Gossip / Rumors

People at NBC knew about Donald Trump's crude convo with Billy Bush for at least 2 months ... because Billy was bragging about it back then.

TMZ has confirmed ... Billy was telling NBC staffers in Rio about the tape back in early August, when he was still working for "Access Hollywood." We're told word circulated because Billy made it clear Trump was trash-talking Nancy O'Dell.

NBC News says it didn't know about the outtakes until a week ago Monday, but the word around the network is people knew, including executives at 'Access,' which is an NBC property. We're told those executives had full knowledge of Billy's comments on the tape ... which creates a potential problem if NBC is serious about firing him.

We're told Bush's camp will argue they can't 86 him based on a "morality clause" because execs knew what he had said, and didn't discipline him at the time ... 11 years ago.

UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic has a warning for Greg Hardy -- MMA is tougher than you think ... "it's not just something you pick up off the street."

With the ex-NFL star announcing he's pursuing a career as a heavyweight MMA fighter, we went right to the top guy to get his take.

Long story short ... Miocic says he'd beat Hardy down if they ever faced off in the Octagon -- but says he's not counting Hardy out as a fighter.

"Stranger things have happened," Stipe said when asked if he thinks Hardy could be a contender.

Comedian Russell Peters thinks Billy Bush is getting a raw deal over the "Access Hollywood" fiasco.

Peters was leaving Catch in WeHo Monday night when he made his case for Billy, who has all but been fired from "Today."

UFC star Mickey Gall says he's gonna destroy Sage Northcutt WORSE THAN CM PUNK -- vowing to break the guy's bones and hurt him real bad.

Gall and Northcutt are fighting at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 17th -- and the smack talk is already in full swing.

Gall says he actually likes Sage -- but says he's corny, a "silly boy" and "kind of a dork."

The clip is great -- Gall is a huge star in the making -- and he also reflects on his famous beatdown of CM Punk and whether he should get another shot in the UFC.

Nick Viall's got puppy love written all over his face, arm in arm with a cutie brunette ... and TMZ has the video.

The 'Bachelor' was spotted in his hometown of Waukesha, WI where he was presumably on a hometown date ... meaning the chick on his arm reached at least one of the final stages on season 21 of "The Bachelor."

Check out the vid ... Nick and the brunette get handsy as they make their way to Rochester Deli where they scarfed down a couple sandwiches, coleslaw and cookies.

Gotta love a girl who can eat!

Not all UFC fighters hate Conor McGregor -- despite what Cowboy Cerrone said this week -- but there ARE a bunch of guys jealous of Conor's huge paychecks ... so says Dominick Cruz.

Cerrone told SI Now that "all" of the UFC fighters hate McGregor -- "He's not one of the fellas. He's not a good dude."

So, we reached to Cruz -- who knows just about everyone in the UFC -- and asked for his take.

"I think what they're upset at is the fact of how much money he's made, how quickly and on his own," Cruz said.

"But that doesn't make ME hate him. That makes me try to understand the situation and make a better situation for myself."

"And to me, hating somebody, being bitter at them for making more money than me, that's only going to hold me back from doing what I want to do personally."

Smart dude -- watch the clip.

There's no inner war between Washington Wizards teammates Bradley Beal and John Wall -- so says NBA superstar Paul Pierce, who says reports of a feud between the two are straight-up wrong.

Wall has said in the past that "we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court" -- but said their issues are resolvable as long as they come together and talk things out.

But Pierce -- who played for the Wizards during the '14/'15 season -- says straight-up, "They definitely get along. I was there."

Anything to the contrary, according to Pierce -- "False reports."

By the way, Pierce was leaving new L.A. hot spot, Catch -- and it's clear he's a V.I.P. because during the clip, the owner, Mark Birnbaum, promised to put his picture on the wall in the restaurant.

Kanye West has just crushed his own record in the fashion department.

Kanye rolled out Season 4 of his line last month, which includes coats, shirts, pants, shoes, hats and lots of other stuff.

In the first month sales surged 35% over the same period in Season 3. And get this ... Kanye's kicks have been flying off the shelves ... his Boosts sold out in 4 minutes.

The trajectory is promising ... 'Ye was just getting his feet wet with Seasons 1 and 2. Things picked up during 3, but by all rights Season 4 is Kanye's first big out-of-the-park home run.

People are also noticing. We're told Vogue and other fashion mags and blogs have contacted Kanye's org in the last few weeks, asking permission to display his collection.

One of the girls who squared off with Wale on the Sunset Strip now says the whole mess wasn't the rapper's fault ... instead, it was a random chunky dude who ended up costing her a late-night meal.

Bana Bongolan is the GF of the blonde chick who blew smoke in Wale's face outside Bootsy Bellows Tuesday night -- and she says the trouble started inside the club when a guy dissed her neon jacket, and she called him fat.

We all remember high school, right?

Anyway, Wale tried to break things up, got caught up in the drama -- and you saw what happened next in our video. A pissed off Wale slapped down the girls' leftovers. Bana told us what they lost on the sidewalk, and it's a tough L after a night of drinking.

Bana's story lines up with what Wale told us on "TMZ Live." She wants to make it clear though -- there was nothing racist about what went down ... and she loves her jacket.

He's not backing off ... but Ric Flair is certainly trying to make nice with Halle Berry after pissing the actress off by claiming he banged her back in the '90s.

Kim Kardashian's bodyguard just deleted every mention of her from his social media ... including photos and all references to him working for her.

It raises the obvious question -- did Kim and/or Kanye West fire Pascal Duvier? The answer is a resounding ... NO.

Sources close to Kim and Kanye tell us they don't blame Pascal for Kim's robbery. As we've reported, he was guarding Kourtney and Kendall that night. But we're told they don't view that as slacking off ... plus, they just like the guy and trust him implicitly. Pascal's had Kim's back since 2012.

We're told the social media change is a safety measure to block future crooks from connecting him or his whereabouts to Kimye.

Before the scrub, Pascal had a bunch of pics with Kim ... including a reference to the ass kisser takedown. You'll recall, Kim was so impressed with Pascal's swift reaction, she called him a "G."

Rihanna's gonna get all wet -- and probably (fake) bloody -- when she steps into the infamous "Psycho" shower, and her "Bates Motel" director is so psyched.

Nestor Carbonell stars on the show, but will also be directing RiRi's upcoming episode where she plays Marion Crane ... the character in that legendary shower stabbing. We got him out in L.A. -- walking his dog -- and tried to find out if he's going for a straight remake or putting a new twist on the scene.

Check it out ... Nestor does spill at least one big deet.

Halle Berry NEVER had sex with Ric Flair ... despite claims the wrestling legend made on his radio show -- this according to Halle's rep.

8:28 AM PT -- Well, that was quick ... Fury now says the retirement post was just a joke -- and he DOES plan on fighting again.

"Hahahaha u think you will get rid of the GYPSYKING that easy," Fury said ... "I'm here to stay."

He added, "Soon as I get better I'll be defending what's mine the heavyweight thrown."

It's over for Tyson Fury -- the heavyweight champ just announced his retirement in a blaze of anger ... referring to the sport as a "pile of s***t" and inviting his critics to "go suck a d**k."

As we previously reported, 28-year-old Fury pulled out of his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko after testing positive for cocaine on Sept. 22nd.

Fury's been taking all sorts of heat in the media -- and moments ago, lashed out.

"Boxing is the saddest thing I ever took part in, all a pile of s**t, I'm the greatest, & I'm also retired, so go suck a d**k, happy days."

Fury hasn't denied the cocaine allegations -- in fact, he changed his Twitter avatar to put his face on Tony Montana's body from that famous mound of coke scene from "Scarface."

Shawne Merriman could be the the next NFL star to get in the cage -- telling TMZ Sports he's actually had talks with Bellator about a real MMA fight ... and he's dead serious.

The former NFL star has been training with MMA fighters for almost a decade -- and says he'd be down to do it, if the conditions were right.

In fact, Shawne says he's jokingly talked to Bellator president Scott Coker about it -- but says, "there's always some seriousness behind every joke."

We asked Coker about the possibility of S.M. steppin' into the cage. He told us, "Shawne is a great friend to Bellator with some serious martial arts skills. I have no doubt that he could find success in this sport and when he's ready for his first fight, we'll be here to promote it."

The Carson Wentz wagon is reaching capacity ... 'cause yet another Eagles superfan is hoppin' on board ... with Sly Stallone saying the rookie QB can lead Philly to a Super Bowl THIS YEAR!!

Of course, Wentz is only 3 games into his NFL career ... but Stallone explains why he's already convinced the kid can go the distance.

The Eagles are on a bye week ... but then they've got the Lions, Redskins, Vikings and Cowboys.