TMZ.com

Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino was addicted to pills for a long time during his heyday -- a dark period he's now shining a light on with his new book.

The "Jersey Shore" star's memoir "Reality Check: Making the Best of the Situation -- How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison" drops Tuesday, and dives into just about all of Mike's ups and downs during his TV career -- including his battle with drugs.

As it turns out, The Situation was actually hooked on painkillers for years ... much of which overlapped with his time on the hit MTV reality series, up to and including Season 5.

Mike came on 'TMZ Live' Monday to break down the infamous cement self-KO headbutt he did on camera, saying it was actually tied to him going through withdrawals at the time. Seeing how deep into the belly of the beast he was, MS counts himself lucky to be alive.

He also tells us the MTV team came to him often during filming and asked if he needed help -- but, at one point, his addiction got so bad ... he says they gave him an ultimatum, which is detailed in his new book.

We asked Mike what the lowest point for him was during this saga -- and while you might think his prison stint would be in the ballpark of contenders ... he actually says another time he tried a new drug was when he hit rock bottom. As MS explains ... he once tried heroin.

"The Big Bang Theory" star and comedian Kate Micucci says she's won her battle with cancer.

Kate shared a positive health update over the weekend on social media, revealing she is cancer-free following successful surgery.

In a TikTok post, Kate says the procedure removed all of the cancer in her lungs ... and she says there are no further treatments needed.

Kate says she's grateful she detected the cancer early and she's thanking her doctors, nurses and fans ... saying she's excited to be out of the hospital in time to spend Christmas with her 3-year-old son.

As we reported ... Kate revealed earlier this month she had lung cancer, describing her diagnosis as a complete shock because she's not a smoker.

Mama June's granddaughters are taking their mother's death very hard ... and the family is thinking about sending them to talk with therapists.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell's daughters are reeling from the recent loss of their mom, grieving and trying to take things day by day.

Anna died Dec. 9 and her funeral was Wednesday in Georgia, where her 11-year-old daughter Kaitlyn worked up the courage to speak.

We're told Kaitlyn had no intention of speaking at her mom's funeral, but her feelings changed when she was at the funeral home ... and she shared memories of her time with Anna, some of which brought laughs.

While Kaitlyn was able to open up and reflect at the funeral, the family is discussing the benefits of having her talk with a therapist moving forward. As we first told you, Mama June now has custody of Kaitlyn.

Our sources say Kaitlyn was very involved in Anna's cancer battle, making sure her mom took her medicine and sticking by her side throughout the process. So there's a lot to unpack.

Anna's youngest daughter is 8-year-old Kylee, who is now living with her biological father, Michael.

Because of Kylee's age, we're told it's been harder for her to understand her mom's death ... and she's been leaning on her friends for support and went back to school Friday, which the family sees as a good sign. The school had a field trip, we're told, and the family felt it was a good time for Kylee to go back.

Unclear if Kylee's dad will get her in a room with a therapist, but we're told the family wants her to at least have someone to talk to.

"Squid Game: The Challenge" winner Mai Whelan, AKA Player 287, was always destined to kick butt in the high-stakes series ... given her status as a decorated navy vet.

Mai briefly touched upon her 20-year service on the show ... but the 56-year-old was humble with her achievements -- and now we can reveal the full extent of the prestigious military awards with which she's been honored.

Mai has bagged a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal ... given to those who've served on active duty during a designated anti-terrorism operation for a minimum of 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days.

She's also in possession of 5 Joint Service Achievement Medals ... awarded to those below the grade of captain in the Navy ... who, while assigned to a joint activity, distinguish themselves by outstanding achievement or meritorious service.

Meanwhile, Mai's Navy "E" Ribbon is a nod to her permanent duty aboard a U.S. Navy ship or in a unit that won a battle efficiency competition. She also has 5 Good Conduct Medals for 3 consecutive years of "honorable and faithful service."

If that wasn't impressive enough, Mai has also been honored with a Meritorious Unit Commendation, two National Defense Service Medals, 4 Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, 5 Overseas Service Ribbons, a NATO Medal and is an Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist.

Mai came to the States in 1975 after escaping Vietnam as a young girl during the communist regime ... joined the US Navy at 18 and served for 20 years between 1985 and 2005. She spent time stationed in Florida, London, Italy, Hawaii, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Colin Jost was strong-armed into making his wife, Scarlett Johansson, the butt of a joke he was forced to deliver on 'SNL' ... and he has his good pal Michael Che to thank for it.

Last night was the sketch comedy series' last show of the year, and every Christmas -- the two "Weekend Update" hosts have a tradition of writing jokes for one another that the other hasn't seen ... but has to read in front of the audience as if it's coming straight from them.

It's one of the better segments on the show these days, and 2023's iteration didn't disappoint -- especially for one crack Che made Colin read ... at the expense of his A-lister spouse.

The premise was highlighting a new NY law that now allows movie theaters to serve booze -- which Colin then said would serve as the only way he can get through ScarJo's "little art movies" ... with a flash to an OTS graphic of her in "Black Widow."

It was a pretty sick burn (from Che) and the audience definitely seemed to notice ... cackling and dropping the collective "OOOOOHHHHHHH" to signify how wild it was that her hubby was saying that.

Of course, it's all in good fun ... and Colin rolled with it, including reading the tail end of Che's edgy joke for him -- in which he said, "I'm kidding, honey. I love all of your movies. And if you ask me, you're an even better Black widow than Coretta Scott King."

The funniest part about all of Colin's jokes -- which were written to be pretty racist against Black people -- is that Che brought out a (fake) civil rights activist to sit next to him while he delivered all of these ... and Che ribbed him about it each and every time.

Jack Axelrod -- a longtime TV actor most famous from 'General Hospital' -- has died.

His rep confirmed his death to Entertainment Weekly, saying he passed on Nov. 28 in L.A. from natural causes. She adds, "I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with him in his last years, as he had no immediate family. We spent much time outdoors, where Jack loved to sketch, read news articles, and recite Shakespearean sonnets."

Like we said, Axelrod will likely best be remembered for playing Victor Jerome on 'GH' for 40 episodes back in the '80s ... but he had a long and illustrious career outside of that too.

In addition to lending his services to the famed soap, Axelrod also famously guest starred on 'Grey's Anatomy' in the 2000s for a few episodes, during which he played Charlie Yost opposite Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo.

Other famous shows he'd been in ... 'My Name is Earl,' 'Scrubs,' 'Malcolm in the Middle,' 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' 'The Help,' 'Dallas,' 'Hill Street Blues,' 'Kojak,' 'Dynasty,' 'Night Court,' 'Knots Landing,' 'Murphy Brown,' 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'Boy Meets World,' 'Jack & Jill,' 'Dharma and Greg,' 'Star Trek: Voyager,' 'Alias,' 'Frasier,' 'Hawthorne,' 'Criminal Minds,' 'NCIS,' 'Hawaii Five-0,' 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine,' 'Ray Donovan,' 'Modern Family' ... and more.

He was very much so a veteran thespian, and he worked a lot. Axelrod was 93.

Bill Maher defies most celebrities who straddle the fence and really say nothing when they "speak out" about the Israel-Hamas war ... he has a very strong POV, which involves a heavy dose of reality and reasonable negotiation.

The 'Real Time' host took his audience all the way back to Bethlehem, which is now controlled by the Palestinians. It used to be 86% Christian ... now it's overwhelmingly Muslim. Things change, BM says.

He goes through a litany of countries that became other countries under different control ... things change. A good example is 30 years of carnage in Northern Ireland, which essentially ended with both sides acknowledging a land shift. Things change.

His overarching point ... Israel is going nowhere -- it's staying put, and the chants of "from the river to the sea" he says are pipe dreams not rooted in reality.

Bill seems pretty clear -- negotiating an end to the war without acknowledgment you can't turn the clock back decades is not only unrealistic -- it cuts both ways. So Bill's saying if Hamas doesn't get real and acknowledge there's no negotiation that involves the elimination of Israel, then they're becoming the modern-day Northern Ireland.

Another shake-up on "Jeopardy!" ... Mayim Bialik says she is being removed as host.

Mayim just announced the change, explaining ... "Sony has informed me I am no longer hosting the syndicated version of Jeopardy!"

She adds ... "I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this year and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the Jeopardy! family."

Mayim started hosting the quiz show back in August 2021 as one of the replacements for longtime host Alex Trebek.

Ken Jennings has also been hosting "Jeopardy!" and "Celebrity Jeopardy!" since 2021 ... so it seems he will be picking up the slack.

Recently, Ken had been doing most of the hosting and Mayim was primarily hosting the prime time shows and specials.

When Alex died in November 2020 there was a ton of drama as Sony searched for a new host ... including the whole Mike Richards fiasco.

Matthew Perry died from "the acute effects of ketamine," a drug that is used to treat depression and is also used as a recreational drug.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office just released the toxicology report, concluding Perry had taken ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety a week-and-a-half before his death. The ketamine in his system at the time of his death, however, "could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine's half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less."

According to the Medical Examiner, the ketamine in Perry's system caused both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.

The M.E. found no evidence of alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, PCP or fentanyl.

The contributory factors in Perry's death included drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine effects. Buprenorphine is used to ween addicts off opioids.

What's interesting ... according to the M.E., Perry had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy every other day for some time, but 6 months before he passed, a new doctor decided Perry was doing well enough that he didn't need the treatment that often. The report does not say how frequently Perry was getting ketamine infusion therapy in the months before he died.

Although smoking was not listed as a contributing factor in Perry's death, the report notes he smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day, had COPD/emphysema and diabetes.

And the M.E. says based on their interviews, Perry was clean and sober for 19 months.

TMZ broke the story ... on Oct. 28, Matthew was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi after playing 2 hours of pickleball at Riviera Country Club near his home in Pacific Palisades. First responders rushed to the property on a cardiac arrest call, and he was declared deceased on the scene after an apparent drowning.

While Matthew was open about his history of substance abuse, no illicit narcotics were found at his home.

Like we told you ... Matthew had played pickleball in the morning for a couple hours before returning home and sending his assistant on an errand. Sometime later, the assistant returned, discovered MP in the hot tub and then called 911.

Matthew's death sent shockwaves through Hollywood ... with tributes pouring in and tons of celebs honoring him and paying tribute.

As we first reported ... sources in daily contact with the late "Friends" star told us he had never been happier in the time leading up to his passing, committing to a new movie and loving the new home he had moved into just 3 weeks before he died there.

The winner of "Squid Game: The Challenge" is inching closer to finally seeing her $4.56M payday, but by the terms of her contract ... TMZ has learned she's still gotta play the waiting game.

Sources tell TMZ ... show champ Mai Whelan -- who recently said her winnings from the Netflix series have yet to hit her bank account -- signed a contract alongside all other contestants that stated the jackpot would be disbursed 30 days after the finale aired.

The finale aired December 6, so 30 days later would be Friday, January 5, 2024 -- so Mai won't get those millions until next year.

Basically, Mai knew all along she'd have to wait a while for the big bucks to roll in ... 'cause the contract she signed informed her about the payment plan.

When she revealed last week she still hadn't seen a dime ... everyone took it as her complaining -- but with the full context of her contract, it's more likely she was reminding producers the clock's ticking!

We're also told it's unclear if she'll receive the money as a lump sum or in increments.

Despite not receiving the dough, Mai -- who escaped Vietnam as a young girl during the communist regime -- has already splurged on some luxe items such as Jimmy Choo shoes and a Ralph Lauren dress.

Andre Braugher passed away following a battle with lung cancer, TMZ has confirmed.

Andre's rep tells us the Emmy-winning actor was diagnosed with the disease a few months earlier ... and he passed away Monday at age 61.

Andre was a beloved member of the TV community ... having starred in all 153 episodes of the police comedy series, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."

His costar Terry Crews thanked Andre for his advice, kindness, and friendship in an emotional tribute after the tragic news emerged.

Andre was also known for his work on NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street" and comedy-drama "Men of a Certain Age" -- while his movie roles included "Frequency," "The Mist," and "City of Angels."

The Julliard alum bagged 2 Primetime Emmy Awards during his celebrated career -- and on the personal front, was husband to Ami Brabson and their 3 children.

Those who loved Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell the most just had a chance to say goodbye to the reality star ... paying respects at her Georgia funeral only days after she passed away.

Members of Anna's family -- including Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird -- showed up at the Williams Funeral Home in Gordon, GA Wednesday.

Mama June and Anna's 11-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn also attended the memorial. TMZ broke the story, Mama June is now in custody of Kaitlyn following her mom's death last week.

Anna's husband, Eldridge Toney, and June's husband Justin Stroud were also in attendance.

As we first reported, the production crew for "Mama June: From Not to Hot" was documenting Anna's cancer struggles, but decided against filming the funeral services. There was also a sign outside the venue prohibiting guests from using phones inside.

As you'll recall, Anna died on Saturday due to complications from her cancer battle ... she was suffering from stage 4 adrenal carcinoma, which doctors told her was terminal.

Camden Toy, known for his work on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," has died.

The actor passed away Monday following a 2-year battle with pancreatic cancer ... according to his Facebook page, which has been flooded with an outpouring of fans, friends and family honoring the late actor.

Camden's partner, Bea Henderson, said he was diagnosed in February last year "after months of mysterious pain." She added, "His condition has declined a lot in the last 2 months and tremendously in the last several days," noting he was unable to communicate toward the end.

She says Camden decided "for many reasons" to keep his illness a secret ... and admits she's sorry for the big shock that's now coming to fans.

Actor Doug Jones, who worked alongside Camden on 'Buffy,' wrote, "So many memories including working together, decades of laughing, sharing mutual friends, get togethers, travel, conventions, and huggles with each other and our fans."

Apart from playing one of the Gentlemen in the vampire-slaying series, Camden appeared in various projects like "Angel," "The Bay," "Average Joe," "Shameless," and "The Mentalist."

He was 68.

Oprah Winfrey is overcoming decades of shame attached to her body, and she's admitting taking weight-loss medication ... even though she previously said she'd never do that to slim down.

After shedding 40 lbs this year, the billionaire TV mogul is done with cruel and insensitive conversations about her appearance -- gushing that pharmaceutical assistance has changed her relationship with her figure.

Oprah tells PEOPLE a doctor prescribed the meds to her following her "Life You Want" series' "The State Of Weight" taping back in July, where she realized she wasn't to blame for being overweight ... noting it was more about the brain than willpower.

With a new mindset, Oprah says weight-loss meds are a healthier alternative for her rather than yo-yo-ing, and she takes the medically-approved drug as, and when, needed.

Case in point, she took them just before Thanksgiving cause she knew she had "two weeks of solid eating" ... and, as a result, says she only gained half a pound rather than eight.

This comes in stark contrast to Oprah labeling weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro an "easy way out" earlier this year during a chat with WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani.

Oprah Winfrey is now one of a handful of notable public figures to get drawn into the record books for one of America's most famous museums, and her reaction to the paint job is ... positive?

Here's the deal ... the entertainment mogul received the honor of a massive portrait of herself that's going into the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The unveiling went down Wednesday morning, with Oprah's friends and family in attendance.

Shawn Michael Warren is the artist, and he joined O to pull off the drape covering his work, which looks to stand at about 7 feet tall or so. Keep in mind, Oprah had never seen the finished product.

Once the curtain was yanked ... she could see the painting in all its glory, depicting her in a purple dress, smiling wide in her "prayer garden." To us, the portrait looks fantastic, and most everyone there seemed to agree too ... but it's hard to tell if Oprah liked it.

Maybe we're reading too much into how she reacted, but she certainly looked shocked. It's just not clear if it's a look of stunned joy, or astonished mortification. 😅

We'd like to assume it's the former, and that she digs it ... because honestly, it is quite nice.

Anyway, this thing is permanently the museum's forever -- and like we mentioned, O is joining an exclusive club ... especially as it pertains to modern celebs. The Smithsonian features portraits of tons of famous figures throughout history, but only a handful of 21st-century celebs ... not including presidents, like Barack Obama, who has one.

Matt LeBlanc stepped out for dinner this week -- one of the last remaining "Friends" to do so since Matthew Perry died ... and it's meaningful for a lot of different reasons.

The actor hit up Nobu in Malibu Tuesday -- which is big considering it's one of the most high-profile celeb hot spots in town ... and whoever goes there certainly wants to be seen. You could argue that's the case for Matt here -- who was joined by a bunch of buddies.

He looked fairly neutral and pensive as he rolled up with the boys, but at one point ... he did, in fact, flash a big smile as he greeted one of his friends near the valet booth outside.

Like we said ... it's significant to see MLB out and about like this in the wake of his old costar's tragic passing -- which occurred in late October. The reason ... they were close cast members on the hit sitcom ... just think about Chandler and Joey.

We've seen Matt step out in public before ... but the last time he did that, he was behind the wheel driving around in L.A. -- so it wasn't quite like what we're seeing here at Nobu.

The theme, you might argue, is that life moves on ... and so do people, no matter who leaves us. And yet, as hard as MP's death must be for him -- he, too, appears to be trying to carry on as normally as he can. Last month, Matt posted a formal farewell to Perry.

Like we said, other "Friends" actors have stepped out in the spotlight since Matthew passed -- not including his funeral, of course, which they all attended. We've seen Courteney Cox hit dinner in L.A. ... and David Schwimmer has also shown face in the wake of his death.

The only ones we haven't seen publicly thus far are ... Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow, but something tells us we'll likely spot them out and about in due time as well.