TV

Chris Jackson -- one of the actors in Ava DuVernay's new series about the Central Park 5 -- says it's up to viewers to decide how accurately they portrayed real people ... but most importantly, he wants viewers to be inspired.

Chris was out in NYC Wednesday when we asked him why he wanted to be a part of "When They See Us," and aside from the obvious -- working with Ava -- he says the story was too important not to tell.

As for the backlash against key figures in the case, specifically Linda Fairstein, he says it can't make up for the 5 boys being falsely convicted -- or the ordeal the Central park jogger, Trisha Meili, had to endure.

Chris played the attorney for Raymond Santana -- one of the 5 -- and says he doesn't believe filmmakers have to be married to ALL the facts when retelling real incidents. He says above all else, they're storytellers -- and viewers should do their own research to get ALL the details.

As we've reported, the Central Park jogger case has been a hot button issue this week due to "When They See Us," and Fairstein's taken the brunt of the backlash.

Many folks, including Santana and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, believe her reckoning is overdue.

Francois Clemmons was in his early 20s when began his long run as the neighborhood policeman, Officer Clemmons, on the formative children's television show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

Francois Clemmons was alongside other incredible counterparts like Betty Aberlin as Lady Aberlin, Joe Negri as Handyman Negri, David Newell as the delivery man Mr. McFeely and of course Fred Rogers as Mr. Rogers himself.

Francois was on the program for 25 years and was one of the first African-Americans with a recurring role on a kids show ... opening the door for others on shows like "Sesame Street" and "The Electric Company."

Jussie Smollett did not want to call police immediately after he was allegedly attacked ... at least according to a friend who did make a 911 call.

On the January 29 phone call, which Chicago PD just released, the friend says Jussie's "attackers" wrapped a noose around his neck, after getting jumped as he left a Subway restaurant.

The caller says Jussie didn't want to file a report, but he was going to force him to do so. The male friend sounded panicked as he said, "They put a noose around his neck" and added ... "this is really f**ked up."

Police had said the 911 call was made 40 minutes after Jussie got back to his Chicago apartment.

We broke the story ... Jussie claims he was jumped by 2 men who not only put the rope around his neck, but doused him in liquid he thought was bleach and yelled, "This is MAGA country!"

Police say Jussie staged the "attack" and charged him with filing a false police report ... but the charges were eventually dropped by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

The saying "silence speaks volumes" couldn't be more true for Linda Fairstein and her book publishers, who've signaled where they stand on the uproar against her ... by remaining silent and doing nothing.

Despite a massive amount of backlash and scrutiny that's forced the D.A.'s former lead investigator on the Central Park Five case to resign from boards of directors -- there have been no consequences for her in the publishing world, where she's made a killing.

TMZ has reached out to multiple people at both Penguin Random House and its subsidiary, Dutton -- two publishing companies that have peddled her 14 novels -- but we haven't heard a peep.

An online push to boycott her publishers and distributors erupted when the Netflix series, "When They See Us" -- about the CP5 case -- premiered last Friday.

We've reached out to 6 different people at both PRH and Dutton, including reps from Linda's literary agency, ICM Partners -- but still ... radio silence.

It's interesting ... Fairstein resigned from her leadership positions at nonprofit Safe Horizon as well as from Vassar College after immense outrage over her role in wrongfully prosecuting and securing convictions against the then-teenagers ... which is captured in Netflix's new "When They See Us."

She was even publicly rebuked by Glamour Magazine, which said it was a mistake to give her the Woman of the Year Award in '93 ... adding they wouldn't do it again.

Still, despite all that ... nothing seems to have changed on the book front, which is where the initial outcry began this weekend. You'll recall ... many, many people called for retailers to yank Fairstein's novels from their shelves, which CP5 exoneree Raymond Santana was down with.

Only 2 things can make Tracy Morgan feel better about wrecking his $2 million Bugatti ... insurance and this -- the accident wasn't his fault ... TMZ has learned.

Just Tracy's luck ... an NYPD traffic agent happened to be on the corner of 42nd Street and 10th Avenue Tuesday afternoon when the costly fender bender went down. Law enforcement sources tell us the traffic agent witnessed Tracy cruising westbound on 42nd Street and preparing to make a legal turn onto 10th Ave. when the Honda collided with him.

We're told, to the traffic agent's eyes ... the Honda did NOT have the right of way. The driver of that vehicle is a woman named Joycelyn Madulid. She told the NY Post she had no clue she'd hit a celebrity -- "The people were taking pictures of him and the car. I asked the traffic officer, why people taking pictures and he said, 'You don't watch TV? That's a famous guy.'"

As we first reported, Tracy had juuuust purchased the Bugatti Veyron ... like, literally drove it off the lot. That might explain why you can see him banging on the woman's window immediately after the wreck -- sounds like he yelled, "Get the f**k out the car!!" Joycelyn said she was terrified.

John Singleton will get a fitting tribute on his last big project ... and it was no small feat to pull it off.

"Snowfall" -- the FX series Singleton co-created that chronicles L.A.'s crack epidemic in the '80s -- did an entire rewrite of the upcoming third season's finale to incorporate a young John character into the story ... based on his pre-"Boyz n the Hood" days.

Sources close to production tell us everyone involved really wanted to honor him this way, and worked very hard with little time to make it happen.

There's more -- we're told Singleton's 1-year-old son, Seven, will make a cameo in episode 10 as well ... which would have made his father ecstatic.

Our sources say John always had his boy on set and expressed his wish to eventually have him appear on "Snowfall" ... so producers checked that off the list too.

Little Seven spent some time with the show's stars between takes, and you can see ... he definitely upped the cuteness factor of the gritty drama.

As we reported ... Singleton died in April almost 2 weeks after suffering a stroke. He was 51.

Season 3 of "Snowfall" premieres July 10, so we're told the finale featuring the young John character and the appearance of John's son will air September 11.

Linda Fairstein's presence on a nonprofit's board shocked some members of the org, but long before she resigned ... there were some who wanted her booted because they knew about her history with the Central Park 5 case.

TMZ spoke with a handful of former and current members of Safe Horizon -- the New York-based org that helps victims of abuse and violent crimes -- and they said Linda's position on the board of directors was known to be heavily criticized by many staffers.

We're told the disapproval dates back to at least 2016.

We're told a number of staffers had complained, and even went through proper channels all the way up to the CEO, only to be ignored time and time again.

The main gripe was Fairstein didn't represent Safe Horizon's values -- specifically, assisting abuse victims who are predominantly people of color. They felt her role in the CP5 case could undermine their work and image.

Remember, Fairstein was one of the lead investigators for the prosecution on the 1989 case. She's long been criticized for allegedly coercing false confessions out of the 5 boys ... leading to their convictions. That's a central plot in the Netflix series, "When They See Us."

Although they were exonerated by DNA evidence in 2002 ... Linda, to this day, maintains they did it.

We're told another issue for Safe Horizon staff was Linda's link to the Harvey Weinstein scandal when it broke in 2017. She was one of many high-level attorneys Weinstein met with through the years ... allegedly to influence the Manhattan D.A.'s Office -- where Fairstein used to work -- to drop sexual misconduct cases against him.

Sources close to Weinstein tell us he never retained Fairstein as an attorney and was simply asking his longtime friend for "off the record advice" on how to handle one particular allegation against him.

Again ... we're told their concerns of Safe Horizon employees fell on deaf ears.

Barbara Corcoran, one of the "Shark Tank" big wigs, says she's got big plans for Jay-Z ... now that he's a freshly minted BILLIONAIRE!!! Just don't ask her about it more than once.

Barb was out Tuesday afternoon in NYC when our photog asked what she thought about Jay's accomplishment -- becoming the first rapper to reach a billion-dollar net worth. She did not knock the hustle ... telling us if anyone deserves it, it's him because of he's so hardworking.

Then, the next logical question -- how 'bout getting him on "Shark Tank"? Barbara tells us plainly ... why the hell not?! She even says she'll put in a good word for him for a future guest spot.

Considering Barbara's rep for a tough-love business mentality, it's no surprise she gave our guy the nunya-beeswax treatment when he tried to dig a little deeper on her recruiting process for Mr. Carter.

"Fast N' Loud" star Richard Rawlings likes to move fast -- he's in the fast cars biz after all -- and introducing to the world his new bae and love of his life.

We got Richard out Sunday leaving Craig's in WeHo where we couldn't help but notice him surrounded by two beautiful ladies but only one who revs his engine ... his new, smokin' hot GF!! The other equally gorgeous woman is his pal and fellow car-freak, Courtney Hansen, host of the History Channel's "The Ride That Got Away."

Check out the vid ... Richard makes it crystal clear he's met the one ... just weeks after his divorce was finalized.

We broke the story ... Richard filed for divorce back in March. He'd been married to Suzanne Rawlings twice ... first in 1999 and then again in 2015.

No doubt about it ... Richard's moved on and already off the market and seems like he's down for the count.

BTW ... Richard gives us an update on his beloved Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat that was stolen from him back in September 2018.

Georgia born Ty Pennington was in his late 30s when he shot to stardom as the supercute carpenter and all around nice guy, in the long-running home renovation show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC.

Before the handsome handyman was moving buses on 'Extreme Makeover' ... Ty Pennington was also on the TLC show "Trading Spaces" from 2000 - 2003 where he only hooked up a single room in a family's home.

Pennington parted ways with the hit home show in 2012 after revamping hundreds of homes and helping countless families along the way.

The NFL needs to take a page out of NBA's book when dealing with social issues ... so says "Power" actor Omari Hardwick, who tells TMZ Sports the Association's "leaps and bounds" above other leagues.

As we previously reported ... multiple teams have moved away from using the "owner" title over the past year ... given that the term can feel racially insensitive in a league of mostly black players.

We asked Ghost -- who played college football at Georgia before switching to acting -- what he thought of the idea ... and while he says it's a great move, he's not surprised one bit that NBA teams are taking action ... essentially saying being woke is the NBA's style.

"It's smart ... it only adds to the brand of the NBA," Hardwick says. "The NBA has curated for a while now -- with David Stern and Adam Silver -- a different style of environment."

Okay, we're gonna tell ya right off the bat "Jeopardy!" fans ... SPOILER ALERT!!!!

If you've been watching James Holzhauer's ridiculous, record-setting hot streak on "Jeopardy!" ... ya probably heard about the footage of Monday's episode that leaked on the Internet ... and now we can tell you for sure if it was real.

It was. That revelation came to light when Monday's episode started airing in certain cities across the country. Viewers witnessed James' reign get stripped away from him when he lost in Final Jeopardy to a woman named Emma ... who basically bet the farm to beat JH and the other contestant.

That's gotta sting for James, seeing how he got it right, but simply didn't have confidence enough to wager enough. He ended up with $24,799 to Emma's $46,801. He noted in an interview afterward that even if he doubled down, it wouldn't have been enough if Emma also answered correctly and wagered slightly more than him.

Unfortunately for him, she did exactly that. James doesn't seem to busted up about it ... on Monday, he referenced the Drake curse -- usually reserved for sports competitions.

Prior to Monday's loss, James was on a roll ... having won 32 games in a row and racking up almost as much as the 2004 "Jeopardy!" champ, Ken Jennings -- just over $2.5 million. James fell short of that by $58,484 ... and with that, Ken continues to hold the record for prize money.

That doesn't mean James doesn't hold a few records of his own on the show though. He won the most money in one game, and for 11 times during his streak ... he went an entire game without buzzing incorrectly. Not too shabby for second place all-time.

Question ... what is a bitter-sweet bummer? The floor is yours, James.

Kylie Jenner had one of those moments all moms fear this weekend, but fortunately her little one is back home and doing fine.

Kylie revealed her Sunday was spent in the hospital with her daughter, Stormi, who she says suffered an allergic reaction. She described the scary incident, saying ... "Nothing else matters when these things happen. God bless all the moms with sick babies. I'm sending so much love and positive energy your way."

The good news is her 16-month-old baby with Travis Scott is "100% okay now" ... and she posted a pic of Stormi recovering and sleeping at home.

Stormi's medical scare clearly moved her mom ... Kylie shared a photo of the sun setting over her backyard with a child's play set and captioned it ... "blessed beyond words. thank you God. i believe in being reflection of what you'd like to receive. If you want love, give love. If you want success, wish success."

Zak Bagans has been forced to shut down his haunted rocking chair exhibit ... and the devil may have made him do it.

The "Ghost Adventures" star tells TMZ ... the exhibit's closure at his famous Haunted Museum in Vegas comes on the heels of several people experiencing paranormal activity on May 28 ... opening night of the exhibit and a month after buying the "Devil's Rocking Chair." The chair has ties to famed paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren and the notorious "Devil Made Me Do It" case.

Check out the vid ... we're told the frightening episode started 20 minutes before the first tour group visited. Zak and a friend noticed the door to the chair's room slowly creak open all by itself. Zak also says a light focused on the chair went out when a power cord was mysteriously yanked out of the wall.

Two hours later, he says a woman collapsed, began bawling and asked, "Why is this happening to me?" Shortly thereafter, she fell unconscious ... according to Zak, who adds the woman was upstairs, directly above the rocking chair exhibit.

Later, Zak says 5 of his tour guides throughout the museum started crying uncontrollably.

After just a few tours on opening night, Zak says the stress was too much and forced him to shut down altogether for the night. For now, Zak says the haunted rocking chair exhibit is closed until further notice.

As we first reported ... Zak dropped $67k for the chair. It's the focal point to the horror book believed to be the plot of "The Conjuring 3," with Vera Farmiga returning as Lorraine Warren.

We know who won't be there when and if Zak reopens the chair exhibit, and that's his pal, Post Malone.

The stars of VH1's "Black Ink Crew: Chicago" allegedly beat the hell out of a guest at a party for their show ... and now the dude's fighting back with a lawsuit.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Ronnie Spates claims he was viciously attacked by 'Black Ink' stars Ryan Henry, Van Johnson, Don Brumfield and Junior Diaz during a December bash in Chicago ... and he says the reality show's production company wanted a fight to break out to make better TV.

Spates claims he was an invited guest minding his own business at the party when Henry, Johnson, Brumfield and Diaz began kicking the crap out of him. He says the brutal beatdown left him licking serious wounds.

Spates claims show producers fueled the party with loads of booze and actively sought to encourage situations that would lead to conflict, verbal spats and physical altercations ... just so they could create explosive content.

TMZ broke the story ... cops were called to the party after it allegedly got violent. Our law enforcement sources say Junior Diaz was accused of sucker punching a guest, presumably Spates. Police say when they arrived at the scene, they found Spates bleeding from the mouth and disoriented, and he was taken to a hospital for stitches.

Spates is suing the reality stars and Big Fish Entertainment over the incident ... and he's seeking a big payday.

One of the men who was wrongfully convicted as part of the Central Park Five says karma's a bitch for ex-prosecutor Linda Fairstein, who's getting crucified on social media in the wake of a new show about the case and its aftermath.

Raymond Santana -- who was one of the teenagers arrested, prosecuted and eventually convicted in connection to the brutal 1989 rape and beating of a female jogger -- tells TMZ ... the online movement to #CancelLindaFairstein and boycott her books is warranted.

Fans have taken to Instagram and other platforms, calling for retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to remove Fairstein's book collection from their shelves on the heels of Netflix's new series, "When They See Us" -- which covers the how the case was handled by Fairstein and others, as well as how it impacted Raymond and the rest of the so-called CP5.

He believes Fairstein -- who became a successful author of mysteries and children's books -- is facing her comeuppance right now, which he takes no issue with. In fact, he says it quite bluntly ... "Even if it's 30 years later, she has to pay for her crime."

Fairstein was head of the Sex Crimes Unit for the D.A.'s Office, and she reportedly got confessions from the boys under duress and pressure from police. All 5 men were eventually fully exonerated in 2002, despite having spent years behind bars.

Raymond also takes a jab at the many reporters and civilians who were quick to label them as criminals before a trial got underway, including Donald Trump ... who called for their execution in a newspaper ad that circulated quickly after the crime.