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Wendy Williams is beaming about Lifetime's movie and documentary covering her life and career, and not only because they're helping her get revenge on her ex-husband.

The talk show host joined "TMZ Live" Friday and in true Wendy fashion was not afraid to throw equal amounts of shade -- for Kevin Hunter -- and praise ... for the cast of her biopic.

Wendy tells us she developed a friendship with Ciera Payton -- the actress playing her in "Wendy Williams: The Movie" -- and says she really put her all into the role. Same goes for Morocco Omari -- who Wendy says she hand-picked to play Kevin.

As you know ... Kevin and Wendy were together for more than 20 years, have a son together and worked together, but things ended very bitterly. Actually, as she explained, it was bitter long before the end.

"Wendy Williams: The Movie" and the companion documentary, "Wendy Williams: What a Mess!" premiere Saturday night on Lifetime -- and yes ... she'll be watching.

Just weeks before the country went into lockdown because of COVID, the cast of "Little Women: Atlanta" got in one last hurrah, which left a cast member bloodied and slashed.

The brawl went down in February of last year at Nouveau Bar & Grille. The initial fight pitted Amanda and Andrea against Abira. Ms. Juicy initially tried to act as peacemaker, but that went to hell quickly.

Unclear what started this and, for that matter, most fights on the show. Someone spit on someone and that was pretty much all she wrote. Glasses started flying, conking Juicy on the noggin, and leaving a big gash and a bloody mess. She ended up taking a trip to the ER where she got a CAT scan and stitches.

As we first reported ... Abria started clowning the twins over their plan to get in the rap game. As true 'Little Women' fans know ... they've been at each other's throats for some time ... but things really took a turn for the worse during their hangout that night.

Cloris Leachman -- the incredibly talented and hilarious actress and comedian, who starred in some of the biggest movies and TV shows ever -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Leachman passed away of natural causes Tuesday night at her home in Encinitas, California, with her daughter, Dinah, by her side ... this according to her son.

He tells us ... "She had the best life beginning to end that you could wish for someone." He adds that she was at peace, and "she left everyone with a lot of love."

Cloris' career in showbiz began shortly after she competed in the 1946 Miss America Pageant, when she made her debut on the 'Actors Studio' TV series.

After years of landing small roles on television, Leachman had her breakthrough playing the landlady, Phyllis, on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in the '70s ... which led to her own spin-off.

She won 2 Emmys for the role, and a Golden Globe for Best TV Actress for "Phyllis."

In film, Cloris is best known for 2 movies she made during the same time period -- "The Last Picture Show" in 1971, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress ... and 1974's "Young Frankenstein."

She'd go on to star in another popular Mel Brooks' film in 1981, "History of the World, Part I."

But, that's not all -- she was also racking up Emmys for "A Brand New Life" and "Cher" in the '70s, "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" in the '80s, "Promised Land" in the '90s ... and most recently, "Malcolm in the Middle."

With 22 Emmy noms, she's the most nominated actress in history, and her 8 wins is the most of all time ... tied with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Her other notable roles spanning over 7 decades include "The Twilight Zone," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "WUSA," "Yesterday," "Spanglish," "Raising Hope" and the "Mad About You" reboot.

Cloris also voiced characters on several projects, including 'The Croods' films and "Bob's Burgers."

When we last saw her in 2017, she joked about her faux feud with Betty White, and accepted a duel ... on the dance floor.

Cloris was 94.

Erin Hershey, a soap actress famous for "General Hospital," didn't want her kids tuning into Joe Biden's inauguration ... telling a teacher she'd never let them "watch a criminal."

Erin's got a daughter in elementary school in California, and after the little girl's teacher sent an email to parents Wednesday inviting kids to skip class to watch Inauguration Day, she replied with some nasty comments about the new Prez.

According to the email chain, obtained by TMZ, Erin blasted this out to the teacher and her fellow parents ... "Why watch a criminal on television? I’d never do that to my children. But thank you."

Another parent then rushed to the teacher's defense in the email chain, thanking her for considering the families who wanted to watch the historical moment and drawing Erin's ire by writing, "no matter the person taking office, we are lucky to be able to watch moments like this."

Erin quickly responded with another reply all, saying ... "I don't think we are lucky at all to watch a flat out joke."

Dustin Diamond's cancer diagnosis has been hard for him to deal with emotionally ... and it has him questioning how this happened to him.

The "Saved by the Bell" star's rep tells TMZ ... Dustin's struggling to come to terms with having the type of lung cancer he has -- stage 4 small cell carcinoma -- because it's normally caused by smoking, and he's never been a smoker.

So, we're told Dustin can't help but wonder if his cancer is the result of his frequent work travel over the past 20 years.

The rep says Dustin's worked all over the country on film sets and at comedy clubs for meet-and-greets ... and sometimes had to stay in pretty questionable hotels and motels, because there were no other options.

We're told Dustin believes some of these spots might have had mold or asbestos ... which he could have breathed in, causing his cancer.

As we reported ... Dustin just completed his first round of chemo at a Florida hospital, and will start physical therapy soon while he awaits the second round of treatment.

We're told his doctors have not determined what caused his cancer, but as we reported ... he does have a history of it in his family. His mother died of breast cancer.

Joe Biden ended his first night in the White House soaking in a fireworks show over D.C. ... with Katy Perry putting a bow on a historic day.

The new President and First Lady Jill Biden wore masks and hugged on a balcony outside their new digs, watching fireworks over the Washington Monument as Katy sang her hit, "Firework."

The "Celebrating America" inauguration concert saved the best for last ... with Katy bringing down the house.

Tom Hanks hosted the 90-minute primetime concert live from D.C., braving a cold winter's night at the Lincoln Memorial.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama delivered a special message too ... sending Biden words of encouragement and wishing him success for the good of the country, while taking some subtle shots at the guy Biden's replacing.

Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters and John Legend performed virtually before Katy's grand finale ... as did Ant Clemons, Tim McGraw and Florida Georgia Line's Tyler Hubbard.

Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria were also part of the action ... introducing the acts and sharing stories about young folks making differences in their communities.

The Tiger King is not free to run wild again ... President Trump snubbed Joe Exotic's request to be pardoned, and he and his team aren't taking it well.

What seemingly started as a pipe dream way back in April 2020 -- when Trump said he'd "take a look" at pardoning Joe -- turned out to be exactly that. Joe's team tells TMZ ... "140 million Joe Exotic fans had a hard time getting out of bed this morning."

Yeah, that 'Tiger King' viewers stat might be inflated -- and assumes all of them were rooting for Joe's release -- but you get the point ... they're bummed.

His team added, "We are as disappointed that the President did not sign Joe’s pardon, as we were confident yesterday that he would." Joe's team adds ... it's only because of his fans that the pardon was even a possibility.

As we reported ... shortly after Trump's comment, Team Tiger -- led by P.I. Eric Love -- produced a video asking to free Joe and hopped in a customized tour bus to head to D.C. in hopes of pitching Trump for a pardon.

Those early efforts didn't yield success, but Love and the team were persistent ... and he returned to D.C. in September to hand-deliver Joe's pardon request. As we reported ... the 257-page case to Trump included Joe's claims that he'd been sexually assaulted in prison.

Again, there was silence from Trump about a possible pardon, but Joe continued to publicly plead for one as recently as 2 weeks ago ... when he asked to be pardoned in time to attend his father's funeral.

It didn't happen, and Joe's patience and persistence was all for naught ... because he didn't make the cut for Trump's list of 73 pardons and 70 commutations. In other news -- Steve Bannon, Lil Wayne, Kodak Black and the co-founder of Death Row Records all did.

As you know ... Exotic's been doing hard time for the murder-for-hire plot, and though he's maintained his innocence, he'll remain behind bars.

Team Tiger says they're not giving up though ... and spent 2 hours on the phone with Joe this morning listening to his Direct Appeal Oral Arguments. Love says they "will never leave Joe’s side and will continue to work until his freedom is gained."

Donald Trump's in jeopardy of losing another vote -- this one with Hollywood's labor union -- and it could cost him a return to his beloved 'Apprentice.'

Trump is facing expulsion from SAG-AFTRA, with the union's board of directors set to gather Tuesday for a special session that could decide DT's fate ... according to Deadline.

There's a lot riding on Tuesday's meeting regarding possible disciplinary action for Trump ... if he's expelled from the Screen Actors Guild, he couldn't do "The Apprentice" again.

As you know, Trump starred in "The Apprentice" and 'Celebrity Apprentice' before becoming President, and he's been a union member since 1989.

Trump's expulsion requires a two-thirds vote from the national board, and Tuesday's emergency meeting is just the first step in a long process, which includes a hearing on the charges he's facing.

The SAG-AFTRA Constitution says members can be expelled or suspended for "engaging in actions antagonistic to the interests or integrity of the union." Trump's repeatedly labeled the media an enemy of the people, but the insurrection seems to be the tipping point here.

Stay tuned.

"Teen Mom" star Jenelle Evans says she's regained custody of her son, Jace, but her mom begs to differ.

Jenelle posted a bunch of TikTok videos Saturday, claiming her eldest son is now in her custody. As you probably know, Jenelle's mom, Barbara, has had custody for years.

Jenelle said, "I have custody of Jace. He lives with me now full-time.  My [3] kids are happy, they're healthy. That's all that f***ing matters."

She went on to talk about how "stupid" she was as a young woman and all the mistakes she made, including with men ... but now, she says, things are very different.

Barbara tells TMZ she still has full custody of Jace. She got custody a decade ago when Jace was just a baby, because of Jenelle's erratic behavior. Jenelle has only had visitation rights ever since.

Barbara says Jace has recently been going back and forth between her house and Jenelle's due to the pandemic ... Jace goes to Jenelle's house for 3-4 days at a time, in part just so he has a change of scenery. He'll go over there to do his schoolwork ... then he comes back to Barbara's.

Barbara tells us she called Jenelle after her daughter announced she regained custody, and Barbara says Jenelle told her she "misspoke" and recognized Barbara still had custody.

Betty White is one step closer to a major milestone, and with insurrections, viruses and an economy that's tanked, at least we can all unite in this celebration.

Betty turned 99 today, and she waxed philosophical ... "I can stay up as late as I want without asking permission."

Well, maybe no philosophical, but Betty's awesome!!!

Her plans for today ... feeding a couple ducks that hang at her L.A. home.

As for what's on the menu -- a hot dog and french fries, courtesy of her agent, Jeff Witjas.

ICYMI -- as in the last 80 years -- Betty's show biz career began in 1939.

Most actors and actresses are lucky if they get one gigantic hit during their careers, but after Betty got her first she did not rest. Her role as Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was epic, and the show was one of the biggest hits in TV history.

And, as you know, she followed that up with "The Golden Girls" ... she played the character Rose for 8 years and 204 episodes.

Betty's fame has endured to this day. One of the great show biz stories is the groundswell that led to her hosting "SNL" back in 2010.

As for where it all began ... Oak Park, Illinois in 1922. She wanted to be a forest ranger but women at the time weren't allowed.

Betty was married to Allen Ludden, the OG "Password" host, from 1963 to his death in 1981.

Netflix left a controversial episode from one of MTV's most popular shows on the cutting room floor ... an episode infamous for some severe bullying.

Here's the deal ... the streaming giant just added 2 seasons of MTV's 'Real World/Road Rules Challenge,' but fans will instantly notice something's missing ... some behind-the-scenes clips featuring 3 female cast members going after another female contestant.

The episode was titled "To Hell and Back: Hot Gossip From The Inferno 2" ... and the troubling scene showed Veronica, Rachel and Tina ganging up on Tonya Cooley by snapping nude photos of her while she was sleeping.

They later showed those pics to other houseguests. That episode was the show's finale in 2005, and aired instead of the usual end-of-season reunions.

As for why Netflix cut it? Well, there's the obvious ... 2005 was just a different time, and things that might have been seen as funny or entertaining back then, just don't fly today.

We reached out to Netflix and MTV for an explanation, but neither responded.

Andrew Zimmern says folks in custody need better food options ... even the bare-chested insurrectionist with animal horns and face paint complaining about a lack of organic grub.

We caught up with the 'Bizarre Foods' host this week and talked Jake Angeli, the Capitol attack suspect who complained about not being able to eat in federal custody because there were no organic options meeting his strict diet.

Andrew says Angeli's beef shines a light on an issue he believes runs deep in America ... the food being served in public hospitals, schools and prisons is in desperate need of an upgrade.

While Andrew says Angeli is an "evil, disgusting, human" who should be served nothing but bread and water, he admits it's not fair to single the guy out of his crusade for better prison food for all.

Dustin Diamond's got some pretty cool friends ... 'cause when one of them wanted to wish him well in his recovery from cancer the friend said screw Hallmark ... opting instead to plaster the message on NASCAR driver Josh Bilicki's car.

Dan Block, the president of Insurance King, is honoring his close friend and the "Saved by the Bell" star by giving Bilicki's car a new wrap that'll pay homage to the classic TV show while wishing Dustin get well soon.

We're told the car hasn't been wrapped yet, but TMZ's obtained a rendering of what the stock car will look like when it's done ... and you see the show's font and logo. The rear bumper also displays Dustin's mug ... with the words "Saved by the King" plastered on the hood. In case you didn't know ... Dustin stars in several Insurance King commercials.

In one of the commercials, Dustin speeds past a cop who pulls him over and writes him a ticket. When the cop asks how he can afford car insurance with so many speeding tickets, Screech Powers hits 'em with "C'mon. I'm saved by the king." Boom.

Block tells us the car will debut in time for the NASCAR Cup Series later this year.

As we reported ... Dustin's suspicion became a cruel reality when he found out he had stage 4 cancer. He's currently getting his first round of chemotherapy. The diagnosis came after he first discovered a lump on his throat.

"Saved by the Bell" star Dustin Diamond's suspicion is now a scary reality -- he has stage 4 cancer, and has already started treatment to fight it.

According to the actor's rep ... Diamond has cancer throughout his body, he's currently getting his first round of chemotherapy. We're told he first discovered a lump in his throat, which led to the diagnosis.

The rep says Dustin is also experiencing pain from having shingles.

We broke the story ... Diamond, best known as Screech from the '90s sitcom, was hospitalized this past weekend in Florida after feeling pain all over his body and a general sense of unease.

Trevor Noah's stepping up his game in a big way with his new digs ... as things with Minka Kelly are apparently kicking up a notch as well.

'The Daily Show' host has upgraded mansions in super swanky Bel-Air, dropping $27.5 million on an 11,000 sq. ft masterpiece of a hillside home ... and he closed the deal late in 2020.

His huge buy seems to be part of a trend for Noah -- he purchased another mansion in Bel-Air in 2019 for $20.5 mil ... but turned around and sold it last summer for $21.7 mil.

Apparently, he's got a thing for showplaces in the area, and his newest one is inspired by Japanese aesthetics and spans 3 stories ... on a sprawling estate overlooking a scenic backyard and infinity pool.

Noah bought the 6-bed, 11-bath home from L.A. architect Mark Rios. Along with a spacious room and an abundance of natural light ... the mansion comes with an office, library, elevator, gym, spa, steam room, game room and a movie theater leading to a rooftop terrace.

Former "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Siggy Flicker is calling BS on the internet sleuths who say she was at the Capitol riots ... and she's got an alibi.

Siggy tells TMZ ... she was never near the Capitol during last week's attempted coup, despite some social media users claiming she was there. She says she wasn't even in D.C.

SF claims she's been holed up with her family at their home in Boca Raton, FL for the last 2 months and she was at the Boca Hotel and Resort with her kids and husband while the mob was busy storming the Capitol.

Siggy's on the defense because actress Vivicca Whitsett sent a tweet to the FBI, alleging Siggy is the woman wearing a MAGA beanie in this grainy picture from inside the Capitol. Siggy tells us the tweet is a "blatant lie."

Siggy also posted video of a Jan. 5 flight to D.C. showing a plane full of people singing "The Star-Spangled Banner," which seems to have gotten the ball rolling on the allegations ... but she tells us it's not her video, and she downloaded it from Twitter and reposted it on her IG because she thought it was "beautiful."

A diehard Trump supporter, Siggy tells us she last went to a Trump rally Oct. 16 in Ocala, FL and she doesn't support or condone the violence ... she says anyone who caused damage inside the Capitol during the insurrection should go to jail, no matter their political beliefs.

Siggy says she wouldn't be caught dead at a mass gathering like the Capitol riots because she's gearing up for another surgical procedure on her ankle and isn't supposed to be around large crowds.