Legal

"Vanderpump Villa" star Marciano Brunette is suing "Secret Lives of Mormon Lives" star Demi Engemann for defamation ... he says her sexual assault allegations against him are a bunch of baloney.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Marciano claims Demi is damaging his reputation by falsely calling him a "sexual predator" and accusing him of sexual assault.

He says she's lying about their interaction last year at the "Vanderpump Villa" in Italy ... claiming the kiss they shared off camera was totally consensual, despite how Demi has been portraying things on social media and TV.

The Austin Police Department has closed the book on Brianna Aguilera's death, ruling it a suicide ... but the family still doesn't believe law enforcement.

Tony Buzbee, the attorney for Aguilera's family, tells TMZ they still think Brianna's death was more nefarious ... adding, "The Austin Police screwed things up royally."

Buzbee says there's no credible evidence to back APD's suicide claim, full stop.

Dillon Danis claims he's still feeling it after his brawl at UFC 322 ... to the point where he won't be able to attend his deposition in his Nina Agdal case next week.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, the MMA fighter says he is currently in California "seeking medical treatment" for a head injury he sustained at MSG after throwing hands with several members of Islam Makhachev's team on Nov. 15.

As a result, the fighter's lawyer says Danis won't be around to get grilled by Agdal's lawyers next Tuesday in New Jersey.

The brawl prompted New York City Mayor Eric Adams to call for an investigation, saying the actions were unacceptable.

Longtime Mexican comedian and actor Eduardo Manzano died on Thursday, according to his son Lalo.

Lalo revealed the news about his father on Instagram on Friday, and he wrote, translated from Spanish, that "the curtain has fallen on the stage of life."

The comedian's son added the world would be giving his father "a standing ovation one last time."

The stepbrother of Anna Kepner -- the teen girl who tragically died on the Carnival Horizon last month -- has been sent to live with relatives as the FBI investigates him in connection with Anna's death.

According to People, Anna's stepmother, Shauntel Kepner, who is the 16-year-old boy's biological mother, made the decision along with her husband -- Anna's biological father -- Christopher Kepner. The move was intended to remove any risk of danger to the other children in their home.

Shauntel reportedly revealed this information Friday during a custody hearing. The court appearance stemmed from Shantel's ex-husband, Thomas Hudson, reportedly filing an emergency custody motion requesting that a judge grant him custody of their youngest daughter, who lives with Shauntel and Christopher.

Thomas's motion was possibly out of concern the stepbrother might harm the daughter he shares with Shauntel.

Remember ... Anna was found in a room she was sharing with her stepbrother, asphyxiated from a choke hold. While the FBI is investigating the stepbrother, no charges have been filed and officials have not named a suspect.

Anna was reportedly found by a cabin steward on November 8 -- wrapped in a blanket and tucked under a bed -- during a Caribbean cruise with her family.

The Centers for Disease Control is a total "clown show," and people need to trust the advice of their local doctors instead ... so says a respected pediatrician.

Dr. Paul Offit joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday to talk after the Centers for Disease Control vaccine advisory committee voted to remove the recommendation that all newborns get the hepatitis B vaccine.

Offit says he is outraged by the CDC's vote ... claiming more infants and toddlers will suffer from the disease because of the new, uninformed recommendation.

12/8 11:10 AM PT -- Tara Reid tells TMZ ... "I’ve been honest about the fact that I don’t remember anything after my first drink. All I said was that I felt something was wrong and that I felt I may have been drugged, because I have no other explanation for why I woke up in a hospital gown with no memory of how I got there.

Seeing the media twist my words and attack me for not remembering has been incredibly painful and is severely affecting my mental health. I feel bullied and judged for something I cannot recall. I’m trying to heal, but the public scrutiny is making that very difficult, and I’ve been afraid to even leave my house.

No one ends up in the hospital for around eleven hours from drinking wine alone. I hadn’t taken any medication that day, and I know something wasn’t right. Whether I had additional drinks after that doesn’t matter, the fact is I don’t remember anything.

I’m asking for privacy, compassion, and space to heal. I’ve shared the only truth I have: what I remember, and what I felt."

Tara Reid was slugging wine at the hotel bar where she claims she was drugged ... and she looked pretty chummy with the man whom she pointed out in a police report.

TMZ obtained the surveillance video from the Chicago-area hotel where Tara claims someone slipped something in her drink that made her black out and wake up in a hospital bed ... and all you see in the video is Tara guzzling wine at the bar and talking to folks.

At first, she's sitting at the bar with a glass of wine, surrounded by four men. She's wearing a coat and beanie, and her purse is on the bar. It looks like two different bartenders bring over a glass of wine, and she slugs them both. Tara had said she only had one drink.

DJ Quik's son, David Marvin Blake Jr., has been convicted of second-degree murder, stemming from a 2022 incident that left a man dead in a Los Angeles suburb.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Blake Jr. was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of shooting from a motor vehicle.

Prosecutors say he is now facing up to 40 years in prison.

President Donald Trump announced his approval of "tiny cars" to be built in the United States on Truth Social on Friday.

POTUS described the vehicles as the "cars of the very near future" and wrote car manufacturers had been trying to gain approval to start producing the cars for an extended period of time.

47 added the vehicles were "amazing" and called for manufacturers to begin building the cars "now."

Michael Jordan got an epic Bulls-themed welcome at court on Friday -- a fan blasted his former team's iconic intro music as the NBA legend made his way to a courthouse entrance!

His Airness pulled up to a federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday to testify in a federal antitrust case against NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France, for allegedly operating an illegal monopoly.

When Jordan, 62, arrived outside the courthouse, a bystander nearby started playing "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project.

The man known as the real-life "Mrs. Doubtfire" for allegedly collecting his mom's pension checks after she died is now being featured in surveillance video carrying out his alleged scam dressed as an elderly woman.

Check it out ... the 56-year-old dude -- decked out as a 70's matron with make-up on his face -- walks with a cane into a registry office in Italy to renew his mom's expired identity card so he can continue receiving pension checks. He's also seen on surveillance video strolling out of the building after allegedly perpetrating the fraud.

During the visit, a council employee quickly noticed the phony mom's neck looked like a tree trunk, and he had wrinkles all over his face, which appeared "unnatural," according to local media reports.

Luigi Mangione's critical hearing in his state murder case was put on ice Friday, because the defendant's under the weather.

Judge Gregory Carro made the announcement just as court was set to begin Friday ... saying Mangione had fallen ill. The judge said the hearing will resume Monday.

We got LM's defense heading out of the courthouse -- dressed their best to impress the judge -- but they were mum as to what was ailing Luigi.

The Justin Baldoni vs. Blake Lively legal battle just got even weirder ... Baldoni testified he told Lively he was circumcised, even though she didn't ask about his phallic status.

In a deposition transcript, obtained by TMZ, Justin describes a discussion with Blake about whether she and Ryan Reynolds' baby would be circumcised ... and says he shared with his "It Ends With Us" costar that he was snipped. He also said Ryan was "in and out of" that convo.

When attorney Michael J. Gottlieb asked Baldoni if Lively had ever asked if he was circumcised, Baldoni answered, "Directly, no."

12:11 PM PT -- A rep for Charlie tells TMZ ... "Brooke has been in and out of rehab for the past 15 years, while Charlie has had 100% custody of the kids, which is why she is not entitled to any child support."

Charlie Sheen's ex-wife Brooke Mueller is banging down his door, ready to collect on the huge bill -- about $15 million -- she claims he owes her for unpaid child support.

Brooke informed an L.A. County judge she wants Charlie to cough up the money ASAP. In docs filed Thursday, and obtained by TMZ, she says the ex "Two and a Half Men" star owes her $8,967,600 in child support plus another $6,418,643 in accrued interest.

And, the kicker ... mama wants it paid in full in 30 days!

Brooke explains Charlie was ordered to pay her $55,000 per month in child support in April 2010, and there were no issues until July 2011 ... when he started sending either partial payments or failed to make any payments at all. So, she wants the court to make him pay what she's rightfully owed, plus $25,000 in attorney fees and costs.

Gavin Newsom is making nice with Halle Berry after the two clashed over the California governor twice vetoing a state menopause health bill ... and our sources say HB won the battle in the end.

As you know, Halle gave a scathing speech Wednesday at the New York Times' DealBook Summit, where she slammed Newsom for killing the menopause bill while noting he will not be governor forever and probably should not be the country's next president.

On Wednesday night, Newsom's rep issued a statement, saying the governor deeply admires Halle's advocacy and looks forward to working with her on this "critical issue." The rep added Newsom vetoed the bill because it would have "unintentionally raised health care costs for millions of working women and working families already stretched thin."

But, Newsom changed his tune a bit when our cameraman caught up with him Thursday at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, where he ironed out some of the confusion around his skirmish with Halle.

Relationships can be tricky to figure out for lots of folks ... but not Madi Prewett -- she's fine with being the "submissive" one in her marriage!

The "Bachelor" alum and her husband, Grant Troutt, spoke about the finer points of their marriage in a recent episode of her "Stay True Podcast" ... she said she'd "learned a lot" about the relationship after taking a backseat to her spouse.

Madi admitted the experience was difficult at first, but she got over it and accepted the place she'd carved out in her relationship.

She said submission is "her favorite thing" and she loves to talk about it.

Madi's talked about submission before on her podcast in June 2024 ... when she said she was "called to submit" to her husband, who she described as -- other than God -- her priority.

She nearly ended up with the star of "The Bachelor" Season 24, Peter Weber ... no telling how that would have worked out!