Gov. Gavin Newsom is making Cali the first state to block prosecutors from freely using rap lyrics as evidence in criminal cases -- and the move has some high-profile supporters.

Newsom looked like he was hosting a hip hop award show Friday as he put his John Hancock on Assembly Bill 2799. The signing went down in an online forum that included Too $hort, Meek Mill, Killer Mike, Tyga, YG, E-40, Ty Dolla $ign. and some other industry heavyweights.

The new CA law prevents prosecutors from using rappers' lyrics in court as circumstantial evidence ... unless a judge first reviews and approves it. Before the Gov. signed, several of the rappers talked about why the bill was so important.

Cali homegrown MCs E-40 and Too $hort, in particular, stressed the need for artists to have the freedom to creatively express themselves ... and said they hoped the Golden State would start a trend.

A similar bill in New York faltered earlier this year in that state's legislature.

Veteran rapper and former convict X-Raided told TMZ Hip Hop he always believed Newsom’s progressive politics would make the difference in California.

The Strange Music artist spent 26 years in prison for his role in a 1992 murder, but said he believes he would have been acquitted if prosecutors had been barred from referencing his lyrics.

Fat Joe is suing his Chicago-based accounting firm, claiming it was running a Ponzi scheme that misappropriated his funds and those of some MLB players, too.

According to legal documents, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Joe claims tax hub BDO, its longtime CPA Andre N. Chammas and his assistant Vanessa Rodriguez defrauded him in several ways.

According to the docs, Joe noticed some accounting irregularities after Rodriguez was fired in July ... and he says things really didn't add up when he started taking a closer look.

For starters, Joe says his wife Lorena's name was used to open AMEX accounts and make huge unauthorized purchases, including $40K in charges for Uber rides and UberEats deliveries, as well as tuition payments for Rodriguez's daughter.

Joe also claims he discovered one of his entities, Sneaker Addict Touring, was missing large deposits -- to the tune of more than $300K. He says there were similar irregularities with other entities.

As for the Ponzi part of the alleged scheme -- Joe claims the firm also defrauded Jose Iglesias of Colorado Rockies, Luis Garcia of the Houston Astros and former Chicago White Sox player Dayan Viciedo.

In the suit, he says AMEX accounts were opened under their names as well, and the money flowed between all of their accounts to keep the Ponzi going. The players are not plaintiffs in the suit, and Joe makes it clear he feels they were victims ... just like himself.

Choreographer and former "Celebrity Big Brother" contestant Todrick Hall may need to downsize ... he's been ordered to cough up six figures after being sued over unpaid rent.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a default judgment was entered against Todrick and now he's on the hook for more than $102,000.

As we reported ... Todrick was sued in March for allegedly failing to pay back rent on a Sherman Oaks home. The suit claimed his monthly rent was $30K and he had fallen behind.

Oddly enough, Todrick made it seem -- at least on social media -- like he owned the home ... giving an elaborate tour of the lavish property in a YouTube video where he says, "I have been wanting to buy a home for a very very long time, and this is a dream come true."

The place is decked out with an outdoor pool, movie theater, huge massive closet and even a Louis Vuitton bedframe ... which would explain the $30K monthly rent.

Todrick's been ordered to pay $100,000 in damages plus another $2K in attorney fees and costs.

Amber Heard apparently was looking for a place where people wouldn't judge her ... and she may have found it in Spain.

Amber was last seen hopping on a private jet back in June, shortly after losing the spectacularly popular trial against Johnny Depp.

While Johnny seemed to be everywhere, basking in the glow of victory, Amber seemingly ghosted the world.

Now she's back ... though in a land far, far away, in Palma de Mallorca. She was there with close friend Bianca Butti and her 1-year-old daughter Oonagh Paige Heard.

We don't know how long she's been there. It could just be a vacay, but wherever she calls home is a mystery because there hasn't been a photo of Amber that surfaced for 3 months.

Amber's got legal issues for sure ... she's on the hook for $8.3 million, although she's appealing the verdict. That appeal is pending.

U.S. Women's National Team legend Abby Wambach is distancing herself from a health company supported by Brett Favre ... after finding out the business has been accused of being involved in the massive Mississippi welfare funds scandal.

ESPN reports Wambach -- a member of the sports advisory board for Odyssey Health -- had her mentions on the company's website scrubbed Thursday afternoon ... after hearing that a lawsuit filed by the state of Mississippi alleged $2.1 million intended for welfare recipients was directed to the health company instead.

Odyssey Health is a drug company developing a nasal spray to treat concussions ... and Favre is reportedly its biggest investor. Kurt Warner, Mark Rypien, David Ross and Steve Mariucci are also members of the org.'s sports advisory board.

Wambach explained her decision to walk away in an email Thursday to ESPN ... saying, "Minutes after learning this new information, I initiated the process to immediately and fully divest myself from any involvement -- financial and otherwise -- with Prevacus/Odyssey Health Inc."

"A process that I insisted be complete by end of day today."

Wambach added she "genuinely believed this company was being transparent about a product that could spare the next generation of athletes from the severe impact of concussion injuries that I endured as a professional athlete."

"I am profoundly angry, disappointed, and saddened by what I learned today."

Wambach's decision to fully divest from the drug company comes on the heels of more troubling allegations for Favre ... whose charity, Favre 4 Hope, is under fire for donating money meant for children and cancer patients to USM's athletic foundation between 2018-2020.

Gunna is currently making another play at coming home while his criminal case is pending … a move fully supported by Kevin Liles, head of Gunna's label ... 300 Elektra Entertainment.

We caught up with Kevin Thursday in D.C. during the “Rap and the Rules of Evidence” panel … and he doubled down on arguments made to the court when Young Thug was attempting to get placed on house arrest ahead of his trial.

Kevin tells us his longtime allegiance with Young Thug extends down the YSL family tree and he considers him, Gunna and everyone else at the label his “sons.”

Gunna’s attorneys are actively arguing for his freedom in Atlanta for the third time, and Kevin insists Gunna is not a violent offender and shouldn't be locked up!

During the panel discussion, which was powered by The Recording Academy, RIAA and Industry Blackout ... Kevin seemed touched by the earlier convo and got emotional explaining the hardships of YSL's Rico case.

Elon Musk's father fancies himself a real-life Dirty Harry or Rambo-like figure -- he's recounting how he once took out a mob of home intruders ... all by himself.

The way Errol Musk describes the 1998 incident really does sound like a Hollywood action movie -- he and his then 6-year-old daughter, Ali, were in his South African home ... and while she was taking a bath, he encountered 7 armed men in another part of the house.

The 76-year-old told The Sun the gang immediately opened fire on him, but just like in the movies ... he miraculously dodged all the bullets, retreated to a bedroom and grabbed a .357 Magnum handgun.

Errol says his gun was loaded with hollow point bullets, and his very first shot went straight through one intruder's head, and the shrapnel entered another's chest. He says both men were killed. At that point, he says the rest of them fled, but he managed to shoot one more in a hallway.

Completing the scene ... Errol says Ali -- who'd be in the bathtub -- came out after hearing the shootout, and clung to her father's leg. Mr. "Lethal Weapon" says he was acquitted of manslaughter charges for the incident, on the grounds of self-defense.

Errol's heroic tale comes on the heels of Elon recently tweeting a reminder to the world that he and his father are estranged.

The billionaire tycoon said his dad ran out of money in the '90s, and he and his brother financially supported him on the condition that he "not do bad things." Unfortunately, according to Elon, he did do bad things.

Elon's point seemed to be dad isn't keeping up his end of the bargain.

As for Errol's marksmanship ... he says he once won the South African National Defence Force's shooting championships.

Tom Girardi and Erika Jayne's trove of fancy schmancy stuff up for sale at their court-ordered estate auction were a huge hit ... 'cause they just raked in some big bucks!!

The ex-couple's fire sale was launched September 21st and lasted about 5 hours ... designed to pay down Tom's whopping bankruptcy debt. Needless to say, it generated worldwide interest, especially with Erika's 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' fans.

John Moran Auctioneers, which helmed the online/in-house auction, has now released the results. In total, 253 pieces sold for a grand total of $493,641. Not too shabby, but it's hard to fathom it'll make much of a dent in Tom's overall debt, estimated at $101 million last year.

Tom came under scrutiny after allegations surfaced his old law firm mismanaged tons of client assets for their own use. Erika tried to distance herself from the whole mess.

Some of the hottest items hawked from the divorced couple's Pasadena mansion included a J. Seward Johnson Jr. bronze sculpture ($13,750), a black lacquered cabinet with mythological oil paintings ($11,875), a black lacquered Chinoiserie-style console table with gilt highlights ($10,000) and two Michael Taylor “Montecito” outdoor garden armchairs ($7,150).

Tom's cherished sports memorabilia also got some love from one of the more than 8,000 bidders. A historic 1993 Spaulding NBA Finals Ball signed by Michael Jordan sold for $4,688.

Chris D'Elia's been accused of threatening to share intimate videos of a woman in a new restraining order, but not only does the comedian claim he's never met his accuser, he says she's also been sending him threatening audio and text messages since earlier this year.

TMZ has obtained the docs, filed by Caroline Schmitz in L.A., in which she claims she and D'Elia met back in 2017 when she was working as a comedian. Schmitz says she and Chris hooked up several times, and then heard from him again when he contacted her through OnlyFans in May.

As for the communications on OnlyFans, Schmitz says a profile -- who she believes D'Elia was behind -- threatened to post intimate videos she'd recorded and told her she needed to get out of Los Angeles.

Schmitz says she believes D'Elia was behind the OF account because she, "recognized his style of writing." She also says she believes Chris hacked her phone.

D'Elia's attorney, Andrew Brettler, tells TMZ, "These accusations are as fantastical as they are defamatory. Chris has never met this person. But over the last year, she has sent him increasingly disturbing text and audio messages, including making threats against him and his family. If anyone is going to get a restraining order here, it’s going to be Chris.”

We've obtained some of the many messages Chris says Schmitz sent to him through Instagram where you hear a woman rambling at times about being a stripper. He also says she messaged him, "Have me killed or leave me the f*** alone - I'd die to get the hell away from your evil ass."

It looks like MacKenzie Scott has already settled up with her soon-to-be ex-husband ... because they signed an agreement over who gets what.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, MacKenzie and Dan Jewett signed a "separation contract." It's something we don't see much, but it appears it memorializes exactly what Dan will get in their divorce.

As we reported, MacKenzie filed for divorce Monday ... after only a year-and-a-half of marriage.

MacKenzie was married to Jeff Bezos for 25 years. They divorced in 2019.

MacKenzie walked away with $37 billion, and pledged half to charity.

It's almost certain 52-year-old MacKenzie and 47-year-old Dan, a former science teacher, signed a prenup, so the separation contract probably substantially or wholly mirrors the prenup.

"Big Brother" winner Mike "Boogie" Malin is in legal hot water ... a California judge issued a warrant after Mike failed to show up to a court date, and now his probation's revoked.

Sources with knowledge tell TMZ ... Mike was MIA from a Wednesday court hearing related to his felony stalking case... so the judge issued a bench warrant, set Mike's bail at $20k and revoked his probation.

It sounds like Mike blew his second chance here ... we're told he was due in court two weeks ago for a "proof of live-in program" hearing but he didn't show up then either, but his public defender took the blame and the judge moved the court date to Wednesday ... but Mike was a no-show again.

We're told Malin, who won season 7 of the reality series, had a new public defender Wednesday, who told the court she emailed Mike and he was aware he was supposed to show up ... but when the judge told her to call Mike, he didn't pick up the phone.

According to our sources, Mike's probation officer said Malin told him Tuesday he would be in court Wednesday ... but after an hour of waiting around for him at the courthouse, the judge called the case and issued the bench warrant.

TMZ broke the story ... Mike pled no contest to felony stalking last year in a case involving his former 'BB' buddy Dr. Will Kirby, and Malin was sentenced to 2 years probation and ordered to pay Will more than $44k.

We're told Mike's latest public defender told the judge his client doesn't have the money to pay the restitution.

MacKenzie Scott did not have chemistry, apparently, with her science teacher husband ... because the former Mrs. Jeff Bezos is ending her second marriage.

MacKenzie beelined it to a Washington state court Monday and filed to divorce Dan Jewett a little more than a year after they got hitched ... according to the NY Times.

She walked away from her marriage to Jeff with nearly $37 billion, pledging half to charity, so it's a good bet MacKenzie and Dan had a prenup.

MacKenzie's author page on Amazon already scrubbed all references to Dan, who used to be proudly mentioned, and her giving pledge page no longer features his name.

As we reported ... MacKenzie and Dan, a chemistry teacher at her kids' private school in Washington state, announced in March 2021 they had tied the knot. They did not have any children together.

MacKenzie was married to Jeff from 1993 to 2019 ... and she was the first to remarry after their divorce. Now, she's also the first to divorce again.

R. Kelly's not just going to prison for his sex crimes in New York, but it also looks like he'll be ordered to pay a fortune to some of his victims ... including picking up the tabs to deal with their STDs and their psychological trauma in the aftermath.

There was a restitution hearing in Brooklyn Wednesday, where a judge weighed in on what Kelly will have to cough up, money-wise, to a couple of his victims in that case ... in which he's already been convicted and sentenced to prison.

For a victim named "Jane," the judge indicated Kelly will be ordered to fork over around $300K to cover treatment related to herpes, as well as psychological care that she apparently requires. Ditto for another victim in that case named "Stephanie," although a firm number hasn't been decided in her situation just yet ... the judge put a pin in it and will circle back later.

A 3rd victim, "Sonja," was denied restitution. So, at this point, it looks like Kelly will be on the hook for hundreds of thousands ... and possibly more.

Remember, Kelly's already been handed down a sentence of 30 years behind bars in this case -- where he was alleged to have committed federal sex crimes.

He was also recently convicted in his federal case out of Chicago -- in which he was accused of similar crimes -- and there could be restitution in that case, as well.

Kanye West has hired yet another divorce lawyer, this time tapping into the same attorney who represented Melinda Gates in her multi-billion dollar divorce case with Bill Gates.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Ye's retained Robert Stephan Cohen of Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe & Rottenstreich LLP as his sixth divorce attorney in the back and forth with Kim Kardashian. Interestingly enough, Cohen is based in New York, and the Kim divorce is in Los Angeles, so Ye's also bringing on Nicholas A. Salick of Salick Family Law Group, APLC as his counsel in California.

Not only has Cohen represented Melinda, but he's also had clients like Rupert Murdoch, Chris Rock, Athina Onassis and more.

TMZ broke the story, Kim filed for divorce in November, and a judge declared her legally single back in March, after she filed docs stating, "I very much desire to be divorced." The couple still has to iron out custody and property details.

We know Kim and Kanye already had a prenup in place, so property shouldn't be an issue. As far as custody, that seems to be settled too, as Kanye recently said Kim's got the kids about 80% of the time and mostly raises them.

Two men have been charged in connection with an alleged armed robbery that took place in the middle of a church service which was stopped short while two men allegedly jacked some jewelry from the bishop during their live stream.

2 men from Brooklyn -- Juwan Anderson and Say-Quan Pollack -- were charged with armed robbery for their roles in the July 24 incident ... according to Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York on Tuesday.

Peace's statement reads, "As alleged, the defendants brought guns into a place of worship, stealing from two members of the clergy, and terrifying the congregation in the process" ... adding, "to commit such an act during a religious service is incomprehensible."

Peace notes a 3rd suspect is still at large.

The incident was caught on camera during the service's live stream ... showing Bishop Lamor Whitehead stopping mid-service and quickly getting on the ground -- as two men begin to take items off his person.

Whitehead tells TMZ ... "Today is the start of healing. We will let the justice system continue to work as I continue to do what God has called me to do."