TV

Kim Kardashian's divorce from Kanye West might not be the sole focus of the farewell season of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" ... but it's definitely gonna get some airtime.

In a trailer for the show's 20th and final season, Kim cries with a wad of tissues in her hand and exclaims ... "I feel like a f***ing loser."

It's presumed since the show was filming for much of the past year that Kim's breakdown is related to the tumultuous times for her and Kanye, as their marital issues came to a head during his 2020 run for President, several Twitter tirades ... and a bipolar episode.

Kim and Kanye aren't getting all the shine -- Kendall wanting kids, Khloe and Tristan considering surrogacy, Kourtney and Scott Disick possibly reconciling and Kris talking about meeting up with Caitlyn Jenner are all topics to look forward to ... based on the trailer.

Pepe Le Pew was never meant to be interpreted as rape-y, but the times have caught up with him to make it seem that way ... so says the daughter of the guy who first drew him.

Linda Jones -- whose father, Chuck Jones, is credited as the creator and original animator of Pepe and other Looney Tunes -- tells TMZ she strongly disagrees with the notion the suave skunk contributed to rape culture, as suggested in an NYT op-ed.

On the contrary, Linda says she doesn't think anyone who ever watched Pepe was inspired to go out and rape, or even harass, people. She gets pretty literal, saying Pepe never raped another character on the show -- which, okay ... that's a given.

Still, LJ just doesn't think Pepe should be canceled or shelved over this -- because the OG running gag with him was never meant to be predatory ... she says it was more about how much he stunk as a suitor, despite thinking he was desirable.

She does admit Pepe's grabby approach toward Penelope Pussycat certainly doesn't look good by today's standards ... but insists folks who were watching him in the '50s, '60s and '70s were NOT thinking of that dynamic as normalizing rape culture.

Perhaps that was wrong or ignorant of audiences back then, she muses, but that just wasn't the vibe, nor the intention -- as she explains her pops, Chuck, was a super liberal dude, and was never out to hurt people. Linda says the purpose of Pepe was pure comedy.

As for axing Pepe from the new 'Space Jam' movie entirely ... Linda tells us that's Warner Bros.'s prerogative -- and that if they choose to give him a break for a while, so be it.

She did suggest something interesting to rebrand Pepe and capture the spirit her father intended -- write him as a perpetual job-seeker who keeps getting rejected, but constantly changes up his routine thinking he's the perfect candidate.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry accused members of the Royal Family of shocking racism ... with Oprah's interview delivering the goods -- a stunning attack on the Royals.

Perhaps the biggest moment was when Meghan told Oprah that she'd been informed her and Harry's son, Archie, would not get the title of prince, and as a result, would get no security either.

Meghan then fired the shot, saying people had conversations with her while she was still pregnant, saying Archie's skin might be too dark for the role. Oprah was speechless and stunned, and when she asked Meghan who made such a comment ... Meghan clammed up.

But, it seems almost inadvertent that a minute later ... she said these were convos with the "family."

Meghan says it got so bad that she contemplated suicide. She says she went to human resources begging to get professional help, but she claims they turned her down flat.

Meghan also threw Kate Middleton under the bus by saying stories that she made Kate cry in the lead-up to the wedding simply weren't true. Meghan said it was the reverse -- Kate made her cry, but she apologized later and Meghan forgave her.

Meghan also said she was silenced by the Firm, which manages Royal business, but given assurances she would be protected. Meghan then said they never protected her, saying ... "They were willing to lie to protect other members, but not willing to tell the truth about me."

Prince Harry eventually came on and corroborated Meg's claim that somebody brought up race as it pertained to their child, Archie, and even elaborated ... saying it was brought up early and often.

Oprah grilled Harry for details, but he refused to share any about what exactly was said ... or who allegedly said it. Basically, he's taking that to the grave -- but he did say this ... it was clear from the get-go with Meghan that race was something that was on the Royal Family's mind, and that it was going to be difficult to navigate.

He said things were brought up to him about Meghan, like suggestions that she carry on with her acting career, as the Family supposedly didn't have enough money to support her or offer security for her. He also said the question was asked ... what would their kids look like?

Another takeaway ... Harry said he and his father, Prince Charles, became estranged during 'Megxit' ... claiming Charles stopped taking his calls and pretty much went cold on him after Harry made it clear he wanted out, with PC apparently being pissed Harry was trying to change up the sitch.

One last thing ... Harry and Meghan revealed they're due to have a baby girl, so Archie's got a little sister on the way. Congrats!

Piers Morgan had an on-air shouting match with a Black woman during his morning TV show over her claims Queen Elizabeth is racist toward Meghan Markle.

Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu was one of the panelists who joined Piers Monday on "Good Morning Britain" to discuss Oprah's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan -- and she ripped into the Royal family, calling it an institution rooted in white supremacy and racism.

Piers wasn't having it, though, when the Doctor went after Her Majesty the Queen, saying ... "What kind of grandmother would be so close to her grandson Harry but then not use her power and influence as Queen to protect them from racist media coverage?"

He shouted back at Dr. Mos-Shogbamimu that her comments about QE2 were "disgusting" ... and then she fired right back at him.

Remember, Meghan and Harry said people in his family had conversations with him about their children potentially be too dark-skinned.

Piers made his feelings about the Oprah interview clear, tweeting it was "disgraceful" and a "betrayal".

The Netflix docuseries on L.A.'s mysterious Cecil Hotel is triggering a flood of new, and bizarre, theories on who was behind Elisa Lam's death -- some so strange they'd require time travel.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... ever since "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel" started streaming, LAPD's 24/7 hotline's been ringing off the hook with tips. We're told most are connecting the hotel's haunted past to the unsolved mystery of how Lam ended up dead in a rooftop water tank.

If you've seen the series you know a former GM at the Cecil said she saw about 80 deaths at the hotel over 10 years.

Our sources say the strangest tip cops have gotten involved Richard Ramirez, AKA The Night Stalker. Now, he is mentioned in the series, because he lived on the 14th floor at the hotel while he terrorized California in the '80s.

That tip clearly didn't come from Sherlock Holmes since Ramirez had been locked up for nearly 30 years when Lam was found dead in 2013.

Meghan Markle's struggles adjusting to Royal life are getting ZERO sympathy from someone in the 'Real Housewives' world ... that'd be Bethenny Frankel, who's got choice words for the Duchess.

The 'RHONY' star absolutely shredded Meghan Sunday just hours before her tell-all interview with Oprah was set to air on CBS ... invoking Justin Timberlake in telling her to take her woe-is-me moment and basically shove it.

Bethenny writes, "Cry me a river...the plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress, to suffering in a palace, w tiaras & 7 figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS to being a household name w @Oprah on speed dial, fetching 7 m for interviews, hundreds of millions in media deals. Thinking face #MARRY"

On Saturday, Bethenny aired out even more of her grievances over the coverage the interview was getting ... saying, "Not since @MonicaLewinsky interview, have people been obsessed with a young female interview like this #MARRY interview. Remember the famous lip gloss?"

Someone replied to her with a collage of headlines past about how her staff had reportedly been catty towards her right out the gate ... and that's what set Bethenny off anew.

She continued with her tirade, going on to say she gives Harry a break here -- as she doesn't feel he's the one pulling the strings for all this press the couple is now receiving ... something he's repeatedly said he's not a big fan of in light of what happened to his mother, Diana.

BF ended her thoughts with one last apparent shot at Meghan, writing ... "I chose reality tv, to work towards making $, to be scrutinized & criticized. I took the trappings & the beatings along with it. It’s a rose w petals & thorns. People beg to enter the often toxic institution I signed up for. That WAS the life I chose. You can’t play stupid & smart."

Jerry Springer revisited his pre-pandemic tradition of singing a famous Elvis tune for the King's birthday -- albeit a couple months late ... but still as incredible as ever.

The famed talk show host popped into Matteo's Trattoria Saturday night in Boca Raton, FL -- where he and a group of pals were sitting near a makeshift stage ... where management had booked a singer for the night to croon to old-timey songs, like Sinatra and whatnot.

We're told that toward the end of the guy's set and as it was nearing closing time, Jerry got up and spoke with the singer ... and then got on the mic himself to belt out EP's 'Love Me Tender.' As he sang, the crowd hooted and hollered ... clearly impressed with his pipes.

While the crowd might've been surprised over Jerry's smooth, silky voice ... it's actually nothing new. The guy stays singing 'LMT' ... or at least he was for years in honor of Elvis' birthday, Jan. 8. He did it back to back in 2016 and 2017 at the same joint in Dallas.

Looks like he took his show on the road this time around ... and got to flex in the middle of the pandemic. As you know, restaurants are opening up all over the country -- so that might be why we hadn't seen this in January ... when JS usually pays tribute.

Meghan Markle is taking off the gloves in her highly-anticipated/feared interview with Oprah, but she reportedly is nothing but nice to a Royal with whom she had issues ... Kate Middleton.

Markle has only kind words for her sister-in-law, according to NY Post sources.

The Palace reportedly is overwrought with worry over Sunday's sit-down, and an obvious concern is the now widely-reported rift between Meghan and Kate. There have been numerous stories about Kate being reduced to tears over Meghan's alleged demands revolving around Meghan's wedding.

Nevertheless, The Post says Meghan is nice to both Kate and William. William and Harry have had a fractured relationship for a while now ... when Harry left England we're told the 2 were barely speaking.

The interview, however, justifies cause for concern among the Royal Fam. Meghan goes after The Firm hard, saying she was silenced, lorded over and smeared.

On the heels of Dr. Seuss being muzzled for racist depictions in a few books, another beloved childhood memory is also being called problematic ... one Pepe Le Pew.

The Looney Tunes character fell into the crosshairs of NYT columnist Charles M. Blow -- who wrote an op-ed titled "Six Seuss Books Bore a Bias" ... where he argued racism is deeply embedded into American culture (especially pop culture) and fed to kids at a young age.

He brought up cartoons like Speedy Gonzales and Mammy Two Shoes -- the former being another LT character he says pushed racist stereotypes against Mexicans and the latter being a Tom & Jerry character portrayed as a heavyset Black maid who speaks with a caricaturized voice. You usually just see her legs/feet ... but her full figure was depicted too.

Those two examples specifically address his race concern, but he threw in Pepe as well as another 'toon that telegraphed the wrong message ... saying the French skunk normalized and perpetuated rape culture. Of course, a lot of people had very different reactions -- some agreeing, and others lambasting Blow for suggesting a drawing could sway real-life behavior.

To that, Blow responded ... "RW blogs are mad bc I said Pepe Le Pew added to rape culture. Let’s see. 1. He grabs/kisses a girl/stranger, repeatedly, w/o consent and against her will. 2. She struggles mightily to get away from him, but he won’t release her 3. He locks a door to prevent her from escaping." It's true ... Penelope Pussycat was often in Pepe's clutches.

Still, some say he's reaching to make a point ... and that the cartoon was never meant to be interpreted that way, adding it was all in good fun and that no child would absorb Pepe's behavior as something to be mimicked. Fair enough, but the cartoon theory isn't novel.

The great Dave Chappelle once touched on this exact issue in a stand-up special of his, "Killin' Them Softly," where he TOO brought up Pepe Le Pew ... and flat-out called him a rapist. He discussed other kid shows that looked much different through an adult lens -- like "Sesame Street" characters ... which he hilariously compared to troubled adults.

"Entourage" star Kevin Connolly put the E in "eruption" after his car got towed at a flower shop ... and the store's banning him after the blow-up.

The manager of Nicolai Bergmann Flowers & Design in L.A. tells TMZ ... there’s a podcast studio next to the shop, and they claim Kevin's frequently parked his Tesla in their parking lot ... presumably while recording podcasts.

On Tuesday, the manager says the shop had enough -- after having left multiple notes on Kevin's car about jacking their parking -- so after it had been there more than an hour ... they called a tow truck.

Kev's car alarm was sounding as the tow truck left with his baby.

Shortly afterward, Kevin entered the flower shop -- captured on security camera -- and appeared to grow increasingly irritated while speaking to the staff.

We're told he asked where his car was and was told to call the towing company ... and that's when you see him getting really upset. Kevin appears to yell at someone as he's walking out, then delivers a couple of swift kicks to items near the exit.

The shop manager says the business is closing soon, but regardless ... Kevin is not allowed to come back to the store while it remains open.

The judge in the "QAnon Shaman" case is scratching his head over decisions made by the infamous defendant ... in particular, his decision to do a LONG interview with "60 Minutes+."

The accused insurrectionist, whose real name is Jacob Chansley, was called on the carpet by the judge for doing the jailhouse interview, which appeared on "60 Minutes+."

Chansley's lawyer told the judge yes, they did arrange for the interview, but felt everything was kosher. Apparently, the judge didn't see it that way.

Chansley, who says he's been in solitary since being arrested, said he was never violent inside the Capitol. He says his participation was "not an attack on this country" ... an interesting argument, given the images of him in the Senate Chamber.

He also says he's still loyal to Trump, despite being overlooked for a pardon. He makes it clear ... he did what he did at the former President's behest.

Timothy V. Murphy is ready to throw back some Irish whiskey and beer for St. Patrick's Day ... and he'll be doing it at a pub, even though the CDC wants the holiday to go virtual.

We got the "Sons of Anarchy" star at LAX Friday afternoon and our photog asked the famous Irishman about his St. Paddy's Day plans.

Timothy says he's looking forward to drinking at some popular Irish pubs in L.A. and he's not about to cancel the holiday for the second year in a row, despite the CDC urging folks to stay home and celebrate.

The way Timothy sees it ... St. Patrick's Day just doesn't work in a virtual setting, so he's keeping it live and in person. L.A. has outdoor dining (and drinking) again, so he'll have options.

Our guy also asked Timothy about Conor McGregor catching heat for buying a bottle of Proper 12 inside a liquor store without wearing a mask. Sounds like Timothy's glad he's not back in Ireland, or New York City, for that matter.

Amber Rose is 100 percent behind Taylor Swift for calling out the Netflix show that made a joke about the singer's dating history ... because she says you can never let up on sexism.

We got Amber leaving Sushiya in WeHo late Thursday, and she's totally Team Taylor after Swift blasted the show, "Ginny and Georgia," earlier this week for what she referred to as a dated, lazy, deeply sexist, "horse s**t" joke.

If ya missed it, the character Ginny yells at her mother ... "What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift."

Though many supported Taylor's stance on the joke, other folks accused her of overreacting ... but Amber tells us that's BS. She says slut-shaming is a problem that ya can't overreact to ... and Taylor has a right to feel the way she does.

Lance Waldroup, a famous bootlegger from Discovery's "Moonshiners," has died.

Lance died Feb. 25 in his home state of North Carolina ... according to his father, Jeff, who also appeared on the reality show alongside his son. The cause of death remains unclear.

Discovery tells TMZ ... Lance will be remembered as an adventurous distiller who was always looking to take his flavorful recipes of moonshine to new heights.

Lance appeared in several early seasons of the show ... bootlegging out of North Carolina with his father. He was one of the younger and less experienced moonshiners, and would often turn to his dad for guidance. He also distilled absinthe and scotch.

Lance's family set up a GoFundMe to raise money for a memorial fund, and the description says he was a recovering drug addict who had turned his life around after going to rehab.

The Waldroups have really been through it -- the family says Lance had survivor's guilt because his sister died when she was 11, and his brother died when he was 20.

Lance was only 30.

'Walking Dead' makeup artist and executive producer Greg Nicotero doesn't need CDC guidelines to prepare for a zombie apocalypse ... he already knows a safe place to hide.

We got the genius behind the show's most epic zombies at LAX and asked him what would be in his zombie preparedness kit, something the CDC is actually advising folks to have just in case Nostradamus is right about his big 2021 prediction.

Greg tells our camera guy he just needs a makeup kit to survive ... because it would allow him to blend in with the rest of the zombie horde.

Of course, Greg's the most skilled zombie makeup artist in the world ... but for the rest of us, he says duct tape could really come in handy and the big key is hiding out in a place no zombie would ever think to look, like the dentist's office.

As we reported ... the CDC updated its website's "Zombie Preparedness" section and the overall theme is "Get a Kit. Make a Plan. Be Prepared."

Greg says he's sat on zombie panels with CDC doctors and he thinks the federal agency just wants Americans to at least think about what they would do in a situation like a zombie apocalypse. In reality, the CDC is just clowning a bit, but with a purpose ... to drive younger people to the site for important medical info.

Terrence Green, best known as Rigo on the 'Step Up' TV series, really stepped in it -- production sources say he mimicked pointing a gun at a cop, and now the network's dropping the hammer.

Sources close to production of the Starz show tell TMZ ... they were filming at the Atlanta courthouse this week when Terrence approached a police officer and used his fingers to gesture like he was pointing a gun at the cop's head.

We're told it seemed Green meant it as a joke -- albeit a tasteless one -- but everyone was appalled by it, including the officer.

A spokesperson for Starz and Lionsgate, which produces 'Step Up,' tells TMZ ... a thorough investigation of the incident's been done, and Terrence "will receive strong disciplinary action."

The rep adds ... "We do not condone any on set behavior, even a gesture, that suggests or simulates violence toward another individual."