Khloe Kardashian will not be at Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Boston next week to support her husband and the L.A. Lakers -- instead, she'll be supporting her own career ... at the "Letterman" show.
We're told Khloe has decided go to New York on Tuesday to do "Late Show with David Letterman" and she'll return to L.A. on Thursday to do Leno's show -- the same exact dates as Game 3 and 4, respectively.
Earlier this week, Lamar Odom had expressed concerns for Khloe's safety in Boston -- but we're told that wasn't a factor in her decision.
Khloe will be hawking her reality show -- "Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami."
In fairness, the Kardashians will be out in force at the Staples Center tonight and Sunday for games 1 and 2 against the Celtics.
How's this for news ... Jay Lenois the victim! Law enforcement sources tell TMZ someone allegedly committed grand theft against "The Tonight Show."
Someone allegedly stole thousands of dollars of wardrobe at an office facility for the show. We're told the clothes were for the band. We're told band members were supposed to go to the facility -- in Hollywood -- for a fitting, but before they arrived someone noticed lots of stuff was missing.
A "Tonight Show" insider told us the threads were for the new band, fronted by Rickey Minor.
The LAPD is investigating. No word if it's an inside job. So far, no suspects.
TMZ has learned ... one of the key players who made "American ldol" a success was so pissed last night after the show, he chewed out "A.I." producers backstage.
Rickey Minor -- who has been the bandleader for 6 seasons -- is leaving A.I. to head up Jay Leno's band on "The Tonight Show."
Minor was fit to be tied after no one thanked him or wished him well -- hell, they didn't even acknowledge him during last night's finale.
Our "A.I." spies tell us ... when the show was over Minor went off on producers, angrily telling them how insulted he was by their silent dis.
Minor refused to go backstage for the champagne afterparty. But producers pleaded with him and then got Randy Jackson to try and smooth it over with an unprepared speech.
Minor then said a few words but we're told, "You could cut the bitterness with a knife."
We're told Minor recanted and went to the afterparty -- but he was still fuming mad.
Simon Cowell wasn't the only one who bid sayonara to "American Idol" last night.
Dorian Holley -- the Vocal Coach and Associate Musical Director -- said farewell last night as well, and he's heading for "The Tonight Show."
Holley was also the Vocal Director for Michael Jackson and was a key player in the London tour that never happened. He was with Jackson hours before he died.
Holley will become the lead singer in "The Tonight Show" band. And he's not the only "A.I." musical guru who's jumping ship -- Rickey Minor will take over Jay's band.
Jay Leno cracked a joke on his show last night, implying that the Times Square bombing suspect doesn't just support terror ... he also supports Conan O'Brien.
During the gag, Leno created a fake Facebook page for Faisal Shahzad -- on which he claims the perp was a member of several online groups, including Al Qaeda, the Pakistan Frequent Flyers Club ... and Team Coco.
NBC is pissed at Conan O'Brien and claims he lied during his "60 Minutes" interview.
Network sources tell TMZ Conan was flat out wrong when he said NBC gave him the axe rather than Leno because Jay's buyout would have been bigger. Sources say the buyouts for Conan and Jay were roughly the same. TMZ broke the story Conan took home $32.5 million from his severance package with NBC.
And our network sources say Coco was just plain lying in response to Steve Kroft's question:
Kroft: "They said that the -- for the first time in history, 'The Tonight Show' was losing money."
Conan: "I don't see how that's, I honestly don't see how that's possible. It's really not possible. It isn't possible."
NBC sources say the show would not only have lost more than $5 million this year had they kept Conan on, but the loss was specifically discussed with Conan -- "They were well-informed of that fact," said one source.
Conan O'Brien says he wouldn't have done what Jay Leno did to him -- and that there was nothing NBC could have done to repair his relationship with the network.
Conan sat down with "60 Minutes" to discuss the "Tonight Show" fiasco and how he felt he needed to part ways with NBC no matter how they went about things.
TMZ has learned "American Idol" musical director Rickey Minor will become the new Kevin Eubanks on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
We're told the announcement is supposed to be made tomorrow.
Minor has worked as a musical director for Beyonce, Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston and many others. He was also musical director for the Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl.
Eubanks is leaving the show late next month... exactly the same time "Idol" goes on hiatus.
UPDATE: NBC has officially confirmed TMZ's story ... Minor will debut on "The Tonight Show" on June 7.
George Lopez is so fired up about Conan O'Brien moving to TBS -- that last night on his show, he bragged to Chris Rock that he "gets to go to work an hour later ... a Latino dream come true."
Jay Leno is in the market for someone to laugh at his jokes.
Kevin Eubanks just announced he's leaving "The
Tonight Show" -- and interestingly, he did it the same day Conan
O'Brien announced he'll be going head-to-head with Jay.
Jay's band leader made his departure official during the taping of Monday night's episode.
Eubanks will keep jamming with the band until May 28.
Slash pulled off the ultimate act of defiance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" last night -- dude rocked a Team Coco pin on the air during his performance at the end of the show!
Though it appears NBC tried to edit around the Conan O'Brien support symbol, a few shots of the pin still managed to make air.
TMZ has learned ... one of the key players who made "
Simon Cowell wasn't the only one who bid sayonara to "American Idol" last night.
TMZ has learned "American Idol" musical director Rickey Minor will become the new Kevin Eubanks on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
