Crime & Arrests

Joe Exotic and his husband Jorge Marquez Flores are speaking out for the first time following the latter's deportation from America Saturday ... and they both confirm their final goodbye was "pretty emotional."

The "Tiger King" star and his better half tell TMZ they knew the day they'd be ripped apart was coming -- so they made sure to treat every day like it was their last.

Jorge -- who spoke to TMZ from a friend's house in Mexico -- gave a glimpse into their last weeks together, recalling their frequent trips to the library and gym ... even noting they bonded as they worked on their English and Spanish skills together.

Nicole Brown Simpson's sister is making a bunch of comparisons between the trials of O.J. Simpson and Diddy ... and she sees a lot of similarities between her sister and Cassie.

Tanya Brown says the Diddy trial feels a lot like O.J.'s "Trial of the Century" ... mainly because of abuse allegations and the power dynamics of both couples.

Cassie gave four days of intense testimony last week in Diddy's federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial in NYC, and Tanya says folks following the case should not be quick to judge Cassie because they haven't walked in her shoes.

A former makeup artist for Diddy and Cassie just testified for the prosecution in Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial in NYC ... and she told the jury she saw injuries to Cassie's face after an altercation with Diddy following a Grammys party at Prince's house.

Mylah Morales says during Grammys weekend in 2010, she went to a party with Cassie at Prince's Los Angeles estate ... and then they went back to a hotel room. She says Diddy burst in and asked, "Where the f*** is she?"

Morales told jurors Diddy went into a room where Cassie was and shut the door ... and Morales said she heard screaming and yelling. She testified Diddy stormed out and then a "distraught" Cassie emerged with a swollen eye, busted lip and knots on her head.

Kid Cudi didn't let Diddy allegedly orchestrating the fire-bombing of his car ruin his love for Porsche ... judging from the cheeky song title he picked for his last album's lead single.

The hip hop star released the track "Porsche Topless" for his "Insano" album back in June 2023, over a decade after his convertible literally had its roof blown off by a Molotov cocktail.

At the time of its release, Cudi told listeners to envision “Imagine ur floating high up in the bright blue sky on a nice warm summer's day” ... clearly pushing down the bad memories of seeing his beloved car cooked extra crispy in his Hollywood Hills driveway.

Diddy's hotel reservations came with a few warnings ... because his booking profile carried a few notes attached to it -- mainly about messes he and his companions made in the room.

Frédéric Zemmour -- general manager of L’Ermitage Beverly Hills -- took the stand in Diddy's federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial in NYC Thursday, and he was asked about how Diddy booked rooms in the fashionable hotel over the years.

Zemmour explained the hotel uses a system called OPERA -- a software hotels can use to aggregate reservations, create loyalty programs and more -- and, he said one feature on it allows hotel employees to enter notes about specific guests.

Kid Cudi detailed the damage his Porsche sustained from a Molotov cocktail during his testimony in the Diddy trial -- an incident he thinks Diddy was involved in -- and now we're seeing some of what jurors were shown in court.

Photos of Kid Cudi's car fire aftermath were just entered as exhibits in the case ... and they appear to show what Kid Cudi testified about in terms of fire damage from a Molotov cocktail.

Cudi told jurors someone cut a hole in his Porsche's convertible top and dropped in the fire bomb ... and photos show a large opening in the soft top that appears to have been slashed open, and there looks to be some melted fabric.

Jussie Smollett's stuck a pretty sweet deal with the Windy City -- instead of paying 6-figures in restitution for the hate crime hoax investigation, he's donating $50,000 to charity ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct involvement in the negotiations tell us the agreement between Jussie and Chicago calls for him to pay the $50K to a charity of the actor's choice ... and we're told he's opted to support the Building Better Futures Center for the Arts in Chicago.

The org focuses on mental health, art, music and acting training for underprivileged youth in Chicago.

Kid Cudi says Cassie played him like a fiddle during their 2011 fling.

The "Pursuit of Happiness" rapper testified Thursday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC, and he talked a lot about his brief relationship with Cassie.

Cudi admitted he felt like he was played by Cassie when she told him things were over with Diddy ... only for her to get back with Diddy after they broke up.

Kid Cudi is testifying about his infamous car fire-bombing ... and he says he knows Diddy had something to do with it, even though Diddy denied it to his face during a meeting where Diddy came off like a Marvel supervillain.

The rapper testified Thursday in Diddy's criminal ... telling the jury his Porsche went up in flames outside his house in January 2012, shortly after he broke things off with Cassie.

Kid Cudi says he wasn't at home when he got a call from his dog's babysitter, informing him his car was on fire. He says he rushed home and found his car damaged.

Tory Lanez is currently on the mend after surviving a brutal prison attack, and now has a change of scenery -- after being moved to a completely different facility!!!

As of Thursday morning, we've confirmed Tory was shipped out to California Men’s Colony (CMC) to ensure his safety ... 3 hours away from the California Correctional Institution (CCI) where he was stabbed 14 times, resulting in both lungs collapsing.

Tory’s attorney Crystal Morgan tells TMZ Hip Hop the "Color Violet" artist is doing fine, considering the severity of his injuries ... but isn't necessarily happy he had to move to CMC, near San Luis Obispo.

Kid Cudi says Diddy broke into his Los Angeles home after finding out he was dating Cassie ... and he says Diddy screwed with his pooch.

The rapper took the stand Thursday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC and told the jury about some of the drama that unfolded between him, Diddy and Cassie back in 2011 ... when she was on a break from Diddy and they started dating.

Kid Cudi testified there was a break-in at his home in December 2011 after Cassie called him early in the morning and told him Diddy found out about them. He says cops were called, too.

Sherri Papini is shrugging off the lies she told in her alleged kidnapping ... she says she can't be the only person who has ever fibbed, and her case is deeper than most folks realize.

TMZ obtained a clip from the upcoming documentary "Sherri Papini: Caught In The Lie" ... and she asks the audience, "Haven't you ever lied? Have you ever lied in your history of existence? And then has that lie been blown up and broadcast around the world?"

Sherri went missing for three weeks back in 2016 ... resurfacing on the side of a road in California after claiming her captors let her go.

Two Israeli Embassy workers were shot to death Wednesday by a gunman at the Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. — and the arrest of the suspect was caught on dramatic video.

Check it out ... The alleged shooter — identified as Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois — is grabbed by a couple of cops inside a building on Wednesday night.

One of the officers slaps the cuffs on Elias, who starts screaming, "Free free Palestine." Both officers then escort him through an exit door as witnesses stare in shock, with one horrified woman seen covering her mouth.

The 8th day of testimony in the Diddy trial is in the books and prosecutors are still trying to gain headway on the racketeering charges against the mogul ... and one of their witnesses even thinks he helped Diddy's defense.

Wednesday opened with Homeland Security Investigations agent Gerard Gannon detailing more about a raid on Diddy's home on Star Island ... a search that turned up guns, ammo, drugs, lube, baby oil, sex toys and lingerie.

Interesting stuff ... and maybe the guns help prosecutors prove a RICO case against Diddy ... 'cause some of the serial numbers on the magazines were scratched off.

Diddy's former employee George Kaplan says part of his work as an executive assistant at Combs Enterprises called for him to set up hotel rooms for his boss ... complete with some staples for a "freak-off" -- like lube, baby oil and candles.

Kaplan testified Wednesday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC, telling the jury he booked rooms for Diddy at hotels in New York, Miami and Los Angeles -- including at the InterContinental Hotel, where Diddy was later seen on video beating Cassie in March 2016 -- although Kaplan said he only worked for Diddy from 2013 to 2015.

He told jurors he would book rooms for Diddy using the alias Frank Black ... which he says was derived from one of The Notorious B.I.G.'s nicknames, Frank White.

Sharay Hayes, an exotic male dancer known as "The Punisher," tells us he's unsure why federal prosecutors called him as a witness in the Diddy trial ... because he says he never saw Diddy do anything that seemed illegal and thinks his testimony may have actually helped the defense.

"The Punisher" joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we asked him if prosecutors gave him any indication why they wanted to get him on the stand, because his testimony Tuesday left many people wondering how prosecutors thought it related to any of the charges against Diddy.

Hayes says he is still confused as to why his testimony was necessary ... telling us he let prosecutors know from the jump he didn't see anything that looked criminal during his sexual interactions with Diddy and Cassie.