stiffing a guy out of $38,000 ... so says the celeb chef who put it in there.

The story is wild ...

Stefano Tedeschi -- who filed a lawsuit against AB just last month -- tells TMZ Sports after cooking for the NFL superstar at the Pro Bowl in 2018, he left a salmon head in the freezer with the intentions of making some soup the next day.

The problem? Apparently, AB and his crew thought it was a threat -- and straight-up kicked him out of their mansion!!!

"The salmon head I thought was a joke," Tedeschi says ... "But, apparently, it was real."

Tedeschi says he had agreed to cook for Brown and all of his friends for 3 days in Florida during Pro Bowl weekend last year.

He says the first day went off swimmingly ... he cooked breakfast and lunch for Antonio and his guys -- and then came back later in the evening to do a big cooking show dinner.

Part of that meal included filleting a salmon -- one Tedeschi had bought with his son earlier in the day. But, when Tedeschi stored the head of the fish in the freezer after the show ... that's when he says all the trouble began.

"Apparently they misunderstood the fish head," Stefano said.

"I said, 'Who could have possibly misunderstood a fish head in the freezer? Tell me, what person with intelligence could have misplaced a fish head for some mob, horse head?!'"

Stefano says when he came back to cook the next day, he was booted from the property and wasn't allowed to retrieve any of his cooking gear that he had left on the premises.

Antonio also didn't allow him to cook the following day ... and, according to Stefano, the receiver never paid him a dime for the weekend.

As we previously reported, Stefano is now suing Brown for $38,521.20 for the weekend, and he tells us all signs are pointing toward an ugly legal battle in court to get the cash.

"AB's team is acting like we're going to go to court ... he's going to drag this thing out, he's got more money than me, blah, blah, blah."

We reached out to Brown's attorney, Darren Heitner, for comment on the fish head story ... and Heitner tells us, "There is no comment on the 'fish head' claim nor any other claim the plaintiff wants to make with the media."

Chris Brown doesn't have to worry about a criminal case against him in Florida anymore -- the charge for allegedly sucker punching a photographer has been dropped.

It's a huge win for the singer, who got arrested last year after the altercation with a photog in a Tampa nightclub called AJA Channelside. We got some video of the alleged incident, but the State's Attorney's Office tells us, "After a thorough review of the facts and information from the alleged victim, our office determined there was insufficient evidence to prosecute."

More specifically, sources with knowledge of the case tell TMZ ... the photog "lacked credibility."

In case you need a refresher, Chris was booked to appear at the club, and according to club management ... Chis and co. were pissed the photog was snapping pics of them when they'd already tried shutting him down and refused any photos. Apparently, the guy kept at it while Chris was in a DJ booth, and CB allegedly lost it.

The photog says Chris socked him in the mouth, and caused some gnarly injuries. Chris was able to leave that night uncuffed, but about a year later ... he was nabbed by cops on an open warrant for his arrest when he returned to the Sunshine State.

As we reported, officers were waiting in the wings at Chris' concert in West Palm Beach last year, and after he was done performing ... they took him in to the station, where he posed for this mug shot. He was released shortly afterward on $2,000 bond.

Chris has gotta be happy about this -- considering he's still got an open rape investigation going on in France. He has not been charged there.

Cristiano Ronaldo is publicly acknowledging he paid $375,000 in hush money to the woman who claims she was raped by the soccer star in 2009 -- but still adamantly denies wrongdoing ... and it's all spelled out in new legal docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Kathryn Mayorga had claimed she took the money from CR7 back in 2010 as part of a private settlement -- and has previously said she signed a confidentiality agreement vowing to keep her mouth shut about the alleged incident.

As we previously reported, Mayorga claims she met Ronaldo at Rain Nightclub in the Palms hotel in June 2009 and went to party with him in his penthouse suite ... where he raped her.

She went to police, but never identified Ronaldo by name -- only describing him as a huge soccer star.

Back in 2018, she publicly ID'd Ronaldo and cops launched an investigation -- but officials ultimately decided NOT to bring charges against CR7 due to lack of evidence.

Ronaldo has adamantly denied the allegations.

Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit against Ronaldo -- and now, Ronaldo has filed new court docs asking a judge to throw out the case because they have a binding settlement agreement PLUS he claims the statute of limitations has LONG expired.

But, what's interesting ... in the same docs, Ronaldo finally acknowledges the amount paid to settle with Mayorga in 2010.

"Mr. Ronaldo paid Plaintiff the sum of $375,000 and both parties agreed to be bound by explicit confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations," the new court docs filed by Ronaldo state.

Several lines of the new court docs explaining the details of the settlement have been redacted -- but Ronaldo's point is clear.

He also says in the court docs the settlement money is NOT an admission of guilt ... but rather just the cost of keeping a legal dispute out of the media.

Lil Yachty is looking at Boosie Badazz's weed case in Georgia with a glass-half-full type of mentality -- and doesn't seem to think he'll do jail time if convicted.

We got the rapper Saturday cruising around in Atlanta in a red Ferrari with a beautiful gal riding passenger, and asked what he made of Boosie's legal predicament there ... where he's currently facing two felonies and possible jail time for a little bit of weed.

TMZ broke the story ... the Coweta County D.A. hit the Louisiana MC with two charges -- possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and possession of a controlled substance -- which are both felonies and carry max sentences of at least 1 year in prison, depending on how many grams he had on him at the time of his bust in April.

Yachty plays the semantics game with us, trying to get to bottom of what the reality of the situation is. Our camera guy got it right though -- Boosie's facing this sentence, which doesn't necessarily mean it's been handed down yet ... or that he'll actually receive it.

That's key for Yachty, who says there's an important word here giving him a feeling that Boosie probably won't be sent back to jail for this one.

Time will tell, we suppose. Remember, Boosie was sent to prison back in 2009 on drug charges in his home state -- which initially started with a marijuana charge -- that him kept him locked up for several years. He was ultimately released early in 2014.

Ezekiel Elliott will NOT face criminal charges over his Las Vegas altercation with a security guard, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to police documents ... the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department met with prosecutors late last month -- and after reviewing all of the evidence in the case, prosecutors felt they could not move forward with charges against the Dallas Cowboys superstar.

We reached out to Zeke's camp for a comment on the matter, but they declined.

As we previously reported ... 19-year-old Kyle Johnson, who was working as a security guard, was knocked over a metal railing during a parking lot dispute on May 19 at the Electric Daisy Carnival.

The Cowboys running back was placed in handcuffs after the shove -- but the 24-year-old was NOT arrested because Johnson told the cops he did not want to press charges.

But, after Zeke was not suspended by the NFL for the incident ... Johnson decided to file a police report.

Cops spent most of July gathering evidence in the case ... but according to the police docs, they decided they will not be moving forward with charges and will close the case.

It's big news for Elliott ... he now has one less thing he to worry about while his contract holdout with the Cowboys pushes forward.

It could've been way worse for Boosie Badazz ... but it's still pretty bad, because he's facing 2 felony charges in Georgia from his April drug bust.

The D.A. in Coweta County slapped the Louisiana rapper with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and possession of a controlled substance. When you see it's less than an ounce of weed, ya might think it's not that serious, but Georgia ain't Colorado or California -- it still takes marijuana very seriously.

As we reported, Boosie was arrested back in April when cops pulled him over in his white Dodge Charger for swerving lanes and nearly hitting another vehicle. During the traffic stop, officers found the ganja, one handgun and more than $20,000 in cash.

Prosecutors decided not to charge Boosie for the gun possession.

It's unclear why he got the pass. Boosie did have a passenger in the car, who is also facing the same 2 drug charges. If convicted, both men are looking at least 1 year in prison ... depending on how many grams of green they had. Remember, Boosie previously did 5 years in Louisiana for drug charges.

One last piece of accounting in the case -- prosecutors tacked on a traffic violation for Boosie ... failure maintain his lane.

The real-life priest who starred in "The Exorcist" is now accused of repeatedly sexually abusing one of his students at a Jesuit High School in upstate NY.

Father William J. O'Malley played Father Dyer in the 1973 classic horror flick, but before and after his Hollywood success ... he taught at McQuaid Jesuit High in Rochester. One of his students just named O'Malley in a massive lawsuit filed this week against multiple defendants.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, O'Malley allegedly sexually abused a then 17-year-old student "multiple times" in '85 and '86. His accuser claims the abuse took place in a classroom, in school hallways and also at school-sponsored events.

As it turns out, O'Malley left McQuaid High after the '85-'86 school year and took a job at Fordham Prep in the Bronx. McQuaid officials say they have no record of any sexual abuse complaints against O'Malley ... so it doesn't appear that was his reason for leaving.

The allegations were made in a lawsuit filed this week under NY's new Child Victims Act ... which gives alleged victims a 1-year window to make claims that would previously have expired under the statute of limitations.

O'Malley is now 87 and living at Fordham University. He was fired from Fordham Prep School in 2012, reportedly for having an "abrasive" old-school teaching style.

Al Harrington was stopped by cops outside his Viola Brands office in Hollywood, and he claims race is the reason.

TMZ Sports got the whole thing on video ... you can see the former NBA star talking to cops, getting a ticket and returning to his (crazy) vehicle.

Of course we wanted to know what the fuss was all about, and asked Al what he did to make the cops stop him.

"Driving while black."

Get this, the whole thing happened steps away from Harrington's business headquarters. The interaction with the police seemed civil.

Prosecutors in the R. Kelly cases revealed some of the evidence they have to prove R. Kelly took underage women across state lines for sexual purposes.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, federal prosecutors in New York have more than a dozen flight records, birth certificates for a number of women, hotel receipts, bank records, medical records and various other business documents. They also have Uber records, photos and text messages.

One of the hotel receipts is for the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. Another is for the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and the Planet Hollywood resort in Vegas.

The end game for prosecutors is to prove R. Kelly violated the Mann Act, which makes it a crime for people to transport people across state lines for illicit sexual purposes.

Kelly is facing criminal charges in multiple jurisdictions -- New York federal court, Illinois federal court, Illinois state court and Minnesota state court.

Jussie Smollett is ready to go on the offensive against the City of Chicago, which is suing him for the cost of investigating what City officials believe was a fake "attack" ... because he's now threatening to file a lawsuit of his own.

Jussie just said in legal docs in the City's case -- where it wants around a half a mil for various costs associated with investigating Jussie's claim he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack last January.

The former "Empire" actor says he's seriously thinking about filing a lawsuit against Chi-Town, "for their conduct underlying the arrest and their conduct thereafter." Translation -- he thinks he's the victim of a malicious prosecution.

R. Kelly believes Michael Jackson's attorney is just the guy he needs to help set him free -- but if that happens, it's gonna come at a steep cost.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly met with famed lawyer Tom Mesereau -- who beat the rap for Michael Jackson back in 2005. We're told after the 4-hour meeting, Kelly was in hook, line and sinker. We're told Mesereau hasn't agreed to rep Kelly -- at least not yet -- but it could very well happen.

Here's the rub. Mesereau is one of the best and most sought after criminal defense lawyers in the country. He's turned prosecutors flat-footed in trials where it seemed open-and-shut against his client. Did we mention he scored a not guilty verdict for accused wife murderer Robert Blake?

That said, Tom doesn't come cheap, and money has become super tight in Kelly's world. He's already hired a battery of lawyers, and he's making next to nothing.

We're told Kelly and his team are trying to figure out ways to raise the money to hire Mesereau.

As for why the singer wants to 86 his current attorney, Steve Greenberg, and his team -- our sources say R. Kelly believes they care way too much about getting media attention for themselves ... Greenberg calls the whole thing, "A complete load of crap."

R. Kelly's financial woes have been well documented -- he needed outside help to pay his initial $100k bond, and spent additional time behind bars because he couldn't ante up $161k in back child support to ex-wife Drea Kelly. He's currently paying Drea $21k/month in support.

We're told if Mesereau is brought on, attorney Raed Shalabi -- who also visited with Kelly Wednesday -- will likely join the team too.

The criminal cases keep piling on. Kelly was recently hit with more sex crime charges, this time in Minnesota, where prosecutors say the disgraced singer once paid a teenage girl to have sexual contact with him in his hotel room.

Michael Madsen just cut a deal in his DUI case ... and he'll spend a few days in jail.

Michael pled no contest Thursday to one misdemeanor count of driving with a .10% blood alcohol content and was sentenced to 4 days in jail and 5 years probation. He's also been ordered to complete community service in the hospital morgue program.

TMZ broke the story ... the veteran actor was busted for DUI back in March, after cops say he crashed his Land Rover into a pole in Malibu. Police say Michael reeked of booze, and he was arrested after bombing a field sobriety test.

The "Reservoir Dogs" star was eventually hit with misdemeanor DUI charges ... and it even cost him a movie gig.

Michael's been down this road before ... he was also busted for DUI in Malibu way back in 2012, when his BAC was twice the legal limit. He entered a 30-day rehab after that bust, and the judge also ordered him to get outpatient treatment.

NBA YoungBoy is a free man again ... after serving nearly 3 months behind bars for his involvement in the Miami shooting that left his GF injured earlier this year.

The rapper embraced his family early Thursday morning when he was released from East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. You can see YoungBoy grinning ear to ear and smoking in celebration as his Mom captured their reunion for social media. Other cameras were there to record the moment he strolled out a free man.

The 19-year-old rapper had been behind bars since May 17 when he was ordered back to jail for violating his probation by getting caught up in a shooting incident on Mother's Day outside Trump International Hotel.

As we reported ... NBA YoungBoy and his crew were on the receiving end of bullets ... leaving a bystander dead. YoungBoy was not hit but his GF, Kay Marie, suffered a gunshot wound. We got video of the wild scene inside the hotel following the gunfire.

YoungBoy -- who was in the 305 to perform at Rolling Loud -- rushed to Kay's side and applied pressure to her wound. Kay was taken out of a black SUV cops had pulled over, and loaded into an ambulance.

A judge ultimately determined YB violated his probation -- stemming from an August 2017 sentence  -- even though he was the target, not the shooter.

Todd Chrisley has more drama on his plate -- his daughter ran to cops a month before he was indicted on tax fraud charges, claiming he tried extorting her with a sex tape to get her to lie ... but Todd claims BS.

Here's the situation ... Todd's daughter, Lindsie  -- who's estranged from the fam -- filed a police report last month in Georgia, alleging her brother, Chase, and her father were harassing her and threatening her with a sex tape of hers she believed Chase purchased.

In the police report, obtained by TMZ, Lindsie claimed Todd and Chase threatened to release the sex tape if she didn't lie about a certain "incident." Sources close to Lindsie say the lie was related to her testimony about the tax mess.

As we reported ... Todd and his wife, Julie, were indicted Tuesday on multiple federal charges ... including tax evasion, bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. They pled not guilty in court Wednesday after turning themselves in, and have denied any wrongdoing.

As for Lindsie's allegation that Todd and Chase were in cahoots, Todd is denying it flat-out ... saying there's no truth to it and Lindsie's lying. Todd says he and Chase didn't purchase Lindsie's sex tape ... which allegedly includes a 'Bachelor' star. He tells us, "Although our hearts are broken, Lindsie is our daughter and we will always love her."

That said, sources connected to Todd tell TMZ he has a suspicion Lindsie might be part of the reason he and Julie got indicted in the first place, although it's unclear why. However, Lindsie's attorney, Musa Ghanayem, tells us that's absurd ... saying any report of Lindsie squealing on her fam is untrue, and that she didn't leak a damn thing.

For the record ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ that Lindsie's case in GA has been officially dismissed, because the alleged threat and harassment occurred in Tennessee.

Former MMA star War Machine -- who is serving a life sentence for brutally beating his ex-GF -- got married behind bars ... and these aren't your typical wedding photos by a long stretch.

War Machine tied the knot with his longtime prison pen pal Ashley Farrington at Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada ... taking a break from lockdown to say, "I do."

The convicted woman-beater slid a gold band on his new wife's finger -- the ring belonged to Ashley's grandmother. Hard to imagine this is what grandma had in mind.

Ashley's son and another family member were on hand for the nuptials ... and War Machine's best man was a guy named Mario Lino.

No wedding cake ... after all, you know what people put in prison cakes, right???

We're told the whole thing lasted 4 hours and was NOT conjugal.

TMZ broke the story ... War Machine proposed to his pen pal in early 2018 by reading her a love poem. He got down on bended knee, asking her to marry him even though he had no ring ... and she said yes.

As we reported ... War Machine was found guilty of sexual assault, battery by strangulation, coercion, kidnapping and several other charges after viciously attacking his ex, porn star, Christy Mack.

War is eligible for parole after 36 years when he's 71 ... so, the honeymoon will have to wait.

Antonio Brown is being sued yet again ... this time a celebrity chef is claiming the NFL superstar stiffed him out of $38,000 at the Pro Bowl in January.

It's all in a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows Stefano Tedeschi -- aka the "Sports Chef" -- is claiming AB hired him to cook during the NFL's All-Star week from Jan. 26 to Jan. 28.

In the lawsuit, Tedeschi claims he and Brown entered into a verbal agreement where AB would pay for 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinners at the receiver's rental property in Osceola County, Florida.

The problem? Tesechi says before he and his crew could feed Brown and his guests their lunch on Jan. 27 (the second day he was hired to cook), AB kicked the chef out of the property.

Tesechi says he wasn't allowed to serve the lunch he had prepared ... and also wasn't able to cook Brown dinner on the 27th or the rest of the meals Brown had agreed to buy on the 28th.

Tesechi claims he was screwed out of a ton of money ... because when Brown kicked him out, he didn't allow the guy to take his culinary gear with him -- and couldn't go serve others during a popular weekend for him.

Tesechi is now suing Brown for $38,521.20 ... claiming that's all the dough the WR owes the celebrity chef for the meals he had planned for the weekend.

For Brown's part, his attorney, Darren Heitner, said in a statement to TMZ Sports, "We expect to be filing a motion to dismiss the complaint and will let the filing speak for itself."

Remember, this is the second time in the last few weeks Brown has been sued ... a famous trainer in California claims the Oakland Raider stiffed him out of $7,194.81 for "unpaid therapy and training services" earlier this year.