Legal

Calling it a comeback is an understatement, but Fyre Fest founder Billy McFarland is actually selling out tickets for a sequel to that infamous flop ... and he's telling us how he's pulling it off.

McFarland joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live," revealing the first round of FYRE Festival II pre-sale tickets were scooped up quickly ... and, interestingly, Billy thinks all the buzz around his 2017 tropical failure is driving curiosity and interest around his second attempt.

He tells us why the "no publicity is bad publicity" model really works in his favor. BTW, folks who've already purchased tix, dropped $500 bucks without knowing the exact location or which artists will perform!!!

Billy also chats with us about how the hell he found backers for Fyre Festival II ... saying it wasn't until a Broadway production company supported a musical based on the first Fyre that financiers got interested in his return to live events.

You'll recall, Billy teased the new festival last October -- about 6 months after he served 4 years in prison for wire fraud related to the OG Fyre Fest disaster.

Months after the teaser, Billy reunited with Andy King -- the guy who famously revealed Billy asked him to give oral sex to a customs officer to get shipments of bottled of water -- and they sold grilled cheeses in NYC to raise money for Bahamas workers who still haven't been paid from Fyre.

Billy says he won't be doing as much at next year's festival, but he's at least secured one job -- cookin' up those infamous cheese sandwiches with Andy!

Law enforcement sources in Suffolk Co. tell us James Burke allegedly exposed his penis to a plain-clothed male park ranger around 10 AM Tuesday, and while touching himself, discussed oral sex with the ranger.

In all, Burke's been charged with attempting to solicit a sexual act, public lewdness, indecent exposure and criminal solicitation.

James Burke -- the former Suffolk County Police Chief heavily criticized for derailing the Gilgo Beach murders investigation due to his ties to sex workers -- has been arrested for attempting to solicit a sex act.

The Tuesday morning arrest at Suffolk County's Vietnam War Memorial is remarkable because Burke was known to frequent sex workers back when he was Chief in the Long Island, NY community -- from 2012 to 2015 -- and many believe that's why he bungled the investigation into the Gilgo Beach murders ... as all the victims were sex workers.

Burke was previously arrested in 2015 for beating up a suspect in custody, and he was eventually convicted and served 46 months in prison.

Burke's mishandling of the case is just one of several failings we uncovered in the documentary, "TMZ Investigates: Gilgo Beach Serial Murders: Missed Warning Signs" ... streaming now on Hulu.

As we've reported, Rex Heuermann has been arrested and charged with 3 of the Gilgo murders, and he's the prime suspect in a 4th.

A total of 11 bodies have been uncovered on the Long Island beachfront.

Lizzo looks and sounds unbothered by the lawsuit hanging over her head ... possibly using all the controversy as inspiration to create new art.

The "Truth Hurts" singer was spotted Monday for the first time since being sued by three of her former backup dancers who claim she sexually harassed them. Photogs asked her how she's been holding up in the face of the lawsuit.

Lizzo says she's doing good, and she was all smiles as she strolled into a recording studio in Hollywood. Her only other message ... new music is coming.

It's the first time we've heard Lizzo on camera since being sued ... she previously blasted the lawsuit in a statement, chalking it up to "sensationalized stories."

Lizzo said the days following the suit were "gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing" ... but now she seems at ease, at least publicly.

Remember ... Lizzo is being sued by a trio of former backup dancers, who claim she subjected them to nude entertainment shows in Amsterdam and Paris on tour earlier this year, claiming Lizzo pressured them to interact with the nude dancers despite their discomfort.

Two of Lizzo's accusers, Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams, previously joined us on "TMZ Live" and told us what it was like for them working under Lizzo ... alleging all of her backup dancers work in fear of losing their jobs if they don't go along with her demands.

Britney Spears has lost most of her support system to help with the care she desperately needs ... leaving her lawyer and manager essentially in charge of her well-being.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us it isn't necessarily a case of Mathew Rosengart and Cade Hudson taking the reins ... it's more they're the last people standing in Britney's life.

We're told they assist in getting Britney fed, to appointments and manage any potential professional opportunities that may come her way.

Our sources say Rosengart does not believe Britney's mental state is cause for great alarm, and there has been no plan to amp up her medical care and therapy. Some folks in Britney's world don't see it that way and believe she's in desperate straits.

As for her family ... Britney's very publicly shut her dad, Jamie, and sister, Jamie Lynn out of the picture. Her mom, Lynne, flew to L.A. a few months ago to help her daughter, but that relationship has since fallen apart as well.

Our sources say Britney's older brother, Bryan, has occasionally been trying to help Britney since her split with Sam -- going to her house to workout, and offering to do what he can -- but we're told Bryan's walking on eggshells, as Britney's just too volatile.

Britney threw a small divorce party over the weekend. She wore a green dress and surrounded herself by a bunch of shirtless dudes -- including Cade Hudson.

Xavien Howard says the woman who accused him of filming sex acts with her without her consent attempted to shake him down for a ton of cash before going public with her allegations.

The Miami Dolphins star made the claim in a motion to dismiss his accuser's lawsuit on Monday ... alleging the woman -- ID'ed only as Jane Doe -- sought "presumably millions of dollars" from him prior to filing her suit in Florida in the spring.

In the court filing, Howard also said the woman's suit should be thrown out immediately for a multitude of reasons -- including Doe's insistence on remaining anonymous.

As we previously reported, the woman filed the suit against Howard in May ... alleging he had not only videotaped sex with her without her knowing -- but he then distributed the footage to at least one other person.

In her suit, she said she found out about it all because a woman had sent her the clips after claiming Howard had messaged them in an effort "to make her mad because she didn't want to have sex with him."

The woman sued Howard for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress -- and asked for damages.

In his motion Monday, however, Howard also argued that Doe didn't meet Florida legal standards for either of her claims.

"Her anonymous lawsuit is not compliant with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, wildly at odds with due process, and further creates the practical problem of one-sidedly prejudicing the public and potential jury pool," Howard's attorney, Brad Sohn, wrote in the docs.

Florida cops have been ordered to arrest Antonio Brown once again ... after a judge ruled he missed yet another child support payment.

According to Miami-Dade County court documents, the ruling was issued on Aug. 9 ... after Brown apparently missed a $15,000 payment to his ex, Wiltrice Jackson.

Per the docs, Brown can have the order purged if he pays up ... plus an additional $5,000 in attorney fees.

It's the second time this year a judge has ordered law enforcement to take the ex-NFL star into custody over unpaid child support ... back in April, the order was issued after Brown failed to make a $30,000 payment to Jackson.

AB, though, paid up before he was put behind bars.

Brown and Jackson dated in the early stages of the former wide receiver's football career ... and have a daughter together.

The two, however, have had their share of ups and downs since ... with Jackson accusing Brown of shoving her during a domestic dispute in 2019. Brown was never charged in the case.

Britney Spears is working fast to put Sam Asghari behind her … surrounding herself with a ton of shirtless men, all vying for Brit's attention.

The pop star posted the racy video on Instagram, showing one guy trying to lick Brit’s leg all the way up to her thigh. You can hear the cameraman order him to, “Start at the boot, bro..”

The video then jumps to Brit being hoisted up by 5 bare-chested men around a pool. Brit seems more than satisfied, punctuating the moment with “Okay cool!"

Brit wrote in her caption, 'When you go to meet up with a so called "friend" and drive an hour for chicken! Then you have to wait in the car and need to use the bathroom.”

She continued. “So what does a b**** like me do?! I put my green dress on and show up at my friends! I invited my [favorite] boys over and played all night!”

On Sunday, Britney also posted a topless video on Instagram. Of course, this all followed last week’s drama when Sam Asghari filed for divorce from Britney, citing irreconcilable differences.

Since then, it’s been all downhill for the exes, who are no longer talking to one another.

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

The lawyers going after NBCUniversal and Bravo with both barrels over alleged mistreatment of their reality stars have turned up the heat even higher ... demanding the companies release these stars from what the lawyers call a draconian confidentiality agreement.

Attorney Bryan Freedman fired off another letter to the companies, claiming the NDAs violate California law, which prohibits companies from forcing employees to sign NDAs prohibiting them from disclosing unlawful conduct.

As for the unlawful conduct Freedman alleges ... racism, sexism, sexual violence, revenge porn, child labor violations, forced intoxication, and psychological, emotional and physical abuse.

Freedman wants NBCUniversal and Bravo to fully release their reality stars from their NDAs, but at a minimum acknowledge they can discuss alleged illegal conduct during production.

The attorney, along with co-counsel Mark Geragos, has been blasting NBC claiming the networks are manufacturing mental instability by plying cast members with alcohol while depriving them of food and sleep. Freedman also says they have deprived cast members of mental health treatment even when they display alarming signs of mental deterioration.

We reached out to NBCUniversal ... so far, no word back. NBC issued a statement previously, saying they're “committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows.”

Tesla is being dragged to court over a deadly car crash ... a woman is blaming Elon Musk's company for her husband's death, claiming his Model 3 burst into flames on impact with a tree.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Jiyoung Yoon claims her late husband, Jyung Woo Hahn, died when his 2020 Tesla Model 3 malfunctioned, crashed into a tree and burst into flames.

Jiyoung claims the incident happened in March 2022, when her husband was driving on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County, NY.

In the docs, Jiyoung says her husband survived the initial impact but was unable to escape his Tesla and was ultimately consumed by fire.

She claims the Model 3 was defective in design, manufacture, and warning ... she says it was not crashworthy, making it "unreasonably dangerous for its designed and intended purposes."

Jiyoung is going after Tesla for damages ... and she wants the suit to go to a jury trial.

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari have totally shut down any and all communication with one another, leaving it up to their legal teams to handle everything moving forward.

Sources connected to the estranged pair tell us ... things got really nasty when Sam left their home, and the two haven't spoken since.

From here on out, we're told all communication, negotiations and any other business to be handled between the two will be done by their legal teams.

While totally shutting down communication might seem improbable, it's important to note the two never had kids -- so there's no need to communicate about child care, schedules, or even FaceTime calls between parents and kiddos -- making it easier to avoid talking.

US Weekly was first to report they've stopped communication.

TMZ broke the story ... Sam moved out after he believed Britney was cheating with a staffer at their home. At this time, we're told the relationship between Sam and Britney is so bad that people around them believe it's possible they may never talk again.

We were also the first to tell you there's a growing concern for Britney's well-being, as Sam was her main support system, and she's totally iced out the rest of her family.

Sam posted a statement on the divorce Thursday, writing in part, "After 6 years of love and commitment to each other my wife and I have decided to end our journey together." He's also taking a lot of heat for mentioning, "S*** happens" in his statement ... as many feel he showed a lack of sincerity in how things ended with Britney.

Rachel Leviss may not be coming back to "Vanderpump Rules," but that isn't stopping Scheana Shay.

Scheana is dropping a new song Friday called "Apples" ... in which some of the lyrics go like this ... "I was with you on your worst day / You stabbed me in the worst way / How you gonna lie to my face?"

Scheana wasn't done ... "And you said that we would always be friends / Party on the weekend / But then you’re gone without a trace; I thought you were grateful / I found out you’re fake, though / I hope there’s a place for friends like you."

Interesting ... saying "you're gone without a trace" suggests Scheana is completely done with her friendship with Rachel or she's pissed Rachel decided not to return to 'VPR' ... safe to assume the latter.

And get this ... Shay labels Rachel a "narcissistic psychopath" whom she "cut out like lipo."

Scheana was pissed at the time over Rachel having an affair with Tom Sandoval ... ultimately resulting in Rachel (then Raquel) getting a restraining order against her after claiming Scheana physically attacked her.

Scheana denied the whole thing, with her lawyer calling Rachel a "known liar and a cheat." As you know, Scheana won in the end -- with the whole thing eventually getting dismissed.

Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman says he's concerned about Britney Spears as her marriage with Sam Asghari comes to an end ... and he thinks something like a conservatorship could help.

We got Shawn at LAX, where he opened up about his concerns for a fellow artist, saying it's clear to him she's been in need of assistance for some time -- but it's more crucial now that she's going to be on her own.

He harkened back to the end of Britney's conservatorship -- which shut down in November 2021 -- with her dad, Jamie, getting bashed by the fan-fueled "Free Britney" movement ... but in Shawn's eyes, a conservatorship might be what she really needs.

Shawn acknowledges Brit's fans do love her, but adds, that's not enough to help her through mental illness -- he says that's where her family could be essential. Unfortunately, we know she currently has no relationship with her mother, father or siblings.

As we reported ... Sam beelined to court Wednesday to file for divorce ... and we learned he believes she was cheating on him with a staff member in their home. Sources told us Sam claims there's a video of Britney and the staffer in a compromising position.

Michael Jackson's two sexual molestation accusers will have their days in court after all ... a California court just cleared the way for their lawsuits to move ahead.

In a Friday ruling, the California Court of Appeal revived two lawsuits against the King of Pop's production company ... one from James Safechuck, and the other from Wade Robson, who both accuse Michael of molesting them for many years when they were kids.

Remember ... Safechuck and Robson were suing Michael's corporation, MJJ Productions, but their suits were dismissed in 2021 by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, who found the company had no legal duty to protect Safechuck, Robson or anyone else from MJ because it had no ability to control him.

Now, a higher court begs to differ ... meaning Safechuck and Robson's cases will be sent back down to the trial court.

TMZ broke the story, the same appeals court issued the tentative ruling for Robson's case back in June ... now, that ruling is final and Safechuck is in the same boat.

Robson's case alleges MJ molested him at the Neverland Ranch when Robson was between the ages of 7 and 14.

Safechuck, meanwhile, alleges he was only 10 years old when he met Michael on the set of a Pepsi commercial .... and he claims MJ eventually started bringing him to the bedroom for sexual encounters that continued for over four years.

Michael's accusers, who both appeared in the 2019 HBO film "Leaving Neverland," argued MJ’s corporations failed to protect them from MJ's alleged abuse.

Wrestling star Cash Wheeler -- one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions -- was arrested on Friday and charged with a felony, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to online records, the 36-year-old was booked into an Orange County, Fla. jail at around midnight ... on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm.

Further details of the allegations against Wheeler were not made immediately available ... though court records indicate the arrest stemmed from a July incident.

Wheeler joined the AEW in 2020 after a notable WWE career ... and has since become a fan favorite in the org. -- wrestling alongside his tag team partner, Dax Harwood.

The two won the tag team title together in April ... and had been slated to co-main event at AEW: All In London at Wembley Stadium in two weeks.

It's unclear if Friday's arrest will alter those plans ... the AEW said in a statement that it "has been made aware of the charge, and we are closely monitoring the situation."

The org. added Wheeler "is fully cooperating with local authorities."

NFL star Robert Quinn -- a former Dallas Cowboy -- was arrested in South Carolina on Friday, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 33-year-old pass rusher, who played for the Eagles and Bears last season, was booked in a Dorchester County jail at around 8 AM ... on hit and run and assault charges.

Attempts to reach police for comment on the arrest were unsuccessful.

According to WCSC-TV, however, Quinn has been accused of crashing into four cars, a light post and a gate ... and then leaving the scene during a wild incident in Summerville on Tuesday.

The outlet reports one witness told them the football player stopped to talk for a brief moment following the wreck before leaving ... but was "very belligerent."

"He kept saying, 'Oh, don't worry about it I'll buy you new cars, I'll buy you new cars, let's go to the dealership,'" the witness said. "I told him to get off my property and he proceeded to put his hands on me and slap me not once but twice."

Court records show Quinn has since been hit with seven total charges related to the incident.

Quinn -- a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft -- has long been considered one of the league's best sack masters, piling up 102 QB takedowns in 162 career games ... though he's currently a free agent after an underwhelming season in Chicago and Philadelphia last year.

A United Airlines pilot must've been feeling a whole lotta cabin pressure ... because he was caught on camera chopping down a parking gate with a freaking ax.

63-year-old Kenneth Jones went full-on lumberjack earlier this month at the exit of an employee parking lot at Denver International Airport, according to CBS News Colorado -- whacking the thing nearly 2 dozen times before it finally falls off.

Not long after, Jones was confronted by other airport employees, and he put up a bit of a struggle over the ax before eventually giving up.

The pilot's reportedly been charged with a misdemeanor for his parking lot remodel, which allegedly caused $700 in damages, and he's been removed from United's work schedule as the company continues an internal investigation.

As far as a reason for the ax outburst, Jones reportedly told cops he just hit his breaking point -- the outlet says he's due to appear in court at the end of September.