Talk about ingratitude. Harvey made a passionate case for Uggie -- the dog that stole the show in "The Artist" -- to walk the red carpet at the Oscars. In case you didn't know, he's been snubbed by the Academy.

So what did Uggie do to show his gratitude?  Let's just say ... this may end up on "The People's Court."

Here is TMZ's faux Gloria Allred in L.A. today (left) -- and the real Gloria Allred at one of her hundreds of news conferences (right).


Question is ...

**Be sure to tune into tonight's TMZ on TV to see our coal miners, Rachel Uchitel, Tiger, serial murders and the whole gang.

Check out TMZ on TV -- click here to see your local listings!

Jesse James had a total breakdown during an off-road race in Primm, Nevada this weekend -- and sources who know nothing about cars have determined the whole thing is Harvey Levin's fault.


As we previously reported, James threw a HL decal on the side of his badass custom-built racer ... despite multiple warnings that Harvey has a terrible history with cars.

So when the truck was set to make its official debut -- everything went to hell ... meaning the car broke down mid-race and never crossed the finish line.

He may be the size of a leprechaun ... but he's clearly no lucky charm.

Forget St. Christopher ... Jesse James is going with a different good luck charm for his truck this weekend -- TMZ honcho Harvey Levin. 


James' new ride is debuting this weekend in the Primm 300 in Nevada. A TMZ logo and a life-size caricature of Harvey, complete with trademark slogan, adorn the side. 

Given Harvey's recent driving record, this might not be such a good idea.

We took your questions on everything -- including Oksana Grigorieva wanting Mel Gibson to pay for her PR bills, how Reggie Bush may lose his Heisman, and John Lennon's killer being denied bail.


Plus: Harvey explains why he received a ticket for texting while driving this weekend.

TMZ has learned ... our boss got a ticket today! How do you like them apples?



Sources close to Harvey Levin tell TMZ he was driving in Venice, CA when he was pulled over by police. We're told Levin was texting while driving -- a huge no-no in the state of California. 

Levin was given a ticket and sent on his way.

A call to Levin's rep was not immediately returned.

There's a story circulating that Oksana Grigorieva told authorities Mel Gibson plotted to break the kneecaps of a "Hollywood figure." Well that story is about TMZ's Harvey Levin, spoon-fed by Oksana's people.


The story is much wilder than reported.  Earlier this week, Oksana's rep, Steve Jaffe, told Harvey that Mel had described to Oksana a plot to kill Harvey.  Jaffe said Oksana claimed Mel told her he was furious that TMZ broke the story about the anti-Semitic rant following Mel's 2006 DUI arrest.  Jaffe said Oksana told him Mel had said he wanted the "blood of Jews" on his hands.

According to Jaffe, Oksana said Mel told her he had someone do "surveillance" on Harvey earlier this year, having him followed to the gym at 4 AM.

The plan, Jaffe said, was to "kidnap" Harvey, strip him, take him deep into the desert, break his kneecaps and leave him to die.

Jaffe told Harvey the story on the heels of complaining that a particular TMZ post was not favorable enough to Oksana.

We checked the "kneecap" story out and determined it was false.  For starters, Oksana had the wrong gym.  More telling ... Oksana never mentioned a word of this to any of her lawyers while she tried negotiating a $15 million package in May during the mediation, using the tapes as her secret weapon.  One person involved in the mediation laughed, saying Oksana brought out every piece of ammunition imaginable to score a financial package, so why was this story mysteriously absent?

Oksana claims to have told the Sheriff's Department the story. It seems deputies took it so seriously ... they never even contacted Harvey to give him a heads up that someone wanted him dead ... allegedly.

UPDATE: Sheriff's Department spokesperson Steve Whitmore tells TMZ, "We categorically deny that any such information was ever given to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department."

We took your questions on everything -- including Michael Jackson's involvement in the Nation of Islam, Lindsay Lohan's downward spiral, and Charlie Sheen's adult diapers.


Plus: Lindsay's 16-year-old sister Ali Lohan could file for emancipation from her parents.

Today on TMZ Live -- Harvey Levin and Eli Roth competed menorah-a-menorah today to finally crown the champion of everyone's favorite game ... "Jew, Not a Jew?"



Harvey and Eli were tied up 1-1 before today's big showdown ... you'll have to watch to see how it all turned out.

BTW -- Props to Howard Stern for inventing the game.

TMZ went live with Harvey Levin and Mike Walters today to answer your question about Jermaine Jackson's Vienna tribute concert ... and the juicy details of Harvey's run-in with Bill Gates!

Tyrese and Brandy tried to avoid pappers like the plague this weekend -- but instead, they came face-to-face with a TMZ camera and the TMZ boss ... who just happened to be there.

Here's how it all went down: Our cameras found Tyrese on a mall trip with Brandy in Century City -- but it was clear T didn't want to be seen. In fact, it seemed like Tyrese sent B to distract the pappers, so he could sneak down the back staircase.

But when Ty went to the valet, Harvey just happened to be there, waiting for his car ... and when the photog kept firing questions at Tyrese, the actor confronted Harv while the cameras rolled. Guess what happens next...

P.S. -- Tyrese and Brandy left together.