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Before this stylish New Jersey native turned into a talented singer and actress, she was just listening to the radio, landing TV commercials for Wendy's and heading off to Los Angeles with big dreams at just 13 years old.

Her popular song "Dip It Low" hit the top of the Billboard Charts back in 2004, so while she may be most known for her singing skills, don't count her out from acting ... She starred in "Love Don't Cost A Thing" with Nick Cannon.

"Dip it low, pick it up slow, roll it all around..."

It's an all-out war between Paula Abdul and former "American Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe ... and now she's producing alleged texts from him, which she says show some of the ways he sexually harassed her.

Paula's attorney, Melissa Eubanks, tells TMZ ... Nigel is victim-shaming Paula and is cherry-picking from years of communications between them as he tries to discredit the allegations she brought against him in her sexual assault lawsuit in December.

As we first told you, Nigel's legal response to Paula's suit included alleged emails she sent him ... with Nigel claiming the emails gave off a friendly and loving vibe between them ... after the time Paula alleged he sexually assaulted her

Now, Paula's firing back ... as her attorney says Nigel's response fails to appreciate the power dynamic in their relationship, where Lythgoe was a powerful exec/her boss and Paula worked under him as a judge on the reality competition shows he executive produced.

Abdul's attorney says ... "He held the cards to her career in his hand and he knew it." The lawyer also goes on to call Nigel's tactic classic victim shaming.

What's more, Paula's legal team says those emails Nigel referenced in his docs were just Paula placating his ego with "positive messaging and seeming adoration ... defenses that many women like Ms. Abdul had to adopt to deal with men who abuse their power."

Paula claims to have some receipts from Nigel too ... saying she has text messages from him showing numerous instances of overt sexual harassment.

Abdul's camp claims Nigel texted her on March 8, 2014, writing ... "When you get back to LA will you please make love to me! Slowly and lovingly!" Paula says she didn't respond and Nigel double texted, "I'll take that as a YES then!"

Another alleged text, from April, 10, 2014, is a response to a message Paula sent Nigel about "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions in Las Vegas ... to which Nigel allegedly responded, "I'll come if you promise a big wet kiss! With tongues! Is a small grope of the ass asking too much?"

A few months later, in July 2014, Paula claims Nigel acknowledged he was being inappropriate when he allegedly texted her ... "You love me like a relation I love you like a girlfriend. I could easily be your f****** cousin? Ha Ha."

Remember ... Paula claims Nigel sexually assaulted her twice -- the first time during "one of Idol's initial sessions" in the early 2000s, and again at some point during her 2 seasons on 'SYTYCD' ... a gig she started in 2015.

Paula's attorney also claims Nigel verbally assaulted Adbul on multiple occasions as well ... which she says "are evidence of the frequent abusive behavior that Ms. Abdul was subjected to during her time on American Idol and SYTYCD."

Teresa Giudice's marriage to Luis Ruelas is doing just fine -- this despite the fact that a new trailer for an upcoming season of her show suggests otherwise ... TMZ has learned.

A source close to the couple tells TMZ that fans of 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' shouldn't be concerned for Tre and Louie -- as they've never been better as a couple. In fact ... we're told fans should be praying for the other ladies on the show -- hinting at serious drama to come (for them).

There's no shortage of intrigue in what Bravo teased in the trailer for Season 14 of 'RHONJ.' Like in previous seasons, Teresa's personal life is at the center of the new footage ... with costar Danielle Cabral alleging that the longtime reality star is "distraught" amid supposed trouble at home.

While the sneak peek does not get into many specifics -- they want you to watch, after all -- they do show a glimpse of Teresa and Louie bickering at one point. Another costar, Margaret Josephs, claims in a phone call that Louie has "pissed [Teresa's] money away."

Of course, we can't speak to the validity of this claim ... we reached out to Teresa’s attorney, James Leonard, but no word back just yet.

Still, this topic is likely a sensitive subject for Teresa. Remember, she served 11 months behind bars after pleading guilty to fraud charges back in 2014.

Her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, also pled guilty to the charges and served three years in prison before being released ... and subsequently deported. Since leaving Joe -- she's moved on and married Louie ... and on the surface, there's been no signs of trouble between 'em.

Kodak Black helped deliver his newborn son last week -- and made sure the little guy was freshly dressed for his world debut!!!

TMZ Hip Hop obtained the first photo of Kodak's newborn son, who he and his girlfriend Maranda Johnson named Prince Kapri.

Kodak tells us … "I'm happy to be home with my family and my new son. It was very special to help deliver a new soul into the world. I know he's going to be a special person."

Prince was born on February 27 and the newly minted father/son duo captured a stylish photo-op for the birthday -- Kodak was decked out in a baby blue t-shirt and jeans, and Prince was wrapped in a baby blanket and cap with matching colors.

Prince's arrival makes him Kodak's 4th kid -- his 2nd with Maranda, and the "Super Gremlin" rapper is approaching parenthood with flair.

Just take a look at the blinged-out pacifier he had dangling around his neck ... that's gotta be worth a lifetime supply of diapers!!!

The big shot Hollywood agents over at CAA are about to have buyer's remorse over their newest client in TikTok star Reesa Teesa ... at least according to the ex-husband.

Jerome McCoy -- dubbed "Legion" on Reesa's wildly popular 'Who TF Did I Marry?' video series -- tells TMZ ... Reesa does NOT have a career in Hollywood in front of her despite recently being signed to one of the biggest agencies out there.

The reason, according to him ... it's because he thinks she has no talent. Oof, brutal.

Reesa's ex also says she lacks the will to work hard for anything and has no discipline ... two key reasons he says led to their split in the first place.

CAA reportedly signed Reesa as a client this week, after her 'Who TF Did I Marry?' TikTok videos blew up ... the series reached 400 million impressions in just 3 weeks, which apparently caught the eye of the big-time Hollywood agency.

But, Jerome says the only thing Reesa's accomplished here is telling a compelling story ... and he thinks it's "horse crap that she might have a career" -- especially over something he considers a flat-out fabrication. Remember, her whole series details their relationship, which she characterized as full of lies.

Jerome -- who previously told us he's considering legal action against Reesa, as he claims she's smearing him in her videos -- doubles down here with us again ... saying it's disgusting she got quick fame from nothing but spinning a good yarn.

Reesa's ex also doesn't like the fact she added her CashApp to her TikTok account and is seemingly soliciting payments from fans ... he says the fame and fortune coming her way is BS, and that doesn't sit well with him.

Jerome's painted as the bad guy in the viral sensation that's raising Reesa's profile ... but he says the only thing he's guilty of is breaking up with a chick who had no ambition.

Camila Cabello is spilling all about her brief reconciliation with Shawn Mendes -- including what caused their final split ... and the gist of it is, they just weren't right for each other.

The singer went on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" -- where she revealed that her reunion with Shawn ended as quickly as it began. Apparently ... she and SM realized that -- despite their hot make-out sesh at 2023's Coachella -- they weren't as good a fit as they thought.

Camila said she jumped into things again with him on an impulse -- but soon, she says they both realized it wasn't working and that they didn't need to force the relationship. CC recalled deciding just to be friends with Shawn ... saying she and SM ended on good terms.

The two pop stars previously dated between 2019 and 2021 -- before giving it another go ... which included a date night to Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour in May.

Doesn't sound like Camila regrets the rekindled romance ... calling it a "fun moment."

The fun didn't stop there for Camila, BTW ... who was spotted on vacation with Drake in Turks and Caicos this past December. However, Camila clarified that it wasn't all good times and games -- it was a work trip, too ... labeling it a "friends vacation."

Unfortunately, the singer stayed tight-lipped on whether she and Drizzy did more than make music. But, she did notably share ... "I will say I love him."

Shawn, for his part, has also moved on from Camila -- having been linked to British presenter Charlie Travers last fall. Remember, Shawn and Charlie were spotted enjoying a beach day in their underwear after linking up in West Hollywood in November.

Shannon Sharpe made himself a meme this week by simply walking into a business -- but Donnell Rawlings thinks we should cut him some slack, even though he's here to roast too.

We caught up with the funnyman in NYC on Wednesday -- and he had his own 2 cents to add to the viral conversation ... including a staunch defense that's layered in comedy. Check it out ... Donnell explains why Shannon strutted the way he did, and it's all about athletics.

Of course, he couldn't help but do his own impersonation of the ex-NFL'er, and it's great.

ICYMI ... Shannon was promoting his cognac in New Jersey last weekend and sluggishly stepped out of an SUV in a snug-fitting all-green ensemble, coupled with an orange bag slung around his chest ... and as you can imagine, it instantly got tackled with jokes online.

Like we said, Donnell did his best Shannon Sharpe -- both speaking and walking -- and we gotta say ... it's pretty freaking good. He has his voice and cadence down to a tee here.

He even joked about Mike Epps not wanting the 'Shay Shay' problems after their short-lived spat ... but it's all in good fun, we swear! You can tell Donnell's got love for Shannon -- even though he's been hosting some guests lately who are going after his comedy buddies.

Even though Shannon's blowing up these days over his wildly successful "Club Shay Shay" podcast, Donnell reminds everyone Shannon is also a HOF football stud and his banged-up body might be why his walk is getting made fun of ... something DR thinks is kinda unfair.

Some powerhouse celebrities are stepping into the spotlight as Barbie's newest role model dolls ... just in time for International Women's Day on March 8 and Barbie's 65th birthday on March 9.

From EGOT recipient Viola Davis, whose inclusion speaks volumes on its own, to the iconic 5-time Grammy winner Shania Twain, it's like a dream team of women being honored by Mattel ... which says it's making the dolls to introduce "girls to remarkable women's stories to show them you can be anything."

Shania even shared a snap of her posing with her one-of-a-kind Barbie doll, decked out in her classic "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" attire -- gushing in the caption she was honored to continue spreading love and empowerment.

Kylie Minogue was also over the moon about her new Barbie doll, styled to perfection in red, just like her iconic "Padam Padam" music video ... admitting she couldn't believe she was being celebrated in such an iconic way.

Oscar-winning legend Helen Mirren is also immortalized with a doll ... after dipping her toes in the Barbie universe by narrating last year's box-office smash featuring Margot Robbie.

Mattel's also spreading the love worldwide ... they're honoring 4 other remarkable women from around the globe including Mexican director Lila Avilés, Brazilian content creator Maira Gomez, Japanese model Nicole Fujita and Iranian-German comedian Enissa Amani.

Janelle Brown sent one of her sons to check on his brother before Garrison Brown took his own life this week -- and the reason she did that had to do with his final texts.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops say they spoke with the "Sister Wives" star Tuesday upon word that Garrison had shot himself ... and they describe what Janelle says were troubling messages Garrison had been sending to some people the day prior.

The police explain that Janelle told them Garrison had texted a group of people that the Brown family works with -- presumably as part of their show -- and his words were ominous.

According to Janelle, via the police, his text to them read ... "I want to hate you for sharing the good times. But I can't. I miss these days."

It sounds like Janelle caught wind of this message to the group -- which doesn't appear to have included her -- and she told police she then texted Garrison himself ... at which point she says they had a brief conversation for a few minutes before he stopped responding.

Janelle then contacted her other kids to see who could go check on Garrison, and his brother Gabriel volunteered. Sadly, by the time he arrived to Flagstaff ... his brother had died.

Here's the craziest part ... cops interviewed 3 of Garrison's roommates with whom he was living at the time -- and some of them said they heard a pop on Monday night ... but didn't think it was a gunshot, and none of them even checked on Garrison to see what happened.

As it turns out, it wasn't until Gabriel arrived on the scene Tuesday that he discovered his brother was dead -- and that he was holding a handgun. He called 911, and that's when the roommates say they realized Garrison had taken his own life.

The roommates say Garrison was known in the household to struggle with alcohol. Gabriel, meanwhile, said he didn't realize something was amiss with this sibling -- noting he'd recently taken on a new job at a medical facility and seemed to be doing okay on his own.

One last thing ... Janelle told cops Garrison was estranged from his father, Kody. We broke the story ... Garrison died Tuesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 25.

RIP

Adam Sandler and Margot Robbie were 2023's highest-paid actors -- but one is definitely making more than the other (and all the rest, too) with the difference being ... Netflix.

Forbes put out a list of all the big-shot actors who cleaned up last year -- and their ranking based on the numbers is interesting ... for a few different reasons, we suppose. For starters, the Sandman is king of the Hollywood money machine, having raked in $73 mil in '23.

If you're wondering where all that dough came from -- you can thank the biggest streamer in showbiz for lining his pockets ... Adam had 4 Netflix movies total that released last year.

Adam starred in "Murder Mystery 2," "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah," "Leo" and "Spaceman" ... with that last one being released this year, although he already got paid for it.

Netflix and Adam have been in business for years now -- he's got an exclusive deal with them to produce a crap ton of flicks ... and he's certainly fulfilling his end of the bargain. In return, the guy's getting paid handsomely ... which is nuts considering these are streaming movies we're talking about here. Just goes to show ... this is the way of the future!

Margot, meanwhile, made $59 million last year ... obviously, most of that is "Barbie" money -- it made over $1 billion at the box office -- and she had a small cameo in "Asteroid City."

The difference between Margot and Adam -- aside from the $14 mil -- is that MR's an old-fashioned actress in the sense that her movies are strictly in theaters. Hmm ... interesting.

The rest of the list isn't all that surprising, as it includes a lot of big names -- including Tom Cruise ($45M), Ryan Gosling ($43M), Matt Damon ($43M), Jennifer Aniston ($42M), Leonardo DiCaprio ($41M), Jason Statham ($41M), Ben Affleck ($38M) and Denzel Washington ($24M).

The nuclear bomb test shown in "Oppenheimer" left a lasting legacy of radiation exposure and cancer diagnosis on generations of folks who helped build Los Alamos in New Mexico ... but people there say their problems are still being ignored by Hollywood and Congress.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us why the world's first nuclear bomb test is still affecting families in New Mexico, decades after Robert Oppenheimer's nuke detonated in the desert.

"Oppenheimer" looks poised to win a bunch of Oscar statues at this weekend's Academy Awards, but Tina says filmmakers blatantly excluded all the people who made Los Alamos and the Trinity Test possible in the first place.

Remember ... the nuclear bomb test in July 1945 took place amid thunderstorms, resulting in toxic debris falling back to earth in the ensuing rain ... contaminating the landscape, water supplies and the food chain ... and exposing New Mexico residents to harmful radiation.

Tina, who helped make a doc about the fallout, tells us cancer has decimated her family ever since the bomb went off -- they lived only 15 miles from the blast -- with 5 generations being diagnosed with all sorts of cancers ... including lung, oral, skin, brain and thyroid.

She says filmmakers left this nuclear mess out of the film on purpose ... similar to how New Mexico residents were left out of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act back in the day, which provided financial compensation to Americans living near nuclear testing sites.

When folks living near the Trinity Test site were finally set to be included in RECA, potentially opening the door for payments, Tina says Republican leadership in Congress cut their funding because of budget concerns.

Now, with "Oppenheimer" gearing up for a big Oscars night and an upcoming Senate vote on reauthorizing and expanding RECA, Tina is banging the drum for the people of New Mexico.

Ryan Garcia is promising to put an end to his bizarre social media activity ... claiming he's no longer going to talk about any topics outside of boxing -- 'cause he's laser-focused on his fight with Devin Haney.

TMZ Sports obtained another video statement from King Ryan on Wednesday ... and this time around, he says he's regained access to his Instagram account, but will hold off on posting any content outside of "boxing, sports and my fight."

The clip comes shortly after Garcia made concerning comments on X ... in which he claimed to expose numerous secrets about society, among other controversial topics.

Garcia acknowledges he's shared "some pretty intense things" on his pages, and while he understands the true meaning behind it all ... he will strictly talk about his career -- at least, it seems, until after the fight.

"That's the only thing I'm gonna be talking about and I'm training for this fight," he added.

Garcia added he has "many warriors" -- including entrepreneur and podcast host Patrick Bet-David -- helping him out during camp ... and he'll be ready to go April 20.

Pamela Anderson isn't slipping into the red bathing suit again for the reimagined "Baywatch" series ... 'cause she's not gonna participate in the upcoming TV reboot, TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … producers working on the reboot have not approached Pam or her team about a potential role in the new FOX series, at least not yet, but even if they do ... we're told she's inclined to turn them down.

Mind you, this isn't mean to stick it to 'Baywatch' -- our sources say there's no bad blood on Pamela's part ... the show is just part of her past and she has no interest in going back down that road. We're told she wishes great things for the cast and crew of the reboot.

In terms of why ... we're simply told Pamela's "Baywatch" days are over, and she doesn't want to revisit it with a cameo or anything else that may be getting kicked around in the writers' room.

While Pamela's starring role as C.J. Parker in "Baywatch" helped launch her Hollywood career -- making her a sex icon and an onscreen legend -- she's several chapters ahead in her life at this point ... now focusing on her new beauty line, Sonsie, and other ventures.

The reboot is in the early stages of development at Fremantle and Fox Entertainment ... and it's unclear at this point who will be in the reboot, including old cast members and newbies. Ya gotta figure some of the OGs might come back ... in fact, we know some are down.

Former "Baywatch" stars Nicole Eggert and Brande Roderick told us they haven't been contacted ... but they're both interested in potential roles, if producers come knocking.

While Eggert has shown interest in getting in the mix ... we know for a fact, Pam's passing. C.J. had her time on TV -- and now, it seems like some new blood is needed. BTW, Pam already made a cameo in another 'Baywatch' project ... namely, the 2017 movie reboot.

Playboy and Maxim model Masuimi Max died from an accidental overdose of cocaine and fentanyl, TMZ has learned.

The death has officially been ruled an accident more than a month after her shocking death. As law enforcement sources previously told TMZ ... Masuimi -- who was also an actress -- was discovered dead in her Las Vegas-area home on January 25.

At the time, authorities said they did not suspect foul play ... but an investigation was set to be conducted.

Masuimi's modeling career began back in the early 2000s and led to appearances in several big publications, including Playboy, Maxim, Alt Magazine, Bizarre Magazine, and others. While Masuimi never rose to A-list status while pursuing an acting career ... she did have several credits on her IMDB page -- including "Cornman: American Vegetable Hero" and "Giantess Battle Attack."

She even acted opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Ice Cube, having played an uncredited role in the 2005 action flick "xXx: State of the Union." ICYMI ... you can see Masuimi in the movie as rapper Xzibit's character's girlfriend.

Her most recent credit was in 2023 for an indie horror movie, titled "Protege Moi" -- in which she played the character Mercel.

Doritos has parted ways with a Spanish transgender influencer -- this after old controversial tweets resurfaced and sparked calls for a boycott ... and yeah, this has echoes of Bud Light.

24-year-old Samantha Hudson -- who recently appeared in a new ad for Doritos out in Spain -- was put on blast this week by right-leaning X users amid her first promotional plug for the chip brand ... calling out an alleged social media post where she reportedly declared a desire to do inappropriate things to a 12-year-old girl when she was 15.

Of course ... many also just slammed the fact Doritos had partnered with a trans woman.

Samantha wrote the inappropriate post in 2015 -- which has seemingly been deleted from her account ... but which got screen-grabbed and shared online. SH's original upload for Doritos has also been wiped from her Instagram account -- which has lost nearly 30,000 followers in the wake of the controversy ... this after Doritos axed their deal.

Once the digital spot ran and went viral ... the hashtag #BoycottDoritos made the rounds online. In the aftermath, Doritos Spain caved ... nixing their partnership with Samantha and saying they simply weren't aware of her old tweets when they first brought her on.

They added ... "We strongly condemn words or actions that promote violence or sexism of any kind."

Samantha reportedly apologized for the resurfaced posts after becoming famous ... saying she doesn't remember writing "such barbarities" almost 10 years ago. However -- she did reportedly acknowledge that she previously "dedicated [her]self to saying nonsense" in the name of dark humor.

If this whole saga sounds familiar ... that's because something very similar happened here in the States last year. Remember, Anheuser Busch -- which manufactures Bud Light -- faced a boycott fiasco after naming transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney as an ambassador.

While that whole thing dragged on for quite a while -- with AB taking a major financial hit after their customers dug their heels in on the boycott -- this situation resolved quickly.

A Colombian dude had it his way when he decided to take a full-body soak -- stripping down to his birthday suit ... and plunging into a Burger King water tank on the roof.

An eyewitness recently filmed this wild footage on camera ... and you can see the naked dude emerging from a giant container atop a BK in Envigado, just south of Medellín. Mind you this happened in broad daylight ... and yes, the man here was completely naked.

He chills on the edge for a bit like it's no big deal ... this before completely exiting the water tank and lowering himself down. Of course, this sight freaked customers out ... as they assumed he was swimming in water that this Burger King actually used in some capacity.

Thankfully, Burger King was quick to reassure everyone there was no risk of contamination here ... they say these tanks are just reserves and not used in food prep or facility cleaning.

With that said ... they're not taking any chances. BK temporarily closed this location and they're also bringing in a specialized company to handle the water sanitation and treatment.

Better safe than sorry, right?

Burger King has taken extra measures to prevent this sort of thing from happening again --sealing off roof access to make sure the skinny dipper doesn't stage a repeat performance.

They said this in their statement ... "Our clientele can rest assured that this was an isolated event, which we deeply regret, and does not affect the quality of our products in any way as we do not use the water from said tank for our operations."

BK added ... "Our primary concern has always been and will always be the wellbeing of our customers." So far, the identity of the Burger King rooftop diver remains unsolved ... and it's also unclear if the cops are trying to chase him down.