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Hugh Hefner had a treasure trove of secret sex tapes that he recorded at the Playboy Mansion, and according to a new documentary, he wouldn't ask his partners for permission.

Yup, in a clip obtained by TMZ ... his former girlfriend, Sondra Theodore, reveals Hef would tape just about everybody, including her. She says she was shocked the first time she saw herself on two screens in the bedroom.

Sondra claims when they invited other women into the bedroom, some would be weirded out by the camera. Sondra says Hef would pretend to stop recording, so the women would feel more comfortable ... but he never actually pressed the stop button.

In a new A&E series titled "Secrets of Playboy," Hef's former butler adds Hef recorded celebs and athletes having sex with other women in his bedroom ... and with these sexual tapes came power.

As we reported, the doc claims Hefner would host "pig night" where he would invite prostitutes to come over to his mansion to have sex with his pals, once a week ... and now, these new claims allege there may have been a collection of these sex acts caught on cam.

We should say ... in California, if Hef videotaped people with whom he had sex without asking for permission to record them, it's a crime.

Bill Maher's show Friday night has stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy, after journalist and author Bari Weiss explained why she's "over COVID," and how current restrictions represent a "moral crime."

Weiss and Maher railed on COVID restrictions ... talking about the nonsensical restrictions in restaurants ... you can eat and talk and laugh with others maskless, but when you walk to the bathroom you have to wear a mask.

She also maintained liberals are with her, but are afraid to speak out for fear their critics will label them anti-vaxxers and Trumpers.

Some doctors have lashed out at Weiss, calling her irresponsible and uninformed, noting thousands of people are still dying from COVID.

There are some doctors who have been more sympathetic to Weiss' argument, saying you can follow the science and at the same time weigh the science against the risks of isolation and other restrictions ... especially when it comes to in-class learning.

Garrett Hedlund is in custody after being arrested for public intoxication, TMZ has learned, and it's the latest in a series of problems the actor is facing.

The arrest went down in Franklin County in Tennessee Saturday night. Bond has been set at $2,100 for the misdemeanor arrest, and at the time this story went up he had not posted it.

The "Friday Night Lights" and "Troy" star has been going through it. He broke up with Emma Roberts just a few weeks ago. They had a child together back in December 2020 ... a son named Rhodes. The 2 began dating in 2019.

Garrett has had other legal issues as well. He's being sued for allegedly driving so drunk back in January 2020. He passed out and slammed into a Nissan carrying a woman and her 3 kids. He was arrested that same night for DUI and pled no contest to a DUI charge the following month. Garrett was placed on 3 years probation.

Typically one of the conditions of probation is that no laws can be broken, so the latest arrest may be problematic for him.

'SNL' took aim at itself Saturday night, poking fun at Pete Davidson and Colin Jost for sinking several hundred thousand dollars into a boat ... and it was hilarious.

It started with Alex Moffat bellying up to the anchor desk, playing his character, "Guy who Just Bought a Boat." Moffat then turned things by intro'ing Pete Davidson as "Guy Who Just Bought a Ferry."

Pete was funny, telling Colin, "We’re boat people now, Colin. I mean, you always were. You look like you own the yacht they rent out for rap videos."

Then, giving a little clue about how this all went down, Colin responded, "It’s very exciting. We thought the whole thing through."

As we reported, Pete and Colin just bought the John F. Kennedy at auction ... it was part of the Staten Island Ferry fleet. They ponied up $280,000 for the vessel, and plan to rehab it ... then turn it into a club that will be docked somewhere in NYC.

Jon Hamm doesn't like to be left out, especially if Hollywood's boarding the Apple train without him ... which he made perfectly clear in an ad that would make Don Draper blush.

The smooth-talking actor is featured in a new campaign from Apple TV+ that made its debut this weekend during primetime NFL playoff coverage -- and the consensus seems to be ... damn, that was a good spot. Even more illuminating ... JH is pretty freaking funny!!!

Check it out ... the commercial shows Jon hanging out at home on the couch and surfing through Apple TV+'s many offerings -- with Jon scoffing at the fact that there's all these celebs plastered on the screen, but no sign of him anywhere.

He then asks the camera ... "Hey, Apple -- did I do something to offend you?" He goes on to pitch himself as someone worthy of a show or movie, like all his famous pals seem to have these days, and even makes a fake phone call to Tom Hanks ... which is hilarious.

Apple hits the point home ... they've got all the stars on their roster -- except one, that is. Of course, by hiring him for the ad, they nabbed their man in the end after all. Clever, clever.

Like we said, the commercial's a big hit and even went viral Saturday ... with many saying it was Super Bowl worthy, even though the game is still weeks away. And as for Jon's comedic chops -- well, that sorta took people aback as well ... since he's a big drama (genre) guy.

The Kim-ticipation's been killing fans of the "Sex and the City" reboot, and this could be a smidgen of good news for 'em ... 'cause someone who's been on set isn't ready to write off a Kim Cattrall comeback.

We caught up with Thomas Canestraro Friday afternoon as he left Complete Body in NYC, and if you've seen his role on "And Just Like That ..." as hot mover, Nick, then you know why he was at the gym.

Anyway, we digress ... we asked Thomas if there was any buzz on set about Kim possibly squashing her beef with Sarah Jessica Parker, and making a cameo. Check out the clip ... he plays it coy, for sure, but what he did NOT say could be a clue.

As you've probably heard, Kim turned down the offer to play her beloved character, Samantha Jones, on the reboot, but that hasn't killed hope for fans ... who continue to cross their fingers there's a HUGE plot twist coming that leads to Kim's return.

What Thomas says here won't crush that dream.

Of course, he's far from calling the shots on the production ... but actors hear things.

Byron Allen says losing Louie Anderson so closely on the heels of Bob Saget's death is a tremendous gut punch to comedians ... who were more like family than co-workers.

The TV mogul, who bonded with Louie over several decades, joined us on "TMZ Live" to take us behind the scenes of their most recent gig together ... the Byron-produced game show, "Funny You Should Ask."

Byron says Louie lived to make everyone laugh -- even when cameras weren't rolling -- and always preached kindness above all else.

There was one thing that especially stood out for Byron, though... he says every time they wrapped up their show, Louie would give him a hug and say "I love you. He would say goodbye to us as if it was the last time we were going to see him."

As we reported, Anderson died Friday morning after battling lymphoma -- and Byron explained why we've heard so many celebs -- especially comedians -- gushing about Louie and Bob.

He told us they're a tight-knit group, really a family, because they all came up together -- more than 40 years ago -- when no one knew their names.

To celebrate her 100th birthday, Betty White's sent a final message, thanking fans for all their love and support over the years.

The video was supposed to go out on Jan 17, which would've been Betty's 100th bday. BW used the opportunity to thank fans for all the money and donations raised for animals through the #BettyWhiteChallenge. In the post, the beloved actress sits in a chair and shares her last words of love and gratitude.

The posthumous post says she would never have imagined such an outpouring of love, and she would be extremely grateful to everyone ... if she were here to see it. The post ended by saying "I think it’s appropriate to post today as a thanks from Betty and the animals."

TMZ broke the story ... the adored actress and comedian died at her home just weeks before her birthday ... she had the longest-running career of any woman in television.

Jeff Lowe's sticking to the old adage of the show must go on, but this time it's gonna be in Spanish -- he's taking the zoo 'Tiger King' made famous out of the country to skirt a U.S. government ban.

Jeff tells TMZ ... he just signed a deal to build a zoo down in Mexico, on a 35-acre property between Playa del Carmen and Tulum. He says the new spot will be built among a lush jungle with natural water features, and he already has all the necessary permits for construction and possession of animals.

The plan is to open the zoo in the next 12 to 16 months ... and Jeff says it will mostly showcase big cats, as well as lemurs, sloths, giraffes and a pair of elephants.

Jeff says he's still working on a name for the zoo ... but naturally, it will be related to the 'Tiger King' brand.

Despite how things played out with Joe Exotic, Jeff's not shying away from partnerships. He says he's working on the Mexico project with an old friend who already owns a small zoo in Playa del Carmen.

We're told the plan is to move his large animals into Jeff's new zoo.

The move to Mexico comes on the heels of the feds banning Jeff and his wife Lauren from ever exhibiting animals again in the States -- a judge ruled they'd violated the Endangered Species Act by delivering, carrying and exhibiting animals without a license. However, the DOJ dropped all of the civil charges against the Lowes.

One of the 'Joe Millionaire' guys is taking mama's boy to a whole new level -- openly admitting he was literally spoon-fed for YEARS after he could do it himself.

You gotta see Steven McBee in this exclusive preview we got from tonight's episode of "Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer" -- it's Steven hanging out with Annie, who grilled him about spoon-feeding rumors.

Brace yourself ... Steven confirms it's absolutely true!!!

He says that his mom spoiled him before school, because he was too tired to do it himself. Annie didn't completely let him off the hook, either. She drilled down even more about the odd fact -- but they both ended up laughing about how weird it was.

On the new episode, airing tonight at 8 PM ET/PT on FOX, Steven cops to being embarrassed about this page of his history -- but he's not the only one in the hot seat this episode.

The creator of "Full House" is selling his house for a fortune ... and it's got a lot of history to it.

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... sitcom creator Jeff Franklin is moving on and is inviting buyers who are interested to make an offer ... buyers, that is, who have $85 mil to spend.

The house sits on the land where the Manson Family slaughtered Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Steven Parent, Wojciech Frykowski and Jay Sebring back in 1969. The house was razed in 1994 and a new mansion was built in its place.

There's more recent history ... Jeff hosted the reception at his home for Bob Saget's family after his funeral last week.

The home is 21,000-square feet with 9 bedrooms and 19 bathrooms and sits on 3-acres, with a jetliner view of the city.

The modern estate is decked out with a movie theater, spa, gym, hair salon, billiards room and a bar ... and the backyard features a 75-yard pool with 3 waterfalls, 2 Jacuzzis, a 35-foot water slide, swim-up bar, private grotto, koi pond, lazy river, cabana, BBQ area and fire pits.

Oh and we didn't mention the detached guest house and an underground garage with room for 16 cars.

Tanya Roberts home has officially hit the market ... almost a year to the day of the actress' untimely death.

The 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home is listed at $2.999 million and tucked away in Hollywood Hills. The pad has plenty to offer in the views department, with a good look at both the canyon and DTLA.

Tanya used to totally zen-out on the property's 1.15 acres -- complete with a bridge and koi pond -- and there are hiking trails nearby, where she used to take her dogs daily.

Mark Cianciulli from The CREM Group has the listing.

Tanya died unexpectedly on January 4, 2021, after first collapsing at the home. We were told doctors believed a UTI that spread into her bloodstream is what caused the medical complications that eventually killed her.

Those new beginnings are already over for the cast of 'The Hills' -- the reality show's reboot is getting the ax ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources connected to the MTV show tell us "The Hills: New Beginnings" is officially not coming back for a third season, and late last week the cast got the bad news from production.

There are a few reasons the reboot met its demise: one source close to the show tells us producers recently explored the thought of bringing younger cast members into the fold to diversify things, but several of the original stars were not on board.

We're told some of those OGs also had major issues with the reboot ... believing it wasn't the show MTV promised them, and feeling like it was, at times, forced with fake storylines and confessionals. Our sources say some of the OGs refused to continue to play along, which ultimately led to the cancelation.

All in all ... we're told many of them said the reboot didn't have the same feel as their first go-round and it created an impasse between some stars and the network.

However, another source blames the cancelation on COVID-19 ... citing all the hurdles in booking filming locations for a big ensemble cast while following social distancing protocols. We're told producers feel like they squeezed as much juice from the lemon as possible, given the dynamics.

"The Hills: New Beginnings" was rebooted in 2019 with Audrina Patridge, Brody Jenner, Heidi Montag, Spencer and Stephanie Pratt, Whitney Port, Brandon Thomas Less, Kaitlynn Carter, Frankie Delgado, Justin Brescia, Jason and Ashley Wahler and former 'O.C.' star Mischa Barton.

But the biggest star was always missing ... Lauren Conrad ... who, as we first told you, was too busy with her other business ventures to join the reboot.

The OG show aired from 2006 to 2010 ... and while the reboot wasn't as impactful, we're told producers were proud of what they were able to do in the middle of the worldwide pandemic.

Jim Belushi's digging into life as a cannabis farmer, but he's running into a bunch of new challenges -- some caused by rodents, and some by politicians. Yes, there's a difference.

JB's reality show, "Growing Belushi," is back for a second season, and on Tuesday's "TMZ Live" he revealed one of the biggest surprises he's encountered on his 93-acre marijuana farm in Oregon are underground pets.

Farmer Jim says he's constantly battling gophers and ground squirrels, which seem to love getting high off his plants. We think he's joking but seems plausible! Then again, we're no scientists.

Sounds like he'll be doing his best impression of Bill Murray in "Caddyshack" when the show returns Wednesday night on Discovery.

On the business end of things, we talked to Jim about the push for federal legalization and, sorry to harsh your buzz, but he doesn't see it happening anytime soon ... because of how much money's at stake.

Fact is, his farm sits in the area Jim calls the Napa Valley of marijuana -- it produces the best buds in the land -- and, right now, the states of Cali and Oregon are enjoying all the tax revenue that comes along with that.

You gotta see his explanation, but, in a nutshell, he's not so sure states are willing to share -- or let's say, puff puff pass -- all that dough with the feds.

"Jeopardy!" ignored the recommendations of Alex Trebek when it came to picking a new host, and one of the people he picked is now talking about it.

CNN's Laura Coates was someone Alex thought was up to the task. TMZ interviewed Alex for an episode of "OBJECTified" back in 2018, and he said, referring to Coates, "There is an attorney, Laura Coates, she's African American and she appears on some of the cable news shows from time to time. Very bright, very personable."

Well, Coates appeared on 'Tamron Hall' and said she was thrilled beyond words, and decided to make her own luck by calling the show and putting her name in the hat. She says, "I asked for the opportunity. I was told 'no.'"

And, Alex had a second pick ... Alex Faust, the L.A. Kings play-by-play announcer. He too, was not invited to try out.

As for Laura, she was thrilled to hear Alex picked her, saying, "I thought, 'My God. This person that I have watched my whole life really, even knows my name let alone thinks that I would be worthy enough to fill his shoes which frankly can't be filled.'"

She also said she reached out to Alex when he was bravely fighting pancreatic cancer.

Leiomy Maldonado is very happy to see a trans woman rocking the house on "Jeopardy!" ... saying the visibility it offers the community is priceless.

We got the famous dancer/model Monday at LAX and asked about Amy Schneider's hot streak right now on the quiz show -- she's currently the third-winningest contestant ever with 33 consecutive victories and she's the most accomplished female player ever.

Leiomy, who's transgender herself, says she fully supports Amy gunning for the crown ... especially on a show like "Jeopardy!" which has somewhat of an older fanbase.

Check it out ... she says Amy's presence there, in and of itself, is opening doors and probably opening minds too. If anything, Amy's hot streak is likely winning over folks on just merit alone -- trivia fanatics can't deny a sharp mind when they see one, and Amy's smarts speak for themselves.

When we point out trans people are popping up on more mainstream platforms lately, LM points out this group has been around for a long time -- but agrees that getting a spotlight in 2022 shows just how far society has come in addressing the topic.

Of course, not everyone has welcomed Amy with open arms. She's made it clear during her historic run that she's gotten tons of messages from people telling her she's really a man.

During NYE -- right when she was in the thick of her streak -- Amy tweeted ... "I’d like to thank all the people who have taken the time, during this busy holiday season, to reach out and explain to me that, actually, I’m a man. Every single one of you is the first person ever to make that very clever point, which had never once before crossed my mind 🙏."