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The mother of a 12-year-old student whose teacher went on a racist rant on Zoom against her and her son is now filing a lawsuit.

Katura Stokes was on a Zoom call with her teacher from Desert Willow Fine Arts, Science and Technology Management Academy in Palmdale, CA, when the call ended.

Unbeknownst to the teacher, the mother was still listening when the teacher, Kimberly Newman, launched into a half-hour-long, despicable tirade about Black families, saying the student was lying and then zeroing in on the mom, "Since you've taught him to make excuses that nothing is his fault. This is what Black people do."

But, she wasn't done ... "I mean these parents, that's what kind of piece of s*** they are ... Black. He's Black. They're a Black family."

Lyssa Chapman, daughter of Dog the Bounty Hunter, won't have to do any hard time for allegedly harassing her girlfriend last year ... as long as she stays out of trouble.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ ... Lyssa pled no contest to 2 counts of harassment she was facing. In exchange, the judge granted her a deferment ... essentially she'll have to keep her nose clean for the next 6 months. She had previously pled not guilty.

Under the conditions of her deferment, Lyssa's not allowed to leave the Hawaiian island of O'ahu without permission, must regularly report to her probation officer, and of course ... agree to not commit any federal or state crimes.

She's also been ordered to pay $535 in fines.

We broke the story ... Lyssa was arrested in Honolulu in January 2020 following an alleged fight with her girlfriend. Soon afterward, she was officially hit with 2 counts of harassment ... one against a man and one against a woman, who Lyssa said was her GF.

Harvey Weinstein had his scrotum pierced as a woman attempted to defend herself during an alleged sexual assault he committed -- this according to a new lawsuit.

The woman's name is Hayley Gripp, and she's just the latest Weinstein accuser to file suit against the disgraced movie producer ... who's now in prison. She claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 2012, with the assistance of an unnamed female associate.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Gripp claims she was approached by this anonymous Weinstein associate while she was waiting for a casting call at the Beverly Hilton hotel. She says the two of them got to talking about her career aspirations, as well as her Tourette syndrome.

Gripp claims the woman said she wanted to introduce her to a big producer who was in the building, whom she allegedly said would love to talk more about her journey. Gripp -- who says she was just 19 at the time -- explains she was hesitant but eventually agreed.

That's when she says she met HW, whom she says she didn't know of at the time ... and who apparently intro'd himself as Dom, she alleges. Gripp claims she was served wine and before she knew it ... she says she blacked out, only to awake with Weinstein on her.

Gripp says she started to flailing her arms, and broke one of her acrylic nails on the coffee table she claims he had her pinned on. She claims she was able to stab HW with her broken nail on the bottom of his scrotum, and broke free from his clutches ... making a run for it.

She alleges the woman who initially lured her up there was outside "standing guard" and proceeded to tell her this was on her due to her syndrome and that she better shut her trap, because no one would believe her ... so claims Gripp.

Deshayla Harris -- one of the stars of 'Bad Girls Club' -- died after falling victim to one of several shootings that occurred in her home state ... TMZ has confirmed.

Virginia Beach PD confirmed Deshayla's ID Saturday as one of two fatalities resulting from three separate shootings from Friday night ... which appear to be unrelated, but happened within a short time of one another. The other victim is 25-year-old Donovan Lynch.

Cops say Deshayla was a bystander for the second shooting, in which a stray bullet from the crossfire hit her. Police do not believe this was a mass shooting -- simply shots fired erupting from feuding parties near the beachfront area of town, where all the resorts lie.

Deshayla is said to have died at the scene. Upwards of eight other people were injured from the shootings -- and police say they have 3 individuals in custody in connection to at least one of those. Ahmon Adams, Nyquez Baker and Devon Dorsey Jr. were arrested and charged with several different counts -- including assault, use and reckless handling of a firearm, among others. VBPD says none of these guys were involved in the shooting that killed Deshayla ... it's unclear if any suspects have been apprehended for that just yet.

Deshayla is known for her appearance on Season 17 of 'BGC' ... which was dubbed 'East Meets West.' They slugged her on the show as the Firecracker Fashionista. Deshayla was portrayed as feisty and a proud East Coaster. She was also a brawler -- getting into a memorable fight with another cast member, Francesca, after spitting in her face.

Despite the bad blood on the show, it appears some of her fellow costars sent their condolences on word that she'd been killed, including Key Marie who posted a tribute to Deshayla on Instagram.

She writes, "No matter how much I refused to talk to you...you never took no for an answer you popped up to my show just to prove fixing our friendship meant something to you 🥲 hardest part about losing you is I never fully forgave you 😫😔 I literally let that TV s*** stand between us building a connection outside of tv 😔🥲🥲🥲 you didn’t deserve this man this shit jus don’t feel real ....I’m sick affffff 🥲🥲 rest easy Babygirl "

Deshayla's final IG post from Friday appears to show her out and about in downtown Norfolk, VA -- which is a stone's throw away from where she was ultimately gunned down.

She was 28.

Jacob Blake is going after the police officer who repeatedly shot him in the back as he got in his SUV ... he's suing the officer for the injuries that left him paralyzed.

Jacob's legal team, led by attorney Ben Crump, just filed a federal lawsuit against Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey for the August 2020 shooting.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Jacob claims he made no physical or verbal threats towards any officer and was trying to walk away from the situation when Sheskey shot him in the back 6 times.

In the docs, Jacob says he had a folding knife on him, but he never brandished it or threatened to use it, and when he dropped it on the floor of his SUV Sheskey still opened fire.

Jacob claims one of the bullets severed his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. He says he still can't work and needs help with daily tasks ... despite surgeries and physical rehab.

In the suit, Jacob claims Sheskey fired 7 shots, including one that struck the side door of the SUV. He says the bullet could have ripped through the car and struck one of his kids had it not been stopped by the SUV's reinforced steel.

Jacob claims the shooting constituted excessive force under the circumstances and Sheskey must be held accountable ... remember, neither Sheskey nor the other cops involved were criminally charged.

Jonny Fairplay -- one of the most notorious "Survivor" contestants of all time -- is off the hook in his criminal case in Virginia ... and he's pretty stoked about it.

A Pittsylvania County court clerk tells TMZ ... Fairplay's larceny case has been dismissed as well as his mother's case.

As we first reported ... he was arrested for larceny back in December in his hometown of Danville, Virginia, where cops say he was accused of stealing furniture and a necklace from his grandmother, Jean Cook.

The criminal complaint was filed by Jonny's aunt, who accused him of removing a leather chair, end table, bar stools and a silver necklace valued at $5,000 from his grandma's home without proper consent.

Jonny tells TMZ ... he was charged with grand larceny based off allegations from a disgruntled family member. He says the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

BTW ... the aunt is the daughter of Jonny's grandma, the one he infamously pretended had died during that all-time notorious "Survivor" moment.

Bottom line for Jonny ... he tells us he's "disappointed that this ever was allowed to happen and relieved that it is over."

The woman who's been in charge of many of Britney Spears' personal choices for about 2 years now has done a fine job -- so says Britney herself, who's asking to bring her on permanently -- but her lawyer wants to reserve the right to end the conservatorship.

New court docs were just filed in Britney's conservatorship case, and they reveal the singer wants Jodi Montgomery to become the new full-time conservator of her person going forward ... while noting she asked for her father, Jamie Spears, to resign from the position for good.

According to the paperwork, obtained by TMZ, Britney notes Jamie relinquished that power temporarily in September of 2019 ... and Jodi was appointed a temporary conservator of her person at that time. Now it looks like Britney wants to keep Jodi in the position going forward. Sources connected to the case tell us ... Jamie has no objections to the change, and Britney really likes Jodi in that role. He's fine with it.

As for the difference between the conservator of Britney's person and Britney's estate -- the latter of which Jamie is still co-conservator alongside Bessemer Trust Company -- is that Jodi is basically in charge of Brit's personal decisions, which entails quite a bit in her day-to-day.

The docs lay out exactly what they want Jodi to continue running as it pertains to Britney's well-being -- which include powers to limit visitors (so long as she isn't restricted from access to counsel), retain caretakers and security guards for Britney, prosecute civil harassment restraining orders that may arise and the power to communicate with medical personnel with respect to any treatment for Britney.

As co-conservator of the estate, Jamie still plays a role in managing her finances and business decisions.

Miya Ponsetto now has a civil lawsuit on her hands -- this on top of the criminal charges she's already facing -- for her infamous "SoHo Karen" hotel confrontation.

Keyon Harrold and his family are suing Miya claiming she falsely accused his teenage son of stealing her phone, and then proceeded to pounce on the kid ... much of which was captured on cameras.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the Harrolds say what happened to their son was blatant racial profiling -- and they're now alleging assault/battery, false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress and other loss on behalf of their son ... whom they say was emotionally scarred by the incident and incurred medical expenses.

The family is also suing the Arlo Hotel -- where this nasty face-off went down -- claiming it failed to provide a safe environment for guests ... while also hiring crappy staff who the Harrolds say didn't do a good job in de-escalating when Miya went after their son.

You'll recall ... what appeared to be a hotel supervisor actually asked Keyon Jr. to hand over his phone for inspection when Miya started hurling the baseless accusations -- which his dad was flabbergasted about at the time the original video was posted.

As we reported ... the family detailed the aftermath following their scary run-in, telling us Keyon Jr. was left asking awful questions that his folks had to address ... like why he had been targeted.

Of course, Miya has since been arrested and criminally charged over this. Once her identity became known, we learned she'd been arrested for multiple other incidents in 2020.

We've reached out to Miya's attorney for comment ... so far, no word back.

Justin Bieber is back in L.A. after a break in the islands, and one of his first orders of business is telling prisoners about the big man upstairs ... TMZ has learned.

The singer's RV was spotted Tuesday pulling into the California State Prison of L.A. County -- which prompted the question ... what the heck is he doing there, especially on the heels of his Turks and Caicos weekend getaway with the missus???

The answer, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is quite simple -- the Biebs was there to spread the good word.

A rep for the CDCR tells TMZ ... the warden of the state prison signed off on a brief visit for him and his pastor to support faith-based programs. Unclear what JB exactly did -- singing or speaking the gospel -- but we're told COVID protocols were followed to a T, and it all went smoothly.

If Justin was aiming for anonymity ... he definitely chose the wrong ride. That RV of his was a dead giveaway, as he and Hailey have been seen cruising all over the Western U.S. in it.

Bobby Brown Jr.'s drug-related death raised a lot of red flags with the police ... which is exactly why we're told they opened a criminal investigation that's now in the hands of prosecutors.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the LAPD began looking at this as a possible crime pretty much from the outset due to the fact narcotics were involved, not to mention the specific type ... Percocet and coke. Officers quickly caught on to the drugs after talking to people Bobby was around shortly before his body was found.

We're told cops know street drugs like that are often cut with fentanyl -- which is cheap and easily hooks users. Sure enough ... that turned out to be the case for Bobby Jr. A toxicology test did, indeed, find the lethal substance in his blood.

The case is now in the hands of the L.A. County D.A.'s Office to determine if criminal charges should be filed or if the case should be kicked back to cops for additional investigation. We're told no arrests have been made ... yet.

Our sources say investigators interviewed Bobby Jr.'s girlfriend and other witnesses who saw him before his death. We're also told there were no drugs or paraphernalia found at the scene when his body was recovered.

We broke the story ... Bobby was found dead in his home in November. Like we mentioned, an autopsy showed he died from a toxic combination of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl. His death was listed as accidental.

This is the second child Bobby Brown has lost -- and the second to have drugs found in their system. Bobbi Kristina was pulled off of life support following a bathtub accident in 2015. She, too, had cocaine and alcohol in her system.

Of course, his late wife, Whitney Houston, also died a drug-related death ... she had drowned in a bathtub, and cocaine was listed as a contributing factor.

Bobby Shmurda's gotta keep his nose clean now that he's out on parole, and though he's already back to living that rap star life ... he can't drink alcohol, hang out at bars or with gangs.

Shmurda's under parole supervision until Feb. 23, 2026, and there are some special conditions that come with it ... like an 8 PM curfew. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, he also has to submit to substance abuse testing and get counseling for aggression and anger.

The easy part for him is that he's gotta seek, obtain and maintain employment. Done, done and done. As we reported, he already had a few performances in Atlanta during NBA All-Star Weekend -- and right after his release from prison, Bobby boarded a private jet with Quavo to hit a studio.

TMZ broke the story ... Shmurda was released last month from New York's Clinton Correctional Facility, getting sprung about 10 months earlier than expected.

Johnny Depp's pad's apparently been a hot spot for unwelcome visitors this year ... and cops say the latest one really made himself at home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops got called to the actor's Hollywood Hills residence Thursday by a neighbor who spotted an apparently homeless man hanging out in the neighbor's backyard near the pool.

The neighbor told police the man took off when confronted and hopped a gate ... which actually got him closer to Johnny's house.

Our sources say shortly afterward, police were called again ... this time by Depp's security team alerting them someone was inside his home.

When cops arrived, we're told they found the man taking a shower in one of the bathrooms ... and he refused to come out. So, cops had to kick the door down to arrest him.

Along with the shower, the intruder also allegedly got into Depp's booze stash and made himself a drink. We're told he got booked for felony vandalism due to a damaged door in the home.

A Chicago Cubs prospect in their farm system got busted with a boatload of drugs -- so say police out of Colorado, who claim he was riding with a stash that would make Tony Montana blush.

25-year-old Jesus Camargo-Corrales was reportedly arrested this past week near Vail, where a sheriff's deputy says he saw Camargo's car speeding and changing lanes erratically. After pulling him over, Camargo and his 2 passengers said they were driving to Denver from Phoenix. They then gave conflicting stories on where they were going -- police then searched the vehicle.

A K-9 unit is said to have been brought in ... and cops say it sniffed something in the trunk. Cops say they discovered a Cubs duffel bag, which they claim contained 21 pounds of methamphetamine and 1.2 pounds of oxycodone pills ... plus other paraphernalia.

An arrest affidavit claims that, at first, Camargo tried playing dumb ... but then later allegedly admitted he'd been contacted by someone in Sinaloa, Mexico to deliver this bag to Denver -- and copped to the fact that he knew there might've been drugs inside, per law enforcement.

As for what his alleged payoff was going to be -- according to Camargo, per police -- for this run ... just a measly $500!!!

He was arrested and booked on drug charges, including unlawful distribution and possession of methamphetamine and oxycodone -- class 1 and class 4 felonies, respectively. Camargo is reportedly still in custody as of Saturday. Unclear if he's been arraigned on the charges yet.

A Louisiana man has been charged over claims he used Grindr to prey on unsuspecting gay men -- one of whom he's accused of gruesomely torturing ... almost to the point of death.

The suspect's name is Chance Seneca, who was arrested last summer over the alleged incidents -- which authorities say amount to 3 total ... an attempted kidnapping and two actual kidnappings ... one of which prosecutors claim led to an 18-year-old getting choked and having his wrists sawed down to the bone in what sounds like a horror movie.

According to newly released docs that go into the gory details, obtained by The Daily Advertiser, prosecutors allege Seneca -- who's 19 himself -- confessed to using Grindr as a "hunting ground" to lure young gay men to his father's home, where he allegedly said he had planned to kill them and use their body parts as "trophies" and "food."

Prosecutors say on June 19, Seneca attempted to kidnap one man he'd met on Grindr but failed -- only to successfully kidnap another later that night. It's unclear what Seneca might've done to that guy, but the next day ... he allegedly picked up his 3rd and final victim.

That would be Holden White of Kaplan, LA -- whose name has been publicly released and whose family has been attempting to raise money, saying he's lost the use of his hands.

As for what Seneca allegedly did ... it's horrifying. Prosecutors say Seneca picked up Holden and took him to his dad's property ... where they'd be alone. Once there, prosecutors say Seneca got Holden to handcuff himself, and then pulled a gun on him.

He then allegedly brought him to the bathroom, where prosecutors say he strangled Holden from behind until he passed out ... only to place him in the bathtub and proceed to hack away at his wrists with a knife -- until he stopped when he saw bone and freaked.

Seneca came to his senses, calling the cops on himself and allegedly tried getting admitted to a mental institution. Holden came to at one point, and Seneca allegedly said, "let go… I’m setting you free." Officers finally arrived and saw the bloody mess.

Holden was taken to a hospital, and Seneca was arrested. On a state level, he's facing an attempted murder charge and a hate crime charge -- he's pled not guilty to the former. Federally, he's facing more ... another hate crime charge, kidnapping charges and others.

Stanley the Giraffe -- the crown jewel of Malibu Wine Safaris -- now sits in his pen as Exhibit A ... because authorities claim his owners are breaking the law by having him there.

ABC7 reports the CEO of MWS, Dakota Semler, and her pops, Ron, have been charged in connection to an investigation that allegedly revealed Stanley -- and perhaps other wild animals roaming around -- have been flying under the radar without the necessary paperwork to warrant their stay. The place is packed with animals you might see at a zoo.

They were reportedly informed by the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife that the Semlers never got the necessary licenses to house such exotic creatures -- like giraffes, zebras, etc. -- and as such, they've been accused of falsifying records to obtain permits to that effect.

As a result, Dakota -- who owns/runs the place -- has reportedly been charged with maintaining an animal facility or a wild animal without a license. Her dad -- who apparently owns Stanley himself -- has reportedly been charged with providing false info on his application for Stanley's restricted species permit with the CDFW. Both pled not guilty.

As for Stanley, Fish and Wildlife say he was "seized in place" -- meaning they're not taking him to any station for booking or processing ... ya know, 'cause he's like 18 feet tall. And as to the question of how the hell this didn't come to law enforcement's attention earlier -- they're claiming they relied on the word of the Semlers when they filled out their docs.

Here's the kicker ... ABC7 suggests that Malibu Wine Safaris might've been newly put under a microscope because of pissed-off would-be customers -- several of whom apparently complained about not getting refunded during the pandemic ... or not refunded fast enough.

So, because they upset their loyal base -- ABC7 says it started digging in, which might've triggered the investigation and subsequent charges. Oh, the irony ...

As you may or may not know ... Stanley is a fan fave at the sprawling attraction at Saddlerock Ranch -- tons of celebs have stopped by over the years and posed for selfies with Stan, who's always happy to nibble on someone's hair ... preferably some celery or lettuce.

Polevich's attorney, Marc Craig Gann, tells TMZ...

"My client empathizes with the family. The question of whether there was negligence and degrees of negligence will be determined by the court. The $150 million amount seems to be over the top."

The wife of Nicki Minaj's dad has filed a $150 million lawsuit over his death.

The lawsuit, filed by civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, alleges Charles Polevich drove recklessly back in February and was inattentive when he fatally struck Robert Maraj, who was walking on a street in Long Island.  Police say after striking the 64-year-old, Polevich walked over to him, asked if he was okay and then fled the scene ... later concealing his Volvo in a garage at his residence.

Crump tweeted this after filing the lawsuit ... "Charles Polevich was not only irresponsible & negligent in hitting Maraj, but was more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help." He went on ... "Polevich's behavior was criminal, cowardly, and immoral. We will hold him responsible for his reckless actions that led to Rober Maraj's death!"

Polevich was charged with 2 felonies -- leaving the scene of an accident that led to death and tampering with or suppressing physical evidence.

Polevich pled not guilty and is free on a $250,000 bond.