CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Taylor Swift's fave director -- who did her latest music video along with her "Bad Blood" vid -- has some bad blood with a former employee who now has to stay 100 yards away and stop harassing him online ... according to new legal docs.

"Look What You Made Me Do" director Joseph Kahn got a temporary restraining order against a man who he claims has been sending him disturbing emails and tagging him on angry posts off and on since 2009. According to the docs, the man briefly worked for Kahn but was let go in 2008 because he found him "unstable and unreliable."

Kahn claims the man began relentlessly harassing him afterward via email by talking to him like a dog, making comments about his penis, insulting his character, and sending "pornographic emails depicting [the man] being sodomized."

Kahn says the emails started up again in September, with a creepy message saying "Now sit and wait for your treat" followed by explanation/apology a couple days later saying ... "I am insanely chemically unbalanced even when sober."

The music vid director asked the judge for the restraining order because he feared for his safety, and the judge agreed.

Joseph won a Grammy in 2015 for "Bad Blood" and also 2003 for Eminem's "Without Me." He's also worked with artists like Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Chris Brown and U2.

Liziane Gutierrez, the woman Chris Brown allegedly attacked in his Vegas hotel room for taking a pic of him, made off with some loot after the two settled her lawsuit against him.

We're told a settlement became official today. The question ... how much? Sources familiar with the negotiation tell us, there was some sort of preliminary talk of $70,000, but other sources say the monetary amount agreed upon was substantially less.

Gutierrez sued Brown in February of last year after she claimed he punched her in the eye and took her phone after she tried to snap his pic during a private party in his Palms Hotel suite.

Police never charged Chris with any crime and Chris had denied any wrongdoing saying Liziane was "too ugly" to attend one of his parties.

9:58 AM PT -- The CEO of Memory Lane tells TMZ, "Memory Lane Music takes pride in maintaining a positive relationship with all of our clients. We have not yet seen the lawsuit in question but it is our policy not to comment on ongoing litigation."

The family of the guy who wrote "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" says they've been getting nothing but lumps of coal, when they should've been cashing in big on the holiday classic.

The tune was written by Haven Gillespie way back in the 1930s. Haven's been dead since 1975, but his family says it entrusted Memory Lane Music Group to continue collecting royalties on Gillespie's catalog. He also wrote, "You Go to My Head" and "That Lucky Old Sun" ... but they know the real money maker is 'Santa Claus.'

In a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Gillespie's fam says Memory Lane is supposed to send them checks for 85 percent of all royalties, while the co. keeps 15 percent. The family says it met with Memory Lane's honcho in April, and he copped to having been very naughty for the last 2 years.

They claim he admitted stealing, so ... go ahead and check that twice, Santa.

According to the docs, the thievery cost Gillespie's heirs more than $700k -- and they're suing to get back the cash.

Ryan Phillippe has hired a high-powered civil litigator to go after the woman claiming he beat her up ... and he's using the "Taylor Swift" model of lawsuits ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected with Ryan tell us, Ryan's plan is to file either a defamation or malicious prosecution lawsuit against Elsie Hewitt, who has claimed in her own lawsuit Ryan was under the influence on July 4 and allegedly attacked her and threw her down the stairs.

Ryan has said she made it all up and was actually the aggressor who attacked him after he broke up with her.

Ryan wants an acknowledgement from Hewitt she was lying or, short of that, he wants a judge or jury to make the point. And, ala Taylor Swift, Ryan will donate any money he gets to domestic violence orgs, although he doesn't think she has money to pay.

With his driving privileges officially suspended, Wayne Rooney did what any mega-rich star would do to get to soccer practice ... he hired a driver.

Check out a stone-faced Rooney riding shotgun on his way to Everton F.C.'s training facility on Tuesday -- ridin' shotgun in a black Range Rover.

24 hours before this photo, Rooney plead guilty to the British version of DUI and the judge pulled his driver's license for 2 years.

FYI, Wayne was arrested on Sept. 1 after officials say he was driving a VW Beetle while HAMMERED. He also had a female passenger in the car at the time.

Ryan Phillippe is strongly denying he laid a hand on his ex-girlfriend.

His camp tells TMZ ... "As a staunch advocate for the health, well-being and equality of women, Ryan is completely devastated that these false allegations have been made and circulated. Domestic violence is an incredibly serious issue and fabricated and proven false claims should not be used to unjustly slander the falsely accused."

As we reported, Elsie Hewitt got a protective order against Ryan and also sued him for more than $1 million ... claiming he attacked her in a drunken rage and threw her down a flight of stairs.

Kevin Hart partied with a woman -- who is now at the center of the sexually explicit video -- for an entire weekend last month, and we've learned she's a stripper who hits up whatever clubs she can book.

Her name is Montia Sabbag, although she sometimes spells it Montiah Sabagg. She's 27, lives in Long Beach, CA and met Kevin during a pretty wild weekend in Vegas back in August.

The first frames of the 4 minute and 47 second video are a pic of Kevin and Montia. You can't see who's on the bed during the most explicit portion of the tape, but after the bed scene 2 people who look like Kevin and Montia are walking around in various stages of undress.

We're told Kevin had never met her before and has not had any encounters with her since.

As we reported, she denies she had anything to do with shooting the video, but authorities are not so sure. We're told there were other people present during the weekend and investigators are tracking them all down, with the intent of serving search warrants as quickly as possible.

The brass ring for law enforcement is decoding the encrypted emails the extortionist sent to Kevin's people and figuring out the sender's identity.

As we reported, Montia lawyered up almost immediately after Kevin's team contacted her, and her lawyer said she would sit for a lie detector test if Kevin paid her $420,000.

Our sources say before making a multi-million dollar demand to Kevin in return for keeping the video a secret, the extortionist tried to get at least one media outlet to pay $15 million for the highly produced video.

Mel B's efforts to get her domestic violence case sealed have fallen short ... the judge shot her down.

According to docs, the judge denied her request to have the courtroom closed, and to have all the records sealed from the public. As we reported, Mel says Stephen Belafonte will expose explicit sex tapes -- some of which feature the couple -- as evidence in the case ... and she doesn't want her children to find out about them.

The judge addressed that concern directly, saying "salacious details" like sex tapes are generally not reason enough to seal a case. He did acknowledge things directly related to the children, such as visitation schedules, would NOT be revealed in open court.

Taylor's rep tells TMZ, "This is a ridiculous claim and nothing more than a money grab. The law is simple and clear. They do not have a case."

Taylor Swift's massive hit "Shake it Off" was not really hers ... so claim 2 accomplished songwriters who wrote a hit song with similar lyrics 16 years ago ... at least that's what they're saying in a new lawsuit.

Sean Hall and Nathan Butler say they wrote a song entitled "Playas Gon' Play" back in 2001, and it Hit #81 on Billboard Hot 100. It was recorded by a big girl group, 3LW.

Among the lyrics ... "Playas, they gonna play and haters, they gonna hate."

Not hard to figure out the rest. Hall and Butler say 20% of "Shake it Off" is their song.

BTW, Butler has worked with the Backstreet Boys, Christina Milian, Aaron Carter and Victoria Beckham. Hall has worked with Justin Bieber, Lionel Richie, Pink and Maroon 5.

Butler is being repped by Gerard Fox Law and Julian Everly Shervington Wright.

They want a ton of money.

Rick Caruso says O.J. Simpson is free to roam the grounds of The Grove once he gets out of prison later this year ... just so long as he's nicer, and more respectful than Donald Trump.

We got the billionaire developer, who owns The Grove, Monday at his famous shopping center and asked if O.J. was welcome. Surprise! Holiday shopping just got more interesting in L.A.!

Rick explained he only has issues with folks who are, essentially, meanies ... like he once thought Trump was when he initially banned him. Ditto for Manny Pacquiao.

As we told you, O.J.'s Florida-bound, so the point could be moot -- but Caruso, at least, is open to give him a second third chance.

"Narcos" producers are warning Pablo Escobar's brother to back the hell off trying to cash in on the popular Netflix show's name and fame ... according to docs.

Lawyers for "Narcos" fired off a cease and desist letter to Roberto Escobar's company telling him he's got no business filing trademark applications for "Narcos" and "Cartel Wars" because both terms are very clearly already attached to the show. "Narcos: Cartel Wars" is a popular video game.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, the producers say Pablo's older bro is making some outlandish claims in his applications. For instance, they say he claimed to use "NARCOS" in connection with a website in 1986 -- but they're calling BS because the internet barely existed back then.

A rep for Escobar's company tells us their attorney is in discussions with "Narcos" to settle.

A woman Kevin Hart was photographed with earlier this summer has now been accused of being at the center of his extortion video ... but she's calling BS, and our information is also that she's not the woman in the video.

Monique "Momo" Gonzalez, a Miami based singer, has been raked over the coals online ever since Kevin's apology video and extortion case came to light over the weekend ... with lots of folks saying she's the lady with whom Kevin allegedly cheated.

Monique's saying its absolutely untrue, and sources close to Kevin back that up. She says she never hooked up with Hart.

A rep for the singer tells TMZ ... despite photos that surfaced in July showing them in a car together, their interaction that night was strictly a friendly convo ... nothing more.

As we reported ... the woman who's pictured with Kevin in the video has demanded lots of cash to take a lie detector test.

The L.A. County D.A. is on the case and honing in on at least one suspect.

5:05 PM PT -- Sources connected with Ryan tell TMZ, Elsie showed up to Ryan's house uninvited and under the influence several days after he broke up with her.  They say she was the one who attacked Ryan and refused to leave his home.  He removed her from the premises and he claims she fell and hurt herself.

Sources close to Ryan say the L.A. City Attorney refused to prosecute after investigating, and they claim she's filed this lawsuit out of revenge. We're told Ryan's side finds it amusing Elsie has sent glamour shots of herself to the media and is out for money and fame.

Ryan Phillippe's girlfriend has just filed a lawsuit against the actor, claiming he abuses cocaine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and steroids, and has beaten her badly.

Elsie Hewitt claims in the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, on July 4th, she went to pick up things from his house and she realized he was extremely drunk. She says after she tried talking with him he attacked her, grabbed her upper arm so hard it left heavy bruises and violently threw her down the stairs as hard as he could.

She claims he continued his assault and picked her up like a doll and threw her down the stairs again. He then screamed, "Get the f*** out of my house you crazy c**t."

She went to the hospital, cops took a report and she got a protective order.

She suffered chest wall pain, abrasions and severe bruising.

Kevin Hart is aggressively helping authorities nab the people who tried extorting him over that sexually charged video ... and TMZ has learned he's speaking with them today to tell them everything he knows.

Sources connected with Hart tell us Kevin is talking to law enforcement by phone today on a call that is expected to last around an hour and a half. Our sources say he's livid at the culprits and wants them caught so bad he's willing to stop everything else he's doing to help.

We're told this will be the second extended conversation he's had with law enforcement.

As for who the culprits are ... no one knows for sure, although everyone involved has their suspicions. We're told the woman in the photo with Kevin that appears at the beginning of the video has told Kevin's people she knew nothing about the video, suggesting she's a victim, too.

But the woman immediately lawyered up. As we first reported, the lawyer contacted Kevin's people and said his client would take a lie detector test, but only if she was paid 6 figures. We're now told that amount is $420k.

12:30 PM PT -- Tesla says they've investigated DeWitt Lambert's complaint, and the other employees involved told a much different version of events leading up to the recording showing them using the n-word. In fact, Tesla says they now have personal instant messages where Lambert not only uses the n-word ... but says he was seeking revenge on his co-workers.

Bottom line: Tesla says they've suspended Lambert, with pay, while they reopen the investigation.

An African-American man who worked for Tesla claims he was harassed by other employees and called the n-word.

DeWitt Lambert filed a federal lawsuit, claiming he started working for the car company in 2015 and served as a production associate. He says the harassment began almost immediately. It started with hazing type stuff -- putting stickers on his back, putting nuts and screws in his pocket and hiding his tools.

Lambert says things escalated a few months into the job and he got a menacing recording on his phone ..."N****r, we take your ass home, n****r. Shred you up in pieces, n****r. Cut you up n****r, send your ass [to] everyone in yo family so everybody can have a piece of you, n****r. Straight up, n****r. We get down like that, n****r."

The lawsuit also claims employees humiliated him, sticking a drill gun in his butt while he was bent over. They also routinely made comments about the size of his penis.

Lambert says after he complained, some of the alleged harassers were actually rewarded with a promotion.

He's claiming discrimination, a hostile work environment and wants an unspecified amount in damages.

We reached out to Tesla ... so far no word back.

The singer from Next is being sued for allegedly being a deadbeat tenant.

TMZ has obtained a copy of a lawsuit in which Raphael Brown is being hauled to court by his landlord, claiming the singer is late on 5 months of rent.

To be exact, the landlord says she's owed $48,000 in back rent.

BTW ... the crib is a palatial estate in Encino, which vaguely resembles a castle ... although it's not in the Alps. It's in the San Fernando Valley.