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Bill Maher delivered a devastating blow to celebrities, companies and woke American culture for turning a blind eye to the horrendous abuses in China ... mostly to make a buck.

Maher lasered in on freestyle skier Eileen Gu, an American who chose to join Team China for the Beijing games. As he puts it, "She chose to represent a totalitarian police state over America." He also notes she's made $23 million from a ton of endorsements in China.

Bill ticked off some of the horrendous human rights abuses in China, including genocide. He then wondered out loud why Americans -- in particular celebs -- who show outrage for abuses at home are either silent about the abuses in China or say something critical and then apologize.

He recalls NBA GM Daryl Morey who tweeted a few years ago he stands with Hong Kong -- a country whose freedom is being crushed by China. LeBron James fired back that Morey had to be "educated." And, what does Maher think is behind LeBron's jab -- $$$. Maher notes the NBA has a $1.5 billion deal for TV rights in China, then saying of LeBron ... "I got some shoes to sell."

And, then Maher led in hard on John Cena, who once called Taiwan a separate country from China. Point of fact, it is, although it's pretty clear China wants to change that. So, Maher noted 34% of global box office is generated from China, and Cena's a big movie star ... so then Maher played Cena's video, apologizing to the Chinese for saying what he said. BTW, Cena apologized in Chinese. Wait till you hear Bill's joke about small balls.

He goes on and on ... the remake of "Top Gun" has scrubbed the Taiwanese flag from the bomber jackets.

Netflix is turning the page from Dave Chappelle's 'Closer' controversy by staying in business ... with Dave Chappelle, and rolling out new comedy specials with his fingerprint all over 'em.

Dave and the streaming platform announced a new standup comedy series Friday called, "Chappelle's Home Team" ... which will focus on comics handpicked by DC himself. The first of 4 episodes are set to drop February 28, featuring Earthquake.

Remember, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos refused to remove "The Closer" last year when LGBTQ groups, and others, accused Chappelle of transphobia and staged several protests at Netflix HQ.

Sarandos said the company fully supported all comedians' right to express themselves ... and stood by Dave. The new specials are proof positive of that continued partnership, which has been extremely profitable for both parties.

He's released 10 standup specials on Netflix since 2016 and, by some reports, has made north of $200 mil.

Lee Asher is deep in the dog house, AKA "The Asher House" ... but wouldn't have it any other way, after quitting a 6-figure corporate gig to start his own animal sanctuary!!!

Lee stars in the new Animal Planet/Discovery+ show, "My Pack Life" ... and joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to explain why he turned his life upside down. He says the epiphany came when he thought about what he loved most in the world.

Watch the clip ... he says there were 2 things, in particular, that prompted him to quit his L.A. job, sell all his stuff and buy an RV. What happened next is an incredible adventure.

After traveling around the U.S. and Canada -- and getting 500 dogs adopted along the way -- Lee finally put down some roots in Oregon where his 'Asher House' is almost like Noah's Ark.

But, he says it's not just about the animals ... it's people who can change the world and help them. When people are happy, they treat each other better, and he wants folks to live with a purpose, he says.

He now has a whole pack of furry friends ... including 30 dogs, 2 donkeys, 2 horses, 13 pigs, 3 cows, 4 goats, 6 sheep, 4 alpacas and a parrot.

Rockmond Dunbar is taking Disney and 20th Television to federal court over his ouster from "9-1-1" ... accusing the studios of discriminating against him based on his race and religion.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Rockmond claims he was the only Black male lead actor on the TV show and his dismissal severely damaged his career.

In the docs, Rockmond claims he submitted paperwork seeking both a religious and medical exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine, and says producers assured him they wanted him to remain on the show and his schedule would be adjusted to accommodate him being unvaccinated.

Instead, Rockmond claims he was barred from the set and assured his character's storyline would show him leaving temporarily, keeping open the possibility for him to return down the road.

But Rockmond claims that never happened either ... in his suit, he says Disney and 20th Television fired him in retaliation and refused to pay him the hundreds of thousands of dollars he says he's still owed.

What's more, Rockmond claims the studios not only refused to accommodate his vaccine exemption requests, but also deliberately made it sound like he was an anti-vaxxer ... and he says he essentially became persona non grata in Hollywood.

Rockmond's going after the studios for money, and he wants an injunction barring the studios from discriminating against anyone based on race or religion when it comes to vaccination policies.

We reached out to Disney and 20th Television ... so far, no word back.

Bob Saget's death is creating a mystery for many experts, who wonder how he suffered such a severe skull fracture ... and what exactly he hit -- but authorities are firm on what didn't happen, and they think the injury was caused by something connected to the bed.

As we've reported, Bob died from a brain bleed after hitting his head on something. Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation tell us the Medical Examiner and police are clear there was no foul play, and they're certain the blow to his head had to happen in the hotel.

We're told the injury to his head was severe enough that they're sure he could not have made the 2-hour drive from Jacksonville to the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando.

But, here's the mystery ... some medical experts say the skull fracture is consistent with being hit by a bat, or falling as far as 30 feet. Obviously, that kind of fall didn't happen, but as for Bob being struck -- we're told the electronic front door lock to his hotel room shows no one else entered the room. Once Bob entered, the next time the door opened was when hotel staff found him in the afternoon.

Our sources say the authorities say it's most likely Bob struck a portion of the bed's headboard that is not padded. We're told it's wood, and the best guess is he hit his head. Since he was under the covers, they believe he quickly lost consciousness. What's interesting ... although authorities on the scene felt the headboard scenario was the most likely, the Medical Examiner never mentioned it.

Rather, the M.E. theorizes it was an "unwitnessed fall backwards."

We're told the authorities who discovered Bob's body did not see a bruise on his head. We're told the bruise was only discovered during the autopsy.

Saget's family has filed a lawsuit in Orange County, Florida to block the release of photos from the hotel room -- because under Florida law police could go public with the images.

We'd like to take a minute just sit right there, there's a reboot in town -- "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" ... and one of its stars says a lot's changed.

Jordan L. Jones plays the role of Jazz in the new show, "Bel-Air," and says it is drastically different in a great way. He joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to break down the advice he got from Jazzy Jeff, who originally played his character ... and his goosebumps moment with Will Smith.

As you've probably heard ... this "reimagining" of the '90s hit has all the same characters, but the twist is, it's not a comedy. It's based on director Morgan Cooper's short film from several years ago, and as Jordan explained ... they had a ton of creative freedom to put their own spin on it.

Of course, the OG actors came back to help guide and give creative direction. Jordan says it was a dream come true to get kudos from Will. In fact, he called it a "crazy" moment ... so, you gotta see him reveal exactly what big Willie told him.

The first 3 episodes of "Bel-Air" are already streaming on Peacock, and a new episode drops every Thursday. BTW, Jazzy Jeff also gave Jordan some solid advice about bringing his character back to life.

Simon Leviev is looking to turn his "Tinder Swinder" fame into a legit career, because he wants to break into Hollywood.

Sources close to Simon tell TMZ ... he's already signed with a talent manager, and wants to write a book, star on a dating show and host a dating podcast. Yeah, no shocker ... the guy's got big plans.

Simon's new Hollywood manager is Gina Rodriguez with Gitoni Inc, and we're told they've already discussed a bunch of plans to parlay his newfound Netflix fame into profit and an entertainment career.

We're told Simon's idea for a potential dating show includes women competing for his love ... and he's interested in sharing dating dos and don'ts on a potential podcast.

As you know ... Simon's the subject of the new Netflix documentary in which women -- and law enforcement -- claim he flaunted a lavish lifestyle to women on Tinder, and once he got them hooked, he would convince them to "loan" him money.

When they did, he'd ghost them and allegedly make off with their dough.

Almost like a Ponzi scheme, the Netflix doc claims Simon would use one woman's funds to wine and dine the next, and so on. All told, Simon allegedly swindled over $10 million from his alleged victims before his 2019 arrest.

So, why in the world would anyone trust him -- in or out of Hollywood???

Jeff Lewis is probably doing literal flips now, because he just unloaded his home in the Hollywood Hills.

TMZ has learned ... the "Flipping Out" star sold his 3-bedroom home above the Sunset Strip for close to 5.2 million ($5,195,000) -- which means someone new is gonna be enjoying the 3,947-square-feet of pure luxury.

The palace that Jeff personally designed comes with breathtaking views of the Los Angeles skyline and the Pacific Ocean.

In particular, the master bedroom has panoramic city views ... plus a walk-in closet so huge, it feels more like you're in a department store!

The house is secluded ... sitting behind a gated courtyard and tall hedges. But, it's also welcoming, once behind the gates folks enter the home through double steel and glass front doors.

Jeff bought the property in 2016 for $3,125,000 before putting his spin on things. As we first told you, he listed it back in August for $5.9 million.

Whoopi Goldberg is back on "The View," and there are no sour grapes, at least outwardly, over her suspension -- and she's vowing she won't shy away from "tough conversations."

The talk show host was sitting in her chair again Monday, and right off the bat ... she addressed the elephant in the room, telling the audience she was grateful to return after her suspension.

Whoopi says the convos they have on TV are challenging ones, and they don’t always get into them as eloquently as they’d sometimes like. Still, she says that won’t deter them from tackling tough topics, ‘cause that’s what they’ve all been hired to do.

Whoopi didn’t harp too much on her 2-week timeout, but did say she appreciated everyone who reached out -- which apparently included some surprising calls or messages -- and in the same breath said she’d done a lot of listening too.

You’ll recall ... she got benched after suggesting the Holocaust wasn’t about race, which got tons of backlash. While trying to apologize, she sorta doubled down ... and ABC chief Kim Godwin forced her to sit out for a little while to reflect on the whole thing.

"Jeopardy!" champ Amy Schneider is now flush with cash, so she essentially went all country -- as in "take this job and shove it!!!"

Amy's way too polite to say "shove it," but she is indeed quitting her job as a software engineer. She tells us the whole "Jeopardy!" experience has been life-changing, and that includes employment.

She assumed the interactions and business discussions she was having during her run would fade away once she was dethroned. As she put it ... "That turned out to be completely incorrect."

She says the emails and meetings have made it clear ... there's more out there! She's also enjoying the life of a newly-minted celeb.

Amy went on to share what career avenues she's mulling over .... writing a book and podcasting are at the top of her list. She also says she's looking for anything educational because that clearly has served her well.

Amy was on a hot winning streak -- racking up $1.3 million over 40 episodes! It all came to an end when she went up against Rhone Talsma and lost during Final Jeopardy.

Bill Maher went in hard Friday night, using Whoopi Goldberg as an example of how America has become a hateful, spiteful country that celebrates a misinformed view of karma.

The 'Real Time' host railed on the concept of karma, saying it's bulls*** to begin with -- no such thing -- but the lore of karma was actually a positive, zen-type thing, but we've made it a thing of revenge.

Bill's phone was filled with texts after Whoopi was suspended, with friends telling him how happy they were that karma hit her hard. Bill lashed out at his buds, saying yeah, Whoopi has gone after him for his views on COVID and other stuff, but that's called free speech.

He also says she's wrong on COVID and was wrong when she talked about race -- the thing that got her benched for 2 weeks -- but that's called disagreement. As he says, she has a right to speak, and the cure for misinformed speech is more speech. And, as he hilariously mused, Whoopi has a rock-solid defense -- "F*** it, it's 11 AM!"

As Bill puts it, "The View" suspending Whoopi for her views is like firing Pat Sajak for selling a vowel.

Joel McHale has made a compelling case that Betty White was not the person Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan claimed she was ... a case so compelling it would have impressed Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.!!!

As we reported, the director of "The Golden Girls" said Bea and Rue used to call Betty the c-word during the run of the show .... and even Betty acknowledged they didn't like her.

Well, Joel says it's all a numbers game, because no one made similar comments on other shows on which Betty was featured, including 'Mary Tyler Moore,' "Password," 'SNL' and "Community."

Joel has first-hand knowledge, because Betty shared the screen with him on "Community," and he says she was delightful. In other words, he's saying Bea and Rue are outliers.

Jamie Lynn Spears is getting into phase 3 of her return to the entertainment industry ... making moves to start a new podcast, where no topics will be off-limits.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Jamie Lynn has a grand plan for her entertainment return and her next step is launching a podcast. What's interesting about that -- especially for her sister, Britney Spears -- is that we're told no topics are off the table for JLS, and she could discuss everything from her career to her childhood ... but unclear if she she will choose to discuss Britney.

As we've reported ... the sisters have been feuding, on social media and in person, over recent interviews where Jamie Lynn talked about Britney.

We're told Jamie Lynn's strategy to return to work has been releasing her book, returning to acting and hosting a podcast. She's already done the first 2 ... and our sources say she's wanted to start a podcast for years.

Our sources say, the pod will feature guests and JLS wants it to be an open discussion, where folks feel they have a safe place to talk.

As you know, her controversial memoir, "Things I Should Have Said," made bestseller lists ... and she's also acting on the No. 1 new show on Netflix, "Sweet Magnolias."

Kendall Jenner is no longer parking her luxury SUV in a handicap spot during her pilates class, but she's still stirring chaos in the parking lot.

We got Kendall Thursday at the Hot Pilates studio in Sunset Plaza, and noticed a new parking routine. This time she simply pulled up next to a red no-stopping curb. Sooo ... slight improvement?

As you can see, Kendall parked her Mercedes Benz there and headed into class, then her security moved it to a regular parking spot just a few feet away. Brilliant!

However, Kendall's arrival wasn't totally kosher, because before her security parked it, she pissed off at least 2 innocent drivers.

Kendall's SUV made it painfully difficult for someone else to pull out of a spot -- and also forced another driver to wait patiently as it all played out. Watch the video, it's no felony ... but damn, would it be annoying if you were in that parking lot.

It's interesting ... during Thursday's parking dance, we noticed a car legally parked in the handicap spot Kendall and Hailey Bieber used to occupy ... before last week's backlash.

So, Kendall's change is already making a difference to interested third parties.

TMZ broke the story ... Kendall and Hailey had been taking up the parking spot reserved for the disabled outside the business plaza, but they claimed it was all about dodging the paparazzi.

Well, this is shocking ... Betty White was beloved by so many people, but some of her 'Golden Girls' castmates are not among them.

Joel Thurm, the casting director for the hit show, opened up on "The Originals" podcast and revealed this ... "Literally Bea Arthur, who I cast in something else later on, just said, 'Oh, she's a f***ing c***," adding, "I heard it with my own ears."

He went on to say another castmate, Rue McClanahan also referred to Betty using the c-word.

As for why there was such tension on the set, Thurm gave a few examples. He says Estelle Getty began losing her memory and needed help remembering her lines ... "And she would write the lines on her hand." Thurm says, "Betty White would make fun of her in front of the live audience ... That may seem like a minor transgression, but it really does get to you ... I have no idea how Estelle Getty felt, but I know the other 2 did not like [Betty] at all."

There have been stories about Bea disliking Betty, but lots of folks in the media said it was jealousy on Bea's part -- because Betty snagged a Best Actress Emmy -- and because Betty joked with "The Golden Girls" audience between scenes, while Bea was focused on her lines.

Betty actually addressed the issue back in 2011, saying, "Bea had a reserve. She was not fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious."

Bob Saget did not die of a heart attack or a stroke -- which authorities believed was the case -- we've learned the cause of death was more shocking and tragic.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... after checking into the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Orlando on January 9, he hit his head on something. We're told authorities don't know what object he hit -- possibly the headboard -- but there was an obvious bruise on the back of his head.

Authorities believe Bob did not know the severity of the injury and got under the covers and went to sleep. We're told he never woke up and died from a brain bleed.

We're also told the toxicology report has come back and there were no narcotics or alcohol in his system.

TMZ broke the story ... Bob had just finished a gig at a comedy club in Jacksonville, Florida and then drove to the Ritz in Orlando ... arriving there just after 2 AM. His body was discovered in the room by hotel security at 4 PM.

UPDATE:  We just got a statement from Bob's family ... "Now that we have the final conclusions from the authorities' investigation, we felt it only proper that the fans hear those conclusions directly from us. The authorities have determined that Bob passed away from head trauma. They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved."