Big Brother

"Big Brother" alum Christmas Abbott was arrested in Florida this week ... TMZ has confirmed.

Abbott turned herself into authorities Tuesday in Tampa, where she was booked for felony criminal mischief.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, Christmas drove to a Tampa gym back in August to confront her baby daddy's alleged side chick. Cops say that Abbott flew into a rage, asking all kinds of questions, and hurling a cup of coffee. She then rammed into the chick's car in the parking lot.

Per the report ... Abbott called the other woman a "pathetic home-wrecking little slut" among other insults.

The responding officer says Abbott continued to scream at the side chick while he tried calming her down. Abbott was 8 months pregnant at the time and, according to the report, cops declined to process her because she was so far along. Her vehicle was seized, but they allowed her to turn herself in later.

For the record, she had a little boy in October.

Abbott came in third place during season 19 of "Big Brother" ... back in 2017. In addition to her stint on 'BB,' Christmas was a big-time CrossFit competitor, and was the first female NASCAR pit crew member.

Originally Published -- 8:10 AM PST

Julie Chen's sign-off last week on 'Big Brother' wasn't a one-time stunt -- 'cause she did it again for Wednesday night's episode, and got major love.

Sources at Tuesday night's taping tell TMZ ... Julie opened the show by saying ... "Good evening, I'm Julie Chen Moonves. Welcome to 'Big Brother.'" Her words were met with a thunderous show of support from the audience.

Julie signed off with the Moonves surname during last week's episode -- and now it seems she is taking her husband's name full-time, on the heels of his hasty exit from CBS amid sexual misconduct allegations.

TMZ broke the story ... Julie wants to stay on as the host of 'Big Brother,' and CBS won't ask her to go. Assuming they renew the hit show for another season, she's likely to stay put.

Julie Chen will remain the host of 'Big Brother' because CBS won't ask her to go and she wants to stay ... TMZ has learned.

CBS insiders tell TMZ the network does not want to punish Julie for her husband Les Moonves' alleged misdeeds, so she will finish the current season and the plan is for her to return, with one big IF. The IF is bringing the show back for another season. The ratings are still good and the all-important demos are strong, so renewal is all but certain.

As for whether Julie wants back ... the answer is YES. Sources connected to Julie tell TMZ, she will absolutely finish the season and wants to return for future seasons.

Julie announced Tuesday she was leaving "The Talk." Our sources say it was all her decision -- CBS put NO pressure on her to leave.

It makes sense Julie opted for 'BB' over "The Talk" for 2 reasons. First, the 'BB' shooting schedule is less demanding than "The Talk" so it gives her more time to spend with her husband and son -- something she says is a priority.

Perhaps more significant ... "The Talk" is a topical show, and sexual harassment is a staple, which would make for uncomfortable conversation. "Big Brother" is more scripted and doesn't get as personal.

Short story ... she's coming back to "Big Bro."

Julie Chen did something Thursday night she has never done in her 19-year run at CBS ... she ID'd herself as "Julie Chen Moonves" ... and make no mistake about it -- it's a big statement.

Julie came back to CBS to host "Big Brother" ... 4 days after her husband and former boss Les Moonves was removed as the network's head honcho.

Julie never referenced the scandal or Les by name, but closed the show with a bang. Mind you ... Julie has been an anchor on "CBS This Morning," "The Talk," "Big Brother" and other CBS shows and she has NEVER used her husband's surname ... until now.

Before the show, Julie teased her return with a photo holding "Big Brother" cue cards, but she made it clear for everyone... her wedding ring and her marriage are intact.

Julie has not returned to "The Talk," and it's unclear when that will happen, but Sharon Osbourne said on Monday she'd be back after taking a few days off.

Short story ... all the people who thought Julie would follow her husband out the door may be wrong.

One of the most famous "Big Brother" contestants says the show is rock solid ... despite rumors longtime host, Julie Chen, might be leaving Big Brother with Les Moonves now gone.

Dan Gheesling -- who won season 10 and was the runner-up on season 14 of "Big Brother" -- says if Julie steps away from her hosting role on CBS' hit reality series, whoever replaces her will have some massive shoes to fill. Her 18-year run has been that iconic.

So far, Julie has not given even a hint that she'll leave the show. In fact, she made it clear ... she'll be hosting Thursday night's episode.

The real question ... will "Big Brother" go on the chopping block now that Moonves is gone? Sharon Osbourne said this week on "The Talk" nobody's job is safe now ... nor are any of the CBS shows in the wake of Moonves' departure.

Ultimately it comes down to ratings. Although Dan says the show is a juggernaut ... the ratings are down this season from last, although the all-important demos are still strong.

A houseguest on "Big Brother" used his eviction speech to tell everyone to "suck it" ... then strongly suggested there's already some sucking going on.

Scottie got evicted from the 'BB' house Thursday night, but not before he made multiple comments that warranted CBS censorship ... including a vulgar joke about the "showmance" between Tyler and Angela.

The audio didn't air live, but 'BB' sleuths were easily able to find out what Scottie said and add captioning ... which reveals his comments insinuating Tyler is receiving oral sex from Angela.

Scottie tells Tyler, "You've been getting Hilton Head" ... clearly a sexual pun reference to the town in South Carolina where both Tyler and Angela hail from.

Scottie was already evicted before this season, but won his way back only to be booted again. And, according to 'BB' insiders ... Angela's very upset by his parting shot at her, which many fans agree is incredibly disrespectful and even misogynistic.

Controversies have been par for the course this season on the hit reality show, with multiple houseguests making racist comments and even cries of sexual misconduct.

Stormy Daniels is persona non grata in the UK ... 'cause she's getting torn to pieces after bailing on "Celebrity Big Brother" after allegedly demanding and not getting more dough, but her lawyer's calling BS.

Stormy was supposed to make her reality TV debut with Thursday night's launch, but she was a no-show. There's a report out in the UK saying Stormy wanted an additional $125k on top of the $950k she was reportedly scoring from the show. 'CBB' producers supposedly balked and Stormy walked.

President Trump's alleged mistress was supposed to appear on the UK's biggest midday talk show Friday but also never made it outta the green room. One of the show's panelists said Stormy told her there was a development in her custody battle with her estranged hubby, Glendon Crain.

Stormy's attorney, Michael Avenatti, tells TMZ ... the money dispute's a joke and insists the reason his client bailed is because producers wanted Stormy to stick to a script, but she was not gonna play that game. As for the custody development ... Avenatti says it did play a factor in Stormy pulling out.

"Little Women: LA" star Briana Renee is supporting "Big Brother" houseguest JC Mounduix's decision to compare the n-word to an epithet for little people, but says his message got lost in his delivery.

JC caught hell Tuesday night from another houseguest -- who's black -- when he used the n-word in an analogy about the m-word. As he put it, "midget" is like "gay and f***ot or n***er and black."

Briana says JC is dead on, because the m-word was a derogatory term used for little people in the circus back in the day, and remains a sensitive subject ... just like the n-word.

A former "Big Brother" houseguest says it's no big deal JC Mounduix dropped the n-word ... because he was just answering a question honestly.

Devin Shepherd, from 'BB16,' tells TMZ ... he doesn't think JC had bad intentions, and was merely defending himself. JC, who's 4'8" ... used the slur while trying to explain -- to a black houseguest -- the difference between the words "midget" and "dwarf."

Fellow houseguest, Bayleigh, who is black -- was pissed and warned JC to never use the word again. However, Devin says JC's outburst is no worse than stuff President Trump says on a daily basis.

Shepherd strongly suggests the country's got bigger fish to fry than a slip of the tongue in the 'BB' house.

"Big Brother" houseguest JC Mounduix hurled a couple of nasty epithets Tuesday night -- in front of a black houseguest -- while trying to explain how NOT to offend people. No joke.

JC, who stands 4'8" tall, was trying to explain the difference between the words "midget" and "dwarf" ... and told Bayleigh Dayton, who's black, it's like "gay and f***ot or ni**er and black."

The lesson did NOT go over well with Bayleigh, who quickly reacted in anger.

This isn't the first time a 'BB' houseguest has gone there. Kaitlyn Herman dropped the n-word earlier this month while singing a Drake lyric, and that was AFTER producers had warned them about offensive language. Oh, and there were the two women who said their tans made 'em "look ghetto."

"Big Brother" houseguest Kaitlyn went from zero to stupid real quick when she dropped the n-word Thursday night during the show's online live feed.

She was talking to 2 other guests -- Tyler and Scottie -- about making a quick transition ... when Kaitlyn, who is white, decided it was the perfect time to quote Drake's "0 to 100" ... and NOT the clean version. She said, "I did go zero to 100 n**ga, real quick."

Seems like she realized her idiocy real quick too ... because she immediately said "Oops," and continued mumbling lyrics to the song as if to say ... I was just singing a song, I'm not racist!

All 3 of 'em must have remembered at that moment producers JUST finished warning them about this kinda crap ... after Angela and Rachel worried their tans would make them look too "ghetto."

More controversy out of the 'Big Brother' house -- this time two white housemates complained the sun was making them too dark ... and likened that to looking "ghetto."

'BB' contestants Rachel Swindler and Angela Rummans were captured on the show's live feed Monday saying some pretty racist sounding s**t. Rachel kicks it off by saying her stomach was as dark as fellow houseguest Bayleigh Dayton -- who is black.

Angela makes things worse by responding with ... "I know. I'm looking ghetto here with the skin coloration." Rachel continues to gripe that she can't be in the sun for more than two days, otherwise she would "change ethnicities." Yikes ...

A "Big Brother" houseguest tried using an ice cream scooper on the genitals of several of his housemates ... and fans are crying foul.

JC Mounduix was captured on the show's online live feed attempting to place the scooper in or around the privates of some other cast members -- namely Kaycee Clark, Kaitlyn Herman and Tyler Crispen.

At one point, JC told Kaycee to open her vagina because it "feels good." He tries it on Kaitlyn too, going under a blanket and trying to get it near her ... apparently against her will. JC also tries going for Tyler, who covers himself and says "no." Later, he's seen touching Tyler's genitals.

None of the housemates complained about JC's behavior -- not on camera, anyway -- but, many fans online are calling out producers for not disciplining JC, or kicking him out of the house entirely.

Die-hard "Big Brother" fans might not be happy about this -- "The Amazing Race" just made some huge last-minute cuts to its upcoming all-BB edition ... including winners and fan favorites.

Our 'TAR' sources tell us ... America's Favorite Houseguest on Season 17, James Huling, and Season 18's Corey Brooks will no longer be partnering up on 'TAR' because CBS called them Thursday night to inform them they've been axed.

Caleb Reynolds, aka Beast Mode Cowboy, was also told he's no longer wanted for the upcoming season, and perhaps most shockingly ... former enemies turned friends -- Josh Martinez and Paul Abrahamian -- also got dropped from the cast.

We're told the news came as a huge surprise to the 'BB' alums because they'd all gone through the interview process and thought they were set ... but production just told them they are moving in a different direction.

On the bright side ... we've learned BB14 winner Ian Terry's been added to the cast, Rachel Reilly's still in and will team up with her sister Elissa, and past stars Da'Vonne Rogers and Bridgette Dunning will be a duo.

The latest duo to join the new season of "The Amazing Race" once viciously competed against each other on "Big Brother," and now they'll be battling for $1 million.

TMZ has learned ... Josh Martinez and Paul Abrahamian are teaming up for the "Big Brother" mash-up season of 'Race.' They were on season 19 of 'BB,' which Josh ended up winning the $500k grand prize ... and Paul came in second.

Despite the fact Paul bitch slapped Josh while they were in the 'BB' house -- we're told they actually became good friends afterward. We'll see if that holds up though, while they race around the world.

The competition on the 'Amazing Race' and "Big Brother" mash-up is gonna be fierce, because it's stocked with a lot of previous winners and fan favorites hauling ass around the world.

Sources tell us James Huling, who won America's Favorite Houseguest on season 17 of "Big Brother," will be partnering with Corey Brooks, who appeared on season 18. James also appeared on season 18, but didn't win.

As we previously reported ... "Big Brother" alums Caleb Reynolds and Rachel Reilly are also in the race. Rachel won season 13 of 'BB' and Caleb's got experience from being on two seasons of "Survivor" too.