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Jay Leno is taking steps to manage his wife's affairs ... in the form of a conservatorship.

The comedian filed legal docs Friday to become conservator of his wife Mavis Leno's estate ... according to court records.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Jay's wife suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

The diagnosis, our source says, is the basis of the conservatorship ... meaning Jay's wife may not have the wherewithal to take care of herself.

We've seen Jay out in public with Mavis as recently as November, when they were photographed together at a comedy event in Los Angeles.

It's unclear when Jay's wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's -- a progressive disease that starts with memory loss and is the most common type of dementia.

Jay and Mavis have been together for decades ... tying the knot way back in 1980 after meeting in the 1970s at the famous Comedy Store in West Hollywood.

Teyana Taylor says Iman Shumpert's playing dirty in their divorce war, claiming he's slowly shutting down all the utilities in the home where she lives with their 2 children ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

In a new court filing, Teyana's attorney says she woke up this month in the Georgia home they used to share, only to discover the WiFi and cable was cut off, and one day later, the water stopped running ... and she's fully laying blame on Iman.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Iman moved out back in October, and shortly thereafter, Iman's brother -- who handles his personal affairs -- told Teyana, Iman intended to shut off the power.

Since then, she claims Iman hasn't paid a cent of child support, or covered any of the kids' expenses ... including food and clothing costs.

With the water, cable and WiFi now gone, Teyana's attorney says they're concerned he's going to follow through and cut off the gas and electricity.

On top of that, Teyana claims Iman left her holding the bag on $200K worth of home renovations he started 3 years ago.

In the docs, she says Iman told her his money is tied up in investments, and proposed she cover the cost and he would reimburse her -- but she's yet to see a penny from him.

Mind you, it's not like Teyana can't afford to turn on any utilities that get shut off -- she's clearly got the cash to handle that, but her attorney's court filing makes it clear ... this is about holding Iman accountable.

Since their divorce is pending, Teyana's attorney points out the court put a standing order in place ... meaning both parties are supposed to maintain the status quo on their home and finances until the divorce is finalized.

A jury of Donald Trump's peers just decided he oughta pay E. Jean Carroll a fortune for defaming her while denying her sexual assault allegation ... tens of millions, in fact.

A verdict was reached Friday in DT's defamation damages trial -- this after he was found liable for defaming her in September ... not to mention an entirely separate civil case, where he was found liable for sexually abusing her way back in the day.

Trump had already been ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in the sexual abuse case -- something he's currently appealing -- and now ... on the defamation front, a jury came back with an astronomical figure, saying DT has to cough up $83.3 million to the woman.

Indeed, it's a massive amount of cash -- something that apparently shocked the courtroom in NYC -- and a lot of it actually comes in the form of punitive damages, the ones meant to teach somebody a lesson.

Trump was ordered to pay about $65 million in punitive damages, and about $18.3 mil in compensatory damages -- otherwise known as actual damages, meaning the harm she says she literally suffered as a result of Trump's statements about her.

It's interesting ... there are two statements, specifically, that Carroll had sued over -- one in which Trump called her story about the alleged sexual assault a "con job" and another in which he said something to the effect of never having met her, which she called a lie.

Carroll's attorneys wanted $12 million in actual damages for each statement -- and in the end, she got about 70% of that. The astounding number, of course, is the $65 mil ... and that itself speaks volumes about how the jury felt in terms of sending a message to the ex-Prez.

It sounds like the jury's recommendation for this huge amount is going to be upheld by the judge -- there was no indication from Lewis Kaplan that he thought it needed to be lowered.

It's being reported that E. Jean was emotional after hearing the number, and earlier in the day -- Trump was said to be furious while leaving court, this after closing arguments.

Convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith violently convulsed during his nitrogen gas execution for 4 painfully long minutes, and the founder of a leading euthanasia group says he knew it wouldn't go smoothly when he previewed the prison set-up.

Dr. Philip Nitschke, founder of pro-euthanasia group "Exit International", spoke to "TMZ Live" Friday about the first-ever nitrogen gas execution ... saying he was concerned to see a gas mask set-up for Smith's Thursday night execution at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.

He tells us he's long helped people wanting to end their lives with nitrogen in a quick, peaceful, and reliable way -- but ditched face masks 15 years earlier, because he found them to be unreliable and dangerous.

In layman's terms ... he says if the mask loses its seal on someone's face it alters the amount of air flowing in and slows the process, potentially leading to muscle convulsions.

Also, he tells us there was the obvious factor of Smith fighting his own death, which made his execution particularly excruciating.

Nitschke says when people choose to die on their own terms via nitrogen gas, they're encouraged to take long, deep breaths to make it quick -- but Smith, who he met in the prison during his visit -- made it clear he didn't want to die, took short shallow breaths, which added to his suffering.

Nitschke says he warned prison officials they were going about his execution the wrong way, but, clearly, that fell on deaf ears.

Smith became the first-ever inmate to be put to death utilizing nitrogen hypoxia ... basically, suffocating him.

A sexual assault lawsuit against Trey Songz has been dismissed ... with the judge saying the woman never responded to Songz's motion to dismiss, so her complaint is outta here.

Here's the deal ... the singer-songwriter was originally sued back in June by an unnamed woman for allegedly exposing her breast at a Connecticut casino back in 2013.

This is an allegation she initially floated in 2022 through a demand letter to him, but didn't officially sue until Summer 2023. In her original demand letter, she was asking for north of $5 million to settle it out of court -- but he never played ball, so she ended up suing civilly.

You'll recall ... this woman -- who filed as a Jane Doe in her suit -- claimed Songz had pulled out her breast from her bathing suit top during a "Foxwoods Liquid Sundays with Trey Songz" event and even claimed there was video evidence to back up her claim.

She alleged it was done without her permission, and that it amounted to sexual assault -- something Trey and his team had been vehemently denying from the very beginning.

Anyway, this lady amended the original complaint in July -- and then again in September before Songz filed a motion to dismiss saying the statute of limitations barred her claim ... which the judge granted, although he gave her another chance to amend it a 3rd time.

She did exactly that, but her renewed claims looked incredibly similar to the earlier ones ... prompting Songz to file another motion to dismiss. That was back on December 29 when he did that ... and apparently, Doe never responded to Songz's motion to dismiss this time.

Caroline Manzo is suing Bravo over something that happened between her and Brandi Glanville during a 'Housewives' spinoff that got raunchy ... which CM says crossed the line.

The 'RHONJ' star just filed against the network -- plus a ton of other production companies/studios involved in making 'Housewives' -- over an incident she claims took place in Jan. 2023 out in Morocco ... where she says they were attempting to film for a show called "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip."

Long story short, this is a mish-mash of 'Housewives' from different shows -- and they get them all together for a season of drama while Bravo and co. films them vacationing.

However ... in the docs, obtained by TMZ, Caroline alleges that things went too far between herself and Brandi ('RHOBH') one evening -- during which she claims she was sexually harassed by BG after producers supplied castmates with alcohol to promote more outrageous behavior for the show.

Basically, CM claims Brandi was coming on to her in their rental house -- and alleges she even forced herself onto Caroline and kissed her without consent ... going on to claim that Brandi continued to paw at her and "mount" her on a couch, making for a very awkward interaction.

While Caroline most certainly has issues with what she claims Brandi did in the moment -- she's not suing her in this suit ... instead, she's suing Bravo -- alleging that showrunners and producers were responsible for creating/fostering a drunken environment that puts cast members at risk for things like this to happen.

In fact, Brandi came out after the fact -- this season hasn't aired yet BTW -- saying, more or less, the same thing on Twitter ... pinning the whole thing on producers and alleging that they really push for this type of over-the-top behavior to stir up drama in hopes of ratings.

Brandi -- who's been part of other 'Girls Trip' seasons for Bravo -- even claimed online a while back that producers strongly encouraged cast members to get drunk with excessive alcohol -- and Caroline, too, alleges that in her lawsuit here. She also describes what allegedly happened between her and Brandi as triggering trauma she says she experienced as a little girl ... when she says she was sexually assaulted at the young age of 7.

Now, she's suing Bravo for negligence, sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more. Of course, Caroline is seeking major damages here.

George Carlin's estate is getting the law involved over the AI special, "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead" ... suing the creators for the "bastardization of Carlin's real work and legacy."

The copyright infringement lawsuit, filed Thursday in a California federal court, is accusing media company Dudesy of condensing 5 decades worth of the influential comic's standup routines to train an AI chatbot ... mimicking his voice and humor for the special -- without consent or compensation.

The docs also make it clear they're not happy with George's voice/likeness used for promo purposes -- rubbishing the special as a "piece of computer-generated click-bait which detracts from the value of Carlin's comedic works and harms his reputation."

They're asking for an immediate removal of the special and destruction of all copies as well as unspecified damages.

The hour-long special featuring a robot version of George doing standup has been available on YouTube since January 9th -- and the late icon's daughter Kelly Carlin-McCall has been the biggest denouncer of the project ... releasing a statement stating no technology could replicate her father's genius.

On "TMZ Live," she echoed the same sentiments ... telling us the AI program had her dad's name, but that's about where the comparisons end ... adding the computer botched her dad's comedic cadence and just didn't capture the magic like he once did.

Kelly's wish to have it removed could likely be granted if Tom Brady's recent legal win is anything to go by. The athlete successfully got his own AI-generated comedy special from the same platform removed from the internet.

Convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed Thursday by the state of Alabama using a new deadly procedure, as his wife and pastor looked on in absolute horror at his excruciatingly painful reaction.

Smith was ushered inside the execution chamber at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, where prison staff put him in restraints and fitted a gas mask over his face to suffocate him with nitrogen hypoxia. He became the first ever inmate to be put to death utilizing this method.

Before the execution began at 8:07 PM CST, Smith made a heart sign with his left hand to his family who was present before saying his final words through his mask: "Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards... I’m leaving with love, peace, and light."

The next 18 minutes turned into a nightmare for Smith and his two closest confidantes -- namely his wife, Deanna, and his spiritual guide, Jeff Hood, both of whom were in the witness box.

Hood later told the Daily Mail ... the execution was the "worst thing" he had ever seen, even causing prison officials to gasp while Smith died much slower than anticipated.

The pastor also said Smith started convulsing with his body popping up on the gurney after correctional officers pumped his mask full of nitrogen hypoxia, forcing him to inhale high concentrations of the gas.

At one point, Deanna cried out for her dying husband as he grabbed at his restraints, taking his last breaths before he suffocated. Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 for killing a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett, as part of a $1,000 murder-for-hire plot.

He was pronounced dead at 8:25 PM CST.

Taylor Swift's stalker is going to get his head checked ... because a judge wants to see if he's mentally able to stand trial.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the guy who has been arrested multiple times outside Taylor's NYC townhouse this month is being sent for a psychological exam.

As we reported ... David Crowe -- the man who prosecutors say has been lurking around Taylor's NYC home for a while now -- was arraigned Wednesday on stalking and harassment charges. He was set free and then was arrested again 2 hours later after going back to Taylor's block.

Now, David's facing a new charge of contempt in the second degree for intentionally violating an order of protection. His defense wants him to get a psych exam before a potential trial, and a judge agreed.

Taylor's actually been in the Big Apple while all of this has been going down ... though it's unclear if she was ever home when David was getting busted outside.

The investigation into Michael B. Jordan's violent Ferrari crash is closed, and he won't face any criminal repercussions ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us there's just not enough evidence to prove what happened during the December crash in Hollywood ... despite a video showing Michael racing another driver -- also in a Ferrari -- moments before Michael careened into a parked KIA.

Cops say the video is part of the puzzle of what happened during the accident, but it's not enough to complete it -- especially as it doesn't capture whether MBJ was behind the wheel.

If a crime had been committed, we're told it would be street racing, and because that's a misdemeanor ... an officer would need to witness Jordan driving. That didn't happen as cops only responded after the fact.

Ditto for speeding -- we're told it isn't clear from the vid just how fast Michael's car was going as he apparently raced the other down Sunset Blvd.

So, when you put it all together ... just too many question marks to prosecute.

The Las Vegas teen accused of fatally mowing down a retired police chief is now facing an attempted murder charge in a totally separate case ... and prosecutors wanna lump this into his already-existing murder case.

18-year-old Jesus Ayala was charged for attempted murder earlier this month, with prosecutors in Nevada claiming he stabbed somebody in the Vegas area -- which they say went down two months before he allegedly ran over Andreas Probst.

The authorities say the alleged victim told them Ayala and another person approached him on the street and started to use brass knuckles and knives on him -- with the man claiming he sustained multiple lacerations to his torso as well as near his head.

Now, in light of this new info -- the state wants to add the attempted murder charge to Ayala's original case in a new indictment ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Remember ... in the OG case, prosecutors claimed Jesus was behind the wheel of a stolen car when he ran over a bicyclist on the road back in August ... killing the guy on the bike, who turned out to be retired police chief Andreas Probst. There was another teen in the car who is accused of recording the incident. Video of the alleged incident surfaced as well.

Like we said ... prosecutors are now seeking to amend Ayala's original charges to add the attempted murder charge from the stabbing incident -- and their argument is ... it's related.

Alec Baldwin is getting major support from his union -- with SAG-AFTRA coming out swinging against prosecutors in New Mexico who are gunning for him yet again with new charges.

The actor wasn't named by SAG specifically, but he was most certainly alluded to in this new statement they put out slamming the decision to prosecute him twice in this case. The union made clear ... knowing how to handle firearms is NOT an actor's job, from their POV.

They write, "To the extent that the charges filed on January 19 are based on an accusation of negligent use of a firearm predicated on this or any actor having a duty to inspect a firearm as part of its use, that is an incorrect assessment of the actual duties of an actor on set."

Then comes a haymaker, with SAG adding ... "An actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert. Firearms are provided for use on set under the guidance of multiple expert professionals directly responsible for the safe and accurate operation of that firearm."

SAG goes on to say that the procedure for safe use of firearms on set is clearly laid out in their rules and guidelines ... but they explicitly point out that a performer is not and should not be tasked with making sure the weapons used are dangerous or live.

Basically, there are experts for that type of thing on set ... and SAG is making that clear in no uncertain terms. It's a huge win for Alec as far as optics are concerned -- he's been making this point all along, and now ... SAG-AFTRA is confirming he is, indeed, correct.

You'll recall ... Alec was hit with a new involuntary manslaughter charge in the 'Rust' case -- and he's supposed to answer for it in court on Feb. 1 during an arraignment. Alec and his attorneys already responded to that, noting he has a right to speedy trial ... and wants to exercise that in this case, not wanting to drag it out further.

Meanwhile, the armorer from that movie -- Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- is facing her own criminal charges in the matter ... although she too has pleaded innocence/ignorance over what led to Halyna Hutchins' death.

Alec Baldwin just filed his first official response to the new charges being brought against him in the "Rust" case in New Mexico -- and the first thing out of his mouth is ... hurry up!

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the actor has been ordered to appear before a judge in NM to answer to the involuntary manslaughter charge being filed against him (again) ... and he's gotta do so on Feb. 1 at 11 AM through an official plea.

The paperwork notes that AB can show up to court via phone or video conference -- but he's gotta let the judge know one way or the other ... guilty or not guilty. Based on the last time this happened, something tells us Alec's gonna go with the latter.

In fact, his attorneys filed a response to this almost immediately -- submitting documents that make clear ... he wants to get this over and done with, stressing his constitutional right to a speedy trial.

One of the reasons his legal team cites as wanting to get the show on the road here is because it'll "minimize public vilification and suspicion." Plus, he wants to "avoid the hazards of proving his innocence that often arise after a lengthy delay in prosecution."

Remember, Alec was slapped with new charges last week -- namely, involuntary manslaughter through negligent use of a firearm, or in the alternative ... involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection. Before the charges were dropped the first time, he was facing something very similar ... and the entire time, he vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

Of course, this all has to do with the fact that Alec was using the prop gun on set -- which somehow fired and sent a live bullet through the late Halyna Hutchins, who was the DP.

Taylor Swift's stalker isn't getting the message -- 2 hours after he was in court over his last arrest for creeping around her home ... he was back on Taylor's block and getting busted again.

This video shows David Crowe smoking a cigarette Wednesday around 2 PM outside a McDonald's just 2 blocks from her NYC townhouse. However, witnesses say he eventually made his way back to Taylor's place ... and someone in the neighborhood sounded the alarm, calling 911 to report him.

Police arrived and arrested Crowe on a criminal contempt charge ... due to the fact an order of protection had just been issued during his arraignment Wednesday morning on 2 counts of harassment and 1 count of stalking.

This is now the third time Crowe's been arrested at or near Taylor's home -- the first time was Saturday, followed by a Monday evening bust.

Law enforcement sources tell us that during today's bust, Crowe told cops he was from Seattle -- which is true -- and he was going to take a flight home ... but police found no evidence of that trip.

What's more alarming about this arrest is we know Taylor is back in NYC -- she was out on the town Tuesday night with Brittany Mahomes and Cara Delevingne. It's unclear if Taylor was actually inside when Crowe was taken into custody today, but she had been out of town during the previous arrests.

One law enforcement source tells us ... Crowe is "aware of what he's doing and he's articulate. He is fixated on her and cannot keep away from where she lives. We are doing all we can to protect her."

Taylor Swift's alleged stalker just had his first day in court -- and prosecutors made a lot of troubling claims about him ... including the allegation he's gone to her pad dozens of times.

David Crowe -- the man who was cuffed and hauled away by cops twice in three days after numerous people said he was lurking around Taylor's NYC home -- was arraigned Wednesday on three separate charges ... including stalking in the 4th-degree and harassment in the 1st and 2nd-degrees.

We're told Crowe did not enter a plea during this court appearance -- but he was cut loose from custody ... with prosecutors requesting supervised release with strict conditions.

A judge granted their request -- so Crowe is technically back on the streets -- but the judge signed off on a protective order prohibiting him from trying to contact Taylor ... and prosecutors ran through some other disturbing details in court.

Law enforcement officials alleged in their complaint that they'd been informed Crowe had been spotted at Taylor's Tribeca home upwards of 30 times in the past 2 months.

Prosecutors claim that on a number of these drop-ins, Crowe asked to speak to Taylor. That's apparently why he's facing the stalking charge ... and why the court wants to keep a close eye on him upon release.

1/24/23 -- Madonna's management and Live Nation tell TMZ ... "Madonna's just completed, sold out 2023 Celebration Tour in Europe received rave reviews. The shows opened in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn as planned, with the exception of a technical issue December 13th during soundcheck. This caused a delay that was well documented in press reports at the time. We intend to defend this case vigorously."

Madonna performed last night in NYC at Madison Square Garden. It was the second night of 3 sold out shows at the venue.

Madonna may have to learn a lesson in punctuality the hard way ... two men just filed a class action against her for starting her concerts late.

According to the docs obtained by TMZ ... Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden are leading the charge against the legendary pop star and concert organizer Live Nation claiming they owe big damages after shows scheduled to start at 8:30 PM ET didn't end up starting until 10:30 PM.

According to the lawsuit, the late starts constitute a "wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices."

The plaintiffs are suing for unspecified damages and taking aim at all three nights Madonna showed up late to Barclays Center in December -- but they say Madonna has a long-documented history of not starting on time (more on that later).

Another interesting note ... the plaintiffs acknowledge Madonna had a health issue which caused the concert to be pushed from July to December but don't think that's a sufficient excuse for kicking off the actual shows 2 hours late.

These guys also list their pricey tickets ... listing the dollar-amounts at $155.90 and $292.50, respectively. In their mind, that's money down the drain considering how late Madge was.

Remember... a serious bacterial infection put Madonna in the hospital, and sources told us she was fighting a fever for about a month before she finally collapsed. Obviously the tour was postponed ... finally kicking off in October.

We knew people were pissed about Madonna's tardiness BTW ... when the NYC shows went down back in December, fans took to social media to voice their displeasure at waiting for the Queen of Pop. (FWIW, a source at the time told us the delay was due to sound issues.)

If you think Madonna's sweating the lawsuit, think again ... cause this ain't the first time she's been sued over her late starts!! She was sued back in 2019 and in 2020 for pulling up late to her shows and -- in the case of the 2019 suit -- Madonna gave a G.O.A.T.ed response you gotta hear to believe.