Fairly Legal

Lori Loughlin and her lawyers are continuing their attack on prosecutors by lambasting them and their star witness for blabbing to the media after the judge ordered them to put a cork in it.

Lori's lawyers filed new legal docs Friday, including a letter to the judge, which notes Hizzoner laid down the law Thursday during a court hearing, ordering all parties not to try the case in the media.

Lori's lawyers point to interviews the attorney for Rick Singer gave to the L.A. Times and the Wall Street Journal, in which the lawyer says the government "never pressured his client to say anything untruthful."

There are several problems with the interviews. First, the judge said not to do them. Second, the statement flies in the face of what Singer wrote in black and white ... at the time he said he was getting pressured by the government to lie in the case.

TMZ broke the story, Singer wrote, "Loud and abrasive calls with agents. They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where there [sic] money was going -- to the program, not to the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment."

In other words, Singer wrote the FBI agents wanted him to lie and say the money the parents paid were bribes and not donations, and when he balked they screamed at him.

Now, Singer's lawyer is giving interviews saying the government never pressured Singer to lie. Thing is ... Singer wrote his notes on the heels of his conversations with the FBI -- and a year later he says something different.

Harvey Weinstein is as happy as can be -- despite the looming possibility of nearly 30 years in prison -- but prison officials need not worry he'll kill himself ... according to his attorney.

Arthur Aidala, one of Weinstein's lawyers for the NYC criminal case, was leaving Michael's Thursday in NYC when we asked about his client's state of mind. Weinstein remains under police guard in a Bellevue Hospital room reserved for prisoners, and Aidala says he's in good spirits.

He told us Weinstein is focused on issues regarding his plan to appeal the guilty verdicts. The disgraced movie mogul also offered a review of the treatment he's been getting from Dept. of Corrections staffers.

As we reported, NY prison officials are worried Weinstein's eventual prison stay will go the way of Jeffrey Epstein, but Aidala says he does NOT share those concerns.

In his words, there's no comparison between the two, because unlike Epstein, Weinstein "has everything to live for." Watch the clip ... he's convinced there are at least TWO major reasons Weinstein would never take his own life behind bars.

Tyler Perry is not convinced his nephew hanged himself in prison, and he's hired a famous medical examiner to determine if he committed suicide or if he was killed in his cell.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyler's nephew, 26-year-old Gavin Porter, was serving 20 years for shooting and killing his dad in front of his mom -- who's Tyler's sister. He was found Tuesday night hanging in his cell from a bedsheet.

One of the reasons Tyler is suspicious ... Gavin got into a fight with another inmate last weekend and was placed in solitary.

Tyler tells TMZ, "Call me naive, but it was my hope that after serving his time, and really reflecting and showing much remorse and asking God for forgiveness, that he would have been able to come to work for me, joining all the other former inmates who work for me and turn his life around just as they have. But that day will never come."

Tyler says he's hired Dr. Michael Baden, a famed pathologist who has been involved in numerous cases, including JFK, O.J. and Jeffrey Epstein. Dr. Baden will perform a second autopsy.

Skai Jackson seems to be taking Bhad Bhabie's death threat seriously ... because she just filed for a restraining order against the rapper.

Bhad Bhabie went on IG this week to call out 17-year-old actress Skai Jackson, whom she's recently started beefing with. The latest salvo ... an apparent death threat, with BB -- AKA Danielle Bregoli -- saying, "Bitch, I'll kill you! I'll really kill you!"

The reason ... BB's mad Skai allegedly made a fake account to talk s**t about Danielle recently being seen hanging out with rapper NBA YoungBoy -- a guy Bhabie seems to think Skai's pretty into herself. As Bhad Bhabie claims in her own words, Skai's moving "sneaky" online.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Skai filed in L.A. on Thursday. Earlier this week on Twitter she seemingly responded to all the drama with a long list of her own accomplishments.

By the end of the post, she writes ... "No time 4 negatives!"

It's unclear if the judge has approved the order.

We reached out to Bregoli's reps who had no comment on the situation with Skai, but say Danielle's focus is on her album.

The FBI told the ringleader in the college admissions scandal to lie and say his clients knew he was bribing college officials, and when he wouldn't play ball they yelled at him ... this according to Rick Singer himself.

It's a stunning, possible game-changing development in the case. One of the parents who's being prosecuted -- Elisabeth Kimmel -- filed legal docs Wednesday claiming the government just belatedly produced notes from Singer's iPhone.

Singer writes, "Loud and abrasive call with agents. They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where there [sic] money was going -- to the program, not the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment."

In other words, Singer says he told his clients the money they were paying was a donation to the school, not a bribe to a coach.

Singer's notes have implications that go far beyond Elisabeth Kimmel. Fact is ... Lori Loughlin and other parents will benefit from the new revelation because it goes to the heart of the government's case -- namely, where the parents thought the money was going. If they thought it was going to the school, prosecutors may have had the rug pulled out from under them.

As we reported, Lori and other defendants have complained prosecutors have been withholding key evidence that tends to show the parents did not commit a crime. This new piece of evidence may be the smoking gun ... made all the more powerful by the fact the government didn't disclose it in a timely fashion ... not even close.

John Singleton's youngest child son is growing up so fast ... little Seven is about to start preschool in Bev Hills, and the late director's baby mama wants his estate to cough up the tuition.

Rayvon Jones has filed a petition asking Singleton's estate to give her a monthly allowance of $1,078 to cover Seven's expenses. The money would cover things like the kid's clothing, groceries, gas, and phone costs ... according to the docs. The phone cost might seem weird -- Seven is only one year old, but that's an L.A. one.

In docs, Jones also requests a one-time payment of $2,450 to cover Seven's preschool registration fee to a popular Beverly Hills school. Jones, who says she used to live with Singleton and stayed home to take care of the kid, says she'll begin looking for a job to support their son once he starts preschool.

Antonio Brown just posted an email showing his legal team was thiiis close to closing a $2.7 million settlement with his sexual assault accuser in 2019, but the deal ultimately fell through.

TMZ Sports has confirmed the email -- dated August 30, 2019 -- is real. And we're also told the case in question is the lawsuit filed by Brown's former personal trainer Britney Taylor.

As we previously reported, Taylor filed her lawsuit on Sept. 11, 2019 -- claiming Brown sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, including a violent rape in 2018.

But in the days before Taylor filed, Brown's attorneys were working on striking a private settlement deal with the accuser to keep her from going public with her allegations.

In the email from Brown's attorney Bruce Zimet to AB, the lawyer explains, "Just got a call from Mediator that she accepts $2.7 million. Am awaiting written confirmation."

Sources connected to the case tell us something went sideways before the deal could be closed and Brown did NOT end up writing that check.

ESPN has previously reported that it was Brown who personally blew up the deal. Though details surrounding his decision remain murky.

Harvey Weinstein's got prison officials in NYC thinking twice about how to deal with him behind bars -- because their biggest fear is another Jeffrey Epstein-like suicide.

High-ranking officials at NYC's Department of Corrections tell TMZ ... there's anxiety running through the ranks about another "Epstein Incident" and the scrutiny that would follow if HW offed himself on their watch, which is why an action plan is in place.

For starters, we're told one possibility is that Weinstein will be housed in a private section of Rikers Island's North Infirmary Command, which is for high-profile inmates or guys with health issues -- Harvey fits both. He could land in the "ANNEX," with the other dudes falling apart.

Once he's there and all checked in, our sources say HW will probably get his own cell with round-the-clock surveillance cameras watching his every move. And, when he's out walking around, we're told he'll have DOC officials escorting him. There's a reason for that.

You'll recall ... Epstein's death was put under a magnifying glass when he hanged himself in his cell, while guards were supposed to be checking in periodically. That whole thing's still being investigated right now, but in any case ... officials don't want that with Harvey.

In fact, we're being told people at NYC's DOC don't even want Harvey as a prisoner -- we're told he's seen as a huge risk, and there are talks of trying to ship him elsewhere.

In the meantime, though, we're told Weinstein's milking his stay at the Bellevue Hospital he was taken to this week after complaints of chest pains. Sources tell us he's got his own room there, and that the conditions are much nicer than what's waiting for him at Rikers.

Of course, if they can't get the guy off their hands ... DOC might have to look after HW for the next several years. He's facing a minimum sentence of at least 5 years after Monday's conviction.

Jussie Smollett says the truth will set him free -- literally -- as he ramps up for a second round of fighting criminal charges in Chicago.

The ex-"Empire" star was leaving LAX Tuesday when a photog ran into him and asked to see how he's holding up. His lawyer says he's a tough cookie, but Jussie laughs it off -- it's pretty clear he's going through it, and seems to think at least that much should be obvious.

Of course ... we're talking about Jussie getting re-charged for allegedly lying to cops about the hate crime he claims was perpetrated against him by MAGA-hat wearing thugs -- this after the State Attorney's Office dropped the original 16 charges against him almost a year ago.

He's pled not guilty again, and his legal team has filed a motion for the case to be dismissed over double jeopardy -- which basically means you can't prosecute someone over the same offenses twice. Jussie and his lawyer talk about that, plus other possible defenses.

The photog asks point-blank ... which is it gonna be, JS -- telling 'em you didn't do it, or hope double jeopardy saves ya? Watch ... Jussie says there's only one thing he can count on.

Another parent involved in the college admissions bribery scandal is going to be locked up for a while ... this time it's an heiress to the Hot Pockets fortune, who pled guilty to trying to cheat her daughters' way in.

Michelle Janavs was just sentenced to 5 months in prison for paying $100,000 to the scheme's mastermind, Rick Singer, to help her 2 daughters cheat on college entrance exams ... and agreeing to pay another $200k for one of her daughter's to be set up to look like a beach volleyball recruit to get admitted to USC.

Before hearing her sentence, the judge made it clear Janavs had caused harm to the U.S. system of higher education ... and prosecutors blasted her, claiming she held an "attitude that she is untouchable" and "no one could stop her." Her lawyers asked for no jail time, but the judge wasn't buying it.

Prosecutors didn't get nearly what they wanted ...  they recommended 21 months, calling her one of the "most culpable parents" charged in the case who refused to accept responsibility for her actions until months after she was busted. Unlike other parents who pled guilty right away, she was also hit with a money-laundering conspiracy charge.

Her defense team went to bat for her, though, arguing for more than 45 minutes that she's a "generous and selfless" person who's "the rock of her family." It also mentioned a time she dressed up as "The Candy Monster" while visiting kids to talk about childhood hunger.

Janavs' lawyers had previously suggested she's just a loving and devoted mother who fell victim to Singer ... and pointed to her history of philanthropy and devotion to her family in urging the judge to not send her to prison.

In the end, however ... it didn't work.

The Hot Pockets heiress now joins several other parents to receive time behind bars in the scandal, including Felicity Huffman ... who got 14 days in her deal. Others have received sentences ranging from probation to 9 months behind bars.

Kobe and Gigi Bryant's family along with those of the 6 other passengers on the doomed aircraft ... may all end up suing Island Express -- which owned the helicopter -- but aviation attorneys tell us there won't be enough money to go around.

Sources familiar with Island Express tell TMZ, the company had liability insurance coverage totaling $50 million. Our sources say that's not an unusual figure, but given the number of people Island Express transports on a single helicopter and the fact rich celebrities used the service ... the number is low.

Our sources say a more appropriate amount of coverage for the company would have been closer to $100 million. As we reported, Kylie Jenner -- a 22-year-old billionaire -- also recently took the same Island Express helicopter that crashed.

Vanessa Bryant is asking for both compensatory and punitive damages. In terms of compensatory damages, Kobe's family alone might be entitled to hundreds of millions of dollars because his earning potential was enormous. On top of that, punitive damages could take a judgement into the stratosphere.

And, remember, other passengers left behind spouses, children, and promising professions, and they'd be entitled to untold millions as well.

The question ... with hundreds of millions of dollars in possible payouts, who gets what out of a $50 million pot? Fact is, judges have a tremendous amount of discretion in the decision how to distribute insurance proceeds in such cases.

So far, Vanessa Bryant is the only family member who has sued, but our sources say some of the other family members have already lawyered up. More lawsuits are certain to come.

Jamie Foxx says "Just Mercy" -- the movie he stars in with Michael B. Jordan -- is more than just a movie ... because it's inspiring some real-world change for the better.

We got the actor -- who plays wrongly condemned death row inmate Walter McMillian in the film -- outside Mr Chow Monday night in Bev Hills. He tells us since the movie -- which is based on a true story -- came out, 100 lawyers have gone to Alabama to work pro bono to save people from death row.

Jamie says it's no coincidence, they're following in the footsteps of the film's hero, Bryan Stevenson -- a lawyer and social justice activist, played by MBJ in "Just Mercy." Foxx says the role speaks volumes about Jordan's commitment to elevating black culture.

As Jamie puts it ... Michael B. Jordan can do any movie he wants, but he chooses ones that speak to his people and shine a light on important issues.

Foxx says there's still a lot of work to be done and, despite criticism, it's still important to do "the slave movie." Watch and let him explain.

Vanessa Bryant has just sued the company that owned the doomed helicopter that crashed, killing Kobe, Gigi and 7 others ... claiming the aircraft should never have been placed in the peril it was in before the Jan. 26 accident.

The lawsuit alleges Island Express was only allowed to fly under visual flight rules, and the conditions the day of the crash were not conducive for such flying. As we reported, the fog was extremely low and the pilot was in blinding conditions before the mishap.

The lawsuit also says the pilot was going 180 miles per hour in the heavy fog in a steep decline in the moments before it crashed in Calabasas, CA.

The lawsuit claims the pilot failed to properly monitor and assess the weather prior to takeoff, failed to obtain proper weather data prior to the flight, failed to abort the flight when he knew of the cloudy condition, failed to maintain control of the helicopter and failed to avoid "natural obstacles" in the flight path.

The suit says Island Express engaged in unnecessary and needlessly risky means of transportation under the circumstances.

The suit also asks for damages for "pre-impact" terror -- damages for the emotional trauma Kobe and Gigi suffered as the pilot struggled to get out of the clouds before the crash.

The lawsuit also says the pilot, Ara George Zobayan, was disciplined in 2015 for violating the visual flight rule minimums by flying into an airspace of reduced visibility.

The lawsuit also claims the helicopter was not safe, although it doesn't say what was unsafe. It could be the basis for the claim is that the helicopter was not certified to fly in bad weather.

The lawsuit does not list an amount of damages sought, but Vanessa is asking for punitive damages, claiming the pilot and Island Express were reckless, and the damages could be untold millions.

The suit seeks damages for loss of love, affection, care, society, service, comfort, support, right to support, companionship, solace or moral support and expectations of future support and counseling. The suit also seeks money for loss of financial support and for burial and funeral expenses.

The Weekend and Kendrick Lamar might want people to say some prayers for them ... they're being sued for allegedly jacking music for their hit song, "Pray for Me."

A Brooklyn-based rock band called Yeasayer claims the duo lifted material from its 2007 song, "Sunrise," slightly altered it ... and inserted it into their 'Pray' single, which was featured on the "Black Panther" soundtrack.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the part allegedly stolen from "Sunrise" is a "distinctive choral performance" the band recorded using their own voices. Yeasayer describes it as "comprised of male voices singing in their highest registers, with animated, pulsing vibrato."

The band claims Weeknd and Kendrick slightly modified a recording of its song with "intent to conceal the infringement" ... and used it in "Pray for Me" up to 8 different times throughout the track.

Yeasayer claims the allegedly stolen material is "immediately recognizable" as theirs. The band is asking for all the "Pray for Me" profits and damages. It also wants an injunction blocking further sales and airplay of 'Pray.'

Harvey Weinstein is guilty of 2 of the 5 charges he faced in his NYC criminal trial -- but he was found not guilty on the charges that could have put him in prison for life.

The jury found Weinstein guilty of 1st-degree criminal sexual act and 3rd-degree rape. He could get up to 25 years in prison just for the criminal sexual act. However, the jury found him not guilty on 2 counts of predatory sexual assault charges. Those carried a possible life sentence. He was also acquitted of 1st-degree rape.

A jury of 12 people -- 7 men and 5 women -- finally reached their verdict after 5 days and about 22 hours of deliberations. This comes after an interesting turn on Friday ... when the jurors sent a note to the judge asking if they could be hung on 2 counts of predatory sexual assault and unanimous on the others.

The judge told them to go back deliberations, and they worked it out by Monday morning.

As we reported ... Weinstein pled not guilty to 5 felony charges relating to sexual misconduct. The charges were based on the accounts of 2 women ... Miriam Haley, a TV and film production assistant who worked on "Project Runway," and former actress Jessica Mann.

The prosecution rested its case 2 weeks ago after 12 days of witness testimony. In total, 6 women testified against Weinstein, including Haley and Mann. Last Tuesday marked the start of jury deliberations.

As we reported ... Mann testified under oath that Weinstein began manipulating her as soon as he met her, allegedly forcing himself on her multiple times and raping her at a hotel in Manhattan.

Weinstein's defense argued he had a consensual relationship with Mann lasting for years after the alleged sexual assault. He maintained all sexual conduct was consensual.

During closing arguments, Weinstein's lawyer, Donna Rotunno, ripped into the prosecution, saying prosecutors, "created a universe that strips adult women of common sense, autonomy and responsibility," arguing Weinstein's accusers acquiesced to sex because they thought it would advance their careers.

However, Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon countered in her closing argument, saying Weinstein's accusers “were merely ants that he could step on without consequences.”

The disgraced Hollywood mogul felt he couldn't get a fair trial in New York, claiming the jury pool was tainted ... but the case proceeded.

Jussie Smollett is back in a Chicago courtroom, and you've gotta see the ruckus his arrival created outside ... as his supporters made sure they were heard.

Jussie was flanked Monday morning by an entourage of about 10 people -- some of them family members -- as he made his way into his arraignment on 6 new felony counts of lying to cops. At least one photog went down in a heap at Jussie's feet while he tried to get into the courthouse.

In the video, you can hear Jussie's backers chanting, "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!!!"

We're expecting the ex-"Empire" star to enter not guilty pleas to all 6 charges in the new indictment, which calls the 6 charges "disorderly conduct," but all involve allegations of lying to cops.

Interestingly, Abel and Ola Osundairo also showed up at court this morning. There's no reason for them to be at his arraignment -- we know they'll be testifying against Jussie, but that's weeks down the road.

As we reported ... the special prosecutor, Dan Webb, said Jussie "planned and participated in a staged hate crime attack, and thereafter made numerous false statements to Chicago Police Dept. officers."

You'll recall, Jussie claimed he was attacked in Chicago by 2 white men ... alleging the men put a rope around his neck and doused him with bleach. He claimed they also yelled racial and homophobic slurs. As the investigation unfolded, 2 black men -- brothers Abel and Ola Osundario -- were detained and they told police Jussie paid them to stage the attack.

The special prosecutor effectively re-opened the controversial case nearly a year after Cook County prosecutors dropped all 16 felony counts against Smollett in March 2019. At the time, they called it a "just disposition and appropriate resolution," but not an exoneration.

Jussie's attorney, Tina Glandian, questioned the timing of the indictment. State Attorney Kim Foxx also questioned the timing. Jussie maintains he's innocent. If convicted, he faces up to 3 years in state prison.