Legal

Britney Spears' ex-BF, Justin Timberlake, says she's being done wrong -- by her family, her conservators and the courts -- especially when it comes to controlling her own body.

Justin came out strongly in support of freeing Britney Wednesday, hours after her bombshell testimony for the judge in her conservatorship case ... saying, "No one should ever be held against their will ... or ever have to ask permission to access everything they've worked so hard for."

JT's support for Brit's efforts to end her conservatorship is especially interesting because he became a target of the #FreeBritney movement after the 'Framing Britney Spears' documentary came out. The film highlighted a moment when many feel he slut-shamed her by publicly bragging about having sex with Britney when they were dating.

The singer seemed to reference that low point in another tweet, when he said, "Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was ... what's happening to her is just not right."

As we reported, Britney told the judge in no uncertain terms she wants out from under the conservatorship, and without any further mental evaluation. She also said her conservators are forcing her to use an IUD, which she wants to remove because she said she wants to have another baby and get married to Sam Asghari, her BF of nearly 5 years.

Actor Eddie Deezen is being accused of harassing a waitress who claims he went scorched Earth on her over her eyelashes, of all things ... but he claims her peeps are cyberbullying him now.

So, here's the deal ... Deezen -- best known for playing nerdy Eugene Felsnic in the original 'Grease' films -- apparently went on Facebook earlier this week and wrote a lengthy post blasting the waitress in his hometown of Cumberland, Maryland.

So weird, but in a nutshell, he went on a rant about loving when she wears fake eyelashes on days he goes into her restaurant ... but hates when she doesn't wear them. Deezen even said he'd walk out if she didn't wear 'em.

The waitress, Kara Lashbaugh, called Deezen a creep for the repulsive Facebook post. Then, a couple of days after putting him on blast ... Deezen accused Kara of spreading rumors about him and getting him banned from a couple of restaurants in town.

Deezen also says he's been inundated with vile private messages from her friends. Even though he started this ridiculous beef, Deezen's claiming Kara just wants 15 minutes of fame because he's "a fairly well-known person."

Kara tells us she has not filed a police report, but is planning to meet with a lawyer to see what she should do going forward.

Deezen's attorney, Adam Hirshfield, tells us the actor feels like his life is in danger following the cyberbullying -- but police have told him he'll need to file for a no-contact order in court, if he's that concerned.

Britney Spears railed on her dad and her management team during Wednesday's explosive court hearing ... saying she wants the conservatorship to end now, and she's so angry she thinks her family has abused her so much that she'd like to sue them.

She also said she wants to get married and have another baby but she's being blocked by the conservatorship. She says she has an IUD but the conservator will not let her have it removed.

Britney said she's "not here to be anyone's slave" ... which apparently is how she feels.

Britney said she does not want further medical evaluation. She wants out now.

She said her family did nothing to protect her. She was sent to a small home in Beverly Hills for rehab once and it cost $60,000 -- she says they were trying to hurt her and her dad "loved it."

She said the people who did this to her should not be able to get away with it. She wishes she could sue her family.

Britney says she was "forced" to do her Vegas residency. She said when she was doing the Vegas show, she told her management she didn't want to do it because it was too much. She said she was forced to do the tour and the next thing she knew they changed her medication, putting her on Lithium, which had a terrible effect on her. She said she was scared and her whole family did nothing.

Britney said even her therapist was uncaring. She says after she wanted to put an end to Vegas, the therapist said she was being difficult and not taking her meds. That's when she was put on Lithium. She said her family -- and especially her dad -- didn't care.

She says she pled for a break from Vegas after 4 years but wasn't heard. She said she was told she was uncooperative, which was absolutely not true.

As for why she's now asking to end the conservatorship, she said she didn't know she could until now.

She said she has absolutely no privacy and when she was at home there were times she couldn't see her boyfriend or kids. The caretakers of the conservatorship would violate her privacy and watch her change while she was naked.

She said she doesn't want to work for the people she pays, saying even if she's sick she's required to go to at least 3 meetings a week. She wants that limited to 1 therapy session a week.

Britney said she should be able to sue a conservator who threatens that if she doesn't do what they say in terms of therapy they can withhold her money and deny her a vacation in Maui.

Britney claims, "The conservatorship from the beginning ... it makes no sense. I pay people money and they control me. I worked since I was 17 years old and this conservatorship is abusive. I don't feel I can live a full life. I don't even believe in therapy. I always thought I could take it to God."

She repeated she wants the conservatorship to end. She says she is being hounded by paparazzi and the conservatorship is not protecting her or giving her any privacy.

Britney said she wants to end the conservatorship and doesn't want to be evaluated as a pre-condition.

Britney said, "They make me feel like I'm living in a rehab program and not my home. I will do therapy once a week because I do need it."

She continued, "I want to get married and have a baby. I wanted to take the IUD out and have a baby but the conservator won't let me because they don't want me to have a baby."

Britney stressed that it took a year during COVID for her to get self-care methods.

She says she's scared of people and doesn't trust people. Britney made a point that she's stuck going to therapy in Westlake, which is very public. She said the paparazzi saw her crying as she left therapy Tuesday.

Britney doesn't understand why she can't do therapy sessions at home -- and is upset with Jodi Montgomery, her personal conservator, who she says has become heavy-handed.

The judge thanked Britney and said it took a lot of courage to speak out.

Britney's lawyer was asked if he wanted to file a petition to end the conservatorship, but the lawyer said there were confidentiality issues. He said if Britney wants to file a petition he would do that, but she hasn't asked as of yet.

Lynne Spears' lawyer said in 2019 when Britney was in court she didn't feel she was heard, and it's important today that she be heard. Today is the day the court put an action plan in place to provide the relief Britney is asking for -- to end the conservatorship.

The judge said she would entertain any request to end the conservatorship and start the process of holding hearings.

The singer appeared live, via Zoom, in the Downtown L.A. courtroom, to voice her issues with her father, Jamie Spears ... who we now definitely know she wants removed as one of her conservators.

Earlier Wednesday, Sam Asghari seemingly provided some evidence on his t-shirt Britney would ask to terminate the conservatorship. He's the only person with day-to-day contact with Brit, and the "Free Britney" message emblazoned on his shirt was one big clue.

Britney called for this hearing and, as you'd expect, she had throngs of supporters from the #FreeBritney movement gathered outside the courthouse to support her.

Jamie already stepped down as co-conservator of Britney's person back in 2019 -- Jodi Montgomery is now her permanent personal conservator -- but we've been told Brit wants him out as the co-conservator of her estate as well ... so he can no longer manage her business affairs.

In fact, Brit's stated she will not perform again as long as Jamie is part of the conservatorship -- something she seemed to reiterate when she recently told fans on IG she has "no idea" if she'll ever take the stage again. Today's hearing could impact her decision.

Of course, all of this is why Britney's fans couldn't wait for what she had to say in court.

As we reported, Britney asking the judge to end the conservatorship is only the beginning, because the issue is whether she's able to safely care for herself.

For answers, the judge will look to a throng of doctors, psychiatrists and others who have evaluated her over the years. Our sources say, in the past, the medical professionals determined her condition made the conservatorship necessary -- and they have weighed in over the last 13 years in court.

The judge will no doubt hear from the doctors, and they believe she's now able to safely care for herself, the judge would/should end the conservatorship. If not, it's unlikely she'd win the day, although the judge could still make changes to the conservatorship.

NFL free agent Derrius Guice is officially off the hook in his domestic violence case ... after the running back reached a deal with his ex-GF on Wednesday.

As we previously reported, the 24-year-old former LSU star was arrested in Virginia back in August 2020 ... after he allegedly choked and pushed his ex-GF to the ground on 3 separate occasions between February and April.

He was also accused of destroying her cell phone.

Guice faced 3 counts of assault and battery and 1 count of destruction of property. He also faced 1 count of felony strangulation, but that charge was dropped back in January.

According to reports, Guice and the alleged victim appeared in court to ask the judge to accept an agreement and drop the charges, which the judge apparently did.

Details on the settlement have not been released, but a rep for the prosecutors said this "process permits the parties to control the direction and outcome of such matters."

The Washington Football Team cut Guice following his arrest ... saying it was fully cooperating with the NFL as the league and law enforcement investigated the alleged incidents.

Guice was a 2nd-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft -- but has only played in 5 games in his career due to injury.

Britney Spears' boyfriend may have tipped his hand on what will go down in court today ... not by what he said, but by what he's wearing.

Britney's boyfriend of 5 years, Sam Asghari, just posted a photo of himself wearing a "Free Britney" t-shirt as he looks sternly into his camera. It doesn't mean Britney necessarily feels that way ... but it sure seems that would be the case.

What's so significant about this ... is that Sam is the only person who interacts with Britney on a day-to-day basis. Translation -- he has her ear and she has his.

As we've reported, Sam made it clear ... he has major beef with Britney's dad, Jamie. Sam made it clear last February, he has contempt for Jamie ... calling him a "total dick." We know Britney wants her dad removed as co-conservator of her estate and at the very least, she will ask the judge to do just that when she testifies later today.

The t-shirt Sam is wearing, however, seems to considerably up the ante. If this isn't a signal of Britney's sentiment about the entire conservatorship, we don't know what is.

The hearing is set for 1:30 PM PT today, and we will be chronicling what happens in real time. We will also have a livestream analysis immediately after the judge slams the gavel.

Kim Kardashian is going to have court-ordered protection from a man she claims wanted to make himself at home, literally, for a good long while ... as a judge just slammed the gavel.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kim was granted a permanent restraining order against Charles Peter Zelenoff -- who she alleged was stalking her for some time now, while also expressing a burning desire to get inside her crib ... and getting too close for comfort.

During a hearing on the matter Wednesday -- one for which Kim was present, but only via audio -- Kim's team pushed for 5 years, but were only granted 3 ... because the court found Zelenoff wasn't threatening her, per se, but they did find basis in her stalking claim.

The new order basically extends what the TRO did last month -- namely, that Zelenoff has to steer clear from Kim and her family, and avoid contacting and/or harassing her for the said amount of time. Zelenoff didn't push back much on the argument -- in fact, he didn't say much at all in his defense.

Just a refresher on what Kim had to say about this guy -- she claimed in her original filing that Zelenoff had been "stalking" her for months ... expressing bizarre desires to pursue a relationship with her, while also apparently making stops outside her home, and filming it.

She also claimed he posted troubling messages about her online ... including frustrations about not being able to get INSIDE her pad, which was enough for Kim to go running to court for help.

Drake Bell just pled guilty in his endangering children case ... but it's not clear yet whether he'll do any time behind bars.

The "Drake & Josh" star was in court for a hearing Wednesday in Ohio where he appeared via Zoom and pled guilty to attempted endangering children (a 4th-degree felony) and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles (a 1st-degree misdemeanor).

The judge accepted Drake's plea. He could face up to 18 months in prison on the felony charge. He's slated to be sentenced in July. As we reported ... Drake was in hot water in Ohio for an alleged incident from back in December 2017.

According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office ... a female juvenile filed a report with her local police department in Canada back in October 2018 regarding an alleged incident that she says occurred between her and Drake the previous year at a Cleveland nightclub.

We're told Canadian authorities contacted Cleveland PD ... and its probe revealed that the 15-year-old had established a relationship with Drake several years prior to the alleged incident.

Prosecutors say that, while at the concert, Drake "violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim." Prosecutors also say the probe revealed that, months leading up to the concert, Drake sent her inappropriate social media messages.

Britney Spears has made it clear ... she wants the judge to hear her out over her long-running conservatorship, but even if she wants out, it's virtually certain that will not happen without a sign off by a team of doctors.

As you know by now, Britney will address the judge Wednesday at 1:30 PM PT, and there are plenty of fans who are praying she's cut loose from her conservatorship that has been in place for 13 years.

Up to now, she has never asked the court to end the conservatorship ... not once. Multiple sources tell TMZ, Britney has been at loggerheads with her dad, Jamie, for years. Jamie was once both her personal conservator and conservator of her estate. He stepped down as her personal conservator, and is now co-conservator of her estate with a financial institution.

One thing she's made clear ... she will NOT perform until her dad is out completely. That said, our sources say she has not taken any steps to plan for a return to the stage or the studio in the event Jamie is gone.

So, the question ... will Britney ask to end the conservatorship entirely? That is truly a wild card. What's different now is that she's in what appears to be a stable, fairly long-term relationship with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari. They started dating in 2016. It's certainly possible Britney feels Sam can care for her -- thus no need for a conservatorship.

That said, if Britney asks to end the conservatorship, that's the beginning of the saga ... not the end. She was placed in the conservatorship for medical reasons. Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... a team of doctors say she has a condition that prevents her from safely caring for herself. We're told the doctors have been in place for the entire conservatorship and have not changed their opinion.

It's pretty obvious ... if Britney wants out, the judge will want to hear from the doctors ... something the current and previous judges have regularly reviewed over the last 13 years. That is the core issue in the conservatorship -- Can Britney safely care for herself and others for whom she's responsible? If the answer is yes, then the judge should end the conservatorship, but if the judge believes the answer is no -- based on the testimony of doctors -- then she would almost certainly lose any such bid to terminate the conservatorship.

TMZ will cover all angles of the hearing today, and afterward we will live stream the analysis.

Jenn Harley's side hustles on Instagram are evaporating faster than her neighbors can call 911 on her ... and it all stems from her domestic violence arrest.

A rep for Bellesa -- a sex toy and porn company that caters to women -- tells TMZ ... the company's cutting all ties with Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's ex-GF, saying it's appalled by the news she allegedly pointed a gun at her new BF, dropped the n-word and threatened to kill him.

Jenn's partnership with Bellesa called for her to promote one of its sex toys on IG. For instance, on Mother's Day weekend she posted, "Moms deserve to relax too!" ... and alerted followers to hit her up for a free toy or gift card.

Her deal to pimp the famous Bentley Trike (stroller/bike) is also in jeopardy -- a rep for Posh Baby and Kids, the distributor, says they've suspended the partnership, and will terminate Jenn's contract if the allegations prove true.

Company prez Deepak Raghavan says "These incidents go against the values of our company. We don't condone this behavior."

As we reported ... Jenn and her BF, Joseph Ambrosole, recently got into a heated argument in Vegas that included her leaving him stranded on the side of the road before things allegedly got so much worse when they got home.

According to the arrest report ... Jenn pointed a gun and threatened to shoot Joseph while dropping the n-word. Cops say Joseph told them that Jenn said "I'll shoot you n***a," and "I'll kill you right f***ing now," before cocking the gun.

She was ultimately arrested and booked for domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon.

Vanessa Bryant has settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the company that owned the doomed helicopter in the crash that killed Kobe, Gigi and 7 others.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Vanessa's legal team filed a notice of settlement with the court ... but the terms of the settlement are confidential. The court still needs to sign off.

TMZ broke the story ... Vanessa sued Island Express back in February 2020, blaming the helicopter company for the fatal crash that killed her husband and daughter.

In her suit, Vanessa claimed the weather conditions -- an extremely low, blinding fog -- were not conducive to flying ... and she claimed the pilot, Ara George Zobayan, failed to properly assess and monitor the weather before takeoff and during flight.

As you know ... the crash tragically killed Kobe, Gianna, Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser and the pilot.

The probation period Antonio Brown was sentenced to in his moving truck driver assault case has just been terminated 1 year early ... his attorney, Sean Burstyn, tells TMZ Sports.

Brown received the good news at a court hearing Tuesday, according to Burstyn ... with the attorney saying a judge agreed to end the probation 12 months early, recognizing AB's done a good job of staying out of trouble over the past year.

As we previously reported, Brown was hit with 3 criminal charges after allegedly roughing up a moving company driver outside of his Florida mansion back in February 2020.

But, Brown cut a plea deal with prosecutors four months later in June ... agreeing to serve two years of probation, complete 100 hours of community service and finish a 13-week anger management program in order to close out the case.

And, in court documents filed last week, Brown's attorneys argued that because the Tampa Bay receiver has already finished one year of probation and completed the rest of the conditions ... the final year of his probation should be terminated.

And, Burstyn says that's exactly what went down in the Broward County courtroom Tuesday.

"In further demonstration of Antonio Brown’s hard work and great progress since his NFL suspension, we are very pleased to advise that his withheld adjuration is now final and he has completed his probation a full year ahead of schedule,” Burstyn said in a statement.

"We see nothing but blue sky for AB."

Tristan Thompson appears to be headed for a legal win in his libel suit against the woman claiming he fathered her child ... the court is leaning toward awarding him a chunk of cash.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the court says it's leaning towards granting the NBA baller a nearly $53k default judgment against Kimberly Alexander.

TMZ broke the story ... Tristan sued Alexander for libel last year and wanted the judge to hit her with $100k in damages, claiming allegations he fathered her child potentially cost him endorsement deals because brands and companies viewed him as a troubled athlete.

According to the docs, the court is leaning towards awarding Tristan around $50k instead of the $100k he was seeking because the judge said he hadn't offered any evidence of losing any specific endorsement deals due to Alexander's allegations.

Tristan's tentative legal win comes on the heels of his latest split from Khloe Kardashian ... as we reported, they called things off after another round of cheating allegations, this time from a woman named Sydney Chase.

Damon Dash is taking the L -- at least for now -- in his attempt to auction off Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" album as an NFT ... but he's not likely to give up just yet.

A source close to the case tells us the court ruled in favor of Roc-A-Fella Tuesday by ruling Damon's prohibited from selling the NFT of Jay's debut studio album, and any planned auctions to do so must be halted.

Of course, the ruling is only temporary, but we're told the federal judge said Jay and Roc-A-Fella's arguments were "deemed credible and correct." That being said, more filings are almost certain to come in the future from Dash's side.

We broke the story ... Roc-A-Fella sued Dash -- one of its cofounders -- claiming he did not have rights to sell "Reasonable Doubt" because the company owns it.

RAF -- repped by powerhouse attorney Alex Spiro -- claimed Damon was trying to cash in on the NFT craze, so they took him to court to stop any potential sale and make him turn over any NFTs he'd already minted.

But, Dash told us the lawsuit wasn't going to stop him and clarified he wasn't just trying to sell Jay's album, but his ENTIRE stake in Roc-A-Fella. Dame claimed Jay-Z lowballed him with an offer to buy out his 1/3 stake in the company ... so he's shopping around.

Chris Brown is under investigation for battery ... and the alleged victim told cops he smacked the back of her head so hard her weave came off!!!

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police responded to the singer's San Fernando Valley home over the weekend, where a woman claimed Breezy slapped her.

We're told the woman claimed the slap made part of her weave come out ... and police took a battery report and named Chris as the suspect.

Our sources say the alleged victim had no injuries, aside from the allegedly dislodged weave, and no arrests have been made.

It's the second time in as many months cops were called to Chris' pad ... the first being his massive birthday bash in May, which LAPD broke up early in the AM.

We reached out to Chris' camp about the latest incident ... so far, radio silence.

Britney Spears doesn't seem to be stressing over her highly anticipated court appearance this week ... she just keeps on dancing.

Just days after Brit told her fans she has "no idea" if she'll ever take the stage to perform again, she busted out some serious moves in a silver bodysuit ... grooving to Prince's "Sexy Motherf***er."

She posted that she was going on a boat for dinner Monday night and asked her followers if she should wear the bodysuit or go with a dress. Spears also revealed she just took a trip to Maui with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, and didn't want to leave.

Britney had to leave though, because she's due in court Wednesday for her conservatorship case ... where she's planning to testify before the judge, instead of letting her lawyers do the talking.

As we've told you ... Britney's made it clear that she won't be on stage again until her father, Jamie, is no longer in control of the conservatorship, so it's interesting she's answering fan questions about it on IG.

She said, "Will I ever take the stage again? I have no idea. I'm having fun right now. I'm in a transition in my life, and I'm enjoying myself so, that's it."

It's unclear what she means by that, but our sources say as recently as a few weeks ago Britney was not making any moves to launch a tour or plan a show or anything.

VP Kamala Harris didn't rip Nina Simone's family from her estate, as the late singer's kin claim ... at least according to a business associate of Nina's, who claims Kamala was ensuring Nina's vision for her trust was realized.

Here's the deal ... Nina's daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, and granddaughter, RéAnna Simone Kelly, are ripping Harris -- then-CA Attorney General -- for allegedly icing them out of Nina's estate, but legal docs seem to tell a different story.

According to Nina's will, obtained by TMZ, Nina put the bulk of her estate assets into a charitable trust to benefit the musical education of Black African children from Ghana, Liberia and South Africa.

The docs show Nina named South African singer Miriam Makeba as the trustee, and if Miriam was unable to act as trustee, MM could appoint a successor to continue to run the trust for the benefit of Black African children.

As you know ... Nina died in 2003, and Lisa was ultimately put in charge of her estate and trust. Later, in 2013, she was accused of misappropriating funds tied to the charitable trust.

That's when AG Harris and her office got involved. In the end, they reached a settlement where Lisa relinquished the rights to Nina's work and stepped away from the role.

While Nina's descendants are ticked off, the way the icon's business associate sees it ... Kamala played it by the letter of Simone's will, and carried out her very clear wishes.