Drugs & Alcohol

Diddy's trial has focused a lot on drugs and drug usage over the past few days ... including when Cassie's friend Bryana Bongolan testified that she previously purchased drugs for her -- and pictures of what appear to be drugs have now been entered into evidence.

In text messages, the prosecution says were sent from Bongolan to Cassie, Bongolan says she's going to stop by Cassie's location in a few minutes to drop something off -- later telling her she's outside.

About 30 minutes later, Cassie texts Bryana, "he wanted me to ask if ur sure that's moly bc it didn't taste like anything."

Jason Biggs is getting real about his wild past with drugs and booze -- and he describes a night he was so out of hand, he ended up retrieving a bag of cocaine straight out of a stranger's trash can.

The actor spilled the tea on the "Well with Arielle Lorre" podcast, revealing that after shooting to fame with "American Pie" at age 19, he had cash, coke, and no one telling him "no" during his blackout coke and booze binge fiending phase -- not even his wife, Jenny Mollen.

He recalled snorting coke at 4 AM while his wife slept one night, and having anxiety about obligations he had later in the day ... so he tossed the baggie in his own trash to stop himself. But 15 minutes later, he came crawling back to dig it out and snort another line.

Dogs on Skid Row are being fed fentanyl, bred for money, and otherwise abused and neglected, and politicians are doing nothing about ... so says an animal rights activist.

Joey Tuccio -- an advocate for and rescuer of animals, who works with the nonprofit Starts With One Today -- stopped by "TMZ Live" to shine a light on dogs living on Los Angeles' notorious Skid Row ... a collection of streets in downtown where many homeless people live.

Tuccio says there are about 100 dogs living in the area ... and, while he doesn't want to see people's pets taken away, he's concerned about the dogs he's seen, which he says some people are using as guinea pigs to test fentanyl.

The Italian businessman who was allegedly kidnapped and tortured in NYC for nearly 3 weeks, wasn't always in distress during that period ... according to a bizarre video of him cooking crack in an air fryer.

TMZ obtained a 20-second clip, which seemingly illustrates a much different picture of Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan's alleged captivity in the SoHo townhome where police say John Woeltz and William Duplessie tortured him for 17 days. In the video, Carturan appears to be tied around the chest to a wheelchair, but his hands are free and he's smiling and joking with at least 3 other people in the room.

Carturan -- whose face we've blurred because he's an alleged victim -- is fiddling with an air fryer on a table, and you can hear a male voice say, "You're in a wheelchair cooking crack" ... and someone else says, "That's so whack."

2:52 PM PT -- A spokesperson for The New York Times tells TMZ ... "Elon Musk’s statements today were inaccurate. Donald J. Trump’s lawsuit in Florida is against the Pulitzer Prize board, not The New York Times. The decision solely related to whether the case be temporarily suspended. It did not address the merits of the president’s claims."

"We understand the Pulitzer board will continue to defend its decision and we expect the case will show the quality of the reporting in The Times coverage. The Times has never received a request for a correction or been sued over the facts in our reporting. We’d also note that Musk didn’t deny any of the reporting we published this morning."

Elon Musk is scoffing at the New York Times report accusing him of abusing drugs ... claiming the Times isn't a reputable news source anyway -- so, don't read a dang thing they publish.

The "Crypto King of Kentucky" suspected of torturing a man for weeks inside a lavish multimillion-dollar townhouse hosted extravagant parties there ... and it seems he didn't raise any red flags when landing the swanky SoHo rental, TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... John Woeltz and William Duplessie are currently in custody for allegedly torturing Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan to get access to his crypto fortune ... until the Italian citizen finally made his escape and told police everything.

Multiple sources with knowledge tell TMZ … Woeltz started living in the Manhattan townhouse on March 17 … with a rent amount of $75K - $90K a month.

"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has been released from prison.

Hannah was serving 18 months after being convicted by a New Mexico jury ... and the state's Department of Corrections tells us she was let out of prison on Friday morning.

Authorities tell TMZ ... HGR will be on parole for one year as part of her "Rust" sentence and she has 18 months of probation on a separate firearms charge.

Federal prosecutors just dropped another document dump of evidence presented in court at Diddy's sex trafficking and racketeering trial -- and the pics give us a window into the music mogul's lavish and kinky lifestyle on Miami's Star Island.

As you know, Diddy lived in a huge mansion on the island -- and Homeland Security Investigations Agent Gerard Gannon testified Tuesday he was the head of the operation that conducted a raid on the property in March 2024. Gannon told the court the feds confiscated loaded assault rifles, sex toys and bottles of lubricant.

Now, the feds have publicly released a mountain of photos showing exactly what items the feds recovered from Diddy's sprawling estate -- which, by the way, is pretty darn high-end.

Meek Mill felt the need to go on "public record" about Diddy parties he's attended ... amid the spiraling allegations being flung around the Bad Boy mogul's federal sex trafficking case.

Speculation about Meek's involvement with Diddy has run rampant since he was linked in producer Lil Rodney's lawsuit last year ... which has since had several key complaints tossed out.

On Tuesday, Meek called all allegations an attack on his brand before flipping to his experience at Diddy parties ... he's claiming the craziest thing he's seen is "coke vibes."

SZA's Los Angeles stint for her "Grand National" tour is off to a depressing start ... the R&B star claims she persuaded a child to forfeit their fruity whippet at an In-N-Out parking lot!!!

The "Kill Bill" singer didn't specify how old she thought the young fan was, but says she convinced them to hand over a can of SuperWhip strawberry-banana-flavored nitrous oxide, in exchange for a photo/video for their IG ... where are the parents?!?

SZA says she'll do everything in her power to help change the scenario, but ripped America for making drugs so marketable and alluring to children.

Barack Obama's name is finding its way into the Diddy trial ... because Diddy's former personal assistant says his boss used to take ecstasy pills shaped like Obama's mug.

David James, who worked for Bad Boy from 2007 to 2009, testified for the prosecution Tuesday and told the jury he saw Diddy with a bunch of different pills, including one with a very specific feature.

James said one of the pills was ecstasy in the shape of a former president's face ... and when prosecutor Christy Slavik asked him straight up, "Which former president?," James responded, "Barack Obama."

A cannabis dispensary owned by Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher was burglarized over the weekend ... and the smash-and-grab is all on video.

Surveillance footage shows masked burglars in hoodies getting out of a car in front of The Weeds WeHo in West Hollywood ... shattering a glass window to make entry, then filling bags with merchandise before getting the hell out of dodge.

Elliot Lewis, who owns a cannabis shop of his own in town, says the burglary happened at 4:30 AM Saturday ... and he claims the same crew hit another weed shop in Santa Monica, ERBA, the following night.

Marcus Jordan appears to be making serious lifestyle changes following his recent legal troubles -- Michael's son says he celebrated 40 days of sobriety over the weekend ... months after he was arrested for DWI.

The 34-year-old former college basketball player shared the update on his Instagram Story on Sunday ... and it sure sounds like he's not turning back anytime soon, 'cause he's looking to add more days to that tally.

Jordan might be focusing on his wellness overall ... as he shared the news alongside a pic from inside a workout room.

One of Cassie's bombshells in Diddy's federal trial is her claim he suffered a 2012 drug overdose following a Playboy Mansion bash, and we've got hot shots from the fateful, celeb-packed event.

Cassie told the jury Thursday about the couple's on-and-off use of opiates over the course of their tumultuous years-long relationship, and she specifically referenced a wild night in February 2012.

She said, on that day, the couple had a freak-off, then went to a sex club in San Bernardino -- about 2 hours east of L.A. -- and later, Diddy went to the Playboy Mansion without Cassie.

Justin Bieber is shrinking his circle and some people who have been cut out say he's being isolated from longtime friends because he's in a cult and his church pastor is wielding a ton of influence over his life ... but the pastor says that's bogus.

TMZ has a new documentary, "TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber," now available on Hulu, and part of our investigation digs into Justin's involvement in his church, Churchome, in Beverly Hills.

Justin is no longer friends with Ryan Good, the best man at Bieber's wedding and the creative director at JB's fashion brand Drew House, and our sources say it has to do with Ryan leaving Churchome because he thought it was a cult.

Another whirlwind day in the Diddy trial is in the books ... and Cassie Ventura had a lot of important testimony while getting grilled by Diddy's defense team.

The singer was back on the stand Thursday for a third straight day, though this was the first instance where she was cross-examined ... with Diddy defense attorney Anna Estevao leading the line of questioning.

Jurors heard and read a bunch of communications between Diddy and Cassie from their decades-long relationship ... including messages where Cassie seemed to be showing excitement for freak-offs.