Big Brother

"Big Brother" is about to explode with a racist controversy ... if houseguest Paul Abrahamian follows through with plans to dress in black face to mock a fellow houseguest ... who is black.

Paul hatched his plot over the weekend -- fans watching the live feed watched him whisper to other houseguests, who are white, about dressing in dark leggings and "blackface." Later, he instead used the term "black mask."

Paul's had beef with Dominique on the show because they've accused each other of pulling double-crosses. While discussing his plan for revenge, Paul said he was trying to look like a snake ... because that's what he's called her, and vice versa.

Whether it's blackface or black mask ... many fans are pissed for the obvious reasons: going after a black houseguest is racially insensitive at best -- or intentionally racist, at worst.

Unclear if Paul will go through with his plan or if producers will step in, and tell him to 86 the whole idea. We've reached out to CBS ... no word back yet.

Ray J has been fired from "Celebrity Big Brother" because the show was super concerned over his dental problems, sources connected with Ray tell TMZ ... but it just doesn't add up.

Our sources say producers contacted Ray's manager, David Weintraub, Wednesday and told him Ray couldn't continue because they felt he needed extensive dental work and significant recovery time.

That's the line they gave, we're told, but that makes no sense because the decision to give him the axe was made BEFORE he even saw a dentist.

Ray J is on his way to the dentist after blacking out from dental pain, being rushed to the hospital and then booted from the "Celebrity Big Brother" house, and a lawsuit is clearly brewing.

Ray just FaceTimed us and walked us through what he claims is a case of shocking neglect on the part of producers.

What shocked us ... what Ray ate in the hospital ... tooth pain and all.

Ray J is in the hospital and enraged at "Celebrity Big Brother" for letting him suffer for days in extreme pain to the point he blacked out and he's been kicked out of the house ... TMZ has learned.

Ray has been shooting the show in the UK but 3 days ago we're told he developed "extreme tooth pain" and complained to cast members and producers. According to sources connected to Ray J, producers initially didn't believe him and ignored his complaints.

We're told producers ordered Ray to continue shooting the show, as the pain became unbearable.

Our sources say the next day, cast members felt the situation was so bad they refused to continue shooting until Ray got medical help.

We're told the next day a dentist came to the set, gave Ray 8 painkillers, 4 of which he was to take immediately and the remaining 4 the next morning.

Ray woke up Tuesday in unbearable pain, took the remaining 4 pills and then pleaded for help. We're told producers agreed to take him to the hospital but on the way out of the house he blacked out.

Ray is currently at the hospital. We're told he has an abscessed tooth, a cracked filling in another tooth, and a severe gum issue.

Sources tell us he's been kicked off the show.

As we reported, the show promised him $1 million, but that seems like it's in jeopardy.

Heidi and Spencer Pratt's return to the "Celebrity Big Brother" UK house didn't come cheap ... the show dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars for the couple to come in and cause trouble.

Speidi will make $700k to compete this season -- quite a bit more than the normal $250k cap.

TMZ broke the story, Ray J's raking in even more -- $1 MILLION for his participation.

As for why the show is opening its corporate wallet ... interest has faded in the past couple of years. Aubrey O'Day, Jonathan Cheban and David Gest didn't deliver the ratings, so producers needed to goose things.

Heidi and Spencer were universally hated by the cast on 'Celeb Big Brother' in 2013, but managed to finish as runners-up. Producers are hoping they'll stir up all sorts of drama this time around as well along with Ray and Khloe K's BFF, Malika.

Who knew English TV had this kind of money? "Celebrity Big Brother" UK is paying Ray J $1 MILLION to do the show.

TMZ has seen paper proof producers are shelling out the cash for Ray ... and that's not all he's getting. They're giving him up to $30k to fly back and forth, but that includes his hotel.

Judging from the pic after he signed the deal, Ray is rolling in the dough.

The show begins airing live Tuesday night.

Tiffany "New York" Pollard is taking a step back on an attempt to capitalize on her notorious David Gest death fumble.

A rep for Pollard tells us they just removed a listing for the "David is Dead" shirts, which the reality star had been selling on her website. Gest was found dead in London earlier Tuesday.

Pollard's merchandise poked fun at her viral moment on UK's "Celebrity Big Brother" back in January. Pollard broke into hysterics after Angie Bowie told her "David is dead" -- Pollard mistook David Bowie's death for that of housemate David Gest.

"Big Brother" stars Austin Matelson and Liz Nolan are shattering the taboo of reality show romance ... much to the dismay of a torrent of online haters.

Austin tells TMZ when Big Brother ended ... he was flooded with messages calling him a "disgusting cheater" and "classless" for breaking up with his then-GF on TV.

For the non-fans ... Austin and Liz kicked off a relationship early in the show ... despite the fact that Austin was a taken man.

They both got called out for the love triangle ... in one of the most awkward moments of the season.

Austin says, he and Liz are now exclusively dating, have met each other's families and Liz plans on moving from Miami to LA to be close to him.

Love is cool ... but $500k would have bought a lot of friends.

Sure, Gary Busey won season 14 of "Celebrity Big Brother," but he wouldn't even have made it into the house without a talent agent who threw a Hail Mary ... so she says.

Vie Marshall claims she was brought in to work as Gary's damage control after he missed a meeting with 'CBB' producers. Marshall says she smoothed things over with show execs, ultimately getting Busey on the British show last year -- but she never got a dime.

Marshall says Gary's manager agreed to pay for her services, and later told her Gary never signed off ... so there was no official agreement. Translation: Take a hike, lady.

She wants 10% of Gary's show earnings. It's unclear how much he made, but if Tila Tequila pulled $175k, ... safe to assume Gary made at least that much.

A rep for Gary tells TMZ, "This is an old meritless complaint that requires no further comment."

"Big Brother" star Vanessa Rousso is headed down the aisle with her longtime GF, Mel.

Mel popped the question Thursday night in their hotel room before the "Big Brother" season 17 wrap party in West Hollywood.

Vanessa didn't win the $500k on "Big Brother"... she got eliminated in the final week, but she's not exactly hurting for cash. She's considered one of the top female pro poker players in the world.

She announced the engagement onstage at the party. They've been dating for years.

All bets are now off.

Janice Dickinson fell unconscious, live on TV ... after she got stung by a bee in the "Celebrity Big Brother UK" house -- and TMZ has learned it was touch and go whether she'd survive.

Janice was sitting in the Diary Room during Tuesday's broadcast ... begging producers to bring an EpiPen after she suffered the sting. She showed staffers just how bad it was -- one of her hands was almost purple, she was having trouble breathing, and panicked, "I don't want it to reach my heart!"

Then Janice appeared to have a seizure before collapsing and falling off the chair. Producers briefly cut away, but then returned to the drama. Some viewers were outraged the medical emergency aired live.

According to a 'Celeb BB' rep ... Janice was taken to a hospital for a few hours for treatment, and then returned to the house.

Sources who were in contact with Janice during her hospital visit tell TMZ ... it was very serious and Janice "almost died." We're told she's extremely allergic, but didn't have her own EpiPen with her in the house.

The fact that she's back in the house would lead you to believe Janice is okay, but show reps aren't saying anything more about her condition.

"Big Brother" star GinaMarie Zimmerman got sleepy … very, very sleeeepy at a comic book expo ... where a hypnotist made her a zombie.

It's an amazing performance. It took just 5 minutes to put her in another world. Words can't do it justice … you gotta watch.

GinaMarie's first question when she came to ... "Did I get naked?"

"Big Brother" might have a sticky situation ... after houseguest Jeff appeared to masturbate, and wipe a fluid on houseguest Julia's back.

The incident was caught on the live feed Thursday night -- Jeff and Julia were lying in bed ... he seemed to be pleasuring himself under the covers while talking to her, and then joked about putting "it" on her.

Hard to tell if Jeff really did anything nasty, since it's all under covers -- and it seems unlikely (based on time alone) -- but viewers believe the jerk was real. Social media is blowing up with people pissed that CBS let this go down ... or on.

It's unclear if this will be addressed on Sunday night's broadcast ... but you gotta figure.

We've called CBS for comment. No word back.

9:45 AM PT -- A new camera angle's surfaced ... and this one appears to clear Jeff's name. Looks like there really was a stain on Julia's shoulder prior to him touching her. Also, you can't see that jerking action, but that could be because the camera's further away.

Some scumbag burglars just hit the home of a former Texas A&M football -- stealing several guns -- and he may have been targeted BECAUSE he's a contestant on "Big Brother."

As we previously reported, ex-Aggies defensive back Clay Honeycutt will be a houseguest this season -- and is already in sequester, cut off from the outside world, as the show requires.

But after he left this past weekend, burglars struck his home in College Station, TX ... stealing all sorts of Honeycutt's belongings ... this according to the Brazos County Sheriffs Office.

Among the items reported stolen:

-- A 70" TV
-- A black Kindle Fire
-- An iPad
-- An Apple laptop
-- Three handguns (a 9mm, a .22 and a .45)
-- A leather jewelry box

The estimated value of the stolen goods: $4,510.

We're told Honeycutt's family believes the jewelry box may have held a ring from his A&M playing days, but they aren't sure and they've been unable to contact him ... per the show's strict rules.

Family members tell us they believe the timing is no accident ... insisting the burglars waited until Clay left for the show to strike his home.

The next "Big Brother" HoH could be a guy from A&M ... 'cause one of the contestants is a former Aggies football player -- who also happens to have a pretty insane physique.

The ex-football player is 23-year-old Clay Honeycutt -- a former defensive back for Texas A&M who graduated in 2014.

We spoke with Clay's dad Lynn -- who also played for the Aggies -- and he told us he thinks Clay's football background will give him an edge on the competition.

"There's a wide diversity of people in the cast and football will help him because he has always gotten along with different groups of people. He's had all kinds of different roommates, so I think that will help him."

One of those people was Johnny Manziel ... who played at A&M from 2011 to 2013.

Audrey Middleton, who will be one of the houseguests on the upcoming "Big Brother," was not always Audrey ... she was born Adam.

TMZ has learned Audrey will become the first transgender on the U.S. version of the show, and she plans to use the program as a showcase ... similar to what Caitlyn Jenner has been doing.

Audrey grew up in a small Georgia town as a boy, and life was far from easy. We're told when she transitioned several years ago, her family had a hard time accepting it, but they're now fully supportive and on board.

The 25-year-old was inspired by Caitlyn Jenner's story, but she's also just a big fan of "Big Brother."

It's a dicey move for producers, given the show has had its share of racist and homophobic houseguests. The show runs a livestream 24/7 and things happen. But we're told it will all become a teaching moment and Audrey is pumped.