CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Seattle Seahawks superstar Michael Bennett says a police officer threatened to "blow my f*cking head off" during a heated incident in Vegas on the weekend of the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight.

Bennett says he was heading back to his hotel room after the fight when he heard gunshots ring out.

"Like many people in the area, I ran away from the sound, looking for safety," Bennett says in a statement.

Bennett says Las Vegas police "singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time."

One of the cops, Bennett claims, "ordered me to get on the ground" and told him that if he moved he would "blow my f*cking head off."

Bennett says another officer put his knee in his back, making it hard for him to breathe. He was then cuffed so tightly that his fingers went numb.

The 31-year-old says he thought he was going to die and his life flashed before his eyes.

Bennett says cops eventually realized he was not involved in the shooting and let him go -- but the NFL star says he's furious about the situation and has lawyered up to explore his legal options.

We've reached out to the Las Vegas Metro PD for comment -- so far, no word back.

FYI, Bennett has sat for the national anthem during Seahawks pre-season games -- and he says this incident has only strengthened his resolve.

It was Terrell Owens, Tim Tebow ... and now, Ezekiel Elliott is the "ratings baby" the media is glomming on to ... so says Michael Irvin.

You know what he's talking about -- when a story becomes such a big deal, news outlets will streeeeetch in a shameless way for an angle involving the media topic everyone cares about.

This time, Irvin says, the media knows Zeke's scandal is a magnet for viewers ... and he's seen some networks reach new lows trying to exploit the running back's issues for a ratings pop.

Martin Shkreli's got interesting timing for wanting to make a buck ... he's now selling off his famous $2 million Wu-Tang Clan album on eBay.

Shkreli posted an eBay listing Tuesday night for the only copy of Wu-Tang's album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," for a starting price of just $1 ... this after being convicted in his securities fraud case last month. Bids, for the record, reportedly went as high as $55k within an hour.

Again, the timing is all but too coincidental here. You'll recall ... Shkreli faced the possibility of having his rare, precious album seized by feds for possible restitution if he was convicted, which he was. A sentence has not been handed down yet, though.

In the eBay listing description, Shkreli says he'll pay up to $25,000 in legal fees related to the sale ... but also says he reserves the right to pull out of the deal at any time.

Ezekiel Elliott has officially taken an L with his domestic violence appeal ... as the NFL upheld the RB's 6-game suspension Tuesday following an arbitration hearing at the league's NYC headquarters.

NFL-appointed arbitrator, Harold Henderson, handed down the verdict ... after hearing Elliott's case from a team led by Jeffrey Kessler -- the lawyer who's repped the NFLPA on several landmark appeals including DeflateGate.

Zeke also gave his side of the story while under oath ... according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

The league suspended Elliott earlier this month after finding "substantial evidence" he engaged in physical violence against his then-girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson -- a claim the Cowboys superstar has adamantly denied.

Elliott's team was reportedly prepared for this outcome ... as Henderson denied a request to have Thompson testify at the appeal proceeding. Henderson also barred the introduction of notes and materials gathered in the NFL's interviews with Thompson.

Zeke's legal team says, "We are extremely disappointed with Mr. Henderson's inability to navigate through league politics, and follow the evidence and, most importantly, his conscience." Next step is federal court, where Cowboys star will ask a judge to reduce his suspension.

The woman publicly accusing Usher of exposing her to herpes claims she got the whole shebang on tape, and there's footage placing him at her hotel, too.

Quantasia Sharpton told YouTube vlogger Miss Jacob Kohinoor ... she filmed the alleged sex act with Usher, and the real shocker -- she claims the singer knew he was being recorded.

Quantasia also said her rep, celeb attorney Lisa Bloom, is attempting to subpoena hotel surveillance video which she claims shows Usher going to her hotel room in 2014.

DON'T EVER GIVE DRUNK DRIVERS A PASS ... that's the message M.A.D.D. has for Rod Stewart after the singer defended Wayne Rooney after his DUI arrest.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving unloaded on Stewart over comments he made to TMZ Sports ... in which Rod asked the public to forgive the soccer superstar because "we all make mistakes."

"MADD is appalled the music icon Rod Stewart referred to drunk driving as a mistake," the org. said in a statement.

"While we are relieved that Rooney’s alleged drunk driving killed or injured no one, excuses should never be made for anyone who makes the choice to endanger lives in this manner."

"Drunk driving is a 100% preventable choice, 100% of the time. To say anything to the contrary diminishes the seriousness of the crime and is a smack in the face to drunk driving victims everywhere."

For the record, Rooney was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving early Friday morning but hasn't been convicted.

No ruling yet ... but it's close.

The NFL Player's Association has said the arbitrator overseeing Ezekiel Elliott's appeal of his 6-game suspension was trying to issue his decision by end of business day on Tuesday -- but so far, nothing yet.

The operative word in that sentence is "trying" -- we're told the arbitrator has a lot of material to comb through and wants to be thorough ... he doesn't want to rush out a decision.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel appeared in a courtroom in Sherman, Texas where he filed documents in federal court asking for a restraining order against the NFL, barring the league from enforcing punishment stemming from the domestic violence investigation.

Rae Sremmurd didn't just spray their crowd with water, they chucked full bottles and wrecked one guy's face ... according to a new lawsuit.

A Michigan man -- repped by Jonathan Marko -- is suing the duo for recklessly throwing the bottled water during an October 2016 concert. According to the docs, Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi offered no warning before firing the bottles, one of which blasted this guy square in the nose.

In the suit, the man says he was hit so forcefully ... "a chunk of his face" was ripped off, and he immediately went to the hospital. He claims he suffered permanent scarring and disfigurement.

Rae Sremmurd's being sued for negligence, assault and battery ... and the guy wants his medical bills paid along with damages.

Prince William and Kate have another reason to smile this week ... they just scored more than $200k in a lawsuit over topless pics of the Duchess of Cambridge.

A French court imposed maximum fines Tuesday against Closer magazine -- as well as its editor and owner -- for publishing topless photos of Kate in 2012. A judge ordered the magazine to pay $119,000 in damages. The editor and owner also have to cough up $53k each in fines.

The lawsuit stems from photos taken of Kate while she was sunbathing topless at a private villa in France. The royal family deemed the magazine spread an invasion of privacy, and Wills and Kate sued.

The court's ruling comes one day after the couple announced baby #3 is on the way. This oughta help cover that kid's college tuition.

The NFL has filed 2 scathing new legal documents -- seeking to block Ezekiel Elliott and the NFL Player's Association from challenging the league's 6 game suspension ... and ripping the RB along the way.

The 1st document, filed in federal court in Texas, the NFL asks the judge to reject the NFLPA's request to throw out whatever punishment the arbitrator hands out to the Cowboys star.

Since the arbitrator hasn't ruled yet, the NFL says in the court docs, "the NFLPA lacks standing to vacate a hypothetical award." The league calls the NFLPA's motion an "utter waste of judicial resources."

In the 2nd document, also filed in federal court in Texas, the NFL is again essentially trying to block the imposition of the arbitrator's ruling.

This time, the NFL fires back against Elliott's claim that he has suffered "reputational harm" from the league's investigation and punishment.

"To the extent Elliott has suffered reputational harm, that harm is due to his own actions, including the well-publicized actions that led [the accuser] to call the Columbus Police Dept."

The league continued, "The NFLPA's concerns about reputational harm ring especially hollow given the avalanche of publicity the NFLPA engendered by filing the damning details of Elliott's misconduct on a public document."

The federal court judge has yet to rule. Ditto for the arbitrator overseeing Elliott's appeal.

Toni Basil's hit music video for "Mickey" got jacked by JibJab so they could use it to cash in on their musical e-cards ... according to a new lawsuit filed by the singer.

According to the docs ... JibJab never checked to see who owned the music when it unveiled a "Mickey" promo vid in February 2017 that used Toni's voice, image and likeness.

She also claims JibJab used the "Mickey" e-card as a promo ad to get customers to subscribe to its other products and services. Translation -- it was a moneymaker.

Basil says she's become "despondent and physically ill" over this, and now suffers from sleep deprivation, nightmares and anxiety.

She's suing for damages and lost profits, and wants extra for her emotional distress.

JibJab claims it did obtain a license for the video, but honored her request to take it down once it learned she was in a separate dispute over the rights ... and will address her allegations in court if needed.

The women who is suing Usher for allegedly giving her genital herpes believes the singer is fraudulently transferring all of his assets ... so they can not be seized to satisfy the 20 million dollar judgement she has requested.

The woman -- only identified as Jane Doe -- says she has reason to believe Usher is transferring his wealth to others so it can not be touched in the event he loses the case. She says on the other hand she really doesn't know he is doing that ... but that she fears he might.

In legal docs the woman's lawyer Lisa West claims Usher may be up to no good because he delayed the discovery process in the lawsuit by 90 days. The insinuation ... Usher didn't want to disclose his assets during the discovery phase in order to have the time to hide them.

Lil Yachty probably didn't know it ... but the cops who pulled him over hail from the same police department that recently fired a lieutenant caught on dash cam video saying, "We only kill black people."

Cobb County police tell TMZ ... the rapper was driving his Bentley coupe Wednesday in Mableton, GA where a motorcycle cop was stationed with radar gun in hand. We're told Yachty's whip registered well above the 45 MPH speed limit for ticket No. 1.

When the officer approached Yachty's car, we're told the cop also saw Yachty not wearing his seat belt -- ticket No. 2. All in all, dude could be looking at over $300 in fines along with a mandatory court appearance in his future.

Post Malone is exonerating Ezekiel Elliott with his suspension appeal ongoing -- saying the Dallas Cowboys RB "did NOTHING wrong" and shouldn't have to sit out.

"Free Zeke -- you did nothing wrong, Zeke," Post told TMZ Sports outside TAO in Vegas.

Post is a HUGE Cowboys fan -- and clearly thinks the NFL's gotta ease up on his 6-game ban for allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend.

Even if they don't, the rapper told us his "Boys are goin' ALL THE WAY this year" ... as long as they don't toke up too much during the season.

But don't get it twisted -- Post is 100% down with weed being legal -- in the NFL and in general.

A woman is suing her ex-boyfriend and his employer, Monster Energy Drink, after he allegedly tried to bite her finger off during a work trip.

The woman claims her BF was Monster's head of music marketing and flew her out to the 2016 Country Music Awards in Nashville. In legal docs, she says he got them a hotel room and her plane ticket from L.A. all at Monster's expense.

She claims he was drunk from the moment he picked her up at the airport, and his heavy drinking led to a fight later in their hotel room. According to the suit, he choked her and the only way she could free herself was by poking him in the eye, and when she did ... he bit her thumb.

The woman says the bite got infected, and she had to be hospitalized for 24 hours. She claims Monster knew he had a drinking problem, but didn't do anything about it.

Chuck D and Flavor Flav WILL be on stage together for Public Enemy's next live show, even though Flav is accusing Chuck of ripping him off ... TMZ has learned.

Chuck D responded to Flav's lawsuit, telling us ... "Flav HAS HIS rights, but took a wrong road on this." The rap legend says his P.E. bandmate is just pissed about a third party merchandiser and the way the record biz now works.

TMZ broke the story ... Flavor Flav sued Chuck and several P.E. producers, claiming they've cut him off from royalties, merchandising dough and performance fees.

Still, Chuck made it clear ... "We will be [together] on a future stage." He also thinks Flav "will again be embarrassed admitting on stage about the way it spun out. It’s always this way with him."

He added he's ready and willing to address Flav's concerns in the future, but right now he just hopes his partner "will be woke in rehearsal studio and paying attention to the work we and all the members do worldwide."

Translation: Chuck's all good, but it's up to Flav to show up for the gigs.