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Former "Zoey 101" star Alexa Nikolas is deeply concerned about Nickelodeon's child stars because she "didn't feel safe" when she was there -- so she's at the studio's front door trying to change things.

Alexa was taking matters into her own hands Thursday when we caught up with her during a protest outside Nick's Burbank headquarters. The network's been under fire since former "iCarly" star Jennette McCurdy released a memoir about alleged abuse from higher-ups at the company.

She recalled being pressured to drink at 18, getting unwanted massages from an exec and being offered hush money.

Alexa tells us, she didn't feel Nickelodeon had her best interest in mind, and calls her entire experience there "traumatic."

Unfortunately, she says the stories of alleged abuse are all too familiar to many other kid stars.

She says all Nick stars who have ever felt offended deserve an apology.

On top of that, Alexa says time's up for NDAs -- non-disclosure agreements -- which she says silence children and prevent them from getting help when needed.

Going forward, she hopes the company can redeem itself, but she points out Nick has yet to respond to the allegations from Jennette or herself -- nor has it announced any action will be taken.

Alexa is certain of one thing ... there's zero chance she'd ever attempt to patch things up with Nickelodeon or her former co-star Jamie Lynn Spears. Tension between them started years ago when they're were still working together, and apparently it's only worsened with time.

Before this bubbly little witch turned into a soap actress and a 9-0-2-1-0 icon, she was just gearing up for Halloween, hangin' with her mom, Lois, and growing up in Medford, Oregon.

Whether she's waltzing on "Dancing with the Stars" or rocking out to Harry Styles on her Instagram, this hot momma never fails to entertain her audience or her two daughters. She also loves to rally her fellow housewives and get them dancing on tables for Andy Cohen.

Need one more clue? Her lips were made for talking, and she always owns it!

Vanessa Bryant is sinking the $16 million she won from L.A. County into the cause near and dear to her late husband Kobe Bryant -- she says it will all be donated to the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation.

Bryant and co-plaintiff Chris Chester won their lawsuit against L.A. County over the distribution of photos taken at the helicopter crash scene in Jan. 2020 ... with the jury awarding Vanessa the $16 mil, and $15 million to Chris.

Vanessa's attorney Luis Li tells TMZ, "From the beginning, Vanessa Bryant has sought only accountability, but our legal system does not permit her to force better policies, more training or officer discipline."

Li's statement, first posted by the L.A. Times, continues ... "Those measures are the responsibility of the sheriff’s and fire departments -- responsibilities that Mrs. Bryant’s efforts have exposed as woefully deficient, even giving amnesty to the wrongdoers. Mrs. Bryant was courageous and never faltered, even when the County attempted to force her to submit to an involuntary psychiatric examination. She is deeply grateful to Ralph Mendez and Luella Weireter, the good Samaritans who brought to light the decades old practice of taking and sharing photos of accident and crime victims for no legitimate purpose."

Li says Vanessa hopes this case will help to change the "callous behavior" of the sheriff and fire departments' first responders.

She also wants the $16 mil to "shine a light on Kobe and Gigi's legacy."

As we reported, during closing arguments in the trial Chester's attorney proposed the jury should award Chris $32.5 million, but Vanessa's team did not suggest a dollar amount during their closing.

A brawl between 2 kangaroos ended quicker than expected when one went straight WWE on the other -- shoving the opponent straight through a metal fence!!!

The 'roo rivalry went down at Canberra Nature Reserve in Australia ... a passerby started filming the animals getting into it. After a few moments of hand-to-hand combat, one delivered the crushing blow ... hurling the loser into a not-so-solid wall.

The "winner" even looked shocked ... seemingly staring down his bounding buddy to make sure it stayed down after the violent tumble.

Don't worry, the fence-crasher's doing just fine -- a witness told Storyful it was later seen jumping down the road like nothing happened, but good luck with that, buddy.

Y'know how kangaroos gossip, bro. Word's gonna get around.

Seriously, though ... don't mess with these 'roos! Remember, a man squared off with one a few months back, even grabbing a stick to defend himself ... but that didn't seem to phase the animal.

Honeymooners Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are all over each other -- kissing like teens in Milan -- but their bodyguard's all over them ... making for a very awkward scene.

The couple was out and about Thursday in Italy's fashion capital, hitting some of the usual hot spots, and something in the window at Cartier got 'em all charged up ... romantically speaking.

The window shopping dissolved into a make-out sesh right there on the street -- typical for newlyweds -- but Jen and Ben are far from typical. One of their bodyguards was about 2 feet away keeping a watchful eye out for fans, and desperately trying NOT to look at his bosses locking lips.

Tough assignment, for sure

As you know, this romantic getaway comes after the Afflecks got hitched for a second time at Ben's Georgia estate last weekend.

The elaborate ceremony came after Ben and Jen first eloped in Las Vegas last month.

They followed that up by jetting off to Paris to enjoy a honeymoon, which included some time with their kids too.

That Sin City wedding made their marriage official, making Paris the "official" honeymoon, in our book.

A relative of Floyd Mayweather's girlfriend, Jamie Lynn, died by suicide at a Las Vegas condo owned by the boxing legend earlier this week, TMZ Sports has learned.

We're told 24-year-old Jarrett Johnson was discovered by a friend who showed up to the condominium on August 22 around 4:30 PM. The friend called 911 ... but when police responded, Johnson was deceased.

Sources say Jarrett died by hanging.

Johnson was a standout football player ... he was an all-conference quarterback in high school and the Southeast Missouri All-Region Athlete of the Year. Jarrett went on to play multiple positions at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

It's unclear if Jarrett was living at the property at the time of the incident. We're told the place is just one of many he has in Vegas.

Our sources say Mayweather is distraught over the loss ... as he had a relationship with Jarrett.

The two even posed for pictures together over the years ... traveling across the country.

The tributes have been pouring in on Johnson's social media -- with friends and family members sharing their condolences.

It's tragic news for the Johnson family -- Jarrett's brother, Justice, was killed at 18 years old in 2019.

Vince McMahon celebrated his 77th birthday with his good friend, John Cena, yesterday ... in his first public sighting since retiring as the CEO and Chairman of WWE last month.

The 77-year-old billionaire hit up the Waverly Inn restaurant in NYC ... and was naturally joined by Cena, the 16-time WWE champion, and his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh.

Interestingly enough ... an unidentified woman was seen walking behind Vince as he prepared to get into his sprinter van. McMahon's wife Linda was absent.

You'll recall ... Vince resigned, then officially retired, after the Wall Street Journal published a story several months ago, claiming the WWE honcho paid multiple women "hush money" over the years.

McMahon's retirement sent shockwaves through the sports entertainment world ... and he's maintained a relatively low profile since announcing the news in mid-July.

Vince appeared to have no interest in talking ... as he tried hiding his face as he was getting into his vehicle.

The actor who played the owner of the Peach Pit on "Beverly Hills, 90210" -- the watering hole for Brandon, Brenda, Dylan, Kelly and the rest of the high schoolers -- has died.

Joe E. Tata, who played Nat on the iconic show, has passed. Joe was suffering from Alzheimer's since 2014.

Fellow castmate Ian Ziering posted his remembrance ... "Joey was truly an OG, I remember seeing him on the Rockford files with James Garner years before we worked together on 90210. He was often one of the background villains in the original Batman series. One of the happiest people I’ve ever worked with, he was as generous with his wisdom as he was with his kindness."

Joe was in 238 episodes of "90210." He also appeared occasionally on the reboot of the show.

As for his other credits, they are numerous ... "Magnum P.I.," "The Rockford Files," "Hill Street Blues," "Batman," and "The A-Team."

The Peach Pit was a throwback -- in a way, like "Happy Days" -- the diner where the kids went to hang, and it became a centerpiece of '90210.'

Joe was 85.

Two pro Australian rules football teammates are now in hot water ... after they were captured on video engaging in a wild, public sex act at a bar earlier this month.

According to multiple reports, the footy competitors -- who play for Glen Waverley Football Club in Melbourne -- made a bet during a day of heavy drinking on Aug. 14, requiring the loser to perform oral sex on the winner.

Shockingly, the man who lost the wager completed the sexual task in the middle of a bar -- all while patrons stunningly looked on.

The footage soon went viral ... and this week, reps for the Glen Waverly Football Club -- which competes in the Eastern Football Netball League -- were outraged, and said the guys would be disciplined.

"The Club is taking immediate action to address the serious breach of our culture and values that has occurred within this incident," team officials said.

"The individuals involved, along with the broader playing group will be both disciplined & educated and if need be, counselled in the type of conduct expected by members of our Club, along with the physical & emotional impact this has had on the families involved, club members, players and the wider community."

The men have yet to be publicly ID'd.

TikTok star Charli D'Amelio and her mom are goin' toe-to-toe ... by competing against each other in the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars."

Production sources tell TMZ ... Charli and Heidi both signed on to join season 31 of the dancing competition series. We're told this won't be a team effort, though -- they'll appear as separate contestants -- competing against one another, as well as the other celebs.

Charli's clearly claimed her title amongst the other celebrities that will join her on the show, although her fame might be different from others -- she's gained a hefty 145.7M followers on TikTok over the years, and 49M on Instagram. Heidi also just celebrated 10 million followers on her own TikTok!

She's also been dancing since she was a little kid -- needless to say, she might make it pretty far this season. Although we've seen dance experience on the show not always translate into the ballroom.

The rest of the cast has yet to be announced, but the series has moved on from its spot on ABC after 17 years on the network -- it'll premiere live on Disney+ in September.

The social media star's already got some experience with Derek Hough -- she did a "Dirty Dancing" routine with him and his sister Julianne on their show, 'Step Into...The Movies.'

He vouched for her getting on 'DWTS' in an interview last year, saying "I think it'd be really cool to see one of the D'Amelio sisters on there. Charli's a really talented dancer and she's obviously crushing it in the content, TikTok world. I think she would be really good."

'Star Trek' legend Nichelle Nichols is heading back to space with several of her Enterprise crewmates ... part of an incredibly fitting mission to put their remains into orbit.

Nichelle, who starred as Lieutenant Uhura and passed away back in July, will have her ashes added to the payload of a Vulcan rocket launching later this year for the moon and beyond.

United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur mission will first deliver a robotic lunar lander -- to scout for NASA's future Artemis flights to the moon -- but then it will continue deeper into the solar system for the 'Star Trek' tribute.

The rocket will deliver Nichelle's remains -- as well as 'Star Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry, James Doohan ("Scotty") and Majel Barrett Roddenberry ("Nurse Chapel") -- into a so-called "graveyard orbit" around the sun.

As for the fact, the 'Trek' greats' final flight will be on a "Vulcan" rocket ship -- Nichelle's son, Kyle Johnson, says "I'm sure she would have much preferred to go on the shuttle, but this was a pretty close second."

The owners of Yoga to the People -- a profitable nationwide yoga business -- could be teaching their exercise classes behind bars for decades ... 'cause the feds arrested them on tax evasion charges.

Gregory Gumucio, Michael Anderson and Haven Soliman were rounded up Wednesday by federal agents and charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and five counts of tax evasion. The trio faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

According to a criminal complaint, obtained by TMZ, the execs raked in $20 million from 2013 to 2020 and lived high off the hog.

Prosecutors claim Gumucio doled out nearly $270,00 to United Airlines and $76,000 on hotels. Gumucio also held Denver Broncos season tickets worth over $40,000, the complaint says. All three execs allegedly paid for personal expenses using business accounts.

Problem was, according to prosecutors, all three failed to file individual or business tax returns ... and they didn't pay any income taxes between 2013 and 2020.

Yoga to the People allegedly avoided paying taxes by taking customer cash payments that were stuffed inside tissue boxes and passed around during classes. Teachers were allegedly paid in cash and off the books.

Between 2015 and 2020, Gumucio didn't report $1.6 million in income, and Anderson and Soliman had $2.1 million and $961,000 in unreported income, respectively. They owed $431,000, $603,000, and $196,000 in taxes, respectively, prosecutors said.

Unlike Lia Thomas in the women's swimming pool, Caitlyn Jenner says she's throwing her support behind a trans golfer in her fight to make the LPGA Tour -- claiming "golf is a totally different game."

Hailey Davidson, a 29-year-old who underwent gender reassignment surgery last year, has been attempting to get her LPGA Tour card this summer. She's so far been unsuccessful, but it's created plenty of backlash nonetheless, with critics -- as they did in Thomas' case earlier this year -- calling it unfair to women in the sport.

But Jenner joined Fox News on Wednesday afternoon and said she's backing Davidson's quest to be the first transgender woman on the Tour -- saying it's simply a different situation than Thomas'.

"Every sport is different," said Jenner, who's previously been very critical of Thomas' journey to compete in the women's pool. "Golf is a totally different game [than swimming]. It is a game of touch and feel."

Jenner argued that brute strength and the potential to hit a ball further makes little-to-no difference in golf ... saying, "It is about your ability around the green."

"I don't think she's in a position where she's going to be dominating on the LPGA Tour," Jenner added.

The LPGA Tour changed its rules more than a decade ago to allow golfers who were not born female to compete. And Jenner said she thinks it should stay that way, noting current pro female golfers whoop her and other men regularly on the course.

"To be honest with you," Jenner said, "those girls are so good. The top girls on Tour can beat probably 99.9 percent of the men out there. They're that good."

Davidson, who reportedly last competed as a male in a 2015 tournament, said in a statement Wednesday that despite not yet earning her Tour card ... she isn't giving up in the fight anytime soon -- no matter what her detractors say.

"All the people who commented about me having an advantage over biologically born women have no idea how great these women are at their craft or it what it takes to be an elite golfer," she said.

Olivia Rodrigo wasn't alive when Billy Joel was making his hits -- but she clearly appreciates the piano man's work, as she joined him onstage for one of his classics, and one of hers! #Respect

Sure, he could easily be her grandfather, but Wednesday night Billy and the 19-year-old singer rocked together at Madison Square Garden ... where he's had a residency for almost 9 years! They performed "Uptown Girl" and then followed up with her hit "Deja Vu" -- a song where she name-drops Billy.

While the crowd was definitely older than Olivia's usual audience, fans went wild when she took the stage -- even singing along to her track, which dropped last year.

Olivia's the latest surprise guest Billy has welcomed over his years at the Garden -- he's also brought on Miley Cyrus, Jon Bon Jovi, and Tony Bennett ... to name a few.

TikTok star Gabbie Hanna's page became a hub for a series of bizarre and emotional videos, clips that got her friends and fans so worried about her well-being they called the cops.

Gabbie -- who has more than 7 million followers and goes by the name "TraumaQueen" on the popular app -- posted close to 100 videos of herself Wednesday. The videos, all just a few seconds long, showed Gabbie in her home hysterically laughing, crying, yelling, at times declaring herself the smartest person on Earth and even claiming someone had broken in.

LAPD sources tell us the disturbing videos led to an influx of calls from people worried about Gabbie's well-being, and asking for officers to go and check on her.

We're told Gabbie greeted officers at her door and chatted for a few minutes before officers called for a psychological evaluation team.

Our sources say medical professionals had a long chat with Gabbie and determined she didn't pose a threat to herself or anyone else ... so they allowed her to remain in her home. We're told Gabbie was also given resources for the next time she may become upset.

As for what led to the wave of videos ... it appears trolls on Gabbie's account may have played a role ... recently mocking her for claiming she wanted to "save the world."

Dennis Rodman won't be getting involved in the Brittney Griner case after all -- the Hall of Famer has reportedly decided not to travel to Russia ... after the U.S. government strongly advised against his plans.

Rodman claimed earlier this week he had permission to go to Russia to try to get Griner -- who was sentenced to 9 years in prison earlier this month -- back on U.S. soil ... saying he knew president Vladimir Putin "too well."

It's no secret -- Rodman is well-connected overseas ... especially with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un, so the ex-Bulls great was trying to see how much international pull he really had.

But, the folks at the White House made it clear if the Worm planned to go, he would not have D.C.'s blessing ... with State Department spokesperson Ned Price saying, "He would not be traveling on behalf of the U.S. government."

In fact, the government felt Rodman's involvement might mess up the U.S.'s current negotiations with Russia to get Griner out ... so ultimately, the hooper decided to take a back seat.

Griner has been behind bars since she was arrested for having cannabis oil in her luggage at the airport. The U.S. has remained adamant she's being wrongfully detained.