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Bill Maher went in hard for Woody Allen, saying flatly he doesn't believe the sexual abuse allegations and thinks actors who won't work with him are "pu**ies."

Bill was chatting it up with Katie Couric on his 'Club Random' podcast when Allen's name came up. Maher said, "I respect the artist and the man," and then he bore in on the long-standing allegations that Allen sexually abused Dylan, his adopted daughter when she was 7.

Bill believes the story was engineered by Mia Farrow to gain an advantage in their bitter divorce, saying Farrow was motivated by vindictiveness.

Kate Beckinsale has kept the cause for her recent health issues close to the vest ... until now it seems ... although the signal is literally close to the vest.

The actress posted a series of photos and a video, showing her sitting on a bed while wearing a t-shirt that read, "Tummy Troubles Survivor." If we had to guess, Kate must have been experiencing stomach troubles that landed her in the hospital last month.

Throughout March, Kate uploaded several now-deleted pictures from her hospital bed, even one on UK Mother's Day with a tribute to her mother, but no explanation as to why she was in the hospital.

Eyeballs all across the nation continue to flock toward Caitlin Clark ... Monday night's WNBA Draft -- which the former Iowa superstar headlined -- was just revealed to be the most-viewed in the history of the event!

ESPN announced Tuesday that 2.45 million people tuned in to watch the Indiana Fever take Clark with the No. 1 overall pick ... smashing the previous high of 601,000 watchers in 2004. The outlet added that at its peak, the draft's broadcast drew in a total of 3.09 million people.

According to the network, the selection ceremony -- which also featured stars like Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso -- was the most popular program on Monday night amongst people under the age of 35 years old.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard's marriage hit rocky waters after a post-prison phone call from her ex-fiancé -- something we now know her estranged husband finds awfully suspicious.

Here's the deal ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ that Gypsy's stepmother, Kristy, received a call from Gypsy's ex, Ken Urker, sometime in January -- right around the time the first season of her Lifetime show aired, and we're told he wanted to clear the air.

Our sources say Ken told Kristy he wanted to clarify the reason he'd broken things off with GRB a few years back. At the time, reports said he didn't like the newfound fame she was getting ... but we're told he explained he just wanted to give Gypsy space to grow.

North West appears to be a natural photographer ... taking several striking shots of her mom Kim Kardashian during their vacay in Turks and Caicos.

Kim showed off North's handiwork behind the lens with a bunch of pics of herself posing in a gold minidress -- and her caption confirmed the photo credit goes to her oldest child with ex-husband Kanye West.

The first photo in the gallery was a head-on shot of the SKIMS founder ... in which Kim had her hair slicked back in a bun and little-to-no makeup. North took some creative liberties with the other shots, seemingly playing with the light as she captured candid moments of Mom.

An Ohio man has been charged in the fatal shooting of an Uber driver, whom he reportedly thought was involved in an elaborate plot to scam him ... and ditto for the woman, BTW.

Per reports, 81-year-old William Brock told authorities in Clark County that he shot 61-year-old Loletha Hall outside his home on March 25 ... but defended himself, saying he only did so because he believed she was working with someone who'd demanded a ransom from him.

Long story short, Brock had been getting contacted of late by scammers -- who started out by telling him he had to cough up thousands of dollars because some relative was in jail ... which then turned into a straight-up ransom/hostage call, which left Brock confused/rattled.

Johnny Depp hasn't retired from acting, despite the fact he's currently giving all his attention to directing right now ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Johnny tell TMZ ... the Oscar nominee isn't done with performing in front of the camera, but his current passion has been directing the biopic "Modi," as he's been very happy being back in the director's chair.

The forthcoming drama about the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani stars Riccardo Scamarcio, Sally Phillips and Al Pacino ... and the film has already gotten great buzz. It's his first time directing a feature film since 1997's "The Brave" ... which he also co-starred in with Marlon Brando.

Caitlin Clark has always been a baller, but even her own high school coach, Kristin Meyer, never saw this level of stardom coming, telling TMZ Sports, "I can't say that I honestly predicted this!"

Don't get it twisted, Meyer knew from the get-go Clark was special and would find success -- but No. 1 college women's basketball player ever simply didn't cross her mind when she had the point guard runnin' pick and rolls at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa.

"This level of success, and especially this level of fame that she's achieved," Meyer said, "it's just something I don't think anyone could have predicted."

The week has only just started but, in case you're behind, here are some TMZ TV hot takes to catch up on.

First up, on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles discuss Courtney Love's biting criticism of Taylor Swift. She even came for Beyoncé, too!!!

American actor Dan Byrd was 18 years old when he played Carter -- the nerdy high schooler and aspiring actor who comes into his own -- in the 2004 high school movie "A Cinderella Story."

Dan joined several big Hollywood names on the big screen including Hilary Duff playing modern-day Cinderella, Sam, Chad Michael Murray as the high school jock turned prince charming, Austin, Jennifer Coolidge as the evil and sarcastic step-mother, Fiona and Regina King as Sam's saving confidant, Rhonda.

Dan was also in "Easy A" with Emma Stone as well as the 2006 remake of "The Hills Have Eyes".

Katie Couric says Bryant Gumbel gave her a hard time back in the day over maternity ... which Katie thinks spoke to something deeper, even if he was joking.

The famed newswoman stopped by Bill Maher's 'Club Random' podcast Sunday ... in which she detailed the "prickly" relationship she had with Bryant during their tenure on 'Today' together.

Katie hinted she and Bryant were never close, referring to her coworker as a guy's guy -- but still applauded his broadcasting skills.

11:53 AM PT -- Jenna Jameson just responded to the news, taking to her IG Story and writing, "I keep it classy."

Jenna Jameson is once again headed for divorce -- this time, it's her wife who wants to end their marriage ... and she's claiming the reason is because Jenna fell off the wagon.

Jessi Lawless just hopped on TikTok with a video that spells it all out -- she says she's filing for divorce ... and she says she's already filed the docs. In any case, JL says it's coming -- and she goes on to cite Jenna allegedly drinking again as the impetus.

She explains she's had Jenna on a tight leash ever since they got hitched when it comes to booze -- saying it was a hard-line issue for her from the get-go -- and claims Jenna recently got away from home and went to Chicago ... where Jessi says she learned JJ was drinking.

Riley Strain's mom claims her son complained about his drink not tasting right ahead of his disappearance and subsequent death ... and the implication is that he was roofied.

Michelle Whiteid and her family sat with NewsNation's Brian Entin for an interview that's airing in full later Tuesday -- and she says Riley was texting her the night of his disappearance, where she says he told her his rum and coke did "not taste good."

Michelle says Riley claimed the beverage tasted like barbecue ... reiterating it was not an enjoyable cocktail. Michelle says she told Riley he probably shouldn't be drinking it then.

TikTok star Kyle Marisa Roth -- famous for dishing on controversial Hollywood blind items and showbiz gossip -- has suddenly died ... something her family confirmed this week.

Kyle's sister Lindsay Roth broke the news Monday on her IG -- saying her sibling had died sometime last week ... adding a cause of death is not yet known, and that the family is still trying to process this loss.

Lindsay writes, "I know she touched so many people with her humor, intelligence, beauty, gossip activism, athleticism and more -- she had so many gifts."

Red Lobster is reportedly mulling over bankruptcy, and while this is far from the end for them as a business ... some online are certainly treating it that way, with jokes galore.

According to Bloomberg, the famous seafood restaurant chain is considering its options to restructure some of its debt and other expenses it has on its plate right now -- including leases they have under its name, not to mention rising labor costs.

Apparently, it's Chapter 11 bankruptcy that's on the table ... which, if they pursue that, would mean they could still run their operation while sorting out their debts with creditors, etc.

Residents of Butte, Montana were in for a surprise Tuesday ... when a circus elephant escaped from its home and began freely roaming in the streets, captured in wild video.

According to multiple reports, the elephant broke free from Jordan World Circus -- which made a stop in the city as part of its tour. While it's unclear how the elephant broke free from its enclosure ... it didn't hesitate to stretch its legs once it was out and about.

Check it out ... the massive elephant is seen trotting down the road in this insane clip, delaying traffic and causing heads to turn.