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8:10 PM PT -- Attorney Marty Singer tells TMZ ... “This lawsuit is a desperate money grab by additional members of the Cascio family who have hopped on the bandwagon with their brother Frank, who is already being sued in arbitration for civil extortion.

The family staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, attesting to his innocence of inappropriate conduct. This new court filing is a transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and companies."
 
He continues ... "Statements by the Cascios, including those appearing in dozens of passages throughout Frank Cascio’s 2011 book, as well as in interviews with Oprah Winfrey and others, directly contradict what is being alleged now. Throughout, the Cascios consistently and repeatedly asserted that Michael never harmed any of them or anyone else."

Michael Jackson's former family friends, the Cascios, are suing his estate for sexual abuse ... alleging he sex trafficked them.

Edward Cascio, Dominic Cascio, Marie Porte and Aldo Cascio are suing The Michael Jackson Company for sex trafficking children by force, fraud or coercion ... claiming that over the course of a decade he "drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted each of the Plaintiffs, beginning when some of them were as young as seven or eight."

The siblings say Jackson pushed his way into their lives with gifts, access to his celebrity lifestyle and declarations of love ... before isolating each of them from one another and their families and abusing them.

"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Mauricio Umansky’s family is taking their dad Eduardo Umansky’s longtime girlfriend to court over alleged financial elder abuse, TMZ has learned. 

Mauricio’s sister, Sharon Umansky Bento -- in her role as Eduardo’s conservator -- filed a lawsuit against her dad’s ex-partner, Simin Tabibnia.

In court docs, Mauricio’s family explains Eduardo was once a real estate agent ... until his cognitive decline gradually interfered with his work. They said his doctor observed his mental issues in 2021. 

An iconic movie moment from the '90s is hitting the auction block ... it's the mechanical rhinoceros that gave birth to Ace Ventura in a Jim Carrey sequel.

Yes, the butt birth rhino from "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" is up for grabs over at Propstore's upcoming auction ... with the movie prop expected to fetch between $4,000 and $8,000.

It's the same rhino from the movie scenes where Ace is inside spying on some bad guys ... before escaping through the rhino's butt in a comedic exit.

Terrion Arnold's team is responding to reports the Detroit Lions cornerback is tied to a robbery and kidnapping incident that occurred in Florida earlier this month ... telling TMZ Sports he had no "involvement whatsoever."

Arnold's lawyer -- Timothy Jansen -- provided a statement on Friday ... making it clear that NFLer's hands are clean despite being named in Judge Logan Murphy's order to hold one of the alleged conspirators on pre-trial detention.

"He did not participate in, nor was he present for, any conduct related to the alleged offenses. There is no evidence in police reports, text messages, or witness statements that implicates Mr. Arnold in any way."

David Martinsson went viral for posting a video about "being ugly" ... but it led to him meeting his wife and having a child, and now he says her opinion is all that matters.

The YouTuber and his wife, Juli, joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and we asked him what led him to post his now viral video.

David says at the time, 8 years ago, he'd been single for over a year and didn't have a lot of people he could talk to about his feelings ... and he posted the video thinking it would disappear into the ether.

Brad Pitt's close friend is fuming after the actor's son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, dropped his father's last name in the credits for Angelina Jolie's new movie ... and the friend is pointing the finger squarely at her.

Brad's pal tells TMZ ... "It’s sad -- this is a textbook example of what a successful campaign to separate a family looks like."

Maddox, the son of Jolie and Pitt, worked as an assistant director on Angelina's upcoming movie, "Couture," and in the credits, he's reportedly listed as "Maddox Jolie." 

This marks a stark change from Angelina's 2024 flick “Maria,” where he was credited as “Maddox Jolie-Pitt” after serving as a production assistant on the Netflix film.

Robert Carradine -- the actor best known for his roles in "Lizzie McGuire," "Revenge of the Nerds," and "The Long Riders" -- died in a hospital ... TMZ has learned.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner revealed Robert's place of death in new documents obtained by TMZ ... but the docs don't include a cause or manner of death.

Robert died Monday, and his family said he took his own life after battling bipolar disorder for two decades.

1:48 PM PT -- Neil Sedaka has died, his family confirmed to TMZ.

Neil Sedaka -- a legendary singer-songwriter who gained worldwide fame in the 1960s -- has been rushed to a hospital in L.A. ... TMZ has learned.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Neil wasn't feeling well Friday morning and was taken in an ambulance to the hospital, where he is recovering.

The L.A. County West Hollywood sheriff's station tells TMZ ... deputies assisted the fire department on a "medical request" call, and paramedics transported him to a local hospital at about 8 AM today.

Former A&E personality Tony McCollister -- who is charged with raping a child and having sex with two dogs -- says he's not guilty by reason of insanity ... and he wants to get his head checked.

McCollister is facing 26 felony charges related to sex with a minor under the age of 10, plus 4 misdemeanor counts of sexual conduct with an animal ... and on Thursday, he entered his plea and filed a motion asking the court to order an evaluation of his mental state at the time of the alleged crimes.

In Ohio -- where McCollister is charged -- a defendant must prove they did not know right from wrong at the time of the crime to be considered not guilty by reason of insanity.

NBC is not in the business of squandering a key time slot in the wake of Kelly Clarkson's departure ... and TMZ has confirmed the network is taking a "hard look" at Kelly's replacement this week -- namely, Pink.

As one source connected to the show tells TMZ ... "Pink has what it takes" ... meaning she has the skill set to do an hour-long interview show. Most importantly, the source says, she's "natural and friendly."

Sources connected to the show say the show's staff loves Pink and are crossing their fingers for a "go" from NBC.

Ryan Garcia had an unwelcome guest Thursday night -- TMZ Sports is told an alleged burglar hopped a fence and tried to enter his home ... before scurrying away as cops responded to the scene.

Law enforcement sources tell us the incident went down around 9:35 PM, with officers receiving a call for an attempted burglary at the boxing superstar's residence in L.A.

By the time cops got to the home, the suspect was gone ... and a search of the area came up short. It's unclear if Garcia was inside when the attempted burglary went down.

Cynthia Bailey's ex-husband Peter Thomas has been released from federal prison ... though he's not a free man just yet.

The former "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star is out of FCI Miami, TMZ has learned ... and, he's now under community confinement supervision of the Miami Residential Reentry Management Office, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

This means he's either living in a residential reentry center -- AKA a halfway house -- or he's held in home confinement ... it's unclear which.

Brantley Gilbert is divin' headfirst into the non-alcoholic beer boom ... the country music star linked up with the late Hulk Hogan's Real American Beer brand, and he's launching his own beer!

41-year-old Gilbert has been sober for 14 years, and he wanted to create something for all the people who don't consume alcohol, but still want to be part of the party.

“This is for people who want to show up, be part of the moment, and enjoy the same experiences with friends and family while staying true to their lifestyle,” Gilbert said. “Real American Beer ZERO allows everyone to be included, while keeping the taste and culture people love about beer."

Crispin Glover was allegedly beaten bloody by his ex-girlfriend -- who ironically sued him for battery -- and we have the pics which says prove the actor got pulverized!

TMZ obtained a restraining order Glover filed against his ex in Los Angeles County Superior Court -- and it contains some wild allegations ... as well as three photos of the "Back To The Future" star with blood streaming down his cheek after the alleged assault.

According to the protective order ... in March 2024, Glover claims he ordered his ex not to enter his home, but she forced her way inside as he was putting her belongings on the front porch to kick her out. Glover says his ex phoned a friend to swing by his house and threatened to "hurt" him.

Shia LaBeouf asked a Louisiana judge to defer to an even higher power ... begging the court to be allowed to leave the country to attend his father's baptism.

The actor filed documents earlier this week requesting to leave the jurisdiction from March 1 to March 8 for religious reasons to see his dad, Jeffrey ... who is set to be baptized in Rome, Italy.

Shia has no scheduled court appearances for the dates in question, his lawyers argued ... and, he was happy to provide the address where he's saying to the court upon request.

Ray J ripped into Kim Kardashian after she accused him of making false statements about her that could put her dream of becoming a lawyer in jeopardy ... TMZ has learned.

In court docs, Ray J scoffed at Kim’s suggestion that his comments about her and her mother Kris Jenner being investigated by the feds could derail her getting her law license.

Ray J said ... “For this ever to be an issue, Kardashian must first pass the bar exam, something she admittedly has not yet done.”

He continued ... “Regardless, it is unclear why vague, third-party allegations from [an interview] and a Twitch stream could ever ‘jeopardize’ her legal career. It would be the underlying wrongful conduct, none of which [Kim and Kris have] denied.”