 |
| Real Housewives |
'Real Housewives' Creators Sue Those Bravo Bitches Screwed Us Over....... A legal war just erupted among the co-creators of "Real Housewives" ... 2 of them say the 3rd screwed them over royally and cut them out of the royalties.
Here's the backstory. Three guys in the O.C. got together in 2005 and came up with the idea for a show about the housewives who lived behind the gates of a fancy community. They knew something about it since 1 of them lived in the exclusive Coto de Caza gated community.
The original name for the show was "Behind the Gates" but it became "Real Housewives of Orange County" the following year.
According to 2 of the guys --Patrick Moses and Kevin Kaufman -- they all agreed to split the profits. They had a deal with Bravo, but according to the lawsuit Moses and Kaufman filed, the third guy -- Scott Dunlop -- made a secret, side deal with Bravo which cut them out.
Moses and Kaufman say in 2009 they were offered a paltry $8,500 each to release their interests in the project ... and Kaufman actually agreed. But now both are claiming the release is bogus and they want full participation in the entire franchise.
The 2 guys want $5 mil minimum from Bravo and Dunlop.
 |
| Artie Lange Banned |
Artie Lange Banned at ESPN After Slavery Sex Tweets. Artie Lange is persona non grata at ESPN after tweeting a slew of sexual and racially charged jokes about a female African-American ESPN host ... TMZ has learned.
Lange sparked outrage across the Internet Wednesday when he tweeted his graphic sexual fantasy about Cari Champion from "First Take" -- which involved her being a slave owned by Thomas Jefferson. Lange envisioned himself as Jefferson.
ESPN initially called Lange's tweets "reprehensible," but now a spokesperson for the network tells TMZ they've flat out banned him. We're told ... "there will be no future bookings" for the comedian.
Late Wednesday evening Lange tweeted an apology directly to Champion -- but oddly added that he stood by the "joke" as a comedian.
Lange was also cut from a Comedy Central gig because of the slavery tweets.
 |
| Will Ferrell |
Will Ferrell, Take My Elf-ing Pic,Off Your GUN Ad... 'Twas the month of November ... long before Christmas begun -- yet a company launched an ad of Will Ferrell ... pushing a deal on a gun.
Poor Will never gave permission for this flyer to be seen ... but there was his beloved "Elf" character ... with an AR-15.
The company which produced "Elf" was especially pissed -- so their lawyers sent a gift ... a cease and desist.
We're told the ad was scrapped ... taken down right away ... out of fear of the cash they might have to pay. So what did we learn from this holiday lesson. Best check with a celeb ... before you show them toting a weapon.
 |
| Amanda Bynes |
Amanda Bynes, Parents to Surrender Conservatorship..The parents of Amanda Bynes are throwing in the towel ... they'll file legal docs in the next few days handing over the conservatorship over their daughter to someone else, and then they're moving to Texas ... TMZ has learned.
Sources familiar with the case tell TMZ ... Amanda will now be under the thumb of a mental health professional who specializes in handling people with severe mental illnesses. Her parents will ask the judge to transfer conservatorship powers to that person.
We're also told the parents have made arrangements to transfer power over financial matters to another person ... presumably a money manager.
The parents are leaving California and will move to Texas to be near their older daughter.
Both parents are saying they know they've struck out with Amanda and don't have what it takes to effectively control her. They're hoping once someone else controls Amanda's finances, she'll stop lashing out at them and they can have a relationship ... even though it will be long distance.
