Late Night

Liam Neeson is on the ropes and ducking faster than a pro boxer -- he's reportedly pulled out of an interview with Stephen Colbert on the heels of his tale of seeking race-based revenge.

Neeson's backed out of a scheduled Friday night appearance on the 'Late Show' ... according to The Wrap. He's clearly doing everything he can to avoid any further questions about his confession this week that 40 years ago he went out trying to kill any "black bastard" ... to avenge a friend who'd been raped.

We've reached out to Liam's camp and 'The Late Show' for comment ... so far, no word back.

The cancellation comes on the heels of Lionsgate pulling the plug on the red carpet for the NYC premiere of Liam's new movie, "Cold Pursuit" -- again, effectively dodging questions.

Talk about a PR nightmare -- Neeson made the bizarre revelation to The Independent on Monday. His follow-up interview on 'GMA' didn't help cool things down ... in fact, the backlash only intensified.

Jimmy Kimmel's good friend who was arrested for allegedly making criminal threats from inside his beachside rental home got busted because of a key ear-witness -- his estranged wife ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us famous chef and best selling author Adam Perry Lang's arrest was based in large part on the 911 recording -- in which a man said he was inside Jimmy's Hermosa Beach rental home with explosives and had assaulted his girlfriend with a high-powered rifle.

Our law enforcement sources say cops went to the home of Lang's estranged wife at around 3 AM Sunday and asked her if she could ID the voice on the call. We're told she said it could be Adam and it sounded like him, except for a Canadian phrase the caller used at the end.

Cops tell us there was other evidence that led to Lang's arrest, although they would not be specific. We're told cops on scene talked with Lang when he came out of the house and claim his voice sounded like the 911 caller.

Lang's lawyer, Glen T. Jonas, begs to differ, saying his client absolutely did not call the cops and insists the 8-hour standoff occurred because he had his ringer off and was sound asleep.

Jonas tells TMZ, "He immediately cooperated once he was notified of the commotion. Mr. Lang was the victim of 'swatting.' The person that called 911 gave the address which is consistent with swatting. There is no landline at the residence and his cellphone logs show he made no calls to 911. We are confident he will be fully exonerated."

6:20 PM PT -- Lang's lawyer, Glen T. Jonas, tells TMZ, "The 'male' that called 911 was absolutely not Adam Perry Lang. Mr. Lang will be cleared of any wrongdoing. He was fast asleep with his ringer off. He immediately cooperated once he was notified of the commotion."

3:15 PM PT -- We've learned Lang was booked on making felony criminal threats and his bail was set at $50,000. Now this is interesting ... according to the cops, when they arrived at the house they tried for "several hours" to make contact with Lang. When they finally did, a police official tells us the crisis team "made telephone contact with the male who ultimately agreed to exit the residence." The word "ultimately" could be telling ... it makes it sound like Lang was not immediately willing to exit.

2:30 PM PT -- Hermosa Beach police just told us they are not calling this a swatting situation. One officer said, "There is a reason we arrested him [Lang]. There is evidence detectives are now processing." This is in contrast to what we were told by Jimmy's people. A rep for Jimmy tells us Kimmel was told specifically by a lieutenant they believed it was a case of swatting.

A beach house owned by Jimmy Kimmel was the scene of a massive police presence Saturday just before midnight ... in what may be a swatting situation ... TMZ has learned.

Eyewitnesses tell us a slew of cops swarmed Kimmel's Hermosa Beach home -- a house that is not his primary residence. We're told Jimmy and his family were not there. A friend of his -- Adam Perry Lang -- was staying at the house and sleeping. Lang is a chef and best selling author.

Police helicopters were flying above, and there was also at least one police-operated drone. We're told houses adjacent to Kimmel's corner lot were evacuated as a precaution. Cops tell us they were there for 8 hours before they were able to establish contact with Lang.

TMZ has obtained dispatch audio of cops explaining ... a male called 911 saying he had two explosives in the home and he'd assaulted his girlfriend with a rifle.

We've learned one person was taken into custody -- Lang, who apparently woke up, walked outside and was escorted to a police car without incident.

Jimmy went to the Hermosa Beach Police Department Sunday at around noon and bailed his friend out. We're told cops have not yet formally cleared Lang.

Cops found no explosives, weapons or any evidence of a shooting inside the house.

Cardi B was James Corden's latest copilot for "Carpool Karaoke" ... and she did NOT disappoint.

The Bronx MC rode shotgun on the 'Late Late Show' host's newest singing segment, where the two of them ran through a medley of Cardi songs and mostly rapped 'em ... complete with water bottle microphones and out-the-window hype. Just watch ...

There were also a few surprises along the way ... like James giving Cardi an impromptu driving lesson (with hilarious results) and Cardi getting hit on by an old timer.

Unclear when exactly this was filmed, but there's no mention of all the Offset drama Cardi's been dealing with lately.

Conan O'Brien's laughing his ass off a lot these days, courtesy President Trump and co. -- but the problem is they're also stomping all over the late night host's turf ... according to Conan.

We got COB out in the Big Apple Thursday and asked him to weigh in on the White House yanking Jim Acosta's press credentials after his head-to-head with the Prez. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders uploaded a vid she said supported the decision -- but the clip is clearly sped up to make it appear Acosta shoved an intern.

Conan's take? Great production skills on the part of Trump's team!

Conan joked with us about how Trump's news conference antics are inspiring his own creativity.

Hollywood heartthrob Noah Centineo got called out by Busy Philipps on TV for ghosting her pal, which made his team go into overdrive trying to protect his rep ... TMZ has learned.

Noah and Busy both appeared on James Corden's 'Late Late Show' Wednesday and, at one point, she revealed the Netflix stud had completely stopped talking to a friend of hers, whom he'd apparently been chatting up. It was slightly awkward, but mostly light-hearted.

As it turns out ... we're told the actual convo ran longer than the clip that aired, and that wasn't by chance. Sources close to the situation tell us Noah's team were worried about the segment, and asked Corden's people to heavily edit it down.

We're told Busy went into detail about how Noah met one of her writers on a dating app, and dragged him for ghosting her. Our sources say Noah's team feared the story would ruin his boy-next-door image.

You can tell 'Late Late Show' execs obliged -- there's an obvious edit at about 56 seconds, plus they didn't post it on their YouTube channel ... as they usually do with noteworthy segments.

Noah blew up this year after starring in Netflix's rom-com, "To All the Boys I've Loved Before."

Plus, he was Camila Cabello's love interest in the "Havana" music vid, and he's in People's new Sexiest Man Alive issue.

Zlatan can run ... Zlatan can score ... Zlatan CAN DANCE!!!

The soccer legend went on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" and proved there's a lot of walk behind all his talk -- nailing a perfect floss dance right on cue.

In fact ... Corden was so impressed -- he wanted some lessons!!!

So, what was the reason for the night-time dance party?? James needed to figure out if Zlatan really CAN do anything.

The first test? Name three Kardashians.

The second test? Open a jar of pickles.

The third test? Hit the floss.

Done, done and BIG-TIME done.

Then, for good measure, he pronounced his full name with a mouth full of marshmallows. Impressive.

Nick Cannon's getting a warm welcome at FOX for his new late night TV show, and so is his turban ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Nick will rock his signature headgear without concern or pushback from the network. That wasn't the case in the latter part of his nearly 10-year run as host of "America's Got Talent" on NBC.

Sources said the Peacock Network wasn't jibing with his look on 'AGT,' and unleashed its wrath on him over a "black card" joke he made during a Showtime comedy special.

That dispute led to Nick quitting 'AGT', and leaving millions on the table.

As for his new FOX gig, we're told it has to be a weekly show, because Nick is currently finishing up his master's degree at Howard University. When he's done, it'll free him up to do a nightly show. We're told the show's set to debut in early 2019.

You better come correct if you challenge Jimmy Fallon to a rap battle ... 'cause Jimmy just put one of Post Malone's artists in a body bag.

The 'Tonight Show' host wasn't playing around when he went rhyme-for-rhyme with Post's upcoming artist, Tyla Yaweh ... hitting him where it hurts with no regard for human life.

It all went down at Paddy Reilly's Music Bar in NYC after Post's appearance on the 'Tonight Show', and ya gotta watch the video ... Jimmy GOES IN, Tyla flops hard and Post bows down.

A letter Madonna penned about her infamous appearance on David Letterman's show in the '90s is up for grabs, and the rant is likely to fetch big $$$.

Boston-based auction house RR Auction is putting Madge's handwritten note from May 1994 on the auction block at the end of the month. What's puzzling ... she apparently published the letter on her fansite ICON, but no one took notice.

As for what the letter said ... she wrote about "how sexist the world we live in really is" following her disastrous appearance on 'The Late Show,' when she dropped the f-bomb 14 times in an excruciatingly awkward interview with David Letterman. It made censorship history.

She rants in the letter that, had Andrew Dice Clay or Snoop gone on the show and done something similar, "no one would have given a f***."

She goes on ... "In this country you are not allowed to be a girl, look good, have a point of view and have a good time all at once. Need I say more."

The auctioneers say they expect the letter will fetch $2k-$3k ... but we know the drill. If the bidding gets hot, it will go way higher.

Kanye West just got an offer he might not refuse ... directing a porn movie after giving his fav a shout-out on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Greg Lansky -- widely considered the Steven Spielberg of porn -- runs a high-end porn production company, including Blacked.com, which also happens to be Kanye's XXX of choice. The rapper said as much to a late night national TV audience.

Didn't take long for Greg to craft an offer and fire it off to Ye ... first thanking him for mentioning Blacked. As for the offer -- let Kanye direct a porn movie. According to the letter -- obtained by TMZ -- Kanye will have full artistic control.

And, how's this for an enticing offer? Greg also has 2 porn stars in mind for Kanye's film.

If the Blacked.com deal doesn't do the trick for Kanye -- Pornhub's got his back (and his front) too -- telling us they'd like to extend a free lifetime membership to the site's HD, on-demand streaming service, Pornhub Premium.

Jimmy Fallon took one of his most popular late night games out of the studio and tried it live in the Hamptons -- and it was just as entertaining with way more booze ... we think.

The 'Tonight Show' host was hanging with his wife, Nancy Juvonen, Friday night at The Palm East Hampton, when he decided to belt out some Guns N' Roses to one lucky patron ... while everyone else in the place was watching and cheering.

Ya can't REALLY blame soccer stars like Neymar for flopping worse than Vlade Divac in the '90s ... because there's a really smart reason behind the fake pain -- so says Trevor Noah.

The 34-year-old 'Daily Show' host is a massive soccer fan -- and has thought long and hard about the flopping epidemic that's taken over the World Cup ... particularly in regards to the Brazilian superstar.

You gotta watch Noah break it down outside of Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills ... and how he ultimately explains why guys like Neymar will flop to prevent themselves from suffering a major injury.

"Some people overdo it," Noah admits ... "Don't get me wrong. But, I understand where it came from."

Jamie Foxx doesn't appear to have a worry in the world after being accused of slapping a woman with his penis nearly 16 years ago ... that much is clear in his body language.

Foxx was heading in to tape "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Wednesday in L.A. when he flashed the surfer's classic "hang loose" sign.

We broke the story ... a woman filed a police report with Vegas PD last week claiming Foxx hit her in the face with his genitalia in 2002 after she refused to perform oral sex on him. Jamie has vehemently denied the accusation ... and is vowing to pursue legal action against her.

Roseanne Barr and John Goodman ruffled some feathers when they told Jimmy Kimmel the original "Roseanne" couch is with the Smithsonian and that's why they couldn't get it for the reboot. Turns out, it's not true.

TMZ did some digging, and we found out the Conners' couch went to a production warehouse after the show went off the air in 1997 ... and it remained there for years until a show honcho bought it.

We're told that person reached out to James Comisar -- curator at Museum of TV -- 10-15 years ago ... and it's been under his care ever since. The Museum has no affiliation with the Smithsonian.

Comisar tells us the TV sofa is in an L.A. warehouse under climate, humidity and light control ... and he says he WAS contacted by "Roseanne" cast member Sara Gilbert about using it for the reboot.

James says he was open to letting the show use the couch, but worried it would get damaged, so he had strict stipulations on its use. Ultimately ... he and ABC couldn't come to terms, so the network decided to make a replica instead.

John Oliver has mastered the art of trolling, and with the help of a now best-selling gay rabbit ... he's making a laughingstock of Vice President Mike Pence's children's book.

Oliver's new children's book, "A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo," is currently the No. 1 best selling book on Amazon. It's basically a satirical send-up of Pence's book, starring Bundo ... but, of course, the Veep's bunny is not out. It's also down at No. 4 on best sellers.

The "Last Week Tonight" host released his bunny tale on Sunday, a day before Pence's release -- to directly compete with the VP -- and, let's be honest, to troll the hell out of his conservative views on LGBT rights.

Oliver's got him beat in the overall category, and in Children's books, where both the hard cover and the Kindle version are dominating over Pence's version.

Yes, you could say John has pulled a rabbit out of his hat.