Courteney Cox to Paparazzo Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!! ... For Saving My Dogs' Lives

A NEW FRIEND
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Courteney Cox is filled with gratitude and can't stop thanking the photographer who ran out onto treacherous Pacific Coast Highway and saved her 2 pooches.

Courteney was leaving Giorgio Baldi restaurant Thursday night in Santa Monica and ran into the photog who scooped up her 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels after they bolted from her Malibu mansion onto the PCH.

PUPPY RESCUE
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Mind you ... Courteney profusely thanked the photog Wednesday after he handed off the dogs to her, but the appreciation was in full bloom at Giorgio Baldi. Matter of fact -- watch the video closely -- she definitely hands him something that seems to be a cash reward.

The photog is really gracious ... making it clear he didn't want anything in return for saving her dogs -- not even a photo.

Courteney was curious ... since the photog jumped out of his car who got video of the incident? As we reported, the photog had a dashcam that captured the action. You just never know what's gonna happen ...

Kevin Hart Quit Asking Me the Wrong Questions ... Think Big Picture!!!

LIVE, LOVE & LAUGH
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It's not like Kevin Hart wants paps to hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya' ... but he would like for peeps to focus on important things instead of stuff like safely operating a motor vehicle.

The comedian was out Monday in WeHo leaving a studio where he looked like a man on a mission. But, he was clearly riled by questions about his car crash.

Kevin scoffed at a question about safety regulations on muscle cars -- installing safety harnesses. As we reported, Kevin's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda did not have harnesses and no one in the car had a seat belt on at the time of the crash. Nevertheless, Kevin wants peeps to focus on living life and things that matter ... laughter and love. His words.

As we reported ... Kevin made his first public appearance since his car wreck more than 2 months ago ... accepting the Comedy Act Award at the People's Choice Awards Sunday night. He got the award for his Netflix special, "Irresponsible."

It's worth noting ... Kevin strapped in after hopping into a supped up SLS Mercedes-Benz sports car. Dude definitely seems happy to be back out and about living a busy life after serious rehab and physical therapy for his 3 spinal fractures.

Aaron Carter Lashes Out at Paps You're Not the Boss of Me!!!

PLAY BY MY OWN RULES
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Aaron Carter can't take direction well ... or so it seems, after losing his cool with paps.

The singer made an appearance at the "Marriage Boot Camp: Family Edition" premiere party Thursday night at the Mondrian Hotel in WeHo where things quickly went from 0 to 100. Aaron had just arrived, flashed a smile and then flipped the double bird to photogs.

It's unclear what paps wanted him to do -- maybe not flip them off -- but as you can see from the video ... Aaron didn't like it and chastised paps, "You don't tell me what to do. I tell you guys what to do." Aaron then walked away and gave paps a death stare.

Serena Williams Heads to U.S. Open Final ... Mum on Meghan

IN THE ZONE
MEGA
UPDATE

3:14 PM PT -- Serena Williams just lost the U.S. Open Women's Singles championship to 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu, who handled the tennis legend in pretty convincing fashion -- 6-3 and 7-5, respectively.

UPDATE
UPDATE

Meghan Markle is in the house at the U.S. Open, and she seemed ready to cheer Serena on as she sat behind Anna Wintour. Looks like MM went with a caj outfit for the day, rockin' a denim top and some aviators too. Good choice -- it's a nice 76-degrees out there today.

Serena Williams was in championship mode ahead of the U.S. Open Final -- and that means she didn't have time to chat ... especially for silly questions about Meghan Markle.

The tennis icon left her hotel Saturday with a look of determination on her face as she boarded a waiting SUV, which was ready to drive her to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, NYC ... where Serena is facing off against Canadian Bianca Andreescu in the Women's Singles championship later. Paps were standing by, but SW made no time for them.

One photog asked if the Duchess -- a close friend of Serena's, who flew into town this week to watch her pal battle for the trophy -- was going to be a good luck charm for her. She didn't answer ... and the reason is probably this, Serena doesn't need luck.

While we're sure she appreciates Meghan coming out, her presence alone in the stands isn't likely to make a huge difference on how Serena performs. Nice try though.

The camera man made a pretty obvious note to Serena as she closed the door ... saying that the world would be watching this afternoon.

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. She's aware of that too.

Originally published -- 11:32 AM PT

Moby My Apologies to Natalie Now, Can We Talk Earth for a Sec?

LET'S CHANGE THE SUBJECT
MEGA

Moby is ready to move on from his claim that he once dated, or tried dating, a young Natalie Portman ... 'cause he's got another hot topic up his sleeve: the planet.

The musician was questioned Monday by a pap in L.A. -- just a couple days after he publicly apologized for including Natalie in his new memoir. He drew a ton of backlash when she denied ever dating him in the '90s, despite his assertion they were kinda-almost a thing.

The pap gets to the meat of what many feel was left unanswered ... are the details of what he alleged true or not? Moby fully deflects ... switching gears to climate change.

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In his mea culpa, Moby said ... "As some time has passed I've realized that many of the criticisms leveled at me regarding my inclusion of Natalie in Then It Fell Apart are very valid." He went on to say, "I also fully recognize that it was truly inconsiderate of me to not let her know about her inclusion in the book beforehand, and equally inconsiderate for me to not fully respect her reaction."

Worth noting ... Moby did NOT retract his characterization of their relationship -- which came off as romantic in his book. He paints it like they were circling a full-blown relationship ... saying they kissed a few times and slept in the same bed together once, until Natalie eventually told him she'd started seeing someone else.

Meanwhile, Natalie responded by saying the brief time she knew him wasn't anything close to dating. In fact, she labeled their dynamic at the time as "creepy." FWIW, she didn't specifically deny any of his details either ... other than to say she was 18 and not 20, as he recalled.

So ... case closed?

Olivia Jade In Full Rebuilding Mode ... Amid College Scandal

BACK OUT ON THE TOWN
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Olivia Jade is putting her life back together one furniture purchase at a time -- at least that's what it looked like as she left IKEA with a mystery man.

Lori Loughlin's youngest daughter was walking out of the home furnishings store Friday in LA -- with a dude who wasn't her boyfriend, Jackson Guthy -- pushing a cart with just one boxed item in it. A Fjällbo coffee table? Or a Skarsta desk? Maybe even a Vittsjö shelf unit???

Who the hell knows? One thing that is clear -- she's gonna be building something, and seeing how we're told this was shot AFTER a trip to USC ... it's likely she's on the move.

Olivia didn't say much about the college cheating scandal, FWIW. The pap grilled her though, asking if she'd been in contact with her mom, and whether she was moving out.

As you know ... both of Olivia's parents have pled not guilty to the slew of charges brought against them since they were first indicted back in March for allegedly paying upwards of $500k in bribes to get their daughters into USC under false pretenses.

Felicity Huffman went a different route -- copping a plea, but still facing the possibility of jail time ... if prosecutors get their way.

As for Olivia here ... just a snippet in her wonderful everyday.

Kate Walsh Meltdown Mode at LAX Over Bag!!! TSA Couldn't Care Less

NO BAG LEFT BEHIND
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Kate Walsh damn near had a meltdown when she realized she left behind a bag on her flight ... though you couldn't tell by TSA's sloth-y reaction to her anxiousness.

We saw Kate shortly after she landed Thursday at LAX, but before our guy could ask a question, she went into sheer panic. The issue? She forgot one of her bags on her Delta flight, and desperately wanted to go back to get it.

Check out the vid ... she was clearly NOT having it with Delta, LAX and TSA staffers who wouldn't let her back into the gate area after exiting. We all know that's absolutely forbidden once you walk out.

Kate, however, eventually talks her way back in ... at least to the TSA checkpoint -- and you gotta see the agent's reaction as she continues her rant. Kinda hilarious.

Equally entertaining here is our photog's play-by-play. For what it's worth, there's a happy ending here.

John Legend Disappoints Paps ... Where's Chrissy Teigen?!

IT'S JUST JOHN
TMZ.com

So THIS might be what John Legend meant when he sang, "We're just ordinary people" -- 'cause without Chrissy Teigen, some photogs kinda treated him like a normie.

Kinda ridic when ya think about it ... the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award winner was leaving Madeo Thursday night in Bev Hills, and the first question he got -- WHERE'S CHRISSY?!?!

Ya gotta watch the vid ... John's response is hilarious as a throng of paps are immediately deflated. It is true ... we're used to seeing the couple together -- almost always -- so forgive us, John for expecting to see your better half.

Luckily, he wasn't offended, and still shared his thoughts on Donald Trump and the release of the Mueller report.

We still don't know what Chrissy thinks about it, though!

P!nk Cleans Her Hollywood Star Anything for You, Jimmy Kimmel!!!

U + UR STAR
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P!nk ain't afraid to get down and dirty ... not when it comes to cleaning her own Hollywood star, and especially when it's for Jimmy Kimmel's cameras.

The pop singer was going to town on her star Tuesday around 7:30 PM in the middle of Hollywood ... as cameras from paps and bystanders rolled. What ya didn't know is some of those cameras were rolling for Kimmel's show. P!nk was filming at Kimmel's studio yesterday, and it appears they took the skits to the streets.

Check out the vid ... you can see P!nk -- who got her star back in February -- down on her knees wiping away with some disinfecting wipes. She also had a roll of paper towels and a scrub.

Some might call it dirty business, but in Hollywood ... it's just show business, baby.

Justin Bieber Pap Sues for Truck Accident You Ran Me Over, Now Pay Up!!!

4/16 -- Wilson's attorney says they're only suing because settlement talks with Justin's insurance company broke down a couple of months ago when they got a "lowball" offer.

In a statement, the attorney says Wilson suffered a torn meniscus and knee cap damage in the accident and had to undergo arthroscopic surgery.

Justin Bieber's getting sued by the photographer he accidentally drove over as he was leaving a church event.

The accident was pretty brutal to see and hear -- back in 2017, Justin was leaving a worship service in Bev Hills when he pulled away in his 2017 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup. The photog, William Wilson, was no match for the monster truck and went down in a heap.

07/26/17
MOMENT OF IMPACT
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Wilson is now suing Bieber, claiming the singer was negligent in the way he pulled out into the street. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Wilson says he suffered "permanent disability, emotional damages and general damages."

He doesn't specify his injuries, but at the time ... Wilson posted a video from his hospital bed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

You might recall, Justin immediately pulled over and tried to assist Wilson. He also stayed on the scene until police arrived to take a report. Police eventually decided not to pursue any criminal charges against Bieber ... and chalked it all up to an accident, partially caused by camera flashes blinding Justin.

Cops also said the photog shouldn't have been standing in the street.

Wilson's suing Justin for unspecified damages. We've reached out to Justin's camp ... but no word back yet.

Originally Published -- 4/15 3:33 PM PT

Ariana Grande I Won't Get Ripped Off By Photogs Anymore ... Hence My New Photo Policy

Ariana Grande is laying down the law on concert photographers for a perfectly good reason -- she's been taken advantage of by greedy photogs in the past ... and she's over it.

Sources connected to the "thank u, next" singer tell TMZ ... Ariana's new concert photo policy stems from years of being exploited by a number of photo agencies that would often shoot photos of her in concert ... and then turn around to use those to make a profit.

Here's how it would happen ... we're told Ariana would perform, photogs would take as many pics of her as they wanted ... and then, shortly after, merch she didn't approve of would hit the streets with those photos emblazoned on the items. AG never saw a dime from any of it.

A few examples include calendars, photo books, memorabilia and other items that never got the green light from Ari, or her team.

Our sources say after multiple incidents, she and her camp made the decision to tighten things up in the pit. Of course, the National Press Photographers Association doesn't like this new policy one bit -- which is pretty strict -- but we're told Ariana couldn't care less.

Aside from the new rules she has in place, Ariana and her team also have their own in-house photog, and are happy to distribute whatever photos these publications want ... so long as they're approved by her.

While we're told it was only a handful of bad apples who crossed the line with their photo privileges, it was more than enough for Ariana to switch things up.

That's what we call a thank u, flex.

Zachary Levi 'Shazam!' Star Says Scram ... To Pushy Autograph Hound

AIRPORT CHAOS
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Zachary Levi felt a grown man seeking his autograph got a little too up close and personal ... so he told him to beat it.

The "Shazam!" star arrived at LAX Thursday night to a swarm of fans and graphers wanting him to sign their merch. Levi was happy to oblige ... except for the guy in sunglasses shoving a photo in his face.

Check out the clip -- the DC Comics superhero argues with the bearded man about his intentions ... then scolds him for pushing people around. The autograph hound disagrees on both accounts.

Zachary also appears to deny a fan a selfie before hopping in his getaway ride, but it's a lot more friendly.

Unclear how many of these fans said the magic word ... "please."

BTW ... "Shazam!" stars Levi as the adult superhero version of a 14-year-old foster kid who transforms into him when he shouts the film's title. It comes out April 5.

Kim Kardashian West Comin' In Hot Post-Khloe Drama ... Red Head, Flames and All

Kim Kardashian West has been a ball of fire this past week sticking up for her little sister, Khloe -- and she completed that transformation this weekend by turning into a smokin' hot flame.

Kim was leaving a photo shoot Saturday at Milk Studios in Hollywood, where she was dressed in a body-hugging, red leather outfit designed to look like some sort of fire ... complete with a matching 'do for good measure.

She looks great -- per usual -- but the timing of her new look is nothing short of perfect, considering how she's been torching people in defense of Khloe after learning about Tristan's latest bout of alleged infidelity ... including one Jordyn Woods.

SENDING A MESSAGE?

To recap ... Kim posted (and then deleted) a video Thursday that seemed to shade Jordyn, in which she and Khloe's BFF, Malika Haqq, sang along to Nivea's "Don't Mess With My Man." She also batted off a troll who questioned why Khloe showed face in public right after the cheating scandal ... and she savagely shut down 'Bachelor' creator Mike Fleiss when he claimed Khloe would be the next 'Bachelorette.'

Seeing how she's been lighting haters up in big sis mode these past few days, the flame suit makes a lot of sense. Handle with care, folks ... or risk getting burned.

Miranda Lambert Bands Together with New Hubby ... For Leather Weather in NYC

Miranda Lambert has left Tennesse and is now back in the Big Apple with a hunk of a husband hanging from her arm ... and some sweet new bling perched on her finger.

The country singer was spotted hand-in-hand with Brendan McLoughlin Saturday in SoHo, where they were both rockin' their wedding bands, and a little something extra for Miranda ... her engagement ring. They also had matching leather jackets to boot.

Good choice in attire ... NYC reached a high of 42 degrees Saturday afternoon, so the coats probably kept them warm in the chilly weather. A new boo helps in that department too.

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As we reported, Miranda announced her surprise nuptials this weekend to the NYPD officer, who seems to have come out of nowhere. Reports say the newlyweds got hitched in late January down in Nashville ... where she recently had a bit of a salad spat.

VERBAL ASSAULT
TMZ.com

Like we first told you ... Miranda got into a heated argument at a Nashville steakhouse last weekend, which boiled over into her dumping a salad onto a woman's lap.

The incident ended with no arrests and no police report filed. Here's hoping the New York dining scene treats her a little better.

Jennifer Lawrence Rules of Engagement ... New Ring's a Must for Date Night

J.Law is about to inherit some I-Laws -- 'cause she's newly engaged ... and not afraid to show off the ring on a date night with her fiance.

Jen was spotted flashing her new rock Monday night in NYC while grabbing dinner at Raoul's French bistro with art gallerist and soon-to-be-hubby Cooke Maroney -- who popped the question after 8 months of dating. Her rep confirmed they're set to be hitched.

Based on how much this thing shines ... something tells us it's a beaut up close, and probably pretty damn big. And, clearly, she's happy to flaunt it.

This is Jennifer's first engagement after some very public relationships in the recent past. She dated 'X-Men' costar Nicholas Hoult for a few years, and was most recently linked to director Darren Aronofsky ... with whom she also worked in 2017's "Mother!"

She was reportedly introduced to Cooke this past summer through her pal, Laura Simpson, and has been going strong with him behind the scenes since then.

It's like they say ... third time's a charm.

Jennifer Lopez Mom Clocked By Unruly Fans ... As J Lo Signs Autographs

TOUGH MOMMA
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Jennifer Lopez's mother is one tough cookie, because she kept on truckin' after taking an elbow to the side of her head while her daughter was getting mobbed by fans.

It was a wild scene Wednesday outside Sirius Radio in New York, where J Lo and her mom were swarmed by fans upon arrival.

The video is crazy ... you see Jennifer trying to navigate her way through the crowd with her mother in tow, when someone reaches in and clocks Guadalupe Rodriguez with a nasty elbow to the dome.

J Lo looks super pissed and concerned as Guadalupe tries to shake it off, holding her right hand up to her head as they try like hell to escape the mob.

We're told Jennifer won't be hitting the streets again when they leave Sirius ... and we can't blame her.

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