Dancing with the Stars

Olympics star Suni Lee showed she can win with her moves on the beams, uneven bars and gym mat ... but can she do the same on the dance floor???

Well, we're about to find out ... 'cause the Team USA gold medalist announced Monday she's going to compete in the upcoming season of "Dancing With The Stars!"

"I'm so excited," the 18-year-old gymnast said. "See you all on the dance floor!"

Unclear who will be in the rest of the field dancing against the Olympian -- the full lineup is expected to be announced next month -- but ya gotta figure the gymnast will be a big favorite to win The Mirrorball Trophy.

After all, she KILLED IT in Tokyo ... winning the gold medal in the all-around competition, silver in the women’s team competition and bronze in the uneven bars.

Not sure how well that all translates to the salsa or the waltz -- but, hey, it can't hurt!!

FYI, this won't be the first time a gymnast competes on "DWTS" --- in 2016, Laurie Hernandez won the competition ... and, in 2017, Simone Biles finished fourth.

Vivica A. Fox and Lance Bass both competed on "Dancing with the Stars" but didn't win, and they think they know why -- the judges hated their professional dancing partners!!!

Vivica, a 'DWTS' Season 3 alum ... and Lance, from Season 7, were sharing their experiences with Lisa Vanderpump on her new series, 'Overserved' ... when they made claims that call into question whether the 'Dancing' judges score strictly based on skill.

According to Vivica ... her dancing partner, Nick Kosovich, was one of the main reasons they got eliminated because he didn't "play the game" and "made too many requests."

Fox implies the judges -- who were Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli -- didn't like Kosovich, so they took it out on their dance scores.

The former 'NSYNC star had the same judges as Vivica, and he says they absolutely hated his dance partner, Lacey Schwimmer. He claims prior to the finale, one of the judges had a little to much too drink and even admitted all the judges despised her.

Lance and Lacey finished as runners-up.

Chrishell Stause is single, like really single ... cuz just around the time her divorce from Justin Hartley was finalized, her relationship with her new boyfriend also came to an end.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... the "Selling Sunset" star and Keo Motsepe came to a mutual decision to end their relationship after about 3 months of dating.

Our sources say Chrishell's relationship with the 'DWTS' star had simply run its course. They started dating back in December 2020, so it was short and sweet.

We got Chrishell and her "Selling Sunset" co-star, Mary Fitzgerald, Wednesday afternoon at The Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker in West Hollywood ... and Chrishell was reluctant to say much of anything about Keo. Now it makes sense, they were on the outs.

TMZ broke the story ... Chrishell and Justin finalized their divorce Monday, so it's been an eventful week for her.

Kamaru Usman established himself as one of the greatest fighters ever ... and now the UFC superstar is looking to expand -- to the ballroom!!

Usman didn't just TKO Gilbert Burns over the weekend ... he made history. The Nigerian Nightmare broke GSP's record for consecutive welterweight wins in the UFC (Usman now holds the record with 13 straight).

So, when TMZ Sports talked to the champ, we asked if he'd be interested in "Dancing with the Stars" -- and Usman made it clear there could soon be a mirrorball trophy next to his UFC belts.

"I do my thing! I do my thing! That's the thing with me, I understand that practice makes perfect and I'm disciplined enough to be able to train at it," Kamaru tells us.

"So anything, if I need to work at it, do the moves, learn 'em, boom! I'm in there! I can get it down."

Usman wouldn't be the 1st UFC star to be on DWTS ... Chuck Liddell was on the show in 2009 (he was eliminated 5th). Paige VanZant was a contestant in 2016 ... and nearly won the show, finishing 2nd.

Primetime TV isn't new to Usman ... he previously told us he'd like to be the 1st Black 'Bachelor' (Matt James ended up landing the gig after 25 seasons).

But, with all the drama surrounding the 'Bachelor' franchise (see Chris Harrison), Kamaru's looking for less TV romance -- and more dance.

"It's a tough one now because with the controversy going on, now it kinda soils the name, ya know?"

Don't worry ... we also talked to Usman about his beefs with Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.

It appears there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel for the nasty back and forth between "Dancing With The Stars" pro Gleb Savchenko and his wife, Elena Samodanova ... she's filed for divorce.

Elena submitted divorce docs Tuesday in L.A. ... the two got married back in 2006 and have two children together.

Elena's filing caps a long year of a very nasty and public split between the two. At one point, fans speculated that Gleb and "Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause were seeing each other ... the two were partners on 'DWTS' before Chrishell was eliminated.

While it was never confirmed that Gleb and Chrishell were anything beyond friends, they've definitely stayed in touch, and recently vacationed to Mexico in a group that included Gleb's girlfriend Cassie Screbo and Chrishell's new boyfriend, Keo Motsepe, who is also a 'DWTS' pro.

Nelly's custom-made dance shoes were all the rage on this season of "Dancing with the Stars," and now they're going to a great cause -- helping young women who are survivors of human trafficking.

As we told you ... the rapper wowed 'DWTS' fans and the judges with his slick moves and his hip hop-inspired footwear, but now that the dancing competition's wrapped up, he's sending his shoes to The Teen Project to be auctioned off.

Our sources say Yung Swivel's donating at least 10 pairs to the organization -- which also aids young women who've suffered trauma and homelessness -- and his entire collection is expected to fetch $50,000 ... if not more.

Nelly's been a major advocate of The Teen Project over the last few months, helping the org raise $820k overall in 2020 ... which is about $300k more than last year.

The rapper's been working to raise funds for Vera's Sanctuary, a rehab facility operated by The Teen Project for victims of sex trafficking. Our sources say the money raised by Nelly has already been used to send women who've been through Vera's to college.

"Dancing with the Stars" is looking more like musical chairs after Tyra Banks almost saved a couple that, based on votes, should've been on the chopping block ... and somewhere Steve Harvey's laughing.

During Monday night's week 4 elimination, the new 'DWTS' host read off 10 names of couples who were safe to move on -- but when it came time to name the bottom 2 pairs, Tyra flubbed it.

It was awkward ... Vernon Davis and Peta Murgatroyd, Anne Heche and Keo Motsepe and a third couple were all on stage as Tyra and co. realized the mistake simultaneously. Two of the couples on stage were actually safe, and they brought back "Cheer" star Monica Aldama and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy to get under the spotlight with Anne and Keo ... as the correct bottom 2 vote-getters.

Confusing? Yeah, just watch, and know Anne and Keo eventually got the boot. The real entertainment came from the blame game -- Tyra at first blamed an error in the control room, but then seemed to take the blame herself, saying she was just reading off her flashcards.

Bad as it was, it wasn't as colossal of a screw-up as when Steve botched the Miss Universe winner, or when the Academy gave Best Picture to the wrong movie in 2017 -- much bigger stages.

Tyra took to IG after the show to further explain, saying there was a technical difficulty and that the names on the cards she was reading were actually the wrong ones ... so not really her problem after all. She was graceful about it, though, adding they got past it as a team.

Carole Baskin's reality TV dreams are keeping her in Hollywood, but we're told her animal rescue center won't take a hit while she's on the other side of the country.

The 'Tiger King' star was booted from "Dancing with the Stars" Monday, and now she's setting her sights on shopping a new reality show about animal exploitation ... but fear not, our sources say Carole's Big Cat Rescue is in good hands.

Sources close to Carole tell TMZ ... her daughter, Jaime, runs the animal care part of BCR -- Carole's mainly been doing advocacy anyway -- so the exotic animals at the Tampa sanctuary won't suffer while Carole's away.

We're told Jaime's overseeing hundreds of volunteers at the sanctuary, and they handle the day-to-day animal care, so that essential function's not in peril.

The volunteers are super valuable right now ... our sources say Carole and her husband, Howard, were among the 10 staff members who were laid off at Big Cat Rescue when the pandemic hit, and the rescue still can't hire any more staff to help out.

Carole and Howard are still working full time advocating for Big Cat Rescue, we're told, but they aren't collecting a paycheck at this point.

Fact is ... Carole's got other revenue streams anyways. She had a busy stint on 'DWTS' and now she's producing and starring in a reality show she's actively shopping.

Our sources say the show is primarily about the work Carole and Howard have been undertaking for years -- tracking down animal abusers, exposing them and bringing them to justice through the legal system -- only now there's a film crew in tow.

A couple of Joe Exotic's former zookeepers are as loyal as ever -- recently getting together after years apart ... partly in the name of cheering Carole Baskin's reality TV demise.

Saff Saffery and John Reinke -- who starred in 'Tiger King' and used to care for the cats at Joe's GW Zoo -- met up for the first time in nearly 3 years out in Rockford, IL ... where they're set to star in an ad for Insurance King, opposite 'Diff'rent Strokes' actor Todd Bridges.

While hanging out Monday ahead of Tuesday's shoot, they happened to catch the results of this week's episode of 'Dancing with the Stars' ... including Carole's elimination after surviving a few weeks now. Check out how they reacted to the news -- old rivalries are alive and well!

Yeah, there's no love lost between these once feuding big cat caretakers -- John even sounds a little Joe-ish here by calling CB one of his former boss's fave catchphrases.

As for the commercial they're set to be in, unclear exactly what it'll entail -- but based on the on-camera convo they had with Todd ... sounds like it's written well and should be chock full of laughs. Apparently, Todd's worked with Insurance King before and vouches for 'em.

Carole Baskin is participating in jokes about Don Lewis' mysterious disappearance while she's on 'DWTS' ... at least according to Don's family, and now they're taking her to court.

Don's daughters Gale, Lynda and Donna, plus his former assistant, Anne McQueen are suing Carole for defamation, and they say Don's disappearance is no laughing matter.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Anne claims Carole was complicit with jokes about Don's death on "Dancing with the Stars," when judges brought up TikTok videos inspired by her storyline in 'Tiger King.'

You've probably seen the dance and lyrics, set to Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" ... "Carole Baskin killed her husband, whacked him. Can't convince me that it didn't happen. Fed him to tigers, they snackin'. What's happening?"

In the docs, Don's former assistant says Carole should have spoken out against the jokes ... and she also says Carole should have put her foot down when a 'DWTS' judge said she "didn't quite kill the paso double, it was kind of sedated." Anne takes umbrage with the use of "kill" and "sedated."

Don's family is not only accusing Carole of being complicit with the Don quips on 'DWTS,' but also going along with the joke in an interview with "Good Morning America" when she promised to "really kill it next week" ... according to the suit.

Don's family attorney, John Phillips, says Carole and Anne went down this road back in 1998, when Carole settled a libel and slander from Anne for $50,000. The problem, they claim, is that Carole is now repeating some of those false statements on 'DWTS,' and while reading her journals on social media.

We reached out to Carole, who's always maintained her innocence in Don's case ... but so far, no word back.

Nelly's found the ultimate way to appease the judges on "Dancing with the Stars" who told him to ditch his sneakers for dancing shoes -- instead, he has the best of both worlds.

Despite wowing the crowd with his "Ride Wit Me" salsa dance on last week's show -- culminating with a backflip -- the rapper took some heat for wearing Jordans instead of traditional dance shoes.

Nelly insists the judges are just hating on hip-hop with their criticism, but instead of pushing back ... he got creative.

Check it out -- Nelly, aka Yung Swivel, might just have the dopest dancing shoes of all time on 'DWTS.' They look like Air Jordans on the upper with traditional ballroom dancing soles -- or as Nelly put it on IG ... "HIPHOP 4DA WIN!!!"

If you haven't been watching, Nelly's become an early fan favorite on season 29 of the reality dance competition ... because he looks like he's having the most fun.

The first elimination goes down Tuesday night, and though Carole Baskin received the lowest score during the premiere, she's not expected to go home.

Carole Baskin participating in "Dancing with the Stars" proves she doesn't give a rip about the animals in her care ... or so claims Doc Antle, who has some harsh thoughts.

The 'Tiger King' star tore into Carole in this exclusive clip, obtained by TMZ. In what's part of a new documentary Doc's heavily featured in, he openly wonders how Carole could be away for weeks of 'DWTS' ... IF she really cares for the animals at her sanctuary.

For him, it just doesn't add up ... and he essentially calls Carole a hypocrite for something she's previously said about her "best friends."

As we're told ... Carole's hubby, Howard, is handling the day-to-day operation of her Big Cat Rescue ... along with her daughter, Jamie. Our sources say they also have 100 volunteers helping out.

Still, Doc says that wouldn't fly at most reputable animal sanctuaries, and he thinks it reflects poorly on Carole.

As for how he thinks she's doing so far on the pasodoble front, Doc tells TMZ he thinks Carole's a "terrible dancer." Aside from that, he's digging the season thus far.

Carole Baskin says she's totally on board with the commercial seeking to find Don Lewis ... even though her missing husband's fam thinks she might have something to do with his disappearance.

We got Carole leaving rehearsals Wednesday for "Dancing With The Stars," and our photog asked her about the spot that aired during her 'DWTS' debut ... begging the public for help finding Don, and asking if Carole was involved.

Carole's answer is pretty interesting -- she told us it would be "wonderful" if the Don mystery was solved, especially if the clue came as a result of her being on 'Dancing.' In fact, she sees it as a "side benefit."

As we reported ... Don's daughters, former assistant and family attorney appeared in the commercial Monday, mentioning Carole by name, asking the public to send tips to their hotline and reiterating the $100,000 reward.

John Phillips, the Lewis family attorney, and law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... since the commercial aired, lots of people have called in to their tip line, but there's nothing solid yet.

As you know ... Carole, who has always maintained her innocence in Don's case, also told us someone made certain she knew about the spot 10 minutes before she hit the dance floor ... but she said the news didn't rattle her ballroom game.

We did ask her one question about her 'Tiger King' nemesis, Joe Exotic ... and  Donald Trump potentially pardoning him. You can guess her response, but ya gotta see how she expressed it.

The family of Don Lewis -- Carole Baskin's millionaire husband who went missing in 1997 -- is cutting in on Carole's first night of 'DWTS' ... asking the public for help finding him.

Don's family and attorney John Phillips bought time to air a commercial during Carole's "Dancing with the Stars" debut. We're told the spot will implore the public to send tips regarding his mysterious disappearance ... featured, of course, on 'Tiger King.'

We're told the spot will run during the first 'DWTS' commercial break of Monday night's premiere. It features Don's 3 daughters Gale, Lynda and Donna, plus his former assistant, Anne McQueen, and the family attorney ... who all allege Carole has something to do with Don's disappearance.

As you know ... Carole is getting ready for her big 'DTWS' debut ... and we're told Don's family feels her participation in the dance competition series undermines the ongoing investigation into his whereabouts and is a "grossly insensitive" decision by the show's producers.

Carole has always maintained her innocence in Don's case.

Carole Baskin's got the eye of the tiger as she prepares for her big "Dancing with the Stars" debut ... and she's practicing her moves in a way that would make Billy Idol proud.

Sources close to Carole tell TMZ ... she's been dancing with herself in her Los Angeles apartment during her downtime this week as she gets ready for her first 'DWTS' number.

Carole's gearing up for her first dance, which will be to "Eye of the Tiger," but we're told she's not practicing to any specific music ... just the music in her head.

With Carole only getting 3 to 4 hours a day of official 'DWTS' rehearsal, she's taking her work home ... we're told she feels she needs more practice and moved the furniture in her living room to create her own dance floor.

Carole's documenting her progress too ... we're told she's recording her practice dances on her phone so she can look back and see how far she's come.

Remember ... Carole studied hard and cheaply, before getting on the 'DWTS' set ... picking up her ballroom basics by watching video tutorials on YouTube.

With some rehearsals under her belt, we're told Carole is mostly focusing on dance steps and staying on tempo when she's home alone.

Carole's costume for her first number will have no feathers or fur, and our sources describe the outfit as a "sunset" with a lot of "cattitude" ... whatever that means.

We're told Carole instantly fell in love with the getup ... and she's already asked producers if she will be allowed to keep it or purchase it after the show, but producers haven't indicated a final decision.

A couple of new "Dancing with the Stars" contestants insist they have no advantage, despite having dance-ish backgrounds, so who do you believe less -- AJ McLean or Johnny Weir???

First up, the Backstreet Boys star, who we got outside the 'DWTS' rehearsal studio in L.A. and asked if his boy band choreography skills give him an immediate edge over the competition. He thinks it might be the exact opposite.

AJ tells us he's been trained to dance one way for 30 years, but now ... it's a whole new ballgame, so he's gotta reprogram. On top of that, the singer says he's been focused on his health and diet to prepare for the challenge ahead ... and so far he's "kicking ass."

As for what music he'll be dancing to on the show, he says some BB hits can definitely be expected ... but rules one of them out.

We also got figure skater Johnny Weir ... who agrees with AJ, telling us 'DWTS' requires a completely different skill set than any of his spinning and twirling on the ice could have prepared him for ... so he's on an even playing field.