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Erik and Lyle Menendez were viciously attacked in the early days of their time in prison, but their lives have radically changed since then.

The Menendez brothers appeared by phone on TMZ's podcast, "2 Angry Men" with Harvey Levin and Mark Geragos, who reps Erik and Lyle. They talked about how they survived and evolved in the 35 years they've been incarcerated.

Erik says he was violently attacked numerous times, but never fought back. He and Lyle were in separate prisons for the first 21 years behind bars, and Erik vividly remembers when he got word his brother had been viciously attacked and suffered a broken jaw.

They are clearly anxious about their re-sentencing hearing next month, where they will learn how they will spend the rest of their lives -- either as prisoners or free men.

Lyle Menendez was constantly injured during his early days in jail, his ex-wife says ... but, he kept a sense of humor through it all and never spilled on exactly what happened to him.

We spoke with Anna Eriksson -- Lyle's wife from 1996 to 2001 -- who tells TMZ she went to visit Lyle quite a bit when he was first incarcerated ... and, he was clearly suffering from a series of injuries when she saw him.

Eriksson says she once saw the white of his eye was blood-red ... and, another time he couldn't even walk properly. Anna says she sent Lyle new shoes but later noticed he was wearing some old ones she didn't recognize -- and, she believes the new ones were taken from him by force.

Blake Lively says she has people to corroborate her complaints against Justin Baldoni ... and, while JB and his team want them to reveal their names, there's one major reason they aren't -- they're terrified of receiving the same treatment as the A-list couple.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... it shouldn't come as a surprise that the two cast members from "It Ends with Us" who will testify in support of Blake are hiding their identities -- 'cause they don't want to deal with the abuse like Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, are receiving.

Our sources say Steve Sarowitz -- a partner in Wayfarer Studios -- allegedly comparing his retaliatory plan to Israel's campaign against Hamas, plus his willingness to empty coffers to take them down, would rattle anyone ... especially those just getting started in the industry!

As you know ... Blake filed an amended complaint earlier this week in which she said multiple people from the 'IEWU' set would come forward to corroborate her claims of sexual harassment against Justin Baldoni.

She didn't reveal their names ... and Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, blasted the whole complaint as hearsay -- from people who were "clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims."

Baldoni’s camp tells TMZ … "Ms. Lively, Mr. Reynolds, and their paid representatives initiated this campaign which has severely impacted many private individuals, their livelihoods, and their families.

"Since they’ve yet to show any evidence and continue to blame others for the online vitriol resulting from their own actions, they are now speaking on behalf of alleged third parties who have not come forward themselves.

"Wayfarer, Justin, and their representatives have no ill will nor vendetta against anyone who speaks up in any circumstance and have first-hand experience with and empathy for the struggles of going against incredibly powerful individuals in pursuit of the truth."

Justin and Blake are both living their lives in spite of the growing legal fray ... with Justin cooling off in Hawaii, while Blake hit the Big Apple for the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special last weekend.

2/21 6:45 AM -- Weston Cage's attorney tells TMZ in response to the lawsuit ... "Ms. Fulton’s decision to file a lawsuit against her own son is not surprising given her past history of litigation against family members.

He continues in the statement, "It appears to be nothing short of a money grab and call for attention. Ms. Fulton correctly advised the responding LAPD officers that her son was in the midst of a mental health crisis at the time of this incident. We will deal with this appropriately, and in a courtroom."

Nicolas Cage is far from Father of the Year in the eyes of his ex, as Christina Fulton is now suing him for fueling their son's violent tendencies ... which she believes led to him attacking her.

Christina filed the suit against Nic and their son Weston Cage over Weston's brutal alleged beating of his mother in L.A. last April. As you might expect, she's suing Weston for assault, battery, negligence and infliction of emotional distress -- but the legal twist here is she also thinks Nic's negligence played a big role in the abusive incident.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says Nic was well aware of Weston's history of mental and psychological disorders ... but instead of addressing it, the actor enabled it. Christina claims Nic gave Weston financial support, bailed him out of jail multiple times, but never pushed him into getting any professional help.

Liam Payne's friend Roger Nores is off the hook in the criminal case of the One Direction singer's drug-fueled death in Argentina, TMZ has confirmed.

Prosecutors originally charged Nores with manslaughter for allegedly abandoning Liam just prior to the star plunging to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aries last October, while he was under the influence of alcohol and narcotics.

But, on Wednesday, the judges dropped the manslaughter charge against Nores and two hotel workers after the court ruled there was nothing the trio could have done to save Liam.

A$AP Rocky's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, is riding high after the not guilty verdict -- though he did confess he was this close to a heart attack right before it was read.

Tacopina swung by "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... revealing that when the judge polled the jury before reading out the verdict, his heart sank -- convinced they'd lost the case. In fact, he says the moment was so intense, he swears it felt like years were shaved off his life.

Check out the clip -- JT dives deeper into the nerve-wracking moment, admitting he’d never had a jury polled in any of his NYC cases ... saying the tension was so thick he even asked if it was standard practice in California.

Justin Baldoni's business partner planned to go scorched earth on Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, according to Lively's amended complaint ... comparing the impending legal battle to Israel's campaign against Hamas.

According to the document, Steve Sarowitz -- a partner in Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios, which produced "It Ends With Us" -- was ready to take down the Hollywood power couple back in August 2024 ... with Lively's team claiming he told a third party if the two ever "cross the line," he would go after them.

Blake says he then employed an outlandish analogy ... allegedly telling this person -- who was working with Wayfarer on a project unrelated to Lively and Baldoni's flick -- “I will protect the studio like Israel protected itself from Hamas. There were 39,000 dead bodies. There will be two dead bodies when I’m done."

A$AP Rocky dodged a guilty verdict this week, but one juror isn’t personally letting him off that easy -- saying she believes a crime may have been committed, but other factors kept him from being convicted.

Freelance journalist Nique Laclaire spoke with a juror after Rocky’s not-guilty verdict Tuesday, and the woman revealed some jurors -- made up of 7 women and 5 men -- did believe the alleged prop gun was actually a real firearm ... but "Unfortunately they didn't have enough evidence to convict on the charges that were handed down to us."

The juror said it was "kind of a little mysterious the way it disappeared and they couldn't produce it as evidence."

A$AP Rocky went out to celebrate his big legal win last night with his partner and baby mama Rihanna, going straight from the drab courtroom to a fancy dining room.

Photogs caught up with Rocky and Rihanna outside the restaurant Gravitas in Beverly Hills Tuesday night, hours after a jury acquitted the rapper on two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic weapon ... and the couple was all smiles.

Rocky was clearly feeling the weight lifted off his shoulders, thanking bystanders with genuine emotion who congratulated him on his legal victory. Asked how he felt now it's all over, he said ... "Amazing."

Blake Lively says Justin Baldoni not only sexually harassed her, but he also made two other women feel "uncomfortable" on the set of "It Ends With Us," and both are willing to testify against him at trial, according to a new court filing.

Last night, Blake filed an amended complaint to her original lawsuit against Baldoni, which lays out new allegations that paint Justin in a negative light.

In the 141-page document, Blake says she was "not alone" in complaining about Baldoni and raising concerns about his behavior during their work together on the movie produced by Sony and Wayfarer starting in 2023.

New twist in the Karen Read case ... the judge just suspended an evidentiary hearing after voicing "grave concern" over new information from prosecutors.

A hearing in Read's retrial was moving along normally Tuesday when suddenly Judge Beverly Cannone called for a recess.

The swift change happened on the heels of special prosecutor Hank Brennan moving to exclude testimony from two crash reconstruction experts who were involved in the federal investigation into her case.

Travis Scott is being dragged to court by a man who claims one of the rapper's security guards violently injured him ... but Travis' camp says the lawsuit is bogus.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a man named Omar Muhanna claims he was outside a "concert venue" where Travis performed when one of Travis' security guards made violent physical contact with him.

The guy claims he did nothing to cause or provoke the alleged assault and battery ... which he says happened August 17, 2024 in Manhattan and resulted in serious and permanent injuries.

Joe Tacopina is ready to flex his legal muscles in court again ... telling us he's feeling good about getting A$AP Rocky off the hook in a criminal assault trial.

The high-powered attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and we asked him about the Rocky case and some of his legal wins over the years for clients like President Trump and Alex Rodriguez.

Rocky's case is now in the jury's hands after Joe forcefully defended the rapper in court ... telling us it should be easy for a jury to reach a not-guilty verdict, even though it's not guaranteed.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori have both had their reps contact a divorce lawyer this week, and that usually means one thing ... and that "thing" does not involve a prenup.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the reps contacted at least one lawyer early in the week, and this was not the first time. Another source with direct knowledge tells TMZ, one of Kanye's reps contacted another lawyer back in October, when TMZ was reporting marital trouble. We're told the rep "was hot, angry." Our source says the lawyer passed on repping Ye.

If they do pull the trigger and file for divorce, it's going to be an interesting case, because sources with direct knowledge tell us, there's no prenup. What makes it even more intriguing, we're told Kanye has actually lost money since he married Bianca. In California, assets and debts are split equally, so on the surface, she could actually owe money.

If there was any doubt Rihanna was ride or die for A$AP Rocky amid his ongoing assault trial ... she made it quite clear with a Valentine's post Friday night.

RiRi shared a PDA and loved-up tribute to her bae via several snaps and video with the caption ... "Get u a valentine that still writes love letters 😉💌."

Most of the tribute was of the long-time couple holding hands and goofing around in Paris ... including them smooching in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Luigi Mangione is making his first public comments since being arrested and charged in the Brian Thompson murder case ... and he's taking a page from Justin Baldoni's playbook.

Luigi released a statement Friday on a new website dedicated to his defense.

Mangione says, "I am overwhelmed by -- and grateful for -- everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support. Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions, as mail has flooded MDC from across the country, and around the globe."