Gossip / Rumors

For a guy who earned the nickname Mayor Suave, Antonio Villaraigosa was anything BUT smooth when we asked him about the ongoing Charlie Sheen drama yesterday ... in fact, AV's response is downright laughable.

Villaraigosa was in L.A. for an event with philanthropist Eli Broad when we asked about Charlie Sheen's recent claim -- that he and the mayor partied together in Mexico for HOURS.

Of course, AV has been in media "spin mode" ever since a photo emerged of the two -- with Villaraigosa claiming he simply posed for a pic with Sheen during a harmless 3 minute encounter ... and nothing more.

Sheen called BS (and later apologized for calling BS, but never took back his story).

But when we asked about Sheen's claims yesterday ... the Mayor tried to change the topic in the most awkward way possible ... and then tried to mock the situation.

Charlie Sheen is calling out L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ... claiming he was flat-out LYING when he said he spent ONLY 3 minutes with the actor in Cabo -- Charlie says the Mayor hung with him for hours, chatting it up and drinking with a bunch of hot chicks.

Mayor Villaraigosa told NBC 4 L.A. ... his encounter with Charlie was no big deal, saying, "I had a three-minute conversation and took a picture with him, that simple.... I take a picture virtually every single day, 50 times."

But Charlie says the Mayor is shoveling BS. Charlie tells TMZ ... the picture was actually shot in Charlie's hotel suite at Hotel El Ganzo, where Charlie had just opened his bar, Sheenz earlier in the evening.

What's more, Charlie says the Mayor hung out in the suite for WAY more than 3 minutes. Charlie says, "I memorize 95 pages a week, so the last thing that I am is memory challenged. We hung out for the better part of 2 hours, discussing his L.A. roots, his poignant bullet campaign as well as his 3 AM lawn-watering tactics."

Charlie continues, "He's a terrific guy, a great Mayor and he can drink with the best of 'em: Me. Quite a memorable night indeed."

You'll recall ... when Charlie introduced Slash and another band earlier in the evening at his bar, he hurled a homophobic remark. After TMZ got the video, we contacted Villaraigosa but he had no comment.

The Mayor's office told TMZ they would have "no further comment."

Miley Cyrus posted a pic on Instagram which shows her and Liam Hemsworth posing for an XMAS photo ... and Dax noticed something interesting ...

Check out Liam's left ring finger -- it looks suspiciously like a wedding band. The pose blocks Miley's finger.

They got engaged earlier this year but made no announcement about a wedding date.

And as long as we're talking, also take a look at another pic Miley posted, showing her in a Santa's getup. It looks like she might have 2 bands on her ring finger, one being her engagement ring.

Kris and Bruce Jenner are positively getting a divorce -- how could they not be when they didn't even sit together to watch Lamar Odom and the Clippers beat the Nuggets? Well, there's a really simple answer.

Check out the reports this AM ... claiming the seating arrangement is a clear splitsville signal, with Bruce sitting a row behind Kris and the rest of the Kardashian klan.

But here's the thing ... Kris and Bruce were sitting side-by-side, until Kim Kardashian and Kanye West showed up and B.J. surrendered his seat so they could sit together and retreated to the row behind them.

Jessica Simpson just tweeted a photo of her daughter Maxwell playing in the sand in Hawaii next to the words "BIG SIS" .... which can only mean one thing -- JESSICA'S PREGNANT!!!!

Right???

The rumors have been swirling for weeks -- but Jessica has been mum about the mom situation ... until now.

Jessica gave birth to her first child, Maxwell Drew Johnson, back on May 1.

The big question -- how will the pregnancy affect her $4 MILLION deal with Weight Watchers?

9:18 AM PT -- Weight Watchers just posted a tweet, congratulating Jess on the news:

Simon Cowell -- who normally says exactly what's on his mind -- was holding back BIG TIME on the subject of LeAnn Rimes last night ... 'cause while he insisted the singer was sober, he DEFINITELY couldn't say it with a straight face.

Simon was outside Mixology at The Grove in L.A. last night, when we asked about LeAnn's bizarre duet with Carly Rose Sonenclar on "X Factor" this week ... the one that left people thinking she was hammered.

Simon told us he thought the performance was "interesting" ... and he didn't believe LeAnn was on drugs or alcohol at the time. Buuut ... the giant poop-eating grin on his face makes it hard to believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

Still, Simon says ... LeAnn is welcome back to the show any time she wants.

Someone in LeAnn Rimes' camp is LYING ... because the singer is now saying she never gave a statement to TMZ about her controversial performance on "X Factor."

Here's the deal -- after reports surfaced that LeAnn may have been wasted during her performance with 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar, we called Rimes' rep for comment.

The rep gave us a quote that we were told we could put on TMZ.com and attribute to LeAnn Rimes. We were told LeAnn was NOT impaired and if there was any awkwardness it was only because "I was trying to help this 13-year-old girl who was having some trouble with the song."

But moments ago, Rimes posted a message on her Twitter page saying she has NOT given the media a quote -- noting, "It's a shame that gossip and lies are overshadowing the performance of Carly."

She added, "It was an amazing opportunity to share this experience with Carly and I know I'll be watching for her to win tonight."

LeAnn Rimes tells TMZ ... she was NOT drunk when she performed on "X Factor" Wednesday night, contrary to LOTS of speculation.

LeAnn says she was in no way impaired, and any awkwardness was because "I was trying to help this 13-year-old girl who was having some trouble with the song."

LeAnn believes Carly Rose Sonenclar was very nervous and had difficulty with some of the notes and she was doing her best to help her get through it.

LeAnn's lawyer, Larry Stein, who spoke with LeAnn a few minutes ago, tells TMZ "LeAnn was not performing the way she would normally perform, because she was on stage with a young girl."

LeAnn says she does not understand why people believe she was drunk. Stein has a theory: "There have been a lot of untrue things said by others and it feeds into this sort of thing."

Lindsay Lohan says she's been framed -- she couldn't have trashed her "Scary Movie 5" trailer ... 'cause it was trashed when she got there, and producers retaliated because they were pissed off she was a no-show for the first day of shooting ... so Lindsay is telling close friends.

Lindsay is pissed at reports claiming she clogged her toilet -- along with all the other toilets on the set.

Now here's Lindsay's story -- she's telling friends producers were ferociously upset she missed the kickoff day ... even though she told them she had walking pneumonia and doctors ordered her NOT to fly.

We're told when she arrived belatedly, the trailer was a disaster -- the shower and toilet were not working ... and she had to do her biz in adjoining trailers.

It was only after the shoot that Lindsay was accused of wreaking plumbing havoc and told she would not get her full paycheck ... to cover repair costs.

Kris and Bruce Jenner are NOT BREAKING UP ... and to prove it, the reality couple put on a CLINIC in over-the-top public flirtation at an L.A. Christmas tree lot yesterday.

The rumors of an impending divorce have been swirling for weeks ... with reports that the leaders of the Kardashian squad are "faking" their relationship for the cameras.

But sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... the breakup talk is "total BS" ... and Kris and Bruce are still legitimately in love with each other.

Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson both have a major glow about them -- and since everyone wants to know if it's because they're knocked up ... we set out to find definitive answers! Hey, we tried.

Here it is ... undeniable proof that Jennifer Aniston is finally PREGNANT ... or not pregnant ... depending on if you can see a baby bump in this photo!!!

The former "Friends" actress was all smiles on her way into a spa in Beverly Hills this weekend ... with what appears to be signs of a "stomach" showing underneath her shirt.

Only Jen knows for sure ... but we should totally guess anyway -- so, we gotta ask ...

Ice-T's gonna be pissed ... 'cause rapper AP.9 is now strongly insinuating that he's banging T's wife Coco.

Of course, T already blasted his wife on Twitter after pics surfaced featuring Coco and AP.9 gettin' all kissy kissy during a night out in Vegas. T said the pics were "disrespectful and in bad taste."

Coco said the pics were harmless ... and stated that she's "happily married."

But this weekend, AP.9 was shamelessly trying to breathe life back into the story ... because when he was asked about the rumors he was still bangin' Coco, the rapper looked into the camera like he LOVED the attention and said, "That's a RUMOR? Is that a rumor?"

He added, "No comment man."

Jill Kelley -- one of the women in the Gen. David Petraeus scandal -- claims she's been WRONGLY accused of trashing the Kardashian family ... in fact, sources say she actually likes 'em.

Kelley has been compared to the K-squad members after she was thrust into the global spotlight thanks to her role in the Petraeus nonsense ... simply because she's rich and hot.

There was a report that Kelley HATED the comparison ... and allegedly said it was the worst thing to come from the scandal.

But sources close to Kelley tell TMZ she never said any such thing. We're told Jill views the Ks as "beautiful and successful business women" whom she highly respects.

Jessica reportedly has a tiny person growing inside of her, but has yet to confirm a pregnancy.

But on Saturday she showed up to Zach Braff's mansion -- where the wedding was held -- in this kind-of-poofy black dress ... which CONVENIENTLY covered her stomach (aka her baby incubator).

Sarah Jessica Parker's makeup artist -- who was busted in Norway for allegedly stealing sunglasses -- is telling friends she didn't steal JACK ... and the whole incident was set up so airport authorities could shake her down for a bribe.

Leslie Lopez is telling friends she was shocked when authorities randomly questioned her at the Oslo Airport gate on Wednesday. We're told they asked permission to search her bag (which she allowed) and that's when they told her they found a pair stolen sunglasses and accused her of shoplifting.

We're told authorities accused then demanded she cough up a $1400 fine or else. Our sources say Lopez only had $700 in cash and offered that in an attempt to put the situation to rest. After some teeth pulling, we're told they agreed.

We're told Lopez believes the fact that her "fine" was negotiable proves it was a set up.

Lopez is also telling friends she had spent TONS of money on expensive goods from other airport stores before the "sunglasses incident" and claims to have the receipts (including one for lipstick she allegedly also stole) ... so why would she need to steal sunglasses?