TV

Britney Spears says she's ready to tell her story to the world -- potentially even through Oprah -- but there's still a lot to be hammered out before, or even if, that happens.

Britney had fans buzzing this week when she posted a video and teased, "I might as well do a hint of my thoughts on the gram before I go and set things square on @Oprah."

Sources close to Spears tell us at this time, there's nothing set with Oprah. In fact, we're told there aren't any interviews lined up for Britney at all right now ... whether TV, print or podcast/radio.

Our sources say Britney's still just enjoying adjusting to life without the conservatorship, and while she is open to sitting down and telling her story at some point ... it won't be in the near future.

TMZ broke the story, there's currently a plan being put into place to consolidate 2 of the singer's trusts -- one established in 2004, the other in 2018 -- into one account to be controlled by Britney.

Not only are her finances being organized, Britney's team has also created a list of recommendations to keep Britney safe ... urging her to take necessary medications, attend doctor appointments, refrain from using drugs and alcohol and even limit driving.

Again, those things are only recommendations, and it will be up to Britney whether or not to take them into consideration in her day-to-day.

Bill Maher's seasonal swan song did not disappoint Friday night ... although this is a wrap for this season of "Real Time," he left us with future headlines that his crack staff claims are pre-ordained.

He has an ominous prediction for Britney Spears ... sort of Britney meets "Tiger King." And, there's news about a new FNC show, along with a name change for President Biden.

Maybe the most ominous and, dare we say hilarious, is the conflagration of Karens who come together for a fatal confrontation with each other.

And, then there's another "Jeopardy!" host who gets the ax for something said in years past ... many years past!

Oh, check out the headline about Meghan Markle that clearly perplexed the writer, and then there's a Putin prognostication that guest panelist Chris Christie is not dismissing out of hand.

And, finally ... the intersection between Sarah Palin's daughter and Kyle Rittenhouse.

Sheree Whitfield is not on speaking terms with her boyfriend Tyrone Gilliams ... because her reality TV career almost cost him his freedom.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the 'RHOA' star and Tyrone -- who's currently sentenced to home confinement -- have not spoken since a November 6 incident, when Sheree told Tyrone she was leaving NYC to go visit him in Philadelphia.

The trouble started a few hours before they were scheduled to meet ... because Sheree told Tyrone she would have an 'RHOA' camera crew with her when she got to town.

We're told Sheree wanted him to come film a scene with her in a restaurant -- but, obviously, that would be a huge no-no for Tyrone due to his home confinement. To put it plainly, a judge could've thrown his ass back in prison ... if he'd gone.

That's why he passed on shooting, and production told his attorneys they'd simply edit the show to make it look like Tyrone stood her up.

Making matters worse, this photo started circulating online ... showing Sheree sitting alone at a Philly restaurant. Eagle-eyed fans noticed 2 menus on the table -- not to mention the camera crew -- and assumed Tyrone was there shooting scenes.

Although he wasn't, he was worried about the optics with the courts.

As we first told you ... when Sheree returned to 'RHOA,' she made it clear she wanted her relationship with Tyrone to be a big storyline -- but that seems derailed now. Since the incident in Philly, we're told they have not spoken, and there's been no apology from either side.

Misha Collins must be feeling like a real estate guru right now -- he unloaded his Hollywood oasis and made it look super easy by selling it quickly, and getting way above his asking price.

The "Supernatural" star sold his stunning Hollywood Hills pad -- a 27,683-square-foot slice of tranquility -- for $4,550,000. Not too shabby, considering he listed it last month for $3.9 mil.

We'll do the math for ya ... Misha got $650k above asking, about 14 percent more.

The sprawling estate is broken up into 3 lots ... including a 3-bedroom main house, guest house and pool house, not to mention a writer's cabin.

Originally built in 1926, the place has since been updated to include Spanish architecture with a classic red-tile roof. There are Moorish details all over the place... like arched windows, wrought-iron railings and tiled stairs.

The 3-floor main house is decked out with a meditation room and fireplaces, and the pool comes with a motorized, retractable cover and a hot tub.

The estate also has a cabana with a built-in grill and kitchen, perfect for cooking up meals from the private vegetable garden.

Kevin Hart says standup comedy should change in the wake of all the buzz about Dave Chappelle's alleged transphobia -- but he insists most of the critics don't have a clue who Dave really is.

We got Kevin out Friday morning in NYC, and asked if he planned to change anything in his standup routines due to the backlash against Dave's "The Closer" -- and it sounds like he will. Kev said, "We all have to adjust. We all gotta make sure we're operating and managing in a respectful manner."

Watch how KH says it, because it comes off like a criticism of his pal Dave. As you know, Chappelle's been adamant his special was not transphobic, and he has nothing for which to apologize ... despite protests and a walkout staged by Netflix employees.

However, before ya start thinking there's a rift ... Kevin also came out swinging for Chappelle, telling us Dave is a very loving guy and "the narrative that's being attached [to Dave] doesn't necessarily have to be true without knowing the individual."

He also shouted out Chappelle directly, and sent him some love.

Meghan Markle got in on a tried-and-true skit that has become a staple on 'Ellen,' but this one did not land well on social media.

The Duchess of Sussex walked out onto the studio lot with an earpiece that allowed Ellen to give her prompts ... like touching her nose and doing a squat. She went to a couple of vendors on the lot, one of whom was hawking hot sauce. She referred to herself as "mommy" and Harry as her "Boo." She also jumped up and down on cue. Stuff like that.

Well, MM's getting dragged ... with one writer saying she never understood the difference between being a Royal and being a celebrity. Others called it cheesy and insincere ... trying to look like a woman of the people. Not necessarily a fair criticism, but welcome to 2021.

Meghan also made her case for federal paid family leave ... something she's lobbied for by calling various U.S. senators.

As for the mommy comments, she told the vendor "Let mommy have a taste ... My boo loves hot sauce." Then, she pulled out a baby bottle and exclaimed, "Mommy needs some milk."

"The Masked Singer" is gearing up for duets ... and fan-favorite Jesse McCartney is coming back to perform!!!

Production sources tell TMZ ... for the first time ever on the FOX singing competition, the group finalists will be singing duets with top secret guest performers, including previous contestants, international superstars and even a panelist or two.

One of the guest singers is season 3 runner-up Jesse, one of the most popular performers in the show's history as Turtle.

But, more importantly, we're told the way production prepared for these duets was TOP SECRET ... the guest singers have no idea who they’re performing with ... they rehearsed completely separately to tracks, and they met for the first time on stage the day of the performance.

New York City's mayor-elect is ready to hit to the ground running -- and smoking, apparently -- because he came to the 'Late Show' bearing gifts ... including the herbal variety.

Eric Adams is fresh off his election day victory and will replace Bill de Blasio in January, and he stopped by Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show Tuesday with a tote bag full of knickknacks he doled out one by one.

First, he presented a blanket, for SC and his boo to cuddle, then a GSD NYC T-shirt ... but the third gift is what's getting the most attention. Mr. Mayor-elect whipped out some rolling papers and what appeared to be a bag of marijuana -- he said he'd hand it off to Stephen backstage.

BTW, it wasn't real ganja -- Adams' team cleared that up after the fact, saying he didn't bring actual herb on set, even though it is legal in NYC ... and Adams does, in fact, support it.

The bamboo rolling papers were real, though ... so, at least Colbert got that!

Anyway, there was a final gift that won over the crowd -- Adams pulled an Oprah with gifts for the entire audience. No, everybody didn't get a car, but it was something to help promote NYC.

Rockmond Dunbar is OUT as an original cast member on "9-1-1" ... and it's all because of the TV show's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Rockmond, who plays Michael Grant on the FOX drama, saw his character suddenly written off in this week's episode.

Produced by Disney TV Studios 20th Television, the show reportedly requires all actors to be inoculated against the coronavirus ... and Rockmond was denied vaccine exemptions.

Rockmond explained his departure in a statement to Deadline, saying ... "I applied for religious and medical accommodations pursuant to the law and unfortunately was denied by my employer."

He adds ... "My sincerely held beliefs and private medical history are very intimate and personal aspects of my life that I do not publicly discuss and have no desire to start now."

Rockmond also told the outlet while he enjoyed his 5 seasons on "9-1-1" his acting gig comes second to his role as a husband and father to his 4 kids, and he's looking forward to what's next for him and wishing everyone on the show the best.

Carole Baskin is still fighting to have footage of herself removed from "Tiger King 2," and telling us how the series producers allegedly pulled some shady moves to deceive her.

We spoke to the big cat animal rescue owner herself just a day before Netflix is set to debut its sequel to the smash-hit series ... and Carole gave us the behind-the-scenes intel she says led to her filing a lawsuit to stop her image and likeness from being included in 'TK 2.'

For starters, Carole told us on Tuesday's "TMZ Live," she is NOT trying to stop Netflix from putting out a second installment -- she just wants any tie to her nixed from the final product.

As for why she wants out of the project? Well, Carole says she also hated the OG "Tiger King" ... and she alleges producers pitched it to her like it was going to be a "Blackfish"-styled expose on animal abuse. She even claims they even showed her an early promo cut which was exactly that.

As you now know ... "Tiger King" ended up playing as more of an anti-hero tale, with Joe Exotic as the heroic lead, and Carole as the "bad guy" nemesis.

That's Carole's biggest gripe -- what she calls the flat-out misrepresentation of her and her mission ... something she tells us is still haunting her to this day in the form of harassment and threats from rabid fans.

She also addressed what Jeff and Lauren Lowe told us Monday -- namely, that they're gearing up to sue Carole for allegedly tipping off the feds to violations at his now-shutdown Tiger King Park.

Carole says Jeff's fury is misplaced, and everything that's happened to him in the wake of "Tiger King" is his own doing. She claims her team got plenty of video evidence of animal abuse at Jeff's place, and she's airing it on her new Discovery+ show, "Carole Baskin's Cage Fight."

Somewhere Laura Ingraham is still confused as hell about what happened on her own show Monday night -- an exchange with her guest that she unwittingly turned into a classic comedic moment.

So, Ingraham was chatting with Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo about "woke storylines" in Hollywood productions when he brought up "You" -- the Netflix show, that is -- and an episode that mentioned measles.

But, Laura immediately thought he was talking about her, and it was painfully clear she's not aware "You" is a thing. With a horribly confused look on her face, she said, "When did I mention measles?"

Now, Raymond's confused too, and yells back at Laura, "No! It was on "You!'" -- which only enrages her more. You gotta see it.

Folks of a certain age (and knowledge) will see this as a modern, and accidental, take on Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's classic, "Who's on First?"

Sounds like Ingraham might be binging 3 seasons of "You" this weekend.

Chicago born actor Gary Cole has had incredible success in the film and television industry ... but he's best known for his quirky role as the monotone manager, Bill Lumbergh -- who smoothly slips in extra work days on the weekend over at Initech -- in the classic 1999 Mike Judge movie "Office Space."

There was plenty of other funny characters in the Initech headquarters including Ron Livingston as the hypnotized TPS reports slacker, Peter Gibbons, Stephen Root as the stapler-obsessed arsonist, Milton Waddams ... and of course Jennifer Aniston as the flair-loathing Chotchkie's server, Joanna.

GC's other notable roles include the fast-driving father, Reese Bobby, in 'Talladega Nights' and the foul-mouth strategist, Kent Davison, on the political comedy "Veep."

Luke Bryan has boots on the ground in Nashville looking for the next "American Idol" ... and after holding auditions, he hopped on stage at his own bar with Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.

TMZ obtained video of all 3 'Idol' judges cutting loose Sunday night at Luke's 32 Bridge bar in the heart of downtown Nashville ... and they were having a grand ole time, performing in front of a packed house.

Ya gotta see the video ... Luke's getting the crowd hyped in front of a full band, Lionel's dancing and keeping the beat and Katy's clapping along in an animal print coat.

She also made sure everyone had full drinks. Seriously, it looks super fun!!!

The star-studded trio is in Nashville holding auditions for the 20th season of "American Idol" before it starts airing February on ABC... and we're told they decided to crash Luke's joint once they were off the clock.

Renée Zellweger and boyfriend Ant Anstead are getting closer ... she just moved in across the street from his Laguna Beach home, and they will soon be under one roof.

TMZ has learned the actress recently started renting a 5-bedroom home in Laguna Beach ... and it just so happens the home is across the way from Ant's place.

Our sources say Ant is getting ready to renovate his place and it will be featured on HGTV's "Property Brothers" show. We're told the plan is for Renée and Ant to live in her rental until the renovations are complete.

Renée is already getting settled in her new digs, which she's renting for $30,000 per month ... we're told her personal belongings were recently moved into the house.

The crib is 4,900 square feet and it's decked out with all the bells and whistles, including a beautiful pool and backyard overlooking the Pacific.

Meanwhile, Ant's been on the move too ... he was traveling to New Orleans the past several weekends to see Renée leading up to her move.

Living together is a big step, but it might be a trial run ... it's unclear if Renée will move into his place permanently once the renovations at his home are finished, but it sure looks that way.

Nicole Kidman has a lot of doubters over her turn as Lucille Ball in a new movie about the iconic actress -- but those folks will be silenced ... so say critics, who were blown away.

Aaron Sorkin's new flick, "Being the Ricardos," got its first screening in L.A. this weekend -- in front of a crowd of professional movie reviewers, no less -- and the consensus seems to be ... NK absolutely killed it as Lucy/Lucille ... and she may well be on her way to an Oscar.

The first reactions were mostly positive ... with folks saying Nicole captured the spirit of Lucille (both as Lucy Ricardo and the real-life Lucille Ball) down to a T -- including a spot-on impression of her voice and mannerisms, according to the people who watched it.

There were rave reviews for Javier Bardem as well -- who plays Lucy/Lucille's on-and-off screen hubby Desi Arnaz/Ricky Ricardo -- and ditto for J.K. Simmons and others who also star in the movie. Nicole, however, seems to have stood out from the rest ... which is interesting.

Frankly ... much has been made about Nicole's casting as the lead, because -- well, she doesn't really look like Lucy or Lucille very much at all ... even when she's in costume and makeup.

A lot of "I Love Lucy" fans were incensed by the decision to tap NK -- saying she doesn't even slightly resemble Lucille ... meanwhile, Debra Messing (who's considered a dead ringer for LB) is there, presumably available to take on the role many feel she was born to play.

Sorkin shut all that down in a recent interview ... defending his choice of Nicole, saying the best performances of real people don't always have to be about matching their look.

Nestor Carbonell, the weather guy on "The Morning Show," says his character is the new poster child for cancel culture -- and how out of control it's gotten -- which was the whole point of season 2.

Nestor plays Yanko Flores on the Apple TV+ drama, and when we saw him at LAX, he solved a tiny mystery about his storyline. Don't worry ... if ya haven't seen it yet, we're not giving away much.

In a nutshell ... Yanko was doing a report about famed groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, when he refers to the little guy as his "spirit animal." That sets off a "woke mob" backlash, his bosses get pissed and the weatherman meteorologist gets hung out to dry.

Fans have been debating whether the Yanko plot was mocking cancel culture or embracing it -- and, not to offend equestrian lovers -- but, we went straight to the horse's mouth for the answer.

Nestor tells us, "What [Yanko] was canceled for was kind of absurd, which is kind of the point." There ya have it ... straight-up satire!!!