Scandal

11:15 AM PT -- A senior member of the D.A.'s office tells TMZ the Grand Jury story is "100% false."

A criminal case against Harvey Weinstein in New York City is reportedly being presented to a grand jury very soon ... this after he was accused of raping an actress.

Manhattan District Attorney, Cy Vance, is expected to take a criminal case against Weinstein to a grand jury next week in an attempt to indict the fallen movie mogul ... this according to WNBC. Vance declined to comment.

The news come about a week after actress Paz de la Huerta accused Weinstein of raping her in NYC in 2010 ... and the NYPD launching an investigation. The NYPD's Chief of Detectives said last week an arrest was imminent, but the D.A. walked that back.

Weinstein is under investigation by a number of other law enforcement agencies, all tied to alleged sexual misconduct.

8:55 AM PT -- Weiner is officially in custody. We're told he was dropped off Monday morning at the prison in northern Massachusetts.

Lunch is served.

Anthony Weiner will begin serving his prison sentence Monday for sexting with a 15-year-old girl.

Weiner was sentenced to 21 months for the crime of transferring obscene material to a minor. He'll serve his time at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts. The facility offers treatment for sex offenders.

Weiner reportedly spent hours Sunday with his 5-year-old son. As you know, Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, filed for divorce on the heels of his latest scandal.

Jessica Chastain's doubling down and casting her vote for Robin Wright to step over Kevin Spacey, and become the lead on "House of Cards."

We got Jessica outside Catch LA Sunday night and asked if Netflix should give Robin the chance to run the show in its sixth and final season. Based on her response, there's NO doubt what producers should do.

You'll recall Netflix 86'd Spacey over the weekend following mounting allegations of sexual harassment. Ironically enough, Jessica was walking right past the wall that, for now, still bears Spacey's mug.

Netflix is out of the Kevin Spacey business -- completely -- severing all ties with the actor and leaving the future of "House of Cards" uncertain.

The streaming service announced, "Netflix will not be involved with any further production of 'House of Cards' that includes Kevin Spacey." Translation, producers have to cut him from Season 6 or else.

Netflix went on, "We will continue to work with MRC [the Producers] during this hiatus time to evaluate our path forward as it relates to the show."

There's talk that Spacey's character, Frank Underwood, will be killed off and Robin Wright's character will carry the show in the final season, but no decision has been made.

And Netflix went even further, "We have also decided we will not be moving forward with the release of the film 'Gore,' which was in post-production, starring and produced by Kevin Spacey."

A 36-foot-tall effigy of Harvey Weinstein will go up in smoke, flames ... and then down in ashes as part of a British tradition.

The Edenbridge Bonfire Society unveiled the giant figure Wednesday in preparation for Saturday's annual Bonfire Night celebration in London. It's an yearly tradition for Brits in memory of Guy Fawkes' 1605 failed plot to blow up the Parliament.

So, why fry Harvey? The simple answer is the Society always chooses a well-known figure in pop culture who they believe deserves a good torching. Weinstein's facing a mountain of sexual assault allegations in Britain alone, sooo ...

Jeremy Piven is being called out by a former "Entourage" extra who claims he groped her on the set of the show and also at the Playboy Mansion.

Ariane Bellamar tweeted Piven Monday, saying ... "Member when you cornered me in your trailer on the #Entourage set? 'Member grabbing my boobies on the [couch] without asking??"

She also claims she tried to leave but Piven "grabbed me by the ass, looked at yourself in the mirror, & said what a 'beautiful couple' we made?" Bellamar, an actress and ex-reality tv star, claims he did the same -- fondling her breasts and butt -- at the Mansion.

We reached out to Piven's camp, but haven't heard back.

Netflix has spoken out about the allegations against Kevin Spacey -- a huge star of one of their biggest shows -- saying they're disturbed by the revelations.

The TV streaming company issued a joint statement Monday along with Media Rights Capital, which helps produce the Spacey-led hit "House of Cards," saying both companies were "deeply troubled" by allegations of attempted child molestation levied against him.

The statement goes on to say that execs for both companies were meeting in Baltimore -- presumably where they shoot 'Cards' -- to speak with cast and crew members and ensure they feel safe and supported. Netflix also says Spacey is not on set at the moment.

In other Spacey/Netflix news ... it was announced Monday that "House of Cards" is coming to an end after the upcoming -- and now final -- sixth season ... a decision that was reportedly made before Anthony Rapp publicly accused Spacey.

Kevin Spacey is taking more heat from the LGBT community -- now, Zachary Quinto is teeing off on his coming out, calling it "deeply sad and troubling."

The 'Star Trek' star says Spacey's announcement he's gay was nothing but a "calculated manipulation to deflect attention from the very serious accusation" ... that he attempted to molest then-14-year-old actor Anthony Rapp.

As we reported ... Spacey came out in his apology statement to Rapp, in which he also claimed he didn't remember the alleged incident.

Quinto ain't buying that. He added, "i am sorry that kevin only saw fit to acknowledge his truth when he thought it would serve him - just as his denial served him for so many years."

Lisa Bloom -- who said she resigned from representing Harvey Weinstein after learning of his sexual misdeeds -- was deeply involved in investigating various female accusers to discredit them ... sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ.

We've learned Bloom actively investigated Rose McGowan back in July ... months before she left the case. We're told she had combed through private investigator's reports and discussed the findings with Harvey Weinstein and others.

We also learned Bloom investigated compromising information to use against another alleged victim, Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, specifically documents from Italy. We're told the endgame here was to kill a story. Gutierrez was mentioned in The New Yorker article.

We're told Bloom was also involved in lobbying the New York Times and NBC to back off their stories on Weinstein.

Our sources say Bloom had been extremely active in honing in on the alleged victims as early as April ... pouring over non-disclosure agreements and reviewing investigative reports prepared on at least one rape accuser.

Our sources say Bloom was also involved in efforts to secretly record at least one sexual assault victim.

We're told Bloom's involvement in the Weinstein sexual assault/harassment matters go back as far as January 2017.

When Bloom left the case she told the LA Times, "I was never aware that there were allegations of sexual assault. Should I have? Yes."

Harvey Weinstein just took a dramatic step to defend himself and the company he founded ... by suing the company he founded.

Weinstein just filed a lawsuit against The Weinstein Co. in an effort to access records he can use to defend himself and the company against potential liability from women who have sued TWC for allegedly enabling Harvey's predatory behavior.

In the suit, Harvey says he wants all emails sent to and from his account and his complete employment file. He says he also wants these docs to help prevent the company from being forced to pay out "unjustified settlements," claiming he's "in a unique position to offer insight, and further explain and contextualize his emails."

Angie Harmon never got along with Harvey Weinstein ... and she thanks her lucky stars for that.

We got Angie going to Craig's in WeHo Wednesday night and asked her for her take on Weinstein's 50-plus list of women -- including Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow -- who have alleged sexual harassment, assault or rape.

One of Harvey Weinstein's new accusers told the press she's suing The Weinstein Co. because she and her legal team believe they knew about his behavior for years.

Actress Dominique Huett addressed the media Wednesday with her attorney, Jeff Herman, in L.A. where she briefly described an alleged incident in 2010 in which Harvey forced oral sex on her ... sparing the salacious details.

We got Dominique and Jeff before the presser, where they explained why they were gunning for the company ... and he says they both believe board members knew about this behavior for decades, and enabled him behind the scenes.

During the presser, Jeff said he was very interested in taking Harvey's brother Bob Weinstein's deposition, as well as other TWC employees to see exactly who knew what and when. He also indicated that Harvey's work contract that allowed for sexual harassment could be a smoking gun in their case.

Jeff and Dominique believe facilitating Harvey's alleged sexual harassment and assault was part of the company culture ... and they're implying they'll be seeking millions in damages through their lawsuit.

Harvey Weinstein allegedly raped an actress and proposed a threesome ... so says the latest woman to accuse the ex-movie mogul.

Natassia Malthe dropped the bombshell Wednesday in NYC with her attorney, Gloria Allred, when she alleged Harvey, back in February 2010, raped her without a condom at her hotel in London. She claimes Harvey also masturbated after the alleged rape.

Natassia -- who Allred said has over 50 film credits -- said she laid still during the London alleged sexual assault and "played dead." She says days later Harvey lured her to the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills to discuss a movie role.

Natassia says she walked in and another woman was there who took off her clothes and, while the woman gave Harvey oral sex, he requested a threesome. Natassia refused and she said Harvey called her an "ungrateful c***."

Allred also said she had a meeting scheduled with The Weinstein Co. Board of Directors set for Wednesday to discuss a victims fund. Allred said the board offered its lawyers instead, but Allred declined.

Cate Blanchett took a not-so-subtle jab at Harvey Weinstein and other sexual harassers by pointing out women who wear sexy clothes don't necessarily want to have sex -- but in much fewer words.

Cate was speaking at the InStyle Awards Monday night in L.A., and although she never said Weinstein's name -- the message was clear when she started talking about women's fashion choices.

Cindy Crawford, Selena Gomez, Zendaya and Brie Larson were all in the crowd when Cate unloaded with her awesomely blunt declaration: don't assume we're dressing up for you, and, most importantly, don't touch!

Warning to Khalid fans: don't go grabbin' the R&B star's junk if you're ever in the front row at one of his concerts, because he thinks it's hella disrespectful.

We got Khalid at LAX Monday and asked him what he thought about a fan copping a feel of Harry Styles' privates mid-performance over the weekend.

Khalid thinks the fan crossed the line since being a pop star and getting felt up onstage don't go hand in hand ... at least not anymore.

Well, this is interesting ...

If Justin Timberlake wants Janet Jackson in his halftime show, he can have Janet Jackson ... because there is NO official ban barring her from performing at Super Bowl 52, TMZ Sports has learned.

After the nipplegate incident in 2004, Janet was seemingly blackballed by the NFL -- she hasn't worked with the league since.

Now, with JT getting the SB52 halftime show, it's clearly water under the bridge when it comes to his relationship with the NFL. But what about Janet?

We reached out to the league and we're told straight-up, "There’s no ban."

So, does this mean Timberlake will bring Janet on as a special guest?

An NFL spokesperson tells us, "We are not going to comment on any speculation regarding potential guests. There may be no guests. Along with Pepsi, we’re excited to have Justin Timberlake."

That's not exactly a "no" ...

Fingers crossed!