Playboy

Bill Cosby was minutes away from hearing his fate in a civil trial that's been ongoing for a couple weeks now -- but he got a reprieve ... apparently because of budget cuts.

During Friday's court date in Santa Monica, Judge Craig Karlan -- who's presided over the case -- told jurors they'd have to restart deliberations from scratch Monday -- all 'cause of a weird way the day ended, including the foreperson being excused over a previous promise.

Long story short ... the jury had deliberated for 2 days prior to Friday, when they handed in their verdict form -- with answers to 8 of the 9 questions asked of them. The 1 they hadn't decided unanimously ... whether BC acted with malice, and deserved punitive damages.

They might've been able to head back in to decide that the very same day ... if it wasn't for Sheriff's deputies demanding the court clear the room at 4:30 PM, due to a required closure time. Word is ... there's no approved budget for overtime, so they gave everyone the boot.

The other issue ... the lead juror had been given the green light much earlier to skedaddle on Friday -- which is when they expected this would all be wrapped up. This juror, it seems, had a prior commitment ... and can't stick around any longer, including to come back and hash this out on Monday. As such, an alternate must fill in -- and the jury has to start over.

Cardi B has had it with fame, saying the price of being a celebrity has created constant ridicule and has put a target on her back ... after some drama from her Met Gala party.

Cardi took to IG Live Tuesday and let it all out -- saying she feels like a prisoner of fame -- and that she hasn't been able to be her true self since 2014. The timing of her video comes on the heels of some now-viral clips popping up from her Met Gala after-party.

In one clip, Cardi offers a toast to partygoers at Playboy's The Boom Boom After Party, wishing them a good time and encouraging them to drink up ... but it's her snorting gesture that has people pissed.

Cardi seemingly addressed that anger in her live confessional, saying she feels like she can't even make jokes anymore without people taking it seriously.

There's also a clip of Billie Eilish at the bash, who many thought was calling Cardi "weird" as she entertained guests. Cardi squashed that rumor too, posting DMs between her and Eilish where Billie says she was only calling the partygoers taking photos of Cardi's butt "weird" ... so no beef there.

Bill Maher bent minds Friday night ... with the premise companies and organizations have hidden behind old images of who they once were ... changing everything but their name.

The "Real Time" host ticked off some pretty undeniable examples ... TLC used to be about learning ... now, "My Teen Is Pregnant and So Am I." Yet it's still called TLC.

A&E used to be about arts -- now, "Psychic Kids."

The History Channel offers nothing historic anymore, and MTV has nothing to do with music.

As Bill says, "You can have a petting zoo and turn it into a bondage dungeon, but you gotta change the sign!"

And, then there's Playboy, and Bill harkens back to the 'ol days when it was a "whack-off mag" for straight guys. Now, the woman are gone and the mags gone in every which direction.

And, then there's the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue ... and here he drops a line you'll just have to listen to yourselves.

Two more. Weight Watchers, which he says used to be a club for people to lose weight. Now, he says, despite the fact obesity is linked to a slew of serious diseases, it's recast as body positivity. The company's now ashamed of its name, he says, so it's now just WW and people who talk about weight loss are slammed.

Playmate Victoria Fuller is creating a virtual community in the world of NFTs -- using her own artwork -- and she's bringing a bunch of other Playboy models along for the digital ride.

Victoria was Miss January 1996 back in Playboy's heyday, but she tells TMZ there's one thing she wants to make clear now -- "I'm an artist first and foremost," and that's why she's diving into non-fungible tokens ... to take control of her work.

With the Playboy brand shifting its focus and the Mansion's doors closed, Victoria says former Playmates can't connect with fans, or make money the way they did back in the day. She's aiming to change that with her new Rogue Playmate series.

Here's how it works ... every NFT buyer will be airdropped a members-only "golden key" ... which grants them access to the virtual Rogue Mansion -- a digital space to hang out and interact in real-time with the models in the Metaverse.

The images for the NFTs are designed by Victoria and renowned multimedia artist Dutch Bihary. VF says she's most excited about carving out a niche for herself in the male-dominated world of digital art.

The first drop, on March 30, will feature 9,600 generative NFTs, each based on one of the 12 founding members of Rogue Playmates -- among them Lisa Dergan, Renee Tenison, Karen McDougal and Victoria.

Lizzo may have had more fun than any celeb Saturday night, lovin' life as she left a Super Bowl Weekend party and talked about where she's hiding those piercings!!!

Lizzo hit up the h.wood Group and REVOLVE's party where Drake performed at the Pacific Design Center, and she said right out of the gate she wants a call from Cardi B -- who's now the creative director of Playboy -- saying she wants a spread in the mag.

Our photog clearly saw Lizzo's TikTok vid Saturday ... revealing she had a piercing party for her team ... a thank you for working extra hard.

The question seemed innocent enough ... so where are those piercings? Lizzo was more than happy to tell us.

She did say she has piercings all over her body, but one clearly holds a special place in her heart!

Olympic stars Lisa Buckwitz and Janine Flock bared all before heading to Beijing ... by posing nude for Playboy to promote body positivity!!

Buckwitz -- a gold medalist for Germany in the 2018 Winter Olympics -- wore only an open green top and black heels in her cover shoot for the popular mag's Germany edition.

Flock -- a 10-time world champ from Austria -- sat nekkid in a chair draped in a fur blanket for her cover.

27-year-old Buckwitz said she jumped at the opportunity to be photographed in the buff to encourage women to maintain a positive perception of their body.

"Every woman can be naked and nobody should be ashamed of her body," Lisa told the Sun. "For example, I have a few more muscles -- so what? I wanted to show that this is also a woman's body."

She added ... "I don't have to hide as a competitive athlete. No woman has to hide."

Much like Buckwitz, Flock said the motivation for doing the shoot was her desire to remind women to be proud of their bodies.

"I haven't had any cosmetic surgeries and I stand by what I have," Flock told the outlet. "Every woman can be proud of her body."

Hugh Hefner had a treasure trove of secret sex tapes that he recorded at the Playboy Mansion, and according to a new documentary, he wouldn't ask his partners for permission.

Yup, in a clip obtained by TMZ ... his former girlfriend, Sondra Theodore, reveals Hef would tape just about everybody, including her. She says she was shocked the first time she saw herself on two screens in the bedroom.

Sondra claims when they invited other women into the bedroom, some would be weirded out by the camera. Sondra says Hef would pretend to stop recording, so the women would feel more comfortable ... but he never actually pressed the stop button.

In a new A&E series titled "Secrets of Playboy," Hef's former butler adds Hef recorded celebs and athletes having sex with other women in his bedroom ... and with these sexual tapes came power.

As we reported, the doc claims Hefner would host "pig night" where he would invite prostitutes to come over to his mansion to have sex with his pals, once a week ... and now, these new claims allege there may have been a collection of these sex acts caught on cam.

We should say ... in California, if Hef videotaped people with whom he had sex without asking for permission to record them, it's a crime.

The Playboy Mansion would be crawling with hookers and celebs on Thursday nights back in its heyday -- and a new documentary claims Hugh Hefner himself cooked up the weekly event.

Hef dubbed the traditional gathering "Pig Night," and it started with 2 pimps bringing in carloads of prostitutes from Sunset Blvd. ... according to his former girlfriend, Sondra Theodore, and others who worked at the mansion.

Sondra says she tended to look the other way while Hugh did all sorts of "crazy stuff," but this ritual stood out to her and got her attention.

The upcoming A&E series, "Secrets of Playboy" ... describes "Pig Night" as a sort of dinner party that served as a jumping-off point for sex parties.

According to the mansion insiders, Hugh would sit at the head of the table smoking his famous pipe while the hookers drank and ate with movie and TV stars. They say the girls would get ratings and quick medical checks before slipping out of the room for sex rendezvous with the celebs.

Steph apparently wasn't the only Curry putting up shots on Tuesday night -- TMZ Sports is told the NBA superstar's dad was "respectfully flirty" with a former Playboy Playmate while sitting courtside at the Warriors vs. Knicks game.

Model Ana Cheri tells us her group of friends showed up to the historic game at Madison Square Garden together ... and by coincidence, they ended up sitting right next to Dell in the front row.

We're told the ex-NBAer couldn't have been nicer to Ana, Toria Ranae and Kirzlyn Gabriola throughout the night ... but was obviously giving a bit more attention to Miss October 2015.

Make no mistake -- Dell never crossed lines or made anyone feel uncomfortable, but Ana's friends back it up ... the guy was clearly flirting.

Ana says she congratulated Dell on Steph's success and chitchatted with him during the game ... but after the group snapped shots with each other after the game, they parted ways.

We broke the story -- Dell is recently single after his wife, Sonya, filed for divorce back in June. The breakup has been pretty messy, as both sides accused each other of cheating.

Both sat on opposite ends of the floor ... but it sounds like Dell at least enjoyed himself.

Naturally, we had to ask Ana if Dell got her number.

"No comment."

Daymond John says Playboy is making its best move in years by joining forces with Cardi B ... because she'll bring her legion of young fans to the iconic brand, while also making much-needed changes to it.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and we got his reaction to Cardi coming onboard with Playboy as its first-ever creative director in residence.

Daymond says the move makes sense for Playboy on several levels as they move away from traditional print magazine and focus in on a digital rebirth -- he envisions Cardi breathing life back into a brand with a following that skews much older.

Cardi says her new role with Playboy is a "dream come true" ... and Daymond tells us why he wants to see more of those dreams becoming a reality before deciding if Playboy is a worthy investment.

The Playboy Mansion is getting closer to looking like a classic party venue again, instead of the construction zone it's been for 2 years now.

These are some aerial pics showing the insane progress that's taken place at the iconic mansion after its massive facelift. You can see the roofs are no longer covered in plastic, and there are fewer piles of dirt scattered about -- always a positive sign on a construction site.

There's still quite a bit of work to be done, but the huge progress is undeniable. One legendary Mansion landmark is still visible -- the old grotto's still getting renovated. Some of the work includes adding "structural steel mesh" and replacing the walls.

As we reported, the mansion's overhaul was nearing 7-figures back in April 2020, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Some of the big-ticket items were the staff area and garage renovations for $400k ... and redoing the basement -- which included expanding the theater, golf simulator area -- cost $125k.

You can bet Dolly Parton's getting a big O-vation tonight for the surprise she put together for her husband's 79th birthday.

The legendary country singer got dolled up in an iconic Playboy Bunny suit Tuesday to give Carl -- her husband of 57 years -- a special 79th birthday gift ... recreating her original Playboy cover from 1978.

Carl's a lucky dude, because the fact is ... DP's plan was to share this gift with the whole world. You might recall, she told "60 Minutes Australia" back in March 2020 she'd be down to pose again when she's 75.

Fast forward to now ... Dolly is 75, but, as she explained, Playboy's not in any condition to make it happen. No matter, she's holding up her end of the bargain.

Goes without saying ... Dolly's still got it, and she ain't afraid to toot her own horn as you see in the video. She asks -- rhetorically, we think -- if Playboy should pay her anyway for a photoshoot.

"American Pickers" star Michael Wolfe is already off the market ... he's got himself a hot new girlfriend on the heels of his wife filing for divorce.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Mike's dating a model named Leticia Cline. She's a bit of a reality TV star herself, having appeared on the old WB dating show "Beauty and The Geek."

It's unclear how long they've been dating and how they met, but we're told the relationship is "pretty serious."

Mike and Leticia have been hanging out since at least April, when they were spotted together at a printing shop in Norfolk, VA, where she customized a jacket.

Our sources also say Leticia's been accompanying Mike on 'Pickers' shoots, including one at the end of June in San Francisco, and another this week at a different California location.

TMZ broke the story ... Jodi Catherine Wolfe filed for divorce back in November after nearly 10 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. She says they separated in June 2020 -- so, Mike's wasting no time getting back on the horse.

It appears Mike and Leticia have known each other for a few years ... back in early 2018, she posted a photo of them together.

In addition to her reality TV background, Leticia's also appeared in "Playboy" and "Maxim" ... and once went on Howard Stern's radio show and rode his Sybian vibrator in the nude.

Zak Bagans and Holly Madison are ghosting their relationship ... 'cause they've broken up.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... the "Ghost Adventures" star and former Playboy model called it quits a few weeks ago. It's unclear what led to the split after nearly 2 years of dating ... but we're told there's no bad blood between them, no pun intended.

In fact ... our sources say they remain friends and are still on talking terms.

TMZ broke the story ... Holly went to Zak's Haunted Museum in Las Vegas back in May 2019 and sparks started flying. It wasn't long before they started dating. They had kept the relationship on the down-low but their cover was blown thanks to some hawk-eyed fans who picked up similarities on their Instagram stories ... sparking questions as to whether they're an item or not.

Along the way, it seemed some of Zak's paranormal interests rubbed off on her ... like when she and Bridget Marquardt reunited for a séance to reconnect with a famous ex.

Tanya Roberts' longtime partner says he was distraught and confused during his final moments with her ... which may explain why he prematurely told folks she had died.

Lance O'Brien told a photog Tuesday ... when he visited her Sunday at the hospital she was in bad shape -- unresponsive on a ventilator -- but he says when he told her he was there, she sat up and opened her eyes.

This led him to believe she was responding, but he says hospital staff told him it was just a reflex ... and she was "out" shortly afterward. Lance tells us he was beside himself, so he got in the elevator and left.

Lance says Tanya's rep Mike Pingel -- who's driving Lance in this video -- picked him up from the hospital and asked what happened ... and this might help explain her bizarre premature death announcement.

He tells us he responded, "I just said goodbye to Tanya," and that was it ... then he went home and fell asleep, only to wake up later to phone calls about her passing.

Lance seems to be suggesting Mike interpreted his statement as proof Tanya had died, though Pingel also says Lance told him ... "She died in my arms."

Either way, it makes sense in wake of a devastating, tragic moment that there could be a communication breakdown ... and Lance says the ordeal was made all the more difficult due to COVID.

Lance also tells us Tanya had her initial health scare on December 23 -- not Christmas Eve -- but he thought it was just a blood sugar issue and she would be fine.

We broke the story ... Tanya died Monday night at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Despite the strange story involving her death, she'll be remembered for her long and successful career as a model and actress ... most recently for starring on "That '70s Show" as Midge.

Tanya was 65.

Former Playboy model Victoria Valentino didn't think twice after seeing a gunshot victim lying in her street ... rushing to action and playing nurse until paramedics arrived.

Victoria tells TMZ ... she was sitting in her Altadena, CA home Sunday afternoon when she heard what sounded like a bunch of quick firecrackers -- cops say it was a shooting -- and went outside to discover a neighbor down on the ground.

VV says the man had gunshot wounds, including one in his shoulder, and he was turning gray and going into shock ... so she used her experience as a retired hospice and respiratory nurse, raising his leg to keep blood flowing to the heart and brain.

Victoria, the September 1963 Playmate and a Bill Cosby rape accuser and survivor, says the gunshot victim's wife was by his side too ... and they did what they could to keep him calm until paramedics arrived and took over. She says it's just what nurses do.