R. Kelly My 'Spirit' Told Me To Talk to Gayle King
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EXCLUSIVE
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R. Kelly has a bizarre reason for going on national TV to address the sexual abuse allegations against him ... his "spirit" wanted him to speak his truth.
Sources close to the singer tell TMZ ... R. Kelly sat down with Gayle King because he is in constant touch with his "spirit" and tends to listen to it more than the people around him. He also said he felt he owed it to himself and his fans to break his silence and tell his side.
Of course, Kelly quickly went off the rails in the CBS interview -- his first public comments since being arrested on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse -- shouting in Gayle's face, exploding at the cameras, calling his accusers liars and wearing his emotions on his sleeve.
We're guessing his spirit didn't tell him to do all that.
After the interview aired last week, many viewers thought it was all an act, some felt he was having a mental breakdown and others used the emotional soundbites to make fun of Kelly on social media.
But, we're told R. Kelly gives "zero f***s" about how he's being portrayed, and he can't be bothered by the public's reaction ... that's not, however, apparent from the CBS interview.
Kinda sounds like more proof Kelly's on the verge of coming unhinged.
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'MacGyver' Stuntman Injured On Set In Motorcyle Jump Gone Wrong
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EXCLUSIVE
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A famous stuntman working on CBS' "MacGyver" reboot had a motorcycle jump on set go horribly wrong ... and land him in the hospital.
Regis Harrington pulled the jump Wednesday while shooting a scene in Atlanta ... but a source on set tells us he lost control upon landing. We're told he was immediately rushed to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was under observation in the ICU for a back injury.
The good news is, Regis -- a seasoned vet who's performed stunts for movies like "Logan," "Jurassic World," and "Captain America: Civil War" -- tells us he's gonna be okay.
We got ahold of him on Thursday and there was no bitterness over the stunt gone wrong.
In fact, Regis says he made a mistake while riding ... and he gave the "MacGyver" crew full props for handling the accident with care and professionalism.
CBS confirmed a stunt performer felt pain in his back after a motorcycle stunt and was "transported to a hospital for diagnostic testing."
Regis told us he'd already been released.
Stunt work ... it's a dangerous gig.
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R. Kelly Loses It In Interview ... Gayle King Explains Her Poise
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Breaking News
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3/6 9:20 AM PT -- We got Gayle Wednesday leaving CBS Studios in NYC just hours after the network released her explosive one-on-one interview with R. Kelly. Our photog asks her point blank if she feels like R. Kelly was telling her the truth, and more importantly ... whether she thought she was in danger when he stood up and started shouting.
Check out her answer -- she says she thinks R. Kelly has "selective amnesia." And, it sounds like there's a reason why she was able to remain so poised when R. Kelly lost his s***.
3/6 8:35 AM PT -- We spoke with Joycelyn Savage's father, Tim Savage, in Atlanta who says after watching the interview, he fears for his daughter's life. He also says the behaviors exhibited by Kelly during his sit-down with Gayle are clear signs of an abuser.
The Savage family also spoke with Joycelyn after their presser and they all crowded around the phone to speak with her. Joycelyn, however, insisted she is exactly where she wants to be, and does not consider herself a victim.
3/6 6:08 AM PT -- CBS just aired the part of the interview where Kelly gets up and shouts ... he yells he's fighting not only for his own rights, but to have a relationship with his kids too. There were also claims Kelly was abused as a child, and that's why this has all happened ... Kelly denies it.
Attorney Michael Avenatti ain't buying Kelly's emotional interview. Remember, Avenatti uncovered the new sex tapes which led to prosecutors charging Kelly last month -- and Tuesday night he told us the singer's only crying crocodile tears now ... 'cause he's going to prison.
R. Kelly was distraught talking about the recent allegations against him and pleading for people to believe he's innocent ... shouting, "I'm fighting for my f***ing life!"
Kelly sat down with Gayle King Tuesday in his first interview since he was arrested on 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse. King presses Kelly on the recent allegations, and clearly hits a soft spot when asked if Kelly has ever held women against their will.
The singer explodes, looking directly into the camera and urging viewers to believe it's all lies. Kelly points to his past -- cases in which he's been accused of inappropriate sexual acts -- as proof he'd never commit a crime again, knowing all eyes were on him.
At one point, Kelly begins to sob, saying, "I'm fighting for my f***ing life!"
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
As we reported ... Kelly was taken into custody February 22 in Chicago and spent several days behind bars before coming up with his $100,000 bail. Upon his release, the singer hit up a local McDonald's. He's also still on the hook for nearly $200,000 in child support.
The full interview will air Wednesday morning on "CBS This Morning."
Originally published -- 4:09 PM PT
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Lolo Jones Blasts Ryan Lochte ... As Olympic Disgrace
Lolo Jones is unloading on Ryan Lochte -- fellow Team USA Olympian and 'Big Brother' housemate -- blasting him as an Olympic disgrace ... for no real apparent reason.
Lolo just wrapped up her stint on "Celebrity Big Brother" -- where she and Lochte seemed to get along for the most part. Lolo finished in 3rd place. Lochte was 10th.
But, when a couple of people on Twitter criticized her being a "sore loser" while praising Lochte, Jones fired back by ripping the swimmer and his arrest scandal in Brazil during the 2016 Games.
Here's how the exchange went.
Fan #1: "Who would’ve thought that Ryan Lochte would finish #CBB looking like the most mature and gracious Olympian on the show? I used to like Lolo as an athlete, but now I can’t stand #locoLolo"
Fan #2: "Maybe the difference is Ryan actually wins medals at the olympics while LoLo loses at the games. She needs anger management and to stop being a sore loser."
Lolo: "I also don’t get escorted out of the Olympic games either or lie about a whole country."
Boom.
Question is ... why? After Lochte was eliminated early in the show, she griped to other houseguests that Olympians should stick together. So, why turn on Lochte now?
For his part, Lochte doesn't seem to be bitter at all -- in fact, seems he had a great time in the house and the only thing on his mind was banging his wife when he got home!
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Donald Trump I'd Have 'Hard Time' Letting Son Play Football
Donald Trump -- the man who complained the NFL was eliminating too many big hits -- admits tackle football is "a dangerous sport" and he'd have a "hard time" allowing his son to play.
POTUS sat down with CBS News' Margaret Brennan who asked Trump if he would allow 12-year-old Barron play football if he wanted to.
"It’s very, it’s a very tough question," Trump said ... "It’s a very good question. If he wanted to? Yes. Would I steer him that way? No, I wouldn’t."
When asked to elaborate, Trump said, "I just don’t like the reports that I see coming out having to do with football -- I mean, it’s a dangerous sport and I think it’s really tough."
He added, "I thought the equipment would get better, and it has. The helmets have gotten far better, but it hasn’t solved the problem."
"So, you know I hate to say it because I love to watch football. I think the NFL is a great product, but I really think that as far as my son -- well I’ve heard NFL players saying they wouldn’t let their sons play football. So ... it’s not totally unique, but I would have a hard time with it."
Back in 2017, Trump complained that the NFL "ruining the game," by calling too many penalties on big hits.
Would you let your kid play football?
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Anthony Scaramucci Suprise ... I'm Not A Real 'Big Brother' House Guest!!!
Leave it to Anthony Scaramucci to leave the 'Big Brother' house in a surprise twist ... just like his shocking exit from President Trump's White House.
The Mooch wasn't really a house guest, because he bounced from "Celebrity Big Brother" after less than a week ... and, as it turns out, Scaramucci was actually part of a bigger plot twist.
Scaramucci revealed his true purpose Friday, surprising the rest of his celeb pals when he revealed he was never a real contender for the $250,000 grand prize.
With all the celebs gathered in the living room, Scaramucci appeared on TV -- rocking a suit in front of an American flag backdrop -- and delivered the shocking news.
The Mooch said he was leaving his mark on 'Big Brother' ... just as he did at the White House. As you know, Scaramucci was ousted as White House Communications Director after an infamous 11 days on the job.
While Scaramucci's exit was a shock to the 'Big Brother' house guests, everyone else knew it was coming ... because he made a surprise appearance Wednesday in Switzerland, where he talked about his experience on the reality show.
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The Mooch on 'Big Brother' It Brought Me Down to Earth ... After Just 6 Days!!!
Anthony Scaramucci's time on "Celebrity Big Brother" ended up being even shorter than his White House tenure but still ... he says it still helped him feel like an Average Joe.
President Trump's ex-White House Communications Director -- for a now infamous 11 days -- made a surprise appearance in Switzerland Wednesday after mysteriously exiting the 'BB' house. The Mooch appeared on Tuesday night's episode ... but it was clear from the online live feed he had left sometime on Monday.
We know from the episode he wasn't voted out by housemates, but Mooch is keeping tight-lipped about his exit after just 6 days. In true reality star fashion ... he dropped a "make sure you tune-in" line.
There's a silver lining though -- Scaramucci says signing up for 'Big Brother' brought him down from his ivory tower of snobbishness and elitism ... and got him back in touch with his blue-collar roots.
He's not great at keeping a job, but at least he's entertaining about it!
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Anthony Scaramucci Trump Can't Drain The D.C. Swamp
Anthony Scaramucci keeps spilling White House tea in the 'Big Brother' house, and he says there's no way President Trump is going to be able to deliver on one of his biggest campaign promises ... draining the swamp.
Anthony, who worked in Trump's White House for 10 days before being fired, says the Prez won't be able to drain the swamp in D.C. ... and ya gotta hear his reason why.
The Mooch started talking politics with comedian Tom Green on Tuesday's episode of "Celebrity Big Brother" ... and they touched on a range of topics, from Scaramucci's potential return to the Trump administration to the government shutdown.
Watch ... the Mooch doesn't have a lot of good things to say about his brief stint in Washington.
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'Celebrity Big Brother' New Cast Making $$$ame Amount ... To Start Season 2
The new batch of celebs who'll be living in the 'Big Brother' house for another season of drama are filling with one thing in common -- starting salaries ... TMZ has learned.
Sources familiar with the contacts for all 12 stars in season 2 of "Celebrity Big Brother" tell us each of them will rake in $100k ... just for entering the house. The winner can walk away with an additional $250k.
In other words, Anthony Scaramucci isn't more important than Dina Lohan this year ... at least not from the jump, money-wise.
Our production sources also tell us the houseguests had been sequestered in separate hotel rooms for 4 days prior to entering the house Wednesday. We're told CBS brass didn't want anyone in the cast knowing who else was set to appear until the premiere.
Other celebs set to appear on 'CBB' include Natalie Eva Marie, Ryan Lochte, Joey Lawrence, Kato Kaelin, Lolo Jones, Tom Green, Kandi Burruss, Tamar Braxton, Jonathan Bennett and Ricky Williams.
Side note ... the American version of 'CBB' doesn't pay nearly as much as its U.K. counterpart. Just look at what Speidi made, not to mention Ray J. Big difference.
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Sheryl Underwood to Kevin Spacey Let Me Be Frank ... Stop Ruining Our Good Name!!!
Kevin Spacey getting into character to address his real-life sexual assault allegations was a bad move, both in culpability and name-smearing ... so says a fellow Underwood.
We got Sheryl Underwood of "The Talk" Sunday at LAX, and asked what she made of Spacey's bizarre Christmas video, in which he delivered a monologue as Frank Underwood from "House of Cards," and suggested he was owed due process before a rush to judgment.
Considering the seriousness of the subject, Sheryl's got a pretty humorous take on the whole thing ... telling us Spacey has ruined the Underwood name for herself and other real Underwoods in Hollywood. She says this weird video of his definitely didn't help the cause.
As we reported, Spacey has been criminally charged in Massachusetts for allegedly groping an 18-year-old's privates in 2016 while at a bar in Nantucket. Spacey's lawyers tried to sink the charge by claiming no sexual assault victim would allow themselves to be groped for 3 minutes ... which is what they say the alleged victim told investigators much later.
His legal team failed in their bid to get the charge dismissed.
Spacey's set to be arraigned in court next week. He's resurfaced in the East Coast, and is clearly trying to lay low ahead of his hearing.
As for Sheryl ... she says regardless of how things turn out for him in a court of law, she'll never be able to watch another movie of his the same way again. Ditto on that.
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CBS Employees Quizzed ... How Bad is Sexual Harassment at Network?
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EXCLUSIVE
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CBS execs are reaching out to employees at the network to make sure what Les Moonves got away with for so many years ... never happens again.
CBS sources tell us, employees recently received a survey to help the network determine the "cultures and values" in the company. We're told there were around 100 questions in the survey, some of which invited long-form responses.
Our sources say employees were asked if they'd ever been sexually harassed or assaulted by someone at CBS, if they ever reported it, and if they ever felt threatened by management.
We're told the questions dug deep ... asking employees who had reported an incident if they felt their complaint was properly handled and if the behavior reoccured. Employees were not forced to participate in the survey, but they were strongly encouraged to do so.
One employee told us the survey felt like "an attempt to repair what has become such a broken network."
CBS announced Monday Moonves will not see a penny of his $120 Million severance package.
A statement from the CBS Board of Directors tasked with investigating Moonves read, "We have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company's investigation."
In all, twelve women accused Moonves of various forms of sexual misconduct, including engaging in forced oral sex in 1995. He claimed every sexual encounter was consensual.
Moonves' wife, Julie Chen, remains at the network as the host of "Big Brother" ... but left her job on "The Talk" shortly after her husband resigned in September.
Moonves' attorney, Andrew Levander, released a statement Monday saying, "The conclusions of the CBS board were foreordained and are without merit,”
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'Survivor: David vs. Goliath' Finale to Feature Live Proposal ... Spoilers Ahead, Obvi
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EXCLUSIVE
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12/26 -- Sources say the proposer decided not to do a public engagement.
Someone's gonna pop the question during the live segment of the 'Survivor' finale later this week -- oh, and by the way ... this story contains spoilers. Sooooo, yeah.
Production sources tell TMZ ... 'Survivor' production staffers working on this year's 'David vs. Goliath' season received an email over the weekend alerting them to some extremely last minute changes for Wednesday's finale episode. The message ... we're gonna have a live proposal on our hands, folks.
We're told the staff was instructed to make some last-minute accommodations for the 3-hour finale -- part of which is live and the other being pre-taped from Fiji -- in anticipation of someone getting on bended knee in front of the live studio audience.
Unclear who's proposing, but we're told 'Survivor' staff members have some guesses. Top of the list ... a guy named Nick Wilson, who's currently in the final 6, has himself a longtime GF, so people think he might make the big ask.
Of course, there's also the potential of two cast members-turned lovers -- Alec Merlino and Kara Kay -- who hooked up after the show ... and broke their NDAs in the process.
'Survivor' brass banned Alec from attending the finale ... but we're told there's speculation this might be a loophole to be welcomed back in a big way.
Stay tuned ...
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Les Moonves Will NOT Get $120 Million Severance Package ... After Sexual Misconduct Claims
Les Moonves will NOT get his enormous, $120 MILLION severance package, because the CBS Board of Directors has determined they had a right to fire him for cause ... and specifically, sexual misconduct.
The Board just said, "We have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company's investigation."
The Board went on to say, "Mr. Moonves will not receive any severance payment from the Company."
Twelve women accused Moonves of various forms of sexual misconduct, including engaging in forced oral sex in his office in a 1995 meeting. Another woman claims she was "on call" for oral sex as part of her job.
Moonves has maintained any sexual encounter was consensual.
Moonves resigned his post as CEO of CBS back in September. His wife, Julie Chen, also stepped down from "The Talk" at the same time. She has, however, kept her role as host of "Big Brother" and "Celebrity Big Brother."
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Les Moonves Had Employee 'On Call' for Oral Sex ... CBS Investigators Say
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Breaking News
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Les Moonves received oral sex from multiple CBS employees, and even had one at his beck and call for years ... according to a network investigation that could end up costing him $120 million.
CBS hired attorneys who just completed an investigation into more than a dozen sexual misconduct allegations against the former network honcho, and the report says Moonves "received oral sex from at least 4 CBS employees under circumstances that sound transactional and improper." The clear insinuation being he gave the women acting roles or other network jobs in exchange for sex.
According to the report ... first reported by the New York Times ... Moonves destroyed evidence and misled investigators who spoke 4 times. The investigators say they found him "evasive and untruthful at times and to have deliberately lied about and minimized the extent of his sexual misconduct."
As for the "on call" employee -- the report says multiple CBS employees said they were of the woman and believed she was "protected from discipline or termination."
Moonves admitted getting oral sex in his office from the woman -- a subordinate -- but described it as consensual ... according to the report.
The sexual misconduct includes incidents before and after he joined CBS in 1995. The report calls his 2004 marriage to Julie Chen a "bright line" ... after which the misconduct appears to have stopped.
What's at stake here is his $120 million severance package. If the CBS Board of Directors reviews the report and believes Moonves violated his employment agreement ... it can pull the plug on that payment. The investigators say CBS has justification to do just that.
His attorney told the NYT, "Moonves denies having any nonconsensual sexual relation" and cooperated with the investigation.
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Les Moonves New Accuser Claims He Forced Oral Sex in '95 Meeting
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Breaking News
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A new woman is accusing Les Moonves of forcing her to perform oral sex, and she claims he tried to buy her silence by lining up acting roles for her.
Actress Bobbie Phillips tells the New York Times she met the ex-CBS honcho in 1995 during a meeting at Warner Bros. studio in Burbank. She alleges Moonves told her, "Look how hard you make me" before he unzipped his pants and exposed his erect penis.
Phillips claims Moonves told her, "Be my girlfriend and I'll put you on any show" before grabbing her by the neck and forcing his penis into her mouth. Phillips says the assault ended when Moonves' intercom rang.
The actress told the NYT there was a bat nearby she thought about using "to knock his head off." She said the experience led her to turn down an offer from producers, and she never spoke or worked with Moonves again.
According to the NYT report, Mooves attempted to smooth things over by trying to get Phillips a job -- and conspired with Phillips' former manager, Marv Dauer, earlier this year to keep her quiet. Dauer reportedly said Moonves told him, "If Bobbie talks, I'm finished."
Moonves denied the allegations ... telling the NYT, "I strongly believe that the sexual encounter with Ms. Phillips more than 20 years ago was consensual."
You'll remember ... it was back in September when Moonves resigned from his position as CEO at the network. His wife, Julie Chen, left her job on "The Talk" shortly after the resignation.
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'Young Sheldon' 15-Year-Old Star ... Making $18k Per Episode!!!
"Young Sheldon" is one of the biggest shows on TV ... so it's no surprise its child stars are raking in the same kinda bucks as Hollywood veterans.
The 'Big Bang Theory' spin-off is currently in its second season. Montana Jordan -- a 15-year-old -- who plays Georgie on the show is pulling in $18,200 for every episode of the new season.
According to Jordan's contract -- obtained by TMZ -- he made $17,500 per episode last year and will make around $19,000 per episode if he's in season 3.
Worth noting ... this is Jordan's first acting gig, he's appeared in every episode of the series so far ... that's a lot of cash.