CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Drake's legal team is calling BS on injuries a man claims he suffered in a beatdown, because as they put it ... the guy wasn't too depressed or injured to appear on a reality TV show.

As you might recall, Bennett Sipes claimed he suffered a concussion, back injury, physical injury and depression after a March 2018 fight at Delilah nightclub with Drake, Odell Beckham and others. Sipes filed a lawsuit over the fight, but Drake's attorneys filed docs pointing out Sipes not only appeared on "Love Island" recently ... they also claim he attended music festivals and did backflips off rope swings while on vacay in Mexico.

As they say in the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sipes "appeared anything but depressed."

The legal docs include a declaration from Sipes' ex-GF, Sommer Ray Beaty, saying he started working with her after the brawl. She claims he carried her camera equipment without difficulty. She also claims Sipes seemed fine after his visible injuries healed -- and they traveled together to Mexico, Maryland, Colorado, England, France, Italy and Japan. She claims they also attended Coachella, Stagecoach and Rolling Loud Festival.

Drake's team also says Sipes deleted a bunch of text messages with Beaty ... which they say is a big no-no while the lawsuit was pending. They suspect the messages could have shed some light on Sipes' alleged injuries or the incident itself.

TMZ broke the story ... Sipes sued Drake, OBJ and Kourtney Kardashian's ex, Younes Bendjima, back in January 2019 claiming Younes attacked him along with members of Drake and OBJ's entourage. Sipes' ex said in her declaration both Drake and OBJ were standing at the back of the group and "appeared to simply be observing what was happening and following the group out of curiosity. Neither of them seemed to be instructing others or encouraging others to do anything at all."

Sipes had alleged Drake made a "throat slash" gesture and that's what triggered his crew to beat Sipes to a pulp. But, Sipes' ex contradicts that ... claiming she did not see any "throat slash" gesture "nor did I observe Drake encourage anything at all."

Saints owner Gayle Benson thwarted an attempted vehicle theft last weekend -- screaming at the perp until he fled -- and the team says she's "very shaken" over the incident.

It all went down in New Orleans while 73-year-old Benson was seated inside her car.

Cops say someone in a white Nissan Titan pulled up next to her around 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 10 ... and tried to get into her car.

Cops have NOT said what kind of car Benson was in at the time of the incident -- but she's a billionaire, so we imagine it was nice.

Officials are convinced the man intended to steal Benson's car.

But, when the man entered Benson's vehicle, according to NOLA.com, Gayle screamed at him -- and ordered him to exit immediately, which he did.

Cops say the man got back into his Nissan Titan and fled the scene.

Cops were called ... and while an investigation has been launched, no arrests have been made at this point.

Benson's rep issued a statement confirming the incident -- adding, "while she was very shaken at the time, she was unharmed and is doing fine."

"She wanted to send her sincere gratitude to the men and women of the New Orleans Police Department that responded so quickly and professionally."

Cops are asking anyone with information to come forward or hit up the Crimestoppers hotline at 504-822-1111.

Lil Yachty ruined a man's chances to watch a Juice WRLD tribute when the rapper and his boys beat the crap out of him ... according to a new lawsuit.

Jimmy Quivac is suing Yachty claiming he and his crew pummeled him as he was heading inside the Rolling Loud Festival last December to watch a tribute to the late Juice WRLD.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Jimmy claims he was walking alone and heading into the L.A. Coliseum when he noticed Yachty and a large crowd standing near the entrance. As he tried weaving through the crowd, Jimmy claims someone yelled at him for bumping into them, and then all hell broke loose ... and Yachty allegedly punched him in the melee.

Jimmy claims Yachty's crew joined in on the action ... striking, stomping and kicking him while he was on the ground. When the dust settled, he says he suffered injuries to his wrist, hand and arm.

He's suing for assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

TMZ broke the story ... the alleged incident was caught on video. You can see in the video Yachty's part of a group that appears to be attacking a man, who eventually is seen getting up and running away. Yachty, at the time, claimed he and his friends were leaving the festival, and the guy in the video, Jimmy, had shoved him for no reason. Yachty said he and his friends confronted the guy and asked what his beef was with them.

'Botched' Doc Terry Dubrow is sick and tired of a former patient's attorney running his medical name through the mud ... so he's suing for defamation.

Dubrow just filed the docs against Texas lawyer Stephen Le Brocq who's representing Sandy Scoggins, a patient of Dubrow's back in 2019. Le Brocq sued Dubrow on behalf of Scoggins earlier this week, claiming she almost died after her butt lift procedure.

In the defamation suit, Dubrow's attorney, Larry Stein, says Scoggins kept in touch with Dubrow after her surgery and he claims she even admitted in writing that her "complications resulted from 'nothing ... anyone did wrong.'"

Stein says those communications are a far cry from what Le Brocq then did ... filing a lawsuit and making statements against Terry. Stein says Le Brocq accused Terry of leaving "medical equipment" inside Scoggins, which she claimed was a piece of mesh. Stein says Dubrow doesn't even use mesh in cosmetic procedures on the "abdomen, back or trunk."

The defamation docs also say Le Brocq included graphic images of Scoggins' "early stage post-operative wounds" in his legal filing for shock value.

Lil Xan's gas station blow-up -- after a guy apparently called him out for disrespecting Tupac -- might cost him ... 'cause the rapper's being sued for pulling a gun.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ -- Anthony Sanchez is going after Lil Xan for their June 7, 2019 altercation at an L.A. 7-Eleven ... the tail end of which Sanchez recorded video.

Sanchez claims he asked the rapper about a controversial comment he'd made, calling Tupac's music "boring" -- and says Xan pulled a gun out and pointed it at him.

In the lawsuit, Sanchez says he backed away and began recording the incident, and says the rapper continued to wave the gun around ... taking his finger on and off the trigger. Sanchez says he feared for his life.

The video shows Sanchez called Lil Xan a "bitch" a few times before Xan brandished what at least looks very much like a gun. According to the suit, Xan also threw his cup out of the window as he drove away and hit Sanchez ... which seems pretty trivial after the whole gun stuff.

Sanchez claims he suffered severe emotional distress, and he's suing for assault and battery as well.

"Cheer" star Jerry Harris should remain behind bars until his trial because he's "a clear and present danger to the community and most notably defenseless children" ... so claim the feds.

Harris has a bond hearing scheduled for Wednesday, and federal prosecutors filed legal docs asking the judge to deny his release on bond as he awaits his trial for child pornography.

According to the new docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds claim Harris exploited and violated at least 5 to 10 minors for more than 2 years ... requesting they send him sexually explicit images of themselves.

Prosecutors also allege his criminal conduct includes sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy ... and repeatedly targeting young boys by reaching out to them via his phone and persuading them to engage in sexually explicit activity.

In the docs, the feds claim Harris fessed up to sexually assaulting at least one minor boy in an unlocked public bathroom during a cheer event.

To make their point about him remaining a danger to the public ... prosecutors claim even when Harris was tipped off to a possible investigation into his crimes, he was not able to control his impulses and continued to victimize multiple other minors.

Somebody sent notorious prisoner Erik Menendez some herb from the outside -- and now, officials are trying to figure out if he was in on it ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Menendez was moved into isolation Monday at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego -- where he's currently incarcerated -- after some mail arrived for him ... a package containing a bunch of weed. The area where he's being housed is called the Administrative Segregation Unit.

We're told the package of marijuana was intercepted by prison personnel. Prison officials have launched an investigation ... and we're told one of the things they want to know is whether Erik planned on either distributing the weed or using it as currency, or whether it was just for his personal use.

Our sources say Menendez was siloed away in a separate wing, away from other inmates. Prior to the incident, he could interact with fellow prisoners in the yard, but for now, pending the investigation, he's all by his lonesome.

If prison officials conclude Erik had someone from the outside send him the weed, the matter would be referred to the D.A. for prosecution.

Dr. Dre's estranged wife, Nicole Young, is being investigated by the LAPD for alleged embezzlement ... sources close to the case tell TMZ.

We're told Dre's business partner, Larry Chatman, recently went to the police and filed a report, claiming Nicole withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from their business account without authorization ... something Larry had previously alleged in legal letters fired off to Nicole's side in the past few weeks.

In the report to LAPD, Dre's team claims Nicole embezzled $385,029. We're told LAPD detectives are aware Larry believes Nicole is the culprit, and they're looking into it now. For the record, Dre did not file the report.

As we previously reported ... Dre's called out Nicole for 2 withdrawals -- which total the $385k -- in their divorce case. Nicole has said she had a right to the money in that corporate account because her name is on it.

If charges are brought forth from this, it's possible Nicole could do time.

Nicole's legal team has previously told us Chatman's claims against her are nothing but a smear attempt and a PR stunt as she navigates her pending divorce from Dre. Her attorneys maintain she's done nothing wrong thus far.

We've reached out to Nicole's lawyer again about the police investigation ... so far, no word back.

Nathan Apodaca -- AKA the Fleetwood Mac "Dreams" skateboarder -- is putting on his legal face ... he wants a streetwear company to stop using his Doggface to sell merch.

Here's the deal ... Culture Kings is hawking a "Dreams Vintage T-Shirt" with the viral star's face on it for $36.95 ... but Nathan isn't feeling the good vibes with this merch, and says he's owed a piece of the pie.

Nathan's lawyer -- yep, he's got one now -- Jeffrey R. Klein of Fisher & Wolfe LLP, fired off a takedown notice, obtained by TMZ. It says Nathan owns the rights to the photograph on the shirt and claims Culture Kings had no right to make money off of it.

He's threatening a lawsuit if Culture Kings doesn't pull the shirt.

As you know ... Nathan's got a merch line of his own, and his personally designed line of Doggface clothing is selling like crazy after launching with UpMerch.com.

Ronni Hawk -- one of the stars of the Disney sitcom, "Stuck in the Middle" -- just got charged for bringing a knife to a nasty fight with her boyfriend.

TMZ has learned the L.A. City Attorney slapped Hawk with 3 misdemeanor counts for the July incident. She's now facing charges of domestic battery, assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a knife.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Ronni and her BF, Miles Fallon, got into an argument, and things escalated when he bolted from the house. We're told Ronni grabbed a knife and chased after Miles while he was in the parking lot.

Cops were called to the scene and arrested Ronni.

TMZ broke the story when the 20-year-old was taken to jail. Our sources said officers who responded noticed Miles had visible injuries, including scratches.

Phil Collins is booting his ex-wife out of her crib ... because he says he owns it, and he's tired of her B.S.

Sources close to the famous drummer and singer-songwriter tell TMZ ... his long, rocky relationship with Orianne Cevey is officially over ... after all, she remarried in August, and he wants her out of his Florida house STAT.

We're told Phil's asked her to vacate and she's refused, and instead is threatening to release false and embarrassing accusations about him unless he renegotiates their 2008 divorce settlement.

For the record -- Collins paid Cevey a reported $46.76 million ... and our sources say he's not giving her another dime. He believes she squandered the fortune through a series of bad investments, along with an expensive divorce from the man she married after Phil.

Our sources say Phil gave his ex until 3 PM Friday to vacate, but she didn't, and he says she's now changed the security codes and has been unruly with the staff.

We're told Phil plans to file an eviction lawsuit as soon as courts open up next week.

In case you haven't gotten the picture, the 2 have a pretty wild history. They got married in the late '90s, had 2 sons together -- Nicholas and Mathew -- but filed for divorce in '06, shortly after the youngest son was born.

After the record settlement, Cevey got remarried to Charles Mejjati, but then divorced him to go back to Collins in 2016.

Things seemed to be pretty peachy up until a couple months ago, when we're told Orianne got married again to a man named Thomas Bates ... telling Phil she was just traveling to Las Vegas for business.

Our sources say Collins continues to fully support his sons -- all of their expenses are paid for through a fully-funded, irrevocable trust -- but he believes he's no longer financially on the hook to his ex-wife.

Tory Lanez is defending himself publicly following his felony assault charge in the Megan Thee Stallion shooting ... arguing he deserves his day in court.

The rapper broke his silence Friday morning after the L.A. County D.A.'s Office charged him Thursday with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.

Tory's responding by reminding fans the "charge is not a conviction." He also posted emojis to say "time will tell" ... and the "truth will come to the light."

As we reported ... The D.A. also alleged Tory inflicted great bodily injury, and if he's convicted, the rapper/singer faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison.

The charges came on the heels of Tory releasing an album on which he claims his innocence in multiple songs.

Prosecutors had been mulling over a charge of felony assault with a firearm against Tory after Megan said she was shot back in July.

Previously, he'd only been arrested for possession of the firearm cops found in the SUV the night of the shooting.

With the new charges ... prosecutors are straight-up pointing the finger at Tory as the man who pulled the trigger ... leaving Meg with a gruesome foot injury.

Ex-NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has been charged with 2 misdemeanors stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident back in May, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the QB was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery in Palm Springs, CA on May 22.

Details about the specific allegations are still unclear -- but what is clear, prosecutors believe Leaf committed a crime that day.

According to court records, prosecutors are moving forward with 2 charges against Leaf -- 1 count of misdemeanor battery and 1 count of violating the personal liberty of the accuser ... aka false imprisonment (also a misdemeanor).

Both charges carry a maximum 1-year jail sentence.

44-year-old Leaf was listed on his booking sheet as 6'6", 250 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

Of course, Leaf was the #2 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft -- but his career flamed out fast and his life fell apart soon after.

Leaf has been arrested multiple times for things like drug possession and burglary ... but he had sobered up and became a program ambassador for an organization that runs sober houses in multiple cities including L.A. and N.Y.

Before the arrest, Leaf had been covering college football for ESPN.

'Tiger King' star Doc Antle is facing a slew of felony and misdemeanor charges now for his treatment and transport of lion cubs.

Antle, the owner and founder of Myrtle Beach Safari, was indicted Friday in Virginia for felony wildlife trafficking after a months-long investigation found evidence he trafficked lion cubs between South Carolina and Virginia ... according to Virginia's Attorney General.

You'll recall ... Netflix's "Tiger King" documentary mentioned Antle's safari park was raided last December, and now it seems that raid was part of this investigation.

Antle is also charged with 1 felony count of conspiracy to sell or transport endangered wildlife, 4 misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and 9 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

In addition, 2 of Antle's daughters, Tawny Antle and Tilakam Watterson, were charged with misdemeanors for animal cruelty and violating the Endangered Species Act.

The same investigation led to felony charges against Keith A. Wilson, owner of Wilson's Wild Animal Park. Authorities say they seized 119 animals, including lions, tigers, bears, camels, goats, water buffalo, and more from Wilson's roadside zoo and claim he got some of the animals from Antle.

Tory Lanez has been charged in connection with the shooting involving Megan Thee Stallion ... just weeks after the singer released an album claiming his innocence.

The L.A. County D.A.'s Office hit him with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and one count of carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The D.A. also alleges Tory inflicted great bodily injury.

If convicted, the rapper/singer faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison.

As we reported ... the prosecutors had said they were mulling over a charge of felony assault with a firearm against Tory after Megan said she was shot back in July. Remember, Tory had been arrested but only charged with possession of a firearm. Prosecutors are now explicitly pointing the finger at Tory as the man who pulled the trigger ... leaving Meg with a gruesome foot injury.

It took Meg some time before she went public and accused Tory by name as the person who shot her. She didn't mince words saying ... "Yes, this n***a Tory shot me. You shot me, and you got your publicist and your people to these blogs lying and s**t, stop lying!"

As we reported, sources connected to Tory say there were mitigating circumstances -- and based on what we know ... we believe Tory's going to say it was an accidental shooting. Megan didn't help the D.A.'s effort with a social media caption -- which has since been deleted -- that said she had her back to the SUV when she was shot in the heel. That might indicate she didn't see it with her own eyes when Tory allegedly pulled the trigger.

You'll recall ... video of the incident showed cops pulling over the SUV in the Hollywood Hills -- with Tory lying face-down on the pavement and Megan gingerly tip-toeing ... leaving bloody footprints with each painful step.

Katy Perry just got a little peace of mind -- a judge granted a permanent restraining order against the man she claims has been stalking her and directing threats at her family.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... 38-year-old William Terry must stay 100 yards away from Katy, her fiance Orlando Bloom, their newborn baby girl, and Orlando's son Flynn from his previous marriage to Miranda Kerr for the next 3 years.

Terry's also prohibited from trying to contact Katy, her family or her staff on social media or posting anything about her ... and has to stay away from her concerts or live performances.

We broke the story ... Katy sought protection from Terry after he allegedly jumped the fence at her Beverly Hills property in September and was busted by cops for trespassing.

Katy claimed Terry tried to do this in August as well, after posting alarming messages on social media for months leading up to it. She feared he'd try it again if she did not get court-ordered protection.

Terry's troubling online behavior allegedly included numerous graphic and sexually explicit posts about Katy, comments about killing dogs and cops, threats to "snap Orlando Bloom's neck" and wishing Flynn and Miranda would "catch covid and die."