Legal

Amber Heard might be a terror behind closed doors -- at least according to Johnny Depp -- but she's an absolute pleasure in her professional life ... so says Dolph Lundgren.

The Swedish actor, famous for playing Drago in "Rocky IV," dished about his experience working with Amber for a second go-round as they filmed 'Aquaman 2' ... with both stars reprising their roles from the OG. That would be King Nereus and Mera, respectively.

During a Memorial Day giveaway for Redline Steel ... Dolph told CEO, Colin Wayne, that Amber was easy to work with and super nice on set. Despite all the public backlash she's faced during the trial, DL had nothing bad to say about Amber.

He even mentioned her new baby, who apparently was around during production ... and charmed the cast and crew.

Of course, the fact AH was nice to Dolph during filming doesn't really negate what's been revealed in this case -- namely, that she's been in some nasty fights with Johnny.

Soccer star Kurt Zouma will not have to spend time behind bars for attacking his cats ... instead, he was sentenced to community service on Wednesday.

Zouma had faced jail time after pleading guilty last week to kicking and slapping his pets during a February incident ... but a judge ordered him to just 180 hours of community service and a five-year ban from owning cats.

His brother, Yoan -- who pleaded guilty to a charge last week that he aided and abetted Kurt during the incident -- was sentenced to 140 hours of community service and was also banned from owning cats for five years.

The two were ordered to pay fines and fees as well.

During the sentencing hearing, the judge scolded the two brothers -- calling their actions "disgraceful and reprehensible."

"As a public figure," the judge said, "you must be aware that others look up to you and many young people aspire to emulate you."

Both of Zouma's cats had been taken away from the 27-year-old, who's a member of France's national team, earlier this year after video show him kicking and slapping the felines.

The cats are currently in the care of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ... and are in the process of finding a new home.

We're officially one full day into deliberations for Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard, and so far -- the jury has already asked for clarification on one issue ... and it has to do with Amber.

The jury came back wanting some guidance on how to handle Johnny's defamation claims.  You'll recall he's suing over three statements in particular that were featured in AH's op-ed -- and the jurors wanna know whether they're supposed to look at the headline in isolation, or as part of the entire op-ed.

The headline they're referring to is the one that appeared in the digital version of the 2018 WaPo piece ... "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change."

The jury's query to the court -- "Does question number three -- "The statement is false" -- pertain to the headline ... or does it pertain to the content of the statement and everything written in the op-ed?"

The answer from Judge Penney Azcarate was to look at the headline in isolation as its own statement and to decide if it, by itself, is defamatory, without considering the full context of the op-ed. Now that they got their answer, the jury continues to deliberate ... so far, they're about 10 hours deep, total.

FWIW, the other two allegedly defamatory statements have to do with Amber calling herself a "public figure representing domestic abuse" and saying she had the "rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse."

It's interesting the jury came back with this ... it seems to harken back to something Amber's attorney, Ben Rottenborn, argued in closing -- namely, even if the jury doesn't buy all of Amber's claims ... her statements in the op-ed are still technically true on their face. He says she did, in fact, speak up and she did, in fact, become a public figure representing DV.

Rottenborn also invoked the First Amendment in his closing argument -- saying Amber had every right to speak on her own personal experience.

A 23rd female massage therapist is now suing Deshaun Watson ... claiming she's decided to file the docs after watching the HBO special on the quarterback earlier this month.

In the lawsuit, filed in Harris County, Texas on Tuesday and obtained by TMZ Sports, Nia Smith says Watson was sexually inappropriate with her during three separate massage sessions in 2020.

Her allegations -- which are similar to the other 22 masseuses who have sued Watson in the past two years -- had been made public before ... she spoke about them in an interview in July 2021, but had said she did not sue Watson over it all, fearing backlash.

However, in her suit, Smith claimed after watching a piece on Watson and his accusers during HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" last week ... she changed her mind.

"After seeing Watson publicly refuse to take responsibility for his action," Smith's attorney, Tony Buzbee, wrote in the documents, "saying he had 'no regrets,' and Watson's lawyer repeatedly calling the women liars, [Smith] decided enough was enough."

"She decided that Watson needs to be held accountable," Buzbee added. "She does not want him to get away with his lies."

In her suit, Smith is asking for "minimal compensatory damages."

"Today we filed suit for the 23rd plaintiff in this litigation," Buzbee said in a statement to TMZ Sports following the filing. "Other cases may come. The Watson defense team has vilified these women and this cause. Shame on them! We look forward to trying this case in court."

A huge "Pirates of the Caribbean"-themed ship cruised by the very courthouse where the star of the franchise is waiting to hear his fate.

The "boat" sits atop a flatbed truck and made a splash smack Tuesday in front of the Fairfax County Courthouse in Virginia.

The vessel has a Captain Jack Sparrow banner hanging off the side, displaying the actor's face for all to see ... it's also got a mannequin pirate in front, manning a cannon while looking out onto the choppy waters/sidewalk.

Johnny was spending time overseas during the holiday weekend -- although he traveled by air -- hitting the stage Monday for the second night in a row with Jeff Beck at the famed Royal Albert Hall in England, playing hits all night long.

Jerry Jeudy is breathing easier today ... TMZ Sports has confirmed prosecutors are dropping the criminal case against the NFL star.

A spokesperson for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office tells us officials formally filed a motion to dismiss all of the charges against the Denver Broncos wideout on Tuesday morning.

The filing comes just three weeks after the 23-year-old was arrested following an incident with the mother of his 1-month-old child.

Jeudy had been accused of withholding property from the woman who officers at the time claimed was trying to leave his presence on May 12 in Arapahoe County. He was booked on charges of 2nd-degree criminal tampering w/a domestic violence enhancer.

Throughout the case, though, Jeudy's attorney -- Harvey Steinberg -- had argued the receiver should have never been arrested. On Tuesday, he celebrated the D.A.'s decision in a statement to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.

"Nothing rose to the level of a crime," Steinberg said. "I like Jerry and he is a good person and this is a minor bump in the road of what I think will be a sterling career."

Marilyn Manson has been the target of a sexual assault investigation for more than a year, but as the case winds down, detectives haven't found solid evidence that'll nail the rocker ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us there have been, "some credibility issues with the victim" which have made it hard to build a legit case.

Cops are close to submitting their findings to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, who ultimately will make the decision, but it's hard to imagine they'd charge without the goods. While we're told the case likely won't amount to charges, that can always change if new evidence emerges.

TMZ broke the story, Special Victims Unit detectives descended on Manson's L.A. home back in November, executing a search warrant and seized media storage units -- including hard drives.

Prior to that, cops were digging into abuse allegations -- including accusations he locked women into a soundproof room in the home to punish them.

As we reported, Evan Rachel Wood, who Manson dated back in 2007 has made very public allegations of abuse against the rocker.

In a shocking lawsuit filed against Wood by Manson, he accused his former lover of writing a fake letter from the FBI, pretending to be an agent and hinting at the fact he was under investigation.

Manson claims Wood and a friend of hers then distributed the letter to other victims and media members to make it appear as if he was actually in trouble.

Early in 2021, Manson was visited by cops, and a helicopter was used to search his home after someone called in a welfare check ... so he's had plenty of law enforcement interaction over the course of the last year and a half.

AEW star Jake Atlas has been hit with a domestic violence charge ... after he allegedly scratched his boyfriend following an argument over a sexual encounter.

According to police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, Atlas was arrested on May 23 after cops say the 27-year-old wrestler's boyfriend and a witness told them Atlas became very aggressive following a night of drinking.

Police say while Atlas was out at a bar, his boyfriend joined him there ... and say the boyfriend told them the two eventually "went back to a female friend's house to take part in sexual activities."

But, cops say Atlas' boyfriend told them that after he had paid "more attention" to the female than Atlas -- the 5-foot-11, 230-pound athlete became enraged.

In the docs, officers say the boyfriend and a witness told them Atlas started a "huge verbal argument" -- and then tried to attack the boyfriend multiple times.

In his alleged fits of rage, Atlas was accused of scratching his boyfriend and tearing the man's tank top.

Cops say in the docs when they tried to interview Atlas for his side of the story, "he only wished to talk bad about" his boyfriend instead of being cooperative.

Court records show Atlas -- real name Kenny Sanchez Martinez -- was ultimately charged with domestic violence battery, a misdemeanor. The records show he was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.

He's due back in court for a hearing in the case in late June.

Atlas -- who is openly gay -- wrestled in the WWE from 2019 to 2021. He went on to wrestle with AEW in late 2021, but suffered a significant knee injury in Jan. 2022 and has not returned to the ring since.

Johnny Depp now has something in common with The Beatles -- they have both played the famed Royal Albert Hall in England.

Johnny hit the stage Monday for the second night in a row with Jeff Beck ... this, as he awaits a verdict in his defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard.

Beck and Johnny have a years-long connection. In introducing his bud, Beck said, "He came knocking on my dressing room door about five years ago and we haven't stopped laughing since."

They repeated the songs they sang together the night before in Sheffield ... John Lennon's "Isolation," Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing," Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," and The Beatles' "A Day In The Life."

As for whether the crowd loved it ... well, there were several standing O's.

Kevin Spacey is ready to face his new legal trouble overseas, and is convinced he can clear his name of all sexual assault charges.

Spacey released a statement to "Good Morning America" Tuesday, saying he's going to "voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges."

He says he's confident he can prove he's innocent, While he admits he's disappointed the court moved forward with the charges, he thanks the Crown Prosecution Service for reminding the public he's allowed a fair trial.

As we reported, Spacey is facing 4 criminal charges for alleged incidents involving 3 different men between 2005 and 2013. On top of sexual assault, he's also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

All 4 charges have been authorized, and he can only be charged formally upon arrest in Wales or England.

Spacey was also sued in 2020 by "Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp, who claims he sexually assaulted him at the age of 14.

Owen Wilson's gonna need a hot new set of wheels ... cause cops say his were stolen right off his fancy car!!!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Owen parked his Tesla in front of his Santa Monica home Saturday -- but he came out Sunday morning to notice someone had stolen all his rims and tires.

In all, we're told the estimated cost was around $4K for everything, so not awful, but still a pain to handle.

We're told cops will investigate the case as grand theft and are checking neighborhood home security cameras for any leads on the thief or thieves.

Johnny Depp is not sitting at home anxiously waiting for the jury to decide his fate ... he's rocking out in England, and one of the songs has a title at the heart of the trial.

Johnny hit the stage with Jeff Beck in Sheffield England Sunday. Beck's touring the U.K. and Johnny made a surprise appearance, and the crowd went wild.

Depp joined Beck for their 2020 collab, "Isolation." But, the ironic moment ... they covered Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." Slap a question mark on the title, and that's precisely what the jury is deciding.

They also performed Hendrix's "Little Wing."

There's a buzz Johnny might perform Monday and Tuesday night with Beck at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London, but a Tuesday performance seems improbable. The jury is deliberating that day and could reach a verdict, and given the drama and Johnny's commitment to the trial, it's almost certain he wants to be in position in case there's a decision.

Depp died his hair for the performance ... it's much lighter than how he appeared in court.

As he testified, he came to Hollywood expecting to be a musician, which is his passion. He formed an epic band back in 2015, the Hollywood Vampires, with Alice Cooper and they frequently played at the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip.

Joe Exotic's estranged husband, Dillon Passage, has filed a prenup in their divorce case, and Joe's lawyer tells TMZ, it's actually a money grab and the prenup is fraudulent.

On the surface, this seems weird, because you'd think Joe would be the one who would want a prenup, but his lawyer, Autumn Blackledge, says there was never such a document.

Dillon's lawyer filed the prenup Friday, which keeps the property and assets each brought into the marriage and the property and assets they acquired during the marriage separate.

Blackledge says Joe never signed such a document and she believes this is a stall tactic on Dillon's part to delay a final divorce decree, so he can continue to make money off his relationship with Joe.

She goes on to allege Dillon has been on a tear, selling some of Joe's personal items for personal gain while Joe sits behind bars ... speaking of which, Blackledge claims Dillon has never visited Joe in prison.

According to the document, Joe's deep in financial debt. She says his assets total $65,000 and his debts are an astonishing $100,052,000. She says his annual income is $7,800.

According to the document, Dillon owes $20k in student loans and has $110 in his checking account, with a net worth of $20,110.

Sounds like neither has anything to speak of, yet Blackledge claims Dillon has made more than $1 million off the 'Tiger King' franchise.

Joe filed for divorce in March after 4 years of marriage.

Dillon’s lawyer Parastoo Majd says, "The prenuptial agreement was entered into legally by both parties and I will have a full statement after the holiday weekend."

Paul McCartney either took a position in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard saga -- possibly a pro-JD one -- OR ... he's just playing a tune/music video that happens to feature the guy.

Macca performed in Orlando Saturday at the Camping World Stadium -- just one of his many stops on the 'Got Back' tour he's on right now -- and at one point in the show ... he started performing his track "My Valentine," the visual treatment for which has a Depp cameo.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, showing PMC crooning on the piano, while an interesting image pops up on the jumbo screens flanking the stage -- it's Johnny strumming the guitar, opposite Natalie Portman ... who's also featured in Paul's 2012 music video.

We're told that when Johnny first showed up in front of everyone ... the whole stadium lost it and cheered. Paul didn't say anything to address it -- he just carried on playing -- but we're told there's no doubt the feeling in the room was that he'd done it on purpose.

There've been reports Paul has actually been using this song and visual treatment throughout his tour this year ... which just happened to coincide with the trial. Word is ... Paul has actually used this visual treatment on stage in tours past, so it could much ado about nothing.

Still, on the face of it... it would appear he deliberately chose to have this on his set list now, and to have Depp cameo. And if that's true, you could certainly argue he's Team Johnny.

Not to go too far down this rabbit hole here -- BUT ... some online have also made some interesting comparisons between Johnny's sitch and Paul's own once upon a time. For those who remember, he went through a nasty divorce with Heather Mills ... who accused him at the time of some pretty awful stuff, which kinda echoes what JD's been accused of himself.

HBO is being dragged to court over a fire that destroyed a set on a show ... because the folks who live next door claim the blaze ruined their homes.

HBO and the star, Mark Ruffalo, are being sued over the May 2019 fire that destroyed an upstate New York car dealership being used as a filming location for the miniseries, "I Know This Much Is True."

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, a handful of folks who say they live near the burned down property claim the fire exposed them to harmful toxins and carcinogens, and damaged their homes.

What's more, the neighbors say the production team and HBO haven't done much to clean up the site of the blaze ... they say it's remained an "uncovered and unabated debris pile, toxin spill and wind-driven dust and gaseous dispersion."

The neighbors say HBO and Mark, who also serves as an executive producer are to blame for the fire ... claiming the film set was a powder keg due to kerosene, heating oil and other flammable materials being stored at the filming location.

In the docs, the neighbors say they suffered and continue to suffer physical and emotional injuries ... and they're seeking millions in damages.

Elon Musk is speaking his piece on the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial -- this after being sucked into the middle of it -- and his parting sentiment to both is ... turn a new leaf, y'all.

The Tesla chief responded to somebody on Twitter who recapped their thoughts on the trial and the standout moments -- a tweet that you could, perhaps, interpret as anti-Amber -- with EM chiming in ... "I hope they both move on. At their best, they are each incredible."

That's an interesting take -- especially since he dated Amber briefly after her split from Johnny ... and, according to court testimony, also allegedly ponied up fat stacks of cash on her behalf.

On the face of this, you could argue that he sees both of them as deeply flawed ... but also notes a side to each that shines. Weirdly enough, we're not aware of any relationship Elon has with Johnny -- he only spent time with AH, it seems -- so his analysis is a bit cryptic.

As we all heard in this trial ... the COO for the ACLU, Terence Dougherty, testified about what Amber had (or hadn't, rather) donated since making her $3.5 million pledge in the wake of her divorce -- noting they'd only received a small chunk of change from her personally.

Now, Dougherty suggested Elon had donated at least $500k to the ACLU in Amber's honor. Ditto for the Children's Hospital ... another $500k there from Elon too, which also revealed in court. That's upwards of a $1M for a woman he was with for maybe a year. Yeesh ...

Elon was speculated to potentially testify in this case, but he was never called ... neither was Paul Bettany or James Franco, other men who got roped into this thing.

As for where we go from here ... the jury entered deliberations Friday without reaching a decision, so they'll pick it back up on Tuesday to decide once and for all who wins here. Speaking of the jurors -- Judge Penney Azcarate ruled they'd remain anonymous for a year.