TV

"I'm honest, I've never voted in my life. This is my first time voting."

That's Shaquille O'Neal dropping a Shaq-sized bombshell -- confessing he's NEVER voted in an election!

... UNTIL NOW!!

"I've never voted before, America," Shaq said this week on Wednesday on The Big Podcast ... "But, now I'm doing all these voting campaigns and ya know one thing I never like to do, is be a hypocrite."

Yep, the 48-year-old NBA legend says he felt weird pushing voting initiatives like his #MyStartingFive challenge -- which helps people register to vote for Election Day 2020 -- while sitting on the sidelines.

So, he decided to actually vote this year -- by absentee ballot!

"In other words America, I voted for the first time and it feels good."

Shaq's co-hosts were in complete shock -- especially after Shaq was virtually sitting next to his buddy President Barack Obama, at Game 1 of the NBA Finals -- who obviously didn't get Shaq's vote back in the day!

The "Real Housewives of New York City" is making a little history ... now that producers have hired their first Black cast member in the show's 13-year run.

TMZ's learned the Bravo series hired Eboni K. Williams to join the Big Apple ladies for season 13, which is already in production. The attorney and TV host is ecstatic about her new gig, telling us ... "NYC is filled with successful and dynamic Black women. I’m excited to join this legendary franchise as the first Black housewife. Can’t wait to share a slice of life in this city that hasn’t been seen before."

She added, "Anyone who’s aware of my work knows I don’t hold back. I’m going to keep it just as real here as I do everywhere else."

The 37-year-old Charlotte native co-hosted "FOX News Specialists" before leaving FNC at the end of 2018. For a short time, Eboni co-hosted a talk show on WABC Radio in NYC and currently co-hosts "State of the Culture" on Diddy's REVOLT TV.

Eboni earned her law degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law -- and she clerked for Louisiana's Secretary of State and the state's Attorney General. Bottom line ... she can hold her own in an argument, which should come in handy.

As we reported, the show's producers also shot with Bershan Shaw, another potential Black housewife. In the end, they decided Eboni was the better fit as a full-time cast member. We're told it's still possible Bershan will make appearances.

What is ... INCREDIBLE?!!?

How about this video of legendary "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek making a surprise video for the 2020 NHL Draft on Tuesday, announcing the Ottawa Senators' 1st-round pick?!

Yep, the 80-year-old Canadian quiz show legend -- who's battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer -- is also a HUGE hockey superfan. So, when the opportunity came to make a cameo for the 2020 Draft, Trebek accepted!

The Senators had the 3rd overall pick in the Draft -- and Alex set up the announcement from the "Jeopardy!" stage, with some help from the show's announcer Johnny Gilbert.

The Category: "The NHL"

The Clue: "With the 3rd pick in the 2020 NHL Draft the Ottawa Senators choose this player."

The Correct Response: "Who is Tim Stützle."

FYI, Stützle is an 18-year-old prodigy from Germany, who can play both center or wing.

Megan Thee Stallion's attack on Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron -- calling him a "sellout negro" -- won't draw him into a war of words, because he says his philosophy is ... sticks and stones.

AG Cameron went on 'Fox & Friends' Tuesday to respond to Meg's "Saturday Night Live" performance ... and he said the disparaging remarks she made about him are the same ones he's faced since college. He says it's nothing new, especially for a Black Republican.

ICYMI ... Meg name-checked Cameron during her gig ... comparing him to Black people who sold their own back into slavery -- and the wall behind her read at one point, "Daniel Cameron is No Different."

Cameron says he agrees with MTS's message of needing to protect Black women, but says as it pertains to Breonna Taylor's case -- he insists he did his job, and refuses to cave to the public narrative ... which is he fought to clear the involved officers off wrongdoing ... instead of prosecuting someone for killing Breonna.

He also said Meg's remarks don't hurt him, and only expose the intolerance the "tolerant left" claim to embrace.

"Schitt's Creek" co-creator and star Dan Levy is pissed with Comedy Central ... claiming the network's execs in India censored a gay kiss to promote the show over there.

Levy blasted the network Tuesday but he did more than that -- he also brought receipts ... an edited video promoting season 5 in India that did NOT show the kiss that DID go down between his character and Dustin Mulligan's character.

Check out the video ... Dan posted a scene from season 5 that shows the cast playing spin the bottle. Mulligan's character goes to kiss Levy's character, but the kiss appears to be edited ... while a shot of 2 women kissing was left in the clip.

Dan ripped Comedy Central, tweeting ... "This is a show about the power of inclusivity. The censorship of gay intimacy is making a harmful statement against that message. #loveislove." This is deeply personal for Levy, who is gay in real life and plays one of the first openly pansexual characters depicted on TV.

We've reached out to Comedy Central for comment, so far no word back.

Brody Jenner gave MTV his filming preference -- he'd only resume filming "The Hills: New Beginnings" if it's shot in L.A. and nowhere else, and guess what? The network said okay.

Production sources tell TMZ ... other cast members were willing to leave LaLa land and film in a bubble at a house that would house the full cast, similar to what they do in "Big Brother" and "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation." Some of the locations being considered ... Colorado and Montana. But, Brody was NOT having it.

We're told in early August, Brody's team started conversations with the network and insisted he'd only film the show in L.A. We're told he explained the show's supposed to be about cast members and their lives revolving around the things they do in L.A., not some random location outside of SoCal.

Brody also told the network he'd be willing to wait and resume production of season 2 until there was a vaccine for COVID-19. The pandemic shut down the season 3 episodes in.

We're told MTV continued pressuring Brody into relenting ... but Brody put his foot down.

Finally, MTV came back to him one last time and when Brody AGAIN said no to filming outside of L.A., MTV gave in, realizing it couldn't do the show without him. We're told season 2 will resume production in L.A. in the next 2 to 4 weeks.

Ricky Schroder is looking out for the L.A. County Sheriff's deputies who were ambushed by a gunman in Compton ... sending them a donation with special meaning.

Sources close to the 'NYPD Blue' star tell TMZ ... Ricky donated $11,111 to the two deputies who were shot last month at point-blank range. We're told the actor was one of the first people to donate, and he wanted to send the funds directly to the deputies.

Our sources also say Ricky chipped in another $25,000 to boost the reward for the shooting suspect.

As we reported ... LASD identified the man who allegedly opened fire on 2 deputies sitting in a cop car, and now he's charged with attempted murder.

Ricky's got a special appreciation for law enforcement ... he feels society would crumble without the folks who enforce the law.

As for the $11,111 donation, we're told a Gold Star Mom once told Ricky it's a "divine number" representing new beginnings. Gold Star families are those who've had loved ones die while fighting in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The "Saturday Night Live" cast and host, Chris Rock, are trying like hell to keep up with the constantly changing news about President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis ahead of the season premiere.

Leading up to Saturday's Season 46 kickoff, the first Presidential debate was the big story we all expected to see lampooned, but that all changed early Friday morning with the President and First Lady testing positive.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... writers and producers are now trying to figure out how to address the topic, and what adjustments, if any, have to be made the cold open or Rock's opening monologue.

We're told it's a very fluid situation, but 'SNL' wants to be sensitive ... and our sources say meetings and discussions were going on late into Friday night.

The good news -- for 'SNL' cast and crew anyway -- is we're told production and the writing staff isn't making drastic changes to what they had planned. Of course, you can expect to see the President's health addressed during the "Weekend Update" segment.

Our sources say the episode still won't shy away from the debate or campaign battles. Aside from Rock hosting, the premiere's heavily anticipated because Jim Carrey is taking on the role of Joe Biden, while Maya Rudolph returns as Kamala Harris.

If that wasn't enough for ya ... Megan Thee Stallion is the musical guest.

Here's a couple of Joe Exotic's former zookeepers making their first dive into commercials ... a hilarious 'Tiger King' spoof with Todd Bridges as their old boss!!!

Saff Saffery and John Reinke -- who were featured in 'Tiger King' and used to care for the big cats at Joe's GW Zoo -- star in the ad for Insurance King, opposite the "Diff'rent Strokes" star doing his best Exotic impression.

The 'Tiger King' references are everywhere ... from the tiger roars, to Todd dropping infamous Joe quotes and rocking his signature mullet. Oh, and eagle-eyed viewers will notice the Insurance Company logo, which usually features a lion, swapped out for a tiger wearing a crown.

As we first told you ... Saff and John reunited for the first time in 3 years this week in Rockford, IL, celebrating Carole Baskin's 'DWTS' exit and meeting Todd ahead of the commercial shoot.

Tim Allen and his good buddy Richard Karn are providing a sweet dose of nostalgia for '90s kids ... filming together again for a show they'll co-host together.

The "Home Improvement" stars are working together again for the competition show "Assembly Required" on the History channel. Richard was so excited about the reunion, he posted a pic. If you have any doubts about how much fans wanna see 'em back together -- it racked up nearly 20,000 likes in just a few minutes!

Tim might have given just a smirk for the pic, but he's been excited about this since back in August when he announced they were gonna be doing the show. As he put it then, "I created a competition show with @History and my old buddy @TheRichardKarn to challenge the people who love to get stuff done!"

The series -- which doesn't have a premiere date yet -- will feature builders from across the country who are tasked to fix all kinds of household items.

For those of you too young ... Tim and Richard's "Home Improvement" was a hit sitcom on ABC from 1991 to 1999. Since then, Richard has guest-starred on Tim's "Last Man Standing" -- but this new series is the closest we've come to a "Home Improvement" reboot.

Get a load of this ridiculous lawsuit -- Tamron Hall's being sued for a whopping $16 million after telling a mom during a nationally-televised episode she wouldn't want her own kid to hug the mom's unvaccinated son.

Jeanine DiAngelo just sued Tamron individually and on behalf of her son, claiming they were embarrassed after Tamron compared her son to a "leper" during an episode about vaccinations that aired on ABC back in September 2019 ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, DiAngelo claims Tamron said she would NOT let her son anywhere near DiAngelo's son much less hug him because he's not vaccinated. DiAngelo says Tamron violated NY law by discriminating against her and their religious beliefs.

What's more ... she claims Tamron wasn't prepared for the segment ... arguing Tamron's lack of education on the topic caused her and her son to suffer colossal emotional distress.

Thing is ... the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said, should parents choose NOT to vaccine their kids, they should be prepared for the risks and responsibilities that come with that. One of those risks ... parents with kids that ARE vaccinated are probably told to stay clear of kids who aren't.

DiAngelo's suing Hall, Disney and the production company for $16 million in damages. For what it's worth ... Tamron did hug DiAngelo's son.

Towanda Braxton apparently didn't tell her family she's getting hitched ... which explains the shock her sister, Trina, and mom, Evelyn, had when a photog broke the news to them.

Trina and her mother were at LAX Wednesday when they found out about Towanda's secret, apparently, engagement to family friend and music producer Sean Hall. Check out the video ... the photog tells Trina, and the absolute surprise is written all over her face -- and then she had to break it to the Braxton matriarch.

Ya gotta see Evelyn's reaction too!

Now, the reason the photog had this info is he'd seen Towanda and Sean on Tuesday, and they let the cat out of the bag about getting married.

Somehow, it slipped their minds to clue in Trina and Evelyn ... and we gotta wonder if anyone else in the fam got the engagement alert.

Speaking of the other Braxtons ... Tamar's feud with her now ex-BF, David Adefeso, and the ensuing restraining order are still weighing on the family. Naturally.

A couple of Joe Exotic's former zookeepers are as loyal as ever -- recently getting together after years apart ... partly in the name of cheering Carole Baskin's reality TV demise.

Saff Saffery and John Reinke -- who starred in 'Tiger King' and used to care for the cats at Joe's GW Zoo -- met up for the first time in nearly 3 years out in Rockford, IL ... where they're set to star in an ad for Insurance King, opposite 'Diff'rent Strokes' actor Todd Bridges.

While hanging out Monday ahead of Tuesday's shoot, they happened to catch the results of this week's episode of 'Dancing with the Stars' ... including Carole's elimination after surviving a few weeks now. Check out how they reacted to the news -- old rivalries are alive and well!

Yeah, there's no love lost between these once feuding big cat caretakers -- John even sounds a little Joe-ish here by calling CB one of his former boss's fave catchphrases.

As for the commercial they're set to be in, unclear exactly what it'll entail -- but based on the on-camera convo they had with Todd ... sounds like it's written well and should be chock full of laughs. Apparently, Todd's worked with Insurance King before and vouches for 'em.

Another major celeb has infiltrated the gates of OnlyFans -- this time it's a dude ... one who's sure to make paying customers drool and howl in delight.

Tyler Posey of MTV's "Teen Wolf" has joined the subscription-based, typically NSFW social platform -- but it looks like he'll be doing more than just setting thirst traps ... although, there'll definitely be some of that.

In a promo vid he posted Monday to IG, Tyler teases BTS footage from his film and TV shoots, personal pics and videos, cooking clips and even exclusive music performances. Of course, he'll also be stripping down to his bday suit early and often.

The promo ends with Tyler sitting butt naked on a bar stool, playing the guitar. Apparently, this is the type of stuff (Only) fans of his will get to see.

While a lot of people are stoked to have a stud like TP on there, others have the same issue as when Bella Thorne recently joined the platform. Remember, she caught backlash for making OF honchos change their rules about buy-ins and payouts for normie users, many of whom rely on the service to make their bread ... and resented her involvement.

Carole Baskin wrote that she would have killed her first husband to get out of her marriage in an old letter to Don Lewis' first wife, but despite that seemingly shocking reveal ... Carole says it desperately needs context.

The ID channel is airing a special on Joe Exotic and all his related 'Tiger King' craziness this weekend, including ongoing speculation Baskin played a role in Don's 1997 disappearance.

We got a sneak peek of one piece of evidence the show's investigators claim lends credence to the speculation -- a long letter Carole sent to Don's wife, Gladys, in August 1990 ... while in the midst of having an affair with him.

The letter seems to detail her relationship with Don, but includes a disturbing line about her first husband, Michael Murdock. Carole wrote ... "I had to get out of my marriage and would have eventually killed my husband to do it."

Baskin confirms with TMZ that she wrote those words, but adds ... "I only meant it in the context of self-defense as Mike Murdock was physically abusive to me to the point of causing me to fear for my life."

Carole has previously claimed numerous times that Murdock -- who she wed in 1979 and is the father of her daughter, Jamie -- was extremely abusive.

Nevertheless, retired homicide investigator Jim Rathmann says he finds the letter very interesting ... and points out it was written just 7 years before Don went missing.

Carole and Don both divorced their first spouses and married in 1991. Baskin has recently insisted -- yet again -- she had nothing to do with his disappearance and claims she was the only person trying to get him mental health help before it happened.