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Rodger Bumpass -- aka Squidward Tentacles on "SpongeBob SquarePants" -- can rest easy ... he won't get sacked from the show for his DUI arrest.

Sources close to production tell us, execs don't view a DUI bust as a deal breaker, and good thing, because half of Hollywood would lose their jobs.

We're told the only basis for firing him would be the "morals clause," and the show takes the position getting a DUI is not an immoral act. Legally speaking, that's exactly right.

Bumpass told us he was worried sick he'd be fired.

TMZ broke the story ... Bumpass was busted January 15 after cops noticed his blue PT Cruiser in the middle of the road. They say he was propped on the hood, admitted drinking and driving and flunked a field sobriety test. Cops say his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

Hulk Hogan is back and in black -- this time as a spokesperson for 800-Loan-Mart commercials.

The Hulkster caught some heat last year regarding certain racist remarks that were made public after several years ... but he's moved past that and is now set to star in a big TV commercial for the title loan company.

Hulk's been their spokesperson for years, but the company is now ready to air new spots with him.

Visiting The Hulkster -- Dennis Rodman, who was one of the first celebs to defend Hogan, saying they've been pals for 25 years and Hogan doesn't have a racist bone in his 6'7" 300 pound body. The two former tag team partners are both repped by celebrity sports agent Darren Prince.

One of the hip-hop hamsters in the famous Kia ads has just pled no contest to felony insurance fraud ... after taking disability money while dancing up a storm.

Leroy Barnes snagged California disability money between Sept., 2010 and Sept. 2011, claiming he couldn't work when in fact he was dancing in the Kia commercials.

Barnes had claimed in 2010 he was injured while working as a dancer and was struck by a piece of ceiling during sound check. As a result, he collected the disability for which he has been prosecuted.

Barnes was sentenced to 90 days of electronic monitoring and 400 hours of community service. He also has to repay $24k to the State of California.

The dancer's credits include dancing for Madonna, Chris Brown and Kelly Roland.

Farrah Abraham is ready to take on anyone who wants a piece of her (and not in the porn sense) -- because she fired off a helluva comeback at Kendall Jenner.

Kendall took the opening shot on Wednesday night's debut episode of Khloe Kardashian's show, "Kocktails with Khloe." When Farrah's recent beef with Nicki Minaj came up ... she ripped Farrah for her "decisions in life."

Check it out ... Khloe and co. had some laughs, especially with Snoop's Farrah impersonation. But then Farrah dropped this meme bomb -- a Kardashian/Jenner family pic (vintage with Lamar and Bruce) ... with Ray J photoshopped over them. The caption, giving props to Ray's famous junk, is straight outta the comeback hall of fame.

Which should definitely be a thing.

Brendan Dassey has been quietly moved from one prison to another.

TMZ has learned Dassey -- the younger subject of Netflix's "Making A Murderer" -- was transferred Wednesday from Green Bay Correctional Institution to Columbia Correctional Institution ... a Wisconsin maximum security prison about 125 miles away.

A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections tells us inmate transfers are common ... but wouldn't elaborate.

Dr. Phil should just book his accuser for the show ... an ex-staffer claims the doc held his entire staff hostage in a room with the help of security guards to figure out who was leaking stories to the media.

Leah Rothman claims in her lawsuit she was ordered in on her day off, along with 300 other employees, where she says everyone gathered in a room and then Phil ordered the doors locked. She claims he said someone had leaked internal info to the media, and he had contacted the "Feds" because the info was transmitted "over state lines."

Rothman claims Phil said, "If you f*** with me, I'll f*** with you" and used other profanities in the meeting.

The employee says she began "experiencing emotional distress from the verbal assault of Dr. Phil which was magnified by the confined space ..." She says it amounted to false imprisonment.

And Rothman says, she "saw cue cards in Dr. Phil's hands" from which he read.

She says Phil and the other brass already knew the source of the leak, but they wanted to make a point.

And she claims, the Executive in Charge of Production told her Phil "got joy out of the process and in scaring his employees."

Rothman goes on to say the whole thing made her a nervous wreck and she had to quit ... and now claims it was "constructive termination."

Rodger Bumpass -- aka Squidward Tentacles on "SpongeBob SquarePants" -- says cops lied about his DUI arrest ... but Bumpass' accusation could actually hurt him legally.

TMZ broke the story ... cops claimed they saw him leaning against his PT Cruiser on a Burbank street when they approached him. Police say he tried to walk away and stumbled as if he were impaired. He then flunked a field sobriety test and blew more than twice the legal limit.

Bumpass tells us he was NOT leaning against his car. Here's the way he says it went down. Bumpass admits he had been drinking at a Burbank bar, got in his car and began driving home. At some point he says cops began tailing him, pulled him over and asked if he had been drinking. He confessed he had, and then failed the field sobriety test.

Here's the problem ... cops say they never saw him behind the wheel, and even if he confessed he was so out of it the confession could be challenged. By claiming cops first spotted him while he was driving blows that defense out of the water.

Bumpass says he's spoken with several people over at Nickelodeon and his fate there is uncertain.

Spike Lee has corrected the media for reporting he was calling for an Oscar boycott.

Spike appeared on 'GMA' and made it clear ... blasting the Academy for shutting out black actors and films and vowing not to attend the ceremony is NOT the same as calling for a boycott.

Lee said he and his wife would be at the Knicks game at Madison Square Garden the night of the Oscars, and everyone else can either attend or not ... not his business.

There were lots of reports Jada Pinkett Smith also called for a boycott, which she did not. She said it's time for African Americans to stop begging the Academy for acceptance and do their own thing in their own community.

As for Chris Rock, Spike's making no judgment on whether he should still host.

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Jamie-Lynn Sigler's been battling multiple sclerosis for more than a decade, but says she's only now ready to go public.

The former 'Sopranos' star said she actually got the diagnosis when she was 19 ... smack in the middle of the hit HBO show's run.

Comedian Erik Griffin got into it with a drunk heckler during his stand-up act and things turned violent.

Sources at The Laughing Derby in Louisville, KY tell TMZ ... Griffin had nearly finished his set when he finally addressed a woman in the front row who'd been heckling him all night.

We're told she refused to leave despite pleas from the audience and multiple warnings from the club owner that cops were on the way.

The video is ridiculous ... the heckler got so riled up, she took a swing at Griffin. Club staffers tossed her just as cops arrived. Luckily for her, no one pressed charges ... and she left quietly on her own, instead of in handcuffs.

Steve Harvey sobbed openly when he finally got his face-to-face with Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez ... and then she gave him some really good news.

Ariadna and Steve sat down on his talk show -- their first meeting since the infamous Miss Universe screw up -- and he immediately got emotional. Check out the clip ... they talked forgiveness and possible lawsuits. Yes, Ariadna says she came close to taking his mansion.

TMZ broke the story ... Harvey scored the interview with Miss Colombia when an NBC producer brokered a blanket deal for "Today," Telemundo, and Steve's show.

As for his tears ... we're not saying he wasn't genuine, but Steve's an old pro -- he knows tears equal ratings.

Rodger Bumpass -- the actor who plays Squidward Tentacles on "SpongeBob SquarePants" -- was arrested Friday night for DUI.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops noticed a blue PT Cruiser stopped in the middle of a road just before 11 PM with a man leaning against the car.

When cops walked up to the guy -- Bumpass -- they say he walked away and was so unsteady he nearly fell.

Our sources say Bumpass confessed to driving just before cops spotted him and he was arrested after failing a field sobriety test.

Our sources tell us ... Bumpass' blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

Ex "Law & Order" director Jason "Jace" Alexander entered a guilty plea on Tuesday in his child porn case.

Alexander copped to 2 charges -- promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing an obscene performance by a child -- when he appeared in a NY state court.

Prosecutors say Alexander had child porn on the computers in his Westchester County home. He's facing up to 7 years in prison.

As we reported ... the 51-year-old was arrested last summer when an investigator tracked child porn back to Alexander's IP address.

Alexander directed more than a dozen episodes of "Law & Order."

'Love & Hip Hop NY' star Mendeecees Harris is now going by "Inmate Harris" after checking himself into federal prison in Pennsylvania.

Harris got 8 years for drug trafficking charges. He'll do his time in a minimum security prison where inmates can watch TV and the meal program is top notch ... something different everyday for 8 weeks.

He's already served 15 months for his crime, so he actually has less than 7 years left to serve.

As we showed you, Harris made the most of his last few days of freedom.

Todd Chrisley of USA's "Chrisley Knows Best" is ready to become a Nashville heavyweight as a singer/songwriter ... TMZ has learned.

Jody Williams and Leslie Roberts, the head honchos of music publisher BMI, inked the deal with Todd, and it's a sweet one.

Right out of the box, he'll be doing a collabo with songwriter Shane Stevens -- who's written songs for Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum -- and they'll be joined by award-winning country star Sara Evans.

We’re told the power trio is planning to meet in Nashville this week to get started on their first song.

Talk about being set up for success. Don't screw it up, Todd.

Will Smith's old 'Fresh Prince' co-star is on the attack ... saying he and Jada Pinkett Smith are NOT the Obamas, and black Hollywood isn't gonna sing "we shall overcome" with them.

Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv, blasted Jada's anti-Oscars stance with a rambling video post that started ... "First of all, Miss Thang, does your man not have a mouth of his own with which to speak?"

Hubert goes on to accuse the Smiths of being sore losers, and says there are way more important things going on in the world -- "Our boys are being shot left and right, people are hungry, people are trying to pay bills and you talking about some motherf***ing actors and Oscars."