Reality TV

Death threats from "Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" star Benzino triggered his firing ... so claims Stevie J, but the guy who got the boot says it's a crock.

TMZ broke the story ... Benzino got the ax right after the brawl on the reunion taping, which sent people to the hospital and resulted in criminal charges filed against Joseline Hernandez.

Stevie J tells TMZ ... Benzino wouldn't let it go ... he went on a campaign of terror, threatening the lives of him and Joseline, producers and other staffers. Stevie tells us, "He said flat out he was going to kill us."

The threats were too much for VH1 and we're told that's why Benzino was banished.

But Benzino tells us, "Stevie J is a habitual liar and VH1 has never given me a reason for being fired."

Benzino thinks this is all about star power and he's the scapegoat because "They wanted to keep the crackhead whore."

A seven-year-old boy should be having his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's, NOT Hooters ... but that's exactly what Dwight Howard's baby mama did for their son's 7th birthday.

"Basketball Wives" star Royce Reed, the boy's mother, posted the photo on her Instagram showing Braylon grinning from ear-to-ear ... and it probably wasn't because of the wings.

As TMZ first reported ... Howard is angling for full custody, while simultaneously being investigated for child abuse.

In court docs, Howard has accused Reed of exposing Braylon to sexual situations. Howard claims his son has witnessed Reed engage in sexual acts with her "numerous companions."

We're told Howard believes this photo is just the latest example of his son being exposed to sex.

A source close to Royce says her son's birthday party was at a Monkey Joe's bounce house earlier in the day -- with his classmates -- and she merely stopped at Hooters for food. The source also says Royce has never had any man in and out of her house, and has never exposed Braylon to sex.

The father of the late "Real Housewives" star Russell Armstrong will finally get photographic evidence to answer the question he's been asking for 3 years ... "Was my son murdered?"

The L.A. County Coroner has agreed to turn over pics, negatives, videos and X-rays to Louie Armstrong and his lawyers ... provided they keep the evidence under wraps.

The elder Armstrong has never believed his son took his own life. Russell was in financial straits -- owing a ton of money to business associates -- so when Armstrong was found hanging from an electrical cord Aug. 15, 2011, his dad immediately suspected foul play.

Kylie Jenner is getting to know the entire LAPD police force one by one ... because another cop just pulled her over and wrote her up.

The 17-year-old was driving her Range Rover in the San Fernando Valley when the patrol officer lit her up because her tail lights were not up to code. The whip was tricked out and the black covers over the red tail lights didn't cut it.

The non-moving violation is the latest in a string of vehicular hijinks ... she's been in 2 accidents, ticketed 3 times and sued once.

At least she's not dating a 24-year-old. Oh, wait ...

Can't ya just see it -- Kim Kardashian, Kim's ass ... and the rest of the family taking their place in history by starring in one of those legendary 5-part Ken Burns documentaries?!!

Yeah, he can't either, but what the hell ... let's give it a shot. Move over Roosevelts, and make room for ... The Kardashians!

Movie and reality star Jennifer Gimenez will be wearing the finest Ross dresses for her next fancy event ... because all her good stuff has been stolen.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the "Blow" actress came home to her L.A. home Monday afternoon and found her front window wide open and the screen thrown to the ground.

Sources close to Jennifer say that she went inside and, to her horror, found several rooms torn apart and $20,000 worth of jewelry, Gucci and Louis Vuitton handbags missing.

It happened in broad daylight, yet as far as we can tell there were no witnesses.

The good news ... her little pooch Mickey was home at the time but apparently he wasn't enough of a designer dog to entice the thieves.

Mama June's boyfriend has been booted from Facebook ... because he's a child molester.

Mark McDaniel was active on Facebook until Tuesday ... when his profile was yanked from the site. Turns out Facebook has a policy of rejecting sex offenders, but apparently they didn't know until recently ... presumably after we posted the story that McDaniel did time for molesting Mama June's child.

McDaniel's profile pic showed him cradling his granddaughter. There were various "welcome home" posts ... presumably from friends who found out he had been released from prison.

It's interesting ... June was absent from McDaniel's profile page, and we're guessing it's because they both knew it was wrong for her to hook up with him after he abused Anna.

Mama June lives in a perpetual state of denial, telling Dr. Phil her boyfriend Mark McDaniel may have been rehabilitated and therefore not a danger to children.

It's pretty incredible ... June appeared on Phil's show Monday and pooh-poohed his question about her choice in men, saying McDaniel had no issues when she met him in 2000.

She also trashes her own daughter who was forced to perform oral sex on her boyfriend, saying Anna tends to lie.

"American Idol" singer Michael Johns died from an enlarged heart, but a "fatty liver" contributed to his death ... this according to the Coroner's report.

The 35-year-old singer died suddenly Aug. 1 after his leg became swollen and bruised ... reportedly from a sprained ankle. Family sources claimed the injury had triggered a blood clot, but his best friend claimed the singer drank himself to death.

The Orange County Coroner's report concludes Johns died of natural causes -- the result of a disease called dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that inhibits the flow of blood to the body. The disease caused his heart to enlarge.

As for the "fatty liver" ... it can be caused by excessive alcohol intake, but there are other causes as well. Law enforcement told us ... Johns often drank to excess and did so hours before he died.

Ray J has a knack for making money when Kim Kardashian gets naked ... and he hit the jackpot again with last week's nude photos.

The photos triggered renewed interest in "Kim K Superstar," and our sources at Vivid Entertainment say sales of the video have dramatically spiked ... so much so, Ray J will pocket $50K from the last week alone ... way up from what's he's been getting.

Ray has been getting around $90K every 3 months, so this is a real ass-tronomical increase.

Steve Hirsch, president of Vivid Entertainment, tells TMZ, the most recent spike makes "Kim K Superstar" the biggest selling celebrity sex tape of all time.

Until last week, the title holders were Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee.

Following up "The Roosevelts" with "The Kardashians" makes perfect sense to our photog, but renowned and awesome documentarian Ken Burns wants no part of Kim and company ... because they've accomplished NOTHING.

Burns was out and about in downtown D.C. Monday when Colin pitched the idea ... but Burns had trouble hiding his contempt.

"Big Brother" contestant Donny Thompson just learned a hard but basic lesson ... when you don't show up to work, you get fired.

Donny -- who's been the groundskeeper for Cabarrus County School District in NC for 6 1/2 years -- took a 2-month vacation when he was cast ... but he did so well on the show he stayed past that.

Donny returned home to no job ... he was fired. But his position had not been filled, so he reapplied ... assuming he'd have a lock on the job.

Another guy got the job, but Donny wasn't left totally out in the cold. He eventually got rehired -- but as a part-time janitor.

NeNe Leakes now says she might donate money to Detroit's schools after all ... but she sure as hell ain't gonna do it just because Kenya Moore did -- IF Kenya did at all.

We talked to the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star at LAX, and she defended the fact she hasn't paid up her end of the $20K deal she made with Kenya to support a charity of her choice.

Check out the clip ... NeNe rips off a list of questions she needs answered before she writes a check. But at a point, doesn't this start to feel like a giant stall tactic?

Former NBA star Joe Smith claims his ex-girlfriend, "Love & Hip Hollywood" star Moniece Slaughter, bilked him out of a ton of money ... and he's pissed that cops have done nothing about it.

According to a report filed with the Manhattan Beach Police Department, Smith claims that between October 2011 and March 2012, nine checks were written from his checkbook to a Timothy Clayton Carr ... totaling $109,000.

Smith told police he did not write the checks and does not know a man by that name.

In June 2012, police were able to get a hold of Carr, who told them he was a friend of Slaughter and that he was cashing the checks for her as a favor because she didn't have a bank account. Carr told cops he was unaware the checks were stolen or that anything was wrong until Smith canceled the last check.

Carr also told police Slaughter had agreed to pay him back for the canceled check, but it when it came time to meet up ... she disappeared.

But Slaughter told police an entirely different story. According to the report, Slaughter claims Smith knew all about the checks and signed them personally. She claims Smith only canceled the last check because the pair broke up.

After talking to Slaughter, police went back to Smith and explained her story. His response ... "She's crazy."

Smith has told police he wants to press charges, but nearly 2.5 years later ... nothing has come of it. He tells TMZ Sports he's frustrated the case remains unresolved and feels police have been giving him the runaround.

9:15 AM PT -- We now have confirmation that the Florida Dept. of Children and Families closed the investigation, concluding, "The investigation is being closed with no substantiated findings of physical injuries." The report also states Howard was interviewed by authorities.

7:25 AM PT -- Royce Reed posted a statement on Instagram saying, "The case is not closed and he is/was not cleared! The investigation is still open as he refuses to speak to the police. So whoever these reps are that are trying to slander me, just know the gloves are off and I'm not the one to play with when it comes to my son. That is all."

Dwight Howard was under investigation for child abuse and gave precisely the same excuse Adrian Peterson used, but it appears in this case authorities found Howard did not break the law.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports ... Howard's baby mama Royce Reed went to Children's Services in the Orlando, FL area in August and complained he had whipped their 6-year-old son Braylon with a belt, leaving bruises and abrasions on his leg.

We're told the case worker sent the former "Basketball Wives" cast member to a nearby medical facility to evaluate the boy and document the injuries.

Authorities interviewed Howard and he confessed to the belting, but said he didn't realize there was anything wrong with it because he was disciplined the same way as a kid. Howard's lawyer filed legal docs claiming he never caused marks, bruises, welts or injuries requiring medical treatment.

Sources connected to Howard tell TMZ ... Children's Services closed out the case after determining the injuries depicted in the photos were not caused by a belting. In other words ... whatever Howard did was not that serious.

And there's this twist ... Howard filed legal docs Wednesday and he's gunning for full custody, claiming Reed is a shockingly unfit mother who gives the kid psychotropic drugs just so she can have a "chemical babysitter."

Howard's rep tells TMZ, authorities found the allegations "frivolous," adding, "It's no coincidence that these false allegations were 'leaked' on the heels of Dwight filing for major custody of his son."

Kim Richards finally played her hand on the fate of her pit bull ... and it sounds like she's trying to keep it.

Kyle Richard's sis was at the Grove Saturday when our photog asked about her dog, which has now bitten 4 people ... most recently Kyle's 18-year-old daughter Alexia.

It takes a little reading between the lines, but it sounds like she's saying she sent the dog to a professional so it won't continue attacking people. That means when the trainer thinks the dog is socialized she'll take it back.

The question ... who would go to Kim's house hoping the dog had turned over a new leaf?

Once bit ...