TV

Scott Van Pelt -- one of the best sportscasters on the planet -- has been diagnosed with COVID ... and his wildly entertaining ESPN show is now on pause indefinitely because of it.

The 54-year-old made the announcement Thursday ... saying he can't smell or taste anything.

Fortunately, SVP said he has no fever, and otherwise feels "fine."

"Won't be doing shows for a bit after a positive Covid-19 test," Van Pelt said ... "I will hunker down and hopefully can be back at it before too long."

Van Pelt -- a longtime ESPN talent -- took over the midnight edition of "Sportscenter" a few years ago ... and his personal touches on the show have made it must-see, late-night TV.

Specifically, Van Pelt's "One Big Thing" and "Bad Beats" segments have become viral sensations on a weekly basis.

Faith Stowers -- the former Black cast member on "Vanderpump Rules" -- is glad Bravo isn't cutting checks for Jax Taylor ... and she says he needs to bone up on Black culture.

We got Faith outside of BurgerRock Media in Downtown Los Angeles and asked her reaction to Jax and his wife, Brittany Cartwright, leaving the show amid tons of controversy.

Faith, who has a long history of beef with Jax, says he's not a good fit for Bravo and she's glad the network finally agrees.

Remember, Jax accused Faith of stealing, and ripped her on the show and off-air. He's the latest 'Rules' star to leave, following Stassi Schroeder, Max Boyens, Brett Caprioni and Kristen Doute out the door ... that foursome was 86'd after racist comments and behavior surfaced.

Faith tells us what Jax and Stassi did is not in line with what Bravo stands for ... and she thinks folks who watch the network are also glad they're gone.

There's some debate about whether Bravo fired Jax or they mutually decided to part ways ... a source close to him told us he wasn't fired ... but Faith thinks Jax was probably canned, and says he got what he deserved.

Prue Leith the "Great British Bake Off" star is now happily vaccinated against the novel coronavirus ... and she's wondering why some people are balking at the shot.

Prue, who of course lives in the UK, is the first celebrity to publicize getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The star of the Netflix show announced Tuesday she got it, and described it as nothing more than a "painless jab."

The UK approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine 2 weeks ago, becoming the first country to do so, and started the rollout last week ... prioritizing healthcare workers and the elderly. Just in case you're thinking Prue got some kinda celeb preference, she didn't ... she's 80 years old.

As you know ... the first vaccinations in the U.S. started Monday, with intensive-care nurse Sandra Lindsay becoming the first person to get the shot in New York.

Sandra, who is Black, was hailed for her bravery for getting the shot in public ... especially due to the fact a majority of African-Americans say they don't trust the vaccine, and won't get it.

For instance ... Offset told us, point blank, he's not lining up for the shot, and explained why.

Prue doesn't get that hesitation and says, "Who wouldn't want immunity from #Covid19 with a painless jab??"

Dave Chappelle's flex on the entertainment industry is paying off again -- HBO Max says it will follow Netflix's lead and stop streaming "Chappelle's Show."

Casey Bloys, chief content officer of HBO and HBO Max, made the announcement Tuesday during a Q&A at Variety's Virtual FYCFest saying the network spoke with Dave, and that conversation led to the decision to remove the show at the end of the year.

She said, "We had a conversation with Dave. I won't get into it, but it's very clear that it's a very unique and specific and emotional issue he's got." She added, "So, at the end of the year, December 31st, we're going to honor his request and take the show down."

It was just last month when Chappelle revealed in a stand-up segment that he called Netflix honchos and told them about his displeasure with them streaming his show.

Dave was pissed because he says he has no say in where the show airs, or rights to any revenue from it airing ... because it belongs to Comedy Central and its parent company, Viacom. He admits he signed a deal years ago -- before his current success and power -- allowing Viacom to do what it wants, but he's now asking ... is that right?

In that same segment ... Chappelle recounted a story about pitching his show to HBO years ago, and they essentially laughed him out of the room.

Chappelle recalled, "They said, literally, 'What do we need you for? That's what they told me as they kicked me out of the office, What do we need you for?' And here we are all these years later and they're streaming the very show I was pitching to them. So I'm asking them, what do you need me for?"

Kirk Cameron stuck it to Gov. Gavin Newsom and his COVID guidelines by getting hundreds of people together in public to sing Christmas carols ... something he does not regret.

The "Growing Pains" star helped organize a massive outdoor gathering Sunday in the parking lot of the Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks -- where literally swarms of people were huddled up, not wearing masks and singing their hearts and lungs out ... breathing up a storm.

Looks like a good time, sure, but it comes mid-pandemic, and in an area where infection rates are already high. Kirk wasn't concerned ... he partnered with an org named Sing It Louder USA, and specifically says it was a protest against Newsom's stay-at-home orders.

BTW, this mall caroling was the second such event Kirk and co. organized over the past couple weeks -- apparently, they did another one on Dec. 6, where Kirk says upwards of 500 people came out to sing. He wanted the mall event to be even bigger than that, and it looks like he might've succeeded -- the place was absolutely packed.

Law enforcement sources in the area tell us ... mall security did call police, and officers from the Thousand Oaks PD that responded simply educated folks on the importance of mask-wearing and left.

Will Smith's not playing games when it comes to bringing smiles this holiday season ... and he's pulling out all the stops with help from his celeb pals and Gamestop.

Will Smith's season 2 of his Snapchat series "Will From Home" premiered Monday ... and this holiday season he's inviting viewers to watch him surprise the hell out of people across the country to celebrate their selflessness and bravery.

For the season 2 premiere, Will brought along Jason Derulo to shock 14-year-old Aiden, who was diagnosed with cancer in April. Aiden's father, Chuck, has been doing his best to comfort him during weekly chemo treatments -- but due to COVID-19, he usually can only stand outside Aiden's room ... dancing to make him laugh.

Well, Dad got a big helping hand from Jason, Will and Gamestop.

Derulo kicked things off by teaching Chuck and Aiden some new dance moves. The big surprise, though, came when Will had Chuck and Aiden open a box delivered to them. And, viola!!! It's a PS5, which at the time weren't available to the public yet.

The look on Aiden's face was priceless, and in addition to the dance moves and PS5 surprise from Gamestop ... a $10k donation was also made to the Cook Children's Medical Center, with Will and Gamestop each kicking in $5k.

Selena's brother says the actress playing her on the Netflix series does an incredible job capturing her essence ... even though critics are giving her a hard time.

A.B. Quintanilla's giving his stamp of approval to Christian Serratos for her portrayal of The Queen of Tejano music in the bio-drama "Selena: The Series," telling us she's so good ... he finds himself feeling like he's watching his younger sister again.

Some viewers of the show aren't nearly as supportive, but A.B. feels they're either nitpicking or their criticism is misguided. For example, Serratos has been getting flak for lip-syncing poorly on 'The Series' ... but A.B. says that's actually an accurate representation of his sis.

He tells us Selena struggled with that early in her career, and there was a learning process before she improved ... which A.B. says Serratos demonstrates in later episodes.

As for the haters who don't think Christian looks enough like Selena -- A.B. points out that some people felt the same way about Jennifer Lopez when she played the Mexican singer in the 1997 "Selena" film ... especially because she's not Mexican.

A.B. dismisses all that as petty, and says it's ultimately up to the actor to make the viewer believe they are who they are playing on the screen ... and Serratos nails it.

Ex-'Smallville' Star Allison Mack -- who made international headlines for her role in a sex cult -- has filed for divorce ... TMZ has learned.

Mack, who starred as Chloe Sullivan on "Smallville," filed docs in Orange County Friday to divorce her wife Nicki Clyne. The now-estranged couple got married back in 2017, and they don't have any kids together.

Mack, of course, pled guilty to 2 counts of racketeering conspiracy and racketeering back in April 2019 after prosecutors said she was the pimp for the NXIVM sex cult. She could face up to 40 years behind bars.

Sarah Paulson and Beanie Feldstein appeared on set for the first time as Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky, and all that's left to say is ... bravo.

Sarah and Beanie unveiled their transformations Thursday in L.A. ... as the stars of "Impeachment: American Crime Story." The resemblances are uncanny -- even with masks -- making season 3 of the franchise that much more must-see viewing.

For the babies who don't know ... Tripp betrayed Monica's confidence by secretly recording her phone calls as Lewinsky unloaded on her long-running affair in 1998 with Bill Clinton ... an affair that began when she delivered a pizza to the Prez when she was a W.H. intern.

Tripp, who died in April, or we should say her recordings, played a pivotal role in the impeachment of Clinton.

Jocko Sims plays Dr. Floyd Reynolds on the medical drama "New Amsterdam," but he's not playing around with COVID ... he says everyone needs to get inoculated.

We got the masked-up actor outside in NYC's Hell's Kitchen and asked about the skepticism over the vaccine ... especially among Black people.

Jocko tells us he understands why his community is hesitant to get medicine courtesy of the U.S. government -- there's a disgraceful historical context -- but he says he's witnessed the carnage firsthand, so the vaccine is a choice of life over death.

The TV doc heaps praise on Obama, W. Bush and Clinton for agreeing to show themselves get needled on video ... to show others it's effective and safe.

As we told you ... Gayle King is also imploring people to follow the lead of the former presidents and trust the vaccine, trust science, and trust Dr. Fauci.

This type of reassurance might be vital as the vaccine becomes available to the public, especially in the African-American community. As we reported ... a new study shows only 14% of African-Americans trust the vaccine will be safe and only 18% trust it'll be effective.

Noah Jupe's only 15 and living large after starring with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant in "The Undoing" ... cause we've learned he got a hefty paycheck for his work on the show!!!

The kid who played Nicole and Hugh's son, Henry, on the hit HBO series banked a whopping $100k per episode for the 6-episode limited series. That's a cool $600k in Noah's bank account for starring in the psychological thriller.

According to his minors contract, filed in L.A. County Court, Noah also got some other sweet perks. For starters, he got at least 5 roundtrip business class tickets for him and his parents to fly to New York, where they filmed the show.

The deal, which he signed when he was only 13, also secured him a 3-bedroom apartment ... which is GOLD in the NYC area!

More perks for Noah -- a $100 per diem, and a weekly $350 Uber stipend.

All part of his growing Hollywood success. Noah's appeared in several other TV shows, including "Downton Abbey" -- but we're guessing "The Undoing" is his biggest payday up to this point.

Ellen DeGeneres has tested positive for coronavirus, but says, so far, she feels okay ... but she wants to give everyone she's been in close contact with a heads up.

The talk show host revealed her diagnosis Thursday morning and says she's following all the proper CDC guidelines. It sounds like she's going to be taking a break from work, because she adds ... "I'll see you again after the holidays. Please stay healthy and safe."

As for the guests she's had in studio in the last week -- Justin Bieber, Bryan Cranston, Diane Keaton, Alison Brie and Lil Nas X.

It's been a rough stretch for Ellen the past several months. We broke the story ... her Montecito mansion with Portia de Rossi was burglarized in July, which led to a serious security upgrade at the home.

Around the same time ... several ex-employees of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" alleged a toxic work environment, for which she later apologized.

Pro Bowl QB, one of the NFL's best broadcasters ... and now, an insane impressionist?!

Yup, Tony Romo really can do it all ... 'cause the former Dallas Cowboys superstar showed off his imitations of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre this week -- and they were all AWESOME!!!

TR joined Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" ... when the comedian asked Romo to show the world his impersonations of some of the NFL's most notable quarterbacks.

Tony was initially pretty bashful about it all ... but when he got going -- it was hilarious!!

Romo started with Brady, and it drew a HUGE laugh from Kimmel and the audience. The 40-year-old then went on to Manning and Favre, and they were equally as good!!!

"You could be in Vegas in the offseason doing this stuff!" Kimmel told Romo after the bit. "Think about it, Tony!"

"Well, I could be," Romo fired back. "And then my wife would say, 'Then go ahead and stay there!'"

Ken Jennings -- the greatest "Jeopardy!" contestant of all time -- is being honored at the school he credits for helping him possibly become the trivia champion of all time.

Seoul Foreign School in South Korea has named Jennings its 2020 Alumnus of the Year, and he'll deliver the commencement speech in June to the graduating class of 2021.

The school says this is the highest honor it bestows upon alumni, and it recognizes the recipient's "excellence in their chosen field of endeavor and outstanding service to the community or profession, as well as devotion to SFS."

So, the obvious question ... South Korea??? That's correct. Jennings moved there with his parents at age 7 due to their jobs, and he attended SFS from grades 2-12 until he was 17 ... graduating high school in 1992.

Jennings says ... "It's hard to overstate how my eleven years at SFS shaped me as a person, and continues to loom in my psyche." He adds ... "I couldn't feel more honored by this award, given my fond memories of Seoul Foreign."

Ken's also said many times his time in S. Korea led to his desire to learn as much as possible about America and the world ... and his obsession with "Jeopardy!" He watched almost daily with friends after school on the one channel he got.

The rest, as they say, is history. Jennings won a record 74 games in a row on the game show in 2004, and in early 2020 ... he was crowned 'The Greatest of All Time' in a tournament with the other 2 most successful contestants ever -- Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer.

Of course, one can't mention Jennings without thinking of the late, great Alex Trebek, who died November 8 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Ken was one of his biggest fans and is set to guest host "Jeopardy!" after Alex's final episode airs Xmas Day.

Brooklyn born actor Ashley Monique Clark was only 10 years old when she shot to stardom after she landed the role of the adorable older sister Sydney Hughley -- who made trouble for her parents with her younger brother -- in the late '90s family sitcom "The Hughleys."

Ashley Monique Clark shared the screen time on the ABC show with Elise Neal as the mom, Yvonne Williams-Hughley, Dee Jay Daniels as the younger bro, Michael Hughley ... and of course D.L. Hughley as the man of the house, Darryl Hughley.

Ashley went on to be cast in other big-name shows like "Zoey 101" and "The Bernie Mac Show."