Reality TV

The International Olympic Committee just announced wrestling WON'T be axed from the 2020 Tokyo Games after all ... and one of the biggest stars in the sport couldn't be more thrilled.

TMZ spoke with Rulon Gardner -- former "Biggest Loser" contestant and gold medal winner at the 2000 Sydney Games -- who tells us the IOC's ruling made his day.

Rulon says he still can't believe the sport was ever on the chopping block to begin with ... but he's pumped "wrestling will showcase it's greatness to the world once again."

As for the other sports nixed from the 2020 Games, like squash, they're still out ... because no one cares about squash.

Apparently in Louisiana ... when someone says "This Bud's for you," they don't mean the beer, because 2 members of "Swamp People" just surrendered to cops after allegedly beaning dude with a bottle.

Cops say R.J. Molinere and Jay Paul Molinere got into an argument with a 24-year-old man on a highway -- it sounds like a road rage thing. The "Swamp People" stars then allegedly followed the guy to a nearby mini mart and attacked him with a bottle of beer -- which they just happened to have handy.

The incident occurred last month ... both Molinere surrendered yesterday and were booked on charges of aggravated battery and released on $1k bond.

The victim is nursing a black eye, and a swollen forehead and jaw.

Huge brawl on "Real Housewives of Atlanta" ... sources tell TMZ.

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast member Brandon DeShazer -- Kenya Moore's assistant -- was seriously roughed up last night by Phaedra Parks' husband Apollo Nida ... all over beef stemming from some dumb workout video, a witness tells TMZ.

According to witnesses, Apollo flew into a rage and "violently attacked" Brandon at a party that was being filmed for the upcoming season ... and it was all caught on tape.

The witnesses say Apollo -- who once served 5 years in prison for racketeering -- had to be restrained by 7 male crew members before finally retreating.

We're told Apollo was pissed because Brandon and Kenya had allegedly agreed to produce a workout video starring Phaedra, but instead produced their own, cutting Phaedra out. We're told Apollo felt slighted, and blamed Brandon for stabbing Phaedra in the back.

Apollo has a different story, telling TMZ, there was a fight on the set, he tried to break it up and got attacked by Brandon. Apollo says at that point he defended himself and everything got out of control.

Dramatic.

Calls to Bravo weren't returned.

"Big Brother" contestant Aaryn Gries has taken lots of heat for her racist comments on the show ... but we have color photos showing a more tolerant side.

We got pics of Aaryn's big prom night in 2009, when she was a senior at Douglas County High School in Castle Rock, Colorado. Her prom date -- clearly visible in the photo -- is Mike Miller. Mike -- who is BLACK -- was a starting tight end on the football team.

Mike tells TMZ Aaryn -- whom he dated for a few months -- makes bad jokes sometimes, but not "prejudiced or hateful." He calls her sense of humor "smart-ass."

Who knew ... she had a little black in her.

Here's something you probably didn't know: the stars of "Duck Dynasty" are hardcore Christian evangelists who frequently preach at their local church ... and TMZ has video of some of last weekend's sermons.

A ministry assistant at White's Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, LA tells TMZ, Phil Robertson and his family have been active at the church for more than 30 years.

We're told Phil regularly gives fiery sermons -- but last weekend, the entire family joined in, when the church celebrated Duck Commander Sunday ... a yearly tradition where the entire Robertson family preaches to the congregation in full camo (not kidding).

Funny... we're told the Duck Commander Sunday tradition existed long before the A&E reality show.

Drumroll please ... Aaryn Gries' Valentine this year WAS A BLACK MAN -- so says the black man himself, and he insists it's proof the "Big Brother" villain isn't the disgusting racist she portrayed on TV.

Shawn Onyechi tells TMZ, he knows Gries from college in Texas and they were pretty close before she left for "Big Brother."

They didn't date, but Shawn says they were Valentines this year ... and he knows for a fact she's NOT the racist pig she appeared to be on the reality show.

Shawn even tweeted, "Who thinks Aaryn Gries from big brother is racist? I've heard her comments, but personally I KNOW otherwise."

Quick recap: Aaryn's said a bunch of racist crap on the show, including this reference to a black contestant: "Be careful what you say in the dark, you might not be able to see that bitch."

Aaryn has since been evicted from the "Big Brother" house, and in her defense she said she's not racist ... she's just Texan.

"Big Brother" villain Aaryn Gries CAN'T be the homophobic racist she appears to be ... because she took a black guy to her high school prom, this according to Aaryn's mom.

We're still waiting for the photographic evidence ... but Aaryn's mom reached out to the L.A. Times and insisted it's true.

There's more ... Aaryn's mom also says the reality star once dated a "Cuban American."

Still more ... Aaryn's mom says the reality star recently sponsored a Filipino child through a charity and "she has cousins of Japanese descent who she truly loves."

Despite all of that ... Aaryn's mom says, "While I love and continue to support my daughter Aaryn, words cannot describe my disappointment in some of her comments made on 'Big Brother.'"

"These inappropriate comments certainly do not represent the value system under which her father and I have raised her."

As for gays, Elizabeth says Aaryn "has never discriminated against anyone for their sexual orientation whether within our family or not. Aaryn truly loves all people equally."

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.

What would Jesus say? Gospel duo Mary Mary enlisted a manager to revamp their careers, then screwed him over as soon as they made it big again ... at least according to a new lawsuit.

Maximum Artist Group -- owned by manager Mitchell Solarek -- filed a federal lawsuit in Tennessee against Mary Mary, aka Erica Campbell and Tina Campbell.

In docs, Mitchell says he inked a deal with the duo in 2011 and helped "reignite" their career ... securing deals worth over $3 million, including their WeTV reality show.

In return, Mitchell says the Christian singers went all Judas on him -- publicly firing him on their TV show, and withholding more than $75,000 in commissions.

Mitchell is suing for all that dough, and the loss of future commissions from music, merchandising, books and sponsorships.

Now here's Mitch before the axe came down ...

Lots happened this week ... most notably Lamar Odom slipping deeper into trouble over his addiction. So we gotta ask ...

"Big Brother" star Aaryn Gries embarrassed the entire Lone Star state last night when she blamed her racist remarks from the show on growing up in Texas ... this according to "Big Rich Texas" star Bon Blossman.

In case you missed ... Aaryn was evicted from the "Big Brother" house Thursday night ... and told Julie Chen she's NOT a bigot, despite mocking Asians, putting down black people and calling a gay housemate "queer" during her stint inside the BB house.

Aaryn explained, "In Texas, we say things. Sometimes we joke and we don't mean it."

But according to Bon, Aaryn is talking out of her nicely-toned racist ass -- telling TMZ, "This is NOT how we were raised in Texas."

"I watched 'Big Brother' this season, and was embarrassed that [Aaryn] brought such negative attention to one of the most friendly, welcoming states in the United States."

She added ... "Aaryn's comments were an outrage," and ... "This type of behavior is not tolerated by anybody that I know ... and I was born and raised in Texas."

Bon thinks what Aaryn really needs is some tough love, saying ... "We can't ignore behavior like that or she won't learn."

Since Aaryn made it to the "Big Brother" jury house, she's still sequestered from the outside world and doesn't know how big of a villain she's become. But it seems she's in for a rude awakening.

Aaryn Gries was evicted from the "Big Brother" house Thursday night ... and on her way out, she told Julie Chen she's not really a racist, she's just a misunderstood Texan.

Seriously ... Gries -- who mocked Asians, trashed black people and referred to a gay houseguest as a "queer" during her stint on the reality competition show -- had the cojones to look Chen in the face and say, "I did not mean to ever come off as racist."

Here's her ridiculous explanation:

"In Texas, we say things. Sometimes we joke and we don't mean it. I feel how bad it is being seen and how I've come across to people. I don't want to seem like that person."

Aaryn -- who told Julie she doesn't remember ever making a racist comment in the house -- added, "I apologize to anyone I offended for that. That was not meant to be serious and if I said those things, I feel horrible for that. I regret that."

Julie -- being the badass that she is -- didn't let Aaryn off the hook and READ some of the offensive comments right to Aaryn's face as Aaryn sat there like a racist, homophobic deer in headlights.

FYI -- Aaryn still has no idea she's been dropped by her modeling agency over her behavior in the house ... because she's made it to the "jury house" and will remain sequestered from the outside world until the show ends in September.

Clint Eastwood's marriage has gone from the good, the bad, to the ugly ... the 83-year-old actor has separated from his wife of 17 years.

48-year-old Dina Eastwood -- Clint's second wife -- said the two remain close but have been living apart now for some time.

Dina and Clint were married in 1996 and have one daughter together, 16-year-old Morgan. Clint has seven other children from previous relationships.

TMZ broke the story ... Clint and Dina's marriage has been on the rocks for a long time, and Dina was so upset about her crumbling relationship that she entered rehab for depression and anxiety.

Scooter Braun is like several million other TV viewers -- he's over "American Idol."

We've learned Justin Bieber's manager will not join the show as a judge, and the reason is simple.

A source very close to Scooter puts it this way: "The only reason to do it at this point is vanity and he doesn't do things for vanity. Without the right to manage the acts, it makes no business sense for him and ultimately he's a business guy."

Jennifer Lopez and several producers made a play for Scooter, but we're told the stumbling block has been that he wants his hooks in the careers of the contestants and "A.I." can't give him that because of Simon Fuller's deal -- that's his domain.

Lil' Scrappy -- one of the stars of the VH1 show "Love & Hip Hop" -- was arrested at a Georgia gas station yesterday after getting into a fight with a guy who allegedly disrespected his girlfriend, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... cops received a call about a brawl going down inside the gas station around 2:33 AM. We're told an off-duty police officer from Atlanta happened to be at the same gas station and sprang into action -- successfully breaking up the fight.

When on-duty cops arrived to the scene ... Scrappy and the other man were arrested for disorderly conduct and hauled to a nearby police station.

FYI -- the other guy in the fight was Kenny Rogers ... not "The Gambler" Kenny Rogers ... just a random guy who also happens to share the same name as the country legend.

We're told Scrappy was very cooperative once in custody -- and was released a short time later.

We spoke with Scrappy who insists Kenny Rogers was the aggressor -- "He was calling my girlfriend names and then put his hands on me ... so I had to lay them paws on him."

Scrappy's lawyer Mawuli Mel Davis tells us there's video that proves Scrappy was acting in self-defense.

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.