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Russell Westbrook just scored another W over an NBA heckler -- the $100 million lawsuit filed against the NBA superstar has been thrown out ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court docs, a judge ruled in favor of Westbrook on Thursday ... saying he didn't defame anyone by clapping back at a couple who harassed him during a 2019 game in Utah.

As we previously reported, Westbrook was sued by Shane Keisel -- a U.S. Army vet who got into it with the then-OKC Thunder player during a March 11, 2019 game against the Jazz.

In his suit, Keisel admitted he tried to heckle Westbrook by telling the NBA star “that he should just sit down and ice his knees.”

But, Keisel claimed Westbrook misheard him ... and interpreted his words not only as a homophobic insult, but also "racial."

Westbrook said he thought he heard, "get down on your knees like you used to.”

The point guard then went nuclear on Keisel and his girlfriend, Jennifer Huff -- and it was all caught on video.

"I’ll f*ck you up," Westbrook was heard saying. "You and your wife. I’ll f*ck you up."

Keisel said he was only not only banned from Utah Jazz games for life, but was fired from his job, kicked out of a pilot training program and received death threats.

Keisel and Huff sued Westbrook and the Jazz for $100 MILLION for defamation, among other things, claiming he was wrongly being painted as a racist homophobe.

But, in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the judge in the case rejected the arguments, explaining Westbrook's statements were just opinions, not defamation.

The judge explained, "whether a person is racist or whether a statement is racial is a matter of opinion which cannot be verified as true or false."

The judge added, "It is only in the free expression of these ideas that the nation can hope to heal the historic wounds of slavery and racial injustice that fester still today. That healing cannot occur if public dialogue about racism is silenced under threat of defamation liability."

The court also noted Westbrook’s in-game threats were "coarse and offense" ... but were not extreme and/or outrageous enough to recover damages.

The judge also said Keisel and Huff remained in the arena to watch the rest of the game and there was never any real risk that Westbrook would make good on his threats.

There's a massive estate in Houston that just hit the market ... and it's out of this world 'cause it's dubbed the Darth Vader house.

The 4-bedroom, 5 bathroom house has 7,040 square feet of living space, which is awesome, but it's the unique front structure that stands out ... thanks to its near-spitting image of the onyx helmet donned by the most famous 'Star Wars' villain.

The house -- yours for a cool $4.3 million -- was built by a surgeon back in the early '90s and "modeled after the mask of Darth Vader."

The home is super sleek ... with laser blue backlighting throughout that may have some people thinking they're inside The Devastator.

The contemporary masterpiece is planted in the prestigious West University neighborhood ... and it's truly fit for a king supervillain, despite a row of skylights near the top of the structure that glistens with natural light.

Got toys? There's space in the 4-car garage too.

Cardi B claims she had ZERO involvement in the NYC beatdown of an autograph seeker ... and that's why she wants the guy's lawsuit against her tossed out of court.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, Cardi says autograph seeker Giovanni Arnold instigated the alleged attack in May 2018 following a Met Gala after-party. She claims Arnold can be heard on video verbally attacking her and Offset after unsuccessfully and aggressively trying to get her autograph.

The most incriminating part of the video, according to Cardi, is when Arnold shouts, "Please beat me up. I'll take all of your money."

In his lawsuit, Arnold alleged Cardi's 3 security guards dished the can of whoop-ass, but the rapper's calling BS. In docs, Cardi claims the unknown assailants did not work for her, nor did she give them directions or instructions to beat up anyone.

As for Arnold's allegation, he feared Cardi was going to slap him -- well, she's kinda laughing that off, saying she was 7 months pregnant at the time ... so it's highly unlikely anyone would legitimately fear her carrying out a physical attack.

Bottom line ... Cardi claims Arnold is a professional autograph hound who triggered the beatdown in order to get money from celebs -- but since she wasn't involved in the attack, she shouldn't be sued.

Susan Sarandon wants Americans to know they have a right to see what medical services will cost before you're treated -- it's the law now -- but she's ripping hospitals for keeping that hush hush.

The Oscar winner joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to shine a light on something most of us have no clue about -- the law that passed back in January requiring hospitals to give patients access to a full rundown of prices for procedures or treatments.

Susan told us hospitals aren't exactly going out of their way to volunteer that information -- and she says that prevents patients from being able to shop around for the best prices.

The problem's bad enough that the feds are warning dozens of hospitals to get with the program or else. Susan started banging this drum during the Oscars.

As we first told you ... Susan and Cynthia Erivo went after hospitals charging hidden fees in a PSA they debuted during the Academy Awards, letting patients know about their right to demand hospitals disclose pricing.

Susan tells us why hospital pricing transparency could actually make the market more competitive -- creating lower prices for patients -- and she's ripping corporate America for brainwashing generations.

Zac Efron is deadly serious about getting the hell outta dodge Hollywood -- he just unloaded his L.A. pad, and for less than listing. That's how badly he wants out!

The 'Down to Earth' star just sold his stunning hillside home in the Los Feliz neighborhood after putting it on the market back in December. As we told you ... Zac decided last year he wanted to bail on L.A. and move to Australia.

Seems like he's sticking with that plan. The 5-bed, 5.5-bath, 5,644-sq.-ft, scenic property sold for $5.3 million ... a bit below his $5.9 mil asking price.

Zac still might have made a nice chunk of change on the sale though -- he bought it in 2013 for nearly $4 million, but he did make some renovations ... including updating the swimming pool and spa with a waterfall.

The 3-story home -- located in the coveted Oaks neighborhood near Hollywood Hills -- features a long gated driveway that opens up to sweeping views of the entire city and the ocean ... visible from every room in the house.

Janoris Jenkins claims SOMEONE took his $250,000 Rolls-Royce after he parked it at the airport in Atlanta ... but says no one seems to have any idea where it went.

The Tennessee Titans cornerback claims he parked his luxury vehicle at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on May 5, before he caught a flight to West Palm Beach.

But, when he returned days later, "my vehicle was nowhere to be found."

Jenkins says he immediately complained to management and followed up with various staff members -- along with officials from "City of Atlanta Aviation" ... but no one gave him any answers.

"They gave me the complete run around," Jenkins said ... "I was told they have footage of my vehicle arriving but no footage of it leaving. Nothing makes sense!"

Jenkins says he later went to the ATL Police Dept. -- but still, no leads on his missing Rolls-Royce.

The NFL star is clearly upset about the car -- but seems more frustrated with the way he was treated by airport officials.

"I understand very well that unfortunate events like this do happen but these types of establishments are supposed to provide SAFETY, comfort and most of all a customer service that is unmatched."

"BE aware of this airport, it's distasteful staff, and please think twice before parking your vehicle here! I'm now short a quarter million dollars of an asset that I own with no help from this airport."

We reached out to the airport for comment, but so far no official statement. We’ll update when we hear back.

In the meantime, if you know anything about Jenkins' car -- HIT HIM UP!!

Louie Tobias is about to swap his virtual beach background for the real deal -- several of them -- because he's ready for some serious globetrotting, courtesy of TMZ and Wyndham Rewards!!!

Nearly half a million people entered our "Win the Greatest Vacations in the History of the World" Sweepstakes ... a package that includes at least 4 trips to the most amazing destinations, and Louie's our lucky winner.

He's joining us for Wednesday's "TMZ Live" from his office in Rochester, NY and you can tell he's already in vacation mode. Louie couldn't stop smiling as he told us about some of the trips he's got in mind. Dude is thinking BIG adventures in Tanzania and Dubai ... to name just a few.

It sounds like he's ready to pack his bags for a relaxing tour of at least 2 continents -- after all, his grand prize is valued at $24,120. Turns out that might be the right price to get him on a surfboard down under.

The search for Ellen's successor didn't take long, and doesn't come as much of a surprise ... "The Kelly Clarkson Show" will take over the slot currently held by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" after her 19th season concludes.

NBC made the announcement that Clarkson's show -- currently in its second season and airing in all of the network's markets -- is expected to replace Ellen's by Fall 2022.

As we first told you ... Kelly had been penciled in as the front-runner for Ellen's coveted, syndicated hour of television pretty much since her talk show launched in Fall 2019.

The show debuted to huge ratings, and with NBC honchos predicting DeGeneres would pull the plug on her show eventually ... Clarkson seemed like the perfect successor.

Problem is, Kelly's show's ratings dipped big time during the pandemic -- as did a lot of other daytime programs -- so there was some uncertainty if NBC would still go with her, or opt for someone new ... like, perhaps, Tiffany Haddish.

Clearly, the network wanted to eliminate all doubt by crowning Kelly.

Something smells funky ... at least to the company behind those Little Tree car air fresheners, which is suing popular pet food company Chewy for allegedly ripping off its famous product.

Car Freshener Corporation claims Chewy is pimping a dog toy it describes as a “Frisco Retro Tree Freshener Plush Squeaky Dog Toy."

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the Little Tree company says the dog toy is suspiciously similar in shape, color and overall appearance to its distinctively abstract Tree design.

In the suit, Car Freshener says for over 60 years it has built up its Little Tree air freshener brand ... slapping the tree on t-shirts, hats, socks, stickers and luggage tags, among other products.

What's more, Car Freshener says it's sold third parties like Buffalo Wild Wings, Purina PetCare, Kia and Capital One licenses to use the trees ... but NOT Chewy.

Car Freshener claims Chewy's dog toy copies the shape and basic dimensions of its Little Trees air freshener, while also featuring the white diagonal and horizontal banners emblazoned across the middle and bottom of the Little Trees air fresheners.

Car Freshener's pissed consumers will think it's in bed with Chewy ... although, it's unclear why that would be a bad thing.

Forget Bitcoin ... Kevin Durant's Nets debut jersey could be the next hottest thing in the investment game -- it just hit the memorabilia stock market, and it could net ya a small fortune down the road!

Here's the deal ... the threads KD rocked in his first-ever game as a Net on Dec. 22, 2020 just hit the investment app Otis, and fans can now purchase shares of the uni for $10 apiece.

Reps for the app tell TMZ Sports once all of the initial shares are sold ... it'll go up for trading, and the owners who bought in can hold onto the shares or sell them -- just like a stock.

The current value of the jersey is estimated to be $47,600 ... but experts say it could go up way higher in just a matter of weeks.

After all, Durant's debut with the Nets was a special one ... he put up 22 points in a victory over his former Warriors squad -- and if he's able to win a ring with Brooklyn this summer, the uniform's worth could obviously skyrocket.

In fact, reps for Otis say it's not uncommon to see a 150% to 400% increase on pieces like these.

Former President Donald Trump could soon be criminal defendant Trump ... prosecutors in New York have convened a grand jury that could indict him on criminal tax evasion and other charges related to the Trump org's business affairs.

The Manhattan district attorney recently convened the grand jury to hear evidence and weigh potential criminal charges against the former president ... according to the Washington Post. The grand jury will reportedly sit for 3 days a week over the next 6 months.

Prosecutors are said to be looking into Trump's business dealings before his 2016 election, including whether the Trump Organization manipulated the value of real estate properties to defraud insurance companies and banks.

The investigation was triggered by Michael Cohen's testimony before Congress about hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. Cohen has supplied prosecutors with a boatload of documents.

Trump, meanwhile, has been keeping busy at his golf properties. The former Prez hit the links at his New Jersey course over the weekend, losing at least one ball into a manmade lake.

Rap phenom Metro Marrs drew a loud ovation after making it rain at his high school graduation ... but the stunt ended up getting him detained by cops.

So, here's the deal ... Marrs graduated from Langston Hughes High in nearby Atlanta and when he crossed the stage Friday, he decided to go out with a bang. You can see from the video he took wads of cash out from his pants and made it rain ... to the delight of his fellow grads.

The crowd went absolutely nuts ... and grads were more than happy to raise their arms and catch all the green. But, school officials were not happy campers. You can see several of them get up off their seats to corral the 18-year-old rapper who just recently signed with Quality Control ... the label home to Migos, Lil Yachty and City Girls.

Marrs, though, had a can't-stop-won't-stop attitude ... 'cause he kept going into his waistband for more dough. All-in-all ... he threw around $10k in cash to his cap-and-gown colleagues.

Cops stepped in to escort him out of the ceremony ... and we're told he was detained for inciting a riot and disorderly conduct and then ticketed for the offense.  If you ask us, it's ridiculous -- inciting a riot because the grads grabbed some dough?  Really outrageous.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave everything she had in her possession to her children and, interestingly enough, one of her trusted longtime employees ... TMZ has learned.

We've obtained a copy of the late Supreme Court Justice's will ... and it lays it out in precise detail who's getting what from her near $6 million estate. According to the docs, RBG is leaving the majority of her personal effects to her 2 kids, Jane and James Ginsburg, who she also made executors of her will.

Per the will, her personal property includes -- but isn't limited to -- any cars, furniture, books, art, sculptures, paintings, photographs, silver, porcelain, jewelry and clothes in her possession ... and all that stuff is lumped together and valued at $250,000.

She has other personal property that's worth about $5.5 million -- but there's no breakdown of what exactly that entails.

As for the third person in her life to receive a cut ... her housekeeper, Elizabeth Salas, to whom Justice Ginsburg left a cool $40,000 in cash. She was incredibly close to RBG, and even sat next to Biden when the Justice lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda last year. She reportedly worked for RBG for 22 years.

Keep in mind -- what's listed here is simply RBG's probate estate ... we don't know if she had other assets in a private trust separately.

She was 87 when she passed.

The QB room in Green Bay just got a whole lot less awkward ... Aaron Rodgers finally broke his silence on his beef with the Pack -- and he insisted Jordan Love is NOT the problem.

The reigning NFL MVP joined Kenny Mayne for the legendary anchor's final SportsCenter on Monday ... and revealed his issues with his team do not stem from them drafting Love last year.

"With my situation, look, it's never been about the draft pick, them picking Jordan," Rodgers said. "I love Jordan. He's a great kid. Lot of fun to work together."

Many assumed it was the exact opposite ... 'cause after Green Bay took Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft instead of a receiver, Rodgers had seemed blindsided.

But, Aaron went on to say during his interview with Mayne that he's more upset with the way he believes the Packers have changed their "philosophy."

"I love the coaching staff, love my teammates, love the fan base in Green Bay -- it's been an incredible, incredible 16 years," Rodgers said. "It's just kind of about a philosophy."

"And, you know, and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. It's about character. It's about culture. It's about doing things the right way."

In other words, it's clear Rodgers is upset his team wouldn't commit to him with a fresh, new contract after his monster 2020 season.

"The wrench was just kind of thrown into it when I won MVP and played the way I played last year," Rodgers said. "So, this is just kind of the, I think, the spill out of all that."

So, where do they go from here? Rodgers -- who partied in Hawaii over the weekend instead of prepping for Packers organized team activities this week -- sure seemed like a guy who was pretty dug in on the ride being over in Green Bay.

Ray J's living proof the rich just get richer ... because his investment yielded a 17,000 percent return on his investment ... yes, 17,000 PERCENT!!!

Ray J was playing a penny-slot game called "Buffalo" and won $17,000. We're told he plunked down a total of $100 so, yeah, it was a good day at the slots.

In case you want in ... Ray hit up the San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino County. It was quite the scene ... a crowd gathered to watch Ray J rake in the dough.

He played the slots because he considers himself an old man now, and that's what old folks do. BTW ... he's 40.

Ray has retired his days as a big gambler on table games, particularly roulette ... and his most recent lucky streak is probably a sign that's a good idea.

It's not like he needs money ... Ray's Raycon earbuds hit a milestone earlier this year ... 1 million unique customers who paid between $80 and $150 a pop. Translation ... he made a fortune, and that's just on one product.