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Dan Schneider -- the ex-king of Nickelodeon programming -- has addressed a long-held theory that he's into feet, and channeled that on his shows ... something he says isn't true.

The one-time TV producer -- responsible for creating a number of hit series on Nick over the years, including "iCarly," "Drake & Josh," "The Amanda Show," "Zoey 101" and countless others -- did an interview with NYT ... which straight-up asked him about the foot fetish rumor.

Several people have compiled still shots from different shows of his, and they seem to find a common theme among his child actors ... they seemed to be in a lot of bare feet scenes.

Dan responded with this ... "The comedy was totally innocent," going on to say the foot fetish claims were "ridiculous" and chalked it up to kids finding feet funny/goofy ... insisting he never attempted to sexualize his stars.

Some of his on and off-camera behavior with said stars have been called into question -- suggesting Dan was, at the bare minimum, creepy and unaware of boundaries.

It's all much ado about nothing, though ... according to Dan, who also clarified his reasons for parting ways with Nick in 2018, after a historic 30-year run with the network -- saying he was simply attending to other personal matters in his life that he'd let "go by the wayside."

However, NYT reports an in-house investigation into Dan's workplace practices got underway around that time ... this after claims of verbal abuse from his ex-staffers. Apparently, the review found merit to some of those claims ... which made him seem high-strung and difficult.

What the HR didn't find any credence in ... allegations of sexual misconduct, something else that had been speculated about Schneider, especially amid the height of #MeToo and his coincidental departure around the same time, when allegations were flying like crazy.

Phylicia Rashad has FINALLY done an about-face on her Bill Cosby sentiments from this week -- issuing a formal apology to Howard U students ... and deleting the tweet in question.

The former actress -- who is now Dean of the HBCU's Fine Arts College -- sent a letter to Howard U students Friday, which flat-out said she was sorry for her controversial remark ... this in the wake of Cosby having his conviction overturned, and being released from prison.

In the letter, which has been making the rounds online, Phylicia writes, in part, "This week, I tweeted a statement that caused so much hurt in so many people -- both broadly and inside the Howard community. I offer my most sincere apology. I have since removed that upsetting tweet."

She goes on ... "My remarks were in no way directed towards survivors of sexual assault. I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard University has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence."

PR continued by saying that she intends to undergo training to reinforce HU protocol and practices as it relates to all this -- and also asked the HU community for its forgiveness, promising to do a lot of listening and learning so she can become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors and anyone else who's suffered at the hands of an abuser.

You'll recall ... Phylicia was ecstatic at the news of Cosby's case being thrown out, initially writing ... "FINALLY!!! A terrible wrong is being righted - a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" She faced immediate backlash for her comment, following up by saying her tweet wasn't aimed at sexual assault survivors ... but she kept the Cosby tweet up nonetheless, which simply didn't square. Even after HU admonished her formally, she still left the tweet up.

Looks like someone higher up finally got in her ear and told her the truth -- which is, you can't openly support Cosby and sexual assault survivors at the same time. So, pick one ...

Britney Spears made a compelling case that the conservators have abused her and upended her life, but we've learned the conservators are going to present a very different story to the judge.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, various people involved in different elements of the conservatorship claim Britney's story doesn't mesh with the facts.

For instance, Britney told the judge last week she was forced to go on her 2018 European tour. She said, "I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do ... my management said if I don't do this tour, I will have to find an attorney and by contract, their own management could sue me if I didn't follow through with a tour. He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it. It was very threatening and scary. I couldn't even get my own attorney, so out of fear, I went ahead and did the tour."

Sources connected to the conservatorship tell TMZ, people involved in the tour will tell a very different story at the next court hearing. We're told they will say the following ... when Britney was at the tail end of her Vegas "Piece of Me" residency, she realized "she had nothing on her calendar for almost all of 2018. She then asked Management to find something for her to do so she wouldn't be bored for a year."

The sources claim Management came back to her and suggested a European tour, adding, "She literally begged to do the 2018 European Tour run. She was very excited about it and called repeatedly to ask to have it confirmed. There is a text message exchange between Management and Britney on December 16, 2017, where management provides her with the tour routing. She asks a few questions, and expresses how excited she is to do it."

The sources say once she was on tour, "she simply didn't want to be there so she was trying to find every excuse to leave the tour, at which time she made up the story about being forced to do it."

Britney said she was forced to sign a document committing to do the European tour. Sources connected to the conservatorship say she was asked, not forced to sign, and she did. Furthermore, the sources say the conservatorship changed protocols because Britney would agree to do various things but when it came time to do them "she would lie and deny having agreed to do it. The conservatorship was then forced to put into effect protocols requiring management to get her to sign off on all professional obligations so the conservatorship could show it to her to 'remind her' that she consented to the obligation."

The sources say Management did indeed ask her to sign the document committing to the tour, because that was the protocol the conservatorship had in place, and Britney "willingly signed."

We're told various people in the conservatorship will dispute many of Britney's claims involving getting married, having a baby, being denied the right to see her kids, not knowing she could end the conservatorship ... among other things.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck let it ride Friday ... taking in all the cool stuff at Universal Studios.

The freshly re-minted couple were joined by 2 young girls -- unclear whose kids -- as they meandered around the amusement park.

This wasn't your average day pass to the park ... they had security follow them around. When they got to the Jurassic World ride, park security told the normies in line they would be joined by some "special guests." That they were.

They spotted Ben first, followed by Jen and the 2 girls. They arrived at the ride through a side door and immediately climbed into their own personal car.

Ben and J Lo have been shuffling between coasts for the last few months after their romance re-ignited. They've been anything but secretive about it, showing up at places where celebs are routinely photographed.

It seems they'll settle for the Left Coast. As we reported, J Lo has been checking out schools in L.A. It's unclear if they'll move in together but the relationship seems as intense as when they were engaged back in the day, so that seems like more than a possibility.

NBC is running from its reality show "Ultimate Slip 'N Slide" ... after a bunch of folks on the crew experienced explosive runs themselves.

The network put the show on ice after members of the production staff experienced diarrhea ... apparently from some sort of parasite called Giardia.

The show was being shot in the San Fernando Valley and almost reached the finish line with 1 week of production left, but it was too much. After multiple crew members got sick, production was indefinitely shut down.

Neither of the hosts -- Bobby Moynihan and Ron Funches -- came down with the runs.

An environmental lab tested the water used in the competition, along with restrooms and other facilities, and initially results came back negative, but they got a positive result last month. So, with 7 weeks in the can (sorry) and one week left to go, the door was slammed shut ... this according to PEOPLE.

The show was set to premiere August 8 after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Summer Games.

Tyler Posey has come out as a member of the LGBTQ community, and he says his girlfriend is the one who inspired the realization.

Tyler says he now identifies as a member of the queer community. The "Teen Wolf" star said in an interview with NME, GF Phem, whom he's been dating since February, opened his eyes that he falls 'under the queer umbrella."

Tyler told the publication, NME, "I’ve been with everybody under the sun, and right now I’m in the best relationship that I’ve ever been in with a woman, and she’s queer too," adding, "She’s helped me realize that I fit under the queer umbrella and that I’m sexually fluid, I guess. No, not 'I guess' ... I don’t want anyone to take this [interview] and be like: 'Well, he was kind of wishy-washy about it.'"

Sara Haines says "The View" should replace Meghan McCain with someone who shares her views ... i.e. another conservative.

We got "The View" cohost leaving Thursday's taping in NYC just moments after Meghan announced she's leaving the show after 4 seasons. Sara, who BTW has great fashion taste, tells us it's her hope the show adds another panelist who brings diverse opinions.

She says the reason is simple ... despite the name of the show in the singular ... it's best when it represents different views, although Meghan was the lone, conservative wolf.

What's more ... Sara says the so-called bad blood between Meghan and the other cohosts is not why she's bouncing. Simply put ... Sara says the pandemic made Meghan re-assess what matters to her right now ... and it's being in D.C. full time with her baby girl. Production sources tell TMZ ... the arguments that became super personal did take their toll on her.

Kiefer Sutherland might have the urge to reprise his role as Jack Bauer to catch some bad guys ... because cops say thieves jacked his gardener's equipment.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the perps likely didn't know who they were messing with last month when the '24' star was getting some landscaping done on his L.A. area home.

We're told at some point while Sutherland's gardener was doing his job, the suspects made off with his tools and other gear -- a weed whacker and hedge trimmer specifically -- valued at more than $1,500.

Our sources say Kiefer was home at the time and there's surveillance footage of the theft in progress, but no arrests have been made so far. Cops are still investigating.

What a week!!! Bill Cosby was freed, and Britney's conservatorship drama is escalating. So, we gotta ask ...

Don't let these two almost identical images of Conan O'Brien have you feeling confused ... take a really close look at the two photos here because there are a few sneaky switches that have been made to the original pic!

The television show host was seen out at an event in Los Angeles, CA just last week ... and we have made a few changes to this photo of him. Get your glasses out if you need, and try your best to see if you can find the differences between these two super similar snaps!

Ben Simmons may not be getting shipped out of Philly after all, 'cause Sixers head coach Doc Rivers tells TMZ Sports he absolutely LOVES the hooper ... and wants him to stay put.

Of course, there's speculation the 24-year-old could be traded this offseason ... after Philly got booted from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third time in four seasons.

Simmons was heavily criticized for his play throughout the playoffs after going 34% from the charity stripe ... and many believe the guy has to put in some serious work on his shot in the offseason.

On top of that, Simmons was ripped for passing up on a potential game-tying dunk late in Game 7 against the Hawks.

But, Doc is having none of that talk ... giving nothing but high praise for the former #1 overall pick.

"Ben's great," Rivers told us in Beverly Hills this week. "I want him back. He's terrific. He'll be great."

"I think he doesn't need a lot of fixing. He's gonna be great for us. He'll be great."

While Rivers is voicing his support for Simmons, it doesn't mean a trade won't go down ... but it's nice to see the coach stick with his guy.

Kirk Franklin's not down with ranking the greatest gospel artists of all time, because he says there's only one name that matters ... and no, it's not Kanye West!!!

The iconic choir director and gospel singer wasn't throwing any shade at Kanye -- quite the opposite -- but making a bigger point about the genre of Christian music ... telling us anybody can do it because it's for all of God's children.

With that mindset, Kirk says there shouldn't be a Mount Rushmore of gospel music -- notwithstanding he's considered to be a candidate -- because it's all about glorifying the man upstairs.

As for Kanye ... Kirk says he's tight with his "brother" and heaps praise on his musical talent ... calling him one of the greatest artists of all time.

School's out and summer is in full swing with these famous families having some fun in the sun together!

Celebs such as Kim Kardashian, Tom Brady, Gabrielle Union-Wade, and Ryan Phillippe have headed down to the beach and are making a real splash!

Eva Longoria, Goldie Hawn, Chrissy Teigen, Rob McElhenney, and Serena Williams are just a few more stars to name that have shared these seaside moments on the gram!

Take a look at all the other celebs that have snapped some family beach day pics by scrolling through our gallery ... They've clearly got the right idea!

Kelly Clarkson's getting a head start on her Fourth of July weekend ... filing for her own independence from her estranged husband.

Clarkson's lawyer, disso-queen, Laura Wasser, filed legal docs Friday ... asking the judge to officially grant Clarkson's request for a divorce, leaving other issues like money and child custody for another day.

As we reported, Clarkson's husband, Brandon Blackstock, has challenged their prenup, claiming it is invalid. Millions of dollars are on the line, and a judge has yet to rule on the validity of the prenup.

It seems there won't be an issue over custody and spousal support. The judge awarded Kelly primary physical custody on a temporary basis ... because Brandon moved permanently to Montana, far from the couple's family home in L.A. That order is expected to become permanent.

It also seems there won't be much of a fight over spousal support. The judge already awarded Brandon temporary spousal support and that order is likely to become permanent. Spousal support, however, would end in 2023 (half the length of the marriage).

The couple married in 2014 and have two kids.

The divorce has become nasty, and it is apparent now ... Kelly wants it over quickly.

Come hell or high water took on a whole new meaning when the ocean surface in the Gulf of Mexico caught on fire ... and the video's astonishing.

The crazy scene played out Friday west of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula ... where the state's oil company, Pemex, said a gas leak from an underwater pipeline triggered a blaze that looked more like a scene from Michael Bay's next blockbuster.

You can see there are HUGE, bright orange flames shooting from the surface ... looking like an erupting volcano. The video quickly spread like fire (sorry, not sorry) on social media ... aptly dubbed, "eye of fire."

Fortunately for all involved ... the blaze, which went down 150 yards from a drilling platform, was extinguished. Nitrogen was reportedly used to control the fire. More good news ... Pemex said no injuries.

Rapper SAINt JHN was allegedly confronted Friday by Lil Uzi Vert ... and all hell broke loose when Vert allegedly flashed his gun.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ ... SAINt JHN was at Dialog Cafe in West Hollywood at high noon when Lil Uzi Vert jumped out of a Cadillac Escalade and confronted JHN. We're told they got into a physical altercation.

But, it got real when, according to people at the scene, Lil Uzi Vert flashed the handle of his gun ... prompting bystanders to run ... fearing a shooting was about to go down.

It doesn't appear Uzi fired his weapon ... both he and SAINt JHN left the scene.

We're told L.A. County Sheriff's are on the scene and looking to speak with Uzi and SAINt.

As for whether SAINt JHN and Lil Uzi Vert have beef ... it's unclear, however, SAINt JHN was spotted back in March with Uzi's former GF, Brittany Byrd.

We reached out to reps for both camps ... and JHN's team was unaware of this. No word back from Uzi's rep.