Fights & Feuds

Chris Cornell's former bandmates are digging in their heels in an escalating legal war against his widow -- and are now wondering where the money she raised from a charity concert really ended up.

Soundgarden is once again responding to Vicky Cornell's lawsuit, filed last year, in which she claims to be the rightful owner of 7 tracks she says she found on Chris' computer after his death.

The band is firing back now, claiming Vicky has been unwilling to provide sufficient information on the proceeds from a tribute concert after Cornell's death.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the surviving band members say they performed for free based on her promise the proceeds would go to charity, but they claim Vicky never explained where all the money went. They say she's only mentioned $643K going to a medical research charity. The band wants a full accounting of where any other revenue was donated.

Vicky posted a statement, saying, "When you attack the foundation, you attack my husband's legacy. The foundation has nothing to do with who owns Chris' vocal recordings. Their knowingly false allegations are a deliberate attempt to harm not just my credibility, but the foundation my husband and I created and everything WE stand for."

Soundgarden wants damages and for the judge to declare once and for all that they are the rightful owners of the unreleased tracks.

Designer Michael Costello's not shedding any tears over this year's canceled Met Gala, because he believes the funds raised at the pricey benefit should be going to charities now.

The former "Project Runway" star tells us there's no love lost between the famous fashion gala and him -- he's never been invited -- and he doesn't understand where all the money from the event goes.

The annual New York City gala's been around since 1948, and since 2005 it's been held the first Monday in May. That would've been tonight, but the coronavirus had a different plan.

Michael says tickets to attend go for $30-50,000 a pop ... something he suggests is both ridiculous and suspect.

He tells us even though he looks forward to what celebs and designers bring to the table every year, he'd never dish out that kind of dough to go ... and believes it should go to helping people in need instead.

That's what Costello's been doing lately. As we told you, he's converted his factory into a mask-producing operation in L.A. to benefit frontline workers.

He says he's still focused on that, and won't even check in on the virtual Met Gala going down Monday night on YouTube.

Vogue's calling it "A Moment with the Met" -- but Michael won't even give it that much time.

Tory Lanez got into it an argument with a woman, and his formerly rumored girlfriend allegedly attacked her before they made a getaway ... according to a police report.

The alleged victim -- who TMZ's learned is model Celina Powell -- claims she was outside the rapper's Miami condo building Friday when he confronted her and tried to grab her phone.

She claims when she tried to walk away, she got blindsided by Kaylin Garcia. Kaylin's been previously linked to Tory ... she's also a supporting cast member on 'Love & Hip Hop' who used to date Joe Budden.

According to the report ... Garcia approached Powell from behind, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and neck, and yanked her to the ground. Powell told cops Garcia tried to kick her too ... but she was able to roll over and get up.

At that point, Garcia allegedly hopped in Lanez' white Bentley and they took off together ... along with the rapper's bodyguard. According to the report, there's surveillance footage of Lanez getting into his ride, but not the altercation.

Powell tells TMZ ... she lives in the same building as Tory but never met him face to face until Friday. She claims he was upset over her contacting him on Instagram and making fun of him about his hairline ... and the 2 have had online beef before, as well.

Powell tells us she blacked out during the assault and when she awoke, she was badly bruised with back and neck pain. She refused medical care at the scene, according to the report, but she claims she was treated at the hospital later for her injuries.

So far, no arrests have been made, and to be clear ... Garcia is the suspect in the incident, not Lanez.

Heather Locklear's ready to make nice. And, the feeling's mutual with cops 2 years after she went on the attack against them.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Heather's recently been working to repair her relationship with law enforcement, starting with simple acts like stopping Sheriff's deputies around town and saying hello. She's also bought a few cops coffee and chatted.

Then there's this ... in recent months we're told the "Spin City" star attended a Ventura County Sheriff's "Tip-A-Cop" event -- where cops serve as waiters at a local restaurant -- for lunch and returned for dinner.

As for the tip ... we're told she left a super impressive $1,500, which went to a Special Olympics charity. That Heather's taken the steps to bridge the gap with law enforcement has not gone unnoticed with cops. It's a stark contrast to what went down beginning in March 2018.

TMZ broke the story ... police hit up her Thousand Oaks home armed with a search warrant to go look for a gun, this after she told cops "If you ever come back to my house I will shoot you" following her felony domestic violence arrest.

But, things really turned for the worse 3 months later. As we first reported ... Heather was busted after allegedly punching a deputy and kicking an EMT. Heather ultimately pled no contest to 8 misdemeanors and was ordered to 30 days in a residential mental health facility.

Just when it seemed Heather was putting the whole episode behind her ... the EMT -- a single mother of 3 -- wound up suing Heather in November 2018 claiming Heather wished death by AIDS on her children. The suit was ultimately dismissed.

We saw Heather out a month after the EMT filed the lawsuit and she couldn't look any better. She was smiling, being chatty with our photog and enjoying time with her family. She looked just as happy out celebrating her daughter Ava's 22nd birthday.

Heather's incredible turnaround, we're told, has cops beaming. Sources tell us they never took her actions personally and understood she needed help. Now that she's gotten it, we're told cops are ecstatic to see her overcome life obstacles ... especially because they know sobriety is no small feat.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's sick of talking -- if Israel Adesanya wants the smoke, "stop being a bitch" and let's scrap.

Tyron and Israel have been going back and forth on social media lately -- but Woodley wants to set the record straight ... he's down to fight, period.

It's actually more respectful than it sounds ... Woodley thinks Israel -- the reigning middleweight champ -- is a dope fighter. He's said so multiple times.

But, Tyron recently said he wants to jump up a weight class from welterweight to middleweight ... which could set up a showdown with Izzy.

Tyron thinks Adesanya took his comments as a threat -- which escalated the trash talk.

Now, Woodley says he senses "a little bitch in the blood" and is basically calling out Izzy.

"If you ever wanna do it, get in touch with me. I'm not hard to find."

There's more ... Tyron also tells us about his immediate fight plans and why he's itching to get back in the Octagon as soon as possible.

Plus, hear why he's saluting Halle Berry!

Isiah Thomas admits he's still "personally hurt" he was not asked to be a part of that legendary '92 Dream Team -- and it's obvious he thinks it's all because he didn't shake Michael Jordan's hand.

Remember, Thomas and his Pistons teammates infamously walked off the court after getting their asses kicked by the '91 Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conf. Finals without shaking hands.

Thomas, now 58, was not only villainized in the media for being a bad sport -- but Michael Jordan took the snub personally. They still don't get along.

The incident was featured in Sunday's new episode of "The Last Dance" ... and Monday morning, Thomas had more to add when he joined ESPN's "Get Up."

"Why I'm personally hurt is another reason why I'm here," Thomas said ... "Because being left off the Dream Team, that personally hurt me."

Thomas says he doesn't know why he was not selected -- but it's obvious he believes it's because he dissed Michael Jordan by not shaking his hand after that '91 series.

Thomas -- one of the best NBA players alive at the time -- says his resume should have made him a lock for the Dream Team, which is why he thinks the non-selection had nothing to do with his talent.

"If I'm not apart of the Dream Team because a lapse in emotion in terms of not shaking someone's hand ... if that's the reason why I didn't make the Dream Team, then I am more disappointed today than I was back then when I wasn't selected."

Thomas -- who had made the NBA All-Star team every year from '82 to '93 -- explained, "The only thing that's missing from my resume is not being on the Dream Team."

The man's got a point -- Thomas was one of the best players in the league at the time ... and had 2 NBA titles and was a 10-time All-Star at the time.

It's something Thomas has stressed for years ... he revealed in 2013 he felt disrespected by the Bulls, but would "absolutely" shake hands if he could do it all over again.

Pro hockey player Akim Aliu is taking the high road with his old coach, Bill Peters ... saying the man deserves his new opportunity to work, despite the racist remarks he made more than 10 years ago.

Remember, Aliu opened up this past November and claimed Peters "dropped the N-bomb several times" toward him during his rookie year with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2008-09 season.

The NHL opened an investigation into the accusations and Peters quickly resigned from his then-gig with the Calgary Flames.

Now, Peters has found new work with the Kontinental Hockey League Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg ... a move that Aliu is surprisingly okay with.

"Only with the past behind us can we focus on the future," Aliu said in a statement.

"Hockey is for all. I believe in second chances for everyone, that we can all find forgiveness in our heart and that real positive change is coming if we continue to push forward together."

"I don’t resent a man for finding work," Aliu said. "But I will fight to make sure those same opportunities are available to everyone, on and off the ice, regardless of race or ethnicity."

It's a powerful statement from Aliu ... who's made it his goal to help minorities feel more welcome in the sport.

As for Peters, he said he's learned from his mistakes, saying, "I think as times goes on, we all grow and improve and become better versions of ourselves."

Ayesha Curry is being sued for more than $10 MILLION by a celebrity branding company which claims they built her into a household name ... only to get stiffed when the money came rolling in!

It's all in legal docs obtained by TMZ Sports ... Robert Flutie -- who runs Flutie Entertainment -- claims he was introduced to Ayesha in late 2014, when her only real foray into entertainment was a cooking blog called "Little Lights of Mine."

In his suit, Flutie claims Ayesha -- who's married to NBA star Steph Curry -- expressed dreams of building herself into a global brand and they signed an agreement to work together in Nov. 2014, 5 years after Steph was drafted by the Golden State Warriors.

Since then, Flutie says his company helped Ayesha realize her vision of becoming "a current and modern-day version of Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray" ... with cookbooks, TV shows and a line of consumer products.

Everything seemed to be going well until May 2019 -- when Ayesha fired Flutie and allegedly tried to cut them out of all profits and ownership equity of things she created during her time as a Flutie client.

Now, Flutie is demanding at least $10 million -- plus a 50% interest in Ayesha's Yardie Girl production company, which handles Ayesha's TV projects.

Flutie also wants his stake in Ayesha's Homemade brand, which includes a website and e-commerce business.

Multiple attempts to reach Curry for comment were unsuccessful.

Rudy Gobert says there was "no fight" with his Jazz teammate, Donovan Mitchell, over their coronavirus diagnoses ... and says the 2 spoke over the weekend to try to iron things out.

"It is true that we didn't speak for a while after this, but we did speak a few days ago," Gobert said Sunday on Instagram Live. "We're both ready to go out there and try to win a championship for this team."

"There's no fight," Gobert added according to ESPN ... "It's all about thousands of people are dying every day, and it's all about what we can do to help, what we can do to bring some positive. That's what my focus is on now."

If you missed it, Mitchell was reportedly so upset at Gobert over the way he didn't take COVID-19 safety precautions seriously before their positive diagnoses ... his friendship with the big man is "unsalvageable."

Gobert admitted on IG Live things haven't exactly been smooth since March ... but says he's working on burying the hatchet.

"You know, everyone has got different relationships -- it's never perfect," Gobert said during an Instagram Live interview Sunday. "People that are married, it's never perfect."

"So, you know, me and my teammate, no, it's far from perfect. But, at the end of the day, we both want the same thing -- and it's winning."

As for Mitchell, he hasn't spoken publicly about his relationship with Rudy since just days after his positive COVID-19 test in March ... saying to "Good Morning America," "to be honest with you, it took a while for me to kind of cool off."

Ronda Rousey is slamming the door shut on a full-time return to WWE -- saying she refuses to dedicate her whole life for some "f*cking ungrateful" fans.

DAAAAAAAAMN RONDA!!!

Ronda hasn't been in the squared circle since WrestleMania 35 back in 2019 -- and many people were wondering if she's EVER coming back?

Now, some answers courtesy of the "Wild Ride with Steve-O" podcast [shout out ProWrestlingSheet] ... where the former "Jackass" star asked her straight up about her career plans.

"I love the WWE," Ronda said ... "I had such a great time. I love all the girls in the locker room."

BUUUUUT ... (of course, there's a "but").

"But, I was doing basically part-time and I was away from home 200 days out of the year. And, when I did get home, I was so sleep deprived cause you just don’t have time to lay down.”

“So it’s just like ... what am I doing it for if I’m not being able to spend my time and energy on my family? But, instead of spending my time and my energy on a bunch of f*cking ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate me?"

And boom goes the dynamite.

"I love performing. I love the girls. I love being out there ... but, at the end of the day, I was just like, ‘F*ck these fans, dude.'"

Ronda continued, "My family loves me and they appreciate me and I want all my energy to go into them. So that was my decision at the end of the day. It’s like, ‘Hey girls. Love what you’re doing. I’m gonna try and take all my momentum and push you guys as far as I can ... fly little birds, fly! I’m going f*cking home!’ And that was basically it."

Future is putting his alleged baby mama on blast -- claiming she's a nobody trying to be a somebody by profiting off his name, and their baby mama drama.

The rapper claims Eliza Seraphin continues to trash talk him with misleading info, while at the same time, using Future's name "to garner the attention of his fans for herself" ... this according to new docs, obtained by TMZ.

Future claims Eliza's plan all along "was to gain attention and direct traffic" to her online boutique store ... by publicly claiming he's the alleged father to her daughter. He also claims Eliza's profiting off his name, because she's now getting nightclub hosting gigs ... as if she were a celebrity.

In the docs, Future alleges she’s also “led a campaign of disparagement against" him to directly promote herself.

As we've reported, Eliza's filed a paternity case against the rapper, and he's sued her for defamation and invasion of privacy -- so there's no love lost between these two.

Eliza's trying to get Future's lawsuit tossed ... but Future's trying to keep it alive by insisting she's lying about him and invading his privacy just to gain clout.

FORMER #1 OVERALL PICK FIGHT!!!!

Jameis Winston is firing back at David Carr after the ex-Houston Texans QB ripped him for a training drill he posted on social media ... with Jameis telling the guy to straight-up piss off!!

If you missed it ... Winston posted footage of himself Thursday dodging a heavy bag that was supposed to simulate pass rushers coming at his head in the pocket.

The training was immediately shaded by Carr, who wrote, "Stop paying your friends to train you. Stop. Get some help."

Carr added, "I’ve been in a lot of collapsing pockets and never once did I have defenders just flying at my head."

Carr ain't kidding ... the 76 times he was sacked back in 2002 is STILL an NFL single-season record -- but Winston clearly didn't care for his opinion nonetheless.

"Hey bro I have nothing but love for you!" Winston said. "Reach out to help or mind your business though."

Jameis continued, "I’ve been working with my personal trainer since I was 14! We built this from the bottom and we’re still building. Treat others how you want to be treated bro! #Lahater #SocialDistancing."

Winston even accompanied his epic clapback with a video of a pass rusher coming straight for his head!!

Geno Smith is firing back at Rex Ryan -- after his old NY Jets coach dissed him on ESPN ... and it's getting nasty.

It all started on "Get Up" on Wednesday morning -- when Ryan was trying to make the argument that he could have been as successful as Bill Belichick had he had a great QB like Tom Brady.

"Let’s give [Belichick] somebody else. Let’s give him Geno Smith. Let’s give him whoever, and let’s see how many Super Bowls he would have won. We saw the answer was zero in Cleveland,” Ryan said.

If it seemed personal, it was! Rex was the head coach of the NY Jets when they drafted Geno in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He spent 4 seasons there before moving on to the NY Giants.

After Rex made his comments, Geno responded on social media -- and even though he never mentioned Rex by name, it's obvious.

"My momma never liked dude he been a snake," Smith said.

"And y’all glorify it. Should’ve got fired after yr1. Truth is we won 8 games after ESPN had us winning two and he got his job back. Somehow I’m caught up in a feud and I’m the scapegoat. Same guy that drafted me. #TheBusiness."

He continued ... "I could easily go on and on about the bs I see but truthfully I’m so happy I don’t even bother. God put me in this position where even my enemies gotta mention my name. So I just sit back and watch the show!"

"Where I’m from if a man talk about another man while that man isn’t present, a man don’t listen!"

Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager ain't happy with Conor McGregor -- blasting him as a coronavirus hypocrite and a "jealous prostitute" after the Irishman criticized Khabib.

"It’s crazy because this guy has been telling people to stay home, don’t come outside, he’s donating millions of dollars, which now we know this sh*t is all fake," Ali Abdelaziz tells us.

Remember, Conor -- who made that emotional plea to Ireland to shelter in place -- accused Khabib of "chickening out" of his April 18 fight against Tony Ferguson.

"Khabib scurried out of the U.S. to home, and amid the crisis," McGregor said.

Well, that didn't sit well with Ali ... who WENT OFF on Conor to TMZ Sports.

"You’re telling everybody to stay home, now Khabib -- the government of Russia says he can’t travel, you’re going to call him a chicken?! [Conor] doesn’t matter."

He continued, "[Conor is not] #1, he’s not #2, he’s not #3. It’s Khabib, Justin, Tony. [Conor is] #4. He’s not even in the conversation right now. He’s just like a jealous prostitute, she’s got too old for her to make money."

Ali also issued this message to McGregor -- "Why don’t you even jump on a plane and come fight Tony Ferguson? I bet he understands that Tony Ferguson would beat his ass too. All those 3 guys would beat his ass. Justin, Tony and Khabib.”

There's more ... Ali also reps Justin Gaethje, who will be fighting Tony Ferguson instead of Khabib at UFC 249 and he told us how that deal came together "within an hour."

As for fighter safety, Ali says Justin and Tony -- and everyone involved UFC 249 -- is in good hands with the UFC.

"UFC for the last 20 years they set a standard about testing medical procedures. There’s never been a death or a serious injury to happen in the UFC."