Netflix

Joe Exotic is speaking out about his alleged 2020 beatdown at the hands of 8 correction officers in an Oklahoma jail.

The "Tiger King" star released a new audio clip on Twitter, explaining what allegedly happened to him -- in grisly detail -- during an apparent phone convo from behind bars. The clip is from the "Lauren Interviews" podcast.

Joe angrily says, "They beat the f*** out of me, 8 guards, tied me to a chair butt naked, put me in a shower so long that I blacked out and I woke up with skin off my arms from the straps."

As we reported, Joe claimed in court docs that he was sexually assaulted while tied to a chair and beaten by jail guards with his arm flesh removed. Joe was petitioning-then President Donald Trump to pardon him in 2020 after he was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison.

The alleged assault occurred at the Grady County Jail in Oklahoma, where Joe was being held during his federal murder-for-hire trial. At the time, a rep for the jail declined to comment, but a law enforcement source told us Joe made the whole thing up ... correction officials found no proof of an attack on any of the facility's recorded cameras.

"Cheer" star Jerry Harris and Julie Chrisley are 2 names you'd never expect to see in the same sentence, but they're now sharing the same address ... in a federal lockup.

Here's the deal ... Harris, an ex-cheerleader from the Netflix hit series, was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, last August -- and the "Chrisley Knows Best" star checked in there Tuesday.

It's a minimum security satellite camp -- it won't be confused with a SuperMax -- but that doesn't mean Julie and Jerry get to socialize in the yard. For obvious reasons, we're told the feds keep male and female inmates in separate sections of the facility.

As we reported, Julie was convicted last June for bank fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion, and got a seven-year sentence -- and despite the prison's name, she is not in need of any medical treatment.

Same goes for Jerry ... the BOP confirmed inmates are housed at FMC Lexington for both medical and non-medical reasons.

Jerry's attorney, Todd Pugh tells us his client is "doing well for someone who is in prison." He adds, Jerry has "acclimated himself to custodial life and is participating in every type of self-betterment program available."

Don Lewis' family says they're being re-traumatized simply because someone just discovered a nearly 18-month-old, unproven report claiming Carole Baskin's missing first husband is alive and chillin' on a beach.

Jack Smith, spokesperson for the Lewis family, tells TMZ ... Don's daughters firmly believe he's dead, and it's been extremely triggering for them to deal with the fallout of the resurfaced report, which they say is bogus.

We're told Don's daughters are being flooded with calls from strangers and even family members congratulating them on finding their father ... which brings back bad memories.

Social media started buzzing Wednesday over a 2021 interview with Carole about an alleged report the Dept. of Homeland Security found Don living in Costa Rica. As we reported -- back then and now -- that purported report was featured in the second season of 'Tiger King,' so Don's family has already been down this road.

Don's daughters tell TMZ ... "While we would certainly welcome the good news of our Dad being found alive, it's just simply not true."

The Lewis family says in late 1997, after Don went missing, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office -- which is in charge of Don's missing person's case -- told them a report existed from U.S. Customs stating Don had been seen in Costa Rica.

The family says that prompted Don's oldest daughter, Donna, and her husband to travel to Costa Rica in November 1997, but they never found him.

We're told the Customs report is the same one shown in 'Tiger King' -- the family believes it was doctored to reference DHS instead of Customs in order to support a false narrative about what happened to Don.

As we previously reported ... Don's still listed as a missing person on a national database, and, as a legal matter, has been presumed dead since 2002.

Kelsea Ballerini might be playing coy about whether she's dating Chase Stokes -- but he's a bit more definitive ... explaining to TMZ what it is, exactly, he likes about her.

The "Outer Banks" star confirmed to our photog Tuesday he and the country singer are, in fact, an item ... but whether he meant for it to slip out the way it did is another story. Check out our chat with him in L.A. ... where we congratulated him on his new boo.

Rather than correct us or clarify anything ... he simply said thanks, and even gave us an answer when we asked what Kelsea brings to the table in their relationship.

Another tell they're definitely dating -- CS scoffing at the idea that Kelsea might need to brush him up on Southern culture. She's a Nashville girl, but Chase made sure to set the record straight ... noting he was raised in the South himself, and knows all about cowboy hats and such.

The speculation over whether they're a thing all started last week when they were seen attending the National Championship game in the same group -- but it looked more official when Chase posted a photo of just the 2 of 'em cuddled in the stands.

That seems to be the IG official pic, but Chase is letting people come to that conclusion on their own -- he didn't comment on the game shot, but happily talked about Kelsea.

For her part, Kelsea reacted to the gossip with a non-answer answer -- rolling her eyes at some DeuxMoi chatter about them and a lot of "Really?".

Chelsea Handler isn't afraid to let Prince Harry know how she feels about all the intimate details he's been sharing ... as she made his royal family jewels the butt of some icy jokes at the Critics Choice Awards.

The comedian took the stage Sunday night in L.A., and during her opening monologue she took some jabs at a ton of folks ... including Harry and his recently released memoir, "Spare."

Chelsea was talking about Niecy Nash-Betts' nomination for the Netflix series "Dahmer", but deftly segued to poke fun at the Duke of Sussex.

She said, "Dahmer became the third highest viewed show on Netflix with a combined watch time of 1 billion hours, which apparently is the same amount of time we're going to have to listen to Prince Harry talk about his frostbitten penis. It's enough, already".

And, it seemed to go over well with a lot of the audience ... cause she got laughs all around the room.

Of course, she was referring to details from Harry's book, where he shares his John Thomas got frostbitten back in 2011 during a charity trek to the North Pole.

Prince Harry wasn't the only one to catch some strays from Chelsea ... she also made fun of James Corden and his restaurant debacle.

"Stranger Things" star Noah Schnapp has come out as gay.

The 18-year-old made the announcement Thursday on TikTok with a video of himself and text that reads, "When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was 'we know.'"

Interestingly enough, he also included the caption, "I guess I'm more similar to will than I thought."

Schnapp plays Will Byers on "Stranger Things" and fan speculation over the years has been that the character is gay, as it's clear he has a thing for Mike Wheeler on the show ... so it seems Schnapp is also confirming the fan theory.

Schnapp and his "Stranger Things" costar Millie Bobby Brown are super close -- the two hang out all the time and have appeared on late-night talk shows together over the years.

Prince Harry is making bombshell allegations against other members of the royal family in his new book ... claiming his own brother attacked him after taking shots at Meghan Markle.

The Duke of Sussex claims things got physical between him and Prince William back in 2019 ... with William launching the attack.

In his new memoir, "Spare," Prince Harry claims William grabbed him by the collar, ripped his necklace and knocked him to the ground during a fight in London.

As for what sparked the alleged fight ... Harry says things got heated after William called his wife Meghan "difficult," "rude" and "abrasive."

Prince Harry says William was already worked up when he came over to Nottingham Cottage, where Harry was living at the time, with William starting to complain about Meghan.

Harry says he told his brother he was just regurgitating media narratives and he expected better from William ... and then they got into a shouting match before things ultimately got physical.

Prince Harry says he accused William of acting like an heir and being unable to understand him ... and they exchanged insults, then went into the kitchen, where the alleged attack happened.

Harry goes on to say the alleged fight left him with visible injuries because he fell and landed on a dog bowl, which cracked under his back ... according to excerpts of the book obtained by The Guardian.

What's more, Harry claims William urged him to hit him back, bringing up fights they had when they were younger ... but Harry says he refused to strike his brother. William then bounced, but came back "looking regretful" and apologized.

Prince Harry also says Meghan noticed the bruises and scrapes he suffered in the alleged fight and that's when he told her what happened. He says MM wasn't surprised nor angry.

Prince Harry's memoir is due out next week ... and you can imagine the royal family won't be too happy about some of the contents.

The timing is interesting ... Harry is hoping to mend a deep rift within the royal family, recently telling the UK's ITV he wants his father and brother back in his life.

From Mr. Paris to Mr. Bond -- that seems to be the trajectory Lucien Laviscount might be on ... if you believe the reports that he's in the running as the next 007.

The British actor -- famous for his recurring role on Netflix's 'Emily in Paris' -- is said to have captured the attention of movie producer Barbara Broccoli ... who also holds the rights to the James Bond franchise, and who's in search of a new agent to replace Daniel Craig.

According to the Daily Mail ... his work in 'EIP' -- where he plays the main character's love interest, Alfie -- is what landed him as a frontrunner for the job. He's been on for 2 seasons.

DM cites one purported insider as saying, "Lucien ticks all of the boxes. He is a super talented actor, is extremely handsome and in the past 18 months has won lots of new fans since he joined Emily In Paris. Bond bosses are already saying how you can see him in the 007 tuxedo, how dapper and fitting to the role he will look."

The thing that might hurt him, apparently ... his time on 'Celebrity Big Brother,' on which he competed in 2011. According to this source, the Bond producers think it's low brow stuff not fitting of a Bond actor, even though they're supposedly still pretty high on him in general.

The other interesting tidbit coming out of this report ... Broccoli is said to have greenlit stunt work testing over at Pinewood Studios, where they've shot a lot of Bond content. If true, that would mean they're ramping up to start the next chapter post-Craig/'No Time to Die.'

There'd been rumblings that Idris Elba was being considered to play the next Bond, but frankly ... he's too old, and Lucien fits the bill for what Broccoli and co. have recently said they want in their next iteration of the character. A young whippersnapper, that is.

We'll say this ... Lucien's definitely got the look down. Handsome, fit and natural elegance. All the right stuff that makes Bond an international heartthrob.

Here's hoping the Bond honchos figure it out sooner than later. The gap between Pierce Brosnan and Craig (4 years) was longer than any period from previous actors -- meaning, when one guy left ... the other slid in rather seamlessly in a matter of a year or two.

UFC fighter Angela Hill's grandfather and wife claimed they were abducted in one of the most famous UFO encounters ever, and now Barack Obama and his production company are making a Netflix movie on the notorious incident.

And, Angela tells us she wants to be a part of the project!

If you're not familiar, Barney and Betty Hill claimed they were both abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural area of New Hampshire in mid-September 1961. The incident called the "Hill Abduction," was the first widely publicized abduction.

The Hills said they were driving when they witnessed a flying saucer-type object with humanoid figures inside, watching them ... which eventually shot some sort of light at their vehicle. They came to two hours later, 35 miles away from their last known location and with little recollection of anything that occurred.

Now, Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions is reportedly creating a movie titled "White Mountain" that's based on the encounter.

We asked Hill, who posted on social media earlier in the week about her desire to be a part of the project, if any reps for the former president or anyone else had reached out.

"No, no. I just put it out there because it's not the first thing I've heard," Angela said, adding, "Ever since they released those documents, the UFO documents that they were hiding for so long, ever since that, I think it was about two years ago, I've been seeing a lot of Barney and Betty Hill stuff in production."

37-year-old Hill added ... "It sucks when you see something being produced and it's already greenlit, it's ready to go and you're like man I really wish my family was part of it because we've pretty much been written out of that part of the story. I think it's one of the parts that make it more interesting."

Details outside of the Obama's involvement and name of the project are not yet known.

We also asked Hill what she'd say to the people behind the movie.

It's one thing to get a bad review ... it's another to be cast in the same light as Kanye West and Donald Trump, but that's exactly what one reviewer did.

Politico writer Joanna Weiss posted a story called, "2022 Is the Year We All Finally Got Tired of the Narcissists," and she had plenty of fodder to build out her story ... in addition to the above names, she noted Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes.

As for Meghan Markle, she says the Netflix doc "Harry & Meghan" backfired in a big way. It's one of the most watched docs in a long time, but that doesn't mean it was received the way it was meant.

Weiss writes, "My natural sympathy for the couple started turning to irritation, and it occurred to me that ego has its limits. And it struck me that the overreach that led to the Sussexes' critically panned mega-series is the same impulse that turned Elon Musk into a terror on Twitter, that prompted Ye to up the ante of outrageous behavior until he crossed the line into blatant antisemitism, that sent Bankman-Fried from the top of the world to a Bahamian jail."

She concedes Harry and Meghan's conduct is more benign than the others, but says it's still problematic.

The documentary is filled with grievances against the Royal Family, including Harry saying it was "terrifying" when his brother Prince William screamed at him after Harry dropped the bombshell that he and Meghan were leaving.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle look like they teamed up with Kay Jewelers to shoot a commercial ... at least at first glance, but the actors are just dead ringers for the Sussexes.

The TV advertisement has been causing a stir online, with lots of folks saying they thought the man and woman hawking a necklace in the commercial were actually Harry and Meghan ... but it's not them.

The Duke and Duchess doppelgängers nuzzle up against each other before the man places a diamond necklace around her neck and then they share a kiss ... that's Kay's thing, of course.

But, the camera angles, editing and lighting certainly try to make the actors look like the real deal.

Kudos to the production crew, because it's no wonder so many people are doing double takes -- and the timing of Kay's move is no coincidence.

As you know, there's a new six-hour "Harry & Meghan" Netflix docuseries that's super popular right now ... plus, Harry's memoir drops next month.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly want a sit-down with the Royal Family to air out unsettled grievances, in hopes of an apology -- this after not feeling satisfied post-Netflix.

According to The Sunday Times, a source close to the Sussexes says Harry and Meg would very much like a meeting with senior members of the monarchy -- presumably, King Charles, and Prince William -- to tackle issues they just laid out in their series, "Harry & Meghan."

The reason they wanna hash it out once and for all ... this source, cited by The Times, claims they feel short-changed in the accountability department. Namely, they assert the Royals never addressed their problems head-on, nor did they ever own up to anything.

In light of Buckingham Palace moving mountains to make things right with Ngozi Fulani -- who was recently at the center of a race-related scandal at the hands of a high-ranking Royal official -- this source says H and M feel they're owed the same type of courtesy.

There's also the issue of Charles' coronation in May, which The Times says Harry and Meghan are expected to attend -- although, it's unclear by whom. They cite a senior Royal source who says, "If they want to get in touch with the King, they know where he lives."

Apparently, Harry and Megan would like to reach some sort of reconciliation before then ... but it's sounding like an icy one-way street and the feeling isn't mutual. Not only is Charles reportedly taking an aloof approach to the whole thing, but The Times also claims they've been told Will has no plans to speak to his brother for the time being.

The vow of silence is also one that the Royal institution as a whole is planning to maintain now that the Netflix series is over. Despite claims that palace aides and/or staff might've gone out of their way to plant stories about Meghan -- not to mention allegations of racism aimed at their son, Archie -- it seems the Royals are staying out of the mud on this one.

None of the Royals have responded to anything discussed in the special ... they've simply been carrying on with their duties heading into the holidays. If this report is to be believed about Harry and Meghan's wishes, things might come to a head sooner than later.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just dropped some major bombshells, revealing they've been subject to online death threats, nasty infighting with the Royal Family and who they believe was behind their much-publicized miscarriage.

The controversial couple released Volume 2 of their popular Netflix series ... and during the 5th episode Meghan kicked things off by talking about her nightmarish online experiences. She pointed to one horrific message she received ... "Meghan just needs to die. Someone needs to kill her. Maybe it should be me."

In the clip, Meghan responds ... "And I was just like, 'OK.' That's what's actually out in the world because of people creating hate."

The Duchess of Sussex then starts to cry, saying ... "I'm a mom. That's my real life. And that's the piece when you see it and you go, 'You are making people want to kill me. You are making me scared.'"

Meghan adds that she couldn't sleep due to the stress and was frantically looking around the house, worried about the safety of baby Archie and whether the doors were locked in their house.

Turning to Prince Harry ... he discussed a tense meeting he had with the Royal Family over him asking for a "half in, half out" arrangement. Harry made it clear to them that he and Megan no longer wanted full-time palace jobs, but they still wanted to work in support of the Queen. Harry said the Royals quickly dismissed the idea, leading to a HUGE confrontation between him and his brother, Prince William.

"It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that just simply weren't true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in," Harry said, referencing his father and then-Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II.

In the Netflix episode, Harry also blamed Meghan's 2020 miscarriage on the tabloid media, specifically citing the Daily Mail. The couple took legal action against the outlet for publishing a 2019 private letter from Meghan to her dad, Thomas Markle.

"Now, do we absolutely know that the miscarriage was caused, created by that?" Harry said. "Of course we don't, but bearing in mind the stress that that caused, the lack of sleep and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was, I can say from what I saw, that miscarriage was caused by what they were trying to do to her."

King Charles is spreading Christmas cheer for the first time as the UK monarch ... but it comes at the exact moment Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are taking some fresh shots at the royal family.

KC3'S festive, but simple card features a pic of himself and Queen Consort Camilla, wishing recipients "A very Happy Christmas and New Year."

The photo of the King and his wife was taken in Scotland ... just 5 days before Queen Elizabeth II died.

Far less holiday cheerful is the new trailer Charles' youngest son dropped to hype volume 2 of "Harry & Meghan" on Netflix ... which feature's the couple diggin' even deeper into Harry's bloodline.

Looks like they're focusing on the Duke and Duchess fleeing the UK for America ... and they're calling out the royals for "institutional gaslighting." As Harry puts it, "They were happy to lie to protect my brother, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us."

Meghan Markle has someone in her corner besides Prince Harry -- Maren Morris says the wave of hatred for the Duchess makes no sense, especially considering the royal family's recent history.

The singer admits she hasn't seen the "Harry & Meghan" documentary on Netflix yet, but says she has seen "This profound hatred and annoyance at Meghan Markle, specifically, mostly coming from women" ... and she doesn't get it.

Maren unloaded on TikTok, saying ... "People are saying a woman should never take a man away from his family, that’s all that this is. Um, have you seen his family?”

While the new doc has, so far, been light on direct attacks of specific family members, the Sussexes are extremely critical of the royals, as an institution -- blasting it for, at best, unconscious bias ... or, at worst, planting intentional racist attacks against Meghan in the media.

Maren seems to understand exactly why Meghan and Harry dropped their senior royal status and fled to the United States. She pointed out the mistreatment, in her eyes, of King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth's sister Princess Margaret ... and don't get her started on Princess Diana.

Maren says Harry's mother "didn’t leave her children but she left the family.”

Her point here is ... royals have had beef with the family, and some have even left too -- so, why's everyone so bent over Harry and Meghan leaving?

Her theory is, "We are only living in this time of everything being so front-facing and people getting Netflix documentaries, what have you. This all feels very pointed at one woman as it mostly always has in history."

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry beat "the media's out to get us" drum repeatedly in their new Netflix docuseries, but a royal expert says that's kinda rich ... considering how much they need media coverage.

Kinsey Schofield tells TMZ ... Harry and Meghan's claims about the aggressive press surrounding their life came as a shock to her, and sees a clear contrast between them and Princess Diana.

Kinsey sees the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as entertainers, more than members of the royal family at this point ... and thinks all they're doing is trying to deflect hate and get the public on their side.

While Kinsey doesn't think it's working, the jury's still out -- because after volume 1 of "Harry & Meghan" dropped this week, many viewers see the couple's version of their story as pretty charming.

As you know, a big point in the series is about the media's negative takes on the couple ... with Meghan saying, "No matter what I did they were still going to find a way to destroy me."

BBC's Nicholas Witchell called that claim "absurd," despite the countless racist and slanted British tabloid headlines shown in the docuseries.

Kinsey really takes Meghan to task, though, over one controversial moment from the doc -- Meghan's reenactment of her curtsy to Queen Elizabeth.

She saw it as disrespectful, in light of the Queen's death in September, and a scene that should've been left on the cutting room floor.