Legal

R. Kelly being found guilty on all counts in his federal sex crimes trial is something Lizzette Martinez never thought would happen, but after more than 25 years ... she's rejoicing justice has been served.

Lizzette tells TMZ she was overcome with emotion when she heard the singer was found guilty, because she met him when she was 17 ... so she's spent more than half her life dealing with the aftermath of his abuse and the backlash of speaking out against him.

Lizzette says she now feels happiness, not just for herself, but all of the survivors of R. Kelly who've gone through hell. She adds ... the jury's decision finally shows the women Kelly hurt matter more than he does.

Finally, Lizzette believes the outcome for R. Kelly sends a message to society, in general, that this kind of behavior will no longer be tolerated.

As we reported, Kelly was found guilty Monday on 9 federal counts -- including racketeering, sex crimes, human trafficking, obstruction of justice and kidnapping -- and is looking at 10 years to life when he's sentenced in May.

Britney Spears' lawyer has taken off the gloves in his war with Jamie Spears, calling him a "reported alcoholic and gambling addict," and that's just for starters.

Attorney Mathew Rosengart has gone on the attack, after Jamie filed legal docs challenging the person Rosengart has tapped to replace Jamie temporarily as conservator of Britney's estate.

TMZ broke the story, Jamie claimed CPA John Zabel is unqualified to assume that position, but Rosengart's new legal docs refer to Zabel as a "highly-esteemed, nationally-recognized, award-winning CPA with an impeccable record of serving in positions of trust."

Rosengart finds it rich that Jamie is blasting Zabel, saying Jamie has "zero financial background or experience in financial matters, who previously filed for bankruptcy and has a Domestic Violence Restraining Order currently in effect against him."

Rosengart's legal docs challenge Jamie's request for fees for himself and Jamie's lawyers. He calls Jamie incompetent and rails on what he says is "abuse of his daughter (which evidently goes back to her childhood), and the dissipation of Estate assets."

Phoebe Bridgers cost a record producer a lot of money by spreading lies about him on social media ... this according to a new, multimillion-dollar lawsuit.

The indie rock singer is being sued by record producer Chris Nelson for defamation, and he claims she seriously hurt his bottom line by falsely accusing him of being a violent abuser.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Nelson claims Phoebe started spreading lies about him on her Instagram page back in October, accusing him of grooming, stealing, violence and abuse, among other things. He claims Bridgers and his then-girlfriend had a consensual sexual relationship dating back to 2018.

In his suit, Nelson says after he broke up with his then-girlfriend, Phoebe and the woman continued their relationship. He claims Phoebe and the ex then started trashing him, saying Phoebe directed her 500,000 followers to his ex's IG page, where the ex accused him of racially motivated violence, hate crimes, fraud, robbery and hacking women's email accounts.

Nelson, who owns the famous Sound Space recording studio in downtown Los Angeles, is going after Phoebe for at least $3.8 million in damages.

On the eve of Britney Spears' biggest conservatorship hearing, her father is loudly objecting to the guy she wants to replace him -- claiming he lacks the experience and wisdom needed to manage her $60 million fortune.

Jamie Spears has filed docs calling out John Zabel, the certified public accountant Brit and her attorney, Mathew Rosengart, have nominated to become temporary conservator of her estate. Jamie's objection is two-fold, the first part focusing on Zabel's resume.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jamie says the only information Britney's team has provided about Zabel is that he's a CPA with senior "executive experience in finance and in the entertainment industry" -- and that just isn't cutting it for Jamie. He claims just because Zabel is an accountant, it doesn't make him “highly qualified” to be a fiduciary, especially as a conservator.

He goes on to warn that Britney's estate could be at significant risk, because Zabel would have to "hit the ground running" ... but since he lacks experience, he might royally screw it up.

In relation to that lack of experience ... Jamie takes a shot at Zabel for losing $1 million of his own money in a fraudulent real estate investment. It feels like a low bow, but Jamie's point is if he can't do due diligence for his own money, the court shouldn't entrust him with Britney's estate.

The other reason Jamie wants the judge to reject Zabel is ... he believes there's no reason for anyone at all to replace him, because there's no evidence he's done a bad job. As we've reported, Britney and Rosengart strongly disagree with that, and intend to lay out Jamie's alleged on-the-job failings Wednesday in court.

However, Jamie says in the docs, the judge's first order of biz should be dismantling the entire conservatorship, as he and Britney's team -- including her personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery -- have officially requested.

Jamie's logic is clear ... there's no need to name a replacement conservator, IF the judge simply does away with the whole conservatorship. That's a big if, especially because Britney, her father and her attorney want it done without a medical evaluation.

Dog the Bounty Hunter is right on Brian Laundrie's tail ... or at least it's possible, and authorities are looking into it.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Dog -- who joined the manhunt for Gabby Petito's fiance a couple days ago -- has been in the Florida woods looking for him, and found something he thinks may finally lead to his capture.

We're told Dog got a tip that led him and his new wife Francie to a fresh campsite that might be linked to Laundrie ... who's been missing for a week and a half now.

Our source says Dog has alerted authorities to the campground location because he believes it could be a major clue in the manhunt, and he's currently waiting for their arrival.

There's more -- we're told Dog believes he's also uncovered proof that links Laundrie's parents to the campsite ... though it's unclear what that is.

Of course, this could also be a false alarm -- just like the trail cam footage and the look-alike sighting in Canada -- but we'll have to wait and see.

As you know ... Gabby was found dead in a Wyoming state park a little over a week ago, and the feds have issued an arrest warrant for Brian for unauthorized use of a credit card right around the time Gabby went missing.

Gabby's family held a funeral for her this weekend in New York.

Rick Ross just started cutting checks to his baby mama ... the judge in his paternity case just signed off on his agreement to cough up monthly child support payments for their 3 kids.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Aston Martin Music" rapper will pay his baby mama, Briana Singleton, $11,000 per month in child support.

The docs say RR also has to foot the bill for their children's health insurance, and he's got to help her pay for the kids' extracurricular expenses once the figure goes north of $7,560 ... with Ross on the hook for additional annual payments of up to $3k per child.

Rick also agreed to cut a check to Brianna's attorney for $25,000, but he can afford it ... the docs say RR's monthly income is $585k, compared to $142 a month for his baby mama.

TMZ broke the story ... Briana told Rick last year he needed to take COVID-19 tests to see their 3 kids.

Britney Spears is warning fans and viewers of a new documentary about her conservatorship to take it with a grain of salt ... because she claims a lot of the information is untrue.

According to our sources ... Britney's latest Instagram post is specifically calling out the CNN special -- "Toxic: Britney Spears' Battle For Freedom" -- that debuted Sunday night, and she has a list of reasons why she's not down with it.

Aside from Britney claiming it's loaded with inaccuracies -- even though she says she's only watched a little bit of it -- she suggests that it's all about stuff that happened in the past ... and she's trying to move forward.

Brit also seems to take issue with the dialogue not being very "classy," doesn't like the footage they used of her ... and implies the general tone of the special is unkind.

Now, while we're told she's referring to the CNN special, it's actually another one -- the new NYT documentary, "Controlling Britney Spears" -- that made more headlines for the allegation her father, Jamie Spears, recorded her bedroom conversations.

So far, at least, Britney's staying mum on that claim, but as we reported ... her attorney Mathew Rosengart will almost certainly raise the alleged recordings during Wednesday's conservatorship hearing.

Strangely, the singer's IG post takes a left turn where she focuses on her "Rose Project" and how she once kissed Madonna and suffers from social anxiety.

Then, she reveals she's wearing white for her post for "new beginnings" ... which possibly alludes to her huge court hearing and her father finally stepping down as her conservator.

R. Kelly has just been found guilty on all counts in his federal sex crimes trial ... and could be staring down life in prison.

The jury started deliberating on Friday afternoon, had the weekend off, and took about half the day on Monday to reach its verdict on 9 federal counts ... including racketeering, sex crimes, human trafficking, obstruction of justice and kidnapping.

The trial wrapped a little over a month after it began ... with the prosecution calling far more witnesses than the defense. Kelly's team only called 5 witnesses over a couple of days. Kelly himself never took the stand.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 4, and now that Kelly's been convicted on all counts, he could get 10 years to life. Mind you, he's still set to go on a second federal trial in Chicago, and state trials in Illinois and Minnesota.

Monday's verdict in federal court in Brooklyn comes just over 2 years after Kelly was arrested in Chicago for multiple federal sex crimes in 2 different states.

Kelly's legal team called a handful of ex-Kelly employees and associates to take the stand in an effort to discredit allegations the singer sexually abused women, girls and boys.

Some of Kelly's ardent defenders said, under oath, they never saw Kelly abuse anyone. What's more ... some of the defense witnesses went as far as saying that, if anything, Kelly was "chivalrous" to his GFs.

Prosecutors, however, called dozens of witnesses to the stand to refute defense testimony and poke holes throughout. Some of the prosecutors' witnesses straight-up said Kelly had a small team made up of managers, bodyguards and assistants who rounded up Kelly's potential victims before the singer groomed them for unwanted sex, among other things.

These witnesses also testified saying Kelly's entourage would recruit potential victims ... either at his concerts, malls and even fast-food joints.

You'll recall one of the 2 women interviewed by Gayle King back in 2019 also took the witness stand ... and claimed Kelly was controlling them right then and there during the interview.

Britney Spears' lawyer is outraged and indignant over revelations his client was secretly recorded even in her bedroom, and he's filed legal docs suggesting Jamie Spears and the conservators may have committed a crime.

Attorney, Mathew Rosengart, is referring to the NYT doc, "Controlling Britney Spears," in which a former member of the security team Jamie hired claims there are hours and hours of recordings that should never have been made, especially those in Britney's bedroom.

Rosengart says in his docs ... some of what was captured may involve the attorney/client relationship, which are "a sacrosanct part of the legal system." Rosengart notes California is a 2-party state -- meaning all parties on a recording must have given their prior approval to be recorded, and if they're not, it's a crime.

And, Rosengart seems to have his sights set on Jamie for Wednesday's big hearing, and it seems this issue is coming up as even more ammo to get Jamie out of the conservatorship.

What's more ... Rosengart makes it clear in the docs ... he's going to depose Jamie and will ask about the recordings, and if Jamie invokes the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, it will be telling.

Rosengart's latest filing makes it clear ... he's doubling down to get Jamie out, but Britney's dad has already all but said he'll be gone for good Wednesday.

And, Rosengart ends with this ... once Jamie's gone, there must be a "prompt termination of the conservatorship."

President Reagan's attempted assassin will soon shed the restrictions that came with his initial prison release ... a federal judge granted John Hinckley Jr. an unconditional release.

Hinckley, now 66 years old after his failed 1981 assassination attempt, was released from prison in 2016, and was living at his mother's house under court-ordered supervision for all of that time. The level of supervision has gotten lighter over the years.

Now, the judge just signed off on a full release, set to begin next June, which means Hinckley will no longer be ordered to steer clear of the Reagan family or Jodie Foster ... with whom he was infatuated when he pulled the trigger.

As you know ... Hinckley was found not guilty by insanity for the 1981 shooting that left Reagan with a chest injury. His press secretary, James Brady, was paralyzed, while a Secret Service agent, and cop were also shot.

Hinckley was committed to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in D.C. after the verdict, where he lived until 2016 when a federal judge signed off on his release, with restrictions.

Prosecutors say Hinckley is now living on his own for the first time in about 4 decades -- his mother passed away this past July -- and one of his primary doctors is about to retire and disband his therapy group. Still, the Department of Behavioral Health says Hinckley is a low risk for future violence.

Hinckley's lawyer says his client wants to express regret and apologize to his victims' families, Jodie and the American people ... and claims Hinckley's full release is a victory for mental health.

R. Kelly is so deep in the red, a lot of people are claiming to be richer than him -- that is, if you believe a site's estimation of his net worth ... which has it pegged as a negative.

At some point this year, Celebrity Net Worth updated R. Kelly's page to list his overall value in assets as negative $2 million ... something the Internet appears to have just caught on to in the past few days or so, including one 42 Dugg -- who was howling over the news.

He posted a video showing himself cackling with his buddies, as they recorded different articles (all circling back to CNW) reporting on Kelly's latest alleged numbers.

Ditto for the rest of Twitter ... whose users are posting jokes about how they're technically wealthier than the one-time R&B icon -- who's in the middle of several criminal cases, as well as one that's about to wrap up, with jury deliberations having officially gotten underway.

As for how Celebrity Net Worth landed on the -$2 mil figure ... it seems they're simply citing a story we broke last year -- in which R. Kelly told a judge, via court docs, that he owed Uncle Sam nearly $2 million in back taxes ... which he cited as a reason why he wouldn't be a flight risk if released on bail. The court shot him down ... he's remained in custody since.

Now, whether or not R. Kelly actually has a negative net worth is pure speculation -- but one thing is for sure ... the guy does seem to be strapped for cash, and apparently has been for years now. He revealed as much himself in song back in 2018 ... calling himself "broke."

Of course, he's been struggling on the business side of things even before "Surviving R. Kelly" aired ... as different streaming platforms took down his music, and several venues refused to book him for concerts. And, with the addition of a cadre of attorneys who've been in and out for at least 2 years now ... you can only imagine the legal bills he's racked up.

A man was shot and presumably killed this weekend as he squirmed on the ground in front of at least four police officers ... a couple of whom opened fire on him at point blank range.

Huntington Beach PD confirmed there was an officer involved shooting Saturday, but didn't not provide any further details ... including the status of the man who was gunned down. We're told this individual was transported to a hospital, but his condition is unknown. The cops also say there is no current public safety threat.

TMZ has obtained video of the gruesome killing -- which shows a man, who appears to be Black and/or a POC, writhing on the ground and raise his arm as well what appears to be a plastic bag of some sort ... before the officers around him unload multiple rounds of their firearms.

More backup arrived, and the police set up a perimeter to deal with the situation.

As you can see and hear, there were multiple witnesses ... who were near Sandy's Beach Shack at the pier. One eyewitness tells us they saw the cops in pursuit of this man, whom they'd already fired upon at least once. He jumped over the wall and fell to the ground. We're told they heard cops shouting orders at him, but before long ... they were shooting.

Others who were in the area captured photos of the aftermath -- and the man appears to by lying lifeless on the ground as officers approached.

No word yet on what exactly led up to this ... but at any rate, it doesn't seem like the HB crowd was all too outraged by what they'd just seen. If anything, a lot of them appeared to be more on the cops' side. It's unclear at this point if he was armed with a weapon or not.

At first glance, though ... he doesn't seem to have been posing a threat from his position.

A new force has entered the fold in the ongoing search for Gabby Petito's fiance, Brian Laundrie -- and that's Dog the Bounty Hunter ... who's already knocking at his front door.

The famed TV personality and real-life human tracker has thrown his hat into the ring to help try and locate Laundrie -- who's vanished and been missing for almost a couple weeks now ... and is currently the subject of a massive manhunt, as he's suspect #1 in this whole case.

Reporter Brian Entin got footage of Dog dropping into the Laundrie family home in North Port, FL ... but it doesn't look like they were willing to chat with DTBH.

He seems to poke his head around the side of the house -- where there are a few parked cars in the driveway -- and finally makes his way to the main entrance, where he knocks and lingers a bit. Nobody answers ... and eventually Dog heads back to his truck with his wife, Francie, right behind him. Entin asks what he's doing there -- and Dog tells him, "you know."

As for why Dog's doing this (and how), we have some answers. His rep tells TMZ ... Dog wants to help bring justice to the Petito family, and feels compelled to get out there and do what he does best -- capturing people and bringing them to the authorities.

We're told Dog is simply volunteering his services at this point, and has not yet made contact with the investigative powers overseeing this case -- namely, the FBI. But, we're told Dog will touch base with them eventually ... and turn over anything he finds along the way.

J.K. Simmons knows a thing or two when it comes to homeowners insurance ... which should come in handy after someone broke into his pad.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the Hollywood tough guy and Farmers Insurance spokesman was the victim of a burglary after cops got a call from his San Fernando Valley home at around 8 PM Thursday night.

Our sources say one of J.K.'s workers showed up at the house and found a glass door smashed. Thing is ... we're told the house was not ransacked and it doesn't appear as though anything was missing. At least at first glance.

Cops say J.K. and his wife were not home at the time of the break-in ... they were out of town, so they'll have to assess what may or may not be missing when they return.

At this moment, it's unclear if an alarm went off at the house and scared the intruder away. But, it seems J.K.'s home came away unscathed ... aside from the broken glass door.

We're told the LAPD is investigating the burglary/attempted burglary. J.K., of course, is known for his role in the 'Spider-Man' films and TV roles such as "Law & Order" and HBO's "Oz." But, to most young folks ... he's the guy who pimps Farmers Insurance.

Helen Hunt is suing an L.A. limo company claiming its negligence resulted in a crash that put her in the hospital.

The Academy Award-winning actress filed legal docs in L.A., claiming BLS Limousine Service of L.A., Inc. is responsible for the injuries she suffered during a crash on October 16, 2019.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Helen says on top of medical expenses ... she also suffered wage losses and loss of earning capacity -- plus emotional distress, pain, suffering and other damages.

We broke the story ... Helen was rushed to the hospital after the BLS-operated SUV she was riding in flipped on its side during a violent crash. It was t-boned by a much smaller white sedan.

Helen was the sole passenger in the SUV. As you can see from the surveillance video ... it seems Helen's driver thought they had a clear path to cross the intersection, but that was a bad decision.

The other vehicle smashed into the side of the SUV and rolled it over. It's unclear from the video if either vehicle had a stop sign, and the lawsuit makes no mention of that.

Helen was ultimately taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Bev Hills after complaining of pain. We later got shots of her leaving the hospital a few hours after the crash.

Kelly Clarkson has been a single woman for nearly 2 months, TMZ has learned, but a clerical error has thrown everyone off the scent.

Brandon Blackstock's lawyer, Samantha Spector, filed legal docs which lays out what has been decided so far in the divorce and what issues remain. There's a notation in the docs, saying the actual divorce will become final on 1-7-2022. That obviously makes it seem like Kelly and Brandon are still married.

We've learned this was a screw-up by the clerk, who mistakenly wrote 1-7-2022. In fact, Kelly and Brandon have been divorced since August 3. We're told the clerk is correcting the mistake.

TMZ broke the story ... the judge has already upheld the prenup -- something Brandon was aggressively contesting. There was a trial and the judge said Brandon signed it fair and square. That said, the property issues should be fairly easy to resolve, although in a nasty divorce -- which this is -- nothing should be taken for granted.

Kelly's income is separate, and considerable ... she earns $1.9 million a month. Brandon makes $10k a month.