TV

Stand-up comedian Earthquake has the biggest platform of his more than 30-year career, and he's giving Dave Chappelle all the props for giving him the big break.

Earthquake joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to talk more about his upcoming special, "Legendary" ... the first of Dave's 4-part series, "Chappelle's Home Team." He told us, he's flattered Dave "reached back" to give comedians like himself such a huge opportunity to reach a wider audience.

Of course, Dave sparked lots of controversy for Netflix last year after his special, "The Closer," pissed off LGBTQ+ groups and some employees at the streaming service.

Rather than shying away, Netflix is capitalizing on its relationship with Dave ... and Earthquake and other comedians are benefitting. Earthquake says it all started with a surprising call -- which he thought was a prank -- from Netflix execs.

Chappelle won't be doing any stand-up specials this time around, but he is executive producing all of them and recording intros for the comedians. BTW, Earthquake gave us some insider intel about the other comedians who will be featured.

"The Wendy Williams Show" is no more ... and it will become "Sherri."

Wendy has been dealing with serious health issues for months now. TMZ broke the story, the TV honchos that carry the show said Sherri Shepherd became the permanent guest host and they were monitoring Wendy's heath and, if it didn't get better, the change would become permanent.

Now, the show's producers said Tuesday, "This is also a bitter-sweet moment for us and our partners at Fox. We all have great love and affinity for Wendy, who grew into a true icon during her 12 incredible seasons as the solo host of a live, daily talk show dishing on 'Hot Topics' and interviewing celebrities."

As for Sherri, she's tried and true ... appearing on "The View," "Dish Nation," and, of course, 'Wendy.'

We got Sherri out Monday night in New York and she was non-committal about the change, saying she was still just a temp.

Wendy was down with Sherri as her temp replacement, although she was hoping to return, but apparently, her health struggles have not gotten better.

The so-called "Tinder Swindler" isn’t the only one who got a bad rep from the Netflix documentary -- his bodyguard thinks he did too, and now he's threatening legal action.

If you’ve seen the doc, you know we’re talking about Piotr -- who was prominently featured as the personal security guard for Simon Leviev ... and some people think the doc makes it seem like he was in on Leviev's alleged scams.

That’s what’s he and his team are saying anyway -- and they think it's hurt Piotr's reputation and ability to work, so they’ve fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix. Much like Simon dealing with one of his GFs ... they have a lot of demands.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, attorney Joanna Parafianowicz says she wants Netflix to yank the 'Swindler' doc altogether.

Not just that, she's demanding Netflix publish an apology to Piotr on its official websites.

Of course ... Piotr is also asking for money due to what he characterizes as irreparable harm to his reputation and career. All in all, he's asking for 5 million Euros (about $5.6 mil).

His rationale for all this is ... Netflix never got permission to use his image or likeness, nor did it include his side of things. Piotr’s attorney says the current depiction of him as it stands -- namely, that he knew what Simon was doing -- is completely false. They insist Piotr was completely out of the loop on that front.

James Gunn is ready to give marriage another go -- ‘cause he just popped the question to his longtime partner, Jennifer Holland ... and she said yes.

The go-to superhero movie director posted a photo Sunday that confirmed his engagement, showing Holland seated across from him taking a sip of a beverage ... while flashing a giant rock on that finger.

They both swapped cutesy captions, with heart emojis and all ... so yeah, they’re obviously excited to walk down the aisle.

The couple’s been together since 2015, and more recently ... Gunn’s used Holland in his projects -- tapping her to play Emilia Harcourt in his take of ‘The Suicide Squad’ and then bringing her back to reprise her role in the new HBOMax spinoff show, ‘Peacemaker,’ opposite John Cena.

They reportedly met through actor Michael Rosenbaum -- aka, Lex Luthor from ‘Smallville’ -- and the rest is history.

This would appear to be JH's first time as a bride -- Gunn, meanwhile, was previously married to ‘The Office’ star Jenna Fischer once upon a time ... but split in ‘08, sans any kids.

There’s a bit of an age difference here -- Gunn’s 55, and Holland is about 35 or so. Obviously, though, they don't seem to mind ... when you know you know.

"Baywatch" actress Alexandra Daddario had the scare of her life Saturday ... when an irate man with a loaded gun went to her home and went off screaming something about her.

LAPD cops rushed to the scene and found the guy standing outside Alexandra's house. They told him to leave but he refused.

As police detained him they searched the man's car and found a loaded handgun. He was arrested for possession of a concealed firearm.

It's unclear if Alexandra, who has also appeared in "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Percy Jackson & The Olympians," "The White Lotus" and "San Andreas," was home at the time. We also don't know if her fiancé, producer Andrew Form, was home. They got engaged in December.

Alexandra is active on social media, with more than 21 million IG followers, so she's high profile on various media platforms.

Lindsey Pearlman, the actress with credits that include "Empire" and "General Hospital" was found dead 3 days after disappearing ... the LAPD now confirms.

The body of the 43-year-old was found Friday at the base of Runyon Canyon Park in Hollywood ... a very popular hiking spot. Her body was discovered inside a car.

The cause of death has not been released, but Saturday Lindsey's sister said on Twitter, "Please know that you are never truly alone," as she posted the phone number to the National Suicide Hotline.

Pearlman, who also appeared on "Chicago Justice," "The Ms. Pat Show," and "Selena," was last heard from Thursday afternoon. She called her cousin and phone data shows the call was made a mile-and-a-half from where her body was discovered.

Lindsey's husband, Vance Smith, said, "The police found Lindsey. She's gone. I'm broken."

The family says to honor Lindsey -- an animal rights advocate -- please donate to the Sante d'Or, an L.A,-based animal rescue org.

The investigation into the shooting death of 'Walking Dead' actor Moses J. Moseley just took a dramatic turn ... although cops believed he took his own life, new evidence suggests otherwise ... possibly foul play.

Moseley's body was found in his car January 26, with a bullet wound to his head and a gun sitting in his lap. Cops were investigating the death as a possible suicide.

Captain Randy Lee of the Stockbridge, GA PD tells us, "During the preliminary investigation, the potential of the death being a suicide was considered while not ruling out any other possibilities. As investigators progressed their investigation and more evidence was processed, reviewed and analyzed, other possibilities have presented themselves including accidental."

We spoke to a family member of Moseley ... they say investigators pointed to evidence of blood splatter, the way the bullet entered Moses' skull and his grip on the gun as not necessarily aligning with suicide.

The family member tells us the bullet entered below Moses' eye and never left his skull, whereas people who shoot themselves usually will put the gun to their temple (and the bullet exits on the other side) or in their mouth. He also had a "loose" grip on the gun, as if someone had put it in his hand.

TMZ broke the story, Moseley's family believed there was something fishy about his death from the get-go ... thinking it was possible he had been kidnapped and murdered.

Stephan Jenkins from Third Eye Blind is setting the record straight about the confrontation between his band and Mötley Crüe in "Pam & Tommy." It never happened, because he's never even met them.

The Hulu series -- about Pamela Anderson and drummer Tommy Lee's marriage -- features a scene where the band has their studio time swiped by Third Eye Blind, and shows Tommy Lee barging in to confront them.

Well, TEB's lead singer tells us that's total fiction -- he says he doesn't know any Crüe members, and hadn't even heard their music at that time ... but the intent of the scene was making a point about the industry. This was first reported by Variety.

Stephan says Third Eye and Crüe were on the same record label, and studio time tends to be limited. Sometimes resources go to the less established -- like TEB was compared to Crüe at the time -- and that does ruffle some feathers.

"Pam & Tommy" started streaming earlier this month, but Stephan says he hasn't seen it yet. He found out they were in it from his manager. He also gets into the backlash he has gotten from comments he has made since the series aired.

Bill Maher delivered a devastating blow to celebrities, companies and woke American culture for turning a blind eye to the horrendous abuses in China ... mostly to make a buck.

Maher lasered in on freestyle skier Eileen Gu, an American who chose to join Team China for the Beijing games. As he puts it, "She chose to represent a totalitarian police state over America." He also notes she's made $23 million from a ton of endorsements in China.

Bill ticked off some of the horrendous human rights abuses in China, including genocide. He then wondered out loud why Americans -- in particular celebs -- who show outrage for abuses at home are either silent about the abuses in China or say something critical and then apologize.

He recalls NBA GM Daryl Morey who tweeted a few years ago he stands with Hong Kong -- a country whose freedom is being crushed by China. LeBron James fired back that Morey had to be "educated." And, what does Maher think is behind LeBron's jab -- $$$. Maher notes the NBA has a $1.5 billion deal for TV rights in China, then saying of LeBron ... "I got some shoes to sell."

And, then Maher led in hard on John Cena, who once called Taiwan a separate country from China. Point of fact, it is, although it's pretty clear China wants to change that. So, Maher noted 34% of global box office is generated from China, and Cena's a big movie star ... so then Maher played Cena's video, apologizing to the Chinese for saying what he said. BTW, Cena apologized in Chinese. Wait till you hear Bill's joke about small balls.

He goes on and on ... the remake of "Top Gun" has scrubbed the Taiwanese flag from the bomber jackets.

If anyone is going through it right now ... watch this clip.

Jay Glazer has an invaluable reminder for those battling mental health struggles ... telling TMZ Sports it's important for everyone to remember "we deserve to stay alive."

The Fox Sports insider let his emotions pour out last week ... saying his own personal bout with mental health is what sparked his desire to be so vocal about the topic.

"I've been on the drive for mental health because ... look at just this last week and a half," Glazer said. "Miss USA was the most beautiful woman in the world, felt lonely. Jeremy Giambi we just saw in sports. I actually just had somebody in my crew commit suicide yesterday."

"It's an epidemic because ... that's why I'm talking out so much about it. I ain't trying to villainize it, but we deserve to stay alive."

Glazer -- who's established a reputation for breaking some of the NFL's biggest stories -- details his mental health journey in his book "Unbreakable" ... and the importance of fighting through those tough times.

"I cannot say it enough -- don't just tell your friends or your family or your therapist that you need help," Glazer said. "Tell them the depth of the help that you need. We all deserve to be teammates out there, and get each other backs."

Glazer -- who also helps out via his Merging Vets and Players foundation -- says he doesn't have all the answers ... but knows he can still make a difference for those going through similar situations.

"I'm a work in progress, and I am hoping to use my own darkness and gray to lead people out of theirs."

Netflix is turning the page from Dave Chappelle's 'Closer' controversy by staying in business ... with Dave Chappelle, and rolling out new comedy specials with his fingerprint all over 'em.

Dave and the streaming platform announced a new standup comedy series Friday called, "Chappelle's Home Team" ... which will focus on comics handpicked by DC himself. The first of 4 episodes are set to drop February 28, featuring Earthquake.

Remember, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos refused to remove "The Closer" last year when LGBTQ groups, and others, accused Chappelle of transphobia and staged several protests at Netflix HQ.

Sarandos said the company fully supported all comedians' right to express themselves ... and stood by Dave. The new specials are proof positive of that continued partnership, which has been extremely profitable for both parties.

He's released 10 standup specials on Netflix since 2016 and, by some reports, has made north of $200 mil.

Kelly Clarkson is pushing for a fresh start, on the heels of her contentious divorce from Brandon Blackstock ... and it includes dropping her last name.

The singer filed court docs this week to simply go by Kelly Brianne. Brianne had previously been her middle name, but now it's getting an upgrade to last name status. In the docs, Kelly said it's more fitting of who she is now.

The switcheroo comes amid another big change for KB ... she'd been married for 7 years to Brandon before filing for divorce in June of 2020. While they were together her legal last name had been Blackstock, although she professionally remained Clarkson.

Kelly has infamously had a tumultuous relationship with her father, Stephen Michael Clarkson -- although, we can't confirm that's what's behind her legally dropping Clarkson.

Her powerful 2015 ballad, "Piece by Piece," is partially about her father's neglect during her childhood.

Since Kelly kept using Clarkson throughout her marriage, we presume she'll continue to do so even though she's now legally Kelly Brianne.

Shanna Moakler says she's not trying to get with Lamar Odom ... despite flirting with him on "Celebrity Big Brother" and upsetting her boyfriend in the process.

Shanna, who was recently evicted from the 'CBB' house, tells TMZ ... she's not interested in Lamar, romantically or in any capacity -- but she understands why her boyfriend, Matthew Rondeau, is pissed about her antics in the 'CBB' house.

TMZ broke the story ... Shanna's boyfriend, Matthew Rondeau, was not happy with the subtle sexual innuendos flying back and forth between SM and LO, and was having second thoughts about popping the question.

Shanna says Matthew's feelings are valid, admitting she made comments that would have hurt her if the roles were reversed. She adds ... the last thing she ever wanted was to hurt the one person who has been by her side through thick and thin.

Remember, Matthew was shopping for engagement rings earlier this month, but now he's pumping the brakes on a potential proposal ... and he and Shanna have unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Shanna says she and Matthew -- who've dated on and off since 2020  -- are taking things day by day, but are still together and "working on us."

Sounds like Shanna wants a future together ... she says Matthew means everything to her and she's happy to have him in her life because "we have a real and honest love."

Before this beaming little girl with a head full of red hair was responsible for some notable characters on big television shows like "Mad Men," "The Good Wife" and "The Mindy Project" ... she was just another southern belle smiling for the camera in Columbia, South Carolina.

If you're still having trouble putting your finger on who this mini star is ... maybe you should scope out some of the works from when this tiny tot made the leap onto the big screen with movie roles on cinematic classics like "The Help" and "Pitch Perfect!"

Lee Asher is deep in the dog house, AKA "The Asher House" ... but wouldn't have it any other way, after quitting a 6-figure corporate gig to start his own animal sanctuary!!!

Lee stars in the new Animal Planet/Discovery+ show, "My Pack Life" ... and joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to explain why he turned his life upside down. He says the epiphany came when he thought about what he loved most in the world.

Watch the clip ... he says there were 2 things, in particular, that prompted him to quit his L.A. job, sell all his stuff and buy an RV. What happened next is an incredible adventure.

After traveling around the U.S. and Canada -- and getting 500 dogs adopted along the way -- Lee finally put down some roots in Oregon where his 'Asher House' is almost like Noah's Ark.

But, he says it's not just about the animals ... it's people who can change the world and help them. When people are happy, they treat each other better, and he wants folks to live with a purpose, he says.

He now has a whole pack of furry friends ... including 30 dogs, 2 donkeys, 2 horses, 13 pigs, 3 cows, 4 goats, 6 sheep, 4 alpacas and a parrot.

Rockmond Dunbar is taking Disney and 20th Television to federal court over his ouster from "9-1-1" ... accusing the studios of discriminating against him based on his race and religion.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Rockmond claims he was the only Black male lead actor on the TV show and his dismissal severely damaged his career.

In the docs, Rockmond claims he submitted paperwork seeking both a religious and medical exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine, and says producers assured him they wanted him to remain on the show and his schedule would be adjusted to accommodate him being unvaccinated.

Instead, Rockmond claims he was barred from the set and assured his character's storyline would show him leaving temporarily, keeping open the possibility for him to return down the road.

But Rockmond claims that never happened either ... in his suit, he says Disney and 20th Television fired him in retaliation and refused to pay him the hundreds of thousands of dollars he says he's still owed.

What's more, Rockmond claims the studios not only refused to accommodate his vaccine exemption requests, but also deliberately made it sound like he was an anti-vaxxer ... and he says he essentially became persona non grata in Hollywood.

Rockmond's going after the studios for money, and he wants an injunction barring the studios from discriminating against anyone based on race or religion when it comes to vaccination policies.

We reached out to Disney and 20th Television ... so far, no word back.