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Conservatives are up in arms over Netflix's depiction of Alexander The Great as a gay man in their new docuseries ... despite a long-standing belief that the dude was definitely bi.

The "End Wokeness" X account -- widely known in right-wing circles -- took offense to ATG, played by Buck Braithwaite, passionately kissing his pal/ potential lover Hephaestion early in the first episode of "Alexander: The Making of a God".

The account wrote, "Netflix made a new documentary about Alexander The Great. Within the first 8 minutes, they turned him gay."

Despite the indignation from the conservative-leaning account -- not to mention from its followers -- even more people were quick to point out ... Alexander is widely considered to have been something other than just straight-up heterosexual, even by historians.

Worth noting ... the legendary conqueror was also depicted as bisexual in the 2004 film, "Alexander", played by Colin Farrell. So ... this whole idea of him being bisexual ain't new.

Funny enough, X even fact-checked the comments themselves ... under the initial post, it was noted ancient historians and scholars had widely accepted Alexander was bisexual and believed to have had long-standing intimate relationships with both men and women.

It fell on deaf ears, though ... the account doubled down on their outrage, writing: "It's still unproven speculation and should definitely not be shoved into the first 8 minutes."

The streamer dropped the 6-part docudrama on Jan 31 ... unveiling ATG's radical transformation of the conqueror from an exiled young man to his obsession with defeating the mighty Persian Emperor Darius ... which allowed him to conquer the known world in just under 6 years.

Interviews with historians and plenty of dramatic reenactments bring the series to life ... and of course, there's a heavy focus on ATG's sexual orientation.

Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones of Cardiff University in Wales says in the first episode that same-sex relationships were quite the norm throughout the Greek world and Dr. Salima Ikram of the American University of Cairo adds Hephaestion wasn't just Alexander's cherished companion but perhaps his "greatest love."

Shannen Doherty is sticking by her claim that Alyssa Milano got her fired from "Charmed" ... getting choked up telling a crowd that she knows her truth, despite AM's recent denial.

Check out the video ... it's pretty dramatic. Shannen tells Orlando's MegaCon audience Sunday she's simply telling the truth about the situation "as opposed to the narrative that others put out there for me" -- this with her former costars Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan sitting supportively beside her.

She clearly gave a lot of thought to what she was gonna say ... even writing it down in pre-prepared notes which she read from during the "Who's the Boss?" panel.

Shannen makes it clear she and Holly weren't being "mean" when making the claims against Alyssa on her 'Let's Be Clear' podcast in December ... in fact, they say they later edited down the podcast to get rid of any extra deets that would likely cause more drama -- but remains adamant what remains is the truth "because the truth actually does matter."

Welling up with emotion, Shannen admits she felt compelled to address the matter following her stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis ... because there was no time more important than the present on getting the truth out there, at least what she considers the truth anyway.

SD says ... "There is no revisionist history happening in the truth that I know we told … There is no lateness to set, there is no mediator for months on end. I recall the facts as if I was still living in them."

Shannen reflects on the seriousness of the matter ... noting that while someone may call it all dramatic, it was an actual trauma she had lived with for an extremely long time -- and her cancer battle only served to heal her from the livelihood that was taken away from her and her family because "somebody else wanted to be No. 1 on the call sheet."

There's clearly no budging on Shannen's end -- and same for Alyssa, it seems ... who indirectly denied SD's allegations in another panel at the convention Friday ... saying she's "sad" by all of the "toxicity" surrounding the show. She added she was also upset that "people can't move past it" ... and that this was overshadowing the success of the show.

Kim Zolciak is apparently sick of reading about herself in the press -- something she believes Kroy Biermann may be behind ... and now she wants a judge to step in and rectify.

The reality TV star just filed new court docs, obtained by TMZ, in which she's asking the court to issue a protective order in their ongoing divorce case ... so she can redact sensitive info like certain names and financial records in the docs she's handing over as she and Kroy continue to hash out their issues.

Long story short ... Kim says there's a lot of interest in this case -- and sure, there is -- and notes that there's been press coverage at every juncture as their divorce continues to play out.

Along the way, however, Kim says some embarrassing info about herself and Kroy has surfaced amid these proceedings ... stuff that she claims she most definitely doesn't want out for the masses to read, but which she says is getting out anyway.

Thing is ... Kim here in her new docs claims she's attempted try and get on the same page with Kroy over a confidentiality order that she says she's attempted to get Kroy to agree to.

According to her ... KB flatly rejected her proposed confidentiality order ... and she says that led her to believe Kroy is actually the one leaking things to the media.

As a result, she's now begging a judge to step in with some court-ordered discretion that would help ensure sensitive info doesn't make its way into the public record.

The 66th Grammy Awards aren't off to the best start ... 'cause the Recording Academy pulled a Warren Beatty -- and Nicki Minaj fans are PISSED!!!

Here's the deal ... the Grammys don't start until 5 PM PT, but before the ceremony, the Recording Academy uses its X account to hand out some of the trophies -- basically to cut down time during the ceremony.

One of those awards ... Best Rap Song, which was won by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice for their song "Barbie World" -- a huge moment for the rappers -- except it didn't last 'cause the Academy seemingly took it back.

You see ... the Recording Academy deleted that congratulatory tweet and posted a different one -- saying Killer Mike had actually won the trophy for his track "Scientists & Engineers" featuring André 3000, Future, and Eryn Allen Kane.

Multiple outlets are reporting KM as the real winner of the Gramophone... so it seems NM and IS are officially out of luck!

Nicki's been through this song and dance before ... she's now racked up 12 nominations without taking home a single one. She was also nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media -- but lost that one to Billie Eilish and FINNEAS for "What Was I Made For?" When it rains, it pours!

But if anyone's taking it harder than Nicki ... it's the Barbz -- who think the whole damn ceremony is rigged.

In fact, they're so sure about this they've got #Scammys and #BarbieWorld trending on X ... basically claiming the Academy rigged the results because of Nicki's explosive beef with Megan Thee Stallion.

So is there some kinda of grand conspiracy going on, or just an honest mistake from the Recording Academy's social media manager? Let us know below.

Shane Gillis is finally going to take the "Saturday Night Live" stage ... four years after he was fired for racist comments before his first episode.

The controversial comedian will host the show on February 24 alongside musical guest 21 Savage -- a little over four years after he was fired from the program after jokes featuring racist and homophobic slurs came to light.

As we previously reported ... SG was hired back in 2019 before a comment he made on "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast" the previous year. You can watch the clip above ... it's pretty demeaning language.

Obviously, this comment caused a firestorm ... with an 'SNL' spokesperson saying Lorne Michaels and other execs had sat down with Shane and decided he wasn't the right fit for the show.

Shane responded at the time with the statement, "I'm a comedian who pushes boundaries. I sometimes miss. If you go through my 10 years of comedy, most of it bad, you're going to find a lot of bad misses." He also said he'd personally apologize to anyone who was offended.

Bowen Yang -- the prominent Asian American cast member of the iconic sketch show, who was hired the same year as Shane and is still on the show -- said he was going to sit down with Shane after the decision was made.

Yang will almost certainly appear alongside Gillis in the episode ... unclear if their convo ever went down or how he feels about the embattled comedian.

FWIW ... Gillis hasn't stopped saying controversial jokes over the years -- though perhaps they aren't as inflammatory as his 2018 comments.

However, he's still got fans up in arms over his hosting gig ... with many taking to social media to blast the NBC staple for allowing Shane the platform.

We'll have to wait and see if Shane addresses his firing on the show in a few weeks.

Ayo Edebiri did a mea culpa on "SNL" Saturday night ... circuitously apologizing to JLo for throwing shade on her singing skills a few years back.

"The Bear" star took up hosting duties, but the standout moment was the "Jeopardy" skit, which was called -- "Why'd You Say It?" The contestants were confronted with mean/snarky/cruel social media posts and host Kenan Thompson demanded an explanation.

Ayo was shown a pic of a woman enjoying the rain, and, according to the skit, she had commented, "Die."  Funny enough, but Ayo said this -- "It's wrong to leave mean comments or post mean comments just for clout, or run your mouth on a podcast and you don't consider the impact because you are 24, and stupid, but I think, I speak for everyone when I say that from now on, we're gonna be a lot more thoughtful about what we post online."

Ayo didn't reference Jennifer Lopez, but it's obvious what she did here. As TMZ reported, Ayo was on the "Scam Goddess" podcast back in 2020 and called JLo's music career "one long scam," saying she could carry a note and might not sing all her tracks. There have been long-running theories on this, and Ayo played into it.

We're wrapping up the week here at TMZ, but we're just getting started on juicy topics to talk about on TV -- which is exactly what we did on Friday.

On 'TMZ Live,' Harvey and Charles dove head-first into the Darius Rucker arrest that goes all the way back to last February, and which landed with him in a jail cell earlier this week.

It's a bit of a convoluted mess, but long story short ... the guy got stopped in 2023 over expired tags -- which ended in cops finding what they say might've been drugs ... and almost a year later, they said they were sure it was drugs, resulting in Hootie posing for a mug shot.

Over at 'TMZ on TV,' we got into Avril Lavigne's new friend (and maybe love interest?) who went skating with her out in L.A. earlier this week ... in what sure looked like a date.

Of course, we're talking about Nate Smith ... whom we ran into at the airport, and who cleared the air. Take a look ... the guys seems to suggest that AL is ... just a pal.

Finally, we get to 'TMZ Sports' ... where Babcock talked to NFL HOF'er Andre Reed about the Buffalo Bills and Stefon Diggs ... who AR says could take a pay cut to stick around.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Scary moment in "The Situation" household ... as a Ring camera shows Mike Sorrentino's son choking on his favorite pasta.

The "Jersey Shore" mainstay shared the clip via social media on Saturday ... documenting a nice family dinner Thursday night that quickly evolved into a nightmare scenario.

A family meal starts out innocently enough ... with Mike sitting at the table and his 2-year-old son Romeo sitting in the chair beside him. The little guy puts a bit of pasta pesto gnocchi in his mouth -- and that's when things take a turn.

Romeo's almost immediately in distress ... coughing and starting to cry -- and Papa Mike's on his feet within seconds, checking in on his eldest child before Romeo collapses into a hunched-over position.

One of the two adults Sorrentino is with can be heard clearly saying "He's choking, he's choking" with a woman who appears to be Mike's wife Lauren heading to the kitchen for some water.

MS smacks his son on the back repeatedly, trying to dislodge the food from his windpipe which seems to work eventually ... with Romeo letting out a loud cry as his mother seems to use some kind of tool to get the food out and pulls him into a tight embrace.

The father-of-three posted a couple pics of his kids after the vid ... and gave more details on the ordeal -- basically saying Romeo got the pasta stuck in his throat while applauding himself and his wife for staying calm despite the horror of the moment.

Bill Maher has not changed his tune about the problems with young people ... he says one of the root problems is the musical messages pumped into their brains.

The 'Real Time' host made his case that the music industry has been singularly obsessed with the almighty dollar and the things it can buy. BM says back in the day ... there were only a handful of songs about the pursuit of cash.

These days, Bill says, the charts are flooded with the pursuit of all the goodies money can buy. Even in a country where "Rolex on a Redneck" is a big hit!

He says there's a sociological element when it comes to rap. The Black community was denied access to wealth and opportunity for so long, when it finally started seeing some inclusion, rappers flaunted their success.

But, as Bill says, the money obsession in music is everywhere ... and growing. E.g., Bruno Mars' "I Wanna Be a Billionaire So F***ing Bad."

And Bill says these musical messages get burned into the brains of teens ... like the first time you saw your father coming out of the shower!

We finished the week strong here at TMZ -- and with some tragic news, too, no less -- with a little bit of levity, but a lot of drama ... and we covered it all on our TV shows.

Kicking things off on 'TMZ Live,' we started scorching hot with some tea that resurfaced about Ayo Edebiri -- who was somewhat recently talking major trash about Jennifer Lopez ... with whom she's appearing alongside on 'Saturday Night Live' this weekend. Awkward!!!

Take a look for yourself to see exactly what she said, and what we're hearing she thinks of J Lo these days. Hard to say things won't be tense between them ... 'cause this was harsh.

Heading over to 'TMZ on TV,' we couldn't help but tip our cap to Tiffany Haddish's lawyer -- 'cause he seems to have scored her a pretty sweet deal in her L.A. DUI case.

Long story short, that case now goes away ... and she just has one DUI case to go!

The sports/entertainment word suffered a massive loss in the sudden death of Carl Weathers -- famous from the 'Rocky' movies and others, not to mention for his time with the Raiders.

Not much is known about the circumstances of his passing -- but Mike and Mojo got into his contributions on and off camera ... and there's a lot.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Rick Harrison's family is starting an education fund for the child of his own late son, but it's not out of necessity ... it's actually to appease friends and fans who want to help.

Here's the deal ... in the wake of Adam Harrison's death last month, the Harrisons have been inundated with pleas from people far and wide who've been asking how they can support in the family's time of need.

A Harrison family rep tells us that Adam's ex-wife, Jennifer, also has had tons of people contacting her asking for ways they can help her in this difficult time.

In light of this influx of people wanting to chip in and provide assistance -- we're told the Harrisons decided to create an outlet where folks can solicit gifts if they feel so inclined ... benefitting Adam and Jennifer's son, Colton. Colton is a young kid in elementary school ... and the fund created will go toward his future educational endeavors.

The rep tells us this seems to be the best way to make sure people's goodwill and charitable efforts are put to the best use.

TMZ broke the story ... Adam tragically died from a fentanyl overdose last month. Adam's father, Rick, told us the fentanyl crisis in our country must be taken more seriously ... as it seems the drug is continuing to flow over the border.

Thousands of fans have sent their condolences to the Harrison family ... including two of Donald Trump's sons, who gave Rick a personal phone call following Adam's passing.

2:09 PM PT -- Ayo Edebiri stood shoulder to shoulder with Jennifer Lopez for a new 'SNL' promo that just dropped -- and it's hard to say if there's any sour feelings between them after this pod news dropped.

Check out the three promos that were just uploaded on the 'SNL' page ... it's Ayo standing in the middle with Jen to her right and Heidi Gardner (a cast member) to her left. They rattle off some lines, and the first take seems to show Jen and Ayo expressing their mutual fandom.

Like we said, there's no true way to tell if Jen's mad -- the body language is pretty neutral. It's possible they shot these before the news dropped ... so we'll see how Saturday goes!

Well, this is awkward ... Ayo Edebiri eviscerated Jennifer Lopez's talents 4 years ago -- well before she was super famous -- and now ... the 2 of them are doing 'SNL' together.

The 'Bear' star is this weekend's host, and Jenny is the musical guest -- so you gotta imagine her resurfaced comments could make it a little bit awkward during rehearsals ahead of the big show tomorrow night.

Ayo was featured on a podcast in 2020 with a woman named Laci Mosley who hosts "Scam Goddess" -- which is dedicated to uncovering "scams" in the public eye and gossiping about them. In this particular episode, she had Ayo (who, again, was not a big-time TV star yet).

Right from the get-go, they start to discuss one "scam" they perceive ... and that would be the "career" of J Lo -- their words, not ours. Ayo then trashes Jen in very harsh terms.

You can listen to her remarks for yourself -- but essentially ... Ayo and Laci are yukking it about the notion Jennifer just isn't that great of a singer, at least in their eyes -- and they believe she's fooled the masses into thinking she's this fantastic vocalist.

Ayo herself even leans into this long-standing (and unfounded) rumor that J Lo has allegedly used ghost singers in her career ... something AE runs with as fact, and just further evidence (from her POV) that Jen has fleeced the industry. Like we said, this is rough.

There are more mean comments that Ayo and Laci make, which we won't include here.

Anyway, the bigger point is ... Ayo and Jen are literally in the same building right now, and they will most certainly see each other over the next 24 hours, so it'll for sure come up.

The question, of course, is ... will they be able to play nice and get through the show?

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... this incident with Ayo was long ago, and that she is most certainly a fan of Jenny right now -- we're told she's excited to work with her and be in her presence. As for Jen ... our sources tell us she doesn't usually let these sorts of things bother her -- and that her mantra is about moving on and moving forward.

We're told J Lo is looking forward to working with Ayo this weekend.

A new documentary about Wendy Williams is alarming fans -- 'cause she seems to be signaling she's been going through a lot of financial hardships, among other issues.

The first trailer for the Lifetime doc -- "Where is Wendy Williams?" -- dropped Friday ... and it shows the reclusive TV personality apparently saying she has "no money" before pulling a throw pillow close and letting the tears flow.

Remember ... Wendy Williams was placed in a financial guardianship back in 2022 after Wells Fargo claimed she was a "victim of undue influence and financial exploitation" -- a move her family repeatedly rails against in the clip ... including WW's sister who demands to know how she's not fit to take care of her sis.

On the other hand, her son Kevin Hunter Jr. says he thinks she's surrounded by "yes people" in this trailer -- people he says don't actually look out for her best interests ... so there's clearly a difference of opinion among Wendy's own family, at least that's what the doc suggests.

Members of her inner circle are also seen in this trailer expressing other concerns, including one man who confronts Wendy with a nearly-empty bottle of booze ... one Wendy appears to admit she downed in a single day while stretched out in bed, bathrobe still on.

Williams also comes across as confused at her surroundings at times in the doc's first trailer ... apparently causing concern among the people around her she's losing her memory. Her wide-eyed, almost surprised look at times adds further fire to these speculations.

Wendy's overall health does, in fact, seem to be poor at times, too ... she's wheeled out of a hospital on multiple occasions in the trailer and seems almost incapable of walking by herself when stepping out of an SUV.

Ultimately, the trailer seems to end on a hopeful note ... Williams seemingly expresses interest in reconnecting with her estranged family and recognizing the detriment of having certain business associates in her life. The full thing airs in a two-part special on Lifetime later this month ... Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 at 8 PM ET/PT, so more will be answered then.

We haven't seen Wendy out much in the past year or so ... outside of a paparazzi interaction last February where Williams claimed she was 138 pounds -- a moment that makes it in the trailer BTW -- and a couple pics of her on the street, she's mostly stayed out of the public eye.

Wendy dropped out of several speaking engagements in May ... before reportedly heading to treatment to deal with issues she was allegedly battling.

Alyssa Milano is once again defending herself over her GoFundMe move to raise cash for her kid's baseball team -- pointing out that even though she's a celeb ... she's a parent too.

The actress is still facing backlash from an attempt to fundraise for her pre-teen son's trip to Cooperstown -- something she made evident with some screenshots of people apparently attacking her boy on social media, with the kid having to stick up for himself and his mom.

She added a lengthy caption, writing ... "Every parent raises money for their child’s sports teams and many of them do so through GoFundMe. I am no different."

AM elaborated by saying ... "As much as I’d love to pay for the entire team and their families for travel, transportation, hotel, food and beverage, uniforms, trading pins and all the things teams do for this kind of trip—I can not afford to do so. Maybe someday."

She also points out that if she hypothetically did pay for everyone -- as the public has strongly suggested she do -- then she believes trolls would find a way to criticize her for that too ... and Alyssa's probably right.

One final sentiment from her on this issue ... "Leave the kids alone. Let them play baseball. If you are against donating—don’t donate. If you’d like to donate to help the team’s families — we appreciate it—the link is in his bio."

Just one more day before we head into the weekend, and we're finishing strong at TMZ -- especially on the topic of TV coverage ... of which there was plenty on Thursday.

Starting with 'TMZ Live,' we revisited an old feud that got kicked up all over again thanks to Justin Timberlake -- who took a not-so-subtle shot at his ex-girlfriend, Britney Spears.

You might've heard about his sorry-not-sorry moment in NYC this week, and Harvey and Charles have some opinions on whether he was right (or wrong) to be so brash here. Of course, BS fired back ... even though her diss was a little odd, focused on ... basketball?

'TMZ on TV' kept the good times going, and Kanye West helped us get there with a whole new look that screams bloody murder -- from the movies, of course ... of the horror variety.

What we're even talking about here ... well, it's a mask. Just take a look for yourself.

Finally we get to 'TMZ Sports,' where Lewis Hamilton made news by jumping ship at Mercedes and zooming over to Ferrari for the upcoming F1 season. Listen up, gear heads!

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Larry David is letting Elmo know just how he's doing ... giving the famous puppet a good curb stomping on morning television.

The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star and Elmo were guests on the "Today" show Thursday when Larry got physical with the "Sesame Street" puppet. It was all in good fun, of course, but yeah -- he kinda got handsy with the red muppet.

Elmo was just wrapping up a segment about his viral mental health pop-in when Larry walked over and put both hands on Elmo ... smashing his face in, and taking a swipe at Elmo's dad, Louie.

Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin were trying to throw it over to Al Roker for a weather report ... but Larry had other plans.

The anchors quickly took sides with Elmo ... with Savannah telling Larry he'd gone too far and Al saying he wasn't surprised by Larry's actions.

Larry's response ... "Somebody had to do it!!!"

Unfazed, Elmo told Larry to come back and talk about how he feels ... with Louie making it a teaching moment. Larry apologized before his segment on the upcoming 'Curb' season ... saying sorry in true LD fashion.

Savannah asked Larry to speak from the heart, with Larry hilariously responding ... "From where? What organ are you talking about?"

The agonizing apology felt straight out of a 'Curb' episode ... and Elmo accepted. We gotta say ... Larry's doing a masterful job promoting the final season. He's very much in character in real life.