TV

Carole Baskin wrote that she would have killed her first husband to get out of her marriage in an old letter to Don Lewis' first wife, but despite that seemingly shocking reveal ... Carole says it desperately needs context.

The ID channel is airing a special on Joe Exotic and all his related 'Tiger King' craziness this weekend, including ongoing speculation Baskin played a role in Don's 1997 disappearance.

We got a sneak peek of one piece of evidence the show's investigators claim lends credence to the speculation -- a long letter Carole sent to Don's wife, Gladys, in August 1990 ... while in the midst of having an affair with him.

The letter seems to detail her relationship with Don, but includes a disturbing line about her first husband, Michael Murdock. Carole wrote ... "I had to get out of my marriage and would have eventually killed my husband to do it."

Baskin confirms with TMZ that she wrote those words, but adds ... "I only meant it in the context of self-defense as Mike Murdock was physically abusive to me to the point of causing me to fear for my life."

Carole has previously claimed numerous times that Murdock -- who she wed in 1979 and is the father of her daughter, Jamie -- was extremely abusive.

Nevertheless, retired homicide investigator Jim Rathmann says he finds the letter very interesting ... and points out it was written just 7 years before Don went missing.

Carole and Don both divorced their first spouses and married in 1991. Baskin has recently insisted -- yet again -- she had nothing to do with his disappearance and claims she was the only person trying to get him mental health help before it happened.

Sophia Hutchins and Caitlyn Jenner have signaled publicly how much they want to be part of 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' ... and now we're told they're actively trying to make it happen.

Sources close to the gal pals tell TMZ ... Sophia recently sat down for dinner with former 'Housewives' castmate Eileen Davidson, and they talked about the show and the possibility of Sophia filling a vacancy.

We're told they also chatted about Eileen's experience on the show and Sophia got enough good feedback that she decided 'RHOBH' was something she wanted to do.

Our sources say Sophia's camp reached out to production and the sides have been talking about the possibility of her joining the show, possibly as a main cast member ... and Sophia's roommate Caitlyn would also make appearances.

Sophia seems like a good fit ... she knows Lisa Rinna socially, and Caitlyn knows Harry Hamlin ... so it could be organic for them to come aboard.

We got Sophia outside Craig's in West Hollywood and she was coy about joining the show, but our sources say Caitlyn advised Sophia to pursue a spot and wants to be a "friend of the show" herself.

As you know, Sophia and Caitlyn live out in Malibu, but that wouldn't be unprecedented on 'RHOBH' ... a lot of the housewives have lived in the 'Bu, including Denise Richards.

We broke the story ... Kathy Hilton is also in talks to become a series regular, but hasn't pulled the trigger on Bravo's offer.

As for Sophia and Caitlyn, our sources say nothing has been signed but they are hoping to snag spots.

"Family Guy" showrunners have found their new Cleveland Brown voice -- it's a Black YouTuber who can handle the role with ease, and probably a few others on the show too.

Arif Zahir has been cast to voice Cleveland for the 19th season come 2021-2022. The former longtime white voice actor for Cleveland, Mike Henry, will have his last go-round for the 18th season, which premieres Sunday. He announced in June he was dropping the role.

Zahir is a great pick ... for one, he's African-American, something 'FG' producers and Henry himself wanted in the new actor to take up the mantle. More importantly, the guy's spot-on with his impression ... something he's showcased on his channel for a while now.

He's famous for his impersonations, which include Cleveland, Obama, Trump, Ted, Stewie Griffin, 21 Savage ... and others. In case you didn't catch it -- that's THREE characters in the MacFarland-verse that Zahir can pull off no problem -- and he could probably do Peter just as easily. So, if Seth was ever sick during a recording day, Arif could potentially fill in.

The point is ... the dude's a catch-all talent, and Henry himself acknowledged as much. He says of the casting, "I welcome Arif to the Family Guy team. Arif’s vocal talent is obvious, but his understanding of Cleveland and his respect for the character give me confidence that he is in the right hands." He adds, "I look forward to getting to know Arif and working with him to make sure Cleveland stays every bit as awesome as he has always been."

Here's Javicia Leslie taking over as the new "Batwoman" ... and TMZ has the first look at the new getup.

Javicia's in her full 'Batwoman' gear after taking over for Ruby Rose on the CW series ... and this is the first time she's been spotted filming for season 2 in the new-look costume.

As you know ... Javicia is making history here as the first Black woman to take on the role of 'Batwoman.'

Javicia's been teasing the new suit for a while on her social media, and now fans are finally seeing what it's all about ... and we gotta say, she looks like a badass who is more than ready to fight some crime.

As you can see, the suit is black with red accents, and Javicia's got red hair to top it all off. Her boots look like they could kick some serious butt.

Bad guys beware, there's a new 'Batwoman' in town!!!

Demi Lovato won't be walking down the aisle with Max Ehrich ... TMZ has confirmed the singer and actor called off their engagement.

Demi and her former fiancé have officially called it quits, splitting just over 2 months after he popped the question on the beach in Malibu.

A source close to the singer tells TMZ ... "It was a tough decision, but Demi and Max have decided to go their separate ways to focus on their respective careers."

The source adds, "They have respect and love for one another and will always cherish the time they spent together."

Demi and the "Young And The Restless" actor started dating back in March, just as quarantine was beginning, and their relationship moved quickly. He proposed in July and slid a huge rock on her finger.

At the time of their engagement, Demi said she knew she loved Max the moment she met him and was "ecstatic to start a family and life" with him.

The timing of the split is interesting ... coming only 10 days after Max allegedly got thirsty on social media over Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande. Demi had defended him, though, claiming screenshots of his alleged messages were faked.

Regardless, they're no longer getting married. People first reported their split.

"Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro is recovering following a horrific bowling accident where his right hand was impaled ... and required multiple surgeries.

The famous baker suffered the gruesome injury Sunday while spending some QT with his family in the bowling alley in their home. A rep tells us there was a malfunction with the bowling pinsetter -- a problem the family's had in the past and usually a common fix, but not this time around.

We're told Buddy tried to release a bowling pin from the cage mechanism, but his right hand got lodged and compressed inside the unit. His rep described what happened next this way -- "Unable to remove his hand, [Buddy] can see a 1 1/2" metal rod slowly and repeatedly impale his hand three times between his ring finger and middle finger."

After more than 5 minutes, Buddy still couldn't get his hand free from the metal rod jammed through it. His rep says his sons, Buddy Jr. and Marco, "rushed to the garage for a reciprocating saw to cut through the metal rod" and finally got Buddy's hand free.

Buddy was rushed to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to remove the rod and stabilize the wound. A second surgery followed ... performed by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michelle Carlson in Manhattan.

The rep says Buddy will have an uphill battle given it's his dominant right hand. He faces a long road to recovery and therapy. Buddy's not exactly ready to call this a pinhead move ... but he's definitely kept his sense of humor through this painful ordeal.

He posted a pic Wednesday from his hospital bed with the caption, "I was involved in a terrible accident a few days ago... 😔 What do you think of my new accessory?"

Sending positive vibes, boss!!!

Regina King pulled a real-life hero move by wearing a Breonna Taylor shirt while accepting her Emmy for playing a superhero ... so says Breonna's family attorney, Ben Crump.

The civil rights lawyer was at LAX Monday, sporting a Breonna mask himself, when he lauded the "Watchmen" star and all the other celebs who used their very public platforms at the 2020 Emmys to remind everyone ... justice still hasn't been served.

Crump tells us what Regina and others did keeps Black victims' stories from being swept under the rug. He also said the gesture -- also made by Uzo Aduba during her acceptance -- reminds him of something the iconic Harry Belafonte once said about how and when to use your influence.

Ben added, the continued public support for justice for Breonna keeps him hopeful the cops who killed her will soon be charged.

As we've reported ... no criminal charges have been brought in the case of Breonna's death, but the City of Louisville did reach a settlement last week with her estate. Louisville will pay out a historic amount of money, and also pledged major police reforms.

Jackie Stallone, the famed celeb astrologer and Sly's mother, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Jackie recently passed away ... according to sources with direct knowledge. The exact circumstances surrounding her death are still unclear.

Mrs. Stallone was a renaissance woman, to say the least -- well-regarded as an astrologer, dancer and even women's wrestling promoter. Not to mention being the mother of 3 famous children ... Sylvester, singer Frank Stallone and late actress Toni D'Alto, whom she had with Anthony Filiti.

Jackie actually helped kick-start the original "GLOW" wrestling program back in the '80s ... serving as a manager and promoter for the league, which of course would later be portrayed in the hit Netflix show of the same name. Mama Stallone was one of several ring handles she had.

She was also a famous astrologer, making a number of TV appearances throughout the '90s, and, yes ... she had her own psychic hotline. Jackie is also credited with coining the phrase and practice of rumpology ... which is like reading someone's palm, but reading other parts of their body, like moles and whatnot.

Jackie was a reality TV star in her own right -- she appeared on at least a couple seasons of 'Celebrity Big Brother' in the UK, and her persona had been parodied throughout the years, including on "Saturday Night Live."

Ever the character, she was very much active in her later years ... posting a bunch of workout videos of herself doing cardio, plyometrics and even some dancing in studios.

Jackie is survived by her two sons, as well as several grandchildren.

Even though it was the Emmys, television wasn't the most important thing on the minds of some of the winners Sunday night ... and they made that very clear.

Regina King -- who won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie for her starring role as Angela Abar in HBO’s "Watchmen" -- used her victory speech time to remind everyone to say the name, Breonna Taylor.

Regina reminded everyone after her win ... the police officers who killed Breonna have still not been held accountable, and she felt the call to honor her. She says Taylor represents centuries of violence against Black people.

Uzo Aduba -- who won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for playing Shirley Chisholm on "Mrs. America" -- also honored Breonna by wearing a shirt bearing her name.

Finally, there was "Succession," which beat out some serious competition to win Best Drama Series.

The HBO show's British creator, Jesse Armstrong, decided to deliver a series of un-thank-yous since he couldn't be with the rest of the cast and crew to celebrate ... and sounded off on President Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Armstong said ... "Un-thank you to the virus for keeping us all apart this year. Un-thank you to Trump for his crummy and uncoordinated response, un-thank you to Boris Johnson and his government for doing the same in my country."

Not all storage unit auctions turn into huge scores of priceless treasure ... case in point -- Daniel Baldwin's old unit scooped up by one of the "Storage Wars" stars.

Rene Nezhoda, one of the stars of the A&E series, recently bought a repoed storage unit belonging to the actor and Baldwin brother for $1,100. So, what did he find inside??? A bunch of model train stuff.

There were boxes of other items too, but according to Rene, most of that stuff is worthless junk ... including old clothes, CDs, movie scripts, stereo gear and Christmas decorations.

The good news -- Rene estimates the model trains, tracks and related equipment is worth as much as $2,500 ... so he thinks he can break even by doing some work and hawking it.

Still, he's less than thrilled with the Baldwin buy, and when you compare it to his recent discovery of Kobe Bryant treasures -- or even his 'Dude Perfect' score last year ... it's easy to understand.

As for how Daniel's storage unit came up for grabs ... we're told it's from 2009 and he must have stopped paying the bill, because he racked up $40k in fees to the facility. Sounds like he just forgot about it.

Eddie Murphy made it clear Saturday night ... some things are just worth waiting for.

Eddie scored his first Emmy ever -- yep, hard to believe, but true. This time around he was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance on "Saturday Night Live."

t's pretty remarkable ... his 'SNL' appearance was the first time in 35 years since he hosted. You'll recall, he reprieved some of his classic characters, including Buckwheat, Mister Robinson and Gumby.

Eddie was super grateful, thanking the Academy for the honor and giving a special shout-out to Lorne Michaels. He was gracious, thanking the cast, writers and crew.

Here's the good news ... Eddie said he's going to get back on stage to do more comedy. He says he planned to do it before the pandemic, and once he gets the all-clear he's going before live audiences.

Turns out it was a special occasion ... Saturday marked 36 years to the day Eddie appeared on 'SNL.'

Cops are calling John Marshall Jones a hero ... not only for rushing out of his house in his underwear to douse a fire, but for chasing down the alleged arsonist behind the blaze.

John, who played special agent Jay Griffin on the Amazon hit "Bosch," tells TMZ ... he was watching TV early Tuesday morning when he looked out the window to see his neighbor's car, front porch and front door on fire.

The veteran actor says he instantly reacted -- bypassing any pants -- and ran out to grab a garden hose to put out the flames. While he was out there, John says a man wearing a ski mask and heavy jacket ran up to the porch and tried to grab something before fleeing.

Once again, Johnny-on-the-spot bolted after the mysterious guy ... who he says reached for a baseball bat. John -- who goes 6'3" and 240 lbs. -- says he wrestled him to the ground, though, and held him until cops arrived.

Law enforcement sources confirmed much of John's account about the 6 AM blaze and his chase of the suspect. We're told John's neighbors were able to escape the burning home, including a teenager and the family dog.

Now, John's being hailed as a true hero for saving lives and nabbing the suspect. Cops claim the guy started the fire with gasoline ... they found a container in his car, and arrested him for arson with great bodily injury.

"90 Day Fiance" star Larissa Lima spent a fortune to look like Kylie Jenner ... but her expensive makeover is already paying huge dividends.

Larissa showed off her new look, inspired by Kylie, last week with a one-hour lingerie show on the webcam app, CamSoda ... and we've learned those 60 little minutes hauled in more than $100,000 for the site.

Our sources tell us Larissa's show hit the six-figure mark thanks to people paying to view the sultry show and tipping ... and we're told she had 10 times the number of viewers CamSoda usually sees for the biggest XXX stars and Instagram hotties who host.

It's pretty impressive ... we're told Larissa's show had so much interest, it now ranks in the Top 5 all-time on CamSoda. Hat tip to Kylie!

As we first told you ... Larissa dropped a cool $72,000 for a bunch of cosmetic surgeries, going under the knife with Dr. Lane Smith in Sin City to try and come out looking like Kylie.

Larissa got a boob job, liposuction on her abs and waist and a fat transfer to her bottom ... plus botox, fillers and laser facials. The whole shebang, ya might say.

The people have spoken ... and it definitely pays to be a Kylie lookalike.

Christina and Ant Anstead are done after less than two years of marriage ... she says they are separating.

The "Christina on the Coast" star announced the split Friday, saying she and Ant "made the difficult decision to separate."

She adds ... "We are grateful for each other and as always, our children will remain our priority."

Christina and Ant started dating way back in October 2017, and they tied the knot in a super-secret wedding at their home in Newport Beach in December 2018, going with a "winter wonderland" theme for the nuptials.

The former couple welcomed their first child a little over a year ago, a baby boy named Hudson London Anstead.

Ant, who hosts "Wheeler Dealers," is now Christina's second famous ex ... she was previously married to her "Flip or Flop" co-star, Tarek El Moussa, and they enjoyed tons of success together before an extremely public split in 2016 that ultimately led to a nasty 2018 divorce.

It's unclear what led to the split, but Ant last posted about Christina on social media Aug. 2, explaining how he drives her crazy by wishing her a happy anniversary every single Sunday.

Here's the "Even Stevens" reunion we've all been waiting for ... Ren Stevens is back, and she's bringing along her trusty sidekick Beans!!!

The "Even Stevens" reunion 17 years in the making went down on Christy Carlson Romano's YouTube series, "Christy's Kitchen Throwback," and she's got a lot of catching up to do with Steven Anthony Lawrence.

Steven, best known for playing fan-favorite and Shia LaBeouf's on-screen pal Beans, has largely remained out of the public eye since the hit Disney Channel show ended way back in 2003, and ya gotta see how Beans looks these days!

As you know, Steven's character was famous for his love of bacon on the show ... but he tells Christy he didn't eat bacon for 3 months after filming wrapped, and he even dealt with nightmares, cold sweats and traumatic experiences just from swine.

Fortunately, Steven's gotten over his bacon issues and is back to eating the best part of the pig. This is Beans we're talking about, after all!!!

It's pretty cool ... Steven also explains how Beans went from a potential one-episode guest star to a series regular and cult favorite ... who Christy credits with saving the show!

Christy and Steven also chop it up in the kitchen on potential future projects ... how does an "Even Stevens" spinoff sound?!?

If that's not enough ... wait till you hear Steven's pitch for Beans on 'The Bachelor.'