TV

Ted Cruz said Democrats were the party of Lisa Simpson, and that the GOP was the party of Homer, Bart, Maggie and Marge ... now he's explaining how so.

We got the TX senator Monday at Reagan National Airport in D.C. and asked him to elaborate on the comment he made last week at CPAC, which drew ridicule left and right.

Cruz offers a VERY thorough explanation into why each character -- sans Lisa -- represents Republican values and mirrors the traditional American family. Our question ... he reachin'?

One of the voice actors on the cartoon show clearly thinks so. We got Harry Shearer over the weekend, and he thought Cruz was way out of his element tying conservatism to Springfield.

Jon Stewart says you can't count anyone out of a U.S. political race these days -- and that even goes for staunch conservative Stacey Dash ... who's now eyeing D.C.

We got Jon Monday night leaving Madison Square Garden after a Knicks game, and asked about the "Clueless" star filing docs to run for Congress in California as a Republican.

The former 'Daily Show' host doesn't seem surprised at all by her intentions. Even more interesting ... he gives her a real chance at winning. Hey, it's the Trump era after all.

Blac Chyna would make LaVar Ball proud -- she's staying in her lane. Her bowling lane, that is.

We got BC out at Pinz Bowling Alley Monday night in Studio City where we see her show up to her lane with a group of friends already waiting for her. She seems pretty chill ... almost as if she's not currently fighting at least 1 sex tape leak.

Tyler Perry is building a massive estate near his massive studio in Georgia.

We're told he's been designing and building on the property for 3 years. The mansion will be 35,000 square feet but that's not the craziest part. It sits on 1,200 acres, which Tyler will turn into an organic farm with horses and other animals.

Our sources say Tyler wants his son to appreciate and enjoy the land and the animals.

The estate is near Tyler's 330-acre studio ... one of the largest in Atlanta and the entire U.S. He just made a deal with Viacom to produce a number of comedy and drama television episodes.

Stan Lee might've allowed way too many hands in the cookie jar, because another $1.4 million just up and disappeared and he has no idea how ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to Lee tell us ... detectives working in a specialized unit that deals with elder financial abuse showed up at Stan's Hollywood Hills pad Friday to look into the latest theft. We're told detectives met with Lee for more than 2 hours.

Detectives peppered Stan with a bunch of questions ... including exactly who had access to any of his accounts and a timeline of when the cash went missing. Stan turned over financial records to help them find the culprit.

We broke the story ... someone siphoned around $850k out of one of Stan's bank accounts to buy a condo. Another $300k also disappeared.

He's had a rough 2018 ... he's been dealing with health issues and a former bodyguard causing a scene.

Apologies to Will Smith ... the 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' might be getting dethroned soon, 'cause there's a potential new heir being eyed for a TV reboot -- and he's a she ... TMZ has learned.

The company that owns the rights to 'Fresh Prince' filed a few trademark applications seeking to lock down rights to "Fresh Princess" for a television program and virtually every other media platform.

They're also looking to trademark the "Fresh Princess" on a bunch of merch -- including bags, backpacks, animal collars and, of course, lots of clothing and footwear.

As we reported ... the folks in control of 'FP' recently wanted trademarks for new 'Fresh Prince' toys, which fueled speculation a cartoon version of the hit '90s show was on the horizon ... especially since Will seemed to endorse an animated take on the Banks.

No word on whether Will would be involved with a female-focused reboot.

"American Idol" alum Haley Reinhart took the stand in her battery case, but her defense fell woefully short -- she was found guilty of hitting a bouncer.

TMZ broke the story ... Haley was arrested last July for punching a bouncer during a bar brawl that left one of her friends bloodied ... prompting him to sue one of the bouncers.

Haley took the witness stand in her own defense Monday, but the judge said her answers were "evasive, argumentative and sometimes implausible" ... according to the Chicago Tribune. She was ordered to pay a $500 fine, but the conviction could be wiped from her record if she keeps her nose clean for 2 years.

Eric Dane has filed his response to Rebecca Gayheart's divorce, and it's a mirror image of his estranged wife's petition.

Dane is on board with Rebecca's custody and spousal support requests.

Gayheart asked in her divorce petition for spousal support, as well as joint legal and physical custody of the couple's 2 daughters, ages 6 and 7.

They both agree that the marriage is broken due to irreconcilable differences. In short, it appears there are no conflicts in ending the marriage.

The couple has been married for 14 years.

Both have filed legal docs on their own, without lawyers. Celebs often do this, having their business managers work out property settlements with only bare bones legal filings.

Jamie Luner -- you know her as Lexi Sterling on "Melrose Place" -- has been accused of sexual misconduct with an underage male ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a man in his 30s filed a police report with the LAPD alleging that back in 1998 Jamie performed oral sex on him when he was just 16.

The nature of the relationship is unclear -- whether the man was a teen actor or just someone she knew. Cops are investigating like they would anyone who reports a crime, but their hands might be tied ... with the statute of limitations in California having lapsed.

Judge Judy's handing down her verdict on the Kardashians, and it's guilty ... of not being worthy of an appearance on her show appeal.

Her Honor was out in Bev Hills with her husband, Jerry, when we told her about Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Khloe, and the fam shooting an episode of "Family Feud." Judy's reaction was priceless -- and, as you might guess, she's not impressed!

In typical Judy-fashion, the judge didn't hide her true feelings about the possibility of the Kardashian-Jenners ever getting a case on her docket.

Kim definitely kept it coy when we asked her about the outcome of her 'Feud.'

A beat-up old notebook belonging to Drake might land a keen-eyed worker a big payday, because the inside's full of handwritten notes, rare lyrics ... and his John Hancock several times.

Drake's purple spiral notebook features about 12 pages of lyrics ... including what appears to be the rapper's homage to Biggie Smalls' "Ten Crack Commandments" -- titled "10 Mack Commandments."

The notebook also includes multiple Aubrey Graham signatures (his real name), personal notes and various phone and credit card numbers ... possibly his uncle's.

Gary Zimet, owner of MomentsInTime.com, tells TMZ ... the notebook was recovered from Drake's grandpa's furniture factory in Toronto about a decade ago. We're told it was nearly thrown out, but someone on the cleanup crew nabbed it and is now selling it on the site. Zimet says he knows the book's legit based on where it was found, and the signatures look like the one Drake now uses.

It's unclear exactly when each entry was written, but the copyright in the front of the book is dated 2002 -- a year after he started his 8-year stint on 'Degrassi.' It can be yours ... for a cool $54k.

Larry King makes no bones about it ... the NRA is subverting the United States.

We got the talk show titan Saturday night in WeHo leaving Madeo, and he's fed up like many others that the NRA has essentially purchased Congress with campaign donations.

Larry was a bit confused ... our photog asked what someone should get the man who has everything -- he was referring to Larry's friend Floyd Mayweather, who celebrated his 41st birthday this weekend.

Demi Lovato has what appears to be an unbreakable bond with former bf Wilmer Valderrama, because they were hanging together over the weekend.

We got this pic of Demi and Wilmer chowing down for a late lunch Saturday in the San Fernando Valley at Sol Y Luna.

As you know ... the 2 dated for 6 years but broke up in June, 2016.

It's interesting ... Demi released a documentary last October called "Simply Complicated," which talked about the breakup and wondered if she made the right decision. She said her heart is always with him.

Eyewitnesses said they were super friendly with each other, laughing as they ate guacamole which was made for them at the table.

Kim Kardashian was coy about her fam's appearance on "Family Feud" ... she won't give up whether the Kardashian's kicked the West's asses or vice versa.

Kim was leaving the Create & Cultivate Conference -- which empowers women to launch their careers -- Saturday in Downtown L.A. when we asked about the game show. TMZ broke the story, the plan was for the Kardashians to square off against the Hiltons, and although Paris and Kathy were on board the other family members were not so they bailed.

Stormy Daniels is coy about writing her rumored tell-all about about her alleged affair with Donald Trump, but there's one thing that will absolutely not happen ... a parody porn.

We got Stormy leaving Deja Vu Strip Club Saturday night in North Hollywood, her latest stop on her "Make America Horny Again" tour.

Notwithstanding her newfound fame, she's sticking to her roots ... porn.

The Kardashians played against each other on "Family Feud," but TMZ has learned it wasn't supposed to be that way ... it was scheduled to be a showdown between the Kardashians and the Hiltons.

Sources connected to the production tell us ... they were in a mad scramble when they were contacted 4 days before Saturday's taping and informed the Hiltons weren't playing.

Our sources say Paris and Kathy were on-board, but patriarch Rick Hilton was having none of it. We're told Rick -- who runs the monster real estate company Hilton & Hyland -- felt it wasn't right for him to appear because he's not in entertainment ... and it looked "thirsty."

We're told Nicky thought it was nuts for the family to appear so she was out, and Barron and his fiancee ultimately decided not to do it.

Fact is ... the families go back 3 decades and they really like each other, but it wasn't right for the Hiltons.