WASHINGTON — The entertainment news powerhouse that revolutionized celebrity coverage is now setting its sights on the nation’s political epicenter. TMZ has established a Washington D.C. operation, bringing its confrontational reporting style to lawmakers and government officials.
The timing seems almost overdue. A former reality TV personality currently occupies the White House for his second term, while his administration includes a former wrestling industry executive and a past “Real World” participant who was once filmed wearing only a towel. Multiple stars from various “Real Housewives” series recently visited Capitol Hill.
The gossip outlet’s Washington venture, dubbed TMZ DC, has already generated significant buzz online. Staff members now pursue politicians with the same aggressive tactics used on Hollywood celebrities, while encouraging citizens to submit candid photos of elected officials during their travels. One particularly viral moment featured Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina wielding a Disney wand at the theme park while airport security chaos erupted due to congressional delays on funding legislation.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged the outlet’s presence during a Pentagon briefing on Friday, welcoming TMZ as “new members of our press group here” — a comment that appeared to subtly criticize established news organizations.
The relationship between the entertainment industry and political circles has always been complex, with mutual suspicion and misunderstanding as both spheres increasingly blend into one cultural phenomenon.
Previous attempts by TMZ to establish a Washington presence had failed. However, current circumstances may favor success this time around.
Donald Trump’s return to office further legitimizes the type of celebrity-focused culture that made him a tabloid mainstay for years. Additionally, Congress faces multiple scandals, with three members stepping down in April amid various accusations including inappropriate conduct and financial misconduct.
Recent Gallup survey data shows congressional disapproval has reached 86%, matching the highest level on record. Meanwhile, AP-NORC polling indicates only 33% of Americans support Trump’s job performance — a 9-point drop since his second term began.
Given such widespread distrust of Washington institutions, the real question may be why TMZ waited so long to expand here.
“I am legitimately surprised they weren’t already there,” said Ana Marie Cox, who wrote the Wonkette blog, which covered Washington with an irreverence that was rare in the early 2000s. “They’re actually a little bit late to the game.”
TMZ representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Harvey Levin, the aggressive Los Angeles attorney and media personality who founded TMZ in 2005, continues leading the operation. He has maintained a complicated relationship with Trump over the years. Within ten years of its launch, TMZ gained notoriety through scandalous celebrity reporting, including early scoops on Mel Gibson’s antisemitic remarks during an arrest and Alec Baldwin’s harsh voicemail to his daughter.
The website, whose name refers to the 30-mile radius around Los Angeles’s historic entertainment district, truly made its mark by first reporting Michael Jackson’s death in 2009 and the substance abuse that contributed to it.
TMZ’s methods sometimes violate traditional journalism standards, especially regarding payment to sources. Such financial arrangements could potentially conflict with congressional ethics regulations. Levin has not disputed paying for information, a practice that mainstream news organizations typically avoid.
The outlet has also experienced notable mistakes, including incorrectly reporting that Beyoncé would perform at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
However, some of TMZ’s initial Washington work has received praise.
Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor specializing in television and popular culture, called the Graham Disney World photograph genuinely newsworthy because it showed lawmakers absent from Washington during a political crisis. Graham’s office did not respond to comment requests.
TMZ published photos of politicians from both parties who left Washington during the recent congressional break that coincided with the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Besides Graham, the site featured images of Democratic Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey and Representative Robert Garcia from California.
The outlet currently lacks congressional press gallery credentials, restricting its coverage to sidewalk interviews outside the Capitol or conversations in public building corridors — similar to its signature ambush-style celebrity encounters.
Some interviews provide entertainment for viewers who understand the format. In one recent video, Representative Troy Downing of Montana appeared puzzled by questions about a party hosted by the dating app Grindr before this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“I don’t understand,” Downing said. “Are they a media company?”
Other encounters take unexpected, sometimes deeply personal turns. When Representative Lateefah Simon of California was asked about how lawmakers observe the 4/20 marijuana holiday, she discussed the anniversary of her father’s death.
“4/20 is the day that my daddy died,” she said. “My dad was an amazing man in San Francisco. I think about him every single time there’s 4/20.”
Sometimes the gotcha approach backfires. Representative Jared Moskowitz of Florida was among those photographed away from Washington during the DHS shutdown. He appeared at his son’s basketball game, prompting colleagues from both parties to defend him for prioritizing fatherhood.
During Friday’s briefing, TMZ’s Charlie Cotton embraced Hegseth’s rebranding of the “Department of War” and the administration’s claims about necessary military action in Iran. “Would you consider changing the name again to the Department of Peace since that’s what we’re all after?” Cotton asked.
Hegseth praised the “great question” and declared that “the one institution that should win the Nobel Peace Prize every single year is the United States military.”
The confrontational interview style isn’t entirely new. Veteran CBS journalist Mike Wallace frequently employed surprise interviews with unprepared subjects.
Before exposing the extramarital affair that ended Democrat Gary Hart’s 1988 presidential bid, Tom Fiedler confronted the Colorado senator in a Washington alley. Working for the Miami Herald then, Fiedler said he “didn’t set out to do that.”
“We simply found ourselves in that situation,” he recalled this week. “At that point, we knew that he knew we were there to observe what he was doing. Our feeling was we needed to let him know who we were so he wouldn’t think there was, in the worst case, an attempted assassin stalking him.”
Nearly four decades later, Washington journalism has transformed dramatically.
The Washington Post eliminated almost one-third of its workforce in February, delivering a devastating blow to the prestigious newsroom. Other publications are expanding. The website NOTUS is becoming The Star, aiming to fill the void left by the Post, particularly in local and sports reporting.
Cox, the former Wonkette writer, now lives in Austin, Texas. Looking back on her Washington years, she said her objective was to “demystify politics and show that these are people who don’t necessarily deserve our respect.”
However, she worries about coverage that emphasizes Washington’s cynical aspects. If launching Wonkette today, she said, “I don’t think I’d be as funny.”
“Funny is how we got here,” she said. “Making fun of Donald Trump did not work.”
