Celebrity Apprentice

It's all over a statement Bill made on "The Today Show," claiming the Donald should either "run or shut up" -- referring to Trump's ambiguous stance on running for President in 2012.

Trump -- who can't publicly declare his candidacy until "Celebrity Apprentice" is over -- returned fire today in a statement, claiming, "While I have never been a fan of Cosby’s, I had always assumed he liked or respected me because every time I met him ... he was always so nice."

Trumps adds, "If [Bill] doesn’t want me to run because he’s obviously an Obama fan, he should state the reasons and not ... treat me like his best friend, only to denigrate me when I’m not around."

Check out Trump's full statement after the jump.

Busey was out in L.A. yesterday -- and told us, "They found [Meat's] paint later ... I hadn't taken anything ... it's just the way things work out when you're dealing with somebody who doesn't have anger management or rage control."

Despite the legendary outburst -- Gary says he still believes Meatloaf is a "good guy" -- but explains, "He just went off the handle."

No kidding ...

Hatch had filed a request to delay his surrender until he could get his business affairs in order ... but earlier today, the judge shot down the request ... which means Hatch better get his ass over to his nearest marshals station ASAP.

Hatch is currently a contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice" -- and though most of the season has already been taped ... the finale will be LIVE in a couple of months.

So, if by chance ... Hatch makes it all the way to the final 2 ... Trump better make sure he can broadcast from behind bars!

It all went down at Surrender nightclub at the Encore -- where fellow CA castmates Lil Jon and Playmate Hope Dworaczyk were there to witness Gary spiraling out of control.

In the suit, Parapluie -- a publicity company -- claims Heather often made allegations about Paul McCartney to the firm, claiming he was a drunk, drug-abusing wife-beater. Sources connected with the publicity company tell TMZ ... they believe Heather made the abuse stories up.

The documents state, Heather told one of the publicists, "I could kill [Paul], last night, he tried to choke me. The marriage is over." Sources connected to the firm tell TMZ ... they believe Heather was lying.

According to the suit -- obtained by TMZ -- the publicity firm claims it got her a shot at being on "Celebrity Apprentice," but Mills would only accept the gig if Donald Trump guaranteed she would win. Trump denied her request.

The firm also says Heather lied when she said all of the money she made from "Dancing with the Stars" would go to charity. The firm claims only a portion went to charity.

The publicity company is suing for unpaid fees totaling $168,000.

The new cast of "Celebrity Apprentice" has only been together for 9 days -- but a diva has already emerged ... and sources tell TMZ, it's NeNe Leakes from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta."

According to our spies -- NeNe has already earned a reputation for being the "difficult one" ... after an incident over her makeup this weekend.

We're told NeNe threw a tantrum because she hated the way her makeup artists dolled her up for the opening interviews -- so the "Housewives" star made them start over ... but she still wasn't satisfied.

After two makeovers, NeNe ultimately called the makeup crew off -- grabbed some tools and did the whole thing by herself.

Sources close to the "Jersey Shore" star tell TMZ ... producers approached him about being on fourth edition of "Celebrity Apprentice" -- but Pauly D decided he'd rather focus on his spin-off show with MTV ... which, sources say, has already begun filming.

TMZ has identified some of the contestants Donald Trump has selected for the upcoming season of his hit reality show ... which includes former MLB star turned steroid finger-pointer Jose Canseco and the original "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch.

TMZ has learned Stone came to the rescue of a forgetful taxi passenger named Mark this weekend -- after the guy left his cell phone in a New York City cab.

Mark tells TMZ Stone found his phone in the cab, got in touch with him, and set up a meeting at JFK airport -- but Stone never revealed his identity.

Mark says despite the fact he was 30 minutes late -- jeopardizing Stone catching his own flight -- the chef was still there waiting with "a smile on his face."

Mark -- a big "Apprentice" fan -- says it took him a second to recognize Stone ... and when he asked Stone if he was "the guy from TV" he just said, "Gotta catch my flight" and then took off.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Genesiac Folkes -- who you might recognize from the new "Apprentice" promos on NBC -- was busted on May 5th in Wylie, Texas ... and charged with felony assault.

His wife Cherice filed for a restraining order a short time later -- claiming Genesiac also showed up to her workplace, took her car, and emptied her bank account.

No word on what sparked the alleged outburst -- but stay tuned ... Trump's reality star is due back in court on September 2.

TMZ spoke with Claudia Jordan on her way out of Rihanna's blowout after party at Drai's in Hollywood last night ... and she was pretty blunt about Uchitel's decision to join "Celebrity Rehab" over "Apprentice" -- telling us, Rachel "messed up."

But all's not lost -- in Claudia's opinion, Rachel can still "call up Donald and beg him to hire you."

TMZ broke the story ... Trump offered her a spot on the next "Celebrity Apprentice." A few minutes ago we told Trump that Rachel agreed over the weekend to go on "Celebrity Rehab." Trump's reaction: "It's a terrible decision. We have zero interest in her now."

Trump thinks Rachel will regret her decision. "Look at what 'Celebrity Apprentice' did for Piers Morgan. He's getting Larry King's job. She made a bad mistake."

The Donald was also quick to point out that it was Rachel who approached him in the first place, not the other way around.