Carrie Prejean -- the dethroned Miss California USA -- is in meltdown mode because of a solo sex tape.

Prejean -- who made headlines for her stand against gay marriage and her strong ties to fundamentalist religion -- is supposed to appear on "Today" next week to push her new book.. "Today" producers have called TMZ, making it clear the interview has changed and they want details on the sex tape.

TMZ has also received calls from CNN, FOX and various other outlets asking for info.

The reason they're all calling TMZ -- we obtained the tape several months ago but decided not to run it because it was too racy.

As we first reported, Prejean and Miss California USA officials had sued each other and were in settlement talks last week. Sources tell us Prejean was demanding more than $1 million but when Pageant officials showed her they had a copy of the tape, it took less than a minute for Prejean to fold and walk away with nothing in her pocket.

Prejean had sued the Pageant for allegedly firing her because of her beliefs and disclosing confidential information about her -- including her breast implants. The Pageant countersued, claiming Prejean had repeatedly violated the terms of being Miss Cali USA.

The reason the tape became such a smoking gun -- under Pageant rules, all contestants signed forms that gave assurance they had no nude videos or pictures in their past.

WWE star Chris Jericho is wrestling with a pretty serious controversy -- after he made a slew of offensive slurs against Middle Easterners and gays.

Jericho was at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival two weeks ago ... for a screening of a movie in which he appears. During a Q&A session, Jericho referred to the moderator several times as "Hadji" -- a term sometimes used as a racial slur against Middle Easterners.

After the first wave of slurs -- and a random shot at Paris Hilton -- the host jokingly takes Jericho's drink to sniff it for booze, when Chris chimes back, "it's apple juice ... fag."

Jericho tells TMZ, "After seeing the video I realize some inappropriate comments were made and I apologize if I offended anybody." Jericho continues, "Just know that everyone on stage was having a blast and we all shared a drink and a laugh after! The good news is I got my wish of being posted on TMZ."

Yes you did, Chris.

Samantha Burke says Jude Law has yet to meet his six-week-old baby girl ... but if he happens to look through Burke's photos on Facebook, at least he'll know what little Sophia Lee looks like if he ever runs into her down the road.

Public parks are a great place for stars to have a picnic, soak up some rays ... and dodge the occasional stranger danger.

Step right up ... and check out the oddities of Hollywood -- we've got bearded ladies, tight rope walkers, jugglers and a half-woman/ half-fish!

And the best part ... no animals were harmed in the making of our circus!

Can you guess whose famous genes spawned these cute kids?

Celebrity faces aren't the only thing getting a good stretch in Hollywood. Yoga has become the new "IN" thing!