Exclusive

Terrence Howard says his new podcast won't pull any punches ... 'cause he plans to take on big-time Hollywood media companies -- something he describes as a "studio's nightmare and every actor's wet dream."

The veteran actor tells TMZ ... he recently started recording a new podcast that pulls back the curtain on the entertainment industry, and intends to release it to the public in the near future.

Howard will speak on the powerful figures behind the scenes in H'wood. Specifically, he tells us he's going to address his ongoing legal battle with CAA, claiming the talent agency allegedly asked him to accept a lower salary while he worked on "Empire." He also says he has plenty to say about the bigwigs over at Disney and FOX.

Insider trading is rampant on Capitol Hill and there needs to be new laws on the books to level the playing field ... so says a trading app founder who would lose his business if a major change ever happened.

Chris Josephs runs Autopilot, a trading app that lets regular folks copy stock trades made by some of Congress' most prescient portfolios, and he joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to tell us why he's confident Congress is using insider information to make a killing on the stock market.

Nancy Pelosi and Marjorie Taylor Greene are some of the alleged insider traders, and Chris says politicians from both sides of the aisle love to profit off crises ... he says it happened when the housing bubble burst, when Covid hit ... and is ramping up again with President Trump flip-flopping on tariffs.

Haley Joel Osment caused a stir at the chair lift before his arrest at California's Mammoth Mountain resort earlier this month -- and we have it on video.

Check it out ... "The Sixth Sense" star -- who's notably wearing his helmet backward -- is lined up and ready to pop a squat on the lift, but there's one thing missing -- his snowboard! Footage shows a female crew member trying to reason with him and remove him from the line, but he's insistent on getting up the mountain even without his board to bring him back down.

Haley's fellow skiers and snowboarders begin to grow impatient, with some even heckling him to get out of there. He ignores their demands ... but turns around and shrugs them off -- seemingly perplexed by their anger.

Eric Mabius made sure cops knew he'd been cast in law enforcement roles for tons of Hollywood productions before they threw handcuffs on him and stuffed him in the back of a squad car ... new police video shows.

In body cam footage, obtained by TMZ, Eric pulls the celeb card while being arrested for battery in Florida.

Eric's interacting with Nassau County sheriff's deputies outside a bar when he tells them, "You know what's so funny, I play characters like you in movies all the time. I do ... I get paid money."

Bill Maher is scoffing at the far left for slamming him over his visit to the White House ... to paraphrase Mark Antony, he feels he should not be buried, he should be praised!

Bill joined the "2 Angry Men" podcast with Harvey and Mark Geragos, and made it clear ... he spoke truth to power when he broke bread with 47.

As for his evaluation of Trump -- that he was charming, jovial and even self-effacing -- Bill laughed at his critics, wondering if they wanted him to lie. As he said, what's the option -- pulling a Gretchen Whitmer, where she covered her face when a photog snapped a shot in the Oval Office?

"American Idol" alum Doug Kiker -- who was known by the moniker "The Singing Garbage Man" -- died from an opioid overdose, TMZ has learned.

According to the City and County of Denver Medical Examiner's report obtained by TMZ, Doug died from the combined toxic effects of fentanyl, methadone, and amphetamines, with recent cocaine use -- and his death has been ruled an accident.

Kiker died last month, as confirmed to TMZ by his brother William and mother Joyce -- with his ex-fiancée, Valerie Cook, telling us she hates that her kids lost their father.

Actor David Howard Thornton says he can't tell fans whether he likes playing Art the Clown or the horror version of Steamboat Willie more ... or rather, he could -- but then he'd have to turn into a real-life slasher and start killing.

We caught up with the actor in Los Angeles recently ... and, we had to ask if he enjoyed playing a killer clown in the 'Terrifier' movies or a ravaging rat in "Screamboat" more.

DHT says he just can't choose between the two ... and, the person next to him suggests that he could answer the question, but then he'd have to kill the cameraman -- and David readily agrees.

Haley Joel Osment's next trip to Mammoth Lakes, CA won't be for skiing -- he's potentially facing charges for an arrest at that town's ski resort ... TMZ has learned.

The veteran actor was arrested on April 8 after cops got a call just before 2 PM about an allegedly intoxicated individual at Mammoth Mountain resort.

Ski patrol -- professionals who ensure the safety of skiers and snowboarders -- were with Osment when cops arrived, according to documents obtained by TMZ.

Seems JuJu Watkins' coach doesn't have much worry her star player will be back to her normal self soon -- Lindsay Gottlieb tells TMZ Sports the 19-year-old is "doing great" in her rehab ... and attacking things with a laser focus.

Watkins, of course, tore her ACL on March 24 in an NCAA tournament game ... but Gottlieb told us out at LAX this week she's showing plenty of signs that she's going to be all right.

"She's doing great," the Trojans sideline manager said. "She's doing great. She's in focus mode, rehab mode."

"Love on the Spectrum" fan fav Tanner Smith is making it clear that he and his TV show boo Callie Truelove are still hanging out -- but just as friends!!!

Check out the clip -- the smiling star AKA "Tank" tells TMZ he's definitely pals with Callie despite fans speculating sparks are still flying after their cozy dinner at North Carolina's The Shepherd Hotel -- which he documented on IG.

In addition to juicy details about Callie, he also shares what we can expect from him in the near future.

Wiz Khalifa is in high spirits and has plenty of good vibes to give out this weekend with the release of his "Kush & OJ 2" album!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Wiz, Will and the rest of Taylor Gang out in NYC on Wednesday, exercising their right to toke in the streets and promoting the project the old-fashioned way.

Wiz flat-out admitted he couldn't keep count of all the Js that went into the making of the upcoming sequel ... we say many, many, many!!!

The Democratic National Committee plans to take on members of its own party who aren't effective, regardless of age ... so says one of its highest ranking members.

We spoke with David Hogg -- the gun control activist turned vice chair of the DNC -- on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... and, we talked with him about efforts to reform the Democratic Party.

Hogg tells us the DNC plans to present primary challengers against members of Congress who just straight up aren't getting the job done ... homing in pols it deems "ineffective."

Karmelo Anthony has not withdrawn funds from his nearly $450,000 GiveSendGo fundraiser ... even after he walked free from the slammer on a $250K bond Monday.

Jacob Wells, cofounder of the popular crowdsourcing platform, tells TMZ no funds have been distributed, as the company receives "clarity from the campaign recipient on use of funds so that the people that have given can be confident in how their donation is being used."

The revelation comes while folks question how Anthony satisfied his $250,000 bond -- which a judge reduced from $1 million -- and how his family is covering his legal costs as the 17-year-old faces a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf at their Frisco, Texas track meet earlier this month ... all while allegedly living in a $900,000 rental home.

Harvey Weinstein wants out of Rikers Island badly ... and into a medical center during his retrial in his New York criminal case.

The jailed movie mogul's legal team filed an emergency petition with the court to have him transferred from the notorious Rikers prison complex to Bellevue Hospital due to alleged gross mismanagement of his deteriorating health.

According to Tuesday's filing, obtained by TMZ, Weinstein accuses Rikers medical staff of failing to provide him with proper healthcare, as well as misdiagnosing at least one condition. Weinstein says this led to his health becoming wildly unstable, requiring "regular" hospitalization at Bellevue, including its ICU unit.

Weinstein says he has a laundry list of medical issues -- such as cancer, diabetes, extensive coronary artery disease, chest pain due to lowered levels of blood flowing to the heart, obstructive sleep apnea, thyroid issues, obesity, chronic lower back and leg pain, anemia, hypertension, and more.

Billy Bush thinks artificial intelligence is severely lacking the latter word in its name ... calling the tech "crap" after hearing it didn't even rank him as a top 10 member of the Bush family.

We caught up with the popular television host recently ... and, we asked him where he thinks he ranks on the list we generated using A.I., putting members of his famous fam in order from most to least successful.

Billy ain't crazy ... not putting himself in the top spot ahead of his uncle, former President George H.W. Bush, or his cousin, former President George W. Bush -- instead numbering himself in a very humble 11th place.

Gene Hackman's New Mexico property won't have a tough time selling despite some tough circumstances ... at least according to real estate agents in the area.

Gene, his wife Betsy Arakawa and one of their dogs were found dead in their secluded Santa Fe estate earlier this year, and the place was infested with dead rodents and rats' nests ... but realtors say neither instance should be a dealbreaker when it comes time for the property to hit the open market.

Ken Martinez of Keller Williams Realty, Jer Collins of Exp Realty and Shak Bani from Santa Fe Properties all agreed ... the rodent problems will be cleaned up, and the home's secluded location is going to be the big selling point.