Legal

Cardi B said "okurrrr" to a plea deal in her strip club beatdown case ... and it's a pretty sweet one that keeps her outta jail.

Cardi agreed to plead guilty to 3rd-degree assault and reckless endangerment, both misdemeanors, and her punishment is 15 days of community service.

She showed up to court Thursday -- all decked out in white -- to accept the 11th hour plea deal. Jury selection was set to begin Friday and the trial would have started on Monday, but that's off the table now.

As we reported, Cardi was accused of ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders -- Jade and Baddie Gi -- in August 2018. She allegedly thought Jade had slept with her man, Offset.

Cardi was arrested and booked a few months later for her alleged role in the strip club fight.

As part of the plea, there's also an order of protection that requires Cardi to stay away from the women for 3 years.

After her taking the plea deal, Cardi told us ... "Part of growing up and maturing is being accountable for your actions. As a mother, it's a practice that I am trying to instill in my children, but the example starts with me. I've made some bad decisions in my past that I am not afraid to face and own up to."

R. Kelly is guilty of 6 of the 13 charges he faced in his Illinois federal case ... the jury just came back with its verdict.

The jury convicted him Wednesday on the child pornography counts he faced, but acquitted him on 7 others -- including charges of conspiracy and enticement.

Remember, Kelly was facing child pornography charges and prosecutors also accused him of concealing video evidence from his infamous 2008 case and threatening witnesses.

The trial just got underway last month, with prosecutors accusing Kelly of videotaping sexual encounters with minors.

As we reported, Kelly's trial included explosive testimony ... with his former goddaughter claiming the singer had sex with her hundreds of times before she turned 18 years old, with their first sexual intercourse happening when she was only 15.

Kelly's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, told the jury the singer was "imperfect" but insisted he was innocent.

A juror suffered a panic attack Monday, but the trial pressed forward as the judge immediately put the alternate juror in her place.

Tory Lanez doesn't appear to have a worry gene in his DNA -- his trial for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion was supposed to start Wednesday, but there was no concern on his face outside court.

We got him on camera Wednesday, entering and exiting the courthouse, and when we asked about his current mental state, Tory coolly replied he was "chilling."

That level-headed response might've been due to the fact nothing really went down in court. The trial was postponed, yet again, partly because Tory's lawyer is in the middle of another case.

The new trial date will be between November 28 and December 8.

Megan's ex-best friend, Kelsey Harris, was also present at court and is scheduled to testify for the prosecution about what she saw that night. Remember, Kelsey was inside the SUV with Tory and Megan.

An LAPD officer testified in December 2021 that Megan initially reported her injury to be caused by broken glass, before later claiming the injuries in her feet came from Tory shooting her while yelling "dance, bitch dance."

She's explained that, in the moment, she was protecting Tory ... fearing that if she told cops he had a gun -- this was just a few weeks after George Floyd's murder -- the situation could get worse.

Tory's facing one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a concealed, unregistered weapon.

Scooter Braun -- the man behind the careers of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and more -- has made out nicely in his divorce, retaining untold millions in real estate, artwork, investments and even a private jet ... but he's also gotta shell out $20 million to his ex.

We've obtained the divorce settlement between Scooter and his ex-wife, Yael, which breaks down the insane amount of money and investments Scooter has.

The docs -- filed by Disso Queen Laura Wasser -- say the two had a prenup, and here's the way it breaks down -- Scooter will keep the $65 million Brentwood home he bought after he filed for divorce (among other properties), a Gulfstream G450 (about $40 million), over 100 pieces of art (including Warhol and Keith Haring works), retains a slew of investments and bank accounts, and a Porsche and Tesla.

In turn, Scooter will fork over a $20 million equalization payment to Yael and pay $60,000 a month in child support for the couple's 3 kids. Yael also gets several works of art, assets from multiple bank accounts and a Land Rover Defender. She will also remain in the former couple's $30 million family home in Brentwood.

Jesse Williams is doing back-to-back seasons on Broadway, and because of some apparent fighting with his ex-wife over the custody arrangement for their kids ... he's now asking a judge to step in.

The actor filed new legal docs that seek to change the custody order that was agreed to earlier this year when he was starting his Spring run for the baseball play "Take Me Out," when he and Aryn Drake-Lee settled on him having his kids 4 consecutive days a month in NYC.

In the paperwork, obtained by TMZ, Jesse is asking to tweak that a bit ... seeing how he's going back to Broadway in the fall for yet another outing in the production. He wanted the same deal -- 4 consecutive days/month -- starting in October ... but says Aryn refused to play ball, so he's going to court over it and wants a few other tweaks.

For the month of October, Jesse is requesting he get his kids in the Big Apple for 4 days between Oct. 7 through Oct. 12 -- as well as 4 days through the Thanksgiving break ... and wants a similar arrangement to continue through January.

Now, you'd think that'd be A-OK since both he and Aryn signed off on a very similar arrangement back in March ... but, unfortunately, Jesse's saying they're fighting again over the dates for this go-around -- with him alleging that Aryn's refusing his requests.

Namely, he claims she'll only agree to his dates ... just so long as the kids aren't forced to head to New York, which is a no-go for Jesse, since that's where he's living at the moment.

Nicki Minaj is making one thing VERY clear, she and her legal team won't put up with social media accounts making wild statements about her ... and now she's filed a lawsuit.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Nicki claims a woman named Marley Green -- who goes by the social media persona "Nosey Heaux" -- posted a video Monday talking about Nicki in which she allegedly said Nicki is, "shoving all this cocaine, shoving in all this cocaine up her nose. Allegedly. Thank you. Allegedly. But we all know it's true. "F***-listen, I can't even say allegedly with that 'cause I, we all know it's true. I'm not saying allegedly on that. Nicki Minaj is a cokehead."

Not only that, but Nicki claims Green has also made "vile" comments about her 1-year-old son ... calling Nicki's entire bloodline disgusting and saying Nicki needs to get her son in therapy because, "Your baby is going to be a rapist, too."

While the legal docs call Green a "nobody" and someone "whose main accomplishments in life have been a string of criminal charges, bail jumping and bad debts," they acknowledge her social media posts have still gained some traction ... and the possibility people could believe what she says.

Nicki's attorney, Judd Burstein, states the "cokehead" video on Twitter garnered more than 2,000 likes and more than 250 retweets ... spanning a significant audience.

Nicki's going after "Nosey Heaux" for defamation, claiming she's never used cocaine ... and wants a jury to decide damages of no less than $75,000.

Burstein tells us, "When this case is over, she will no longer be permitted to use the name "Nosey Heaux" because we will take her trademark from her when she does not have enough money to pay the judgment. Anyone else who spreads lies about Nicki will suffer a similar fate."

He continues, "My marching orders are to aggressively sue anyone with a media or social media following who damages her with intentional lies. Eventually, the lesson will be learned."

Trevor Bauer is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the woman who accused him of sexual assault ... claiming he has video proof, taken from bed after their second sexual encounter, which proves she lied about her injuries.

TMZ Sports obtained a motion filed by 31-year-old Bauer's legal team in southern California, which includes a video that was allegedly recorded by accuser Lindsey Hill after they had sex the night of May 16, 2021.

"She appears to be willingly in bed with a sleeping Mr. Bauer, and is smirking and uninjured," the Cy Young award winner's attorney wrote in the filing.

The clip, which we've seen, is less than 10 seconds long and doesn't contain audio.

Bauer's team believes the video -- which they say they recently received from the Pasadena police department -- proves Hill didn't actually sustain injuries to her face, torpedoing her case.

Hill previously claimed Bauer gave her two black eyes.

Bauer's accuser filed a lawsuit for battery against the pitcher in August 2022, claiming ... "Last year, disgraced Major League Baseball player Trevor Bauer violently and sadistically abused Hill in the most appalling manner imaginable, sexually battering and battering a defenseless woman."

Hill did not specify how much money she's seeking.

At the time, Trevor's team responded to the suit, saying ... "Lindsey Hill’s claims were judicially disproven last August following a hearing regarding a DVRO petition filed in bad faith."

In August 2021, a court denied Hill's request for a permanent restraining order against Bauer ... saying Hill hadn't set clear lines before they had sex. However, the judge described the injuries in photos presented as evidence as "terrible."

Despite the court's ruling, Major League Baseball hit the former Dodgers pitcher with a two-year suspension without pay.

Trevor is appealing MLB's decision.

The tabloid owner who claims Thomas Markle is out to kill him just got two years of court-ordered protection from Meghan Markle's father.

According to new legal docs, obtained TMZ, a judge granted Jeff Rayner a restraining order against Thomas, who did not show up for Tuesday's court hearing.

The protective order will be in place for the next two years ... and even though TM didn't show up for the hearing, the court says Thomas was served with legal papers.

TMZ broke the story ... Jeff, the co-owner of tabloid and news agency Coleman-Rayner, claimed he was scared of what Thomas might do to him after Meghan's pops allegedly threatened Jeff in a book.

Remember ... Rayner claimed Markle vowed to kill him in an excerpt from Tom Boyer's book, "Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between The Windsors" ... wondering if Thomas might use a gun to get revenge in a longstanding beef, and claiming the alleged threat was causing stress and anxiety.

Britney Spears' ex-husband, Jason Alexander, just can't seem to stay out of trouble with the law -- because now he's wanted by the cops again ... this after missing a court date.

Alexander was due to appear before a judge Tuesday in Napa County, where he's facing 2 felony counts of grand theft and buying/receiving stolen property. The charges involve a woman who claims he stole some expensive jewelry from her back in 2015.

You'll recall ... Jason hadn't dealt with the case for years, and then he got arrested a few months ago here in SoCal for crashing Britney's wedding to Sam Asghari.

When he got arrested by Ventura County officials, the warrant for the Napa case also popped up. The dude was extradited to face the charges after he completed a 60-day sentence in jail. After his Napa arraignment, he was cut loose and told to come back on Sep. 13.

A court clerk tells TMZ Jason never made it ... and now, a new warrant for his arrest has been issued.

Ken Starr, famous for leading the investigation that led to former President Bill Clinton's impeachment, has died.

Starr died Tuesday at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, Texas ... the result of complications from a recent surgical procedure ... according to his family.

Starr is best known for heading the expansive Whitewater investigation into the Clintons back in the '90s ... a probe that began with the Clintons' real estate investments before expanding to include the infamous Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.

Starr had a decorated legal career ... he was nominated by former President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. and later served under former President George H.W. Bush as U.S. Solicitor General.

Starr argued 36 cases before SCOTUS and also served as United States Circuit Judge for D.C. He was the chief of staff for former U.S. Attorney General William French Smith and clerked for Justice Warren E. Burger.

He was heavily involved in higher education ... teaching constitutional law for 25 years between NYU, George Mason, Pepperdine, Chapman and Baylor. In addition, Starr was Dean of the Pepperdine School of Law before going to Baylor to be the University's President and Chancellor.

Starr was later removed as president after an external investigation into the school's response to sexual and physical assault allegations made by 17 women against 19 football players ... and resigned from his role as chancellor days later.

Starr was born in Texas and grew up in San Antonio, graduating from Sam Houston High School and earning his B.A. from George Washington University. He had a master's in political science from Brown University and a JD from Duke University law school.

Ken is survived by his wife of 52 years, Alice Mendell Starr, and their three children, Randall, Carolyn and Cynthia.

Starr's son says the family is "deeply saddened with the loss of our dear and loving Father and Grandfather, whom we admired for his prodigious work ethic, but who always put his family first. The love, energy, endearing sense of humor, and fun-loving interest Dad exhibited to each of us was truly special, and we cherish the many wonderful memories we were able to experience with him."

He'll be buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, with a visitation scheduled for Sept. 23 in Waco.

Starr was 76.

Kim Kardashian and Ray J's sex tape was a success right out of the gate, making more than a million bucks in the first 6 weeks after its release ... and according to an email sent to them, they were both making serious bank.

We've obtained an email from Vivid Entertainment honcho Steve Hirsch dated May 1, 2007, in which he informs Kim the tape made $1,424,636.63 in revenue, including the majority, $1,255,578.50, coming from DVD sales.

It's interesting ... the tape was released on March 14, 2007. Kim filed a lawsuit on February 21, 2007, against Vivid, claiming she didn't authorize the release of the tape. That case was dismissed -- presumably, it was settled -- April 27, 2007. Just 4 days later, Kim got the email from Vivid on sales numbers.

Ray J said over the weekend, Kim actually signed on from the get-go, and even produced his contract with a list of the sex tapes ... saying Kim wrote the inventory list. He also produced a letter from her and says it's the exact same handwriting.

Hirsch has openly talked about the deal in the past, calling it a "difficult deal to get done" because he says Kim truly did not want the tape out.

Ray J says their deal was that each would receive $400,000 plus 12.5% of the profits. Those figures are reflected in Hirsch's email to Kim and Ray J.

Ray also claims Kris Jenner actually looked at both sex tapes and chose the one where Kim looked the best. BTW ... we're told Kris' signature is not in the contract. Hirsch has also maintained Kris had no role in selling the tape.

As for the 2 sex tapes, Ray J says one was shot in Cabo and the other in Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara tape has never been released.

Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney are giving their marriage another shot, because they're backing off their divorce, at least for now ... to try to work things out.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Michelle and Patrick are pressing pause on their divorce for at least 6 months, during which time they will try to reconcile.

After the cooling-off period, the singer and The Black Keys drummer will then decide if they want to dismiss their divorce entirely or move forward with the split.

The docs say, during the reconciliation effort, Michelle and Patrick may resume living together as husband and wife and participate in counseling sessions to help their marriage.

It's quite the turn of events for Michelle and Patrick -- she filed for divorce last month, on the heels of her arrest for domestic assault and allegations of infidelity on Patrick's part.

Michelle and Patrick have 2 young kids together and they've been married for more than 3 years.

MB cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for divorce ... but now it looks like they think there's at least a chance they might be able to iron out those differences.

Teddy Gentry, a founding member of Alabama, one of the great country bands, just learned a hard lesson ... marijuana laws are still a thing.

Teddy was busted Monday morning in Cherokee County, Alabama just after 10:30 AM for unlawful possession of weed and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Recreational marijuana is strictly prohibited in Alabama. Teddy was released 30 minutes after he was booked and freed on his own recognizance ... i.e., without bail. Both charges are misdemeanors.

In case you're not familiar, Alabama was formed all the way back in 1969 ... it's original name was Wild Country, but it changed to Alabama in 1977. Some of their hits .. "Tennessee River," "Mountain Music," "Dixieland Delight," "The Closer You Get," "Song of the South," "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" and a bunch of others.

Jason Sudeikis thanked his kids at the Emmys -- reminding folks he's in a nasty custody battle with Olivia Wilde, perhaps unintentionally.

The actor was delivering an acceptance speech Monday after his show, "Ted Lasso," won for Outstanding Comedy Series ... and toward the end, he name-dropped his young son and daughter, Otis and Daisy.

It sorta flew under the radar, as not everyone knows his children's names by heart -- but it was there ... and if you've been following along, it may run deeper than a simple shout-out.

As you know, both Jason and Olivia have been at war lately over where their kids should live, and how much time they spend with each parent -- a case that's not yet settled, but which has had a lot of bumps along the way ... including a public serving of documents earlier this year.

A process server, acting on Jason's behalf, dropped legal docs at Olivia's feet while she was presenting for her new movie at CinemaCon -- something she later called "vicious."

JS denied having planned it to happen that way deliberately, but OW thinks otherwise. In the end, Olivia walked away with a win ... getting a judge to side with her that their custody case should be heard in L.A. and not New York, which is where Jason wanted to hash things out.

None of that drama was on display, though, when Jason was speaking ... he was all smiles with his cast onstage, and didn't further allude to the fight with Olivia whatsoever. Although, he might have been wondering if he was about to get served.

BTW ... Jason took his good vibes and carried them on outside the venue. We ran into him on the street after the show, and the dude was totally engaging with fans ... snapping selfies and signing a ton of autographs. He even gave 'em some life advice.

"Married to Medicine: Los Angeles" star Lia Dias has a restraining order against her for allegedly threatening to kill her husband, and she got arrested after allegedly getting too close to him.

LAPD tells us Lia was arrested back in August for violating the terms of the stay away order ... and she ended up getting booked on 2 misdemeanor counts and spent a couple nights behind bars.

Our law enforcement sources tell us Lia was busted for allegedly violating the restraining order by coming within 100 yards of him and 100 yards of his Beverly Hills home.

Lia tells us she only went to the home to retrieve her mail, claiming the home had been vacant for several months. When she arrived, Lia says she saw U-Haul trucks on the property, loading up some her personal belongings.

She says her estranged husband called the cops, allegedly telling them she had a gun. She says she eventually got her belongings -- including her dead mom's jewelry -- back.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Lia's estranged husband, Colin Dias, has been getting court-ordered protection from his wife since he claimed she threatened to kill him in November before attacking him a few days later while he was shopping at a PetSmart with their two kids.

At the time, Colin alleged Lia called him up one morning and made a death threat, which he says came on the heels of her telling him she had access to firearms. He says she later attacked him at the El Segundo PetSmart in the presence of their children and got arrested for domestic violence.

Lia's supposed to keep the hell away from Colin, his home and their kids.

One of the jurors seated in the R. Kelly trial in Chicago just suffered a panic attack during a break in proceedings ... and the judge quickly moved to get them outta there.

The unusual scene played out Monday, when the juror, a white female, started having a panic attack after the prosecution gave their closing argument. The judge says he was told the juror "couldn't last another minute" and he excused her ... according to reporter Jon Seidel.

The judge says a white male alternate juror is now stepping in ... and like the juror he's replacing, this guy has also not seen the "Surviving R. Kelly" documentary.

The defense teams are now giving their closing arguments, after the prosecution ripped Kelly to begin the day, labeling him a sexual predator who used his celebrity to abuse minors.