Paparazzi

Alec Baldwin just played the, "I have a gay friend" card ... putting his male hairdresser on the spot in front of reporters to vouch for his non-homophobia.

It's shameless, it's desperate ... and quite frankly, it's sad.

It reeks of "dance monkey, dance" ... with Alec asking him straight up -- "Am I a homophobe?"

The guy replied, "Yes, bigtime" ... but it's clear he's joking.

Afterward, we spoke with the hairdresser, who's openly gay, and he told us, "I don’t think he’s homophobic. I don’t at all. Whenever he is in here, we are always talking and cutting hair. He booked an appointment for today, he always does and he is a good tipper.”

The Alec Baldwin meltdown continues -- the actor just shoved another photographer ... and then smacked a camera out of the guy's hand and once again, it was all caught on tape.

The footage begins near Alec's Manhattan apartment (after Alec's confrontation with a local news reporter) ... and shows Alec pushing a photog.

After the photog collects himself, Alec lunges back at him and smacks the camera out of his hand ... knocking it to the ground.

The photog goes back to Alec and says, "You shoved me into a car."Alec responds, "You tried to hit me with a camera."

Photog: "I didn't try to hit you with a camera."

Alec then tells the guy, "You take a walk ... you don't wanna get hurt, do ya?"

Alec Baldwin is finally admitting (and even apologizing) for spewing a homophobic slur at a photog in NYC yesterday ... but shockingly, the slur he's copping to is NOT the F-bomb.

Late last night, Baldwin went to Twitter and wrote, "Rich Ferraro from @glaad informs me that c'sucker is an anti-gay epithet. In which case I apologize and will retire it from my vocabulary."

Of course, Baldwin's referring to the incident outside of his Manhattan apartment ... when he called a photog a "c**ksucking f*g."

Funny, Alec is ADAMANT the F-word he used was "fathead" and NOT "f*g" ... even though you can hear it clear as day in the footage, which we posted on TMZ.

A rep for GLAAD has also issued a statement ... saying, "Mr. Baldwin can’t lend his support for equality on paper, while degrading gay people in practice. It's clearly time he listens to the calls from so many LGBT people and allies to end this pattern of anti-gay slurs."

7:55 AM PT -- Anderson Cooper has also weighed in ... tweeting, "Wow, Alec Baldwin shows his true colors yet again. How is he going to lie and excuse his anti-gay slurs this time?"

Jennifer Love Hewitt's fiance won't face criminal charges after allegedly attacking a paparazzo in September -- TMZ has learned, the L.A. County City Attorney has declined to prosecute.

Sources at the City Attorney's office tell us, battery charges won't be filed against 34-year-old Brian Hallisay due to lack of sufficient evidence.

As we reported, a pap filed a battery report against Hallisay following the incident outside Toscana in Brentwood, claiming JLH's fiance attacked him while leaving the restaurant. During the melee, the photog claims his camera hit him in the face near his eye.

Alec Baldwin is on the Twitter attack, claiming he did NOT call a reporter a "c**ksucking f*g" earlier today ... he called him a "c**ksucking fathead."

Baldwin wrote, "Acoustic analysis proves the word is fathead. Fathead ... Anti-gay slurs are wrong. They not only offend, but threaten hard fought tolerance of LGBT rights."

Watch the video and decide for yourself.

Alec Baldwin is a sore winner ... chasing down and threatening a photographer outside his Manhattan apartment ... just hours after a courtroom victory this morning in his stalker case ... and the whole thing was captured on video.

The video shows Baldwin -- who was with his wife and baby -- taking off in angry pursuit after the pap (not ours) ... yelling, cursing and calling him a "c**ksucking f*g."

But watch what sets him off ... the photog ventures VERY close to Baldwin's family.

Kim Kardashian was just pulled over on an L.A. freeway -- and it caused total pandemonium.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Kim was pulled over for speeding while trying to evade multiple cars driven by paparazzi (not TMZ).

According to sources, the paps (roughly 5 cars total) had been chasing after Kim, and once she was pulled over, they jumped out of their cars IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY to snap photos of Kim in her car ... resulting in tons of traffic.

We're told a paparazzi helicopter was even hovering overhead.

And police are PISSED -- our law enforcement sources are saying the paps endangered multiple lives with their risky photography, including Kim's, other drivers on the road, and the officers involved.

We're told the California Highway Patrol cited one photog for speeding and the rest got away. According to sources, the CHP is now looking into the incident further to see if the case can be sent for further prosecution. As one source said, "They're not getting away with this."

Part of Tom Cruise's lawsuit against two tabloids reads like one of his spy movies -- with Tom's publicity team accusing Katie Holmes of espionage ... as in working directly with the tabs to publish stories skewering Tom as a horrible father.

In emails to Tom's legal team ... his publicist Amanda Lundberg fingers specific people in Katie's camp -- including publicists and hair/makeup people -- for feeding stories to "In Touch."

Amanda accuses her #1 suspect of "speaking to the press constantly. She is the one saying -- K[atie] is disciplinarian and T[om] is spoiling and so on."

Amanda also directly accuses Katie's publicist, saying ... "leslee sloan [sic] calls the paparazzi every time K gets ready to leave the building as the doormen are always surprised how they suddenly show up when she is about to leave."

The emails were submitted as part of Tom's $50 million suit against the publisher of "In Touch" and "Life & Style" ... for allegedly defaming him with headlines about him abandoning Suri after the divorce.

Tom's publicist Amanda also emailed Katie's people directly, accusing them of remaining silent about a story that claimed Tom broke a promise to Suri. In the email, Amanda demands ... "Can you guys comment and deny this as we all know this is not true."

At the end of the email Amanda begs ... "Help?!!!"

In short, Tom's people are bitching that Katie's people play dirty pool ... allegedly planting negative stories ... or refusing to blunt the ones they know to be false.

Truth is ... this kinda thing happens every day behind the scenes in Hollywood.

Kanye West insists he's not guilty of battering a photographer outside LAX in July.

Kanye's lawyer Blair Berk entered the not guilty plea on the rapper's behalf this morning in court. Attorney Gloria Allred was present representing the photographer Daniel Ramos ... and spoke outside the court afterward.

As we previously reported, Kanye was charged with criminal battery and attempted grand theft after allegedly attacking the photog at the airport and grabbing the guy's camera.

If convicted of both misdemeanors ... Kanye faces a maximum of 1 year in jail.

The photographer has also sued Kanye in civil court for assault and battery.

Lamar Odom just dodged a bullet -- he will NOT be prosecuted for damaging a photog's gear ... provided he keeps his nose clean and gets help with his anger issues.

TMZ has learned ... Lamar went to the L.A. City Attorney's Office Monday for an office hearing, along with his lawyer, Shawn Holley. A hearing officer told Lamar he would NOT be prosecuted for vandalism, provided that he pay for the damaged equipment. He was also told if he broke the law within a year's time from when the incident happened ... criminal charges would be filed.

Sources connected with Lamar tell TMZ ... he also agreed to get anger management counseling.

A topless paparazzo might have the most valuable breasts in NYC -- TMZ has learned, the City of New York has agreed to pay her $40,000 ... after police arrested her for baring her bazoombas in public.

As we reported, 46-year-old Holly Van Voast -- who regularly prowls the streets, topless, looking for celebs -- sued NYC and the NYPD, claiming officers had no legal right to arrest her for going boobs-out.

In the suit, H.V.V. claimed she's been arrested or detained at least ten times since 2011 for being topless in public, despite toplessness (male or female) being perfectly legal in NYC. Seriously, look it up.

Now, Voast has emerged the victor -- NYC has agreed to fork over a $40,000 settlement.

Lamar Odom just fired back at the paparazzo who sued him for assault ... claiming the whole allegation is B.S.

Lamar claims the photog -- Stefan Saad "provoked [Lamar's] unlawful and wrongful conduct."

TMZ obtained the answer Lamar just filed -- courtesy of his lawyer, Shawn Holley -- and he says it would be unjust for Saad to get a penny from him.

The incident that triggered the lawsuit occurred on July 10, when Lamar confronted Saad who was questioning him about having an alleged affair. Lamar took the photog's equipment from his car and threw it into his own car. Lamar drove a few blocks and then tossed the equipment into the street.

Christina Applegate's husband was mercilessly hounded by a paparazzo -- and may have gotten annoyed enough to reach out and smack the guy.

As TMZ first reported ... Porno for Pyros bassist Martyn LeNoble was briefly detained by police after a weekend incident where a freelance pap (not one of TMZ's) accused him of getting physical.

LeNoble told cops he was trying to stop the photog from shooting his family during their daughter's birthday party -- when the guy challenged him to a fight in a back alley.

The photog's own video backs that up, as he tells Martyn ... "Let's fight over there. Let's go to the alley. Let's see if you're a man."

Look, the paparazzo is clearly being an antagonistic jerk ... but LeNoble does appear to smack the guy's camera at some point.

Christina Applegate's rock star husband was detained by police in Studio City yesterday after allegedly roughing up a photog ... but the Porno for Pyros bassist insists the pap crossed the line by taking photos of his child.

The video begins with rocker Martyn LeNoble being approached by police on a street corner in broad daylight -- he was detained, and patted down.

LeNoble -- who was not handcuffed and not arrested -- then begins to tell his side of the story ... insisting a paparazzo (not a TMZ guy) tried shooting photos of his wife and 2-year-old daughter at a birthday party.

LeNoble says, "I went outside to talk to him and he got physical with me ... he wouldn't back off."

At one point, LeNoble says the pap challenged him to a fight in a back alley -- saying, "Let's see what kind of man you are."

Eventually, LeNoble was released and sent on his way without further incident ... though it sounds like he may try to take legal action against the snapper.

Celebs are clearly drawing a line in the sand about kids and it's creating a lot of issues, because there are some photographers that are not backing down.

Dear paparazzi: It may be okay to talk to Kanye West again ... at least based on this incredible video of KW chatting up photogs at a gas station.

What's amazing is that Kanye not only talked to a few paps ... he joked with them while filling up his Lambo today in Calabasas -- and then launched into an explanation for why he went ballistic on that photog at LAX back in July.

Yeezy claims Daniel Ramos set him up by antagonizing him ... and it just happened to go down right after he learned his grandfather was dying.

Kanye's been charged with criminal battery and attempted grand theft for the incident.

But there's a ton more he talks about ... like being fearful his daughter will have to deal with the media frenzy that follows him. He even tells the paps, "We in this together."