Gossip / Rumors

The man convicted of shooting and killing ex-NFL star Will Smith is now suing Smith's widow in civil court -- claiming it was Will who triggered the violence that fateful night and ruined his life.

Cardell Hayes is suing Racquel Smith, the estate of Will Smith and others over the events from April 9, 2016 ... when Hayes shot Smith in New Orleans following a road rage incident.

In the suit, Hayes says Smith was very drunk when he began dangerously taunting him on the road that night ... culminating in Hayes slamming his car into Smith's vehicle.

Hayes says Smith threw a drink in his face and punched him while one of Smith's associates tried to club him with a weapon.

Hayes says Smith went back to his car, grabbed a gun and shot at him multiple times.

Cops say they found a loaded gun in Smith's car that night -- but prosecutors had said there's no evidence he ever fired it during the altercation.

Hayes was eventually convicted of manslaughter and could face up to 40 years in prison. Sentencing is set for later this month.

Meantime, Hayes is suing the Smiths in civil court for the assault, severe emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and more.

Blake Shelton has reached a settlement with In Touch in his lawsuit over its cover story which labeled him a drunk who was going to rehab.

According to docs filed Thursday, Blake and the magazine are asking the court to dismiss the defamation lawsuit he filed in 2015. The mag ran a cover story in September 2015 declaring the country star had hit "rock bottom" and was drinking vodka before noon.

Great news for Sacramento Kings star Rudy Gay -- his recovery from a torn Achilles injury is going GREAT ... with Gay telling us he's 1 MONTH ahead of schedule!

As we previously reported, Rudy ruptured his tendon in a game against the Pacers on January 18 and underwent surgery a few days later.

Obviously, the Kings' season is over and Gay won't be in the NBA playoffs -- HOWEVER, he could choose to become a free agent on July 1st and sign a fat new longterm contract with another team.

So, when Gay says he's feeling great and should start running soon -- he's really probably talking to other teams ... letting everyone know he'll be healthy and worth every penny!!!

Boosie Badazz' $1 million jewelry stash was never jacked by cops -- it was just impounded and nobody bothered coming by to pick it up ... according to a Biloxi city officials.

Public Affairs Manager Vincent Creel tells TMZ ... cops found a suitcase full of gold jewelry and a stolen gun in the van they pulled over in connection with the scuffle between mall security and Boosie's crew on Sunday. We're told cops gave instructions on how to get all the property back ... but nobody followed them.

Boosie's crew says they were pepper sprayed by security and arrested by police after the mall incident, and the rapper was beyond pissed, claiming police stole his ice. Creel says that's untrue ... in fact, someone has claimed the van and jewelry.

Biloxi officials tell us they take offense to those challenging their "professionalism and integrity."

Also ... we're told the stolen gun has yet to be claimed.

Boosie's got another take on the whole situation, though ... claiming the jewelry only happened to show up once he and his lawyers put heat on the police.

IT'S TRUE ... apparently!

WWE superstars Dean Ambrose and Renee Young tied the knot in real life ... so says Renee!

Rumors had been swirling ever since fans noticed the wrestlers were each sporting rings on their wedding fingers ... even though they never referenced the jewelry on TV.

But Wednesday morning, Young seemingly put the whole thing to bed saying, "Marriage is nice. Thanks for all the love."

The two have been dating in real life for roughly 3 years.

So ... MAZEL!!

Michael Bisping says there are two little things holding up his superfight with Georges St-Pierre ... GSP's testicles.

The reigning UFC middleweight champ tells TMZ Sports he's ready to fight Georges RIGHT NOW -- but St-Pierre is holding up the process.

"I think he's waiting for his balls to grow," Bisping said ... "I think he's doing some bicep curls, taking some protein shakes and then when he's big enough, then maybe we can do the fight."

Meantime, Bisping's now in Thailand to shoot the action movie "Triple Threat" with Michael Jai White and Tony Jaa.

Anyone who thought Ludacris was trying to pull a fast one with some super obvious CGI abs in his new video just doesn't know him very well ... according to Luda himself.

We got the rapper Monday night leaving Catch, and our camera guy asks what basically everyone was thinking yesterday when his "Vitamin D" vid dropped ... what's up with those fake ass abs, though?

Ludacris ends the speculation with a reminder of another famous music video he did where he rocked some enhanced body parts. Get back to us when it clicks.

Karrueche Tran is taking some much needed alone time away from her Chris Brown drama ... and she's doing it with Quavo from Migos.

Quavo was performing with his crew and a bunch of other rappers Saturday night at Gulf Coast Spring Fest in Biloxi, Mississippi, where we're told Karrueche watched from backstage.

After the show, Quavo and co. left the stage to make their way toward the exit with Karrueche in tow. Eyewitnesses tell us Quavo gave her a hug before they rode off together in the same whip ... by themselves.

Looks like Karrueche's CB courtroom battle has her feeling a little bad and boujee.

There's a 60% chance Tony Romo will play in the NFL again ... so says one of his 2016 Dallas Cowboys teammates.

We spoke with safety Barry Church -- who played with Romo for years before signing a new deal with the Jaguars this off-season.

Sylvester Stallone made a huge point Friday night, shooting down rumors he's out of the "Expendables" game.

We got Sly coming out of Craig's and asked if he's open to doing "Expendables 4" and he jumped on the question, sounding like he's down with it.

We got some other actors from the "Expendables" franchise earlier this week -- including Wesley Snipes and Dolph Lundgren, both of whom said they wouldn't do 4 without Sly.

Steve Perry hasn't performed with Journey since 1991 but he'll be greeted with open arms Friday night as the band is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Members of Journey have confirmed Perry will indeed be onstage at the induction ceremony in Brooklyn, but were mum on whether he'd sing with the group.

Perry ditched the band in 1987 on the coattails of a double platinum album ... they were arguably at their peak. He reunited shortly with the band in 1991 for the all-star tribute to legendary music promoter Bill Graham and performed just a few songs.

Since then, Perry's had his own solo career while remaining living members have continued to tour under the name Journey.

Members of Journey have said they're open to Perry performing a song or 2 with the band, but seems it's in Perry's corner.

Lena Dunham is not pregnant, certainly by recent appearances, despite her character on "Girls" showing her super preggo.

We got this pic of Lena walking an L.A. street Thursday, and if anything she looks like she dropped a lot of weight.

She said recently she doesn't feel like she can win ... she's shamed when she loses weight and shamed when she doesn't.

How do NFL players feel about Marshawn Lynch possibly coming back to the league? If Jaguars star Marcedes Lewis' reaction is any indication they are freakin' STOKED!

We got Lewis out at Warwick in L.A. and asked his thoughts on Marshawn's rumored return -- it's been reported he met with the Raiders recently -- and he made it clear ... he's all for it.

In fact, Lewis says he thinks Lynch could play for just about any NFL team he wants, and thinks it's actually a better league with Beast Mode pushing that rock down the field.

Suge Knight's ex-wife says the bombshell theory she murdered Tupac Shakur is a lie that makes ZERO sense because he was the meal ticket for her husband's record label.

Sharitha Golden tells TMZ she's heard the allegation for years -- that she plotted with Death Row Records staffer Reggie White Jr. to take out Suge that fateful night in Vegas ... and Tupac was killed in the crossfire. It's now widespread due to its inclusion in a new Tupac documentary.

Sharitha says the hardest part is how it's affecting her children, one of whom is Suge's daughter.

Suge's attorney tells us the info purported in the documentary is untrue. Sharitha's so angry about it, she says a lawsuit could be on the horizon.

Marshawn Lynch already has some strong allies on the Oakland Raiders -- including the team's best lineman, Donald Penn, who tells TMZ Sports he's all about bringing Beast Mode to the squad.

"I hope the Raiders do get Marshawn," Penn told us Tuesday night in L.A. ... "That's my dog!"

David Spade's addressing those hot pics of him and Naya Rivera with his take on the old saying ... don't believe your lying eyes.

David was leaving Craig's Tuesday night, and the question everyone was asking him -- "Where's Naya?" Makes sense ... after the world saw him getting really cozy last week with Naya in their hotel pool in Hawaii.

He tried his best to blow it off, but we know Spade's Casanova history ... so, nice try, Dave.

We ain't buyin' it.