TMZ.com

Sorority sisters who were trying to have a transgender woman booted from their org just got gut-checked in court -- 'cause a judge tossed their lawsuit -- saying the court had no business telling the sorority how to define "woman."

U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson dismissed the complaint filed by 7 members of the University of Wyoming's Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter -- who sued their own sorority earlier this year for allowing 21-year-old Artemis Langford, who's trans, to join their ranks in recent months.

The reason, per court docs obtained by TMZ ... the court says it has no right to intrude on how the chapter defined "woman" for the purposes of admitting prospective members. The judge found Kappa Kappa Gamma clearly felt Langford was qualified to join when it voted her in ... and going back to disqualify that now is out of bounds.

Judge Johnson breaks it down like this ... "The delegate of a private, voluntary organization interpreted ‘woman,’ otherwise undefined in the nonprofit’s bylaws, expansively; this Judge may not invade Kappa Kappa Gamma’s freedom of expressive association and inject the circumscribed definition Plaintiffs urge."

In other words, the judge is saying this is an issue Kappa Kappa Gamma dealt with in-house -- and it was inappropriate for a court to interfere.

As for how Langford feels about this latest development ... her attorney, Rachel Berkness, told AP the claims never should've made it into a legal filing to begin with -- so, it sounds like her client is happy.

The sorority sisters who brought this before hizzoner alleged Langford -- who's described as 6'2" and 260 lbs., and with male genitalia -- would get sexually aroused around the women within the house. The sisters claimed they were living in constant fear with her around.

Sam Asghari has his sights set on his acting career in the midst of his divorce from Britney Spears ... and we're told his family's been a pretty big priority, too, in recent weeks.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Sam, who's a SAG-AFTRA member, is planning on continuing with acting gigs when the actors' strike comes to an end. In addition to playing characters, we're told he's interested in hosting gigs.

We're told he wasn't in the middle of any projects before the strike, and obviously has nothing in the pipeline as Hollywood remains shut down, but that's where his head's at.

BTW, Sam's got no plans to get back into the personal training game -- something he'd been doing at L.A.'s Royal Personal Training when he and Britney started dating.

Apart from work, sources say Sam's been focused on spending time with his family ... mainly taking care of his mom in L.A. She came home from the hospital a few weeks ago and needs the help. She was injured in an accident but is on the mend.

Sam filed for divorce from Brit last week after getting into a massive fight over claims she cheated on him.

There's been a lot going on since the relationship was called off -- they've cut off communications, and agreed on custody of their 5 dogs ... but the big, unsettled issue is whether Sam will challenge their prenup.

For more Britney news be sure to check out our new podcast, "Fake Or Fact: Britney Spears," available on all podcast platforms!

Mitchel Musso -- famous for playing Oliver Oken on "Hannah Montana" -- was arrested this weekend in Texas, and according to cops ... it was all that and a bag of chips.

The ex-Disney star got hauled off to jail Saturday evening in Rockwall, TX -- this after officers say they responded to a call for service at a nearby hotel, where folks were claiming Musso had been acting belligerent ... and where he allegedly stole an item from the food market.

That item, per police ... a snack of the potato variety. Rockwall PD tells TMZ that when staffers demanded he pay for it, Musso allegedly became verbally abusive ... and walked off.

Cops arrived and they found Musso outside the hotel ... where they determined he was allegedly under the influence. In addition to this ... Rockwall PD says they discovered a ton of outstanding traffic warrants in his name -- so, they cuffed him and took him into custody.

Musso is facing a few different charges ... public intoxication, theft (under $100), expired registration, failure to display a driver's license, and violating a promise to appear notice.

We're told he's being released right now on a $1,000 bond. Of course, he posed for a mug shot too while he was in there ... which looks pretty gloomy, to say the least.

Nicki Minaj fans are on the hunt for "Stephanie Bell," who has a warrant for arrest after allegedly swatting the rapper, but lots of folks with the same name are getting caught in the crossfire.

Here's the deal, Stephanie Bell just isn't the most unique name, and ever since Nicki name-dropped her alleged harasser ... everyone with that name is taking it on the chin, at least on social media.

Some of the Stephanies are coming forward to air their grievances.

One wrote, "I've never been so angry at another Stephanie Bell. You're f***ing it up for all of us.." and another said, "Why y'all still in my inbox."

For what it's worth, some Stephanie Bells online know all about Nicki, but not about her swatting issue ... so, they're pretty confused about why the Barbz are swarming.

BTW, it doesn't sound like anyone getting dragged is the real Stephanie in question ... at least, not yet.

As we reported, law enforcement sources told us Bell, who Nicki put on blast Wednesday, is facing 2 charges of deliberately reporting a false emergency.

We also confirmed there is, indeed, a warrant out for her arrest, as Nicki claimed.

TMZ broke the story, cops told us the attempted swatting occurred in June, with an anonymous caller claiming child abuse was going down at Nicki's L.A.-area home.

Trevian Kutti, a former publicist for Kanye West and R. Kelly, is charged as one of Donald Trump's co-conspirators in the Georgia election interference case, which is a surprise to Consequence ... who's vouching for her character.

Cons tell us Trevian worked with Ye alongside Chance The Rapper during crucial periods of his political ambitions circa 2018, but isn't certain if she actually performed publicist duties ... or if the media is pinning that label on her to leverage her association with Ye.

Trevian surrendered Friday at Fulton County Jail, and was all smiles in her mug shot ... which doesn't shock Cons, because he says she was always pleasant to be around.

He says he never got any inklings of malintent from Trevian, and suspects her political affiliation as a Black Republican might have put a target on her back.

Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis doesn't see it that way ... Trevian stands accused of pressuring Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman into a false admission of rigging the election -- and the alleged coercion was captured on police body cam.

As for Ye's potential political passions ... Cons admits it's too early to tell if he'll go full-scale with a presidential run in 2024, but promises their reputation as disruptors will be upheld!!!

R. Kelly's former victims have been awarded millions for threats leveled against some of his victims who appeared in the "Surviving R. Kelly" docuseries.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, 6 of the disgraced singer's victims are getting a total of about $10.5 million from Kelly and his former manager, Donnell Russell. The women had sued Kelly and Russell for their successful effort to shut down a December 2018 NYC screening of 'Surviving.'

They alleged the defendants waged a campaign, starting back in May 2018, to intimidate the women, A&E/Lifetime and the producers to stop screening the docuseries. When those efforts, including legal threats, failed ... they claimed Kelly's camp called producers on the night of the NYC screening and said someone was "going to shoot up the place."

The fake mass shooting threat worked, as the event was shut down -- and according to the victims, it all opened up past trauma and resulted in them suffering PTSD and panic attacks.

The judgment against Kelly and Russell means each of the 6 women should get anywhere between $1.1 million and $2.25 million. The question is will they ever get a dime of that?

The good news for them is R. Kelly's music is still generating revenue. As we reported, just over $500k of his royalties from Universal Music Group are going to pay restitution he owed victims from one of his federal sex crimes cases.

Foodgod, AKA Jonathan Cheban, is taking a Korean BBQ sauce company to court ... claiming one of the glass bottles burst into shards, slicing his hand clean open.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Jonathan says he bought a glass bottle of San-J’s Korean barbeque sauce from a grocery store in Florida in October 2020 -- putting it in his fridge at home -- and taking it out a few hours later while making dinner.

However, Jonathan, repped by attorney Levi McCathern, claims the bottle "inexplicably exploded" in his hand when he took it out of the fridge, with one of the big shards causing quite the gash on his hand ... allegedly causing "significant blood loss."

Jonathan says he has the pictures included in the lawsuit showing he never even opened the bottle before it burst -- insisting the twist cap's seal was still intact after his hand got sliced open.

He also says he had to get numerous stitches and suffered nerve damage and ongoing pain in his hand ... and he claims the cut was just inches from "major arteries in his wrist."

Jonathan claims he's suffered losses like the "ability to use his hand in his social media posts, in his advertisements, and in his ability to sponsor various food items."

He's now suing the manufacturer of both the sauce and the bottle, as well as the distributor and the store he bought it from ... and is asking for a whopping $20 million for the big slice.

For what it's worth, pics from what would've been days after the alleged incident showed him in pretty great spirits ... dressing up as Joe Exotic with Kim Kardashian and her kiddos.

Kevin Costner's getting off easy paying $129k per month in child support ... according to Christine Baumgartner who wants that number increased to ensure their kids keep living large when they're with her.

Christine filed docs, obtained by TMZ, asking the court to reconsider the amount of child support Kevin pays due to 2 factors -- 1. making sure the kids enjoy the same lifestyle with both parents, and 2. what she's learned about how much money Kevin's been making.

She lays it out in the docs, explaining their 4 children live in a beach compound with their dad that's worth between $65 million and $95 mil ... and they also fly private on luxury vacations with Kevin.

You'll recall, Kevin took the kids to Aspen last month -- right after Christine had them in Hawaii. She says Kevin needs to pay sufficient child support "so that the children can go on comparable vacations when they are with her. This is true even if the child support payments also improve Christine's lifestyle."

Christine says that's simply the standard required by California family code. Based on that alone, she says the $129k/month won't cut it, and she's instead estimating $175,057/month.

And by the way, Christine says that's a deal because that higher amount "will not be sufficient to replicate Kevin's lifestyle, but it will be sufficient to allow her to provide a lifestyle for the children which is relatively comparable."

Now, as for Kevin's income ... she says his average cash flow for the last 2 years was $19,248,467 each year, or more than $1.6 million each month. Based on them having 50/50 custody of the kids, she claims California guidelines require Kevin to pay that $175k/mo. she's requesting.

And, she paints a very green picture of Kevin's career ... claiming he made $11 million for Season 4 of "Yellowstone," and $10 mil for Season 5. Plus, she says he's scheduled to make $12 million for his upcoming "Horizon" film, and another $12 mil for the sequel which has already been greenlit.

By the way, Christine's been house hunting -- she says she's currently living in a vacation rental, but in September she's moving into a month-to-month rental in Montecito for $40k/month.

More financial woes for Kim Zolciak, a credit card company is going after her for more than $150,000 ... filing a lawsuit the same day Kroy Biermann filed for divorce.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, SAKS/CAPITAL ONE claims Kim was issued a card with a $115,000 limit. The company says her last payment was back in September 2022 for $4,179.

The documents state Kim owes $156,080.64 in total on the card -- in both charges and credit that have all added up over the last several months.

Of course, Kim's facing a bunch of other money problems, including the more than $1 million the IRS claims she and estranged husband, Kroy Biermann, owe. The couple also had their Georgia home foreclosed on, though that issue seems to be resolved ... at least for now.

Kim was also sued back in June for a Target credit card she allegedly had with a $2,482.24 balance.

Sherri Papini, the mother sentenced for lying to authorities when she staged her disappearance, is now out of prison and in community confinement ... ahead of her projected release date.

A rep for the Bureau of Prisons tells TMZ ... Sherri transferred out of the satellite camp adjacent to FCI Victorville Medium I last week, and is now in a facility overseen by the BOP's Sacramento Residential Reentry Management Office.

Community confinement often means the inmate is either finishing their sentence at home or is at some sort of halfway house -- but the BOP official wouldn't provide any further details on Sherri's situation.

We've also learned Sherri's projected release date has been moved up to the end of October, after originally being due to get out in May 2024 -- so she's shaved a good 6 months off her sentence.

Remember, Sherri made national headlines after she was reported as missing in 2016, and then was found weeks later on Thanksgiving ... about 150 miles away from her home in Northern California.

She claimed, at the time, 2 Hispanic women had abducted her at gunpoint.

The plot thickened, as they say, when she was arrested and charged for lying to FBI agents about the whole thing -- the feds said she was actually living with an ex-boyfriend at the time of her "disappearance."

Paris Jackson's home became the landing spot for an unwelcome guest, causing some serious alarm and a response from cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police were called to Jackson's L.A.-area home Wednesday after an intruder was spotted hanging around her backyard. We're told Paris wasn't home at the time, but someone was staying at her home and spotted the trespasser.

We're told Paris' friend confronted the intruder in the backyard, but they took off.

Cops raced to the scene, but by the time they arrived, the intruder was well gone. Our sources say a report was taken, and officers plan to increase patrol in the area.

Kroy Biermann and Kim Zolciak just ain't meant to be -- after filing for and then calling off their divorce  -- Kroy has filed for divorce against Kim once again.

Kroy filed the divorce papers Thursday, obtained by TMZ, stating their marriage is "irretrievably broken." He wants sole legal and sole physical custody of their 4 kids moving forward, and is asking for child support as well as alimony.

What's more ... Kroy's asking for exclusive use of the marital residence, the same home he and Kim have shared through their ups and downs.

TMZ broke the story, Kim and Kroy filed separate divorce petitions back in May ... and it got nasty fast. Kim accused Kroy of smoking weed -- and being a potential danger to their kids -- and he said she had a serious gambling addiction. It was also discovered the couple owed more than $1 million to the IRS.

The two also had home visits from the police -- hurling accusations at each other while officers were on scene.

Kim and Kroy remained in the same home during their divorce proceedings, but had a change of heart in July when they decided to pull the divorce docs.

Leading up to the decision to pull back their divorce, we'd seen the family attend church together and other family events.

Nicki Minaj is declaring victory after falling victim to a swatting prank ... cops have an arrest warrant out for the suspect allegedly behind the calls

The rapper went on social media Wednesday and called out a woman named Stephanie Bell, who Nicki is accusing of making swatting calls to her San Fernando Valley home.

Nicki says ... "Stephanie Bell. A warrant is in the system. Great detective work. So grateful. The DA filed one count for the swatting call and one for the false report to DCFS. To God be the glory."

Law enforcement sources confirm to us Bell's facing two charges of deliberately reporting a false emergency ... and there's a warrant out for her arrest.

TMZ broke the story ... cops say Nicki was the victim of a swatting prank back in June when a caller falsely claimed Nicki's child was being abused and her house was up in flames, resulting in a police response.

Drew Barrymore can't seem to get away from an alleged stalker, because the dude popped up at her Southampton estate, days after freaking her out at an NYC ... but this time cops busted him.

Law enforcement sources confirmed to TMZ ... there is an "ongoing investigation" into Chad Michael Busto showing up uninvited Wednesday at Drew's Hamptons farmhouse.

According to the New York Post, which first reported the story, Busto went house-to-house in search of Drew's $6 million property. After he found it, Busto walked onto some steps outside before police took him into custody. Drew was apparently not home at the time.

The scary incident comes 2 days after Busto struck fear into Drew as she was interviewing singer/actress Reneé Rapp at the 92NY in Manhattan. Busto, who was in the packed crowd, ran up to the stage and screamed at Drew, "You know who I am, I need to see you at some point."

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari shared 5 dogs between the two of them, and have already come to an agreement on who gets each pup ... TMZ has learned.

Sam was spotted walking the couple's Doberman, Porsha, Monday -- the same dog he bought as protection for Britney a couple years ago. We've learned Sam now has Porsha full-time, and got her back last week in an arrangement with Britney.

While she might be without Porsha, we're told Britney gets to keep 4 of her 4-legged friends as her own. She's got her Australian Shepherd, Sawyer, her Yorkie, Hannah, and 2 other smaller dogs.

We're told both Sam and Britney are happy with the agreement on how the dogs were split.

As we first reported, Britney's pushed almost her entire support system -- including her family -- away in the past few months -- and is really only left with her manager, Cade Hudson, and lawyer, Mathew Rosengart.

Brielle Biermann is being hounded by American Express for allegedly not paying a five-figure credit card bill, and now AmEx is going after her in court.

According to new legal documents, obtained by TMZ, American Express claims Kim Zolciak's daughter failed to pay off a $12,870.25 balance.

The credit card company claims Brielle hasn't been forking over the monthly minimum payment on her Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card.

In the docs, AmEx says it's demanded payment from Brielle ... but she's failed to settle the bill ... and now they're going after her for the full balance, plus court costs.

The apple apparently doesn't fall far from the tree ... Brielle's mom is also being sued for an unpaid credit card bill at Target, just one factor in her mother's ongoing struggles.

Meanwhile, as we first reported ... Brielle's adopted father, Kroy Biermann, is being sued over an unpaid credit line from a casino trip to the Bahamas.