Safe to say the guy suing Ricki Lake for allegedly burning down his Malibu mansion is NOT a fan of  "Dancing With the Stars" ... because he claims the show has derailed his lawsuit!

According to docs filed last month, the owner, Hovsep Kousouyan, has been trying to get Lake to sit for a deposition for months ... but she claims she can't because of her commitment to  "DWTS."

Kousouyan's lawyers claim they've offered up at least eight different dates -- including nights and weekends -- but Lake's attorneys have repeatedly said she's unavailable until December.

Sources close to Lake tell TMZ she has no problem sitting down for the depo ... she's just been working seven days a week on "DWTS." We're told he lawyers are working on setting a date.

Kousouyan says he's out $20,000 a month on lost rent, so Lake could be on the hook for a HUGE chunk of change.

Lake was renting the house in September 2010, when she tried re-filling a portable heater with oil and accidentally spilled it on the hot coils, which then ignited the sofa on fire which in turn casued a mega-blaze.

Ricki Lake suffered her first injury on "Dancing with the Stars" -- which reminds us ... she was in "Hairspray" ... and where are all the Black dancers on 'DWTS?' Don't worry ... the confusion will fade after you watch this.

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Ricki Lake is learning the hard way ... dancing HURTS -- and today she hobbled out of the "Dancing with the Stars" studio sporting one hell of a bruise on her shin.

Lake tweeted, "Not sure how my bruise turned into a medic showing up? I'm fine!!"

Our spies at "Dancing" tell us Ricki is actually one of the best dancers ... and judging from the nature of the injury, it looks like it won't cramp her style.

Moments ago, Lake explained her boo boo to TMZ ... saying, "I injured myself yesterday by hitting my heel into my shin ... I'm fine."

What does Ricki Lake have in common with the Exxon Valdez? Each is responsible for a super-destructive, wildly expensive oil spill ... allegedly.



Lake is being sued for allegedly making a HUGE mistake with some flammable heating oil ... and causing the fire that burned down the Malibu beach house she was renting back in 2010.

According to the lawsuit filed by the owner of the home ...  Lake was refilling a portable space heater when she spilled the oil on the hot heating coils -- and the oil burst into flames. The fire quickly ripped through the entire property. 

In the lawsuit, filed Monday in L.A. County Superior Court, the owner, Hovsep Kousouyan, claims Lake spoke with emergency personnel who responded to the fire -- and she admitted the whole thing was her fault.

Kousouyan says his beach house was completely destroyed in the blaze -- and wants Lake to pay for all of the damages ... which could be in the millions.

Calls to Lake's rep have not been returned.

We took your questions today on everything -- including Mel Gibson's letter to Oksana Grigorieva, Lindsay Lohan may be heading back to jail, and the bad omen for "American Idol."


Plus: Madonna fan arrested outside her NYC apartment.

Ricki Lake tries desperately to calm down her children as she calls 911 to report that she's burned her house down ... and TMZ has obtained the tape.


In the call, an extremely panicked Ricki tells the dispatcher, "The couch is on fire ... please hurry," after she tells her kids, "Mommy had a mistake." 

In fact, the house was on fire and burned down after Ricki attempted to refuel a portable heater and started the fire. L.A. County Sheriff's arson investigators have concluded the whole thing was an accident.

Former talk show host Ricki Lake's fire-ravaged rented Maibu home is a shell of its former self.




On Saturday, Lake's beach home burnt down after a couch caught fire when she was trying to refuel a portable heater. Ricki escaped with her two children and dog unharmed.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ a home in Malibu being rented by Ricki Lake burned to the ground early this morning.


The home was located on Pacific Coast Highway, where authorities had to shut down the road for nearly two hours. The fire broke out at about 7:18 AM PT and was declared "knocked down" at 7:51 AM.

According to local reports, flames rose as high as 30 feet in the air.

UPDATE: A rep for Lake tells TMZ there were no injuries and Lake, her kids, and her dog got out unscathed.

UPDATE 2: According to the sheriff's station, Lake was trying to refuel a portable heater when a couch caught fire.

There's cancer, heart disease, AIDS, and ... did we mention cancer? But the American Medical Association has its scalpels out for that evil medical scourge -- Ricki Lake.

The AMA has issued a resolution slamming Ricki and her pet cause, midwife-aided home-birth baby delivery, as chronicled in her film The Business of Being Born. What's more, they're using Ricki as a tool to get laws passed that would mandate that the "safest setting" for birth is in the hospital ... where OB/GYNs get paid, of course.

Tori Spelling as a suspect mom, we get. But Ricki?

Jason Lewis was all about getting his spit all over our camera again -- and our photog couldn't be happier.

Also in NY: Ricki Lake couldn't control her laughter when asked about John Mayer, Helena Christensen got snubbed by an ageist and Dita Von Teese lamented her lost swan.

In LA: Deepak Chopra had some truly hilarious insight into Oprah Winfrey, Djimon Hounsou reacted to the most random compliment ever, Lindsay Lohan actually looked happy and Bai Ling was as spacey as ever.

Amy Poehler screamed "I'm a Red Sox fan!" to shocked Yankee supporters yesterday in New York -- at least she was in the safety of her car!

Also in NY: Natalie Portman walked a dog that didn't piss all over her, Steve Guttenberg was in need of a hot hookup, Jason Lewis swapped spit with our photog and Mariah Carey was her usual diva self.

In L.A.: Lindsay Lohan dodged questions about her slip from sobriety, P!nk was out in Malibu with her new dude, Paula Abdul ate out with Simon's girlfriend, Simon dined elsewhere, Reese Witherspoon was boxed in by the paps and Denise Richards thought our camera was actually filming her for her reality show.