Legal

Rumer Willis was awarded primary custody of her kid with ex Derek Richard Thomas in their bitter custody war ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, the parties agreed to undergo a custody evaluation and share joint legal custody, but the judge gave Rumer primary physical custody of the couple's daughter, Louetta.

The ruling also establishes a visitation schedule for Thomas. Beginning June 20, he'll have parenting time every other weekend, with visits initially monitored by one of Rumer's nannies. The order states the visits will later transition to overnight visitation with no monitor.

Soap star Steve Burton claims his ex-wife, Sheree Burton, is trying to alienate him from their 11-year-old daughter ... and now he's taking her to court over it ... TMZ has learned.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Steve slammed Sheree, to whom he was married for 23 years, for behavior that he feels undermines his relationship with their kid, Brooklyn.

He claims Sheree often puts up obstacles for him to exercise his court-ordered custody ... and says Sheree creates conflict he feels is "blatant parental alienation."

Diddy claims music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who is suing him for sexual assault, has failed to turn over his medical records ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy says he shouldn’t have to produce a bunch of documents and answer questions for Rodney, describing his requests for discovery as abusive and improper.

Diddy says Rodney was supposed to sign off on a release to provide access to his medical records back in November, but the release provided was not in compliance with regulations related to the privacy of such records.

Tiffany Haddish says her DUI case has dragged on so long it should be thrown out ... but prosecutors are firing back, arguing the actress hasn't shown the delay actually hurt her.

According to new court documents, obtained by TMZ, the State of Georgia is urging a judge to reject Haddish's motion to dismiss the case, which stems from her January 2022 DUI arrest in Peachtree City.

Prosecutors acknowledge the more-than-four-year delay weighs against them, but they insist it wasn't intentional and shouldn't carry much weight. They also argue Haddish announced she was ready for trial, but never actually requested an immediate trial -- a distinction they say matters under Georgia law.

Karmelo Anthony has officially traded county jail for state prison ... and the convicted killer posed for a new mug shot after being transferred into the Texas prison system to begin serving his 35-year sentence for murdering Austin Metcalf.

The 19-year-old appears with a shaved head and wearing a sleeveless prison tunic in the new booking photo taken after his move into state custody Wednesday morning. Anthony spent Tuesday night in county jail before being transferred to the Wallace Pack Unit near Houston.

Anthony was convicted and sentenced on Tuesday for Austin's murder ... meaning he only spent one night in jail following the guilty verdict before going to prison.

John McClain -- the former executor of Michael Jackson's estate who passed away last month -- had a personal fortune of $20 million and no will ... according to the man who wants to administer his estate.

Warner Wright IV filed paperwork Wednesday asking that he and Zia F. Modabber -- McClain's lawyer -- be named administrators of McClain's estate ... citing urgent business matters as a reason to expedite the process.

Wright says a lease payment on a Malibu property is due ... as well as several "other bills that need to be paid, maintenance issues that need to be handled and managed, creative projects to be preserved, and other regular but time-sensitive matters to address."

Karmelo Anthony's parents don't believe their son got a fair trial ... and they say they're going to keep fighting until justice has been served.

Kala Hayes and Andrew Anthony discussed their son's guilty verdict with Mimi Brown in an emotional interview. Mimi asked the parents point-blank if they thought Karmelo received a fair trial.

Kala said through her tears ... "Absolutely not."

Karmelo Anthony's murder trial was an emotional one for everyone involved ... and his grandmother seems to feel strongly that justice was not served ... blasting the outcome as racist, biased and prejudiced.

After Karmelo was convicted and sentenced for murdering Austin Metcalf, a crowd formed in the parking lot outside the courthouse ... gathering around Karmelo's grandmother, Toni Hayes, and other loved ones to show support.

While getting into a car to leave, Toni starts chanting "racist, biased, prejudiced" ... and the crowd eventually joins in.

Bill Gates says he wasn't friends with Jeffrey Epstein ... and he claims the convicted pedophile tried to get close to him by using his extramarital affair against him.

The tech mogul testified Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with the disgraced financier ... and he tried to put some distance between them -- claiming he never went to Epstein's island, ranch or Florida home, according to a testimony transcript he posted online.

Bill also said he had no interest in developing a personal relationship with Epstein.

The billionaire testified Epstein "had become aware of sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage" ... and, after the two stopped speaking in 2014, Bill said Epstein attempted to use this knowledge to reopen the relationship.

The woman who says she's terrified of "Love Island USA" star Huda Mustafa rushed to court again, begging for her restraining order to be reinstated ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Nicole Olivera, the ex-girlfriend of Huda’s ex, Louis Russell, asked a judge to revive the temporary restraining order prohibiting Huda from coming near her.

The judge signed off on the request and set a hearing for July 1, where a decision will be made on whether to extend the restraining order. For now, the order prohibits Huda from coming near Nicole's home or harassing her in any manner.

As we first told you ... Nicole's restraining order was dismissed for lack of prosecution after her lawyer missed court last week ... but her lawyer said it was his mistake, so the judge reinstated it. Now, the war is back on.

A Karmelo Anthony crowdfunding page that raised more than $630K has been yanked ... a day after the 19-year-old was convicted of murdering Austin Metcalf.

A rep for GiveSendGo tells TMZ ... the page created by Karmelo's mom was allowed because everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty ... but after his conviction things changed.

The funds -- which climbed over $633,000 as of Wednesday morning -- were intended for "legal defense and family relocation" ... and according to GiveSendGo the funds have been distributed over the past year for said purposes.

Karmelo Anthony isn't done fighting his murder case just yet ... because we've learned he's planning to appeal after being convicted of murdering Austin Metcalf.

According to court records, obtained by TMZ, Anthony filed a notice of appeal. The move comes less than 24 hours after a Texas jury found him guilty of murder ... and he was subsquentially sentenced to 35 years behind bars for the fatal stabbing at a Frisco, TX track meet.

Karmelo's lawyer, Mike Howard, tells TMZ, "After the conclusion of the trial yesterday, we gave the court our official notice that Karmelo Anthony is filing an appeal. We believe there are several important issues for the appellate courts to consider. An appeal is the next part of the legal process and a right afforded every American.”

As we previously reported, jurors rejected Anthony's self-defense argument and returned a guilty verdict Tuesday following days of emotional testimony and closing arguments. He was then sentenced to 35 years in prison ... with the case drawing national attention from the moment of his arrest.

"Teen Mom" star Ryan Edwards' marriage may have been in far rougher shape than fans realized ... because his wife Amanda Conner told a 911 dispatcher they were in the middle of a divorce.

Just one day after she was arrested on a DUI charge last month, Amanda called 911 requesting an officer accompany her while she collected belongings from the home she shared with Ryan.

In audio obtained by The Ashley's Reality Roundup, Amanda can be heard telling the dispatcher, "Me and my husband are in the middle of a divorce and ... and I just don’t feel comfortable."

Austin Metcalf's family is "very happy" with Karmelo Anthony's 35-year sentence after he was found guilty of murdering the high school football player ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the prosecution in Anthony's murder trial tell TMZ ... both the Metcalf family and the prosecution are "happy" and "satisfied" with the verdict and sentence ... adding they all see this as a win.

As you know, a jury in Collin County, Texas decided Anthony was guilty of murder after he fatally stabbed Metcalf at an April 2025 high school track meet.

Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae El Moussa's Newport Beach mansion burglars made off with some pretty pricey bling ... TMZ has learned.

Newport Beach Police tell TMZ ... the suspects accessed the backyard, shattered a rear sliding glass door, and got inside the couple's residence ... ransacking the primary bedroom closet before fleeing through the backyard and out the front of the property.

Police tell us the reported loss was jewelry.

Sources familiar with the situation say the stolen items were very high-valued pieces.

We broke the story ... Tarek and Heather were vacationing in Los Cabos, Mexico, when the break-in occurred.

Cops tell us they don't have any information on the suspects available at this time ... and the investigation remains ongoing.

Heather and Tarek addressed the incident on social media, saying they felt "violated" and "really sad" following the burglary, while assuring followers their family was safe.

Alaric Jackson's alleged domestic violence victim says she pleaded with the Rams star not to hurt her because she was pregnant, but claims he coldly responded, 'I don't give a f***' while roughing her up during an argument earlier this week.

TMZ Sports obtained the 38-year-old woman's request for the TRO, where she goes into detail about Monday night's dust-up, which she says left her with several injuries.

"Verbal threats, scratches, bruises, took my phone & keys," Jackson's accuser wrote when asked whether the 6'7", 340 lb. athlete caused "any emotional or physical harm."