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Drake Bell is coming to the defense of child actors' parents whose kids might've been mistreated at Nickelodeon ... saying they too were just as exposed and naïve.

During a panel this week after a screening of 'Quiet on Set' ... DB spoke up on behalf of all the moms and dads who've been getting dragged through the coals in the aftermath of the docuseries ... with many saying they did a poor job of protecting their kids.

He says a lot of the parents who were in the mix back then were just as inexperienced as their children when it came to showbiz -- and were learning as they went too.

Hundreds of Black and non-binary artists are rallying around Francesca Amewudah-Rivers in the wake of the racial abuse she's facing since being cast opposite Tom Holland in "Romeo & Juliet."

An open letter -- initiated by Susan Wokoma and Somalia Nonyé Seaton -- was signed by almost 900 performers and published Wednesday in The Guardian ... where they praised Francesca as a rising star in London's West End theater district.

However, the note also addressed the racially charged abuse Francesca faced after being revealed as the romantic lead in the new production of the Shakespeare classic.

Morgan Wallen allegedly tossing a chair off a rooftop is the last thing anyone would expect ... based on new images of him casually chatting up a woman Sunday night, just moments before he wound up in handcuffs.

Photos obtained by TMZ show the country star minutes before the chair-chucking incident ... and as you can see, he was talking to the woman in a black miniskirt. We're told the man in the red and black flannel is a member of Wallen's crew, who was telling patrons not to take photos.

Eyewitnesses tell us Wallen appeared intoxicated, and at least to their eyes, seemed to be flirting with the woman ... roughly 20 mins before cops cuffed him.

Lenny Kravitz could have gone straight from the gym to the stage in his latest workout clothes.

The iconic singer posted a vid on Insta Tuesday, showing him pumping iron inside a gym with music playing in the background.

What was unusual about it was his choice of fitness attire ... Lenny looked like he was about to perform in front of a huge crowd, wearing his customary black leather pants and dark sunglasses with a mesh shirt.

Conan O'Brien took a trip down memory lane in his return to late-night TV, telling Jimmy Fallon it felt "weird" coming back to the NBC building and joking about how Kelly Clarkson hijacked his studio.

The former host showed up Tuesday as a guest on "The Tonight Show," sitting down with Jimmy for an interview in which the comedian mostly reminisced about his time at the network.

At one point, Conan started talking about how strange it was to be back on "this floor" after hosting "Late Night" from 1993 to 2009 at NYC's Rockefeller Center. He then took the reins of "The Tonight Show" in L.A. before he was fired after just 7 months in 2010.

Ricky Martin 100% seemed to have an erection at Madonna's show this past weekend -- while it may have been unclear at first ... this new video leaves nearly no doubt.

Check out this video we obtained that captures the erotic moment from Sunday's concert in Miami -- where Rick was onstage with Madge and getting a lot of close contact from her dancers during the "Vogue" segment of her show ... where she and a guest judge them.

As you can see in this footage -- shot from a much closer vantage point and at a slightly different angle -- Ricky does, in fact, appear to get aroused during the sexy rub-up.

1:40 PM PT -- Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... these balls do not belong to Tommy Lee.

We're told Tommy Lee had, in fact, posted this video on his socials -- but only after it was sent to him ... at which point he posted it, but deleted it a short time later. In other words, these testes aren't Tommy's ... despite the rumors that are going around.

That's one fella ruled out!

That's NOT the moon blocking the light -- one Mexican TV station's solar eclipse coverage Monday was totally nuts, as in the pair of testicles that somehow ended up on the screen ... and they might be famous!

Diddy has a new defender in Hollywood -- and that would be Jason Derulo ... who says the guy shouldn't be persecuted by the public until all the facts are in, and they're just not yet.

We talked to the singer Tuesday in NYC while he was out and about, and our photog asked JD head on ... should innocent until proven guilty apply here for Puff???? Considering Diddy actually helped Jason break into the industry way back when ... his answer is telling.

Jason says he agrees with the old adage ... and that Diddy should be afforded that grace until more evidence surfaces, if any does at all, that implicates him in something nefarious.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard recently put pen to paper to make her divorce from Ryan Anderson official -- but there's no prenup in place ... although the consequences of that are a bit hazy.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Gypsy and her now-estranged husband didn't hash out a prenup before they got hitched -- while Gypsy was still incarcerated -- because they thought their marriage was the real deal.

Best laid plans!

Kentucky's coaching job is still up for grabs, and Dan Hurley should stay far away from it ... at least that's what John Salley thinks!!!

TMZ Sports caught up with the former Bad Boy Piston out in L.A. while he was on his way to record an episode of the "Wander Well" Podcast ... and he told us one of his ex-teammates would be a much better fit for the job than Hurley.

Salley said while UK is one of the most prestigious programs in all of college basketball ... Hurley has a dream situation after winning back-to-back Natty's with UConn -- so he shouldn't make the leap to Lexington.

We hope your week is speeding by .... but here are some TMZ TV hot takes if you need a little pick-me-up.

First up on "TMZ Live," Charles and Mike discuss Billy Dee Williams' surprising stance on blackface ... as the 'Star Wars' alum told Bill Maher he believes actors should be allowed to do "anything."

American actress Sharon Washington was in her late 50s when she was cast to play The Joker's social worker at Arkham Asylum -- asking him if he remembers how he got committed to the hospital -- in the 2019 thriller/crime movie "The Joker".

Joining Washington in the award-winning film included Joaquin Phoenix as the anti-social and self-isolating clown worker, Joker/Arthur Flek, Robert De Niro as the famous talk-show host, whom the Joker idolizes, Murray Franklin and Zazie Beetz as the single mother and Arthur's girlfriend who also lives in his apartment building, Sophie Dumond.

BernNadette Stanis is weighing in on the controversy surrounding the new "Good Times" cartoon ... and yeah, she isn't real happy with this one.

We got the original 'Good Times' star -- who played Thelma Evans on the OG show -- and she came on 'TMZ Live' Tuesday to tell us how she felt about Netflix's rebooted animated series ... which many have called somewhat backwards in its portrayal of a new generation.

Check it out ... BernNadette says she was actually approached about being involved in the show when she first told about it -- but in the end, it doesn't sound like it came to fruition.

Conan O'Brien is looking forward to his return to "The Tonight Show" 14 years after his messy exit ... telling TMZ there's no bad blood, and that he's excited to hit the stage again.

We caught up with the comedian outside the Whitby Hotel in NYC Tuesday -- just as he was on his way to film his 'TS' appearance at 30 Rock -- where he told us how he was feeling heading into his highly-anticipated late-night comeback.

As Conan puts it ... he's jazzed to be in front of the camera again in that environment -- as he has nothing but fond memories about his time there, which is interesting considering he was fired by NBC in 2010 ... and rather unceremoniously too.

A woman who appeared on "The Howard Stern Show" once upon a time got into an ugly tussle with her boyfriend while driving ... something she live streamed and got arrested for.

Elisa Jordana -- a singer/model/writer who appeared with Howard Stern and co. back in the early 2010s -- had a live video of herself up and running Monday ... which showed her in the car with a guy who went on to tell police he was her boyfriend.

In the video, which was live-streamed for several minutes, Elisa and this dude in the passenger seat could be seen bickering back and forth ... and eventually, things turned violent.

Ashley McGuire's the woman who went viral by asking Internet sleuths to locate her missing husband -- and now that she's found him, she's ending their marriage ... TMZ has learned.

Ashley tells TMZ ... she received a text from her estranged husband Charles after her Facebook plea blew up online. She says Charles, who also goes by Charlie, said he is willing to sit down and talk, after allegedly walking out on her and their kids last year.

Ashley has since taken down her viral Facebook post, explaining she no longer needs it up since she has Charles' new address -- courtesy of an online follower who tracked it down for her.