Real Housewives

Phaedra Parks is standing up for the rapper who got busted for threatening to blow up her office, and believes he was racially profiled by someone in her office building.

Phaedra tells TMZ she considers Drama a good friend, and knew he was going to come by her office last week to drop off his new CD. The 'Real Housewives' star says things started going south though when Drama went to the wrong floor.

According to Phaedra ... Drama demanded to see her, and when the receptionist asked him to leave -- because he wasn't in Phaedra's office -- he refused, and she called security. Here's where it really gets messy.

We spoke to Drama's mother, who says her son told the guard, "I have a bomb CD. It's about to blow up." She says the security guard followed up by asking if he had anything else about to blow up -- and Drama replied, "I got that bomb ass CD in the car" ... referring to a package full of CDs in his vehicle.

Moments later cops descended on the building and evacuated the place. Phaedra thinks whoever called the police just saw a guy in a white t-shirt and baggy pants with gold teeth ... and assumed the worst.

She admits Drama had a poor choice of words, but says that's just the way he speaks -- plus, he thought he was having an innocent convo about his music.

Phaedra Parks has history with the man who allegedly threatened to blow up her law office, because she was once his manager and lawyer ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Terrence Cook -- aka Drama -- tell us Phaedra managed his music career back in 2000 when he was an up-and-coming rapper in Atlanta.

She was also his lawyer in a 2003 robbery case before she was removed as counsel. Cook served 12 years in prison for that case.

We're told after Cook was released from prison in 2015 ... he told friends he was going to Miami to meet up with Phaedra and shoot an episode of 'Real Housewives.' While in Miami, we're told he got seriously injured in a skydiving accident, and has been on the mend since.

Sources close to Cook say he blamed Phaedra for his downfall in life ... including his long prison term, defunct rap career, and skydiving injury. For the record, Bravo says Cook was never invited to shoot a 'Housewives' episode.

As we previously reported -- Cook was arrested Thursday morning when he showed up to what he thought was Phaedra's law office claiming he had a bomb strapped to his leg. Cops said he had an envelope and book, but determined there was no bomb.

A guy claiming he had a bomb strapped to his leg went looking for Phaedra Parks in her Atlanta office Thursday morning -- but he got the wrong building.

Police evacuated the office building the man walked into on Peachtree Road and responded to the scene. According to witnesses he walked in demanding to see Phaedra and said, "I'm not leaving. I've got a bomb."

The 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star -- an entertainment lawyer -- does have an office on Peachtree, but it's a few buildings down from the one the man entered.

Police arrested a suspect. It's not clear if he really did have a bomb.

We don't even know if Phaedra was in her office. She's been in Philadelphia this week.

Story developing ...

Teresa and Joe Giudice's wedding photos are at the center of a legal battle involving their photographer and a reality TV blog.

The wedding photog, Neil Clipper, is suing a NYC-based blog for using a pic from the Giudices' 1999 nuptials -- a shot he says he took, and the site used without his permission.

According to docs obtained by TMZ ... Neil says he owns the rights to the photo which was used for a 'Before They Were Famous' post on the 'Housewives.'

He included the pic in the lawsuit -- Joe and Teresa looked so young and innocent. Of course, Joe is 4 months into a 41-month prison stint for conspiracy to commit wire and bankruptcy fraud.

"The Real Housewives of Toronto" producers allegedly dumped one of their cast members when her pregnancy didn't jibe with their shooting schedule.

Ariane Bellamar -- who's already been on TV as one of the "Beverly Hills Nannies" -- is nearly 9 months along and says the show was excited to have her child birth as a story line for Season 1 of the Canadian spinoff.

That all changed on Friday when her c-section date shifted by a week and ended up conflicting with an all-cast retreat. Ariane says that same day, she got a letter of termination.

Ariane is pissed -- not only about getting dropped -- but about a bunch of risky things she claims producers asked her to do during shoots. You've gotta see her "pump and dump" accusation.

We've reached out multiple times to the show's producers, so far no word back.

NeNe Leakes' streak on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" is finally coming to an end ... at least based on what's NOT been going on during season 9 tapings.

TMZ has learned they've been shooting for weeks now, and NeNe is nowhere in sight.

It seemed like she was possibly coming back to the main cast after being named a guest last season. She's been busy with a HSN clothing line, one woman tour, new game show and a stint on "Fashion Police."

Our 'RHOA' sources tell us producers have added at least one new cast member, and NeNe -- the only remaining OG ATL housewife -- doesn't look to be part of plans going forward.

We're told "guest appearances" are always a possibility, but as of now producers aren't counting on having NeNe.

We suspect Kim Zolciak might have 2 little words for her ole frenemy ...

Brandi Glanville just learned the harsh reality of reality TV ... you lose your show, you lose your pull.

Brandi tried hard to walk over the threshold at The Nice Guy in WeHo Saturday night, but a very judgmental doorman wasn't having it.

The former star of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" waited 15 minutes, trying in vain to convince the guy she was Nice Guy worthy.

Lisa Vanderpump seems to be rejiggering her priorities ... because she's letting her TV career go to the dogs.

We found out Lisa and hubby Ken Todd are opening a dog rescue and adoption center in WeHo. They're locking down a location and plan to break ground in the next few months. We're told it will all be chronicled on 'RHOBH.'

We broke the story ... Lisa held out re-signing for 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' until producers agreed to showcase her work for the LGBT and animal rights communities.

She's becoming downright Oprah-ish.

Kim and Kyle Richards are being sued by a stylist who claims Kim's pit bull viciously attacked her and Kim refused to call 911 unless the woman lied to protect the dog.

Paige Sanderson says in a new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- she went to Kyle's house in April to help Kim dress for a promotional appearance for 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.'

Sanderson says when she saw Kim's pit bull, Kingsley, she became fearful and ran into a bathroom. She says she was assured the dog was docile, so she came out and says Kingsley went ham.

Sanderson says the dog lunged at her, bit and held on to her lower abdomen and crotch, tearing off her leggings and underwear and ripping out portions of flesh.

From there she says it only got worse. According to the lawsuit, Kim refused to call 911 unless Sanderson lied to EMT's by blaming the attack on a stray dog ... not Kingsley.

Kingsley has a history of attacking. The dog bit Kyle's daughter, Alexia, in November 2014, sending her to the hospital. The dog also attacked a dog trainer and an 80-year-old woman.

Lisa Vanderpump is coming back to 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' TMZ has learned, but there are serious strings attached.

Production sources tell us Lisa made some demands, but none had to do with money. She wants 'RHOBH' to showcase her work in the LGBT community. She also wants the show to put a spotlight on the work she does to fight AIDS. And finally she wants publicity for her fight to put a stop to the dog meat market in China.

Lisa Vanderpump may bail on 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to production tell us ... Lisa's the only 'Housewife' who hasn't signed on for a 7th season. She's complained to producers she didn't dig the "negative vibes" last season from castmates who ganged up on her.

She met with producers early last week at Pump, and added a concern -- time. She spends most of it focused on "Vanderpump Rules" as well as operating her 3 restaurants.

And there's more ... Lisa's on a mission to end the dog meat market in China, which also eats into her time.

Kim Zolciak's daughter is following in Mom's footsteps, and we don't mean she got a wig ... instead she's snagged a pro baller.

Sources close to the "Don't Be Tardy" star tell TMZ ... Brielle Biermann is dating Michael Kopech, a 20-year-old pitcher in the Boston Red Sox minor league system.

We're told she and Michael started chatting in March, but things started getting serious recently, meaning they're monogamous now ... a big step for 19-year-old Brielle. It's a long distance thing at this point -- she travels to Salem, VA to see his games, and he comes to Atlanta when he can.

Michael's a tall drink at 6'3'' and 205 pounds, and we're told the family loves the fact he's a gentleman. Which is good for him, since NFL-playing papa Kroy Biermann is also 6'3" ... but 260 lbs.

Dad strength is real, y'all.

Kim Zolciak did not put her daughter on blast by calling her a deadbeat and selling her car to teach her a lesson.

Someone posted on a car sale website that Brielle's 2013 Jeep was up for sale for a reasonable $50k. The seller's description had these choice words, "This car belongs to my lazy daughter Brielle Bierman."

It looks legit enough ... there are even pics of the Jeep in the driveway of the former 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star. One of the photos was taken from the other side of Kim's gate.

We spoke with Kim, who says the Jeep's not for sale and she's looking into the person behind the post.

Yolanda Foster didn't want to be treated like a second class citizen on 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' -- and decided to leave the show rather than be demoted from the main cast ... TMZ has learned.

Foster announced she was leaving the show in an Instagram statement -- and implied that she was fired.

But our production sources say that's not exactly the case ... telling us Yolanda was offered a role as a "friend of the cast" -- which would give her more free time to address her health issues.

We're told Yolanda saw the move as a demotion -- since she was a full-fledged cast member in the past few seasons -- and refused to take a lesser role.

Our sources say Bravo isn't bitter about the split -- and has let Yolanda know she is still welcome to appear on future episodes ... as a friend.

Bethenny Frankel's divorce isn't hurting her bottom line a bit because she's shopping for another NYC crib with "Million Dollar Listing" realtor Fredrik Eklund.

The 'RHONY' star was cruising around Tribeca on Monday, and we're told she's looking for something in the neighborhood of $15 to $30 million.

According to a source, it'd be Bethenny's 4th home in the area! She already owns several NY properties in the city ... and a place in the Hamptons, which she bought for around $2 million.

Her divorce from Jason Hoppy isn't a done deal yet, but Bethenny's still making plans for her fortune.

NeNe Leakes' recent stand-up gig was interrupted by a guy who decided to bust out a seriously raw marriage proposal ... for his gf, not NeNe.

The 'RHOA' star was performing at The Comedy House in Columbia, SC when the smooth audience member handed NeNe a note asking if he could borrow the stage to pop the question.