Legal

Cher struck out in her attempt to have Sonny Bono's widow, Mary Bono, pay more than $1 million in legal fees Cher racked up in their court battle over music royalties.

Here's the deal ... Cher filed a complaint against Mary years back seeking $1 million in damages in royalties from the songs she and Sonny recorded together, including "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On."

She said she was entitled to 50% as a part of their 1978 divorce agreement, but Mary allegedly attempted to use certain copyright laws to terminate Cher's rights. A California judge sided with the Grammy winner in May 2024 and said she was owed more than $418,000 in unpaid royalties.

Cher then went after Mary to pay the hefty attorney fees she incurred in the lawsuit ... but on Friday, a judge denied Cher's motion, reasoning that the copyright law she invoked to collect the attorney's fees did not apply to this issue because the dispute was mainly over the old divorce agreement, not copyright law.

Daniel Siad -- a French professional model recruiter who arranged for scores of young women to meet Jeffrey Epstein -- is dead.

Siad was found dead in his home near Paris on Monday ... a deputy public prosecutor at the Nanterre Judicial Court in France told CNN. The cause and manner of death are unclear.

Epstein and Siad were friends and business associates for more than a decade ... during which time, Siad admitted he arranged for Epstein to meet with multiple female models.

Siad continued associating with Epstein after Epstein's 2008 conviction on sex crimes ... claiming Epstein assured him he was a changed man. He said he believed Epstein was a casting director for Victoria's Secret and a top modeling agency.

Chadwick Boseman's brothers want his widow to be removed as administrator of his estate nearly 6 years after his death ... and they are petitioning the court to have it done ASAP.

Kevin and Derrick Boseman beelined it to a Los Angeles court Friday and submitted legal docs outlining a list of reasons why they believe Chadwick's wife, Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman, has mismanaged the estate and why she should be removed from having control.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Kevin and Derrick claim Taylor left the entire family in the dark about the status of his estate ... despite a 2022 court order that said their parents, Leroy and Carolyn Boseman, were legally entitled to a combined 50% share. The court order gave Taylor control of the other half after Chadwick died without a will in place.

But, nearly four years later, Chadwick's brothers allege his widow has not finished distributing the estate's assets and has continued controlling it completely on her own.

Blac Chyna says her ex signed a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting him from talking about her and her famous children ... she just submitted a copy of it in court, and now you can read it all in its entirety.

TMZ obtained the confidential agreement Chyna says her ex-boyfriend Twin Hector signed during their relationship ... and it's an interesting read.

The agreement notes Twin was likely to learn private details about Chyna's business activities, her personal life, and the lives of her children -- King Cairo, whom she shares with Tyga, and Dream Kardashian, whom she had with Rob Kardashian.

The NDA also covers matters related to Chyna's mom, Tokyo Toni.

Kim Delaney's husband, James Morgan, was arrested for public intoxication after allegedly getting into it with the former "NYPD Blue" star and a flight attendant during a recent trip ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Morgan was arrested and booked Monday after landing at Los Angeles International Airport. We're told he and Delaney flew into L.A. from Detroit on a Delta flight, and the couple allegedly got into an argument during the flight.

We're told Morgan was also involved in a separate incident with a flight attendant. It's unclear what sparked either confrontation.

Djimon Hounsou's huge paydays for some of his movies were revealed as part of his bitter custody battle with his ex, Ri’za Marie Simpson ... and we've got the figures.

TMZ obtained a financial declaration, filed by Djimon, which shows how much he was paid for various projects ... including $1.1 million for "A Quiet Place: Day One."

Djimon made $1.25 million for "Red Car" with Halle Berry and Scott Eastwood, $250K for a couple 'Rebel Moon' films, $400K for the horror film "The Monster," $300K for "The Rising," and another $300K for "The Zealot."

In the docs, Djimon listed his average gross monthly income of around $60K but claims to spend around $85K.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's daughter Vivienne is the latest of the former couple's children to ask a court to drop "Pitt" from her last name.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the 18-year-old filed a petition seeking to legally change her name from Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt to Vivienne Marcheline Jolie. The reason for the request is listed simply as "personal."

PEOPLE was first to report the news.

Vivienne has already been using the surname Jolie professionally, receiving a "Vivienne Jolie" credit in the Playbill for the Broadway production of "The Outsiders," which she helped produce alongside her mother.

Bear Brown says he's got a stalker on his hands after his brother Matt's tragic suicide ... to the point that he needs protection.

The "Alaskan Bush People" star was granted a temporary civil protection order against a man who was allegedly part of the private search and rescue group that found Matt's body, according to Us Weekly.

Bear alleges the man "vaguely claims to have been a very close friend of my brother" but insists he doesn't know him beyond his help in the search.

Robert Downey Jr.'s daughter Avri Downey is getting into the family business ... she's set to film a new television show ... and we found out how much she's being paid.

TMZ obtained the minor's contract Avri signed for her role in an upcoming show, "Oswald," and it calls for her to be paid $1,246 for one day of shooting.

The deal was signed last year, and her character was listed as "Family Photo Kid" ... so it sounds like a smaller role.

Avri's daily rate is a far cry from her dad’s reported $100 Million salary in "Avengers: Doomsday" ... but, hey, we all gotta start somewhere.

D4vd still had Celeste Rivas' name tattooed on his left ring finger when he was booked into jail ... a chilling detail revealed as Day 1 of his preliminary hearing came to a close.

An investigator testified Tuesday that officers spotted "Celeste" on the singer's finger during booking ... along with "Shhh" on his right index finger and a religious reference on his right palm ... as prosecutors displayed photos showing the faded tattoos in court.

D4vd appeared relaxed as the images were shown, stroking his chin and studying the evidence with his thumb and index finger resting on his face.

Nolan Wells' mom is laying the legal groundwork to potentially sue over her son's mysterious death ... asking a Mississippi court to put her in charge of his estate.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Christine Wonsley filed a petition Monday to open Nolan's estate and appoint her as its administrator ... saying the estate's assets would consist "solely of claims for damages resulting from the circumstances surrounding his death."

Put simply ... the appointment would give Christine the authority to file a lawsuit on behalf of Nolan's estate if anyone is ultimately found legally responsible for his death.

Wendy Williams' guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, settled the legal battle with A&E Television Networks over the former talk show host's documentary, TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Sabrina and A&E said they resolved all issues and the lawsuit was being dropped. 

In the original lawsuit, Sabrina demanded the release of the documentary be halted, which did not happen, and for additional damages. She claimed Wendy was dealing with “very serious medical issues” that rendered her “effectively incapacitated.” 

Amber Rose is suing a members-only dining club ... claiming one of their holiday decorations fell from where it'd been hung … landing on her head.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the model claims she was at Gravitas in Beverly Hills on New Year's Eve in 2024 when one of the "solid, oversized decorative spheres" suspended above where she was sitting detached and fell on her noggin. She says the impact briefly knocked her out.

Amber also claims she suffered headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, nausea, confusion, and neck pain.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner's widow says the late 'Cosby Show' star left behind $1.2 million in broken promises when he died ... and she's suing his mother to try and collect.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Tenisha Warner is suing Malcolm's mother, Pamela Warner, who now serves as trustee of the Warner Family Trust.

Tenisha claims Malcolm -- best known for his role of Theo Huxtable -- agreed to provide her with a number of financial benefits under a prenuptial agreement they signed in May 2022, just days before tying the knot ... but she says he failed to follow through on several of the promises before his death.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman faced the media on the first day of D4vd's preliminary hearing ... revealing prosecutors plan to call more than 10 witnesses -- and they still haven't decided whether to seek the death penalty.

The prelim began Tuesday morning in a downtown L.A. courtroom ... with prosecutors presenting evidence in an effort to convince a judge there's enough to warrant a murder trial in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas -- Hochman says he expects the prelim to last 5-7 days.

D4vd -- real name David Anthony Burke -- appeared alongside his attorneys as prosecutors began laying out evidence they claim ties him to Celeste's brutal death and mutilation.