Fairly Legal

Nikki Bella wants to keep her son with her ... asking for legal and physical custody of her son Matteo in her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev.

The former WWE star cites irreconcilable differences in the dissolution docs ... citing August 29 as the date of separation, the day Artem was arrested for felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.

Bella checked the box to block the court's ability to award spousal support to either of them.

Harvey Weinstein is facing new criminal charges ahead of his rape retrial in New York ... with prosecutors hitting him with a brand new indictment after more accusers came forward.

Manhattan prosecutors revealed in a hearing Thursday a grand jury handed up additional charges, which will remain sealed until Weinstein is arraigned -- which won't happen until he gets out of the hospital.

Weinstein reportedly faces the possibility of 3 new criminal complaints from 2005, 2006 and 2016.

Jennifer Lopez has her sights set on her new home in the wake of her split from Ben Affleck ... it's a famous piece of L.A. real estate, but it's not going to be a simple purchase.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... J Lo is in negotiations to buy the Azria Estate in Holmby Hills, and she's close to striking a deal.

The 30,000-square-foot estate is listed for $55 million ... but our sources say Jennifer is trying to negotiate the price down to somewhere in the range of $30 million to $39 million.

Nikki Bella is tapping out when it comes to her marriage ... because she just filed to divorce Artem Chigvintsev ... only weeks after he was arrested for domestic violence.

The retired WWE star beelined it to court Wednesday and filed for divorce after 2 years of marriage ... according to online records.

The divorce filing comes nearly 2 weeks after Artem was arrested Aug. 29 for felony corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant for allegedly attacking Nikki -- resulting in a visible injury that triggered his arrest.

2:30 PM PT -- Diddy's attorney Erica Wolff tells TMZ ... "Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a pay day -- conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour."

She adds, "If Ms. Richard had such a negative experience with Making the Band and Danity Kane, she would not have chosen to continue working directly with Mr. Combs for Dirty Money, nor would she have returned for the Making the Band reboot in 2020 or agreed to be featured on 'The Love Album' last year. It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court."

Diddy is facing yet another lawsuit from a new accuser, a former bandmate who claims the music mogul belittled, terrorized and sexually abused her while she also witnessed him savagely beat his ex, Cassie.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ ... Dawn Richard says she got caught in Diddy's web as a participant on his 2004 MTV show "Making The Band," with the Bad Boy CEO manipulating her by promising to advance her singing career if she relented to his alleged twisted demands.

The former Danity Kane member said during on-set auditions, Diddy called female contestants "fat," "ugly," "bitches" and "hoes." She said Diddy had particular disdain for her because she was young and excited to work with such a famous person.

"Million Dollar Wheels" star RD Whittington is the guy A-list celebs go to when they need a luxury ride, but he got a ride in a different kind of car this week ... a police car, because he got busted in a felony fraud case.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the reality TV star and celeb car broker was arrested Tuesday afternoon by Beverly Hills Police on an out-of-state warrant from Nevada, and he was hauled off to jail.

RD's the guy who hooks up celebs like Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx, Travis Barker, Bad Bunny, Kanye West, J Balvin, Lil Uzi Vert and Ray J with pimped-out cars ... and cops tell us he was arrested on a felony fraud charge for allegedly trying to pass a check with insufficient funds.

Donald Trump amplified one standout, insane conspiracy theory during Tuesday night's presidential debate -- suggesting Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Ohio. And the fact is, there IS one horrifying cat case, but the facts don't match Trump's.

Here's the deal ... over the weekend, J.D. Vance stoked a looney notion that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating random pets in Springfield, Ohio ... which was swiftly debunked. Nevertheless, rabid supporters ran with the narrative.

Then, during the debate ... DJT raised the fantastical story again, which was subsequently supported by Trump supporter Kevin Sorbo, who posted a police body cam video of an Ohio woman being arrested for alleged animal abuse last month.

The guy who sold a $79 million Miami Beach "billionaire bunker" estate to Jeff Bezos is suing the realtor who handled the deal ... claiming he lost up to $6 million on the sale price, because the realtor concealed the buyer was in fact the Amazon founder.

TMZ got the docs -- an entity controlled by Leo Kryss, co-founder of Brazilian toy and electronics company Tectoy, is suing real estate firm Douglas Elliman ... claiming its CEO, Jay Parker, personally called to assure him Bezos was not the buyer behind an offer on his fancy Florida estate.

Kryss claims in the lawsuit he agreed to cut his asking price from $85 million down to $79 million after Parker assured him Bezos wasn't behind the deal -- and the purchaser wouldn't budge on the offer. But Kryss says he found out later the buyer of his Indian Creek oasis was indeed Bezos.

2:25 PM PT -- A rep for Jonathan Majors tells TMZ ... "Jonathan is excited to get back out in front of the fans who appreciate and love the Kang storyline and lore, and he can’t wait to see some friendly faces."

Jonathan Majors is turning to a new business venture following his fall from grace last year ... attending his first-ever convention to sell his signature for a hefty price.

The disgraced Marvel actor -- who was found guilty of misdemeanor third-degree assault and second-degree harassment in December -- is set to appear at the Famous Monsters Fest in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania Sunday ... where he will be selling autographs for $140 each. He'll also have signed pro-shot pics available for purchase ... for a whopping $160.

While Majors will be in good company at the popular convention -- "Lord of the Rings" legend Andy Serkis, "Star Trek" actor George Takei, and "Halloween" alum Tyler Mane will also be in attendance -- the public appearance is a far cry from where his career was before his arrest and subsequent domestic violence trial.

Justin Timberlake just sealed a plea deal in his DWI case ... hammering out an agreement that does not involve drunk driving or even a criminal offense ... he's copped to a traffic violation.

The singer's lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., and prosecutors just got the judge in the DWI case to sign off on the deal. The DWI charge is officially dropped, and Justin will cop to Driving While Ability Impaired ... according to sources with direct knowledge.

Although the word "impaired" is used, it is NOT a drunk driving offense. As for the penalty, we're told Justin will pay a $300 to $500 fine, and that's it. The judge will set the exact amount of the fine during a hearing Friday, when the plea deal is officially before the court.

10:27 AM PT -- Deshaun Watson just fielded questions from media members for several minutes ... and when it came to the allegations in the lawsuit, he said the statement released by Rusty Hardin on Wednesday represents his feelings on the matter.

He added that he first learned of the suit when everyone else did earlier this week.

Deshaun Watson is claiming the new sexual assault allegations levied against him in a lawsuit this week are completely untrue.

In a statement released by the NFL star's attorney on Wednesday, Watson said he "strongly denies the allegations" -- and fully intends to fight them in court at the appropriate time.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner's acrimonious divorce is in the books ... because they've come to a settlement ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Joe and Sophie have settled their divorce and a judge has signed off.

The terms of the settlement are confidential ... but as we've told you, they previously went to mediation to work out a property and child custody settlement.

Jesse Williams is back to fighting with his ex-wife over their child custody schedule ... and it's getting nasty.

The actor just filed new docs, obtained by TMZ, seeking a change in their child custody agreement ... and he's taking a few shots at his ex in the process.

Jesse is looking for a 50/50 split in their custody schedule and wants to see their kids more than the one or two overnight stays he gets with them during the school year ... but he says his ex, Aryn Drake-Lee, is not playing ball.

50 Cent is calling off the dogs ... he's taking steps to drop his defamation lawsuit against his ex, Daphne Joy.

The rapper just filed new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, asking the judge to dismiss the suit without prejudice ... the judge has yet to sign off, but it's just a formality at this point.

It's a complete 180 for Fiddy ... as we reported, he filed his defamation suit against Daphne back in May after she publicly accused him of rape and physical abuse.

The NFL has opened up yet another investigation into Deshaun Watson ... following more allegations that the Browns star was sexually inappropriate with a woman.

The league said in a statement to Cleveland.com on Tuesday that after "Jane Doe" filed a lawsuit on Monday morning alleging Watson sexually assaulted her back in 2020 ... it is now in the process of gathering more information.

The league said as of this moment, Watson will able to play and avoid the Commissioner’s Exempt list ... "as there's been no formal charges and the league's review has just begun." Although, clearly, things could change based on any new information NFL officials receive.

Tory Lanez is speaking out after his "Prison Tapes" recording equipment was snatched ... he claims he was creating too much social change with his revenue streams!!!

We broke the story ... TL's cell was raided yesterday, effectively ending his weekly releases.

On Tuesday, TL claimed he's witnessed tons of racial injustice since arriving at the California Correctional Institution -- and feels it's become his life's calling to help minorities seek proper representation.