Reality TV

Sarah Palin ... the next Judge Judy. That's exactly the plan hatched by the guy who put Judy on TV.

Palin will be shooting a pilot for a TV courtroom show featuring her as the lady in black. It's being produced by Larry Lyttle, who had an idea 20 years ago that the family court judge from NYC might be good TV.

Lyttle tells TMZ he'll shoot a pilot with Palin in the next few months and then try to sell the show in syndication for launch in Sept., 2017.

Small issue ... Palin's not a judge. Lyttle says not necessary, because she'll preside over "the courtroom of common sense," adding, "She's appointed judges and is well equipped as a former governor to preside over cases."

Erin Storm, who competed for the affection of Matt Grant on "The Bachelor," has died in a plane crash.

The single engine plane went down Monday shortly after taking off at Hawthorne Airport. A nearby construction crew witnessed the crash and pulled the 41-year-old from the wreckage. She was taken to a local hospital but could not be saved.

We're told Erin was flying the plane. There were no passengers.

It's unclear what caused the wreck ... but cops say no one on the ground was injured.

Erin was eliminated from the show in 2008 after the third episode.

R.I.P.

"Top Chef" winner Paul Qui was arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, after she told cops he beat her up while high on a combination of coke, Xanax, weed and alcohol.

Stephanie Rodriguez claims the season 9 winner dragged her out of bed in the wee hours of Saturday morning so she could join a party with a bunch of his friends. Rodriguez says one of Qui's pals then propositioned her for group sex which sent Qui into a rage.

Rodriguez says Qui first kicked his friends out of the house, and then turned his rage on her, throwing her up against the walls and doors and preventing her from leaving.

According to the police report, when cops arrived they found blood on the walls and floor, and all over Qui himself. Cops also say Qui admitted he got physical with Rodriguez, but said all he did was restrain her until cops arrived.

Qui was booked for two misdemeanors -- assault causing bodily injury to a family member and unlawful restraint.

The Kardashian family is once again a united front, celebrating Rob's 29th birthday in Malibu, with one notable absence.

Kris, Kim, Kylie, Kourtney, Kanye, North, Scott, Penelope, Mason, Corey and Tyga all chowed down at Nobu Saturday night for an early dinner.

Khloe was missing. On the surface it's interesting because she kicked Rob out of her house after finding him in her kitchen with Blac Chyna, but the hatchet seems to be buried. Khloe says she's sick so we're guessing that's why she was a no show.

Interesting ... Blac Chyna was nowhere in sight ... real progress takes time.

The crew disbanded at around 8pm.

There's more of "Basketball Wives LA" star Sundy Carter to love now ... she just got a new set of boobs.

Carter went to Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Sheila Nazarian for her first set of implants. We're told she jumped from an A-cup ... all the way to a D.

Carter appeared on the recent season of 'Marriage Boot Camp' and it must've worked. She's set to renew her vows with hubby Cedric Carter.

Perfect timing ...

Khloe Kardashian aged about 50 years, and she's now from Albuquerque -- at least if you fell for her Hollywood makeup trickery on a tour bus.

Kendall and Kylie Jenner joined their big sister on a Hollywood tour this afternoon, and all 3 were unrecognizable in their costumes -- especially Khloe, who posed as an old woman ... and Kendall, who looked like a red-headed Madonna.

Kudos on the brilliant makeup job -- we're guessing it's for Khloe's TV show -- but they screwed up royally by NOT getting on the TMZ Celebrity Tour!! Then again, we definitely would've talked "Kartrashians." Sorry, Khloe.

Courtney Stodden's mom is pissed at the producers of 'Mother/Daughter Experiment' for making it seem like she used Courtney to bait teenage boys -- and she's threatening to sue.

TMZ has learned Krista Keller fired off a letter to Lifetime and 495 Productions ... blasting them for a recently released promo for the reality show that shows Courtney and Krista in a group therapy session. Courtney emotionally claims when she was 12 her mom used her to lure a 17-year-old grocery story clerk. The strong insinuation is mom wanted to bang him.

Keller says that's not how things went down at all, and accuses producers of conspiring with Stodden's husband Doug Hutchison -- with whom Keller has major beef -- to introduce the story line.

Keller says if Lifetime doesn't yank the promo and the episode, she might sue.

Cesar Millan wants the world to know he held the bacon when it comes to the pig that was attacked at his training facility -- 'cause the animal's all grown up and healed.

Millan posted the most tranquil appearing clip of the swine tooling around his Dog Psychology Center, and seeming happy as a pig in, well ... ya know. Naturally, the clip has closeups of the pig's ear ... and it does look healed.

Cesar thanked fans for supporting him and said, "the pig has lots of new friends."

You can't help but notice how much bigger the pig is compared to the bloody scene on "Cesar 911." It's unclear how much time has passed since that episode was shot.

"Bar Rescue" host Jon Taffer has one qualification for his employees ... attain hot chick status, so claims a guy who is suing the host for discrimination.

Tsang Han Wang -- an Asian-American guy is his 20s -- claims in his lawsuit Taffer hired him as a project manager, but fired him because the host "preferred to have young, attractive females employed."

Wang claims hot women were given jobs way above their skill set because Jon liked them. He says, "Taffer enjoys being surrounded by women, and acts like a bachelor despite being married." The suit goes on to explain, "He has spoken publicly on methods of picking up girls from bars."

Wang says the hot chicks took over his job and Taffer then concocted a plan to 86 him by giving him a job he couldn't do ... programming and writing code for the BarHQ app.

Wang, who's repped by Cody Knight, claims sex and racial discrimination.

We reached out to Spike TV for comment ... so far, no word back.

Jon wasn't talking hiring practices when he got him a couple years ago, but he did tell us there is a different arena where looks count.

While Kanye's slashing his prices, the competition's going up -- WAY up, as in $4 million for a single pair of sneakers, and for some reason people are lining up to buy 'em.

The shoe is called "The Fire Monkey," but it's really just Dwyane Wade's Li-Ning Way of Wade 4 ... with several hundred carats of white diamonds and sapphires strategically added!

The ridiculous baller design is a collabo between Bicion, owned by "Growing Up Hip Hop" star Egypt Criss (Pepa's daughter) and Mache Customs.

A Bicion employee posted a brief peek at a pair that's only 60% completed. Our shoe sources say that was enough for 2 potential buyers -- from the Middle East and China -- who are flying to NYC next week to see the finished product.

Miss Robbie, the star of "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" on OWN, is mourning the loss of her grandson ... who was shot and killed in St. Louis, and she believes he was set up.

21-year-old Andre Montgomery was found in a house, unconscious with a gunshot wound Monday night. Police say he was pronounced dead on the scene ... and at this point there's no suspect.

Miss Robbie tells TMZ ... the house where Andre was shot had a recording studio, and he was laying down a rap. She's been told that during the recording session, Andre got a phone call to meet someone outside, and when he went out ... that's when he got shot.

Miss Robbie says there is one strong lead in the case -- Andre was staying in a hotel, and on Tuesday morning someone used a key to enter the room. She says Andre's belongings were missing from the room ... but the person who went in was captured on surveillance cameras.

Andre was frequently featured with his family members on 'Sweetie Pie' ... including his high school graduation in 2013, when Miss Robbie was beaming with pride.

11:30 AM PT -- Chumlee's attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, tell TMZ ... "We will be analyzing what was allegedly found and whether the alleged seizure was lawful in a courtroom, not in the media. Austin (Chumlee's real name) has great faith in the judicial system, as do we, and looks forward to a just resolution of this matter."

Chumlee's Las Vegas home was loaded with so many drugs and weapons, it's consistent with a drug dealer's setup -- and featured a party spot called the "Chum Chum" room ... according to the police.

TMZ obtained the results of the search cops conducted when they arrested the "Pawn Stars" cast member last week -- and there's a huge laundry list of narcotics.

- 1 gallon Ziploc with 116 grams (1/4 pound) of marijuana
- 2 clear jars of marijuana (8.2 grams and 2.8 grams)
- 1 bag with 4.4 grams marijuana
- 7 clear capsules with 1.7 grams of methamphetamine powder
- 17 Xanax bars

According to cops, Chumlee copped to smoking "a lot of weed" ... but insisted he's not a drug dealer. He said he typically buys in bulk, just for convenience.

Besides weed ... cops also found signs of cocaine use in the "Chum Chum" room, which has a stripper pole. Police say they found a clear plastic baggie with white residue and also a rolled up $1 bill with white residue.

As for weapons ... cops seized 12 firearms, only 4 were registered to Chumlee.

'Bachelor' stars Ben Higgins and Lauren B. don't have to hide now that Monday night's finale has aired, and they're totally open to taking requests ... to suck face.

Shortly after the show ... the freshly-minted couple sealed the deal by kissing for the paps greeting them at LAX. History doesn't bode well for 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' couples going all the way.

Sooo, soak it in while ya can. Ben and Lauren seem to be all in ... for the cameras at least.

Mazel!

Caitlyn Jenner -- a longtime staunch Republican -- is softening her political views, or at least she's "willing to listen" ... as she puts it.

Caitlyn posted a pic of herself and her girlfriends hobnobbing with Hillary Clinton ahead of Tuesday's primaries. Interesting, since during a recent episode of "I Am Cait" ... she said Clinton only cares about herself and is not really interested in women's issues.

The pic included the hashtag, "#learningfrommygirls."

Politics aside, is a mini-skirt appropriate for meeting a presidential candidate? It was for Caitlyn!

Mama June's going under the knife to find a safer weight loss solution ... after falling unconscious multiple times.

We're told June is set to go in for gastric sleeve surgery later this month, and hopes to lose at least 80 more pounds. She's been on a crusade to slim down so she'd be healthy enough for the surgery. She's already dropped 90 lbs.

We're told "sleeve specialist" Dr. Michael Feiz in Beverly Hills will perform the operation.

TMZ broke the story ... June was hospitalized two weeks ago after collapsing. Although doctors couldn't pin down the problem, we're told they suspect she was pushing her dieting too far.

Former 'Housewives of Beverly Hills' castmember Marisa Zanuck and her husband Dean are calling it quits after 13 years of marriage.

Marisa filed the divorce docs in L.A. last month, but the writing's been on the wall for at least 3 years or so. Back in season 3 of 'RHOBH' she called Dean "not her type" ... but tried to blow it off, claiming Dean loved her loose lips. Guess not.

Marisa wants she and Dean to have joint legal and physical custody of their two boys, ages 11 and 13.