Fairly Legal

Diddy's lawyers have asked a judge to restrict statements made by potential witnesses and their lawyers outside of court ... citing one grand jury witness in particular who keeps speaking to the press.

The music producer’s team filed the documents Sunday ... asking the judge to expedite the process of responding to Diddy's motion for a gag order because one witness -- a man named Courtney Burgess -- has given multiple interviews in recent days.

TMZ caught up with Burgess and his attorney, Ariel Mitchell, outside the courthouse Thursday ... with Mitchell telling us Courtney was called to testify because he has or has seen salacious videos of Diddy and his celebrity friends.

The owners of Peanut the squirrel are still in an emotional whirlwind after their beloved social media star was seized and euthanized by authorities in New York ... and now they're readying to fight back, TMZ is told.

Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, tell us they are already in the process of legal action ... but they cannot give too many more details at this point. But ML makes it crystal clear ... "Peanut did not die in vain!"

Their story went national after they accused the state of abusing power and wasting taxpayer funds to seize and kill Peanut -- all because of some anonymous claims ... which ML says were all total BS.

Miami Beach has officially cut ties with Diddy, revoking his Key to the City amid his ongoing legal problems ... TMZ has learned.

The now-disgraced rapper was officially stripped of his honor this week in light of his arrest, indictment and avalanche of sexual assault lawsuits that have piled up against him -- 9 years after he was first awarded the Key to the City.

We're told Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner and the city commission voted unanimously on the decision at an in-person hearing Wednesday. Our sources tell us the mayor still has to officially sign off on the resolution, which is imminent.

Los Angeles Lakers player Jaxson Hayes went on a rampage prior to his 2021 arrest -- verbally abusing and putting his hands on his then-girlfriend Sofia Jamora during an intense altercation ... and it was all captured on surveillance video.

TMZ Sports obtained footage and images from a source close to Jamora ... which are tied to her ongoing lawsuit against Hayes.

The July 2021 dispute -- which was sparked after Jamora blamed Hayes' dogs for injuring her much smaller dog -- shows the 7-footer appearing to pull the model from one room and into another around 1:35 AM ... as she pled with him to let her go.

Diddy's methods of keeping his business affairs have been shrouded in mystery, but now TMZ can show how -- 'cause we've obtained a standard Combs NDA studio attendees were required to sign.

The document -- a pretty standard non-disclosure agreement -- prevents signees from sharing information related to Diddy, his family members, current or former partners, spouses, friends of business associates.

The NDA tells signees not to photograph, film or record -- or, have another person photograph film or record -- Diddy or anyone in his orbit without his written consent ... and, specifically names social media sites where attendees can't post photos Diddy doesn't sign off on.

The internal investigation MrBeast commissioned after his longtime co-host Ava Kris Tyson was hit with serious grooming allegations found no evidence of such claims ... but the probe did turn up some isolated instances of workplace harassment and misconduct.

MrBeast hired Alex Spiro from the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to investigate his company back in July, following sexual misconduct allegations ... and, after reviewing millions of documents and conducting interviews with current and former employees, the firm concluded that allegations of pedophilia, grooming, and child porn involving company employees and minors were without basis.

Spiro's report, obtained by TMZ, says the sexual misconduct allegations were "soundly rejected, including by alleged victims."

Adam Schefter had football fans in a tizzy after being accused of using an illegal streaming site to watch "Thursday Night Football" ... but sure enough, it wasn't what it looked like.

The longtime ESPN talent posted a clip of Jets receiver Malachi Corley's bone-headed fumble during the second quarter of New York's matchup with the Houston Texans ... but instead of focusing on the lowlight, folks noticed a MethStreams watermark in the top left corner of the video.

Naturally, that led people to assume Schefty didn't have an Amazon Prime membership and wanted to use other means to tune in to the action ... which would be a bad look for one of the biggest insiders in the league.

Kurt Busch has pled guilty to a criminal charge of driving while impaired, TMZ Sports has learned.

An Iredell County, N.C. court official tells us the former NASCAR champion entered the plea on Wednesday.

The official says in exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the reckless driving and speeding charges he was facing in the case.

Judge Mathis says Erik and Lyle Menendez deserve to be free men ... telling us new evidence they were allegedly molested by the father they killed totally changes things.

We got the TV judge Thursday at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, and our photog asked him about the Menendez brothers and their bid to get out of prison after nearly 35 years behind bars.

Judge Mathis says if he was handling their resentencing case, he would reduce the length of their punishment on account of the molestation claims and send them home ASAP.

A man who claims he has sex tapes from Diddy's parties, and the real Kim Porter memoir says he's been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

We got attorney Ariel Mitchell and her client, Courtney Burgess, Thursday outside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan and they told us they'd just finished testifying for the grand jury.

Courtney says he was initially contacted by agents from the Department of Homeland Security ... one of the federal agencies involved in the Diddy criminal case.

3:54 PM PT -- Young Thug could be home very soon ... he was just sentenced and may not have to serve any more time behind bars if he successfully completes 15 years of probation.

On Thursday afternoon, Judge Whitaker imposed the sentence, which amounts to 40 years in total.

It's a bit complicated, but here's the gist -- he was given time served for 5 of the years plus 15 years on probation.

There is also a backloaded 20-year prison sentence that could kick in after probation ... but he'll only have to serve that time behind bars if he doesn't successfully complete his probation term.

If he keeps his nose clean during probation, the judge said that part of the sentence would be commuted.

His lawyer Brian Steel also requested he still be allowed to associate with co-defendants, his brother Quantavious "Unfoonk" Grier and Sergio "Gunna" Kitchens, in order to continue his rap career.

The state had been recommending Thug serve at least 25 years in prison, but it appears the judge went in a very different direction.

Young Thug decided to enter a guilty plea in his YSL RICO case ... which will bring an end to his part in what has become the longest trial in Georgia history.

On Thursday -- Halloween '24 at that -- Thug switched his original plea he made in 2022 and pleaded guilty to his role in criminal street gang activity.

He also pleaded no contest to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and leading a criminal street gang.

12:47 PM PT -- The video of Megan Thee Stallion admitting to lying to Gayle King about having sex with Tory Lanez is new, but a source close to Tory's criminal shooting case tells TMZ ... Meg testified during the trial that she had a sexual relationship with Lanez.

10:32 AM PT -- Megan Thee Stallion's admission she lied to Gayle King about having sex with Tory Lanez is catching the attention of Tory's legal team.

Ceasar McDowell, CEO of Unite the People, the nonprofit law firm that reps Tory, tells TMZ ... "The fact that Megan lied about her sexual relationship with Tory obviously makes her an unreliable witness. If someone lies in front of millions of people, how can you trust what they say any other time?"

The assault video showing Diddy beating his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura wasn't released by the feds, they claim ... saying CNN got it from someone else -- and, Diddy's arguments claiming otherwise are straight-up false.

Prosecutors filed a motion in U.S. District Court in opposition to a motion Diddy filed earlier this month alleging he believed the government gave the video to the popular cable news channel back in May ... and, they basically say this can't be true 'cause they didn't even have it yet.

According to prosecutors, federal agents had searched for the video early in the investigation, but it had mysteriously disappeared from the hotel's server ... and didn't crop up again until CNN released the footage on May 17.

The Menendez brothers' childhood home isn't known as the "murder house" anymore ... with famed realtor Josh Flagg crediting Ryan Murphy's drama for the successful rebrand.

We caught up with the "Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles" star outside Craig's in West Hollywood Tuesday, where he shared his 2 cents on the infamous siblings' former abode ... and how its reputation has changed in recent months.

As Josh put it ... he doesn't think it will be hard for the current sellers to offload the mansion for $25 million if they wanted to, given the renewed interest in the case, thanks to Ryan's Netflix series, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."

Huge development for Erik and Lyle Menendez ... the L.A. County D.A. is pushing for a path to freedom that could set the brothers free in a matter of weeks.

L.A. County D.A. George Gascón just said he "strongly" supports the Menendez brothers' request for clemency.

TMZ broke the story ... Erik and Lyle's lawyer, Mark Geragos, filed legal docs Tuesday with California Governor Gavin Newsom, asking him to grant clemency to his clients.

Diddy's facing a mountain of lawsuits from anonymous accusers, but now at least one of them has to reveal their name ... or take an L in court.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a judge in New York just ruled a woman suing Diddy for an alleged sexual assault she claims happened 20 years ago must reveal her identity or have her suit dismissed.

The woman is suing as a Jane Doe ... and her lawsuit is one of the 120 suits Texas attorney Tony Buzbee says he's filing against Diddy.