Legal

Just about as quickly as it began, the working relationship between Kanye West and Johnny Depp's attorney, Camille Vasquez, has come to an end.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us after Kanye doubled and tripled-down on his antisemitic remarks over the weekend, Camille informed her firm, Brown Rudnick, she would no longer work with Kanye.

We're told Brown Rudnick still attempted to work with Kanye, but only under the condition he publicly retract his hateful and antisemitic words. Our sources say Kanye refused to do so, and fired Brown Rudnick.

TMZ broke the story, Kanye brought Camille and the firm onboard last week to handle his business matters. The law group was not involved in handling the proceedings of his divorce from Kim Kardashian.

Billy McFarland, the man behind the infamous Fyre Festival, has a new project on the horizon ... and it might be similar to what got him in so much trouble in the first place.

Billy posted a teaser clip to TikTok Monday ... fessing up to his wrongs at the last festival -- before hinting at what's next.

He says he's got something new coming -- showing a treasure map ... as well as a brief look at a phone number. We checked it out, and once contacting the number, you're asked for contact info and given a video clue as to what's coming from Billy.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ he's creating another festival, among other things in the near future.

As we reported, Billy was released from prison early back in March, spending 4 of his 6-year sentence behind bars. He was transferred to community confinement and was expected to stay in confinement through the end of August.

Of course, the infamous Fyre Festival was organized by Billy back in 2017 and was set to go down in the Bahamas -- before quickly turning into a disaster. He ended up pleading guilty to 2 counts of wire fraud over the disastrous failed event.

The Mississippi day care workers who put on horror masks to scare children deserve hard time for the pranks ... so says one of the children's mother.

Katelyn Johnson's 2-year-old son is one of the kids in the viral video showing day care workers scare the living crap out of toddlers, and she tells TMZ her boy and his classmates are all traumatized.

The parent says her son's too young to be able to communicate what he's feeling, but he's showing trauma by his actions ... Katelyn says the little guy's having a hard time going to bed at night and is regressing in potty training, which she blames on his strong reaction to the horror mask.

As we reported ... upset parents pushed hard for the day care workers to be hit with felony child abuse charges, and Katelyn tells us she agrees the charges are appropriate.

Katelyn says she wants the 4 women hit with felonies to serve between 6 and 12 months ... saying the video is just a tiny peek into what she says was a regular occurrence.

Katelyn says she's not considering filing a lawsuit, because she thinks the women won't ever be rehired and won't be able to pay a damage award. But, she says other parents want to wait and see what happens with the criminal case before deciding on legal action.

Katelyn says she's trying to help her son heal through positive reinforcement. She says she's using a sound machine and night light to try and help him sleep, reassuring him their home and their family are a safe place.

Katelyn says they're back to square one with potty training ... telling us her boy almost had it down before the trauma set him back.

Cardi B just got some good news to kick off her weekend ... she says she's won a 5-year-long legal battle over the cover art for one of her mixtapes.

A federal jury in Santa Ana, CA found in favor of Cardi B Friday on all counts, and she walked out of court smiling about the victory, although she admits she was not super confident.

She gave props to her attorneys, but also those for the plaintiff ... saying both legal teams were amazing.

As we reported ... Cardi was sued back in 2017 over the cover art for her "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" mixtape ... which shows a guy with a ton of back tattoos performing oral sex on her. Kevin Brophy claimed the art used his image and his back tattoos without permission.

After a 4-day trial, the jury ruled Cardi's album cover did not cast Brophy in a false light or constitute a misappropriation of his likeness.

He had been seeking $5 million from Cardi, but with the verdict he's come up empty-handed.

Cardi sounds like she feels a weight lifted from her shoulders, tweeting about her emotional victory -- she says she is beyond grateful and wants to kiss God's feet.

CB says she was planning to cuss out Brophy if she won, but now that she has ... she says she doesn't have the heart to do it, and instead she's wishing him the best.

Kanye West has taken a lot of L's lately ... so he's hoping one person, who recently scored Johnny Depp a big W, can come to his rescue.

Sources close to Ye tell us he's recently hired Camille Vasquez and the Brown Rudnick firm. Vasquez should be a very familiar name ... she's the same attorney who gained global attention for her legal skills in the Amber Heard Trial.

We're told Camille will be among a group of attorneys representing Kanye's business interests -- contracts, deals, the works.

As we reported, Kanye's already lost one major partner in Balenciaga in the fallout from his continued antisemitic attacks, claims surrounding the death of George Floyd and when he wore a 'White Lives Matter' shirt to his Yeezy fashion show.

TMZ broke the story, Ye recently hired Melinda Gates' former divorce attorney, Bob Cohen, to represent him in his ongoing divorce with Kim Kardashian. We're told Camille and team will not be involved in the divorce.

If Kim and Kanye can't come to an agreement by December, the divorce will go to trial ... and given Kanye's actions of late, Kim will likely get much of what she asks for from the judge.

Turns out the day care workers facing felonies in Mississippi for terrorizing little kids in a horror mask weren't the first to do so ... but their penalty is certainly much more severe.

Check out this resurfaced clip from Shirley's Victorious Learning Center in Florida from 2016 when someone dressed as Freddy Krueger torments a group of youngins. The kids scatter, screaming and crying ... as someone else, presumably an employee films the whole thing.

While the old clip might deliver the same scare as the clip out of Mississippi, the owner of Shirley's told WJAX-TV parents knew it was going to happen, and no complaints were filed.

As we reported, the 5 day care workers in Mississippi weren't so lucky after a clip of one of them in a Halloween horror mask scaring kids went viral.

Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck are firing back at the author who claimed they jacked lyrics to one of their songs from an old poem ... calling the whole thing a cash grab.

Johnny and Jeff just filed a lawsuit against folklorist Bruce Jackson, who accused the duo of stealing the lyrics to their song "Sad Motherf*****g Parade" from an old toast performed by an inmate and shared in one of Jackson's books.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Johnny and Jeff say the toast, known as "Hobo Ben," doesn't have clear origins, and they claim Jackson even admitted the person who shared the poem with him admitted it was passed down over time like an old folktale.

In other words, they say it belongs to no one.

The "Hobo Ben" toast goes ... "Ladies of culture and beauty so refined, is there one among you that would grant me wine? I'm raggedy I know, but I have no stink, and God bless the lady that'll buy me a drink. Heavy-hipted Hattie turned to Nadine with a laugh, and said, 'What that funky motherf***** really need, child, is a bath.'"

The song lyrics on Johnny and Jeff's new album feature similar lines to the "Hobo Ben" poem ... "I'm raggedy, I know, but I have no stink. God bless a lady that'll buy me a drink" ... and "What that funky motherf***** really need, child, is a bath."

In their suit, Johnny and Jeff claim Jackson fired off legal letters asserting he was the rightful owner of the "the only known authorized transcription and recording of 'Hobo Ben"' ... but the pair claims Jackson tellingly never said he owned the rights to the toast itself because he knew he couldn't own a copyright to an old folktale.

Jackson's also blasted Johnny and Jeff in the media, telling Rolling Stone ... "I've been publishing stuff for 50 years, and this is the first time anybody has just ripped something off and put his own name on it."

The parents whose children got the crap scared out of them by Mississippi day care workers pushed hard for those adults to get hit with serious crimes, and it ultimately worked ... according to law enforcement.

Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook, who is spearheading the criminal investigation, tells TMZ ... 3 sets of parents ran to the County Courthouse to demand felony child abuse charges. They made it clear they thought the behavior was too egregious for misdemeanor charges.

As we reported ... 4 women are each facing 3 counts of felony child abuse over the video showing at least one worker terrifying kids from behind a scary mask.

Crook says child abuse was the only felony charge under state law that seemed to fit the allegations.

A fifth day care worker is facing 2 misdemeanor charges -- failure to report abuse and simple assault -- and the day care owner has reportedly fired all of the employees involved.

Crook says folks in the community alerted cops to the videos by forwarding links, and after viewing the footage ... he assigned an investigator to begin a criminal probe.

If there weren't enough proof the world has gone crazy and mental health is a critical issue for our survival ... check out this horrific story of a 23-year-old who allegedly stabbed his mother and dog with a samurai sword before he was Tased by police.

It happened Tuesday night in L.A. ... Eric Herrera is seen on video dazed, holding the sword as police implore him to drop it. In short order, a cop Tasers Herrera, and you see him fall to the ground.

Neighbors say the scene looked like it was right out of a horror movie, as they watched it all unfold. One neighbor says it appeared Herrera was in the midst of a mental health crisis.

The woman was pleading for help, screaming, "I'm your mother!"

There are conflicting reports about the fate of the family dog. The most recent report is that the dog seems to have survived the attack, but that's unconfirmed.

The mother's condition has not been released, but KTLA says a relative told the outlet the woman is in stable condition.

Halloween is now super scary for the 4 daycare workers who scared the crap out of children at a Mississippi childcare facility ... because they're now facing felony charges and possible prison time.

The 4 women are facing 3 counts each of felony child abuse. As you see in the video, which has exploded online, one of the women in a horror mask terrifies the little kids -- who look like they're 3 or 4 years old. The kids understandably lose it ... screaming and crying.

Another daycare worker is facing 2 misdemeanor charges -- failure to report abuse and simple assault.

All of the employees were fired by the daycare owner.

What's interesting ... whether the parents of the kids will sue for infliction of emotional distress.  Seems like kind of a layup.

Kim Plath, star of TLC's "Welcome to Plathville," has been arrested for DUI ... following a gnarly crash a few months back that cops say sent her straight to the hospital.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops arrived at the scene of an accident in Florida In June, finding Kim's vehicle flipped upside down, in a ditch filled with water.

Police say Kim was notably intoxicated after the incident, with the smell of booze coming from her mouth -- the report says she was then taken to a nearby hospital so her injuries could get looked at.

After an initial inspection by cops, Kim was simply charged with careless driving, but investigators got a blood sample, and waited months for the results.

Her lab results came back in September according to the report, revealing she was in fact under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

"Southern Charm" star Naomi Olindo is a two-faced business owner who screwed over the woman who helped her start a profitable online clothing store ... this according to a new lawsuit.

Naomi is being sued by Ginny Cox, who claims she helped Naomi start up a successful clothing brand, L'ABEYE, only for Naomi to go behind her back and force her out of the biz and misappropriate company funds.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Cox claims Naomi came to her in 2018 seeking help in starting an online clothing store because of Cox's experience in retail fashion. Cox says Naomi offered her a 50% ownership stake and promised to handle the business and marketing side.

Cox says she poured in her heart and soul to start the brand with Naomi, logging tons of hours making the e-commerce venture into a profitable business ... but she says while Naomi told her she was a co-owner and was presented as a co-founder on the company's social media, she claims Naomi actually controlled the money and withdrew more than her fair portion of the profits while paying Cox less than her 50% share.

What's more, Cox says she only drew a modest salary from the biz while Naomi used company funds to line her own pockets and pay personal expenses.

Cox claims Naomi recently fired her from the company and took the position that Cox was never a 50-50 owner of the business ... so Cox is dragging her to court over the falling out and wants to collect what she claims she's owed.

Cox is going after Naomi for damages and she wants to be recognized as an equal co-owner in L'ABEYE.

Naomie's lawyers, Benjamin Joyce and Ellis Lesemann, tell TMZ ... "Our client does not comment publicly on pending litigation. However, obviously these allegations made by a disgruntled former employee are false and misleading. We will soon be filing a formal response to these allegations that will help set the record straight."

Kevin Spacey just scored a big victory in the sex abuse lawsuit brought by actor Anthony Rapp ... because he's been found not liable.

The jury reportedly took less than an hour to deliberate Thursday after a 2-week trial.

As we reported, the "Star Trek: Discovery" actor sued Spacey for $40M in 2020 ... claiming he met the disgraced actor in 1986 while performing on Broadway in "Precious Sons."

Rapp said Spacey invited him, 14 at the time, to a party at his home on the East Side of Manhattan. Rapp alleges Spacey, without consent, made an unwanted sexual advance -- allegedly grabbing his buttocks, lifting him onto a bed, and laying on his body.

Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann is suing one of the sport's biggest legends for $100 MILLION ... because he says the guy made up claims that he cheated during a match.

Niemann played Magnus Carlsen -- a five-time reigning World Chess Champion and the highest-ranked chess player ever -- at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis back on Sept. 4 ... and, in Niemann's words, "soundly defeated" him.

Afterward, the 19-year-old budding superstar danced on Carlsen's grave, taunting him during an interview ... and that's when Niemann claimed all of the trouble began.

The chess player, in a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Missouri, said 31-year-old Carlsen couldn't accept defeat, became "enraged" ... and launched an all-out attack on his rival.

Niemann says Carlsen fabricated a story that he had cheated to win the match. Days later, when the two were supposed to run things back at the Julius Baer Generation Cup ... Niemann says Carlsen "gutlessly forfeited the game after making one move" and then repeated the "false" cheating accusations against Niemann.

Niemann says the ramifications of Carlsen's lies were endless.

He claims that despite several independent and unbiased sources clearing him of any wrongdoing during the Sept. 4 match ... Carlsen used his partnership with Chess giant Chess.com to essentially blackball him in the chess world.

He says in the suit that the org. banned him from its website and all of its future events -- which comprise the majority of the world's most prestigious chess tournaments.

Niemann says he's suffered irreparably from Carlsen's defamatory allegations ... and is suing for NINE figures.

Festival organizers are working to put the legal fallout from Travis Scott's Astroworld tragedy behind them ... reaching a settlement with one victim's family, marking the first known settlement of all of the cases surrounding the deadly music festival.

Attorney Tony Buzbee, who reps the family of Axel Acosta, tells TMZ ... the family settled out of court after suing Travis, Live Nation and others.

Remember ... 21-year-old Axel died from injuries suffered at the November 2021 concert. Buzbee previously told us Axel traveled all the way from Washington to see the Houston festival and was a huge Travis fan.

Terms of the settlement are confidential, Buzbee says, and the family wants people to remember Axel as a "beloved son, brother and student" who was also "kind and loving" and is "greatly missed."

While Travis is done with the first of the many lawsuits against him ... the legal side is far from over. There were 10 people in total who died at Astroworld, and Travis is still dealing with lawsuits filed by others impacted by the tragic incident.

Cardi B's back in court for a new legal battle ... a development a bunch of local teenagers is fully aware of because one of 'em showed up at court to offer her a night of dancing!!!

Cardi was leaving court in Santa Ana, CA Wednesday when a swarm of young fans met her outside the courthouse, clearly thrilled to get a glimpse of the rapper.

One in the crowd decided to shoot his shot ... walking up to Cardi and asking if she'd hit up the homecoming dance with him -- no answer, but we're guessing she's got her hands full at the moment. Bold move, though, kid!

As we reported, CB is in a legal battle over the cover art for her "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" mixtape ... which shows a guy with a bunch of back tattoos goin' down on her.

The guy in question -- Kevin Brophy -- filed docs back in 2017, claiming he's the guy in the pic, but claimed he didn't authorize her to use his image. He added he's never met or even spoken to Cardi or her people.