CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Newly released text messages from Zach Smith's ex-wife appear to show the ex-Ohio State assistant coach apologizing for strangling her during a trip to the Dominican Republic in 2015.

Courtney Smith released the messages to college football reporter Brett McMurphy -- who says the conversation was referencing a trip to Punta Cana in March 2015.

"Think back to the cheating the lies and picking me up by my neck and strangling me in Punta Cana and at our place in April," Courtney texted to Zach ... "The abuse got worse bc u couldnt stand me catching u in ur lies."

Zach replied, "I know!" and "I'm so so sorry!"

5:13 PM PT -- Britney's lawyer, Laura Wasser and Kevin's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan just left the courtroom after a closed hearing. Sources say nothing substantive was decided and all hearings regarding Kevin's request for child support have been put off until a later date.

Britney Spears' legal team is about to square off with Kevin Federline's in an L.A. court, and the central issue is going to be whether Kevin needs additional child support for the 2 kids he had with Britney or whether it's because he's trying to get her to support his other 4 kids.

As TMZ first reported, Britney has been paying Kevin $20k a month in child support for years. In addition to the support checks, we're told Britney pays for the kids' tuition and related school expenses, clothing, extracurricular activities (including sports), and various other expenses. In all, she forks over around $35k a month.

Kevin's lawyer has reportedly demanded $60k a month ... which Britney and her conservator, Jamie Spears, have refused to pay. We're told Jamie is agreeable to raising child support by around $10k a month, despite the fact he believes Kevin doesn't really pay for anything related to the kids.

Friday's hearing, we're told, could get contentious because Britney wants to cut to the chase and figure out what, if anything, Kevin really needs for the kids. We're told Kevin's lawyer wants to comb through all of Britney's contracts to determine exactly how much she makes and spends.

We're told Britney's team thinks it's ridiculous Kevin's lawyer wants to go through the time-consuming and expensive exercise of figuring out what she makes because everyone knows she makes a fortune, so the only issue is how much more the kids need. Her team believes the only people who benefit from dragging this out into an expensive process are the lawyers.

Urban Meyer admits he knew about the 2015 Zach Smith domestic violence incident -- but lied to the media when asked about it on BIG10 Media Day last month.

But the catch ... Meyer says he followed proper protocol behind the scenes and elevated the incident to "proper channels."

The Ohio State football coach spelled it out in a statement saying ...

"Here is the truth: While at the University of Florida, and now at The Ohio State University, I have always followed proper reporting protocols and procedures when I have learned of an incident involving a student-athlete, coach or member of our staff by elevating the issues to the proper channels. And, I did so regarding the Zach Smith incident in 2015."

"I take that responsibility very seriously and any suggestions to the contrary is simply false."

He added, "My words, whether in a reply to a reporter's question or in addressing a personnel issue, must be clear, compassionate and most of all, completely accurate. Unfortunately, at Big Ten Media Days on July 24th, I failed on may of these fronts."

"My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading. However, I was not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media, and I apologize for the way I handled those questions."

As we previously reported, Zach Smith was fired as the WR coach at Ohio State last month when domestic violence allegations went public.

Terry Crews is kicking 50's ASS ... cause he looks like he just turned 25 with that beach bod.

Terry celebrated the big 5-0 earlier this week with a vacay to the 50th state, going shirtless for a stroll on a Maui beach. He thanked fans on social media, saying, "MY BEST DAYS ARE STILL AHEAD OF ME!"

Appropriate he's in Hawaii because the state just passed a Sexual Assault Survivors Rights law. As you know, Terry gave insight to his own experience when he testified for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

XXXTentacion's posthumously off the hook for an alleged beating of his ex-girlfriend ... TMZ has learned.

The rapper was awaiting trial for his domestic violence case involving Geneva Ayala -- who claimed he abused her when she was pregnant with his child. The charges were dropped at a court hearing this week in Florida ... due to his death.

X was also facing multiple counts of witness tampering because prosecutors believed he coerced Geneva into not testifying against him. Those charges are obviously expected to be dropped as well.

As we reported ... Ayala was devastated by XXXTentacion's murder -- despite the abuse allegations -- saying, "everyone expecting me to be relieved or happy?! no, i'm broken."

Harvey Weinstein got what he wanted in his ongoing sex crime cases -- a judge has allowed him to go public with emails he got from his rape accuser ... emails that he says show the woman was anything but a rape victim -- even professing love for him -- and as a result he wants all criminal charges dismissed.

The emails -- just filed in the criminal case and obtained by TMZ -- were written between April 2013 and February 2017 by the woman who claims she was raped by Weinstein on March 18, 2013 in NYC.

One of the emails -- written April 11, 2013 -- says, "I was able to talk to [redacted] today and will be connected with [redacted]. :) Thanks, and I hope to see you sooner thank (sic) later ..."

On April 17, the email reads, "It would be great to see you again, and catch up!"

Another email on Sept. 11, 2013 says ... "Miss you big guy."

In January 2014, she wrote, "Your the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes!!"

And, on July 10, 2014, she emailed, "There's no one else I would enjoy catching up with that understands me quite like you."

And then there's this on Feburary 8, 2017 ... "I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call. :)."

Throughout the email chain over the years, they go back and forth talking about meeting up. At one point, she asks for a Soho House membership referral ... she wanted to be a member and use him to get in.

The emails were attached to a motion to have the rape indictment dismissed based on prosecutorial misconduct, because the emails were allegedly withheld from the Grand Jury and would prove exculpatory.

Weinstein says the alleged misconduct is so egregious, it taints the entire indictment involving all 3 accusers and he is asking the judge to dismiss all criminal charges.

The woman who was arrested for scaling the Statue of Liberty on Independence Day to protest President Trump's immigration policy is at it again, and this time her target's Melania.

Patricia Okoumou showed up for her court hearing Friday in Manhattan wearing a green dress with the words, "I REALLY CARE WHY WON'T U?" and "BE BEST" written on her backside.

The first message is a shot at the First Lady for the tone-deaf jacket she wore in June that read, "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" on her way to visit child detention centers in Texas.

Okoumou's "Be Best" refers to Melania's initiative of the same name to promote online safety for kids ... which has been ripped for allegedly plagiarizing from the Obama administration.

Le'Veon Bell just dropped a brand new rap EP -- and it sounds an awful lot like he's referencing the LeSean McCoy violent robbery incident in one of the tracks.

Here are the lyrics to Bell's track, "The Table" ...

"We're not about to play around, if you play around get exposed ...

I got homies there to take you out if certain information gets disclosed ...

All these n***as acting shady, just please don't make me pull a Shady ...

We're not about to play around, if you play around get exposed ...

I got homies there to take you out if certain information gets disclosed ...

All these women want my baby, just please don't make me pull a Shady."

Of course, there could be a different meaning -- but, it sounds like he's referencing the allegations made by McCoy's ex-GF, Delicia Cordon, who claims LeSean sent a guy to violently steal his jewelry back after they broke up.

For his part, Shady hasn't been charged with a crime and has denied any involvement in the incident.

Selma Blair says James Gunn is a good man who told a few stupid jokes a decade ago, and his haters are looking at him through a 2018 lens which just ain't right.

We got Selma at LAX Thursday afternoon and she explained why she quit Twitter over the reaction to Gunn's rape and pedophilia jokes. As you know, Gunn was 86'd from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise ... pretty clear reaction to the torrent of social media outrage.

Selma -- who credits Gunn for helping her come forward with her story about another director she says sexually harassed her -- says she left Twitter 'cause she wasn't in the mood to take any abuse from trolls because she supports Gunn.

Charles Oakley didn't just try to pull a fast one over a Vegas casino -- he tried to cheat 3 TIMES during a round of Ultimate Texas Hold'Em ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Oakley was arrested at the Cosmopolitan Hotel on July 8 after officials say he cheated while gambling. Now, we've obtained court docs which explains Oakley's alleged scheme in detail.

Here's the deal ... Oakley was playing the Ultimate Texas Hold'Em table game -- where both player and dealer get 2 cards, in addition to a community 5-card draw.

Of the 7 cards in play, the dealer and player use their best 5 cards to see who has the best hand.

During the first hand, Oakley started off strong ... with a pair of 4s. But, the dealer ended up with a winning hand ... 2 pair. When Oakley realized he was gonna lose, he allegedly pulled back a $100 chip from his bet.

Later on during the gambling session, Oakley had a monster hand -- 3 of a kind -- and this time, officials say he secretly ADDED chips to his bet on 2 different occasions during the hand, thereby increasing his payout by $125.

Officials say it was all captured on casino surveillance -- and he was arrested on the spot.

Get this ... officials say Oakley can't claim ignorance as an excuse because he apparently has logged around 119 HOURS playing the game at the Cosmo.

He was initially charged with a felony -- and faced up to 6 years in prison. But, that charge was recently knocked down to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and he'll likely get off without serving a minute behind bars.

Little Big Town keeps getting the shaft, but in the latest case ... at least the perps who jacked their stuff got a heavy dose of karma.

The acclaimed country band's trailer was stolen Tuesday night in Nashville, but instead of the thieves making off with a load of guitars, amps and expensive band equipment ... they got a bunch of children's gear.

Sources close to LBT tell us a police report was filed with Nashville Metro. The items in the band's trailer include 3 kids razor scooters, 3 bikes, a homemade lemonade stand, a unicorn kiddie pool with a unicorn sprinkler, pool toys, bubbles, chalk, kickballs, basketballs, baseball gloves and bats ... and some workout gear.

Probably not exactly what the criminals had in mind.

For the country band, the burglary news comes on the heels of another unfortunate situation. TMZ broke the story ... Little Big Town's 4 AMA trophies accidentally got sent to Lil Wayne.

Just call it a lil mix-up.

The rape allegation leveled against Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter earlier this year has now hit the desk of the L.A. County D.A. ... and they're considering whether to file charges.

Law enforcement sources tell us the case was submitted to the D.A.'s office just last week ... nearly 7 months after the woman filed a report with cops.

TMZ broke the story -- Nick was accused of raping Dream singer Melissa Schuman in 2002 -- she filed a report with the cops for that incident in February.

Webbie will not spend a day behind bars for allegedly beating and choking his girlfriend, because he's worked a pretty sweet plea deal.

According to the East Baton Rouge court clerk ... Webbie agreed to plead guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of simple battery and was sentenced to one year of probation.

He'll have to keep his nose clean during that time, complete 20 hours of community service and anger management classes. The court also ordered him to pay $5k in restitution to his ex-GF and $500 in court fees.

As we reported ... Webbie was arrested last July after allegedly getting violent with his GF in a hotel room.

He was charged with 2nd degree battery, false imprisonment and domestic abuse by strangulation ... all felonies -- and photos of the girlfriend's alleged injuries were pretty rough.

Paris Jackson is taking extreme measures to protect herself from Isaac Kappy, the actor who allegedly choked her, including amping up her security and moving out of her home ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the case tell us Paris has continued getting text messages from Kappy, and they're rambling and downright scary. We're told the tone of the texts is similar to the letters Kappy sent to Seth Green -- loving and caring, but also sounding like he's coming unhinged.

We're told Paris initially responded to Kappy's texts because she feared he was suicidal and wanted to be supportive.

TMZ broke the story ... Kappy was good friends with Paris and Seth up until last month when he allegedly choked Paris during a game night party. He also posted videos accusing Seth and his wife of being pedophiles, and intimated he was prepared for a shootout with police.

Our sources say Paris isn't taking any chances. We're told she's relocating, and now has armed security with her at all times. She's also blocked his number.

2:13 PM PT -- A judge just granted Weinstein's legal team permission to publish the emails in the criminal case.

Harvey Weinstein says there are around 40 emails that will show he didn't rape one of his accusers.

Weinstein's lawyers just filed legal docs saying the emails show the accuser was not a rape victim, but rather a consensual partner in a relationship with him. We're told the 40 emails were sent just after the alleged rape, and the emails present a picture of a woman who was showing affection for him.

We're told Weinstein did not use a personal email, but rather one from The Weinstein Company and, when he was fired, the company wouldn't give him access to the account. His lawyers got access, but the bankruptcy judge issued a protective order prohibiting them from disseminating the emails.

Weinstein's lawyers now want permission to use the emails as an exhibit in a motion to dismiss the indictment, on grounds the Manhattan D.A. knew of the emails but never presented them to the grand jury that indicted Weinstein. His lawyers say that amounts to misconduct -- failure to present crucial evidence -- and warrants dismissal of the indictment.

Jack Osbourne got into an argument with his estranged wife, then allegedly delivered a blow to the new man in her life ... TMZ has learned.

Jack went to the home he shares with his ex, Lisa Osbourne, late Monday night to talk to her. Law enforcement sources tell us things got heated when Lisa's BF, actor/model Michael Gabel, showed up and tried to intervene.

According to our sources ... things escalated between the guys, and Jack hauled off and punched the BF in the head before bolting from the house. Cops were called and a battery report was taken.

We're told no charges will be filed, though ... because the victim doesn't want to press charges and Jack has been uncooperative with police. We reached out to Jack ... no word back yet.

A source close to the situation tells us Jack was under the impression he and Lisa were on track to fixing their relationship ... and the BF showing up sent him for a loop. Osbourne's been busy with his show "Ozzy and Jack's World Detour!" with his dad, but remained committed to repairing his situation with Lisa.

As we reported ... Lisa filed for divorce from Jack in May, just months after the couple had their third child. We then saw them days later together with their kids looking like a happy family.

Seems like things have changed.