Reality TV

'Tis the season, and the Kardashians threw a lavish workplace Christmas party to toast a year of success, just like your office does. Well, maybe a little more lavish than yours.

The celebration went down Tuesday night at the fam's longtime go-to restaurant, Casa Vega ... and Kylie Jenner made sure we got a glimpse at all their decorations and, of course, a good look at her fit for the night.

The party was all about honoring the Kardashian-Jenner business empire ... partly comprised of Kim Kardashian's shapewear collection SKIMS, Kylie's makeup line, Khloe Kardashian's Good American line and Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila.

Mama Kris made sure to give her daughters a shoutout ... as she boasted about their thriving companies.

Looked like a really good turnout ... not just for the family, but for all the folks who work behind the scenes on their various teams -- including Kim's longtime friend and a brand executive at her company Tracy Romulus.

All the guests were in for major treats -- beyond the open bar -- as the fam prepped huge goodie bags filled with lots of gifts, including some items from Kim's SKIMS line.

Of course, the night had an open bar full of Kendall's 818 Tequila and a very festive menu ... with specialty cocktails like the "Holiday Hibiscus Paloma," the "Mistletoe Margarita" and the "Merry + Bright."

"Below Deck" star Captain Lee Rosbach, AKA "The Stud of the Sea," is officially stepping back onto dry land ... leaving his luxury boat as his health struggles get worse.

Captain Rosbach dropped the bombshell on Monday's episode of the Bravo show -- telling his crew he had no choice but to leave the mega yacht after boarding at the beginning of season 10 with serious nerve issues.

He revealed his current health struggles have made it difficult to walk ... sharing it's gotten so bad, he can't feel anything on the left side of his body. He admitted he thought he'd make progress, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Captain Rosbach even told chef Rachel Hargrove his struggles have been "one of the most humbling experiences of my life." The episode leaves fans on a major cliffhanger after announcing his exit, but it's apparent the crew gets extremely emotional.

Kylie Jenner looked to have the remnants of a dead animal around her neck during a weekend trip to Aspen with Kendall Jenner ... the question being, is it real?

The two KarJenner sisters were in the ritzy Colorado ski town Saturday, where they hit the streets for a little retail therapy ... dressed up in their best winter getups, of course. Kendall was rocking an intricately-designed trench coat with matching leather gloves and boots.

Kylie, meanwhile, was wearing some sort of snowsuit with a headband and sunglasses. The piece of her ensemble that stood out, though ... a white scarf, which looks like real fur.

She was definitely flaunting it as part of her outfit, and ya gotta imagine if any animal activists were around -- they might've thrown a fit. Luckily, that wasn't the case ... it was just a bunch of fans nearby who saw Kylie and Kendall and wanted photos, which they obliged.

Kylie's been in these people's crosshairs before -- getting yelled at here in L.A. and bombarded with bullhorn chants. She's never directly addressed the fur controversies as far as we've seen ... so maybe she's sticking to her guns and wearing what she likes.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry beat "the media's out to get us" drum repeatedly in their new Netflix docuseries, but a royal expert says that's kinda rich ... considering how much they need media coverage.

Kinsey Schofield tells TMZ ... Harry and Meghan's claims about the aggressive press surrounding their life came as a shock to her, and sees a clear contrast between them and Princess Diana.

Kinsey sees the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as entertainers, more than members of the royal family at this point ... and thinks all they're doing is trying to deflect hate and get the public on their side.

While Kinsey doesn't think it's working, the jury's still out -- because after volume 1 of "Harry & Meghan" dropped this week, many viewers see the couple's version of their story as pretty charming.

As you know, a big point in the series is about the media's negative takes on the couple ... with Meghan saying, "No matter what I did they were still going to find a way to destroy me."

BBC's Nicholas Witchell called that claim "absurd," despite the countless racist and slanted British tabloid headlines shown in the docuseries.

Kinsey really takes Meghan to task, though, over one controversial moment from the doc -- Meghan's reenactment of her curtsy to Queen Elizabeth.

She saw it as disrespectful, in light of the Queen's death in September, and a scene that should've been left on the cutting room floor.

Thomas Markle is steering clear of his daughter's docuseries, "Harry & Meghan" ... according to Meghan's half sister, who says their father's more focused on his health than the project she calls "disrespectful."

Samantha Markle tells TMZ ... she's protecting her dad by telling him not to watch the new doc, saying Meghan's kicked Thomas while he was down in the past, and a series like this just further disrespects their fam.

Samantha says Thomas doesn't know what's in the series, and doesn't need to find out.

She doesn't think he'd even want to watch, because the royal family ordeal has been damaging to his health for a while. Most importantly, he's still recovering from the stroke he suffered earlier this year.

If you haven't seen it, the Netflix series is essentially the Duke and Duchess' side of everything they've been through -- from their first date to leaving the royal family to dealing with racist British headlines.

It also includes their viewpoint of the drama with Thomas leading up to their wedding, which he famously did not attend. Harry even says how "incredibly sad" it is for his wife to have lost her dad.

Barbara "Babs" Thore, known to many as Whitney's mom on "My Big Fat Fabulous Life," has died.

Whitney broke the news to fans Thursday ... saying her mom died Wednesday "just as the credits rolled on her favorite movie." She says the time she passed -- 10:32 PM -- was also the exact time Whitney was born back in 1984.

Whitney says her mom suffered from cerebral amyloid angiopathy ... an unfortunately untreatable condition that can cause brain bleeding, strokes and dementia. She says Babs had been having strokes since 2017.

She goes on to share her love for her mom, and her pain about the tragic loss -- she ends the post directed at the fans, "We are unbelievably thankful that we've been able to share her with you and it is our hope that her memory will continue to be a source of comfort and happiness for the rest of your lives ... I love you, mommy."

Fans of the show remember Babs in all 10 seasons of the TLC show ... as the series progressed, a portion of the show began focusing on her health struggles with her condition.

The 10th season saw Babs' road to recovery, and release from the hospital after suffering one of her strokes. TLC has yet to announce whether the hit series will return for the 11th season.

Babs is survived by Whitney, as well as her son, Hunter, and her husband, Glenn.

She was 76.

Seth Rogen had no problem letting the jokes fly as he took part in a ceremony to honor women in showbiz ... taking a playful jab at Kim Kardashian for missing the occasion.

Seth took the stage Wednesday during The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Breakfast -- and true to form, he cracked a few jokes about folks in the audience.

A source with direct knowledge tells us, "The wrong event date was given to Kim’s team several weeks ago. The error was realized only on Monday and unfortunately, her schedule could not be moved around at the last minute due to a prior work commitment. She was incredibly disappointed to not be able to attend since she never cancels."

He joked, "Are we going to talk about how Kim Kardashian didn’t show up?" He continued, "I have seen every episode of ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ I know she doesn’t have anything more important to do than this."

He made it clear it was all fun and games ... telling folks she was probably going through a lot and had good reason to skip.

Chelsea Handler also joked about the 'SKIMS' founder missing the event ... saying the extra security at the event wasn’t for Kim cause she didn’t show up.

"Fixer Upper" stars Joanna and Chip Gaines are being taken to court by their former literary agent who claims the couple tried to back out of paying a set fee for their massive book deal after signing with someone else.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Joanna and Chip were repped by Vigliano Associates when they inked a massive $12.5 million deal back in 2017 to crank out 5 books for HarperCollins.

Vigliano says it was set to get a 7.5% cut of any payments to the couple and claims everything went fine for the first 2 books ... but Vigliano says the couple then "concocted a scheme" to back out payments for the last 3 books by trying to amend the deal.

The docs say the couple tried to eliminate one of the books and, as for the other two, Vigliano says they tried to swap out Joanna and make Chip the author for one of the remaining books.

Vigliano claims the original deal only applied to Joanna-authored books, so the move essentially took the book deal from 5 books down to 3 ... and, as a result, meant much less pay for Vigliano.

What's worse, the docs claim Joanna inked a deal with a different agent instead ... and now Vigliano says the money made from her new book, "The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters," should be going to its company instead -- and now Vigliano is looking for at least $1 million in damages over it.

"Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause is goin' OFF on the People's Choice Awards, claiming organizers didn't let her bring her boo, G Flip, to the event -- while her costars got a plus-one.

Chrishell went on a Twitter rant Wednesday morning, prefacing it with, "I am on the sauce a bit." Oh boy ...

She then took it out on the award show ... "people's choice didn’t allow me to bring my partner to the awards. I could ONLY bring a plus 1 if it was a cast member. Wtf Sure this means I will never be nominated again but honestly fu."

What really set her off was the fact, according to Chrishell, all of her 'Sunset' costars were invited, and some of them were allowed to bring plus ones. The final indignity for Chrishell -- "I was nominated for best [reality] star and yet they said NO. Again fu."

To her point, Chrishell's ex-bf and costar, Jason Oppenheim, was at the PCAs with his new GF, Marie-Lou Nurk.

Heather Rae El Moussa and her hubby Tarek also came together to the ceremony ... while Tarek is best known for his HGTV show, "Flip or Flop," the series wasn't up for awards.

As you know, Chrishell and G Flip confirmed they were a thing back in May during the reunion special for "Selling Sunset" -- which was around the same time they were featured making out quite a bit in G Flip's music video, "Get Me Outta Here."

FYI -- costar Davina Potratz also seemed to get blocked from bringing a guest ... commenting on Chrishell's post, "I wanted to bring someone too but couldn't."

Kathy Hilton's dry lips wait for no one ... as Mariska Hargitay and the People's Choice Awards audience learned when Kathy applied gloss right onstage, and on camera, making for a totally awkward moment.

The "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star had just won Best TV Drama Star of 2022 and was in the middle of delivering remarks ... when KH was caught on camera standing behind Mariska, and felt that was the best time to give her lips some shine.

Kathy was up there because she and her other 'RHOBH' costars were the presenters, but we're guessing she didn't realize she was still visible on TV. Then again, the live audience would still see her. So, yeah ... awkward!

There were other standout moments as well, including Olivia Wilde's appearance for her "Don't Worry Darling" win as the Drama Movie of 2022.

OW accepted the PCA with grace ... totally glossing over the film's behind-the-scenes drama -- she made no mention of the beef at the center of it.

She said, "We made this movie in 2020 when many people were not confident that audiences would ever return to theaters if they ever reopened, yet … crew members showed up every single day during a pandemic to make something that they hoped that you guys would show up for. And you guys did show up. And we are so, so grateful."

Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner accepted the award for Reality Show of 2022 -- thanking audiences for continuing to tune in and allowing them to live their lives on camera and embracing them on a new network, Hulu.

Another highlight ... Shania Twain's Music Icon Award, which was accompanied by a live performance from her. When she accepted, she said, "This is such a privilege and dream really."

Other winners included Lizzo, who won the People's Champion Award, Adam Sandler as the Comedy Movie Star of 2022, as well as Carrie Underwood winning the Country Artist of 2022.

Kim Kardashian just got some much-needed protection against a scary individual who not only showed up at her home multiple times ... but also claimed to be armed.

Kim's legal team was in court Monday when she was awarded a restraining order against Andre Persaud ... the ruling means Persaud is prohibited from contacting Kim and must stay at least 100 yards away from her. It'll last for the next 5 years.

According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Persaud showed up at her home at least 3 times back in August, she says she's never met the guy, and was worried he might escalate things to physical violence ... especially given the fact Persaud allegedly claimed to be armed.

If showing up at her home wasn't scary enough -- Persaud also allegedly posted about Kim on social media, and in one particular instance Kim says he, "claimed that I had been communicating with him telepathically."

The mother of Todd and Julie Chrisley's granddaughter is vowing to get her daughter back ... and the path could be clear now that Todd and Julie are headed for prison.

Angela Johnson, the mother of 10-year-old Chloe, tells TMZ ... she's in the process of getting the gears turning to regain full custody of her daughter. Todd currently has full custody of Chloe.

She says she's been working with a legal team for years to get Chloe back, but concedes it's been super tough to gain traction. Chloe and the Chrisleys lived in Atlanta before the Chrisleys moved to Tennessee. Angela, who currently lives in South Carolina, tells us all the moves have created a jurisdictional nightmare in her custody battle.

Angela had Chloe with Kyle, Todd & Julie's son, back in 2012. Kyle lost custody in 2016 because of his drug addiction, leaving Angela to share custody with Todd.

Angela was arrested that same year for allegedly filing a false application for Medicaid assistance ... leaving Todd with sole custody.

Angela has copped a plea to put the case behind her ... and now she wants her daughter back. Something's gotta give, since Todd was just sentenced to 12 years in prison for bank fraud and tax evasion.

As we reported, Savannah Chrisley vowed last month she'd be getting custody of Chloe once her parents are locked up, but clearly Angela is not down with that.

Stay tuned ...

A new trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's documentary has dropped, and it's clear the couple isn't holding back in taking some serious shots at the royal family.

Netflix released the new preview for "Harry & Meghan" Monday morning, showing more of the drama that'll be unveiled starting this week ... and Harry's calling out the "hierarchy of the family" -- claiming people inside his camp were leaking stories about him and Meghan.

Meghan claims everything changed after she married into the fam ... with one person talking about "a war against Meghan" -- while another claiming the drama was all rooted in hatred and racism.

Harry even talks about not wanting "history to repeat itself," while flashes of paparazzi swarm their car -- before showing shots of Princess Diana dealing with the same thing.

As we reported, Harry and Meghan -- who now live in the U.S. -- were stripped of their private security during visits to the U.K. back in July ... Harry claimed it wasn't safe for him, Meghan or their 2 kids because it's just too dangerous without security help.

Harry ends the trailer, saying no one knows the "full truth" except for them ... and we're only days away from finding out what that is.

Randall Emmett has some bad news for "Vanderpump Rules" fans hoping to get the inside scoop after his split with Lala Kent ... because he's revealed he won't be making a return for the show's 10th season.

In a very telling interview, the movie producer told The Sun "I never wanted to be on 'Vanderpump,' but I respect the [show's] success."

He continues, "I'm friends still with some of them. I just think what they've created is amazing and I give them so much love and praise, but in my life I'm focused on my children and focused on making films."

TMZ broke the story ... he and Lala officially broke things off last October, after Lala moved out. Before that, we were told the 2 were working on saving their engagement after Randall was accused of cheating on Lala, but it's clear those efforts weren't enough to salvage it.

Kim Kardashian is somehow compartmentalizing what has to be an excruciating time for her -- with Kanye's hateful rants -- because she partied Friday night like she didn't have a care in the world.

Kim, Khloe and Serena Williams went club hopping Friday night in Miami for the kickoff of Art Basel weekend.

They hit up a party where Travis Scott and 50 Cent performed. Khloe was having an especially good time ... 50 was singing right at her. Jonathan “Foodgod” Cheban and restaurateur David Grutman also joined in on the fun.

As for Kim, not a stitch of Balenciaga in sight ... she's traded it in for some pretty awesome duds.

Kim Kardashian had a very noticeable sidekick missing as she hit her first night of Art Basel celebrations ... she stepped out without Balenciaga.

Kim was among a slew of celebs -- including Madonna, James Blake, Travis Scott, Rande Gerber, Serena Williams, Khloe Kardashian and Leonardo DiCaprio -- to hit Miami for the annual art show which brings out huge collectors, stars and billionaires alike.

Of course, Kim's almost always decked out in the most recent Balenciaga gear at major events like this, but it was very clearly missing from her look. Instead, she wore a Vex latex top and vintage pants with Dior sunglasses ... and still looked hot as ever as she left dinner at Gekko with owner David Grutman and Jonathan “Foodgod” Cheban.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim cut any plans to work with Balenciaga in the future after the brand launched a controversial BDSM-inspired ad campaign with kids. Our sources said Balenciaga had offered Kim a campaign for 2023, but she turned it down.