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Tom Sandoval mastered the art of hide-and-seek as Scandoval erupted ... ironically finding peace thousands of miles away in New Zealand while filming for the grueling series, "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test."

The reality star tells TMZ the show was a saving grace for him ... allowing him to be away from his phone, silence the haters and zero in on the people and tasks in front of him on the show.

Barely thinking about the media circus surrounding the scandal while filming the Fox show, the "Vanderpump Rules" star adds his situation was just a blip compared to his SF teammates' hardships ... with the media frenzy responsible for blowing things up when they didn't need to be.

Fresh off the show after getting the boot during Monday's episode, Tom says it felt fantastic working hard for something that wasn't related to the Ariana Madix-related controversy.

Tom's affair with costar Rachel Leviss was one of the biggest celebrity controversies of the year ... dubbed #Scandoval by 'VPR' fans after TMZ first broke the story in March.

Both ladies are living their best lives, having kicked him to the curb since the scandal erupted -- and as for Tom, he tells us he's glad filming Season 11 of 'VPR' is behind ... and he's clearly still on a redemption quest to right his wrongs.

Kroy Biermann is being dragged to court by Chase over what the bank says is more than $10,000 in credit card debt ... and Chase wants a judge to make him pay.

Kim Zolciak's hubby just got hit with a lawsuit by the banking giant -- and in the docs, obtained by TMZ, Chase is alleging he owes a total of $13,071.88 ... which the bank says is way past due.

Chase attached Kroy's credit card statements in their complaint, which show the fat balances starting to rack up since summer.

Kroy and Kim's financial issues have been well documented ... starting with the alleged seven-figure sum they owe the IRS.

As we've told you, BMW just won a case against Kroy over non-payment of a Rolls-Royce ... and just this month a judge ordered Kroy to return the $400,100 SV to the car company.

Kroy was also sued by Sky Warrior over a $52,500 gambling debt from a bad run at a casino down in the Bahamas.

The house from "A Christmas Story" apparently didn't sell to a private owner after all -- 'cause the group managing the pad just announced a new owner ... it's one of their own.

Here's the deal ... this property currently operates as a tourist attraction in Cleveland, giving people a chance to tour the place as a museum and stay overnight -- which has been the case for a while ... that is, until they announced (as a company) last year they planned to unload it.

The plan, at the time, was to sell the entire lot to somebody new ... and, presumably, that meant the new would-be owner could either continue running it as a museum, or just move in and live in it as a regular home. Remember -- there was interest from a group of the actors from the OG film, spearheaded by Yano Anaya, to snap it up and keep the ticket sales going.

After a lot of drama and back-and-forth ... it appeared Yano and a group he was working with were in line to score the place -- but now, it would seem that totally fell through.

The business page for the 'A Christmas Story House' just said they have their new "owner" ... and it's none other than their current CEO, Joshua Dickerson, who's gonna take the reins.

They write, "While the face of the company has long been the founder, Brian Jones, the true work, and performance has been borne by Mr. Dickerson behind the scenes. It seemed only fitting that he should take the final step and become an owner."

In terms of how they're framing his new "ownership," the 'Christmas Story' house folks say Josh is taking an equity stake in the company and will become its managing partner. So, in other words, he's running the show and running the house.

Whether they actually "sold" anything to him remains unclear -- last year, we were told the company selling the house (the same company Josh works for) expected to fetch around 8 figures for this place.

Of course, this is probably a bummer for Yano ... who made peace with Brian and seemed primed to inherit the property, which he thought was fitting considering his history with it.

It wasn't meant to be though ... at least not for right now.

Travis Kelce wearing a strip club shirt might raise an eyebrow for some -- but the dude isn't batting an eyelash at all ... which says a lot about how solid his relationship is with Taylor Swift.

The KC Chiefs tight end was spotted wearing a fashionable/cozy outfit after Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders ... but folks couldn't help but notice a T-shirt he was rockin' underneath his windbreaker -- with the words "Crazy Horse Las Vegas" emblazoned across the front.

Of course, Crazy Horse 3 is a popular strip club in town, and the obvious questions people started asking is: Did he visit the place ... while also dating the biggest pop star in the world???

That question remains unanswered -- Crazy Horse 3 tells TMZ, it prioritizes the privacy of guests, and "as a policy, we do not disclose or comment on the identities of individuals who choose to enjoy their time within our club." The club's rep Lindsay Feldman did confirm Travis wearing the shirt was not a paid endorsement situation.

However, the establishment isn't shying away from his plug ... the image is on its IG.

Whether or not he went, the bigger point here is ... TK isn't skittish floating the possibility he did go to a strip club.

He's one of the most famous guys in the world right now as he and Taylor continue to see each other -- and undoubtedly also understands the PR game that comes with that.

With that said ... he's clearly gonna be himself, and not try to fit into whatever perfect Taylor Swift boyfriend image others might have in mind.

Translation: The guy's comfortable in his own skin, and in his bond with TayTay.

Like we told you ... both Travis and Taylor are back together in Kansas City now after she wrapped up her Brazil shows, and they'll likely spend the rest of the holidays side by side.

Travis Scott was the ultimate relationship counselor during his show in Miami Monday night … he prevented a couple's meltdown from happening right in front of him!!!

The "Utopia" rapper halted his "Circus Maximus" tour inside the Kaseya Center -- and had the stage lights shone on the couple after telling the crowd he saw them arguing throughout the show.

Travis told them whatever they were fighting about was small, and as long as they were under his watch ... they were going to have big fun!!!

The woman was still clearly mad -- Travis had to urge her several times to stand up just to receive her man’s hug, but they eventually hugged it out. All appeared to be well, at least for the moment.

The squabbling couple weren't the only fans who benefitted from Travis' goodwill.

Later in the show, he allowed a young fan to join on the harness as they turned up to the fan favorite "Utopia" track, "I Know?"

Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert are no longer living under the same roof as their bitter divorce now plays out publicly ... something she blames squarely on her estranged husband.

Sources close to the exes tell TMZ, Teyana is incredibly disappointed and frustrated with Iman -- her husband of 7 years -- for deciding to make their identities public in a recent court filing in their divorce case.

Teyana had sought to not only protect their kids from this mess, but Iman as well ... which is why she initially filed divorce docs, back in January, using just their initials. The divorce was proceeding in private, but after his latest legal move, that privacy's completely out the window.

Teyana's attorney, Tanya Mitchell, echoed this sentiment, writing in a legal doc, "We were able to keep this divorce matter private as Ms. Taylor requested for eleven (11) months in this case prior to Mr. Shumpert's MOTION revealing the parties' legal names and making the private matter public."

She continued, "This matter would very likely still be private if Mr. Shumpert's MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE TRUE LEGAL NAMES AS REAL PARTIES IN INTEREST was not filed ..."

Our sources say Teyana and Iman are NOT living under the same roof -- though Teyana made it seem like they were on good terms in September, when she announced their separation.

In fact, we're told communication between Teyana and Iman is minimal ... and they only chat if it has to do with their 2 children. Basically, things ain't so rosy at the moment.

TMZ broke the story ... Teyana accused Iman of being a jealous spouse, with him allegedly being annoyed and aggravated with her burgeoning career, including on the acting front -- among lots of other messy allegations.

Robert De Niro was SUPER PISSED onstage during the Gotham Awards Monday night, claiming someone edited his speech about Donald Trump ...  but he read it anyway.

The two-time Oscar winner was introducing the Gotham Historical Icon and Creator Tribute award for his new film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," when he went off script and unleashed his mini tirade.

De Niro said, "I just want to say one thing. The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, and I didn’t know about it. And I want to read it."

He then lectured the audience about history and truth "being replaced by "alternative facts." He also took aim at John Wayne, accusing the iconic Western actor of supporting the taking away of land from Native Americans.

De Niro finally got to the point of his speech, which was to blast Trump -- a man he passionately hates.

He said, "The former President lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office. And he’s keeping up the pace in his current campaign of retribution. But with all his lies, he can’t hide his soul."

De Niro hit Trump with a few more zingers before veering off, "This is where I came in and I saw that they edited all that."

He blamed Apple and the Gotham Awards for tinkering with his words, adding, "I don’t feel like thanking them at all for what they did. How dare they do that, actually."

Taylor Swift is finally back in the States and reportedly ready to spend the rest of the holidays with her boyfriend Travis Kelce.

US Weekly cites sources as saying the singer landed in Kansas City Monday -- just a day after her last show in São Paulo wrapped Sunday. Remember, she had to rearrange her Thanksgiving plans ... and wasn't able to be with him over the past week or so.

The reason everything got switched around is because of a makeup show she did last Monday in Rio de Janeiro -- this after canceling that Saturday show due to extreme heat ... not to mention the death of one of her fans.

As a result, she ended up staying in Rio for an extra day ... which torpedoed any hope of flying back to see Travis before the next string of shows down in the country. In the end, it seems they decided to spend Thanksgiving apart -- visibly so for TK here in Kansas City.

TMZ broke the story ... the dude was seen driving around town solo last Thursday.

We already told you Taylor and Travis had plans to spend Christmas together -- and now, they're pretty much home free ... 'cause she doesn't have any more concerts until her "Eras" tour picks back up February, when she'll fly to Tokyo.

Travis, of course, will continue playing football these next few months ... and you can imagine Taylor will be in attendance for at least some of those games -- especially as playoffs near.

Luke Evans treated his IG fans to a thirst trap ... after shedding 17 lbs in just 10 weeks.

The actor showed off his rippling abs in a scorchin' hot IG clip Monday ... rocking nothing but a pair of light wash torso-enhancing jeans.

Luke spilled the tea on his weight loss journey ... attributing it to the high-energy hustle of his West End role as the late Queen Mother's steward, William Tallon, in "Backstairs Billy" at London's Duke Of York theatre.

"Wanna burn body fat fast? DO A WEST END SHOW!!! Dropped 8kg in 10 weeks!! Only down side… it's BLOODY WINTER 🥶," the 44-year-old wrote in the caption ... crediting his fountain of youth to his cooling eye patches -- though no one really looking at those ...

The clip achieved what it set out to ... eliciting comments such as: "Damn!! Such a hottie!! 🔥🔥🔥" and "What a way to start the day. This is pure perfection 😍."

While Luke has clearly been leaving his all on the West End stage -- straight after tackling the physically demanding role in the action thriller "Echo 3" -- he's said that fitness plays a massive part in his life even when not working.

9:12 AM PT -- Sofia Vergara's attorney, Marty Singer, tells TMZ it was actually Sofia who first sent a demand letter to RCH on October 4 ... claiming the company was responsible for $5 million in damages for overcharging Sofia, doing substandard work and delaying the project.

Singer says RCH never disputed the claims, but has now filed a lawsuit of their own ... Singer says he's confident Sofia will prevail and receive significant payment.

Sofia Vergara skipped out on paying a contractor more than $1.7 million for a huge renovation of her luxurious home in Beverly Hills ... or so the contractor claims in a new lawsuit.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, the actress hired Reside Custom Homes in April 2022 to perform construction work on her $26 million mansion located in the Beverly Park neighborhood.

RCH claims Vergara agreed to pay for the work plus the contractor's fee, but claims she never followed through once the work was done.

RCH says the project was substantially completed by December 2022, but then Vergara allegedly asked for significant extra work beyond the scope of the agreement, which ended up extending the job until March 2023 ... when Sofia finally moved back into the home.

According to RCH, Vergara asked the contractor to install clay plaster in 3 powder rooms, an office, the dining room walls, the cabana bathroom and the guest house living room. She also wanted the company to remove and replace a flight of stairs.

RCH says it fronted the money for the additional work in order to finish the improvements and claims Vergara promised to pay the bill ... even allegedly telling RCH she'd approved one of the invoices for nearly $900K and "already" gave directions to her money manager to pay the bill.

But RCH says Sofia never followed through and now owes the company a whopping balance of $1,700,492.64.

We've reached out to Vergara's rep ... so far no word back.

Farrah Abraham's taking another shot at love, courtesy of her OnlyFans page -- where she first linked with her boo -- but she's taking steps to make sure he isn't using her for fame for online clout.

After posing a collage of Thanksgiving clips with the mystery guy -- set to the tune of Doja Cat's "I wanna show you off" -- the ex-"Teen Mom" star confirms the new romance started in 2021 when they communicated on OF ... but really got serious this year when they matched on a dating app.

Farrah tells us she's enjoying getting to know her man, now that she's overhauled her dating habits following 3 months of training with a dating/relationship coach. She's aiming for zero drama this time around, after a string of questionable flings ... hence making the new guy sign a non-disclosure agreement.

As of now, she isn't too worried as her BF isn't a public figure. All she'll say about him is they are similar in age and he works in tech, business sales and marketing ... and he purchased a second home near to where she lives after they went official in late September.

Farrah did add that her new squeeze is sober, and they're "inspiring each other" and deepening their connection through meditation, swimming and travel.

The reality star, and mother to 14-year-old Sophia, says she's holding off till winter break before introducing him to her family ... but is grateful they first got to know each other as friends.

Russell Westbrook found himself quarrelling with fans yet again on Monday night ... and this time, he needed to be separated from the tiff by not only his teammates, but his opponents as well.

The Clippers star got into the heated spat with what appeared to be a couple of men at Crypto.com Arena toward the end of L.A.'s 113-104 loss to Denver.

Video from the scene shows Westbrook began verbally jarring with the courtside fans during a break in the action late in the fourth quarter ... before he returned as the final buzzer sounded to argue some more.

The 35-year-old point guard was clearly peeved at the guys ... though, thankfully, a referee, his teammates, and a few Nuggets players helped pull him away from it all.

Afterward, Westbrook refused to say specifically what the altercation was all about ... though he seemed to insinuate the fans had said something inappropriate about his family.

"Fans think they can say whatever they want," he told a throng of media members. "I'm not going to say [what they said] now because it's not appropriate, but I'm just protecting myself."

"Just unfortunate fans think they can get away with saying anything and, personally, I won't allow it."

Of course, this is hardly Westbrook's first heated incident with hecklers ... just seven months ago, he got into a screaming match with a man following a playoff game in Phoenix. Numerous other times recently -- including several instances during one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022 -- he beefed with fans as well.

On Monday night, Westbrook explained that now that his children are older ... he's simply refusing to take any cross-the-line shade from fans.

Micah Abbey not only kicked butt in this year's animated reboot "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" ... but the 16-year-old also made big bucks doing so.

According to his minors contract, obtained by TMZ, the teen star was bringing in the dough ... earning $5,000 a day for each recording session to voice the role of Donatello, with a guaranteed payday of $50K!!!

According to the contract, Micah could've scored much more from bonuses, including another $225K if the movie had hit $300M at the domestic box office.

It ended up grossing around $118M domestically, so, no bonus round for Micah.

Despite not hitting the huge box office target, the movie -- which also starred John Cena, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne -- was largely received as a treat for most fans, who've given it a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Gilbert Burns is back.

6 months after tearing multiple muscles in his left shoulder during his UFC 288 scrap with Belal Muhammad, Durinho tells TMZ Sports he's ready to climb back in the Octagon, and he knows who he wants to fight!

First, the injury.

"I'm clear. No pain. Shoulder is moving good. All range of motion is back. Strength," Gilbert says, "I'd say anything March or April, UFC 299 or UFC 300, I'll be ready to go."

As for who Gilbert wants in his return fight, he has an opp in mind ... though much could change with the upcoming welterweight title fight at UFC 296.

"I would love to fight Colby [Covington]," Burns said of the number 3 ranked contender, who will face champ Leon Edwards on December 16.

"I think Leon Edwards is gonna get the win, but who knows when he's gonna come back. Or when either one of these guys is gonna come back. That would be my number one pick."

Whatever happens at 296, Gilbert will see it with his own two eyes ... 'cause he says he'll be at T-Mobile Arena.

"I think after that night I'm gonna see who I'm fighting next."

Of course, Burns lost by unanimous decision in May ... when he was injured early in the fight. Because of the circumstances, it's tough to say who would've won if GB didn't get hurt, unless you're Gilbert. He's totally confident he would've kicked Belal's ass.

American actor Matthew Glave was 35 years old when he was cast to play Glenn -- Julia's cocky, wealthy and deceitful fiancé who gets handsy with other women and goes head-to-head with a wedding singer -- in the romance/comedy film "The Wedding Singer" back in 1998.

Matthew hit the big screen with Hollywood legends like Adam Sandler as the wedding singer who helps Julia and (an absent) Glenn plan their wedding, Robbie, Drew Barrymore as the New Jersey waitress who wants to find love, Julia and Christine Taylor as Julia's cousin and bestie, Holly.

Tragedy struck on the high seas as a passenger tragically died aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

A passenger tells TMZ that a 16-year-old boy lost his life after falling from the balcony to the deck Saturday ... as the 'Allure of the Seas' vessel headed from Port Canaveral in Florida to Nassau, Bahamas, in the early hours. It’s unclear if the fall was accidental.

We're told extensive efforts were made to save his life ... with an announcement urging passengers to donate blood at the medical tent.

However, a source with knowledge tells us the boy passed away later at the hospital ... not on the ship.

Photos we obtained also show the aftermath of the devastating scene ... with caution tape on the balcony and a tent on the deck visible.