Scandal

Ben Stein's not going to pile on Roseanne after her racist tweet got her show canceled -- in fact ... he sympathizes and believes her claim that Ambien made her do it.

The "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" actor was leaving Mr Chow in Bev Hills Friday night when he got asked about the Roseanne debacle ... he says it's not her fault and he feels sorry for her.

Unlike many other celebs, Stein doesn't think Barr's a racist but was just screwed up from her medicine ... and seems upset people are being mean to her.

As we reported ... ABC canned "Roseanne" shortly after her racist tweet went viral, but she claimed her comment was Ambien-induced. Ambien quickly denounced that.

Morgan Freeman has issued a second statement, responding to allegations he sexually harassed a number of women, this time saying the incidents were "misplaced compliments or humor" and not sexual assault ... and now one of the women is calling out CNN for unfairly suggesting she's a victim.

Freeman says, "I am devastated that 80 years of my life is at risk of being undermined, in the blink of an eye." He goes on ... "It is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced compliments or humor."

Freeman does apologize, saying he will "continue to apologize to anyone I might have upset, however unintentionally."

Pauly D is calling for MERCY for Tristan Thompson ... saying Khloe Kardashian should give the dude a second chance after getting caught cheating on her during her pregnancy.

"OHHHHH," Pauly told us while outside 1 OAK in Hollywood ... "He got caught up there!"

He certainly did ... footage of Tristan motorboating, kissing and messin' around with other women (not named Khloe) surfaced this week as Khloe is getting ready to give birth to their kid.

Still, Pauly says he hopes Tristan gets another shot to be the faithful baby daddy Khloe wants.

The Kardashians are more rest stop than destination ... so says Tony Rock who says NO ONE should be surprised Tristan Thompson cheated on Khloe.

"Everybody cheats on the Kardashians," Tony told us outside the Laugh Factory ... "You just smash a couple times and you get out!"

Guessing Tony's referring to past K-squad dudes like Lamar Odom and Scott Disick. Kim Kardashian famously told Jennifer Lawrence she was cheated on, too, but didn't call out the cheater by name.

"Who's been loyal to a Kardashain?" Rock added ... "Like for real?"

Terry Crews has agreed to take a mental health exam in connection with his sexual assault lawsuit against an agent he claims groped him at a party.

Lawyers for WME filed a stipulation in Crews' civil lawsuit. The stipulation says the exam will take 7 hours and it names a doctor who was mutually agreed upon.

According to the docs, the exam will include a "comprehensive psycho-social and medical history and the administration of mental status testing and psychological testing."

Columbus Short is going to jail for several months after pleading no contest to hitting his current wife ... TMZ has learned.

The ex-"Scandal" star entered his plea Friday in L.A. after getting arrested back in November. According to prosecutors he hit Aida Abramyan during an argument. Short was sentenced to 36 months probation and domestic violence education.

However, he was already on probation for a 2014 bar fight where he knocked out a guy. He got the year in jail for violating probation.

5:30 PM PT -- Roy Moore has denied Beverly's allegation, going so far as to say he doesn't even know her or know anything about her.

A new accuser of Republican Roy Moore says the U.S. Senate candidate once tried to force her to perform oral sex on him when she was just 16 years old.

Beverly Young Nelson appeared at a press conference Monday in NYC alongside attorney Gloria Allred to make the accusation, tearing up and crying throughout.

Nelson says she was a waitress in Alabama between 1976 and '77, and that Moore -- then the D.A. of their county -- was a regular, and that he would flirt with her. In December of '77, Nelson says Moore signed her yearbook, and then offered a ride home after her shift.

Instead of driving her home, though, she says Moore pulled around behind the restaurant and began groping her breasts, before he allegedly grabbed her neck and tried to force her head toward his crotch.

Nelson says she resisted, and Moore ultimately gave up. She says he kicked her out his car and told her not to tell anyone since no one would believe her.

The guy replacing Kevin Spacey in a movie that's supposed to be released in about a month is surprisingly at ease about pulling off an unprecedented cinematic move.

We got Christopher Plummer Sunday in NYC where he was attending the premiere of one of his own upcoming flicks, and asked if it was a difficult decision to accept the role in Ridley Scott's "All the Money in the World," after Spacey got the ax last week.

From the way Chris responds, it doesn't sound like he has any qualms about taking the gig away, even though he was mum on reaching out to the beleaguered actor.

As for that looming release date of December 22 -- Chris might as well have quoted OutKast ... ain't no thang.

Rick Santorum says Hollywood turned a blind eye to sexual misconduct for decades, and that it's no better than D.C. ... even if it likes to pretend it is today.

We got the former U.S. Senator Sunday where we asked about the torrent of sexual harassment allegations coming out in Tinseltown lately, and how they compare to similar scandals in D.C. -- like Republican Roy Moore's alleged pursuit of an underage girl.

Santorum seems to welcome the cleansing, so to speak. But he doesn't mince words about the sudden shock and appall on Hollywood's end ... where A-listers are being excommunicated left and right.

Louis C.K. is being accused of sexual misconduct -- 5 women claim he either masturbated in front of them, asked to expose himself, or masturbated on the phone with them.

The women went on the record with the New York Times, saying the alleged behavior goes back at least a decade. Courteney Cox and David Arquette confirmed they were notified of one alleged incident -- an actress on a show they were producing claimed C.K. asked if he could masturbate in front of her.

Cox told the NYT, "What happened to Rebecca [Corry] on that set was awful." Corry stayed on the show, "The MidNightly News" ... C.K. was only a guest star.

C.K.'s rep declined to comment to the NYT. We've reached out, too.

C.K. canceled the Thursday night premiere of his new movie, "I Love You, Daddy." The film features a character who pretends to masturbate at length in front of other people.

Two actors who starred on Shonda Rhimes shows are now officially single ... TMZ has learned.

Liza Weil and Paul Adelstein's divorce has been finalized more than a year after the original filing. Liza stars on "How to Get Away with Murder" and Paul's on "Scandal."

According to divorce docs, obtained by TMZ, Liza and Paul's divorce was signed off by a judge this week after they privately came to terms in August. The details of those terms were not disclosed.

As we reported ... Liza had requested joint custody of their 5-year-old daughter, and they were planning to deal with spousal support in mediation. Weil and Adelstein split after 10 years of marriage.

That's how you get away with a scandal-free divorce.

Terry Crews walked out of LAPD's Hollywood Division with resolve to go after a powerful Hollywood agent for sexual assault.

Crews told our photog he plans to file a civil lawsuit as well as pursue criminal charges.

Sources tell TMZ the person Crews named on the police report is Adam Venit, who heads up the motion picture group at William Morris Endeavor. Venit has been placed on leave while WME investigates.

Crews says the agent groped him last year at a Hollywood function. There are reports Venit was "wedgie-ing" people at the party as a prank.

Portia de Rossi claims Steven Seagal put her on the casting couch in his office during an audition -- and she's also blasting her then-agent for a callous and nonchalant reaction.

Portia says the incident happened during her final audition for a part in one of Seagal's movies -- she does not say which one. She alleges the action star told her "how important it was to have chemistry off-screen as he sat me down and unzipped his leather pants."

She says the next bombshell came when she ran out of the office and called her agent. According to Portia's tweet, her female agent only said, "Well, I didn't know if he was your type."

That makes it seem like whenever this happened, it was before 2005 ... when Portia came out. It also hints at premeditation if, in fact, her agent was aware Seagal intended to make the vulgar move.

We've reached out to Seagal's reps.

Kevin Spacey allegedly stuck his hand down an 18-year-old man's pants and grabbed his genitals after getting him drunk in 2016.

Former Boston TV news anchor, Heather Unruh, made the explosive allegations at a news conference Tuesday ... and revealed the 18-year-old family member she referred to is her straight son, now 19 and a college sophomore.

Unruh -- flanked by her daughter and lawyer Mitchell Garabedian -- claims her son was star-struck when she saw him at The Club Car Restaurant on Nantucket Island in July 2016. She says her son eventually met Spacey, who then allegedly bought him drinks and pounced when her son was drunk. Unruh also shared how her son literally ran away from the encounter thanks to an unknown woman's help.

Unruh's son, she said, handed over evidence to the Nantucket Police Department last week ... triggering a criminal investigation. Garabedian said the civil and criminal case is within the statute of limitations in Massachusetts and he plans to reach out to Spacey's legal team.

Joan Collins has seen it all and says she's been a repeated victim of sexual harassment over the years, and she names the worst offender.

The 84-year-old went to dinner Tuesday night at Craig's in WeHo, and told our photog it's a mistake to only focus on Hollywood, because sexual harassment is rampant everywhere ... especially in the fashion industry and politics.

Joan says the men who came on to her never got their way, but she doesn't say how she fended them off.

Jared Fogle's clearly made at least one friend in prison ... because a jailhouse lawyer wants to get him out.

Jared's pal, Frank Edwin Pate, filed legal docs to say there's no proof Jared traveled to engage in sex with a minor. The docs, obtained by TMZ, say therefore the 15-year prison sentence the judge handed down should be thrown out.

Frank, btw, is 2 years into a 210-month prison sentence for fraud. So, not exactly Clarence Thomas here. Besides, there's no need for the court to prove anything ... since, y'know, Jared pled guilty to traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

Fogle's lawyer, Ron Elberger, tells TMZ he's still working with Fogle. As for Frank Pate, Elberger says, "It's not an uncommon practice for jailhouse lawyers to assist" fellow inmates.