Drugs & Alcohol

Gunna's an innocent and charitable man, and the cops who busted him are wrong to use his music and lyrics against him ... so says the rapper's legal team.

We've just obtained a statement from Gunna's attorneys, who tell us, "Mr. Sergio Kitchens, known as Gunna, is innocent. The indictment falsely portrays his music as part of a criminal conspiracy."

They also point out some contributions Gunna has made for his community, including the first-ever local free in-school grocery and clothing store feeding over 400 children weekly, and nationally sponsored giveaways for victims of disasters and food shortages.

The legal team, comprised of Donald F. Samuel, John A. Garland and Kristen W. Novay tells us, "Mr. Kitchens has been an advocate for his community, and it is our privilege to advocate for him."

As we reported, Gunna turned himself in Wednesday, two days after Young Thug's home was raided and the rapper was arrested. Both have been arrested on RICO charges from a 56-count, 28-person indictment out of Fulton County, GA.

Among lyrics listed in the indictment, "I killed his man in front of his momma, like f*** lil bruh, sister and his cousin,” and “my trigger start itching" from Young Thug.

Both Gunna and Young Thug have been accused of gang activity, possession with intent to sell an array of drugs, and receiving stolen property.

Gunna was in court Wednesday, and will be held without bond.

Gunna is facing the music in a sweeping racketeering case reverberating throughout Atlanta – the guy's now in custody ... and his mug shot is one for the ages.

The rapper was arrested and booked into the Fulton County Jail early Wednesday morning on RICO charges -- -- stemming, of course, from the 56-count indictment levied against him and dozens of alleged YSL gang members this week.

According to jail records, Gunna surrendered and turned himself in to the authorities -- whereas his alleged co-conspirator, Young Thug, was hauled to jail by cops who raided his property on Monday.

Both MCs have been accused of possession and intent to sell a variety of narcotics, receiving stolen property, and for general street gang activity. They were also charged with being part of a larger criminal enterprise comprised of YSL associates who are alleged to have been involved in a bunch of crimes, including the attempted murder of rapper YFN Lucci.

Gunna is scheduled to make a court appearance Wednesday.

Selma Blair has struggled her whole life, with pain, alcoholism and now fighting through a battle with MS ... all topics covered in her new memoir.

Blair sat down with Savannah Guthrie Wednesday for an extremely candid interview with "Today." The actor's memoir, 'Mean Baby' talks about her entire life, Blair told Guthrie, "My first [time] drunk [was] when I was 7. I had my first drinks much younger."

Blair says even though she was young, she felt alcohol was a comfort ... and wonders if the physical pains she would feel throughout her life were early signs of MS.

According to "Today," Blair writes in her memoir, "Doctors thought I had leukemia. I didn't, but it was a constant high fever. … The ailments as a kid connected. I do know for sure I had it by the age of 23. It was definitely there for so long.”

The good news ... Blair tells Savannah she hasn't had a drink since a scary incident in 2016 when she lost consciousness on a plane with her 4-year-old son. She's also undergone chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant in an effort to help manage her MS.

Amber Heard's testimony has been accused of being contrived, lifted and, strangely, drug-laced -- but it seems only 1 of these might be close to true ... and the proof's in the video.

Here's the deal ... AH was on the stand for two days this week, detailing the alleged abuse she claims she suffered at the hands of Johnny Depp. Each day of testimony ran for several hours -- but rabid JD fans picked apart three specific moments that they say are damning.

First, a moment from Thursday's testimony where Amber is describing a time when Johnny was detoxing ... during which, she holds a tissue to her face for an extended period of time -- apparently aware she's being photographed right then and there -- and seemingly poses.

The clip going around on social media felt sorta doctored, but we found it in the raw feed -- and, indeed, Amber does look to hold this pose for what sounds like a camera flash.

People have criticized her for this -- perhaps rightly so -- but even more Twitter warriors have made what we would consider wildly outlandish claims that are far more sinister ... namely, that Amber was allegedly doing bumps of "cocaine" on the witness stand Thursday.

You've probably seen this clip making the rounds too -- it shows Amber blowing/wiping her nose with a handkerchief ... and people believe they see something more nefarious.

We'll be honest ... this claim is absurd on its face, and nothing more than people reaching to connect dots that simply aren't there. Depending on what side you're on in this case, you'll probably see what you want to see ... but there's no smoking gun here whatsoever.

Finally, there's the 'Talented Mr. Ripley' claim ... which boils down to folks alleging that Amber lifted a part of her testimony Wednesday straight from the movie, and straight from Gwyneth Paltrow's character, Marge. As it turns out, that claim was also total BS.

A now-viral side-by-side quote was being circulated that suggested Amber had literally repeated lines from the movie, word for word, but after someone tracked down the actual video ... her real testimony was far from what GP said on film. Once again ... reaching.

Tammy Sytch -- also known as "Sunny," in the ring -- is behind bars over a fatal car crash from last month that cops say was caused by her being under the influence.

The former WWE star was arrested Friday night and hauled off to the Volusia County Jail -- where she was booked on a number of charges ... including felony DUI manslaughter, the most serious of the offenses. She was also rung up on 8 other charges, most being DUI related.

One charge she was booked on accuses her of driving on a suspended/revoked license, and then causing great bodily harm and/or death as a result. Her bond is set at over $220k total.

You'll recall ... this all ties back to an awful accident police say Sytch caused in late March -- although it's unclear why she's just being arrested for this now, more than a month later.

In any case ... the story is tragic. According to a traffic crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops claim Sytch was traveling down a highway at a high rate of speed when she slammed into the back of another vehicle on the road that was stopped at a traffic light.

The driver was taken to a hospital but died from their injuries. That victim is reported to be 75-year-old Julian Lasseter.

If the top part of the Yankees' batting order looks a little sluggish tonight ... now ya know why!

New York stars Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu all attended the Rangers' playoff game against the Penguins on Thursday night -- and they were feelin' so good in their seats, they chugged beers together!!

The trio had on-the-glass spots for Game 2 of the Pittsburgh vs. NY series -- and when the Madison Square Garden cameras spotted them ... they pounded their drinks to get the crowd going.

None of the three were Tom Brady-level chuggers ... but it seems clear Rizzo won the drink-off.

As for how the beer-pounding played at MSG -- it seemed to fire up both Rangers fans and the actual team ... 'cause NY went on to score three more goals after the scene, winning the game 5-2.

But, don't fret about a potential hangover, Pinstripes fans, Yankees aren't slated to play the Texas Rangers on Friday night until 7 PM ET.

Amber Heard is testifying for the second day, telling the jury Johnny Depp called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Amber told jurors ... a year into their relationship, it was apparent to her Johnny had an extreme substance abuse problem ... passing out, getting sick and losing control.

She described an incident where she says Johnny tried to burn a painting, and how he accused her of having an affair with a musician. She says during that time, Johnny was strung out on cocaine, and not eating or sleeping.

She says in 2013, during a junket in Tokyo for "The Lone Ranger," Amber called him out on drinking in front of his kids, and she says he became upset that she was judging him. She says he screamed at her in the hotel room and called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Heard has experienced a range of emotions on the stand since her testimony began Wednesday ... from sadness and happiness to anger. She detailed claims of Depp searching her for drugs, times he allegedly got physical with her and even how they first met ... including their first kiss on the set of "The Rum Diary."

Depp arrived at court Thursday in rockstar fashion -- with fans greeting him and holding flowers and posters to show their support. Depp waved, touched his heart and thanked them as he went inside.

It's unclear exactly how long Heard will be on the stand ... but her time will almost certainly include more explosive testimony and allegations.

We'll be carrying the whole thing live.

Johnny Depp searched Amber Heard for cocaine once -- an inspection that apparently went in and around her body, including private areas ... at least according to a forensic psychologist, who claims Amber made the allegations during her evaluation of the actress.

Dr. Dawn Hughes was Amber's witness who took the stand Tuesday to combat what Dr. Curry -- JD's witness -- alleged about her last week ... namely, that Amber suffered from a couple different personality disorders and that she was making up symptoms of PTSD.

Hughes testified to the exact opposite ... telling the jury her evaluation of Amber -- which consisted of about 29 hours total -- made her believe she was, in fact, a victim of domestic abuse.

There were some disturbing things Dr. Hughes claims Amber told her ... including allegations of Johnny kicking her in the back, pushing her, slapping her and alleged instances of sexual violence, much of which she says occurred when JD was under the influence.

One other bombshell claim from Dr. Hughes, based on what she says Amber told her ... Johnny, at one point, allegedly subjected Amber to a "cavity search," poking around on the inside of her vagina to see if he could find cocaine he believed she was hiding from him.

Another disturbing alleged tale ... Dr. Hughes claims Amber told her that Johnny penetrated her with a bottle once, and that the whole time she was worried it might be broken and cut her up inside.

She relayed even more of Amber's claims ... including that Johnny was incredibly jealous, allegedly contacting male costars of hers to say he had eyes on the set ... which Hughes says made Amber incredibly anxious that he'd show up on set at any given moment.

'Mighty Ducks' star Shaun Weiss has made a major comeback ... and the latest milestone is opening for Russell Peters at a comedy show.

Shaun tells TMZ ... he opened for Russell Friday, performing for 10 minutes at Oxnard Levity Live Improv. Russ actually advised him to make stand-up his new passion, something Shaun hasn't done in years.

It's pretty spectacular how things have come full circle for Shaun. Three years ago when he was homeless, he bumped into Russell in an alleyway behind a Deli in Santa Monica and Russell gave him $100.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago he reconnected with the Canadian comedian to thank him ... and that's when RP offered him an opening spot at the Improv.

Shaun says he had the crowd laughing, especially when he made fun of himself and referenced something involving an ex-GF back in 2014 that was really bad ... nevertheless, Shaun used it as material during his set.

You'll recall, SW has battled drug addiction for several years ... causing him to have many run-ins with the law and lose most of his teeth from drug abuse.

Well, that's all a thing of the past ... cause he has since turned his life around and has been sober for over 2 years. As we've told you, he got a new set of pearly whites and a huge new acting gig, starring in "Jesus Revolution".

Lil Xan is not only doing much better, but he's taking extra precautions to make sure he stays sober when he returns to life on the road.

We caught up with the rapper this weekend at BOA Steakhouse ... where he told us about his progress and how he plans to stay on track in the future.

Xan says, he is 40 days clean, after doing 30 days in a detox center and 30 days in a rehab facility. He tells us he's feeling better than ever, and blessed to finally be sober.

One element of his sobriety will be controversial to some people -- Xan says his rehab facility allowed patients to smoke weed, which he says helped him. That approach has been called "California sober," something Demi Lovato said worked for them ... until it didn't.

For now, LX is in great spirits and even showed off his GF while opening up to us about his new lifestyle. He's also looking forward to going on tour May 25 -- but, he's gonna be extra careful this time ... planning to bring a sober companion to make sure everything goes well and he isn't tempted to relapse.

As we've previously reported, Xan checked himself into a hospital in March and got 51/50'd  ... he said he was experiencing a mixture of exhaustion, dehydration and depression from things he was seeing online.

He ended up spending 3 days in the psychiatric ward before getting the green light to check into a part of a facility focused on mental health.

Despite becoming the target of some politicians, drill music is no phase or fad ... so says heavyweight hip hop producer Hit-Boy, who knows a thing or 2 about making beats that stand the test of time.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with the Grammy Award-winning producer -- who's made gold with JAY-Z, Kanye West, Nas and Nipsey Hussle -- as he launched his "Hit-Boy OG" hybrid strain of cannabis.

When asked about the longevity of drill music, today's hottest sound in rap music, Hit-Boy didn't mince his words and certified the bass-heavy subgenre is here to stay. HB's comments are timely and right on cue, too.

On Friday, up-and-coming London rapper JNR Choi decided to upgrade his TikTok viral "To The Moon" single by enlisting UK, Chicago and Brooklyn drill features from M24, Russ Millions, G Herbo and Fivio Foreign, respectively.

BTW, we got Hit-Boy while he was at the Lemonnade Van Nuys dispensary -- owned by Bone Thugs & Harmony manager Steve Lobel -- so, it was the perfect time for him to reveal the one track that blew his mind, while his mind was blown ... "Rare" by Nas.

Originally released as the lead single for 2021's "King's Disease II" album, the explosive piano medley infamously switched into an old-school break-beat for Nas to lyrically demolish.

Makes you wonder what they have in store for "Part 3." According to Hit, he and Nas have already started vibing on it.

Whoops!!!

A Guardians fan hilariously spilled his beer on a woman sitting next to him after he whiffed on trying to catch a foul ball coming his way ... and the epic fail was all caught on video!

The funny moment happened during the Guardians game against the A's on Saturday ... when a fan tried to make the play of the day -- and got nothing instead.

You can see in video from the stadium, the foul ball was coming the guy's way, and he tried his best to snag it using only his left hand, but he bobbled it ... and then, disaster hit.

The Cleveland fan's drink went flying as he jumped into the air to try to nab the baseball ... and it spilled all over the woman's face and her food.

It's unclear if the woman, who was also a Guardians fan, had any relation to the guy who doused her in beer ... but she didn't seem TOO upset at the guy over it all, laughing and smiling at the blunder.

Tory Lanez might be on a good luck streak in Vegas -- he's still partying there after a run-in with the law ... over marijuana TSA allegedly found in his bag.

TMZ has learned Tory was stopped Sunday morning in the Las Vegas airport -- where he was attempting to board a flight outta town -- and according to law enforcement sources ... a TSA agent found a "large" amount of ganja in one of his bags.

We're told TSA temporarily detained him, but eventually let him go ... without the stash, of course. The feds are holding that. While marijuana is legal in Nevada, it's still not legal federally ... and that means ya can't fly with it.

Tory's not letting that little hiccup with the law ruin his weekend. Since he probably missed his outgoing flight, he's turned this into a biz opportunity ... and now he'll be onstage Sunday night for a performance at Drai's.

If he wants to get high beforehand, someone's gonna have to puff puff give ... 'cause Tory ain't got it!

Amanda Bynes has tried to clarify what happened that caused 2 911 calls to her home a few days ago -- when she accused her fiance, Paul Michael, of using crack and doing other things -- but her clarification is alarming.

Amanda jumped on Instagram late Friday night and wrote, "To clarify: I said what I said about Paul relapsing because he did. I don't know when he got clean and because of the disturbing porn he was watching, I assumed he must be on drugs now. Also Paul did vandalize his mom's home 2 weeks ago."

She wasn't done ... "His brother Mark called the cops on him but Paul left before they got there. When I saw the mom and son porn on Paul’s phone, I got upset and kicked him out. When he left I was worried he would vandalize my home because he still had the keys. That's why I called the police."

And, then there's this ...  "At any rate, I shouldn't have said he's currently using, because he's been sober for 2 weeks. Also, he told me he searched milfs and the other content auto filled the search engine."

The couple reconciled the morning after cops came to their house, but, as we reported, friends and family are alarmed and worried Paul has anger issues that make for an unhealthy living situation. We've spoke to people who say Paul flies off the handle way too much.

F1 superstar Daniel Ricciardo brought his signature "shoey' celebration to "The Daily Show" on Thursday ... chugging champagne out of a shoe with Trevor Noah!!

The McLaren driver -- who commemorates every podium finish by downing bubbly out of his sweaty ass boot -- reenacted the iconic Australian tradition on the desk alongside the host ... and it was hilarious!!

Initially, there were two mugs sitting on the desk ... but Noah quickly swapped them out for shoes and brought out a bottle of champagne to make Ricciardo feel more "comfortable."

But, the shoes weren't just props -- the guys ended up chugging the booze!!

Of course, the shoey has become quite popular in recent years -- Post Malone has done it in the past, and UFC boss Dana White even did one with heavyweight Tai Tuivasa, too!!

Amanda Bynes is in a potentially dangerous environment, with growing concern among friends and family over her fiance's inability to control his temper ... they worry the relationship could end in violence.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... people close to Amanda have witnessed Paul Michael's anger firsthand, saying he flies off the handle way too much.

Our sources say Paul has a history of outbursts, including an incident a couple weeks back when he allegedly vandalized his mom's house. We're told Wednesday night's fight between Amanda and Paul escalated because of his temper. She called police to express concerns for her safety, and then he called.

As you know, Amanda's parents recently agreed the actress should be freed from her conservatorship. We're told her parents still stand by their decision, as Amanda continues to do well on her own, but the concern is now over Paul.

TMZ broke the story ... cops were called to Amanda's home early Thursday morning after a dispute. Neither was arrested, but Amanda went to social media and claimed Paul was watching "Mom and Son" porn and doing crack. She later walked those allegations back.