Reality TV

"Guardians of The Glades" star Dusty Crum was involved in a scary car accident down in Florida ... and things were so bad he was in serious danger of losing his right leg.

The snake hunter from the Discovery show tells TMZ ... he was riding shotgun in a truck on a Florida highway last month when a tire blew on the trailer and the driver lost control, causing the truck to fishtail before flipping 3 times.

Dusty says the crash caused severe damage to his lower right leg and knee, and he was airlifted to a hospital in the Fort Meyers area, where doctors were able to save his leg with 5 different surgical procedures.

It's pretty scary ... Dusty says his window broke when the car flipped and his leg went out the window, and got crushed by the weight of the vehicle. He says as the vehicle kept rolling he managed to pull his leg back inside.

Dusty says he thought he was going to die after the accident ... using his shirt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding as he tried to keep himself awake waiting for paramedics from the side of the highway.

While doctors were able to save the leg, Dusty's been in the hospital for nearly 4 weeks ... and he's hopefully moving to a rehab facility in the next few days.

Dusty is not insured and will be facing a ton of medical bills, so a friend has started a GoFundMe and they are asking for people to consider buying holiday gifts from his store.

The Pussycat Doll is taking the stage for the first time on "The Masked Singer" ... Nicole Scherzinger is getting out from behind her judge's table and grabbing the mic.

Production sources tell TMZ ... Nicole will perform on the FOX singing competition show after 6 seasons of fans begging to see her show off her pipes.

It sounds like this will be a duet ... we're told Nicole will join the stage with the Queen of Hearts.

While the performance is a long time coming, our sources say it wasn't exactly easy to pull off.

We're told Nicole wanted to make her debut extra special -- ya can't blame her after 6 seasons sitting back and judging everyone else -- so she had 3 outfits to pick from and did 3 wardrobe changes during rehearsals, asking production to rehearse the song 3 times before settling on her look.

Braunwyn Windham-Burke might be an OC girl, but she sure does look good in Florida ... especially in the arms of this beauty.

The 'Real Housewives' alum was enjoying the rays of Miami Beach this week, splashing in the waves alongside a woman she was more than happy to embrace in public. More than just that ... they were putting on a full-blown PDA clinic.

We've figured out her mystery playmate is Victoria Brito, and sources tell us she and Braunwyn have been dating for a month. They met via mutual friends and they've been talking on IG.

We're told they're keeping it pretty casual for now, although Braunwyn is apparently smitten ... which is obvious in the beach pics.

As for VB, she's coming up in the game -- having recently shot a campaign for PUMA.

Of course, we know what you're thinking ... has Victoria met Braunwyn's kids with Sean??? Our sources say not yet, but Braunwyn plans to introduce Victoria to her kids around Christmas when they travel to CA together.

Lilly Ghalichi and her husband have a headache to deal with in the middle of their Caribbean getaway ... because their Los Angeles home was broken into while they're abroad.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... crooks busted into the L.A. area home where the former "Shahs of Sunset" star and her husband live. The Friday evening heist was well-timed because the couple's out of town, and that might not be a coincidence.

Lilly's been posting a lot on social media from Saint Barts, and we're told the suspects could have noticed her vacay posts and then targeted her home.

Our sources say there are 3 suspects, 2 men and 1 woman, dressed in all black with black beanies. The 2 guys broke windows at the house, while the women in their crew were the lookout.

We're told when they attempted to gain entry by breaking a window in the master closet, they triggered the alarm.

Our sources say the siren sent the suspects scurrying from the property, without taking anything from the home. They took off on foot while neighborhood security and cops gave chase ... a police helicopter was even involved in the search.

We're told the couple has since hired 24/7 armed security at the property.

Our sources say detectives have a few potential leads on the suspects, but no arrests yet.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson traveled to the Hills of Beverly Saturday, and ran into a Dutch journalist who dutifully snapped a photo!

It seems Pete's been living in the City of Angels lately ... this time K&P went for some breakfast chow at the Bev Hills Hotel.

As the newly-minted couple broke bread, a Dutch music journalist named Paul Barewijk eyed them. Paul, who lives in Amsterdam, was sipping tea as he spoke with his mom by phone, and maybe his mom told her son there was a vacay pic that everyone back home would surely admire.

Paul told PEOPLE, he took a couple of selfies with Kim in the background ... then sheepishly showed her the photo and said his encounter with them was sheer coincidence.

He says he then asked for a proper photo, and Kim obliged. Then he asked Pete for the same, and smartly flattered him by saying the Netherlands digs Pete on 'SNL.' That did the trick!

Pete and Kim have been inseparable, or at least so it seems. They hit up Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica last week, as Pete displayed a teen badge of honor -- a hickey.

Meanwhile, Kanye is pulling out all the stops -- even invoking God's name -- to win Kim back. He's posted old photos of them, as he told the world he's had failures as a husband.

Sheree Whitfield's boyfriend isn't talking to her, but he wants a chat with the folks at Bravo ... because he's pissed off about his past appearances on his girl's reality show.

The "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star's BF, Tyrone Gilliams, had his legal team fire off a cease and desist letter to the TV network ... claiming the show's been using his name and likeness without his permission.

According to the legal threat, obtained by TMZ, Tyrone says he never gave the green light for him to become a recurring 'RHOA' storyline back in the day. Even when he wasn't actually on camera, he was often discussed by cast members, and he says the network's been profiting off him without permission.

In the docs, Tyrone is threatening legal action if Bravo doesn't stop using his name and image STAT ... and he's going even further, demanding the network scrub every trace of him from 'RHOA' footage and social media posts, as well as putting the brakes on any marketing or advertising involving him.

Tyrone's been upset lately ... as we first told you, he's not on speaking terms with Sheree because 'RHOA' filming almost put him back in prison due to Sheree's plans to shoot scenes with him at a restaurant. That would've been a huge problem because he's currently sentenced to home confinement.

Jon Gosselin was bitten by a spider, and it really messed him up.

Jon tells TMZ ... he doesn't know exactly where it happened, but his leg swelled up to twice its normal size. He says ... and the pain was "excruciating." He could barely walk and rushed himself to an Urgent Care, where he got an Rx for antibiotics and antibiotic cream.

Jon told The Sun he believes it was a brown, recluse spider. If he's right, these critters are super dangerous. People have lost limbs after being bitten. Some have even died.

Jon made it clear to The Sun, 2021 has sucked for him ... "My first thought was 'What now?' I have had a rough year, my breakup was hard, then I got COVID, which was bad. It was really weird because when I looked at my leg I realized it was twice the size and there's a red-looking blister with a large red circle around it."

Gosselin went on to say ... "It kind of looked like a cigarette burn, but really raised. The doc immediately knew the pain was from a brown recluse, which is a deadly spider. My entire leg had swollen up from the cellulitis."

He wasn't done ... "The doctor told me that I was lucky to come in because if you don't treat this you can lose limbs or die from a bacterial infection. I just wish I knew where the spider was so I can take my revenge."

Joel McHale knows a thing or two about 'Tiger King' -- and he also knows this ... just because Carole Baskin's husband might still be alive, she's not totally off the hook.

We got the comedian/actor at LAX and asked him about this big revelation in the 'TK' sequel -- namely, what the documentary asserts is a legit form from the Dept. of Homeland Security that alleges Don Lewis is actually alive in Costa Rica. Not just that ... but apparently he's chillin'!

Our camera guy asks what a lot of people thought when they saw this ... that Carole has been vindicated from all the claims of having something to do with his disappearance/presumed death.

Joel -- who hosted the original 'Tiger King' post-show special -- says not so fast ... as he sees this in a different light, and actually convinced our photog to come on over to his side.

Check it out ... Joel says that if this document is legit -- and if DL is, in fact, alive in CR -- then it's still a harsh indictment of Carole, especially if she's known about it all along.

Now, in Carole's defense ... she seemed to know nothing about this alleged DHS form -- and has maintained since the beginning ... she did her part in trying to find Don, and had absolutely nothing to do with his disappearance in the '90s.

The former 'Soup' host thinks this doesn't really paint her in that fond of a light. And, he even has suspicions about how the guy could've remained missing for so long if he is actually out there somewhere.

BTW, he isn't saying Carole deserves any sort of retribution -- but he does insist this latest development wouldn't make her any kinda saint.

Ye is putting on a full-court, very public press to patch things up with his currently estranged wife, Kim Kardashian -- he's using old photos, and confessing to his failures as a husband ... all in hopes of getting her back.

The man formerly known as Kanye West is feeling some sorta way about an old pic of himself and the missus kissing -- he posted the black and white image on his IG story Friday morning. We'll get back to that in a moment, but he did something else extraordinary on his social media.

Ye posted what he called his Thanksgiving prayer on Thursday evening. He warned it would be "super super super super super long," and then over 5 minutes he confessed to drinking too much, letting his ego and temper get the best of him and even to being a "self-righteous Christian."

In the earnest speech he goes back and forth between jokingly poking fun at himself -- "I was arrogant with my Jesus. Like I had just got me some Jesus at the Gucci store with a stimulus check" -- to dead serious.

Ye admitted, "Good Lord, my wife did not like me wearing the red [MAGA] hat. Being a good wife, she just wanted to protect me and our family. I made me and our family a target by not aligning with Hollywood's political stance, and that was hard for our marriage."

The earnest and revealing prayer came one day after he publicly declared God would help him and Kim come back together.

As we previously reported, Ye stopped by the L.A. Mission on Wednesday, and grabbed a mic to let everyone know he was keeping faith that God will help repair things between Kim and himself. In fact, Ye attached our headline from that story to his posting of the old kissing shot.

As for that B&W pic? It dates all the way back to September 2019, when Kimye and their kids had taken a family vacay to the Bahamas. Kim posted it back then but, mysteriously, deleted it moments later. Clearly, Ye did not delete it from his memory.

Of course, Mr. West's pining for his wife comes just as she's feeling more and more at ease with Pete Davidson in public. Earlier this week, they were spotted at dinner in Santa Monica ... where Pete was sporting a hickey on his neck.

Ye is in the giving spirit -- and also hopeful for his future with estranged wife Kim Kardashian -- saying God will bring them back together, and inspire millions of families to do the same.

The man formerly known as Kanye West stopped at the L.A. Mission Wednesday to drop off 1,000 meals for skid row. Before his visit was over, Kanye grabbed the mic and shared words of wisdom and faith with the crowd ... including a message about the collapse of his marriage.

During his speech, Ye says he's done things in public that were "not acceptable as a husband," but believes "The Kingdom" aka God will help to repair things with Kim.

Ye believes if they reconcile, millions of families coping with divorce or separation could be inspired to do the same thing. He got big applause for that message.

He also mentioned his kids, saying he needs to be with them as much as possible and if he can't be "in the house" he'll get a house right next door.

And, let there be no doubt, Ye clearly still has issues with the Kardashian family living on reality TV -- he insisted he'll be the one to write his family's history, not a streaming service like Hulu, Disney or E!

Of course, the words come just days after Kim was spotted grabbing dinner with Pete Davidson in Santa Monica. They had a private table, and it appeared Davidson was sporting a hickey on his neck.

"Selling Sunset" star Mary Fitzgerald is throwing girl code out the window ... she's got no problem with co-star Chrishell Stause dating her ex, who just so happens to be their boss.

Mary joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and we asked her about girl code on the show, or lack thereof, as it relates to Chrishell continuing to move on from her divorce by getting with Mary's former flame, Jason Oppenheim ... who owns the agency featured on the show.

As we reported ... Chrishell and Jason went public with their budding relationship back in July, on a European group getaway with Mary and her husband, Romain Bonnet.

Mary says she was actually one of the driving forces behind Chrishell and Jason announcing their romance to the world ... so she's definitely putting her money where her mouth is here, telling us how she egged them on to go Instagram official.

Mary and Jason dated a few years ago, but remained close ... and she tells us what advice she gave to JO when he started showing an interest in Chrishell.

While the relationship has Mary's blessing, it's still too fresh to be featured on the upcoming season 4 of "Selling Sunset," which drops Wednesday on Netflix. She says that'll be on season 5.

Iman Shumpert is a champion once again ... and just like coming back from a 3-1 lead, it was a shocking upset win.

The former Cavs guard -- who made history when he became the first former pro hoops player to advance to the finals of "Dancing with the Stars" last week -- took home the Mirror Ball trophy with his partner, Daniella, after a freestyle dance that had all of social media talking.

It was a nail-biter 'til the end ... and a lot of folks thought Siwa was going to take it all. But, there can only be one winner, and it was the 6'5" hooper crowned champ.

Shumpert is the first NBA player to ever win it all ... joining other pro athletes like Emmitt Smith, Shawn Johnson, Hines Ward and more who have come in first.

Shump's fellow Cavs champ LeBron James gave a big shoutout to Iman after the win ... saying, "Congrats bro!! That's so (fire emoji)"

As we previously reported, Iman's wife, Teyana Taylor told us before the show the NBAer had an advantage after spending countless hours at her dance rehearsals -- and it clearly paid off!!

Shumpert tasted victory in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers ... becoming the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win it all.

Carole Baskin was (again) painted as an unhelpful, suspicious character in the ongoing search for her missing husband, but despite what 'Tiger King 2' suggests ... she says the exact opposite is true.

Joe Exotic's archenemy tells TMZ ... she's done everything in her power to track down Don Lewis -- her one-time hubby, who mysteriously went missing in the '90s and was never found. The 'TK' sequel, however, might have you thinking otherwise.

As you know ... the 2nd installment debuted last week, and a detective with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Moises Garcia, is prominently featured as they continue to dig into Don's case all these years later. As they delve into Carole's suspected knowledge about his whereabouts, Cpl. Garcia flat out says Carole seems uninterested in helping 'em out.

The reason ... she hasn't cooperated with his office's request for information -- but that's all for a good cause, according to Carole herself ... who says she's done enough already.

CB tells us that since the inception of the original investigation, she's done tons of interviews, forked over scores of documents and given unprecedented access to the authorities to get to the bottom of where the hell Don is. Not just that ... but she put out a $100k reward!

Carole adds, "There is no one who has more to gain from solving the mystery of Don’s disappearance than I do because it would clear my name and stop the idiotic rumors." She further states, "There is nothing that I know that is not either in the Sheriff’s files or in the diary I have published at SaveTheCats.org and no way I am going to have a clearer memory or anything to add twenty-four years later."

While Carole acknowledges she's mostly snubbed Garcia -- she explains she did on the advice of counsel, as she simply has nothing more to contribute.

There's also this ... the new Netflix doc apparently reveals that the Dept. of Homeland Security has already found Don alive and well in Costa Rica. Carole says she hopes that's true -- and it is even more reason she wants to put all the speculation to bed about her alleged involvement, which she says is based on nothing but unfounded rumors.

Bottom line ... Carole isn't about to dig up the past to appease kooks who are hung up on this, and she means that literally. AKA, no septic tank dig is happening on her watch.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson continue to give everyone something to talk about, and this time it's all thanks to what is almost certainly -- no, definitely, a hickey on the SNL's stars neck!!!

The bi-coastal duo hit Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica Sunday night ... Kim wearing some signature Balenciaga and Pete in his signature -- jeans, jacket and t-shirt -- but, it was Pete's neck that was the biggest attention grabber.

Witnesses tell us PD was sporting a quarter-sized hickey on the left side of his neck, so ... seems like the couple had a fun "appetizer." They were quite cozy during the meal too, sitting side-by-side in a quiet corner of the restaurant.

From what we're told, there was plenty of touching and feeling going on between 'em while Kim was recently in NYC -- so the hickey shouldn't be a surprise.

TMZ broke the story, Kim and Pete's romance really started to take off during a private dinner between the duo at one of Pete's Staten Island favorites. From there, it was a group dinner at Zero Bond ... and just last week a celebration for Pete's 28th with Flavor Flav and Kris Jenner at her Palm Springs mansion.

Another person featured in 'Tiger King' has died -- only this time, by suicide ... one which happened right in front of a family member, so say cops.

Former reptile dealer Jeff Johnson -- who made a brief appearance in episode 4 of 2020's 'TK' docuseries to talk Carole Baskin -- shot and killed himself in September, and did so in the immediate presence of his wife ... this according to the Oklahoma City Police Department.

Per the incident report, obtained by TMZ, Johnson was arguing with his spouse in their garage on Sept. 8 -- while their children were home as well -- and at one point, the man brought a Glock-style handgun up to his head ... and pulled the trigger.

Johnson's wife called 911 for attempted suicide, and when officers arrived ... they say he still had a pulse and was rushed to a hospital. Unfortunately, Johnson was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The cops note Johnson's wife said her husband had not suffered from any mental illness and had not experienced any prior attempted suicide -- so it's unclear why he did this.

Like we said, Jeff's time on 'Tiger King' was short-lived ... but memorable in that he explained the beef between Joe Exotic and Carole. Interestingly enough, Jeff and Joe are also said to be one-time pals turned foes. Story goes ... Jeff and Joe were cool in the past -- as they both worked in the exotic animals world -- but had a falling out once Jeff Lowe came into the picture. At that point, Jeff bashed them early and often ... and vice versa.

There's a report that Jeff's home was actually burned down during this feuding -- but it's unclear if his beef with Joe and JL are in any way connected. Jeff Lowe tells us that he was in Las Vegas at the time and denies any involvement.

Jeff was 58.

Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction is getting reexamined anew -- and there's a lot of finger-pointing ... especially as it relates to Justin Timberlake and Les Moonves.

The 2004 debacle receives a deep dive courtesy of a Hulu documentary, titled 'Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson' -- which discusses what happened before, during and especially after JJ's breast was exposed on live TV during the Halftime Show.

The one-hour special doesn't shed much definitive light on how exactly the snafu came to pass -- other than alluding to a secret convo allegedly had between JT and Janet's stylist in her dressing room before the show -- but the fallout is certainly front and center.

In the aftermath of the embarrassing moment, different people who say they were in the know back then claim the then-top dog at CBS, Moonves, actually demanded a face-to-face apology from both Justin and Janet ... implying if they didn't, there'd be trouble.

Reporters who were covering the story at the time say Justin actually stopped by CBS's L.A. office and did exactly that ... metaphorically "kissing the ring," as these folks describe. Janet, however, apparently refused to bend the knee ... and rebuffed Moonves' alleged demand.

The way they explain it ... Moonves was supposedly furious over what had happened, and deeply embarrassed -- so much so, in fact, the documentary suggests he was working behind the scenes to torpedo Janet's career going forward. Meanwhile, JT's career flourished.

The doc also looks at how the media handled things ... and it's clear, Janet became the butt of a running joke that lasted a good while -- one she couldn't escape, and which some talking heads say was a misogynistic, sexist and racist double standard being applied to her.

By the end of it, JT and Moonves are painted as the villains from this saga. We'll say less on LM -- who ended up leaving CBS in disgrace -- but for Justin's part ... he has apologized for the 2004 moment many times, including just earlier this year in a fresh statement.

Many felt he left Janet hanging at the time, and Justin himself seems to acknowledge that ... saying he let her down. Still, on the heels of this doc -- it would appear his apology isn't enough, because folks online are seriously pissed at him over what they perceive as a great injustice that irreparably harmed Janet.