Reality TV

Blac Chyna is getting some serious law enforcement protection as she battles the Kardashian family in court ... getting a personal escort from Sheriff's Deputies as she navigates the courthouse.

Check out the video, you see Chyna and her team surrounded by at least 3 deputies during a courtroom break Wednesday. Our law enforcement sources tell us it's standard for all parties involved in high-profile cases to be provided security during their trials.

This means the Kardashians have the same protections as Chyna -- including a private room they are taken to during breaks -- and armed security that stand outside the door. There were reports only the family had protections, which clearly isn't the case.

Wednesday's testimony hasn't been as explosive as other days, Corey Gamble and Chyna's former attorney, Walter Mosley, have taken the stand so far.

"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.

Caroline Schwitzky, famous for appearing on ''90 Day Fiancé," survived an alleged murder attempt by her boyfriend after witnesses say he tried to strangle and drown her ... this according to law enforcement.

Officers for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say the alleged murder attempt went down Sunday in West Palm Beach, FL ... where witnesses told police Caroline and Cole Goldberg, whom she says is her boyfriend of 1 year, got into a heated argument on a boat.

According to the report, obtained by TMZ, witnesses told cops Caroline tried to get away from Cole, but he was holding and aggressively grabbing her to keep her onboard. The struggle went on for around 20 minutes, and then Caroline began punching Cole's arms to free herself.

Officers say they were told Caroline eventually managed to break free and jump off the boat, swimming toward a nearby boat. Cole apparently jumped in after her, caught up to her in the water and allegedly tried to push her under.

Witnesses also claimed Cole grabbed Caroline by the throat with both hands, attempting to strangle her while holding her under the water in a rage.

The people who claim they saw it all go down told officers ... they screamed at Cole to stop, to no avail ... he kept holding Caroline underwater.

According to the report, several people from a nearby boat jumped in the water to rescue her. They managed to pull Caroline up and away from Cole, and even used a stick to keep him at bay.

Officers arrested Cole for attempted first-degree murder. He was also hit with a battery charge.

The report says Caroline, a CEO of a Miami talent agency who appeared on "90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?" back in 2016, also had bruises on her arm.

According to jail records, 23-year-old Cole was booked just after midnight Monday and was released a few hours later after posting a $60,000 bond.

Khloe Kardashian just had her time on the stand, revealing she thought Blac Chyna's potentially dangerous behavior could damage the family's brand ... and even made her reconsider continuing to film "Keeping Up with The Kardashians."

Both Khloe and Kim Kardashian testified Tuesday in L.A. During Khloe's testimony, she said wanted to protect her brother from the “outrageous/chaotic/violent behavior" stemming from his relationship with Chyna, adding ... "we were all considering not being a part of such toxicity."

Alleged emails Khloe had sent were also presented, one read, “We are even considering not moving forward with our show if theirs continues, that’s how strongly we feel this is damaging to our family" another email to E!, Khloe mentioned the Rob and Chyna's relationship was potentially hurting the family brand.

BTW, Khloe didn't deny sending the emails, but insisted she was referring to Rob and Chyna's relationship and NOT their show.

Kim's testimony wasn't as exciting, as she said she couldn't remember a lot of the details that were brought up ... but one alleged message she had sent read, "Chyna can never be on her show." Kim clarified that message on the stand, saying her texts are often voice-dictated, and she meant to say "OUR show" ... meaning 'KUWTK.'

Blac Chyna isn't getting a fair shake in her $100 million legal war with the Kardashians over her now-canceled reality show ... so says her good friend, Laura Govan, anyway.

We caught up with the former "Basketball Wives" star Monday at LAX and she thinks the odds were stacked against Chyna winning this case from jump street.

Laura also defended Chyna's lack of contribution to society -- referring to her admission she hasn't paid taxes in years -- saying she's far from the first American to ignore Uncle Sam.

Laura, who shares 3 kids with ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenas, is set to produce and write her upcoming "Co-Parenting" series and thinks Chyna and Rob Kardashian should focus on their daughter's well-being, That said, she does admit this latest saga is fit for primetime TV.

No lack of plot twists, that's for sure -- as we reported, Chyna's requesting a do-over in court because she claims the "revenge porn" portion of the case triggered her PTSD and ruined her testimony.

There's also Kylie's all-but-damning recount of BC allegedly slashing ex-boyfriend Tyga with a knife and sending threatening text messages to Kylie herself.

Blac Chyna wants another shot to go under oath in her case against the Kardashians -- claiming the revenge porn pics shown to her during her time on the stand screwed up her testimony.

The model and influencer's legal team just filed court docs asking the judge to grant her another opportunity to take the stand to testify about her damages claim, and they want all the testimony after she was shown the photos to be stricken from the record.

The reason ... her attorneys argue that the Kardashians' lawyer presenting her nudes to her -- while they were questioning her about the TRO she took out against Rob -- was triggering.

They claim it caused BC to panic and cry on the witness stand, completely derailing the rest of her testimony ... with BC apparently not able to answer basic questions that they say she would've otherwise been able to address without issue. The photos, they claim, left her incredibly emotional ... and she was unable to regain her composure even after a break.

Chyna's team also alleges that introducing the photos at all violated a previous order of the court to prevent just this kind of thing from happening during the trial. With all that in mind, her attorneys say her testimony for that part should be stricken, and that she should get a partial redo to testify about damages.

Now, as for what the Kardashians are saying about this ... their team is calling BS.

Attorneys for the family filed a response to Chyna's request, and they say to allow her to get on the stand again is absolutely ridiculous -- and clearly, a desperate ploy to fix what they say was a "disastrous" day for her, as she apparently floundered under pressure during cross-examination.

They say that the 11 hours she spent on the stand is longer than the total amount of time she was on camera for "Rob & Chyna," which the Kardashians find rich ... since that's what she's suing them over.

Kim Kardashian is calling out her haters after they claimed she photoshopped her belly button out of her latest pic ... finding the entire thing absurd.

Kim reposted a couple of articles on her Instagram Tuesday that talk about an apparently doctored pic -- calling it a "photoshop fail" -- Kim made one thing very clear, her belly button is very much still there, just underneath her SKIMS pants.

She wrote, "Come on guys ... seriously! This is so dumb! Claiming I photoshopped out my belly button????"

Kim then made a joke out of the whole thing, turning it into a SKIMS infomercial, "Belly button insecurities?! Well ... why don't you head on over to skims.com to conceal that saggy belly button of yours with a great pair of high waisted underwear like I did! You're welcome!!!"

The fans' claims come on the heels of Khloe's editing mishap ... she recently had to own up to some shots posted in December that showed her daughter, True, at Disneyland with Kim's kid, Chicago.

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.

Ne-Yo and his wife, Crystal Renay, are as serious as they can be about giving their marriage another go -- TMZ's learned, they just walked down the aisle again, and they did it up big!!!

Witnesses tell TMZ ... Ne-Yo and the former reality star got re-hitched Sunday night on a rooftop at Resorts World in Vegas, exchanging vows and throwing a lavish reception for all their guests.

They had all the bells and whistles, too -- the room was filled with more than 10,000 roses, and we're told it took 3 days to set up. The enormous cake was about 8 feet tall with 4 different flavors!

The guest list included close family and friends like 'RHOA's Nene Leakes, Tammy Rivera from "Love & Hip Hop" and Melody Holt from "Love & Marriage: Huntsville."

And, the night wouldn't be complete without a performance from the singer ... of course, he sang some of his hits and danced along with his renewed bride.

The couple originally tied the knot back in February 2016. The "Sexy Love" singer filed for divorce in March 2020, but quickly withdrew it.

Since then they've been working things out, and Ne-Yo ended up popping the question, for the second time, on New Year's Eve 2020. He's credited the pandemic for saving their marriage.

All that back and forth looks to be a thing of the past for Crystal and her man.

Benzino doesn't appear to have been able to lure 50 Cent into a boxing ring, so he's settling for the next best opponent ... and, apparently, that's Aaron Carter.

Damon Feldman of Celebrity Boxing tells TMZ ... the former pop star is lacing up his gloves again this summer to fight the "Love & Hip Hop" star in the main event. We're told both contracts have been signed ... and they're slugging it out on June 11.

The match is set to go down at the Charles Dodge Center in Pembroke Pines, FL -- and Feldman says BitCoin Rodney is promoting it. Aaron is stepping up for 50 Cent ... whom DF and co. weren't able to book.

Despite the bad blood between Benzino and Fitty -- including the recent back and forth claims of outing attempts and alleged federal snitching -- it doesn't appear 50 was interested in settling their beef with hands ... dude's been mum on their public challenge.

Aaron, however, is coming back for seconds -- you'll recall ... he got pummeled by Lamar Odom last year, where he was greatly outsized. Benzino's also bigger than him, but it sounds like Aaron doesn't care ... and wants his shot to redeem himself.

No word on how much either of these guys is making for going 3 rounds, but ya gotta figure it's a sizable amount for them ... especially if Aaron's coming back after that ass-whoopin'.

Not that "Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" fans would know it, but Bambi Richardson says things are actually pretty cordial between Momma Dee and her for one reason -- R-E-S-P-E-C-T for her husband's mother.

Bambi chopped it up with Raquel Harper on the 'It's Tricky' podcast, opening up about her strained relationship with Lil Scrappy's mom, Momma Dee ... and admitting things aren't always the way they seem on TV.

ICYMI, fans raised an eyebrow when Momma Dee posted a photo at Shay Johnson's baby shower. Shay is Lil Scrappy's ex-gf, so some folks felt Momma Dee attending was "disrespectful" to Scrap's current wife.

In true Momma Dee fashion ... she fired back and, in the process, took some shots at Bambi.

She wrote, "I'm down for who down for me I've never heard bam even give a f*** about what I ate. Send me flowers for my birthday. Give me a greeting card I supposed to leave Shea alone because she's insecure she's f****** insecure and she's dragging my son and my son and I are not even speaking because of her insecurity's I'm done."

That sounds salty AF, but Bambi claims she's never had a problem with Momma Dee having a friendship with Shay. On the contrary, she says there's no issue with Shay and doesn't even know her.

As for why MD went so hard ... Bambi strongly hints her mother-in-law is simply creating drama to make 'L&HH' juicier. In fact, she tells Raq that when the cameras aren't rolling she and Dee are so cool.

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".

The cast of “Selling Sunset” was without its biggest star for the show’s reunion … Christine Quinn missed out thanks to a positive COVID test.

Christine's rep tells TMZ, "Christine tested positive for COVID on Saturday and out of an abundance of caution, she did not attend the reunion." The reunion taped Sunday at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood.

If you’re familiar with the show, Quinn’s an essential part of the storyline, and has been labeled the villain time and time again. Cast member Amanza Smith also revealed she had to miss the reunion because of COVID, but she appeared virtually.

Christine's rep tells us producers offered Quinn the opportunity to video chat in for the reunion, but she declined as she wasn't feeling well enough to do it.

Former MTV 'Making The Band' star Chopper has been busted for sex trafficking ... with law enforcement accusing him of being a pimp.

Chopper was arrested earlier this month in Maryland and he's being extradited to Las Vegas to face sex trafficking charges in Sin City.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, an undercover vice detective in Nevada posing as a sex worker says Chopper direct messaged them on Instagram with an apparent offer to make money through prostitution.

The undercover cop says they searched Chopper's IG account and noticed several posts related to prostitution and pimping, including posts where Chopper flaunted wealth and made references to being a pimp ... including one image of him inside a plane with a phone alongside the caption, "Sending em," with a money bag and crown emoji.

In the docs, the undercover cop says they launched an investigation into Chopper after seeing social media evidence of a potential sex trafficking operation.

The undercover says Chopper called them and bragged about frequent travel and having 7 homes across the country, including one in Las Vegas, while also telling the undercover Sin City was not a safe place to do business because law enforcement was cracking down.

What's more, the undercover says they had a phone interview with Chopper and after passing the test, Chopper told them he would make them part of his "team" and "stable."

The undercover says Chopper then became aggressive with them over the phone, ordering them around like he might do to a sex worker, telling them to pack their belongings, get to the airport and meet him in Charlotte, N.C. to join his "stable."

From there, the undercover says they stalled by telling Chopper they were scared to leave home ... with Chopper trying to verbally force them to make the trip, getting angry and demanding a $2,000 fee.

Between the alleged social media posts, direct messages, phone calls and fee demand ... the undercover says there was then enough evidence to arrest and charge Chopper with felony sex trafficking.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson certainly like to spend time together -- case in point ... attending a major event in our nation's capital, in lockstep.

The couple was just two of many celebs on hand Sunday night at the Kennedy Center in D.C., where Jon Stewart was being honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ... the first time in a few years it's been awarded.

As you can see, they were looking on attentively in matching black outfits.

Others A-listers in attendance included ... Steve Carell, Jimmy Kimmel, Samantha Bee, Dave Chappelle, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Ed Helms and others. Even Bruce Springsteen was there to do a little ditty for JS.

Of course, tons of politicians showed face as well -- such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, White House Press Sec. Jen Psaki and more.

As for Kim and Pete ... like we said, they're two peas in a pod these days when it comes to big events. They were shoulder-to-shoulder during the premiere of the new Kardashians show, and here they are again in another high-profile outing.