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Paul Walker's brother says Vin Diesel and the rest of the 'Fast and the Furious' family made the right move letting his character ride off into the sunset ... and he thinks Paul would get a kick out of where the franchise is these days.

We got Cody Walker at Sancho's Tacos in Huntington Beach and asked how he feels about the way 'F&F' has honored his bro's legacy with the 9th installment about to hit theaters.

Cody says Vin and co. have done a really good job of tastefully paying tribute to Paul's character, Brian O'Conner, and he thinks Paul would have never imagined the franchise going this far.

As you know ... Paul died in a fiery wreck in November 2013. The crash didn't happen on the set, but he was in the middle of filming "Furious 7" at the time. The script for the 8th installment referred to Paul's character a few times.

It's pretty cool ... Cody says he was in middle school when the OG 'F&F' came out, and his brother's movie is what Cody credits for his own love of cars. He says folks stop him in the street all the time to tell him Paul is the reason they love cars, and he always has the same response ... "Me too!!!"

We also asked Cody about one of the original movie cars -- Paul's orange 1994 Toyota Supra -- going up for auction later this month. Cody's anticipating a huge figure for the winning bid, and he tells us why Paul would think the whole sale is hilarious.

Speaking of fast cars ... Cody's FuelFest is coming to Los Angeles later this month, right before the movie release, featuring some of the top custom, exotic, rare and exclusive cars from all over the world ... along with live music, drifting and drag racing.

Lisa Banes was almost killed by someone who mowed her down with a scooter and fled the scene out in New York City ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the "Cocktail'' actress was struck late Friday evening on the Upper West Side near the Lincoln Center -- where she was reportedly on her way to meet up with her wife and some friends for dinner ... and was passing through a cross-walk.

We're told she had the right of way ... when someone on an electric scooter of some sort blew past a red light and slammed into her -- and then made an escape without stopping to help or call the police. Per reports, the scooter is described as red and black.

Our sources say 911 was called and EMS arrived on the scene to find Lisa on the ground with severe head trauma. She was transported to Mount Sinai Saint Luke's Hospital shortly thereafter, where we're told she remains in critical condition. Word is she's in the ICU.

No information has surfaced about the suspect's description -- but we're told cops are on the case now and are trying to hunt down the culprit. An investigation is underway.

Hidden within this stretched-out snap is a rising star in the music industry!

This talented gal got her big start acting as Paige Olvera on Disney's "Bizaardvark." She was later cast in the "High School Musical" spin-off television series and began releasing music shortly after.

She recently released three singles prior to putting out her debut album "Sour" and has continued to break several records.

Wayne Brady is incredibly honored to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy alongside Alex Trebek ... but losing to him? Well, that'd be one helluva honor too.

We got the "Let's Make a Deal" host in Times Square, and wanted to get his 2 cents on being nominated alongside the late legendary "Jeopardy!" host for outstanding game show host.

Wayne, always the total gentleman, couldn't help singing Alex's praises.

Wayne said the fact Alex got nominated posthumously speaks volumes ... calling him the consummate professional and the kind of host who was smooth and always in control.

There are some other notable nominees ... like Steve Harvey for "Family Feud," Alfonso Ribeiro for "Catch 21" and Pat Sajak for "Wheel of Fortune." Wayne says there'd be no shame losing to any of 'em, but losing to Alex? Well, he did set the bar after all.

Alex was nominated almost 7 months after he passed away following his courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Despite announcing the diagnosis in March 2019 ... Alex continued hosting into his 37th season.

Floyd Mayweather is taking care of the people who take care of him -- buying a fleet of cars for his closest friends, family and team members ... TMZ Sports has learned.

... and he also got himself a brand new Rolls-Royce!

We spoke with Chop -- owner of Towbin Auto Group in Las Vegas -- who tells us Mayweather bought NINE cars in the past week, dropping nearly $1 MILLION in total!

Chop (yes, the same guy from A&E's "King of Cars" reality show) says Floyd's haul included:

-- 1 2021 Rolls-Royce White Ghost
-- 1 2021 Mercedes S560
-- 1 2021 Maybach sedan
-- 1 2021 Dodge Journey
-- 2 2021 Dodge Chargers
-- 3 2021 Dodge Challengers

A source connected to Floyd confirmed the purchase -- but says Mayweather has since added a SECOND Rolls-Royce Ghost to the final order.

Obviously, Floyd can afford the rides ... not only has he banked around $1 BILLION from high-profile boxing matches over the years -- but Mayweather told us he's expecting to make around $100 MILLION from the Logan Paul fight!!!

Chop tells TMZ Sports ... Floyd has purchased 157 vehicles from Towbin over the years -- including 29 different Rolls-Royce automobiles!!!

YouTube star Kyle Forgeard won’t have to face the music for pulling a mall cop stunt in Texas -- a grand jury is letting him off the hook.

According to a rep at the Tarrant County DA's Office ... the grand jury voted NOT to take action on the case. That means no charges and a huge sigh of relief for the star of the viral prank group Nelk Boys ... who got busted for allegedly impersonating a mall security officer at the Grapevine Mills Mall.

TMZ broke the story ... Kyle, widely known on social media for pulling off incredible pranks, had his own segway ... just like Kevin James did in the 'Paul Blart' movies. It's unclear what exactly he was doing inside the mall, but the stunt pissed off enough customers and biz owners that real cops arrested him.

The Nelk Boys' legion of fans briefly made #FreeKyle a trend on Twitter. He was eventually released on $750 bond, and after the grand jury's decision ... he's now free to dial up more pranks. He's had a pretty good week - he just launched his new seltzer line called Happy Dad as well.

Mark Wahlberg's good looks are anything but funky!

Here is a 22-year-old version of the actor and Funky Bunch member rocking his signature backward cap at a book signing in West Hollywood back in 1993 (left). This is the same year he made his film debut in, "The Substitute".

And, 28 years later ... the famous father -- who was recently seen showing off his good looks on the 'gram -- is spending this weekend celebrating his 50th birthday (right)!

Mark has been featured in a number of memorable movies, some of which include "Ted," "Daddy's Home," "Instant Family" and "Mile 22".

Marky Mark's still got it!

The question is ...

Jon Rahm had the news broken to him that he had COVID-19 live on TV during a PGA tournament ... one that he was leading the pack in before having to withdraw.

The Spanish golfer -- and reigning champion of the Memorial Tournament, which he was again ahead in on Saturday -- was filmed being approached by PGA officials ... who told him he'd tested positive for the virus, which means he'd have to leave the premises and the game entirely.

It made for such a bizarre moment, as there were cameras all around on the course ... and they captured the exact moment he learned about it, which left him looking defeated. Rahm covered his face and then crouched down in disappointment -- before being led off.

The interaction was filmed from at least a couple different angles ... and the second picked up on some audio as well. You can hear Rahm say something that sounds like "Not again" ... seemingly suggesting he's gone through this before during the pandemic.

The CBS anchors who were covering it live had trouble making sense of what had just happened, but they knew some bad news had just been delivered. As Rahm made his way inside ... his crew pushed away photogs who attempted to follow, presumably for privacy.

Billy Baldwin isn't sweating Gavin Newsom's refusal to fully reopen CA -- saying vaccine rates need to go up ... and that, eventually, we'll all have to play ball to get back to normal.

We talked to the actor Saturday in Bev Hills, where our photog asked what he made of Gov. Newsom's apparent backtracking on his June 15 date ... which is when he was supposed to lift all COVID restrictions, but clarified he wouldn't lift the state of emergency just yet.

Many are taking that as Newsom going back on his word -- but according to Billy ... it probably won't make a big difference in the short term. He says people are already out and about, and things are looking a lot like they used to now more than ever.

He also makes this point ... if ya want things to truly get back to normal faster than Newsom's timeline, the only way to do it is to get vaccinated ASAP -- there's no other way around it. He makes an even better point about holdouts and what lies ahead. Watch.

BB clearly doesn't get the outrage over requiring vaccines, when we have a long history of doing exactly that in schools and elsewhere for kids. So, in his mind, one more can't hurt.

Elon Musk appears to be in the crosshairs of a notorious group of hackers who are responsible for some of the biggest digital breaches/leaks in modern history.

The Tesla CEO is the subject of a new video posted by Anonymous -- a coalition of self-described freedom fighters who use the "V for Vendetta" Guy Fawkes mask as their logo ... and who've caused a lot of grief for different orgs over the years, including Scientology, PayPal and others.

In their latest offering ... they're going after Elon, claiming the power he wields over cryptocurrency markets -- and the cavalier way he wields it -- has gone far enough ... especially as it pertains to Bitcoin, which has reacted wildly to Elon's words of late.

Anonymous claims that even though Elon has positioned himself as concerned about the environment with Tesla's pivot away from Bitcoin, he doesn't practice what he preaches within the company itself -- hurling many allegations against him and Tesla's practices at large.

Anonymous goes on to take even more shots at Elon personally ... saying he suffers from a superiority/savior complex -- noting he once dubbed himself the "Emperor of Mars" -- and that he's actually hurting working-class people and their prospects by his constant crypto trolling.

There's a lot to unpack here ... but the bottom line is, Anonymous seems to think Elon isn't a friend to the common man -- something they consider themselves to be -- and because of that ... they seem to be issuing a warning. As to what that is ... it remains to be seen.

Anonymous has famously disrupted computer systems from large corporations, as well as municipalities -- especially following police-involved deaths like Michael Brown and, recently, George Floyd, whom they vowed to avenge by "exposing" MPD's alleged misdeeds. They've also been involved with spurring noteworthy social movements like Occupy Wall Street ... not to mention partaking in high-profile leaks, especially surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.

Jeff Lowe is continuing to take legal lumps -- the current owner of Joe Exotic's onetime 'Tiger King' zoo was behind bars to kick off his weekend ... this after a DUI bust.

Lowe and his wife, Lauren, were both arrested early Saturday morning in Oklahoma County for driving under the influence ... and it looks like Jeff might've been the one behind the wheel, because the Sheriff's Office also booked him on a changing lanes improperly charge.

Since it appears Jeff was driving it's unclear why Lauren was also arrested for DUI.

The Lowes were brought to jail around 4 AM ... and they posed for these mugs while getting processed. We weren't quite sure that was Jeff at first without his signature bandana/cap combo -- but yep, that's him alright. Last we checked, they were still in custody.

The details of the arrest/alleged incident haven't surfaced yet -- but in any case, it's the latest hit Jeff and co. have taken when it comes to Johnny Law ... both on the state and federal level.

As you might recall ... he had a couple run-ins with law enforcement earlier in the month of May, as they steadily confiscated dozens of his big cats and other animals that he had at his zoo ... which the feds claim weren't being properly cared for or, in some cases, were malnourished, allegedly violating federal guidelines.

So, yeah ... the dude's had it rough lately, and this is just the most recent ding.

Fans of the former zoo owner might be rubbing their hands together in glee watching Jeff's proverbial fall from grace right now -- as some believe he did Joe dirty and helped land him in prison ... where JE currently remains as he continues to try and fight for his release.

Katt Williams has a challenge for all comedians who are griping about the state of comedy in 2021 because of so-called "cancel culture" ... do better, be better and be funnier.

The legendary comic dished his thoughts on the much-discussed topic with Joe Budden, and he basically suggested that the outrage over society and audiences in 2021 being too woke or sensitive for comedy to function properly (or as it has in the past) is mostly bologna.

Check it out for yourself ... 'cause he gives a pretty nuanced breakdown of what he thinks people are actually mad about -- namely, that comedians are being forced to evolve with the times.

Katt says that certain words and/or subjects are being rightly called out as inappropriate or off-limits -- and he explains that, in most cases, that's probably fine ... because the point of comedy isn't to offend, but to entertain the most number of people possible.

He also notes all that's happened over the years and with the advent of social media is that more people have been allowed to join the conversation ... and as a result, can speak up on things they might've always found objectionable -- whereas, before, they had no platform.

It's a pretty fascinating take ... which actually mirrors what Seth Rogen said on this not too long ago to The Independent -- when he said, yeah ... some jokes have aged poorly, and rather than be mad at being called out about it, he said just own and adapt accordingly.

Of course, not everyone agrees with Katt and Seth when it comes to this. Many comedians have railed on what they consider overly-sensitive tastes these days ... including one Billy Crystal, who recently called comedy today a "minefield" that he doesn't recognize anymore.

Jennifer Lopez was on a mission Friday, visiting at least one school in the L.A. area, which could be a blazing signal she and Ben could end up under the same roof.

J Lo was tooling around with her trusty notepad, after spending time with Ben at his home on the Westside of L.A.

They have been crisscrossing the country since hooking up ... Ben traveled to Miami to be with her, and she's now in L.A. returning the favor.

Unlike some celeb couples, they are not hiding their relationship ... they have been out and about together, arm-in-arm and arm on waist.

This would be pretty huge, not just for Ben and Jen ... but for J Lo's kids too -- who've been doing their schooling out of Miami in recent years. Prior to the pandemic ... her twins, Max and Emme, attended in-person classes ... and obviously went virtual when the pandemic hit.

French Montana is pulling a LeBron James, of sorts, with his latest gig -- getting in front of the camera for an acting role ... in which he's set to play a fictionalized version of himself.

The NY rapper was spotted on set Friday at the Hyatt hotel in NOLA, filming a new flick in the works right now called "National Champions" -- a college sports drama that has an all-star cast and is presumably due out sometime next year, as they're currently in production.

Check out these photos of French that we obtained ... the dude is behind a piano next to media personality, Andrew Bachelor (AKA King Bach), who's giving him a high five as French plays. Bachelor is also cast in the movie -- one of several famous faces who'll be in the movie, alongside folks like J.K. Simmons, Stephan James, Timothy Olyphant and others.

As you can see, there's a ton of crew members standing around as well, all wearing masks. Production sources tell TMZ that hotel guests who happened to be nearby while cameras were rolling were pretty surprised to see French there ... and in acting mode, no less.

Ya might think it's easy to act as yourself for a movie -- but just look at LBJ (who famously did it for 2015's "Trainwreck") ... and you'll see there's a lot of room to flex one's chops.

Anyway, if French is any good here ... you gotta wonder if this might be a whole new lane he wants to explore. If so, he certainly wouldn't be the first rapper to give acting a go ... there's a long list of those who've come before him, some of whom have had major success.

First Logan Paul ... then Jake Paul?!

Floyd Mayweather tells TMZ Sports ... Logan's little bro is "probably" his next opponent, after he takes on Logan on Sunday.

... and why?? MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!

Check this out ... 44-year-old Floyd says he expects to make between $50 and $100 MILLION for the 8 round exhibition against Logan and believes he can pull similar figures against Jake.

In fact, Floyd tells us he's already raked in somewhere around $30 million for the Logan fight -- and that's in guaranteed cash before he even throws a punch.

Depending on the PPV numbers, Floyd says he can hit the 9-figure mark.

Floyd bragged that he changed the game with the first boxing/MMA crossover when he pulled $350 MILLION for the 2017 fight against Conor McGregor.

Regarding Logan, Floyd says he's aware people think it's a no-win situation for him ... but he doesn't care.

"To me, it's a win-win but I'm in a no-win because if I knock him out fast in the 1st round, they're gonna be like 'Aw man this wasn't worth it.' If I let it go a few rounds and drag it out, they're gonna be like 'Aw man, he let a YouTuber hang in it for a few rounds'. But, it is what it is. We're gonna have some fun Sunday."

As for Floyd's future, Mayweather says nothing is set in stone -- but "After Logan, probably Jake. We don't know. We will see."

Floyd and Jake definitely don't like each other -- remember, Jake stole Floyd's hat at a media event in May ... and Floyd was so pissed, he threatened to kill the 24-year-old.

But, before that can happen, Jake is set to fight ex-UFC champ Tyron Woodley ... someone Floyd wants to sign to a boxing contract.

"I would love Tyron Woodley to come to Mayweather Promotions, well Mayweather Boxing gym -- and I would love to sign Tyron Woodley so he can be fighting other fighters in the sport of boxing."

"Not on a high, high level but on the same level as what Jake Paul is doing because Jake Paul is fighting a bunch of nobodies. So, why can't Tyron Woodley do that and I sign him?!"

Floyd also says he wants to help train Tyron for the Jake fight.

Chrissy Teigen has pulled out of an acting gig in the wake of criticism over past bullying.

Chrissy had planned on doing voiceovers for an upcoming Netflix show, "Never Have I Ever" Season 2 ... well according to Variety, she's decided to take a pass on the gig.

“Never Have I Ever” follows a teenage girl who's a first-generation Indian American and her days in high school.

Teigen has been on the hot seat for going after Courtney Stodden, who married a 60-year-old when they were just 16. Chrissy had sent them cruel DM's, including -- "I can't wait for you to die."

She has repeatedly apologized and said she was a different person then ... seeking attention in the wrong way. She has been off Twitter and Instagram for nearly a month.

For her part, Stodden hasn't been very forgiving, calling Chrissy a hypocrite when she bowed out of Twitter for a time because of the bullying.

It's an interesting saga ... Chrissy is well-liked and very popular. The question ... will that goodwill eventually put all this behind her?