Fairly Legal

3:14 PM PT -- Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Brad Pitt's side is scoffing at Tenute's countersuit -- as they feel they only tried getting into the Chateau Miraval biz because of his name-recognition and deep involvement with the company ... which they're now trying to smear.

We're told Chateau Miraval is only as successful as it is because of how Brad has run it -- and the notion he plundered it for his own personal gain is absurd and nonsensical ... as it would only hurt him if he did the things they're claiming he did.

Bottom line ... we're told BA feels Tenute (a subsidiary of Stoli Group) is blowing hot air that it's tried litigating in other courts to no avail -- and that Brad isn't sweating their accusations.

2:38 PM PT -- After the story broke, DJ Akademiks hopped on his Rumble stream to elaborate further and summarized things as a shakedown retaliation orchestrated by lawyer Tyrone Blackburn.

Ak says police and prosecutors have all seen the footage and declined to pursue charges ... in the words of Young Thug, he's ready to take it to trial!!!

DJ Akademiks may want to put that legal money he's always bragging about to good use ... a woman he publicly clashed with last year has now sued him for sexual assault.

Stormy Daniels was so concerned bullets would rain down on her before she testified at the Trump trial last week that she wore a bulletproof vest all around NYC ... this according to her attorney.

Stormy's lawyer, Clark Brewster, sat down with CNN Monday night to discuss the testimony his porn star client gave from the witness stand at the Trump hush money trial in Manhattan.

During the interview, Brewster revealed Stormy had "a lot of fear" about "the security coming into New York."

Tyrese's legal woes appear to be following him wherever he goes, but he dodged a bullet out in Georgia this past weekend ... bailing on a concert after someone tried serving him.

A video making the rounds online shows the singer serenading a crowd at the Stockbridge Amphitheater a couple days ago ... when a security guard attendant appears to whisper something in his ear while he's in the middle of performing.

Tyrese keeps singing for a bit before abruptly jumping down from the stage and booking it up the side steps towards the exit, telling the crowd he loves them (and continuing to sing!)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's charitable org has hit a snag -- being declared delinquent by the state of California, but there's a perfectly good explanation ... snail mail.

Here's the deal ... the Archewell Foundation was found to be "delinquent" this week on paying its renewal fees -- and it's technically barred from fundraising until that gets fixed. On its face, it sounded like the charity wasn't taking care of business ... but that's not quite the case.

We're told the reason Archewell was able to hit this not-so-great status is because a check to pay for these registration fees was simply never received, although we hear it was sent.

Taylor Swift is officially laying claim to a nickname for a new part of her "Eras" tour -- and while it remains to be seen if it'll amount to anything ... she's at least locking down the rights.

The singer filed a trademark application last week -- and it touches on something she shouted out this weekend during her Paris stint ... namely, 'Female Rage: The Musical.'

In documents obtained by TMZ ... TAS Rights Management -- a company owned by Taylor -- filed paperwork to trademark the phrase ... which, as the singer explained on social media Sunday, was the theme of her newly added "Tortured Poets Department" set.

Hip Hop's birthplace, New York, is staging a different kind of battle involving rap lyrics -- while some prosecutors want to pin crimes on artists through their lyrics, but rappers and lawmakers are taking immediate action.

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with MCs Papoose and Torae following their impassioned appearance at the state Capitol in Albany, where they met with the Lieutenant Governor and other officials to campaign for Bill AB127.

The bill is intended to stop artists from having their lyrics used against them in court and Pap, Torae, Kevin Liles and other members of the Recording Academy all joined forces to raise the awareness.

They're both BK-bred from the true school of hip hop culture, and defenders of the nuanced and explicit detailing of crime-laden minority neighborhoods often heard in rap lyrics.

To be clear, they're advocating for MCs who rap about crimes ... not for people who are actually committing crimes. The bill aims to prevent prosecutors from using artists' lyrics against them in court.

We also got their take on the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef, which from numbers alone, is hip hop's biggest battle to date.

Unlike some alarmed reactions to the lyrical battle ... Pap and Torae both feel you can't make an omelet without smashing eggs. In other words: rap is, and always will be, about competition, and the clash was, overall, good for hip hop.

Now that things have cooled off between K.Dot and the Canadian, Pap and Torae believe AB127 should be a priority for all MCs.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is facing some serious backlash over her Mother's Day tribute -- and now, she's defending herself ... this while fending off serious threats online, TMZ has learned.

GRB tells TMZ ... her heartfelt tribute on TikTok -- which mentioned her late mother, Dee Dee, as well as other mother figures in her life -- was simply meant to acknowledge her stepmother Kristy and boyfriend Ken Urker's mom ... as they've done a lot for her in recent years.

We're told the post was in no way meant to be disrespectful to Dee -- whose name she invoked in her lengthy tribute, which a lot of people took offense to ... and yet, Gypsy's being inundated with hate as a result -- including some major threats on her safety.

Renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht -- known for his work on high-profile cases such as JonBenét Ramsey and JFK's assassination -- has died.

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts announced the former Allegheny County medical examiner's death Monday ... saying in a statement he brought "comfort and justice for countless grieving and victimized families around the globe" through his work.

Wecht performed roughly 21,000 autopsies and around 42,000 postmortem examinations during his long-standing career.

Steve Buscemi is still healing after getting randomly attacked in New York last week -- the remnants of which are still visible ... including a black eye.

The actor was out and about in the Big Apple Saturday -- the first time he'd been seen in public since word of the ambush came down yesterday from his team ... and yes, the guy's rockin' a shiner on his left eye, which is where he's reported to have been hit.

As you can see ... he's got a pair of glasses on, and while the left side might look be a darker shade of lens -- that's not the case ... as the right side is totally clear.

Eric Wynalda -- a former soccer star for the U.S. Men's National Team -- has been named in a battery report involving a teenager ... but we're hearing he's calling BS on the claims.

Per a Vegas police report, obtained by TMZ, Wynalda -- who was coaching his son's club team in a recent tournament -- allegedly exchanged words with a player on the other team ... who claimed to cops that Wynalda called him a "bitch," insulted his mom and more.

The player told police he and the coach got face-to-face and he (meaning the kid) ended up shoving the coach ... which led to a fight breaking out between the two sides. The teenager alleges he got scratched amid all this ... but said he wasn't sure if it was EW or the players.

"Big Brother" star Christmas Abbott is no longer seeking protection from her ex, Memphis Garrett ... but the ex-couple will still keep their distance from each other, TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... Christmas has voluntarily dismissed her petition seeking a restraining order against Memphis ... this after she made claims of domestic violence against him back in March.

We're told the reality TV star moved forward with this decision after Memphis agreed to a no-contact arrangement. While it might seem like they're all good ... they're anything but.

A contestant on the popular European singing competition Eurovision has been banned from performing in the final ... and, organizers say it's because the police are investigating him.

Joost Klein -- who's representing the Netherlands in this year's edition of the contest -- will not compete in the final because Swedish police are looking into a claim made by a female member of the production crew, the Eurovision team announced in a statement Saturday.

While the European Broadcasting Union won't say exactly what the allegations entail... they do mention it occurred after the semi-final performance on Thursday night -- adding it wouldn't be appropriate for Klein to continue while the investigation proceeds.

Scott Stapp and his wife are headed for a split, 'cause she's filed for divorce ... TMZ has learned.

The Creed singer's wife of nearly 2 decades, Jaclyn, has decided to end the marriage, according to her rep. The split has been in the works for quite some time, though ... as court records, obtained by TMZ, show Jaclyn actually filed her divorce petition last May.

Her rep says she's faced a long battle in her relationship with Scott and, despite never envisioning divorcing him one day, she's decided to move on.

Diddy is asking a judge to toss a Jane Doe's lawsuit which alleges sexual misconduct against him ... and he lays out a few different reasons.

According to the filing, obtained by TMZ, Diddy's attorneys want Jane Doe's suit -- in which she alleges she was violated by Diddy and others at the age of 17 back in 2003 -- dismissed with prejudice ... and they say the statute of limitations on the statute she’s suing under has lapsed.

In other words, Diddy's attorneys say this woman missed her window to sue -- but more importantly, they point out ... she didn’t include many pertinent details -- outside of her alleged assault -- which they feel makes her claims paper thin and not worthy of being heard. They also insist … her allegations simply never happened, period.

The 45-year-old man who stole and destroyed a Jackie Robinson statue in Kansas pled guilty on Thursday to multiple charges, including theft, and is now facing over 19 years behind bars!

Remember, the large Jackie statue was stolen on January 25 from a youth baseball park in Wichita, KS ... only to be found burned and destroyed days later at a nearby park.

Multiple people were captured on surveillance video taking the statue, but only one person, Ricky Alderete, has been arrested and charged.