TV

Burning Man has been calamitous this year ... leading to a death.

The Pershing County Sheriff's Office confirms ... they are investigating a death that occurred as rain poured down over the venue. The Sheriff has not gone into detail, but by the description, it might be rain-related.

As we reported, the event -- which was being held in the Nevada desert -- was flooded Saturday, causing cars and campers to become immobilized. It got so bad, concertgoers were told to shelter in place.

Diplo and Chris Rock fled the event on the back of a truck. Diplo said he walked 5 miles to get the hell out.

It's not looking better for Sunday ... they're expecting even bigger storms with heavy rainfall and hail, as well as 40 mph wind gusts.

Unclear if the plug has been totally pulled ... the gates to Black Rock City are locked up tight. No one can drive in the area except emergency vehicles.

Bob Barker's animal rights legacy is something PETA wants to honor with a street name change on the most iconic boulevard in L.A. ... which could actually happen!

A rep for PETA tells TMZ ... they've made an official request with the City of Los Angeles for an honorary add-on to Sunset Blvd. -- to pay tribute the late 'Price Is Right' host, who just died last weekend.

Don't worry ... this isn't as wacky as it sounds. PETA assures us this would only be a minor change, and it wouldn't even require the removal of an actual "Sunset Blvd." sign hanging from street lights.

Basically what we're talking about is a second sign -- under one of the Sunset Blvd. signs -- that would read "Bob Barker Blvd." The PETA rep says they'd love to have this on their block on Sunset.

There's also this ... PETA tells us they've actually taken steps to make this happen. They've contacted City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who reps their area. We're told PETA brass and Soto-Martinez's staff are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks.

PETA says they're pushing this because Bob actually made a generous donation way back when that allowed them to open this L.A.-based office, and they wanna return the favor.

Kevin Costner says he didn't return to his hit show "Yellowstone" more so because of scheduling issues and money rather than any rumored beef with creator Taylor Sheridan.

The actor testified during Friday's divorce hearing in Santa Barbara and got into his ugly "Yellowstone" exit, saying he left a ton of money on the table.

Kevin was being grilled on the stand by lawyers for his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner ... they kept asking about his finances and how much money he made for "Yellowstone."

Kevin's testimony included juicy nuggets on his falling out with the show ... saying negotiations for a potential sixth season broke down over scheduling issues, creative differences, and money.

The way Kevin explains things, there were issues with the creative process and he "tried to break the log jam" but Paramount "walked away," after he asked for $12M to film the season.

Kevin says he had scheduling conflicts with his new movie "Horizon" because "Yellowstone" wanted to shoot a two-part season in the same year which would require him to shoot the first half, go do his movie, then return for the second half.

He claims he moved things around with his film to accommodate the show but "Yellowstone" wasn't ready to shoot the second half on time.

Kevin's testimony is super enlightening ... at the time, there were rumors his exit was mired in an alleged beef with Sheridan, the show's creator, and they were rumored to hate each other.

And, get this ... Kevin said he "will probably go to court" over his "Yellowstone" ending.

Maitland Ward is slamming Trace Cyrus for taking swipes at OnlyFans models ... and she's calling on Miley Cyrus to set her brother straight.

We got the former "Boy Meets World" actress-turned-porn star in Los Angeles and our photog asked her about all the flak Trace is catching for dissing women who have OF accounts.

Maitland says Trace is displaying a serious case of toxic masculinity ... and she thinks the musician's just looking for a "trace of fame" while living in his sister's shadow.

As we reported ... Trace says women are destroying their chances of finding the right man by starting an OF page, and he's since doubled down on his stance despite tons of heat coming his way.

Maitland says Trace is sorely mistaken ... pointing out she's been happily married for 16 years while enjoying a career in porn.

While dissing Trace, Maitland's calling on Miley to speak out against her brother ... she says Miley's voice will carry extra weight here because she's a beacon for sexual liberation.

Paul Staehle's family is worried sick about him ... because he's a world away over in the Amazon and now appears to be lost in Brazil.

The "90 Day Fiancé" star's mom, Edna, tells TMZ ... Paul has been traveling in Brazil since the end of July, but on Thursday morning he sent his family some alarming texts.

We're told Paul told his mom he needed her help and was lost in the South American country ... telling her needed a boat and giving her contact info for a few folks he said might be able to help him get out of his situation.

It's pretty alarming on its face, and Edna says Paul has since gone radio silent ... she can't get in contact with him and it appears his phone is off, lost signal or is out of battery.

Paul's mom says she reached out to the folks Paul said could help him ... but she hasn't heard squat from them either.

Meanwhile, Paul's wife Karine is alerting her family in Brazil that her famous husband might need assistance ... we're told she's in the United States and doesn't know if Brazilian authorities are actively searching for Paul.

Karine is also clouding the picture with some cryptic posts about him ... seemingly adding to his mother's angst.

TMZ broke the story ... Paul and his son were named in a missing persons police bulletin in 2022 in Kentucky, but they eventually turned up.

American actor Jonah Bobo was only 8 years old when he played the role of Danny -- the 6-year-old boy who found confidence through the board game, Zathura -- in the "Jumanji" spin-off and science-fiction adventure film, "Zathura: A Space Adventure" back in 2005.

Jonah shared the outer space adventure with Josh Hutcherson as Danny's bossy but loving older brother, Walter, Kristen Stewart as the teenage sister who was supposed to be in charge while their dad was at work, Lisa and Dax Shepard as the outer space savior who protected the kids from the aliens, Astronaut.

Sam Asghari picked up a sign and joined striking Hollywood on the picket line ... saying he's there to support his fellow actors, and not to talk about his divorce with Britney Spears.

A SAG-AFTRA member, Sam was at the front of the line marching up to Disney Studios in Burbank when a photog asked him how he was holding up in the wake of filing for divorce.

Sam told the camera guy he wasn't there to discuss his personal life, but rather to raise awareness for the strike in hopes of getting everything resolved sooner than later.

TMZ broke the story ... Sam's planning to continue with acting gigs once the strike is resolved, and in the meantime, Britney is footing the bill for his swanky digs.

He says the strike's affecting him as much as any other actor, cleverly joking about having the same amount of roles right now as Leonardo DiCaprio.

So, maybe there's a comedy out there for Sam when the dust settles?!?

In all seriousness, Sam says the lack of jobs and money is the whole point of the strike ... and he's hoping there's a deal soon so Hollywood can get back to making art and inspiring folks.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Oprah Winfrey are stepping up to help those affected by the recent wildfires in Maui ... launching a $10 million fund to financially support thousands of residents.

Johnson and Winfrey announced the initiative Thursday morning ... saying after brainstorming a bit on how they could offer assistance, they decided to kick-start the People's Fund of Maui.

The initiative is designed to put money directly in the pockets of those impacted by the devastating fires in Lahaina and Kula, which includes the many who lost their homes and were forced to evacuate.

Johnson says people can apply to receive $1,200 a month as they recover ... and he's hoping more donations pour in overtime to add to their own massive contribution.

"We are honored to start this campaign with $10 million dollars and ask for your help in donating to those who have lost their homes," Johnson said. "We thank you in advance for your contribution. "

Kyle Richards is opening up about her separation from longtime hubby Mauricio Umansky, admitting it's been "very hard."

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star did a Q&A fan chat on Amazon Live Wednesday, providing new insights into her break up with Mauricio after 27 years of marriage.

Kyle went on to explain she and Umansky are still in love and continue to co-parent their 4 kids.

She said, "Obviously, we care about each other a lot. You saw, here we are on vacation together," referring to their current summer getaway in Europe as a family.

As we reported, Kyle and Mauricio separated last month after 27 years of marriage -- despite admitting they've been going through a rough year together, they both denied the rumors that they were getting a divorce.

We've also seen them hanging out with the rest of their fam during their vacay ... cheesing on a boat in Positano with their kids last week.

LeVar Burton's TV days are far from over, and ditto for expanding people's minds -- 'cause the dude is about to venture out on a Trivial Pursuit ... one that's almost a sealed deal.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... LeVar and his team are close to locking in terms on a new job he's been teeing up for a couple years now -- namely, as executive producer and host of the new Trivial Pursuit game show ... which is going to be aired on the CW.

We're told things are almost finalized between LeVar and the network, and that the series already has a 12-episode order. So, yes ... we're gonna see LeVar on the tube again in due time.

As for how all this came together ... well, our sources tell us that's actually all due to Hasbro -- the toy company that owns the rights to Trivial Pursuit, who initially brought him in.

We're told Hasbro honchos thought of LB after he got snubbed by Sony execs for the highly-coveted "Jeopardy!" hosting job -- which was a whole saga in and of itself. Remember, Sony never even approached him for the gig -- nor did they seriously consider him.

Obviously, Hasbro thought differently ... and the conversations kicked into high gear after the CW became attached to developing Trivial Pursuit into a game show. If you're unfamiliar, TP sees players answering a variety of trivia questions, touching on a bunch of categories.

It's kind of the perfect next chapter for the dude who hosted "Reading Rainbow."

The titans of late night are teaming up to talk shop on a new podcast -- all in an effort to support their striking employees -- and at least one union is totally cool with that plan ... on certain conditions.

A rep for SAG-AFTRA tells TMZ ... the just-launched "Strike Force Five" show -- featuring Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver -- is all good in their book ... assuming they stay within guidelines set forth by strike regulators.

This is how a SAG spokesperson put it ... "As long as the podcast does not promote struck work, it appears to be in adherence with the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming strike rules. Given that it falls within the strike rules, it is fine for them to produce this podcast during the strike."

In other words, it sounds like the hosts have their blessing to proceed ... but they should probably steer clear of certain topics if they wanna stay in the actors union's good graces. Obviously, the podcast itself isn't a straight-up promo of anything, but the challenge will be not sounding promo-ish if they discuss a certain movie or show that's in the zeitgeist.

Considering that's what they do as part of their normal jobs -- talk about certain films/projects -- it might seem like it will be tough to stay in SAG's good graces ... but, remember, the pod isn't live. They can always edit if the convo strays into promo land.

The podcast is a good thing, big picture -- any money earned is being donated directly to the late-night hosts' own writers ... who, of course, haven't been working since May.

Josh Seiter says he didn't correct the fake death post about him for a full 18 hours because his priority was figuring out who hacked into his Instagram account ... it's all very puzzling.

The ex-'Bachelorette' star appeared on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we peppered him with questions about the long, long period of radio silence ... both from him and his family.

Josh says he was trying to manage a ton of texts and calls from concerned friends/family, which raises the question ... why didn't someone he called tell media outlets -- including TMZ -- the death post was a hoax?

Fact is ... we called Josh just after the death announcement was posted, but didn't get a call back until the next day. We also called family members, and they either hung up or said "no comment."

He recognizes he's going to get scrutinized, but he says he handled it the best way he knew how and is standing firm -- he was hacked.

Drake's "It's All a Blur" tour stop in Vancouver got a healthy dose of "Utopia" last night ... as Travis Scott joined him as the night’s special performer!!!

The 2 megastar rappers performed their latest collab "Meltdown" live for the first time ever -- Timothée Chalamet diss and all -- and followed up by performing their Diamond-selling duet "Sicko Mode" for the Canadian crowd.

The show was originally set for Monday, but was postponed over issues with the new video board installed inside Rogers Arena.

Travis made a grand entrance into the stadium using WWE legend The Undertaker's theme music as his walk-up soundtrack ... fitting since the performance seemed to have the crowd in a chokehold.

Kim Zolciak is, at least publicly, acting like there's hope she and Kroy Biermann can resolve things, and he'll pull his divorce docs again, but he's not seeing it that way at all ... TMZ has learned.

We heard from Kim -- who was still wearing her wedding ring -- Monday at LAX, and she gave off very optimistic vibes when asked if Kroy might have a change of heart about his second divorce filing.

Well, we asked Kroy's legal team if he had any plans on pulling the divorce ... and they didn't mince words. Kroy's attorney, Marlys A. Bergstrom, tells us, "No, at this time, he is still moving forward with the divorce action."

It's likely a devastating blow to Kim, and unless Kroy's holding back information from his lawyer ... the estranged couple is definitely not on the same page about their future.

TMZ broke the story, Kim and Kroy filed separate divorce petitions back in May, but eventually worked things out and decided against the split in July.

However, s*** hit the fan for the couple this month, prompting Kroy to file for divorce once again.

American actor, singer, and dancer Sean Palmer was 29 years old when he first started playing the role of Marcus -- the Broadway hopeful and Stanford Blatch's boyfriend -- in HBO's hit show "Sex And The City" back in 2002.

During his 2 year run on 'SATC,' Palmer was part of an iconic cast including Sarah Jessica Parker as the sex newspaper columnist, Carrie, Cynthia Nixon as the rigid and funny attorney, Miranda, Kim Cattrall as the sex-positive public relations specialist, Samantha, Kristin Davis as the conservative art gallerist and the late Willie Garson as Carrie's bestie and Marcus' love interest.

A truly bizarre series of events surrounding "Bachelorette" contestant Josh Seiter, as the former reality star is actually alive, claiming his Instagram account was hacked ... after a full statement was posted announcing his death.

Seiter just posted a video, proving he's alive and well ... telling his followers he'd lost access to his Instagram account for 24 hours.

It was Monday afternoon when a lengthy statement was posted to Josh's Instagram saying, in part, "It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the tragic news of Joshua's unexpected passing. As all who knew him can attest, Joshua was an incredibly bright light in an increasingly dim world." That post has now been deleted.

Josh says whoever hacked his account was playing a "cruel joke" and mocking his previous struggles with mental illness. He apologizes for the pain the alleged hacker caused ... and says he and his team are working to determine who posted the message.

What Josh doesn't make clear is why it took him 20 hours to address the hack, as multiple outlets across the globe published the story based on the statement.

Seiter -- who was eliminated on the first week of Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of "The Bachelorette" in 2015 -- has been open and honest about his struggles with his mental health over the years -- including bouts of depression and anxiety.