Legal

The children of Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme are seeking protection against him because he's "scary," yells at their mother and drinks and drives with them in the car ... according to new legal docs.

Homme's sons, 10-year-old Orrin and 5-year-old Wolf, have filed for domestic violence restraining orders against him through their mom, Brody Dalle, alleging they are scared he is going to hurt them.

According to the request filed in court ... Orrin claims there was a recent incident where Homme grabbed his private parts, and he also alleges his father drinks alcohol while his kids are in the car with him.

Orrin also accuses Homme of physical abuse, such as flicking his ears, hitting his head, poking his chest and throwing things at him -- while calling him fat and allegedly making threats about murdering Brody's boyfriend.

According to the docs ... the younger son, Wolf, alleges Homme calls his mother curse words, drinks and drives, grabs their necks and ears -- and Wolf claims he's scared when he goes to Dad's house.

They're asking the court to grant restraining orders, requiring their father to stay 100 yards away from them and the family dog at all times.

Homme's attorney, Susan Wiesner, tells us, "Ms. Dalle has previously brought these claims to the police, DCFS, and the presiding judge of the family law court, all of whom have declined to take any action based upon these spurious claims."

As we've reported ... Homme and his ex have had a very volatile relationship since she filed for legal separation in November 2019 and a month later, divorce.

Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp's relationship is under a microscope in Ryan Murphy's 'Impeachment' series -- and the journalist who first got the real-life story says there's no way to soft-pedal how Monica was stabbed in the back.

Author and journalist Michael Isikoff joined us Thursday to recount his 1997 meetings with Tripp ... which led to him uncovering the fact an independent counsel was investigating Bill Clinton's affair with the then-22-year-old White House intern. He said it was clear to him Linda was betraying Monica's confidence ... something he calls "indefensible."

Those of you alive back then will recall Tripp secretly recorded her conversations with Monica about Clinton -- and now a whole new generation will see those meetings play out in "Impeachment: American Crime Story."

Isikoff says Monica, who's a producer on 'Impeachment,' deserves the opportunity to tell the scandal from her perspective. As he puts it, Linda's treatment of Monica was "dicey" from an ethical standpoint.

Speaking of ethics, Isikoff -- who wrote the book, "Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter's Story" -- also told us why he turned down Tripp's offer to steal Monica's infamous blue dress and hand it over to him.

Of course, Tripp eventually turned over the dress, with Clinton's semen stain on it, to independent counsel Ken Starr, along with her recordings of Monica.

Prince Andrew's old friend, Alan Dershowitz, is trying to get him out of a jam with his sexual assault lawsuit ... by asking a judge to unseal some old legal docs involving Jeffrey Epstein.

As you'll recall ... Queen Elizabeth's son was sued last month by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claims she was a victim of Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme for powerful men, including guys like Prince Andrew and Dershowitz.

Giuffre also sued Dershowitz in 2019 and made similar accusations, but she recently dropped her battery claim against him. He says she dropped it because an old settlement she reached with Epstein in 2009 released him and others from certain liability ... meaning they can't be sued by her for the sexual claims.

According to new legal docs filed by Dershowitz ... this confidential settlement is the reason she had to drop the battery claim against him, and he believes it should apply to Prince Andrew too.

However, according to legal docs, Giuffre's lawyers claim they can't undo the confidentiality of the settlement because other parties were involved ... and Epstein's estate won't undo it either. So, Dershowitz is asking the judge to step in.

Dershowitz wants the judge to unseal the 2009 settlement with Giuffre -- or at least a redacted version of it -- so Prince Andrew can try to use it to get the sexual assault claims against him dropped.

Prince Andrew is accused of sexually abusing Giuffre in NYC when she was 17 as part of the alleged sex trafficking by Epstein and his accused co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Andrew was not cooperative with FBI and federal prosecutors in 2019 and 2020 -- when they wanted to talk to him about Epstein -- and in wake of Epstein's arrest and death in his jail cell, the Prince claimed he couldn't remember meeting Giuffre ... despite a 2001 photograph where he's apparently posing with her.

James Corden is getting protection from a woman he claims keeps showing up at his home, venting her frustration over his wife and imagining them getting hitched.

"The Late Late Show" host's legal team beelined it to court and got a temporary restraining order ... to protect James and his family from a 30-year-old woman he claims has been harassing them for months.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, James claims the woman staked out his Los Angeles home on multiple occasions, including a 6-day stretch this summer where he says she was camped outside his residence in her car and only left when cops got involved.

James claims the woman's harassing behavior keeps escalating, and he says she even showed up at "The Late Late Show" set claiming she was there to marry him.

Marriage seems to be a theme here, even though James says he doesn't know the woman. He claims she told cops they were planning to travel to Las Vegas to get hitched, and says she's expressed frustration that his wife "stole" him from her and once his wife is "out of the picture" they can be together.

James says she's concerned the woman was able to find his home and keeps coming back ... and he fears she poses a threat to his wife and kids.

Machine Gun Kelly's just been sued for allegedly traumatizing a "sensitive, soft-spoken" parking lot attendant ... one who claims the rapper committed elder abuse by pushing him, but it's a really odd accusation.

John Martin Tilli filed legal docs in L.A. court alleging MGK became aggressive toward him and pushed him after he asked the rapper if he had a permit to film his and Mod Sun's movie "Good Mourning With A U" in a Studio City parking lot back on August 23.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Tilli says he showed up to work that morning and was in charge of opening the gate to let bank branch employees into the lot. He claims he parked his car where Kelly's crew was filming, and they asked him to move his car because he was in the shot.

Tilli claims he asked MGK if he had a permit to film there before finding out from the bank branch the rapper did not have permission. Tilli claims he informed MGK's crew and asked them to leave.

That's when, according to Tilli, Kelly and his production crew and staff became aggressive. He claims they approached him and eventually surrounded him.

Tilli, who describes himself as "a very sensitive, soft-spoken, gentle, quiet person," claims MGK pushed him from the front and production crew and/or staff pushed from behind.

What's more ... Tilli claims they yelled in a threatening manner and shook him up so badly "he literally appeared as if he was going to cry through the day.” He's suing for assault, battery, negligence and elder abuse -- but that last allegation is strange, because Tilli is only 49 years old.

Tiffany Haddish has strong feelings about the Texas abortion law -- saying men who wanna control women's bodies should experience pregnancy, but she put it in much more, umm ... vivid terms.

We got the comedian at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood where she hosted an event for her She Ready Foundation (more on that in a bit), and asked her about the Texas law outlawing abortion after the first 6 weeks of pregnancy ... even for rape victims.

As a rape survivor, Tiffany's fuming because she believes most of the TX legislators have no idea what it's like to be penetrated, to be a woman or to be pregnant, but she's got a solution -- "Well sir, you carry a watermelon in your pants ... in your balls for a few months!!!"

Watch the video, because she got way more colorful and, frankly, emotional about the topic.

As we reported ... Sarah Silverman also had strong feelings about the new law, calling it a declaration of war on poor people. Tiffany says she's pro-life but also "very much pro-MY life."

Translation: let women decide what they want to do with their own bodies.

On a lighter note ... Tiffany couldn't be more ecstatic to be celebrating the first graduating class of her foundation's summer interns.

She said they all came from foster care or probation departments, and have aspirations of making it in the entertainment industry.

Tiffany says growing up in foster care and moving from house to house and carrying her clothes in trash bags made her feel like garbage. She said everything changed for her when someone gave her a suitcase.

Bill Cosby will NOT be hitting the road anytime soon to tell jokes ... because he's got more legal woes to deal with first, and his team is convinced the media will skewer him during a tour.

Cosby's rep, Andrew Wyatt, tells TMZ ... the comedy tour Cosby was planning to launch is officially on ice -- with no resuming date in mind just yet -- and he says the reason they're hitting pause is Judy Huth's civil lawsuit.

Huth sued Cosby way back in 2014 for sexual assault, alleging he pounced on her at the Playboy Mansion in the '70s, when she was just 15. He's denied the allegations, and the suit stalled while Cosby faced the Andrea Constand case -- but now, a trial date's been set for Spring 2022.

Wyatt says Cosby wants to avoid going on tour for the moment because he doesn't want this dark cloud hanging over his head ... as he seems to think the case would become all the media talks about while he toured.

Performing onstage could also be risky for Cosby because Huth's lawyers might potentially try to use his own words against him in the case. We asked Wyatt if that was a concern, but he says Cosby's team is most worried about unfair treatment in the media.

While they're focused on the media, the reality is Cosby will almost certainly face scores of hecklers and protesters wherever he performs ... regardless of current or pending lawsuits.

Wyatt adds they're not pulling the plug due to lack of interest -- he claims about a dozen promoters approached Cosby for gigs.

Beck's walking away from his marriage with some precious Banksy art ... but he's taking the 'L' when it comes to the family minivan in his divorce.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... the judge signed off on Beck and Marissa Ribisi's divorce judgement, which became final last Friday. Beck and Marissa are splitting up their crazy art collection, with both getting some works from the famous Banksy.

Beck's getting 4 Banksy pieces, including works titled "Hunters" and "Sale Ends Today."

The "Where It's At" singer is getting more pieces of real estate than his wife, including properties in Los Angeles, Malibu, Memphis and Little Rock ... and he's going to have to fork over a cool $500,000 to even things out between them.

Marissa -- an actress who had roles in "Dazed and Confused," "Pleasantville" and several other movies -- is getting 5 Banksy pieces, plus some bank accounts and the family minivan, a 2014 Honda Odyssey.

Per the terms of the judgment, Beck will pay Marissa $18,169 per month in spousal support, plus additional amounts if he earns more than $1.7 million in a year. He's also got to pay at least $14,531 per month in child support (again, plus additional amounts if he earns more than $1.7 million in a year), and they will have joint legal custody of their 2 kids. Beck and his ex will figure out some of the physical custody schedule on their own, but Beck will get the kids at least 19% of the time.

You're looking at Bradley Chubb's mugshot ... taken shortly after the Denver Broncos star was arrested (albeit briefly) for failing to show up to court for several traffic violations.

TMZ Sports obtained the booking photos for the 25-year-old, 2018 1st-round draft pick ... and the LB understandably looks pretty bummed.

Chubb was supposed to be in a Colorado court on Monday ... to face charges stemming from a May 6 traffic stop where cops say he was driving with a suspended or revoked license (misdemeanor restraint) and without valid tags.

However, the Broncos' 5th overall pick never showed up to the courthouse, so a failure-to-appear warrant was issued.

The next morning (Tuesday), Chubb was stopped for a minor traffic infraction. When cops ran his name, they discovered the warrant and took him into custody, before bringing him to the Douglas County Detention Center.

Bond was set at $250 (not an issue for Chubb, who signed a $27+ million deal in 2018) ... before he posted the money and was released.

Britney Spears is taking her dad at face value -- that he's down with ending the conservatorship -- and she is beyond happy.

Sources directly connected to Britney tell TMZ ... she's "ecstatic" Jamie has filed legal docs not only asking the judge to terminate the conservatorship, but to do so without another mental evaluation. Britney was adamant about this back in June when she testified in court.

We're told she views Jamie's 180 as a "total victory," and believes public pressure as well as the pressure applied by her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, are responsible for his about-face.

That said, our sources tell us Britney's view of her dad and their relationship has not changed. She's still extremely angry at him over his role in the conservatorship.

We're also told Britney wants the issue of termination front and center at the next hearing on Sept. 29. As we reported, the purpose of that hearing is to discuss Jamie's future in the conservatorship. Britney wants him out and Jamie has already said he'll go.

Britney has not yet filed legal docs to end the conservatorship. Rosengart has said this is a 2-step process, the first of which is removing Jamie. He has not indicated when he might file docs to terminate, but now that Jamie has made his move, we're told Britney wants the issue squarely raised during the hearing.

As we reported, our Jamie sources say the docs he filed were designed to call the bluff on his critics ... he has been steadfast for years, and very recently as well, that Britney needs the guidance of a conservatorship to survive because of her condition. Although Jamie now says the conservatorship should end without a mental evaluation, our sources say he believes the judge will still order one. He has said in the past ... he does not believe the judge will cut the cord on the 13-year conservatorship.

Jamie Spears has done a 180 in the conservatorship battle over his daughter, but our sources say ... do NOT take the latest twist at face value.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ -- just one month ago Jamie was deeply concerned about his daughter's mental health. Our sources say Jamie feared the worst if the judge ended the conservatorship. He believed Britney's mental health was deteriorating.

Jamie, we're told, felt Jodi Montgomery -- Britney's personal conservator -- was not protecting his daughter and felt her motivation was saving her own job.

Jamie told people around him, "She's never getting out of the conservatorship," and our sources say he wasn't saying this to be draconian ... he believed it was necessary for her survival.

Now, Jamie says he believes Britney is able to care for herself, make financial decisions and run her life without any guidance. So, he's asking the judge to end the conservatorship. And, here's the key -- he's asking the judge to pull the plug without doing a mental evaluation.

So, why the radical change? As one source told us ... he's calling their bluff. Multiple sources say Jamie believes Britney has not gotten better ... he thinks she's gotten worse. One source put it this way ... "He knows how mentally ill his daughter is, and has genuinely tried to protect her."

Jamie, we're told, has no love lost for Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart. By filing the latest legal docs, in a sense, Jamie thinks he trumped Rosengart, who has not yet filed a motion to end the conservatorship -- something he calls out in his legal docs. This puts Rosengart in an interesting position ... whether to join forces with Jamie at the Sept. 29 hearing and end the conservatorship, or not.

It's almost like saying, "Okay, you think the conservatorship should end. Then bring it on. Let's see what happens."

One source said they don't believe Jamie really wants the conservatorship to end, and certainly not without a medical evaluation. We're told Jamie does not believe the judge would terminate the conservatorship without a mental evaluation, and he has said privately he's sure that evaluation would present an insurmountable case to maintain the conservatorship.

So, he would get what he wants -- maintaining the conservatorship -- while also ending the lingering attacks targeting him. It might also ingratiate himself with his daughter.

In a stunning move, Jamie Spears is not just asking to leave Britney Spears' conservatorship, he's asking the judge to end it altogether.

In Jamie's documents, he says the judge saw fit to let his daughter hire her own lawyer, in Jamie's mind he says if she's allowed to do that there is no longer a legal basis to impose the restrictions that go along with the conservatorship.

As he says in the docs, "In so doing [allowing her to hire a lawyer], this Court has recognized that Ms. Spears has both the capacity and capability to identify, engage, and instruct counsel of her own choice, on her own, without the assistance of the Conservator or the Court. If Ms. Spears has the capability to engage counsel on her own, she presumably has capacity to handle other contractual and business matters."

Jamie notes Britney wants the conservatorship terminated without medical evaluation, and there's no requirement under California law for such an evaluation.

Jamie now says the conservatorship has lasted a LONG time -- 13 years -- and things have changed "to such an extent that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist."

As Jamie says, he wants best for his daughter, and if she wants out of the conservatorship and believes she can handle her own life, he feels she should get that chance.

Jamie notes his daughter pled with the court to have her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship, she wants to make her own decisions, and he's now good with this.

Jamie says, "Ms. Spears has told this Court that she wants control of her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship. She wants to be able to make decisions regarding her own medical care, deciding when, where and how often to get therapy."

He goes on ... "She wants to control the money she has made from her career and spend it without supervision or oversight. She wants to be able to get married and have a baby, if she so chooses. In short, she wants to live her life as she chooses without the constraints of a conservator or court proceeding."

And, he says, "If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes she should get that chance."

Jamie threw a little shade on Britney's lawyer, by saying, "Ms. Spears recently testified that she did not know, at least in the past, that she could petition to end the conservatorship without submitting to a full psychological evaluation. Given Ms. Spears' testimony, Mr. Spears does not know why a petition to terminate the conservatorship has not yet been filed."

Jamie also notes Britney "has recently demonstrated a level of independence that calls into question whether a conservator of the person is required." He points to the fact she's now driving again and wants to control her therapy sessions. He goes on to say there's no need anymore for Jodi Montgomery and she should also be discharged.

Nipsey Hussle's estate wants to stop alleged bootleggers from hawking merch with his popular brands on them, but it's got a problem ... the estate says most of the sellers operate out of China.

The late rapper's brother and estate administrator, Samiel Asghedom, just filed suit against several entities that the estate believes are behind a bunch of e-commerce websites selling knockoff Marathon-related clothing ... which is Nip's line.

Asghedom says the estate has the rights to several registered trademarks -- including a "Crenshaw" logo for clothing, another clothing line called "South Central State of Mind" and others -- but claims the websites in question are using the marks without permission.

The estate also says the foreign e-commerce sites have specifically targeted sales to Illinois residents ... which appears to be why the lawsuit is filed in a federal court in Illinois.

According to the lawsuit, there are tell-tale signs linking the various sites ... including misspellings, similar checkout methods and accepted payments, ad tactics and so on.

The estate also believes a lot of these sites are operating out of China, and perhaps in concert with one another, using different operating systems and domain host sites to cover their tracks.

Clinton Portis could be headed to prison for a LONG time ... 'cause he's now facing up to 10 years behind bars after he agreed to plead guilty to a fraud charge last week.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, the former NFL star cut a deal with prosecutors on Friday ... and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

As a result, per the docs, 40-year-old Portis now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison ... as well as HEAVY fines.

Portis had been hit with multiple charges by federal prosecutors in 2019 ... after prosecutors say he -- and several other ex-NFL players -- developed a scheme to get cash from the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Plan.

Prosecutors say Portis and the other former players made up fake claims and submitted them to the plan, which was initially designed to help retired players pay for medical bills.

Prosecutors alleged Portis and the players made huge coin after the plan reimbursed them.

Investigators say some of the fraudulent claims the players were reimbursed for included pricey hyperbaric oxygen chambers and ultrasound machines.

Portis went to trial over the allegations last week, but jurors could not reach a verdict. The case had been set for a re-trial ... before Portis ultimately reached his deal with prosecutors.

Portis' sentencing hearing is slated for January.

Andrea Constand is breaking her silence over the release of Bill Cosby -- and her first reaction is utter disgust over what she calls a screwed-up criminal justice system.

She spoke to NBC in an exclusive sit-down -- the first she's given since Cosby was sprung from prison 2 months ago -- and makes it pretty clear ... she's not happy about him getting to walk free over a deal he struck years ago, which the State Supreme Court honored.

Constand calls it a "back door deal" that she can't believe the court honored and the D.A. should've considered pursuing charges against BC anew ... saying she's shocked and disappointed.

As for the man himself ... Constand says she finds the fact that he's roaming free horrid, because there was enough there to put him away based on her testimony -- evidenced in the conviction itself. With that said, she says she doesn't regret anything ... even now. She says it was worth it.

She goes on to label him a "violent predator" who's been let back into society, and says anyone giving him a platform oughta be ashamed. Constand notes Cosby hasn't shown remorse, which he himself has said he won't do -- ever since first being locked up in 2018.

Bad Wolves are firing back at their former frontman, Tommy Vext, over their bad blood ... claiming he was "abusive" and is still trying to take them down.

The heavy metal band says they've mostly stayed quiet as they've witnessed Vext's "never ending temper tantrums on social media, filled with fraudulent claims and sad attempts to defame members of our band and our team" ... but now they're calling him out.

According to the band ... Tommy was emotionally and physically abusive before he quit, and continues to demonstrate that behavior in an attempt to diminish the other group members' contributions and steal the credit for success.

Among some examples ... Bad Wolves claim 10 of the 13 songs on their 2018 album "Disobey" were musically written and recorded before Tommy joined the band, that he falsely claimed to be the mastermind behind the track "Killing Me Slowly," and he illegally leaked a music video after quitting.

Of course, all of this comes in wake of Vext suing Bad Wolves' manager, Allen Kovac, claiming he was ousted by Kovac due to his political stances and support for Donald Trump ... in an alleged scheme to steal the band from him.

Kovac, who's also the CEO of Better Noise Music, denied the claims and countersued Vext for copyright infringement.