TMZ.com Home

Ryan Lochte has plenty of staunch defenders left -- including police officers -- behind the gates of his Charlotte neighborhood ... TMZ has learned.

The embattled swimmer flew back Wednesday to the Carolina town where he now lives, and sources in his hood tell us Charlotte PD has at least two patrol cars dedicated to keeping haters, fans and media away from Lochte.

We're told police are posted at the security gate entrance, and there's another patrol car cruising the blocks around Lochte's house.

One source told us the Homeowner's Association is also keeping an eye on Ryan's place, and officers -- of the HOA, that is -- have banned interlopers for up to 99 years!

We're told there's been no sign of Ryan at the house since he got back to the States.

from 'Real Housewives of Orange County' is getting rid of some prime OC real estate ... and doing some high-priced flipping in the process.

Kelly's listed her 4 bedroom, 4 bath oceanside home in Newport Beach for $6.25 million. The pad is a stone's throw from Big Corona Beach and in pristine condition, hence the steep price.

Kelly and her husband bought it just a year ago for $3.575 mil, but they've sunk some dough into it ... doing a bunch of renovations. Check out what they've done to the 4,370 sq. feet of the place.

Jack Riley -- the voice of "Rugrats" fave, Stu Pickles, and co-star of "The Bob Newhart Show" -- has died of pneumonia.

Jack famously played Elliot Carlin, one Newhart's super neurotic patients, during all 6 seasons of the classic '70s TV sitcom.

More recently he was the father of Tommy and Dil Pickles in the "Rugrats" cartoon series and movies. Jack also starred in several Mel Brooks movies and had tons of guest roles on huge TV shows such as "MASH," "Happy Days," and 'Mary Tyler Moore.'

Riley's wife told Deadline, Jack passed away Friday in Los Angeles. He was 80.

Miley Cyrus' little sis Noah was texting behind the wheel and rear-ended a guy who now can't keep the missus happy ... according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ.

EJ Hawkins is suing the 16-year-old, claiming he was cruising on the 101 in L.A. when she slammed into his car, sending him to the hospital.

EJ claims in addition to the physical pain, he's suffered "loss of love, affection, companionship, comfort, society and sexual relations."

Katt Williams unloaded a punch that sent a man back to the hospital, a couple months after the guy had brain surgery.

At least that's what Paul Love says happened to him in a new lawsuit. Love is the pool supply store employee who was allegedly assaulted when Katt got arrested earlier this year in Georgia.

In the suit, Love says Katt flew into a rage because he canceled his order twice, and Katt thought the screwup was racially motivated. He says Katt hurled a bunch of store items, and then punched him in the face.

Katt copped to socking Love, but insists Love called him the n-word. Love denies that.

What's more ... Love says he was on doctor's orders to avoid stress or excessive force to the head ... due to the brain surgery he'd had just 10 weeks before the Katt run-in. He's suing Katt for physical pain and unspecified damages.

12:57 PM PT -- Nia tells TMZ she's NOT calling cops to report Soulja. She says she doesn't have a BF, and the person he threatened is just an Internet troll trying to piss off the rapper.

A rep for Soulja claims the gun was a fake, and adds he's already reached out to Nia to apologize.

Soulja Boy is making disturbing threats against the guy he thinks took his place ... with his ex-girlfriend.

The "Crank That" rapper made the vicious threat Friday in a video post ... waving and pointing what appears to be a Glock with an extended magazine.

It's unclear why the threat's being directed at Nia Riley and her BF. Not the smartest move -- especially considering Soulja's on probation for a weapons charge.

Zayn Malik is still rocking Gigi Hadid's boat ... and paddling it too.

Zayn gave Gigi's arms a break while the couple went kayaking Thursday during their Tahitian getaway.

We haven't seen pics of them together in weeks, but nothing puts breakup rumors to rest like a romantic luxury South Pacific vacay.

The star of 'Night Of' -- that TV show you keep hearing about -- isn't just a great actor, he's got some rap cred too ... just ask his co-star on the show, Sticky Fingaz.

Riz Ahmed is getting a lot of buzz for his role on the HBO hit, but he's also been doing music in his native land, England for a long time. So, we asked Sticky if he and Riz chopped it up about a possible collab.

Sticky's not ruling it out, although his Onyx partner Fredro Starr seems ... let's say, less sold on the idea.

Could Riz make it on the U.S. charts? Check out Sticky's take, and one of Riz MC's hits.

Sorry ladies, Usain Bolt's taken ... and his girlfriend is an absolute smoke show!

Ryan Lochte was not the only swimmer who lied to the U.S. Olympic Committee about the so-called "robbery." TMZ has learned all 4 of them told the same false tale.

An official from the USOC tells us the Committee interviewed Lochte as well as Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger Sunday and all 4 told the exact same lie -- that they were in a cab when robbers posing as armed cops stopped their cab and demanded cash.

We're also told the 4 swimmers were interviewed individually, so they had clearly gone over their story beforehand.

TMZ reported Sunday ... an IOC official told us when they issued the initial denial of the incident occurred they were relying on the USOC, but the USOC official says they did indeed interview the 4 swimmers Sunday and they all told the story Lochte ended up telling on TV.

So much for true love -- just days after Ray J and Princess Love tied the knot, their 'LHHH' co-star, Moniece Slaughter, is ready to bury their marriage ... and she's got the first shovel full of dirt.

This could be a classic case of sour grapes -- after all, Moniece didn't get an invite to the wedding -- but on her way out of seeing a movie with Milan Christopher ... she claimed Ray's got no shot at being a one woman man.

A little background on this beef ... Moniece hooked up with Ray J before Princess was in the picture, but the fling still caused drama, and the two have been sending shots at each other since.

We'll give Moniece credit for saying ONE nice thing about the couple. Just one.

Break's over for Kim Kardashian after her celebrated butt somehow managed to fly under the radar for 3 whole days -- and now she's making sure everyone gets an up-close look!

Kim says she laid off Snapchat at the start of her Mexican vacation with girlfriends, and her kids, but all bets are off ... now that the paps spotted her at Joe Francis' oceanfront mansion in Punta Mita.

Check out the vid ... #FullMoonFever.

Ryan Lochte is finally doing a mea culpa for the lie he told on NBC that's become an international incident ... but he kind of doubled down on the version of events he told cops.

Lochte just posted ... "I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend -- for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely."

Lochte continues ... "It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country - with a language barrier - and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that I am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event."

He goes on to say he's proud to rep the USA in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided.

He adds, "I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons. I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio '16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories."

"There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes."

The statement is clearly crafted to thwart police efforts to have Lochte prosecuted. The biggest problem the swimmer faces ... going on TV, trashing the city by claiming armed men posed as cops robbed him as he was innocently taking a cab back to the Village.

Anthony Anderson understands the drama 'Birth of a Nation' director and star Nate Parker is going through -- and clearly believes in second chances.

We caught up with the "Black-ish" star Thursday in Bev Hills and asked if it's fair Parker's 1999 rape trial -- which ended with his acquittal -- is now affecting the biggest film of his life.

Anthony's take on Parker's situation -- focus on the man's work.

For Nate's part ... he released a statement this week addressing the resurfaced story.

We can't see any seashells ... but Farrah Abraham still had plenty to offer during a day at the beach.

The ex "Teen Mom" star packed her goods into a bikini, and put on a show for photogs in Malibu. After 3 boob jobs, you can see in these pics -- the struggle is real for Farrah's tops.