TV

Dr. Drew has told a judge Janice Dickinson is a truth teller, and if she says Bill Cosby raped her then the court can take that to the bank.

Drew filed a declaration in Dickinson's defamation suit against Cosby, in which she claims he slandered her by claiming she lied about him drugging and raping her in 1982.

Drew says during the filming of 'Celebrity Rehab' in 2010, she told him she'd been raped by a "prominent celebrity" but was too scared to reveal his name. She's made statements to others before 2010, claiming the culprit was Cosby.

Drew says he found her to be an honest person. Indeed he says she's sometimes "overly honest ... blunt and unvarnished." He says, "she speaks the truth."

He goes on to explain her past addictions don't make her a liar for life ... "In my professional opinion, an addict may get clean and sober and become an honest and truthful person. I believe that has been the case for Ms. Dickinson."

Paul McCartney was welcomed with open arms Thursday night at Madeo restaurant in WeHo ... but it didn't hurt he was dining with Jimmy Fallon, Martin Short and Lorne Michaels.

Ok ... maybe our photog gets a pass for not asking Paul about the epic video we got when he was denied at a night club on Grammy night ... he is a Beatle, after all.

The fab 4 didn't say much on their way out, but the customers were telling us the guys were yakking at the table about some type of production. We're told Paul and Jimmy were singing some sort of song or jingle at the table, as if they were working on a performance.

Jo Frost's reality TV crew recorded footage of a father disciplining his child with a belt, and she felt the incident was so severe she reported it to child services ... TMZ has learned.

While recording an episode of her new show "Jo Frost: Nanny On Tour" ... Frost visited a family last October in Gwinnett County, GA. Sources connected to production tell us the Spivey family contacted the show because their 3 kids don't respect mom's word around the house ... only dad's.

After Jo's visit the show left surveillance cameras -- with the Spiveys' approval -- which captured a scene where the father sends his 9-year-old son up to his bedroom, takes off his belt and then goes into the bedroom. The boy was in trouble for using dad's charger.

The episode, which aired Thursday night on the UP channel, doesn't show any beating, but you can hear the boy wailing from behind the closed door.

As part of her follow-up with families ... Frost reviews the footage and we're told when she saw what happened between Chris Spivey and his son, she immediately reported it to DCFS.

We spoke to the Spiveys, who confirmed DCFS investigated. Mr. Spivey admits using corporal punishment in the past -- which is legal in Georgia as long as the child isn't injured -- but he denies hitting his son in the video. He claims he only "hit his bed," and claims the boy was crying because "he was frightened."

"America's Next Top Model" judge Nole Marin is being sued by a couple of models who claim he's more like "America's Top Swindler."

Devon White, who models for Yves Saint Laurent, claims in a new lawsuit, Marin booked him for gigs but only made small cash payments so he could buy food and other necessities. When he asked for his money, he says he got nothing but excuses.

The best excuse, according to the lawsuit ... a booking agent who is also suing Marin claims when he tried to collect his salary, Marin emailed him and said he was being treated for gout and needed extra time.

Another model, Iana Khanashevich, claims her primary language is Russian and he used English to screw her over. She says she's owed thousands.

Ex-Disney star Orlando Brown pulled into a police station parking lot while arguing with his girlfriend and then allegedly struck her, while he had meth on him.

Law enforcement sources tell us the bizarre incident went down in January in Torrance, CA when someone using a nearby ATM spotted the "That's So Raven" star in the car. We're told the witness saw the couple arguing and called police ... who were conveniently located.

Brown initially refused to leave his car, according to our sources -- but once cops got him into jail, they found methamphetamine on him. We're told his girlfriend was not seriously injured.

Brown's been charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, obstruction of justice and 2 felonies -- drug possession with intent to sell, and having contraband in jail.

He previously struck a plea deal for threatening a woman in 2014, and paid a fine.

Kanye West had a Yeezus-like moment at 'SNL' over a last minute change to his stage, but in a very un-Yeezus move ... he didn't rage out at producers.

According to multiple reports, the rapper went ballistic on show execs before 'SNL' started, but our Kanye sources say that's not exactly what happened. We're told 30 minutes before going live, producers removed almost half of Kanye's set for aesthetics.

Kanye'd been rehearsing on the larger set all day, so he was definitely pissed. We're told he threatened to walk and angrily vented, but only to HIS team ... never to 'SNL' honchos.

He did eventually speak calmly with Lorne Michaels, who decided to put the set back together.

Still, the backstage rant was epic -- the NY Post got this audio of Kanye comparing himself to Stanley Kubrick, the apostle Paul and Picasso. Vintage 'Ye.

"Orange Is the New Black" star Lauren Lapkus is willing to cut her husband a big fat check to move their divorce along smoothly.

As we reported, Lapkus chose Valentine's Day to tell the world she and hubby Chris Alvarado were going their separate ways. Turns out she filed for divorce last month, and in the docs she says she's willing to write a check to Chris for $85k to settle up their community property split.

She also says in the docs, obtained by TMZ, there's no need for the court to award spousal support ... for either of them.

The couple married in 2014 and separated on New Year's Day.

Happy New Year.

George Gaynes, who found fame as a foster parent on "Punky Brewster" and Commandant Lassard on "Police Academy" has died.

Gaynes was at his daughter's house in Washington on Monday when he passed away. He was 98-years-old. Gaynes daughter Iya confirmed the death to the New York Times.

Gaynes appeared on hundreds of episodes of sitcoms and TV dramas. He also did work on the big screen, appearing in films like "Tootsie" with Dustin Hoffman in 1982.

The actor also made a name for himself singing and on Broadway.

R.I.P.

"Vanderpump Rules" star Tom Sandoval got a sweet bump in salary, but tried to cut his old agent out of the equation ... according to docs filed by the agent.

Peter Young, the owner of STG talent agency, says he helped Tom land a 5 year contract with "Vanderpump Rules" -- but he was hardly breaking the bank. Young says Sandoval got just under $38k for the first 2 seasons. Young was supposed to get 10 percent, but says he got a paltry $1,300.

Before season 3, Tom renegotiated his 'Vanderpump' deal without using Young and said, "I just don't want to pay you anymore" ... according to the docs.

Young says he's heard Tom is making $15k per episode now -- though he doesn't know the exact amount, but since he made the original deal ... Young griped to the state labor commission that he still deserves his 10 percent.

Big Ang is fighting stage 4 cancer all on her own, and wants it that way -- she got emotional about ending her marriage during an appearance on 'Dr. Oz.'

The "Mob Wives" star revealed why she was splitting from Neil Murphy, husband of 6 years, and made it clear "it's too late" to repair the relationship.

As TMZ first reported ... Ang has been experiencing severe pain lately as she battles cancer, and her family is trying alternative treatments to manage the pain.

On Tuesday's episode of 'Oz,' she also said doctors have given her a 30 percent chance of survival.

"Mob Wives" star Ramona Rizzo can't get $154,000 worth of jewelry back from the feds because her lawyer's an "incompetent" idiot ... according to the lawsuit she just filed.

Rizzo says federal agents were gunning for her bf Joseph Sclafani in 2011 when they raided their home and took 42 pieces of her jewelry. Rizzo insists all of her stuff was legally obtained and the feds have no reason to hold it.

She hired Tim Parlatore to help her get the goods back, but says he bungled the mission by turning in paperwork late, and failing to tell her when the feds requested documentation to prove the jewelry wasn't ill gotten.

Rizzo says she could have recovered "a significant portion" of the jewelry had she known.

She's suing Parlatore for the $154k value of her jewelry, plus damages for the "sentimental" loss. BTW ... Sclafani eventually got 15 years for dealing drugs.

An emotional Ronda Rousey broke down in tears and told Ellen DeGeneres she was so crushed after her loss to Holly Holm back in November, she thought about taking her own life.

Scott Disick's considering a spot on the next season of "Dancing with the Stars" but his cha-cha and rumba don't come cheap ... $500k minimum.

Our 'DWTS' sources tell us Scott got the invite for the 22nd season. He's been asked before, but this time we're told he showed interest ... but set his price at half a mil.

We're told the 'DWTS' honcho who called Scott said there was a strict policy to pay everyone the same amount ... although we're told that's just not the case. Scott was offered $125k guarantee and if he made it to the finals he'd get $345k.

At this point we're told there's an impasse ... Scott is not budging from his price.

Shaq got Drake to rap "Back to Back" on live TV Sunday night while the Big Fella provided the beat ... and it's just as awesome as it sounds.

The two were on "Inside the NBA" with the rest of the crew when they asked Drake to do a little live rap on the air.

Drake tried to launch into a freestyle ... but Shaq quickly corrected him -- "No, the original."

Drake obliged ... and did the verse.

Pregnant "Gotham" star Morena Baccarin is on doctor-ordered bed rest, and says there's no way she can sit for a lengthy deposition in her divorce ... but she doesn't want to delay the split.

Morena's 8 months pregnant with her co-star Ben McKenzie's baby, but still in the middle of divorcing estranged husband Austin Chick. He's requested a date for her to sit down with their attorneys to start hammering out divorce deets.

In the docs, 36-year-old Baccarin says she has a high risk pregnancy, and doctors have advised her that sitting for a depo would be "unnecessarily stressful."

What would make her happy is a quick change in marital status -- she's requesting an immediate termination of the marriage ... but wants to settle child custody, support, and property issues later.

"Orange is the New Black" star Lauren Lapkus has an interesting Valentine's Day message ...

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I picked this day
To say we're through

Lauren, who also starred in "Jurassic World," posted a photo of her hubby Chris Alvarado, captioned: "Happy Valentine's Day. Today feels like the right time to post that Chris and I have decided to part ways. This has been a tough time but we are still friends and wish the best for each other."

The two married in May 2014.