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Jussie Smollett is speaking out after striking a pretty sweet deal with the Windy City to close his hate crime hoax situation there ... and he's ready to put this behind him, while getting a few parting shots in.

The "Empire" star says ... "What I have to do now is move forward. I will continue creating my art, fighting passionately for causes I hold dear and defending my integrity and family with the name of truth."

TMZ broke the story ... Jussie donated $50,000 to charity to settle a civil lawsuit the City of Chicago filed against him seeking restitution for the expense of investigating his 2019 hate crime hoax.

5/27/2025 8:00 AM PT -- Chad Reeves' attorney, Glen Jonas, tells TMZ ... "Jamie Grenfell has a 2002 conviction for Felony Perjury relating to an investigation in which he was also convicted for making a false police report in connection with an attempted Insurance Fraud.  Three weeks before trial he filed a verified statement under penalty of perjury in his underlying lawsuit against the Dodgers denying the conviction.  He literally committed perjury about his prior perjury! Meanwhile Lillian Grenfell told a ridiculous story at trial to falsely excuse the fact that she was choking Lindsay Hopkin which forced Mr. Hopkin to defend against a combined attack by the Grenfells.

The Grenfells are bottom feeders that manipulated public with a viral video that was misleading.  This is par for the course for the Grenfells, they have a history of distortion, lies and manipulating the justice system for financial gain.  Here they started a fight, lost and now are trying to turn the melee into a pay out by the Dodgers with their bogus lawsuit. The prosecution's case at trial was not credible and everyone in that courtroom is now dumber for having witnessed it."

Two men have been acquitted of felony battery charges in connection with a parking lot fight after an Elton John concert at Dodger Stadium.

Reece Hopkin and Chad Reeves were each charged in 2023 with one count of battery with serious bodily injury for their alleged roles in a 2022 fight that broke out after the first of Elton's three concerts at Chavez Ravine. Hopkin was also charged with felony vandalism for allegedly damaging a phone someone was using to record the incident.

A Los Angeles jury on Thursday voted to acquit the men on all charges ... according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

Diddy's defense team just entered a bunch of glamour shots of Cassie as evidence in the criminal trial ... and their point is her career wasn't hurt by the Diddy freak-offs, as Cassie and prosecutors have claimed.

Check out the photos ... Cassie's all glammed up doing photo shoots, working on music videos, going to events and rubbing elbows with major celebrities.

Diddy's defense is using the photos to rebut prosecutor's claims and some of Cassie's testimony ... where she said she spent all her time doing freak-offs and recovering from the sex romps that her career was stifled.

The second week of testimony in the Diddy trial is in the books ... and prosecutors continued to try and prove their racketeering case against Diddy, with the help of Kid Cudi.

Cudi took the stand Thursday and told the jury about a couple incidents from his 2011-12 love triangle with Cassie and Diddy ... including a break-in at his home and a Molotov cocktail dropped in his Porsche.

Kid Cudi said Diddy broke into his home and rummaged through his Christmas gifts after finding out he was dating Cassie ... and he said he was convinced Diddy had something to do with his Porsche getting torched too.

Suge Knight has no doubt Diddy would have shot at him if Diddy tracked him down at a famous restaurant in L.A. ... but his story will never be heard at Diddy's trial, even though it feels pretty important to the prosecution's case.

The former Death Row Records owner tells TMZ ... his rivalry with Diddy was so bad back in the day, Diddy would have had no choice but to use a gun if their paths ever crossed in public.

That almost happened back in 2008 at Mel's Drive-In ... because Diddy's former personal assistant testified this week he went to the famous diner to get cheeseburgers for Diddy, and bumped into Suge.

Nicole Brown Simpson's sister is making a bunch of comparisons between the trials of O.J. Simpson and Diddy ... and she sees a lot of similarities between her sister and Cassie.

Tanya Brown says the Diddy trial feels a lot like O.J.'s "Trial of the Century" ... mainly because of abuse allegations and the power dynamics of both couples.

Cassie gave four days of intense testimony last week in Diddy's federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial in NYC, and Tanya says folks following the case should not be quick to judge Cassie because they haven't walked in her shoes.

A former makeup artist for Diddy and Cassie just testified for the prosecution in Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial in NYC ... and she told the jury she saw injuries to Cassie's face after an altercation with Diddy following a Grammys party at Prince's house.

Mylah Morales says during Grammys weekend in 2010, she went to a party with Cassie at Prince's Los Angeles estate ... and then they went back to a hotel room. She says Diddy burst in and asked, "Where the f*** is she?"

Morales told jurors Diddy went into a room where Cassie was and shut the door ... and Morales said she heard screaming and yelling. She testified Diddy stormed out and then a "distraught" Cassie emerged with a swollen eye, busted lip and knots on her head.

Kid Cudi detailed the damage his Porsche sustained from a Molotov cocktail during his testimony in the Diddy trial -- an incident he thinks Diddy was involved in -- and now we're seeing some of what jurors were shown in court.

Photos of Kid Cudi's car fire aftermath were just entered as exhibits in the case ... and they appear to show what Kid Cudi testified about in terms of fire damage from a Molotov cocktail.

Cudi told jurors someone cut a hole in his Porsche's convertible top and dropped in the fire bomb ... and photos show a large opening in the soft top that appears to have been slashed open, and there looks to be some melted fabric.

Taylor Swift is no longer facing a subpoena in Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's legal drama ... 'cause Baldoni's camp has withdrawn the subpoenas of her and her law firm, TMZ confirms.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Baldoni's side dropped the subpoena after information was voluntarily provided to them.

Other sources, also in the know, say this "confirms the validity of the statement made last week that Taylor's involvement with this film was licensing a song.”

Jussie Smollett's stuck a pretty sweet deal with the Windy City -- instead of paying 6-figures in restitution for the hate crime hoax investigation, he's donating $50,000 to charity ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct involvement in the negotiations tell us the agreement between Jussie and Chicago calls for him to pay the $50K to a charity of the actor's choice ... and we're told he's opted to support the Building Better Futures Center for the Arts in Chicago.

The org focuses on mental health, art, music and acting training for underprivileged youth in Chicago.

Kid Cudi says Cassie played him like a fiddle during their 2011 fling.

The "Pursuit of Happiness" rapper testified Thursday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC, and he talked a lot about his brief relationship with Cassie.

Cudi admitted he felt like he was played by Cassie when she told him things were over with Diddy ... only for her to get back with Diddy after they broke up.

Nikki Bella broke her silence on the big bucks she has to shell out to her ex-husband Artem Chigvintsev in wake of their divorce ... and she makes clear that cheering haters need to be educated.

TMZ broke the news ... the WWE wrestler and her pro dancer ex reached an agreement for Nikki to pay $3,500 each month for the care of their young son Matteo. She's also forking over a six-figure lump sum to him -- $100K now, and another $100K before the end of this year.

Nikki addressed the situation on her latest "Nikki & Brie Show" podcast episode ... and she said despite having to turn over her "hard-earned money" to Artem, she essentially got a steal on the deal ... and underscores it's vital Matteo has an equal quality of life at both homes -- which is the point of child support!

Kid Cudi is testifying about his infamous car fire-bombing ... and he says he knows Diddy had something to do with it, even though Diddy denied it to his face during a meeting where Diddy came off like a Marvel supervillain.

The rapper testified Thursday in Diddy's criminal ... telling the jury his Porsche went up in flames outside his house in January 2012, shortly after he broke things off with Cassie.

Kid Cudi says he wasn't at home when he got a call from his dog's babysitter, informing him his car was on fire. He says he rushed home and found his car damaged.

Kid Cudi says Diddy broke into his Los Angeles home after finding out he was dating Cassie ... and he says Diddy screwed with his pooch.

The rapper took the stand Thursday in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC and told the jury about some of the drama that unfolded between him, Diddy and Cassie back in 2011 ... when she was on a break from Diddy and they started dating.

Kid Cudi testified there was a break-in at his home in December 2011 after Cassie called him early in the morning and told him Diddy found out about them. He says cops were called, too.

Jon Taffer is once again suing a man allegedly running around Florida bars pretending to be him and harassing people, according to a new lawsuit filed by the "Bar Rescue" star and his lawyer, Bradford Cohen.

Here's what we know ... in court docs obtained by TMZ, Jon claims Vic Caroleo has been impersonating him since 2017 -- continuing to do so even after filing a lawsuit against him in 2024.

JT says VC is not just trying to pass himself off as him as a form of flattery -- he alleges he's committing "sexually inappropriate and abusive acts against women" while using his name.

Kid Cudi will testify today at Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial ... and, it looks like he's taking a few nicotine hits to steady himself before he does.

We recorded the rapper getting out of his car and walking into the Manhattan courthouse Thursday ... a serious expression on his face. He didn't say anything to the gathered crowd -- using his mouth to puff on a cigarette instead.

Cudi quickly turns the corner out of view in the clip -- before resurfacing inside the courthouse, where he can be seen through a window ... taking off his jacket to go through a security checkpoint, speaking to a guard.