Crime

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- the armorer on for "Rust" -- didn't hear or see anything that would make her think target practice (with live rounds) was taking place ... so insists her attorney.

Jason Bowles joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to clarify a few things he said earlier in the day -- the most important of which being his suggestion sabotage might've been at play here ... and that someone slipped a live bullet in a dummy rounds box on purpose.

We pressed him on that, asking what evidence -- if any -- he and/or his partners had to make a claim like that ... and Bowles seems to take a somewhat softer stance here.

Watch ... he explains they don't have a smoking gun, per se, and aren't pointing the finger at one person -- the possibility itself is there -- clear in the fact that a live round somehow made its way into a case that presumably only carried dummies, which are considered safe.

Of course, we also had to ask why the ammo was just out in the open if the weapons themselves were being guarded -- and Bowles has an explanation ... which makes sense.

He makes the point that dummies aren't dangerous, and don't necessarily need to be under a watchful eye at all times -- especially if no one is expecting a live round to enter the situation ... which he says is the case here. Namely, he's saying Hannah had no knowledge whatsoever of real bullets being anywhere near the set.

That leads to the final puzzling mystery of ... if target practice was, indeed, going down as frequently as we've heard it was during off-hours, how is it she didn't hear it or hear about it???

Bowles response is this ... if that was actually happening, it must've been taking place very far away from where she ever was, because he's firm that Hannah knows nothing about it.

There's a new Hollywood twist to the Britney Spears conservatorship ... turns out the judge on the case is the mother of a famous producer, and now he's breaking his silence on death threats aimed at his mom.

Prentice Penny is an executive producer on the HBO hit show "Insecure," starring Issa Rae ... and he recently jumped on the "Clay Cane Show" to talk about his mom, The Honorable Judge Brenda Penny.

TMZ broke the story, Judge Penny faced online death threats after she decided against immediately suspending Jamie Spears from the conservatorship back in August. However, Prentice says it wasn't only death threats his mom got, but racist attacks as well.

While he didn't want to get into specifics, because Judge Penny is still on the case, Prentice told Clay, "I think it’s sad that whomever would use it as an excuse to espouse racist names and ideas, feels sad and it feels unnecessary."

Nonetheless, Prentice says his mother can absolutely weather the storm from pissed-off Britney fans. As he put it ... "My mom's a black woman in America, she's a tough lady."

Of course, there's a big decision coming from Judge Penny next week when she could decide if Britney should be let out of the conservatorship or not -- and whether that decision will include a mental evaluation for Britney.

Brian Laundrie took his own life before the nationwide manhunt ... at least that's what cops in Florida are saying.

Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman told folks in town Brian "went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was" ... TMZ has confirmed.

As we reported ... Brian's remains were found Oct. 20 off a Florida trail near his notebook and backpack, ending a 5-week manhunt after he disappeared in the wake of his fiancée, Gabby Petito's death.

The FBI positively identified the bones found as Brian's, thanks to dental records, but the coroner could not determine a cause of death from Laundrie's remains ... and the bones were sent to an anthropologist for further examination.

Police say the area where Brian's remains were found had previously been under 4 feet of water ... one reason why he was not found sooner.

Superman's bisexuality is having real-world consequences -- outraged fans targeting the folks behind the new comic series ... and cops stepping in to make sure things don't escalate.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD officers were recently dispatched to patrol the homes of some of the illustrators/production staffers who created the latest iteration of Superman. The extra protection comes after major backlash that included some so-called fans making threats.

We're told the pissed-off comic book readers inundated the studios to voice their displeasure with the character's newly-announced sexuality.

Our sources say the studios called LAPD, requesting for patrols to keep an eye out -- both at the private residences of some artists, and at the studio itself.

While nothing legitimate came from the threats, our sources say cops still patrolled out of an abundance of caution -- and that the situation has since settled down.

Still, pretty scary and crazy ... considering Superman (and everything about him, including his bisexuality) is pure fiction -- and yet, some seem to have taken it very personally.

As we reported ... DC announced its new Superman, Jon Kent -- son of Clark and Lois Lane -- would be starting a same-sex relationship with a friend in forthcoming issues, and released drawings of them kissing.

Carole Baskin is putting her foot down over Netflix's sequel to 'Tiger King' -- insisting the producers and Netflix cut out all footage of her for their latest offering.

The big cat advocate -- who was heavily featured in the OG series last year -- just filed suit against producers of the mega-hit and the streaming giant itself, asking a judge to put the kibosh on footage of her and her Big Cat Rescue in the upcoming "Tiger King 2" project.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, all the new video of her that they're teasing in their trailer completely misrepresents reality ... namely, that she is NOT on board with this new project whatsoever.

Carole explains in her lawsuit that all this footage is just unused stuff that didn't make the cut for 'Tiger King' ... and argues that producers are simply rehashing/repackaging it to make it seem like she's given new interviews or insight.

That's not the case at all, so says Carole ... who claims she never realized she'd be portrayed as a villain in the original 'Tiger King' and thinks the whole series ended up undermining her true mission -- protecting big cats from folks like Joe Exotic.

As you well know by now ... a lot of the show focused on Carole's first husband, Don Lewis, who went missing years ago -- something for which Carole believes the docuseries made her seem responsible.

CB's rationale for suing is that the contract she signed to participate in the first series simply doesn't give producers a right to continue using the footage in the subsequent projects ... including this sequel.

Former Vine star and all-around influencer Hayes Grier will NOT be prosecuted for allegedly beating the crap out of a guy and jacking his phone.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors in North Carolina dismissed the case against Hayes, citing insufficient evidence.

In the docs, prosecutors from the Mecklenberg County District Attorney's Office say Hayes and the alleged victim were both intoxicated during the brawl and the only independent witness was going to testify that the alleged victim asked Hayes to fight.

Prosecutors also say they can't prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt because they couldn't determine the aggressor in the fight. That also goes for Hayes' influencer pal, Luke Foushee, who was also arrested and hit with 2 felonies. Both of those charges are dropped, too.

TMZ broke the story ... Hayes and Foushee were arrested back in July and charged with felony conspiracy and assault causing serious bodily injury. Hayes also got hit with a common law robbery charge.

As for the robbery charge against Hayes, prosecutors say the property was returned to the alleged victim, so prosecutors didn't think they had enough evidence to prove robbery.

Cops said the alleged victim suffered a broken left orbital bone (eyeball socket), bruised ribs, brain damage, loss of hearing and bleeding from the back of the head in the beatdown.

The Gabby Petito saga has raised questions about who the media focuses on in cases like these, and it seems disproportionally white ... so says a member of the Black Eyed Peas.

We talked to Taboo (Jaime Luis Gomez) -- who is of Mexican descent and identifies as an indigenous person -- and he broke down the phenomenon of "Missing White Girl Syndrome" ... something news networks/society has been accused of doing during this entire ordeal.

Put plainly ... the guy says it is, indeed, a real thing -- and the proof is in the pudding on wall-to-wall coverage of Gabby's story for weeks on end.

As Taboo eloquently puts it, there are scores of Black and indigenous women who go missing every single day ... but don't get even a drop of the same mainstream attention as Petito did -- or any number of missing caucasian girls/women over the years.

That's not to say this is criticizing Gabby or her family or anyone affected by the tragedy -- quite the opposite ... Taboo says he has all the empathy in the world for them.

However, he does feel an underlying issue exists and doesn't wanna shy away from hard talks like these out of fear of propriety. Check out this chat -- you can tell he's passionate about speaking up for his people and other marginalized groups, so this hits home for him.

Hilaria Baldwin thinks her husband, Alec, will develop post-traumatic stress disorder after the shooting that claimed Halyna Hutchins' life ... which is partly why they fled New York.

The actor's spouse revealed the reason behind their family's travel to Vermont, saying they needed to get away from all the madness following the fatal accident ... this according to the NYPost, who snagged a one-on-one interview on Saturday, separate from their pap encounter.

It also sounds like she was tasked with finding a solitary place for them all, telling the outlet she drove around "an entire day" before settling on Manchester, VT ... and before Alec and co. eventually joined her. She says they needed to get away to "mourn Halyna's death."

She added, "Alec had a really traumatic thing happen, and I am trying to limit the PTSD."

HB went on to compare Alec's situation to that of a war vet or cop ... who might normally develop the affliction -- saying, "You look at what happens to soldiers and police officers when something like this happens, it's traumatic. We just came up here for quiet."

She also spoke on whether her hubby would ever act again, and the Post says she replied she was "hopeful but not certain." Hilaria also said, "He needs space for me to take care of him and his mental health. It's an awful thing that happened. Alec feels awful."

Hilaria also echoed something Alec himself said on camera -- that this sort of thing shouldn't have happened, and tighter regulations need to be in place. She's clearly standing by her man, taking to IG after their eventful weekend to post a photo of their hands intertwined.

Shots rang out in Hollywood Saturday night outside a Halloween bash hosted by Teyana Taylor.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... as folks were having a great time at the Sunset Room, when 3 armed men approached 3 women standing on the curb outside the club and tried robbing them.  They pistol-whipped one woman and as the men tried robbing them a security guard jumped into action in an attempt to thwart the robbery.

The guard exchanged gunfire with one of the armed suspects but both missed. The bullets were lodged in several parked cars.

The 3 men fled in a car. It's unclear if they ended up stealing anything from the women.

An ambulance arrived but the woman who was pistol-whipped refused medical attention.

Dorit Kemsley says she and her family have stepped up security at their home since the scary home invasion that nearly cost her life -- but that home may be in their rearview soon.

We got the 'RHOBH' star Friday night with her husband, Paul, and some friends ... and she actually opened up a bit about the ordeal. Check out what she has to say -- it sounds like her family is taking immediate measures to make sure this never happens again.

Watch ... Dorit says they have since gotten a 24-hour security detail at their house, and that appears to be new -- because she tells us she was alone when this break-in occurred.

She also tells us that their children -- who were also in the house at the time -- were her top priority and the only thing on her mind. As for whether they'll move or not, she doesn't reveal her cards here, but later on ... her husband did.

PK says they, indeed, are considering getting the hell outta Dodge -- but wouldn't disclose where exactly they might be looking to move next. Probably safer that way, frankly. He also says there's no leads on the cops' side as for who might've pulled this heist off.

There's also this ... we asked Dorit if she felt posting online may have possibly contributed to her being targeted, and she says possibly. It seems like she'll be taking that into consideration going forward.

Move over Danny Ocean, 'cause there's a new pair of thieves in town that are giving him a run for his money in the criminal world -- but their big score isn't a casino ... it's vino!!!

A man and woman posing as a couple made off with an incredibly rare bottle of French wine that's 215 years old ... and valued at $407,000. That's not all though -- they also got away with at least 6 other bottles from the 19th century, which are worth a pretty penny too.

Here's what happened ... the guy and gal -- whom are reported to have been English speakers, and acted "refined" -- visited the Atrio restaurant/hotel in Caceres, Spain ... a Michelin-starred place famous for its top-notch wine collection that they keep in a cellar.

They checked in at some point last week, deciding to dine in the attached eatery -- and, at one point, asked the front desk hotel clerk to serve them more food ... who then ran back to the kitchen, leaving security cameras unmonitored. That's when they made their hit.

Cops say the guy went down to their cellar and smuggled out 7 bottles, including the high-priced 1806 Chateau d'Yquem ... a dessert wine from the Sauternes district of Bordeaux. They checked out early Wednesday ... paying with a credit card, and leaving with a fat haul.

No word on how much exactly all 7 bottles are worth combined ... but it sounds like it might be well north of half a mill, at the very least. Folks there believe they were very much so professionals ... and pulling a heist on behalf of a wine collector of some sort.

Reason for the latter ... Atrio's owner says the $400k bottle is very well known on the market as their property, and it cannot be easily sold publicly without major flags being raised. So, either somebody wants it all for themselves, or is planning to sell it on the black market.

Zayn Malik's family is stepping in to support the singer in his now very-public feud with Yolanda Hadid and the mother of his child, Gigi.

Malik's sister, Waliyha, posted a series of family photos, Zayn's statement denying the shoving allegation as well as a quote about karma on her Instagram Friday.

The quote reads, "Karma comes after everyone eventually. You can’t get away with screwing people over your whole life, I don’t care who you are. What goes around comes around. That’s how it works. Sooner or later the universe will serve you the revenge that you deserve."

While Waliyah doesn't say it specifically, it's easy to connect the dots and assume she's targeting the Hadids.

TMZ broke the story, Zayn pled no contest Wednesday to harassing Gigi, Yolanda and a security guard. Legal docs claim Zayn shoved Yolanda into a dresser during a nuclear argument at Zayn and Gigi's home in Pennsylvania.

The docs say Zayn called Yolanda a "f***ing Dutch slut," and ordered her to "stay away from [my] f***ing daughter" during the argument.

Zayn Malik said Thursday his dispute with Yolanda Hadid was a "private matter," but we've learned it actually became a public matter, as in Zayn was charged with crimes against Gigi and Yolanda Hadid and ended up copping a plea.

Zayn was charged with 4 criminal offenses of harassment and, although one official doc says he pled guilty to one, court officials tell us he actually pled no contest.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Zayn was at Gigi and Zayn's Pennsylvania home on Sept. 29 and got into a nuclear argument. He allegedly called Yolanda a "f***ing Dutch slut," ordered her to "stay away from [my] f***ing daughter." He said this, although it's hard to know why, "the f***ing sperm that came out of [my] f***ing c***."

He then allegedly "shoved her [Yolanda] into a dresser causing mental anguish and physical pain." Zayn denies any physical contact.

As for the charge that he harassed Gigi, according to court docs, he screamed at her, "strap on some f***ing balls and defend your partner against your f***ing mother in my house." Sources with direct knowledge tell us Gigi was actually in Paris, but Zayn allegedly said this to her on a phone call during the incident.

There was a security guard on hand, and according to the docs, Zayn screamed, "Get the f*** out of my f***ing house, copper." The docs say Zayn tried to fight the guard.

Zayn pled no contest Wednesday to harassment and was fined, but with conditions. He's on 90 days probation for each count, totaling 360 days. He also must complete an anger management class and a domestic violence program. He must have no contact with Yolanda or the security guard.

Assuming all conditions are satisfied after 6 months, the judge could terminate probation.

As we reported, Zayn and Gigi broke up around the time of the incident. They share a 1-year-old daughter together.

We broke it all down in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast.

Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville has resigned from his position ... this after he admitted to bungling the handling of sexual abuse allegations during his time as the Chicago Blackhawks coach.

The NHL announced the move Thursday night ... explaining after Quenneville had a meeting with league commissioner Gary Bettman, both parties were in favor of the Panthers' bench boss stepping down.

"All parties agreed that it was no longer appropriate that he continue to serve as Florida's head coach," Bettman said in a statement.

"We thank the Panthers' organization for working with us to ensure that a thorough process was followed."

Quenneville was the coach of the Blackhawks back in 2010 ... when a player -- who later ID'ed himself as forward Kyle Beach -- claimed he was sexually assaulted by the team's video coach.

Beach said in a civil lawsuit filed in May 2021 that the coach, Brad Aldrich, told Beach he wouldn't play in the NHL if he turned down the coach's sexual advances -- so Beach claims he was forced into a sexual encounter with the man.

Aldrich has not denied having a relationship with Beach, though he's claimed the encounter was consensual.

Beach says despite bringing the issue up to Blackhawks brass ... he didn't feel enough was done to remedy the situation -- and after a lengthy investigation into the case, the NHL agreed.

Bettman hit the Blackhawks with a $2 million fine last week ... saying it was a "direct and necessary response to the failure of the Club to follow-up and address the 2010 incident in a timely and appropriate manner."

The NHL's probe, meanwhile, also revealed Quenneville did have knowledge of Beach's claims at the time ... which was damning for the coach, who had previously denied knowing about the allegations until 2021.

As a result, Quenneville stepped down from his role -- and Bettman says the two will have to have another meeting if he ever wants to get back into the league.

"I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered. My former team, the Blackhawks, failed Kyle and I own my share of that," Quenneville said in a statement. "I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone."

Fetty Wap was supposed to perform at Rolling Loud, but his set never happened ... and it's all because the feds grabbed him before he hit the stage.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Fetty was taken into custody by the FBI at Citi Field in New York Thursday. We're told he was arrested on federal drug charges, though the specifics aren't yet known.

Fetty has mostly stayed outside of the spotlight in the last few years, so the Rolling Loud set would have been a big deal for him and his fans.

As for the rest of the festival, it wasn't without big moments on its first night. Thursday's headliner, 50 Cent, brought out DaBaby for a surprise appearance ... DaBaby's first return to the RL stage since the homophobic remarks he made at the festival in Miami.

We've reached out to a rep for Fetty Wap for comment on the arrest ... but so far, no word back.

New York's former-Governor Andrew Cuomo isn't walking away clean from office ... he's now been hit with a criminal charge for alleged sexual misconduct.

Prosecutors in Albany, NY say the ex-Gov. has been charged with forcible touching, which is a Class A misdemeanor. The alleged victim is unknown, but this is the first criminal charge against Cuomo since he resigned in shame back in August.

You'll recall, NY's Attorney General Letitia James announced her investigation found the then Governor had sexually harassed several women -- mostly former and current staffers. The next day, Cuomo stepped down ... however he had not been charged with any crime.

For what it's worth ... if Cuomo were to be found guilty of forcible touching, he could face up to a year in jail or 3 years probation.

When he resigned, Cuomo tried to dismiss his behavior as a product of changing times -- claiming he'd just grown up in an era where his actions were commonplace. Almost no one bought that excuse.