Reality TV

"Love & Hip Hop: New York" star Tahiry Jose got an awful birthday present -- handcuffs and a trip to jail after an alleged beatdown.

The incident went down on Cinco de Mayo, Tahiry's 38th birthday, after she got into a physical altercation with a woman who was staying in her New Jersey home.

According to arrest docs, Tahiry punched and scratched the woman in her face ... and yanked her hair, leaving "reddish bruises" on the right side of her face.

Tahiry tells TMZ ... SHE was the victim, and was merely defending herself. She claims she got home and the woman -- whom she'd just recently allowed to stay with her -- jumped her and started breaking stuff.

Tahiry was booked for assault and released the next day, but says she plans to press charges too.

We'll say this, the ex-roomie probably stepped to the wrong chick. As 'LHHNY' fans know, Tahiry's always down to throw down.

Phaedra Parks won't be showing her face anymore on 'RHOA' -- she's been fired for spreading lies and rumors about cast members conspiring to rape ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the production tell us Phaedra was let go due to a rumor she told Porsha Williams about Kandi Burruss during the course of this latest season, which came to dramatic end Sunday night.

We're told that during filming for the show, Phaedra had told Porsha that Kandi and her hubby, Todd Tucker, were planning to drug Porsha and take her back to their home to take advantage of her sexually. Kandi threatened Bravo if they aired that clip ... so they didn't.

But during Sunday's finale of a 4-part reunion following the 9th season, all those secrets finally spilled in front of America ... with Phaedra being outed as the source of the nasty rumor.

We're told Bravo felt like Phaedra's allegations were so out of line, they simply couldn't continue working with her and informed her in early April.

Teresa Giudice is possibly risking more jail time after failing to report 2 traffic tickets ... during supervised release in her fraud conviction.

According to court docs, the 'RHONJ' star failed to give her probation officer the heads-up after she was ticketed. The first one was for making an illegal turn last year. She and her lawyer were warned that any future contact with law enforcement had to be reported. But then she got another citation last month for using her phone while driving -- and, again, she didn't tell her P.O.

In the docs, her P.O. makes it clear ... this is her last written warning before she's dragged into court again over it.

Teresa's attorney, James Leonard Jr., tells TMZ ... both tickets were reported, but not within the required time frame. He adds Teresa's been fully compliant other than these incidents, and ... "Both she and I have spoken to her officer and understand exactly what is required should she have any future contact with law enforcement, which we do not anticipate will happen."

Phaedra Parks is still legally married to Apollo Nida but that's not stopping her from dancing on couches at the club dressed in head-to-toe lingerie.

"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star hit up the Banco Lounge in Atlanta for celeb stylist Jeremy Haynes' birthday. As you may have guessed ... lots of skin.

"Basketball Wives LA" star Angel Love, "Married to Medicine" star Quad Lunceford, Toya Wright, Monyetta Shaw all showed face. Kenya Moore's ex-beau, Matt Jordan, was also front and center.

As we reported, Phaedra's divorce had been finalized back in November but a judge overturned it because Nida, who's behind bars, hadn't been properly served.

"American Idol" will go to ABC, because TMZ has learned the deal is now closed.

TMZ broke the story ... ABC made the offer nearly 2 weeks ago, and the networks's plan is to officially announce it at the Upfronts in a week.

As we reported, FOX came on strong with an offer at the last minute, but the ABC deal was sealed Friday night.

Sources involved in the deal tell us ... the co-owners of the show, Fremantle and Core, along with ABC, want Ryan Seacrest to host the show. As we reported, the show will be filmed in Hollywood and Ryan would have to make 2 round trip coast-to-coast flights in as many days to shoot the show each week.

That now appears to be a reality.

Our sources say the show will debut in March of 2018.

Ashley McNeely -- who appeared with Tila Tequila on her reality show, 'Shot at Love' -- was found dead Thursday ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops responded to an incident and found him dead in his hometown, Beckley, WV. The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear.

McNeely had his moment ... in 2004 he rang in the New Year with Ryan Seacrest for the Times Square crystal ball drop on ABC.

Ashley also appeared on 6 episodes of the series, "That's Amore!"

He was 35.

"Love & Hip Hop: Miami" just made a HUGE, GIGANTIC free agent pickup ... 'cause ex-NFL Pro Bowler Bryant McKinnie is joining the cast ... the 1st athlete in the history of the franchise.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ Sports Mckinnie has actually been shooting with 'L&HHM' for a couple of months now, and will be a fixture on the new show next season.

It actually makes sense for Bryant, who's a Grammy Award winning music producer, and is currently in the studio working with big-time people like Lil' Kim.

Prince's estate wants to get into the reality show biz, and that's why it went to war to shut down the release of a new album on the anniversary of his death.

Sources close to Prince's heirs tell us the reality show, featuring family members, is in the works right now, and will focus on how their lives have changed since he died.

We're told the family's fighting George Ian Boxill, the producer of the "Deliverance" EP, to keep the music under wraps ... so they can debut it on the show. So, the good news is ... there's still hope the music will see the light of day. The question is when?

We're told the reality show is still in early development. They have a production company on board, but no deal to air yet.

Meanwhile, the court has ordered Boxill to turn over the music to the estate, but he's still fighting that.

NeNe Leakes is inching closer to striking a deal for her return to "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" ... and it might lead to a starring role on a new show.

Sources close to production tell us ... NeNe's ready to come back for season 10 of 'RHOA' but hasn't signed the paperwork yet. We're told Bravo's trying to sweeten the deal by working with her on a spin-off ... à la Kim Zolciak's "Don't Be Tardy."

There's also the matter of money. We know NeNe wants to be paid as much as, if not more than, Kim. Our sources say Leakes will only return to 'RHOA' as a part-time cast member. Once again ... just like Kim.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Scheana Shay and her now ex-husband finalized their divorce, and she's the one who will have to shell out a chunk of cash.

Here's what she gets to keep:

- 2016 Ford Explorer, with a $49k note
- '09 Nissan worth $19k
- bank account with $1k in it
- a retirement fund worth $31k

Mike Shay gets to keep an '05 GMC Sierra, and Scheana has to fork over the $50k to balance out their assets.

Chris Soules' lawyers are going after the Sheriff's Dept. and prosecutors, clearly trying to establish they're in bed with the media by leaking damaging information about Chris that could affect his right to a fair trial.

Lawyers for "The Bachelor" star have just filed legal docs looking to find all contact the Sheriffs, prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies involved in the case had with the media. The lawyers want text messages, emails, electronic log books (presumably this includes cell phone calls), journals and appointments between law enforcement and the media.

The docs also ask for any evidence that payment was offered to members of law enforcement for interviews or statements.

The lawyers are demanding law enforcement preserve all these records, presumably so they can be inspected.

As for why ... several reasons. First, Soules' lawyers have already complained media coverage has tainted the case and inaccurately portrayed their client's actions the night of the fatal crash.

Kenya Moore's ex-BF, Matt Jordan, no longer has to stay away from her because a judge tossed the restraining order when she couldn't find him to serve legal docs.

Kenya's temporary restraining order was dismissed Wednesday after she was a no-show at a hearing on the matter. Kenya's lawyer tells TMZ ... she only skipped court because she knew the judge would toss it once he heard Matt hadn't been served.

You'll recall ... Kenya said Matt was blowing up her phone 30 times a day and had also threatened her. The temporary restraining order required him to stay 200 yards away from Kenya.

Chris Soules' fate in the fatal car crash could be determined by his cell phone ... and the stakes are high -- a possible vehicular manslaughter prosecution.

Law enforcement sources involved in the investigation tell us they're especially interested to know if Soules was a distracted driver by using his cell phone at the time of the crash. We're told law enforcement seized his phone and they will be looking at texts, photos, social media posts and his call log.

We're told Soules loved taking photos of sunsets as he drove down Iowa roads and regularly posted them on Twitter. He has now deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts.

If it's determined Soules was using his phone at the time of the crash, our sources say a vehicular manslaughter charge is definitely on the table.

As for the charge he now faces -- the felony of leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death -- our Iowa law enforcement sources say they believe he'll be prosecuted but will not be convicted.

Our sources say the fact Soules is famous works against him, because prosecutors don't want to appear soft on celebrities. Based on what our law enforcement sources tell us, here's what Soules has working for and against him.

WHY HE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED

-- Soules left the scene of the accident before cops arrived. This deprived law enforcement of determining if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Fact is ... since he was in a standoff at his house for hours before he was taken to a hospital where blood was drawn, there's almost no chance of determining if drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash.

-- Open containers of beer were found in Soules' truck.

-- He did not provide anyone at the scene with his driver's license, proof of insurance and other relevant information.

-- He caused the accident by rear-ending the tractor.

WHY HE SHOULD NOT BE PROSECUTED

-- The 911 audio works to Soules' benefit in a significant way. He identifies himself by name and tells the dispatcher he was involved in the accident. He also administered first aid by checking the victim's pulse. It appears he left just as paramedics were arriving, so there's nothing more he could have done to aid the victim.

-- Soules sounds coherent in the 911 audio. So, even if he had a drink or 2, at least from outward appearances, he didn't seem intoxicated.

-- There were skid marks showing Soules tried braking before the crash. Also, one law enforcement source tells TMZ, based on the skid marks, it does not appear he was driving at an excessive speed.

Our sources say although they believe prosecutors will charge Soules, if the case goes to trial, "it's a loser." As one source said, "Iowa juries that understand rural life are not going to convict a guy who tries helping the victim before leaving."

Our sources believe this case will end up in civil court and Soules will settle by paying a substantial amount of money to the victim's family.

10:36 AM PT -- Police eventually found Soules at a residence but it took hours for them to get a search warrant ... this according to KWWL TV. It will therefore be difficult for prosecutors to prove he may have been under the influence at the time of the crash since hours passed before he was spotted.

10:10 AM PT -- We're told Chris just posted bond and will be released shortly.

7:45 AM PT -- Soules is in court now for his arraignment. TMZ has obtained documents in which police say he was in possession of alcoholic beverage containers at the time of the crash. Soules was apprehended after witnesses near the scene of the crash ID'd him and called police.

Chris is being held on a $10,000 cash bond.

'Bachelor' Chris Soules is in custody after allegedly slamming into a tractor, killing the driver and then fleeing the scene ... TMZ has learned.

The incident happened in Iowa Monday at 8:20 PM. According to docs, Chris was driving a Chevy pickup and rear ended a John Deere tractor, sending it into a ditch. The driver was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died.

Soules, who appeared on "The Bachelor" for season 19 in 2015, is in custody and we're told he received medical attention.

Soules was booked on the charge of leaving the scene with a death.

La La Anthony didn't let her split from Carmelo Anthony keep her from spending her weekend in one of NYC's top strip clubs ... but this time, it was more business than pleasure.

We've learned La La hit up Sapphire New York on Friday night -- but sources tell us she wasn't throwing around singles and partying it up, she was there to shoot footage for her new TV show.

La La is a producer on a docu-series called "Goal Diggers" -- about women in risque industries (strippers and video girls) who break out and become mainstream businesswomen.

We're told one of the women in the series works at Sapphire, so La La and some crew members hit up the club to shoot footage.

It just so happened her good friend French Montana was there (he was there to party) -- so they kicked it together inside the building.

We spoke with French in NYC on Monday who told us La La is doing so well since the split, he came up with a new nickname for her.

Jake Harris was arrested this weekend for stealing a car and drug possession ... this after a long history of run-ins with the law.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the ex-"Deadliest Catch" star and a lady friend drove down to Phoenix from Washington state last week for what they called a "vacation." We're told the woman is married ... but that the 2 have hung out like this before.

Friday morning, the woman told cops she discovered Jake had split from their hotel ... taking her car in the process. We're told she reported the car stolen when she couldn't get a hold of him, but called the cops when she found him at a Circle K the next day.

Phoenix PD officers showed up and searched him, where they say they found Xanax pills and crystal meth ... which we're told he admitted were for personal use. He was booked for 1 count of felony theft and 2 counts of felony drug possession.

This is the latest legal run-in for Jake -- who was busted for DUI in 2010, and then, on the flip side, was robbed, beaten and tossed from a vehicle in November in Washington. At the time his brother, Josh, said Jake was seriously injured.