TV

4:28 PM PT -- A spokesperson for J.D. Vance tells TMZ ... "The media is making a story up out of thin air. Senator Vance was referring to the fact that he prefers fried chicken, and his wife prefers curry chicken. Fried chicken was a staple in the Vance household when JD was a kid, as he wrote in Hillbilly Elegy."

J.D. Vance is catching heat for taking Laura Loomer's racist Kamala Harris diss to the next level ... adding fried chicken to the mix, along with a side of curry.

In a recent interview on NBC News' "Meet The Press," Vance tells Kristen Welker ... "Whether you're eating curry at your dinner table or fried chicken, things have gotten more expensive thanks to her policies."

Vance was being asked about Loomer's recent racist comments aimed at the Vice President ... namely, saying if Harris, whose mom was Indian American, got elected, the White House would "smell like curry."

Social media detectives can relax ... Shaquille O'Neal says he is NOT the man in the PDA photo making the rounds all over the internet Tuesday.

If you haven't seen it yet ... the selfie was posted by Maria Ozuna Teachey to her 200K-plus followers on Instagram earlier this week -- and it featured her in front of a mirror with a large man's arms wrapped around her.

Because of the dude's size, many believed it was the Big Diesel -- after all, the dude appeared super tall and really buff -- and he seemingly had big hands and feet as well.

Matthew Perry relied on doctors to fuel his addiction, and turns out that's just the tip of the iceberg.

TMZ Studios has a new documentary -- "TMZ Investigates Matthew Perry and the Secret Celebrity Drug Ring" -- which drops today, Tuesday, on Hulu.

Several celebrities, including Kelly Osbourne, talk about how it's common knowledge in Hollywood that doctors provide specific drugs to celebrities. For her part, Kelly was able to score Vicodin and Oxy from various Hollywood doctors. And get this ... she was 13 at the time and the doctors never told her mom and dad what they were prescribing their daughter.

The craze surrounding HBO's docuseries "Chimp Crazy" has become quite profitable for the sanctuary now housing the show's star, Tonka the Chimp.

A rep for Save the Chimps tells TMZ ... all eyes are on their nonprofit after Tonka was seen thriving there in the final episode of "Chimp Crazy," which was created by the same director as "Tiger King."

In fact, Save the Chimps has seen a notable increase in donations ... a 200% increase, to be exact.

"Hacks" snagged the Outstanding Comedy Series at last night's Emmys, beating "The Bear," which has been called out by some for not actually being a comedy -- and Susie Essman tells us while the Chicago-based show is unfairly criticized for its categorization, it's not the fault of the show's actors or crew.

The comedienne tells TMZ even though "The Bear" racked up a record-breaking 11 wins, at the end of the day, the show is a drama -- and probably shouldn't be included in the comedy category at all.

Susie spills the tea on why she thinks "The Bear" got labeled as a comedy series. Check out the video to hear her take!

"90 Day Fiancé" star Edward "Big Ed" Brown is refusing to give up on love ... the reality TV star is engaged again after a whirlwind romance.

Big Ed confirms to TMZ ... he met his now-fiancée, 29-year-old Porscha Raemond during a meet and greet with fans at Capriotti's ... a sandwich shop in Plantation, Florida.

As Big Ed tells us ... "it was love at first bite" for the pair, and so, Big Ed ended up proposing to Porscha within 24 hours of their first meeting.

Shelley Duvall's fans are livid about her being snubbed when she was left off the 2024 Emmys' "In Memoriam" segment, calling it downright disrespectful ... but her longtime partner isn’t sweating it.

Dan Gilroy tells TMZ he’s not upset over Shelley’s omission from the segment ... he's giving the Emmy producers the benefit of the doubt, saying it may have been an oversight -- noting segments like these are planned way in advance.

Dan also tells us, in the grand scheme of things, Shelley being left out of the segment is small potatoes compared to what he and Duvall dealt with over the past few years ... considering she suffered greatly while battling diabetes, which ultimately led to her death in July.

Love may be in the air for Brielle Biermann, but things are as icy as ever between her estranged parents Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann ... with KZ declaring there's no chance at a reconciliation.

Photogs caught up with the Bravo personality outside Craig's in West Hollywood, where she was grilled about her current relationship status ... including her situationship with 'Surreal Life' costar Chet Hanks and her divorce from KB.

Kim danced around commenting directly on a potential fling with Tom Hanks' son, noting she was all for his recent move to Nashville ... but made it abundantly clear she has zero interest in reuniting with her hubby -- even amid their daughter's impending nuptials.

"RuPaul's Drag Race" star Ross Mathews shut down any talk about the cast feeling robbed by "The Traitors" winning at the Emmys -- but, some others on the show aren't on the same page.

The TV host told TMZ that win or not, just being invited was an honor -- and his upbeat mood speaking to us Sunday evening after the ceremony definitely backed that up.

Ross also reminisced on how he’s gone from covering the Emmys BTS to arriving on the red carpet ... check out the clip to hear him rave about his journey!

Dan Levy may be one and done when it comes to hosting award shows ... hinting as much to us when we caught up with him after the 76th Primetime Emmys.

The "Schitt's Creek" co-creator hosted the year's 2nd Emmy Awards with dad Eugene Levy at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles Sunday evening ... and while the father-son duo got mostly rave reviews for their hosting work, DL made it clear he was burnt out after all of it.

As Dan told TMZ ... he wasn't sure he had another awards show in him ... and stayed tight-lipped on whether he was eager to take the father-son act on the road, noting it took "a lot of work."

Selena Gomez was decked out in bling for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards ... though, people may need to "Calm Down" before jumping to engagement speculation.

The "Only Murders in the Building" actress stepped out for the awards show at Los Angeles' Peacock Theater Sunday evening ... where she wore a striking black Ralph Lauren gown and several noticeable diamond rings -- including a platinum band covered in marquise diamonds on her left ring finger.

Of course, having such a bauble on that finger instantly got tongues waggin' about the possible engagement of the Disney Channel alum and her music producer boyfriend, Benny Blanco.

The biggest names in Television stepped out for the 76th Primetime Emmys Awards -- the 2nd Emmy Awards of 2024 -- so, it's no surprise the after-parties were equally star-studded affairs.

After Eugene and Dan Levy impressed as hosts of this year's ceremony ... bringing together a "Schitt's Creek" reunion with Annie Murphy and Catherine O'Hara, the evening's big nominees and their famous friends hit Los Angeles for some much-earned celebrating.

Netflix's after-party at the Hilex in L.A. appeared to be one of the hot spots of the night, especially after Richard Gadd took home 3 Emmys for his hit on the big red N, "Baby Reindeer."

Matthew Perry went to rehab scores of times but it never stuck, and a new TMZ documentary explores how some of these facilities can do addicts way more harm than good.

TMZ Studios has a new documentary -- "TMZ Investigates Matthew Perry and the Secret Celebrity Drug Ring" -- which airs on FOX Monday night at 9 PM ET and drops Tuesday on Hulu.

The documentary exposes how a ring of doctors, enablers and rehab centers fuel the addiction of celebs, who pay them all a fortune for services that are the opposite of helpful.

The Primetime Emmys are back again ... returning just eight months after the last edition -- but, the stars came out with just as much excitement for round 2.

Selena Gomez and hit the red carpet in a stylish black gowns ... while TV legend Jennifer Aniston changed it up with a bright white ensemble. "The Bear" star and Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White looked stylish in a classic black tuxedo.

A couple of Gomez's close friends -- and "Only Murders in the Building" costars -- Martin Short and Steve Martin opted for a pair of stylish black tuxedos.

Candice Bergen's getting political at the Emmys ... firing off a joke at J.D. Vance's expense to rapturous applause from the audience.

The TV legend stepped up to the mic during the Emmys in L.A. Sunday night ... talking about her time on Murphy Brown, which ran from 1988 to 1998 with a short-lived revival in 2018.

CB recalls a moment when then-Vice President Dan Quayle -- who served from 1989 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush -- publicly called out the show for having Murphy decide to raise her daughter as a single mom.

Will Smith's never going to live down his Oscars slap it seems ... 'cause a fellow actor just mentioned it during the Emmys -- making fun of their same name.

"Slow Horses" creator -- also named Will Smith -- just won an Emmy for writing the series ... and, when he got to the microphone, he couldn't help but mention the most famous person with his own name. '

Smith says, "First of all relax, despite my name, I come in peace."