Celebrity News

Calling all you mighty Millennials, ballin' Boomers, groovy Gen X-ers, and everyone else ... We're tappin' y'all into Gen-Z's hottest stories of the week, packed with sexy stars and piping-hot news!

Taylor Frankie Paul's alleged text messages to ex Dakota Mortensen are surfacing as part of the former couple's bitter custody battle ... and they show the reality TV star repeatedly complimenting her own looks, personality and sex appeal.

Sources familiar with the legal proceedings tell TMZ ... Dakota's lawyers submitted a series of Taylor's text messages in court this week to support his claim that her behavior has been erratic as the exes continue fighting over custody of their young son.

According to our sources, Taylor told Dakota in 2025 that she wasn't going to let him bring her down before declaring she was "f***ing charismatic as f***."

Shaun White was spotted spending time with a mystery blonde in West Hollywood this week ... though the woman isn't his reported girlfriend, Angela Garten.

TMZ obtained video of the Olympic snowboarding legend Wednesday at Lala Land Kind Cafe in West Hollywood, where he grabbed matcha with the blonde woman. The pair arrived together in Shaun's car, spent time inside the cafe, and then left together, with Shaun behind the wheel.

We're told there wasn't any PDA between them.

Jennifer Pedranti -- a star on the hit show "The Real Housewives of Orange County" -- says her son was involved in starting a brush fire in Southern California.

The reality star posted on her Instagram Story just minutes ago ... telling her followers she'd like to address rumors of her son's involvement in Tuesday's seven-acre blaze in the hills of Ladera Ranch, CA.

Jennifer confirmed her son and several other kids were involved ... and she and her ex-husband, Will Pedranti, are taking the incident very seriously.

She apologized to her community ... adding, this is "a tough learning moment for our son and our family."

Lil Rel Howery says he wants to help Nolan Wells' family get to the bottom of his mysterious death ... donating a large sum of money to help them find answers.

The comedian gave the family $1,000 and told TMZ ... "I just want the Nolan Family to find out the truth and that’s what I’m contributing to. Finding out the truth. That family and that young man deserves that.”

The comedian is one of many people who has donated to a GoFundMe set up by the family to cover funeral costs, celebration of life services, and any additional costs related to Nolan's death.

Larry Birkhead is pissed about the upcoming Anna Nicole Smith biopic ... and he's slamming the late model's doctor.

Larry unloaded on the film in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, saying ... "We don't condone this, we're not involved in this production."

Anna's baby daddy said he objects to depictions of his life and their daughter Dannielynn's life being used in the film ... "Trust Me, I’m a Doctor."

Courtney Stodden and her husband, Jared Safier, got into a heated argument that ended with cops showing up at their Los Angeles home ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD officers responded to Courtney and Jared's L.A. area residence around 1:45 AM Thursday for a welfare check after receiving a 911 call.

Our sources say the call stemmed from a verbal argument between Courtney and Jared. It's unclear what led to the dispute.

We're told officers arrived, spoke with the couple, and kept the peace before clearing the scene. Our sources say there wasn't any physical altercation, and no arrests were made.

Darrell Sheets' girlfriend was in absolute shock when she heard a gunshot go off in her house ... and she told cops she believed the 'Storage Wars' star had just killed himself.

TMZ obtained the 911 call the woman placed after Darrell's suicide ... and she's completely beside herself.

She tells police Darrell just took his own life, explaining ... "I just heard a gun go off."

Darrell's GF says he never threatened to kill himself, but was struggling with insomnia and had been "just frustrated" with his lack of sleep and his kid ... calling it all "terrible, terrible s***."

Kara Del Toro is livin' it up in one of Hollywood's hottest vacation hotspots -- Lake Como -- and she's turning up the heat in Italy with a fresh batch of sexy snaps ... plus a very wet shower.

Rinse off with Kara and our smokin' hot photo gallery ... it's full of Italian amore.

The 32-year-old is no stranger to the selfie game. In one snap, Kara rocked a white frilly bikini while striking a suggestive pose. 😉

And in another snap, Kara kicked back on an inner tube in a two-piece that screams Lake Como luxury.

2:23 PM PT -- TMZ has obtained body cam of officers arriving at the scene.

Newly released police records are shedding new light on Darrell Sheets' death ... authorities say the "Storage Wars" star left behind a suicide note and had recently argued with his son.

According to the Lake Havasu City Police incident report, obtained by TMZ, detectives found a handwritten note tucked inside a black basket in a bathroom closet near where Darrell was found dead. Police summarized it as reading, "I could not take anymore the Facebook bulling, f*** you [redacted]" ... adding the handwriting appeared shaky.

The report also paints a clearer picture of Darrell's final night. His girlfriend told detectives he couldn't sleep, got out of bed in the middle of the night, and moments later she found him standing in the doorway of his office ... telling her to "go back to bed" before a single gunshot rang out.

Taylor Frankie Paul allegedly tried to recruit her ex, Dakota Mortensen, to publicly roast her former friend and “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” co-star Demi Engemann ... after Demi's husband, Bret Engemann, took a swipe at Taylor online … TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the legal proceedings tell TMZ … Dakota submitted text messages as part of this week's custody case that he says paint Taylor in a negative light.

According to our sources, one exchange from 2025 began after Bret posted a TikTok making fun of Taylor. Taylor allegedly asked Dakota if he'd spoken to Bret, and Dakota replied he'd only talked to him a couple of times over the previous few months.

A photo making the rounds on social media has sparked rumors that Meagan Good is pregnant ... but TMZ has learned she's not expecting and the image has been doctored.

We're told the viral pic is an A.I.-altered image. The original photo is actually a paparazzi agency image from 2015 that was digitally manipulated to make it appear Meagan is showing a baby bump.

There are also some obvious signs the image was altered. Take a closer look and you'll notice what appears to be extra fingers on Meagan's hands -- a common giveaway in A.I.-generated or A.I.-edited images.

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Phaedra Parks says Big Tigger's a really good dude ... and she says it's a bummer that one complicated allegation has put such a stain on his legacy.

We got the former "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star in New York City on Wednesday ... and our photog asked her about her longtime pal's recent legal issues with his estranged wife, Alicia Brown.

Phaedra says she doesn't know everything about the case, so she doesn't want to speculate ... but she's always known the radio host to be a "gentleman."

"Love After Lockup" star Brittany Santiago's husband Marcelino Santiago hit her with divorce papers after 8 years together ... but she looks like she couldn't care less.

Brittany posted photos of her celebrating July 4th with her kids … and she's all smiles while partying with family. 

Marcelino filed his divorce petition on June 3, 2026, according to court docs obtained by TMZ, and he called the marriage “incompatible.”

NBA star Anthony Davis has sold his home for a large sum of $32M ... and when you look at what the house offers, you'll understand why.

The Washington Wizards big man listed his 8-bedroom estate for $40 Mil last year and on Thursday the 7-footer closed on the sale.

The crib is in Bel Air Crest ... with the property spanning 17,254 square feet, with an elevator, theater, game room, wet bar, wine cellar, home gym, barber shop, tennis court, cabanas, outdoor chef's kitchen, batting cage, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool ... cause why not?