You Might Want to Rethink

The "American Idol" reboot saw its first train wreck of an audition this weekend, but there was no real Simon Cowell to be found among any of the judges ... try as Katy Perry did.

A woman named Koby -- who's a theater performer -- was the first 'no' Sunday night on the premiere of the new 'AI,' with Katy, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan in the judges' chairs.

No offense to the aspiring singer, but her audition was terrible -- and it was the first opportunity for the judges to show their true colors ... and to see if anyone would fill in Cowell's "mean judge" shoes.

Katy did kinda take a crack at it, but she's no Simon Cowell ... as you can see from her feedback. Katy is direct and slightly harsh, telling Koby "You're not a pop star. It's not right." But aside from that, the criticism was relatively mild compared to the good ol' days.

Lionel and Luke also did their best Randy and Paula impressions, but it ain't the real McCoy.

You'd think it'd take a lot to gross out Stormy Daniels by now -- but a good ol' fashioned lime-in-the-arm parlor trick can still ... well, get under her skin.

The porn star made an appearance Thursday night at Thee Dollhouse strip club in Myrtle Beach, where a magician named Carl Michael offered to do a quick 1-on-1 show for President Trump's alleged former mistress.

His first feat is a card trick -- nothing too crazy, as you can tell by how unimpressed Stormy is with it. Then he gets into the grand finale ... shoving a lime into his forearm.

Kendall and Kylie Jenner got an eviction notice because someone royally screwed up ... and now the leasing company's apologizing for the goof.

You might recall there were reports Kendall and Kylie's company got slapped with a notice at their NYC office ... claiming the sisters had fallen behind on rent to the tune of more than $57k and had 5 days to pay or get the hell out.

But, a rep for the leasing company tells TMZ ... it never should have happened. The company says, "There was a miscommunication due to a change in invoice procedures that led to this confusion. We apologize for any negative press the Kendall + Kylie brand has received."

The leasing company went on to say, "They have always been respectful and in good standing tenants."

O.J. Simpson continues to shock, because he blames the people he killed for metaphorically killing him.

It's actually hard to watch, but Simpson says Ron Goldman and his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, somehow killed him, presumably because their murders put him in a bad spot.

It's an amazing comment, given Judith Regan -- who published "If I Did It" with Simpson -- says Simpson's lawyer called her and confessed the murders to her, and said the only reason the book title needed the word "if" was so O.J. could have deniability with his children.

And for bad measure, Simpson also says he loved Nicole but didn't like her at the time of her death.

The entire city of Houston is gonna shun Kenny Smith after watching this clip* ... 'cause the Jet tells TMZ Sports why LeBron should NOT join the Rockets in free agency this summer.

We spoke with Smith about reports claiming LBJ could bail on Cleveland for the Sixers, Lakers or Rockets this off-season ... and he says moving to H-Town would be unfair.

Smith says Bron Bron can keep his throne on the shores of Lake Erie and still compete for a ring every year ... 'cause he can just recruit players to Cleveland, instead of the other way around.

*We're kidding. Everyone loves the Jet.

Meanwhile, LeBron looked awfully comfortable and happy chillin' at his L.A. crib while in town to play the Clippers and the Lakers.

FYI, L.A. was a nice 70 degrees and sunny today. Cleveland was 32 and snowy.

The Miz thinks Ronda Rousey's been AWESOME in WWE so far ... but says she's making enemies with the "wrong people" -- HER BOSSES.

We got Miz and his beautiful wife, Maryse, leaving Il Pastio in L.A. the other night ... and had to ask about Ronda -- who's been rampin' up her ring work on "Monday Night Raw."

The A-Lister gave Rousey 2 thumbs up ... but warned that body-slammin' her superiors (including one through a damn table) ain't gonna end well for her.

"I think she's messing with the wrong people in Triple H and Stephanie McMahon," Miz told TMZ Sports.

We know -- you think Miz is hammin' it up for his character, right??

Watch Ronda woman-handle Steph ... then get back to us.

Teri Hatcher's setting the record straight -- she's NOT broke or homeless, and she says anyone claiming that just isn't doing their homework.

Teri joined Sam Rubin on the "KTLA 5 Morning News" all the way from London to address a cover story recently published in Star Magazine ... claiming Teri's desperate, broke, homeless and living out of her van.

The "Desperate Housewives" star says that could NOT be further from the truth. Teri calls the story absurd and says the pictures the magazine published were actually just her filming her YouTube series, "Van Therapy" ... in which she drives around in her Bay Window Volkswagen Bus.

Rule #1 of live reporting during a massive snowstorm -- don't jinx yourself by speaking a snowball into existence, unless you wanna take an icy shot to the face ... like this reporter did.

Lauren Dawn was covering the nor'easter Wednesday for FOX 29 in Philly, and foolishly attempted a little man-on-the-street reporting from the middle of a snowball fight.

Next thing ya know, Lauren found herself surrounded by kids who couldn't care less about her camera, her microphone ... or her face. Mentioning the fact she'd been hit before going on the air was a big mistake, and we're pretty sure the kids made sure she doesn't repeat it.

Nipsey Hussle is calling for a public ass-whoopin' of hip-hop blogger DJ Akademiks  ... in response to Akademiks ripping into 21 Savage.

Nipsey was on New Hip Hop News podcast with Tariq Nasheed Wednesday when he went off about  Akademiks criticizing 21's decision to stop blowing his money on jewelry, and start investing.

Nipsey applauds 21's shift, but he's pissed at Akademiks' reaction -- which seemed to belittle Savage for being off-brand -- and says the blogger needs to get "f***ed up" for saying such things. Especially because Savage's new outlook is nothing but a good influence on his followers.

This never-before-seen video is the smoking gun in the upcoming FOX special, 'The Lost Confession?' ... and it provides the reason O.J. Simpson went to Nicole Brown Simpson's house the night she was murdered.

Simpson is interviewed by book publisher Judith Regan, who collaborated with O.J. on the book, 'If I Did It.' The premise is O.J. Simpson's "hypothetical" on how Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were slaughtered on June 12, 1994.

O.J. begins by saying how "difficult" it is for him to talk in the hypothetical ... weird and somewhat incriminating.

Then he talks about the murderer's friend -- "Charlie" -- and suddenly Simpson goes from talking in the hypothetical to first person ... I, I, I. In other words, it sounds like he's talking about what HE did.

And then the bombshell ... he says "Charlie" told him he wouldn't believe what was going on at Nicole's house. Simpson doesn't say what he was told was going down, but added, "It's gotta stop" ... and that was the impetus for the drive over to Nicole's.

As we reported, Simpson says in the show "Charlie" was the accomplice and went with the killer in the Bronco over to Nicole's Brentwood condo. He says the killer saw candles in Nicole's window, looking like a man was coming over and suddenly Ron Goldman appeared. Simpson says the killer started screaming, Nicole came to the front door, the killer blacked out and when he came to he was covered in blood.

The special airs Sunday at 8 PM on FOX.

Nick Cannon stiffed his crew on his upcoming movie, "She Ball" ... this according to a new lawsuit filed by some of the people who worked on the flick.

Nick -- who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the film -- is accused in the class action lawsuit of failing to pay OT. The lawsuit also claims he failed to give his crew meal and rest breaks.

The lawsuit also says Nick was late in paying wages to drivers, grips, camera operators, lighting crews, location managers and set dressers. In all, the suit says 100 people were shortchanged.

We got Nick out in January -- when accusations first surfaced from angry employees -- and he wasn't too bothered, saying he's just the big name, but the problem has nothing to do with him.

The movie, which also stars Chris Brown, is expected to be released sometime this year.

We reached out to Nick's rep ... so far no word back.

Chris Martin did his girlfriend, Dakota Johnson, half a favor by dropping her off for a coffee run in his nifty golf cart ... but she had to walk to his crib.

Chris and Dakota were out cruising Monday in Malibu, and her pup was riding shotgun, too. He dropped her off at Starbucks, where she ran in and grabbed a couple of drinks -- but then he flipped a U and bolted.

It may not look like the most chivalrous move on Chris' part, but we're guessing there's ZERO shade here -- grey or otherwise.

Jamie Foxx couldn't believe Frances McDormand temporarily had her Oscar stolen away from her at an after-party -- but he's got an easy fix for all future winners.

Jamie was leaving Mr Chow Monday night in Bev Hills when our photog asked if he'd heard the crazy news ... that Terry Bryant jacked Frances' golden statue at The Governors Ball, before security stepped in and called cops.

As we reported ... Bryant swiped Frances' award off her table and was kissing and posing with it on camera before he was apprehended, and the hardware was returned to its rightful owner. He was charged and booked for felony grand theft by police.

Jamie -- who won an Oscar for "Ray" back in 2005 -- was stunned by Frances' ordeal ... and told us how he avoided that kinda nightmare on his big night.

CNN's Erin Burnett's interview with ex-Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg ended with a bang ... Burnett saying she smelled booze on him after a wild live broadcast.

Nunberg made the rounds on all the major networks Monday after making a big stink about a subpoena he'd been issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in connection to the Trump-Russia investigation -- saying he wouldn't comply and basically daring Mueller to arrest him.

He also said a BUNCH of other bizarre things on the air -- from claiming Trump had to have known about the Trump Tower Russia meeting in 2016, to accusing Carter Page of colluding with the Russians ... and calling Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders a "fat slob."

One of his last stops was apparently on Burnett's show, and she asked him point-blank if he'd been drinking at all throughout the day. Nunberg denied drinking, saying he'd only taken some anti-depressants.

Jemele Hill says Chris Berman NEVER left her a racist voicemail -- despite allegations in a lawsuit -- but admits she did have a "personal conflict" with the ESPN legend.

As we previously reported, ex-ESPN legal analyst Adrienne Lawrence is suing ESPN -- and while she attempted to paint the company as a bastion of misogyny, she also included an allegation that Berman left a "racially disparaging" voicemail for Hill.

Now, Hill is issuing a statement on the matter ... saying:

"A few years ago, I had a personal conflict with Chris Berman, but the way this conflict has been characterized is dangerously inaccurate."

"Chris never left any racially disparaging remarks on my voicemail and our conflict was handled swiftly and with the utmost professionalism."

"I felt as if my concerns were taken seriously by ESPN and addressed in a way that made me feel like a valued employee."

"Frankly, I’m more disappointed that someone I considered to be a friend at one point would misrepresent and relay a private conversation without my knowledge -- in which I simply attempted to be a sounding board -- for personal gain."

ESPN also issued a statement saying the company "conducted a thorough investigation of the claims Adrienne Lawrence surfaced to ESPN and they are entirely without merit."

Gary Oldman's ex-wife would like to give the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences the Oscar for Best Hypocrite for doling out awards to her former hubby and Kobe Bryant.

Donya Fiorentino -- who was Gary's 3rd wife and married to him for 4 years -- expressed frustration with the Academy Monday on the heels of her ex and Kobe walking away with golden statues ... Best Actor and Best Animated Short, respectively.

She tells TMZ ... "Congratulations, Gary and congratulations to the Academy for awarding not one but two abusers with Oscars. I thought we had evolved. What happened to the #MeToo movement?"

Fiorentino accused Gary in '01 of physically and emotionally abusing her during their marriage -- and claimed in court docs that he once beat her with a phone. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Gary said they were struggling over the phone, and that it accidentally hit her when he let go.