TMZ.com Home

Future wouldn't even have one ... if not for rapper/producer Rocko, who says he discovered Future, put him on the path to fame and fortune, and then got stabbed in the back.

Rocko, owner of A1 Recordings, just sued Future ... citing a 2011 contract he believes Future breached. He says the deal was for Future to make his first 6 albums with A1.

Rocko says Epic Records signed on to distribute the albums, but then things got tricky. In the suit, he says Future cut a side deal with Epic, which scored him huge multi-million dollar advances.

Rocko says he was left out in the cold because Future stiffed him to the tune of 25% -- the commission he's owed off those fat Epic advances. In addition, he says he's owed 20% of Future's earnings from touring, endorsements, etc ...

Bottom line ... Rocko says Future's on the hook for more than $10 million.

Brock Allen Turner -- the ex-Stanford swimmer convicted of rape -- has been placed in protective custody while serving his sentence at Santa Clara County Jail ... to keep him safe from inmates who might harm him.

Amber Heard had her lawyer send a letter to the cops who arrested her for domestic violence, asking them to wipe clean all traces of the incident ... and the request was made just as she was starting her romance with Johnny Depp.

TMZ broke the story ... Amber was arrested in 2009 for allegedly assaulting her domestic partner at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport. Cops took her mug shot, she spent a night in jail and appeared in court, where the prosecutor decided not to pursue the case because Amber and partner Tasya van Ree lived in California.

Amber's lawyer, Michele Shaw, sent a letter to the Port of Seattle Police Dept. on November 14, 2011 ... asking to delete the criminal history. The lawyer points out, under Washington law, she was eligible because she was never prosecuted.

Amber met Johnny on the set of "Rum Diaries." They reconnected at the premiere in October, 2011 ... just weeks before she decided to clean up her record.

R&B singer Rockwell must feel like his '80s hit "Somebody's Watching Me" has come to life -- he marched into court to get protection from an ex he says won't stop threatening him.

In court docs, Rockwell says Leslie Miller attacked him on May 30 ... by repeatedly hitting him in the face and upper body, leaving him bruised. Miller was arrested for misdemeanor battery following the incident, but was released on June 2.

Ever since then Rockwell says she's made dozens of threatening phone calls to him ... and to his famous father, Motown founder Berry Gordy.

He was granted a restraining order ... requiring Miller to stay at least 100 yards away and make no contact with him. Rockwell wanted his dad to get the same protection, but the court says Berry needs to seek his own request.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Miller was not prosecuted, due to insufficient evidence.

Amber Heard appears to be getting professional help from a guy who specializes in helping women make better choices in the man department.

In the middle of her legal battle with Johnny Depp ... Heard hooked up on Wednesday with Dr. Connell Cowan. He's the famed clinical psychologist who co-wrote the book, "Smart Women/Foolish Choices: Finding the Right Men Avoiding the Wrong Ones."

We told you it was in the works ... but now, it's official -- Aaron Hernandez has hired Casey Anthony's lawyer, Jose Baez, to represent him in his double murder case.

The ex-NFL star and convicted murderer met with Baez at his Massachusetts prison earlier this week -- and, moments ago, Baez announced Hernandez has made the move to retain Baez's firm.

"I can now confirm that my firm has been retained to represent Mr. Aaron Hernandez in his upcoming trial," Baez said in a statement.

"Mr. Hernandez strongly maintains his innocence, and I plan to establish that before a jury of his peers."

Besides being convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013, the former New England Patriots tight end is also accused of killing two men in a drive by shooting in 2012.

Beyonce bitching about Jay Z's alleged affair wasn't even her idea ... according to a filmmaker who says Bey's visual album copies a movie he made more than a year before "Lemonade" dropped.

Matthew Fulks is suing Beyonce and her record label, saying much of the "Lemonade" trailer completely rips off his 2014 short film, "Palinoia." In the suit, he says his project also depicted a "tumultuous relationship."

He says his beef is really over 39 seconds of the trailer, which have a slew of images similar to his movie. Specifically ... characters in front of graffiti-covered walls, red tinted images, dimly lit parking garages and closeup shots of "overgrown grass." There are more ...

Fulks says he knows a Senior VP at Columbia Music, Bey's label, saw "Palinoia" sometime in 2015 -- and he thinks the exec stole his ideas for "Lemonade" ... which started shooting at the end of 2015.

He wants Bey and the label to fork over a cut of their profits from her hit record.

The world's loneliest dog is getting her big break in Hollywood -- and possibly a new home -- thanks to mega director Michael Bay, who just cast the pooch in 'Transformers 5.'

Freya, a Staffordshire bull terrier who suffers from epilepsy, got on Bay's radar after a report about her being in the same rescue shelter for 6 years with no takers. The shelter estimates she's been passed up 18,000 times!

Freshfields Animal Rescue Center says Bay's camp called and confirmed the director was hell-bent on finding a role for Freya. Bay also promised to adopt her if no one else had by the time filming starts this August in the U.K.

That seems unlikely ... Freshfields says it's gotten at least 100 offers to adopt Freya since she became a celebrity, and has already visited with a potential family.

Someone get that bitch an agent.

Amber Heard's ex girlfriend, Tasya van Ree, says Amber's domestic violence arrest was ridiculous because it was never that violent.

TMZ broke the story, Amber was arrested at the Seattle International Airport in 2009 after Amber allegedly grabbed and hit Tasya's arm. She was booked, her mug shot was taken, but ultimately the D.A. declined to prosecute.

Sources close to Amber tell us both her and Tasya say Amber's arrest was simply a "lover's spat," and all she did was grab onto her arm.

Tasya says she told cops she didn't want Amber arrested, but our law enforcement sources say Tasya was upset and unsympathetic to Amber when she was cuffed and taken away.

Van Ree says the cops were not even going to take action until they realized she and Amber were domestic partners. She says the cops had "mysogynistic attitudes" and appeared to be "homophobic."

12:30 PM PT -- Columbus was released from jail early Thursday after serving 6 days of his 30 day sentence.

Columbus Short pissed off a judge with a wad of excuses for violating probation, and it got him a month behind bars.

The ex "Scandal" star was in court Wednesday for a progress report where the judge handed down the jail sentence, plus 6 months in a residential drug treatment program.

Prosecutors said Short was violating his probation from a 2014 assault case by continuing to smoke marijuana -- testing showed his THC levels were increasing weekly. They also say he's done ZERO hours of community service.

Short tried playing the sympathy card -- his lawyer informed the judge Short's sister died of heart failure last week. It didn't work and ultimately, Short apologized.

He'd already been in custody for 6 days, and was immediately taken back to jail to do 24 more.

Ed Sheeran's hit song "Photograph" is a total rip-off ... according to a new lawsuit filed by two songwriters.

According to legal docs, Sheeran's "Photograph" blatantly copied huge chunks from the song "Amazing," written by Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard for 'X Factor' season 7 winner Matt Cardle.

Interesting to note ... the songwriters hired the same attorneys that won a $7.4 million judgment against Robin Thicke and Pharrell's "Blurred Lines."

They're suing for copyright infringement and seeking more than $20 million in damages.

We reached out to Sheeran for a comment ... so far no word back.

Justin Bieber was so enamored with an adorable baby while eating sushi in Malibu ... he put a temporary kibosh on his strict no picture policy.

JB was at Nobu on Monday when he passed by 6-month-old Nikki eating lunch with her family.

We're told Justin stopped and said, "Aww, who is this little baby she's so cute," and immediately asked to hold her. He asked if she was a fan and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Justin even came back after lunch to see if Nikki missed him.

He also trolled his fans by posting a pic with Nikki and calling her his daughter.

Demi Rose -- the model Tyga rebounded with for a couple days -- is a woman of many faces, although you'd have to be looking at it to know it ... which is no guarantee with her body.

The 21-year-old flashed a new look in her native Birmingham, England -- seeming more like a smokin' hot Emily Ratajkowski knockoff than ever before. Demi's also been mistaken for Tyga's ex, Kylie Jenner.

By any name, the chick's just ridiculous.

Amber Heard's friend who was on the phone the night Johnny Depp allegedly attacked -- says she witnessed firsthand the effects of multiple other attacks ... and had to stop the pattern of violence.

Artist iO Tillett Wright says, "I called 911 because she never would. Because every time it happened, her first thought was about protecting him." She claims Depp repeatedly apologized for other violent incidents and repeatedly swore to "never to do it again."

In a blog post, she writes about an alleged attack in December where Amber woke up with her pillow covered in blood. Wright says, "I know this because I went to their house. I saw the pillow with my own eyes. I saw the busted lip and the clumps of hair on the floor."

She describes Johnny as a dear friend and "brother" who'd helped her through dark times -- but says she needed to call him out after what she heard the night of May 21.

"I was on the phone with both of them and heard it drop, heard him say, 'What if I pulled your hair back?' and her scream for my help, I wondered like so many times before if I should break the code of silence that surrounds celebrities and invite the police into the situation."

Ultimately, Wright says, "I had to stand up for my friend."

Richard Simmons is blasting a news report claiming the fitness guru is transitioning into a woman.

Simmons' rep called the story in the National Enquirer "absolute madness and not true."

The Enquirer claims Simmons has received breast implants and hormone treatments over the last 2 years and is becoming a woman. The report claims he's now "a softly spoken woman named Fiona."

Simmons went into virtual seclusion almost 3 years ago, shutting out friends and family. He claimed he wanted a break from the spotlight and was struggling with a bum knee.

TMZ broke the story ... Richard was hospitalized Friday night and stayed at Cedars in L.A. until Monday.

We got this pic of him sporting a beard in the backseat.