Legal

"Mr. Elliott will not tolerate slanderous conduct and intends to take the appropriate legal action to address it."

When Ezekiel Elliott said he was "low-key faded" during a Twitch stream Sunday night ... HE MEANT ON BOOZE, NOT WEED!

That's according to the Dallas Cowboys running back himself who says he's pissed people are accusing him of being lit on the wrong substance.

"Bro, I'm low-key faded, bro," Elliott said before realizing his stream was still live.

"Oh no, I didn't even end my stream yet," he said shortly after.

Some assumed "faded" meant high on marijuana -- and Sports Illustrated even ran an article saying Zeke "admits to being high."

Zeke went to social media Monday to set the record straight and he sounded pretty upset ... even threatening legal action.

"Actually I was referring to the few drinks I had which I said during the live stream. Doesn’t that make this defamation? You guys will be hearing from my lawyers @SInow."

Sports Illustrated has apparently taken the article down.

Elliott's had a rough couple of weeks -- he recently tested positive for COVID-19 but says he's mostly recovered and should be cleared to workout with the team again soon.

Hydrate, bro, it's good for a low-key hangover.

Dr. Dre and his wife of 24 years are ending their marriage ... she's filed for divorce.

Nicole Young filed the paperwork Monday, citing the usual irreconcilable differences as the reason for her split from the hip-hop mogul.

Dre married Nicole on May 25, 1996, and they have 2 adult children together -- a son named Truice and a daughter named Truly -- so they won't have to deal with child support.

Sources connected to Nicole say there is no prenup. Dre's net worth, according to Forbes, is estimated at $800 million.

Nicole is also seeking spousal support.

She was formerly married to NBA player, Sedale Threatt. Young works as a lawyer and is represented in the divorce by a high-powered celeb attorney, Samantha Spector.

A married couple in an upscale area of St. Louis came out of their home strapped and pointing guns at protesters ... while barefoot, mind you.

The surreal scene went down Sunday evening in the Central West End neighborhood, as a crowd was marching to the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson to demand her resignation for releasing names and addresses of citizens who want to defund the police.

The couple, attorneys Mark and Patricia McCloskey, apparently felt threatened by the protesters and stepped outside brandishing firearms -- Mark with a semi-automatic weapon and Patricia with a handgun. Seems it was a split-second decision because they didn't even put on shoes.

In the video, at least, all the peaceful protesters remained on the sidewalk and didn't appear to trespass on the McCloskey's property. However, the couple told police the protesters entered their gated community by forcing their way through a gate marked "No trespassing." It's unclear if the sidewalk is public or private.

Fortunately, the act of intimidation from the barefoot Bonnie and Clyde only led to verbal spats with some of the reported 300 protestors.

Dustin Diamond needs to be saved by more than the bell if he wants to keep his home in Wisconsin -- the bank is knocking on his door and looking to foreclose.

The "Saved By The Bell" star owes Wells Fargo a whopping $269,329.36 -- according to legal docs obtained by TMZ -- and the bank is asking the court to sign off on the foreclosure.

Dustin tells TMZ ... he didn't even know he was so far behind on the mortgage, because he hasn't been to the Port Washington property since January of last year, as he's been living in Florida instead.

Screech says he moved into the house way back in 2003, when the property was worth $340,000, and tells us he plunked down a $68,000 down payment. He says he doesn't understand how he owes such a large sum. Homeownership ain't easy, or cheap.

Dustin's got a lot of other problems at the pad ... he says a friend alerted him to a busted water main last fall, and the leak was so bad water was flowing out of a first-floor window.

Screech says he lost 30 years of memories in the home's flooded basement ... his comic collection, instruments, chess collection, family pictures and videos were all ruined.

Dustin tells us ... "Foreclosure means nothing when a house is destroyed ... with my items I've lost, it now feels like Wells Fargo is trying to kick me when I'm down."

He says he never went to check on the pad last winter because his friend said the water main break froze over, and there was black mold. He was waiting for the ice to melt to return, but the pandemic ruined that plan.

Dustin still hasn't been back there, and says he hasn't figured out how he'll deal with the bank's foreclosure.

Where's Mr. Belding when ya really need him, right?

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have resigned from the super-exclusive Bel-Air Country Club ... this after a war of sorts erupted over a decision to suspend but then reinstate the couple after they completed their sentence ... sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say the Board of Directors for the club unanimously voted to suspend Lori and Mossimo, but the suspension gets lifted when they serve their time.

The decision did not sit well with some of the members. Past President Michael Gallagher fired off a scathing letter to the board, obtained by TMZ, in which he says ... "This unprecedented board decision to allow felons to continue as members causes irreparable reputational harm to the Club and its members."

Gallagher goes on ... "BACC is a Club of gentlemen and gentlewomen. Gentlemen are not felons, and felons in turn are not gentlemen. You cannot be a member in good standing and guilty of a felony at the same time, it is a non sequitur."

And, he wasn't done ... "The board action, taken on behalf of the Club's membership, now establishes our Club as a place of refuge and comfort for known felons ... This matter is already well known in the golfing world, domestically and internationally, and our Club has become a laughingstock."

Our sources say the membership was deeply divided. Some members were supportive of Lori and Mossimo while others wanted them out for good.

We're told Lori and Mossimo did not want to be in the middle of a war among the members, so they have voluntarily resigned. We're told Mossimo joined because he's an avid golfer -- Lori golfs too, but not nearly as much. As we reported, Lori copped a plea deal and will serve 2 months in prison and Mossimo will serve 5 month.

What's also interesting ... Rick Singer, the mastermind in the college admissions scandal, was also well known to lots and lots of rich parents on the westside of Los Angeles. We don't know if other members of the club knew of Singer or used him, but at the very least, it would be incredibly surprising if Lori and Mossimo were the only members who were aware of Singer's exploits.

Gallagher said in his letter he was resigning. We don't know if he changed his mind after Lori and Mossimo resigned.

Nipsey Hussle's family's stuck in an odd limbo with a Crips company -- over a trademark -- and it's got them worried something shady's going on.

Sources close to the late rapper tell TMZ ... his family's legal conflict with the Crips LLC -- yes, the gang's gone corporate -- over the rights to Hussle's "The Marathon Continues" slogan has carried on, leaving family members frustrated.

Here's the deal ... the Crips organization filed a couple trademarks for the phrase in 2019 -- one for clothing and one for various services. Shortly afterward, however, it apologized and vowed to back off, saying it would not get into a legal battle with the family ... which has several 'Marathon' trademarks of its own related to Nip's clothing store.

So, it seemed like all would be well, but according to our sources ... the Crips didn't take any action to withdraw its filings, which forced Nip's family to lawyer up and file oppositions to the trademark applications.

The good news for the family ... the Crips didn't fight the opposition to the clothing trademark application by the deadline, so the application was deemed abandoned earlier this month.

There's a good chance the same thing will happen with the other application too, but we're told Crips LLC has gone silent about the issue ... which hasn't been helpful for the family.

TMZ Sports has obtained pictures of the injuries a pool cleaner alleges she suffered when Ezekiel Elliott's dogs attacked her last March ... and they're gruesome.

The photos show a mangled forearm and a bruised thigh ... injuries she claims were all due to bites from the Dallas Cowboys star's Rottweiler and two bulldogs.

We broke the story, in a new lawsuit filed in Texas this week, a pool cleaner says she was "ambushed" by Elliott's dogs while entering the NFL player's Frisco backyard on March 11.

In the alleged attack, the woman claims Zeke's Rottweiler bit her forearm, while the two bulldogs lunged and bit her legs.

The woman says in the docs she was rushed to the emergency room after the incident ... and says she later required surgery on her forearm.

In the suit, the woman claims she's still suffering both emotionally and physically ... and is now suing Elliott for over $200k -- but less than $1 million.

"Our client has been out of work since the incident happened in March," the woman's attorneys at Gardner Haas in Dallas, Texas tells us, "and the attack has scarred her for life -- both physically and mentally."

"Our client attempted to resolve this matter out of court, providing a description of what happened and pictures of her injuries, but Elliott didn’t bother to respond."

For his part, Elliott's attorney tells us, "Ezekiel was in no way negligent in connection with the alleged incident and intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit."

Elliott is well known for his dogs ... his Rottweiler, Ace, is tattooed on his forearm -- and he's even previously showed off the trio of pups for the camera on a Twitch stream this month.

Dawn Wells -- famously known for playing Mary Ann Summers on the iconic TV show, "Gilligan's Island" -- is now sadly suffering from dementia and needs some court help with an overzealous fan ... according to new legal docs.

Dawn's manager, Leonard Carter, filed legal docs on his client's behalf claiming a man out of Ohio has been harassing the 81-year-old actress with phone calls and letters since March and is trying to take advantage of his celebrity client, who he says suffers from dementia ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, Carter claims Frank Bennett has caused Dawn "great mental angst" because he's an "artful manipulator extracting Dawn's personal info" ... like her SSN. Carter claims Bennett's a married man who has professed his love and desire to marry Dawn. Carter insists Dawn's rejected Bennett's advances, but says he won't stop contacting her.

What's more ... Carter says a handful of employees at the assisted living facility where she resides have witnessed Bennett's intensity. Carter claims Bennett's "unstable and could snap and do physical harm." He also claims Bennett told him, "If I am visited by one cop, if I am served with papers, It's game on!"

The Arizona church that hosted President Trump's rally and the company it claimed had tech to kill COVID-19 just got a tongue-lashing from the state's top prosecutor.

Arizona's Attorney General, Mark Brnovich, fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Dream City Church and CleanAir EXP ... telling them they're misrepresenting what CleanAir's technology can actually do -- claiming they haven't shown any scientific proof to back up the claim that it neutralizes 99.9% of viruses that are "COVID-19 surrogates."

The AG's office says it is "aware of no scientific research or public health authority certifying any kind of air treatment product as a means of preventing COVID-19 infections." As we reported, the Dream City Church bozos, Brendon Zastrow and Pastor Luke Barnett, made a video claiming CleanAir EXP's tech could zap away the virus.

A day later, CleanAir EXP chief strategy officer, Tim Bender, told TMZ ... Zastrow and Barnett went overboard and flat-out exaggerated about CleanAir's product.

The AG also said, "the church was placed on notice that misrepresentations and false promises related to the safety of church facilities may violate the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act."

As we reported ... tons of Trump supporters packed the venue earlier this week, with virtually none of them wearing masks or socially distancing.

A pool cleaner claims she required surgery and will likely be scarred for life after Ezekiel Elliott's dogs violently attacked her in March ... and now she's suing the NFL star.

But Zeke's attorney tells us the NFL star adamantly denies wrongdoing and now he's digging in for a legal war.

It's all spelled out in new court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, in which a woman says she went to clean Elliott's pool at his home in Frisco, TX on March 11 ... when she was "ambushed" by his 3 dogs -- a Rottweiler and two bulldogs.

In the docs, the woman claims the Rottweiler bit her arm and dragged her ... before the two bulldogs began attacking her legs.

The woman says the dogs bit her multiple times ... and after she was able to free herself from the animals, she went straight to the emergency room "in immense pain."

She claims the injuries were so bad ... 2 weeks later, she required surgery to repair the damage done by the Rottweiler's bite to her forearm.

In the lawsuit, the woman says she's still having issues with her surgically repaired arm ... and says she constantly suffers from mental and physical pain over the attack.

She's asking for over $200,000 in the suit from the Dallas Cowboys superstar ... but less than $1 million.

The woman also claims this wasn't the first time Elliott's dogs have attacked a pool cleaner ... she alleges that around Dec. 2019, the Rottweiler bit someone else who worked for her company.

We reached out to the Frisco Police Dept. over the allegations ... and a spokesperson said animal services did respond to an incident at Elliott's home on March 11, but the spokesperson says no criminal charges were filed.

As for Zeke, his attorney Frank Salzano tells us his client did nothing wrong, saying ... "Ezekiel was in no way negligent in connection with the alleged incident and intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit."

Elliott has made no attempts to hide his infatuation with his dogs ... he's created an Instagram page for the three -- and even has his Rottweiler, Ace, tattooed on his forearm.

In fact, Zeke just showed off all three dogs on a Twitch stream this week ... giving each one a kiss for the camera.

Justin Bieber's going after 2 social media users -- whom he suggests might be the same person -- for accusing him of sexual assault, claiming the allegations are "factually impossible" and part of a scheme to seek attention and fame.

Bieber is suing 2 Jane Does -- who go by Danielle and Kadi on social media -- for defamation over what he calls "malicious" claims he sexually assaulted them in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Bieber has "indisputable documentary evidence" to prove their sexual assault claims are nothing but "outrageous, fabricated lies."

First up is Danielle, who claims Bieber sexually assaulted her in a Four Seasons Hotel room in Austin, TX on March 9, 2014 after a music event. Bieber claims there is no truth to Danielle's allegation ... and he can prove it.

According to the docs ... Bieber did make a surprise appearance at SXSW, but did NOT stay at the Four Seasons Hotel or even have a room there. Instead, he and his girlfriend at the time, Selena Gomez, left together after his SXSW performance and stayed nearby at a rental property.

Bieber alleges Danielle totally made up her story based on public reports that he ate at the Four Seasons Restaurant on March 10, 2014.

As for Kadi ... she claims Bieber sexually assaulted her at the Langham Hotel in NYC around 2:30 AM on the morning of May 5, 2015. Once again, Bieber says this is factually impossible and calls Kadi's social media post "an elaborate hoax."

According to Bieber ... Kadi is a superfan who waits outside hotels for him, is desperate to meet him and desperate for fame. However, Bieber claims Kadi has never met him ... and says she even admitted to such in her own tweets AFTER the date she now claims he sexually assaulted her.

As for the May 5, 2015 allegation ... Bieber claims Kadi fabricated it because she knew Bieber attended the Met Gala.

According to the docs ... Bieber did attend the event, but went to a private after-party afterward where he stayed until almost 4 AM, then hit up a hot dog stand. Bieber claims there is photographic evidence and several witnesses to this ... and he calls the 2:30 AM allegation made by Kadi an "impossibility – a poor, but damaging, fabrication."

According to the suit ... Bieber also believes the 2 social media accounts might be run by the same person, or they're a coordinated effort to ruin his reputation.

The cop who was caught on video seemingly using a chokehold on a man he was trying to detain ... has now been arrested.

According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz ... 39-year-old officer David Afanador was arrested and charged Thursday for the incident that went down Sunday at Rockaway Beach. He is facing charges of attempted aggravated strangulation and strangulation in the second degree.

As we reported ... Afanador was suspended from the force without pay earlier in the week, after NYPD officers were recorded attempting to detain and arrest a black man, Ricky Bellevue. In the vid, Afanador is seen wrapping his arm around the man's neck. According to the criminal complaint ... Afanador had him in the chokehold for 8 to 12 seconds, and Bellevue did go unconscious.

If convicted, Afanador faces up to 7 years in prison for using the banned chokehold.

Maluma will definitely NOT think this is music to his ears ... the famous Colombian singer's being sued for allegedly trying to extort the owner of SoHo House out $1 million.

Richard Caring -- the London-based businessman who owns the exclusive members-only SoHo House locations and The Ivy Restaurants -- is suing Maluma claiming the Grammy-winning singer tried pulling a fast one by trying to get him to pay DOUBLE the amount they agreed upon for a wedding gig ... this according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, Caring claims he hired Maluma -- gov't name Juan Luis Londono Arias -- to perform at his wedding in the Dominican Republic initially slated for November 7, 2019. Caring says his bride-to-be's a huge fan ... so Caring went all out to get Maluma to the DR ... including meeting Maluma's extravagant demands that included 5 first-class tickets, 32 coach tickets for his staff, a private plane for the singer, and a fancy hotel. This on top of the $500k performance fee.

But, 3 months before the wedding, Caring had to postpone the wedding "due to the concerns regarding the ability to deliver an event of this magnitude with the current time constraints." The wedding was then moved for June 2020 in Rome.

Caring claims he contacted Maluma's team asking about availability. Everything seemed to be kosher at this point, and Caring claims he wired Maluma $375k upfront. But, things went south when Caring claims Maluma's people told him he wouldn't "permit or allow Maluma to perform" at the wedding "unless Mr. Caring agreed to pay double." Caring claims Maluma was with the $1 million demand.

According to docs, Caring claims Maluma's people informed him they needed $1 million because the wedding interfered with Maluma's European tour. Caring scoffed at the demand and instead asked Maluma -- who has collaborations with some of the biggest artists in the game like Madonna, Shakira and Marc Anthony -- to return the dough. Caring claims Maluma's failed to do that, so he's suing to get his money back plus damages.

We're told Caring has requested the return of the $375,000 down payment several times since 2019 verbally and in writing and they have refused.

We've reached out to Maluma, so far no word back.

Steyn detailed the horrific aftermath of allegedly being shot at close range with a rubber bullet by an LAPD officer ... saying he was left with a ruptured testicle, passed out and almost bled to death in the streets.

Bloom later claimed Steyn got shot when he went to help a fellow protester, and that he received no aid for his injuries from law enforcement around him.

Steyn went on to describe a discussion he had with his daughter the night before the incident, in which he told her no matter how powerful the government or police are ... we can always march peacefully to fight for our rights, and that he won't let corrupt police continue to kill people.

Bloom also called for the use of rubber bullets by the LAPD to be severely curtailed or banned, and never shot at close range. She says her legal team has filed a complaint with the Inspector General and Internal Affairs as the first step of filing a lawsuit for Steyn ... and she's seeking witnesses who were at the May 30 protest.

The protester who allegedly took rubber bullets fired by LAPD officers to his scrotum is about to unveil his lawsuit against the cops ... and call for major reform.

Bradley Steyn -- along with his attorney, Lisa Bloom -- is about to address the media in front of LAPD headquarters ... and TMZ will be live streaming.

Steyn -- a renowned South African anti-apartheid activist -- is expected to detail his account of alleged police brutality encountered during a May 30 protest over the death of George Floyd in L.A.'s Fairfax district ... and announce legal action.

He claims he was roughed up by cops who shot him with rubber bullets at point-blank range in the inner thigh and genitals ... severely injuring him. He ended up losing a testicle.

Steyn and Bloom say they will call for "specific reforms."

The press conference is scheduled to begin Thursday at 10 AM PT.

The Ahmaud Arbery murder case is moving at lightning speed ... seemingly light-years faster than the Breonna Taylor case ... and TMZ's learned both of their mothers will join forces in their fight for justice.

Lee Merritt -- attorney for Ahmaud's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones -- tells us ... Ahmaud's mom is all set for a face-to-face with Breonna's mother, Tamika Palmer, Thursday in Louisville. It will be their first face-to-face meeting.

Wanda, who flew from Georgia to Louisville Wednesday night, is in for a busy day ... we're told after her sit-down with Tamika, she's scheduled to meet with lawmakers and local activists to fight for justice for Breonna.

Merritt will accompany Wanda as they lobby to have the Louisville police officers involved in Breonna's death arrested and charged. They will also lobby for federal intervention ... the feds could charge a civil rights violation ... something they did in the Rodney King case to secure convictions.

One item at the top of the agenda -- the Justice Act, which was just introduced in the State Senate and calls for police reform, transparency and accountability. Merritt tells us the bill doesn't go far enough to help Breonna's family get justice.

As we reported ... the 3 individuals charged in Ahmaud's murder -- Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan -- were indicted by a grand jury Wednesday, and are each facing 1 count of malice murder, 4 counts felony murder, 2 counts aggravated assault, 1 count false imprisonment and 1 count criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Meanwhile, the cops involved in Breonna's death have yet to be arrested. As you know, Breonna was shot 8 times after cops entered her home in the middle of the night looking for someone else. They also lied and said in the police report she was not injured.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's Instagram page will stay up and running despite renewed uproar over his criminal record -- because the platform feels he hasn't violated their rules.

Here's the deal ... 6ix9ine ran into some legal trouble even before he hit it big. When he was younger -- age 18 -- he pled guilty to one count of Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance.

In light of that, folks started asking why he's even allowed to have an IG since Facebook -- the parent company -- has explicit terms saying convicted sex offenders are barred from the platform. FB said his account would be put under review.

We've got an update on that review from the folks at FB and Instagram -- and it's basically this ... Tekashi is NOT technically in violation of FB/IG's sex offender policy, at least that's how they're viewing it.

A source at Instagram tells us ... FB and IG took a hard look at his record, and turns out ... they found the guy's case -- which went down in NY -- and saw he was adjudicated as a “youthful offender” which is different from having an adult criminal conviction.

As a result, our source tells us Facebook will not be removing his account, as they don't believe -- based on their interpretation of things -- he meets the criteria that would mark him as a sex offender. Look it up yourself ... Tekashi (whose real name is Daniel Hernandez) does not appear on the state's sex offender registry.

The Manhattan D.A. confirms Tekashi's 2015 case was adjudicated as a Youthful Offender, but declined to offer more details. His attorney, Lance Lazzaro, shed a bit more light, telling us yes ... the crime was committed when T69 was 18. But, after he completed some sentencing requirements, the court granted him youthful offender status.

BTW, T69 has addressed the conviction himself on the Breakfast Club -- insisting he didn't know the girl was underage. Prosecutors say Tekashi was at a party where a nude 13-year-old girl was taped performing sex acts on a man, and T69 was seen making thrusting motions behind her and slapping her buttocks at one point.