TMZ.com Home

3:20 PM PT -- Stormy Daniels responded to the news in a statement to NBC, where she said she and her lawyer, Avenatti, "are vindicated and we look forward to the apologies from the people who claimed we were wrong."

Donald Trump's former lawyer has just pled guilty to a plethora of federal tax and campaign finance crimes ... so get ready for a tweetstorm from the Prez for the ages.

Michael Cohen pled guilty to 8 counts, including 5 counts of tax fraud and 2 campaign finance violations. He's also admitted to making false statements and violating federal law in relation to the notorious $130k "hush money" deal he struck with porn star Stormy Daniels in order to keep her quiet about her alleged tryst with Trump ... and says it was at the direction of Trump.

He also reportedly admits he acted for the purpose of influencing the election.

Cohen's plea deal could reportedly include a sentence of 5 years ... sentencing is set for December. He could have faced up to 65 years behind bars.

His guilty plea reportedly also covers charges related to $20 mil in loans he obtained for his family's taxi companies.

As you'll recall, the months-long investigation of Cohen was referred to NY's Southern District by special counsel Robert Mueller ... and kicked into full gear after an April FBI raid on Cohen's office, hotel room and home.

Cohen had been Trump's lawyer and a loyal member of his inner circle for over a decade, but began to show signs of breaking with his former boss before audio tapes of his convos with Trump surfaced last month.

One such tape includes the 2 discussing paying off former Playboy model Karen McDougal in order to also keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump ... which resulted in the Prez tweeting that it was "perhaps illegal" for a lawyer to record a client.

Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, predicted to us that Cohen would release more Trump tapes soon ... or turn over more evidence to help his cause and "spank" the President.

Anthony Bourdain paid the $380,000 to Asia Argento's sexual assault accuser ... and denies she had sex with the then 17-year-old, but TMZ has seen text messages between Asia and Anthony that suggest otherwise.

Argento just released a statement, saying, "I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett." The Bennett to which she is referring is Jimmy Bennett, whom she had visit her in a hotel room when he was 17 and she was 37.

She acknowledges Anthony paid, saying, "Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically." She goes on to say Bennett was litigious and made exorbitant money demands and they wanted to "no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life."

Bourdain and Argento -- who were dating for over a year before Bourdain's death -- texted each other about Jimmy Bennett, referring to him as a "donkey" and Bourdain writing that paying him is "no admission of anything, no attempt to buy a cover up, simply an offer to help an obviously tortured soul whose desperate and trying to jack you for money."

Bourdain goes on to say, "Or you just tell him to f*** himself. Either way, I am with you."

In discussing the settlement -- which ended up to reportedly be $380,000 -- Argento confesses, "I am also broke." Bourdain makes it's clear he's handling the negotiations, instructing Argento to take a call from a rep who is involved in the matter.

Asia, at one point, seems to contradict her claim she never had a sexual relationship with Bennett, saying, "It wasn't raped (sic) but I was frozen. He was on top of me. After he told me I had been his sexual fantasy since he was 12."

Asia also never addresses the photograph -- which TMZ has seen -- of Asia and Bennett shirtless and in bed with their foreheads touching. This photo was reportedly the centerpiece of their settlement.

As we reported, Argento did not want an NDA as part of the settlement since she railed on Harvey Weinstein -- whom she had accused of raping her -- for using NDAs to silence his victims.

Bourdain seemed to agree in the texts, saying, "You are not buying silence. Only freedom from inconvenience. And to help a 'poor twisted goof' get his life together."

Asia responds, "I will never buy his silence for something that isn't true since I am also broke." Yet she claims in other texts that he was the sexual aggressor.

And there's this ... at one point Argento says, "I don't fear him [Bennett]. I am no Puritan, google my ass."

As we reported, Bennett claimed Argento plied him with alcohol, performed oral sex on him, jumped on top of him and had intercourse.

Nicollette Sheridan's officially done being a housewife ... her divorce is now final, so it clears the way for her ex's relationship with Denise Richards.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the 'Desperate Housewife' and actor Aaron Phypers are going on their merry ways after a judge signed off on their divorce settlement. It wasn't a messy divorce ... she gets to keep the Hidden Hills crib and a horse named Leo.

Nicollette also won't have to pay any spousal support, and same goes for Aaron. He gets to keep his personal belongings and any bank accounts and cars under his name. While the divorce just became final, Aaron moved on from his 6-month marriage a long time ago.

Aaron and Denise Richards started dating back in September 2017. No word if he'll make an appearance on 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' but chances seem pretty good. As for Denise's ex, Charlie Sheen, Kyle Richards hints it could happen.

TMZ broke the story ... Nicollette filed for divorce in July 2016, much to our surprise.

12:00 PM PT -- TMZ Sports spoke with Corey, who says he's determined to clear his name with the Beer Mile community and work on his chugging to make sure he never gets disqualified again.

The dude who crushed a Beer Mile run in less than four and a half minutes had his time officially disqualified ... 'cause he left too much foam in his bottles.

For real.

The poor guy's name is Corey Bellemore ... and after recording a new world-record time of 4:24 in this month's Beer Mile World Classic -- he was DQ'd 'cause he didn't chug his beers all the way.

FYI ... the Beer Mile is a race where competitors slam a 12-ounce beer at the beginning of every quarter mile.

Officials ruled Bellemore left roughly 4.5 ounces in his bottles after chugging ... which is about a sip over the 4-ounce limit.

Corey took the L in stride ... tweeting after the ruling, "Never rush through life better luck next time!"

Don't feel too bad for the guy ... his 2017 Beer Mile World Classic time of 4:33 still stands as the world record.

Well, that didn't take long. G-Eazy and Halsey are BACK TOGETHER nearly 2 months after announcing they had broken up ... and TMZ has the pic to prove it.

The rapper started his post-VMAs night with reservations for 1 at Beauty & Essex in NYC. Our photog got him going in solo around 12:15 AM. As you might know by now ... that's where J Lo had her after-party where she grinded all up on A-Rod, and he was clearly loving it. Lucky punk.

We're told G-Eazy left Beauty & Essex by himself and showed up at 1 OAK ... again, by himself. 1 OAK's where Travis Scott had his after-party, but things got real interesting when we spotted G-Eazy and Halsey leaving together HOLDING HANDS and jumping into the same car at around 4:40 AM.

At best, G-Eazy and Halsey are back together but, at worst, their leaving together screams it's complicated. But, here's what's REALLY interesting -- we got Halsey at LAX two weeks after the breakup and she told us getting back with an ex is never a good idea.

Cardi B didn't perform at the VMAs, but she DID drop some bars at an afterparty ... and it was all new music. Cardi was feeling herself as she rapped on stage at Tao NYC ... throwing some major shade at Nicki Minaj in the process.

With baby daddy Offset hugging on her, Cardi B busted out some new lyrics ... 'I know how to do it / Get a bag, don't I / I know how to get a b**** mad' ... pretty clear she's referencing Nicki.

The shots didn't stop there.

In another new track, Cardi B raps ... 'I'm the queen of talking sh*t / yeah I'm backing it up / yeah, back, back, backing it up' ... that's another clear swipe at Nicki and her new album, 'Queen.'

Cardi then celebrated winning 3 awards by making a pit stop at McDonalds for a delicious treat.

Cardi pretty clearly shaded Nicki Minaj when she called herself "empress" during her speech. Nicki not only thinks of herself as the queen ... as we showed you, she actually thinks she's Harriet Tubman, something that has outraged non-fans and, frankly, even some of her diehard fans. Between Travis Scott, Kylie and now Cardi, Nicki had no place to safely turn in the venue.

Cardi B just showed up to the VMAs -- her first public event since giving birth last month -- and the rapper looks incredible.

CB arrived to Radio City Music Hall Monday evening in NYC rockin' a beautiful purple gown and a sweet new pixie cut. Oh, and her post-baby body is absolutely on point.

Believe it or not, Cardi just popped out baby Kulture a little over a month ago ... and it's clear she's snapped right back.

We broke the story ... Cardi will be opening the televised show in just a few minutes -- not with a musical performance, but with either a monologue or skit of some sort.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez continued their PDA-fest after the MTV VMAs ... dancing on each other at a NY hot spot and TMZ Sports has the video!

J Lo was honored with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the show -- one of the biggest moments of the night.

Lopez performed a medley of hits including "Ain't It Funny" and "I'm Real" with Ja Rule -- while A-Rod watched gleefully from the crowd.

In fact, there was a hilarious gif of Alex's face lighting up as he watched J Lo twerk her ass off during the performance.

After the show, the couple hit up Beauty and Essex in New York City -- where they continued to dance the night away together while the DJ played some of Jen's hits ... along with other hip-hop classics.

Lopez even rapped along to a Cardi B song while the crowd cheered her on.

Winning the MJ Video Vanguard Award is a big deal -- J Lo now joins an elite group with the likes of David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Rihanna, Janet Jackson and more.

Jenny arrived to the show with her two kids -- but put them to bed before she hit the after-party.

Hey, mama's gotta let loose!

Kevin Hart came out strong against Donald Trump at the MTV VMAs on Monday -- telling the President straight-up, "Suck it."

Hart was presenting the first award of the night with Tiffany Haddish -- and set the tone early, saying, "You never know what's gonna happen at the VMAs. Beefs pop off, bad language, people run to the bathroom and send out crazy tweets. It’s basically like a typical day in the White House."

Then he dropped the hammer -- "In your face Trump, suck it!"

It didn't stop there -- he then put the NFL in the crosshairs.

"We are live coast to coast right now," Hart said ... "I'm looking at this like it's game day people. But do not worry, cause at this game you guys are allowed to kneel! You can do whatever the hell you want, 'cause there's no old white man that can stop you. Do it!"

Jon Stewart came to the rescue of two stray goats found roaming the subway tracks of New York City this week by giving them a home at his animal rescue operation ... no joke!

The former 'Daily Show' host posted a video of himself Monday helping load up the sidetracked livestock, which were spotted by a train operator along the N line in Brooklyn. Cops were called and officers were able to safely tranquilize the animals to remove them.

No word on where exactly these two billy goats gruff came from -- or where the third one might be -- but Stewart stepped in to offer them a place to stay -- his Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY, which he owns with his wife. He also saved a runaway cow a couple years back.

A 37-year-old Asia Argento snuggled with then-17-year-old Jimmy Bennett on a bed, shirtless, their foreheads pressed together, her arm over his as they lay with satisfied smiles ... that is the photo that Asia paid $380,000 for -- a photo TMZ has now seen.

The photo was taken on May 9, 2013 in a room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, California. Our sources say the selfie was shot by Jimmy after the 2 had sex. Jimmy claimed Asia liquored him up, began kissing him, pushed him onto the bed, performed oral sex on him and then climbed on top of him and had intercourse ... this according to documents obtained by the New York Times.

The photo is not overtly sexual, however a casual observer would clearly conclude it looks like a post-sex pic as the 2 faintly smiled while they lay on a shared pillow.

Asia -- who is one of the first alleged victims to come forward claiming Harvey Weinstein raped her -- has not been reachable since the recent story broke. What's interesting ... she still has up the Instagram pictures of her at the Ritz-Carlton that day ... saying in one photo, "Waiting for my long lost son my love."

We also have information as to why Asia did not have Jimmy sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in return for paying $380k. Fact is, she couldn't, because in California confidentiality agreements are not enforceable when they involve allegations of child sex acts ... even if the victim is now an adult.

Weinstein's lawyer, Ben Brafman, lashed out at Argento, saying it was the height of hypocrisy for her to secretly cut a deal involving her own alleged sexual misconduct at the same time she was going after his client. She settled her case with Jimmy in April.

Animal Crackers are now FREE ... from their cages, that is.

It took 116 years, but the packaging of Barnum's Animals no longer depicts the exotic creatures in pens.

Nabisco's popular snack now features a zebra, an elephant, a lion, a giraffe and a gorilla roaming free among grass and trees.

Previously, packaging showed animals and their young locked up in cages.

The stark change has been driven by PETA. In April 2016, the animal rights organization gave notice to Nabisco's parent company, Mondelez International, saying circuses would shock, chain, beat and whip animals in order to intimidate them and force them into performing tricks.

PETA also brought to light dubious practices like circuses separating mothers from their babies and holding animals in chains and cages.

Circuses across the country have also been undergoing change. Ringling Bros. shut down in May 2017 after 146 years in operation, the result of mounting pressure from animal welfare groups, skyrocketing operation costs, legal battles and declining ticket sales.

Nicki Minaj isn't just comparing herself to Harriet Tubman -- she's now saying she IS Harriet Tubman ... just new and improved.

We got the "QUEEN" MC leaving her hotel Monday night on her way to the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall, where our camera guy asked about a new controversy swarming around Nick from a tweet she put out earlier in the day ... conjuring Harriet's name, and drawing comparisons.

Some Twitter fans were furious Nicki insinuated she was in the same league as Harriet, although Nicki never explicitly compared herself to the civil rights icon. Until now, that is. Our photog has her on camera saying it straight-up ... "I am the new Harriet Tubman."

We press her to make sure she knew what she's saying, and the implications of her remarks -- which are certainly shocking. She pushes right back, insisting she is the next Harriet Tubman. You do you, Nick?

BTW ... we also got Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner heading to the VMAs, and asked if they were gonna try to squash the beef Nicki started on Sunday. They were mum on all that ... but we're guessing that whole mess will sort itself out in the stands.

We got 50 Cent out after the VMA's and asked him what he thought about the Harriet Tubman reference and he was ... guarded.

The 2018 VMAs were out of this world, and you can tell by just how damn happy everyone was behind the scenes.

Radio City Music Hall was lit up with A-listers Monday night during MTV's signature award show, and based on what we're seeing here ... it was kinda the Cardi B/Ariana Grande/Jennifer Lopez show heading inside. They definitely took up a lot of the spotlight.

Cardi was radiating in her purple gown just over a month after giving birth, and AG was showing plenty of PDA with her fiance, Pete Davidson. As for J Lo ... well, she was just being J Lo with A-Rod. 'Nuff said.

Tyga's soaking up life in the single lane ... and that's why there's ZERO chance he'll get back with his ex, Blac Chyna.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ ... Tyga and BC didn't know they were going to the same event over the weekend. The bash was a birthday party for one of Tyga's business partners ... someone Chyna also knows.

Thing is ... Tyga and Chyna never interacted the entire time they were at the Meatpacking District hot spot, Catch NYC. We're told they also never spoke when the after-party moved over to Marquee.

Sources say Tyga wants to keep things with BC exactly how they are now -- with their previous relationship in the rearview mirror.

The man who shot and killed John Lennon will have his 10th parole board hearing this week ... and TMZ has just obtained his latest mug shot.

Mark David Chapman -- who shot the Beatles member in front of Lennon's Manhattan apartment in 1980 -- has been serving 20 years to life after pleading guilty to 2nd degree murder.

Now 63 years old, Chapman will go before a parole board in New York sometime this week in a closed hearing ... and a decision will be announced in the coming weeks.

MDC has been denied parole 9 times since December of 2000.

Chapman shot Lennon 4 times in front of his wife, Yoko Ono in December, 1980 at the famed Dakota apartment building near New York City's Central Park ... and later admitted to planning the killing because he wanted to be famous.

He's been in prison since 1981.

Mac Miller has officially been slapped with a DUI charge after his scary accident earlier this year ... TMZ has learned.

The L.A. City Attorney's Office filed charges against Mac stemming from his May car wreck. He's facing two counts of DUI -- one for driving under the influence and another for driving with a BAC at 0.08 or higher. He wasn't charged with hit and run, for which he was originally booked.

We broke the story ... MM was arrested in May for DUI and hit and run after cops found his 2016 G-Wagon smashed against a utility pole in the San Fernando Valley. Based on video of the scene, it's a miracle Mac wasn't seriously hurt ... 'cause it was bad.

Cops say they showed up to Mac's house after the fact and had him use a breathalyzer ... we're told he blew twice the legal limit. Officers cuffed him and hauled him off to jail, but did note he was incredibly polite.

If convicted ... he faces up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine ... but that's only theoretical -- almost every first offender gets off with probation, community service and a license suspension.

It's been a rough year for the dude ... his DUI arrest -- and now subsequent charges -- follows a breakup with Ariana Grande ... who's now engaged to Pete Davidson.