CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Vince McMahon claims ex-XFL commissioner Oliver Luck "abandoned" his duties when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March ... and that's one of the main reasons Vince fired him, according to court documents.

Remember, Oliver Luck sued Vince McMahon back in April, claiming he was wrongfully terminated from his role as the commish and CEO of the XFL on April 9.

In his initial court docs, Luck redacted many of the details behind his allegations.

But now, Vince's attorney has filed his own court docs spelling out the reasons McMahon axed Luck. The details have now been made public.

First, McMahon claims Luck "effectively abandoned his responsibilities" on March 13 by shutting down the XFL offices in Connecticut ... and instead, working from home in Indiana.

McMahon claims Luck failed to "devote substantially all of his business time to his XFL duties as required by the contract."

Second, McMahon claims Luck approved signing ex-NFL receiver Antonio Callaway without first getting approval from Vince.

By the way, Callaway had previously been suspended by the NFL for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. McMahon claims he ordered Luck to cut Callaway immediately -- but Luck refused.

Luck's argument, according to court docs, is that Callaway didn't violate the XFL's personal conduct policy.

Third, McMahon claims Luck misused an XFL-issued iPhone -- using the phone for personal reasons when it was supposed to be exclusively used for work.

For his part, Luck claims McMahon's allegations are bogus and he's digging in his heels on the argument he was wrongfully terminated.

As for the COVID-19 allegation, Luck claims he simply couldn't return to Connecticut because the state had implemented a stay-at-home order on March 20, and he adhered by the mandate.

Luck claims he did everything he could to continue doing his job while sheltering-in-place.

Luck is demanding $23.8 million in salary and damages. He had signed a 5-year contract in 2018 with a $5 million annual salary and a $2 million bonus.

A guy was caught on camera choking his ex-girlfriend's dog -- and now ... he's facing criminal charges for the sickeningly evil deed.

30-year-old Shane Mitchell allegedly took his ex's pup -- a Doberman named Rubyjean -- without permission, and when he showed up at the owner's front door with Rubyjean, the owner threatened him with a call to the cops. That set Mitchell off, and what happened next is disturbing.

While his ex remained behind her front door during the argument, her Ring doorbell cam recorded Mitchell angrily reaching down and yanking up the dog by its leash, suffocating it, and letting it dangle in front of the camera. The owner shrieks from inside, pleading for him to stop -- then, the video ends.

Cops in Slidell, Louisiana say Mitchell was eventually arrested and booked on animal cruelty charges after the clip made the rounds online, and even better news ... Rubyjean is okay.

She's back in her home and doesn't seem to have suffered any permanent damage as a result of the choking. The city's police chief issued a strong statement of the heinous act, saying ... "I was sick to my stomach watching that video." He added, "How someone can hurt a defenseless animal is beyond me."

The father and son accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery are sitting ducks in the jail as they await prosecution -- and because of that ... the men are being isolated behind bars.

Glynn County Undersheriff Ron Corbett tells TMZ ... Travis and Gregory McMichael are being housed in a separate wing of the Glynn County Detention Center away from the general population ... for their own safety. In other words, they're in protective custody.

Because of the high-profile nature of the case -- and tensions enormously high in the community -- Corbett says both of the McMichaels are siloed off in separate cells -- telling us the cells are not close enough for them to communicate with each other.

What they can do, we're told, is eat alone, periodically leave their units under a secure setting -- but only among themselves -- and that's about it, really. We're told there are no TVs in the section of the jail where they're being housed, so they can't follow the case in the news.

For security reasons, Corbett refused to say whether the men were on suicide watch or whether threats have been made on their lives.

TMZ broke the story ... Ahmaud's mother tells us she wants prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Billie Eilish is scared for herself and her family because an obsessed fan keeps showing up at her home this week, and he never practiced social distancing and most of the time, never wore a mask.

Billie filed legal docs, with the help of the law firm McPherson LLP, claiming Prenell Rousseau began showing up over and over again at her home.

Billie says the 24-year-old trespasser started showing up last Monday, ringing the doorbell, and through the Ring camera, her father asked Rousseau if he could help him. Rousseau responded, "I think I might have the wrong house, but does Billie Eilish live here?"

Billie's dad told the guy he had the wrong house, but that didn't stop him.

Billie says he returned at 9 PM and exhibited "erratic behavior." She says, "While we waited for security, Mr. Rousseau remained on our porch, sat down and began to read a book, while also continuing to engage in a periodic monologue. My father repeatedly asked him to leave, but he refused ..."

Security shooed him away, but he returned a little while later and laid down behind a wall, ready to spend the night.

Rousseau reappeared on Tuesday and began trying the door handle to gain entrance.

He returned again and again and was not deterred by anyone. Billie says Rousseau showed up a total of 7 times, 5 of which he was not wearing a face mask ... and the 2 times he did wear a mask, he pulled it down while talking to security. He was also not wearing gloves as touched the doorbell and doorknob multiple times.

Rousseau was actually taken into custody twice this week, but cops told Billie there was really nothing they could do because trespassing is a non-violent offense and they're trying to keep non-violent offenders out of jail due to the spread of COVID-19.

Billie says Rousseau was put on a bus to go back to NY, where he lives, but she fears he will return.

She's asking for a restraining order for herself and her parents.

TMZ Sports has obtained the police report from the Alberto Del Rio arrest ... and it's very disturbing.

The accuser told police Del Rio exploded on her on May 3 in San Antonio, Texas -- accusing her of cheating on him with other men.

The accuser -- who cops say only speaks Spanish -- says Del Rio smashed her cell phone, her laptop and attempted to burn her passport in an attack that started at around 10 p.m. on May 3 and lasted until around 2:30 p.m. on May 4.

The woman also claims Del Rio attacked her, causing multiple injuries and left her, "feeling woozy and dizzy from the hits to her head."

There's more ... the accuser also claims Del Rio choked her and at one point "shoved a sock into her mouth, to keep [her] quiet."

The woman says, "When the sock was in her mouth, she could not breathe."

During the incident, the woman claims Del Rio also sexually assaulted her with his penis and other body parts. The woman is adamant she did NOT consent to sexual activity with Del Rio.

The woman told police that she is afraid of Del Rio and had planned on leaving the city as soon as possible.

The responding officer says he saw "multiple bruises" on the accuser's face, arms, legs and neck.

Del Rio -- real name Jose Rodriguez Chucuan -- was arrested for domestic violence and aggravated sexual assault. According to his booking sheet, the 42-year-old is listed at 6'4", 240 pounds. The accuser is 5'5", 132 pounds.

Del Rio was a WWE superstar from 2009 until 2016, winning the WWE championship, the 2011 Royal Rumble, and more. He's also an MMA fighter, who recently lost to Tito Ortiz in December 2019.

Rich the Kid can rap all he wants about how "Money Talks" but one celeb jeweler's wondering why the Kid's gone radio silent when it comes to unpaid jewelry bills ... according to a new lawsuit.

Peter Marco from Extraordinary Jewels of Beverly Hills is suing the "Plug Walk" rapper claiming he owes a whopping $234,800 in unpaid jewelry that includes bracelets and incredibly fancy watches.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Marco says he's been doing business with Rich since at least October 2017. RTK ordered diamond necklaces, crosses and even a couple of Patek Philippe watches worth several hundred thousand dollars. And, for a while, Rich did make payments.

In docs, Marco says Rich wired over several payments but they eventually stopped. Even still, RTK continued ordering jewelry and Marco kept delivering ... but the bills kept piling on and Marco claims he wasn't getting paid. So, he's now suing for what he says he's still owed.

Rich the Kid's no stranger to flossing his bling. In the past, he's ordered pricey jewelry when he dropped new albums and even collaborations.

Georgia's top prosecutor says something's fishy about the Ahmaud Arbery case -- beyond the killing itself -- and he's asking the feds to step in to figure out who knew what ... and when.

Attorney General Chris Carr formally requested the U.S. Department of Justice -- led by the lead U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia -- to conduct its own investigation of how Ahmaud's case was handled internally by lower-level officials early on.

In an open letter, Carr spells out major inconsistencies in what his office was told about the case in February, March and April -- long after Ahmaud was shot to death in cold blood by Travis McMichael, while accompanied by his father, Gregory, in late February.

He writes, "The request to the U.S. Department of Justice includes, but is not limited to, investigation of the communications and discussions by and between the Office of the District Attorney of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit and the Office of the District Attorney of the Waycross Judicial Circuit related to this case." Those departments' leaders, respectively, are Jackie Johnson and George Barnhill. Carr's got questions about Barnhill, especially.

Carr says correspondence between his office and Barnhill's office back in early April -- about a month or so after Carr's office formally assigned Barnhill and his team to investigate/prosecute the case -- appears to show Barnhill was not being forthright in how he was handling things up to the point he asked to be taken off, due to a conflict of interest.

Long story short, Barnhill told the AG that his own son -- who's a prosecutor in a neighboring district -- had handled a previous prosecution of Ahmaud, and that one of the defendants -- the elder McMichaels, per reports -- served as an investigator in that old case. Carr says Barnhill told him he learned of this development 3-4 weeks before his dated letter to the AG on April 7. Carr says Barnhill offered no reason why he didn't notify them sooner.

That's not the biggest issue, per Carr. He also says in that April 7 letter, Barnhill did not reveal that he had already been calling shots in the case, including the crucial decision to NOT make any arrests after he reviewed the evidence himself and decided against it.

Chaka Khan and Luenell have had it with mothers in their community continuing to lose their children -- so, in their honor, they held a peaceful protest on an important holiday.

The singer and comedian got together in L.A. Sunday with a bunch of other women of color -- who have lost their own kids or relatives to violence ... be it from the police or at the hands of someone else. The purpose of the rally was to speak out against the killing of these children -- minors or adults, alike -- and to offer support to their grieving mothers.

We talked to Luenell about it, and she tells us the time to voice concern about this issue is more pressing than ever ... and they want the public and people in power, especially, to know #EnoughIsEnough, which also happens to be the official name for their viral campaign.

Now, while Luenell insists the issue of black children being murdered goes beyond law enforcement -- hers and Chaka's movement comes at a moment where, once again, we're seeing excessive violence being exacted upon men of color -- specifically, black men -- by cops and/or rogue vigilantes -- encounters that often lead to their deaths as a result.

Of course, we're referring to two recent cases of this in Ahmaud Arbery -- who was gunned down after a man and his son claim he fit the profile of a burglary suspect -- and Sean Reed, who live streamed his own death after cops gunned him down during a chase.

We've seen it before ... the list of black/brown people being killed by the authorities is long and well-documented. But, for Luenell and co., they're truly pissed and demanding structural change. Watch ... she's incredibly passionate about the cause and for good reason.

Jay-Z, Meek Mill and others over at Roc Nation are speaking out publicly to demand justice for the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery -- asking for a speedy trial and conviction of his killers.

Jigga, Meek and other Roc Nation artists -- including Alicia Keys and Yo Gotti -- have signed an open letter they're releasing this weekend, which is made out to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia AG Christopher Darr and District Attorney Tom Durden.

It says in no uncertain terms ... try Gregory and Travis McMichael fairly, but swiftly, so that felony convictions can fall on them. Also, they want another man arrested and tried as an accomplice.

The team writes, "By now, we’ve all seen the crime’s disturbing video, so the facts here are not in doubt: He was unarmed and innocent and the victim of a hate crime. Which is why we call upon you today, as official leaders of the Great State of Georgia, and with the entire world watching, to ensure that a fair trial is conducted, as that can only lead to the appropriate felony convictions of both McMichaels. We also implore you to charge William Bryan as an armed accomplice to the crime." Bryan was the guy who filmed the video.

They go on to say that D.A. Durden must recuse himself from the case because of a conflict of interest -- namely, the elder McMichaels is a former cop and they know each other.

The Roc Nation squad also makes a point that the first necessary step for healing has taken place in the arrest of both McMichaels. They say, "We truly appreciate that you have arrested and charged these men with Ahmaud’s murder, and are hopeful that a trial and conviction will show that, in the state that gave us Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and has been the site of the best and worst of the Civil Rights movement, Dr. King’s words do ring true: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'"

Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme is flipping the script on his estranged wife, whom he claims has been trying to get him busted for allegedly violating a restraining order.

Now the rock singer's filed for a restraining order against her. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Josh claims Brody Dalle-Homme intentionally shows up to his events, trying to trigger a restraining order violation against him.

In one case, he says he took their teenage daughter to a horse riding lesson in February, but an hour before it ended ... he claims Brody parked next to his car and started recording video on her phone. Josh says he then got a threatening message from her attorney saying they were gonna call cops if he didn't leave immediately.

Josh says he's afraid those kinds of phony allegations are going to get him arrested. In the docs, he also alleges during their marriage she punched him in the face at least 7 times and threw an iron, and even bragged to friends and relatives about it.

Josh says he has not lived with Brody for nearly 6 months but claims she continues to monitor his phone and credit card usage to keep track of his movements.

The judge gave Josh the restraining order ... so now Brody has to stay at least 100 yards away from him -- at least until they have a court hearing later this month.

As we first reported ... Brody filed for legal separation back in November and a month later, divorce. She got the restraining order against him in December claiming he showed up to her house drunk and head-butted her.

Lori Loughlin just suffered a big blow in her college admissions case ... the judge rejected her claim that prosecutors dealt her dirty by allegedly browbeating the star witness until he screwed her over.

The judge rejected Lori's motion to dismiss her case entirely because of gross misconduct on the part of the team that is prosecuting her. TMZ broke the story ... a government investigator screamed at college admission's scandal ringleader Rick Singer because he kept saying the money Lori and other parents paid was a donation and not a bribe.

The judge didn't buy it, ruling the government did NOT lie.  The judge said the screaming was not to get Singer to lie ... it was simply to get Singer to corroborate what they already knew.

Lori did score a few points when the judge said the government dragged its feet in producing notes revealing the Singer screaming match. The judge said the delay was "irresponsible and misguided," but not willful.

Joe Exotic does everything big, and clearly so does his new, massive legal team, that has produced a Texas-style video asking President Trump for a pardon, saying Joe is not only NOT GUILTY of putting a hit out on Carole Baskin, but he was actually FRAMED.

The video was shot and produced in Ft. Worth, and it features the bus TMZ showed you a few days ago that is wrapped in a plea to spring Joe from the prison, where we're told 1/3 of the inmates now have coronavirus.

The team is led by a super colorful figure -- Eric Love, a P.I. who is now the Lead Investigator and Executive Manager for all things Exotic.

The video makes it clear ... the legal team will attack on all fronts. They are appealing Joe's conviction and asking Trump for a pardon. They're also pursuing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against a bunch of folks involved in the criminal trial.

As we previously reported, there's evidence the alleged hitman had an ax to grind ... he told us his testimony against Joe was "payback" and he wishes he could have done more to hurt Joe. Those are markers of a biased witness.

There's also this ... the prosecutor in the case chose to throw in allegations Joe killed tigers. A lot of people think the prosecution's murder-for-hire case was weak, and the prosecutor threw in tiger-killing allegations just to dirty Joe up so the jury would hate him. Joe's legal team thinks that's a reversible error, as well as unethical.

Chris Cornell's widow, Vicky, is threatening members of her late husband's band, accusing them of making a fortune off Chris' back and then viciously attacking her and her kids and screwing them out of what's rightly theirs.

Vicky's lawyer, legal pit bull Marty Singer, fired off a blistering letter to the remaining members of the group, expressing outrage at their latest legal move -- accusing Vicky of stealing money from the Chris Cornell Tribute Concert. Singer says the claim is BS, noting almost 2 million bucks went to charity and overhead was only $43k.

Singer also claims the tribute to Chris lined the pockets of the band members, who demanded reimbursement for expenses. Singer clearly doesn't buy the "expenses" argument.

The demand letter, obtained by TMZ, calls the allegations against Vicky "mean spirited drivel." Singer says band members have tried to "brow-beat her into giving up the rights to her late husband's copyrighted works" by initiating a hate campaign, enlisting "cyber-stalkers and trolls" to harass not only Vicky but her kids.

The letter notes band members have liked defamatory, social media allegations ... like suggesting Vicky operates a brothel from her home and that she "pimped out" her daughter.

Vicky's lawyer succinctly said, "Shame on you and shame on your clients [who] have made millions of dollars off of Chris Cornell's hard work and talent."

The letter ends with a threat of a malicious prosecution lawsuit against not only the band members but their lawyer as well ... that is, unless the band immediately drops its fraud claim against Vicky.

Originally Published -- 6:15 AM PT