Legal

Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, are adamant they have never covered up child sexual abuse ... this after a new lawsuit alleged otherwise.

The New York Yankees legend and his partner issued the denial on Thursday morning ... with their attorney, Joseph A. Ruta, saying in a statement the allegations against the two "are completely false."

The suit was filed in New York earlier this month by Mother A Doe ... who alleged that back in 2018, her juvenile daughter was sexually abused at a summer camp in Florida that was affiliated with the Rivera's church, Refuge of Hope.

New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers appeared in a Massachusetts courtroom on Thursday and pled guilty to one charge of possessing cocaine.

The 29-year-old -- wearing a blue suit and white shirt -- admitted to a judge that the powdery substance that was found in his wallet following his arrest for domestic violence in October was the illegal drug.

The football player was ordered to remain drug-free and stay out of trouble for the next four months after making his plea.

Chris Brown is reaching a breaking point ... he's fighting back against allegations he's a serial rapist and abuser ... and his lawyer's taking shots at a movie studio for pushing what they say are straight-up lies.

The singer's attorney, Levi McCathern, tells TMZ ... it's shameful Warner Brothers Discovery is propping up dubious sexual assault claims against Chris to make money off his reputation.

Chris' lawyer says CB is tired of laying down and taking all the crap from anonymous accusers telling lies about him in lawsuits and cheesy documentaries ... which is why they're firing back at WB with a $500 million lawsuit.

Diddy is going after a grand jury witness and a lawyer he claims have been spreading lies about him ... accusing them of fabricating stories for media attention.

The disgraced mogul is suing Courtney Burgess -- a man who appeared as a witness for the grand jury -- and Ariel Mitchell, Burgess' lawyer, for spreading what he says are "outlandish claims" and "baseless speculation" to feed the public's desire for "wild lies."

Diddy fired back at some specific claims in the lawsuit as well ... calling out Burgess for alleging he possesses video of the star sexually assaulting celebrities and minors.

Bryan Kohberger's not in court for his first hearing of 2025 ... 'cause the judge decided to excuse him for Wednesday's proceedings.

Attorneys for the alleged murderer appeared before the judge for the first time in 2025, attempting to get a large swath of DNA evidence connected to his family tossed by a judge.

The appearance is streaming live ... but, the courtroom itself is closed to the public because the judge wants the ability to seal proceedings. The case has been conducted mostly in secrecy while the court tries to ensure Kohberger receives a fair trial.

Justin Baldoni is focusing on good vibes only ... despite his ongoing legal war against his "It Ends With Us" costar, Blake Lively.

Check it out ... the actor is all smiles after hitting the ocean in Maui, Hawaii, beaming and carrying a big green surfboard while on vacation with his family.

Though, it's lookin' like Justin has swapped family time for some guy time.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds want a judge to gag Justin Baldoni's lawyer ... claiming he's making false statements about the case.

The megastars filed a letter in court Tuesday ... and, in it, they ask the court to issue a protective order to stop Baldoni's lawyers -- led by Bryan Freedman -- from engaging in "improper conduct" including going on an alleged "harassing and retaliatory media campaign" against Blake and Ryan.

They say he's violating court rules that stop a lawyer from making statements to the press that are irrelevant to a case and might prejudice the jury.

Prince Harry just got a lot richer after striking a last-minute settlement with Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers over accusations he was spied upon by predatory tabloids in a lawsuit.

Harry's attorneys issued a statement that both parties have reached a settlement Wednesday just one day after the trial was set to start.

NGN released its own statement, saying, “We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages.”

Chris Brown is suing the producers behind Investigation Discovery's "Chris Brown: A History of Violence" docuseries … alleging the project was full of straight up lies.

In new court documents obtained by TMZ … the singer accuses Warner Bros. Discovery, Ample, and other individuals behind the series of promoting and publishing defamatory claims against him -- even after allegedly being provided with "proof" that their narrative was false.

Not only does Brown state the Jane Doe at the center of the docuseries has been repeatedly discredited, but he highlights he has never been found guilty “of any sex related crime” … slamming the docuseries for labeling him "a serial rapist and a sexual abuser."

Blake Lively is thrilled Justin Baldoni decided to release unedited footage from "It Ends With Us," because she says it only proves her point ... that she was visibly uncomfortable with Baldoni's advances during the scene.

Blake's legal team tells TMZ, "Justin Baldoni and his lawyer may hope that this latest stunt will get ahead of the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is damning. Every frame of the released footage corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described in Paragraph 48 of her Complaint."

They continue, "The video shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Ms. Lively, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells, and talking with her out of character."

A$AP Rocky is headed for court on gun charges ... the Grammy-nominated rapper just turned down a plea deal from L.A. prosecutors, opting to face a jury trial instead.

L.A. County prosecutors offered him a deal -- if Rocky pled guilty to one of two felony charges, he'd serve 180 days in jail, and he'd get a seven-year suspended sentence, with three years on probation. But, AR told a judge today he's decided to decline to take the deal.  Rocky could be sentenced to up to 24 years in jail if found guilty in a trial.

We caught AR on the way into court this morning, but he didn't offer any comment.

Luke Hoffman, one of the nearly 1,500 January 6 rioters pardoned by Donald Trump, is feeling "thankful" following the executive order ... and has no plans to apologize for his role in the attempted coup.

We caught up with Luke on "TMZ Live" Tuesday, less than a day after POTUS used his freshly restored executive powers to pardon his supporters who stormed the Capitol 4 years ago.

Luke -- who pled guilty to assaulting law enforcement during the incident -- says he is "very grateful" to get home to his family, with the hope of returning to his everyday life.

A Los Angeles home belonging to NBA player Ty Jerome was burglarized last week, and cops tell TMZ Sports they're still on the hunt for the supects.

We're told the break-in happened at around 7:30 PM on Jan. 17 ... when thieves gained entry to the residence through a broken glass window.

Cops say the criminals took off a short time after getting in -- and as of now, it's unclear what -- if anything -- was taken. Jerome has been away from the area in recent days while on the road playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Justin Baldoni is staying on the offensive ... attempting to shoot down Blake Lively's allegation he sexually harassed her, by releasing raw video from "It Ends With Us" that reveals some very telling conversation between the costars.

Baldoni's team dropped nearly 10 minutes of unedited footage -- including one scene where Justin and Blake are slow dancing. Blake referenced the scene in her lawsuit against Justin, and accused him of getting creepy with comments about the fragrance she was wearing.

In the video, which has both actors mic'd up, you don't see Justin making any offensive comments or actions toward Blake. We're told his team believes this completely refutes Blake's sexual harassment claim.

Wendy Williams' guardianship woes are commanding the attention of at least one New York lawmaker ... who's making a big push so her family can easily visit her.

Anthony Palumbo, a N.Y. state senator, tells TMZ ... today, he is re-introducing a piece of legislation that would change guardianship laws regarding family visitation in the state.

According to Palumbo, "Karilyn's Law" would allow families to visit loved ones by filing a motion with the court ... the guardian would then have 10 days to show the court if the person intending to visit is displaying inappropriate conduct -- and if not, they can visit.

Heather McDonald isn't feeling sorry for either Justin Baldoni or Blake Lively amid their legal war ... blasting the two actors for duking it out in their respective lawsuits.

We caught up with the comedian outside Craig's in West Hollywood on Monday, where she gave her candid opinion on the Hollywood drama. While Heather noted the situation has made for good content for her "Juicy Scoop" podcast, she told us both Justin and Blake are clearly in the wrong.

Watch the video ... she blasted Justin as "kind of a weirdo," and said she totally believed the actor was "creepy and inappropriate" on set ... which Blake claimed in her lawsuit against her "It Ends With Us" costar and director.