TV

American songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi was in her late 30s when she was a judge on the popular singing competition show "American Idol" back in 2010 -- and made headlines when she flashed her bikini bod during the season 8 finale.

Sitting smack-dab in the middle of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul ... DioGuardi's time on "American Idol" came to an end after season 9, but she continued to make moves ... like signing Jason Derulo and landing herself as head judge on Bravo's singing competition show "Platinum Hit" in 2011.

Keke Palmer's mother is remembering the vibe on the sets of Dan Schneider's Nickelodeon shows ... and she says things felt very strange.

Keke's mom, Sharon Palmer, recalled her experiences with Schneider in the latest episode of Keke's podcast, "Baby, This Is Keke Palmer,"

Sharon says  ... "My honest opinion is I thought the whole atmosphere of the Dan Schneider set was very weird, very cultish. The parents were very secretive, and I honestly thought they all took themselves way too seriously."

Kim Kardashian has a scary connection to Emma Roberts ... they both were victims of the same alleged stalker.

Kim just filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, asking a judge to grant a restraining order against Melvin Jeffery Conley. According to the docs, Kim got a call from Emma, warning her a man who had broken into Emma's house told her about his desire to make contact with Kim and her kids.

Back in May, Conley allegedly broke into Emma's house and used her landline to dial her cell phone. Emma missed the call but saw someone was calling from her landline ... she figured it was a family member so she called back and Conley answered. He claimed Emma gave him permission to stay at her home ... she did not.

Colin Jost is off the hook from his Olympics coverage duties in Tahiti after a week of injury drama, starting with his toe wounds ... which he quipped invite ants to move in if he stands still too long.

Yep, things really went south for NBC’s 2024 surfing correspondent since landing in French Polynesia -- it was injury after injury ... kickstarting with a nasty run-in with a coral reef last week, which left three of his toes wrapped in gauze.

Colin had a good laugh about it, even joking his WikiFeet fame might take a hit. But right now, the only thing crashing the scene could be ants -- something he told NBC’s Maria Taylor he never saw coming.

Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are back at it ... ditching their glam socialite life to hustle through the daily grind while filming "The Simple Life" reboot.

The 2000s brats were rocking full Sonic Drive-In gear with name badges in Duarte, California --  they jazzed up their uniforms with their own swag.

PH was strutting in sparkling silver heels and a blinged-out handbag with her name on it, while Nicole rocked some slingback heels and looked equally glam. Both were clearly hiding tight minidresses under those blue aprons.

Kim Zolciak and Chet Hanks are setting the small screen ablaze with their fiery flirtation on "The Surreal Life" ... so the buzz about their sizzling chemistry is spot on.

Kim concedes she feels like she's living in La La Land ... reveling in the distraction Chet provides amid her tumultuous divorce from Kroy Biermann.

Kim reveals in a confessional Chet’s laugh is her ultimate weakness ... and moments later, she’s seen sliding a mysterious card under his door with the message, "Let’s Kollab."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is getting out in front of a story, Zac Efron is getting out of the hospital and Noah Lyles is getting a sweet title ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Babcock react to RFK Jr. saying he once dumped a dead bear in Central Park and made it look like a cyclist killed the animal.

Legendary film director David Lynch says he's suffering from emphysema ... but that's not stopping him from continuing his passion for creating art.

Lynch – best known for his 1980s hit movies "The Elephant Man" and "Blue Velvet" – jumped on X and posted a message Monday, saying his emphysema -- a lung disease -- was caused by years of chain smoking despite putting down cigarettes for good two years ago.

Still, he says medical tests show he's in wonderful shape and that's why he refuses to retire from his acclaimed career.

Yvette Nicole Brown's all about ditching the hate in politics and is urging young people to hit the polls no matter who they’re backing ... even though she’s Team Kamala Harris herself.

The actress spoke to TMZ Monday, telling us she was speaking in a non-partisan way on behalf of the entertainment org The Creative Coalition about their virtual event "Your Voice, Your Vote" Tuesday ... aimed to encourage Gen-Z voters on how to vote, and nothing on who to place their one precious vote for.

Yvette said she’s just trying to encourage young people, especially first-time voters, to cast their votes for the kind of world they want to live in.

Joshua Malina's love story with wife Melissa Merwin has come to an end ... as the mother of his children has filed for divorce, TMZ has learned.

In new court documents obtained by TMZ ... Melissa filed to end her nearly 28-year marriage to "The West Wing" star, who she married back in December 1996. The docs are from Melissa's side ... so, this is her perspective on the whole breakup.

In the docs, Melissa cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for her split from the actor ... though she did not list a date of separation.

Looks like a little cowboy is riding into town ... 'cause "Yellowstone" star Luke Grimes and his wife, Bianca Rodrigues Grimes, are about to become parents for the first time!

Bianca dropped the exciting news in an IG  ... posting a stunning mirror silhouette selfie showing off her baby bump with the caption, "Can't wait to meet you little one ❤️."

Naturally, the congratulations flooded in for the pair under the post, but Luke himself is still keeping quiet on the baby news.

Angela Murray’s "Big Brother" villain vibe is haunting her in the real estate world -- 'cause fans of the show are flooding her Yelp page with scathing reviews and nasty comments.

A quick peek at her Utah’s Elite Realtors Yelp profile reveals an anemic 1-star rating. The reviewers aren't from her clients ... but from others saying they’d never use her services after seeing her antics on 'BB' Season 26.

The reviewers aren't pulling any punches ... urging everyone to steer clear of Angela. They’re calling her a bully, rude, disgusting, unreliable, unprofessional and condescending, and making it crystal clear dealing with her is a no-go.

Christine Lakin says a satirical video may have lost her a major role ... saying she was randomly booted from "Fuller House" -- and theorizing it had something to do with Candace Cameron Bure.

The actress opened up about her dismissal from the show before the first table read during an interview on Jodie Sweetin's "How Rude, Tanneritos" podcast ... explaining she was gearing up to meet the cast of the show when her agent called.

She says her agent told her they'd pushed the first table read back ... then called her the next day and told her she'd straight-up been dropped from the show.

Britney Spears is getting a movie made about her life, Bianca Censori is not covering up and Bronny James is getting the video game treatment ... all this on today's TMZ hot takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Elex break down Britney's upcoming biopic and her role in the creative process.

"Saturday Night Live" is shaking things up for its milestone 50th season ... as 2 castmates have officially exited the NBC sketch show.

Molly Kearney took to social media Friday to announce their departure from 'SNL,' after first joining the show in 2022. It's unclear if Molly -- who was the show's first nonbinary cast member -- left the show on their own terms ... but their statement indicated that they might not have been invited back.

MK signed off their message with a cryptic note ... "Head up and heart out."

Andy Cohen says everyone's about to find out what he already knows ... Phaedra Parks is doing wonders for the new season of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" upon her return.

We got Andy in New York City and our photog asked him about Phaedra's triumphant return and Kenya Moore's messy exit -- and he's quite the hype man, 'cause he makes it sound like we're all in for a helluva treat.

Andy says he's super excited Phaedra is back in the fold for season 16 ... because she makes the show that much better. Unclear what that might translate to in the actual series, but it's a good tease of what's to come for sure.