Crime

Stanley the Giraffe -- the crown jewel of Malibu Wine Safaris -- now sits in his pen as Exhibit A ... because authorities claim his owners are breaking the law by having him there.

ABC7 reports the CEO of MWS, Dakota Semler, and her pops, Ron, have been charged in connection to an investigation that allegedly revealed Stanley -- and perhaps other wild animals roaming around -- have been flying under the radar without the necessary paperwork to warrant their stay. The place is packed with animals you might see at a zoo.

They were reportedly informed by the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife that the Semlers never got the necessary licenses to house such exotic creatures -- like giraffes, zebras, etc. -- and as such, they've been accused of falsifying records to obtain permits to that effect.

As a result, Dakota -- who owns/runs the place -- has reportedly been charged with maintaining an animal facility or a wild animal without a license. Her dad -- who apparently owns Stanley himself -- has reportedly been charged with providing false info on his application for Stanley's restricted species permit with the CDFW. Both pled not guilty.

As for Stanley, Fish and Wildlife say he was "seized in place" -- meaning they're not taking him to any station for booking or processing ... ya know, 'cause he's like 18 feet tall. And as to the question of how the hell this didn't come to law enforcement's attention earlier -- they're claiming they relied on the word of the Semlers when they filled out their docs.

Here's the kicker ... ABC7 suggests that Malibu Wine Safaris might've been newly put under a microscope because of pissed-off would-be customers -- several of whom apparently complained about not getting refunded during the pandemic ... or not refunded fast enough.

So, because they upset their loyal base -- ABC7 says it started digging in, which might've triggered the investigation and subsequent charges. Oh, the irony ...

As you may or may not know ... Stanley is a fan fave at the sprawling attraction at Saddlerock Ranch -- tons of celebs have stopped by over the years and posed for selfies with Stan, who's always happy to nibble on someone's hair ... preferably some celery or lettuce.

Deshaun Watson insists the only reason he contacted massage therapists over social media is because his usual masseuse couldn't work on him due to the COVID pandemic.

Multiple sources connected to Watson tell us ... the NFL superstar is still adamant he did NOT sexually assault any of the women making claims against him.

He's obviously been following the story ... but strongly disputes the claims made by attorney Tony Buzbee, who claims to be talking with 22 women who say they were violated by Watson.

Most of the women who have filed lawsuits claim Watson first contacted them on Instagram to set up a massage -- which they found surprising considering Watson is a pro athlete who should have tons of resources at his disposal to find established therapists.

But, our sources tell us ... Watson didn't just find these women out of the blue -- insisting when his usual therapist was stopped by the COVID pandemic, he reached out to various friends, teammates and associates to get recommendations.

We're told once Watson made contact ... he put an emphasis on privacy and spelled out the areas he wanted the massage to make sure the masseuse was comfortable and to ensure things stayed professional.

Our sources tell us ... Watson insists he never crossed the line with any of the women and still strongly believes they're being led by a money-hungry attorney who's looking for a payout.

There's more ... Deshaun -- who signed a 4-year, $156 million contract extension in 2020 -- obviously has the means to pay the women off if he wanted to, but he doesn't want to give them a cent because he's adamant he didn't do anything wrong.

Of course, Buzbee said during a news conference on Friday that he has personally vetted all of the accusers he represents ... and insists he's moving forward with their cases to hold Watson accountable, not to squeeze him for money.

Joe Exotic says his life's been a living hell ever since Netflix unleashed him on the world ... and he's going scorched earth on Donald Trump, Carole Baskin, PETA, the feds and more!!!

Joe, through his attorney John M. Phillips of the Phillips & Hunt firm, tells TMZ ... "It has been a year of hell" since March 20, 2020, when Netflix premiered 'Tiger King' ... and he's not talking about the pandemic.

Exotic gripes the people for whom he opened his zoo and home -- "when their own families wouldn't help them" -- have turned their backs on him as he rots in prison. Joe doesn't name names, but says some of his ex-employees are out to "just collect money and talk s*** to get on TV" ... and he's pissed they're allegedly using his name "to profit off the hell I am living."

Joe's still claiming his innocence too ... he grouses the prosecutors and witnesses who helped put him behind bars lied under oath. Exotic's confident "the truth will come out ... come hell or high water, they will all answer to perjury at some point."

Trump and Don Jr. are also contributing to Joe's hell, and it sounds like he's still bitter over his failed attempt at a presidential pardon. Exotic says the Trumps "used me for advertisement and then left me here."

As we first told you, Joe's not giving up hope on a pardon from POTUS, and now he's lobbying the Biden Administration.

Joe tells us he has "more faith in President Biden and VP Harris to do the right thing, not just for me, but for the thousands serving long sentences for non-violent crimes such as conspiracy."

The way Joe sees it ... "I'm a political prisoner in America for an animal rights agenda" and he's lashing out at PETA for allegedly enforcing the Endangered Species Act on Jeff Lowe and his former zoo.

More quarterback drama for the Seattle Seahawks ...

The guy who backs up Russell Wilson is being investigated by police for allegedly punching a man in the face at a bar on St. Patrick's Day ... TMZ Sports has learned.

25-year-old Alex McGough -- a 7th round pick in 2018 out of FIU -- was allegedly at the Green Parrot Pub in Tampa, FL when an altercation broke out ... and things got violent.

TMZ Sports spoke with the alleged victim, 24-year-old Anthony Albino -- who tells us he was reconnecting with an old friend at the bar when McGough approached him and accused him of shooting his shot at his girlfriend.

Anthony says the NFL player got heated -- and all of the sudden, McGough socked him in the face out of nowhere.

In video taken after the alleged incident -- and obtained by TMZ Sports -- you can see Anthony with red marks on his face ... surrounded by bloody paper towels he used to clean himself up.

Anthony says he suffered minor injuries from the incident ... including a bloody nose and a gash to his elbow.

We're told Anthony went to cops the following day and filled out a report with the intention of pressing charges.

So far, McGough has neither been arrested nor charged with a crime -- but our law enforcement sources confirm the incident is under investigation and officers are hoping to speak with McGough soon

We've reached out to McGough's camp for comment ... so far, no word back.

The Seahawks signed McGough to its practice squad back in December 2020 -- and he's currently listed as the #2 quarterback on the team depth chart.

Willow Smith says she's being stalked by a man who trekked from Oklahoma to L.A. to try to get into her home ... according to new legal docs she filed to get a restraining order against him.

In the docs, Will and Jada Pinkett's daughter claims 38-year-old Walter James Whaley climbed a fence to get onto her property around Christmas and appeared to be looking for a way to enter her house.

According to Willow ... her security called police and they showed up right away but Whaley wasn't apprehended at the time. However, she says cops found a Greyhound bus ticket indicating he'd traveled there from Oklahoma just a day before.

Willow included photos of the alleged incident that appear to show Whaley on her property, and she says this is frightening because it shows he "will do whatever possible to make physical contact with me."

According to the docs ... even before this all happened, Whaley had been hitting Willow up with social media posts saying he wanted to marry her and have kids with her.

She also says a private investigator she hired did some digging and determined Whaley is a convicted sex offender.

There are now TWELVE women making sexual misconduct allegations against Deshaun Watson -- with 10 more accusers being vetted, according to attorney Tony Buzbee.

Buzbee represents the 7 women who have already filed lawsuits against Watson -- and at a news conference on Friday, he announced 5 more lawsuits are in the works.

"We are now representing 12 women and we will file 5 more cases in due course. We have spoken to more than 10 additional women, 22 women," Buzbee said.

To clarify, Buzbee said the additional 10 women all have similar stories to the first 12 ... but he's still gathering information before filing lawsuits on their behalf.

Of the 12 accusers, Buzbee says the women did NOT know each other before coming forward with their allegations.

The women come from different racial backgrounds -- 7 of them are Black, 2 Hispanic and 3 are Caucasian.

Additionally, Buzbee says he's been contacted by the Houston Police Dept. -- which is now looking into the allegations.

Buzbee says none of the accusers had gone to police before contacting his firm -- but says the "next step" is to submit a "package" of information to police, presumably to help launch a criminal probe.

During his news conference, Buzbee also shot down conspiracy theories that the Houston Texans were driving the lawsuits as a result of a standoff between Watson and Texans ownership. Buzbee says he lives near the family that owns the Texans but does not know them personally.

There's more ... Buzbee also notes that one of the accusers claims Watson assaulted her AFTER Buzbee had already been in contact with Watson's agent to inform him about a claim from another woman.

Buzbee says he's been personally sitting down with each accuser to vet their stories -- explaining he "wanted to make damn sure" the women were truthful.

Buzbee says the first accuser's story "certainly passes the smell test" and praised her as a brave and truthful person.

Earlier in the day, Deshaun's agent, David Mulugheta, broke his silence about the allegations against Watson -- doubling down on the notion the women are making up the accusations for "financial gain."

"Sexual assault is real. Victims should be heard, offenders prosecuted," Mulugheta said in a statement Friday morning.

"Individuals fabricate stories in pursuit of financial gain often. Their victims should be heard, and those offenders also prosecuted."

"I simply hope we keep this same energy with the truth."

In other words, Mulugheta strongly believes the accusers are lying and he's extremely confident Watson will be vindicated in the end.

TMZ Sports has obtained all 7 of the lawsuits filed against Watson -- and they're all very similar.

Each of the women claims Watson reached out seeking a massage -- most of the women claim he first contacted them on Instagram.

But, when they met for the massage therapy sessions, the women claim Watson became aggressive in pursuit of a sex act.

One of the women claims Watson forced her to perform oral sex on him, against her will.

All of the accusers say they never consented and felt violated. They're all suing for civil assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Buzbee claims he has text messages and DMs from the QB which back his client's allegations ... including an apparent apology from Deshaun after a massage session gone bad.

The first woman who filed her lawsuit against the Houston Texans QB claims Watson became aggressive during a treatment in March 2020 ... which ended after he allegedly repeatedly tried to direct the woman to massage his genitals.

In her suit, the woman claims a fully-erect Watson exposed his penis and "purposely touched [Jane Doe's] hand with the tip."

The woman claims she ended the massage immediately and began to cry. Afterward, she claims Watson sent her a text message apologizing for his behavior.

On Friday, Buzbee went public with the alleged apology text from Deshaun.

"Sorry about you feeling uncomfortable. Never were the intentions. LMK if you want to work in the future. My apologies."

For his part, Watson adamantly denies the allegations -- and claims he's the victim of a shakedown by an attorney looking to score a cash grab from his lying clients.

Lisa Ling says the White House flying the American flag at half staff to honor the Atlanta shooting victims is a powerful gesture for Asian-Americans ... but it's just one step of many that need to be made.

The CNN host was at LAX when a photog asked her about President Biden's decision to lower flags in the wake of the shootings that killed 8 people, including 6 Asian women ... and she got choked up talking about the symbolism.

Lisa says it's monumental when the President acknowledges the lives of some of the "most marginalized women" in society ... and she explains why it sends a strong message to everyone.

But, Lisa knows the fight against racism is far from over -- she says for every heartwarming image of the lowered flags, there are more horror stories on social media. She points to the example of the woman in San Francisco, who actually fought back against her attacker.

Deshaun Watson is now being investigated by the NFL -- the league has reached out to the lawyer representing the 9 women who are making sexual misconduct claims against the QB.

Attorney Tony Buzbee posted the letter he received from NFL investigator Lisa Friel -- who previously had a lead role in the NFL's investigation of Ezekiel Elliott. A league source confirms to TMZ Sports the letter is authentic.

In her letter, Friel states the league is aware of the 3 lawsuits Buzbee has filed on behalf of the female massage therapists who claim they were sexually assaulted by Watson and she's hoping to conduct interviews with them as soon as possible.

The league has invited Buzbee to be included in the interviews, if the women agree to participate.

Unclear if the women will cooperate -- especially while their lawsuits are still pending.

As we previously reported, Buzbee claims he's representing 9 women who are all making similar allegations against Watson -- that what was supposed to be an innocent and professional massage session turned into an aggressive push for sex acts.

Watson has issued a statement denying the allegations and insisting Buzbee is only looking to score an unwarranted payday for his clients based on lies.

Watson has not been charged with a crime or even named a person of interest in a criminal investigation.

However, the NFL has made it clear they don't need a criminal conviction in order to take disciplinary action against a player ... and that's exactly what happened in the Ezekiel Elliot case.

Zeke was hit with a 6 game suspension in 2017 following a probe into domestic violence allegations ... despite the fact he was never charged with a crime.

The NFL said at the time it found enough evidence to show Zeke violated the league's personal conduct policy, which the league claims justified the punishment.

The Houston Texans have released a statement on the Watson allegations Thursday afternoon ... saying the team will fully cooperate with the league's investigation.

"The NFL informed us today that they will conduct an investigation into the allegations made in the civil lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson," the team said. "We will stay in close contact with the league as they do."

Armie Hammer is now accused of rape ... by a woman who says she's reported the alleged crime to police, and law enforcement sources tell us he is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault.

The actor's accuser, Effie, claims Armie raped her for over 4 hours, during which he allegedly slapped her head against a wall and physically abused her with other acts of violence. She says the incident happened April 24, 2017 in Los Angeles.

Effie made her allegations Thursday during a news conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred. Effie claims she met Armie on Facebook in 2016, when she was 20, and they began a relationship which became violent and abusive.

Allred says Effie has provided law enforcement with evidence of the alleged rape, and prosecutors will have to decide if there's enough evidence to press charges against Hammer. Allred says she is not planning to file a lawsuit against Hammer.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... someone spoke with police about the alleged incident on Feb. 3 and cops started a sexual assault investigation, which is ongoing.

Hammer's attorney, Andrew Brettler, tells TMZ they believe Effie "undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations" because she sent Armie extremely sexual texts as recently as July 18, 2020. In the alleged text, Effie said, "Helplessly horny and I just need to tell you cuz it's been sooo long since last time." There's much more that's, frankly, too graphic for us to describe here ... but the point is she told Armie, in stark detail, what she wanted him to do to her.

He responded, "I am not going to be able to engage in you in that specific way right now. It never ends well. We can talk and be friends but I can't do that."

Brettler claims Effie sent hundreds of texts to Armie, and adds ... "It was never Mr. Hammer’s intention to embarrass or expose [Effie]'s fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference. With the truth on his side, Mr. Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight."

As you know ... Hammer's been embroiled in controversy since January after some shocking, but unverified, DMs he allegedly sent to women started surfacing on the Internet.

TMZ broke the story ... Hammer exited a J Lo movie shoot as a result of the scandal, but he told us, "I'm not responding to these b******* claims."

And then there's Hammer's ex-girlfriend, Paige Lorenze, who last month accused him of licking blood from a brand he allegedly forced upon her.

The allegations against NFL superstar Deshaun Watson are piling up ... a third female masseuse has filed a lawsuit against the QB, claiming he forced her to perform oral sex during a Dec. 2020 encounter.

The woman, who filed her suit under the pseudonym Jane Doe to protect her identity, claims Watson reached out on Instagram to set up a session.

The woman says the two agreed to an appointment at a Houston, Texas office building on Dec. 28, 2020 at 10 a.m.

Jane Doe -- who claims she was newly engaged and had just graduated chiropractic school -- says her mother dropped her off at the job, and then she met Watson ... and that's when she claims things immediately got weird.

The woman says Watson insisted she focus on massaging his "inner thighs" and "inner glutes" -- while repeatedly telling her he's a professional football player.

She claims Watson "got more aggressive" -- and eventually "coerced [Jane Doe] to move her mouth toward his penis, forcing [Jane Doe] to perform oral sex on him."

The woman claims she never consented to the sex act ... and actually "blacked out for a few minutes from the fear."

In her suit, the woman claims she was so terrified, she defecated on herself.

The woman says Watson got up, got dressed and left as if nothing happened.

The woman is suing for sexual assault, civil assault and intentional inflection of emotional distress.

It's the third lawsuit filed against Watson by attorney Tony Buzbee ... who claims there are at least 3 other women who will be taking legal action against the Houston Texans player.

Watson has not been arrest nor charged with a crime ... and has adamantly denied all wrongdoing, insisting Buzbee is just trying to score an unwarranted payday for the women.

One of the women who accused Kellen Winslow Jr. of sexual misconduct is now suing the ex-NFL star ... with the woman claiming the football player traumatized her with some disgusting acts at a gym in 2019.

The woman -- who was 77 years old at the time of the incident -- just filed the civil suit last month ... laying out in graphic detail how she says Winslow terrorized her at 'Crunch Carlsbad' in Southern California.

The woman says on Feb. 13, 2019, she was working out when she noticed the former Cleveland Browns player masturbating near her.

She claims Winslow then approached her, "made lewd and offensive remarks," and pointed "at his erect penis" and said, “Do you see this, do you like it."

The woman says she ran off, found her husband inside the gym and left immediately.

But, less than 2 weeks later on Feb. 22, the woman says she encountered Winslow again inside of the fitness center's Jacuzzi.

In her suit, the woman says Winslow got in the water, sat close to her, and rubbed her leg and arm without her consent.

She claims she ran off and notified fitness center employees ... who she believes called law enforcement.

Winslow was eventually hit with a criminal charge of lewd conduct in public over the incident ... and a jury found him guilty of the crime -- as well as rape and other charges -- at a trial in May 2019.

DeShaun Watson has been sued by a female masseuse who claims she was sexually assaulted by the NFL superstar during a session gone bad -- but Watson is denying the allegations, claiming he's the victim of a shakedown.

The woman filed her lawsuit Tuesday. Her attorney, Tony Buzbee, told FOX 26 in Houston that Watson was getting a massage from the accuser when the QB "went too far."

In an effort to try and get ahead of the story, Watson issued a strong denial late Tuesday evening.

"As a result of a social media post by a publicity-seeking plaintiff's lawyer I recently became aware of a lawsuit that has apparently been filed against me," Watson said.

"I have not yet seen the complaint but I know this: I have never treated any woman with anything other than the utmost respect."

He continued, "The plaintiff's lawyer claims that this isn’t about money, but before filing suit he made a baseless six-figure settlement demand, which I quickly rejected."

"Unlike him, this isn't about money for me -- it’s about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that."

We're working on hunting down the lawsuit and contacting the lawyer behind it.

The timing couldn't be worse for Watson who's currently trying to force his way out of Houston so he can continue his career with another NFL team.

The Houston Texans issued a statement Wednesday morning saying, "We became aware of a civil lawsuit involving Deshaun Watson through a social media post last night. This is the first time we heard of the matter, and we hope to learn more soon."

"We take accusations of this nature that involve anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We will await further information before making any additional statements on this incident."

LeBron James says his thoughts and prayers are with the "entire Asian community" after a gun-toting maniac went on a shooting spree in Atlanta Tuesday night, killing 8 people including 6 Asian women.

"My condolences goes out to the families of all the victims and the entire Asian community tonight on what transpired in Atlanta at the Aromatherapy Spa," Lebron said in a statement late Tuesday evening.

LeBron then tore into the shooting suspect -- 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long -- calling him a "Coward a** young man!!"

Bron continued, "Just senseless and tragic!!"

Officials say Long opened fire at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Cherokee County, Georgia -- killing 4 people and injuring 1 more.

Then, officials say Long went to the Gold Massage Spa where he killed 3 more people.

Finally, Long allegedly went across the street to the Aromatherapy Spa and killed one more person.

In total, 8 people are dead including 6 Asian women.

Officials captured Long Tuesday night by using a pit maneuver on his SUV to stop his car.

He's since been taken into custody and charged with murder.

Investigators have neither confirmed the motive behind the shooting or confirmed if it was racially motivated.

After the incident, NBA star Jeremy Lin -- who's been speaking out against anti-Asian racism for years -- also weighed in saying, "This is sooo heartbreaking ... praying for our world."

"To my Asian American family, please take time to grieve but know youre loved, seen and IMPORTANT. We have to keep standing up, speaking out, rallying together and fighting for change. We cannot lose hope! #StopAsianHate #NOW."

Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo also released a statement Wednesday ... saying he's "deeply saddened" by the tragedy ... and went into detail about his own experiences with racism.

"As an Asian American, I have heard the jokes and name calling," Koo said. "I often dealt with it by ignoring what was said and minding my own business."

FYI -- Koo was born in South Korea but was raised in the United States.

He continued ... "I don’t have all the answers, but I realize now more than ever that this is an issue that needs to be addressed and that ignoring it won’t help us do that."

Demi Lovato says she was sexually assaulted as a teenager and is opening up about it for the first time, publicly ... because it's taken her this long to process the trauma.

The singer made the shocking revelation in her new documentary, 'Dancing with the Devil' ... which premiered Tuesday night at SXSW. In the film, she says, "I lost my virginity in a rape."

The film infers the alleged assault occurred when she was 15 during her days as the Disney Channel star of "Camp Rock" and "Sonny With a Chance." Demi says she called the person back a month after the alleged rape and "tried to make it right by being in control and all it did was make me feel worse."

She says of the encounter ... "We were hooking up but I said -- hey, this is not going any farther, I’m a virgin, and I don’t want to lose it this way. And that didn’t matter to them, they did it anyways. And I internalized it and I told myself it was my fault because I still went in the room with him. I still hooked up with him."

Demi claims she developed a serious eating disorder to deal with the trauma, and beat herself up for years ... but she feels it's finally time to share her truth.

As we reported ... the new documentary details Demi's 2018 overdose -- including being declared legally blind in the hospital after she woke up -- along with her many other challenges and triumphs.

Well, this bites for a NY man -- not as much as his odd pets -- but he's been convicted of trafficking sharks, which he kept in an above-ground pool in his backyard!!! Again, this is NY, not FL.

NY Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday the conviction of Joshua Seguine ... who pled guilty to illegal commercialization of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and wildlife with intent to sell 7 sandbar sharks ... which is a protected species in NY state.

Seguine was fined $5,000. Authorities say they first got whiff of all this in July 2017 after he was busted for driving without a license in Georgia, and cops found 5 undersized sharks in a large tank in the back of his truck.

Authorities say Seguine admitted he was transporting the sharks to NY to sell them. He also admitted to possessing live sharks at his house. The AG's Office says authorities later discovered Seguine operated the website MonsterFishKeepers.com and conducted his biz under the name Aquatic Apex Life LLC.

When authorities served a search warrant at his NY home they found 7 live sharks in his backyard pool. They also found 2 dead leopard sharks, one dead hammerhead shark and the snout of a smalltooth sawfish ... also an endangered species.

Jenelle Evans' ex-BF, Nathan Griffith, is a wanted man for ghosting the judge in his DWI case.

A North Carolina judge issued an order for Nathan's arrest he failed to appear for a court hearing in connection with his 2019 DWI arrest.

As we reported ... the "Teen Mom 2" star was busted in Cary, North Carolina outside a grocery store ... where he was handcuffed and taken into custody.

He later told us his side of the story ... saying the arrest was bogus because he wasn't in his car when cops stopped him. Nathan told us his keys were actually locked inside the car. He also said he was walking to meet friends at a restaurant when he was coraled by cops.

Nathan says cops were responding to a report of a man sleeping in his car. But Nathan says he was wide awake ... he'd been walking for 5 minutes when cops showed up and took him back to the car.

Nathan and Jenelle, of course, were locked in a nasty custody dispute before they struck a deal last October.