Just days after Nicole Johnson was crowned Miss California USA 2010 -- she's already found a way to get her name in the news ... uncovering a secret relationship with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.
TMZ spoke with Johnson who said, "Now that it is after the fact, I will admit that we were together. We agreed to keep this private because it was the only thing that he could keep private ... we remain close friends."
Johnson claims the two dated for just over a year between 2007 and 2008.
Phelps was rumored to have dated the previous Miss California, Carrie Prejean -- so far, no cell phone video to back that up.
Carrie Prejean didn't wanna use her own noggin' when it came to filling out a very personal contestant questionnaire for the Miss California pageant back in '07 -- so she went to the guy who knew her inside and out ... her solo sex tape recipient.
TMZ has learned Prejean's former cross-country booty call received an email from Carrie on 11/7/07 -- when she was 20 -- in which Carrie asked for help answering several brain-busting questions such as:
If you could have lunch with any one (1) person, who would it be and why?
What is your career ambition?
Name one personal achievement that makes you especially proud.
What is your most treasured possession (tangible object) and why?
What is the most interesting or surprising thing about you or that has happened to you?
After all those "special" tapes she made, you'd think she'd know herself better.
Carrie Prejean just accused Donald Trump of personally weeding out the ugly chicks from the Miss USA pageant -- and for once ... she's not entirely off base.
TMZ obtained an audio tape recorded during the pre-show screening portion of the 2009 pageant, in which Trump can clearly be heard exercising "The Trump Rule" -- which guarantees a certain number of "beautiful" women will advance in the contest.
On the tape, Trump explains that when he "bought" the Miss USA pageant, "the most beautiful people were never chosen. And I went nuts." So, according to the audio, Trump implemented "The Trump Rule" -- in which he and his staff of "professionals" would select "almost half" of the women who would automatically make it into the first round of the contest.
Carrie Prejean wasted no time getting into the nitty-gritty while on "Hannity" tonight -- immediately saying her solo sex tape was "the biggest mistake of my life."
The former beauty queen told Sean she was just a teenager when she decided to send her boyfriend -- who she "loved and cared about" at the time -- the extremely intimate video of herself.
Carrie said she takes "full responsibility" for the "humiliating" tape.
Carrie Prejean -- the dethroned Miss California USA -- is in meltdown mode because of a solo sex tape.
Prejean -- who made headlines for her stand against gay marriage and her strong ties to fundamentalist religion -- is supposed to appear on "Today" next week to push her new book.. "Today" producers have called TMZ, making it clear the interview has changed and they want details on the sex tape.
TMZ has also received calls from CNN, FOX and various other outlets asking for info.
The reason they're all calling TMZ -- we obtained the tape several months ago but decided not to run it because it was too racy.
As we first reported, Prejean and Miss California USA officials had sued each other and were in settlement talks last week. Sources tell us Prejean was demanding more than $1 million but when Pageant officials showed her they had a copy of the tape, it took less than a minute for Prejean to fold and walk away with nothing in her pocket.
Prejean had sued the Pageant for allegedly firing her because of her beliefs and disclosing confidential information about her -- including her breast implants. The Pageant countersued, claiming Prejean had repeatedly violated the terms of being Miss Cali USA.
The reason the tape became such a smoking gun -- under Pageant rules, all contestants signed forms that gave assurance they had no nude videos or pictures in their past.
Chris Jericho Slurs Speech
WWE star Chris Jericho is wrestling with a pretty serious controversy -- after he made a slew of offensive slurs against Middle Easterners and gays.
Jericho was at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival two weeks ago ... for a screening of a movie in which he appears. During a Q&A session, Jericho referred to the moderator several times as "Hadji" -- a term sometimes used as a racial slur against Middle Easterners.
After the first wave of slurs -- and a random shot at Paris Hilton -- the host jokingly takes Jericho's drink to sniff it for booze, when Chris chimes back, "it's apple juice ... fag."
Jericho tells TMZ, "After seeing the video I realize some inappropriate comments were made and I apologize if I offended anybody." Jericho continues, "Just know that everyone on stage was having a blast and we all shared a drink and a laugh after! The good news is I got my wish of being posted on TMZ."
Yes you did, Chris.
Jude Law ... THIS IS YOUR BABY
Samantha Burke says Jude Law has yet to meet his six-week-old baby girl ... but if he happens to look through Burke's photos on Facebook, at least he'll know what little Sophia Lee looks like if he ever runs into her down the road.
Celebrity Park People
Public parks are a great place for stars to have a picnic, soak up some rays ... and dodge the occasional stranger danger.
You Belong in the Circus!
Step right up ... and check out the oddities of Hollywood -- we've got bearded ladies, tight rope walkers, jugglers and a half-woman/ half-fish!
And the best part ... no animals were harmed in the making of our circus!
Who's Your Daddy?
Can you guess whose famous genes spawned these cute kids?
Stretched Out
Celebrity faces aren't the only thing getting a good stretch in Hollywood. Yoga has become the new "IN" thing!
Carrie Prejean's pastor isn't willing to give up on his famous fallen beauty queen, after learning she made a graphic, solo sex tape.
Pastor Darren Carrington from The Rock Church in San Diego says, "Everyone is a work in progress," adding everyone has "something we're not proud of."
The Pastor is reacting to the TMZ story that Carrie folded like a cheap suit during settlement negotiations with Miss California USA officials after they pulled out the ultimate Trump card -- a solo sex tape.
We're told it took about 15 seconds for Carrie to reduce her demand from more than $1 million to ... just validate my parking, please.
Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials -- that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork.
The video the lawyer showed Carrie is extremely graphic and has never been released publicly. We know that, because TMZ obtained the video months ago but decided not to post it because it was so racy. Let's just say, Carrie has a promising solo career.
We're told it took about 15 seconds for Carrie to jettison her demand and essentially walk away with nothing. As we first reported, the Pageant is paying around $100,000 to her lawyers and publicist -- a fraction of her bills. She pockets nothing in the settlement.
Officials from the Miss California pageant are sending a message to Carrie Prejean -- three can play that game!
The production company that runs the pageant is filing a cross complaint against Prejean, demanding, among other things, that Carrie return the $5,200 the pageant fronted her for her breast augmentation.
In other legal docs, Keith Lewis and crew are asking to strike a portion of Prejean's lawsuit -- the portion dealing with public disclosure of private facts.
The new docs say, "the alleged 'private facts' consist of her breast augmentation (which ceased being private during the swimsuit competition of the nationally-televised Miss USA pageant, in which Ms. Prejean walked the stage in a bikini)."
The cross complaint says, "Had [Carrie] heeded the guidance of the Gospel of John, who admonished only those who are without sin to cast stones in judgment, she might have avoided this legal battle ..."
As for the cross complaint, Lewis and the production company claim Prejean is a hypocrite, championing family values after posing for a variety of "semi-nude photos...[which] surfaced via TMZ.com."
Need a Halloween costume that will scare the pants off two men who can't get married? Then Carrie Prejean has the perfect disguise for you ... and it's not as "biblically correct" as you might expect.
Prejean is currently being featured on several costume websites modeling outfits that could easily be worn by a stripper.
Carrie took the job modeling the Women of Marvel costume line last year -- before her infamous anti-opposite marriage moment at the Miss USA pageant -- though the costumes are just now being released. Carrie even rocked the wholesome getup down the runway at Comic Con 2008.
We're told the costume company tried to get Carrie to model another Hoochie-ween line this summer, but the starlet told them she was "too busy with Miss California."
Carrie Prejean told Larry King the Miss California USA people were pushing the gay agenda so hard they couldn't hide it -- even asking her to go to a gay event in disguise.
Prejean insinuated pageant officials wanted her to pose in Playboy -- they've told us they were merely passing the offer along, per her demand.
Prejean did not address Donald Trump's statement to us ...that she treated people in the pageant like s**t and refused to participate in 30 sanctioned events.
Carrie Prejean already had her crown taken away and now Claudia Jordan is lookin' to knock her down even more -- by claiming she's got a better body than the dethroned Miss California. Take a look -- is she right?
Miss California USA Carrie Prejean fired a slew of nasty, contentious emails to the folks who run Miss CA USA before she got the ax.
For example, on May 29, Carrie wrote: "You do not cooperate with me, and you pick and chose [sic] the the [sic] things YOU want me to do. That is not happening anymore. Stop speaking for me. I have MY own voice."
That flies in the face of another email to a pageant official -- also dated May 29 -- in which she wrote: "Also I was asked to fill in for a dj on a local radio show.. I'll be reading from a show biz script Monday. I am doing this."
There are other emails as well, in which "biblically correct" Carrie made it clear she had contempt for pageant officials and planned to do what she wants to do.
Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean'slawyer says he definitely didn't see this coming.
Attorney Charles LiMandri tells us, "This is a shock to me. I have emails tied to the Trump organization as recently as 2 days ago, citing future appearance requests."
LiMandri says Carrie appeared on behalf of the pageant last Sunday in Las Vegas at a jewelry store. He says "everyone was pleased with Carrie's appearance," adding "There's been nothing she's been asked to do that she's turned down."
It would make sense for Carrie Prejean -- the poster child for "traditional marriage" -- to hire a lawyer who shares her beliefs. And wouldn't you know it -- she picked one of the most famous ones of the bunch.
TMZ has learned Prejean has hired Charles Limandri, who acted as as general counsel to the National Organization of Marriage (NOM) when the group spearheaded the California ballot initiative to include the marriage definition in the constitution (aka Proposition 8).
We're told Prejean is trying to use Limandri to help her negotiate her contract with the Miss Universe Organization so she can make unauthorized public appearances with whomever she wants. (*cough cough NOM)
Prejean appears in an ad for NOM that is displayed prominently on their website -- despite the objections of the Miss Universe Organization.
Here we thought "biblically correct" Carrie Prejean would swing more towards Christian cutie Kris Allen -- but when we asked her this morning which "American Idol" she was backing, she surprisingly said Adam Lambert ... you know, the theatrical one.
In light of yesterday's Prop 8 ruling in California, Carrie Prejean patted herself on the back on this morning's "Fox & Friends" -- saying she's "not the bad guy" since the state's Supreme Court agreed with her.
Carrie Prejean -- the dethroned Miss California USA -- is in meltdown mode because of a solo sex tape.
Carrie Prejean's pastor isn't willing to give up on his famous fallen beauty queen, after learning she made a graphic, solo sex tape.
Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials -- that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork.
Officials from the Miss California pageant are sending a message to Carrie Prejean -- three can play that game!
Miss California USA Carrie Prejean fired a slew of nasty, contentious emails to the folks who run Miss CA USA before she got the ax.
Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean's lawyer says he definitely didn't see this coming.
It would make sense for Carrie Prejean -- the poster child for "traditional marriage" -- to hire a lawyer who shares her beliefs. And wouldn't you know it -- she picked one of the most famous ones of the bunch. 
