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Johnny Depp's team is trying to tear apart Amber Heard's testimony ... claiming it's nothing more than performance art.

Johnny's spokesperson tells TMZ ... their prediction during opening statements has now come to fruition ... that Amber has been "preparing to give the performance of her life in this trial." They now say their prediction was dead-on accurate.

They claim her stories of abuse have evolved with "new and convenient details" as time goes on. By contrast, they say Johnny's "recollections have remained exactly the same throughout the 6 painful years since her first allegations were made."

They also say the upcoming cross-examination from Johnny's team will be telling, as Depp's attorneys zero in on alleged inconsistencies in her stories. As you know, Amber wrapped up day 2 of her testimony ... where she told the jury he called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Amber also claimed Johnny once penetrated her with a glass bottle during one of his alleged violent outbursts.

42 Dugg's patented "Free Dem Boyz" slogan now applies to himself as well. The Detroit rapper -- who's signed with Lil Baby and Yo Gotti -- was reportedly arrested the moment he got off a plane from Memphis.

Dugg, whose government name is Dion Hayes, failed to turn himself in to a West Virginia federal prison camp last month to serve a 6-month sentence for illegal firearm possession ... according to The Detroit News.

The 27-year-old rising star, who was just named to XXL's 2021 Freshman list, hasn't exactly been living like a man on the run. In April, he released his joint album "Last Ones Left" with Collective Music Group labelmate EST Gee, and has been shooting plenty of music videos for it.

Like Pooh Shiesty -- who just got a 63-month sentence -- such legal drama could disrupt what was shaping up to be a promising rap career.

Dave Chappelle's attacker seemingly committed a crime, but it won't be enough to charge him with a felony ... so says the district attorney.

The L.A. County D.A.'s Office made the announcement Thursday, saying they've turned the case over to the city attorney, adding, "After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct."

Our LAPD sources tell us they pushed for a felony charge when they submitted their findings, but the D.A. clearly disagreed.  There has been a war brewing between the LAPD and L.A. County D.A. George Gascón, who has decided not to file charges in cases traditionally have been filed.

As we reported, Isaiah Lee was arrested and booked for assault with a deadly weapon after the attack. Law enforcement sources tell us he pointed a replica gun with a knife attached to the barrel at the comedian as he rushed the stage.

Lucky for Dave, his team jumped into immediate action, restraining the attacker and pummeling him in the process.

Dave Chappelle gave mad props to Jamie Foxx, Busta Rhymes and Jon Stewart for stepping in and taking down the dude who attacked him at the Hollywood Bowl, but we've now learned the famous comedian was doing what he does -- joking.

Dave's spokesperson, Carla Sims, tells TMZ ... immediately after the attack, D.C. went directly back to standup mode, grabbing the mic and celebrating the beatdown ... saying Busta was helping stomp on the 23-year-old who was armed with a replica gun and real knife.

Dave also called Jamie out on the stage and thanked him for participating.

And, at the after-party, Dave told the crowd ... you know you've crossed the line when Jon Stewart gets a few licks in of his own.

Well, now Sims is telling us Dave's comments were simply part of his ever-evolving act ... in that none of the 3 guys threw a punch or otherwise participated in the takedown.

Now Jamie, Jon and Busta probably appreciate the clarification ... it's unclear if the attacker may lawyer up, claiming he was the victim of excessive force by people on the stage, so clearing things up would protect them from possible legal action.

Amber Heard is testifying for the second day, telling the jury Johnny Depp called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Amber told jurors ... a year into their relationship, it was apparent to her Johnny had an extreme substance abuse problem ... passing out, getting sick and losing control.

She described an incident where she says Johnny tried to burn a painting, and how he accused her of having an affair with a musician. She says during that time, Johnny was strung out on cocaine, and not eating or sleeping.

She says in 2013, during a junket in Tokyo for "The Lone Ranger," Amber called him out on drinking in front of his kids, and she says he became upset that she was judging him. She says he screamed at her in the hotel room and called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Heard has experienced a range of emotions on the stand since her testimony began Wednesday ... from sadness and happiness to anger. She detailed claims of Depp searching her for drugs, times he allegedly got physical with her and even how they first met ... including their first kiss on the set of "The Rum Diary."

Depp arrived at court Thursday in rockstar fashion -- with fans greeting him and holding flowers and posters to show their support. Depp waved, touched his heart and thanked them as he went inside.

It's unclear exactly how long Heard will be on the stand ... but her time will almost certainly include more explosive testimony and allegations.

We'll be carrying the whole thing live.

"General Hospital" star Steve Burton says his wife is having a baby, but he's not jumping for joy ... revealing the baby-to-be isn't his.

In a scenario that could happen on the soap itself ... Steve revealed his wife, Sheree Gustin, was pregnant -- but he "wanted to clear something up." Steve goes on to say, "The child is not mine. We are still co-parenting our three beautiful kids."

While it may come as a surprise to Steve's fans, he says he and Sheree are separated.

Steve and Sheree have been married for more than 20 years, and have kids Makena, Jack, and Brooklyn together. We've not yet seen any divorce docs filed.

Tokyo Toni's trying to raise some cash to make Blac Chyna's appeal happen, but she also hopes the Kardashians can mend the rift between them.

We got Tokyo Tuesday in L.A., and she's calling BS on the Kardashian ruling ... she thinks they've got a solid chance on appeal, if they raise $400K she says they need for the lawyers.

Tokyo started a GoFundMe to raise the funds, but the page hasn't seen much activity -- so far it's at an anemic $810.

Tokyo also wants the Kardashians to "do what's right" and stop the war ... especially because Chyna and Rob share 5-year-old Dream.

As you recall, we caught up with Chyna the day after she lost her $100M defamation suit ... she seemed in good spirits, saying her time in court had been fun.

This photo shows how scary it must have been for Dave Chappelle Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, because the gun/knife that was thrust toward him looked like it could have fatal consequences.

The knife is affixed to the barrel of the gun, like a bayonet. As we reported, the gun was a replica but the knife is real ... real deadly if the attacker had actually used it when he jumped on stage and lunged at Dave, slamming him to the ground.

The big question ... how on earth did the 23-year-old assailant get the gun/knife past the metal detector? Our LAPD sources say there was one entrance area where the metal detector could be circumvented. That itself is a HUGE problem.

As you know, a bunch of people, including Jamie Foxx and Busta Rhymes, pounded on the guy ... who was injured and taken to the hospital. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

Dave continued his show and was uninjured, but he was clearly shaken up.

Amber Heard has started testifying in Johnny Depp's defamation case -- the first opportunity she's had to tell her side of the story during the trial ... and it will be interesting to see if she can turn things around.

Johnny's ex-wife is on the stand, with her attorneys asking her questions first. They'll presumably guide her through a completely different narrative than the one JD's legal team has laid out thus far with their witnesses and even their own client.

As you know ... Johnny's side has presented him as the real victim of domestic violence -- as opposed to the other way around -- with the actor claiming Amber would often pick fights and even resort to violence when things escalated. He's insisted he never struck her.

Johnny's witnesses have also backed his story ... with friends and workers who were around in those days saying they, too, never saw any marks on Amber during the period she claims she was being hit. Three LAPD officers have testified to the same ... which was major.

Now, it's Amber's turn ... and she's got a lot of ground to make up -- not just for the jury, we're sure, but in the court of public opinion ... which seems to be firmly on Johnny's side.

It'll be interesting to see how she responds to the most damning pieces of evidence that have been introduced thus far -- including the mystery of poop in Johnny's bed, the makeup mix-up that kicked this whole thing off ... and her admitting on tape to hitting her then-hubby.

Of course, people also wanna hear how she explains the fact Johnny got his finger cut off. He says it was injured when she threw a vodka bottle at him -- and we know she's denied that before ... but here, we'll probably get to hear the gory details from her POV all over again.

If Amber can come off as believable and compelling on the stand, it could have a big impact on the jury ... because as we said, she has not been painted in the greatest of lights at this point.

The same guy who allegedly rushed Dave Chappelle on stage also used the comedian as the inspiration behind his own rap career ... naming a song after DC.

You heard that right ... Isaiah Lee, the 23-year-old allegedly responsible for the attack, is a self-proclaimed rapper by the name of NoName_Trapper. He actually has a song on his 2020 album titled, "Dave Chapelle' on Spotify.

The song's lyrics are puzzling, mostly repeating, "laugh at you n****s a joke."

Lee also has a decent social media following, with 32k followers, and only follows 80 people ... Dave being one of them. He posted a bizarre video of himself yesterday with a filter to give himself a bloody nose and devil horns.

As we reported, Lee rushed and tackled Dave while he was onstage at The Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night -- holding what we're told was a replica gun and knife.

Dave Chapelle took a hard hit and fell to the ground, before Dave's team stepped in and gave the guy a severe beatdown ... Jamie Foxx was also in the melee, and got some hits in too.

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."

The Kidd Creole -- a rap pioneer from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- just got a lengthy prison sentence for his conviction in the stabbing death of a homeless man.

Manhattan D.A. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the rap legend's sentence Wednesday ... 16 years in state prison, followed by 5 years of post-release supervision.

As we reported ... The Kidd Creole was convicted of first-degree manslaughter last month, for fatally stabbing a homeless man with a steak knife.

The incident went down in August 2017, when prosecutors say The Kidd Creole was walking past the man on the street and they exchanged words, with TKC walking past the man before turning back, confronting him face-to-face and stabbing him twice in the torso.

The D.A. says a group of tourists found the man bleeding in the street ... he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Blac Chyna had the deck stacked against her in her fierce legal battle with the Kardashians ... so says the Executive Producer of "Rob & Chyna" who accuses the judge of bias.

Walter Mosley thinks the Kardashians had more than an edge ... they had an enormous advantage, from a gaggle of lawyers in the courtroom to an endless amount of money to drop on the case, and a judge whom he says clearly favored the famous fam. It was no surprise to Mosley, the Kardashians pulled off a win in the legal war with Chyna.

Mosley said on the "It's Tricky with Raquel Harper" podcast ... it was a classic case of David versus Goliath. Mosley believes the Kardashian's legal bill came in at around $5 million.

He says as much as the judge seemed to like the Kardashians, he wasn't a fan of Chyna's lone lawyer.

Walter, who testified, says he noticed some unbalanced treatment from the judge when he was on the stand.

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.

Blac Chyna seems to be rolling with the punches and doing just fine ... just a day after losing her $100M defamation lawsuit against the Kardashians.

We caught up with Chyna Tuesday, and asked all about her courtroom showdown ... interestingly enough, she seemed to be in good spirits.

She tells us, court has been "fun" and she's actually feeling really good. It didn't sound like all talk, either. She actually looked like she was not at all phased by the verdict -- while smiling and chatting it up -- maybe just happy the whole thing is over with?

As for what's next, she says she's simply focusing on working on herself ... and she's only worried about her music, her brand and her kids.

As you know, Blac Chyna and the Kardashians were in an explosive courtroom battle over the past weeks ... after she hit the family with a $100 million lawsuit in 2017, accusing them of defaming her and getting her reality show with Rob Kardashian canceled.

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."