Legal

Offset’s legal filing against his ex-label Quality Control has opened up a can of worms … and they’re crawling in every direction!

Quality Control CEO Pierre "Pee" Thomas reacted to the breaking news that Offset was suing for solo independence with disdain — calling the estranged Migos rapper’s complaints "lame."

Offset — and his wife Cardi B sharply fired back at Pee … Offset claiming Pee had him blackballed for the past two years without even communicating.

Cardi echoed the lawsuit’s details … Offset paid QC millions to obtain his solo rights as an artist, but when he released his “5,4,3,2,1” single last week, he says QC tried to claim ownership, effectively ticking him off in the process.

Taylor Swift flipped through an old poetry book and decided to hijack the vibe and design for her own offering nearly a decade later -- at least according to a new lawsuit.

A woman named Teresa La Dart has filed suit against TS, claiming she and her company lifted crucial elements of her own published work -- a 2010 book called "Lover" that includes poems, anecdotes and photos -- for TayTay's 2019 book of the same name.

Of course, Taylor has her "Lover" album ... but this lady is going after her for the accompanying book she released as a companion piece to the hit record.

Per the docs, obtained by TMZ, La Dart insists the similarities between what she put out almost 10 years ago and what Taylor released are too close to ignore. She says her book was widely available and insinuates Taylor and co. saw it and then essentially created carbon copy -- trying to pass it off as original.

As for what exactly she thinks is so alike between her book and Taylor's ... there's a few things actually. Aside from sharing a title, La Dart claims the general concept of what Taylor did -- a "recollection of past years memorialized in a combination of written and pictorial components," according to La Dart -- is exactly what her book is, to a T.

La Dart also claims the style of the photos featured on the cover/foreword are very similar ... pointing specifically to the pastel pinks and blues in the color schemes of both books.

Sylvester Stallone and his wife are calling it quits, she's filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage ... and is accusing the actor of moving assets from marital funds.

Jennifer Flavin filed docs Friday in Florida ... unclear exactly why she decided to pull the plug on their marriage, but some fans started to sense trouble thanks to a recent tattoo coverup -- the "Rocky" star removed an image of Jennifer's face from his arm.

Flavin wants exclusive domain over their house in Palm Beach while divorce proceedings wind their way through the courts.

She also made clear ... she believes Sly is hiding marital assets. In the divorce docs, obtained by TMZ, she says, "Upon information and belief, the Husband has engaged in the intentional dissipation, depletion and/or waste of marital assets which has had an adverse economic impact on the marital estate. Pursuant to Section 61.075, Florida Statues, equity dictates that the Wife be compensated and made whole by receiving an unequal distribution of the marital assets in her favor. Moreover, the Husband should be enjoined from, selling, transferring, assigning, encumbering, or dissipating any assets during the pendency of proceedings."

Jennifer wants to restore her last name -- Flavin. She also wants a judge to put the brakes on Sly moving assets from the marital pot. Closer Weekly first reported the split.

Stallone used to have a portrait of Flavin on his bicep, but recently got it covered by an image of his late dog, and "Rocky" costar Butkus.

When asked about the reasoning behind covering the ink of Jennifer, Stallone's rep told Daily Mail, "Mr. Stallone intended to refresh the tattoo image of his wife Jennifer; however, the results were unsatisfactory and, unfortunately, unfixable."

What's more ... Jennifer took to Instagram to post a photo with the three daughters she and Sylvester share, with the caption, "These girls are my priority <3 nothing else matters. The 4 of us forever."

Jennifer and Sylvester got married in 1997.

We reached out to Sly's rep ... so far, no word back.

Megan Thee Stallion's following up her "Traumazine" album release by playing some legal hardball -- forcing J. Prince and Carl Crawford to sit for depositions in the lawsuit over her contract.

Megan filed docs Tuesday notifying the court her lawyers will be grilling 1501 Entertainment honcho Crawford, as well as Prince ... the Rap-A-Lot Records founder, who Megan claims has been advising Crawford on business dealings.

The date and place are already set ... J. Prince goes first on October 24, and Crawford follows the next day -- both depos will be taken at an office building in Houston, and they will be recorded on video.

It's a major power move for Megan, who, as we've reported ... is suing her label, 1501 Entertainment, because she believes she satisfied the terms of her contract with her last 2 albums -- "Something for Thee Hotties" and last week's release, "Traumazine."

Megan says Crawford and co. aren't viewing those projects as albums, simply to keep her tied to 1501 -- but she says she's done with the label. She wants out, and she wants a judge to force Crawford to cough up royalties and other money she says 1501 owes her.

She says that number is at least $1 million, but wants a proper accounting to determine the actual damages.

Tensions boiled over on Tuesday morning ... when Megan, Prince and Crawford all volleyed accusations that ranged from the 2 men mishandling her business to Megan conspiring with Roc Nation to get out of her contract.

Getting an industry powerhouse like Prince to sit for a deposition is no easy task, and Megan's hope could be this forces Crawford to settle the lawsuit beforehand.

While Migos continues dodging break-up rumors, Offset's going to war with the group's record label ... filing a lawsuit over his solo career.

Offset filed docs, which TMZ Hip Hop obtained, and in them he accuses Quality Control Records of ignoring a deal they made back in January 2021.

According to the suit, filed Tuesday, Offset says he negotiated his solo deal, and "paid handsomely" for his artist rights ... but now that he's dropped a new solo project, he says QC isn't honoring the deal.

He just released the Baby Keem-produced solo single, "54321" … which he says QC incorrectly tried to claim as its own, an action he calls "hostile."

Offset also plans on releasing another song entitled "Code" with Moneybagg Yo this Friday, presumably just on Motown Records, the label he signed with for his solo career.

Migos sparked break-up rumors earlier this year when Quavo and Takeoff began releasing music under the moniker "Unc & Phew." Quavo was willing to talk about everything -- except the alleged split.

Offset's Migos deal with QC remains in place -- but when it comes to his solo work, he wants the court to declare QC does NOT own anything he's made since January 15, 2021, or in the future.

Vanessa Bryant has endured two weeks of emotional testimony ... thankfully, she hasn't done it alone 'cause her support system is strong -- with U.S. soccer star Sydney Leroux joining VB and Natalia Bryant in court Wednesday.

The 32-year-old Olympic gold medalist and World Cup winner was photographed walking into a Los Angeles courtroom this morning with Kobe's 19-year-old daughter, Natalia, and Vanessa ... for closing arguments in the trial over photographs taken by L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies, who are accused of taking and showing off gruesome photos from the crash scene.

Leroux, who also attended court late last week, is a longtime friend of the Bryant family. In fact, Kobe was a mentor to the 2012 London Olympics and 2015 Women's World Cup winner.

After Kobe and Gianna tragically died, Leroux, who like Gigi, wore #2 ... the soccer star got the number tattooed on her body as a tribute to Vanessa's daughter.

Sydney isn't the only famous friend supporting Vanessa. Ciara and Monica have also attended the trial this week.

The attorney for Chris Chester, the co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, who tragically lost his wife and daughter in the helicopter crash, has asked for up to $32.5 million from L.A. County, calling the county's actions "inhuman and inhumane."

Vanessa Bryant has not specified the amount she is seeking.

Olivia Wilde is taking the gloves off when talking about her ex, Jason Sudeikis -- now saying the move to serve her court papers while she was onstage was a dangerously hostile act.

The actress dished about the awkward moment from back in April at CinemaCon -- where she was showcasing the trailer for her new flick, "Don't Worry Darling" -- as a random person walked right up to her in the middle of her presentation and laid a manila envelope at her feet.

As it turned out, they were custody docs from Jason ... who was trying to settle a legal matter about their shared children and where they should live. In the end, that didn't go his way.

Olivia had already telegraphed she was utterly outraged by what she considered a deliberate sabotaging at the hands of Jason -- even though he's denied knowing that's how she'd get the docs -- and now, she's going even further in Variety ... calling the event "vicious."

Olivia says this happened at her "workplace," which she finds astoundingly inappropriate. She also sees it as scary, considering the amount of hurdles that the process server must've gone through to get in that day ... which, in her mind, means it was planned well in advance.

She also had this to say ... "I hated that this nastiness distracted from the work of so many different people and the studio that I was up there representing. To try to sabotage that was really vicious. But I had a job to do; I’m not easily distracted."

Olivia takes another personal jab, adding ... "But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me. I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship." Oof!

As you know ... Jason and Olivia were together from 2011 until 2020, when they surprisingly split and shocked Hollywood. Not long after, she started publicly dating Harry Styles -- who also stars in her new movie -- and they're still going strong.

It's interesting ... both Olivia and her current bf graced different magazine covers this week, but it seems HS was a bit more chatty about their relationship ... opening up about how some have gone on the attack against her due to her affiliation to him, which he regrets.

Kanye West has been wearing a lot of black lately, but he's thinking blue for his future ... at least when it comes to landing a logo for his clothing line.

Ye's filed two new trademarks, obtained by TMZ, for a bizarre blue design he hopes to lock down as a logo. Unclear what the motivation is behind the logo ... it's a solid blue circle encased by another blue circle with jagged edges.

Interestingly enough, Kanye filed for another variation of the logo back in July, one without the color blue ... but it appears he's changed his mind.

However, this time the docs state, "The color(s) blue is/are claimed as a feature of the mark." Kanye fans might recognize the shade of blue is slightly similar to the same one he used on his "Jesus is King" album ... but we can't see any correlation between the album and logo.

As for the logo's use, the documents state it'll be for retail stores, online ordering services and online retail store services including clothing, footwear and headwear.

TMZ broke the story, Ye recently filed docs to land a trademark for "YZYSPLY" for retail stores -- so it's always possible the new logo and stores could go hand in hand.

Vanessa Bryant's co-plaintiff Chris Chester is seeking millions in damages as the trial over the Kobe crash photos nears an end ... with his attorney asking for up to $32.5 million in damages.

The Chester and Bryant family attorney's both made closing statements ... but only Chester's specified a dollar amount.

Craig Lavoie, Vanessa's attorney, asked the jury to hold the officers accountable for allegedly taking and sharing gruesome photos of her late husband and daughter.

Bryant's lawyer reiterated Vanessa will constantly live in fear, knowing the photographs could hit the internet at any moment.

"Anytime, any day, that can be the day," Lavoie said. "Every day they will live in the fear that that is the day they will resurface."

It's been an emotional couple of weeks for Vanessa ... who's been in the courtroom every day, forced to listen to painful details about the tragic accident and the subsequent investigation into whether law enforcement inappropriately shared the images.

But, Vanessa hasn't been alone. On Monday, Ciara and Monica were on hand to support Bryant, with the latter showing up on Tuesday, as well.

In Chester's attorney, Jerome Jackson's closing remarks, he asked for $2.5 million for his client ... citing emotional damages sustained over the last two years.

Jackson's also asking for between $100K and $1 million for the rest of Chris' life ... which based off life expectancy data, is 30 years.

FYI, Chester lost his wife and 13-year-old daughter in the crash.

Vanessa's attorney, while addressing the court, made it clear the case was not about the accident ... but rather the alleged improper behavior of the deputies.

"44 years ago, today Kobe was born. It’s an honor to stand here beside Vanessa and ask for justice. Tragedy took both Kobe & Gigi away. We’re not here because of an accident, here because of intentional conduct. We’re going to ask you to deliver justice."

Paul Pelosi's crash site from his DUI arrest looks worse than reports initially indicated ... as evidenced by the photos you can now see from the scene.

TMZ has obtained a ton of pictures that were taken on the night of May 28 in Napa, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was busted for drinking and driving. We knew he was in some sort of accident with a Jeep ... but we didn't know the extent of the damage.

Check it out ... you can see both the Jeep and Paul's Porsche on the side of the road. It appears as though one or both vehicles tore through some wooden fencing ... which may have been connected to a business or vineyard of some sort.

It also looks like Paul's ride was more roughed up than the Jeep -- the rear of his car is smashed in. Of course, you also see Paul himself here ... milling around the wreckage.

The cops have said all along that Paul's car was the one that was hit by the Jeep. Nevertheless, CHP suspected he was under the influence that night -- in the end, they took him in.

He just pled guilty to DUI this week ... receiving a sentence of 3 years probation and 5 days jail time, with credit for time served. He got credit for 4 days, 2 of which were for good behavior ... the final day will be served through 8 hours in a court-ordered work program.

The other parts of his probation entail attending 3 months of a DUI education course and having an interlock device installed in his vehicle for a year. He was also ordered to pay fines and restitution for the property damage.

The two Atlanta police officers involved in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks will not be criminally charged ... this according to the special prosecutor in the case.

At a news conference Tuesday, special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis announced he is no longer pursuing criminal charges against officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan.

Remember ... Brooks was fatally shot in June 2020 after the officers tried to arrest him in a Wendy's parking lot, setting off protests resulting in the fast food joint being burned to the ground.

Cops say Brooks fell asleep in the Wendy's drive-thru line and when police responded he struggled with the officers, grabbing one cop's Taser and attempting to run away. Brooks was shot to death after officers claimed he pointed the Taser at Rolfe's head, firing once and missing.

Both cops were subsequently hit with criminal charges, including aggravated assault. Rolfe was also charged with felony murder.

Now, prosecutors say their review of the case finds Rolfe and Brosnan acted in accordance with Georgia law, concluding the use of deadly force was reasonable.

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios is being sued by the woman he had booted from his Wimbledon match for allegedly getting wasted and distracting him ... with the fan instructing her attorney to file a defamation lawsuit in court!

Anna Palus, a fan who was ejected from Nick's July 10 finals match in London, released a statement Tuesday, saying she plans to take the 27-year-old Australian to court for what she claims was a damaging characterization.

As we previously reported, Kyrgios complained to the refs during his match against Novak Djokovic, saying Anna looked "drunk out of her mind" and kept talking to him while he was playing.

When asked by the chair umpire to identify the woman who was distracting him, Kyrgios famously said, "She's the one who looks like she's had 700 drinks."

Anna claims she and her family suffered "very substantial damage and distress" due to the incident ... and now, they're going after Kyrgios for the alleged harm he's caused.

"During the course of the final, Nick Kyrgios made a reckless and entirely baseless allegation against me," the statement read. "Not only did this cause considerable harm on the day, resulting in my temporary removal from the arena, but Mr. Kyrgios’s false allegation was broadcast to, and read by, millions around the world."

"The need to obtain vindication and to prevent [the] repetition of the allegation are the only reasons for taking legal action. Any damages recovered will be donated to charity," the statement continued.

Kyrgios lost the final to Djokovic in four sets.

Ultimately, Anna says she hopes Kyrgios will reflect on the harm he's caused her and her family and offer a "prompt resolution" to address the situation.

Florida rapper Hotboii’s career stalled last year when he got caught up in a RICO case that authorities claim involved warring gangs … but he just scored a legal victory that may help his chances of being released on bond.

Hotboii’s lawyer, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ Hip Hop his client’s Miami gun possession case was dismissed on Tuesday … but the RICO case in Orlando remains open.

Hotboii's bond was revoked when he surrendered last month in Miami to deal with the gun case and Cohen thinks this dismissal could provide a silver lining to getting his bond reinstated.

Hotboii was also part of the 34-person indictment dubbed “Operation X-Force” … a concentrated effort to thwart the alleged crimes of rivals Army Gang and 438 Gang.

The 22-year-old rapper was riding high this past summer when Drake put the stamp of approval on his newly released “WTF” single … but saw the buzz fizzle when he surrendered to authorities last month.

George Lopez is all for getting his comedy out into the world by any means possible -- but he claims streaming giant Pandora never even bothered to license his comedy specials before streaming them ... which is why he's dragging them to court.

The legendary comic just filed suit against the radio streaming giant, claiming they've exploited his copyrighted material -- namely, his standup from 2 different specials -- without first getting a proper license to distribute it.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, George alleges Pandora has been streaming upwards of 37 works of his contained in 2001's "Right Now Right Now" and 2003's "Team Leader," which are 2 of his stand-up specials that became albums.

There are 18 chapters on the former, and 19 on the latter ... so essentially, George is saying Pandora's ripped off the entirety of each special and streamed it without his permission ... and, perhaps more importantly, without paying him.

You can tell he's pretty fired up about this too, because he's got a fiery introduction to this suit.

His attorneys write, "Pandora not only did not obtain any license for the Works but admitted that it did not do so in SEC filings, and admitted that it would very likely face copyright infringement liability as a result. But Pandora did what most goliaths do: it decided it would infringe now to ensure it had this very valuable intellectual property on its platform to remain competitive, and deal with the consequences later. Later is now."

George wants an accounting of all profits made from streaming his stuff and is looking to collect big damages. In the alternative, he's looking for statutory damages totaling $5.5 million for the alleged infringements.

Kanye West will not be charged for allegedly punching a fan after a heated exchange outside an L.A. hotel.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office tells us, "After a thorough and careful review of all the evidence, our office is declining to file based on no reasonable likelihood of conviction." Translation -- there's likely just not enough evidence for a conviction.

As we reported, Ye got into an argument that turned physical back in January near the Soho Warehouse, according to law enforcement sources. We're told things got so heated, Kanye pushed and punched the male fan.

The case was being investigated as a misdemeanor battery, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 6 months.

We obtained a video of an irate Kanye, shot around the time of the alleged assault. You hear Kanye yell, "Did y'all say that or not? Did y'all say that or not?" "Cuz that's what happened right f****** now."

Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, just pled guilty to a DUI charge stemming from his May car accident and arrest.

According to court records, obtained by TMZ, Pelosi pled guilty to one count of DUI. He was sentenced to three years probation and 5 days of jail time, with credit for time served.

As part of the probation terms, Pelosi has to complete 8 hours of a court work program, do a three-month drinking and driving course and put an ignition interlock device on his car for a year. He also has to pay a $150 fine.

TMZ broke the story ... Pelosi was involved in a car accident the night of May 28 near wine country -- cops said he was driving a 2021 Porsche when it was struck by a Jeep in a 2-vehicle crash.

The CHP officers who responded say Pelosi had "objective signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication" -- watery eyes, slurred speech and a "strong odor" of alcohol on his breath.

According to the police report, Pelosi handed officers his "11-99 Foundation" card when they asked him for ID ... the foundation provides financial assistance and scholarships to CHP officers and their families.

He was charged with 2 misdemeanors the following month -- Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Causing Injury, and Driving with .08% Blood Alcohol Level or Higher Causing Injury. Cops say his BAC was .082%, just over the legal limit.

Pelosi's attorney Amanda Bevins entered not guilty pleas for him at the beginning of August on both charges.