Comedy

Michael Richards' Laugh Factory ban could come to an end ... 'cause the owner's open to having him back -- if he's truly learned the error of his ways.

Jamie Masada -- owner of the iconic comedy joint in Hollywood -- tells TMZ ... he booted the actor-comedian for good after his infamous 2006 rant at the club because he believes hate speech isn't acceptable, so Michael earned himself the ban for his racist remarks.

But, Masada says he believes in second chances and doesn't want to hold a grudge, so Michael could make a return to the venue ... but, only if he's truly a reformed man.

"Seinfeld" star Michael Richards is not looking for a redemption arc -- even though he's finally coming out of hiding -- but he does want to clarify a few things related to his infamous Hollywood Laugh Factory incident.

The actor's rarely been seen since the 2006 rant when he shouted the n-word and other racial insults at an African-American man who was heckling him during his standup routine.

Michael told People Mag he was immediately sorry in the aftermath of that meltdown -- and nearly 2 decades later he insists ... "I'm not racist. I have nothing against Black people. The man who told me I wasn’t funny had just said what I’d been saying to myself for a while. I felt put down. I wanted to put him down."

Shohei Ohtani is putting his historic contract to good use -- the Dodgers superstar just snagged a ritzy mansion in Los Angeles for $7.85 million ... a place formerly owned by comedian Adam Carolla.

Details on the deal were released this week ... with the L.A. Times reporting the Japanese two-way athlete is the buyer of the La Cañada Flintridge digs.

The pad -- built in 2013 -- is perfect for a guy like Ohtani. It's a three-story, five-bedroom, six and 1/2-bathroom home that comes with a decked-out kitchen, private movie theater, basketball court and gym ... as well as a pool and spa.

Jelly Roll's daughter Bailee Ann just went through every teen's rite of passage -- trying, and failing, to sneak outta the house for a night of fun.

The 16-year-old's stepmom Bunnie XO playfully roasted her on TikTok, sharing the hilarious security cam footage with her millions of followers Tuesday. Check it out ... Bailee and a pal are seen crouching down in an attempt to evade her home security cameras, but, obviously, they were wildly unsuccessful.

The pair then make their way down JR's yard ... only to be swiftly sent back to the house by security.

A baby who's gone viral for precociously expressing her excitement for the Four Seasons ... just might have a future in the travel biz, because the luxury hotel's pumped about the shout out.

The manager for the Four Seasons Orlando tells TMZ … the company was blown away by the little one's now-viral reaction -- which showed the diaper-clad youngster (no more than 1 or 2) happily declaring she wanted to stay at the pricey hotel.

He added ... "We were so happy to see such a reaction from the baby and family. We are not surprised that it had such an impact on social media. We are really happy about it."

DeMarco Morgan is apparently turning a new leaf on the bike trail -- and by that, we mean he's changed up his bike short colors ... and you can see a lot less bulge this time!

ICYMI ... the new 'GMA3' anchor -- who replaced T.J. Holmes after his exit over his Amy Robach affair -- sent the Internet into a tizzy by posting pics of himself in bike shorts ... where there his package was seriously noticeable.

At the time, we were told ABC staffers were rattled over the photos ... and it looks like DeMarco has taken note, as he's debuted some new workout pics -- which are far safer for work, at least in terms of what you can (or can't see).

Tom Hanks doesn't need Genius annotations to get the play-by-play on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle ... 'cause his son Chet can break it down ... and he did just that.

Chet -- who's moonlighted as a rapper/reggae artist in the past, and has a firm grasp on all things hip-hop -- shared a hilarious text message exchange with his movie star dad this week ... who was apparently uber-curious about the year's biggest moment in pop culture.

You can easily see Chet's inner rap nerd burst out explaining the beef with intense detail ... but he may have lost his pops along the way, especially based on how Tom responded.

American actor Mitch Silpa was in his mid-40s when he played Steve the flight attendant -- who puts up with the rowdy bridesmaids en route to the Las Vegas bachelorette party -- in the 2011 romantic comedy film "Bridesmaids."

The ensemble cast of comedic icons included Kristen Wiig as the lonely, single and cynical gal with roommates, Annie, Maya Rudolph as the bride-to-be and Annie's childhood bestie, Lillian and Melissa McCarthy as the government worker with a new-found zest for life after falling off a ship, Megan.

"'Stove' what kind of a name is that? My name is Steve ... Are you an appliance?"

Jerry Seinfeld's become the #1 celeb target of pro-Palestinian protesters -- for the 2nd time in a week they went at him in public ... this time repeatedly heckling his stand-up routine, and fighting with other audience members.

TMZ obtained this video of the first moment things got heated Saturday night inside Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, VA -- almost immediately after Jerry hit the stage, one demonstrator stands up, and starts yelling, "Free Gaza!"

The solo protester also shouted and pointed at audience members, and said they should be ashamed of themselves.

DeMarco Morgan -- the 'GMA3' anchor who replaced T.J. Holmes -- has his newsroom in a tizzy over some pics he posted showing himself in bike shorts ... 'cause it left an impression.

The ABC daytime cohost -- who was tapped to fill in for T.J. after his affair with co-anchor Amy Robach -- posted pics late last month in tight biker clothing that left little to the imagination ... and which definitely drew focus below the belt.

While many online cracked jokes at the racy pics or made comments about DM's package, which was clearly on display underneath, sources at ABC say much of the org's rank and file is not amused -- in fact, we're told there are a lot of staffers there who are kinda irked.

50 Cent seems bored with the lack of Diddy headlines since the federal raids, so he's switching up his daily quota of petty for another of his favorite targets ... Jay-Z.

Perhaps, attempting to reignite their rivalry, 50 slapped an unflattering super close-up pic of Jay on IG Wednesday, and jabbed at him with an unsubstantiated wild theory -- that Diddy's legal trouble is the real reason Jay shuttered the annual Roc Nation brunch on Grammy weekend.

He laid it out in his caption ... "Jay in hibernation he ain’t coming outside till this shit with puff blow over, no brunch, no lunch, No dinner. LOL 😆 IM ALL YOU GOT IM OUTSIDE!"

Don't expect another roast of Tom Brady to happen any time soon ... the NFL legend admitted this week he has regrets about the special -- as some of the jokes "affected" his children.

The former New England Patriots star made the revelation during a chat with Fred Taylor, Ryan Clark and Channing Crowder on "The Pivot" ... telling the guys he loved when he was the butt of the barbs on Netflix's 'Greatest Roast of All Time' -- but not so much when his family was brought up.

"I didn't like the way they affected my kids," he said of some of the quips.

Howard Stern is finally weighing in on Jerry Seinfeld putting his comedy skills on blast by saying he isn't actually very funny -- and according to him, it's all water under a bridge.

The radio legend says he was genuinely shocked and confused by Jerry's POV when he first read the headline -- especially considering they were really good friends -- but when Jerry called to apologize ... Howard says he was totally ready to forgive him.

Speaking on "The Howard Stern Show," he says ... "I read it [Jerry's comments], and I went, 'Oh, that's weird,' because Jerry is a personal friend of ours. Especially his wife, Jessica [Seinfeld], is really good friends with Beth [Stern]."

Bill Maher and Bill Burr are calling for Louis C.K.'s cancelation to be over and done with ... arguing the comedian has been exiled from Hollywood long enough.

The two comics addressed cancel culture during Maher's latest "Club Random" podcast -- where they advocated on Louis' behalf ... saying his #MeToo punishment was too extreme for what he ended up getting "canceled" over, which included claims of sexual misconduct.

Maher added ... "Isn't it time everyone just went, 'Ok, it wasn't a cool thing to do, but it's been long enough. Welcome back to the world.'"

Jerry Seinfeld's commencement speech got off to a rocky start ... 'cause dozens of people walked out during his introduction -- with many holding Palestinian flags.

The actor-comedian -- who is Jewish and has supported Israel throughout its war against Hamas -- was set to give the commencement address at Duke University when a whole bunch of people jumped up and walked out.

Check out the clip ... it's a sizable group of students who leave the address, and they're met with a mixture of cheers and jeers as they leave. So, pretty mixed reaction we'd say.

Tom Brady's attempting, perhaps, his greatest comeback ever -- kicking off Mother's Day with warm words for the mothers of his children, one week after they took several stray shots during his roast.

Tom posted several shots of his own mom, Galynn, with his kids -- but more importantly, included one of Gisele Bündchen and also one with Bridget Moynahan.

He gave them props in his caption, "Happy Mothers Day to these kind, caring, compassionate and POWERFUL moms that I’m lucky to have in my life. None of this would be possible without your love ❤️❤️❤️"