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Add 50 Cent, Shaq and Kenya Barris to the growing list of high-powered celebs interested in buying BET, we've learned the group is making a massive push to strike a deal.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us 50 and Kenya were spotted at the Paramount offices in NYC earlier this week to talk business, and the possibility of buying the network.

As for the cash ... we're told 50, Shaq and Kenya are fully loaded and ready to make an offer with some help from CVC -- an investment company.

Of course, there's still a lot to be worked out before anything is finalized, as one source told us, "It's not a done deal, but they're deep in it."

The trio makes a lot of sense, 50 had a ton of success on Starz, and recently signed a multi-year deal with FOX that's sure to net him a boatload of cash. Not to mention, he also just announced his global "The Final Lap" tour to celebrate 20 years of "Get Rich or Die Trying" ... so he's clearly still super connected in the music biz.

Then there's Shaq and Kenya who have massive TV deals -- and Kenya with an impressive resume of producing, directing and writing credits.

As we reported ... Diddy is also among the names that have thrown their hat in the ring as an interested party. TV moguls Tyler Perry and Byron Allen are also reportedly in serious talks to buy the network.

"Moonshiners" star Craig Landry is laid up with a slew of serious injuries after he crashed on a unicycle and busted a bunch o' bones ... especially in his face.

Craig’s brother Richard tells TMZ ... Craig got into the wreck last week near his home in New Iberia, Louisiana while he was doing something he does a lot ... cruising around on his electric unicycle. Yep, that's a thing.

As for what went wrong on the unicycle -- well, Richard says all Craig remembers is waking up in the ambulance.

Apparently, a few women found him knocked out unconscious and called paramedics. He was eventually airlifted to University Medical Center in New Orleans, where he had surgery to repair his shattered jaw.

We know what you're thinking when a guy from "Moonshiners" has an accident, but Richard says he does not believe his brother was under the influence ... adding, Craig does suffer from high blood pressure and might have blacked out while riding.

As you know, it's been a rough year for the 'Moonshiners' cast. You'll recall, Craig's costar Josh Owens was involved in a violent motorcycle crash ... breaking his neck, back, arm and legs.

Despite the string of awful luck, Richard seems to be staying positive.

Not too long ago, he posted an update about his little brother saying he was now home, but still in a lot of pain, and will need a few more surgeries on his face. He's asking fans to keep the prayers coming ... just as they did for Josh.

Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola's grand entrance back to the "Jersey Shore" fam is about to go public ... and the moment is just as big as you'd expect!!!

Fans have long awaited Sammi's return and we've got a first look at how it went down when she showed up, without warning for the OG cast and others, on "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation."

The teaser for the 2nd half of season 6 starts with Ronnie Ortiz-Magro -- Sammi's ex-bf -- talking to The Situation about coming back, then it cuts to Sammi's strolling into the house ... leaving Pauly D, JWoww, Snooki and Vinny in complete shock!

Some of 'em were speechless with their jaws on the floor ... while Pauly D said, "Is this real? Are you a hologram? Is this AI?"

As we reported, Sammi's comeback was a well-kept secret ... producers kept the cast in the dark in order to capture this awesome moment fans are finally getting to see.

As you know, It's been over a decade since she's worked on anything "Jersey Shore"-related, ... she was the only OG cast member not to return to 'Family Vacation'.

Most folks suspected she didn't sign on for 'Family Vacation' because of her past with Ronnie ... whom she dated on and off throughout the original series. He ended up stepping away from the show indefinitely 2 years ago.

And clearly, there's a lot in store -- hence Ronnie talking about his potential return. Remember, we got pics of Ronnie talking to producers while filming at the Margaritaville Resort in Orlando, and we know Sammi was there too.

Sonia Pizarro, famous for her starring role on the reality TV show "Operation Repo," has died ... TMZ has learned.

Sonia's niece, Lyndah Pizarro -- who was also on the show -- tells us Sonia died Wednesday night in Arizona in her sleep.

Sonia's ex-husband, fellow "Operation Repo" star Froylan Tercero, is remembering her as "a bad ass chick that kicked some serious ass."

Froylan adds ... "She will always have a place in my heart and on my body since I still have her name tattooed on my stomach, Sonia we love you and I will honor you with all the good mementos you gave me, thank you and I love you."

While she's most known for her work on the TruTV series, Sonia also acted in movies ... including 2009's "Repo Chick" and, most recently, the 2018 flick "Followed."

Sonia's had major health issues in the past ... back in May 2018 she was hospitalized after suffering a stroke. Lyndah tells us Sonia did not die as a result of complications from the stroke.

Sonia leaves behind 3 children -- Ruby, Robert and Froylan Jr. -- as well as her grandchildren ... Bryant, Brie and Danica.

She was 60.

Drew Barrymore is going on strike ... she's backing out from hosting duties for the upcoming MTV Movie & TV Awards to show solidarity with the writers fighting for better pay.

The actress was supposed to host this weekend's award show, but announced Thursday she was pulling out.

Drew explained her decision in a statement to Deadline, saying ... "I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike.

She continues ... "Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me."

As you know ... the Writers Guild of America started striking earlier this week, with writers going up against major studios for a bigger slice of the pie.

Drew's set to host next year's award show, and Deadline reports MTV is not going to replace her this weekend, instead opting to go without a host this year due to the strike.

The producers who put on the MTV Movie & TV Awards also sent a statement to Deadline, saying ... "We understand and deeply respect her decision. She's a legend – as a host and a fan – and we are excited to welcome her back in 2024."

Lisa Vanderpump's famous Pump Restaurant Lounge in West Hollywood is closing up shop.

The Pump Family tells TMZ ... "It's with heavy hearts that we announce that the lease at Pump Restaurant is expiring, and we will be closing its doors on July 5th, after 10 years of beautiful evenings under our olive trees."

While the flagship location at the corner of Santa Monica and Robertson in the heart of WeHo is closing, we're told Lisa is opening two more restaurants at Caesars in Las Vegas.

It appears a dramatic increase in rent is to blame, the Pump Family tells us ... "While we have loved our time operating Pump, to take on another 10-year lease with a huge increase in rent by the landlords, is not something we are ready to commit to. After successfully running 37+ establishments for many years, this type of rent is untenable."

Sources close to the family tell TMZ  … Lisa and her husband Ken Todd refused to commit to paying nearly $1 million in yearly rent, with the couple considering the figure to be ridiculous.

Our sources say high rent is also to blame for Lisa and Ken's former Beverly Hills restaurant, Villa Blanca remaining empty 3 years after the couple closed the restaurant because of a rent increase in 2020.

We're told Lisa wanted to keep Pump open through June, because it's Pride Month and she wants to "support the local community with one last hurrah."

Lisa and Ken still have a couple other restaurants in the area ... Sur and TomTom ... and the Pump Family says, "We look forward to welcoming you all to TomTom & Sur in the months following! Thank you for the past decade of support, we have loved our staff, our patrons and our time together."

Pump's been featured in many scenes on "Vanderpump Rules" over the years, and it's hosted tons of celebs ... including Lance Bass and Lady Gaga.

Priyanka Chopra says she fell into a "deep, deep depression" after a botched nose procedure and thought her career in entertainment was totally over.

Chopra made the revelations during an interview with Howard Stern on his Sirius XM show, going into detail about the dark period earlier in her life.

The actress, who's married to Nick Jonas, told Stern that a physician recommended that she go under the knife to remove a polyp in her nasal cavity.

She followed the doctor's instructions and got the nose job, but, afterward, she says her face looked completely different, causing her to slip into a "deep, deep depression."

Not only did the surgery affect her physical appearance, but it negatively impacted her work. Chopra says she was fired from three films as a result of the bungled procedure, making her think that her career was “over before it started.”

She says things got so bad that she didn't even want to leave her house at times, but her late father -- who was a doctor as well -- convinced her to get corrective surgery despite her misgivings.

Chopra said, “I was terrified of that, but he was like, ‘I will be in the room with you. He held my hands through it and helped me build back my confidence.”

She says she got her career back on track with the help of Bollywood director Anil Sharma, and was grateful to him for giving her a supporting role in a movie, even though she was originally slated to play the lead. Chopra went on to star in several major Hollywood TV series, including Citadel and Quantico.

Jamie Foxx has left a big absence in his hosting duties on "Beat Shazam" ... a hole Nick Cannon hopes to fill while Jamie remains hospitalized with a serious mystery condition.

TMZ has confirmed Nick will take over the hosting duties of the popular FOX game show where contestants attempt to guess songs with lyrics from hits of all genres. We're told Kelly Osbourne will work as the show's DJ ... a position held by Jamie's daughter, Corinne, as she takes leave to help with her dad's recovery.

In a social media post Wednesday, Kelly shared a video from the DJ booth on the "Beat Shazam" set.

Kelly's IG video features an emcee in the background, gassing up the studio audience for Nick. Kelly also posted a photo of the show's rundown.

TMZ broke the story ... Jamie's family and those closest to him continue to ask for prayers, echoing, "Pray for Jamie."

Jamie's hosted the show since 2017, and he's also an executive producer. Corinne's been the show's DJ since 2018, working the past 4 seasons.

The hugely popular music lyric game show was scheduled to go into production just days after Jamie was hospitalized with what Corinne described as a "medical complication" but that was delayed. Nick and Kelly started shooting Wednesday.

As you know ... Jamie was in Atlanta working on the movie "Back In Action" earlier this month when he fell ill, and his fill-ins on that project have been a stunt double and body double.

We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers' late night talk employees won't be left high and dry during the writers' strike -- as one of Jimmy's staffers claimed -- as the network will cover their pay ... for the time being, at least.

NBC will now be paying staffers through the end of next week -- 1 more than originally reported. Both talk show hosts will be footing the bill one week further, too.

Employees for both shows will also reportedly have their healthcare benefits extended through September ... and the additional payout from Seth and Jimmy is similar to what they did for their workers during the pandemic. Deadline first reported the big development at NBC.

As we reported, Jimmy caught some flak Tuesday after tweets from 'Tonight Show' staffer Sarah Kobos went viral ... as she claimed Jimmy "wasn't even at the meeting this morning to tell us we won't get paid after this week."

Sarah said she was irked by a Met Gala interview where Jimmy said he fully supported his striking writers.

Stephen "tWitch" Boss' widow says some of her kids still don't understand their father is never coming home ... a question that gets asked a lot in the aftermath of death.

Allison Holker Boss sat down for a televised interview with "Today," in which Hoda Kotb got her to open up about how she and her family are coping with tWitch's passing ... which happened just before the holidays, when he took his own life.

As you can imagine, it's emotional ... but one of the more heartbreaking moments comes when Hoda asks her about the three children she shared with tWitch.

They had a 14-year-old, a 7-year-old and a 3-year-old ... Allison says at the younger ones, Maddox and Zaia, still can't comprehend their dad is gone forever -- asking their mom if he'll eventually come home.

Allison says the conversations she's had with them these past several months are something she doesn't wish on anybody.

She also talks about the stigma of mental health -- a hurdle tWitch was privately battling. She wishes he would've felt comfortable to share his struggles.

As we reported ... tWitch left a suicide note alluding to past challenges, but Allison now says there was no outward indication she saw to suggest he was struggling or considering suicide.

Eileen Saki, known for her work as bar owner Rosie on "M*A*S*H," has died ... TMZ has learned.

Family sources tell TMZ Eileen passed away Monday in Los Angeles, following a battle with cancer.

Fans remember Eileen as Rosie on a handful of episodes of the Korean War-era sitcom -- she was the owner of the self-titled "Rosie's Bar," a local spot for G.I.'s to take a load off. Eileen took over as Rosie following 2 previous actresses.

Some might also remember Eileen as Dr. Fujimoto from 1984's "Splash" with Tom Hanks ... and also had roles in "CHiPs" and Mel Brooks' "History of the World: Part I."

Eileen's career spanned decades, as she most recently had an appearance a few months ago in an ad for Uber Eats, getting some help crossing the street from L.A. Rams' defensive tackle, Aaron Donald.

Eileen's survived by her husband, Bob Borgen.

She was 79.

Kim Kardashian has a very special person by her side at this year's Met Gala ... her daughter North West, who is making her debut at the event.

We just got video of Kim and North leaving the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York City, where a ton of screaming fans have been camped outside waiting on their favorite stars to step out on their way to the event.

Kim's wearing a beautiful white gown, she's been teasing the look for a while now -- posting from Karl Lagerfeld's office in Paris just last week, so you know she's in Chanel.

North looked cute as ever, smiling as she made her way to the car with mom ... gotta assume she's wearing Chanel too.

Kylie and Stormi were also seen leaving the Ritz.

Jerry Springer was laid to rest in a private ceremony this weekend among family and friends, with plans in place for a public celebration of life in the near future ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the legendary talk show host -- who died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer -- was buried Sunday in a suburb of Chicago. We're told there was a relatively small group of people in attendance for the ceremony.

We're told the burial also entailed a religious service -- which our sources say followed traditional Jewish customs.

It might sound like a modest send-off for the late, great Springer -- but our sources assure us his fans will get their own chance to say goodbye as well in the near future. We're told a tribute is being planned -- which, for now, is scheduled to go down on May 16 in Cincinnati.

Our sources tell us it'll be a free ticketed event open to the general public. Right now, organizers are planning how many people can attend -- for now, we're told they're anticipating letting around 500 people inside the venue.

As for what folks can expect during this upcoming ceremony ... our sources say it'll be a good overview of his life and legacy in and out of work -- which touched communities from all walks of life, from politics to entertainment and just about everything in between.

We're also told some famous faces are expected to roll through, but the list is still being worked on. Our sources say videos will be played, guest speakers will talk and music will be performed -- so it's gonna be a big deal. We're told the plan is to stream this as well.

While there'll, no doubt, be a celeb factor at the public service -- we're told the main focus here will be on normies being able to get in and bid Springer a proper farewell. Our sources say more details are forthcoming and that tickets are going to be made available soon.

Michael J. Fox says he doesn't think he's going to be around in 20 years as he continues to battle Parkinson's disease -- which is making his life more difficult by the day.

The beloved actor -- who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991 -- sat down with CBS Sunday Morning for a new interview that's hard to watch ... because he says, in plain terms, he honestly doesn't think he's going to live past the age of 80 the way things are going.

Check it out ... MJF heartbreakingly describes how the disease continues to wear on his body -- which results in more accidents, falls, and injuries as he gets older. Despite this, he actually calls Parkinson's a gift ... albeit, one that keeps on taking, as he puts it.

Mike says he's fortunate to have resources around him to help him deal with it -- but notes, not many people have lived with Parkinson's for as long as he has ... over 30 years.

And yet, the guy continues to keep up an incredibly good attitude -- maintaining his sense of humor ... and carrying a positive outlook, big picture. There's a telling mantra he upholds -- with gratitude, optimism is sustainable. In other words, he says if you have something to be grateful for ... you have something to look forward to. And Fox says he's grateful for a lot.

There's a touching story he shares about watching "Back to the Future" recently on TV ... which he hadn't seen in years. As he took the movie in anew, he says his wife asked what he was doing, and he told her. He says he quipped to her, "I'm really good in it."

Ariana Madix took her road show to D.C. Saturday night ... and she had to get a boatload of satisfaction when someone hurled a joke into the crowd ... comparing her ex to Tucker Carlson!!!

Ariana and boss woman Lisa Vanderpump were invited guests of DailyMail.com at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. M.C. Roy Wood Jr. dropped the comparison in the middle of his roast ... "The untouchable Tucker Carlson is out of a job… but to Tucker’s staff, I want you to know that I know what you’re feeling. I work at The Daily Show, so I too have been blindsided by the sudden departure of the host of a fake news program. Tucker got caught up. Got caught up like that dude from Vanderpump Rules."

Of course, Roy was referring to the Scandoval ... specifically Tom Sandoval.

Ariana's been on a world tour lately ... doing karaoke in Europe and getting tight with a dude at Coachella. She's movin' on ... so where's that reunion show!

Elon Musk has taken nothing but heat for a while, but he had an ally Friday night -- one Bill Maher.

Elon appeared one-on-one with the 'Real Time' host, and Bill was more than complimentary. He essentially said, like him or not, Elon Musk is changing the world in profound ways.

As Bill says, the most transformative things in society have come from technology ... the printing press, the light bulb, the phone, the internet, flying, and on and on.

BM gave Elon mad props for his work with reusable rockets, electric cars, the Neuralink, just to mention a few.

Elon was actually funny in the interview, getting laughs and applause from the audience.

As for Twitter, Musk explained he bought the platform because it was censoring too much. As he said, it's easy to allow speech you agree with -- the point of free speech is to allow people to make remarks you may find abhorrent ... presumably still within limits.

They get into cancel culture, politics, the works.