Scandals

McKenna West is being dragged to court by her biological son’s baby daddy as she continues to fight the biological parents of the baby she gave birth as a surrogate ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Robert Gross sued McKenna on September 2 in Alaska.

Robert claims he is not and has never been married to McKenna but says they share a son named Cassius West, born in 2021. Per the docs, Robert is asking to be granted sole decision-making authority for their son.

Kenny Smith admits the NBA went straight for the Clippers' neck, but he doesn't think the punishment was excessive ... when you consider Steve Ballmer's team skirted the rules in a major way!

TMZ Sports spotted the hooper-turned-analyst at LAX on Friday, and asked him whether The Association went too hard.

"You're gonna have to suffer consequences for that kind of behavior," Smith told us.

"You're vehemently cheating. You're not just toeing the line. You're actually cheating and you're cheating at a high level. You're circumventing the salary cap. You're giving yourself an unfair advantage that no one else has, and you have to have severe penalties for that or other people will say, 'Well we can do it.'"

Jim Thornton's Facebook account has gone dark hours after he was fired from "Wheel of Fortune" ... and TMZ has learned the former announcer has also been scrubbed from the game show's social media channels.

Thornton's Facebook page was no longer publicly accessible Friday evening. It was active earlier in the day and featured behind-the-scenes photos and videos of Jim on the popular game show set.

The page also included photos of Jim making school appearances, along with more personal shots of his wife and son.

Kyrsten Sinema will face off with her boyfriend Matthew Ammel’s ex-wife, Heather Ammel, after a judge ruled the lawsuit against the former U.S. Senator will move forward, TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, a North Carolina judge denied Kyrsten’s attempt to dismiss the case, accusing her of breaking up Matthew and Heather’s marriage. 

Kyrsten did not deny she hooked up with Matthew, but said nothing happened in North Carolina. She argued the lawsuit should be tossed as a result. 

These are the photos that got "Wheel of Fortune" announcer Jim Thornton suspended by the show and grilled by law enforcement.

Thornton was on an American Airlines flight back in May from Charlotte to L.A. ... when a passenger eyed his laptop and saw him in a disturbing chatroom. The passenger tells TMZ, she saw images and texts that made it appear it was a chatroom for pedophiles.

One of the messages she saw said, "Couple of cute boys and a hot little girl." Another read, "All-you-can-eat Boyfett." referring to a restaurant where they could find underage kids.

Police are reportedly involved after a Kansas restaurant owner came up to a 2-year-old's birthday celebration and kissed the toddler's face.

The child's mom posted on Facebook about the bizarre encounter at Stearman Bar and Grill.

She claims the man had gone in for a kiss on the lips ... but says her daughter turned her head so he ended up kissing her cheek.

Dianna Russini was in "clear violation" of The Athletic's newsroom standards because of her relationship with Mike Vrabel ... an internal investigation found.

The Athletic's editorial director, Mike Semel, published the findings Thursday, saying ... "Russini's relationship with Vrabel was in clear violation of The Athletic's standards. Regardless of whether the relationship was romantic, it was a breach and should have been disclosed."

Semel went through 903 videos, 77 videos, 204 episodes of her "Scoop City" podcast -- he also interviewed her coworkers and listened to her off-platform appearances and interviews -- and says he didn't find "a clear link" that shows Russini used her position to give Vrabel a leg up.

Semel write ... "That said, there are examples of Russini writing glowingly of Vrabel that in hindsight are awkward or even uncomfortable."

Daejon Love's alleged victims started out receiving sympathy but are now getting crucified online ... and one woman who says she went on a date with him says it's totally unfair.

TMZ's own Charlie Neff sat down with Rachel Anderson for a conversation all about Daejon's long -- or in her case, very short -- con ... discussing a rendezvous she says went down in 2024.

We had to ask Rachel to clear a few things up from an insider's perspective ... including online chatter that Daejon specifically targeted white women like herself.

The NBA just unloaded on the Los Angeles Clippers, snatching five first-round draft picks, fining them $30 million, and suspending owner Steve Ballmer for an entire season!

The stiff punishment was all part of the league's investigation into whether superstar Kawhi Leonard circumvented the NBA's salary cap rules ... as a way to get compensation that wasn't on the books.

"The NBA announced today that the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard have been penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules contained in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)," the league said.

Saylor Hayes wasn't wearing a locator bracelet when her body was discovered -- even though authorities say her parents told them she was ... TMZ has learned.

John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes have been charged in South Carolina with unlawfully placing a child at risk of or causing harm or willfully abandoning the child.

A rep for the Georgetown Sheriff's Office tells TMZ ... John and Geordyn told investigators Saylor -- who was non-verbal and autistic -- was wearing Project Lifesaver equipment.

If Nolan Wells' so-called friends think Rev. Al Sharpton is going to just roll over, apologize, and dole out retractions, Sharpton says they should think again.

He issued a statement Tuesday, slamming the boys' impending defamation lawsuit as "meritless," explaining he'll "neither be silenced nor retract statements he did not make."

Sharpton said ... "This is not going to distract us from the question that brought us here: 'What happened to Nolan Wells?' His parents buried their 18-year-old son without knowing how or why he died. They asked me to stand with them, and I will continue to stand with them until they get the answers they deserve."

Daejon Love's alleged 49ers fantasy has landed him one very real photo op ... with the accused scammer's mug shot now surfacing following his federal fraud bust.

Love doesn't exactly look thrilled in his new photo ... sporting a long face and an orange jail uniform -- marking the first look at the 35-year-old since he was arrested August 24 in Idaho.

Love is accused of posing as a San Francisco 49ers player and wealthy investor to romance and scam women out of roughly $1.3 million. The California Post was first to obtain the mug shot.

Fake 49er Daejon Love allegedly had his hand out years before his arrest ... with two women suing him over thousands in unpaid loans.

Court records obtained by TMZ show Love was sued twice in small-claims court in Sacramento County -- once in 2020 and again in 2021.

In the first case, Olivia Datu claimed Love borrowed $4,900 from her over the course of several weeks ... including $1,200 for a credit card payment and $3,700 for work on a Dodge vehicle.

Anna Wintour’s Met Gala is no longer going to present an exhibit by the controversial designer John Galliano.

On Monday, Galliano announced the news on social media after backlash grew over the weekend.

He said, “After much reflection and discussion with all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time.”

Fake 49ers player Daejon Love's alleged $1.3 million romance scam could keep him behind bars ... prosecutors say he's a serious flight risk with little tying him to any community.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors are asking a judge to keep Love detained, arguing the evidence against him is strong and he has "every incentive to flee" if released.

The government alleges Love spent years meeting women on dating apps, convincing them he was a wealthy NFL player or successful investor before allegedly getting them to hand over money for fake investments.

Surrogate McKenna West is asking a Texas judge to issue an order blocking the biological parents from interfering with her caring for their kid ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, McKenna opposes Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed's request to be named the conservators of the child they named "Rumi" but who she calls "Gabriel" ... instead, McKenna insists that she be appointed the sole managing conservator of the child.

The newborn is currently being cared for by Nausheen and Omar after a judge granted them temporary custody ... and the baby boy is in critical condition after emergency heart surgery following his August 12 birth.