TV Business

LeAnn Rimes isn't clutching a diamond anytime soon ... 'cause TMZ has learned she's never even been asked to join "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

Sources connected to the hit Bravo series tell TMZ ... LeAnn has never been approached by production and has never received a formal offer to come aboard the franchise.

We're told her name has floated around in casting conversations over the years -- but that's as far as it's gone. Our sources say there have been no meetings, no negotiations, no contract talks ... nothing official.

Media mogul and CNN founder Ted Turner has died after battling dementia.

Turner Enterprises announced Ted died Wednesday morning. Back in 2018, he announced he'd been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. That announcement came shortly after his 80th birthday.

In addition to launching the world's first 24/7 news channel, the Cable News Network, in 1980 ... Ted created a media empire that included TBS Superstation, TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, and at one time, most of MGM Studios' film library.

Jane Fonda has shared a loving goodbye to her ex-husband Ted Turner ... saying he had a big life and brilliant mind.

The actress posted to social media Wednesday following CNN's announcement of their founder's passing ... and she shared a photo of the two holding one another.

She dropped a long caption in which she heaped praise on her ex-husband ... noting he was the first man who could really take care of her.

Former CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin is opening up about a deeply personal experience she says has haunted her for more than two decades ... revealing she believes she was sexually assaulted after her drink was allegedly spiked during a spring break trip to Los Angeles.

Baldwin detailed the shocking account in a lengthy Substack essay published Monday ... saying the incident happened when she was just 21 years old.

According to Baldwin, she was on a 2001 spring break trip when she and a friend hit the Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel ... but after her friend left, Baldwin says two "much older men" approached and offered her a drink.

Donald Trump is using Ted Turner's death to bash CNN ... saying the late media mogul lost the network in his company's merger with Time Warner, and the new owners ruined it.

POTUS took to Truth Social shortly after Turner's death to highlight the businessman -- calling him one of the greatest to ever do it.

However, Trump laments what he thinks CNN has become in recent years ... claiming Time Warner's ownership of the network "destroyed it" by turning it totally "woke."

"Vanderpump Villa" star Marciano Brunette is making moves to get his hands on unaired 'Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' footage ... to help prove his case against cast member Demi Engemann and the production company that made the show.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Marciano is fighting the effort of Jeff Jenkins Productions -- the producers behind 'Mormon Wives' -- to have his defamation lawsuit thrown out of court.

Marciano said he's been asking producers to fork over the unaired show footage related to Demi's allegations of sexual assault. In addition, he wants to see the producers' internal communications about the sexual assault narrative and its editorial decisions.

Marciano insists there's no way his lawsuit should be kicked out on summary judgment before he has a chance to see all the evidence the producers have in their possession, which might be relevant to proving his case.

Jimmy Kimmel will once again be appearing at upfronts for Disney's ABC ... just like he's done for the past 20 years, TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources tell us ... Jimmy will be there -- news that would usually make for a ho-hum headline, but with all the drama in which he's been ensnared with President Donald Trump, interest in whether he'd be at the key TV advertising event was piqued.

It appears that Jimmy being there is status quo -- but of course, his most recent spat with Trump's White House has dominated media coverage -- even though it sure seems to already be dwindling.

A video of Sydney Sweeney has gone viral that appears to show her caught on camera, letting out a squeaker while working on "Euphoria" ... but TMZ has learned it ain't legit.

Here's the deal ... a short clip of the bombshell superstar is spreading like wildfire, appearing to show her ready to film the popular HBO series ... and it sure sounds like she passes a little gas as "action" is called. There's been heated debate about whether it's real.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ -- the clip is a fake -- kinda -- the behind-the-scenes footage is real, but the sound effect was added by some clown looking for clicks ... and it very much worked. One version of the clip had over a million views.

Roger Sweet -- the toy designer who created the He-Man character in the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" 1980s animated kids' show -- has died at age 91 after battling dementia.

His wife, Marlene, tells TMZ Roger passed away peacefully at his care facility Tuesday morning … just months after she revealed his devastating health decline and launched a GoFundMe to help cover his staggering memory care costs.

As we previously reported ... Marlene said Roger suffered a frightening fall while out walking alone and couldn't remember what happened. Doctors later discovered two brain bleeds ... and he was hospitalized in the ICU before being moved into a memory care facility that cost more than $10,000 a month.

Laura Dern is joining the cast of "The White Lotus" ... a major development that took very little time to happen after Helena Bonham Carter's abrupt departure last week.

A source with knowledge tells TMZ ... Dern is not playing the same character as Helena ... that role has been scrapped -- and a new one is being crafted amid production.

As we reported ... Helena left the show all of a sudden .... with filming starting about a week ago in France.

It seems Brendan Carr was not amused by Jimmy Kimmel's "light roast joke" about Melania Trump last week ... because he's reportedly about to order Disney-owned TV stations to re-up their broadcasting licenses early.

A source with knowledge of the matter tells NBC News the FCC chairman is set to issue the directive Tuesday ... which will force Disney's 8 stations to file their renewals two years ahead of schedule -- noting they weren't due until 2028 at the earliest.

The insider says the "unprecedented" order is sparked by the Melania joke Jimmy made during his show last week.

ICYMI ... Jimmy aired a mock White House Correspondents' Dinner roast on Thursday, 2 days before the actual event -- since this year's dinner did not have a comedian host, as is tradition -- when he said Melania "had the glow of an expectant widow."

Melania Trump is demanding ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel ... blasting the late-night host as a "coward" and accusing him of spreading "hateful and violent rhetoric" after his jokes about her family.

The First Lady unloaded in a fiery statement Monday ... saying Kimmel's monologue "isn't comedy" and claiming his comments are helping fuel division across the country. Kimmel's roast of the event aired Thursday night, days before the WHCD shooting in D.C. Saturday night.

"His words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she said ... adding that people like Kimmel “shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”

Melania also accused the network of shielding Kimmel from consequences ... saying he “hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.”

The Lonely Island member Jorma Taccone is looking back at his "Saturday Night Live" days ... and calling out the one guest host who made him seriously uncomfortable ... Kevin Spacey.

Taccone spilled it on the "Obsessed" podcast, saying there was one person he "wasn't super geeked on" -- before finally naming Spacey -- admitting he'd never said it out loud before.

Jorma didn't go into much detail, just saying the vibe around Kevin during his guest-hosting in 2006 made him uneasy.

Big changes with "The White Lotus" only days into filming ... Helena Bonham Carter is OUT!!!

TMZ has confirmed Helena's departure from the show, which just started filming about a week ago in France, and her role will be rewritten and recast.

In a statement, a rep for HBO tells TMZ ... "With filming just underway on season four of The White Lotus, it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set."

"The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks. HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon."

Jinkies! Netflix released the first look at the new Mystery Incorporated gang ... and announced production is officially underway in Atlanta.

The streamer took to social media Friday to share a snap of the "Scooby-Doo: Origins" cast recreating an iconic image from the animated series.

According to Netflix ... this new adaptation is a "modern reimagining" that's "less about what you already know, and more about how it all started."

It might be light's out for "The Great Christmas Light Fight" ... TMZ has learned.

A source with direct knowledge tells us ABC has not picked up the holiday reality TV competition for this season.

Our insider explains the miniseries is shot a year in advance ... and it was not shot last December.