Legal

Britney Spears says her dad is trying to extort her on his way out of the conservatorship and she's not having it.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Britney points out her father's already admitted it's in her best interests for him to step down as her conservator, and she says he's trying to hold her up for more money from her as a condition to leave.

Britney's legal team claims Jamie is asking for around $2 million -- some of which will go to pay his lawyers and her former business manager Tri Star. Britney's lawyer, Matt Rosengart, fired this warning shot in the docs ... "The status quo is no longer tolerable, and Britney Spears will not be extorted."

Britney says Jamie should just resign now instead of slow-playing his exit ... and if he doesn't step down from his post, she says the court should suspend him from the conservatorship on September 29.

TMZ broke the story ... Jamie agreed earlier this month to step down as Britney's conservator, but only after working with the court to ensure an orderly transition.

Britney's saying Jamie's right about the need to leave the conservatorship, but she wants it to happen sooner rather than later.

Bottom line from Britney's lawyers in the docs ... "The world heard Ms. Spears’s courageous and compelling testimony. Britney Spears’s life matters. Her well-being matters. Every day matters. There is no basis to wait."

Britney's attorney, Mathew Rosengart, tells us, "Britney Spears will not be bullied or extorted by her father. Nor does Mr. Spears have the right to try to hold his daughter hostage by setting the terms of his removal. This is not about him, it is about the best interests of his daughter, which as a matter of law, mandate his removal."

He continues, "Even putting aside the legal issues requiring his prompt removal, if he loves his daughter, Mr. Spears should resign now, today, before he is suspended. It would be the correct and decent thing to do."

'Married to Medicine' star Lia Dias just got hit with divorce papers -- and now we've learned there are claims of abuse between her and her husband.

Lia filed for and was granted a temporary restraining order this week -- just days after her hubby, Colin Sr., filed for divorce. Colin has also filed his own TRO.

It’s a messy situation -- in Lia’s docs, obtained by TMZ, she alleges the most recent incident occurred last month ... she claims Colin pushed her to the ground and kicked her.

She lists several other alleged instances of abuse over the course of their 7-year-plus marriage, including times when she claims he punched her, verbally harassed her, threatened her and/or prevented her from leaving.

Lia also claims that since Colin filed for divorce this month, he changed the locks to their house, and she says she hasn't been able to see her kids. Like we said, a judge signed off on her TRO ... saying the kids gotta be with her and away from dad as this gets sorted out.

Colin has a different story. In his docs, he says Lia is "erratic and emotionally abusive" ... claiming she's lashed out at him over the years, including an alleged incident in which he claims she punched him in the gut after abdominal surgery.

He also alleges that while he and the kids were staying at his sister’s house on August 18 ... Lia showed up rolling deep with people in her crew demanding to see her kids, which Colin says made him fear for his safety.

Like we said ... messy, messy, messy.

Kanye West hosting Marilyn Manson at his latest "Donda" event has spurred a reaction from one of the latter's most notable accusers ... Evan Rachel Wood's got a response, in song.

The actress hit the Bourbon Room in Hollywood Saturday night, where she got on stage and did an impromptu performance of the New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" ... with just a guitarist and an iPhone on hand to help out.

It's pretty clear who ERW was dedicating the song to, because her caption alluded to "survivors" who she feels were betrayed this week -- of course, in relation to Manson. Also, as you may know, Manson is name checked in the lyrics ... and when she sang that line (4:40 in the video), Evan threw up a middle finger.

She writes, "For my fellow survivors who got slapped in the face this week. I love you. Don't give up." Evan also said that she'd been saving this cover, and that Saturday felt like an appropriate time to let it rip.

This all comes on the heels of Kanye's third listening show in Chicago this week -- where he not only had Manson come hang out, but DaBaby as well ... both of whom have been embroiled in controversy of late. Manson, however, is another level ... he's been accused of rape and sexual abuse by numerous women -- all of which he's vehemently denied.

Still, it was a bizarre move on Ye's part to bring both of those guys out -- not to mention feature them on one of his tracks. DB and MM are on "Jail, Pt. 2." Some reports say Kanye did it just for shock value and publicity ahead of the release ... which if true, is bonkers.

Speaking of the chaotic upload of "Donda" ... Ye spoke on that just today, saying it was put out by UMG without his final approval. But, he still appears to be firmly in support of "Jail, Pt. 2" being included. For the record ... the song did end up making it on Apple and Spotify.

Well, it finally happened ... "Donda" is out!!!

Kanye finally released his long-awaited album ... this, after multiple listening parties and would-be release dates that came and went.

The album, which has 26 songs, hit Apple Music and Spotify Sunday AM.

The release was not without drama ... in the middle of the night, Kanye posted tweets which seemed to say the most recent hold-up was that DaBaby hadn't signed the necessary releases to clear his verse for the song "Jail." DaBaby is not on the track, instead, Jay-Z appears. You'll recall, Jay recorded his verse hours before the first listening party in Atlanta ... a sign their feud was squashed. It was confusing when DaBaby replaced Jay's verse at the Chicago listening party, but Jay is now back.

The album was initially supposed to be released July 23. That date got moved to August 6. Then it became unclear exactly when the album would hit streaming services. Kanye's manager promised it would be released following last Thursday's listening event at Soldier Field in Chicago ... and that promise was kept.

Ye famously tinkers with his albums even after their release ... e.g., "The Life of Pablo," so the same may happen with "Donda."

As for the songs on the album, it's heavily religious ... "Donda Chant," "Jail," "God Breathed," "Off the Grid," "Hurricane," "Praise God," "Jonah," "Ok Ok," "Junya," "Believe What I Say," "24," "Remote Control," "Moon," "Heaven and Hell," "Donda," "Keep My Spirit Alive," "Jesus Lord," "New Again," "Tell the Vision," "Lord I Need You," "Pure Souls," "Come to Life," "No Child Left Behind," "Ok Ok, Pt. 2," "Junya, Pt. 2," "Jesus Lord, Pt. 2."

Here's what's interesting ... Drake seemed to drop a clue last week his album will drop Friday ... so with the release of "Donda," Drake and Ye will be going head-to-head for #1 bragging rights.

And, the final mystery ... Kim Kardashian. As you know, she wore a wedding dress at the Chicago listening party. TMZ broke the story, the divorce is not a done deal anymore. Kanye and Kim have been seeing each other privately, and they seem to be trying to work things out ... whatever those things are.

Kevin Spacey is back on a film set on American soil for the first time since several sexual assault allegations against him came to light.

The actor -- who was essentially exiled from mainstream Hollywood after the accusations starting coming out in 2017 -- is filming a new movie called "Peter Five Eight" ... and he was shooting scenes this week in Dunsmuir, CA.

Spacey's walking around set dressed in all black ... all smiles and lighting up a cigarette.

Sounds like Spacey's hard at work ... we're told he's been filming in the small NorCal town around the clock.

As we reported ... Spacey booked his first movie role since the scandal erupted, but he had to go all the way to Italy to do it. He filmed "L'uomo che disegno Dio." The movie title translates to "The Man Who Drew God."

Now, Spacey's back on an American film set ... and he looks happy to be there.

Evander Kane is accusing his estranged wife of being a husband beater ... claiming the woman has punched him in the face multiple times in past -- and now, the NHL star has obtained a domestic violence temporary restraining order over it all.

It's all spelled out in court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, which show Kane was granted a TRO earlier this month after he alleged Anna Kane had been violent with him in the past.

Evander says in the docs that the physical altercations first began in 2019 -- about a year after they were married -- saying Anna got so upset with him during an argument that she hit him "7-8 times in the face with her fist."

In Oct. 2020, Evander says Anna again struck him in the face after they had an argument while Anna's mother was visiting.

Less than a year later, in April 2021, Evander says his wife exploded on him again ... after she had gone through his phone.

In the docs, the 30-year-old San Jose Sharks player says Anna "started uncontrollably throwing things at me" ... before she punched and slapped him repeatedly in the head and face.

Evander says in July, there was yet another incident of violence ... claiming when he was trying to get away from Anna after an argument in San Jose, she pushed him and also violently tugged on a bag he had thrown over his shoulder.

During that same incident, Evander also says Anna dangerously swung around their baby daughter.

Evander was ultimately granted a temporary restraining order against Anna ... and is now seeking a permanent one against her. A hearing on that matter is scheduled for next month.

As we previously reported, Anna filed for divorce from Evander back on July 16 ... and accused him of being a deadbeat dad who had bet on his own NHL games.

Carole Baskin's closing the door on Joe Exotic's former zoo for good -- or at least for 100 years -- by selling the property with the stipulation it can't become a zoo again for a century ... and the owners can have nothing to do with 'Tiger King.'

A judge granted Carole's Big Cat Rescue sanctuary control over Joe's former Oklahoma exotic animal park in Wynnewood back in mid-2020 ... to satisfy the $1 million judgment she won against him in their notorious trademark lawsuit.

Carole previously vowed to sell the property on the condition the new owners would not use it as a zoo, and according to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... she did just that.

We got the paperwork showing Big Cat Rescue sold the property formerly known as Joe Exotic's G.W. Zoo for $140k in June to Francisco and Nelly Vazquez.

According to the deed, the Vazquez's are expressly barred from using the land to house exotic animals of any kind -- or as a zoo, wildlife park or menagerie -- for 100 years ... but there's more.

The new owners also can't name any new business on the property after anything related to its 'Tiger King' past ... including Joe Exotic, G.W. Zoo, anything with the word "tiger" or "big cat."

Our photog got Carole and her husband Howard out in Santa Monica where they were promoting a documentary, "The Conservation Game," and they confirmed the sale of the property and even had a suggestion of what it could be used for.

Erika Jayne's estranged husband's legal problems are now an even bigger problem for her -- she's been sued for $25 million by the trustee handling Tom Girardi's law firm's bankruptcy case.

According to the suit ... "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star's accused of knowingly allowing Girardi's firm to pay for her expenses for 12 years, so the trustee now wants her to pay it all back.

The "XXPEN$IVE" singer's company, EJ Global, allegedly used her estranged husband's firm to cover her American Express bill, pay assistants and have a glam squad ... all totaling up to the whopping $25 mil.

The trustee suing Jayne says that even if she claims to have not been aware of Girardi's financial issues, "it would be a miscarriage of justice if [she] was allowed to simply walk completely free of owing over $25,000,000 to the Estate."

The trustee's asking the court to order her to pay it all back to the estate, plus interest ... according to Page Six

As we reported ... Girardi's moved into a senior living facility amid his legal issues, health issues, divorce, being disbarred and being forced to auction off a lot of stuff from his law offices to cover his debts

Sirhan Sirhan, the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy, is one very large step closer to getting out of prison ... because he's just been granted parole.

Sirhan got the news Friday, finally getting the green light in his 16th parole hearing. This was the first time Sirhan faced no opposition from prosecutors. Two of RFK's kids, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Douglas Kennedy, supported parole.

While he's been granted parole, it's going to be a while longer before 77-year-old Sirhan walks free ... there's still a few hurdles, including a 150-day review period and the possibility the Governor overrules the parole board's decision.

As you know ... RFK was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A. the night he won the California Presidential Primary in 1968. Sirhan shot Kennedy in a kitchen pantry, moments after RFK declared victory.

Sirhan was subdued and disarmed by Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson, former pro football player Rosey Grier, along with authors Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill and George Plimpton.

Sirhan was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, but 3 years later his sentence was commuted to life in prison after the California death penalty was ruled unconstitutional.

The investigation into Trevor Bauer's alleged assault is over -- police have turned over their findings to the L.A. County D.A., who will now decide whether the MLB All-Star will be charged with a crime.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the Pasadena Police Department has concluded their months-long investigation into 30-year-old Bauer -- who has been accused of hitting and choking a female companion without permission while they were having sex.

Now, detectives have sent all relevant info to the county District Attorney.

Bauer had a huge win in court last week ... after a judge dismissed the accuser's request for a permanent restraining order, determining the pitcher's actions did not exceed the limits set by the victim.

As for the injuries, the judge said they are "not the result of anything she told [Bauer] she objected to."

The judge also ruled Bauer did not pose a continual threat.

Despite the victory, Bauer certainly isn't out of the woods yet -- on top of the possibility of criminal charges, he's still facing punishment from the MLB and a possible civil case.

Another alleged Bauer incident came to light earlier this month ... when an Ohio woman accused him of punching and choking her during sex ... and filed a restraining order last summer, before withdrawing it shortly after.

Bauer has not pitched since late June and remains on administrative leave.

Britney Spears might've thought this battery case with her housekeeper would "go nowhere" -- but she's not out of the woods yet ... we're told it's now been handed over to prosecutors who will make the call on whether Britney is hit with a criminal charge.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the Ventura County Sheriff's Dept.'s wrapped up its investigation into Britney's housekeeper's claim of battery from last week and forwarded its findings to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Friday.

Law enforcement at the Ventura County Sheriff's Dept. has told TMZ ... they routinely send such cases over to the D.A. for review, unless it's clear the case has no merit. In this case, there are 2 versions -- the housekeeper says Britney struck her in the arm, but Britney says all she did was swipe the phone out of her hand. The Sheriff doesn't know which version is true, so that's why it was forwarded on.

The law enforcement sources also tell us the house keeper suffered no physical injuries.

As we've reported, our Brit sources were confident nothing would come of this ... and that still may end up being true at the finish line ... but until then, it's a waiting game.

TMZ broke the story ... Britney got into a spat with the housekeeper after the housekeeper showed Britney pics of the dogs in distress. Britney was angry the housekeeper was taking photos inside her house, and she tried wrestling the phone away.

The housekeeper -- who had worked for Britney for years -- is no longer working for the singer.

BTW ... the dogs were returned last Friday after being in the care of Britney's dog sitter for 2 weeks.

Farrah Abraham has moved on from her feud with Chrissy Teigen ... she's now going off on Harvard -- yes, that Harvard -- claiming she was the victim of "educational abuse" and promising legal action against the University.

We got the former "Teen Mom" star out in Hollywood Thursday, and she rattled off her laundry list of issues with the famed Ivy League school ... which stems from her allegedly being booted from a Zoom course by her teacher, with no follow-up explanation.

Farrah, who may be mad but not angry enough to put her Harvard sweatshirt in mothballs, claims her professor, Patricia Bellanca, played mind games with her by telling her to turn in an assignment without checking it over ... then later used that against her in trying to convince her to drop the course.

She also alleges Harvard's entire online program is a "joke" and a "scam," while insinuating she may have been racially discriminated against as well ... saying she was the "most person of color" in the class.

Farrah adds that she's had no choice but to go public with her Harvard beef, because allegedly neither her professor nor Dean Robert Neugeboren has returned any of her calls or emails.

Finally, she says she's going to file a lawsuit against the school for what she calls "abusive" treatment.

"True Life: Crime" is taking a deep dive into the fatal shooting of Darrien Hunt for its season 2 finale ... and one of show host Dometi Pongo's goals is to have the case re-opened.

The MTV host joined "TMZ Live" Thursday and said Darrien's family never got justice after he was gunned down in 2014 by police in Saratoga Springs, Utah. At the time, the case drew national attention following an outcry over inconsistencies in the police narrative.

Darrien was shot and killed September 10, 2014 after cops said the 22-year-old lunged at them with a sword.

An autopsy report later showed Darrien -- who was cosplaying as a samurai while carrying a decorative sword -- was shot 6 times in the back. Surveillance footage shows Darrien running from cops -- a glaring inconsistency from the police report.

The Utah County D.A.'s Office concluded the use of deadly force was justified. Fast forward to now ... there's a Change.org petition demanding officials reopen the case. The petition is now 744,000 signatures strong.

Actress Allyssa Brooke's teenage son was viciously attacked on a basketball court ... and it was all filmed by other kids who just stood by and laughed.

You see Allyssa's son, Nick, driving the lane before he's shoved to the ground. Nick quickly gets up to confront the guy who committed the flagrant foul but he's pushed ... and then, someone comes out of nowhere and punches him in the face.

Nick suffered a broken jaw in 3 places, a severe concussion and whiplash. When he got to the hospital, a baseball-sized lump had formed on the back of his head ... prompting concerns from doctors that there might be internal bleeding in his brain.

Allyssa -- whose acting credits include "Stranger Things," "Ozark" and "Queen of the South" -- told 11Alive she spent Nick's 17th birthday feeding him liquids through a syringe because his jaw's been wired shut for 6 weeks.

Allyssa's angry at those who found joy in the beatdown. She said, "I don't expect everybody to be a hero and run in to save the day if that's not your style. But, to laugh and applaud, and cheer, that's not humanity."

Nick's got a long road of recovery ahead. Once his jaw's unwired, Allyssa says he'll need additional weeks of bands to strengthen and retrain his bite. He also faces 6 months to a year of wearing braces to realign his teeth ... several of which she says were twisted out of place.

As for the attackers ... the kid who broke Nick's jaw has been charged with assault as a juvenile. But, Allyssa says the kids who filmed the incident should also be brought to justice. She has since started a Change.org petition toward that end.

Zoë Kravitz is starting a new chapter as a single lady ... because her divorce has been finalized.

According to court records ... Zoë and Karl Glusman's divorce judgment has been signed by a judge. It brings an end to a short-lived marriage. The good news ... the dark cloud of a divorce case no longer hangs over her as she dates Channing Tatum.

As you know ... Zoë and Karl started dating in late 2016 and got married in June 2019. But, Zoë filed for divorce just 2 days before Christmas 2020 ... after just 18 months of marriage.

The Paris wedding was pretty spectacular ... and it included a star-studded guest list, including the likes of Denzel Washington, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Marisa Tomei.

Meantime ... seems Zoë and Channing have been getting cozy. They were first seen in public together in early August after a swirl of dating rumors. Things got a bit more serious last weekend when they were seen carrying traveling bags and jumping in a car for an out-of-town trip.

Kim Kardashian West is saying nay to Ye ... she's not following Kanye West's lead in the name change department.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ … Kim will not eliminate West from her name. TMZ broke the story, Kanye's applied for a name change and he'll 86 Kanye West for Ye ... simply Ye.

We're told Kim feels it's important for her to keep the same last name as her 4 children ... and there are no plans to change North, Psalm, Chicago and Saint's last names, either.

While Kim's not following Kanye's lead, we're told she fully supports his desire to go by "Ye" ... he's been known as Ye for years, and we're told Kim thinks people will still recognize him as Kanye West, even though he’s changing his legal moniker.

As we told you ... Kim's been supporting Kanye, despite their divorce, and they're keeping the family unit strong.