Celebrity News

Brian McKnight says his ex-wife, one of his sons, some bloggers, and a newspaper rolled out a coordinated assault on his reputation to make money from "malicious character assassination" ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The legendary singer filed a lawsuit claiming he's the victim of a "shockingly dishonest" and "sensational but false narrative" alleging he abandoned his kids and refused to tell his dying son Niko he loved him.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Brian says the false narrative was cooked up by his ex-wife, Julie McKnight, and he says it's been peddled by his son Brian Jr., bloggers Marc Lamont Hill and Tasha K, and the New York Post.

"Storage Wars" star Darrell Sheets is dead, TMZ has confirmed.

Lake Havasu Police in Arizona tell TMZ ... Sheets apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Officers responded to a report of a deceased individual at his house at about 2 AM Wednesday, police say. He was pronounced dead at the scene ... his body has been transferred to the Mohave County Medical Examiner's Office.

It’s no longer a question of “Who’s the baby daddy?” … because Paul Pierce is admitting he fathered Princess Santiago’s child.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the NBA legend told the court he was the biological dad to 2-month-old King Rafael Santiago Pierce. He asked for joint legal and physical custody.

As we’ve previously reported, she’s asking for sole legal and physical custody -- plus a hefty $29,811 per month in child support, $100K in legal fees, and nearly $19K in pregnancy-related expenses. Santiago filed a paternity suit in California back in January.

She’s also made sure to highlight Pierce’s massive NBA earnings -- claiming he pulled in close to $200 million during his career -- as justification for the sizable monthly ask.

Taylor Frankie Paul was not booked for "Dancing With the Stars," despite reports ... and now we know what is likely causing the confusion.

A source close to 'DWTS' tells TMZ ... "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" and 'Bachelorette' star was involved with the dance competition show -- but what she did is being blown out of proportion.

From what we're told ... on her season of "The Bachelorette" -- which was shelved -- one date was a crossover with 'DWTS' ... and it seems that ballroom scene is being conflated into something more.

Russell Brand says he did sleep with a 16-year-old ... but, he's clear that's the age of consent in the United Kingdom -- and he never sexually assaulted anyone.

The actor opened up about the charges he's facing in his home country during an interview with Megyn Kelly published Wednesday ... claiming he had consensual sex with the teen when he was 30 years old.

Brand admits he wasn't kind to women back in the day ... using fame, money and charisma to have sex with a ton of ladies -- and not applying any consideration to their feelings.

Bill Cosby isn't backing down from his bid to erase his massive civil court loss ... but accuser Donna Motsinger's legal team says his latest Hail Mary should get laughed out of court.

Motsinger -- who alleges the comedian drugged and raped her in 1972 -- and her attorneys are urging the judge to reject Cosby's request to throw out the jury's verdict in her favor, or grant him a new trial.

According to new court docs obtained by TMZ, Motsinger's lawyers say his motion to throw out the verdict should be dead on arrival because it was filed seven days late.

Even if the judge considers it, her lawyers say Cosby is trying to relitigate issues he's already lost ... including constitutional arguments over California's sexual abuse revival law that were rejected earlier in the case.

Madonna’s been sounding the alarm over her missing wardrobe -- and TMZ’s now got the full list of what went missing ... including a lavender corset worth around $25K that she rocked during her epic performance with Sabrina Carpenter at Coachella last weekend.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the items -- originally reported missing by Madonna’s tour manager, Lindsey -- also include lavender gloves, purple trunks, thigh-highs, a slit-and-teddy combo, and a purple leather jacket.

That’s not all. A pink sequin jacket, pink gloves, pink thigh-highs, plus a Moschino corset were also reported missing -- with most of the pieces said to be archival.

Stella Maxwell is officially off the market ... 'cause TMZ has learned she's dating Anyma.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... the supermodel and the DJ and producer, whose real name is Matteo Milleri, have been seeing each other for a couple of months now, and it's getting serious. We're told the two are really happy together as the relationship continues to grow.

The pair have already taken things public in a big way ... stepping out together at Coachella, where Stella was featured prominently in visuals for the Anyma project during his performance from the "ÆDEN" series.

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Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson's fans think the two need to try again as a real-life couple ... and Holmes seemingly agrees -- smashing the like button on comments advocating for the two to spark up a romance again.

Here's the deal ... the actress posted a professional photo with her arms slung around Jackson -- and, of course, it got "Dawson's Creek" stans feeling nostalgic.

People begged the two -- who are costarring in the new romantic-drama "Happy Hours" -- to get back together in the comments ... and it appears Holmes liked a few of them.

Andy Cohen had some surprisingly nice things to say about Spencer Pratt’s mayoral campaign -- but the second Joe Rogan got brought up, the conversation went completely off the rails.

During Tuesday's episode of "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Kristin Cavallari told Andy she initially thought Spencer’s run for Los Angeles mayor was a joke ... but now she says she truly thinks he could actually pull it off.

She pointed to growing support around him and casually mentioned that Rogan had already endorsed him last week on his podcast ... saying he’d vote for him if he lived in L.A.

Watch the clip ... that’s when Andy pounced.

Sandra Lee and Ben Youcef are officially done ... 'cause TMZ has learned the longtime couple has called off their engagement.

Sandra's rep, Jen Abel, confirms to TMZ ... the former Food Network star has ended the engagement after five years together.

The confirmation comes on the heels of our recent run-in with Sandra in NYC last week, and when we asked about wedding plans, she swerved hard ... pivoting to work instead of offering any kind of timeline.

Bryton James’ divorce may be officially over ... but the financial drama from it remains ongoing -- because his ex-wife is now asking the court to make him cut her checks for spousal support.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, the "Family Matters" star's ex, Jahaira James, filed a request for spousal support less than a month after their divorce was finalized.

The former couple's divorce judgment was entered on March 24, and their marital status was officially terminated on Sunday -- restoring both parties to single status. The final judgment also show the court's jurisdiction to order spousal support to either party was terminated as part of the split.

But now Jahaira apparently wants that revisited.

Taylor Frankie Paul will return for "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" at some point ... however, her main focus remains her family and kids, TMZ has learned.

Production sources tell TMZ ... Taylor's priority remains her kids and family, but she is not completely cutting off ties with the show, as we're told she will film at some point.

Our sources tell us cameras will go up nearly immediately ... even as early as this week, and the entire cast and production crews are supportive of Taylor returning to the hit Hulu show when she's ready.

"90 Day Fiancé" star Paul Staehle and his now former wife Karine are dunzo ... the two are officially divorced, TMZ has learned.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, the judge in their case signed off on their divorce on April 13 after Karine filed a petition to dissolve the marriage back in February 2026.

The docs say the two separated more than a year ago and have been living apart for more than 60 days.