TV

American actress Jennifer Stone was just 14 years old when she was cast as Harper Finkle -- the rule-follower and intelligent student who makes her own clothing -- in Disney's 2007-2012 teen sitcom "Wizards of Waverly Place."

Stone was cast alongside Selena Gomez as the mischievous and sometimes rude middle child and wizard, Alex Russo, David Henrie as Alex's smart, hardworking brother and wizard, Justin Russo, Jake T. Austin as the Russo-kid whose magic often leads to trouble, Max Russo and Gregg Sulkin as Alex's charming and laidback boyfriend, Mason Greyback.

Draymond Green had a secret weapon up his sleeve this championship season ... spiritual guidance from none other than the iconic Deepak Chopra!

And now their journey together -- which was filmed over the course of a few months -- has been turned into a new TV show on Prime Video called The Sessions: Draymond Green.

TMZ Sports talked to Gotham Chopra, one of the 4x NBA champ's other spiritual advisors, and Deepak's son, about 32-year-old Green's journey.

"When athletes physically hurt themselves, you tear an ACL or your rotator cuff or whatever, there's a very clear, you see the doctor, you get the scans, okay got it, you have the surgery. There's a roadmap," Gotham says.

But, what's the course of action when you're dealing with mental or emotional issues? Unfortunately, there really isn't a well-known plan in that circumstance.

"Fortunately, it's become destigmatized -- athletes have mental or emotional breakdowns and they're dealing with the pressure or the media or losing, etc. and they just need help. Where do they go? Historically, you don't talk about it, let alone treat it."

Gotham says Draymond -- who was going through some stuff on and off the floor -- realized he could better harness his emotions (a difficult line to toe because that's partially what makes DG special on the court) ... and thankfully Green had the courage to seek guidance.

The episodes will show Green as he learns to meditate ... and goes through a bunch of other treatments.

Ultimately, the hope is other people, not just athletes, open up to the possibility of working on mental health and spirituality.

"It's not just athletes. We all lived through 2.5 years of a pandemic. We've all lived on Zoom calls. We're all dealing with the same sets of issues. Elite athletes on the biggest stage is great for television, but I think it's actually relatable," Gotham says.

"What happens when your young daughter gets sick? What happens when your career gets derailed by something outside your control? These are actually relatable things, and these tools of going inward and finding some silence, they're helpful to everybody."

FYI, Draymond also worked with spiritual healer Devi Brown ... who works with Deepak.

Green's clearly pumped for the show -- which is out now -- to be seen by his many fans ... and anyone who may be struggling.

Nas famously immortalized his neighborhood kingpin, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, and his Supreme Team drug empire on his classic debut album "Illmatic" — and now he’s making a movie about him!

During a Q&A for his Showtime docuseries, "Supreme Team" ... Nas spoke on how McGriff and his Queens-based gang were influential in getting C.R.E.A.M. and helping pump his creative juices in the process.

After rising to prominence in the early 90s at the height of NYC’s crack-cocaine boom, McGriff was eventually convicted of murder in 2007 and eventually sentenced to life in prison … where he remains to this day.

ST's success in the streets and flashy wardrobe are said to directly influence the styles -- and command the respect -- of early hip hop artists, and the docuseries digs into that phenomenon.

The conversation between his co-director Peter J. Scalettar and Billboard’s Deputy Director of R&B/Hip-Hop Carl Lamarre marked the end of the 2022 Tribeca Festival ... and NYC Mayor Eric Adams and Tribeca CEO Jane Rosenthal were watching the convo.

Incarcerated Supreme Team leader, and McGriff nephew, Gerald "Prince" Miller called in from federal prison.

'Bold and the Beautiful' star Ashley Jones is no longer married to her allegedly abusive husband ... but she's walking away with some court-ordered protection.

A judgment's been entered in her divorce from Joel Henricks, and according to the docs, they hammered out child custody issues earlier this month ... and also figured out how they're dividing up all their assets.

The one complicating issue is Ashley accused Joel of beating her and causing a spiral fracture in her hand. As a result, she also asked to extend her restraining order against him through Feb. 20, 2023 ... and the judge granted it.

According to the divorce judgment, obtained by TMZ, Ashley will have physical custody of their 6-year-old son, Hayden, 3 days a week plus alternating weekends. Joel gets him for 4 hours each Tuesday and Wednesday and alternate weekends.

Ashley gets to pick Hayden's school next year, but has to pay 100% of the tuition. She'll also have her son with her for Mother's Day and her birthday every year. She and Joel will alternate custody, annually, for holidays and school breaks.

The divorce does not include child support or spousal support, but the exes agree they'll each cover all expenses incurred while they have Hayden.

As for division of property ... each keeps their personal bank accounts, Ashley gets a 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLE -- while Joel gets a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS 550 and a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 truck.

Bill Cosby was minutes away from hearing his fate in a civil trial that's been ongoing for a couple weeks now -- but he got a reprieve ... apparently because of budget cuts.

During Friday's court date in Santa Monica, Judge Craig Karlan -- who's presided over the case -- told jurors they'd have to restart deliberations from scratch Monday -- all 'cause of a weird way the day ended, including the foreperson being excused over a previous promise.

Long story short ... the jury had deliberated for 2 days prior to Friday, when they handed in their verdict form -- with answers to 8 of the 9 questions asked of them. The 1 they hadn't decided unanimously ... whether BC acted with malice, and deserved punitive damages.

They might've been able to head back in to decide that the very same day ... if it wasn't for Sheriff's deputies demanding the court clear the room at 4:30 PM, due to a required closure time. Word is ... there's no approved budget for overtime, so they gave everyone the boot.

The other issue ... the lead juror had been given the green light much earlier to skedaddle on Friday -- which is when they expected this would all be wrapped up. This juror, it seems, had a prior commitment ... and can't stick around any longer, including to come back and hash this out on Monday. As such, an alternate must fill in -- and the jury has to start over.

"[Jack Del Rio] has the right to be wrong. In America, you have the right to be wrong. The team fined him $100K for this opinion. Fining people for an opinion, I am not down with that."

That was Bill Maher forcefully defending the Washington Commanders defensive coordinator's right to free speech on his show Friday night ... whether you believe the coach is right or wrong about his Capitol attack comments.

Of course, Del Rio was fined $100K for calling January 6th a "dust-up" ... and comparing violence at the Capitol to violence in the wake of George Floyd's murder.

"I see the images on TV, people's livelihoods are being destroyed," Del Rio said. "Businesses are being burned down. No problem, and then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, where nothing burned down. And we’re going to make that a major deal?"

When head coach Ron Rivera announced the big fine, he seemingly contradicted himself when he noted JDR had the "Constitutional right" to make the comments, confusing many people, including Maher. Rivera also said he "very strongly" believes in free speech.

[Rivera] said about the guy who got fined, "'He does have the right to voice his opinion, and it most certainly is his Constitutional right to do so.' Apparently not! This is the don't pee on my shoe and tell me it's raining. What the f*** are you talking about? He doesn't have the right to an opinion, and it's obviously not his right to do so."

Del Rio later apologized for the comments.

Aside from JDR, the Commanders organization has been plagued by controversy.

Just a few weeks ago, the heads of two Congressional committees (United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform and Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy) blasted the team, accusing Washington and the NFL of obstructing the committees "at every turn" as they investigate claims of rampant sexual harassment within the Commanders.

The NFL, in a separate investigation, looked into several of the claims, and fined Washington $10 million.

Two actors in the Netflix series "The Chosen One" are dead after a car accident near the Mexico location where the show is being filmed.

The actors were riding in a van with several other crew members when they crashed on the Baja peninsula ... according to multiple reports.

Six other people in the van were reportedly injured as it flipped on its side while traveling on a dirt road near the city of Mulege. It appears the crew was traveling between Mulege and Santa Rosalia ... the seaside city where they've been shooting 'Chosen One' scenes.

None of the victims have been identified yet.

The series is about a 12-year-old boy who finds out he's actually the second coming of Jesus Christ, sent to save humanity.

Amber Heard aired her grievances on losing in court to Johnny Depp, and she thinks part of the reason she lost was because jurors were enamored by Johnny's celebrity status.

Amber sat down for a "Dateline" interview and ticked off a bunch of reasons why she says she lost. At one point she almost repeated -- word-for-word -- what her lawyer said in the closing argument about what they say was a catch-22 ... if they have evidence it was made up and if they don't they're just blowing smoke.

Amber, holding back tears, did not blame the jury for the outcome. She says part of the reason they reached their verdict was because Johnny is a beloved character. She also complained the verdict was pre-ordained after a slew of "paid employees" and "randos" testified on behalf of her ex.

She is not backing down from her claims of sexual and physical violence at the hands of Johnny, saying it was an impossible situation for her to get her story out and feeling the disdain from inside the courtroom and the outside world.

Former President Bill Clinton made a pretty stunning and important revelation ... he said during his time in office he sent federal agents to Area 51 in Nevada to find if aliens were among us.

Clinton told James Corden on 'Late Late Show' ... he and Chief of Staff John Podesta "sent people to Area 51 to make sure there were no aliens." He also said he wanted a full briefing on Roswell.

Among the folks, Clinton sent to the Nevada site which has been shrouded in mystery for decades ... National Security Advisor Sandy Berger.

The ex-Prez said, "I said we got to find out how we're going to deal with this because that's where we do a lot of our invisibility research in terms of technology, like how we fly airplanes that aren't picked up by radar and all that. So that's why they're so secretive."

And, then he gave his conclusion, with an asterisk ... "But there's no aliens that I know [of]."

But, there's this ... he says he's been told by credible astronomers there's up to a 95% chance there's life outside our solar system.

Here's the thing ... the Pentagon has finally cracked open the door and admitted there are more than 140 sightings they've analyzed and cannot explain, and some of them defy human technology. Congress has held hearings, although the effort was anemic and lots of people still believe our government is hiding vital information that, at the very least, could be a national security risk to our military planes and warships.

Bill Maher eviscerated a millennial reporter for the Washington Post and the paper itself for punishing one of its best reporters over a joke, and Bill says it's way bigger than just an H.R. issue -- it's a threat to Democracy.

As he put it, Felicia Sonmez -- whom he characterizes as "a lot" -- was enraged by fellow reporter David Weigel, who retweeted a joke ... "Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it's polar or sexual."

Well, that sent Felicia into orbit, enraged someone could make such an offensive remark. As Bill says -- IT'S A JOKE. Men joke about women all the time and VICE VERSA.

But, the "Real Time" host says Sonmez went to war, and the Washington Post quickly waved the white flag and suspended Weigel for a month without pay, saying retweeting the joke was a gross violation of its values -- Bill says one of those values clearly was NOT the First Amendment.

One of Weigel's colleagues dared to tell everyone to calm down -- that it was just a joke -- and Sonmez then went after him, demanding he be punished.

There was such a s*** storm over this, Bill called the Post newsroom an "unlicensed daycare center"

Bill is convinced ... Sonmez is emblematic of a generation that is comprised of "emotional hemophiliacs" who feel a crushing sense of entitlement and have the attention span of a gnat.

And, he hilariously if not seriously suggested on the 50th anniversary of Watergate ... if someone called the Post and said they were "Deep Throat" and wanted to meet in a parking garage to give a reporter info about the break-in, the young reporters would refuse to go and instead call H.R. and say it made them feel unsafe!

Eventually, Sonmez was herself fired for insubordination and not respecting her colleagues -- FYI, her tweets continued and blasted the paper itself -- but Bill says the whole episode is super embarrassing for a media org that fundamentally changed and inspired investigative journalism.

Several staffers from Stephen Colbert's late night CBS talk show got busted at the U.S. Capitol ... after they allegedly made an unlawful entry into the building.

Robert Smigel, the voice of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, was among the 9 people arrested by U.S. Capitol Police and charged with illegal entry ... according to Fox News.

The "Late Show With Stephen Colbert" staffers were arrested after taking pictures and videos near the offices of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Lauren Boebert.

Capitol police say the building was closed to visitors Thursday night, and the staffers were there without the proper ID and were on their own.

What's more, USCP says the same group was booted from Capitol earlier in the day during the Jan. 6 committee hearings.

The incident remains under investigations and USCP says the 'Colbert' staffers could face additional criminal charges.

Amber Heard says years of notes from her therapist lay out the ways in which she was allegedly being abused by Johnny Depp.

The actress says she has a binder chock full of notes from therapy sessions with a doctor, dating back to 2011, who she was reporting the alleged abuse to ... and she says it's a real-time account of what was going on between her and Johnny.

Amber turned over the documents to NBC as part of her interview with Savannah Guthrie ... according to a preview clip from Friday's upcoming "Dateline" episode, which shows pages of notes on-screen with an excerpt reading, "He hit her, threw her on floor."

There's more ... the "Dateline" episode also includes notes alleging Johnny "ripped her nightgown, threw her on the bed" and "threw her against a wall and threatened to kill her."

The documents were not included in Amber's legal showdown with Johnny ... a trial Johnny won ... because the judge reportedly ruled the therapist's notes were hearsay and inadmissible.

Johnny's legal team issued a statement to "Dateline," saying the actor wants to move forward with his life after winning the case against his ex-wife Amber.

Tyler Sanders, a teenage actor with roles in big shows like "9-1-1: Lone Star" and "Fear the Walking Dead," is dead at just 18 ... TMZ has learned.

Tyler died Thursday in Los Angeles at home. The cause of death is currently unclear, and there will be an autopsy performed in the coming days.

Tyler's rep, Pedro Tapia, tells TMZ ... Tyler's death is being investigated and he's being remembered as a good kid who came from a good family.

TS started acting a few years ago when he was 10, and he'd already received an Emmy nomination for his work as Leo in the Amazon series, "Just Add Magic: Mystery City."

Tyler's other credits include ABC's "The Rookie" and the first season of Amazon's "Just Add Magic." He also shot a pilot back in 2017 with Leah Remini, and appeared in a bunch of shorts and a couple TV movies.

He was only 18.

RIP

Vince McMahon is voluntarily stepping away from his duties as CEO and Chairman of WWE amid an investigation into alleged misconduct by the billionaire ... and his daughter, Stephanie, has been appointed interim CEO and interim Chairwoman.

WWE and its Board of Directors, of which Vince is a member, announced on Friday the 76-year-old will take a step back from his responsibilities as the org.'s honcho until the conclusion of the investigation.

"WWE and its Board of Directors take all allegations of misconduct very seriously," the statement read. "The Independent Directors of the Board engaged independent legal counsel to assist them with an independent review."

"In addition, the Special Committee and WWE will work with an independent third-party to conduct a comprehensive review of the company's compliance program, HR function and overall culture."

They added ... "The Company and the Board do not expect to have further comment until the investigation is concluded."

The investigation into Vince stems from a claim that he allegedly agreed to pay a former employee $3 million over 5 years after the two had an affair.

The woman alleges that Vince paid her $1 million in advance ... and was expected to dish out the remaining $2 million in "hush money" over 5 years.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a preliminary investigation into Vince revealed Vince made a payment to the ex-employee using "personal funds."

Vince said in the statement Friday that he will cooperate and support the investigation by the Special Committee ... and he will accept the findings and outcome of the probe once it's over.

“I love this company and am committed to working with the Independent Directors to strengthen our culture and our Company; it is extremely important to me that we have a safe and collaborative workplace," said Vince, who is expected to appear on 'SmackDown' on Friday night.

"I have committed to doing everything in my power to help the Special Committee complete its work, including marshaling the cooperation of the entire company to assist in the completion of the investigation and to implement its findings."

As a result, Stephanie, who recently stepped away from her role as the chief brand officer of WWE to be with her family, is back with the company as interim CEO and interim Chairwoman.

American actor Michael Eric Reid was 17 years old when he was cast as Sinjin Van Cleef -- a stalker-ish Hollywood Arts High School student who had no shame in his game when it came to hitting on the popular girls -- in Nickelodeon's 2010-2013 sitcom "Victorious."

Michael was cast alongside Victoria Justice as the charming and optimistic popular girl, Tori Vega, Elizabeth Gillies as the jealous and mean girl, Jade West, Ariana Grande as one of Tori's best friends, Cat Valentine and Avan Jogia as the laid back and cool guy, Beck Oliver.

A juror in the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial says they just didn't buy what he says were Amber's emotional swings, from "crying" to "ice cold."

The juror, who wanted to stay anonymous, spoke to 'GMA' Thursday, saying he took umbrage at Heard's post-verdict statement that the jury ruled the way it did because of Depp's star status.

The male juror seemed to be swayed in no small part by Amber's demeanor on the stand, saying jurors were "uncomfortable" by what he seemed to say were dramatic outbursts they just didn't buy, saying ... "The crying, the facial expressions, the staring at the jury, all of us were very uncomfortable." He says some of the jurors called her sobbing "crocodile tears."

He went on to say the jury felt Amber was more the aggressor than the victim ... "A lot of her story didn't add up. The majority of the jury felt that she was the aggressor. She would answer one question and she would be crying and two seconds later she would turn ice cold."

He went on to say the jury felt Amber and Johnny were mutually abusive, but "he just seemed a little more real in terms of how he was responding to questions. His emotional state was very stable throughout."

As for Heard's comments on "Today," that Johnny won because he was a bigger star and more likable -- the juror insists they reached their decision based on evidence ... full stop.