Reality TV

"Dancing With the Stars" wants the competition to know ... they're the head pimp in the dancing game ... and they're going after a rival show for stealing their look and their pro dancers.

There's a live performance stage show called "Ballroom with a Twist" that tours around the U.S. -- but it features a bunch of "DWTS" dancers ... like Peta Murgatroyd, Tony Dovolani and Val Chmerkovskiy (Max's little bro).

The BBC, which owns "DWTS," is suing Scott Stander -- whose company produces "Ballroom with a Twist" -- because those dancers can't work side gigs for a competing show without approval ... according to the suit.

The BBC also says it's pissed 'BWAT' is using 'DWTS' styled graphics to promote the show ... and perhaps the ultimate insult -- in the dancing world, we're guessing -- 'Dancing' alum Louis Van Amstel choreographed the upstart live show.

The BBC wants to shut down the copycat promos, and they want their dancers back. In other words ... beat it, we've got this corner on lock!

Princess Love claims she and Ray J are making peace purely for the sake of their dogs -- but during TMZ Live ... it looked like there was more than co-parenting going on between the alleged exes.

Princess was talking to us about her sex tape, the break up with Ray J, and their dogs reuniting ... when suddenly Ray popped up on camera. In a robe! At 11 in the morning!!

Remember, Ray and Princess Love said he moved out recently after their split, so ... what's the deal?

A pic of Princess Love getting drilled popped up on the Internet ... but the "Love & Hip Hop Hollywood" star says the nude photo is stolen property ... and she's now threatening to sue.

The pic shows Princess Love naked and on all fours -- doggy style -- with an unidentified man behind her.

Lawyers for Love say the photo is actually a screen grab from a personal video Love shot years ago ... and someone snatched it. Lawyers want all sites that are posting the pic to take it down ... STAT.

The site that originally posted the story got the message and took it down.

Don't put a fork in Matt Barnes and Gloria Govan's marriage just yet ... 'CAUSE IT AIN'T OVER ... so says Gloria's sister Laura Govan -- who knows what it's like to be in a relationship with an NBA star.

Laura -- who has 4 kids with NBA star Gilbert Arenas -- was out in Calabasas when our photog asked if there was chance her sister would ever reconcile with Matt now that they've separated.

The star of VH1's "Real Chance of Love" has suffered a major setback in his battle with cancer -- it's spreading and doctors put him back on chemotherapy.

Real's cancer has worsened in his liver and lungs ... according to his brother, Chance, who also tells us Real just had surgery to implant a port that will administer the chemo.

Chance says because the tumors in Real's lungs have grown ... doctors have cut him off from smoking medical marijuana for pain management.

As we reported ... Real's health had been improving. But his bro tells us all the recent bad news hasn't dampened Real's positive outlook. He even posted an update on Instagram after his latest surgery.

Seems the "trust issues" in Matt Barnes' marriage may be coming to light ... because his estranged wife Gloria Govan has been accused of forging the NBA star's signature to take out a $150k loan ... this according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

The woman behind the lawsuit is Nina Rawls -- the widow of R&B legend Lou Rawls -- who claims Gloria approached her back in March and asked to borrow $150k for a TV project produced by Gloria and Matt's production company.

Rawls says she agreed -- but the loan had to be repaid in full just 2 MONTHS later. According to the suit, May came and went ... and Gloria (who stars on "Basketball Wives: LA") never ponied up the dough.

Eventually, Nina says Gloria ADMITTED that she forged Matt's signature on the loan docs in the first place. It's unclear if Matt ever knew about the loan in the first place ... but our sources tell us Barnes was completely in the dark about the alleged deal.

Now, Nina wants the full $150k back -- plus damages.

We called Matt and Gloria's reps for comment -- so far no word back.

You can call Joe Giudice a wise guy -- already looking at 41 months in prison for a federal fraud conviction ... he wisely copped a plea Wednesday in a different fraud case, after prosecutors made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Giudice agreed to plead guilty to charges of driver's license fraud. He was busted in 2011 for impersonating his brother to get a license ... because his own was suspended due to a DUI.

Prosecutors threatened him with a 10-year prison sentence -- which would be tacked onto his federal sentence -- and raised the possibility of immediate deportation.

Instead, he accepted a plea deal for an 18-month sentence ... but he will be allowed to serve it at the same time as his federal sentence. In other words -- he won't serve any additional time.

Despite the deal ... "The Real Housewives of NJ" star was in a sour mood on the way into court -- telling photogs, "I'll kick every one of yous in the head."

Kenya Moore has a message for NeNe Leakes ... I'm rich enough to make an eyeball-popping donation to charity ... so now it's your turn to pony up, bitch.

Kenya tells TMZ ... she made good on the challenge NeNe made on the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" reunion show ... by cutting a $20,000 check to the Detroit Public Schools Foundation.

NeNe had said Kenya was all smoke and mirrors and didn't have that kind of loot ... but now that Kenya has stepped up, she's calling NeNe out on her own words -- that she'd match the $20K.

We reached out to NeNe to see if she'll make good. So far, no response.

As for Kenya ... she says she chose to give to Detroit because she grew up there, and the city means a lot to her. According to the deal, NeNe has to earmark her $20K for the same charity.

Go Motown!

The war between Ray J and Princess Love over their little pooch, Boogati, just escalated ... now Princess' arch enemy wants in on the dog fight -- and says it could get violent.

We saw "Love & Hip Hop Hollywood" star Teairra Mari -- with co-star Nikki Mudarris -- coming out of Mr. Chow Tuesday and asked about the nasty breakup between Ray J and Princess ... and their fight over their pet Maltese.

There's already bad blood between Teairra and Princess -- after their epic battle over Ray J on the TV show. Teairra made it clear... she'll get physical if that's what it takes.

Well, this is awkward ... Matt Barnes cracking a marriage joke directed at his wife just weeks before they split up -- but it was all scripted for a movie scene they were doing together ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Just a few months ago, Matt and Gloria Govan got together to film a cameo in the upcoming movie "Chocolate City" ... all about the life of a black male exotic dancer.

During the scene, Matt plays a guy who's at a female strip club with his buddies ... and Gloria plays their sassy hot waitress.

The two sides exchange quips -- and Matt eventually fires off a barb at Gloria ... saying, "With that attitude you ain't never getting married."

Yeesh.

As we previously reported, Matt and Gloria separated a short time later ... and now it seems their headed for divorce.

Teresa Giudice has paid approximately half of the restitution she owes as a result of her criminal conviction ... and it seems more than coincidental that she came up with the loot on the heels of a post-conviction, exclusive interview with Bravo.

TMZ has confirmed ... Teresa paid $200,000 that will go toward the $414,588 restitution ordered by the court. Although there are reports Teresa paid the money Tuesday, we've learned it was paid before then.

What's interesting ... just a week ago Teresa and Joe sat down with Andy Cohen for a 2-hour interview ... and our sources say Bravo lined their pockets handsomely.

Translation ... crime doesn't pay ... but it can definitely help you get back in the black.

L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes has separated from his reality star wife Gloria Govan ... TMZ Sports has learned -- and sources close to the couple tell us it's all over "trust issues."

Barnes and Govan were married back in 2012 -- and have 5-year-old twin boys together.

Sources connected to the couple tell us Matt and "Basketball Wives: LA" star Gloria have been separated for about 6 weeks.

We're told they're still technically living in the same house -- but it's just temporary and it's just a matter of time before one of them moves out and they start the divorce process.

Maybe one of the biggest signs things were going south ... Matt hasn't posted a picture of Gloria on Instagram in months. And we haven't been able to find a picture of Gloria wearing her wedding ring since late-August.

All reality shows have their secrets, and E!'s "Escape Club" has a doozy ... one of its studs is a high-priced escort.

Network sources tell TMZ ... Andrew Dean has been working as a gigolo for nearly a year, and was featured on the site Cowboys 4 Angels ... made famous by Showtime's hit show "Gigolos."

When Andrew found out he was going on "Escape Club" ... he had his C4A profile pulled down. Although Andrew says he's thrown in the gigolo towel, we're told he still secretly works at C4A ... which makes sense -- he rakes in more than $2,000 a night.

This may sound familiar ... Lea Michele's BF also worked as a gigolo at Cowboys 4 Angels. But Lea couldn't care less ... Matthew Paetz moved in with her last month.

As for Andrew ... he was eliminated Week 3 into "Escape Club." But producers brought him back and he finished 3rd.

If there's one thing every gigolo knows, it's bronze.

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Phaedra Parks has been quiet about her husband's criminal activities, and what she knew about them -- but now she's being forced to open up in an upcoming deposition.

Phaedra will be grilled by attorneys for author Angela Stanton -- who Phaedra sued for defamation. Stanton wrote a book suggesting Parks knew all about Apollo Nida's illegal activities. Phaedra was already deposed once in the case, but stonewalled attorneys when it came to Apollo.

"Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" star Uncle Poodle was arrested Monday for allegedly vandalizing the car of his ex-boyfriend, but the love connection goes beyond just the two of them ... it's actually four people deep ... TMZ has learned.

Baldwin County Sheriff's officials tell us ... Poodle broke off a University of Georgia tag from the front of his ex's Dodge 1500 while it was parked last month in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Now get this ... the ex was with his current boyfriend at the time of the incident. The two witnessed Poodle and his current fiancé driving away after the deed ... and Poodle's fiancé used to date Poodle's ex's new boyfriend.

Anyway ... Poodle was picked up and charged with trespassing and held on $1,000 bond. His hearing was scheduled to be held Monday afternoon -- at the time of this post, he's still in custody.

Move over Ty Pennington, the house Derek Hough and Mark Ballas bought has officially been souped-up -- and now the famous dancers are looking to cash out.

The "Dancing With the Stars" duo purchased the Studio City pad together earlier this year for $1.275 mil ... and now they're listing it for $1.895 million -- $620K more than they paid.

The flipping process caught the eye of HGTV, which will air a special in January featuring their home pirouette ... tentatively called "Mark & Derek's Excellent Flip."

We're told the "Dancing" stars completely tore up the inside ... and replaced all the windows and doors with fancy new ones -- same goes for the roof.

We're told Derek and Mark forked over at least $200K to rebuild it, with the help of real estate agent Andrew Gulyas ... and now each of the 'DWTS' stars stand to waltz away with some nice pocket change.

Not bad for 8 months work.