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Garth Brooks has responded to a claim he allegedly raped a makeup artist 5 years ago ... calling the shocking allegation a straight-up shakedown.

Here is the deal ... the country star is being sued by a woman who claims she was his wife Trisha Yearwood's makeup and hairstylist for years ... before he allegedly raped her in a hotel room in 2019.

GB responded to the allegation Thursday not long after news of her lawsuit broke ... saying he's been "hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars.  It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face."

Erik and Lyle Menendez were glued to the screen as prosecutors made a major announcement in their murder case ... watching it all unfold from behind bars.

Sources with knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... the Menendez brothers watched Thursday's press conference live from prison, tuning in to see L.A. County D.A. George Gascón announce prosecutors would be reviewing new evidence.

Gascón says his office is reviewing Erik and Lyle's claims that their father, Jose Menendez, molested them before they killed him ... and he said he would decide if the brothers should get a new trial or if prosecutors should go for a new sentence -- presumably manslaughter -- which could set them free.

Nikki Garcia (AKA Bella) filed a restraining order against estranged husband Artem Chigvintsev Monday, and a judge signed off, after Nikki submitted a sworn declaration to the court saying in detail how Artem allegedly brutalized her.

In her petition, Nikki says Artem "tackled me multiple times and pinned me to the ground while our child was present."

She says since Artem was cut from "Dancing with the Stars," he grew "increasingly angry, snapping at me, and yelling." She said they had discussions about his need to control his anger, adding on the morning of the incident, Artem went off on Nikki over how their 4-year-old son's English muffin should be toasted, screaming that she made their son a "picky eater."

4:28 PM PT -- The Beverly Hills Police Department, the investigating agency for the Menendez brothers case, tells TMZ ... cops presented facts and evidence to the L.A. County D.A.'s Office back in the day when prosecutors filed criminal charges, and BHDP has NOT been contacted by the D.A. regarding these new developments.

2:52 PM PT -- The L.A. County D.A. just said they are reviewing the claims of Erik and Lyle Menendez that they were molested by the father they killed, and he will decide if they should get a new trial or if the D.A. should go for a new sentence -- presumably manslaughter -- that could set them free.

George Gascón said his office is aware of the new claims by a former member of the band Menudo -- who says Jose Menendez molested him. That's highly relevant, because it goes to whether the judge in the second trial erred by not allowing evidence in that Jose allegedly molested his sons.

A hearing is scheduled for November 29.

Garth Brooks cornered his makeup artist in a hotel suite and raped her so violently she felt like he was going to break her body in two ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The country star is being sued by a woman who claims she was his wife Trisha Yearwood's makeup and hairstylist for years before he hired her to work for him in the same role.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the woman claims in May 2019 Garth took her with him to Los Angeles for a Grammy tribute to Sam Moore, but when she boarded his private plane in Nashville she noticed they were the only ones traveling, which was unusual.

Ashton Kutcher is said to be concerned about getting dragged into the Diddy criminal case, but federal investigators do not have him in their crosshairs ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the Diddy probe tell TMZ ... Ashton in no way is a target of the federal criminal investigation involving Diddy.

Additionally, a source close to Ashton tells TMZ ... "This narrative has got to stop. Ashton has nothing to do with this. Zero involvement. Zero knowledge of these [Diddy's] activities. Ashton like everyone else in Hollywood attended a Diddy party 20 years ago."

Britney Spears' on-and-off-again boyfriend Paul Soliz is now going through a divorce ... because his wife just pulled the plug on their marriage.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Paul's wife Nicole Mancilla beelined it to court Wednesday and filed for divorce after 8 years of marriage.

Nicole is going with the boilerplate "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split ... and she lists June 29, 2023 as the date of separation.

The ex-porn star accusing Diddy of sex trafficking her at his White Parties is likely about to be in need of new legal representation ... because the lawyer handling the case is asking a judge to cut her loose.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Adria English's attorney Ariel Mitchell-Kidd wants to withdraw from the case, claiming Adria is giving her conflicting instructions that make it impossible for her to represent Adria.

Mitchell-Kidd also says there's been a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. She claims there are irreconcilable differences between them, and says Adria's "tone and lack of respect and [her] continued behavior and self-destructive activities" have made it impossible for Mitchell-Kidd to continue representing her.

Shawn Laval Smith, the man found guilty of stabbing UCLA grad student Brianna Kupfer to death in 2022, now has a permanent home behind bars ... Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today Smith was sentenced to life in prison.

Smith was found guilty of one count of murder and a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait on September 10 ... and a Superior Court Judge rejected his insanity plea ahead of sentencing him to life in prison without parole.

Back in January 2022, 24-year-old Brianna was working in a high-end furniture store by herself when Smith entered the building and stabbed her, and then fled the scene.

1:18 PM PT -- Matthew Binninger, Dr. Mark Chavez’s attorney, tells TMZ … Mark has accepted responsibility for his actions by entering his guilty plea, he is cooperating with the government, and he has begun the process to surrender his medical license.

“The factual basis from the plea agreement will be used as the basis for the medical board to issue a complaint against him, requesting the surrender of his license. We will agree with that conclusion, and at that point, his license will be revoked. I cannot give you an exact timeline about when that will happen because it is up to the medical board, but the wheels are in motion, and now that the guilty plea has been entered it should happen sooner than later.”

One of the doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry's ketamine death is one step closer to prison ... because he just copped to a crime.

Dr. Mark Chavez, one of 2 physicians busted in the Perry case, appeared before a judge in federal court Wednesday in Los Angeles and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

As we reported ... Chavez quickly cut a deal with the feds after a slew of arrests were made in connection with Perry's death. Now, he's formally entered his plea.

John Amos died of congestive heart failure, according to his death certificate, and he was cremated more than a month ago ... fueling speculation that a family feud was raging at the time he died.

TMZ has obtained the death certificate filed with L.A. County, and it shows the "Good Times" star died August 21 at 5:18 PM at an Inglewood hospital.

The death certificate says there were no other significant medical conditions other than heart failure.

Edwin Castro's record-setting jackpot is staying in his hands -- a judge says the guy who accused Castro of stealing his Powerball ticket, doesn't have a case ... because he doesn't have the ticket in hand.

Jose Rivera had sued Edwin and the California State Lottery Commission claiming he had actually purchased the ticket that ended up being worth $2.04 billion. He alleged someone stole the ticket from him, and it somehow ended up in Castro's hands.

But, an L.A. County Judge has ruled, too bad, so sad ... essentially. According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge said, "players are solely responsible for securing their Tickets against theft, loss, damage, or destruction" -- and, if Jose thought his ticket was stolen, he should've gone to cops.

Things keep sounding worse for Diddy ... because we've learned the feds are seeing an uptick in accusers coming forward with more allegations, ever since he was thrown in jail.

Sources familiar with the Diddy investigation tell TMZ ... more alleged victims and witnesses are stepping up because they feel less intimidated now that Diddy is behind bars.

Our sources say the accusers are cooperating with federal investigators and providing information about what they know about Diddy's alleged criminal activities.

Kanye West stiffed a security guard out of his wages while he was keeping watch over Yeezy's multi-million dollar mansion in Malibu, and then handed the guy a pink slip when he made a fuss ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

Kanye is being sued by a man named Jonathan Monroe, who claims Ye hired him as a full-time security guard back in August 2021 and promised him $30 an hour to protect the Malibu home Kanye gutted during an ill-fated construction project.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Monroe claims he worked 36 to 50 hours a week until he was fired in October 2021, without being paid any of his wages.

Sarah Hyland is cutting out her former manager from his cut of her "Modern Family" paychecks ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

The "Modern Family" star is being sued by Richard Konigsberg, who claims he served as her personal and professional manager for 15 years and helped her land her breakthrough role on the hit sitcom.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Richard says Sarah unceremoniously fired him in April in what he believes is an attempt to get out of paying him his 10% commission on a couple lucrative projects he helped Sarah land.

Diddy is once again trying to get himself released on bond, 2 weeks after he was arrested ... and we're told he's building a powerhouse legal team to try to make it a reality.

New court documents show the rap mogul's lawyer filed to appeal the most recent order denying him bond ... the appeal will be his 3rd formal attempt to secure his release from behind bars as he awaits trial.

Sources close to Diddy tell TMZ ... the rapper has added 2 more attorneys -- Anthony Ricco and Alexandra Shapiro -- to the legal team working on his highly publicized criminal case. (For those wondering, Alexandra is not related to famed defense attorney Robert Shapiro).