Reality TV

Cutting ties with Carole Baskin didn't necessarily work out for her ex-husband or Joe Exotic -- but a Baskin-Robbins shop is cashing in by doing exactly that.

Peggy Heldstab, owner of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in Junction City, Kansas, tells TMZ ... it was her son's idea to slap the "No Relation to Carole Baskin" sign on her store's marquee sign. She says her son and his wife saw the popular Netflix documentary 'Tiger King' and are huge fans ... hence the suggestion for the sign.

She says her son swore the sign would be especially appreciated right now with the popularity of the doc ... coupled with the thousands of memes, songs and dances that have sprung up, with most of them taking shots at Carole Baskin.

But get this ... Peggy says she had never heard of 'Tiger King,' but took her son's word for it because he insisted the sign would cheer people up. He wasn't lying. The sign's exploded all over social media, and that's translated extremely well for the cash register.

We're told Peggy put up the sign Sunday and that very same day sales doubled compared to the day before. What's more ... the shop drew tons of attention from fans driving by waving and honking in approval of the sign. Her son was right, and business (carry-out/DoorDash only) has been great ever since.

As most small business owners can relate, Peggy says she was worried about her business with stay-at-home orders, and business doesn't get any easier when it's trying to make up for any stalled business during the cold months. And, that's why the Carole Baskin sign couldn't have come at a better time.

As for corporate reaching out to her shop to give her its 2 cents ... Peggy says not a peep. She says she's able to make sign decisions independently. And, in case you're wondering ... Peggy says she's now a few episodes into 'Tiger King.'

Chad Johnson's ready to unleash his Johnson ... he says he's going into porn.

The 'Bachelorette' bad boy tells TMZ ... he's moving to Sin City soon to buy a house and build his own porn studio. As for who he's partnering up to do all this with ... the ex-GF he claimed last month tried ruining his life, Annalise Mishler.

Chad tells us he's moving to Vegas in a month or so as soon as he finds a huge house there. He says it's way easier and more affordable to fly people into Vegas where he'll have lots of bedrooms and a studio room for others looking to get into OnlyFans-style content.

Chad, as we told you last month, pimped his OnlyFans account when we wanted to get a straight answer whether he's back with Annalise or not after all their drama.

Before this news of Chad's new porn mansion was first reported by Daily Mail, you'll recall, Annalise claimed an argument in late February turned physical. Chad was arrested and charged with 6 misdemeanors stemming from his domestic violence arrest. Chad vehemently denied putting his hands on her.

But, it didn't end there. Cops made a welfare check at Chad's pad after he posted a disturbing picture hinting at suicide.

Joe Exotic uttered the famous line, "I am never gonna financially recover from this," on 'Tiger King' ... which is probably how the owner of one of Joe's flamboyant shirts feels after he got hoodwinked on eBay.

It was almost official -- the pink sequin button-up top Joe wore on episode 2 of the Netflix docuseries closed on the auction site Friday at $10,400 after receiving 43 bids from 21 bidders. The opening bid was $650 on April 12, but things really escalated in the final 2 days.

That probably should have been a red flag, as the shirt's seller, Vincent Baran, tells TMZ ... the winner of the auction claims he was hacked and not bidding himself, and will not be paying for the shirt.

Baran's still hoping to turn a big profit on the item, though ... he's now re-listed the piece of Exotic memorabilia at a buy-now price of $10,300 -- or best offer -- until May 17.

We broke the story ...  Vince told us he came across the Exotic artifact when he noticed Joe's old stomping grounds, The Greater Wynnewood (G.W.) Zoo, was selling several of his shirts on Facebook.

Baran says he managed to buy the pink shirt from Joe's ex-business partner -- Jeff Lowe, who now runs the zoo -- for just $100, and he was initially hoping to get $650 or more for it ... based on what some other Joe Exotic wardrobe items have sold for online.

So, cashing out at above $10k would have been an unprecedented new high -- that's enough to buy a few tigers cubs, after all -- and as the saying goes ... if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Good luck, Vince.

Before Joe Exotic was known to the world as the Tiger King, he desperately tried his hand at being a "Wolf King" ... but he got dethroned after a very short reign.

TMZ's learned Joe Exotic got his hands on 28 gray wolves back in early 2018 after a so-called "petting zoo" in Minneapolis was forced to give up the animals following an unfavorable ruling at trial over a lawsuit alleging it violated the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund was behind that lawsuit ... and it didn't take long before the ALDF had Joe in its crosshairs. Christopher Berry, the ALDF attorney behind the lawsuit, tells TMZ ... he fired off a legal letter to Joe accusing him of also violating that law.

The letter accuses Joe of transporting the wolves from Minnesota to Oklahoma, which is one of the ESA violations because it's against federal law to transport protected animals across state lines without a permit.

The lawyer also accused Joe of trying to sell protected animals ... Berry pointed out the commercial sale of a protected animal violates federal law. Berry also alleged Joe tried to sell at least 4 wolf pups on social media.

And, get this ... Berry offered to resolve the issue amicably, but Joe wasn't having it. Berry tells us a few days after Joe received the letter, Joe was pissed off to the point he called Berry and chewed him out in a profanity-laced rant ... denying he broke any laws.

We're told, Joe ultimately admitted trying to get a handle on wolves proved way more challenging than he anticipated. One example ... the wolves often clawed out of their enclosures and ran amok at Joe's G.W. Exotic Animal Park.

Berry says Joe ultimately turned the wolves over to Lockwood Animal Rescue Center ... an animal protection org. in Ventura, CA. After complying with Berry's letter, we're told the ALDF took no further legal action against Joe.

As for how Joe's facility got selected to receive the wolves ... we're told the Minnesota petting zoo was desperate to find the wolves new homes, but irresponsibly sent 28 of the as many as 60 wolves to Joe, who clearly was not equipped to care for them.

But, just when ya think there's a happy ending ... think again. Berry says only 25 of the 28 wolves at Joe's facility were transferred to Lockwood. He says one of the wolves died from an infection at Joe's park. As for the two remaining wolves ... they went MIA and no one ever figured out what happened to them.

Then again, Joe Exotic's been accused of heinous acts against animals.

May 9. May 16. May 23.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's ALL THE WAY DOWN to fight 3 Saturdays in a row -- as long as it gets him the title fight he's been craving.

Remember, Woodley was supposed to fight Leon Edwards on March 21st -- but the fight was scrapped due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, Tyron says he's been busting his ass to stay in fight shape so he can get back into the octagon as soon as the UFC gets back in business.

Now, Woodley says he's so fired up about going back to work, he's daydreaming about ways get his welterweight championship belt back from Kamaru Usman ASAP ... even if it means fighting 3 weeks in a row.

Tyron spells the whole thing out on "The Hollywood Beatdown" -- saying he's already been in contact with the UFC to try and get on the May 9th card.

And with most sports shut down around the world, Tyron thinks the opportunity to get on a major UFC card would be HUGE.

If he pulls off "back to back to back" victories, Tyron says he would HAVE to be recognized as the UFC G.O.A.T.

"Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" stars Kirk Frost and Rasheeda are laughing off rumors he adopted her as a teenager and then married her when she was 17 ... and calling out wannabe Internet sleuths they say got it all wrong.

The couple addressed the allegations together in a mocking tone, with Kirk saying he normally doesn't answer "stupid s**t" but felt compelled to do so this time ... probably because some people were buying into it.

Here's some background -- Kirk and Rasheeda have a tumultuous relationship history, but they've made it work and recently celebrated 20 years together ... which has been a big story on 'LHHATL.'

A twitter user took that 20-year timeline and accused Kirk -- without any evidence -- of adopting Rasheeda when she was 15, having relations with her as her parent when she was a minor, and getting married when she was 17 and he was 30. The tweet also compared him to R. Kelly.

Adding fuel to the gossip is the fact Rasheeda's listed age on the Internet is 37, so if they've been together for 20 years ... well, do the math.

Here's the thing ... Rasheeda responded to the tweet with a flat denial, saying she didn't even know Kirk when she was 15 and "wasn't thinkin bout gettin married @ 17."

In the video, Kirk makes it clear he never adopted Rasheeda and denies marrying a minor ... and they both strongly suggest their ages listed online are inaccurate.

Matt Simmons, the star of Animal Planet's docuseries "Wolves and Warriors" got busted for allegedly hoarding a massive cache of guns and ammo ... a big no-no for convicted felons.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Ventura County Sheriff's deputies served a search warrant Monday at Simmon's home for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. We're told cops detained Simmons as he drove away from his residence, and deputies found a loaded .45 caliber handgun in his car and more guns and ammo in his home.

Our sources say deputies discovered 14 firearms inside Simmons' residence, including assault rifles, a sawed-off shotgun and thousands of rounds of ammo.

We're told Simmons is a convicted felon, meaning he's prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms or ammo.

Our sources say Simmons was arrested on a slew of charges ... including felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of an assault weapon, carrying a concealed firearm within a vehicle, carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle, unlawful transfer of a firearm, and possession of substance, material, or any combination with intent to make any destructive device/explosive.

We're told Narcotics and Gangs Units assisted Ventura County Sheriffs in serving the warrant, as well as California State Parks.

Joe Exotic was a master magician with a huge bag of tricks, according to his old magic promos -- but of course, he still couldn't make Carole Baskin disappear.

TMZ's obtained some never-before-seen footage of Joe's old magic show ... from a 6-minute highlight reel. The promo was never intended for the public, but for the venues where Joe booked his high-paying gigs.

As you know, the 'Tiger King' star had a traveling tiger and magic show in addition to his zoo, and he made tons of stops at malls, shopping centers and theaters across the country ... before Carole got involved.

Joe's promo is everything you would expect from the entertainment genius ... it's called, "Mystical of The Endangered," and it shows Joe performing magic with tons of exotic beasts.

There's sword tricks, pyrotechnics, a mime, vanishing, illusions and lots and lots of animals ... tigers, snakes and parrots, oh my!

JP Wilson, the magician from 'Tiger King,' tells TMZ ... he met Joe back in 2004 during a magic show in Norman, OK where Joe supplied him with a tiger. JP says Joe was so impressed with his magic, Exotic brought him on tour.

Eventually, Joe wanted to be the magician and JP says he taught him some tricks. Joe and JP worked together for years, until Carole and the animal rights folks shut down Joe's traveling performances.

JP says he remained close with Joe and would visit the zoo a couple times a year, even sponsoring a tiger at one point.

The wildest part ... JP firmly believes if Carole and the animal rights people didn't get Joe's traveling show shut down, and cut off his main source of income, Joe wouldn't have been forced into breeding tigers.

Long before Ed Brown was a star of "90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days," he was just a young man striking a GQ-esque pose at a zoo ... he tells us so himself.

Brown -- AKA "Big Ed" -- confirms with TMZ ... a viral photo that began circulating on social media this weekend is indeed him, way back in 1988.

Big Ed tells us he was on his second date with his now ex-wife at the San Diego Zoo when the pic of him -- looking tan and serious in all-white duds -- was snapped.

He says he thinks the photo was swiped from his private Facebook page, and someone posted it.

Here he is circa 1995 -- striking a very similar pose -- while working at an El Torito in Southern California. He says he got a job there while he was earning his Master's in architecture.

If you aren't familiar, Big Ed's relationship with his Filipina GF, Rose, has been a hot-button topic on this season of '90 Day Fiance' ... for a number of reasons.

He tells us it's done wonders for his photography business though. Ed says he's received requests from people all over the world asking him to shoot with them ... everything from family photos to model shots.

"Love Is Blind" star Carlton Morton is playing a game of love-ya-today, trash-ya-tomorrow with his one-time fiancee, which is why she's kicked him to the curb ... for good.

Diamond Jack tells TMZ why she recently took the extreme measure of blocking Carlton on social media. He's been barking about it on his page, as he openly pines for her to take him back. She says there's a pretty simple reason for her cutting him off.

Diamond says Carlton was all hugs and smiles with her during the reunion episode, but as soon as cameras stopped rolling ... she claims he turned into Mr. Hyde, and allegedly started bad-mouthing her online and threatening her with legal action.

That was enough for Diamond to completely ax him from her feed. But, there's a bigger reason she thinks he's allegedly been flip-flopping, and it has to do with the forthcoming second season -- which we already know Carlton is openly lobbying to join.

As we reported, the casting call for a new season has already gone out -- and producers are prodding about sexual orientation this time around.

Makes sense, seeing how Carlton's bisexuality utterly blew up his and Diamond's relationship during Season 1.

Speaking of that, Diamond weighs in on the new screening question for the new batch of pod-people. Basically, she sees it as a pivot from a lesson learned more than anything else.

The biggest mystery in Netflix's 'Tiger King' is whether Don Lewis was murdered and, if so, who did him in.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister tells TMZ, he's convinced one person could NOT have committed the 1997 murder ... he says someone must have helped and someone got paid.

Although Hillsborough says Don's wife, Carole Baskin, is NOT a suspect or person of interest, he tells us he's suspicious of her and he's also suspicious of others. Watch FOX Monday night at 9 PM for our special, "TMZ Investigates, Tiger King: What Really Went Down?" He explains exactly why he's suspicious.

The Sheriff's looking for someone to come forward -- maybe someone who helped who wants to clear his or her conscience -- and spill the beans.

Sheriff Chronister also makes it clear ... he's willing to deal with anyone who has info, and immunity is on the table.

Carole has strongly maintained she had nothing to do with Don's disappearance.