CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Tekashi 6ix9ine is pretty much on his knees begging a judge to give him a lighter sentence and a second lease on life -- writing hizzoner a super apologetic note in his words.

The incarcerated MC submitted a personal letter that's attributed to him under his government name -- Daniel Hernandez -- and he sounds incredibly regretful of his past actions ahead of his sentencing next week in front of Judge Paul Engelmayer.

In his letter, Tekashi writes ... "As my sentencing date approaches, I am becoming more and more overwhelmed with emotions. More than anything, I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to express my remorse to you, your Honor, over this situation."

He goes on to say while there's no excuse for his past crimes, he'd still like to apologize and be given the opportunity to turn his life around with a fresh start ... as he's seen the light.

Tekashi69 says, "I know that my life will never be the same but hopefully this change will be for the better because beyond all of this, I still consider myself a role model to millions of people as an artist, a celebrity and as a human being. I'm happy that the public was able to witness me dealing with the consequences of my actions because I feel like it sheds a light on what can come from gang affiliation." He says he knows this was God's plan all along.

6ix9ine continues by disavowing his former gang ties, recounting his kidnapping and declaring definitively that he was seen the error of his ways. He writes, "I now know that I am remorseful for what happened because I was blessed with the gift of an opportunity that most people dream of but I squandered it by getting involved with the wrong people and misrepresenting myself when I should have been true to myself and my fans."

He finishes by writing, "I'm truly sorry for the harm that I've caused. If given a second chance, I will not let this Court down and I will dedicate a portion of my life to helping others not make the same mistakes that I've made."

Of course, prosecutors have already submitted their own request for a lighter sentence in Tekashi 6ix9ine's RICO case ... telling the judge he was a great snitch and helped them seal convictions.

Saucy Santana says the goons who shot him and his friends in a drive-by might be from the same strip club where he was pulling girls away from straight dudes.

We talked to the rapper Wednesday while he was still in his hospital gown ... just a few hours after he and 2 pals were shot in Miami following a late night at a gentleman's club called The Office. Santana makes no bones about it, he thinks this was homophobic retaliation.

Check out his rationale ... Santana, who is openly gay, tells us he believes guys he'd seen at the club were pissed because he and his crew were getting all the love from female strippers.

He posted video of himself partying it up, and he certainly wasn't shying away from the spotlight there ... even doing a little twerking himself. He says he was just having a good time and tipping the dancers, but he believes straight guys there didn't appreciate it one bit.

Fast-forward to around 4 AM ET ... and Santana's friend's Honda was riddled with bullets. A rep for the Florida Highway Patrol tells us a white Chevy sedan pulled up alongside them and opened fire with 6 to 7 shots.

Santana and one pal were shot in the arm, and the third friend was hit in the hand. All of them were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Harvey Weinstein's long battle with his accusers appears to be winding down, he's reached a tentative $25 million settlement with dozens of his alleged victims ... TMZ has confirmed.

The deal, struck Wednesday, means the disgraced studio mogul will NOT be required to admit any wrongdoing or pay anything to his accusers himself. Insurance companies repping The Weinstein Company will shell out the full amount.

More than 30 women accused Weinstein of a variety of allegations ... ranging from sexual harassment to rape. The alleged victims -- from actresses and former employees -- will share the payout ... with 18 alleged victims splitting $6.2 million and no individual getting more than $500k. There's a separate chunk -- $18.5 million -- that'll be set aside for those in a class-action case and future claimants.

The total payout is actually $47 million ... with a huge chunk covering legal costs. The settlement means that all civil suits against Weinstein and The Weinstein Company will also get dismissed. The New York Times was first to report the story.

Genie Harrison, a lawyer for one of the victims, told The NYT,  "I don’t think there’s a markedly better deal to be made. We have really, truly done the best we can under the circumstances, and it’s important for other victims to know this, come forward and be able to get the best level of compensation we were able to get.”

A$AP Rocky is back in the land of milk and honey -- where he was once jailed for weeks on end -- and despite some stormy weather, he's having a blast with locals this time around.

Flacko was seen leaving his hotel in Stockholm Wednesday a few hours before he's set to take the stage at the Ericsson Globe arena. A$AP had one of his handlers holding an umbrella, but he's hardly trying to go incognito.

This is the first time Rocky's been back in Sweden since he was released from custody in August, during his assault trial ... and he's spending a lot of time in "the slums" ... his words. He'd told us he wanted to go to an area known as the "no go zone" to spend time with underprivileged fans -- and he's true to word.

You'll recall ... A$AP also wanted to go back to the prison where he was held for a month to perform for the inmates. Prison officials seemed open to it at first -- but he got shot down at the last second, when he finally submitted a formal request.

Sweden's Prison and Probation Service cited overcrowding at their facility and other security and logistical concerns for not accommodating the rapper.

All good though ... he's gonna do his own thing across the way in front of folks who love him. No harm, no foul.

The fact cops were all over Juice WRLD multiple times -- including an NYC bust last year -- pisses off his friends, who think cops were merely profiling a 20-year-old rich black man who dares to fly on private jets.

Sources who regularly interacted with Juice and were close to him tell TMZ ... all of the run-ins he had with cops are more than suspicious. The fact feds just happened to show up at multiple airports where he and/or his private jet were searched is enough for Juice's inner circle to believe this might well have something to do with race and rappers.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Juice got arrested in 2018 at NYC's LaGuardia Airport after officers responded to a call for "prohibited items" found inside one of his checked bags. We're told the items included a small amount of marijuana and bottles of codeine cough syrup.

Cardi B knows how to make an entrance ... especially at a courthouse where she's facing multiple criminal charges.

The rapper arrived in Queens Tuesday for a hearing in her strip club beatdown case, and was dressed in a large feather/furry coat with a long train dragging behind her. In other words ... fashion gala-ready fab!!!

She appeared to be in good spirits too ... she was flashing smiles for fans waiting nearby on the courthouse steps. It was a flashy entrance for a very brief and uneventful hearing where the next court was set for January.

Cardi pled not guilty in June to new charges, including attempted assault in the 2nd degree. Before that, she was indicted on 12 charges, including 2 counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious physical injury.

As we reported ... this all came after Cardi rejected a plea deal in the case -- she was initially charged with just 2 misdemeanors for allegedly ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders who are sisters -- Jade and Baddie Gi -- back in August 2018.

Cardi's beef with the women allegedly stems from her belief Jade -- who's now Tekashi 6ix9ine's girlfriend -- slept with her husband, Offset.

Jade's been back in the picture recently too -- she put Offset on blast for allegedly slipping into her DMs and posted what she believes is video evidence.

Andy Dick was sentenced to 14 days in jail for his sexual battery case, but is already out after only serving one night behind bars.

Dick was hit with 2 misdemeanor charges for the incident -- one for sexual battery and one for simple battery. A judge ordered him to complete community service, which he failed to complete, so he got the 14 days in L.A. County Jail.

Lucky for Andy, he only had to serve one night -- checking in on December 6 and out on the 7. He caught the break due to jail overcrowding.

We broke the story ... the troubled comedian was charged after a woman filed a police report claiming he squeezed her butt twice as he walked past her on a sidewalk in April 2018.

As we've reported ... this isn't the only recent legal problem for Andy. He pled not guilty to one count of misdemeanor sexual battery for allegedly groping his Uber driver, also in April 2018. The male driver claimed Dick reached over from the back seat and grabbed his crotch.

Andy was involved in a bizarre street fight with an Uber Eats driver in October as well, which resulted in him being slammed to the ground and his head hitting the pavement. However, because he allegedly started the altercation by trying to take some food from the delivery guy ... he was named a suspect in a battery investigation.

Britt McHenry is calling FOX News a "sanctuary for sexual harassers" in a new lawsuit she's filed against the network and her former "Un-PC" cohost, Tyrus.

In the lawsuit, Britt says the only "zero tolerance" FOX News is demonstrating is for her ... the woman who's complained 4 times about sexual harassment -- an obvious jab at the network saying it doesn't allow any sexual harassment.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Britt claims the network refused to investigate some of her claims, shunned her, shut her out of company events and refused to allow her to appear as a guest on other FOX News shows.

She claims the retaliation is a result of her blowing the whistle on Tyrus -- a former pro wrestler -- who she claims crudely sexually harassed her in 2018 with text messages that included threats of a d**k pic, and comments about her butt and legs.

She also claims she complained to HR and management but instead of putting the kibosh on Tyrus, they retaliated against her and gave Tyrus his own show. In the suit, she says FOX never disciplined Tyrus because he showed investigators photos and texts of her cleavage and nearly bare breast.

The messages made it seem like Britt and Tyurs were both flirting with each other -- but she claims, in the suit, the pics and texts were doctored and not really her.

As we first reported ... Britt filed a sexual harassment complaint with New York State's Division of Human Rights.

In the suit, Britt says even after payouts of over $100 million in recent sexual harassment scandals, "Fox News remains a sanctuary for sexual harassers, coddling and enabling the men who abuse female employees."

We've reached out to FOX News and Tyrus ... so far no word back.

Harvey Weinstein's lawyer has his back, and not just in court -- she's making it clear the disgraced studio mogul's NOT faking back pain for sympathy, and will actually need surgery.

Weinstein's lead attorney, Donna Rotunno, says Weinstein's back problems have gotten worse and he's scheduled to undergo surgery this week to fix the issue. The back issue, Rotunno says, stems from a serious car accident in August, which also resulted in a concussion.

Rotunno says Weinstein's been using a walker to assist him as his pain's increased. You'll recall, last week Weinstein could barely walk out of court without help from a couple of handlers. Weinstein was widely slammed for attempting to play the sympathy card.

But, Rotunno came out swinging ... slamming haters by saying, "I was dismayed to see all the press coverage incorrectly stating that Mr. Weinstein was trying to garner sympathy at his court appearance."

She went on, "Prior to entering the court, he wanted to leave the walker in the car, so it did not appear that he was looking for sympathy as he is not. The press surrounding his physical condition is mean spirited and false."

Bill Cosby's effort to get his sexual assault conviction overturned has been denied ... because the appellate court wasn't buying what he tried to sell.

According to new legal docs ... Cosby's claims about unfair testimony in the Andrea Constand case were ruled invalid. Cosby felt the testimony from 5 other women was bogus because their allegations were more than 15 years old, and too different from Constand's allegations.

The appellate court ruled the testimony from the women was warranted because it established Cosby's "unique sexual assault playbook" ... and spells out exactly what it was.

According to the docs ... Cosby would target women substantially younger than him, invite them to hang out, get them to trust him because of his celebrity status, ply them with intoxicants and then sexually assault them while they were not fully conscious.

The appellate court ruled the trial court in Cosby's case did nothing wrong, and the testimony established the disgraced comedian's predictable pattern of behavior.

The court also rejected additional arguments by Cosby, including his long-held stance that he had a deal with the D.A. not to prosecute him.

As we've reported ... 82-year-old Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years for sexually assaulting Constand at his home his 2004.

R. Kelly's former tour manager, Demetrius Smith, will testify on the singer's marriage to Aaliyah in one of his federal trials ... but he doesn't want to see Kelly thrown in prison.

Demetrius claims he purchased a fake ID for Aaliyah back in 1994, when she was only 15, so she would be able to marry Kelly ... but he tells us he doesn't want that to be the reason Kelly gets convicted.

As we first reported ... prosecutors say the fake ID purchase constitutes bribery, and they've added the allegation to the racketeering charge against Kelly in the Eastern District of New York.

The way Demetrius sees it, Aaliyah's parents have known about the allegation for over a decade -- Smith wrote about it in his book and spoke out about it in "Surviving R. Kelly" -- and they made their peace with it and moved on ... so he wants others to do the same.

Demetrius also says he hates to see Aaliyah's name getting dragged into Kelly's case all these years after her tragic death ... and he thinks prosecutors are just trying to lock Kelly up without looking at the bigger picture.

Instead of a prison sentence, Demetrius thinks Kelly needs to get mental help.

Kim K is doing exactly what she needs to in the collective fight for criminal justice reform -- no more, and no less ... so says the famed defense attorney who inspired 'Just Mercy.'

We ran into Bryan Stevenson Saturday in NYC, where he was doing press for the new flick about his real-life role in exonerating Alabama death row inmate Walter McMillian in the '90s. Michael B. Jordan plays him in the upcoming feature, opposite Jamie Foxx.

Seeing how he's a lifelong crusader for the cause, our photog asked what he made of Kim's efforts to help put a spotlight on prisoners she feels have been railroaded by the system ... including death row inmate Rodney Reed, who was recently granted a stay of execution.

You'll recall ... Kim was with Rodney when he heard the news, and according to her -- he praised Jesus in the moment. She and plenty of others had pled with Gov. Abbott to halt Rodney's execution and consider revisiting his case in light of new evidence.

As far as Bryan's concerned, Kim's doing a good thing by using her platform to bring attention to these cases ... but he stops short of saying she's a glorified savior of any kind.

If anything, it sounds like he's downplaying how she'll be remembered -- and based on his careful answer, he doesn't seem to believe her work is on his level ... not yet, anyway.

Kaskade's no longer dropping beats at Las Vegas' club Kaos ... he's just dropping lawsuits on them for, in his eyes, screwing him out of a 2-year deal.

The world-famous DJ is suing FP Holdings, the company behind the Palms Casino Resort ... where Kaskade was hired to spin at Kaos -- a massive indoor/outdoor dayclub and nightclub. Problem is, Kaos closed almost as quickly as it opened.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Kaskade signed a 2-year deal with the casino to perform 30 gigs in 2019, and 30 more in 2020. He did 20 this year, through September, but then the company canceled Kaskade's 3 October performances ... and apparently never mentioned anything about closing. However, it did pay him for those 3 shows.

Kaskade says he offered the club alternate dates when he could make up those dates -- but on Nov. 5 the casino announced Kaos was closing its doors for good. He asked the casino for alternative locations to perform, but says he didn't get a response.

As they say, Kaskade ain't got no time for sympathy -- just because the club closed, he says he's still got a deal, and he's suing to get the money he's owed under that contract.

Tekashi 6ix9ine deserves a much lighter prison sentence due to his cooperation -- AKA snitching -- according to federal prosecutors who are officially asking the judge for leniency.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York lays out the reasons for a reduced sentence for the rapper. They say his assistance was "incredibly significant and extremely useful" in prosecuting and convicting 2 members of the Nine Trey Bloods.

Even the feds acknowledge Tekashi's testimony in open court put a target on his back and endangered his family. In the docs, prosecutors say, "There's no question that the defendant's life will never be the same because of his cooperation in this case." They add he and his family will need "extra safety precautions" at all times to avoid a revenge attack.

The feds say 6ix9ine walked them through his social media posts to provide context for the criminal actions of the gang -- which they say the defendants, Anthony "Harv" Ellison and Aljermiah Mack, claimed was all a hoax to promote Tekashi's music. They say his testimony convinced the jury otherwise.

As we reported ... Tekashi copped a plea deal after pleading guilty to racketeering, firearms offenses, conspiracy, narcotics trafficking and other crimes. 6ix9ine agreed to be a cooperating witness, and without that would be facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 47 years in prison.

R. Kelly's girlfriend is officially breaking her silence with a video that refutes the abuse claims attributed to her on a Patreon account ... claims she calls total BS.

Joycelyn Savage says she wants to clear her name following reports she'd turned on Kelly by posting dirty deets about their relationship on the paysite, Patreon. She says she had nothing to do with the site, and STILL has no plans to assassinate Kelly's character.

But, in this video we obtained ... Joycelyn starts out reading a prepared statement, or, as Kelly's critics might call it ... a script.

As for the claims of abuse, purportedly made in her name on Patreon, she says they were all flat-out false -- and she blames an impostor for launching that page, as well as an Instagram account bearing her name.

Joycelyn also reveals the current status of her relationship with Kelly, saying they communicate daily.

It should be noted ... lots of people had cast doubt as to the veracity of the Patreon account, including R. Kelly accuser Lisa Van Allen, who explained her rationale to us on "TMZ Live."

Joycelyn did go off script later in her video statement ... adding both she and Azriel Clary are still firmly in Kelly's corner, although Azriel never appears on camera.

As we reported, Patreon shut down the alleged Joycelyn account after it couldn't authenticate the owner's identity.

R. Kelly, meanwhile, is still behind bars ... and dealing with multiple federal and state sexual abuse cases, but Joycelyn says she still sees him regularly.

A$AP Rocky will NOT be performing at the Swedish prison where he was detained for several weeks earlier this year -- but hey, at least he can say he tried in good faith.

The rapper is heading back to Sweden in about a week for a concert on Dec. 11 -- and while he's expressed interest in possibly playing a gig for the inmates at Kronoberg prison ... it ain't gonna happen.

The reason ... a honcho with Sweden's Prison and Probation Service tells TMZ there were logistical and security concerns that prevented them from getting something together.

You'll recall, Rocky himself was a prisoner for a good while this summer as his assault case stalled.

As you know, Rocky told us he was very interested in heading back to the Euro country and giving back for the inmates with whom he was once jailed. And, of course, the same Prison and Probation Service that's denying him now said they were open to the idea as well.

So, what's with the cold shoulder then? Well, specifically, the Service cited a high occupancy as the main reason for saying no. There might be other issues, though, based on Rocky's written request ... which TMZ has obtained. In a letter written sent to prison officials Tuesday -- in Swedish, no less -- AR's team formally made the ask.

According to the doc, Rocky says he wanted to swing by Kronoberg while he was in town and bring a DJ and what sounds like 11 accompanying performers and tech crew members. He also requested to have 4 to 5 different camera guys there to document it.