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A South African man suffered horrific injuries after being viciously attacked by a shark while surfing along the country's coastline this week ... and the photos of his wounds are gruesome.

It happened on Wednesday in Jeffreys Bay ... when 40-year-old Jason Lammers had a terrifying encounter in the water with a shark.

Lammers' surfing buddy, Mark Krieger, tells TMZ Sports the scene was very scary ... saying when he pulled up to the surf spot, Lammers was out of the water and bleeding profusely in a nearby parking lot after being bit.

According to the National Sea & Rescue Institute, Lammers suffered wounds to his right leg and torso -- and in photos that Krieger took of the injuries, you can see it all looked pretty dire.

The pictures show Lammers had deep bite marks in his body -- and in one of the photos, you can see the shark even took a chunk out of Lammers' surfboard while trying to chomp on him.

There's good news, though ... Krieger says after Lammers was treated by the NSRI and transported to a nearby hospital -- he's somehow doing well!

In fact, Krieger tells us his pal is in such good spirits -- they made him a shark attack cake to celebrate the recovery!!!

A terrifying video has surfaced showing the moment a 6-year-old girl in Kentucky was dragged by her school bus for 1,000 feet ... while the driver remained oblivious to what was going on.

The video of the incident -- which went down in 2015 -- is expected to be shown in Jefferson County Court as part of a civil suit against the driver, Melinda Sanders, and the school district. The video -- first obtained by WAVE-TV Louisville -- starts with the little girl exiting the bus ... but then things go horribly wrong when her backpack gets caught by the doors.

You can see the girl desperately trying to get the bus driver's attention ... but the driver takes off and doesn’t seem to check if the girl had properly exited the bus first.

In the video ... a student's seen standing next to the bus driver but the student doesn't notice the girl's little body being dragged. The bus even makes a left turn and you can hear cars honking at the bus.

The driver tells a student to sit down and THEN seems to finally notice the little girl's caught in every parent's worst nightmare. The bus driver was promptly fired after the incident.

The New York City model who went viral for her chic outfit is finding work easier to come by now, thanks to her biggest fan ... Gigi Hadid.

Here's the deal ... Gigi was riding around NYC Thursday when she saw a woman crossing a street, and she snapped a pic and posted it on her Instagram story, saying the woman was her "inspiration of the day."

The woman in the photo is a model herself, Nanga Awasum, who tells TMZ ... Gigi's viral post is quickly helping her book new gigs, including a job with Maybelline and a brand ambassador partnership with Nasty Gal.

Nanga also tells us a pair of major modeling agencies reached out to try to sign her ... and folks on Twitter are petitioning to get her on "Gossip Girl," because she's tweeted about wanting to act on the show.

Nanga's viral moment was quite serendipitous ... she says she was leaving a Nike set when Gigi spotted her. Naturally, Nanga didn't even really like her outfit, and was self-conscious about the look.

She was actually shopping for something to change into when other customers came up to her and told her she was going viral on Gigi's IG story.

Nanga tells us Gigi is one of her favorite models, and she's been dishing out some industry advice since their chance meeting.

Gigi's approval means the world to Nanga ... as a Black model in NYC, she says she hears "no" all the time from folks in the industry, and to have one of the biggest models in the world shout her out makes her feel validated.

Caitlyn Jenner is between a rock and a hard place, but she's trying to make the most of it -- appearing on Australia's 'Big Brother' while still trying to become Governor of California.

Sources close to Caitlyn tell TMZ ... her trip Down Under to participate in "Big Brother VIP" will in no way stop her current campaign. Critics are ripping her decision to shoot the series, claiming it shows she's not focused.

We're told she made the commitment to do 'BB' before deciding to run for governor ... so she's simply honoring her contract.

Meanwhile, some Aussie's are also not happy with Caitlyn flying to Sydney to take part in the reality show ... while the country's current COVID flight restrictions limit locals from traveling.

Many have expressed their outrage, feeling Caitlyn got special treatment to fly to the country while Aussies desperate to fly to visit loved ones aren't able to do so.

Jenner has reportedly begun her mandatory 14-day quarantine before filming begins for "Big Brother VIP." We've reached out to see how long she anticipates filming, and when she plans to return to the U.S. ... no word back yet.

Chrissy Teigen, John Legend and their entire family are mourning the loss of their beloved French bulldog.

Chrissy announced Pippa's passing Thursday night, saying her beloved little Pippa "just died in my arms, not long ago." She got sentimental in an emotional IG post ... remembering the day she picked her up from Florida and documented their trip home.

She said, "[Pippa] was a sassy broad - loved her pearl necklace and never took sh*t from ANY new dog we brought in. Our road dog with Sade, a tour dog for years. [W]e loved her so much. We love you sweet girl. I know you’re giving puddy hell up there. Thank you for giving us your whole life."

Puddy was Chrissy's 9-year-old English bulldog that died in 2018.

John also shared the devastating news ... posting a pic of Pippa "living her best life" because she's "on the road with her dad, wearing pearls." He called Pippa "smart, fancy" and a dog who "didn't take any sh*t."

Pippa was 10 years old.

The family's sad news comes on the heels of Chrissy saying how much it sucks to be part of the "cancel club" following her cyberbullying scandal.

The woman who sued Diplo claiming he forced her to perform oral sex has withdrawn her lawsuit ... and she tells TMZ she regrets filing it in the first place.

According to court records ... the woman has voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit. She tells TMZ ... "In light of the evidence and after consultation with my attorneys, I have decided to withdraw my lawsuit."

She added, "No payment was offered or requested. I regret filing the lawsuit."

Diplo's attorney, Bryan Freedman, tells TMZ ... they are glad the lawsuit was dropped adding that, in light of her public statement, "we will not be pursuing charges of malicious prosecution against them at this time."

The attorney added, "There was absolutely irrefutable evidence that proved that the allegations it contained were false. As soon as we shared that plethora of evidence with the plaintiff's lawyers, they recognized that they needed to withdraw their suit immediately."

Whitney Collings -- one of the early members of TV's "Bad Girls Club" -- died from a toxic mix of booze and hard drugs ... including fentanyl and cocaine.

According to her death certificate, obtained by TMZ, Whitney's immediate cause of death was acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, cocaine, alcohol and clonazepam ... which is a prescription medication used to prevent/control seizures and prevent panic attacks.

Whitney died at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Boston. The manner of death is listed as accidental and she was buried in Peabody, MA on December 10.

Interesting side note: Her occupation is listed as sales in the cannabis industry. Recreational weed is legal in Massachusetts.

TMZ broke the story ... Whitney died on December 3 at the age of 33. Her mother revealed the news on Facebook, saying "I am completely broken and will never get over this. Life is so unfair. She was kind with a big heart."

Jeff Bezos lost the billionaire space race to Richard Branson, but his trip will still be historic ... because it's carrying both a teenager and an octogenarian into space.

As you've probably heard ... the Amazon honcho's rocket company, Blue Origin, is scheduled to launch into space aboard the New Shepard rocket July 20. When it does, its first paying customer -- 18-year-old Oliver Daemen -- will go down in the record books as the youngest space traveler ever.

Blue Origin announced the Dutch teenager would join Jeff and his brother, Mark Bezos, on the flight because the original $28 million winner of the company's auction for the spot chose a later mission "due to scheduling conflicts."

That person remains anonymous, but Oliver is the son of Somerset Capital Partners CEO Joes Daemen ... who paid for his kid to replace the original winner.

Meanwhile, the person who will pilot Blue Origin's rocket with the 3 men aboard is 82-year-old Wally Funk ... who will become the oldest human to go to space.

Funk was part of the Mercury 13, a group of 13 American women who in the early 1960s underwent similar studies as NASA’s Mercury 7 astronauts to determine if they could handle space travel ... but they never launched.

If all goes according to plan, Wally will finally get there, and when she does she will break the age record set by John Glenn, who returned to space in 1998 at the age of 77. Daemen will break the youth record set by the Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov, who was 25 when he blasted into orbit in 1961.

The FAA approved Blue Origin's launch Monday, just a day after Branson flew to space aboard the first passenger flight by his own space tourism company, Virgin Galactic.

Branson received a hero's welcome back on Earth Tuesday in NYC, as he was heading in to "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Courtney Stodden is tired of Chrissy Teigen talking like she's a victim of cancel culture -- they say she's really just a bully trying to score sympathy points.

Here's the deal ... Chrissy recently vented on social media, saying she's the newest member of the "cancel club" in the wake of her cyberbullying scandal, but Courtney sees that as BS ... because, as they tell us, "cancel club" isn't even a real thing.

On the other hand, Courtney says normalizing bullying definitely is real, and that's their concern -- despite Chrissy's online griping, if bullies don't suffer consequences they'll never change.

As you know, there's a long history between Courtney and Chrissy ... with Courtney claiming Chrissy bullied the hell out of them back in the day and even allegedly told Stodden to kill themselves.

You'll remember, back in June, Chrissy said she'd be privately reaching out to "people I insulted" to apologize for past conduct -- but we're told she still has not contacted Courtney or their team. She's also still blocking Courtney on Twitter.

One celeb who has apologized to Courtney for previously making fun of her is Jason Biggs ... who  recently sent them a DM as an olive branch.

CS tells us they're "done with the games" and they just want to focus on bigger issues, not on Chrissy feeling like she's unfairly being canceled or victimized.

Luenell has some pretty simple advice for Bill Cosby -- just say "no" to a comeback standup comedy tour ... unless, of course, he's looking to end up back behind bars.

We got the comedian and actor at LAX, where she was adamant the best thing Cosby can do with his newfound freedom is to enjoy it ... quietly, at home. She says the alternative is taking the O.J. Simpson route.

Remember, 13 years after his stunning acquittal on double murder charges ... Simpson got pinched for armed robbery of sports memorabilia in Las Vegas, and ended up doing 9 years in prison.

Luenell's theory is ... Cosby should learn from Simpson, and simply "go somewhere and sit down." She doesn't spell it out, but the insinuation seems to be Cosby's gonna get himself in big trouble again if he insists on touring -- especially because she expects he'll be facing lots of protesters wherever he goes.

TMZ broke the story ... following his release from prison last month, Cosby's been plotting a tour and his camp says several promoters and comedy clubs are interested, with the exception of NYC's famed Comedy Cellar.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez like it, and they're about to put a ring on it -- a housekey ring ... because the couple's jumping to the house hunting stage of their reunion!!!

Bennifer 2.0 was out and about Thursday in L.A.'s upscale Holmby Hills neighborhood, and they had a high-end realtor escorting them to check out a few mansions. J Lo and Ben followed in their own vehicle, stealing a few kisses along the route ... perhaps to celebrate finding their dream home.

We know one of the pads they toured is a $65 million, 31,000 square-foot palace with 8 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. That's tons of room for them and their 5 kids ... who we're sure would love some of its fun features.

The pad's got a freakin' bowling alley!

Our sources say the couple checked out at least 3 mansions during the shopping trip, which comes a little more than 2 months after they grabbed headlines again by hanging out in Montana ... shortly after J Lo's split from A-Rod.

They've been pretty inseparable ever since ... including a romantic hook-up in Miami, date night in Beverly Hills ... and a trip to the Hamptons with Jen's kids.

Ben even had his children hanging with J Lo's daughter, Emme, last weekend at Universal City Walk for some modern family fun.

Serena Williams is eyeing a return to the tennis court in just a couple weeks ... so says her agent, Jill Smoller, who tells TMZ Sports the star is hoping to shake off her leg injury in time for the U.S. Open.

You'll recall ... Serena crumpled in pain at Wimbledon during her first-round match on June 29, and things did NOT look good for the 39-year-old.

She yelped as she hit the grass ... and broke down in tears as she left the court -- leaving many to wonder if she could possibly be done for the rest of the year.

But, when we got Smoller out in Los Angeles this week ... she told us Williams' recovery process is going well.

"She's doing great," Smoller said.

In fact, Smoller told us the hope is for Serena to be ready to go when the U.S. Open kicks off in New York on Aug. 30.

Before this telephone tot was a leading lady in numerous film and television shows, she was just another cute kid making calls in Los Angeles, California.

This smiling sweetheart may have gotten her start on a sweet Disney series, but now she is winning awards for her indie roles at multiple festivals -- such as the Dallas International Film Festival. She has starred in comedies alongside Bryan Cranston and Woody Harrelson, but has also shown off her talents in dramas as well.

Recently, she was featured as the love interest Justin Bieber's new music video.

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are very much out in public following their recent wedding ... playing music together at a venue in a small town in Blake's neck of the woods.

The newlyweds grabbed a couple microphones and guitars Thursday for a free concert at Ole Red -- a bar Blake owns in Tishomingo, OK ... and they were up close and personal with the bar patrons in a super intimate setting.

Blake told the crowd he can't believe Gwen's singing in this little outpost in his home state ... and everyone got a front-row view to her new wedding ring.

Blake's rehearsing for a couple shows he's got coming up ... and his new wife is naturally helping him prepare.

TMZ broke the story ... Blake and Gwen got a marriage license in Oklahoma leading up to July 4 weekend, and they ended up getting hitched at his ranch in a small ceremony surrounded by close friends and family.

Richard Sherman repeatedly and violently threw his body into his father-in-law's door while making menacing comments toward the man ... and the alarming scene was all captured on video.

The footage appears to show the 33-year-old NFL star walking up to Raymond Moss' porch in Redmond, Wash. on Wednesday morning ... before becoming absolutely unglued.

You can see in the clip -- first posted by KIMA -- when Sherman could not get into Moss' home ... he shoved the door with his hands, and then crashed into it with every fiber of his 6-foot-3, 194-pound frame.

When that didn't work ... Sherman stood in front of the door -- and appeared to challenge Moss to come outside and confront him.

"Come through, bitch!" Sherman said, before repeating "Come through!" over and over and over again.

Moss appeared to try to talk to Sherman from behind the locked door ... but Richard responded, "I don't give a f*** about what you're saying! Open the door!"

"That s*** cute from behind the door," Sherman continued. "Come through! That s*** real cute!"

It looks like Sherman then attempted once more to get into the home ... and when the door still wouldn't open, he shoved it violently several more times, before walking away.

As we previously reported, cops ended up arresting Sherman and booking him on a domestic violence burglary charge.

He went on to spend all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday behind bars ... before a judge released him without bail late Thursday afternoon.

Lil Durk got a rude awakening, when some people busted into his home and exchanged gunfire with him and his girlfriend ... this according to law enforcement.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ... the rapper and his girlfriend, India Cox, were the victims of a home invasion and aggravated assault this past Sunday a little after 5 AM.

Law enforcement tells us several unidentified individuals entered Durk's home in the Chateau Elan neighborhood of Braselton -- about an hour outside Atlanta -- and a shootout ensued.

The GBI says Durk and India discharged their firearms, but they were not injured during the incident.

It's unclear exactly how many people allegedly entered the home, but cops are asking for tips from the public in the case as part of the investigation.