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Big changes with "The White Lotus" only days into filming ... Helena Bonham Carter is OUT!!!

TMZ has confirmed Helena's departure from the show, which just started filming about a week ago in France, and her role will be rewritten and recast.

In a statement, a rep for HBO tells TMZ ... "With filming just underway on season four of The White Lotus, it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set."

"The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks. HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon."

Michael Jackson's sexual assault accuser James Safechuck has a new message for childhood sexual abuse survivors ... and he's dropping it as a new "Michael" biopic hits theaters.

In the video, released by Safechuck's attorney, he says all the Hollywood hoopla can be triggering for survivors.

Safechuck says abusers are sometimes praised, even after alleged victims make public claims against them ... and he says survivors should know they're not alone.

As we’ve reported ... Safechuck and Wade Robson claim they were sexually abused by Michael as children, and they detailed their allegations in the HBO doc “Leaving Neverland.”

MJ was never convicted of any crime, and his companies continue to deny the allegations.

It was a dramatic day at sea for "Below Deck" when one of the show's transport vessels caught fire on the open waters ... and we have the scary footage.

Folks who were there say the boat started going up in flames Friday in Mo'orea ... an island near its more famous neighbor, Bora Bora.

The boat fire looks and sounds super frightening ... but the good news is we're told there have been no reported injuries.

"Summer House" alum Luke Gulbranson is a big believer in guy code and girl code ... telling us he doesn't approve of the way West Wilson and Amanda Batula went about getting together.

Luke joined us on the "TMZ Podcast" and we couldn't let him go without asking him about the messy love triangle.

As you know ... West used to date Amanda's costar and close friend, Ciara Miller.

Stefon Diggs' male sexual assault accuser, Christopher Blake Griffith, is asking a judge to force the NFL star to turn over his security footage from the night in question ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Christopher claims Stefon has failed to hand over information related to his finances, security footage, and various other items that he claims he's entitled to get in connection with the case.

Specifically, Christopher asked that Stefon turn over information and materials concerning security systems, surveillance footage, and access logs for the athlete's home in Maryland between May 20, 2023 to May 22, 2023.

Christopher claims Stefon said he would look into the matter but has yet to update him. He claims Stefon was aware Christopher filed a police report and says if security footage from the day in question was not saved, it could raise "serious questions of spoliation."

Teddy Swims says he had a blast at Coachella ... but, he didn't enjoy his body being blasted by the sun -- telling us he's got a nasty sunburn from back-to-back weekends in the desert.

We caught up with Teddy at LAX on Friday ... and, we asked him how he's doing after twice rocking the Coachella stage earlier this month.

Swims says his skin isn't loving all the time in Coachella Valley ... but notes he'll just have to tough it out -- after all, he's headed to Stagecoach, the major country music festival, Friday.

TS says he doesn't know which festival is better -- he's never been to Stagecoach -- but, he looks forward to figuring it out.

Mariah Carey is firing back at her estranged brother, Morgan Carey, who claims that the pop star is refusing to appear for a deposition, TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the legendary singer's legal team denied Morgan's claims that Mariah has missed several discovery deadlines for turning over docs, and for her to be deposed. 

Mariah said her brother's motion is a "misguided attempt to gain perceived tactical leverage in this action by threatening" her with an imminent deposition.

The singer said her brother's "repeated filing of meritless motions" is one of the causes for the delay in the case. 

The parents of Anna Kepner's stepbrother T.H., accused of murdering her on a cruise ship, are now fighting over child support for him ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, T.H.'s dad, Thomas Hudson, is making moves to pay less monthly child support to T.H.'s mom, Shauntel Hudson.

Thomas said Shauntel kicked T.H. out of her home, saying the child was not welcome in the home due to him being accused of Anna's murder. Thomas claims that because T.H. no longer resided with Shauntel, his child support obligations should be reduced for the amounts allocated to him.

The photographer who snapped the pics of Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini lookin' all cozy in Arizona was NOT a private investigator hired by a scorned spouse, despite the internet rumor.

In the wake of the Page Six photos, a theory has emerged online ... with fans speculating that Jen Vrabel, wife of the Patriots head coach, or Kevin Goldschmidt, the NFL insider's husband, recruited a P.I. to catch Vrabel and Russini in the act.

As juicy as that'd be, it just ain't the truth.

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner scored a legal victory in their battle against Ray J ... because his countersuit over their sex tape settlement will now play out in private arbitration, not a public courtroom.

A judge ruled Friday that Ray J's countersuit against the famous mother and daughter -- claiming they've violated a settlement agreement by continuing to bring up Kim's sex tape with Ray J on "The Kardashians" -- belongs in private arbitration.

The judge agreed with Kim and Kris that the parties signed a contract to take disputes over that agreement ... and so that's where they'll handle this disagreement.

The Houston cop at the center of a viral racist rant video is officially off the force ... because the department says her behavior was beyond the pale.

The Houston Police Department announced Friday it has terminated Officer Ashley Gonzalez ... saying in a statement she is "no longer an employee of the department" following an internal investigation into the shocking viral clip.

According to HPD, Gonzalez was immediately relieved of duty once the department became aware of the video ... and officials say they moved "as fast as legally possible" under state civil service laws to complete the investigation.

Police Chief J. Noe Diaz, Jr. didn’t mince words either ... calling Gonzalez's conduct "abhorrent, disgusting, and entirely unacceptable."

Teddi Mellencamp is getting real about body image during her Stage 4 cancer battle -- revealing she actually asked for weight-loss meds while in the thick of it.

"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum said on her "Two Ts In A Pod" podcast that after packing on weight from steroids, she asked her doctor for GLP-1s ... but got shut down.

Teddi kept it light, joking about the mixed messages from her doctors, saying, "You tell me to live my best life ... but where are my GLP-1s?"

Jokes aside, it's been a brutal few years for Teddi. She was first diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer, in 2022 ... and underwent surgery for Stage 2.

Someone get Kyle Cooke a tweed cap and a magnifying glass ... because he's here to tell you who he thinks didn't leak the "Summer House" reunion audio.

He took to Instagram Friday to shine some light on the situation ... as someone who was sitting right there for the tense taping.

According to Kyle, this couldn't have been one of the stars sitting on the couches ... because their phones would have to be stuffed behind pillows or between cushions in order to not be caught by cameras.

And he says that -- based off the seating chart -- there's "just no way" the audio from the leak could've been captured by a phone on set.

Stagecoach has barely begun and the stars are kicking back, country style at the Indio music festival ...

Sydney Sweeney and Hannah Godwin are already flaunting their fits ... and rocking those cowgirl kicks.

Meanwhile, Diplo's catching a few waves -- surfing in the desert, what a concept! -- ahead of his late-night Friday set ...

Charlize Theron took things to wild new heights -- literally scaling a New York City billboard on the side of a building today to hype her new survival thriller, "Apex."

You've gotta see this -- the Oscar winner's strapped in and climbing the side of a building in Times Square like it was just another day at the office, looking totally at ease and every bit the action star.

She didn’t stop at the top -- Charlize smoothly made her way back down, pulling off the high-intensity stunt like it was a walk in the park.