Dancing with the Stars

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino says his addiction to prescription painkillers began after suffering a neck injury on "Dancing with the Stars" back in 2010 ... and he's still battling to stay sober.

We broke the story ... Sitch checked into rehab back in March 2012 -- and after his people initially insisted the MTV star was just suffering from exhaustion, they eventually admitted he was hooked on opiates.

Now, 32-year-old Situation is talking about his battle with prescription drugs ... telling the AP his addiction was so bad, he could barely dress himself.

"All I had to do was get dressed for a family function and I couldn’t do that. The shirt was laid out, the belt, the pants, everything. The shower was on. I couldn’t even get out of bed."

Sitch says it was at that moment, he realized he had a problem -- "If I can’t [get dressed], how am I going to continue?”

The former "Jersey Shore" star says he's still taking medication for his injury -- but undergoes counseling to keep his addiction in check.

He's also a paid spokesman for the company that makes his pills -- and participates in a program that helps spread awareness about opiate prescription painkiller addictions.

Apparently, TV scientists stick together like H2 and O (covalent bond joke!) ... 'cause TMZ has learned Beakman (from "Beakman's World") is rooting for Bill Nye on "Dancing with the Stars."

... sorta.

We spoke with Paul Zaloom a.k.a. Beakman ... who tell us he's fired up for his fellow oddball science educator saying, "I hope Bill reps for scientists and shows everyone we can shake our booties too!"

Now for the "sorta" part ... Beakman says he doesn't watch broadcast television ... so he won't actually tune in when Nye hits the dance floor.

As for Mr. Wizard, it's unclear who he's rooting for ... because he died in 2007.

Disney is none too pleased that TMZ got the cast list of "Dancing With the Stars," because we've learned the head of security has launched an investigation to find the leak.

The Mouse House apparently was not amused when we told you Valerie Harper, Leah Remini, Snooki, Elizabeth Berkley, Amber Riley and others will be appearing in the upcoming season. We're told security will start interviewing staffers tomorrow to find the alleged mole.

So we're guessing this won't make Mickey's parents happy ... we found out Tristin McMannis will be Valerie's partner. What's more ... we're told Valerie -- who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer but is in remission -- is rehearsing like a champ and is getting no special breaks.

Valerie Harper -- whom doctors gave three months to live back in March due to her terminal brain cancer -- hasn't just defied medicine by staying alive ... she's signed on to "Dancing with the Stars."

As we reported, 74-year-old Harper -- famous for playing the role of Rhoda on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" -- announced she had been diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare form of cancer in which cancer cells spread into the membrane surrounding the brain.

Doctors gave her roughly until June to live ... but it's already August, and we've learned she's doing so well she is set to appear on the upcoming season of "Dancing," an extremely physically-demanding reality show.

We're told Valerie and her partner Tristan have already been practicing for two days, and she's surprisingly good. Our sources say she's completely self-sufficient and doesn't need any special assistance ... at least so far.

TMZ broke the story ... Leah Remini will also be on the next season, as well as Snooki, Elizabeth Berkley, Amber Riley from "Glee," and Christina Milian.

Leah Remini is going from Dianetics to disco ... TMZ has learned, the famous ex-Scientologist will appear in the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars" ... and Snooki will be making her post-pregnancy debut along with her.

Sources close to production tell us, the former "King of Queens" actress is on the show.

As we reported, Remini recently underwent a very public split from the Church of Scientology after raising questions about the disappearance of church leader David Miscavige's wife Shelly.

Remini filed a missing persons report regarding Shelly's disappearance in July, demanding answers, and the Church was NOT pleased ... ripping the actress for her wanton betrayal.

FYI, police claim they made contact with Shelly in the wake of Remini's report and determined Remini's concerns were "unfounded." Eerie.

In addition to Remini and Snooki, our sources say Elizabeth Berkley, Amber Riley from "Glee," and Christina Milian will also be on the show.

It's getting serious ... Julianne Hough's face-sucking new bf performed the walk of shame from her place this weekend -- but followed up like a champ by sending her flowers.

Ryan Seacrest's replacement is Ari Sandel -- an Oscar-winning director. We posted pics of the couple getting hot and heavy in a restaurant ... and it appears they've upgraded to sleepovers.

Shortly after Ari reportedly left Julianne's West Hollywood pad early Saturday morning -- which also happened to be her 25th birthday -- he was seen walking into a flower shop ... but leaving empty-handed.

Walk of shame sources tell us a short time later ... JH got a knock at her door and a fresh bouquet of red roses.

If you're a pro dancer on "Dancing With the Stars" and find yourself partnered with a disgraced celeb like Paula Deen ... that's too damn bad ... producers will FORCE you to rumba no matter how much you hate them.

Mark Ballas laid it all out for us on the streets of Hollywood Saturday. Our photog asked him, IF Paula was chosen for the show ... would he take issue cha-cha-cha-ing with her, in light of her n-word scandal?

Mark tells us ... he has NO SAY in the matter whatsoever. Meaning, even if you loathe your celeb ... or find their use of racial slurs questionable ... you better suck it up. Mark explains why.

Which reminds us ...

It might have been the greatest television event of the year ... SHARKS climbing ropes, swimming down the 405, attacking helicopters and chasing Tara Reid up a flight of stairs ... but Derek Hough says he REFUSED to watch "Sharknado" last night.

Clearly, Hough was too closed-minded to see all of the awesomeness the made-for-SyFy movie had in store ... seriously, we counted 5 shark vs. man fatalities in the first 4 minutes.

In case you missed it ... the movie TOOK OVER Twitter last night ... with people begging for a sequel before the movie even ended.

Perhaps, "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof said it best ... writing, "I know it's only been 12 hours, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to talk about anything non-Sharknado-related again."

People have already begun coming up with titles for the next installment ... here's a few we've thought up:

-- Psy-Clone: It's Raining South Korean Pop Stars
-- LouNami: Lou Rawls comes back to life to wreak havoc on the South Pacific
-- Heavy Rainn: Acid rain from a cloud that looks like Rainn Wilson melts San Diego

We now know what in the Hell Kate Upton was doing hanging out with "Dancing With the Stars" dude Maksim Chmerkovskiy -- and we're still not happy about it.

As we previously (and jealously) reported ... Maks and Kate were spotted leaving a restaurant together in NYC last week.

So, of course we've been wondering how someone known as the "bad boy of the ballroom" ... managed to bag the hottest chick on the planet.

Well, we ran into Maks at LAX, sans Kate, and asked if they're, y'know ... banging?

Somebody's got some explaining to do ... because model Kate Upton and "Dancing with the Stars" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy ... the most random two people ever ... left a restaurant together Monday night in NYC.

There were reports the two were spotted canoodling inside ... but sources close to both camps tell us, they're not together. Not even close. They're just friends.

Polish supermodel Joanna Krupa wants to show the entire world the two perky reasons why everyone should be watching "Real Housewives of Miami."

With the heat in Florida just too much for her beautiful supple skin to bear, the 34-year-old former not hooker "Dancing with the Stars" contestant set her gorgeous gals free and sunbathed topless on Friday.

But Joanna and the twins were not alone, as her lucky ass fiancé Romain supervised the entire accidentally on purpose -- but amazing -- photo op.

Julianne Hough and Ashley Greene got the royal treatment in a nail salon, but it wasn't easy spotting 'em in the crowd of busy employees. Instead it was ridiculously easy, 'cause ... y'know.

Even if Maksim Chmerkovskiy does want to dance with stars again, the Ukrainian pro needs ankle surgery before he can even consider a return to "Dancing with the Stars."

As TMZ first reported, Maksim sat out the most recent season to pursue other entertainment gigs ... so far he's got an appearance on "General Hospital" to show for it.

Sources tell us, producers at "DWTS" desperately want Maksim to return to the show next season. But sources close to Maksim say that won't be possible until he gets surgery on one of his ankles.

We're told the wear and tear of working with untrained dancers each season has taken its toll Maksim (as opposed to dancing with another pro, which is way easier).

She's only 16 years old, but "Dancing with the Stars" front-runner Zendaya is on track to rake in $345,000 during the ballroom battle ... IF she can make it to the finale.

According to her "DWTS" contract ... Zendaya collected $125,000 to kick off the competition and appear on the first two weeks of the show. After that, she gets paid weekly -- SOP for all the contestants.

The good news for the dance-savvy Disney star -- the $$$ goes up, the longer she can last. Here's the breakdown:

Weeks 3 & 4: $10,000 per week ($20k total)
Weeks 5 & 6: $20,000 per week ($40k total)
Weeks 7 & 8: $30,000 per week ($60k total)
Weeks 9 & 10: $50,000 per week ($100k total)

Grand total for all 10 weeks: $345,000

You gotta understand, Zendaya's been blowing away the competition -- meaning there's a good chance she could take home the mirror ball ... and with it, all that cash.

Sure beats flippin' burgers.

With every new season of "Dancing with the Stars" ... a new diva shall emerge amongst the cast ... and this season it's "The Bachelor" Sean Lowe. Sorry ladies.

Sources close to "DWTS" tell TMZ ... ever since filming began, Sean has caught a baaaad case of DIVA-itis ... demanding to be shot from certain camera angles, talking down to crew members, acting like a brat and bragging to other cast members, "This show NEEDS me."

We're told Sean's ego has gotten so big ... he now considers himself a brand and must "market accordingly".

As for other cast members ... we're told they've already started brainstorming nicknames for the reality star in light of his behavior -- like Princess Sean -- but have yet to find just the right one.

We could probably think of a couple.