Legal

Taylor Swift is the person LOTS of celebs want to mingle with Sunday in her Super Bowl luxury suite ... but we know one person who is NOT invited -- Blake Lively.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Blake is not on Taylor's list of guests as she watches BF Travis Kelce take a run at 3 rings in a row.

We're told, despite what Blake thinks, their friendship is fractured after a text surfaced where Blake told Justin Baldoni she was Khaleesi (from 'GoT') and hubby Ryan Reynolds and Taylor were her "dragons."

Taylor has not seen Blake in a while ... she's been spending lots of time with Travis and hasn't been in New York recently, but we're told the distance is more than geographic.

TMZ broke the story ... Taylor was royally pissed off and, as a well-connected source close to Taylor told us, she was never her dragon. In fact, although Blake tried to make Justin believe Swift was siding with her over a script dispute, Taylor never had a dog in the fight.

As we reported, Blake had invited Taylor over to her penthouse and Swift had no idea there was a meeting going on between Blake and Justin. Taylor walked in as Justin was leaving, and all she did was tell him she was excited to see his movie.

To add insult to injury, we're told Taylor later learned Blake was name-dropping TS all over town.

A$AP Relli was the aggressor in his heated exchange with A$AP Rocky and Relli told Rocky to squeeze the trigger on the fake gun he was holding ... at least according to A$AP Twelvyy.

Twelvyy took the stand Friday in the criminal assault trial for Rocky, whose defense team is finally presenting its case.

Rocky's attorney, Joe Tacopina, claims the gun Rocky used to shoot at Relli was a starter pistol firing blanks ...  and Twelvyy says Relli knew it wasn't a deadly weapon.

Taylor Swift feels she was used by Blake Lively in her war with Justin Baldoni, and she resents Blake calling her one of her "dragons" and leveraging her name.

As we reported, there was a critical meeting at Blake and Ryan Reynolds' NYC penthouse with Justin to discuss a scene that Blake had rewritten for "It Ends with Us." Justin has said the meeting got super heated, and he felt ambushed because Ryan and Taylor showed up.

But a well-connected source close to Taylor tells TMZ ... Taylor came to Blake's apartment at the time Blake told her to, not knowing anyone else would be there. In other words, Taylor had no idea there was a meeting going on with Justin.

The source goes on to say ... Justin was about to leave after the 2-hour meeting as Taylor walked in, and she was introduced to him for the first and only time. We're told all Taylor said to Justin was how excited she was to see the movie because he was her friend's boss.

Our source says Taylor believes Blake timed her meeting with Justin so Taylor would arrive before he left and is baffled by Blake later characterizing her as her "dragon." The source adds, "It's weird to say that about a friend."

As Daily Mail reported, friends of Taylor's called the dragon remark, "Uncool and unnecessary."

Remember, Blake texted Justin after the meeting ... referring to herself as Khaleesi from "Game of Thrones," and Taylor and Ryan as her protective "dragons."

And there's more ... the source says Taylor is also learning Blake has been inappropriately leveraging her name for a long time, like telling a young actress that Taylor "cast her," which simply did not happen.

TMZ dropped a new podcast Wednesday, "Two Angry Men," in which Harvey asked Justin's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, about subpoenaing Taylor for a deposition. Go to 25:37 on the podcast player to hear that exchange -- it's easy to read between the lines -- but it's clear Taylor feels used.

This is a huge falling out ... Taylor is godmother to one of Blake and Ryan's kids.

But, one source close to Blake has a different take, telling TMZ ... Blake believes the relationship is "not strained" with the two still talking regularly.

Another source close to the situation says Taylor was pissed about the extent to which she was involved, and specifically she was angry about the "dragons" remark … but Blake has since apologized, they had a good cry and hugged it out.

Rihanna's back at it, rocking everyone's world as she left the downtown L.A. courthouse where her man A$AP Rocky is going through his criminal trial.

The singer kept the style parade going, wearing a trench coat and tan boots as she was filmed leaving the courthouse with a bodyguard Thursday ... her fourth time supporting her partner at trial.

Of course, her presence isn't low-key -- it's RiRi, so the media hoopla was inevitable. She knew it was coming, so she flew under the radar on day one, slipping into the courthouse undetected, but since then, she’s had to enter and exit through the regular areas.

Ippei Mizuhara was officially sentenced to 57 months in prison on Thursday ... after fessing up to swindling millions from Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Mizuhara's fate was determined in a Santa Ana, California court just minutes ago -- not only has he been sentenced to four years and some change behind bars, but he was also ordered to pay $18 million in restitution -- nearly $17 million to Ohtani and another $1.1 million to the IRS.

The former Angels and Dodgers employee pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of tax fraud back in June 2024 ... owning up to taking the money from Ohtani's bank account to clear his debts with bettors.

Elijah Wood is officially a married man ... tying the knot with his longtime partner Mette-Marie Kongsved.

The "Lord of The Rings" star set off alarms recently when he referred to Mette-Marie as his wife on a podcast ... so we did some digging and found out the couple has a marriage license on file in Los Angeles County.

Thing is ... Elijah and Mette-Marie chose a confidential marriage license ... so it's unclear when exactly they tied the knot.

Packers CB Robert Rochell is taking legal action against the people he says are responsible for a 2023 car accident that seriously injured him, and had a massive negative effect on his once-promising NFL career.

In the lawsuit, filed in L.A. County and obtained by TMZ Sports, 26-year-old Rochell says he was minding his own business, driving along the Hollywood Freeway in his nearly $100K Mercedes GT 63 AMG whip in February 2023, when RR says he was hit by a speeding vehicle, which badly injured him.

Rochell is suing three people, including the alleged driver.

Rihanna isn't letting A$AP Rocky's ongoing trial get in the way of her plans ... the singer showed up at Nobu in L.A. Wednesday night in an oversized snake print coat!

She rocked the leather coat while celebrating her cousin's birthday -- and photogs were there as she left the building with Rocky, bundling into their vehicle and taking off before the rapper's assault trial resumes this morning.

Oversized coats are in for Riri this season ... she sported a black leather one while dining at the swanky L.A. restaurant Verse with her hubby last week after one of his court appearances.

Wendy Williams' insistence she is not suffering from dementia is striking a chord with her legal guardian ... who's now telling the judge Wendy should get a new medical exam.

The court-appointed guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, informed the judge overseeing Wendy's case, informing her about Wendy's recent interviews -- including one with TMZ and another with "The Breakfast Club" -- where she said she did not have frontotemporal dementia ... the original diagnosis that landed her in an assisted living facility.

Morrissey, through Roberta Kaplan -- one of the attorneys representing the guardianship in its lawsuit against the makers of the "Where Is Wendy Williams?" series, says during her Wednesday morning interview, Wendy told Charlamagne Tha God she does not want to proceed with a lawsuit against A&E over the Lifetime docuseries that aired last year. The guardian says they were only pursuing the case for Wendy's benefit ... but, now, since Wendy's calling out the guardianship, they're shifting gears.

Kendrick Lamar is about to find out if his smash hit "Not Like Us" is as popular with NFL and network lawyers and execs as it is with the public -- and his Super Bowl Halftime Show hangs in the balance.

This is a big day down in the Big Easy, as Kendrick's set list is expected to be handed off to the NFL and FOX honchos gathered in New Orleans for the game. Wednesday is typically the day Halftime Show performers pull back the curtain for the league, and reveal the songs they're going to perform.

But, this year there's extra attention on Kendrick's plans, because of "Not Like Us," and the defamation lawsuit Drake filed against Universal Music Group over the diss track ... which, as we all know, flat-out calls Drake a "certified pedophile."

Justin Baldoni's lawyer has an ace in the hole in his client's legal war with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds ... and the threat of a Taylor Swift deposition can go a long way here.

TMZ has a new podcast with Harvey Levin and Mark Geragos -- "Two Angry Men" -- and in our first episode we broke down the Blake-Baldoni beef with special guest Bryan Freedman, the attorney repping Justin.

Harvey hammers Bryan about potentially deposing Taylor ... because she's central to the dispute by virtue of her involvement in an infamous meeting between Justin, Blake and Ryan.

1:15 PM PT -- Chip Babcock, a partner in the Texas law firm Jackson Walker LLP that represents Jed Wallace, tells TMZ ... "Blake Lively made false statements to the press through a private administrative filing, claiming Mr. Wallace and Street Relations had sexually harassed her, retaliated against her, aided and abetted others who did the same, breached a contract with her and engaged in other improper conduct. Mr. Wallace, who is a very private person, has never met or spoken to Ms. Lively. Ever. He has not engaged in a smear campaign against her at any point in time. The decision to file this lawsuit to rightfully protect himself and his family was made after Ms. Lively not only filed against him first in Texas but, indicated she intended to name him in yet another lawsuit."

Blake Lively's legal headaches are getting worse ... the actress is now being sued by a crisis PR firm for defamation in her ongoing lawsuit battle with Justin Baldoni, TMZ has learned.

Blake was slapped with a new lawsuit by Jed Wallace and his company, Street Relations Inc., after she named both parties along with Baldoni in her December 2024 California civil rights complaint for bad behavior related to the filming of "It Ends With Us."

Wallace accuses Blake of falsely lumping his firm into the allegations she made against Baldoni, and then sending the information to various media outlets, including Elle Magazine. Despite the fact that Blake did not name Wallace or Street Relations in the lawsuit she filed just days later, and he says the damage was done and the media continued to report he had engaged in illegal activity.

YG can resume rolling in peace as he sees fit … the Compton rapper’s DUI case from October has been thrown out!!!

The Burbank City Attorney’s Office tells TMZ Hip Hop the case has been rejected due to insufficient evidence.

YG’s high-powered attorney, Joe Tacopina, tells us the matter was dismissed ... primarily because YG was not in the vehicle when the police rolled up on him.

Wendy Williams is setting the record straight about her conservators suing A&E last year after the Lifetime doc on her life dropped -- saying she’s down to work with the network again.

WW appeared on "The Breakfast Club" podcast Wednesday, explaining she 100% didn’t agree with the lawsuit her temporary guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, filed against A&E -- the parent company of Lifetime.

She straight-up said she doesn’t have frontotemporal dementia, nor is she incapacitated -- health claims that popped up right before the "Where Is Wendy Williams?" documentary, which was supposed to be her big comeback.

Kanye West wants to lock up the rights to the title for what appears to be a book about Bianca Censori ... TMZ has confirmed.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kanye's company Ox Paha Inc. filed a new trademark application for the phrase "Wife By Husband."

Ye wants to use the trademark for different types of printed books ... including biographies, non-fiction and picture books.

For Don Lemon, the most interesting part of the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni beef is Justin's defamation lawsuit against the New York Times ... and he hopes it sparks change.

We got Don in NYC and our photog asked him about the story that's all the rage in Hollywood ... Blake vs. Baldoni.

Don tells us his East Coast bias kept him from giving the "It Ends With Us" drama much thought until he got to Hollywood ... but he says the part that's really fascinating is Justin's defamation claim against The Gray Lady.