Fairly Legal

The Supreme Court has all but said Roe vs. Wade is history, but not without a few justices railing on the majority for grossly abdicating its responsibility.

The justices -- by a 5 to 4 margin -- refused to hear a challenge to the Texas anti-abortion law, which essentially makes it illegal for abortions to be performed after the 6th week of pregnancy. And, there's no exception for rape or incest. And, anyone in the United States can sue anyone who facilitates an abortion after the 6th week and collect $10k.

The justices who formed the majority were predicable ... Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and the 3 Trump appointees -- Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett. Trump said he was picking justices who would overturn Roe, and his picks were true to form.

The majority said the case was just too complex for a quick ruling ... presenting novel issues. The fact is ... the Texas law is squarely, undeniably at odds with Roe vs. Wade. The justices hung their hats on the enforcement mechanism -- that private citizens and not the State itself was responsible for enforcing the law. But the reality is ... the ground rules for an abortion in Texas fly in the face of Roe. Nevertheless, the justices chose to punt.

The dissents were blistering. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the decision was "stunning," adding the majority chose to "bury their heads in the sand." She calls the law "clearly unconstitutional.

Sotomayor said, "In effect, the Texas Legislature has deputized the State's citizens as bounty hunters, offering them cash prizes for civilly prosecuting their neighbors' medical procedures."

Britney Spears can rest a little easier after the ugly incident in which her housekeeper accused her of battery ... we've learned the singer will NOT be charged with a crime.

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... prosecutors decided NOT to file any criminal charges against Britney for misdemeanor battery.

The D.A. says the office declined to file charges "based on insufficient evidence that a crime had occurred and the lack of injury to the housekeeper or significant damage to the phone."

Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, tells us "As I have previously-stated, this was nothing more than sensationalized-tabloid fodder -- an overblown 'he said, she said' regarding a cell phone. If this involved Jane Doe rather than Britney Spears it would not have been pursued or covered at all."

He continues, "Anyone can make an accusation but this should never have made it this far and we are glad the DA’s Office has done the right thing. Sadly, it is apparent that some have learned nothing from the past, and we sincerely hope the media and others will be more respectful of Ms. Spears in the future."

We broke the story ... one of Britney's longtime housekeepers accused her of battery during an argument over Brit's dogs, with the housekeeper claiming Britney slapped her phone out of her hands.

As we reported, the housekeeper called deputies to Britney's home, but later went to a Ventura County Sheriff's station to file a report, and the Sheriff's Dept. launched an investigation.

As we first told you ... Britney's dogs were taken to a vet after her dog sitter and housekeeper believed the pets were being neglected ... and that's what triggered the confrontation between Britney and her housekeeper.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Dept. wrapped up its investigation into Britney's housekeeper's claim and forwarded its findings to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

We were told the case basically boiled down to Brit's word against the housekeeper's story -- the housekeeper claims Britney struck her in the arm, while Britney claims all she did was swipe the phone out of her hand.

We're told the Sheriff didn't know which version was true, and the case was ultimately forwarded on to the D.A. to make the final call.

As we reported, our Britney sources were confident nothing would come of the allegations ... and ultimately that's what happened.

Kevin O'Leary and Kevin Harrington allegedly scammed tons of entrepreneurs out of hundreds of thousands of dollars ... according to claims in a new lawsuit.

The "Shark Tank" stars are being sued by 20 people who claim O'Leary and Harrington each played roles in what they say was a brazen scam to defraud hard-working entrepreneurs.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, O'Leary and Harrington steered investors and entrepreneurs to hire one of two companies, InventureX or Ideazon, to handle crowdfunding for their startups.

In the suit, the folks who claim they got scammed say they were promised help raising funds for the businesses and some say the prospect of appearing on "Shark Tank" was dangled in front of them ... but they say once they paid money to the companies endorsed by "Shark Tank" stars, they got little to nothing in return, aside from a bill.

What's more, the suit claims the crowdfunding companies O'Leary allegedly endorsed might not even exist at all and suspect it may be a big "predatory fraud scheme.”

While 20 people are suing O'Leary and Harrington, those folks claim they are just one small faction of hundreds, if not thousands, of folks who fell victim to the scam.

We reached out to reps for "Shark Tank" ... so far, no word back.

The Beverly Hills police are being sued over allegations it targeted almost nothing but black people on Rodeo Drive to arrest ... in some cases, for minor infractions.

Renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump claims in a new lawsuit ... the City of Beverly Hills created a police task force to patrol the famed street for violations of law, and the result was 106 arrests ... and 105 of those taken into custody were black.  The one remaining arrestee was Latino. BTW, Crump says the Latino could have easily been mistaken as black.

The 2 named plaintiffs in the lawsuit -- Jasmine Williams and Khalil White -- say they were visiting Bev Hills a year ago and riding scooters on the sidewalk, when they were stopped by Bev Hills cops. They were handcuffed and taken into custody.  According to the suit, prosecutors dropped the case.

The lawsuit claims examples of other "crimes" for which people were arrested included roller skating, jaywalking and traffic infractions in Beverly Hills.

The lawsuit references another incident last October involving Salehe Bembury -- VP of Sneakers and Men's Footwear at Versace -- who claimed he was detained for jaywalking.

According to the suit, BHPD Captain Scott Dowling, who is also named as a defendant, directed officers "to seize, interrogate, use force, falsely arrest, and maliciously prosecute any African-Americans who traveled on Rodeo Drive" with the sole purpose of "keep[ing] out African-Americans, who were deemed as 'criminals.".

We've reached out to the Beverly Hills PD for comment, so far no word back.

The family of Elijah McClain -- the unarmed Black man killed in Colorado 2 years ago during a run-in with cops -- feel they just got a measure of justice, because those involved in his death have just been indicted.

Colorado AG, Phil Weiser, announced the 32-charge indictment Wednesday against 5 people tied to McClain's 2019 detainment and subsequent medical transport -- slapping 3 Aurora PD cops (2 current, 1 former) and two Aurora Fire medics with two counts each ... manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

Two of those officers -- Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt -- face additional charges ... 2nd-degree assault with the intent to cause bodily injury. The indictment comes after Weiser was tapped as a special prosecutor to investigate ... this following massive public outrage.

Weiser says he handed over his findings to a grand jury this past January -- and now, some 8 months later, it seems they've found sufficient evidence to bring these folks to trial.

You might recall ... McClain was walking home on August 24, 2019 when he was stopped by the three officers mentioned, who apparently accosted him because he seemed "suspicious" -- which one of the cops can be heard saying in since-released body cam footage.

Before long, things escalated ... and the cops had McClain in a carotid hold, among others for quite a while. He passed out during the struggle -- and the medics are alleged to have administered a lethal dose of ketamine, which prosecutors believe kill him.

The incident occurred well before George Floyd's case gripped the nation last year -- but was among the many high profile stories that led to mass protests for Black Lives Matter.

A gay couple in Nashville was told they couldn't get married at the venue they wanted because of their sexual orientation, and the venue's owner certainly had an awkward way of turning them down.

Mike Gill tells us he recently got in touch with Jackie Daniel, who owns Barn in the Bend. Mike tells us he and his partner, Coty, thought the spot would be perfect, but it didn't take long for things between him and Jackie in email exchanges to get weird.

Mike says at some point, Jackie apparently figured out he was going to be marrying another man. She sent Mike an email, but it clearly stated the opposite of what she actually wanted to say -- It read, "We offer same sex marriage ceremonies only."

Jackie apparently figured out her mistake and fired off another email about an hour later with a different signature, saying, "We do not offer same sex marriage ceremonies."

Mike told Jackie he'd let everyone in the area know that BITB was bigoted, but Jackie let him know her decision was based on her religious beliefs, saying, "I wish you the best in life and the best future in all that you do."

While Mike and Coty are pissed -- they may be fighting an uphill battle. You'll recall the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it was permissible for a baker to refuse to decorate a cake for a gay couple based on religious convictions. That case isn't the same as Mike and Coty's, and it's unclear how SCOTUS would rule.

As for Mike and Coty, they tell us they don't want anything from Jackie and BITB -- just to make it known gay couples aren't welcome at the venue -- and are working to lock down a more inclusive spot.

Hall of Fame wrestler Rikishi says his niece was tragically murdered in a shooting earlier this summer ... and now, he's pleading with the public for help in finding who did it.

Rikishi re-posted a flier Tuesday from the San Francisco Police Department ... which he says spells out the horrific details of his niece's death on July 30.

In the bulletin, cops say they responded to a report of a shooting at around 6:45 PM ... and learned a 45-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl had been shot.

Police say the 45-year-old was treated for her injuries and is expected to survive ... though they say, tragically, the 16-year-old died from her wounds.

Rikishi says the 16-year-old is his niece, Jaedah Tofaeono, and he pleaded with the public to "PLEASE HELP FIND THESE MOTHERF*****S."

"Need your help," Rikishi added. "They murdered my niece In the BAY AREA 16yrs old ... Check it .. Spread the word."

The SFPD says it's offering a $50K reward for "information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible for the murder."

Amy Winehouse's dad believes the production company planning to make a biopic about his late daughter is playing a losing game ... because it's "100 percent not allowed."

Mitch Winehouse, Amy's father and administrator of her estate, tells TMZ ... there's no way the recently announced project with Halcyon Studios can go forward, because the estate already has its own plans for a biopic and owns all the rights.

Mitch says Halcyon -- which is producing the film after it optioned Daphne Barak’s 2010 book, "Saving Amy" -- has not reached out to him, nor has it reached out to her record label, Universal, to use any of her music.

Amy's dad claims Halcyon needs permission from the estate to make a biopic because it controls her image -- and definitely hasn't gotten it -- and that Barak needs to do the same and has also failed.

For her part, Barak says the project is not a biopic, but rather her story with her footage featuring herself with Amy and Bill Gunasti. She claims ... "I have all of the releases and legal agreements needed. Just like the NFTs being marketed on OG2D, this material is also all legally my property to sell."

Mitch certainly seems to disagree, and tells us this isn't the first time something like this has happened -- where people and production companies try to use Amy's image in various projects ... but the estate has denied it.

Meanwhile, Mitch says there's an authorized biopic in the works with a large production company in the UK along with Universal ... with plans to begin filming next year.

As for taking legal action against Halcyon or Barak ... Mitch doesn't think it will get to that point. He says, "They can't be that stupid. Everyone knows proper licenses must be granted."

Britney Spears says her dad is trying to extort her on his way out of the conservatorship and she's not having it.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Britney points out her father's already admitted it's in her best interests for him to step down as her conservator, and she says he's trying to hold her up for more money from her as a condition to leave.

Britney's legal team claims Jamie is asking for around $2 million -- some of which will go to pay his lawyers and her former business manager Tri Star. Britney's lawyer, Matt Rosengart, fired this warning shot in the docs ... "The status quo is no longer tolerable, and Britney Spears will not be extorted."

Britney says Jamie should just resign now instead of slow-playing his exit ... and if he doesn't step down from his post, she says the court should suspend him from the conservatorship on September 29.

TMZ broke the story ... Jamie agreed earlier this month to step down as Britney's conservator, but only after working with the court to ensure an orderly transition.

Britney's saying Jamie's right about the need to leave the conservatorship, but she wants it to happen sooner rather than later.

Bottom line from Britney's lawyers in the docs ... "The world heard Ms. Spears’s courageous and compelling testimony. Britney Spears’s life matters. Her well-being matters. Every day matters. There is no basis to wait."

Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, tells us, "Britney Spears will not be bullied or extorted by her father. Nor does Mr. Spears have the right to try to hold his daughter hostage by setting the terms of his removal. This is not about him, it is about the best interests of his daughter, which as a matter of law, mandate his removal."

He continues, "Even putting aside the legal issues requiring his prompt removal, if he loves his daughter, Mr. Spears should resign now, today, before he is suspended. It would be the correct and decent thing to do."

'Married to Medicine' star Lia Dias just got hit with divorce papers -- and now we've learned there are claims of abuse between her and her husband.

Lia filed for and was granted a temporary restraining order this week -- just days after her hubby, Colin Sr., filed for divorce. Colin has also filed his own TRO.

It’s a messy situation -- in Lia’s docs, obtained by TMZ, she alleges the most recent incident occurred last month ... she claims Colin pushed her to the ground and kicked her.

She lists several other alleged instances of abuse over the course of their 7-year-plus marriage, including times when she claims he punched her, verbally harassed her, threatened her and/or prevented her from leaving.

Lia also claims that since Colin filed for divorce this month, he changed the locks to their house, and she says she hasn't been able to see her kids. Like we said, a judge signed off on her TRO ... saying the kids gotta be with her and away from dad as this gets sorted out.

Colin has a different story. In his docs, he says Lia is "erratic and emotionally abusive" ... claiming she's lashed out at him over the years, including an alleged incident in which he claims she punched him in the gut after abdominal surgery.

He also alleges that while he and the kids were staying at his sister’s house on August 18 ... Lia showed up rolling deep with people in her crew demanding to see her kids, which Colin says made him fear for his safety.

Like we said ... messy, messy, messy.

Kanye West hosting Marilyn Manson at his latest "Donda" event has spurred a reaction from one of the latter's most notable accusers ... Evan Rachel Wood's got a response, in song.

The actress hit the Bourbon Room in Hollywood Saturday night, where she got on stage and did an impromptu performance of the New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" ... with just a guitarist and an iPhone on hand to help out.

It's pretty clear who ERW was dedicating the song to, because her caption alluded to "survivors" who she feels were betrayed this week -- of course, in relation to Manson. Also, as you may know, Manson is name checked in the lyrics ... and when she sang that line (4:40 in the video), Evan threw up a middle finger.

She writes, "For my fellow survivors who got slapped in the face this week. I love you. Don't give up." Evan also said that she'd been saving this cover, and that Saturday felt like an appropriate time to let it rip.

This all comes on the heels of Kanye's third listening show in Chicago this week -- where he not only had Manson come hang out, but DaBaby as well ... both of whom have been embroiled in controversy of late. Manson, however, is another level ... he's been accused of rape and sexual abuse by numerous women -- all of which he's vehemently denied.

Still, it was a bizarre move on Ye's part to bring both of those guys out -- not to mention feature them on one of his tracks. DB and MM are on "Jail, Pt. 2." Some reports say Kanye did it just for shock value and publicity ahead of the release ... which if true, is bonkers.

Speaking of the chaotic upload of "Donda" ... Ye spoke on that just today, saying it was put out by UMG without his final approval. But, he still appears to be firmly in support of "Jail, Pt. 2" being included. For the record ... the song did end up making it on Apple and Spotify.

Well, it finally happened ... "Donda" is out!!!

Kanye finally released his long-awaited album ... this, after multiple listening parties and would-be release dates that came and went.

The album, which has 26 songs, hit Apple Music and Spotify Sunday AM.

The release was not without drama ... in the middle of the night, Kanye posted tweets which seemed to say the most recent hold-up was that DaBaby hadn't signed the necessary releases to clear his verse for the song "Jail." DaBaby is not on the track, instead, Jay-Z appears. You'll recall, Jay recorded his verse hours before the first listening party in Atlanta ... a sign their feud was squashed. It was confusing when DaBaby replaced Jay's verse at the Chicago listening party, but Jay is now back.

The album was initially supposed to be released July 23. That date got moved to August 6. Then it became unclear exactly when the album would hit streaming services. Kanye's manager promised it would be released following last Thursday's listening event at Soldier Field in Chicago ... and that promise was kept.

Ye famously tinkers with his albums even after their release ... e.g., "The Life of Pablo," so the same may happen with "Donda."

As for the songs on the album, it's heavily religious ... "Donda Chant," "Jail," "God Breathed," "Off the Grid," "Hurricane," "Praise God," "Jonah," "Ok Ok," "Junya," "Believe What I Say," "24," "Remote Control," "Moon," "Heaven and Hell," "Donda," "Keep My Spirit Alive," "Jesus Lord," "New Again," "Tell the Vision," "Lord I Need You," "Pure Souls," "Come to Life," "No Child Left Behind," "Ok Ok, Pt. 2," "Junya, Pt. 2," "Jesus Lord, Pt. 2."

Here's what's interesting ... Drake seemed to drop a clue last week his album will drop Friday ... so with the release of "Donda," Drake and Ye will be going head-to-head for #1 bragging rights.

And, the final mystery ... Kim Kardashian. As you know, she wore a wedding dress at the Chicago listening party. TMZ broke the story, the divorce is not a done deal anymore. Kanye and Kim have been seeing each other privately, and they seem to be trying to work things out ... whatever those things are.

Kevin Spacey is back on a film set on American soil for the first time since several sexual assault allegations against him came to light.

The actor -- who was essentially exiled from mainstream Hollywood after the accusations starting coming out in 2017 -- is filming a new movie called "Peter Five Eight" ... and he was shooting scenes this week in Dunsmuir, CA.

Spacey's walking around set dressed in all black ... all smiles and lighting up a cigarette.

Sounds like Spacey's hard at work ... we're told he's been filming in the small NorCal town around the clock.

As we reported ... Spacey booked his first movie role since the scandal erupted, but he had to go all the way to Italy to do it. He filmed "L'uomo che disegno Dio." The movie title translates to "The Man Who Drew God."

Now, Spacey's back on an American film set ... and he looks happy to be there.

Evander Kane is accusing his estranged wife of being a husband beater ... claiming the woman has punched him in the face multiple times in past -- and now, the NHL star has obtained a domestic violence temporary restraining order over it all.

It's all spelled out in court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, which show Kane was granted a TRO earlier this month after he alleged Anna Kane had been violent with him in the past.

Evander says in the docs that the physical altercations first began in 2019 -- about a year after they were married -- saying Anna got so upset with him during an argument that she hit him "7-8 times in the face with her fist."

In Oct. 2020, Evander says Anna again struck him in the face after they had an argument while Anna's mother was visiting.

Less than a year later, in April 2021, Evander says his wife exploded on him again ... after she had gone through his phone.

In the docs, the 30-year-old San Jose Sharks player says Anna "started uncontrollably throwing things at me" ... before she punched and slapped him repeatedly in the head and face.

Evander says in July, there was yet another incident of violence ... claiming when he was trying to get away from Anna after an argument in San Jose, she pushed him and also violently tugged on a bag he had thrown over his shoulder.

During that same incident, Evander also says Anna dangerously swung around their baby daughter.

Evander was ultimately granted a temporary restraining order against Anna ... and is now seeking a permanent one against her. A hearing on that matter is scheduled for next month.

As we previously reported, Anna filed for divorce from Evander back on July 16 ... and accused him of being a deadbeat dad who had bet on his own NHL games.

Carole Baskin's closing the door on Joe Exotic's former zoo for good -- or at least for 100 years -- by selling the property with the stipulation it can't become a zoo again for a century ... and the owners can have nothing to do with 'Tiger King.'

A judge granted Carole's Big Cat Rescue sanctuary control over Joe's former Oklahoma exotic animal park in Wynnewood back in mid-2020 ... to satisfy the $1 million judgment she won against him in their notorious trademark lawsuit.

Carole previously vowed to sell the property on the condition the new owners would not use it as a zoo, and according to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... she did just that.

We got the paperwork showing Big Cat Rescue sold the property formerly known as Joe Exotic's G.W. Zoo for $140k in June to Francisco and Nelly Vazquez.

According to the deed, the Vazquez's are expressly barred from using the land to house exotic animals of any kind -- or as a zoo, wildlife park or menagerie -- for 100 years ... but there's more.

The new owners also can't name any new business on the property after anything related to its 'Tiger King' past ... including Joe Exotic, G.W. Zoo, anything with the word "tiger" or "big cat."

Our photog got Carole and her husband Howard out in Santa Monica where they were promoting a documentary, "The Conservation Game," and they confirmed the sale of the property and even had a suggestion of what it could be used for.

Erika Jayne's estranged husband's legal problems are now an even bigger problem for her -- she's been sued for $25 million by the trustee handling Tom Girardi's law firm's bankruptcy case.

According to the suit ... "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star's accused of knowingly allowing Girardi's firm to pay for her expenses for 12 years, so the trustee now wants her to pay it all back.

The "XXPEN$IVE" singer's company, EJ Global, allegedly used her estranged husband's firm to cover her American Express bill, pay assistants and have a glam squad ... all totaling up to the whopping $25 mil.

The trustee suing Jayne says that even if she claims to have not been aware of Girardi's financial issues, "it would be a miscarriage of justice if [she] was allowed to simply walk completely free of owing over $25,000,000 to the Estate."

The trustee's asking the court to order her to pay it all back to the estate, plus interest ... according to Page Six

As we reported ... Girardi's moved into a senior living facility amid his legal issues, health issues, divorce, being disbarred and being forced to auction off a lot of stuff from his law offices to cover his debts