Drugs & Alcohol

Conor McGregor's close friend and training partner claims the UFC superstar screwed him out of millions over his Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey ... and now, he's suing to get what he believes he deserves.

MMA fighter and boxer Artem Lobov filed the suit ... claiming he was the mastermind behind Conor's successful Irish whiskey brand. Lobov says he was promised a 5% cut of the company for his efforts ... but when McGregor and his partners sold their stake for $600 million in 2021, he was left with nothing.

Conor reportedly raked in around $150 million as a result of the deal ... and Lobov previously claimed McGregor offered him $1 million, but he declined.

Lobov's attorney, Dermot McNamara, released a statement on the lawsuit ... saying, "My client is a retired professional fighter with a master’s degree from DCU in Finance and Capital Markets."

"We have issued High Court proceedings on his behalf to enforce an agreement with Mr. McGregor regarding the Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand."

"My client was the initial creator and co-founder of the concept to launch an Irish whiskey brand associated with Mr. McGregor."

Karen J. Kessler, a spokesperson for Conor, refutes Lobov's claim ... telling TMZ Sports, "Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey was created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor."

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince is breathing easier heading into the holiday season ... TMZ Sports has learned he will not face charges stemming from his drug arrest.

According to court documents, a grand jury declined to charge him with possession of a controlled substance last week. Days later, prosecutors dismissed the gun charges he was facing related to the case as well.

Prince was initially pulled over by the Arlington Police Dept. in Texas back on May 19 ... after officers said he was driving with an expired registration. During the stop, cops say the basketball player told them he had two handguns in the car ... so officers asked him to get out of the vehicle.

During an effort to retrieve the guns from the car, cops say they found a vape pen ... and searched his ride further. They say they then found a canister with marijuana inside.

Following test results on the vape pen, cops obtained a warrant for Prince's arrest -- and in Miami in August, the 28-year-old was taken into custody over it.

"The charges were dropped because the search was clearly illegal," Prince's attorney, Kent Schaffer, told us in a statement on Friday. "On top of that, carrying a gun is legal in Texas, if not encouraged, and the amount of marijuana alleged to be in the vehicle was probably les than a usable quantity."

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing was arrested on Friday morning ... just hours after he helped his team beat the Packers on "Thursday Night Football," TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A police spokesperson tells us Downing was arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Williamson County, TN. on Friday morning ... and booked on charges of DUI and speeding.

Records show the 42-year-old bonded out of jail at around 6:46 AM.

Further details surrounding the arrest were not made immediately available.

Just prior to his arrest, Downing put on a great performance in Tennessee's 27-17 win over Green Bay at Lambeau Field. He dialed up several trick plays, and was partly responsible for a big night from quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who completed 22 of his 27 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans have yet to publicly comment on the arrest.

In a surprising last-minute twist ... booze sales at World Cup stadiums in Qatar have now been banned.

FIFA announced the news early Friday morning -- saying despite initial agreements between the soccer org. and the host country to sell beer and liquor where the championship football will go down, they've now reversed course.

Qatar -- a country where the sale of alcohol is highly restricted -- had been willing to allow Budweiser to sell its boozy products at games ... albeit in less visible and less accessible locations.

But, amid late pressure to ban it entirely, FIFA explained there's now been a change of plans.

"Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA," a spokesperson for the org. said Friday, "a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing the sales points of beer from Qatar's FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters."

Budweiser -- which reportedly paid $75 million to be the beer sponsor of the W.C. -- didn't exactly react well to the news.

"Well, this is awkward," the company said in a now-deleted tweet.

FIFA did say, however, that the sale of Bud's non-alcoholic Bud Zero product will still be allowed -- so, small victory there?

Ric Flair came up with a convenient way to get everyone high on his signature weed ... by using his own ganja blower to get smoke in fans' faces!!

The WWE legend threw on one of his famous robes and got the party started in a recent video ... saying, "Ric Flair Drip go Wooooooooooo!!"

The Nature Boy then used the weed blower (if that's what it's called) to blow potent smoke in the faces of those around him ... and you can tell the 73-year-old was having the time of his life.

"Let’s Wake Up To Ric Flair 💧! See You Soon Vegas! WOOOOO!," the 16-time World Heavyweight Champion captioned the video.

As you know, Ric joined his friend, Mike Tyson, in the cannabis business earlier this year, with the former heavyweight boxer collaborating with Naitch on his "Ric Flair Drip" line.

In September, the two icons linked up for an epic toking sesh ... smoking blunts after attending a cannabis conference in Chicago.

According to Benzinga, Ric's cannabis line includes many products that pay homage to Flair's fondness of flowers, vape cartridges, sweets, pre-rolls, and flower jars.

Flair is taking his brand to Sin City next ... and it appears the Hall of Famer isn't coming empty-handed.

Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield are teaming up once again ... but this time, it's not in the boxing ring -- the two legends are releasing a cannabis gummy collection together!!

Iron Mike has become quite the weed businessman with his Tyson 2.0 brand in recent years ... and went viral when he released his "Mike Bites" edibles, which are a reference to the time he infamously took a chunk out of Real Deal's ear during their infamous 1997 bout.

Tyson is now including Holyfield in the money-making opportunity ... joining forces with his former nemesis to create a new line called "Holy Ears."

The ear-shaped gummies -- which are "Cherry Pie Punch" flavored -- have Holyfield's stamp of approval ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports he took one and was knocked out!!

"It put me to sleep!" Evander tells us ... adding he thinks the finished product is "great."

Holyfield says he was honored when Mike called and pitched the idea ... and considering the benefits of cannabis, he couldn't pass on the opportunity to help the cause.

Tyson's partner, Chad Bronstein, says the product will drop next week ... and both THC and Delta 8 versions will be available all over the country.

Tyson gives credit to his wife for coming up with the idea for "Holy Ears" ... and admitted it wouldn't be right to release the new collection without Evander on board.

If you thought competing in a marathon was tough, imagine running 26.2 miles while filling your lungs with smoke ... 'cause one Chinese man did exactly that during a race -- and he finished with a great time!!

The chain-smokin' athlete is a 50-year-old who goes by the name "Uncle Chen" ... and the Guangzhou man accomplished the feat at the Xin’anjiang Marathon in Jiande, China on Nov. 6.

Photos of Chen smoking during the competition went viral on Weibo -- a Chinese social media app -- and event organizers celebrated him by sharing his finishing certificate.

Chen -- who crossed the finish line with an impressive 3:28 time -- finished 574th overall out of nearly 1500 runners who competed ... despite taking heaters to the face throughout the race.

Chen has become a sensation for smoking during races -- in 2018, he blasted cigs during the Guangzhou Marathon, where he finished with a 3:36 time.

Adding to his legend ... Chen followed up his jaw-dropping performance in 2018 with another strong outing in 2019, finishing the Xiamen Marathon in 3:32, according to Canadian Running.

However, the outlet reports that not everyone was fond of Chen's smoking sesh ... with critics saying the stunt is hurtful to the other runners.

Multi-platinum producer Sonny Digital thinks passing weed during recording sessions is a thing of the past -- a sentiment apparently shared by some of his hip hop peers, including Mr. 420 himself, Wiz Khalifa!!!

Sonny was a recent guest for On The Radar’s podcast when he went on a mini-rant about refusing to pass the J going forward.

In the post's caption, Sonny noted how the premium prices of his weed also influenced his shift on the topic.

Iconic films like Ice Cube’s “Friday” have deeply rooted that sharing is caring when it comes to cannabis but Sonny says it’s a new day, and he’s not swapping spit with anyone!!!

The post struck a nerve with many of his fellow artists, who are choosing to relate rather than hate.

Artists like Gashi and Vory couldn’t contain their laughter ... while Da Honorable C.N.O.T.E. revealed his fear of catching mouth sores.

Wiz -- one of rap’s undisputed chieftains -- maintained he hadn’t passed weed in years and advised anyone who wanted to smoke with him to bring their own stash.

Sonny did eventually swat off another commenter accusing him of being stingy ... but hey, safety first.

Former Cleveland Browns star Joe Thomas just went scorched earth on Jim Irsay ... blasting the Colts owner for hiring "drinking buddy" Jeff Saturday as Indy's next head coach.

Thomas, who played 11 years in the league, didn't hold back a thing while appearing on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" on Friday ... calling the Saturday hire "the most egregious thing I can ever remember happening in the NFL."

"It is one of the most disrespectful things I have ever seen in my entire life," the ex-offensive lineman said.

Thomas' main issue is Saturday's experience. The former Colts center never coached at the NFL or collegiate level -- and had been working as an ESPN analyst at the time of the hiring.

Thomas called it a complete slap to the face of all of the other coaches in the league who have worked tirelessly at their crafts for years.

Thomas then said Saturday's introductory press conference earlier this week -- one in which Irsay said he was actually glad Jeff didn't have prior head coaching experience -- was also disrespectful to those around the NFL.

"I was in France with my kids earlier in the week, but when I saw this, I thought it was a joke," he said. "I thought maybe I had a little Google translate and all the sudden I'm in the wrong calendar and it's April 1st or something going on."

Thomas threw some shade Saturday's way too ... seemingly implying the 47-year-old should have simply rejected Irsay's job offer.

More disturbing news for former NBA star Delonte West ... TMZ Sports has learned after he was arrested in mid-October -- he was busted again just two weeks later.

The Fairfax County Police Dept. tells us officers were called to a residential area on Oct. 29 at around 3:47 PM over reports of a man who appeared to be drunk. When they arrived on scene, cops say they found West "lying next to a car with an open door."

After making contact with the 39-year-old ... officials say they arrested him for being drunk in public, and then transported the ex-Dallas Mavericks point guard to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

Court records show he was ultimately charged with misdemeanor intoxication in public ... and a hearing on the matter has been set for January.

The incident came just 14 days after West had been previously arrested in a similar fashion just about a mile away.

In that case, police said they arrested West following calls that he had been trespassing in a vehicle. Court records show he was hit with four charges ... including drunk in public and vehicle trespassing.

West had appeared to be turning his life around prior to the October run-ins with cops ... he had scored a tryout with the Big3 in March ... and also landed a job with a flooring company in June.

However, his former boss, Mavs owner Mark Cuban, told us in September he had heard West was struggling with some issues.

Kendall Jenner does not have to change her area code in hawking her tequila brand, because she's just settled the lawsuit that had her booze on the rocks.

Kendall's company was sued by the owners of Tequila 512 ... ICYMI, 512 is the area code for Austin, TX. Kendall's spirits are called 818 Tequila, a nod to the San Fernando Valley where her fam put down roots.

512 claimed 818 is a blatant rip-off, and to add insult to injury, the labels have similar color schemes and layouts.

512 was also pissed off that Kim's app -- Kim Kardashian: Hollywood -- was promoting 818 but 512 claimed their bottle was actually featured in a prominent image of KK clutching tequila.

Well, now we've learned the 2 area code companies have settled their beef, and both can use their respective digits.

CEO of Tequila 512, Nick Matzorkis, tells TMZ ... "Tequila 512's lawsuit against 818 Tequila has been resolved. The parties have agreed that they will each have the right to use their existing names and they will both make changes to their labels to clarify that they are not related to each other. Tequila 512 has dismissed its case."

Under the terms of the settlement, 512 will add "Est. 2012" to its label. No word on what changes 818 will make.

Quality Control’s Bankroll Freddie hopefully can find time to exercise “patience” like his recent hit with Lil Baby suggests -- the feds are charging the Arkansas rapper in a firearms and drug case.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Hip Hop the 28-year Freddie Gladney was part of a massive 61-count indictment ... along with 34 other defendants, and is currently in custody.

We're told Wednesday's round-up is part of a larger investigation involving around 70 people all facing similar charges and circumstances.

According to the indictment, Freddie and his East AR crew conspired to sell massive amounts of crack cocaine and marijuana between March 2021 to October 2022.

Freddie is also facing weapons charges for allegedly possessing multiple firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

We're told the feds also seized jewelry and cash from several of the defendants totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Snoop Dogg's calling big 🧢 on a claim his ex-blunt-roller serves him 150 joints daily -- and now even the blunt roller herself is cosigning, telling us her words were taken outta context!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Ranagade PerRana, the professional blunt-roller whose rep is going up in smoke over what she says was some wayward reporting down unda.

During a recent appearance on Australian radio’s “The Kyle And Jackie Show,” Ranagade estimated she had rolled around 450,000 blunts since 2016 when she turned pro.

Ranagade specified she was referring to Snoop as well as her other clientele … but several publications and social media blogs fumbled her statements, applying the massive number only to Snoop.

She told us that's a huge disservice to Snoop and her, and that's plain as day in the interview -- Ranagade never says she rolled that many for Snoop, but the falsehood has snowballed.

She says spilling her clients’ joint count or even their favorite strain of Kush would be unethical, and something she'd never do.

Tha Doggfather himself reacted to the embellished tale on social media in typical Snoop fashion … and, unfortunately, also seemed to buy the fake news.

Ranagade says she doesn’t speak to Snoop directly, but wants him to know she feels terrible about how the misquote spread like wildfire.

Aaron Carter's fans -- at least some of them -- have a growing suspicion the singer may have taken his own life ... but those closest to him couldn't disagree more.

Family sources connected to Aaron tell TMZ the singer had a lot he was looking forward to, and for the first time in a while, he and his ex, Melanie Martin, were in a really good place with their relationship.

Fans have thrown theories around on social media that Aaron may have died by suicide -- pointing to a recent post that read, "LOVE YALL STAY BLESSED STAY SAFE. ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS." Some fans believe Aaron knew he wasn't going to make it to the holidays and was planning on taking his own life -- even appearing out of it on live streams.

Our family sources say if anything, Aaron couldn't wait for the holidays, and was even planning on spending time with both Melanie and their young son, Prince. He also had set up appointments with a family counselor and social worker -- which he knew would help his chances of being a more involved parent.

Law enforcement sources told us they did not find a suicide note at the scene of Aaron's death -- and that there were cans of compressed air and prescription pills in the singer's bathroom and bedroom. Although not conclusive, that evidence suggests he died by accident.

TMZ broke the story, Aaron was found in his L.A. home, having drowned in his bathtub sometime Friday.

We're told the last time he was seen alive was about 2 AM Friday morning after cops were called for a welfare check, which pissed the singer off, and he sent them away.

At this time, an official cause of death for Aaron has been deferred pending toxicology results.

Eli Manning was big drippin' when he hit the studio with Fivio Foreign on Tuesday ... and the 2x Super Bowl-winning QB even took shots with the NYC rapper!!

Fivio tweeted on Tuesday, "I'm goin to the studio w Eli Manning" -- then later posted a video with the former Giants QB and his old teammate and center, Shaun O'Hara, pouring shots.

"We doing shots. Eli. Shaun. Toasting. We in the studio making Big Drip," said Fivio.

It's unclear what sparked the unexpected linkup ... but Eli and the "Big Drip" rapper appeared to be having a great time at the studio while pouring shots for one another.

41-year-old Eli wore a yellow Celine hoodie (they go for like $1,100) and bucket hat ... and had an iced-out chain around his neck in the video.

Eli's studio sesh had a different feel than the popular "Manningcast" show he's accustomed to hosting with his brother, Peyton, during "Monday Night Football."

Nevertheless, it was funny to see the legendary NY football star enjoying himself with Fivio.

Earlier Tuesday, Fivio said new music is on the way, tweeting, "Ov course I'm droppin friday 2 lol.."

Maybe we'll hear Eli on the new project?!? One can hope!

Gillie Da Kid's travel plans were soured a bit Tuesday ... after the Million Dollaz Game podcaster was pressed by a patrolling officer claiming he smelled of marijuana at the airport.

Gille and co-host Wallo had previously been enjoying their downtime at Dallas/Fort Worth with jokes ... but the fun would be short-lived once they began boarding their plane.

The dramatic video begins with the Philly-bred rapper arguing with the officer ... as both of them stand their ground.

With his bag open, Gillie and the officer go back and forth over search protocol ... leaving the officer in disbelief that Gillie would search his own bag -- and Gillie was left stunned he was singled out over everyone on the plane.

The bickering heightens with Gillie telling the officer he was probably "the richest" person on board the aircraft and the Marshal reiterating a cold hard fact ... cannabis is illegal in Texas.

The officer eventually backed off -- after realizing Gillie was backing down, but not before getting in one last angry shout.