TV

"American Horror Story" alum Naomi Grossman is coming to Ryan Murphy's defense amid the growing debate surrounding "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."

ICYMI ... the Menendez brothers have made it clear they aren't fans of the show, with EM previously bashing the Netflix drama as a "dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our crime."

Yet, when we caught up with Naomi in Santa Monica, California, she voiced her shock at the siblings' outrage ... since she felt the show painted Lyle and Erik as "total victims."

Sally Field is opening up about her own "illegal" abortion experience ahead of the November election ... as she hopes her story will resonate with voters.

The Oscar winner shared her "traumatic" story in a video posted to Instagram Sunday evening, where she confirmed she got pregnant at 17 just after graduating high school.

As she put it ... she didn't have family support or finances to go through with the pregnancy, and so, a family doctor arranged to take her to Mexico so she could get an abortion.

"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Whitney Rose is concerned for her daughter's wellbeing ... announcing her teen, Bobbie Rose, has been hospitalized due to a serious health scare.

The Bravo personality shared the troubling update on her Instagram Story Sunday evening, where she noted Bobbie Rose was currently in the ICU over "severe asthma exacerbation."

She wrote ... "My beautiful community please pray for my angel daughter Bobbie Rose. I normally would never come on here to share something so vulnerable but we need prayers and good vibes right now."

Talk about a heavy topic for some late-night laughs ... "Saturday Night Live" went all in on Diddy, who’s currently behind bars on charges related to racketeering, sex trafficking and other serious crimes.

On the show's "Weekend Update" segment, Michael Che quipped alongside a pic of Diddy, “It was reported that the U.S. added 245,000 new jobs. Unfortunately, they were all 'Diddy accusers.'”

The audience erupted in laughter as Michael kept it rolling, saying, "It was announced that Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking case has been assigned to a new judge. One that Diddy hopes is cool with rapes."

The Jim Henson Company's studio lot in Los Angeles is NOT being sold to the Church of Scientology, TMZ has confirmed.

Here's the deal ... a report surfaced this week claiming the historic studio lot that served as a home for The Muppets was going to change hands and end up with Scientology.

But in a statement issued Saturday ... the estate of the legendary puppeteer denied a sale was ever in place.

Richard Simmons is up in heaven with his trademark tank top and shorts, working up a sweat ... at least that's what his brother said at Richard's celebration of life.

The late fitness guru was remembered Saturday in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana ... and his brother, Leonard, compared him to Clark Kent during a touching eulogy at St. Louis Cathedral.

Leonard says Richard was like Superman in that he always had his tank top and shorts on under his outfit -- like Clark keeping his superhero getup under his civilian clothes.

Travis Kelce's "Grotesquerie" character was a stripper back in the day, but he's now getting opportunities to bring Ed Lachlan's past back to the present ... with several male revues telling TMZ Sports they would love "Big Peter and His Banana Splitter" to make a special appearance!!

The Kansas City Chiefs superstar made his debut on the Ryan Murphy show this past week ... and in one scene, his role was revealed as a former dancer at a male strip club in Juneau, Alaska, where he was "jiggling it for horny mamas coming off of cruise ships."

Unfortunately, there weren't any flashback scenes.

What a wild week it's been!!! So, be sure to settle in for a roundup of all the juicy TMZ TV hot takes you may've missed.

Kicking things off on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Babcock dive into all the latest Diddy developments, including his eyebrow-raising talk show appearance with a teenage Justin Bieber back in 2011.

LeVar Burton is paying tribute to John Amos following news of the actor's death ... crediting the late star for making history in Hollywood.

We caught up with the actor outside ABC Studios in NYC Friday, where LB had nothing but good things to say about the late TV legend. As LeVar put it ... John's legacy is to be celebrated, especially regarding his work as James Evans on "Good Times."

He noted ... "For me, personally, John's legacy will be that he changed the way Black men were perceived on television in America. James Evans was a householder and, prior to that, Black men were really portrayed as absentee fathers, deadbeat dads, that sort of thing. Only good for prison and jail. John Amos changed that."

Atlanta is really rubbing off on Kirk Cousins -- the Falcons quarterback celebrated his huge "Thursday Night Football" win by chowing down at Waffle House ... but not before doing an interview in the parking lot!!

The 13-year vet joined "The Dan Patrick Show" on Friday to talk all about the Falcons' 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime ... but before they broke down the game, the broadcasting legend inquired about his backdrop for the virtual convo.

Cousins explained he wanted to take advantage of his day off from work, so he asked his 7-year-old, Cooper, what they should do.

Lil Durk and the cast of "Power Book II: Ghost" bang out the series finale in epic fashion -- and take it from LaToya Tonodeo, the Chicago rapper's acting skills are the real deal!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with LaToya, who also has a big role in the grand closing as her long-standing character Diana Tejada in 50 Cent's hit show ... and she says Durk has the acting chops to go far in this biz, after seeing him pull off drills on-screen for her loved ones!!!

Durk posted up with "Power II" costars Michael Rainey Jr. and Gianni Paolo on-set ahead of his scenes and they echoed the same sentiment.

Will Smith blended the old with the new, treating a crowd to a mashup of the beloved 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' theme with some new material Thursday.

The party kicked off at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, where Will pumped up a small but hyped audience with the iconic tune and the classic "Summertime" before dropping his new jam, "You Can Make It."

As you can see, Will was totally in his element, dancing up a storm with a lucky fan onstage and having a blast.

Diddy and Justin Bieber are seen together in a resurfaced 2011 video ... and their little hangout sesh on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" will totally shock you.

Check out the clip from February 2011 ... Diddy was sporting dark shades and sitting side by side with the much younger Biebs, with host Jimmy Kimmel parked behind his desk, chatting with the famous duo.

The convo started off with Jimmy asking Diddy and Justin what their relationship was about and if they were collaborating on music.

Vernon Davis says Travis Kelce did not look like a fish out of water in his "Grotesquerie" debut ... in fact, the former NFL star who's now an actor says the Chiefs tight end "seemed like a natural to me!"

The ex-SF 49er heaped the praise on Kelce while chatting with Harvey and Babcock on "TMZ Live" on Thursday -- some 24 hours after Travis showed off his acting chops on Ryan Murphy's new FX show.

Davis, who just recently acted alongside Morgan Freeman in "The Ritual Killer," told the guys he thought Kelce crushed it ... saying straight up, "He did a wonderful job."

A fiery showdown ignited on "TMZ Live" when we tackled the explosive new California law banning legacy and donor preferences in admissions at private, nonprofit universities ... with the bill's author in the hot seat to discuss the details.

California Assemblymember Phil Ting threw down the gauntlet ... arguing education is the great equalizer of society, and it's totally unfair for well-off students to get a leg up into elite schools just because of family deep pockets. But our very own Harvey Levin fires back with some solid points from the private university perspective.

You’ve got to hear Harvey’s hot take on the whole donation debate -- but that doesn't sit well with cohost Charles, who questions the fairness of these universities’ DEI admissions policies.

50 Cent's hit series "Power Book II: Ghost" is going out with a bang, but series costar Gianni Paolo has real beef with Hollywood's TV sector ... millions tune into their show while award shows act like they don't exist!!!

Gianni tells us the proof is in the puddin' ... his "Power" series topples critically acclaimed shows like "The Bear," "Succession" and "The Penguin" in terms of ratings, but feels like the Golden Globe and Emmys voters simply don't like -- or get -- hood cinema.

It's not just during award season Gianni says he feels the cold shoulder ... he notes how "Power" cast members missed out on being interviewed by the Jimmy Fallons and Jimmy Kimmels of the entertainment world. Good thing TMZ Hip Hop exists, eh? 😅