CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Kanye West just got schooled on what a 5:00 PM deadline means in Wisconsin -- in one judge's view ... which, for now, is keeping Ye off the ballot there, and it's all over 14 seconds.

A circuit court magistrate ruled this week that Kanye was, in fact, too late by submitting his nomination docs last month to get his name on the ballot come November ... even though his team got it in 14 seconds after 5 o'clock, which they felt was still inside the window.

Not the case, so says Judge John Zakowski. Hizzoner writes, "The court believes at the time a grandfather clock rings out five times is the moment it is 5 p.m. Any time after that is precisely that: after 5 p.m." Oof, tough crowd. But wait, there's more to his rationale.

Judge Zakowski goes on to explain ... "The court used the analogy of midnight. There is significant difference between 11:59:59 p.m. and one second after midnight. The passage of a second after midnight confers an entirely new day." Hmmm, we suppose he has a point.

In other words, a late registration from Kanye ... quite literally. And thus, he isn't eligible to rock the vote on November 3rd. That said, Ye could take one last shot in this legal fight.

There's the option of appealing to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and if Kanye and co. do that ... they might actually have a more favorable ruling. Fact is, a majority of those justices lean conservative -- and they could interpret the deadline rules a little differently.

Considering Wisconsin is a big swing state in this election ... he might wanna consider it. Not only that, but Dems there are already trying to rally the base with some cool celeb appearances -- namely, a 'Parks & Rec' Q&A session this month with a bulk of the cast. The goal is getting Wisconsin folks to vote.

More than a dozen Black families came together for a common cause in Georgia -- snatching up a bunch of land to start their own community, which they hope will be a safe haven.

The nearly 97 acres of unincorporated land recently purchased near the town of Toomsboro -- about 130 miles south of Atlanta -- has now been dubbed Freedom, GA ... and the 19 Black families that went in on the land are hoping to make it a complete city one step at a time.

Renee Walters and Ashley Scott are the two women who kick-started the initiative -- now known as the Freedom Georgia Initiative -- and they say they did it because they wanted a safe place to raise their families without fear of police brutality or other forms of oppression embedded into society. The whole idea is a community by Black people for Black people.

They also note that when the place is up and running -- with an agriculture infrastructure, businesses and eventually homes -- they won't exclude anyone ... meaning you don't have to be Black to be a resident. They do make it clear though ... it'll be a pro-Black town.

The first phase of getting all this started is clearing the land, farming it and then creating a man-made lake that they intend to use for sustainable fishing. It's a massive undertaking, and will presumably take years before it might be considered viable. Still, they're working on it.

Over Labor Day weekend ... Renee, Ashley and co. hosted an event called the Big Black Camp Out, where folks flocked in from all over the country to enjoy the land with tents and RVs in tow. It also served as a ribbon-cutting ceremony to highlight the achievement.

As for what exactly inspired them to do this ... Renee and Ashley say the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others -- plus the protests that have erupted as a result -- made them realize they needed their own space for their own people.

Britney Spears is jumping the gun on making decisions about the future of her conservatorship ... according to her father, who says the court first needs to make some other big decisions about Brit's health.

Jamie Spears just filed new docs, obtained by TMZ, saying Britney's lawyer is grandstanding by trying to unseal parts of her ongoing conservatorship case ... opening it up to the public.

In the docs, Britney's dad says before she can waive her right to privacy, the court needs to determine she has "the capacity to understand the consequences of her waiver."

Jamie's arguing for keeping her medical records sealed, and says he's worried they could have a detrimental effect on Britney if the public gets their hands on them. He also says keeping that info sealed is in the best interest of Britney and her 2 children.

Britney's dad also addresses her lawyer's statement about Britney wanting more "personal autonomy" in her life, now that she's not performing. In his docs, Jamie points out the conservatorship is voluntary, and Britney can file a request to terminate at any time -- but has not up to this point.

As we reported ... Britney says she doesn't want her father to be the only one in charge of her financial decisions, and instead wants to add a co-conservator of her estate.

Lindsay Lohan's art of the book deal consists of agreeing to write it, getting a huge sum of money and then failing to turn in a draft ... at least according to a new suit.

Publishing company HarperCollins is going after Lohan, claiming she breached a contract she signed way back in March 2014 to write a book. According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Lohan and her production company promised she'd have it completed by May 2015 ... but it never happened.

Instead, HarperCollins claims it revised the due date to March 2017, and even paid her a $365,000 advance against future royalties.

However, HarperCollins claims the deadlines came and went, and Lindsay never delivered a manuscript. So, the publisher says it informed her in Sept. 2018 the book deal was off, and it wanted its money back. There's a lawsuit, so you guessed it ... HC says LiLo never refunded the cash.

Jussie Smollett still insists the alleged assault he suffered in January 2019 is not a hoax, but now says there's evidence to back it up ... and suggests there are forces working against him to keep the truth hidden.

The former "Empire" star opened up about the infamous "hate crime" that went down in Chicago -- more than a year and a half ago -- in a rare interview, because he's over staying quiet about the case.

Jussie tells activist Marc Lamont Hill he doesn't believe the City of Chicago or law enforcement will ever stop going after him, and he believes they are trying to make an example out of him ... even though he claims he didn't do what he's accused of doing.

Smollett blasts police for focusing on winning the case instead of trying to solve it based on truth, and hints there may be a conspiracy against him because of that. As he puts it -- law enforcement is willing to throw people under the bus, get people to lie, and switch the narrative based on their agenda.

As for the lack of video evidence of Jussie being attacked ... he claims it's out there. He also says there are 2 witnesses who can corroborate his story of seeing 2 white men -- one of them carrying a rope -- before he was attacked.

Smollett says this evidence has been buried by a bunch of lies and misleading information, but there's more. Jussie claims there's a tape that shows the action leading up to his alleged assault, but it cuts off right before it happens.

He doesn't say outright who may have doctored the tape, but strongly implies the Chicago PD may have had a hand in it.

To sum it all up ... Smollett says he now realizes he was set up from the beginning to look like he was lying, and he thinks it has something to do with "the MAGA of it all."

It seems Jussie believes if his alleged attackers hadn't yelled something suggesting they were Trump supporters, things would be different ... but he concedes he doesn't know that for sure.

What he does know for sure is he's done trying to convince people ... and the truth will eventually come out.

We broke the story ... on Wednesday, the City of Chicago requested the FBI hand over its records about the Bureau's probe into the "hate crime" and what may have led up to it.

So Jussie's right ... this case isn't going away anytime soon.

The City of Chicago wants a judge to force the FBI to hand over records of the Bureau's probe into the Jussie Smollett case -- especially his claim he was the target of a racist and homophobic threat before the infamous alleged attack.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, the City wants to know what the FBI dug up related to a letter that was sent to Fox Studios in Chicago on January 22, 2019 -- a week before Jussie claims he was attacked. The letter contained an "unknown substance" and contained "racist and homophobic imagery and slurs" ... according to Jussie.

The City also wants the FBI records about the "attack" itself ... according to the docs. Basically, Chi-town officials want to know if the FBI uncovered any evidence about Jussie faking the threatening letter or his "attack."

What's interesting here is the docs show the FBI told the City disclosing any of the requested material would "reveal information acquired as part of an ongoing criminal investigation."

Bottom line is ... as of now the FBI is refusing to hand over its investigation results because it still hasn't closed the case.

You'll recall ... in the aftermath of Jussie's "attack," President Trump mentioned the FBI was looking into the situation.

"Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp is suing Kevin Spacey for an alleged sexual assault ... and now there's another plaintiff making an additional claim.

Rapp filed suit in NYC claiming he met the disgraced actor in 1986 while performing on Broadway in "Precious Sons." Rapp claims Spacey invited him, 14 at the time, to a party at his home on the East Side of Manhattan. Rapp alleges Spacey, without consent, made an unwanted sexual advance and grabbed his buttocks, lifted him onto a bed and laid on his body.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Rapp claims he got scared and ran into the bathroom, and although Spacey tried to persuade him to stay ... he left. Rapp says he suffered psychological injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, fright, anger, depression and anxiety.

What's more ... Rapp claims the experience has forced him to step away from his work as an actor and feels he'll be compelled to spend tons of money for medical expenses to recover from the ordeal.

As we reported ... Rapp first made these accusations back in October 2017. Spacey responded by apologizing and coming out as gay.

BTW ... there's another plaintiff in Rapp's lawsuit but he's anonymous. He says he was also 14 and an acting student and alleges he had intercourse and oral sex with Spacey. In the suit, he claims he resisted Spacey's repeated attempts to sodomize him before he was able to flee Spacey's apartment.

Tamar Braxton's boyfriend is running to court asking for protection against her in what he describes as a domestic violence situation ... TMZ has learned.

The singer's BF, David Adefeso, filed for a restraining order Tuesday in L.A. seeking to prevent DV ... and he's asking a judge to grant him one against Tamar. For now, it's unclear what he's alleging she might've done.

It doesn't look like the court has approved his request just yet -- we're reaching out to Tamar's team to get more info. So far, we have not heard back.

At any rate, it's another sign that things have been volatile lately in her life -- especially as it pertains to David. Remember, he's the one who called 911 not too long ago saying Tamar was threatening to kill herself. He also mentioned her WeTV beef to cops at the time.

Also keep in mind ... family sources connected to Tamar have told us they believe she's changed since getting with him -- claiming her mood seems to align with his. We've also been told that David has come off as controlling in Tamar's reality show, and that he's been quite involved in her business decisions of late.

Story developing ...

A woman who briefly escaped the custody of two undercover officers in San Diego had a seizure as they chased her down ... a wild scene that played out on camera.

It happened Saturday during protests near the San Diego County Jail. At one point, you see an unmarked, civilian-style car posted outside a gate to get inside ... when all of a sudden, a lady springs out from the back seat in shackles and makes a run for it.

She screams for help as she tries to escape, and people around her are clearly confused before they put it all together. Two men in plain clothes -- who are presumably law enforcement agents -- run after her and eventually catch up just a few yards away.

As they begin to apprehend her, a crowd forms around all of them with most everyone's camera whipped out and recording. Some people try yanking the men off of her, and at one point ... she's literally being pulled by the leg and hair in mid-air. It's horrifying to watch.

It gets worse though ... the woman goes into a full-blown seizure during all the chaos, and the two guys eventually give up and start walking back to their car. Everyone's asking them to identify themselves, but they refuse ... and simply leave the scene, hand on gun too.

New York's top prosecutor is taking the Daniel Prude case out of the local jurisdiction's hands and putting the decision of whether to bring charges squarely with the people.

Attorney General Letitia James says she'll be convening a grand jury soon to review the case and see if any crime had been committed by the Rochester police officers ... who put a spit sack over Prude's head earlier this year, which ultimately lead to his death.

As we reported ... Prude's brother called 911 for help after Daniel was acting erratically. He was intercepted in the snowy streets, completely naked. While complying with officers' demands at first, Prude eventually tried standing up ... and was pinned to the ground.

With a knee to his back and a hood over his head, Prude eventually lost consciousness. He was placed on life support and died 7 days later. His death was ruled a homicide by complications of asphyxia while being restrained, plus other contributing factors.

Empaneling a grand jury essentially takes the power to charge anyone out of a prosecutor's purview and puts it with grand jurors, who'll take a look and be presented an argument one way or another by the lead investigative office -- in this case, the New York Attorney General.

Safe to say, if the AG is making this move ... it's because she wants impartial people to judge what happened and then determine if charges should be filed. So far, seven of the cops have been suspended with pay, but no charges have been filed.

Rochester's mayor, Lovely Warren, decried Prude's death this past week ... claiming ignorance over the true nature of his detainment. Not everyone is satisfied with that explanation, especially since Prude died 6 months ago.

Kodak Black is praying for more than just his release from prison ... because he says he can't get access to a rabbi to practice his Jewish faith behind bars.

Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ he's ramping up to file a lawsuit if his client doesn't get what he says he's been requesting for months ... a consultation with his own personal rabbi -- or any rabbi, really, at this point.

Of course, the other headline here is ... Kodak Black's Jewish??? We're with ya, and Cohen explained the rapper identifies with the faith -- even though he has yet to convert. He claims the feds have gone radio silent on his efforts to connect with his go-to rabbi.

If nothing changes, Cohen says they'll be suing for a violation of Kodak's First Amendment right to practice his religion.

He admits the chaplain at Kodak's facility in KY recently emailed to say face-to-face spiritual meetups were being temporarily axed due to COVID. However, Cohen says the chaplain also told him phone calls with the rabbi shouldn't be an issue.

Oh, and if you're wondering why Kodak's so adamant about getting access to any rabbi and a Torah, we're told he thinks it will help his mental state. Kodak believes God has a plan for him, and wants to talk it out with a pro.

Steven Spielberg's daughter no longer has to worry about her domestic violence case ... because TMZ's learned it's been tossed.

A spokesperson with the Office of the Attorney General in Nashville tells TMZ ... Mikaela Spielberg successfully completed court-ordered counseling classes after her February arrest. We're told Mikaela had already been attending counseling since October 2019, but the focus of her weekly classes changed following her arrest. We're told the final report was very good ... resulting in the judge dismissing her domestic violence case.

As we reported ... Mikaela was arrested following an argument with her BF after returning home from a bar. She allegedly erupted and hurled objects at him after he said something "rude" to her.

Cops observed a visible injury on the BF -- dry blood on his hand and a swollen wrist -- and determined Mikaela was the aggressor.

Naomi Campbell is being dragged into court by her ex-boyfriend, who's filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit, claiming she owes him a lot of dough.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Naomi's ex, Vladislav Doronin -- a Russian businessman -- claims she's refusing to pay back money he loaned her, and is still holding on to some valuable property of his.

In the docs, Vladislav claims Naomi's refusing to return his personal property, which he values at more than $3 million. It’s not clear yet how much money he claims to have loaned her.

The supermodel started dating the Russian billionaire way back in 2008, and they were together for five years before breaking up in 2013. Vlad often showered her with gifts, including getaways on his yacht and a house in the shape of the Eye of Horus on Cleopatra Island in Turkey.

R. Kelly's alleged attacker just ID'd himself in court docs, claiming he’s the one who beat up Kelly behind bars ... and he has gang ties and murders on his record.

Jeremiah Shane Farmer filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, claiming he’s the pissed off inmate who went on the attack and jumped Kelly in his jail cell.

In the docs, Farmer claims "the government made me attack" Kelly -- although he doesn't explain why -- and says he pulled it off in hopes of shedding light on government corruption. As for what the "corruption" is ... he feels he was done dirty by the justice system.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly got a taste of jailhouse justice last month inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

Farmer's admission is part of legal docs filed in a federal appeals court. Records show he's representing himself and is being housed at MCC just like Kelly.

R. Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ Farmer is indeed the one who attacked the singer.

As we reported ... our federal sources and Kelly's attorneys said the inmate went on the attack because he was angry about MCC being placed on lockdown a few times, largely due to Kelly protesters outside the jail.

Farmer also included a Bureau of Prisons incident report in his filing, which says the alleged attack happened around 9:45 AM Aug. 26. The report says Farmer appeared to repeatedly punch Kelly in the head and torso, with a prison employee using pepper spray to end the alleged assault.

Dr. Dre's wife is seeking a steady flow of serious cash from the music mogul as they head toward divorce ... but our sources say she's not going to get it without a fight.

Nicole Young just filed legal docs asking for temporary spousal support from Dre ... and the amounts are staggering, even for the uber-wealthy.

According to the docs, Nicole wants $1,936,399 monthly in temporary spousal support. She wants an additional $5 million in lawyer fees ... even though she just filed for divorce 2 months ago.

This huge swing by Dre's estranged wife has all the makings of a contentious and bitter divorce battle ... especially since there's already a raging prenup dispute.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... nothing has really changed for the 2 since Nicole filed for divorce -- she still lives in their Malibu house and has access to all the cars, personal chefs and other luxuries.

Our sources say Dre's going to push back, arguing Nicole doesn't need anywhere close to that amount since her lifestyle hasn't changed. Nicole, on the other hand, will argue she doesn't want to depend on Dre paying all the bills ... thus the need for temporary support.

As we reported ... things are already contentious after Nicole filed docs in early August claiming she was forced to sign the prenup back in 1996. She says 2 years into their marriage he told her he was ashamed he made her sign the prenup and tore it up in front of her.

Dr. Dre -- whose net worth is estimated at $800 million -- denies he ever tore up the prenup, and says she signed it willingly and wants it enforced.

Mikal Smith -- son of ex-NFL head coach Lovie Smith -- was arrested in Arizona this week after officials say he's been pimping, TMZ Sports has learned.

The 43-year-old -- who served as an assistant coach under his father with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Bucs -- was booked on Thursday for a slew of disturbing charges.

Officials tell TMZ Sports ... Smith is facing everything from pandering (another word for pimping) along with receiving earnings from a prostitute and sex trafficking.

He's also facing charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

The details surrounding the case are unclear -- we're working on it.

Mikal was a former college football player at the University of Arizona back in the day before getting into coaching.

He worked as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears when his father was the head guy over there ... and later followed Lovie to the Tampa Bay Bucs, where he worked with defensive backs.

Mikal also coached at Trinity International University before working at the NFL level.