TMZ.com Home

Uber is being sued after one of its driver's allegedly beat up a passenger and then later showed up at his home to beat the dude up again, this time with a metal rod.

David Riordan says he ordered the Uber ride home from a 2016 Christmas party in Chicago's Wicker Park. He says he was picked up in a Honda Accord by a driver named Munstr Abuseimi, who became aggressive, kicked Riordan out of his car, and then got out and punched him several times.

Riordan says he went to a friend's house after the attack, where he contacted Uber to report Abuseimi, and about an hour later ordered another Uber to take him home.

But Riordan says when he got to his house, Abuseimi was there waiting and attacked him with a metal rod from behind with the fighting words: "Don't f*** with Uber drivers!"

Riordan says the ambush left him with a fractured left orbital, bleeding in his brain, concussion and a dislocated jaw with nerve injury. He says he also had to get 9 stitches. He's suing Uber because he thinks the company is prioritizing profits over rider safety by not sufficiently screening its drivers.

Riordan's lawyer, Ian Alexander of Goldberg and Goldberg, tells us they've tried to settle the case with Uber, but they've been unresponsive.

Shar Jackson is no longer blocked from her granddaughter -- Chris Massey just dropped his restraining order.

Chris tells us ... he decided to dismiss the case because he understands the importance of family and grandparents. For her part Shar's happy, of course, especially because she feels he was dragging her good name through the mud.

We broke the story ... the "Zoey 101" star accused Shar -- his baby mama's mama -- of hitting his 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, and leaving her with a 4-inch "razor cut" on her forehead. A judge ordered her to stay 50 yards away from the child temporarily, but that's no more. According to the court clerk ... a judge granted Chris' request for dismissal.

What's unclear ... if Massey really believed Shar was abusive to his kid -- something she adamantly denies -- why'd he drop it?.

Taylor Swift just scored a big win in her butt groping trial ... the judge threw out DJ David Mueller's case against her.

Mueller sued Swift, her mom and management team in 2015, saying they cost him his job after Swift alleged the DJ grabbed her ass during a meet-and-greet in Denver. However, Swift fired back ... countersuing Mueller for sexual assault and battery.

The two sides have been locked in court this week ... but the judge just ruled the case against Taylor be dropped. The judge's reported reasoning was that in only informing her mom and team about the alleged assault, Taylor did nothing wrong -- she didn't tell Mueller's employer directly -- so the judge said it wasn't possible to prove Taylor's the person who got him fired.

While Taylor's in the clear ... Mueller's case against Taylor's mom and team is still alive.

Swift's case against David is still ongoing, with a final verdict expected next week.

Usher is offering up a big ol' peace sign to the world ... despite some serious STD allegations.

The singer was at Alfred Coffee Friday with Jermaine Dupri -- the two have spent a lot of time together since Usher was sued earlier this week for allegedly exposing multiple people to herpes without disclosing he had the virus.

Omarosa got so pissed when a moderator dragged President Donald Trump's name into a discussion about police brutality ... she damn near left.

Omarosa took part in a panel Friday at the National Association of Black Journalists to discuss police brutality. Omarosa -- a staunch Trump supporter and an aide to the Prez -- took issue with how journalist Ed Gordon phrased the question ... sparking the feud.

Check it out ... Omarosa was all in for sharing her story about how her father and brother were murdered ... but wasn't having it when Trump's name came up, saying she wasn't going to defend every single one of his decisions.

Chelsea Handler bid farewell to her rescue dog, Tammy, which she affectionately called Bear, on Friday and her send-off was a total tearjerker.

Handler posted a picture of the fluffy mutt on Instagram saying she was forced to put her down because she had been struggling and Handler couldn't bear to watch the dog fight anymore.

Chelsea only had Tammy for 2 years, and recently posted a picture of her recuperating from kidney failure. Chandler wrote of Tammy ... " she made sure I never went to bed once without hearing her little paws mount my stairwell 2 paws at a time. If my door was closed, she slept outside my room like a security guard."

Handler, who also has another pooch named Chunk, says she plans on giving another dog a home soon, but will be reminded of Tammy every time she looks at her new pet.

She also wrote, "Anyone who doesn't believe a dog changes your life has never rescued one."

If Lamar Odom wants to join the BIG3 league, Ice Cube says he's got an invitation -- there's just one catch.

Cube touched down in L.A. -- getting into one of the biggest limos we've ever seen -- when we asked how he felt about Odom expressing interest in his 3-on-3 league.

"I love Lamar man. I'd love to see him play again."

The issue ... "Dude's just gotta get in shape."

If Lamar can get his fitness together, "We'd love to see him play."

Cube also says he's fired up for the 4-point shooting contest with LaVar Ball at Staples Center on Sunday -- telling TMZ Sports he's 100% down as long as Ball shows up.

The good news for Cube ... LaVar formally accepted minutes ago -- and says he's looking forward to "tasting that ass" after he beats the rapper.

Seriously. LaVar actually said that.

"Bachelor in Paradise" star Justin Reich never saw it coming -- a downhill bump caused him to slam so hard on the ground he blacked out twice with devastating injuries.

Justin -- who appeared on 'BiP' two seasons ago and on Kaitlyn Bristowe's 'Bachelorette' season in 2015 -- tells us he was in his hometown of Chicago 2 weeks ago riding his longboard when, out of nowhere, a bad turn flung him off his board.

Check it out ... Justin says he woke up in an ambulance where, again, he blacked out. The injuries are pretty gnarly -- a collapsed ear canal, concussion and fractured skull. He was in the ICU for 2 days but is scheduled to return next week.

The big worry? Possibly permanent loss of hearing ... and in case you're wondering ... he copped to not wearing a helmet.

Ouch.

DMX handed out awards to photogs after dodging a bullet in court Friday ... Best Dog in a Supporting Roll.

X wasn't thrown in jail for violating bail conditions in his tax evasion case ... he flunked multiple drug tests for coke and weed and he was a half hour late in court for bad measure.

X took our photog to a hot dog stand near the courthouse for a celebration.

Dr. Drew thinks the herpes hysteria surrounding the Usher sex scandal is ridiculous and people are making the disease sound far worse than it is.

Drew appeared on "TMZ Live" Friday and made it clear ... people should tell their sex partners if they have herpes. But he says the stigma that we've attached to it is so overblown some people who contracted it have contemplated suicide.

Ezekiel Elliott says the NFL got it 100% WRONG by concluding he attacked his girlfriend on 3 separate occasions -- and vows to appeal his 6-game suspension.

"Mr. Elliott and his team of representatives are extremely disappointed with the NFL’s decision," the Dallas Cowboys star's camp said in a statement.

"The NFL's findings are replete with factual inaccuracies and erroneous conclusions and it 'cherry picks' so called evidence to support its conclusion while ignoring other critical evidence."

"For example, both the Columbus Prosecutor's office as well as the NFL investigators expressly concluded and conveyed to our office (and others) that the accuser was lying about an alleged July 22, 2016 incident whereby she accused Mr. Elliott of pulling her out of her car and assaulting her. An allegation that was ultimately undermined by her false allegation of assault."

"In addition, the NFL's own medical experts concluded that many of her injuries predated the week in question and likely occurred during a period of time when Mr. Elliott was not in contact with the accuser."

"During the upcoming weeks and through the appeal a slew of additional credible and controverting evidence will come to light."

There is no new bombshell information proving R. Kelly is running an illegal cult in Atlanta, despite claims from a city official ... this according to the Jones Creek Police Dept.

Earlier today, Fulton County Chairman, John Eaves, told the media the JCPD obtained new, potentially incriminating evidence against the singer -- and he urged prosecutors to launch an investigation.

So, we called the Jones Creek PD to get all the deets -- and they told us point blank, there's NO new evidence and no compelling reason to open an investigation into Kelly.

Bodybuilding superstar Rich Piana is alive and fighting for his life after a medical emergency in Florida this week ... so says his girlfriend.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Piana's fitness model girlfriend, Chanel Jansen, was with Piana when he collapsed and hit his head on Monday afternoon.

Sources tell us ... Chanel administered CPR on the massive 46-year-old until help arrived.

He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was put in a medically induced coma.

There were rumors that Piana died from his injuries -- but Chanel says that's just not true.

" I just want to be clear [Piana] is STILL ALIVE," Chanel says ... "All myself and his family are asking for is POSITIVE thoughts, prayers, and love."

Piana is a former Mr. California who went on to become a huge Instagram sensation -- racking up more than 1 million followers with pumped up photos and videos.

He's a staple on the bodybuilding circuit and has worked out with some of the biggest stars in the sport -- including the guy who plays The Mountain on "Game of Thrones."

Ezekiel Elliott beat up his girlfriend 3 times in the same week ... and there are photos that prove it ... this according to the NFL. Elliott is facing a 6 game suspension with these charges.

The league laid out its case against Elliott in a letter to the Dallas Cowboys running back detailing a week of violence and terror against Tiffany Thompson that began on July 17, 2016.

INCIDENT #1

On July 17, the NFL says Elliott attacked Thompson at the Canvasback Lane apartments in Columbus, Ohio.

"You used physical force that caused injuries to Ms. Thompson's arms, neck and shoulders."

INCIDENT #2

On July 19, the NFL says there was another altercation at the Canvasback Lane apartments.

"You used physical force that caused injuries to Ms. Thompson's face, arms, wrists and hands."

INCIDENT #3

On July 21, the NFL says there was a 3rd incident at the Canvasback Lane apartments.

"You used physical force that caused injuries to Ms. Thompson's face, neck, arms knee and hips."

The league says it went to prosecutors to find out why Elliott was not charged with a crime. The NFL was told, "We never concluded that she was lying to us ... we generally believed her for all of the incidents."

Prosecutors had previously said there was "conflicting and inconsistent information across all incidents, resulting in concern regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the filing of criminal charges."

The standard for prosecution is much higher than the standard for the NFL to mete out discipline.

DMX pissed off the judge in his criminal case something fierce, after showing up more than 30 minutes late to his bail bond hearing ... but he still dodged the jail bullet.

The rapper and his attorney, Murray Richman, showed up to court Friday morning in NYC and the judge gave him an earful ... notably, X failed 4 drug tests for pot and cocaine.

The rapper is out on bail in his tax evasion case, and one of the conditions is no drugs. X violated another condition -- not leaving the state without court permission --- by flying to St. Louis to handle some family matters.

The judge could easily have thrown the rapper in jail, but showed him mercy by putting him on house arrest. To make sure he doesn't stray, X has to wear an ankle bracelet. The judge was pretty clear, telling X he couldn't even go out to mow his own lawn.