Jada Pinkett Smith is asking a court to order Will Smith's former friend to pay the $49K tab from her attorneys ... TMZ has learned.
According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Jada believes she is owed the 5-figure sum from Bilaal Salaam, after she convinced a judge to toss the emotional distress claims from his lawsuit.
Jada said she racked up the big legal bill defending herself in the case, and now she wants Bilaal on the hook because she got some of his claims tossed.
Everyone knows Fernando Mendoza is going to be the first pick in the NFL Draft, but who's the best defensive player out of the bunch ... Arvell Reese says it's him!
"I think I'm the guy because I think I play with a relentless effort, and I play with a violent mindset," the 20-year-old former Ohio State star told TMZ Sports.
"I'm putting violence and relentless effort first."
Draft experts have the All-American slotted anywhere between the second and fifth pick ... with many believing he'll go to the New York Jets, who pick second, or the Arizona Cardinals, if Gang Green passes on Arvell.
Darrell Sheetslooked happy and in good spirits just hours before his shocking and sudden death.
TMZ has obtained a photo of the fan favorite from "Storage Wars," who was photographed Tuesday around 5 PM at his antique shop in Lake Havasu, AZ ... a place he'd been running since stepping away from reality TV.
A witness tells us Darrell was upbeat and friendly during the encounter ... making the news of his death all the more shocking.
Congressmen and staffers aren't the only folks TMZ DC is hunting down on Capitol Hill ... we're also coming across reality TV personalities like "Love on The Spectrum" star Subodh Garg, who is on a search of his own.
Charlie bumped into Subodh and he told TMZ DC he's in town to talk to Congress about Autism Awareness Month ... and do some date scouting.
Subodh says he hasn't found any potential mates in DC just yet ... but he's got some other trips planned all across America ... and even Down Under ... so it seems he's leaving no stone unturned.
Police in Arizona are investigating claims "Storage Wars" starDarrell Sheets was being bullied online before he committed suicide.
The Lake Havasu Police Department tells TMZ ... "We are aware of these cyberbullying accusations and that is a part of the active investigation."
We broke the story ... Darrell was found dead in his Lake Havasu home Tuesday morning and police say it appears he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Jax Tayloris opening up about his sobriety journey ... and he says the work is far from over.
TMZ caught up with the former "Vanderpump Rules" star at LAX on Wednesday ... and while he wasn’t exactly eager to dive into reality TV drama, he did get candid about hitting a major personal milestone.
Check out the clip ... Jax tells us he’s about a year and a half sober, but made it clear the journey hasn’t been easy.
"I needed a lot of help," he said. "And I still need help. And it's just addiction is a really serious thing. Mental health, men's mental health is a really big deal, and it's just constant work."
Congress may be throwing elbows on Capitol Hill ... but once the suits come off, some lawmakers are apparently more focused on jump shots than cheap shots!
Our TMZ DC crew caught up with Rep. Shomari Figures and a few other congressmen, including Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick, in the aftermath of the Congressional Basketball Game Tuesday night ... where Democrats and Republicans hit the court together in a rare display of bipartisan teamwork.
Check out the clip ... Figures tells us the game came down to the wire and he gave props to fellow Representatives Suhas Subramanyam and Blake Moorefor balling out.
But when we asked what it’s like sharing the court with members of the opposing party amid all the political chaos in D.C. ... the Alabama Democrat pushed back on the idea that lawmakers are constantly at each other's throats.
"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum Kim Zolciak’s estranged husband, Kroy Biermann, is accusing her of neglecting their children, as part of his renewed plea for primary custody, TMZ has learned. Kim’s legal team adamantly denied the claims.
According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Kroy is asking the judge presiding over their never-ending divorce to grant him permanent physical and legal custody of their 4 minor children.
The current custody agreement allows 2 kids to be with Kim and 2 to be with Kroy – and then they swap and spend time with the other 2. “The children were rarely together as a group under this parenting plan,” Kroy said.
He claimed Kim “acts in ways that are harmful to the children and contrary to their best interests.”
D4vd and Nick Reiner are sharing a roof over their heads ... they're locked up in the same Los Angeles County jail.
The singer -- who is charged with murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas -- has been transferred to Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Downtown Los Angeles ... according to online records.
Our law enforcement sources tell us D4vd was transferred there because authorities want him under better supervision because he's a celebrity inmate at the center of a high-profile case.
Rene Nezhoda says people online mercilessly cyberbullied Darrell Sheets before his death ... and, he hopes this will serve as a wakeup call to all the online menaces out there.
Nezhoda spoke about Sheets -- who cops found dead in his home early Wednesday morning -- in a video ... admitting the two had their run-ins because they both competed intensely against each other.
Nezhoda says, deep down, he and Sheets were friends ... and he's sad his pal's gone now. He also says he hopes cops will look into cyberbullying claims Sheets made about others as they investigate his death.
Prosecutors say Jonathan Rinderknecht -- the man who allegedly started the horrific Pacific Palisades Fire -- shouldn't be allowed to introduce evidence and argue about the Los Angeles Fire Department's response to the wildfires to get himself out of trouble.
Here's the deal ... prosecutors say Rinderknecht's attorneys are trying to bring up alleged incidents of the department's supposed ineptitude to protect their client and reframe the case around the response to the January 2025 fire to distract from his alleged role in starting it.
One example Rinderknecht is arguing is that one member of the fire department apparently wasn't alarmed by seeing smoke. But prosecutors say brush fires commonly smolder after firefighters put them out ... something they say this particular firefighter knew, and explains the lack of concern.
Prosecutors list a series of examples they say are just like this ... insisting Rinderknecht's attorneys are grasping at straws and attempting to "transform his trial into a misguided and much lengthier trial about the LAFD."
"Unexpected" star Bella Vaughn's mom Falen has broken her silence after being arrested this week in Arkansas ... and it sounds like she's ready to fight the charges.
Kevin Hickey, Falen's lawyer, tells TMZ ... his client denies any wrongdoing ... and she plans to plead not guilty when she is scheduled to appear in court.
As we reported, FV was arrested on Monday for disorderly conduct and disrupting governmental operations. Both charges are misdemeanors.
David Del Rio is a long way from Hollywood ... he's now living it up in Paris with his wife after his dramatic departure from "Matlock" amid unwanted sexual contact allegations.
TMZ has obtained the first photos and video of David and his wife in the City of Light ... and it looks like Katherine Del Rio is sticking firmly by his side following his exit from the hit CBS series.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... David and Katherine have temporarily relocated to Paris with their children, where she's currently enrolled in culinary school.
We're told David continues to deny the sex assault allegations as the situation plays out in arbitration ... and the couple is focused on staying grounded and united.
As TMZ first reported ... David's costar, Leah Lewis, claimed he sexually assaulted her on the Paramount lot back in October 2025. He hired powerhouse lawyer Shawn Holley to represent him, and the network reopened its investigation into the actor after he demanded they review additional details. The result, however, wasn't different from when he was booted.
Brian McKnightsays his ex-wife, one of his sons, some bloggers, and a newspaper rolled out a coordinated assault on his reputation to make money from "malicious character assassination" ... at least according to a new lawsuit.
The legendary singer filed a lawsuit claiming he's the victim of a "shockingly dishonest" and "sensational but false narrative" alleging he abandoned his kids and refused to tell his dying son Niko he loved him.
In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Brian says the false narrative was cooked up by his ex-wife, Julie McKnight, and he says it's been peddled by his son Brian Jr., bloggers Marc Lamont Hill and Tasha K, and the New York Post.
"Storage Wars" star Darrell Sheets is dead, TMZ has confirmed.
Lake Havasu Police in Arizona tell TMZ ... Sheets apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Officers responded to a report of a deceased individual at his house at about 2 AM Wednesday, police say. He was pronounced dead at the scene ... his body has been transferred to the Mohave County Medical Examiner's Office.
Celeste Rivas' cause of death has just been revealed ... and the medical examiner in Los Angeles says she was killed by multiple penetrating injuries with unspecified objects, and her death was ruled a homicide.
The M.E. says there are "2 penetrating wounds of the torso with smooth edges that may represent sharp force injuries. The wound -- [3/4 inch length and 1.5 inches deep] -- on the upper abdomen penetrates the liver, and the wound on the left chest -- [9/16 inch length and 2 inches deep] penetrates one of the left intercostal spaces, with disruption of the adjacent ribs' cortical surfaces."
It's interesting that the M.E. uses the word "may," which is something the defense will jump on.
It should also be noted that the M.E. says there were "multiple superficial linear abrasions on the right dorsal hand." It does not say whether or not these could be defensive wounds.
The M.E. also says that her left ring and pinky fingers were amputated, but the body diagram shows that her right pointer finger with the "Shhh" tattoo was intact.
