Reality TV

For the first time in "The Masked Singer" history, there's a team working behind the scenes to help operate one contestant's costume ... resulting in a massive fail if the slightest thing goes awry.

Here's the deal -- the Space Bunny's signature shifty eyes aren't controlled by the mystery celeb inside the costume ... instead being operated by a producer backstage via a Nintendo-like controller.

We're told coordination is key ... the slightest change in the performer's routine could throw the entire thing off!

To make matters worse, the high-tech equipment inside the head hasn't had all of its kinks worked out yet ... there's a super loud buzzing sound inside the mask that's distracting for the performer -- something that could easily make them forget the words or choreography for their performance.

We're told the celeb in question has been a great sport so far ... producers gave them the costume because they felt they'd be able to roll with the punches and take on the challenge.

Let that be a clue -- this contestant is a bit of a risktaker, and is certainly not a diva.

Blac Chyna claims she was just joking around when she pointed a gun at Rob Kardashian's head ... and she says wrapping an iPhone cord around his neck was also in jest.

BC just testified in her civil case against the Kardashians ... taking the stand Wednesday and addressing Rob's abuse allegations leading up to their breakup and reality TV show's demise.

Blac Chyna told the jury she and Rob were celebrating their show being picked up for a second season back in December 2016, with the former couple marking the occasion by throwing around money and "being silly."

Chyna's lawyers showed a video clip in court from the night of their alleged fight, with footage showing Rob wearing a torn shirt. Blac Chyna says Rob's clothing was ripped when they were joking around and being silly, and she says she meant no harm and he never asked her to stop or indicated she was hurting him.

BC then testified Rob was playing video games later that night when she jokingly put an iPhone cord around his neck ... which she says was a joke to get him to pay attention to her. Chyna was adamant on the stand she was NOT trying to strangle Rob.

Blac Chyna's testimony then shifted to the gun ... with Chyna saying Rob kept it on the dresser, though it was unloaded and Rob told her there weren't any bullets in the house.

BC says Rob was eating and on FaceTime with his friends when she came up to him and put the gun to his head ... she says she jokingly said he better never leave her and wasn't being serious.

Blac Chyna also testified her Dec. 15, 2016 argument with Rob started when he accused her of cheating on him ... claiming he was very jealous and would often go through her phone. BC says things got to the point where they had a paternity test taken to assure Rob he was the father, and the test showed he was in fact her baby's daddy.

It's interesting ... while Blac Chyna's mom, Tokyo Toni, has railed against the Kardashians on social media this week and taken shots at Kris Jenner ... BC kept referring to Kris as "Miss Kris" and said she thought of Kris as a second mom.

The trial broke for lunch and will resume later today ... stay tuned.

Killer Mike's having one hell of a 47th birthday -- celebrating another spin around the sun, and the fact he's getting paid to spotlight something he loves ... the growth of cannabis culture in America.

Mike joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to talk about his 4-part Vice TV docuseries, "Tumbleweeds With Killer Mike" -- but before we got into that he told us how he's toasting his birthday. You gotta see the clip, but let's just say it involves lots of marijuana and his wife Shay Bigga. It's hilarious.

As for Mike's new show ... 'Tumbleweeds' shows the rapper and activist traveling around the country, showing mary jane's economic impact in cities where it's been legalized.

He says one of his goals is to normalize the cannabis industry by showing the business opportunities it brings, and its positive effects on marginalized communities ... where people have been disproportionately imprisoned for marijuana.

The series debuts tonight on Vice, and you can tell Mike's excited about its potential to shift America's views on legalization.

BTW ... his group, Run The Jewels, will be back at Coachella for the 2nd weekend, and it sounds like he and LP are getting a lineup upgrade.

Scott Disick is keeping his ex's-enemies close -- chatting poolside with Larsa Pippen -- who had a major falling out with the famous family.

We got pics of Kourtney's ex having an animated convo with Pippen at the Setai Hotel in Miami, while Larsa dropped in for David Einhorn's birthday. Not totally surprising, Larsa calls Miami home, and Einhorn owns Papi Steak, so it's possible she and Scott just happened to be same place same time thanks to mutual friends.

One source says the two spent several hours chatting it up.

As you know, Larsa's falling out with Kim created a rift between her and the Kardashian clan ... Larsa's talked about it on "The Real Housewives of Miami," saying she knew a lot about Kim's failing marriage with Kanye West as it was falling apart.

Larsa said she thought she "took a beating" because she saw the relationship crumbling between Kim and Ye, causing them to no longer be friends.

Blac Chyna's mom, Tokyo Toni, may have taken her displeasure with the judge too far ... because she allegedly threatened him in her daughter's trial against the Kardashians.

Tokyo went off on the judge while live streaming Tuesday on Instagram from just outside the courthouse where the civil case is underway. She says ... "I'm gonna get that judge." She's reacting to the judge booting her from the courtroom earlier in the day.

This could be extremely problematic for Tokyo, because even an oblique threat against a judge is taken seriously by law enforcement ... especially after attacks against judges and their families increased measurably over the last few years.

Tokyo's been active on Instagram this week, going on the social media platform Monday and ripping the Kardashians over their appearance on the first day of jury selection.

In Monday's rant, Tokyo calls out the entire Kardashian/Jenner clan ... hurling profanities, laughing hysterically, claiming the family "looked dead" and comparing Kris Jenner to the bad guy from the movie "Saw."

Tokyo's initial video was addressed in court Tuesday morning, with the judge telling her she's no longer allowed back inside the courtroom for the trial.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro said he's going to return to 'Jersey Shore' for the upcoming season ... but he was nowhere to be found when his reality TV family recently started filming.

TMZ obtained these photos of some 'Jersey Shore' stars shooting scenes Easter Sunday at a winery in Southern California ... and there's no sign of Ronnie.

Here's who was at the Cordiano Winery in Escondido for filming ... Vinny, Snooki, Deena, JWoww and Mike The Situation ... plus some wives, husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends. The other main cast member who wasn't there was Pauly D.

We're told the 'Jersey Shore' cast took over the winery ... shutting the place down for filming, including the tasting room, and forcing everyone else to order food and wine from a separate bar.

It's interesting Ronnie is still missing from the action ... remember, he told us back in August he was sober and planning to return to the MTV show for the second half of the 5th season.

Opening statements for the Blac Chyna-Kardashian civil case have officially begun, and BC's lawyer laid out some shocking claims right out the gate ... including Kris Jenner once allegedly saying "Take her off the show."

Chyna's lead attorney, Lynne Cianni, told the jury Tuesday that they would be presented with evidence showing the Kardashian women -- Kris, Kim, Khloe and Kylie, specifically -- worked to tank her and Rob's reality show ... which she says will include text messages.

Cianni said one of those messages was sent from Kris to the showrunner for 'Rob & Chyna' ... which she claims read, "Take her off the show." BC's lawyer says the text came after Kris complained to the showrunner that Chyna had allegedly "beat the s*** out of Rob's face."

However, Cianni says they have video evidence to prove that Kris was making that up -- unaired footage from around the same time which she says will show Rob without a scratch on him. The attorney insists ... no attack happened.

Not just that, but Cianni also says they have evidence that'll prove Kim herself helped get their show canceled. The attorney says there was a "kill fee" of $100k ... but Chyna never accepted it, because she was already making around $90k an episode.

Cianni says there were other lies uttered about her client ... including the idea Chyna and Rob were not together during the filming of their show, the notion Rob and Chyna couldn't be in the same room together, the claim that Season 2 was never greenlit and that footage for Season 2 was never shot, and the contention there was no creative plan long-term.

As a result of this alleged coordinated campaign to sink their series, Cianni says Chyna lost out on other reality show appearances, club appearances and money for social media posts -- which hurt her financially and beyond.

Blac Chyna's mom, Tokyo Toni, is not a fan of the Kardashian family and she wants everyone to know it ... unloading on the entire family in a rant, following their appearance in court.

Tokyo fired shots at the Kardashian/Jenner clan Monday night on Instagram live ... just hours after they all stood together in the same courtroom.

Ya gotta see the video ... Tokyo calls out the entire family, throwing out profanities at times and laughing hysterically at other moments.

At one point, she says the family 'looked dead' and compared Kris Jenner to a character from the movie 'Saw' ... another time she raps about the family and says, "They got no fatty. They need a daddy."

This live video came after Blac Chyna and her mom appeared in court for the first day of jury selection, for the $300 million fight with the Kardashians/Jenners ... it seems that Tokyo was getting a full kick out of it, as she was rolling a J and talking for minutes in a full-blown rant.

During the court appearance, lots of members of the Kardashian clan showed up ... including Kris, Kim, Khloe and Kylie.

As we've told you, Blac Chyna sued her ex, Rob Kardashian and the entire fam back in 2017 ... accusing them of getting her and Rob's series, "Rob & Chyna," canceled for what she claims was a personal vendetta against and now its finally getting a day in court.

So, it's obvious Tokyo's beef comes on her daughter's behalf ... and she surely didn't hold back how she felt.

So far, there has been no response from anyone in the Kardashian/Jenner family ... we'll see how everything plays out in court.

Bethenny Frankel might've been groovin' out a little too much on the roller rink in New York City ... getting into the music before taking a hard fall.

The philanthropist/entrepreneur was at the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink for the opening of Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace -- where it's transformed into a roller rink. It's all the rage again ... decades after roller skating was a thing.

Bethenny was dancing away while putting on lip gloss ... then falling butt-first on the floor. Luckily, someone was nearby to offer the former 'RHONY' star an assist.

The event was packed with celebs ... Usher hosted the opening, and fellow icons Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Floyd Mayweather, and Meek Mill all laced up.

Bethenny's quite the talented skater, although ice is more her thing ... she was the runner-up on "Skating With The Stars" in 2010 -- making it all the way to the finale with her partner, professional skater Ethan Burgess.

Benzino says the bad outweighs the good when it comes to 50 Cent's track record in hip hop ... claiming when you talk "just the facts," the facts aren't great for Fiddy.

The former "Love & Hip Hop" star is the latest guest on the "It's Tricky With Raquel Harper" podcast, and he's addressing his 50 Cent beef head-on by strongly hinting he's about to drop a lawsuit on him and several others.

Then Benzino, who was co-owner of The Source, rips his nemesis, saying ... "He's the first 6ix9ine. Like, the first hip hop rat!!!"

As you know Tekashi 6ix9ine infamously snitched to the feds on fellow gang members to get a reduced sentence -- and Benzino's referencing an old allegation Fif ratted on former record exec Jimmy Henchman.

Benzino even references federal "paperwork" allegedly signed by 50 that would prove he snitched -- a claim often repeated by Ja Rule and others at Murder Inc. Records.

However, 50 Cent's always denied this, and as TMZ first reported ... law enforcement sources told us those documents were fake.

Here's the odd part ... Benzino reminded Raq he went out of his way, back in 2000, to help 50 -- and possibly save his life -- when he got stabbed at Hit Factory studios.

Clearly, things have gone way south between them since then, and Benzino's not backing down.

Blac Chyna's civil case against the Kardashians is officially underway, and it seems the family at the center of it are quite invested right out the gate ... even for jury selection.

Indeed ... several of the Kardashian women are in court Monday as Chyna's lawyers and theirs pick men and women to weigh in once and for all. That includes Kris, Kim, Khloe and Kylie ... all of whom were present as the selection process got started.

Chyna's there too, obviously -- but one person who decided to skip today's proceedings ... her ex, Rob Kardashian, who was directly tied to BC during the initial run of their show.

We got eyes in the courtroom where they're ticking through potential jurors -- around 40 or so people have been brought in as prospects -- and besides the Kardashian presence ... it sounds like it's a pretty standard day as lawyers go through the motions with questions.

Fashion-wise, Kris is in a white pant suit ... the other ladies are in black pant suits.

As you know ... this case stems from Chyna's 2017 lawsuit, where she alleged the family torpedoed her and Rob's series, "Rob & Chyna," for what she claims was a personal vendetta against her. The suit's been stalled for years, but it's finally getting its day in court.

The Kardashians have denied her claims -- suggesting there were lots of reasons the show got nixed -- including the not-so-great ratings. They also insist they had nothing to do with that decision.

Despite all the back-and-forth mudslinging between both parties, we do know Chyna has been looking forward to her opportunity to make her case in front of a jury of her peers.

Joseline Hernandez beat the crap out of a bunch of dancers behind the scenes of her reality TV show's reunion show ... at least that's what the dancers claim in a massive $25 million lawsuit.

Four women who say they were dancers on "Joseline's Cabaret" are accusing her of ambushing them on set, and violently opening a can of whoop-ass. In docs obtained by TMZ, the dancers claim they showed up in high heels for the reunion show taping, but JH was waiting for them with hard-bottom boots and launched an attack.

One woman claims Joseline violently kicked her in the ribs, while another claims Joseline dragged her by her hair and kicked her in the back ... while the third dancer alleges Joseline grabbed her by the neck and shoved her to the ground.

According to the suit, the fourth woman got off relatively easy -- she claims Joseline shoved her, but only threatened to do more harm. They also claim Joseline even boldly bragged about the beatdown on social media.

During the alleged incident, they say she repeatedly yelled, "Gucci gang" -- which they believe was a signal for the planned attack. They point out Joseline used the phrase again in a post with an image of the shoes she wore during the alleged attack.

Kim Kardashian seemed to have a nagging suspicion, if there were another sex tape out there with her and Ray J ... it could only have been if he stuck a foreign object up her butt, but sources close to Kim tell TMZ, she was not serious ... it was a joke.

The first episode of "The Kardashians" on Hulu showed Kim fretting about the rumors of a second sex tape. She said she was 99% sure one didn't exist, but if it did she mused, "What if I was f***ing sleeping and he stuck a dildo up my ass? I don't know."

As one source put it, "The comment was funny and dramatic in the moment with Kris and Khloe to drive home the point that she really did not remember there being another tape."

Our sources say the next episode shows the lengths to which Kim went to ensure no tape existed, and if on the off chance it did it would never see the light of day. We're told you see Kanye handing Ray J's hard drive over to Kim to prove there's no additional footage.

As we reported, Ray J willingly gave Ye the hard drive. Our Ray J sources tell us he handed the hard drive over because he felt bad for Kim and wanted both of them to close the book on the 20-year-old sex tape saga. Ray's focusing on his fam and business and wants nothing to do with the tape. What's more, our Kardashian sources say Kim never really believed Ray would try to peddle another tape.

Kim and Khloe Kardashian took their kids to Disneyland this week, and it highlighted the difficulty of being one of the most famous families on earth.

The Kardashians plunked down at least $3K for VIP access ... something that's available to everyone. For them, it's kinda a necessity, since they would be overwhelmed by fans if they stood in line and the trip would be a disaster for the kids.

Some fans were pissed when Disneyland staff shut down the teacup ride ... you see the brood in 3 of the teacups while the others remain empty, and that didn't sit well with some folks waiting in line. We're told the Kardashians didn't request that the ride be shut down to other guests ... Disneyland staff just did it. They did not shut down other rides for the fam.

This was True's first trip to the happiest place on earth, and we know that because Khloe apologized for photoshopping a prior pic -- taken last October -- to cover Stormi's face. Khloe confessed, and all is good.

"Shahs of Sunset" star Mike Shouhed didn't let his domestic violence arrest get in the way of a Mexican vacation with his fiancée.

Mike and Paulina Ben-Cohen were spotted together at a resort in Los Cabos Monday, only a couple weeks after his arrest in Los Angeles.

The couple stayed at the Garza Blanca Resort & Spa ... they spent a few hours on the beach with Paulina's kids, hanging with another family.

It's interesting ... folks at the resort say Mike and Paulina seemed to keep some space between them at the beach and didn't show any PDA, or even talk much to each other.

We're told it felt, at least from the outside, like the couple planned the trip before Mike's arrest, with all the makings of a family vacation for spring break.

Mike was showing lots of love to Paulina's kids at the beach, we're told, carrying around her daughter and kissing the children.

As for Mike's recent arrest ... law enforcement sources tell us police got a call around 10 PM March 27 about a fight, and when cops arrived they say the woman involved had visible marks on her body. Mike was arrested for felony domestic violence.

We're told police continue to investigate and will submit the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney for possible criminal charges. Our sources say the alleged victim was not identified so it's unclear if it was Paulina.

Kim Kardashian is using the full force of her celebrity to ensure another sex tape isn't released -- we knew that -- but now we hear her on the phone with her lawyer, and, well, she's pretty graphic about foreign objects and whatnot.

The convo between Kim and legal pit bull Marty Singer is there for all to hear on the debut of "The Kardashians" on Hulu, and Kim clearly means business.

The trigger for the emotional conversations is Saint seeing a meme on a videogame touting a new KK sex tape. As we've already reported, she says she's 99% sure there's no new footage from her encounter with Ray J, but there's a level of uncertainty. She says, "What if I was f***ing sleeping and he stuck a d***o up my ass? I don't know."

Kim asks Marty to "scare the s**t out of Ray J's manager ... mostly to protect her kids.

What's especially interesting ... Kim is on the phone with Kanye as she bemoans the situation, and it seems he provides her a measure of comfort.