Legal

Lizzo makes it clear her backup dancers will face repercussions if they don't do what she asks, even if that means getting freaky at a live sex show ... at least, that's what 2 of the women suing her are claiming.

The singer's former backup dancers, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us about their experiences working under Lizzo.

Arianna and Crystal accused Lizzo of coercing backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... and they say there's an unspoken feeling among the group of having to bend to Lizzo's demands or be fired if they don't play ball.

As they allege in the lawsuit, sometimes that means eating bananas out of sex performers' vaginas in Amsterdam -- and they told us dancers who went along with Lizzo's idea of fun were rewarded with lavish private jet trips to tropical locations.

On the flip side, they claim dancers who didn't feel comfortable doing everything Lizzo wanted would be threatened with termination.

As for why they're no longer working with Lizzo -- Crystal says she was accused of drinking before performances, and Arianna claims Lizzo body-shamed her for gaining weight ... and she claims Lizzo used an admission of an eating disorder to justify firing her.

Lizzo has yet to comment publicly, or respond to the lawsuit in court ... but her accusers have a lot to say here.

The woman accusing Jackson Mahomes of sexual battery says her life has been a living hell after coming forward with her allegations ... claiming she received death threats, and her restaurant suffered to the point where it's now closed.

Aspen Vaughn -- owner of the Aspens Restaurant in Overland Park -- told the Kansas City Star she feared for her safety following the alleged altercation with the NFL quarterback's brother ... saying, "I'm feeling attacked by people I’ve never met."

Not only does Vaughn believe she's a target ... but she also claims her restaurant was severely impacted as well -- seeing a 75% decrease in business before it ultimately shut down.

Vaughn said there were nonstop issues with air conditioning, gas lines and fire alarms at her establishment ... and she believes it was all related to the February incident.

"Why do victims not come forward? It’s because this is how they get treated," Vaughn told the outlet.

Now, the restaurant is up for lease ... and will remain closed until a new tenant takes over.

Jackson was arrested back in May ... after Vaughn alleged he grabbed her and forcibly kissed her multiple times three months prior. Patrick's brother was also accused of shoving a male member of her wait staff earlier that evening.

He was hit with three felony aggravated sexual battery charges and one misdemeanor battery charge stemming from the alleged encounter.

As for his side, Mahomes' attorney adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

Gunna's not hiding from his public enemy status with Young Thug loyalists -- instead, he's embracing the villain role in his new "Rodeo Dr." video by likening himself to O.J. Simpson!!!

Veteran director Spike Jordan captured Gunna zipping all through California as they reenacted O.J.'s infamous 1994 police chase ... the same one he led cops on for nearly an hour after he was charged with murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

The song is featured on Gunna's new album and the YSL rapper mentions the chase on the track's chorus ... "Helpin' the P out, I'm beamin' on Narcos/Thinkin' I should take the Bronco, yeah/O.J., yeah)/Gotta go get it tomorrow."

Many fans, and even artists, have ripped Gunna since he got out of jail back in December ... claiming he snitch on Thug get out -- but he restates his allegiance to YSL on the track with the line, "I'm still doin' it for Jeff and Lil Keed."

O.J. was found not guilty of the murder, and Gunna will avoid jail time as long as keeps his nose clean in accordance with his probation. Not a direct parallel, but obviously, Gunna thinks it's close enough.

His album has plenty of juice this year ... it spawned his biggest hit to date with "Fukumean" ... which has since proven to be tasty ex-girlfriend bait.

In continuing to investigate claims of misconduct against Vince McMahon, federal agents served a grand jury subpoena and executed a search warrant against the WWE honcho last month ... though McMahon said on Wednesday he's confident the probe will ultimately find no wrongdoing.

WWE revealed the new developments of the federal investigation in a Security and Exchange Commissions filing this week ... saying they happened back on July 17.

The wrestling org. also noted in the filing that federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies have hit it with demands for documents "concerning the investigation and related subject matters."

The WWE, however, said "no charges have been brought in these investigations" at this point.

"We believe this is a continuation of the investigation that commenced last summer," the company said in a statement regarding the matter. "WWE has cooperated throughout and fully understands and respects the government’s need for a complete process."

McMahon, meanwhile, said he was sure no charges will ever come ... saying in a statement of his own, "I have always denied any intentional wrongdoing and continue to do so. I am confident that the government’s investigation will be resolved without any findings of wrongdoing."

According to a July 2022 Wall Street Journal report, McMahon agreed to pay millions of dollars in "hush money" to several different women throughout his tenure as WWE boss. The org. launched an investigation into the claims -- and amid it all, he stepped down from his role in the company.

But, months later, in January, he returned.

Lizzo kept an eye on the famed banana sex show in Amsterdam for years ... sharing her desires way before being sued for allegedly pressuring backup dancers to get in on the act.

Here's the deal ... Lizzo talked about wanting to go to a specific live sex show in the city's infamous Red Light District during a 2019 interview with an Amsterdam radio station ... the same show she's now being sued over.

In her interview with 3FM DJ Frank van der Lende, Lizzo reveals her love for live sex shows in Amsterdam ... and she asks the hosts about the banana sex show, where patrons eat bananas out of sex performers' vaginas.

Lizzo excitedly talks about her desire to find out where the banana show happens ... explaining, "That's what I want to do, I need my potassium if you know what I'm saying. My puss-tassium."

The radio hosts tell Lizzo the place she's looking for is Bananenbar ... a venue that's mentioned several times in the lawsuit she's now facing.

As we reported ... Lizzo is being sued by 3 of her former backup dancers, who say they were sexually denigrated by Lizzo while on the job.

In the suit, the dancers claim during a February 2023 tour stop in Amsterdam, Lizzo took them to Bananenbar and pressured them to interact with the sex performers.

The dancers claim "Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers' vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers' vaginas."

It's unclear if the alleged incident was Lizzo's first time at Bananenbar ... but she's clearly had the banana sex show on her mind since 2019 at least.

Leah Remini is being stalked and harassed by the Church of Scientology as part of a coordinated campaign to destroy her life because she left the religion ... this according to a new lawsuit.

The actress just filed suit against the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige, and she says Scientology is dead set on making her life a living hell now that she's no longer a part of the church.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Leah claims Scientology is stalking her and invading her privacy because the church is determined to silence her and others who are critical of the religion.

Leah claims the alleged abuse coming her way is part of a broader policy and practice of intimidation within the Church of Scientology ... which she says dates all the way back to founder L. Ron Hubbard.

In her suit, Leah says Scientology has been attacking her with systematic and coordinated campaigns of harassment ever since she renounced the religion ... and she claims the retaliation tactics are ramping up in order to damage her Hollywood and business careers by tarnishing her reputation.

Leah says she was a Scientologist for nearly 40 years before leaving ... and in the decade since she left, she's been the victim of "intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors" via hundreds of social media accounts controlled by Scientology, which she says exist solely to intimidate and spread misinformation.

For example, Leah claims Scientology enlisted dozens of members to videotape messages falsely accusing her of being abusive and a racist and uploading them to web domains using her name.

She says she first became aware she was being followed by private investigators hired by Scientology in 2015, when she was promoting a memoir she wrote about Scientology's alleged abusive conduct ... and she says she hired private security as a result.

Leah also claims Scientology had members send threatening letters to news outlets who were promoting her book ... and she says the church created websites to smear A&E after her documentary series on Scientology.

In the docs, Leah claims the alleged stalking and harassment is causing her to lose personal relationships, business deals and other opportunities ... and she's going after the church for damages for what she says is "enormous economic and psychological harm."

Lizzo isn't sitting at Beyoncé's table right now in the wake of claims made against her by a few former backup dancers -- at least that's how it seems after this apparent Bey sting.

The singer was doing a show in Boston Tuesday -- as part of her "Renaissance" tour -- and during her performance of "Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)" ... Beyoncé noticeably failed to mention Lizzo's name in the lyrics, despite having done so repeatedly in the past.

If you're unfamiliar, Lizzo is actually written into the remix -- meaning her name is supposed to appear in the song naturally, so the fact Bey switched it up live is telling.

The name-drop happens in verse 3, where Beyoncé is listing a bunch of trailblazing women -- which normally includes Lizzo as well -- but on this particular outing ... Bey omitted her and instead chose to mention Erykah Badu 4 different times (more on this later).

Of course, to some ... it felt like, perhaps, Beyoncé had caught wind of the lawsuit filed against Lizzo Tuesday -- which had some pretty scandalous accusations in it, like the notion that she allegedly coerced her backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... not to mention allegedly badgering/body-shaming one of the dancers over a weight issue.

The internet certainly chatted about it yesterday, and now with this ... some are assuming Beyoncé did as well, and possibly made a decision to leave her off her 'BMS' list.

Now, there's another explanation for this would-be snub. As we reported ... there's bad blood between Erykah and Beyoncé right now. The former called out the latter for ripping off her fashion sense ... this 'cause Bey's worn similar 'fits onstage that echo EB's style.

It was a pretty public call-out ... and you could interpret Beyoncé's move as a response to Erykah stirring the pot. Eye of the beholder, we suppose ... but a choice was certainly made.

Beyoncé is honoring a man who was stabbed to death -- allegedly because he was dancing to her music in public -- and she's doing it a heartfelt message on one of her biggest platforms.

The singer paid tribute to 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley on her website, with a message that reads ... "Rest In Power O'Shae Sibley." It's the first thing you see when you go to beyonce.com, where it's prominently displayed on the homepage.

Sibley was fatally stabbed over the weekend at a Brooklyn gas station after getting into a scuffle with another man ... and cops are reportedly investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Sibley was gay and leading up to the confrontation, witnesses say he was voguing in the parking lot to Beyoncé's tracks. Authorities think the altercation might have started because the suspect was reacting to Sibley dancing, according to the NY Post.

Part of the face-off was actually captured by a surveillance camera outside ... and you can see quite a few people arguing.

The actual stabbing happens off-camera, but you can see Sibley (who's shirtless and wearing a hat) and a friend getting heated with an opposing group. Eventually, Sibley goes around a corner ... and moments later you see him come back into frame.

One of his pals who was there on the scene that night posted bloody photos of the aftermath, claiming the attacker was Muslim and let them know he didn't like gay people.

Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is making his first appearance in a New York court … this after he was accused of killing 3 sex workers and is the prime suspect in a fourth slaying.

The hulking Heuermann was in handcuffs as he was led by uniformed officers Tuesday into the Suffolk County courtroom to face a judge on 6 murder charges, three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Heuermann remained mostly stone-faced as he entered the courtroom.

As we reported, Heuermann was arrested in July and indicted on charges he murdered three prostitutes -- Melissa Barthelemy in 2009 and Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello in 2010. He was also linked to the 2007 killing of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barne, but he hasn't been charged yet in that case.

Prosecutors say Heuermann stuffed their bodies into burlap sacks and dumped them near Gilgo Beach on Long Island.

For over a decade, the murders went unsolved, but then investigators caught a break in 2022 when they followed up on a lead from years ago, tying Heuermann to a pickup truck allegedly involved in the Costello homicide.

Investigators put Heuermann and his family under surveillance at their Massapequa Park home, rounding up discarded trash for DNA testing. Detectives got a match for Heuermann off a DNA sample found on a pizza crust in a Manhattan trash can. Testing also revealed Heuermann's hair follicle was discovered inside a burlap sack containing one of the victims.

Lizzo is a nightmare to work for behind the scenes -- at least according to 3 of her former backup dancers, who are suing for what they claim were awful conditions on the job.

The singer is named as a defendant in a new lawsuit that was filed by the 3 women who say they danced for Lizzo and her touring company between 2021 and spring 2023 -- when they claim they were either unjustly fired or forced to resign due to unbearable circumstances.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ ... Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez say they made it into Lizzo's orbit through her Amazon reality show 'Watch Out for the Big Grrrls' -- and, after making the cut, they allege they were subjected to a number of CA workplace violations ... several of which amounted to sexual harassment, false imprisonment and interference with prospective economic advantage ... among other claims.

The accusations are being hurled in a few different directions -- including some aimed at members of Lizzo's management team, but as it pertains to her specifically ... she's being accused by these women of basically holding them hostage in a number of situations.

Specifically, the women cite 2 different instances while on the road with her in Europe earlier this year. They claim she subjected them to attend nude shows in Amsterdam and Paris, to the clear discomfort of her employees.

During the Amsterdam outing, they claim Lizzo goaded her dancers to touch the nude performers onstage and interact with them in very vulgar and explicit ways. The dancers claim they felt they had to do this in order to maintain their jobs.

Another claim against Lizzo ... her alleged badgering of these women over alleged poor performance and accusations of drinking on the job, which they say led to her constantly threatening them and their positions on her squad. The dancers even claim Lizzo made them reaudition for their spots in a multi-hour rehearsal that sounds brutal -- one dancer claims she was forced to pee her pants right there onstage out of fear of taking a break.

One dancer also claims Lizzo was privy to an eating disorder she had, and exploited that when she felt this dancer wasn't up to snuff ... allegedly forcing her to talk about it.

On top of all that, these dancers claim they were constantly being stiffed on the money front -- as well as having to constantly turn down other dancing gigs during pauses on tour. They're suing for major damages.

The house Aretha Franklin grew up in now belongs to a new family, and it looks like they're gonna have as much luck there as she did -- 'cause they got a great deal on the place.

According to property records the Detroit property officially transferred hands last Wednesday when the sale closed. We're told the buyers are not celebs, just normal folks who ended up snagging the home for quite a bit less than what it was listed for a couple months ago.

Remember, it hit the market in May for $379,900 -- that was after it was originally listed in January, and then taken off the market. Welp, the new owners negotiated their way down to a final offer of $355k.

Like we said, it's a helluva bargain ... 'cause the property itself actually has a lot to offer.

It's a 6-bed, 5-bath residence with 6,000 square feet of living space, and it's got a solid brick foundation with a lovely interior. There are fireplaces throughout the pad, and you can even fit in an extra 1-bedroom unit upstairs.

As far as Aretha's ties to this address ... she lived here in her formative years, age 5 to 18. She famously came back to visit the home in 2011, reminiscing on fond memories.

The crib could use a little bit of work, no doubt -- you'll recall, it was actually abandoned for a little while, but all in all, a great investment ... especially considering it's connection to the Queen of Soul.

The lawyer for the family of the 10-year-old boy who died at Travis Scott's Astroworld concert is blasting the rapper's team for accusing cops of trying to sabotage his new album with the release of their investigation.

Bob Hilliard, the lawyer representing the family of the late Ezra Blount, tells TMZ ... "For an artist making his living with music, these are stunningly tone-deaf comments about this preventable tragedy that took so many lives and injured so many."

Ezra was trampled to death at the concert and his family's lawyer is not taking kindly to the spin coming from Travis' camp.

As we first reported, one of Travis' attorneys said the release of the Houston Police Department's 1,266-page investigation was intentionally timed to hurt "Utopia" ... a stance one of Travis' reps later doubled down on.

The Blount family's attorney feels quite the opposite, telling us ... "Of course they would only focus on how the report's release date hurts their album sales instead of the facts contained inside of the report."

One of the notes tucked inside the report catching the attention of the Blounts' attorney are text messages from a contract worker, warning an event organizer that, "Someone's going to end up dead," after seeing people get crushed in the crowd.

While Travis was not charged with a crime, Ezra's family is among those who are suing the Houston rapper ... and their attorney says the police investigation is "damning" and shows Travis is among those at fault for their child's death.

Hilliard adds ... "For Mr. Scott to allow his lawyers and spokespeople to make the reckless and untrue statement that just because he was not indicted means he's blame-free is arrogant and insulting to the memory of 10-year-old Ezra as well as the other victims of this terrible night."

The woman who reported the incident to cops was standing next to the drink thrower -- but she claims the mic hit her too. Some video angles seem to show the mic hitting her after it ricocheted off the other fan.

Cardi B might not get away scot-free with that microphone toss in Las Vegas -- she's now listed as the suspect in a battery ... TMZ has learned.

The woman who was struck by Cardi's mic when she hurled it into the crowd at Drai's Nightclub on Saturday ... went to Las Vegas Metro PD the next day to report the incident.

She told police she'd been struck by an item -- the microphone -- thrown from the stage. Of course, the whole incident was captured on cameras during Cardi's show.

As we reported, a woman in the crowd threw some kinda liquid at Cardi while she was performing ... and the rapper snapped, immediately throwing the mic in retaliation.

The mic struck the drink thrower, but ricocheted and also hit another woman standing next to her ... as seen in the footage.

Prior to the altercation, Cardi and her DJ had implored the crowd to splash water on her to cool her off in the triple-digit weather -- but obviously, she didn't take kindly to whatever the woman threw later in the show.

We've reached out to Cardi's camp, but no word back yet.

Story developing ...

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum Kenya Moore's changing her tune -- she's now sending well-wishes to Kim Zolciak ... after previously claiming Kim might be lying about her divorce/no-divorce drama.

We got Kenya in NYC, where she said seeing the police body cam footage of Kim and Kroy Biermann during a domestic dispute made her rethink the situation.

After seeing them hurl accusations at the cops, Kenya says divorce just isn't an easy thing to navigate, especially with kids involved.

Kenya, who's been going through her own divorce since 2021, still questions how legit Kim's "divorce" filing really was -- but she's seen enough to send her best to the Biermanns, regardless.

The shift to kindness comes not long after she tweeted Kim lies "through her plastic teeth."

'RHOA' fans know it's been an up-and-down relationship between Kim and Kenya for a while, with most of the drama playing out on camera -- but after seeing the body cam, she's singing a slightly different tune ... for now.

Zachery Ty Bryan is experiencing déjà vu in the worst way possible -- 'cause the guy found himself in an Oregon jail, yet again, for alleged domestic violence.

Eugene PD tells TMZ that the 'Home Improvement' star was arrested Friday for felony assault, in violation of the Abuse Prevention Act. That's when someone is accused of attacking somebody else who'd previously been granted a restraining order in relation to DV.

Unfortunately, this appears to be a bit of a repeat of what happened 3 years ago in the same town -- at least that's what it sounds like based on what cops say. We're told police got a call for a reported physical dispute between a male and female at a Eugene residence.

When they arrived, we're told Zach was long gone ... but they eventually tracked him down and took him to jail, where he was booked ... and where he currently remains in custody.

The details of the latest alleged incident remain unclear for now ... but remember, back in 2020 -- Zach was also arrested for 4th-degree assault ... in addition to strangulation and interfering with making a report. At the time, he was accused of roughing up his then-girlfriend.

In the end, he ended up pleading guilty to two lesser charges ... misdemeanor menacing, and misdemeanor assault. He's also publicly said the incident was blown out of proportion.

"Teen Mom 2" star Nathan Griffith's sister was begging for a police response after he allegedly roughed her up ... telling dispatchers he tried killing her with his bare hands.

TMZ obtained audio of the 911 call Griffith's sister placed on July 12 in Las Vegas ... and in her chat with the dispatcher, the woman says Nathan tried to strangle her before fleeing in his car.

As we first reported ... the police report says the responding officers observed visible red marks on the sister's neck and eyelids -- indicative of someone who was strangled -- and she told them Nathan grabbed her by the throat, pushed her down onto the floor and got on top of her.

Despite telling the dispatcher her brother had left, police say Nathan was still outside the home when they arrived ... yelling and denying he ever touched his sister. Ultimately, he was arrested for battery by strangulation.

We also obtained another 911 call Griffith's sister made earlier -- prior to the alleged strangulation -- and she told the dispatcher, Nathan is following her around in the home and making threats. It sounds like you can hear him in the background.

The 911 calls are alarming ... and cops also said Nathan made suicidal statements on his way to the Clark County Jail.

Nathan's got a kid with "Teen Mom" star Jenelle Evans ... and he's had previous arrests for domestic violence and domestic battery by strangulation.