Posted Jul 2nd 2009 2:30PM by TMZ Staff
Rihanna picked up a tattoo needle last night at a parlor in NYC -- which would be totally fun and cool, if it wasn't also incredibly illegal.
We're told RiRi tattooed three of East Side Ink's artists with umbrellas and the letter R. None of her pet projects cared that she didn't have a license -- but the NYC Law Department does.
They say Rihanna could be slapped with three misdemeanors for the offense, each with its own hefty penalty -- as much as $300 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for the third.
Sources say the tattoo shop could also face considerable fines of its own if the NYC Law Dept. decides to open an investigation.
UPDATE: The NYC Health Department just told TMZ: "Only licensed tattoo artists can administer tattoos in the city according to the City's Health Code. We are sending someone down to follow up on this."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Rihanna
Tags: east side ink, EastSideInk, inked, rihanna, riri, tattoo, tattoo artist, TattooArtist
Posted Jun 24th 2009 7:30AM by TMZ Staff
CoverGirl -- the company that ran faster than mascara in a thunderstorm -- has un-blacklisted Rihanna.
A day after Chris Brown pled guilty and it became clear Rihanna would not have to take the stand, CoverGirl resumed its ad campaign with a new spot featuring the singer -- a spot that was shot more than 3 months ago.
Coincidence? We thinks not.
Filed under: Beauty, Rihanna
Tags: covergirl, makeup, rihanna
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 5:30PM by TMZ Staff
Chris Brown has copped a plea in his assault case. He won't do jail time, but he will spend 6 months doing things like road cleanup. He's also been ordered to stay 50 yards clear of Rihanna.
He'll spend 180 days doing community labor (8 hours a day -- 1440 hours total) -- which is, in effect, hard labor. He'll do his service in Virginia which is where Brown lives. A Virginia law enforcement officer told us Brown will be picking up trash, pulling weeds and washing fire trucks.
He gets 5 years probation for FELONY assault -- he pled guilty. He'll get supervised probation. He'll have to come back to court every three months.
He must enroll in a domestic violence counseling program.
This is interesting ... the judge said if Brown and Rihanna are at the same public events, the 50-yard stay away turns into 10 yards. The stay away order lasts 5 years.
The judge said she wanted to make sure that Chris Brown "was treated as any other person who comes through this court."
If Brown violates probation, he could get up to 4 years in prison.
Rihanna is in the courthouse but never entered the courtroom.
So Brown is now a convicted felon and loses the following rights: To own a gun, to sit on a jury, subject to search and seizure without a search warrant and he now has limitations on travel.
When Brown left the courtroom ... Rihanna walked in the courtroom. The judge explained the deal to her. The judge is telling Rihanna about the protective order.
Filed under: Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: assault, chris brown, ChrisBrown, jail time, JailTime, plea bargain, PleaBargain, rihanna
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 4:19PM by TMZ Staff
Keep refreshing page .... we're constantly updating.
UPDATE: HUGE ... THEY'VE JUST ALLOWED A CAMERA IN THE COURTROOM. OUR SOURCES SAY IF A CAMERA WAS LET IN THAT MEANS THERE ALMOST CERTAINLY IS A PLEA BARGAIN
UPDATE: Even though Rihanna's there it still does feel like plea bargain
UPDATE: BIG CHANGE. RIHANNA IS IN THE COURTHOUSE. THAT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A PLEA BARGAIN. She's wearing all black with sunglasses -- looks like a pop star going to a funeral.
UPDATE: Rihanna's lawyer is in court but she isn't there. It smells like a plea deal.
UPDATE: Brown is in the courtroom. His head is down and he looks rather upset. His mom is in court, along with other family members. There is reserved family seating.
Chris Brown just walked into the court in downtown Los Angeles, through a sea of media and law enforcement.
Officially, his preliminary hearing is set to begin at 1:30 PT and Rihanna is supposed to testify. But Brown's lawyer was in chambers this AM with the prosecutor and the judge. We're hearing they may announce a deal when the case is called.
Video to follow...
Filed under: Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: chris brown, chris brown court, chris brown hearing, ChrisBrown, ChrisBrownHearing, rihanna
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 2:30PM by TMZ Staff
UPDATE: Geragos has just left the courthouse.
With Chris Brown's preliminary hearing just hours away, we're hearing there's a possibility the case could be plea bargained and announced later today.
Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, is currently in chambers with the prosecutor and the judge.
Our sources say nothing will happen before the hearing at 1:30 PT. But get ready -- it's possible they could announce a deal then.
Story developing ...
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: chris brown, chris brown rihanna pics, ChrisBrown, ChrisBrownRihannaPics, mark geragos, MarkGeragos, plea bargain, PleaBargain, rihanna
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 2:00AM by TMZ Staff
Rihanna has a big date with Chris Brown today ... along with a judge, a few lawyers and a courtroom full of onlookers.
RiRi is set to take the stand as a witness against Chris Brown in his preliminary hearing, which begins at 1:45 PM PT.
Rihanna's testimony is hugely important. Will she stick to the story she told cops the night of the beating? Rihanna said Brown had beaten her before and the violence was escalating.
One big question -- will Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, cross-examine Rihanna? We're told if the case goes to trial Geragos will make a big point that Rihanna was the initial aggressor, repeatedly hitting him before he began pounding on her.
Also hugely important ... the photos of Rihanna's battered face. We've published one pic graphically showing the brutality of the beating. But we're told that photo pales by comparison to photos taken the next day after the bruising and swelling settled. Those photos will almost certainly be introduced into evidence during the prelim.
The judge has rejected TV or livestream coverage. We'll have constant updates.
Filed under: Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: assault, chris brown, ChrisBrown, court, mark geragos, MarkGeragos, plea, rihanna, testify, trial
Posted Jun 20th 2009 2:00AM by TMZ Staff
Hypothetical question: If you were a singer accused of beating your girlfriend to a pulp and your preliminary hearing was set for Monday ... would your next release be a song called "Smash" ?????
By the way ... Monday will be extremely interesting. Rihanna is set to take the stand and give the blow-by-blow.
The big question -- will Chris Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, cross-examine Rihanna. As we reported, Rihanna was aggressive with Brown in the car, striking him repeatedly after seeing a text message on Brown's phone from another woman.
Filed under: Music, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: Chris Brown, court, Rihanna
Posted Jun 15th 2009 6:15PM by TMZ Staff
The Rihanna clone pictured with Chris Brown at the Lakers/Magic game on Sunday wants to make one thing clear -- she wasn't part of a Chris Brown PR conspiracy.
We spoke with Teyana Taylor -- a singer on Pharrell's label -- who says she went to the game with Chris because they've been friends for a long time and he is "like a brother." Taylor said if people think Chris used her for a PR stunt it's "the craziest thing I've ever heard."
As for looking a lot like Rihanna, Taylor said, "I've always dressed like that. I've always had style ... I've had that Mohawk now for months."
Taylor told us she doesn't take sides when it comes to the alleged Chris Brown beatdown -- but she supports C.B. "no matter what."
Filed under: Rihanna, Chris Brown
Posted Jun 15th 2009 3:08PM by TMZ Staff
Chris Brown should not be playing Rihanna jokes a week before she takes the stand against him during his preliminary hearing.
But that seems to be exactly what went down last night in Orlando during the NBA final game between the L.A. Lakers and the Orlando Magic.
We're told Chris came with a dude and Teyana Taylor (right, with Rihanna on 5/08), a singer who must have thought it was funny to dress up like Rihanna. Apparently Chris felt it was funny too.
So Chris got a laugh at the expense of the woman he's accused of beating.
We'll see if Chris is still laughing when they come face-to-face in court next Monday.
Filed under: Talk Sports, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: chris brown, ChrisBrown, hearing, nba finals, NbaFinals, rihanna
Posted Jun 15th 2009 1:20PM by TMZ Staff
Rihanna's doppleganger is hella, ella mad at the AP and Yahoo for misidentifying her as RiRi at the Lakers/Magic game last night -- and now she's putting them on blast via her Twitter page.
Teyana Taylor -- who is one of Pharrell's singer protege's -- wrote:
"omgggggg if one more reporter say that im rihanna im gonna go crazzzzzzzzyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ... I wish the AP would do a little research. since wen am i RIhanna ... yahoo and everybody else just did a biggg f***in s**t"
Right, because it's a huuuuge stretch to think someone with a RiRi mohawk, wearing RiRi hipster shades and sitting one person away from RiRi's old boyfriend Chris Brown could possibly be RiRi.
The audacity!
Filed under: Talk Sports, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: chris brown, ChrisBrown, lakers, rihanna, teyana taylor, TeyanaTaylor
Posted Jun 15th 2009 12:23PM by TMZ Staff
Chris Brown was at last night's Lakers/Magic game, but Rihanna wasn't -- or was she?
Is it just us or does the girl just two seats from Chris look just like RiRi?
Filed under: Talk Sports, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: chris brown, ChrisBrown, lakers, magic, nba finals, NbaFinals, rihanna
Posted Jun 12th 2009 8:57AM by TMZ Staff
Rihanna and Chris Brown went face-to-face at last night's Lakers/Magic game in Orlando -- fortunately there was a length of the court in between them!
With Brown on one end of the court and RiRi on the other, they both watched intensely as the Lake Show came back from behind to upset the Magic in OT.
Side note: Rihanna made the celebrity highlight reel during the TV telecast. Brown -- not so much.
Filed under: Talk Sports, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: basketball, chris and rihanna, Chris brown, ChrisAndRihanna, ChrisBrown, lakers, magic, nba finals, nba playoffs, NbaFinals, NbaPlayoffs, orlando, rihanna
Posted Jun 11th 2009 10:50AM by TMZ Staff
Rihanna and the guy rumored to be her new man -- Canadian recording artist Aubrey Drake Graham -- out last night in New York at the Griffin Night Club.
Hmmm ... so Rihanna has replaced Chris Brown -- a young, up-and-coming singer that used to have a good guy image -- with a young, up-and-coming singer whose good guy image is still intact.
She definitely has a type.
Filed under: Hook-Ups, Rihanna
Tags: Aubrey Drake Graham, AubreyDrakeGraham, boyfriend, new york, NewYork, rihanna
Posted Jun 11th 2009 4:11AM by TMZ Staff
Rihanna officially got served with the papers, the papers ("Goodfellas" anyone?) -- meaning she has officially been subpoenaed to appear in court to testify against Chris Brown.
Rihanna's lawyer, Donald Etra, told People, "Rihanna was served at my office by L.A. DA investigators ... if the preliminary hearing indeed goes forward, she is now legally required to be there, she will be there, and will answer all questions truthfully."
The hearing is set for June 22.
Filed under: Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: chris brown, chris brown and rihanna, chris brown assault, chris brown court date, ChrisBrown, ChrisBrownAndRihanna, ChrisBrownAssault, ChrisBrownCourtDate, courts, rihanna, subpeona
Posted Jun 10th 2009 1:40PM by TMZ Staff
Chris Brown's lawyer went to the California appeals court asking to put Brown's preliminary hearing on ice -- but we've learned the appeals court told him to pound sand.
Mark Geragos wants a hold on the case because of the leaks. The trial judge shut him down. So the prelim in the Rihanna beating is still on for June 22.
Story developing...
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Rihanna, Chris Brown
Tags: appeal, appeals case, AppealsCase, beating, chris brown, ChrisBrown, court, mark geragos, MarkGeragos, rihanna, rihanna and chris brown, rihannaandchrisbrown
