Legal

Alex Murdaugh seems to be getting the brush off from his son Buster after his conviction in his sensational double murder case ... at least according to a new audio recording.

From a maximum security prison, Alex phoned Buster and had a chat with him, but the conversation seemed cold and distant -- and lasted all of 43 seconds.

As you know, Alex was convicted of brutally murdering his wife Maggie and younger son Paul at their South Carolina home and is now serving two life sentences.

Check out the recording, recently obtained by FITS News, which captured the May 16 discussion between Alex and Buster, who right from get go appears ready to hang up and move on with his life.

Alex opens the dialogue with a sweet greeting, "Hey buddy." But Buster gives a hurried response, “Hey I don’t have a whole of time I just boarded a ferry to go back to Hilton Head Island from Daufuskie (Island).”

The killer then admits he's been trying to get in touch with Buster -- clearly with little success -- and a man named Jim, apparently referring to his lawyer Jim Griffin. Alex asks Buster to have Jim contact him.

Buster gives a curt response, “Mm-kay." Alex inquires about something else related to Jim, but Buster claims he can't understand what his father is saying due to the phone line crackling.

Alex ends the icy exchange by professing his love for Buster, adding, "Proud of you."

Leslie Van Houten is likely to kill again after being released from prison -- so says Sharon Tate's sister ... who's deeply offended California cut loose the former Charles Manson follower.

Debra Tate tells TMZ that she's disappointed in the criminal justice system in the state, and especially the governor's office ... which she thinks really dropped the ball in not fighting harder against Van Houten's release.

While Gov. Gavin Newsom said he isn't happy with the decision handed down by the Court of Appeals -- siding with the parole board releasing Van Houten -- he also said he wasn't going to push back, arguing it was a losing effort.

Debra says Newsom could've taken it to a higher court, which is true, and she's taking his surrender as a huge slap in the face to the families of Manson's victims.

As far as how those loved ones feel about Van Houten being a free woman again ... well, she tells us they're absolutely terrified because there's a fear she could resort to her killing ways again in a heartbeat.

Clearly, Debra doesn't buy the parole board's belief Van Houten's rehabilitated. Her rationale boils down to the nature of the crime itself, and the mindset Van Houten was once under. She says once somebody goes down that dark path, in her eyes, it's easy to go back.

Now, while Van Houten wasn't involved in the Tate murders -- remember, it was the LaBiancas she helped butcher -- she's publicly said she really wanted to be present for the slayings of Sharon and 3 friends.

Debra finds that very troubling, and says that's why she has every right to weigh in here.

She adds ... the victims' families are outraged Van Houten gets to live out the rest of her life outside of prison -- despite a life sentence they assumed would be imposed forever more.

Debra's been leading a charge to keep all the Manson family members locked up, with an ongoing online petition she's maintained for a while now.

Zayn Malik is finally opening up about his infamous confrontation with Yolanda Hadid a couple of years ago ... and firmly believes he handled the aftermath nearly perfectly.

The singer chatted with Alex Cooper on Wednesday's episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast -- saying he usually keeps quiet when folks online go after him, and he'd decided to take the same approach when he was charged with harassment for the 2021 altercation.

He admits the last thing he wanted was to have an explosive back-and-forth publicly between Yolanda and him, because he wouldn't want his 2-year-old daughter, Khai -- whom he shares with Yolanda's daughter, Gigi -- to see that later in life.

Zayn said he recognizes every family has issues, but believes it should stay within the family ... of course, being a celeb almost always throws that possibility out the window.

TMZ broke the story, sources told us Zayn struck Yolanda in the Pennsylvania home he shared back then with Gigi, and he was charged with 4 criminal offenses of harassment. He eventually pled no contest.

During the altercation, Zayn allegedly called Yolanda a "f***ing Dutch slut," told her to "stay away from [my] f***ing daughter" ... and shoved her into a dresser. He denies it got physical.

Bam Margera says his estranged wife Nikki is still blocking him from seeing their son, face-to-face -- even though he says he's committed to lifestyle changes to remain sober.

We got Bam Tuesday outside court in downtown L.A., where he said it's a terrible feeling to know his son Phoenix is a short drive away, yet he still can't see him ... and he insists he's far from being the violent guy Nikki's making him out to be.

The former "Jackass" star says his only goal right now is to see Phoenix again, but he says Nikki's only allowed him a couple of FaceTime calls.

As for Bam's sobriety, he tells us Lamar Odom wanted to work on his addiction a bit differently from how rehab centers have handled Bam in the past, which is why he's out.

Instead, he says he's surrounding himself with sober people -- some of them coaches, and some just friends -- to keep him straight.

FYI, Bam and Nikki were in court to establish whether their marriage was even valid and to determine if CA is the right court to deal with the case.

Bam testified he was informed their 2013 wedding in Iceland wasn't legit because they weren't residents of that country. The judge hasn't ruled yet.

Popular social media podcaster Funny Marco is now facing a $6 million lawsuit from the company that helped launch his podcast ... with the company claiming he went on a campaign to destroy their reputation in an effort to get paid more.

The suit was filed on Tuesday by Breakbeat Media and veteran publisher Dave Mays, creator of "The Source" magazine.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Marco and Breakbeat struck a deal in August 2021 to host his content on their YouTube channel.

But following the runaway success of the channel beginning with a Boosie Badazz interview they paid $15k for, the company claims Marco breached his contract on numerous occasions in an attempt to get more money out of the company.

Breakbeat says it caved to many of Marco's demands to incorporate his Cornbread TV brand into the mix ... and even gave him 35% of the revenue and rights to the production, but the suit claims Marco wasn't satisfied and continued to post to his own YouTube channels in violation of the deal -- siphoning hundreds of thousands in revenue from the Breakbeat channel — despite repeated requests to stop.

Marco's also accused of fumbling the bag for Breakbeat multiple times ... claiming he refused to read on-air ads and allegedly entered into side deals with advertisers.

Mays also says Marco would bad-mouth the company ... hurting its ability to sign other celebrities and influencers like Jess Hilarious, Sukihana and Bubba Dub to join Breakbeat.

Breakbeat Media is now seeking at least $5 million for Marco alleging screwing with the business and harming its reputation, and Mays is seeking $1 million for damage to his character.

Barry Bonds is patiently waiting for Cooperstown to unlock its doors and finally let him in ... saying he personally feels like he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame, as he was never convicted of using steroids.

The home run king made a rare statement on his H.O.F. snub with the "Hollywood Swingin'" podcast this week ... saying he is bothered by the fact his own sport continues to hold a grudge when the court of law has vindicated him.

Of course, BB is widely considered one of, if not the greatest, athletes to ever step foot in the batter's box ... but his legacy was tarnished by allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs.

But, Barry says records are records, and MLB already punishes players when they break rules ... so he's upset that the baseball hall has decided to "double punish" people who have made mistakes at some point in their careers.

Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice back in 2011 over his alleged use of PEDs ... but ultimately, the case was dropped.

Barry believes the sentence overturn should justify his place in the Hall ... and the media does not hold the higher ground when it comes to determining who should be regarded as the greats.

Barry -- who hit 762 home runs during his career -- was an MVP before anyone ever accused him of using 'roids ... and many believe he belongs in the Hall despite the scandal.

Kevin Costner's one step closer to finding out what he owes his estranged wife for child support ... a judge tentatively ruled the actor will be coughing up more than $129k a month.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge in their divorce case says Kevin must pay Christine Baumgartner $129,755 per month in child support. The ruling is tentative, subject to another upcoming hearing though the decision rarely changes.

The figure is a little over half of what Kevin's estranged wife was gunning for ... she requested $248k, a figure Kevin's accountant said included more than $100k for cosmetic procedures.

TMZ broke the story ... Kevin initially offered Christine $51,940, in addition to him paying all the children's expenses, but she scoffed at the figure ... saying the offer was "completely inappropriate."

According to the docs,  Kevin and Christine will each be on the hook for 50% of their kids' health care expenses, plus their extracurricular activities and private school tuition.

Kevin is also being ordered to advance Christine $200k for attorney's fees and another $100k in forensic costs.

Leslie Van Houten -- a former member of the Manson family -- has been released from prison after more than 4 decades behind bars.

The convicted murderer walked out of a California facility Tuesday after successfully receiving parole earlier in the month ... this after Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would not challenge her release, despite doing so 3 different times throughout his tenure as Governor.

Van Houten was convicted of 2 counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder way back in 1971 for her involvement in the grisly 1969 LaBianca murders here in Los Angeles ... when Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were stabbed to death at their home. Van Houten said she held Rosemary down while someone else stabbed her, and later admitted she stabbed her as well after Rosemary was dead.

In the years since her conviction ... Van Houten's attorneys have said she was young and brainwashed by her cult leader, Charles Manson, at the time -- arguing she had been rehabilitated.

More importantly, Van Houten's lawyers have said she does not pose a threat to society anymore ... and it seems a handful of parole boards agreed with that, signing off on recommendations that she oughta be released, in spite of her life sentence.

Like we said, Newsom has shot her down time and again ... with his argument being, the nature of her crime should prevent her from ever enjoying a free life. But, after his last rejection ... she appealed his decision in court, and they ended up siding with her.

The governor's office said trying to fight it was a losing effort, so they were going to drop it.

Now, at age 73 ... Van Houten's back on the outside, and it'll be interesting to see what she does going forward. At first, she'll be sent to a halfway house where she'll learn basic skills and get up to date on all the new technology that's come out since she was imprisoned.

Van Houten is said to have been a constructive prisoner over the years, having found faith and showing an eagerness to teach/learn. She's also expressed remorse about her role in the murders.

A jury determined a handwritten document found in Aretha Franklin's couch is a valid will ... a major development after years of her kids battling over her estate.

The ruling on the hard-to-read pages came in Tuesday in a Michigan court. The will was found in 2019 -- the year after she passed -- in a notebook tucked under the couch in Aretha's Detroit home.

The docs, dated March 31, 2014, are significantly different from a 2010 draft of her will.

The newer pages apparently designate her sons Kecalf and Edward as executors of her $6 million estate, and it looks like the name "Teddy," AKA Ted White II -- their brother who was pinned as executor in the 2010 version -- is crossed out.

What's more, the 2010 will appeared to require Kecalf and Edward would have to take business classes, and get a degree or certificate to benefit from Aretha's estate -- but the 2014 version doesn't include that requirement.

TMZ broke the story, no will was initially found when Aretha died in 2018 following a battle with pancreatic cancer -- but since then there has been an all-out war between her children.

Alvin Kamara has cut a deal with prosecutors in his Las Vegas assault case, TMZ Sports has learned ... and the whole episode could now be put behind the New Orleans Saints star in just a matter of weeks.

According to court documents filed in Nevada on Tuesday, Kamara has agreed to enter a no-contest plea to a lesser charge of misdemeanor breach of peace in the case.

Kamara agreed that as punishment, he'll perform 30 hours of community service, pay a $500 fine, and shell out $105,196.17 to Darnell Greene -- the man who claimed the NFL running back beat the hell out of him during an incident a The Cromwell Hotel and Casino in February 2022.

According to the docs ... prosecutors accepted Kamara's stipulations -- and in exchange, they said they'd drop the charges of felony battery and misdemeanor conspiracy to commit battery that they had initially hit him with following the incident.

The agreement has yet to be signed off by a judge -- though that is expected to happen at a hearing later this month.

In addition, Kamara also closed out his civil case with Greene on Wednesday -- according to Greene's attorney, Tony Buzbee.

In a social media post, Buzbee said the two sides "settled on confidential terms" -- while adding that Kamara signed a public mea culpa as part of the settlement that read, "Please accept my sincere apologies for the events of February 5, 2022 in Las Vegas."

Greene had initially accused Kamara of getting violent with him at an elevator near Drai's at around 6:30 AM. Greene said the altercation all started because Kamara wouldn't let him on the lift ... adding that he suffered serious facial injuries in the confrontation. He sued, and sought $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Gunna appears to be having the last laugh at critics who thought his plea deal in the YSL trial killed his career.

The newest Billboard Hot 100 update showed Gunna's latest album single "Fukumean" planted at #8 -- his first Top 10 as a solo artist!!!

Gunna's been mostly mum on social media, but he did plenty of celebrating while shooting the "Fukumean" music video.

The visual features him doing it big on a yacht with friends, girls, and plenty of party favors ... y'know, all the finer things freedom has to offer.

Folks like Boosie Badazz might hate to see it, as some artists have been vocal about feeling like Gunna sold out Young Thug to save his own skin in the YSL RICO case.

The father of late music icon Selena Quintanilla is going after a cruise company ... claiming it had no right to set sail as a tribute cruise to his daughter and her legacy.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Abraham Quintanilla Jr. is suing Catalina Classic Cruises over its Cumbia Cruise L.A. trips -- something he says has been dubbed this year as a "Tributo a Selena."

The evening boat cruise apparently takes passengers across Long Beach Bay with music bumping, which presumably would include Selena's hits. The party at sea is fit with 2 dance areas, food, and a couple of full bars.

Abraham says the company's a repeat offender ... claiming it called last year's trip “Cumbia Cruise Homenaje a Selena y La Sonor Dinamita por Maritza y Su Sonora.”

Abraham insists he still controls the rights to Selena's trademarks, name, voice, signature, and likeness in connection to merch and ads, among other things ... and he claims the company never got permission to use them.

He says the use of Selena's name on the cruise has caused substantial confusion and even deceived people into thinking her estate approved the usage -- which he says just isn't true.

Abraham's now seeking to block the use of his famous daughter's name and trademarks and wants the company to fork over any profits the tribute cruises made with her name.

If anyone's gonna revive Will Ferrell's butt-naked party refrain, it would have to be a guy in Sin City -- but his good time was cut short by the authorities who busted his bare ass.

Check out this wild video -- obtained by TMZ -- showing a dude who walked into Harrah's Sunday night in nothing but his birthday suit ... casually walking into the casino and making his way to the poker tables, where he really got the show started in front of everyone.

With beans and frank on full display, he hops up onto a gaming table and starts gyrating on the felt. Patrons were clearly shocked, but casino workers just seemed pissed and reviled -- one woman was dry heaving after getting an eyeful.

Security was flagged almost immediately, but before they arrived nature boy put all his "chips" on the table -- laying on his back, and going spread eagle!!! When he started grabbing cards and chips, he got the hook as 3 guards hopped on him and detained him until cops showed up.

We obtained the police report which says cops were called originally because the man had assaulted someone at the Flamingo Hotel and fled. As they were trying to locate him, he was detained by Harrahs security who said he'd been seen removing his clothes next door at The Linq Hotel.

Lots of people talk about going balls to the wall in Vegas, and then there's this guy ... who got booked for 2 misdemeanors -- indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann's sudden, and dramatic, u-turn on getting divorced isn't fueled by therapy appointments ... instead, they're leaning on a higher power to stay together.

Sources connected to the couple tell TMZ ... Kim and Kroy are not doing couple's therapy in the aftermath of calling off their divorce -- a decision that seemed to come out of nowhere, especially considering how acrimonious things had gotten between them lately.

While ya might think they'd spent time on a shrink's couch to address their problems ... we're told that's not the case, and this rekindling is somewhat old-fashioned.

Our sources say Kim and Kroy believe they can fix their relationship with just face-to-face conversations, and a little help from God ... as they're relying on their shared Christian faith to push through the issues that brought them to the brink of divorce.

We're told Kim's always believed in a higher power, and Kroy's recently found God himself. Now, going to church as a family is becoming a regular thing for them and their kids.

Bottom line ... they don't believe they need a 3rd party to mediate, as of now, and are just going to lean on each other to get their marriage back on track. As for what led to them filing for divorce in the first place -- well, it's still a bit of a mystery.

Aaron Hernadez's brother, D.J. Hernandez, could get hauled to jail in Connecticut once again ... TMZ Sports has learned a re-arrest has been ordered for him after he failed to show up last week for a hearing in his ESPN brick-throwing case.

According to court records, D.J. was supposed to be at a courthouse in New Britain for proceedings on Friday ... though an official tells us he didn't appear.

As a result, the rep said, a re-arrest for D.J. was ordered.

We reached out to D.J. for comment on the situation ... but so far, we haven't heard back yet.

D.J. is currently facing one misdemeanor charge of breach of peace in the case ... after authorities accused him of throwing a brick at ESPN's headquarters back on March 23.

During the alleged incident in Bristol ... cops say D.J. -- Aaron's older brother and a former Division 1 football player -- attached a note to the object which read, in part, "It's about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members."

"Since you're a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up!"

D.J. was also hit with criminal charges in a separate incident that authorities said happened just days prior to the one in Bristol. In that case, D.J. was arrested after being accused of leading cops on a wild car chase after they attempted to pull him over for a routine traffic stop.

D.J., though, reached a deal with officials in April to close out that case ... pleading guilty to one count of failure to drive in a proper lane and one count of failure to use traffic control signals. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the other charges against him -- which included reckless driving and engaging police in pursuit.

Rep. George Santos ain't Rosa Parks, despite comparing himself to the civil rights pioneer  -- so says the icon's niece ... telling GS to keep her name out of his mouth.

Rhea McCauley tells TMZ ... she felt it was totally inappropriate for Santos to compare himself to her aunt, saying it's apples to oranges when it comes to the situation. She also says other family members related to Parks are pretty pissed about his remarks too.

The NY congressman name-dropped RP in a recent interview he did, where he referenced Sen. Mitt Romney telling him to sit toward the back during Biden's SOTU earlier this year ... this after he'd been exposed as having told several different lies before getting elected.

Santos said he didn't appreciate a white man (Romney) telling a Latino gay man that he didn't belong somewhere -- then saying Rosa Parks didn't give up her seat way back when.

In other words, he seemed to be suggesting ... he wouldn't either, likening himself to her.

McCauley says she and the rest of the fam are ticked off that Santos even brought her up, pointing out that his juxtaposition here isn't even historically accurate -- namely, on account of the fact that Parks was fighting against segregation ... and that George seems to be airing out a petty feud between himself and another politician. Not really the same thing.