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McKenna West is being dragged to court by her biological son’s baby daddy as she continues to fight the biological parents of the baby she gave birth as a surrogate ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Robert Gross sued McKenna on September 2 in Alaska.

Robert claims he is not and has never been married to McKenna but says they share a son named Cassius West, born in 2021. Per the docs, Robert is asking to be granted sole decision-making authority for their son.

Jim Thornton is 86'd from "Wheel of Fortune" ... TMZ has learned Sony Pictures Television Studios dropped the hammer Friday afternoon.

A Sony spokesperson tells us ... "Following a thorough investigation, Jim Thornton’s employment with Wheel of Fortune has been terminated, effective immediately."

The firing comes days after TMZ broke the story ... Thornton was flying American Airlines to Los Angeles in May when a passenger spotted him on what she believed to be a chatroom for pedophiles.

Kenny Smith admits the NBA went straight for the Clippers' neck, but he doesn't think the punishment was excessive ... when you consider Steve Ballmer's team skirted the rules in a major way!

TMZ Sports spotted the hooper-turned-analyst at LAX on Friday, and asked him whether The Association went too hard.

"You're gonna have to suffer consequences for that kind of behavior," Smith told us.

"You're vehemently cheating. You're not just toeing the line. You're actually cheating and you're cheating at a high level. You're circumventing the salary cap. You're giving yourself an unfair advantage that no one else has, and you have to have severe penalties for that or other people will say, 'Well we can do it.'"

Jim Thornton's Facebook account has gone dark hours after he was fired from "Wheel of Fortune" ... and TMZ has learned the former announcer has also been scrubbed from the game show's social media channels.

Thornton's Facebook page was no longer publicly accessible Friday evening. It was active earlier in the day and featured behind-the-scenes photos and videos of Jim on the popular game show set.

The page also included photos of Jim making school appearances, along with more personal shots of his wife and son.

Alan Jackson -- the big-time defense attorney who represented Karen Read in Massachusetts during both her criminal trials -- says he sees similarities between her case and Lindsay Clancy's .... especially in the controversial way both were handed a mistrial.

Jackson joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday shortly after a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice upheld the mistrial ruling ... and he says the justice system in Massachusetts going after Lindsay again and failing to get a conviction would be a serious black eye.

He says he felt it was a "travesty" when Karen's case ended in a mistrial the first time ... adding he didn't understand when the judge didn't poll individual jurors to see if they'd come to some type of verdict.

Rachel Tussey's doctor has been countersued by the JourneyLite surgery center, which argues there's no way she overdosed because she didn't respond when Narcan was administered.

JourneyLite filed the counterclaim this week ... claiming it is still investigating the influencer's death -- and therefore has refrained from public comment on the case.

In contrast, JourneyLite says Dr. Shahryar Tork has engaged in "reckless and even intentionally misleading" rhetoric about the case in the months since Rachel passed ... specifically citing an April press conference in which he blasted JourneyLite.

Shia LaBeouf may be able to rest a little easier ... the woman who had a weird confrontation with him in a parking lot just pleaded guilty to stalking and has been ordered not to come near the actor as part of her sentence ... but she did avoid jail ... TMZ has learned.

Court docs, obtained by TMZ, show Alyssa Couture, who was arrested on July 13 in Louisiana after following Shia to a bank parking lot, pleaded guilty to stalking at the recent hearing.

The judge ordered Alyssa to serve one year in jail but suspended the sentence in favor of giving her a year of probation. Alyssa will also have to enroll in and complete a mental health program and stay far away from Shia.

Jessica Simpson is singing Dolly Parton's praises ... saying the country music legend was truly the queen of all music.

Our cameraman caught up with Jessica at LAX Friday and asked who should take over as the queen of country music following Dolly's death.

Jessica made it clear she doesn’t think anyone can simply step into Dolly’s shoes ... saying Dolly was the queen of all music and calling her crown “impossible Louboutins to fill.”

Big Tigger won't be charged after his wife made serious allegations of domestic violence ... prosecutors have decided not to pursue criminal charges against him ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the former "Rap City" host on charges arising from the case.

You'll recall … Tigger's wife, Alicia Brown, accused him of slamming her head into a door during a May altercation ... claiming the incident left her needing stitches.

Brown also alleged Tigger pressured her to deny the incident and warned he would make sure she "loses everything" if she spoke out. She claimed he later cut off her access to the home's Ring cameras and remote gate controls.

Brown was granted a temporary protective order in June ... requiring Tigger to stay 200 yards away from her and their children and have no contact with them. She was also granted temporary custody of the minor children and exclusive use of the family home.

As TMZ first reported ... Tigger was arrested June 20 on aggravated assault and child cruelty charges. He was released on $10K bond.

Jack Doherty has been arrested in Florida ... TMZ has learned.

According to jail records obtained by TMZ, the influencer was booked Friday in Broward County on a charge of domestic violence battery.

As of now details of the incident are unclear... but sources close to Jack tell TMZ that his actions were done in self-defense.

As we previously reported ... Jack was arrested by Miami Beach Police in November 2025 outside a smoke shop and booked on charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, and resisting arrest.

Police said Jack was carrying amphetamine at the time ... a medication commonly used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy as well as less than 20 grams of weed.

Video of the arrest showed him arguing with officers.

Jack later told TMZ the experience was the worst day of his life ... describing hours spent in multiple holding cells before he was released on $3,500 bail.

After getting out, Jack posted a video wearing a TMZ T-shirt of his mug shot ... joking about his arrest and complaining that jail was too dirty for him to shower there. He also bragged that he posted bail and was released in under 24 hours.

Perez Hilton apparently wanted to die at the hands of police, allegedly saying on his TikTok live stream that he was willing to hurt cops to make it happen -- according to documents obtained by TMZ.

We've reviewed call logs detailing dispatch audio ... and one of the logs shows that the subject said on TikTok Live that he "wants to die by suicide by cops, and he will hurt police."

We've also learned fire and rescue crews were initially told they could leave the area around 9:13 PM by cops ... but, nearly two hours later, cops asked them to return to the house and eventually entered the home with officers -- a strange development given Perez's serious need for medical attention.

11:14 AM PT -- A spokesperson for American Airlines tells TMZ ... "On Sept. 3, ​American ​Airlines ​flight 618 diverted to Baltimore ​(BWI) ​due to a disruptive customer. Upon arrival, law ​enforcement ​met the ​aircraft and ​assisted with ​deplaning ​the ​customer before ​the ​flight continued ​to ​its ​destination. The ​safety and ​security of our customers ​and ​team members is our ​top ​priority ​and ​we do ​not tolerate violence. ​We ​thank ​our team members ​for ​their ​professionalism and ​our customers for ​their ​understanding."

A passenger went totally berserk on an American Airlines flight Thursday night -- screaming racial and anti-gay slurs -- and ended up getting duct-taped to his seat to restrain his behavior ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ obtained video and photos of the wild incident, which took place on an AA flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport. However, the plane got diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

The photos show the man looking like a mummy wrapped up in duct tape while secured to his seat. Even his head is duct-taped along with his hands. The video captures the crew and passengers restraining the man in his seat as he apparently tries to put up a fight.

Dolly Parton's Hollywood Walk of Fame star has been restored after it was vandalized ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ obtained photos showing Dolly's star looking good as new Friday, with her name fully intact. A turquoise butterfly has also been placed over the center medallion, while flowers and other tributes surround the star.

The butterfly is a fitting tribute ... Dolly has long used the insect as a personal and career symbol because of her connection to nature. She's said she felt connected to butterflies ever since chasing them as a child in Tennessee's Smoky Mountains.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner's mom is taking shots at the late actor’s widow, Tenisha Warner, for dragging her to court over $$$ ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Pamela Warner scoffed at Tenisha's claims that Malcolm failed to follow the terms of his prenup and did not leave her and their daughter Mackenzie Warner a $1 million life insurance policy, among other things.

Pamela claims she tried to privately work out the issues with Tenisha ... and says she even offered to give her MacKenzie the overwhelming majority of the trust Malcolm left behind.

Garth Brooks put on a secret concert in Colorado … where over 2,000 fans showed up … but it ended with over 25 people needing medical attention, TMZ has learned.

Wild videos from the event at The Grizzly Rose in Denver show the crowd struggling to deal with the over 90-degree heat, with some people having to be carried out of the event.

A spokesperson for the Adams County Fire Rescue said they helped around 25-30 people for heat-related illnesses. Officials were already on site for the event handing out waters to the crowd. The rep confirmed three people were transported to the hospital for heat exhaustion.

"Pawn Stars" star Rick Harrison is recovering in the hospital ... after undergoing major surgery.

A spokesperson for the Harrison family tells TMZ ... Rick went in for what was expected to be a routine stent procedure, but doctors discovered a much more serious issue that required bypass surgery.

Fortunately, we're told the reality star is resting comfortably and looking forward to a full recovery.