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LeBron James received a lot of heat for the Lakers' struggles this season, but Magic Johnson tells TMZ Sports he still wants to see LBJ in a Lakers uniform for the foreseeable future.

We spoke with Magic -- who won 5 titles with the Lakers during his career -- out in L.A. this week, and asked him if the Lake Show should trade its 37-year-old superstar after the team missed the playoffs this season.

Magic told us absolutely not ... saying he wants LeBron in the purple and gold "for a long time."

The idea of jettisoning James, who averaged 30.3 points per game in his nineteenth season, has recently been floated by disgruntled Lakers fans and some media personalities ... who think the haul LeBron could get in a trade would make the team immediately better.

But, Magic clearly believes that's nonsense ... telling us he "hopes" to see Bron stay.

As for who will coach LeBron next season after Frank Vogel was just fired ... Magic told us it certainly won't be him, and probably not Phil Jackson either.

But, the Hall of Famer did say Jackson will help in the hunt for the next head man ... something he appears to believe will be good for the org.'s future.

It's a mom-filled weekend, and these celeb daughters have truly taken after their famous mamas!

Like mother like daughter -- Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson, and Jada and Willow Smith are just a few famous dynamic duos that continue to showcase their genetic stardom ... but more importantly their love and admiration for each other.

For look-alikes Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber, Reese Witherspoon and Ava Phillippe, and Gwyneth Paltrow and Apple Martin .... well let's just say, the A-list apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Take a motherly stroll through our gallery to see all the famous mother-daughter greatness!

Open your home to "The Flash" star Ezra Miller, and next thing ya know there's total chaos and you're dodging flying chairs ... at least that's what their most recent alleged victim told a 911 operator.

During the 911 call, a woman claims Ezra hit her in the head with a chair and then fled the property on Hawaii's big island. She says she'd offered up her home to them, and insisted she'd been very nice to Ezra.

You can hear how distressed she was, urging cops to show up and find Ezra before they could escape.

As we reported, the 29-year actor was arrested for second-degree assault last month after officers responded to the incident at a private residence in Pāhoa. Cops say Ezra got annoyed after being asked to leave, and that's when he allegedly hurled the furniture. The woman ended up with a half-inch cut to her forehead.

Of course, this isn't Ezra's first run-in with the law, in Hawaii. They were arrested another time, in March, for disorderly conduct in a karaoke bar.

Weeks before that incident, they were physically blocked from getting into another bar.

Don't allow these two similar snapshots of Olivia Rodrigo to trigger your deja vu ... see if you can draw the distinctions in these two nearly identical shots of the grammy winner!

The singer-songwriter was recently photographed stepping out of her car (no driver's license needed in this instance) and was headed to a fancy Italian restaurant in New York City.

You may need to take 1 step forward and 3 steps back to really distinguish the minor differences in these two images. Are you up for the challenge?

George Lopez is laying the blame squarely on Hollywood Bowl security for the Dave Chappelle attack ... ripping the venue's protective measures, and comparing it to a budget restaurant chain.

We got the comedian at LAX and asked him about the guy who ran on stage, allegedly with a gun/knife combo in his pants, and somehow evaded security and tackled Dave.

George didn't hold back his criticism, telling our photog ... "The Hollywood Bowl is the Olive Garden of security, so they need to beef it up."

Zing!!! Sorry, OG fans, but he definitely did NOT mean that as a positive.

The way George sees it ... the fact the attacker, Isaiah Lee, was able to get to Dave doesn't bode well for Bowl security, which he claims is more lax than a CVS.

George wasn't much kinder to L.A. County D.A. George Gascon, who passed on felony charges for Dave's attacker and punted the case to the City Attorney, who charged Lee with 4 misdemeanor charges.

GL disagrees with the lighter charges, saying if it was truly a misdemeanor to attack comedians, these incidents would not be so rare.

He also thinks the guy's weapon, a replica gun with a real knife attachment, should have elevated it to a felony.

As we reported, Lee pled not guilty to the charges Friday, but George thinks some justice was already served, namely the beating the guy caught on stage.

Snoop Dogg and his Mt. Westmore groupmate Ice Cube are about to be a lot closer … now that Snoop is a part-owner in Cube’s Big3 basketball league … TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

Snoop and PayPal co-founder Ken Howery dropped $625,000 together to purchase a 40 percent stake in BIG3 team “Bivouac” that went winless last season due to injuries.

BIG3 opened the floodgates for people to grab a stake in the franchise team through NFTs... which is exactly what Snoop and Ken did.

They weren't the only ones, either. Popular NFT hubs DeGods, Gary Vaynerchuk and VeeFriends, Bill Lee and MyDoge/DogeCoin, and Krause House all got in the spending spree, copping all 25 Fire-Tiers of the Killer 3’s, Trilogy, Aliens and Ball Hogs, respectively.

Snoop has become one of the space’s most avid NFT collectors … even touting his newly re-bought Death Row Records will be a 100 percent “NFT Label”

Snoop and Howery reportedly purchased all 25 Fire for Bivouac priced at $25,000 each. In other words, the team’s stock was divided into blockchains for sale. Remaining editions will be available come Saturday, May 7 for hungry Discord members.

Gabby Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of her daughter's deceased killer, Brian Laundrie ... seeking around $30k in damages.

Laundrie's family attorney, Steven Bertolino, tells TMZ … the filing of the wrongful death lawsuit by the Petito family was fully expected and most likely will not be defended.

He says, "The Petitos will have gained nothing more than a piece of paper that tells them what everyone already knows - which is that Brian was responsible for Gabby’s death as indicated by the FBI."

According to the lawsuit ... Laundrie killed Gabby and her parents had to cover funeral and burial expenses. They also claim they've suffered a loss of care and comfort from their daughter.

As for why only $30k, when they could have sued for 7-figures for the murder of their daughter, we're guessing it's because the funds just aren't there.

As we reported ... Gabby's parents sued Brian Laundrie's parents, claiming they were aware their son murdered their daughter before Brian's body was found in October.

The man who charged at Dave Chappelle onstage will have to come up with $30,000 bail before he gets out of a jail cell.

Isaiah Lee made his first appearance in an L.A. courtroom Friday morning to face 4 misdemeanor charges -- and he looked very much worse for wear following the beatdown he got at the Hollywood Bowl.

Lee's right arm was in a cast and a sling when he entered the courtroom and entered a not guilty plea on all charges. He was represented by a public defender who told the judge, Lee had suffered a broken arm -- something that was painfully obvious as he was being hauled out of the Bowl on a stretcher.

If he's able to come up with bail, Lee will be under a protective order ... requiring him to stay at least 100 yards away from the Hollywood Bowl, Dave and any other venue at which the comedian performs.

As we reported, the L.A. County D.A., George Gascon, passed on felony charges for Lee and punted the case to the City Attorney, who charged Lee with possession of a weapon with intent to assault and unauthorized access to the stage area during a performance.

An absolutely insane fight broke out at a card room in California this week ... and it all appeared to start because a man dropped a "Yo Mama" insult on another man.

The wild scene reportedly went down at HUSTLER Casino in L.A. ... after two guys got into a verbal argument at a poker table inside the venue for unknown reasons.

Video from the casino shows the two screamed at each other ... and escalated into a full-on fistfight when one of the men fired off a jab about the other man's mother.

In the clip, you can see the guy was so upset over the quip, that he spit on his rival's face ... and then tried to punch him in the head.

That's when the man in the grey shirt retreated, grabbed a small table and then beat the other man with it.

Security eventually stepped in and tased the dude who was wielding the table. As the guy was on the ground, he said, "He hit me first!"

According to poker news website CardsChat, HUSTLER Casino has banned all of the combatants, saying "any form of violence is not tolerated."

Gabriel Iglesias is gearing up for some record-setting gigs at his beloved Dodger Stadium, and, in the wake of the Dave Chappelle incident ... he's not worried about getting got by violent hecklers.

Gabriel, AKA Fluffy, joined "TMZ Live" to talk about being the first comedian ever to perform at the iconic home of the L.A. Dodgers, as a part of the "Netflix Is A Joke" 12-day festival.

Fluffy tells us he wanted to go big or go home, and sure enough ... this is the biggest venue he's ever played. He's filling more than 45,000 seats this weekend, making it the 3rd biggest comedy show ever ... and the biggest ever in Los Angeles.

Of course, the attack on Chappelle is on the mind of all comedians -- many are ramping up security measures -- but Gabriel says he's not worried at all.

He broke news with us about someone jumping on his stage last week in Seattle ... revealing his security team -- which he calls the best -- immediately took down the guy. But, "professionally," he says.

Mary J. Blige absolutely cannot be stopped in 2022.

Fresh off her Super Bowl LVI appearance and the release of her 14th studio album, "Good Morning Gorgeous" ... Atlanta's bestowed the Queen of Hip Hop Soul with her very own "Strength of a Woman Day."

The slogan is borrowed from Mary's previous album and marks the official kickoff to the Live Nation and Pepsi-sponsored "Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit" this Mother's Day weekend.

Thursday night's celebration went down with ATL City Councilwoman Keisha Sean Waites presenting an award to MJB ... as 2 Chainz, Kandi Burruss, celebrity stylist Misa Hylton and music exec Kenny Burns attended.

Mary will perform this weekend ... along with Chaka Khan, City Girls, Ella Mai and a host of other standout women of color. The festival will also have musical and technological workshops to inspire and educate.

Next month she's getting the Icon Award at Billboard Music Awards ... which her longtime pal and mentor Diddy is hosting.

Pete Davidson is poking fun at Kanye West's divorce from Kim Kardashian ... comparing his girlfriend's ex-hubby to a famous Robin Williams movie character.

The 'SNL' star came out swinging in his stand-up set on "Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival" ... shading Kanye for being a modern-day Mrs. Doubtfire.

Pete asks the crowd ... "Does anybody else secretly hope that, like, Kanye pulls like a Mrs. Doubtfire? I come home one day and they're like, this is the new housekeeper. And, he's like, "What's up fam?"

Of course, Robin played the title character in the 1993 movie about a divorced actor who dresses up as a female housekeeper to be able to see his kids.

Pete even joked about the Kanye allegedly spreading rumors he had AIDS ... joking John Mulaney called him and told him the best way to respond would be to spread a rumor Kanye has Polio.

Pete's bit went on ... he says he's not bothered by Kanye's collab with his friend Jack Harlow ... joking the thing that would offend him is if comedian Bill Burr suddenly showed up at Sunday Service.

The man who killed Nicki Minaj's father, Robert Maraj, in a hit-and-run has pleaded guilty.

Charles Polevich pled guilty to one count of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and one count of tampering with physical evidence ... both felonies.

He was facing up to 7 years behind bars on the felony count alone, but it looks like he won't get nearly that long of a sentence. Judge Howard Sturim committed to sentencing Polevich to no more than one year in jail, along with community service and suspension of his driver's license.

As we reported ... Robert Maraj died at the age of 64 ... after being struck in a hit-and-run accident back in February 2021.

Nicki later opened up about the tragedy on her website saying ... "I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life." She added, he was very loved and will be very missed.

Mike Hagerty, a character actor famous for his work on "Friends" and "Somebody Somewhere," is dead.

Mike died Thursday in Los Angeles, according to his 'Somebody' co-star Bridget Everett. The cause of death is unclear.

Everett's remembering Mike as a beloved character actor and devoted husband, saying she "loved Mike the instant I met him. He was so special. Warm, funny, never met a stranger."

Mike's most known for his recurring role as building superintendent Mr. Treeger on "Friends" ... most notably in the season 4 episode, "The One With the Ballroom Dancing," where Joey reluctantly agrees to be his dance partner after Rachel and Monica are threatened with eviction.

Mike appeared on a ton of TV shows over the years ... including "Boston Legal," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Cheers," "Community," "CSI," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Entourage," "ER," "Ghost Whisperer," "Glee," "The Goldbergs," "Grey's Anatomy," "Happy Endings," "Medium," "The Mindy Project," "Mob City," "Monk," "Seinfeld," "Shameless," "The Wayans Bros." and "Wonder Years."

He was also a series regular for two seasons of FOX's "The George Carlin Show" and one season of HBO's "Lucky Louie."

Recently, Mike starred in HBO's "Somebody Somewhere" with Everett, playing her character's father, Ed Miller.

Mike, who grew up in Chicago, is survived by his wife, Mary Kathryn. He was 67.

Kevin Samuels, famous for dishing out controversial dating advice on social media, is dead, sources have confirmed to TMZ.

The influencer and self-proclaimed image consultant, lifestyle coach, and dating expert died Thursday in Georgia.

According to a police report obtained by TMZ ... EMS was called to Kevin's home Thursday morning for a "person injured" and found Kevin unresponsive on the floor of his apartment.

The police report states they talked to a woman who said they met Kevin Wednesday night and spent the night with him at his place in Atlanta. The woman -- who is a nurse -- said Kevin started to complain of chest pains on Thursday morning, and she tried to help him. She told cops he fell on top of her, so she called 911 and requested a defibrillator from the front desk of the apartment complex.

According to the report, Kevin was taken to Piedmont Hospital.

Kevin had a huge following on social media, including 1.42 million YouTube subscribers, and often stirred debate with his hot takes on dating and relationships.

Recently, Kevin stoked controversy by saying unmarried women over 35 are "leftovers" ... and the clip's been making the rounds on the internet. He's also been known to publicly embarrass both men and women seeking his dating advice.

Kevin worked with Future earlier this year, asking the rapper dating questions for a trailer for Future's single, "Worst Day." In the clip, Kevin asks Future how much money he spends on women.

Kevin was 57.

Dave Chappelle took the stage Thursday night and revealed something shocking ... he spoke to the man who attacked him at the Hollywood Bowl, and the guy told Dave why he did it.

Dave says he convinced Bowl security Tuesday night to let him speak to Isaiah Lee before he was taken away. Dave says, "I needed to talk to him" to find out why he attacked. Chappelle says Lee told him this was all about getting attention for his grandmother ... who he said had been forced out of her neighborhood because of gentrification.

Dave was at the Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, and there were lots of celebs in attendance, including Kim Kardashian, Diddy, Jeff Ross and Chris Rock. Chris joined Dave on stage and they joked about both being attacked during a performance.

At one point Dave said, "At least you got smacked by someone of repute. I got smacked by a homeless guy with leaves in his hair!" Chris's response ... "I got smacked by the softest n**** that ever rapped."

Dave ended the show with this as he gazed at Diddy ... "I am in the place where you sat in the car with Biggie Smalls as he died," adding, "I hate this city."