Crime

DJ Mustard says R. Kelly is a "monster" and a "pig" ... but he's reserving judgment on Michael Jackson. YG says he's done with both of 'em ... but also has some condemning words for white people.

We got the hip-hop stars outside Poppy nightclub in L.A. Friday night, engaging in a lively discussion about the sordid allegations and controversy currently surrounding the disgraced musicians.

Mustard tells us he doesn't mess with Kelly because he believes the accusers -- and because he has daughters -- but isn't so certain about MJ. He admits he's been swayed by the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries ... but he's yet to see "Leaving Neverland."

YG adds some entertainment throughout by challenging Mustard for rebuking one but not the other, but then takes the convo in a different direction ... with claims that racism's behind everything -- including Bill Cosby going to prison.

Jussie Smollett's career is just like an awesome script ... complete with a major plot twist, then a climax and now the aftermath -- and it ain't pretty.

Sources familiar with Jussie's current situation tell TMZ ... he was living a pretty good Hollywood life before claiming he was viciously attacked in Chicago. He was getting entertainment biz offers every other week, if not weekly.

We're told Smollett's star actually skyrocketed right after the alleged attack was initially reported. Our sources say he was getting hit up nonstop for movies, TV gigs, commercials and, of course, interviews and appearances.

When his story went off the rails and he was arrested and charged with a felony for filing a false police report ... the well ran dry. We're told Smollett's getting zero calls for new work, and is being treated like a pariah.

Makes sense. Hollywood's waiting to see how his case plays out, but the 16-count indictment the grand jury handed up Friday can't help.

As we reported ... "Empire" also removed Jussie's character from the final 2 episodes of the season in order to keep peace on the set ... where some of his co-stars are butting heads over whether to support him.

On the bright side -- if there is one -- Chicago PD launched an internal investigation out of concerns the force was leaking information, and some of the claims by the Police Superintendent have been called into question.

That might help him in court, but it won't do jack to help him land any roles.

Kodak Black's been talking mad trash about Lil Wayne for about a week, and now that he's about to do a show in Weezy's hometown ... the venue's going full-bore to prep for violence.

Kodak's slated to perform at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans next week, and we're told the venue honchos think the rapper's mouth will have some Wayne fans looking for revenge.

The backstory, for those not on black Twitter, is that Kodak was at Miami's LIV nightclub last weekend, and thought Wayne was coming to show some love. When he didn't, Kodak got pissed, grabbed a mic and called Wayne a "f***in' maggot" -- and added, "You should've died when you was a baby."

When Weezy's daughter, Reginae Carter, called out Kodak for disrespecting her pops -- he called her "bald head." Then Reginae's mom, Toya Wright, weighed in ... and Kodak unloaded, saying ... "@toyawright If I Ain't Have No Girlfriend I'll F**k Da S**t Out Yo Fine Ass."

And, that's why we're told security at the NOLA venue will be monitoring social media for any direct threats referencing Kodak's show. Additionally, New Orleans PD will assist with extra security to keep Kodak safe.

For the record, Weezy hasn't responded at all, but turf wars can get real.

Ex-MLB All-Star pitcher Esteban Loaiza just got sentenced to 36 months in prison after officials found him hiding 44 pounds of cocaine ... and he'll surrender next month.

As we previously reported, Loaiza -- who made more than $40 MILLION during his 14-year MLB career -- was arrested last year after cops say he was trying to move more than $500,000 in cocaine from a house located near a school.

Officials say Loaiza was using "sophisticated" smuggling devices to hide the 22 kilos of coke.

On Friday, the 47-year-old appeared in court in San Diego for his sentencing. He was facing life in prison -- but seems to be getting off easy ... with just a 3-year prison sentence.

Officials say he'll be deported to his native Mexico following his release.

The story about how he was caught is crazy.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Dept. says he was busted during a drug-smuggling sting by the Border Crime Suppression Team.

Loaiza was initially stopped by police during a traffic stop for a minor traffic violation -- but a search of his car led to the discovery of a "sophisticated aftermarket compartment used to conceal contraband."

Cops then got a warrant to search a home that Loaiza had been renting since early February -- located "steps away from an area preschool" -- and found roughly 20 kilograms of suspected cocaine.

Estimated street value -- $500,000.

Loaiza was initially booked into San Diego County Jail for 3 felonies -- Possession of Cocaine Over 20 Kilograms, Possession of Cocaine for Sale, and Transportation of Cocaine.

He later pled guilty to felony cocaine possession with intent to distribute.

Loaiza, the second-winningest pitcher from Mexico in MLB history, played for 8 different teams in his career -- earning over $43 million.

5:30 PM PT -- Jussie's attorney, Mark Geragos, just released a scathing response to the indictment, telling us, "The fact of an indictment was not unexpected. We knew that there is no way they would expose their evidence to a public airing and subject their witnesses to cross-examination. What is unexpected, however, is the prosecutorial overkill in charging 16 separate counts against Jussie."

Geragos continues, "This redundant and vindictive indictment is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make headlines in order to distract from the internal investigation launched to investigate the outrageous leaking of false information by the Chicago Police Department and the shameless and illegal invasion of Jussie's privacy in tampering with his medical records. Jussie adamantly maintains his innocence even if law enforcement has robbed him of that presumption."

2:45 PM PT -- We've now read the indictment, and it appears the grand jury hit Jussie with one count for EACH allegedly false statement he made during the 2 interviews with cops.

Jussie Smollett just got slammed by a Cook County grand jury, which has returned a 16-count felony indictment against him for filing a false police report.

Smollett was originally charged by the State Attorney's Office with a felony of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. The new indictments obviously take the case to another level.

As for why there are so many counts ... the grand jury reportedly handed up 2 sets of charges -- one for Smollett's initial report to Chicago PD, and the other charges are for Jussie's second interview with cops.

We're told Ola and Abel Osundairo told grand jurors Jussie hired them to stage the so-called "attack." The brothers were caught on camera buying a bunch of supplies before the incident ... including ski masks, gloves, bandanas, sunglasses and red hats.

Chicago PD has come out strong against Jussie ... making it clear they had a lot of issues with his version of events -- including the fact he took them to the scene and immediately pointed to a camera which he said captured the incident. Turns out, the camera was pointed in the wrong direction.

Abel and Ola told police they drove with Jussie in the days prior to the incident scouting a location and even rehearsed the "attack."

As for the hate mail sent to Jussie at Fox Studios in Chicago ... police say they believe the "Empire" star is behind that too. However, we know the FBI hadn't confirmed that when Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson blasted Jussie in his news conference.

We also know the brothers told police they had nothing to do with the letter, and only saw it in a photo on Jussie's phone.

Originally published -- 2:11 PM PT

San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer and his wife have both met with law enforcement as a part of the investigation into their physical altercation that was caught on video, TMZ Sports has learned.

The SFPD launched a probe into the March 1 incident -- in which Baer was seen trying to wrestle a cell phone away from his wife, Pam, knocking her to the ground in the process.

TMZ Sports obtained footage of the altercation -- which took place in a public park area in San Francisco -- and you can hear Pam scream for help.

Cops responded on the day of the incident and spoke with witnesses. Now, we've learned investigators reached out to both Larry and Pam ... who also agreed to speak with authorities.

Larry's attorney, Cris Arguedas, tells us Baer and Pam had separate meetings with law enforcement, but fully cooperated ... and they're confident no charges will be filed.

The case has been kicked over to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office -- which will review the evidence and decide whether or not to bring charges against Larry.

Arguedas tells TMZ Sports she's "never been more confident" Larry will not be prosecuted.

Pam has already commented publicly about the case -- chalking the incident up to a marital spat ... and stating that she still loves her husband.

Larry has stepped away from the Giants while cops and the MLB investigate the situation -- but he's also expressed remorse.

Baer has been involved with the Giants organization for decades. He was named chief operating officer in May 1996, team president in October 2008 and CEO on January 1, 2012.

Adnan Syed -- whose murder conviction was the subject of the "Serial" podcast and will be examined on an upcoming HBO documentary series -- will NOT get a new trial after all ... so says the Maryland Court of Appeals.

The court reinstated Syed's conviction Friday for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, ruling that his defense attorney -- while admitting she was deficient -- "did not prejudice" the case.

The 4 judges wrote in their conclusion, "We agree with the conclusion of the Court of Special Appeals that Mr. Syed's trial counsel's performance was deficient ... in failing to investigate the alibi witness," but added ... "We disagree, however with that court's conclusion that Mr. Syed was prejudiced by his trial counsel's deficiency."

Translation -- his lawyer sucked ... but she's not the reason why Syed was found guilty.

It should be noted the other 3 judges on the panel disagreed, and believe the deficiency was prejudicial against him and his defense.

As we reported ... Adnan was granted a new trial in June 2016 by a Maryland judge because his original lawyer failed to cross-examine an expert witness. An appeal by the state was expected, though ... and it didn't go Syed's way.

The murder was the subject of the first season of "Serial" and garnered massive attention to the case, and HBO will begin airing a 4-part docuseries Sunday night -- picking up where the true-crime podcast left off -- called "The Case Against Adnan Syed."

After the court's ruling, Syed's attorney Justin Brown tweeted, "We will not give up. #FreeAdnan."

R. Kelly says he's short on cash and running out of options, so he's going to try a new tactic -- beg the court to cut him a financial break.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the singer planned to file a motion Monday to reduce the amount of money he owes his ex-wife, Drea Kelly, in back child support. Once filed, the judge would review the case and issue a ruling, but that could take several days. There's also no guarantee the judge would grant a reduction.

That was Kelly's initial plan. Plan B, we're told, is trying to scrape together the $161k through the assistance of others -- not unlike the woman who paid the $100k to bail him out last month.

If he can make that happen, there's a chance he could get out of Cook County jail on Friday.

As we reported ... Kelly was arrested Wednesday for failing to come up with the child support money. He's stuck in a jail cell until he can pay the ordered amount -- $161,633.

Kelly publicly blamed his ex for his failure to pay child support during his CBS interview, claiming her "lies" about his abuse are the reason he can't make any dough.

He also claims he's trying to reconnect with his kids, but sources close to the situation say that's BS ... he hasn't even reached out to his family in well over a year.

21 Savage could be on the hook for $1 million after a promoter says he bailed on a gig back in 2016.

If the incident sounds familiar -- it should -- it's the same case that was recently rejected by the D.A.'s Office after the office claimed it was a civil matter ... so the promoter is doing just that.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Sadaetirs Kent Smith, a club promoter, is now suing the rapper alleging he bailed on a performance back in September 2016 and never returned the amount he had been paid ... $16,500.

We broke the story ... the promoter went to cops in October 2016 and filed paperwork to get a felony warrant against 21 Savage for theft by deception, claiming he walked off with $17k for a show that never went down.

As for the $1 million figure ... Smith says the breach of contract caused severe emotional distress.

12:02 PM PT -- We've now learned Gloria Allred will represent the woman who made claims Kelly sexually abused her at just 13 years old in Detroit ... police are looking into the accusations.

The victim tells us, "Listening to R. Kelly's denials about what he did to underage girls like me was very hurtful. He needs to tell the truth and he needs to stop playing the victim. He was the adult and I was the child. He has no right to take advantage of me when I was only a 13-year-old child."

R. Kelly's ex-wife claims his abusive ways didn't end when they got divorced ... she says he tried to control her by cutting her off from child support.

A rep for Drea Kelly tells TMZ ... the embattled singer knew EXACTLY where to hit Drea where it hurt her most after she spoke out in June 2018 -- on a show called "Sister Circle Live" -- and alleged he'd been physically and mentally abusive during their marriage.

We're told the singer -- who has 3 kids with Drea -- had sporadically been paying child support, but lo and behold ... the payments completely stopped after her interview aired on TV.

Drea's team says her career took a hard hit after she had her first kid -- Kelly wanted her to be a stay-at-home mom, set strict rules for her and insisted she only work for him. When the marriage hit rock bottom ... she was a single mother without a job.

That control didn't stop after they split -- Drea says Kelly's unwillingness to take care of his kids was a form of control because he knew damn well she needed his financial support.

She says sometimes he would pay in full, sometimes late and sometimes nothing at all. Bottom line ... she never knew how much, if any, money they'd have to live on.

As for Kelly dumping all his problems on Drea -- she says that's a load of crap.

Although he ranted to CBS that he can't make money because of her abuse allegations, Drea points out the #MuteRKelly movement started well over a year before she spoke out.

Paris Hilton's former party pad is hitting the rental market, which means you can live it up like the famous socialite and her celeb friends -- if you've got the cash. A lot of it.

Paris' old crib is well-known across Hollywood for its legendary parties, and it's the same place where Kim Kardashian styled Paris' hair back in the day. It doesn't come with Kim, though, so here's what ya do get.

The Spanish-style, Hollywood Hills pad has a baller backyard, breathtaking views and endless entertainment options ... perfect for hosting parties. Obvi. Check out the pics, and you'll know why P enjoyed tons of wild nights with Nicole Richie before she moved out in 2007.

Less fun fact: this is where Paris was living when cops came to haul her back to jail in 2007 -- one day after she'd been released -- for a probation violation.

The house recently sold for $3.9 million, but the new owner's looking to rent it out in the next few weeks.

There's a new twist in one of the federal investigations into R. Kelly -- a new witness who's corroborating 2 women's allegations of sexual misconduct.

Gloria Allred tells TMZ ... a woman has come forward with details that support the claims Latresa Scaff and Rochelle Washington -- Allred's clients -- made about Kelly attacking them after a Baltimore concert in 1995.

As we reported, Latresa and Rochelle claim R. Kelly picked them out of the crowd, plied them with drugs and alcohol, invited them to his hotel room and had sex with Latresa without her consent. Both women were minors at the time.

We're told the witness -- who is going only by her first name, Sabrina -- says she saw Latresa and Rochelle in the hotel lobby the night of the alleged incident. She says she noticed Latresa bent over in pain getting out of the hotel elevator.

Sabrina says she offered help and when she asked what happened ... they said R. Kelly assaulted Latresa. We're told Sabrina came forward after seeing Latresa and Rochelle's recent news conference.

We're told all 3 women have spoken to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

They came together Thursday for an interview with a Maryland reporter, and we're told Latresa was crying tears of joy due to Sabrina's support.

3/8 -- Manafort appeared in his inmate jumpsuit in court, and the scene was captured by a sketch artist inside.

Paul Manafort is going away for a little while -- a judge just sentenced him to 47 months in prison ... which means he could be a free man again relatively soon.

President Trump's former campaign chair was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty on 8 criminal counts, ranging from tax fraud to bank fraud ... not to mention laundering more than $18 million to fuel his lavish lifestyle.

Manafort was facing a maximum of 80 years in prison, but federal prosecutors recommended he get up to 25 years. Clearly, the 69-year-old caught a huge break with the judge.

As we reported ... Manafort's charges stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential Russian collusion with the Trump campaign leading up to the 2016 election.

The sentencing is the climax of Manafort's tumble from political power -- the FBI raided his house in VA and seized tons of documents ... he was eventually indicted on multiple federal charges, and surrendered to the FBI.

Although he was out on bail, he got sent back to jail for violating his bail conditions. Mueller's office accused him of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he urged 2 witnesses in his case to commit perjury in his defense.

Manafort's been sitting in solitary confinement since June -- and, reportedly, he's mostly been doing it in a wheelchair or using a cane due to his declining health. His lawyers said in court filings he's battling gout.

The big question is will Trump pardon Manafort?

Forget the Grammys, R. Kelly should be up for an Oscar after his over-the-top performance during Gayle King's interview ... so says one of the first women to speak out about Kelly's alleged sexual abuse.

Sparkle, the singer who had a hit song with R. Kelly in 1998, was on "TMZ Live" Thursday and said the real reason Kelly's losing it on camera is because it's all getting too real.

Translation: he's staring down the possibility of hard time in prison and he's terrified.

As you know ... Kelly wore his emotions on his sleeve in his first interview since being arrested on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse, looking distraught and exploding in tears. All of that coming the day before he got locked up in Cook County jail, again, for failure to pay child support.

Cops working the Jussie Smollett case allegedly had seriously loose lips, and now the police force is launching an internal investigation.

Chicago PD tells us its Chief of Detectives opened the investigation out of concerns the force was leaking like a sieve. CPD adds there's been a ton of "inaccurate" info in the media, and they want to know who's putting it out there.

A police spokesman tells TMZ ... "When there are allegations of information being leaked, an internal investigation has been opened and we are also looking at our vulnerabilities."

Smollett's attorney, Mark Geragos, blasted the police during a CNN appearance saying the leaks were a thinly veiled attempt to skewer the actor.

Shawn Oakman is hoping NFL teams were paying attention when he was found NOT GUILTY in his rape case ... because the ex-college football star hopes to get a real shot to play pro football.

Oakman was a projected 1st-round draft pick while playing at Baylor -- where he set the school record for career sacks. But, no team wanted to touch him in the 2016 NFL Draft after he was arrested and charged with raping a woman at his apartment.

The 6'9", 265-pounder has been keeping himself in shape and playing semi-pro ball while his case was active ... but now that he was found not guilty last week, he's hoping he can make the jump to the NFL.

"I want to play football at the highest level and just really finally get my chance,” Oakman told KWTX.

"I think God will set the right path for me but I don't feel like I have to beg for anything, it's not a begging matter. I don't want anybody to hand me anything. I want to earn it and everything I get."

Oakman says he's grateful for the support he's received since the trial ... and plans to return to his old stomping grounds.