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Fat Joe had an eye-opening story for Ashanti that almost saw one of her biggest hits go to Jennifer Lopez ... at the would-be behest of Ja Rule and Irv Gotti.

Joe was talking to Ashanti on Instagram Live this week, and recounted an interesting tale about a time he says Ja and Irv called him up in the dead of night and told him to come to the studio. Once there, FJ says they showed him the remixed version of his song "What's Luv?" with Ashanti singing on it ... but told him they wanted to get J Lo on instead.

He goes on to say that Irv and Ja tried pitching him on a Latino angle with himself, Ja and J Lo on the final cut for representation. Joe's Puerto Rican, Jen is too.

Luckily for Ashanti -- who seems seriously stunned at the revelation -- Joe lobbied to keep her on, 'cause he said she sounded amazing on it. Audiences clearly agreed in the end ... Ashanti was kept on as the primary female singer in the remix, and the song went on to peak at No. 2 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart, and stayed on for nearly 20 weeks.

As for Ashanti, she says she never knew this ... and seemed a little pissed at either Ja or Irv (or possibly both) by saying, "He stayed pulling records or trying to pull records from me." Joe tries calming her down by telling her not to go there, but too late ... Ashanti did.

The duo went on to talk about a number of hits Ashanti had on the charts at the time, including one J Lo song she's credited with helping write, "Ain't It Funny" ... the Murder remix, anyway. People online are saying Ashanti doesn't get her due for her pen prowess.

Anyone can do CPR ... and so can any creature, apparently, including Grizzly Bears.

Check out this big bear who was caught on camera from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in Montana, giving "CPR" to a pesky trash can that wouldn't open for him and let him have at whatever goodies were inside. It can't get the lid off, so it goes for plan B.

The bear starts pumping away at the trash can from on top, seemingly trying to break through. In the process, it looks like it's doing a pretty solid job of chest compressions -- which caught the eye of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital's Hands Only CPR campaign.

They posted the video on their TikTok account, and used it as pub for their own site that teaches folks how to learn hands-only CPR in a minute or less. In fact, they actually found another clip from the GWDC of a bear doing another rendition of CPR, and posted that too.

FWIW, no these bears aren't actually taking life-saving measures. They're just trying to break stuff for some unknown bear reasons, but it's still cute and pretty funny. Interestingly enough, animal CPR isn't entirely unheard of either -- specially-trained dogs have been known to take a crack at it. That said, bear CPR would probably speed up killing someone.

Oh, and BTW ... hands-only CPR's pretty simple. You check to see if someone's not breathing, call 911 ... put your hands over each other while interlocking your fingers, and then get to work pumping on their chest at a rate of at least 100 compressions per minute.

Fred Willard has died ... TMZ has learned.

The veteran comedic actor passed away late Friday night. His daughter Hope tells TMZ, "My father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86 years old. He kept moving, working and making us happy until the very end. We loved him so very much. We will miss him forever."

Fred had a long career of making people laugh on camera -- whether it be TV or film. He rose to fame in the late '70s with appearances on parody sitcoms like 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,' 'Fernwood 2 Night,' 'America 2-Night,' and others like it throughout the '80s.

In the '90s, FW started appearing on a bunch of hit comedy shows on air at the time, like 'Sister, Sister,' 'Roseanne,' 'Access America' and 'The Simpsons,' among others. He later went on to star on 'The Weird Al Show,' 'Maybe It's Me' and a number of mockumentaries -- including 'The History of White People in America,' 'This Is Spinal Tap,' 'Waiting for Guffman,' 'Best in Show,' 'A Mighty Wind,' 'For Your Consideration,' and 'Mascots.'

He's also known for his role as Ron Burgundy's news director in the 'Anchorman' films. Fred often played the straight man in his films, to hilarious effect because of how goody-goody and naive he appeared in whatever ridiculous situation his characters found themselves in.

He's starred in countless cult comedies over the years, such as ... 'American Wedding,' 'How High,' 'Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,' 'Date Movie,' 'Epic Movie,' 'Roxanne,' 'Monster House,' 'WALL-E,' 'The Wedding Planner,' 'Harold,' 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,' 'Idle Hands,' and so on. He was in even more hits on TV.

Fred appeared in shows like 'King of the Hill,' 'Mad About You,' 'Hercules,' 'Family Matters,' 'Married With Children,' 'Modern Family,' 'Ally McBeal,' 'Family Guy,' 'Hey Arnold!' 'A Minute with Stan Hooper,' 'SNL,' 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'MADtv,' 'Kim Possible,' 'Back to You,' and so many other great series. Most recently, he was set to appear in Netflix's forthcoming comedy "Space Force," alongside Steve Carell and other comedic geniuses.

He was married to Mary Willard from 1968 to 2018, when she passed away. He's survived by his daughter, Hope.

Washington Redskins star Cody Latimer was hauled off to jail this weekend after cops say he was involved in assaulting someone and illegally using a firearm.

The wide receiver was arrested early Saturday morning just after midnight in Englewood, Colorado, where cops were summoned to an apartment complex Cody was at. It's unclear what led up to the arrest or why police were called -- but Cody was taken into custody.

He was booked on several charges ... assault in the second degree, illegal discharge of a firearm, prohibited use of a weapon, reckless endangerment and menacing. He was processed at the Douglas County Detention Facility -- and has reportedly already bailed out on a $25,000 bond.

The Redskins have responded to Latimer's arrest, saying ... "We are aware of the situation and have informed the NFL League Office. We will continue to gather more information and have no further comment at this time."

Cody's had a run-in with the law before in Colorado -- he was arrested in 2016 during a domestic disturbance call he made on his GF ... back when he was a Bronco. Later, it was revealed Cody was only taken in on an outstanding warrant for a failure to appear in court from a traffic ticket.

Frank Bielec, one of the stars of "Trading Spaces" has died ... TMZ has learned.

Frank's wife, Judy, tells TMZ, Frank passed away Friday ... a day after suffering a heart attack. He was taken to a hospital in Katy, Texas, and then transferred to a Houston hospital for specialized treatment. Frank died Friday in the Houston hospital.

Judy says the surgical team dissolved into tears when they couldn't save Frank.

Frank was an accomplished designer and appeared on the TLC show every season until 2008 when the show wrapped. He also appeared on the 2018 reboot.

No funeral service. Frank will be cremated -- ashes put inside a round wooden box and placed on top of a fireplace in their home.

Frank was an elementary school teacher back in the day, teaching classes in art and social studies. He got a masters of fine arts but eventually became disenchanted with the educational system -- he felt it focused too much on tests and not enough on what he called experimental learning.

Frank's next adventure was not television ... it was strictly floral. Frank became a florist, creating spectacular arrangements. It wasn't a passing thing ... Frank did it for 20 years.

He was also an artist ... accomplished enough to have his work displayed in galleries. Then, in 1989, he created a business called "Mosey 'n Me" with Judy, specializing in cross-stitches.

Frank had a soft spot for animals ... he rescued a dozen sugar gliders and any wildlife that happened to mosey onto his property ... well, they had a home.

He applied all that he learned over the years to his designs on "Trading Spaces," peppering every room with artistic touches ... stenciling, cross-stitching, drawing -- things like that.

Frank was 72.

Rich the Kid did some damage in the hood this week ...

The rapper was shooting a music video on Long Island and wanted to film with 4 Lamborghini's in the background. A woman named Irina Pichkhadze, aka @queenofexotics, brought 2 Lambos she owned to the shoot. Rich rented a third Lambo and a buddy of Irina brought the fourth. Each car goes for more than $600k.

Then Rich had an idea ... line up the 4 Lambos and take a pic in front of them while they waited for the videographer.

The shoot did NOT go well ... in fact, it didn't go at all. The videographer was a no show.

And then ... he jumped on the hood of one of Irina's whips, and she just lost it, hurling profanities at the rapper as he clowned on top the car.

Irina tells us when Rich jumped off, he just said, "whatever," and left in his Lambo.

Russell Westbrook's got a special birthday message for his little man -- and it's another side of Russ we really don't see too often on the court.

The Rockets star point guard posted a sweet message Saturday to his only boy, Noah, wishing him a happy third birthday -- while also throwing up a bunch of photos and videos of the two of them doing some father-son bonding.

He writes, "Noah, I love you more than life itself and everyday It brings me so much joy to see that beautiful smile and to know you are my son. Thank you God for this unbelievable blessing. HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY MANMAN!!!!!!! Daddy loves you forever and ever and ever and ever......🎉🎉🎉🎂🎂🎂🎁🎁"

Noah is Russ' first kid between himself and wife Nina Earl. They had him in 2017, and a year later ... they welcomed twin girls. Russ might not get as much pub as some of the other NBA dads in the league -- a la Steph Curry and LeBron James -- but he's quite the family man, it seems.

Ahmaud Arbery's murder case is drawing national attention and outrage similar to the slaying of Trayvon Martin in 2012 ... and TMZ's learned the parents of both young men want to meet.

Lee Merritt -- attorney for Ahmaud's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones -- tells us ... the goal is to get both sets of parents together on a phone call soon, but so far, they've not been able to get schedules to line up.

We're told both sides have expressed interest in talking as they have something incredibly tragic in common -- losing children to violence, apparently racially motivated, and targeting unarmed young black men.

Merritt says a meeting of the 2 families will hopefully allow them to encourage each other, learn from each other and advocate for their sons. He's hoping Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton can provide guidance for Ahmaud's parents on handling the case, while also trying to recover from his death.

Of course, it will have to just be via a phone or video call for now due to the pandemic ... but we're told both sides are eager to make it happen.

The parents also have a legal connection -- Ahmaud's father's attorney is Ben Crump, who's worked with Trayvon's family.

As you know ... Ahmaud was killed on a Brunswick, GA road back in February after being confronted by 2 armed white men -- Travis and Gregory McMichael -- who claim they thought he was a suspect in a series of recent burglaries. They weren't arrested until last week when video leaked of the incident, which has since been described as "modern-day lynching."

Gregory McMichael, one of Ahmaud Arbery's alleged murderers, was a point person for cops just months before the killing ... because we've learned police told at least one neighbor if there was a trespass, he should call McMichael and not them.

According to text messages between an officer of the Glynn County Police Department and Larry English, the owner of the home under construction where Ahmaud's alleged killers claim he was trespassing, police told English to call Greg instead of cops whenever Larry needed assistance.

The officer texted Greg's phone number to Larry, informing him McMichael was his neighbor and instructing him to call Greg when his motion-activated camera catches someone at the construction site.

The text from Dec. 20 reads ... "Greg is retired Law Enforcement and also a Retired Investigator from the DA's office. He said please call him day or night when you get action on your camera."

Larry's attorney, Elizabeth Graddy, confirmed the text exchange is real ... and says she received it a couple days ago in a batch of emails.

As you know ... Gregory and his son, Travis McMichael, are charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in Ahmaud's February shooting death.

Gregory retired in 2019 after working as an investigator with Brunswick D.A. ... and he previously worked as a police officer in Glynn County.

Remember ... Ahmaud's alleged murderers also came face to face with a young black man at the construction site less than 2 weeks before the fatal shooting, and another neighbor claims they confronted Arbery.

The text raises incredibly serious questions ... among them, why were police telling a homeowner to call a vigilante?

The brutal, horrific killing of Ahmaud Arbery has caused tremendous pain along with some serious self-reflection, and Trump has clearly never met a mask he liked. So we gotta ask ...

Don't let these two almost identical images of Elsa Hosk bug you ... Get it together and see if you can figure out the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The model was spotted picking up some coffee in New York City a few weeks ago ... and we have made a few changes to the pic! Get your detective hat on and take a really good look around this photo to see if you can find the differences between these two super similar snaps!

'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic and his new legal team had nothing to do with a helicopter flying over his old zoo ... according to sources close to the FAA investigation.

We broke the story ... Joe's former business partner, Jeff Lowe, filed a complaint over a chopper illegally flying near his Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park last week in Oklahoma.

Jeff suspected Exotic's legal team was involved because the aircraft's tail number matched the one they used in a promo video for Joe ... but TMZ's learned that's not the case.

Sources close to the investigation tell us a chopper did fly over the zoo on the afternoon of May 10, but the pilot told investigators he was simply taking his daughter and her friend on a ride to check it out ... and he thought the zoo was closed.

We're told the pilot claims he did a few orbits outside the zoo's boundaries and maintained a safe level of altitude ... and says his flight tracker logs will prove it.

Our sources say the pilot also made it clear to the FAA he was not hired by Joe's legal team to spy on Lowe's zoo or upset the animals ... the trip was just something to do during quarantine boredom.

However, the pilot was hired by Exotic's Team Tiger for its video to push for Joe's Presidential pardon. A source close to the pilot says he owns it and has been flying for 30 years ... but absolutely was not hired by the team to fly to the zoo.

Justin Gaethje loves how the tables have turned with Conor McGregor ... telling TMZ Sports it's the Irishman's turn to wait in line for a fight.

"I get to pick between Conor and [Khabib Nurmagomedov] right now," Gaethje says.

"I can pick whichever one I want. That’s a spot every single person in the sport, I don’t care what weight class you’re in, would love to be in the spot that I am in right now."

"Timing is everything. To have Conor on his knees begging for a fight, it’s a testament for the hard work and believing in my ability to show up and perform."

As we previously reported, Gaethje had been calling for a fight with Conor for YEARS -- but the guy wouldn't sign a contract.

Now, it's McGregor who's been trying to bait Justin ... and JG loves it.

Justin says right now he's laser-focused on fighting Khabib to "prove that I'm the best"... but he isn't ruling out a brawl with Conor after that.

"I could fight those two fights and retire", Gaethje says. "Monetarily, that's huge for me."

"So, yeah, it's a great spot to be in."

As for Khabib, Justin shares a manager with the Dagestani superstar -- and they're all very cordial.

Still, Gaethje has a message for Khabib -- "When we fight, it's going to be huge."

"It’s going to be the two best in the world figuring out who's the best on that night for 25 minutes.”

As for where the fight could take place, Justin says he's down to have the scrap anywhere on the planet ... "Sh*t, I'll fight him somewhere in the heart of Dagestan or Russia."

Kim Petras just dropped a new quarantine-friendly music video ... and it's packed to the gills with celebs checking in from home and having a rockin' good time.

The transgender singer's latest hit is called "Malibu" ... and the theme for the music video is people everywhere daydreaming about some fun in the sun once these safer-at-home days are over.

Paris Hilton kicks off the long list of celebrity cameos, followed by Demi Lovato, Jessie J and Charlie XCX.

There are also appearances from Jonathan Van Ness, Madelaine Petsch, Todrick Hall, Pabllo Vittar, Loren Gray, Aquaria, Nikita Dragun, Dorian Electra, Brittany Broski, Bowen Yang, Slayyyter, Daniel Preda and Theodora Quinlivan.

Yeah, Kim's rollin' deep!!!

As you know ... KP loves trolling the hateful, homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, even parading around right in front of the hatemongers' HQ in Topeka, Kansas ... but this video is all about FUN.