TV

Bill Maher is throwing in the towel on American democracy -- or so it seems -- and he makes a case.

The 'Real Time' host served up a scary parallel between the U S of A and Brazil, both of which had insurrections over their respective presidential elections -- the U.S. on January 6, 2021, and Brazil on January 8, 2023.

In both cases, as Bill says, the presidents who disputed the election were thrice-married, right-wing populists. But that's where the comparison ends.

In Brazil's case, almost everyone rose up against the rioters and the president, who's been banished from the country and is now living in Florida. In the case of America, the former president now living in Florida will be the Republican nominee by an insanely large margin.

Bill then dove into how we really have never been truly democratic ... California has the same representation in the Senate -- which, by the way, can convict a president for misdeeds -- as sparsely populated Wyoming. We have this fakakta electoral college which has no correlation to the popular vote.

Then Bill gets even more real with the confession, maybe we lost our taste for democracy because "we're just a s**ttier people than we used to be."

Ellen DeGeneres hit the gym hard for her 66th birthday, impressing her wife, Portia De Rossi, who pulled out a camera phone and started recording the intense workout.

The former talk show host celebrated another year on the planet Friday by pumping iron and doing other strenuous exercises at the gym, proving that she's as fit as an Olympian.

Portia was right there by Ellen's side, shooting it all on video, which was later posted on Instagram.

Check it out ... Ellen started off lifting dumbbells while asking Portia who was filming her, "Are you saying this is what 66 looks like?'

Portia sweetly replied, "what your 66 looks like."

Ellen then did one-arm overhead presses using a single dumbbell before pushing a large piece of exercise equipment across the gym floor and ending her routine with a series of pullups. Pretty Impressive, Ellen!

Portia thought so too, writing in the IG caption, "My darling wife! You continue to amaze me and inspire me. Happy Birthday to the strongest, sweetest, most brilliant person I know."

It's the weekend, and best believe we finished strong at TMZ -- especially on the TV front ... where we covered everything from the ongoing Ozempic wars ... to shower eating. 😅

'TMZ Live' was yet another slug fest between Dr. Terry Dubrow and Jillian Michaels -- who seem to be at war with one another over the hotly-debated issue of Ozempic ... and whether it's actually healthy for people who wanna lose weight.

The latest shot was fired by Dubrow, who told Michaels she oughta get her M.D. before weighing in on medication -- but Jillian's been holding her own, and isn't backing down.

On 'TMZ on TV,' we ended the week on a bit of a lighter note -- namely, diving in on whether Jessica Biel's self-confessed "shower snacking" was efficient ... or downright gross.

Lotsa people in our newsroom had different opinions on this one ... just watch for yourself!

Finally, we get to 'TMZ Sports' ... where Mojo and Mike entertained the possibility of the famed L.A. Clippers fan, Darrell Bailey, of changing his allegiance to the Lakers.

The reason they're even talking about it ... Snoop Dogg is encouraging him to jump ship!

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Tyler Christopher died under sad circumstances -- according to officials, he suffocated to death ... and it appears to have been partially caused by him being drunk.

According to the Medical Examiner Office's report, obtained by TMZ, the "General Hospital" star's official cause of death is being listed as positional asphyxia due to acute alcohol intoxication. There's a contributing condition cited ... coronary artery atherosclerosis.

In layman's terms, Tyler suffocated to death because of how he was positioned when he died -- and the ME here is saying booze played in a part in him ending up that way. The latter description is basically plaque build-up in his arteries. His death was accidental.

We broke the story ... Tyler's friend found him deceased at his San Diego apartment -- this after trying and failing to get a hold of him for a while. His pal discovered his body in his bedroom ... and called 911 shortly thereafter.

Tyler's one-time costar, Maurice Benard, broke the news about his passing ... calling him a "truly talented individual that lit up the screen in every scene he performed and relished bringing joy to his loyal fans through his acting."

He'd been on 'General Hospital' for a very long time, starring in over 1,100 episodes. TC was only 50.

Teresa Giudice is a big hit with New York's finest, because cops nabbed the 'Real Housewife' ... for selfies and such, that is -- which is ironic considering her legal history.

The 'RHONJ' star was in Manhattan Thursday night when an NYPD cruiser pulled up next to her SUV parked in Midtown on 5th Avenue ... and the officers gave her a friendly greeting over their loudspeaker.

Folks who were there say cops hopped out of their car and walked over to Teresa and asked for a photo ... and she obliged. As you can see, Teresa and a trio of NYPD officers were all smiles as they took snaps on the sidewalk.

It's pretty interesting to see Teresa chopping it up with police ... especially since she ran into some serious legal trouble.

TG ended up doing 11 months at a federal correctional institution in Danbury, CT for wire and bank fraud. Of course, her then-husband Joe Giudice was also convicted of the same crimes, and hit with a 41-month sentence.

El hijo de Rick Harrison, Adam Harrison, parece haber estado mal los días previos a su muerte, al menos eso es lo que la gente que vivía a su alrededor le dijo a la policía.

De acuerdo con un nuevo informe de la policía obtenido por TMZ, los oficiales en Las Vegas respondieron a una llamada por una persona que no respondía el viernes, que resultó ser Adam. Los oficiales llegaron y confirmaron que había fallecido, y luego les contaron más sobre lo que aparentemente había sucedido en los días previos a esta tragedia.

Resulta que la policía se enteró de que Adam había estado alojado en una casa de huéspedes en esta propiedad y se percataron de que acababa de salir de la cárcel después de cumplir 3 meses tras las rejas, aunque no está claro por qué exactamente. El propietario dijo que necesitaba un lugar para quedarse después de la liberación y que le ofrecieron esta casa de huéspedes como una muestra de amabilidad.

Sin embargo, cuando continuó estando fuera del radar a partir de entonces, los compañeros de cuarto le dijeron a la policía que trataron de llamar a su puerta, pero que nunca respondió. En ese momento, se involucró el propietario, quien abrió la unidad de Adán y lo encontró tumbado en su cama sin respuesta.

Los compañeros de piso le dijeron a los agentes que si bien su estancia en la propiedad había sido breve, solo dos semanas más o menos, al parecer comentaron que percibían su comportamiento como errático y extraño, incluyendo que supuestamente se atrincherara en esta pequeña casa de huéspedes.

Los compañeros de piso también declararon a la policía que sospechaban que Adam había consumido drogas. Como informamos, Adam murió de una sobredosis de fentanilo, confirmado por su familia.

El propio Rick le dijo a TMZ: "El fentanilo convirtió a mi hijo en alguien que no era y eso conllevó malas decisiones y pasar tiempo en la cárcel". Adam solo tenía 39 años.

Rick Harrison's son, Adam Harrison, seems to have been in a bad way in the days leading up to his death -- at least that's what people who were living around him told cops.

According to a new police report, obtained by TMZ, officers in Vegas responded to a call for service reporting an unresponsive person on Friday ... which turned out to be Adam. The responding officers arrived and confirmed he was deceased, and then were told more of the backstory of what apparently happened in the days leading up to this tragedy.

As it turns out, cops were told Adam had been staying in a guest house at this property -- and noted he had just been released from jail after serving 3 months behind bars ... although it's unclear what exactly for. The landlord said he needed a place to stay upon release, and they offered this guest house as somewhat of a kindness.

Officers interviewed a handful of roommates who had been living there as well ... and they said they hadn't seen Adam come by the main house in a few days. When they tried checking on him via social media, the roommates said they got a message back from him saying he was ill and quarantining.

However, when he continued to be off the radar thereafter ... the roommates told police that they tried knocking on his door, but said he never answered. At that point, they got the landlord involved -- who opened up Adam's unit ... only to find him lying unresponsive on his bed.

The roommates told officers that while his stay there at the property had been brief -- just two weeks or so, it seems -- they relayed behavior of his that they perceived as erratic and strange ... including allegedly barricading himself inside his little guest house there.

The roommates also claimed to cops that they suspected Adam had had a history of drug use too. As we reported ... Adam died of a fentanyl overdose, confirmed by his family.

Rick himself tells TMZ ... "Fentanyl turned my son into someone he wasn’t and that brought with it bad decisions and spending time in jail." Adam was only 39.

12:34 PM PT -- Alyssa Milano took to Twitter/X to address the backlash over the GoFundMe she set up to help fund her son's baseball team saying ... “I’m getting media inquiries about whether I have financially contributed to my son’s baseball team."

Alyssa continued, "I’ve paid for uniforms for the entire team and coaches, thrown bday parties and sponsor any kid who can’t afford monthly dues. The kids also do fundraising themselves—car washes, movie nights, and many other fun things!"

"Thank you to all who have contributed to the gofundme! You’ve made things easier for these boys and their families.”

Alyssa Milano asked her many followers/fans to chip in for her son's youth baseball trip -- and because she's perceived as incredibly wealthy ... she's getting dragged through the coals.

The actress posted a link to a GoFundMe account that she and her husband, David Bugliari, started on behalf of their kid's 12U squad ... which she calls a travel fund that'll help the boys get to Cooperstown for a big baseball tournament, plus other expenses.

She wrote, "My son’s baseball team is raising money for their Cooperstown trip. Any amount would be so greatly appreciated. You can read more about the team and make a donation here" ... after which, she linked to the GFM page, which has a goal of raising $10,000.

The cash, the page says, will go toward travel costs, uniforms and family dues for players -- and it benefits the whole team, of course ... not just Alyssa's son. Still, the internet's pissed.

You can hop into the "Alyssa Milano" trend this AM to get a sense of what the hell everyone's so angry about because of this -- but it's pretty straight-forward ... people are complaining that AM is a huge star, who's presumably loaded and who can afford this with the snap of her finger. So ... why is she going around soliciting donations like a normie???

As you can imagine, the jokes are flying at Alyssa's expense -- but a lot of folks are genuinely outraged that she'd try to fundraise considering her position. Even more interesting is the fact that in the list of visible donors, none appear to feature her name.

She hasn't addressed all the hand-wringing just yet -- but TBH, this feels like a case of people making assumptions about her on a number of fronts ... and we'll just leave it at that.

Caroline Manzo is suing Bravo over something that happened between her and Brandi Glanville during a 'Housewives' spinoff that got raunchy ... which CM says crossed the line.

The 'RHONJ' star just filed against the network -- plus a ton of other production companies/studios involved in making 'Housewives' -- over an incident she claims took place in Jan. 2023 out in Morocco ... where she says they were attempting to film for a show called "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip."

Long story short, this is a mish-mash of 'Housewives' from different shows -- and they get them all together for a season of drama while Bravo and co. films them vacationing.

However ... in the docs, obtained by TMZ, Caroline alleges that things went too far between herself and Brandi ('RHOBH') one evening -- during which she claims she was sexually harassed by BG after producers supplied castmates with alcohol to promote more outrageous behavior for the show.

Basically, CM claims Brandi was coming on to her in their rental house -- and alleges she even forced herself onto Caroline and kissed her without consent ... going on to claim that Brandi continued to paw at her and "mount" her on a couch, making for a very awkward interaction.

While Caroline most certainly has issues with what she claims Brandi did in the moment -- she's not suing her in this suit ... instead, she's suing Bravo -- alleging that showrunners and producers were responsible for creating/fostering a drunken environment that puts cast members at risk for things like this to happen.

In fact, Brandi came out after the fact -- this season hasn't aired yet BTW -- saying, more or less, the same thing on Twitter ... pinning the whole thing on producers and alleging that they really push for this type of over-the-top behavior to stir up drama in hopes of ratings.

Brandi -- who's been part of other 'Girls Trip' seasons for Bravo -- even claimed online a while back that producers strongly encouraged cast members to get drunk with excessive alcohol -- and Caroline, too, alleges that in her lawsuit here. She also describes what allegedly happened between her and Brandi as triggering trauma she says she experienced as a little girl ... when she says she was sexually assaulted at the young age of 7.

Now, she's suing Bravo for negligence, sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more. Of course, Caroline is seeking major damages here.

It's just about the end of the week here, and best believe we're finishing at TMZ -- especially when it comes to what we're covering on our TV shows ... and Thursday was no excpetion.

Let's start with 'TMZ Live,' where Harvey and Charles touched an ever-growing problem in the modern world -- namely, the fact that AI is starting to get VERY good at creating deepfake imagery, especially as it pertains to celebs. In this case, Taylor Swift herself was victimized.

We spoke with an AI expert about this ... and he told us to buckle up, it's just getting started.

On 'TMZ on TV,' the gang got to talking about Jason Momoa's new Super Bowl ad -- which he was seen filming this week out in the Valley ... alongside none other than Zach Braff and Donald Faison. Yes, it's for T-Mobile ... and yes, it's another musical/dance number thing.

We'll say this ... JM looked like he was having fun -- can you tell by the 'Flashdance' tribute?

Down in the 'TMZ Sports' world ... Mojo and Babcock got to talking about this new 'Road House' movie, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The reason that's relevant to sports is because none other than Conor McGregor is also in the flick ... and he and JG face off in a BIG way.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Storm Reid's at the top of her game in Hollywood -- especially after winning an Emmy -- but that doesn't make her above anyone else on campus ... yes, she's still in school!

We got the professional actress -- who just took some hardware in recent weeks -- at LAX Thursday ... she says despite bagging the Outstanding Guest Actress award in a Drama Series for her role in HBO's "The Last of Us," she's still treated the same at USC School of Dramatic Arts -- where she's studying drama/theater.

The obvious question is ... how are folks treating you after the Emmy win?!? As it turns out, Storm tells people are pretty regular with her -- and, apparently, just excited and proud of her, as they come up to congratulate her ... at least that's what Storm's saying.

Clearly, she's staying humble ... but we'll say -- it is fascinating that her shiny new accolade doesn't seem to change her dynamic between her theatre teachers, or her peers.

From this chat here ... you'd almost never know she was a decorated, pro actor!

With that said, Storm's pleased to be learning loads of new techniques from the acting curriculum ... which she's already implementing in her on-screen work.

The gist here is that she's very happy in her Hannah Montana era -- living the best of both worlds -- a Hollywood star and an average, everyday dorm-living college student.

Storm Reid está en la cima en Hollywood, especialmente después de ganar un Emmy, pero eso no la pone por encima de cualquier otra persona en el campus, sí, ella todavía está en la escuela.

Encontramos a la actriz en LAX el Jueves, ella dice que a pesar de haber ganado el premio a la Actriz Invitada Sobresaliente en una Serie Dramática por su papel en "The Last of Us" de HBO, todavía la tratan como a una estudiante más en USC School of Dramatic Arts, donde está estudiando teatro.

La pregunta obvia es... ¿Cómo te trata la gente después de ganar el Emmy? Resulta que Storm dice que la gente se ha comportado de forma bastante natural, y al parecer, están emocionados y orgullosos de ella ya que se acercan a felicitarla... al menos eso es lo que dice Storm.

Está claro que no pierde la humildad... pero es fascinante que su nuevo galardón no parezca cambiar la dinámica entre sus profesores de teatro o sus compañeros.

De esta charla... ¡No te darías cuenta de que es una actriz profesional condecorada!

Dicho esto, Storm está encantada de estar aprendiendo un montón de nuevas técnicas en el plan de estudios de actuación, que ya está aplicando en su trabajo en la pantalla.

Ella dice que está pasando por un período Hannah Montana, viviendo lo mejor de ambos mundos, una estrella de Hollywood y una chica promedio.

Hasan Minhaj almost ended "The Daily Show" producers' search for a permanent host months ago ... only for his embellishing scandal to blow the deal -- according to reports.

Here's the deal ... The Hollywood Reporter gave fans of 'TDS' an inside look at how Jon Stewart's return to Comedy Central's flagship satirical news show came to fruition -- and Minhaj got name-dropped in the piece.

Basically, THR says the deal was right at the finish line, just needing to cross the t's and dot the i's over the summer to bring HM on as Trevor Noah's replacement ... until the New Yorker published their exposé on Hasan embellishing stories in his stand-up special.

Remember, the magazine alleged Hasan hammed up stories for the shock value ... including one about taking his daughter to the hospital because of an anthrax scare and another where he said he was turned down by a girl he asked out because of his race -- something the woman in question flat-out denied BTW.

Minhaj -- who appeared as a guest host in the year-plus since Noah went off the air -- has defended himself, denying some of the New Yorker's assertions ... but THR says the scandal was "suddenly seen as a liability" so higher-ups backed off hiring him.

The backlash to Hasan's scandal was swift ... with some comedians frustrated over Minhaj saying they all embellish with their stand-ups. Bill Maher straight-up called the guy a liar on an episode of his show back in October.

As we previously reported ... producers recently announced a tried and true part-time option -- bringing back Jon Stewart to host the show on Mondays through election season and executive produce the show through at least 2025. Hosting duties from Tuesday to Thursday will be handled by correspondents on a rotating basis.

Anthony Ramos ha sido fichado para interpretar una versión con actores de "Bob el Constructor", pero la jugada está levantando críticas porque su personaje, al parecer, va a ser explícitamente latino.

La cosa es así, Anthony Ramos fue anunciado como el protagonista de la nueva película de juguetes de Mattel, para interpretar al propio Bob. Aunque en el comunicado de prensa que está circulando se dice que el nombre real de su personaje es en realidad "Roberto".

La descripción oficial de la trama dice: "Cuando Roberto 'Bob' viaja a la encantadora isla de Puerto Rico para un importante trabajo de construcción, se enfrenta a cuestiones que afectan a la isla y profundiza en lo que significa construir. El viaje de Bob celebrará las vibrantes y coloridas texturas de las naciones latinas del Caribe y su gente".

La otra gran noticia de esto es el hecho de que la compañía cinematográfica de Jennifer Lopez, Nuyorican Productions, está ayudando a hacer este proyecto, por supuesto, ella misma también es latina.

Así que la pregunta es, ¿por qué de repente hacemos que "Bob el constructor" sea hispano?

Sin duda, eso es lo que muchas personas se están preguntando en Internet en este momento, por no hablar de un montón de memes y chistes sobre este giro sorpresa en el programa de dibujos animados que ha existido durante años. Lo más importante es que Bob siempre ha sido percibido como un personaje blanco.

Ahora, sin embargo, parece que J Lo y compañía quieren reimaginarlo por alguna razón y digamos que hay reacciones mixtas frente a la decisión. Algunos están a favor, argumentando que no debería importar la raza o etnia de Bob, pero otros están llorando y afirmando que esto es "woke" casting.

Lo que es peor aún, algunos incluso están sugiriendo que hacer Bob Latino podría ser un poco racista, jugando con los estereotipos y convirtiendo a un personaje que nadie pidió.

Curiosamente, hay incluso un puñado de personas que sugieren que Jen y todos los demás deberían haber desarrollado / adaptado a otro personaje "trabajador" de los dibujos animados que ya está escrito como un latino, a saber, "Handy Manny". ¿Por qué no hacer que Anthony lo interprete?

Cómo están digiriendo las personas esta noticia es, sin duda, una bolsa de gatos y suponemos que la identidad racial de Bob está, técnicamente, en el ojo del espectador.

Anthony Ramos has been tapped to play a live-action version of 'Bob the Builder' -- but the move is turning heads ... 'cause his character is apparently going to be Latino, explicitly.

Here's the deal ... AR was announced as the lead of Mattel's newest toy-to-movie offering, meaning he's going to play Bob himself -- although, in the press release that's going around ... it says his character's real name is actually "Roberto."

The official description of the plot reads ... "When Roberto 'Bob' travels to the enchanting island of Puerto Rico for a major construction job, he takes on issues affecting the island and digs deeper into what it means to build. Bob’s journey will celebrate the vibrant and colorful textures of the Caribbean Latin nations and their people."

The other big news from this is the fact that Jennifer Lopez's movie company -- Nuyorican Productions -- is helping make this thing ... of course, she herself is also Latina.

So the question ... why are we making 'Bob the Builder' Hispanic all of a sudden???

That's certainly what a lot of people online are asking right now -- not to mention a bunch of memes and jokes about this surprise twist on the cartoon show that's been around for years. The biggest takeaway is that Bob has always been perceived as a white character.

Now, however, it looks like J Lo and co. wanna reimagine that for some reason -- and let's just say there are mixed reactions to the decision. Some are for it, arguing it shouldn't matter what race/ethnicity Bob is ... but others are crying foul and claiming this is "woke" casting.

Worse yet ... some are even suggesting that making Bob Latino might just be a little racist -- playing into stereotypes and turning a character on its head, which nobody asked for.

Funny enough, there are even a handful of folks suggesting Jen and everybody would've been better off developing/adapting another "worker" cartoon character who's already written as a Latino ... namely, 'Handy Manny.' Why not just have Anthony play him?

How people are digesting this is for sure a mixed bag -- and we suppose Bob's racial identity is, technically, in the eye of the beholder. We'll say this ... it does sorta feel like a reach.

Ukraine is lambasting HBO's "The White Lotus" for casting Miloš Biković ... a Serbian actor who's voiced support and admiration for Russia amid the ongoing war, and has accepted a medal from Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine's foreign ministry called out HBO in an X post Wednesday ... asking if it was right for the outlet to work with a person who supports genocide and violates international law.

A quick rundown on the uproar: Biković's been accused of supporting Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine ... even posting an X poll showing that trust in Putin was higher than in Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He's starred in a string of Russian films, such as 2014's "Sunstroke" ... which Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he'd filmed in Crimea, the peninsula Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

In 2018, Putin awarded Biković a Pushkin medal for advancing Russian culture. A year later, Ukraine banned him from entering the country for national security reasons.

The 36-year-old was unfazed over the ban, making it clear where his loyalties lie as he gushed over receiving Russian citizenship in 2021 ... and added, he'd been actively participating in Russian cultural life for more than 7 years.

His casting in the third season of Mike White's anthology series was announced earlier this month ... and production is set to begin next month in Thailand.

Deadline reports he'll likely play a Russian-speaking wellness guru at the hotel -- though his character details haven't been confirmed.

The dark comedy has been a massive hit with fans and has dominated award season with its first 2 seasons ... so expectations are undoubtedly high for the third.