Legal

Wendy Williams was living it up during a night out on the town in the Big Apple -- but when it came to her court hearing earlier in the day, she left us all hanging.

Check it out ... Wendy was all smiles as she rolled into Zou Zou’s restaurant at the Pendry Hotel in NYC Monday night on her mobility scooter, looking as glamorous as ever -- and her team was right by her side, helping her inside and later escorting her back to the car.

But Wendy wasn’t in the mood to chat about her court hearing when photogs pressed her -- staying tight-lipped and seemingly focused on the moment as she was helped out of the scooter and into a waiting car.

The parents of the University of Pittsburgh student who disappeared in the Dominican Republic are reportedly asking the authorities to declare their daughter dead.

Sudiksha Konanki's parents made the formal request Monday in a letter sent to DR officials with the understanding they would have to follow certain legal procedures, such as filling out proper documentation, according to ABC News.

The media outlet noted Konanki's parents conceded in their letter there was no foul play involved in their daughter's presumed death.

Karen Read is at the center of a new documentary series offering intimate access as she and her legal team gear up for her retrial in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe -- and TMZ has your exclusive first look at Tuesday's upcoming episode.

In Investigation Discovery’s "A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read," Karen opens up her Mansfield, Massachusetts home to cameras and questions, insisting the allegations against her don’t add up.

Prosecutors allege in 2022, Read got into a heated drunken argument with O’Keefe before backing up and hitting him with her SUV, killing him ... then fleeing the scene, leaving him to die in a friend's snow-covered front yard.

Porn star Gigi Dior is reacting to a recent defeat in court at the hands of Christian Dior ... telling TMZ it's no sweat off her back because she's used to Big D giving her the shaft.

The adult film actress just finished a years-long legal dispute with the French fashion house after she tried to trademark her stage name ... Dior sued her, and now she won't win the rights to "Gigi Dior."

Gigi tells TMZ ... she knew the odds were against her in her legal war with one of the richest people in the world, Dior owner Bernard Arnault, and while she doesn't agree with the court's decision, she respects it and is taking it in stride.

Former college football coach Jason Brown -- who starred on Netflix's "Last Chance U" docuseries -- is now suing the streaming giant over the show ... for a whopping $30 million.

The ex-Independence Community College sideline manager alleged in the suit, which was filed in Los Angeles County this week, that Netflix and its "Last Chance U" producers cost him a fortune by, among other things, "portraying him in a false and offensive light through selective editing and misrepresentation."

Brown says he initially agreed to be a part of the series back in June 2017 ... after he claims producers assured him he'd garner positive publicity from being on camera. He alleges one exec actually told him, "Colleges will be calling you after this airs."

Kim Kardashian is mulling over a big decision ... whether to go to court and ask a judge to strip Kanye West of joint legal custody of their 4 kids, because her ex-husband has flagrantly ignored their custody agreement.

The latest legal war was set off after Kanye agreed in a mediation Friday not to release a previously recorded song in which their daughter North raps. The track -- "Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine" -- also includes a phone convo between Diddy and Kanye.

Thing is ... Kim was vehemently opposed to letting North participate in any way ... and according to their divorce settlement, they both have equal say in making decisions for their kids.

Michael Lohan is waking up in a South Florida jail ... after cops busted him on a probation violation related to his estranged wife Kate Major.

Sheriff's deputies picked up Lindsay Lohan's dad Sunday evening in West Palm Beach on an arrest warrant obtained by his probation officer following a February incident in Harris County, Texas.

As we reported, Lohan was arrested there last month on the charge of Continuous Violence Against the Family -- he allegedly went to the home where Kate lives with their sons, and assaulted her.

Wayne Gretzky is suing his former business partner ... alleging the woman filed a meritless lawsuit against him in 2022 just to score a quick payday off him.

The NHL legend filed the suit in Los Angeles County this week -- some three years after Veera Mahajan sued him for his alleged role in the demise of a weight loss gum business called "OMG."

In her '22 lawsuit, Mahajan said she invested in the co. after Gretzky had claimed he lost 35 pounds in a few weeks from chewing on the product. She claimed Wayne later admitted that he lied about the weight loss -- and it tanked the biz. She sued for fraud and was seeking unspecified damages.

More legal issues for Puddle of Mudd's Wes Scantlin ... police arrested him after cops say he got physical with his girlfriend.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police in Torrance, CA received a call to an apartment around 3 AM Tuesday night for a fight.

We're told when officers arrived, they talked to Wes and his girlfriend and determined the couple got into a verbal argument that at one point, allegedly turned physical.

Federal prosecutors just revealed in court they have two videos of Diddy beating Cassie in a hotel hallway in L.A. ... including a recording of the original hotel surveillance footage.

Diddy was in court Friday for a pretrial hearing in his federal criminal case when his lawyers started sparring with the feds over the Cassie beating video.

The judge asked the prosecution if they had the original security video and the Assistant United States Attorneys revealed the feds have the CNN version ... and a recording of the original footage.

Kendrick Lamar's big Drake diss on Playboi Carti's "Music" album didn't materialize like DJ Akademiks predicted ... but A$AP Relli can pick a bone with the "Not Like Us" rapper.

If losing his assault trial wasn't bad enough, Relli's now being crucified by Kendrick on the track "Good Credit" for taking the stand and testifying against A$AP Rocky!!!

Kendrick slickly raps ... "Belly on chain go big, white gold link fall on the belly / The emerald cuff for hers and his, that bitch on point like A$AP Relli" -- a clear reference to the moment former A$AP Mob member claimed Rocky shot him.

Gene Hackman's will has been unveiled -- and the two-time Oscar-winner left every penny of his fortune to his wife, Betsy Arakawa -- but there's a big twist.

The Hollywood legend made Betsy his sole beneficiary back in 1995, according to the docs, obtained by TMZ.

What's interesting is that his three children -- son Christopher and two daughters Leslie and Elizabeth -- are not named in the will. It was all supposed to go to Betsy ... but, the timing of their deaths could change where the money goes.

Wendy Williams is taking off the gloves when it comes to her guardianship ... going on national TV to blast her guardian and the judge overseeing her case, telling them to get off her neck.

The former talk show host called in to "The View" for a feisty interview that aired Friday ... saying she ultimately wants out of the guardianship, and at the very least needs a new guardian and a new judge.

Wendy's been beefing with guardian Sabrina Morrissey and Judge Lisa Sokoloff this week ... and she's turning up the heat.

5:45 PM PT -- "CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source. CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested."

5:40 PM PT -- Diddy's legal team tells TMZ ... "Our written and oral communications with CNN’s counsel were clear - they destroyed the original video file they received from their source."

Bombshell in the Diddy prosecution ... CNN destroyed the only known copy of the 2016 video in which Diddy is seen beating Cassie in the hallway of an L.A. hotel ... this according to new court documents.

Diddy's defense team and prosecutors filed a joint letter about evidence in the case. According to the defense ... CNN purchased the video showing Diddy attacking Cassie in the hallway of the InterContinental Hotel in L.A. The letter claims "CNN purchased the only known copy of the Hotel's surveillance footage, uploaded that footage into a free editing software, altered the video and then destroyed the original footage, even though it knew about and repeatedly reported about the federal investigation."

The defense claims CNN altered and edited the footage by "covering the time stamp and then changing the video sequence. It also includes speeding up the video to make it falsely appear that the actions in the video are taking place faster than they are. As a result, the CNN videos do not fairly and accurately depict the events in question."

5:40 PM PT -- Diddy's legal team tells TMZ ... "Our written and oral communications with CNN’s counsel were clear - they destroyed the original video file they received from their source."

CNN is vehemently denying claims by Diddy's legal team that the cable news network altered footage of him beating Cassie in a hotel hallway and then destroyed the only known copy of the video.

A spokesperson for CNN tells TMZ ... "CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source. CNN aired the story about the video several months before Combs was arrested."

We broke the story ... Diddy's defense team claimed Thursday in new court docs that CNN purchased the video showing Diddy attacking Cassie in the hallway of the InterContinental Hotel in L.A.

One of David Hasselhoff's children wants to handle the affairs of her late mother, who she says recently died without a will.

David and Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff's daughter, Taylor Ann Hasselhoff-Fiore, filed new legal docs to become the administrator of Pamela's estate.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Taylor estimates the net value of Pamela's estate at $840,000 ... though that's not a definitive figure, as there may be private trusts outside of the probate case.