Former TMZ Personality Van Lathan Joins Will Packer’s ‘Central Ave’

Van Lathan Joins Central Ave (Credit: Central Ave)

Van Lathan has a new assignment.

The former TMZ producer and on-camera personality has landed at Will Packer Media’s multicultural entertainment news magazine Central Ave.

The show shared the news on Friday, Nov. 15, writing on Twitter: “Van Lathan joins the Central Ave family!”

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The tweet included a 40-second video of Lathan on assignment.

“Hi. I’m Van Lathan, special correspondent for Central Ave, here to talk to some real people about some real things,” he said.

The clip showed Lathan interviewing folks about what’s happening in the community and which celebrities are on their “cancel list.”

Lathan garnered national attention in May 2018, when he pushed back against Kanye West’s infamous claim that “slavery was a choice” on the TMZ show.

As previously reported, Lathan was let go from the celebrity gossip operation last month, following a dispute with a co-worker.

He is the newest on-air personality at Central Ave, which premiered Nov. 4 on Fox Television stations in eight markets — New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Detroit.

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The daily strip is hosted by BET’s Julissa Bermudez and Olympic track star and five-time gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross. It airs from Atlanta, and features segments produced in New York and L.A.

The show is a co-production of Will Packer Media and distributor Debmar-Mercury, and is in the midst of a five-week test run.

Longtime television executive Monique Chenault serves as showrunner and executive producer. Will Packer and Kelly Smith are also executive producers.

For details on what time Central Ave airs in each market, go to https://centralavetv.com/.