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Whoopi Goldberg is rolling out a much-needed apology ... after making claims about the Holocaust that many found incredibly antisemitic.

Whoopi offered her "sincere apologies" Tuesday, telling Rolling Stone, "It was never my intention to appear as if I was doubling down on hurtful comments, especially after talking with and hearing people like rabbis and old and new friends weighing in."

She says she's still learning -- but confirms, "I believe that the Holocaust was about race, and I am still as sorry now as I was then that I upset, hurt and angered people.”

As we reported, Whoopi faced severe backlash after recently telling The Times Jewish people themselves are divided on whether they're actually a race or not, even quoting one Jewish friend as saying ... "Not for nothing is there no box on the census for the Jewish race. So that leads me to believe that we’re probably not a race."

Whoopi went on to double down on the notion that the Holocaust wasn't about race, from her POV, by saying ... "Remember who they were killing first. They were not killing racial; they were killing physical. They were killing people they considered to be mentally defective. And then they made this decision.”

It's one thing to get a bad review ... it's another to be cast in the same light as Kanye West and Donald Trump, but that's exactly what one reviewer did.

Politico writer Joanna Weiss posted a story called, "2022 Is the Year We All Finally Got Tired of the Narcissists," and she had plenty of fodder to build out her story ... in addition to the above names, she noted Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes.

As for Meghan Markle, she says the Netflix doc "Harry & Meghan" backfired in a big way. It's one of the most watched docs in a long time, but that doesn't mean it was received the way it was meant.

Weiss writes, "My natural sympathy for the couple started turning to irritation, and it occurred to me that ego has its limits. And it struck me that the overreach that led to the Sussexes' critically panned mega-series is the same impulse that turned Elon Musk into a terror on Twitter, that prompted Ye to up the ante of outrageous behavior until he crossed the line into blatant antisemitism, that sent Bankman-Fried from the top of the world to a Bahamian jail."

She concedes Harry and Meghan's conduct is more benign than the others, but says it's still problematic.

The documentary is filled with grievances against the Royal Family, including Harry saying it was "terrifying" when his brother Prince William screamed at him after Harry dropped the bombshell that he and Meghan were leaving.

Stephen Greif, who played Speaker of the House Sir Bernard Weatherill on Season 4 of "The Crown," has died.

Greif's reps announced his death Monday, but did not disclose the cause.

The British actor's role in the Netflix hit was his most recognized, but he was a working actor for many decades with numerous credits.

Greif appeared in Touchstone Pictures' flick, "Casanova" back in 2005. He was on numerous TV shows, including "Tales of the Unexpected," and he appeared in the '70s science fiction series, "Blake's 7."

He was also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company back in the '60s.

His fellow actors took to social media in droves honoring him, one calling Greif "a consummate professional and an absolute gent."

He's survived by 2 sons.

Stephen Greif was 78.

Nev Schulman grew up Jewish, but his wife has him all-in on Christmas ... but Hanukkah also has a special place in his heart.

We got the "Catfish" host at LAX and he told our photog he celebrates both December holidays with his wife and kids ... the Schulman household seems pretty fun.

Nev says he loves Christmas morning and all the stories and songs surrounding the holiday ... not to mention the presents.

Hanukkah's a little bit different ... Nev explains why folks would be wise not to assume the Jewish holiday is just their version of Xmas.

For Nev, he says he likes the historical and religious significance of Hanukkah ... it's clear it means a lot to him.

"Blue's Clues" star Steve Burns unlocked a memory buried deep inside when a cancer survivor visited him at a convention -- turns out they'd met 2 decades earlier thanks to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Brandon Ragland tells TMZ ... he's been in remission for more than 23 years and recently reconnected with Steve at Steel City Con in Pennsylvania, some 22 years after their first face-to-face under much different circumstances.

It's pretty cool ... Brandon says he walked up to Steve's booth, shook the actor's hand and pulled out a picture of the 2 of them from 2000 -- back when Steve was a Make-A-Wish kid -- and it all clicked for Steve, whose eyes lit up and said, "I remember this and you!"

Brandon says Steve told him a story about their first encounter at Serendipity 3 in NYC. Brandon was a 4-year-old meeting his fave TV star, and Steve recalls him being a wild child running around the restaurant.

During their reunion, Steve asked Brandon for a new pic together, and then they both started crying. You can understand why all the water works -- Brandon had stage 4 cancer in his kidneys and lungs when they first met, and now he's 25 with a family of his own.

Brandon says Steve then pulled him in for a hug and said, "This made my entire year and I'm so glad you're here."

Since then, they've stayed in touch on social media ... and Steve's made it clear how proud he is that Brandon's now a healthy father and husband.

BTW, their OG Make-A-Wish experience back in the day included dinner with Steve, a Toys "R" Us shopping spree ... and tickets to "Blue's Clues Live" in NYC.

Teresa Giudice didn't open presents and won't be watching the ball drop with her brother Joe Gorga and sister-in-law, Melissa ... because the famous family members are still beefing.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Joe and Melissa did NOT spend Christmas and won't do New Year's with Teresa and her brood ... because she and the Gorgas haven't spoken since this past summer's blowout fight.

As fans of the show remember ... the bad blood started flowing on the 'RHONJ' reunion show, and then there was more drama ahead of Teresa's August wedding to Luis Ruelas.

The simmering beef made things super awkward as recently as October, when Teresa and Melissa kept their distance at BravoCon ... refusing to interact with one another despite being in the same room.

Instead of thawing the ice in honor of the holidays, we're told the Gorgas are going on a vacation with friends and relatives, while Teresa and Luis will be spending time with her four daughters.

Our sources also say Teresa's children will NOT be visiting their father Joe Giudice over in Italy.

Another year, another Kardashian Christmas ... and this one was just as extravagant as ever.

The whole fam came together Saturday for an Xmas Eve blowout, which took place at Kourtney's house -- where she spared no expense in decking the place out with holiday-themed decorations, treats and attractions ... tons of fun for both adults and kids.

There was an elaborate spread of good eats for everyone to nosh on, and grownup beverages aplenty for those who were thirsty ... of which there seemed to be a few.

The house itself looked like something straight out of a Christmas fairytale -- or a Winter Wonderland, more like. Tons of fir trees adorned the grounds, some of them even looked to be different colors (red) ... and they were fully decorated too with lights and such.

The hired talent was on point as well ... the KarJenners hired Sia to belt out some tunes for everyone ... and it seems North West was in the mood to croon too, which she totally did.

As for the ladies themselves ... everybody was in their best holiday attire, dressed to the nines in evening gowns that looked pretty fabulous on each and every one of them.

Kim chose a sparkly silver dress ... while Khloe and Kourtney went with red and white, respectively. Kylie had a black and white ensemble on, and Kendall rocked a Jessica Rabbit look -- pulling it off well, we might add.

Unclear how many people attended this thing, but by the looks of all their videos ... it appeared packed (and poppin'). You can see all of the sisters enjoying themselves with a drink or two in their hands -- ditto for all the little ones, who were having a ball.

The Kardashians have thrown some awesome shindigs in their day -- but this one might take the cake in what was clearly an eventful year for them. That's another one in the books ... and another 365 days over with for the krew.

Can't wait to see what 2023 brings ... probably a lot, we're sure.

Darris Love, who played Ray Alvarado on Nickelodeon's "The Secret Life of Alex Mack," was arrested Christmas Eve ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

LAPD sources tell us ... police were called to the actor's Los Angeles home just before noon for a domestic disturbance.

When cops arrived, Love's girlfriend told cops she was going to the house to pick up some stuff and before leaving, she got into an argument with him. She claimed Love hit her in the back of her head. Our sources say she was not injured and there were no visible marks.

After cops spoke with both, the 42-year-old Love was arrested and booked for misdemeanor domestic violence.

Love played the best friend of Alex Mack on the show ... he appeared in 77 episodes. He's also been on "E.R.," "Shameless," "CSI," "The Shield" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

After spending about 10 hours in custody, Love was released after posting $20,000 bond.

Kathy Hilton is shutting down all the naysayers who had something bad to say about Kim Kardashian's outfit at Kathy's holiday party.

We got Kathy out in Bev Hills to get her thoughts on Kim's holiday fit ... after fans blasted her for missing the fashion memo.

Kathy makes it clear ... there was no theme for the party, and guests could wear anything they wanted as long as they were comfortable. She says there was nothing wrong with Kim's getup ... calling the whole thing silly and ridiculous.

ICYMI, the SKIMS founder rocked a cropped concert T-shirt and black leather pants, while others at the party were in festive holiday red and green ... as with many things, it didn't sit right with some folks on social media.

One user wrote, "did kim not get the message that it was a... CHRISTMAS party???" Another flat-out called her outfit disrespectful.

Nick Cannon says he has a lot in common with jolly old St. Nicholas ... because they both have to travel all over the place to see kids for Christmas.

We got Nick volunteering Friday at the L.A. Mission and our photog asked how he's going to spend the holiday ... seeing as he's welcomed 11 children with 6 different women and has a 12th on the way.

Nick was in a jolly mood, telling us he has the same vibe as Santa Claus ... because they'll be traveling all night long.

For Friday's volunteer efforts, Nick was rolling with baby mama Brittany Bell and two of their three kids, Golden and Powerful Queen.

Nick's been criticized recently for spreading himself too thin with the sheer number of children, with some of his other baby mamas seemingly taking shots themselves ... but as you can see, there are some tender family moments between Nick and Powerful, who seems enamored with her daddy's Santa hat.

Tamar Braxton went from the mall to the ER in less than a day ... rushed by ambulance to the hospital after waving the white flag to the flu.

Tamar posted she "needed oxygen cause I thought God was taking me home cause I could not breathe and my chest was on FIRE!!"

She went on to make comparisons ... "yall, I have the FLU and let me tell u it's worse than COVID in my opinion ... I'm on 5 different medications."

It's kinda weird ... just the day before Tamar posted pics and videos of her shopping with close friends.

The 45-year-old singer is apparently out of the hospital but, as she says, "completely isolated."

In case you didn't know, the flu is raging in the U.S., and COVID's on the upswing as well.

Ellen DeGeneres is remembering her close friend, Stephen 'tWitch' Boss, telling people to 'love one another' as she continues to mourn his loss.

Ellen gave the tear-jerking update Friday morning -- calling the past 11 days since tWitch died painful and tough, noting how hard the holidays can be for people.

She tells her fans to continue to laugh and enjoy each other's company as a way of honoring the late dancer ... saying that's exactly what he loved to do. It's a clip that must hit home for tWitch's millions of fans -- Ellen ends by telling everyone to "send love to one another."

As we reported, Ellen paid tribute to her close friend the day TMZ broke the story of his passing ... writing, "I'm heartbroken. tWitch was pure love and light. He was my family, and I loved him with all my heart. I will miss him. Please send your love and support to Allison and his beautiful children - Weslie, Maddox, and Zaia."

The Kardashians put on their Santa hats for dozens of moms and their kids in need this holiday season -- paying for them to get dolled up and showered with gifts just in time for Christmas.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Kris, Kim and Khloe planned a very special day for the moms and kids being cared for by Alexandria House -- an L.A.-based nonprofit that provides safe, transitional housing for women/children moving on from emergency shelter.

As part of the seasonal treat, we're told the mothers were pampered at the behest of the Kardashians ... receiving makeovers from Glam Squad in the morning, and even getting free professional family portrait sessions from Larissa Block and Diana Henderson they could do with their own kiddos.

Not just that, but our sources tell us the Kardashians also arranged for the 2 shelter homes where the ladies and their kids stay to be decked out with Xmas lights from Christian Smith Lighting. They were all treated to a holiday dinner as well by the evening.

The Kardashians showed face, too, with in-person visits to the AH houses from Kim, Khloe and their daughters, North and True as well as Rob's daughter, Dream. We're told they mingled with volunteer staff and others, then handed out presents to the residents.

We're told the gifts were valued at over $5,000 per family -- with Google Chrome laptops, Skims, Good American gift cards, Kylie Skin and cosmetics, Safely candles, Beats studio buds, Hasbro toys, pajamas from PJ Place, Squishmallows, gift cards for shoes from Vans and Stuart Weitzman, Lego sets and more.

This, our sources say, is on top of a 6-figure donation that was privately made by the Kardashians earlier this week.

Princess Diana is reportedly set to be shown in an open casket in the next season of 'The Crown' -- this in the aftermath of her onscreen death ... which has some folks up in arms.

Filming for the 6th installment of the hit Netflix series is underway, and according to The Sun, one scene, in particular, is expected to be met by pushback from Brits and others alike ... because, apparently, we'll see Princess Di's body.

The paper reports the scene in question depicts actress Elizabeth Debicki -- who plays Diana -- lying in an open coffin at what sounds like the morgue following her fatal accident in Paris. The Sun says actor Dominic West -- who plays Prince Charles -- comes in to look at her and breaks down in tears and hysterics, as do Princess Diana's sisters.

There's another controversial scene that's reported to have been shot -- which includes nurses and doctors trying to save Diana at the hospital ... totally drenched in blood. The Sun describes it as gory theatre, and jarring as well.

There are concerns it could retraumatize Charles, William and Harry -- and other members of the Royal family. The Sun reports some connected to the production feel Netflix went too far in what they've recreated for the small screen ... all in an effort to chase views.

It's unclear if Debicki was done up in injury-like make-up for the scene -- where she was asked to lie in the coffin and play dead -- but you gotta imagine the state of Princess Di's body wasn't in the greatest shape considering the horrific wreckage.

There's hope, it seems, as Season 6 draws near ... word of these scenes will drum up enough indignation that it might force Netflix to remove some of them, or edit them down.

Harry has said he watches the show, but noted ... he's well aware that it's mostly fiction. Will, for his part, has said he does not watch it -- other senior Royals have also either denied watching it or not commented altogether.

Khloe Kardashian is trendsetting in an all-new way -- she's got the sneaker resale market popping, just because she wore a pair of Jordans to Bronny James' high school basketball game.

Khloe's Mocha Jordan 1's shot up in price after she rocked 'em last week, according to Remo from Walk Like Us ... a digital marketing company that works with resellers.

Remo tells TMZ ... the shoes normally go for a max of $130 for the women's grade school sizes, but after the Kardashian's appearance some are going as high as $600 -- which we're told is pretty rare, especially for the female sizes. FYI, sizes 6 and 7 are the most expensive right now.

We're told a spike like this is more common for men's size, but retailers instantly noticed the price jump up the same day Kim and Khloe sat courtside for the L.A. area high school showcase.

As we reported, the sisters were having a blast at the HS game featuring LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony's sons. The crowd was filled with celebs, including La La Anthony and Scottie Pippen, along with the K sisters.

"Super Sized Salon" star Jamie Lopez had big plans for a new salon before her death, but tragically ... she was rushed to the hospital the day after construction wrapped at the new business and passed away the following morning.

Sources close to Jamie tell TMZ ... she contacted a friend last Friday, thinking she needed to go to the hospital. We're told she'd been dealing with an ongoing cough that turned into a lung infection, and even complained about her heart feeling weird the week of her death.

An ambulance took Jamie to the hospital Friday night, where we're told her heart stopped -- and although doctors were able to resuscitate her, it stopped again ... and, as we reported, she died early Saturday morning.

Sadly, she was on the verge of a career milestone -- construction of her new salon was set in motion when rent on Jamie's OG place from season 1 was raised during the COVID-19 pandemic. She made the decision to build her own, but that pushed the production of season 2 back by 4 months.

We're told construction finished last Thursday and the new sign, reading "Babydoll Beauty Couture by Jamie Lopez" had just gone up. The plan is to go forward with the opening, once the building passes inspection. Jamie's loved ones want to hold a memorial for her at the salon.

As you know, Babydoll Beauty Couture was founded to service plus-sized women, and "Super Sized Salon" -- which premiered earlier this year on WE tv -- highlighted the staff and their customers. The new salon manager Jackee has started a GoFundMe to continue to grow Jamie's vision.