CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Ryan Phillippe is back to walking the walk -- with some assistance -- but he's definitely not talking the talk when it comes to his legal battle with ex-gf, Elsie Hewitt.

We got Ryan Wednesday at LAX, where he was expertly speed crutching his way to TSA -- and giving us an update on his recovery from what he initially called a "freak accident." You'll recall, TMZ later found out Ryan's leg was crushed by a UTV.

The new owner of the Playboy Mansion was targeted by his former assistant in an extortion plot ... according to a new lawsuit.

Daren Metropoulos is fighting back in court against the assistant his company hired in 2014. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the woman resigned in early 2017 ... and 3 months later started demanding millions. Metropoulos -- who's also heir to the Pabst Blue Ribbon fortune -- says she threatened to spread lies about him mistreating and harassing women.

He says the ex-assistant targeted him on the heels of his mega-deal to purchase the Mansion.

In the suit, Daren also says she lied like a rug during her interview -- failing to disclose she'd been sued for being an unlicensed contractor, or that she was once sued for fraud and fabricated portions of her resume.

As he puts it in the suit ... "She is an opportunist; a scammer; and an extortionist."

Daren's lawyer, Marty Singer, tells TMZ, "In nearly 40 years of practice, I have never seen such a blatant case of fraud and concealment committed by an employee on her resume and during the job interview. Ms. Graves lied to the Metropoulos Company regarding her background and experience and concealed charges of fraud made against her in prior lawsuits."

Singer goes on, "I have represented the Metropoulos family and their company for years. The Metropoulos Company has employed numerous women over the years, some of whom have worked for the Company for over 15 years. No current or former employee has ever claimed any form of harassment or wrongful conduct by Mr. Metropoulos."

Metropoulos is suing her for more than $1 million.

Mischa Barton just got sued for one of the all-time worst parking jobs, which left her U-Haul truck jammed in a carport.

The homeowners' association at The Park Wellington condos in West Hollywood wants Mischa to fork over $26,991.55 for some major repairs that had to be done after her not-so-brilliant move back in February.

TMZ broke the story ... Mischa slammed the truck into plaster covered support beams at the complex.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Mischa told the complex her then-bf, Adam Spaw, had rented the truck ... so they tried to get the dough through his insurance. The claim was denied, and according to the suit ... Mischa is actually listed in the police report as the driver -- so, the Wellington wants her to pay up.

Houston icon Z-RO isn't walking away clean from his alleged beating of his ex-girlfriend, Just Brittany -- the D.A. is refiling a misdemeanor assault charge one day after the grand jury refused to indict him.

TMZ has learned the Harris County D.A. marched into court Wednesday and charged the rapper with assault on a family member, a Class A misdemeanor. We're told Z-RO was in court for the hearing.

What a difference a day makes. TMZ broke the story ... Z-RO dodged felony charges Tuesday when the grand jury declined to hand up an indictment. It appears the D.A. went with plan B, and slapped him with the misdemeanor.

As we first reported, Z-RO allegedly attacked his then-gf, Just Brittany, for hours in his home. She recorded audio of the alleged incident and handed it over to cops.

If convicted, Z-RO now faces up to a year in jail.

Meek Mill just took a deal in his reckless driving arrest in NYC, and if he keeps his nose clean ... it'll be off his record.

According to the DA's office ... the rapper accepted a deal that will see the arrest wiped from his record if he can go 6 months without getting popped again. He also agreed to 30 hours of community service ... and he's already done 20.

Meek's attorney, Joe Tacopina, tells us ... "This swift resolution vindicates Meek and clearly shows how outrageous the police department's conduct is in this case."

As we reported ... Mill was originally charged with a felony for poppin' wheelies while shooting a music video in NY, but got it reduced to 2 misdemeanor charges.

Harvey Weinstein knew his wife of 10 years, Georgina Chapman, was going to leave him because they had a heart-to-heart about breaking up in the days after his scandal broke.

Weinstein says, "Over the last week, there has been a lot of pain for my family that I take responsibility for. I sat down with my wife Georgina, who I love more than anything, and we discussed what was best for our family. We discussed the possibility of a separation and I encouraged her to do what was in her heart. In the end, she made the decision to separate."

As his sexual harassment scandal grows, Weinstein somehow sounds optimistic he'll be able to patch things up with Georgina ... saying, "I understand, I love her and I love our children and hopefully, when I am better, I will be in their lives again. I support her decision, I am in counseling and perhaps, when I am better, we can rebuild.”

High hopes.

The Weinstein Company is already feeling the heat ... a major film financier has pulled the plug on a massive loan because Harvey's no longer steering the ship.

AI International Holdings fronted a $45 million loan to TWC last year. We've learned AI sent a letter to TWC and their lawyers at O'Melveny & Myers Tuesday, demanding that the money be returned pronto.

AI says in its letter, "The dismissal of Harvey Weinstein from his position as co-chairman" constitutes a "material adverse change" ... allowing them to demand immediate repayment of the loan.

AI's film division has financed some major movies, including "Lee Daniels' The Butler," "Hacksaw Ridge," and the soon-to-be released Miramax film, "I, Tonya."

This underscores the dilemma for TWC ... it was all Harvey, and now that he's gone it's unclear how they will continue to do business. TMZ broke the story, Harvey is in settlement talks with the company and is open to some sort of outside relationship after he gets back from sex rehab in Europe.

Kim Zolciak is threatening to sue NeNe Leakes for millions of dollars unless she immediately apologizes for calling her and her daughter, Brielle, racists and KKK members.

Kim hired Allison Hart at the high-powered law firm Lavely & Singer, and it didn't take long for them to fire off a super threatening demand letter.

The letter was triggered by a video Brielle shot which appears to show roaches crawling on NeNe's bathroom floor.

The letter, obtained by TMZ, references some choice comments NeNe made on social media, including, "Kim & her child did something very wrong & disgusting! Black people and roaches in the same sentence don't work for me boo." She then went on to call Brielle "#racisttrash" and "#KKK," adding, "Kim & her daughter oops whole family are racists!"

The letter calls the statements "outrageous and malicious lies."

What's more, the lawyer says Brielle never posted the video showing the cockroaches crawling on the floor, but it was NeNe who got the video and posted it on Twitter and Instagram.

The letter makes it clear ... NeNe has roaches, but it's not racist to say that.

What's more ... the letter claims NeNe is going after Kim and Brielle out of jealousy. They have a successful show on Bravo, "Don't Be Tardy," and NeNe is trying to get people to boycott the program with hashtags like, #blackpeopleneedtostopsupportingtheprejudice."

Attorney Hart wants a prominent retraction on Instagram and Twitter and other social media sites where NeNe posted her comments, along with an apology.

If that doesn't happen ... "Your conduct exposes you to multi-million dollar liability."

Soccer superstar Alex Morgan was so upset when she was being kicked out of Disney World, she told officers, "You guys are lying right now. I can't imagine what black people go through."

It was all captured on body cam footage released by the Orange County Sheriff's Dept. stemming from an Oct. 1 incident in which Morgan and several other soccer stars were kicked off the property for being drunk and aggressive.

As TMZ Sports first reported, Morgan's group had been boozing at the bars at Epcot Center when things got testy with another group.

Cops were called and officers say Morgan and her friends were "highly impaired" and "verbally aggressive."

Morgan has since apologized for the incident -- saying she will learn and make sure it does not happen again.

Houston rapper Z-RO will not face felony criminal charges for allegedly beating his then-gf Just Brittany ... TMZ has learned.

According to court records, a grand jury failed to indict Z-RO Tuesday on felony assault charges. TMZ broke the story ... Z-RO's ex-gf claimed the rapper slapped, punched and dragged her around his house while holding a pistol.

Brittany even handed over an audio recording of the alleged beating, prompting cops to arrest Z-RO in July.

Brittany later told us -- on "Raq Rants" -- Z-RO rapped about the alleged incident, and claimed he had "no soul in his eyes" during the attack.

Z-RO's attorney, Charles Adams, tells TMZ ... there were huge inconsistencies between the recording and the written statement Brittany provided cops. He believes that's ultimately why the grand jury exonerated Z-RO.

The Weinstein Company is facing its first lawsuit in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal.

The suit was filed by former Paramount President of Production Brad Weston and producer Michael Menchel, who claim they produced a movie for TWC called "One Chance." The suit claims they accepted a reduced fee for their work in exchange for back end profits. In return, they say TWC company promised the movie would appear on 800 screens, but only ended up on 43.

The movie -- based on a true story -- starred James Corden, as a shy shop assistant who was an amateur opera singer at night and ended up winning "Britain's Got Talent."

Weston and Menchel want $1.25 million each.

Seeing as how it was only on 43 screens, this is probably your first glimpse at the flick.

YouTube celeb Jake Paul is known for comedic pranks, but there's nothing funny about destroying people's hearing ... according to a new lawsuit.

A California man is going after the YouTuber and his team of pranksters for driving around L.A. with a super loud car horn and blaring it near unsuspecting pedestrians. The point of the prank? Capturing the looks on their scared faces ... far as we can tell.

According to the suit, Paul and crew rolled up on the guy as he was leaving a store in WeHo and the obnoxiously loud horn ended up damaging his hearing. He says his encounter with Jake's crew is included in a video posted on Paul's YouTube channel.

The man's suing Jake Paul and his company for damages for the injury and emotional distress.

Harvey Weinstein is gearing up for settlement talks with the company that fired him, and inside sources say there could still be some form of a relationship between The Weinstein Co. and its namesake.

Sources familiar with the negotiations tell us, both the Board of Directors and Harvey Weinstein himself fully appreciate the numerous unresolved issues after he was 86'd in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations.

As one source put it, "The Board has a problem because The Weinstein Co. IS Harvey Weinstein. Without him, it's nothing." On top of that, there has been no financial settlement between Weinstein and his company ... something we're told is extremely complicated.

Weinstein has lawyered up, and there have already been moves to work out the inevitable settlement. As one source put it, there's a distinct possibility Weinstein could maintain some role -- even if it's on the outside.

Weinstein holds lots of cards in the negotiations ... as we reported, although the Board of Directors claims total surprise, stories about Weinstein and women were well known in Hollywood ... and tolerated by many. A wrongful termination lawsuit looms if they can't strike a settlement, and what comes out during discovery and a trial could seriously damage The Weinstein Co.

The trick for the Company ... is it worse to have a business relationship with Weinstein or risk a lawsuit?

Ben Affleck is flat out lying if he wants people to think he didn't know about Harvey Weinstein ... at least according to Rose McGowan who says she told Ben face-to-face.

Shortly after Ben issued his first comments about Weinstein -- with whom he worked closely on several movies, including "Good Will Hunting" -- Rose blasted the actor for making it sound like Weinstein's pattern of sexual harassment was news to him. She claims she told Ben that Weinstein assaulted her, and Ben replied, "Goddamnit! I told him to stop doing that."

She says she even remembers where Ben said it -- while they were at a news conference for a movie they did. Rose adds she was forced to go to the event after Weinstein had assaulted her.

She told Ben ... "You lie."

Harvey Weinstein's new accuser alleges he begged her to watch him masturbate in the hot tub in his hotel nearly a decade ago.

Louisette Geiss -- a former actress and screenplay writer with credits on "Two and a Half Men" and "The Drew Carey Show" -- came forward Tuesday with the new accusations as she was flanked by her attorney, Gloria Allred. Geiss joined a score of women who have spoken against the former studio exec, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.

Geiss said the incident went down in 2008 when Weinstein invited her to watch the premiere of "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden" at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Geiss says Weinstein later invited her to his hotel room to further discuss the script she was pitching.

Geiss goes on to say she heard rumors about Weinstein coming on to women and made him promise and shake her hand -- while under a security camera at the hotel -- not to touch her. She says he shook her hand and laughed it off.

Then, the alleged harassment.

Nelly's girlfriend is giving clear signs -- Zodiac signs -- she's sticking by her man during his rape case.

Shantel Jackson, Floyd Mayweather's ex, who's been with Nelly since at least 2014 -- posted a pic of herself and the rapper snuggling, and captioned it with their signs ... Leo and Scorpio.

She obviously wants folks to know all is good between them 3 days after TMZ broke the story Nelly was arrested and accused of raping a woman on his tour bus. As we reported ... the accuser claims Nelly didn't use a condom when he assaulted her. His lawyer is calling BS on all the allegations.

Ditto for Shantel. She even promoted her new reality show with Nelly, which portrays the couple as peachy as ever.