Fights & Feuds

Amber Heard's team is lashing out at Johnny Depp as she braces for cross-examination, saying she expects Johnny's lawyer to do classic victim shaming.

Heard is finishing up her direct testimony, but before Johnny's lawyers have their chance, her team tells TMZ, "Today, we expect Depp's attorneys will instead pound away on the victim. We fear it will be equal parts shameful and desperate. And, the overwhelming evidence -- the truth -- is not on Depp's side."

They continued ... "The one thing we suspect Depp's attorneys will avoid is the central issue of this trial: does Amber or any woman have the First Amendment Right of freedom of speech."

The freedom of speech argument is a little off, because this is a defamation case, and the law is clear ... if someone lies bout someone else and that lie causes damage to a person's reputation, it's not protected speech. That's the issue before the jury.

The case was put on ice for a week ... unusual since it was in the middle of Amber's testimony.

Jorge Masvidal will be allowed to inspect Colby Covington's watch to see if it's a phony Rolex ... the UFC star's attorney tells TMZ Sports a judge just granted their motion to see the timepiece up close.

Covington had alleged Masvidal banged up the watch -- which Colby says is worth around $95K -- during an attack in Miami last month ... but Jorge and his legal team say they have doubts it's a real Rolly.

In fact, Masvidal and his attorney, Bradford Cohen, were so skeptical ... they filed a motion earlier this month asking a judge to allow them to closely view it.

In the docs, Cohen said he believed the watch was a "Folex" composed of aftermarket and fraudulent parts -- and wasn't worth anywhere close to the $95K Colby said it was.

According to Cohen, a judge just granted the motion at a hearing on Thursday morning ... paving the way for Masvidal and the legal team to look at it soon.

As for the other motion, Cohen filed earlier this month -- the one in which they asked a judge to order Colby to submit to a physical exam following claims he suffered a "brain injury" in the alleged attack -- Cohen tells us a hearing regarding that motion has been set for a later date.

As we reported, Masvidal is facing felony charges of aggravated battery and criminal mischief after Covington told cops he injured him and scratched up his Rolex outside of Papi Steak on March 21.

Kanye West isn't confident Kim Kardashian can continue to be one of the leading figures in fashion -- at least not without his help -- as she explains in a new episode of the family's Hulu show.

Thursday's "The Kardashians" gives fans a look back at Kim's appearance at the WSJ's 2021 Innovator Awards, where Kim was honored. It happened back in November, but what many didn't realize -- it was the first time in a LONG time Kim styled herself without Kanye's help.

According to Kim, Kanye wasn't impressed with her choice -- a brown, form-fitting leather dress -- saying she looked like Marge Simpson and that her career was "over."

Leading up to the event, Kim revealed she was nervous about her upcoming choices, so safe to say Kanye's alleged criticism didn't help.

Not only that, Kim also talked about something Kanye made very clear -- he was pissed about her 'SNL' monologue -- especially the fact she said she "divorced" him. At the time, Ye hadn't signed the divorce docs, so he felt it was wrong she said things were over.

Amber Heard detailed an alleged attack at the hands of Johnny Depp which she claims left her with a bloody lip -- an injury her lawyers tried to prove with a photo -- but were shot down by the judge because it wasn't submitted in time for trial ... but TMZ has the photo ... a photo Depp's press team says doesn't line up with the timing of her allegations.

Heard claimed in her testimony ... Johnny struck her in the mouth during an argument, saying, "I was in one of these fights, I believe it's this one, in his downtown ECB, we call it, loft, and we're in the kitchen living room area and he backhands me."

She continued, "And, you know, it was, you know, he wears a lot of rings. I remember kind of just feeling like my lip went into my teeth, and it got a little blood on the wall. Just that simple, a little bit of blood on the wall."

We've obtained the photo Heard says she took after the alleged incident, showing what looks like a cut on her lip, along with a note that reads, "I shall return xxx" ... a note she says Depp left behind.

It's the same photo Heard's legal team wanted to show the jury, but Depp's team objected ... saying Amber's lawyers never submitted the photo during the discovery phase of the case. The judge agreed with Depp's attorneys, so the photo was never introduced into evidence.

Now Depp's team tells TMZ ... the photo is from 2012 -- TMZ has seen the metadata and we've confirmed that -- yet in the UK defamation case, Amber's witness statement said the first violent incident was in 2013 ... a year after the alleged bloody lip photo was taken.

A source close to Amber says she messed up her dates in the UK case, and once she got her therapist records, it showed the alleged abuse from Johnny stemmed back to early 2012 ... so they say the timing of the photo makes sense.

Of course, the photo and alleged incident are just one example of countless physical violence claims both Heard and Depp have leveled against each other through the trial.

Remember, Johnny's team claimed Amber's allegations have evolved with "new and convenient details" over the years -- and that she had been "preparing to give the performance of her life in this trial."

To that, Amber's team says, "The panicked Depp's team is fighting tooth and nail to prevent compelling evidence and photos such as this from being introduced. They continue their losing strategy: distract the jury and demonize the defendant."

Former Jacksonville kicker Josh Lambo is apparently taking his beef with the Jaguars and Urban Meyer to the courts ... reportedly filing a lawsuit against the team over its ex-head coach's alleged misconduct.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Lambo filed the suit in a Duval County court on Tuesday ... claiming his work on the field suffered after he says Meyer kicked him and verbally abused him at a practice in August.

During the alleged incident, Lambo said Meyer kicked him in the leg while he was stretching and said, "Hey Dips**t, make your f**king kicks!" Lambo claims he told the coach to never touch him again, but said Meyer responded, "I'll kick you whenever the f**k I want."

In the suit, according to the Times, Lambo and his legal team said Meyer's actions were illegal under both Florida criminal and civil law.

Lambo also reportedly went on to allege in the suit that Meyer's actions affected his sleep patterns, his practice ability, and his kicking performances during games.

Lambo -- who was released by the Jaguars in October -- reportedly claimed in the suit that Meyer's "hostility" caused him to "uncharacteristically" perform poorly.

Lambo is seeking, per the Times, his $3.5 mil salary for 2021 ... as well as other damages.

For Meyer's part, he had previously called Lambo's kicking allegations a mischaracterization of what actually happened.

"There are eyewitnesses to refute his account," Meyer said to the Times in December. "[General manager] Trent [Baalke] and I met with him on multiple occasions to encourage his performance, and this was never brought up. I was fully supportive of Josh during his time with the team and wish him nothing but the best."

DaniLeigh has broken her silence over her fractured relationship with DaBaby ... through a new interview with Hop radio legend Angie Martinez.

The Def Jam singer sat through her first major interview since the infamous November 2021 Instagram Live where DaBaby kicked her out of the house and called the cops.

The incident left DaniLeigh with two misdemeanor assault charges but according to her latest testimony, she's a better and stronger woman for it. She does regret, however, the likely chance the 8-month-old daughter the two share together will eventually stumble on the debacle online.

Following the People-premiered interview, DaniLeigh reverted to her artistic bag and released her new single "Dead To Me" ... which has plenty of DaBaby shooting targets tied to the lyrics.

In the chorus, the 27-year-old singer croons "Momma never liked your ass / Brother wanna fight your ass / Daddy hate your trifllin' ass."

While we can't speak for her parents, it's definitely true the brother — Brandon Bills — wanted to fight DaBaby at one point ... and did. Unsuccessfully.

DaniLeigh says the two "broke up a lot" during their whirlwind relationship and aren't on the best of terms (he hasn't apologized for the IG thunderstorm) but are indeed focused on co-parenting for the sake of their daughter.

DaniLeigh concluded the interview by announcing a new EP titled "My Side" and feeling optimistic about her resuming her career.

Denis Shapovalov just went scorched earth at the Italian Open -- the Canadian tennis star told fans in the stands to "shut the f*** up" in a fit of rage ... and the moment was captured on video.

The incident went down during Shapovalov's match against Lorenzo Sonego in the tourney's round of 64 ... when Denis got into an argument with the umpire on the sideline.

Denis was upset over a point penalty he received after crossing the net to show the ump a mark on the court ... and when he approached the guy on the sideline, fans in attendance at the Grand Stand Arena let him hear it with a loud chorus of boos.

In the short clip, Shapovalov turns to the crowd and yells, "Shut the f*** up," before going back to plead his case in front of the supervisor.

The 23-year-old later apologized for his outburst ... saying he understands the ump was just doing his job.

Elon Musk thinks the Russian government is out to get him -- maybe kill him -- and he's exposing the threat he received that supports his theory.

Elon just tweeted, "If I die under mysterious circumstances, it's been nice knowin ya."

As for what prompted the tweet, a guy named Dmitry Rogozin, Chief of Russia's Space Agency, sent a statement to Russian media accusing Elon of assisting Ukraine in Russia's brutal war against the country.

Rogozin accused Elon of being "involved in supplying the fascist forces in Ukraine with military communication equipment."

And then, the ominous warning ... “And for this, Elon, you will be held accountable like an adult – no matter how much you’ll play the fool.”

As for linking Rogozin's statement to Elon's tweet, it's pretty obvious ... Elon tweeted 6 minutes after Rogozin released his statement.

Elon's SpaceX Starlink terminals are now being used by Ukrainian forces to keep the Internet and therefore communications strong as Russia tries to disable it. It's a critical link in fighting the war.

Rogozin went on ... “From the testimony of the captured commander of the 35th Marine Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Dmitry Kormyankov, it turns out that the internet terminals of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite company were delivered to the militants of the Nazi Azov Battalion and the Ukrainian Marines in Mariupol by military helicopters.”

Musk's mom, Maye, was shaken by Elon's tweet, responding, "That's not funny."

Luka Doncic had big beef with a fan during the Mavericks vs. Suns game on Wednesday night ... and things got so testy between the two, the Dallas star actually needed to be restrained from going after the Phoenix supporter.

The incident happened as Luka was leaving the floor at halftime of Dallas' playoff game with the Suns in Arizona ... when a heckler said something to Doncic that he clearly didn't like.

Broadcast cameras caught Luka trying to go after the fan -- who was wearing a Devin Booker jersey -- before Mavericks personnel had to step in to stop a potential physical altercation.

Luka eventually dropped the issue after pointing his finger at the man -- and headed to the Mavericks' locker room.

After the game, the 23-year-old point guard said the fan crossed the line with his heckles.

"He was just saying some reckless things, man," Doncic said. "I'm not going to repeat that. A lot of fans say that because they know we can't do nothing."

"If it was something normal, I wouldn't even look because I don't care. But, sometimes you're in a bad mood and they say some bad stuff. It's normal, we're people, man, and it's normal to turn around and get mad."

To add insult to injury, Luka's Mavericks went on to lose the game to the Suns, 129-109. Dallas is now down 0-2 in the series.

Madison Bumgarner just lost his mind on the baseball diamond ... needing to be physically restrained from an umpire after the guy threw him out of a game.

The Diamondbacks pitcher's blowup just went down after the first inning of Arizona's game against the Miami Marlins in Florida ... following an incident with an on-field ump.

Mad Bum was pissed during the frame over some balls and strikes calls ... and when he walked toward the dugout and got checked by an ump for foreign substances -- he had some words for the official.

In footage of the altercation, picked up by broadcast cameras, Bumgarner was seen clearly arguing with the ump -- before he was eventually tossed.

The ejection set the former World Series MVP off ... and footage shows he went so ballistic, he needed several teammates and coaches to hold him back from going after the dude.

Bumgarner, thankfully, ultimately left the field without further incident.

Dave Chappelle's Hollywood Bowl performance Tuesday night came to a temporary screeching halt when someone rushed the stage and attacked the comedian, and it was especially scary because we've learned the guy pulled out a gun.

It went down toward the end of Dave's show -- part of the "Netflix Is A Joke" festival -- when a man in the audience somehow got on stage and manhandled Dave, tackling him violently and slamming him on the hard stage.

Law enforcement tells TMZ, the attacker actually pointed the gun at Chappelle as he rushed him. We're told the gun was not real, it was a replica of a semi-automatic. It also weirdly had a knife attached to the gun.

And ... the question cops are asking this AM ... how did this guy get past the metal detector?

An eyewitness tells TMZ ... the attacker got up and started running as a swarm of people went after him. He was running around the screen on the stage when, as the eyewitness put it, "the mob caught up with him and beat the crap out of him, stomping on him." The eyewitness says Jamie Foxx and Busta Rhymes got a few licks in.

We're told Dave was ok but the attacker was injured and taken by stretcher to an ambulance. We're told he's currently in the hospital. LAPD sources tell us, the man was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

Dave continued with his act, telling the audience, "I don't know if that was part of the show. I grabbed the back of that n***** head, his hair was spongy, absorbent."

Now get this ... after the attack, guess who was there? Chris Rock! He was one of Dave's special guests. As Chris walked on stage, he hugged his pal and said, "Was that Will Smith?"

It's unclear who the attacker is or why he did it, but the show went on as planned.

Johnny Depp's supporters are out in full force -- showing the actor a ton of love as he arrives for court -- on the day Amber Heard is expected to take the stand.

Depp just got to the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia where close to 50 fans, mostly women, greeted him with everything from posters with positive messages to flowers. Johnny clearly took notice, waving to and thanking everyone with a big smile on his face.

Of course, things inside the courtroom aren't as peachy -- with more shocking testimony that happened Tuesday -- including accusations Depp did a "cavity search" on Amber once when checking if she had any cocaine.

The entire trial has been full of wild claims, and Johnny's team rested its case earlier this week ... it's expected Amber will finally take the stand Wednesday.

Amber's legal team tried to get the whole thing dismissed after Johnny's team rested ... but the judge wasn't having it. A rep for Johnny told us on the decision, "Numerous witnesses have testified that Ms. Heard engaged in psychological, verbal and physical abuse towards Mr. Depp and we are pleased at Chief Judge Azcarate’s ruling to continue with the trial after Mr. Rottenborn failed to convince the court that there was reason to dismiss the case."

Several Chicago Cubs fans tried to beat the hell out of each other in the bleacher seats at Wrigley on Tuesday night -- and the wild scene was all captured on video!!

The melee went down at some point during the Cubs' tilt with the White Sox ... when, for some reason, Cubbies fans turned on each other and began whaling on each other.

In a clip of the fracas, shot by a bystander near the action, you can see as one fan had another pinned to the ground -- another Cubs supporter was kicking another guy in the head.

Security rushed in to try to break things up -- but that still didn't stop one of the men from getting some extra punches in.

Eventually, the scrap was broken up ... but, sadly for one fan, he said one of the combatants who was undoubtedly booted from the section was "my ride home!"

Will Smith isn't down to fight Chris Rock's brother after an open invite, but another Philly native -- and former 'Real World' star -- is ready to take his place in the ring.

Josh Colon, known for his time on "The Real World: D.C.," has signed on to go up against Chris' brother, Kenny, at the South Florida Rumble in June, presented by Bitcoin Rodney.

Josh, who was on 14 episodes of the reality series, says he's doing this for Will ... and is ready to represent the entire city of Philadelphia, from where they both hail.

As you know, Kenny was ready to fight Will in April after first signing onto the event ... he was confident he could take a W over W, even though Will once played Muhammad Ali on the big screen.

Kenny slammed Will for slapping his brother at the Academy Awards, and was looking for some payback.

The event's got a bunch of celebs attached -- Omarosa, Flavor Flav and Rashad Evans will all be involved ... and the evening's main event has Benzino up against Aaron Carter. Blac Chyna will also be on the card, but her opponent has not been announced.

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.

Amber Heard made a last-ditch effort to get Johnny Depp's defamation claims tossed after his side rested their case -- but a judge said hell no ... and now, it's time to tell her side of the story in court.

The actress's legal team filed a motion Tuesday asking the judge to dismiss several of Depp's claims -- which was to be expected and is apparently fairly standard in these types of cases.

Ben Rottenborn argued that Depp and co. couldn't win the case because they had not proven that Amber acted with actual malice with her op-ed piece ... claiming that she didn't even come up with the headline, and that the ACLU actually penned the first draft for her.

For their part, Amber's team is standing firm that her underlying claims of DV are true -- insisting Depp, through his testimony and other evidence, essentially showed how he'd abused her in some capacity ... even if it was more so verbal/emotional than physical.

Johnny's attorneys offered their rebuttal in fierce terms -- Ben Chew came out swinging from the outset as he tried to bat down Amber's attorney's framing ... yelling in the courtroom that Amber, herself, was the abuser in this case.

In the end ... it would appear the judge here mostly sided with Johnny because she refused to strike his claims -- save for one issue about the WaPo headline, which she tabled for later since that evidence hasn't been introduced yet.

At this point, Amber and her team are going to have to present their side -- thus far, it's been all Johnny. Amber is expected to testify on her behalf this week ... so it'll be interesting to see how she refutes Depp's current characterization.

On the issue of Johnny prevailing in keeping this case alive, a rep for the actor said, "Numerous witnesses have testified that Ms. Heard engaged in psychological, verbal and physical abuse towards Mr. Depp and we are pleased at Chief Judge Azcarate’s ruling to continue with the trial after Mr. Rottenborn failed to convince the court that there was reason to dismiss the case."