TMZ Live

The father is NOT paying for the actions of his sons ... so says Donald Trump ... who claims all of his "Celebrity Apprentice" sponsors are staying committed to the show after gruesome pics emerged of his kids killing a bunch of animals in Africa.

TMZ broke the story ... Marcus Lemonis -- CEO of Camping World and Good Sam -- is furious about the photos of Don Jr. and Eric Trump posing with their kills ... which included an elephant, kudu and waterbuck. Lemonis told TMZ he vowed not to give another dime to support Trump's show.

Here's the catch ... Good Sam is a major sponsor of a 'Celeb Apprentice' episode scheduled to air next month.

But Trump called in to "TMZ Live" moments ago ... and said despite Lemonis' outrage ... not one sponsor has pulled out ... including Good Sam.

In fact, Trump says the people at Good Sam are THRILLED to be on board ... and told him they are "very much looking forward" to their episode.

Still, Trump once again stated he's NOT a fan of hunting ... but believes his sons were righteous in giving the meat from their kills to local villagers.

The bigwigs at "American Idol" tell TMZ ... they would have done everything in their power to help Jermaine Jones clear up his legal situation ... if only he would have been HONEST about his past.

"A.I." executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick called in to "TMZ Live" moments ago ... and explained why they HAD to confront Jermaine when they discovered he LIED about his criminal history. They said they were particularly worried when they found out he had used false names with police.

The "Idol" honchos explained, "There might be other false names and other charges out there that we just dont know about."

Lythgoe and Warwick tell us lots of kids that appear on the show are entangled in legal situations ... but the producers insist, "We help them where we can in clearing them up."

The producers say they captured the confrontation on tape ... and say he was "very apologetic."

Hulk Hogan just can't seem to identify his female co-star in the sex tape that just surfaced -- telling TMZ, he banged so many chicks after he left his ex-wife ... the woman could be one of MANY possible conquests.

Hulk called in to TMZ Live moments ago ... claiming he went on a 4-month alcohol-fueled lady-screwing bender between the time when he left his ex-wife Linda ... and met his current wife Jennifer.

Hulk tells us, "During that time, I don't even remember people's names, much less girls."

Hulk says he hasn't had sex with another woman since meeting Jennifer 5 years ago -- so the tape has to be at least 5 years old.

Snooki's ex-BF Emilio Masella says he's just a schmuck who misspoke when he wished a "miscarriage" on the MTV star ... but says he still HOPES TO GOD she's not really pregnant.

Emilio just called in to "TMZ Live" to explain himself ... saying, "What I meant by the statement was that I hope she doesn’t have the child. I just hope the test was wrong ... I think she's too young. I don’t think this kid is in it for her."

He continued, "If she's pregnant with this kid I guess I can't associate with her."