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Armando Bacot is entering the world of the Pogues and Kooks -- the North Carolina hoops star just landed a role with the super-popular Netflix show "Outer Banks" ... and he's been on set hanging with John B. himself, Chase Stokes!!

The breakout Tar Heels center will appear in several episodes of Season 3 of the series ... playing the fittingly-named character, "Mando," according to Inside Carolina.

The 22-year-old posted vid of his time on set ... bro'ing down with Stokes and Rudy Pankow, who plays JJ Maybank on the thriller series.

Now, Bacot taking an acting role might sound super random, but it actually makes a lot of sense ... especially considering two of the show's creators -- Josh and Jonas Pate -- are North Carolina natives.

On top of that, Josh and the other creator, Shannon Burke, are UNC alums ... so that Tar Heel network definitely had to help the 6'10", 240-lb. baller land the gig.

The big question -- is Bacot a Pogue or a Kook in the NC-based show?? We'll have to wait until the season drops ... and that might be quite a bit away.

Jason Oppenheim is shooting down haters who say he faked a phone call on "Selling Sunset" ... and, he's got some pretty compelling proof to back it up.

We caught up with Jason, Tuesday at Sunset Plaza and asked him about what some 'Selling' fans saw as a fake phone call during a new episode. And, let's be clear ... although the screen showed his camera app, instead of the phone app (usually visible when you're on the phone), Jason says, he was in fact talking to a client.

Of course, we didn't let him go without showing some kinda proof.

So, we had him call a friend and show us the screen on his phone. Watch the video and see for yourself what happened.

ICYMI, folks on social media raised an eyebrow after they spotted Jason placing a call during season 5 of the Netflix hits series. While he appeared to be talking, the phone screen said otherwise, and doubters thought they'd busted JO being phony ... pun not intended, we swear.

The Twitter mob came for him, insisting Jason was faking the whole convo.

"Selling Sunset" star Mary Fitzgerald has had it with co-star Christine Quinn's lies and drama, and her COVID cry is the nail in the coffin.

We got Mary outside The Oppenheim Group office Wednesday ... and she's convinced Christine's recent COVID reveal -- which she says caused her to miss the reunion show -- is just a shady way to back out last-minute and avoid facing her fellow castmates.

Mary says the cast tested twice before the Sunday taping ... and according to Mary, Christine came back negative both times. Mind you, the last test was on Friday, but Christine says the next day she tested positive.

While Christine is undeniably an important character on the show, Mary admits it hasn't been pleasant to work with her in the office.

We also got Christine's boss, Jason Oppenheim, outside the office, but mum's the word on his thoughts about the COVID drama.

He wants everyone to be a team player and show up for filming, but he gets the other side of the coin -- Christine's been going through a lot with almost every cast member ganging up on her.

Howie Mandel's happy to be out of his quarantine after getting COVID ... but says his time locked away drove him insane, and thinks being vulnerable about your mental health is important now more than ever.

Howie was on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk about his new show "Bullsh*t the Game Show" ... but before pitching his show, he opened up about his intense struggle with the virus ... which he contracted during his first public outing -- the Kids' Choice Awards.

He makes it clear ... the physical symptoms weren't bad, but the collateral damage to his mental health was real. Howie's a big proponent of talking about these struggles ... it definitely has helped him navigate troubled waters.

As for his new Netflix game show, Howie says he's been offered a bunch of game show hosting gigs, but this one checks all the boxes. It's not only fun, contestants can win a million bucks!

"Selling Sunset" has been hit with another COVID setback, star Maya Vander tells us she's tested positive and has given her castmates a heads-up that it's possible they could've been exposed during the show's reunion.

Maya says she tested negative on Friday for the show's reunion taping on Sunday. She tells us she began to feel ill on Tuesday, and has now tested positive. Out of a precaution, Maya says she let her castmates who were filming with her Sunday that she has COVID, just in case there was a chance of exposure.

However, Vander traveled from L.A. back to Florida Sunday after the filming, so she believes there's a chance she got it on the plane ... as she never had any symptoms prior to Tuesday.

Luckily, Maya says she's feeling ok and just has some body aches. She says everyone else on the cast is feeling fine.

Of course, Maya's positive test comes on the heels of COVID controversy with "Selling Sunset" villain Christine Quinn. Quinn skipped out on the show reunion after her rep told us she tested positive for COVID on Saturday.

That positive test became much more interesting when TMZ obtained photos of Quinn at a photoshoot from Tuesday -- just 3 days after her alleged positive COVID result -- and leading many to believe she faked having COVID to avoid confrontation at the reunion.

The CDC recommends someone who tests positive should remain in isolation for at least 5 days following a positive test.

"Selling Sunset" star Christine Quinn missed the reunion show Sunday because she says she had COVID, which makes this photo of her on a film set Tuesday very interesting.

We've obtained a photo of Quinn on her phone, while crew members stand around her to prepare for a shot. What's interesting ... it's 'RHONJ' star Melissa Gorga seated next to her.

Unclear what this gig entails, but her rep told us Monday Christine had to miss the "Selling Sunset" reunion over the weekend after testing positive for COVID on Saturday.

Of course, the CDC recommends ... someone who has tested positive for COVID should isolate for at least 5 days. Quinn's obviously not doing that, and while one of the crew members is masked up, Christine isn't.

If you've followed the most recent season of "Selling Sunset," you know Christine is the show's villain -- so when TMZ broke the story she'd have to miss the reunion because her rep said she had COVID, a ton of the show's fans thought she might've been faking it to avoid confrontation with the other cast members.

At this point, we're hoping she was faking COVID, cuz showing up to work just a few days after a positive test doesn't seem to be a very safe way of doing business.

Joe Exotic is taking cues from Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart -- he's got a new fiancé behind bars ... and their love is as deep as Edward's was for Bella.

The 'Tiger King' star details his latest relationship in an eye-opening letter sent from his federal prison in Butner, NC, in which he announces he's a groom-to-be with a man named John Graham -- somebody he was in the pokey with last year and apparently fell head over heels for.

In the correspondence, obtained by TMZ from Joe's attorney Autumn Blackledge, JE says he met John after he was released from solitary, when they were housed in the same unit. It wasn't long before they started seeing each other, he explains, and eventually ... somebody popped the question in August.

As for what John's all about ... well, Joe says he's the polar opposite of his soon-to-be-ex-hubby Dillon Passage -- whom he calls "selfish, younger ... and wanting to be famous."

John, meanwhile, is an old soul -- about 400 years, it seems -- who actually practices witchcraft ... this according to Joe. He describes John as someone who isn't seeking the limelight and who loves Joe for him ... the type of love Joe's never experienced, he says.

Sounds like John's a free man now ... but even so, Joe says they talk constantly -- up to 3 times a day -- and exchange mail nonstop. He says their bond is like the one depicted in 'Twilight' ... adding he still has one of John's shirts so he can smell him in the interim.

As we reported ... Dillon's signaled he's ready to finalize his divorce with Joe, with some conditions -- which Joe here calls "extortion," while noting he too wants to be done with it so he can hurry up and marry John.

Of course, he says he's still trying to have his case heard on appeal ... and believes his latest team of attorneys is going to achieve that with "new evidence" Joe says has been obtained in his favor.

Director Joe Berlinger says when it comes to serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a big part of his horrific rampage had to do with self-hatred and his inability to deal with his sexuality.

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday to talk about digging into the mind of the notorious Illinois serial killer for his new Netflix docuseries, "Conversations With a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes" ... and, as you might imagine, it's a frightening ride.

The film explores what made Gacy -- a birthday clown by day -- tick during his reign of terror in the 1970s. Berlinger says listening to Gacy's conversations with attorneys and cops ... showed how much the mad man blamed his victims.

He says the killings had a lot to do with Gacy's self-hatred, and inability to deal with his sexuality. As for why it took so long to catch him, Joe says society's prevailing attitudes toward marginalized groups, like the gay community, were a major factor.

On a personal note ... Berlinger admits he struggles to leave his work at home. He's been delving into the minds of murderers for decades now, and he told us why his Oscar-nominated doc, "Paradise Lost" -- about the 1996 slayings of 3 West Memphis boys -- was particularly difficult.

Joe says, "I was trying to have a tender moment with my new child, and I just kept flashing on the worst images of what happened to these children".

Brad Fischetti, the last living member of LFO, isn't going to stop playing one of the band's hits even though its lyrics refer to now-canceled Abercrombie & Fitch, which was roasted in Netflix's latest doc ... and it's all about honoring his late bandmates.

Brad tells us he'll continue to perform the 1999 hit "Summer Girls" at his concerts ... as you'll recall, the chorus to LFO's song goes, "I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch ... I'd take her if I had one wish."

A&F's shady work behind the scenes has recently been exposed by Netflix's docufilm, "White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch" ... which features former employees revealing a toxic workplace that emphasized thin, white beautiful people as their vision of "All-American."

Brad's goal with anything he does with the band is to honor his lifelong friends and band members Devin Lima and Rich Cronin.

TMZ broke both stories ... the other two members of LFO both passed away from battles with leukemia - Rich Cronin in 2010 and Devin Lima in 2018. Brad, the last remaining member, has done his best to keep their memory alive.

Ben Affleck has a very different recollection of hitting up a "Selling Sunset" star on Raya ... as in no recollection, because he says it's BS.

'SS's Emma Hernan claimed on the latest installment of the series ... she matched with Ben on the dating platform, but Ben's rep told PEOPLE it just ain't true.

Apparently, Ben's not been active on the exclusive dating app for several years, before he hooked up with J Lo for round 2 of their romance.

As for Hernan ... she tells Chrishell Stause on the show, "Remember when Ben Affleck went viral because he sent some girl ... He may or may not have been texting me ... He may or may not have asked me to grab coffee a few times. I didn't go."

Well, Ben's people say she didn't go because she wasn't asked.

"The Tinder Swindler" Simon Leviev could be facing serious prison time after an arrest warrant was issued against him for an incident back in 2019, where authorities claim he used a fake driver's license and got his luxury car stuck on a beach in Spain.

Police in Tarifa say they were able to link Leviev to a 2019 accident thanks to the Netflix doc, according to The Daily Mail. Cops say after getting his $100K Maserati stuck on the beach, Leviev offered up a fake ID, with the name Michael Bilton -- one of his alleged aliases.

Police apparently realized the connection upon watching the Netflix doc and seeing the name mentioned.

Cops reportedly suspected the license wasn't legit, but no arrests were made at the time ... the rented car was towed away, and he and his unknown date were free to go. He allegedly gave police an address in Costa del Sol pending an ongoing investigation.

Things apparently came to a halt after "Bilton" failed to answer his summons ... the case is being reopened after cops now think Leviev was the man in question.

Simon Leviev tells TMZ ... he's already served time for using a fake passport in 2019 -- he believes he can't be sentenced for the same crime twice.

Emmet McDermott's documentary -- #1 on Netflix right now -- exposes Abercrombie & Fitch's racist view of beauty, which he says was illegally applied to the company's hiring and firing practices.

Emmet joined us Thursday on TMZ Live to discuss his docufilm, "White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch" ... which features former employees revealing a toxic workplace that emphasized thin, white beautiful people as their vision of "All-American."

We're not just talking about the models -- Emmet says the company would phase out employees who looked "off-brand." He puts it plainly ... if you weren't good-looking or white, you're out.

The company even had a certain way for their employees to look, eliminating things -- certain hairstyles and jewelry -- it deemed to be associated with other, non-white cultures.

Clearly, A&F had crossed some legal lines when it comes to hiring based on race ... and it's made efforts to turn that around.

The company's current CEO, Fran Horowitz, posted a statement after the doc dropped, saying “We’re focused on inclusivity – and continuing that transformation is our enduring promise to you, our community. Always Forward.”

"Love Is Blind" stars Kyle Abrams and Deepti Vempati are being coy on whether they're dating, but there are plenty of breadcrumbs in this video suggesting that is indeed the case.

Deepti and Kyle hit up Craig's in WeHo Wednesday night, and our photog zeroed in and asked if they were dating. Check out Kyle's reaction, both visual and verbal. When someone asks 2 people if they're dating and they're not, would they really say "great question?"

And, as long as we're on the subject, our photog follows up with a question about the possibility of marriage in their future. Again, if they weren't dating, would they really say ... "We'll see," and "We'll consider it?"

The two have been spending lots of time together since the show wrapped ... as we reported, Kyle and Deepti hit the streets of Chicago at the beginning of March -- his hand on her back as they entered a restaurant. Again, a clue.

Kyle set up a photoshoot a few weeks later and brought Deepti along for the ride ... the photographer -- who hadn't seen "LIB" -- said they had real chemistry.

While their season ended with each getting engaged to other people, both called it off. Kyle confessed in the reunion episode his biggest regret was not proposing to Deepti.

Frank Langella is under investigation for alleged sexual harassment on the set of a Netflix project ... TMZ has learned.

A production source tells us there have been allegations of inappropriate conduct by Langella made within the last couple weeks on the set of the limited series "The Fall of the House of Usher." We're told there's currently an investigation into what happened, but Langella has not been fired or suspended from the series.

As for what exactly happened, a source close to production tells us the 84-year-old actor allegedly made an inappropriate joke that was sexual in nature. Our sources also say in the context of his performance, possibly during rehearsal, he touched the leg of a female costar, and further drew attention to the action when he jokingly said something like "Did you like that?"

The show has been filming in British Columbia, Canada ... we reached out to the local police department who says nothing has been reported to them involving Frank.

Our sources say the investigation has not had any immediate effect on production, as Frank -- who plays Roderick Usher in the series -- was not scheduled to shoot any scenes this week.

Langella found massive fame as Dracula in 1979 and more recently played the judge in Netflix's "The Trial of the Chicago 7."

We reached out to a rep for Frank ... so far, no word back.

Ben Roethlisberger spent most of his career beating the Cincinnati Bengals -- but it turns out, The Tiger King is still a huge fan!!!

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... Joe Exotic has written a letter to Big Ben from prison, asking the Pittsburgh Steelers star for his autograph.

Exotic's lawyer, John M. Phillips, tells us the 59-year-old penned the note just recently.

In his letter, Exotic told the future Hall of Famer that he needed a signature from Ben so he could gift it to his stepson for a birthday present.

"I promised him an autographed jersey by you because he thinks you are the s*** and he holds you on a pretty big pedestal," said Joe, who's been in prison since 2019 after he allegedly tried to hire men to kill his rival, Carole Baskin.

"There is one on eBay, but I don't have the $600 to buy it for his birthday. My fans helped get everything else he wanted. I'm just missing your jersey."

Joe ended his note by pleading for Ben to honor his request -- saying, "Can you help a man out that is fighting for his own freedom? Every kid needs a hero and you are his!"

Chelsea Lazkani says she wanted to be the first Black realtor on "Selling Sunset" because she doesn't see enough women who look like her selling luxury homes in Los Angeles.

We got the newest cast member from the hit Netflix show outside The Oppenheim Group in WeHo ... and asked her about being the only Black woman in a predominantly white cast.

Chelsea says she wanted to join the show to be a role model for other Black women, whom she says are underrepresented in luxury real estate in L.A. She's comfortable being the trailblazer and hopes to encourage others to make the industry more diverse.

Folks could do a lot worse than Chelsea in the role model department ... she's worked successfully in real estate for 5 years.

The way Chelsea sees it ... it only takes one person to get their foot in the door and show others they can be successful in a world where not everyone looks like them.

Fun fact, they don't talk about it on the show, but there is one person of color -- Amanza Smith is half black.