Legal

The #FreeBritney movement has re-emerged in a big way, with lots of people spinning conspiracy theories that she's being held against her will ... but they got the story wrong.

Folks on social media have been alarmed by Britney Spears posting a gaggle of dance and fashion show videos. They're odd, to say the least ... she's dancing, pacing back and forth and looking not quite put together.

So then, fans started sending Britney secret messages -- "wear black if you need help," and "wear pink if you are in trouble." Well, she wore pink shorts with black polka dots in a dance video, and that's all she wrote.

She also crossed her arms in an "X" fashion and folks interpreted that as saying, "I'm not okay." Well, people went nuts online, again suggesting her conservatorship -- led by Britney's dad, Jamie -- was holding her against her will.

Here's the reality. We've reported for the last 2 years ... Britney is struggling. Her meds stopped working and doctors were having trouble finding the right combination. Sources with direct knowledge tell us she's not been easy to deal with ... she sometimes complains she wants more freedom. Short story -- she hasn't been especially stable managing her mental illness.

There's collateral damage in all of this ... Kevin Federline has had their 2 kids considerably more than Britney -- and it all relates back to her mental state.

The conservatorship has been around for 12 years -- an incredibly unusual amount of time for a conservatorship to last, but this one's different. Our sources have said for years ... Britney's mental illness requires this conservatorship -- probably for life.

Lots of people think this is all Jamie lording over his daughter, but it's not the case. There is a slew of people involved in the conservatorship -- doctors, lawyers, therapists and a judge. There is no way Jamie could go rogue without one of the others taking it to the judge.

Fifteen former female Washington NFL team staffers claim they were sexually harassed and verbally abused during their time with the org. ... and they say it was relentless and repeated.

It's all in a new bombshell Washington Post report ... which claims the culture with Washington's NFL team was toxic and demeaning toward women in the workplace.

In the report, one of the women, 31-year-old Emily Applegate -- a former marketing coordinator who spent one year with the club before leaving in 2015 -- claims, "It was the most miserable experience of my life."

"And we all tolerated it," she added, "because we knew if we complained -- and they reminded us of this -- there were 1,000 people out there who would take our job in a heartbeat."

Applegate says she was told by a high-ranking exec to wear revealing clothes "so the men in the room have something to look at."

She also says the same superior constantly verbally abused her, and once called her "f**king stupid."

Applegate says she would meet with a female co-worker in the bathroom on her lunch breaks ... and they would cry together over the alleged harassment.

The report also says 14 other women echoed Applegate's claims ... sharing similar stories, but choosing to remain anonymous over fears of litigation.

In one of the most salacious allegations ... some of the women claim men in the facility -- including team trainers -- would stand at the bottom of a staircase near the entrance to team headquarters and would stare up female employees' skirts.

In fact, the women say this was such a well-known problem among the females in the office ... employees warned others to avoid the staircase at all costs.

In another allegation ... a female employee said at the team's training camp in Richmond, Va., she was "propositioned basically every day" by team officials for late-night visits.

Several of the team employees accused of harassment in the report have been fired by Washington in the last few days.

A$AP Rocky fears for his life due to a woman who he claims has been making his life a living hell for 2 years now.

The rapper beelined it to court requesting a temporary restraining order against an L.A. woman named Micaela Jimenez, who A$AP claims has shown up uninvited to his crib numerous times ... even making it into his master bedroom once.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the rapper says Jimenez "has been relentless in her fixation with me and my whereabouts" to the point she's contacted family members and close friends trying to coax info out of them. Rocky alleges, just last month, she arrived at his house, demanded to see him and threatened to force her way inside.

His security told her to leave, and she eventually did, but not before tossing ink all over his parked car and yelling, "F*** you, I'll be back again!" ... according to the docs.

A$AP claims there were other incidents ... like when he claims he found Jimenez sleeping in her car in close proximity to his house. Then in April, he claims Jimenez showed up saying she's married to the rapper.

There's another alleged incident in December 2018 ... when Rocky was performing at Midnight Rave. A$AP says when he entered the mosh pit, she hugged him from behind. He claims there's video footage of the incident.

That same night, Rocky claims that as he entered his crib to leave the venue she "jumped in without my permission landing on my lap while I was in the backseat. I was startled, shocked and fear for my safety.”

But, the freakiest incident allegedly went down in June 2018 ... when Jimenez allegedly showed up to the crib, punched Rocky's assistant and raced upstairs to his master bedroom. Rocky claims "I was startled, jumped up and began to resist [her] advances.” He claims she also ripped a pearl necklace off his neck.

According to the docs, the rapper's personal security ultimately arrived and removed her ... and Rocky says his assistant filed a police report.

A former Honolulu police officer will spend 4 years behind bars ... after forcing a homeless man to lick a public restroom urinal or risk an ass-whooping.

John Rabago was sentenced Wednesday and got a scolding from U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi, who told the ex-cop, "You took from him his only possession: his dignity as a human being."

Rabago and another ex-officer, Reginald Ramones, found the homeless man inside the stall of a public restroom after responding to a nuisance complaint in 2018. Rabago threatened to beat the crap out of the homeless man and stuff his face in a toilet if he didn't lick the urinal. Rabago's also accused of stepping on the man's legs to keep him on his knees until he complied with the disgusting demand.

Ramones pled guilty to not reporting Rabago's gross violation of someone's civil rights. He'll be sentenced next week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Brady (yeah, it's a pretty common name) said Rabago initially laughed about the incident and later denied it happened. Rabago's also accused of telling Ramones to delete text messages about the incident. Brady said, "To be homeless, not knowing where your next meal is going to be, to be forced to lick ... a dirty urinal by a uniformed police officer. There's only one word that comes to mind: hopelessness."

Rabago's defense attorney, Megan Kau, said she and her client expected to get 3 years in prison. But 4 years in prison ... she says "I think [the judge] is taking the national environment and making him as an example."

Kanye West has taken his first official step on his road to The White House -- he's filed with the Federal Election Commission ... seeking the office of President.

Kanye filed the first form required by the FEC Wednesday -- Form 1, Statement of Organization -- declaring that the Kanye 2020 committee will serve as the "Principal Campaign Committee" with West as its candidate. The party is listed as BDY ... which Ye's said stands for the Birthday Party.

However, he's yet to file the more important Form 2 -- Statement of Candidacy -- which shows he's raised or spent more than $5,000 in campaign activity and triggers candidacy status under federal campaign finance law.

Regardless, the move comes on the heels of reports that Kanye was dropping out just 10 days after making his surprise July 4 Twitter announcement ... and after news broke that he was polling at just 2 percent.

Looks like he's trying to keep hope alive ... at least for now.

Kanye, who's had Elon Musk's support from the jump, has managed to stir up plenty of publicity -- and controversy -- in his less than 2 weeks on the campaign trail so far.

As we reported ... he turned on his former buddy and incumbent, Donald Trump, compared Planned Parenthood to a Satanic baby-killing cult and got blasted by the org, and picked a running mate with some odd takes on mental health.

Ye's still facing an uphill battle to even get on the ballot in several states, and as we already mentioned ... his first poll numbers really sucked.

Our sources have also told us Kanye's in the throes of a very serious bipolar episode through all of this, which has worried his family and loved ones.

Hayden Panettiere got court-ordered protection from her allegedly abusive boyfriend in Wyoming, and a California judge just said she'll get that same protection in the Golden State.

The ex-'Nashville' star just filed a Wyoming restraining order she got against her BF, Brian Hickerson, in the California court system, so it'll provide her protection in CA. The order from Wyoming was issued after an incident of alleged domestic abuse from February.

Brian was arrested for domestic violence on Valentine's Day in Teton County, Wyoming -- after Hayden told cops he'd roughed her up after an argument and punched her in the face.

Hayden said in her petition Brian had been abusive with her several times prior to the V-Day incident. She says when he drinks, he tends to hit her, spit on her and throw things.

She also claims he's swung her around, pulled her hair and dumped water on her on more than one occasion.

It's pretty clear ... Hayden's going to be spending time in L.A. and she wants to make sure Brian doesn't follow her there and try to get in touch.

The City of Minneapolis caused George Floyd's death by allowing officers to operate under a lie -- that neck restraints are not fatal -- so says the Floyd family in a new civil lawsuit.

Famed civil rights lawyer Ben Crump just unveiled the lawsuit, and the stakes are enormous. The family is suing the 4 officers who are now criminally charged with Floyd's death.

The reality is this ... the officers don't have the kind of money that typically makes a civil lawsuit worthwhile. Enter the City of Minneapolis, which actually has limited immunity in these cases, meaning it can't be sued UNLESS it's approved the policy either explicitly or by way of custom.

Crump says in the lawsuit ... the City long trained its officers to use neck restraints, claiming they were an "authorized form of non-deadly force."

The fact is this ... it's simply not true that it's non-deadly force, and the City would have to be blind not to know that. Fact is ... the technique has been used since 2012 on 428 people nationwide, and 14% lost consciousness. And, if City officials turned on the news, they'd know some of these cases were fatalities. So ... it IS lethal force.

The suit also slams the City for poor training and discipline. As you know, Derek Chauvin had 17 citizen complaints, yet there's no evidence the Internal Affairs Dept. of the P.D. ever connected the dots as they investigated all of them.

And, one more thing ... the suit claims that probationary officers like Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng were NOT allowed to question their supervisor. That works against the City, but it's the argument the 2 rookie cops are making in the criminal case.

The civil lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages the family is seeking.

Chauvin, who is still in jail, has been charged with 2nd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter.

"Ink Master" star Daniel Silva has just copped a plea deal in his criminal case involving the death of his friend ... YouTube star Corey La Barrie.

Daniel pled no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. The L.A. County D.A.'s Office tells us, as part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop the 2nd-degree murder charge. He'll be sentenced next month. As we reported ... Daniel's attorney was confident he would beat the murder charge following the fatal crash of a McLaren sports car back in May.

We broke the story ... Daniel was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder after Corey died from injuries in a car wreck just hours after they left Corey's 25th birthday party. Corey was a passenger in the car. We were told Daniel was seen drinking before getting behind the wheel of the car.

Our law enforcement sources told us Daniel allegedly tried to flee after the accident but was stopped by witnesses. Corey's cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force injuries.

Daniel's attorney, Mike Cavalluzzi, told us at the time of Daniel's arrest ... "This is a horrible tragedy and our hearts go out to Corey's family and friends. We are reviewing all of the evidence and will reserve comment for a later time. For now, it is most important that everyone involved is given time and space to grieve."

Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp is using more than $1.75 mil to help out "Black and Brown communities" -- making big moves to fight COVID and help people who are behind bars.

Here's the gist of the breakdown ...

COVID-19 Relief -- The Org. believes "COVID-19 disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities" and has earmarked $800,000 in grants to 13 groups that help people affected by the pandemic.

Legal Defense Initiative -- The Org. has said it will help pay legal defense for people arrested in protests after the killing of George Floyd.

We're told, KYRC continues to expand on the defense initiative it was managing nationwide by giving a $500,000 collaborative grant to the National Lawyers Guild to support the defense of thousands of cases throughout the country.

Bail Funds -- KYRC has dedicated $200,000 to various groups in cities like Atlanta, Detroit, Miami and more to help cover bail funds.

Essential Living Costs/Rent Relief -- $450k in grants to groups in various cities.

A rep for Colin's organization says it has also teamed up with Impossible Foods to help people experiencing food insecurity since the start of the COVID pandemic.

The group also tells us, "KYRC is proud of the breadth and depth of our community impact during these difficult times."

Tekashi 6ix9ine will be absent from social media in the last couple weeks before he regains his freedom -- but he says he's coming back with a vengeance.

6ix9ine tells TMZ ... he just temporarily deactivated his Instagram account ahead of his home confinement ending around August 1. The reason? He says his lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, recommended it for the rapper's safety, so he's following through.

Tekashi says as freedom nears, his legal team thinks he might mistakenly leak some crucial info about his whereabouts, meaning where he is now or where he'll be next ... once he's cut loose. We're told Tekashi's team hasn't quite decided on that yet, but out of an abundance of caution they're advising he go dark for a while as they figure out that next move.

Not shockingly, Tekashi says he'll be back to trolling his haters soon enough, and insists he will NOT leaving his hometown of NYC. We're told one of his lawyers feels he should reconsider ... so the matter is still up in the air.

At any rate, 6ix9ine tells us he plans to keep roaming the streets of the Big Apple -- but adds he'll be rolling "like Trump" in that he'll have a ton of armed guards around. Specifically, he says he plans to hire 22 of them, all former law enforcement officers.

Tekashi also says he's gonna have 5 bulletproof SUV-like whips to escort him around town. Despite all those heavy duty precautions ... he insists he has "no fear" and is actually excited to get out and about again.

As for how these final days of home confinement will go ... Lazzaro says the feds will continue to drug test him, advise him and monitor his activity.

Bryshere Gray -- famous for playing Hakeem Lyon on "Empire" -- has been busted in Arizona for domestic violence.

We've learned Bryshere was arrested early Monday morning in Goodyear, just outside Phoenix, after a standoff with a SWAT team and crisis negotiators, and he allegedly beat the hell outta his wife ... according to cops.

Goodyear PD says officers responded to a call to assist a woman at 10:15 PM Sunday night at a Circle K. Police and say the woman flagged down a good Samaritan for help and claimed her husband, Bryshere, assaulted her for several hours at their home.

Police say Bryshere's wife had numerous visible injuries on her body, and cops say she claimed Bryshere strangled her and she temporarily lost consciousness during the alleged assault.

While Bryshere's wife was being taken to a nearby hospital, cops say they went to the couple's home to try to contact the actor, but police say he refused to leave the home and barricaded himself inside.

After a SWAT team and crisis negotiators arrived, cops say the standoff finally ended around 7 AM when Bryshere surrendered to officers in front of his home.

Bryshere was taken into custody and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on 3 charges -- felony aggravated assault (strangulation), misdemeanor assault (domestic violence), and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Bryshere's wife was treated for her injuries and released from the hospital, according to police.

NY Giants cornerback Deandre Baker is denying paying off 4 victims in his armed robbery case ... despite new allegations to the contrary.

The new claims are spelled out in a warrant obtained by the NY Daily News ... in which law enforcement officials say they have video evidence and Instagram messages which show the NFL player paid out $55,000 between 4 victims to recant their stories.

As we previously reported, Baker -- along with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar -- have been charged with multiple counts of armed robbery with a firearm stemming from a May 13 incident at a cookout in Florida.

Officials say Baker essentially worked with a witness who happened to be a longtime friend -- known as "Coach" -- to orchestrate the payouts at the office of Dunbar's attorney.

Cops say they have IG direct messages from Baker to "Coach" saying, "Yo I’m in the city now getting cash how much to bring ?? I’m tryna get there too u ASAP."

Cops say they have records which show "several phone calls between Baker and [Coach]" discussing the alleged payoff.

And, there's this ... cops also say they have surveillance video showing an unknown person arriving to the lawyer's office with a "black bag" containing a bunch of cash.

Cops say, at one point the person "opens it and removes the money and the shows the bag to "Coach."

"[Coach] then takes the bag."

On the same day as the alleged payoff, Dunbar's attorney allegedly contacted police to inform them 4 witnesses "have recanted their sworn/recorded statements against Dunbar."

Coincidence? The cops think not.

But, Baker's attorney Bradford Cohen tells us Baker did NOT pay anyone off ... period -- denying all of the new allegations.

Cohen says, "Deandre has been saying since day 1 that this was an extortion scene. Nothing from that day has changed."

"Any texts from [Baker] to these extortionists were made to keep them on the hook, as we informed authorities of this extortion the minute money was demanded."

"Deandre was with his attorneys, including myself, on the day in question and I was in contact with the authorities at the same time of the extortion demand."

"We have no affidavits from the alleged victims. Our affidavits are from independent witnesses."

Cohen says Baker has also taken a lie detector test from a "nationally recognized examiner" and passed as truthful.

The drama continues ... stay tuned.

6ix9ine's time on home confinement is almost up, and while fans are probably expecting some of his classic antics ... he claims he'll be cautious and motivated by one thing -- making music.

The rapper will be a relatively free man on or about August 1, when his house arrest ends, after getting out of prison back in April due to the pandemic.

He'll still be on supervised release for 5 years, but free to go out and about on his own, which raises the obvious concern ... whether or not he can stay out of trouble.

Tekashi's attorney, Lance Lazzaro, tells TMZ ... his client's not thinking like that -- he's focused on work, security and elevating his music career. The "Trollz" rapper will need permission from the judge to leave the Southern and Eastern Districts of NY, but Lazzaro says that shouldn't be an issue as long as 6ix9ine proves he's leaving for legit work ... which is his plan.

Of course, going back out in public also means heightened concern about revenge for snitching. Lazzaro says 69's going to be consulting with his security team on every move and will be extra careful, even when conducting business.

Keeping a low-profile's never been Tekashi's thing, but his lawyer says that's what he intends to do. We're told he's not planning to attend any events, at least for a while. Not that there's a hell of a lot happening thanks to COVID-19.

The biggest perk of 6ix9ine's house arrest ending, according to Lazzaro, will be access to artists and execs interested in working with him ... as well as better studios for recording tracks and music vids.

Tekashi's been forced to do all of that out of his residence for the past few months -- though it's worked out very well for him.

Of course, he'll have to keep his nose clean and stay away from people with gang ties. It's a no-brainer he'll want to avoid them, but he's gotta hope they're not looking for him.

The coronavirus pandemic has two companies who make face masks tailored for eating and drinking on the verge of an all-out legal war ... and their beef just got real!!!

Sip Mask USA is threatening its zipper mask competitor Shut Your Mouth with a $1 million lawsuit ... firing off a cease and desist letter claiming SYM is violating its intellectual property by hawking an "unsafe knockoff" for $26.99.

In the threatening legal letter, obtained by TMZ, Sip Mask claims it started selling face coverings with zippers that allow users to safely sip beverages through a "straw port" back in March, and says Shut Your Mouth never got its permission to start selling unsafe knockoffs.

Sip Mask says its masks feature medical-grade fabric to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and claims they are fireproof. The company says the alleged knockoffs have several design flaws -- non-medical grade materials, exposing the mouth when unzipped, and fire risk if users decide to light up while using the mask.

In the legal threat, Sip Mask claims Shut Your Mouth is exposing itself to at least $1 million in liabilities ... and the company wants its competitor to stop selling its masks or face further legal action.

We reached out to Shut Your Mouth ... so far, the company is keeping its mouth shut.

Something's rotten at the original "Tiger King" zoo, now owned by Jeff Lowe -- 2 cadaver dogs have zeroed in on what their trainer believes are human remains ... TMZ has learned.

We're told the dogs were brought in as part of an episode of Zak Bagans' "Ghost Adventures." Our sources say the dogs picked up the scent Thursday ... in the alligator pit.

The local sheriff's deputies are on the scene right now, and we're told they're currently discussing a method to determine if remains are there ... and, if so, how to dig them up safely.

The zoo, in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, was originally Joe Exotic's baby ... before he partnered with Jeff, and then got convicted in federal court for murder-for-hire and various animal abuse charges. He's currently serving a 22 year sentence.

Sources connected with Joe tell TMZ ... Joe has said there are ashes of 4 people buried on the property as a memorial --  people who chose to make the zoo their final resting place. The sources did not identify whose ashes were there.

Cardi B's got babies on her mind ... and she's also seeing green, 'cause it appears she's about to dive into the baby clothing biz!!!

According to docs, obtained by TMZ ... the rapper wants to trademark her name for a new children's clothing line to make just about everything for little ones ... from bottoms, shirts and sweaters to bibs, onesies and headwear.

All would be embroidered with her name. We can see it now -- "Get these Cardi Bibs on your kid before every meal!!!"

It only makes sense for Cardi to get in the baby clothing biz. She's already proven to be a dominant player in the fashion world. You'll recall her Fashion Nova line was an instant hit. She's also, in the past, teamed up with Tom Ford and Reebok, to name a few.

But, with Cardi getting more business savvy and her daughter, Kulture, growing up so fast -- it was only a matter of time before Mama Cardi launched her own baby clothing line.