Legal

Ariana Grande said thank u, but no thank u to Forever 21 when they pitched her an endorsement deal, but the clothing store went and launched a ripoff Ariana ad campaign anyway ... according to a new suit.

The singer alleges Forever 21 and her team were in talks for a deal in December 2018 into January, but the company wouldn't pony up enough dough to use her name and likeness.

Instead, Forever 21 allegedly stole it from Grande for a campaign across their website and social media ... and also hired a look-alike model to make it seem even more like the real deal.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, F21 published at least 30 unauthorized images and videos misappropriating Ariana's name and likeness, and did so by piggybacking off of the huge success of her "Thank U, Next" album.

Grande claims the company stole imagery from her album to create a false perception Ariana was backing the Forever 21 brand. The suit alleges F21's look-alike model also reenacted scenes and shots from the album's singles and music videos ... specifically "7 Rings."

The store Riley Rose, which was launched by the daughters of Forever 21's founders, was also allegedly involved in the ripoff campaign.

Michael Holston, the internet sensation famously known as The Real Tarzann, is being sued over a prickly little critter ... a woman claims he's got her pet porcupine locked in a cage and won't fork it over!!!

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Corinne Oltz, the operator of Wild Animal World in Florida, claims a prehensile-tailed porcupine named Pickles went missing from her operation last year and ended up in Holston's care ... and she says he's refusing to return her exotic pet.

Oltz claims the animal disappeared back in December, and this May she was notified of Pickles' whereabouts ... a cage on property in Miami, where Tarzann is the primary caretaker.

In the docs, Oltz claims she's made several attempts to bring home Pickles ... but says Tarzann, who fancies himself an animal educator to his 500k YouTube subscribers, is giving her the cold shoulder.

Oltz claims Tarzann is NOT Pickles' owner -- she claims she is -- so she's suing Holston and the owner of the property for $5,000 ... what she says Pickles is worth.

We reached out to The Real Tarzann ... and we're on pins and needles awaiting a response.

Andy Richter and his actress wife are a done deal ... officially ... he just filed for divorce.

Andy filed for divorce from Sarah Thyre Thursday ... according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Best known as Conan O'Brien's sidekick on all three of his late night shows, Andy got hitched to Sarah way back in the day in 1996 ... and the former couple had two kids together, an 18-year-old son, William, and a 13-year-old daughter, Mercy.

Andy and Sarah called it quits earlier this year in April after over two decades of marriage ... with Andy saying their "marriage has reached its completion."

The split was pretty amicable ... Andy and Sarah said they would "always maintain a loving friendship and parenting partnership."

Andy and Sarah first met in 1991, during the production of "The Real Live Brady Bunch" ... and over the years they both appeared alongside one another on Comedy Central's "Upright Citizens Brigade" as well as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Story developing ... 

Nipsey Hussle's daughter, Emani, will find out who gets permanent custody of her in less than 2 months -- but for now she's reaping the benefits of grief counseling sessions with her mother.

10-year-old Emani's mom, Tanisha Foster, was in an L.A courtroom Thursday -- along with reps for Lauren London and Nipsey's brother, Sam Asghedom. Much of the hearing was closed to the public, but according to docs filed by Tanisha's attorney ... Emani's monitored visits with her mother have been going well.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Tanisha's attorney says mother and daughter have been meeting with a grief counselor, and are "making excellent progress and are both benefiting" from the sessions.

That being said, Tanisha did have one gripe -- informing the court that Emani was dropped off more than 2 hours late for a scheduled visit last week. Tanisha says the only explanation she got was bad traffic.

Nipsey's family and Tanisha have been locked in a bitter custody war over Emani ever since Nipsey's murder on March 31. His family has said Tanisha is unfit, but Tanisha continues to fight back.

A legless Juggalo -- one of the devoted fans of the hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse -- took a wasted joyride on a golf cart and plowed into a guy ... according to a new suit.

A man claiming he attended the 20th Annual Gathering of the Juggalos at a park in Indiana this summer is suing Ninjas in Action -- the company that ran the event -- for negligence leading to his injuries. For the record, the plaintiff is NOT a Juggalo, he was there shooting a documentary.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the Juggalos' gathering was supposed to have a rule prohibiting golf carts, four wheelers or motorized vehicles, but it was not being enforced.

The man claims around 1 AM on August 3, he was riding a motorized bike around the park when he saw a golf cart with its lights off barreling down a hill toward him. He claims he pulled over and hopped off his bike, but the cart's driver -- Alexander "Less Legs" Perkins -- lost control and smashed into him.

The plaintiff's attorney, Brandon Smith of Morgan & Morgan, alleges Perkins -- a well-known Juggalo -- was operating the golf cart pedals with a baseball bat ... due to the fact that Less Legs is missing both his legs. The man also claims Perkins was under the influence of drugs and/or booze.

Perkins claims it's all BS. He tells TMZ ... he had permission to use the cart because of his disability, and the alleged victim -- who he says was riding a motorized bike without permission -- actually ran into him. He admits he was using a bat to operate the pedals, but adds ... he was stone-cold sober.

Less Legs also claims the guy was going the wrong way on a one-way road and slammed into the front of his cart. He claims he was ejected from the cart and sustained injuries, as well.

The alleged victim says he suffered serious and permanent bodily injury, and wants money to cover past and future medical bills. He's suing the Indiana park along with Ninjas in Action, but not Perkins.

Judge Mathis' altercation with a valet just got a spittle more interesting -- the man claiming he was spat upon by the judge believes DNA will crack the case.

Mathis strongly denies spitting on the valet, who kept the TV judge waiting -- he says for 40 minutes as the valet ran errands with the Judge's Rolls Royce keys in his pocket -- but the valet's lawyer, Karri Mitchell, tells us the loogies are going to the lab.

Mitchell claims Mathis didn't just spit in his client's face -- he also launched some saliva on the valet's shirt with separate spit. Even worse, the lawyer alleges Mathis walked over to some people nearby and bragged about what he had just done.

The lawyer says there are at least 2 witnesses who can back up the valet's story. The valet filed a police report for assault and Detroit detectives are investigating.

The L.A. school funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation just got sued for the second time in less than a month over bullying ... this time by the family of a 14-year-old girl who allegedly said she planned to kill herself because of the constant torment.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the girl was subjected to vicious bullying, verbal harassment and physical assault during her 6th through 8th grade years at Animo Westside Charter Middle School ... leading to a "psychotic breakdown."

In new legal docs, the girl's mother -- suing on her daughter's behalf -- claims the school turned a blind eye and callously disregarded their cries for help, like earlier this year when the student's mother alleges her daughter was waiting to be picked up after school when a bully assaulted her on a sidewalk.

She claims videos of the assault later surfaced ... showing students laughing at and taunting her daughter. According to docs -- filed by Ben Meiselas of Geragos & Geragos -- another alleged attack took place on campus in a hallway and was caught on video. The alleged victim's mother claims the principal reviewed the footage but insisted the student "was not assaulted but simply 'tapped around.'"

She alleges bullies made fun of her daughter's weight and made up hurtful and inappropriate songs ... such as "The Hippo Song" to mock her. The mother claims other bullies also got ahold of a pic of her daughter in a swimsuit. After the picture circulated at school, the mother alleges her daughter was then referred as the girl who sends "noodes to dudes."

The mother claims the school knew at least one of the bullies posed a risk because she had been removed and/or expelled from a previous school for assaulting another student. She says the constant bullying led the girl to threaten suicide, which eventually landed her on a 5-day psychiatric hold.

The mother is suing Green Dot, the org that oversees the school. She alleges bullying is rampant at the school. As we reported ... another student's family sued Green Dot claiming a violent bullying incident at the school led to permanent brain damage. Since we broke that story ... sources said several other parents have also contacted attorneys with similar complaints.

Bill, Melinda and their foundation are NOT named as defendants in either lawsuits.

Meek Mill isn't going to get his 2008 gun conviction tossed after all -- at least not entirely.

Philly's prodigal son went back to court with his legal team Tuesday, where his team was attempting to avoid a retrial after the original conviction was thrown out. Meek decided to end the battle ... 'cause he copped a plea.

Meek pled guilty to misdemeanor possession of a firearm without a license -- and remaining 6 charges for which he was originally convicted were all dropped. Back in 2008, Meek had been found guilty of 7 charges, 4 of which were related to the gun.

Meek spoke to the public briefly afterward, but wasn't all that chatty. He thanked his supporters and those who came out Tuesday as well. He said he wasn't on probation anymore, and that he was free at last. The D.A. in Philly has confirmed he's off probation.

He could've gone to trial if he wanted -- and very likely would've won -- but it looks like Meek is trying to put this saga behind him completely with the plea offer.

As we've reported, it's unlikely the case would've gone to trial again ... considering the key witness ended up being a dirty cop -- not to mention this would be taking place more than a decade after the alleged crime ... and any other witnesses' memories would be hazy at best.

You'll recall ... Judge Genece Brinkley sent Meek back to prison back in 2017 with a harsh sentence of 2-4 years behind bars after she found Meek had violated his probation in the 2008 conviction. A lot of people think Judge Brinkley had it out for him.

He ended up doing about five months before getting released.

Meek said Tuesday's hearing, "I’m extremely grateful that my long legal battle is finally behind me and I appreciate that it has sparked a much-needed discussion about probation reform and the inequalities that exist within our two Americas."

He added, "I have always told the truth — that as a teenager, who saw many around me die from senseless gun violence, I carried a gun for protection. I take responsibility for that and – in conjunction with my work on the REFORM Alliance – I’ll continue to use my platform to make communities safer and reform our criminal justice system."

Future's got more baby mama drama on his hands ... a woman in Florida just slapped the rapper with a paternity case alleging she gave birth to his SEVENTH CHILD!!!

Eliza Seraphin filed legal docs in Broward County, alleging Future is the father of her 4-month-old girl. According to docs obtained by TMZ, Seraphin -- known to her 320k Instagram followers as Eliza Reign -- claims Future ghosted her ever since she gave birth on April 19.

She wants a judge to declare Future the baby daddy and make him ante up child support. Eliza wants the child support retroactively and she wants Hizzoner to tack on hospital expenses she incurred during pregnancy.

Baby mama drama's nothing new for Future, who back in January told radio legend Big Boy he became a father for the sixth time when his son, Hendrix, was born in December.

Future told Big Boy he wants to have more kids ... never mind the legal drama that's followed with in the wake of several births. You'll recall Ciara's had beef with Future over their 5-year-old son.

We've reached out to Future for comment ... so far, no word back.

R. Kelly's desperate to retain the attorney who successfully defended Michael Jackson in his child molestation case ... so much so his team's hitting up anyone it can for financial help to pay what will become an enormous legal bill -- and it might be working.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Kelly's industry contacts have been in touch with his team and expressed a desire to help with his legal fees.

We're told these people have agreed to anonymously help foot the bill so the singer can land attorney Tom Mesereau ... the guy who got MJ acquitted in 2005, the same year he got Robert Blake acquitted of murdering his wife.

Our sources say there's a big catch -- the money won't come in unless Kelly fires his current lawyer, Steven Greenberg ... so for now, it's all just verbal commitments. Greenberg, as we've told you, has called the whole situation "a complete load of crap."

Truth is ... Kelly will have to pull a Brinks truck up to Mesereau's office to land him. Just like in the New York federal case, the defense will require forensic experts, experts in sex trafficking, P.I.'s and on and on. That case alone will easily cost a million bucks to defend.

Of course, Kelly's also charged with various sex crimes in 3 other jurisdictions -- Illinois State, Illinois Federal and Minnesota State. We're hearing he might also face charges in Detroit and Atlanta.

Terrence Howard's success heading into the final season "Empire" just bit him in the ass -- or should we say the wallet -- because a judge is ordering him to give his ex-wife a huge chunk of his TV earnings.

Michelle Ghent scored a 7-figure W Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court when the judge said enough is enough, and ruled Terrence must pay her $1.3 million. About $263k of that is reportedly back spousal support -- and another $1.05 million is based on the fact he's pulling in big money.

Terrence is reportedly now making north of $250k per episode of "Empire." Michelle and Terrence's money battles have been dragging on since 2013 -- and, by comparison, he was only hauling in somewhere around $120k per episode in 2015, when the show debuted.

TMZ broke the story, Michelle filed docs last year requesting her ex pay her more than $900k in back spousal support, so today's ruling -- first reported by the NY Daily News -- is a massive legal victory for her.

There's more bad news on the horizon for Terrence -- Michelle's attorneys fees.

On Friday, the judge said the fees looked "reasonable" and set a hearing for next week to determine exactly how much he'll have to pay -- but Michelle says the tab is expected to be more than $1 million.

Mr. T pities the fools over at Leafly ... the weed company he claims is ruining his rep by using his name ... so he says in a new lawsuit.

The legendary actor is suing Leafly -- think Yelp but for stoners -- claiming it's promoting a hybrid cannabis strain called Mr. Tusk ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ. The issue ... Mr. T's pissed Leafly's logo to promote the strain uses his iconic name ... "Mrt."

According to the docs ... Mr. T says the logo will confuse consumers into thinking he's in bed with the weed company. He says for nearly 40 years, Mr. T has authorized his name to be used for promotion and branded products but he is NOT and never was on board with Leafly using "Mrt."

Kodak Black just did an about-face and cut a deal in his federal firearms case.

The rapper was in court Thursday for a change of plea hearing where he told the judge he was now pleading guilty ... after initially pleading not guilty to lying on federal gun applications.

Kodak has been in federal detention since his arrest in May -- the judge denied his request to be released on bond, calling him a danger to the community. His sentencing is now set for November 13, and he could get several years in prison.

As we reported ... Kodak was busted at the Rolling Loud festival, when officers had warrants for his arrest after he'd been indicted on the false statement charges.

Kodak's alleged firearm application lie ... is that he was NOT under any indictment for a crime that could land him behind bars for over a year.

Of course, the rapper IS in the middle of a very serious criminal case -- he was indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2016 at a hotel in South Carolina.

Drake and Big Freedia have a New Orleans musician in his feelings ... according to a new lawsuit, he says the rappers straight-up jacked his beats and passed them off as their own.

Samuel Nicholas III -- who goes by Sam Skully -- is suing the rappers claiming they used his beat for their hit collab, "In My Feelings." He also claims Drake stole another one of his beats for his wildly successful track, "Nice For What"

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sam Skully claims Drake and Big Freedia sampled a portion of his 2000 track, "Roll Call," but they never asked for permission and never forked over any dough.

In the docs, Sam Skully claims he published the beat on a CD he released in New Orleans way back in 2000, but says he didn't know his work had been stolen until years later ... when Drake and Big Freedia released songs that started climbing the charts.

Sam Skully is also going after a ton of huge record companies -- Asylum Records, Cash Money Records and Republic Records -- and he's suing for damages.

Liam Hemsworth is the one who's pulling the plug on his marriage, because TMZ has learned he just filed for divorce from Miley Cyrus.

Liam filed legal docs in L.A. ... citing the standard "irreconcilable differences."

Sources connected to the couple tell TMZ, Liam and Miley had a prenup, keeping their earnings during the marriage separate, so there won't be a fight over money. And, since there are no kids, we're told the divorce will be easy breezy.

The handwriting was on the wall for weeks ... Miley and Liam announced their separation August 10, after less than a year of marriage. Our sources tell us Liam is "over the marriage" and just wants to move on.

The day before telling the world she split from Liam, Miley was spotted making out with her longtime friend, Kaitlynn Carter, at Lake Como in Italy. There were allegations of infidelity, although it appeared the couple had split months before.

The date of separation is relevant, not so much legally, but in terms of PR. In the docs, filed by disso queen Laura Wasser, she does not list a date of separation ... it reads TBD -- to be determined.

Here's what's interesting ... our sources say, despite appearances, Miley had made overtures as recently as this week, saying she wanted to work on the marriage, but Liam was steadfast that it was over. We're told fact is, Liam's people said he would be "insane" to jump back in.

Liam and Miley had been drifting apart for some time ... Liam was photographed in June grocery shopping without his wedding ring.

The breakup started out amicable, but it quickly turned nasty, with claims of drug use and infidelity. She released a song last week, "Slide Away," which we're told is her version of the split, blaming it on Liam's alleged penchant for whisky and pills ... something he strongly denies.

Miley and Liam tied the knot back in December, hosting friends and family for a wedding celebration at their home in Nashville.

Larry King is moving on ... once again -- he's divorcing his 7th wife, Shawn Southwick King.

Larry filed divorce docs Tuesday in L.A. Superior Court ... pulling the plug on his 22-year marriage to Shawn. The couple does not have any minor children -- their 2 sons, Cannon and Chance ... are 19 and 20 years old, respectively.

They've been down this road at least once before. In 2010, the former CNN host filed for divorce, and it was actually a race to the courthouse -- Shawn tried to file first, but Larry's legal team was faster on the draw. Didn't matter in the end ... he and Shawn eventually reconciled.

They dealt with more marital turmoil in 2016, when they publicly addressed cheating rumors.

The breakup comes on the heels of Larry's medical crisis in April, where he suffered what doctors described to Shawn as a heart attack.

This will be 85-year-old Larry's 8th divorce ... assuming he goes through with it this time. He married one of his wives, Alene Akins, twice ... that was way back in the 1960s.

Lord, he was born a ramblin' man ...