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Forget Russell Wilson, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye ... JuJu Smith-Schuster says he wants Mac Jones to return as the Patriots' starter in 2024.

"Honestly, man," the New England wideout told TMZ Sports out at LAX this week, "my boy Mac, that's my guy."

"I know at the end of the day," he continued, it's "whatever the coaches decide to do. But I think Mac's still got it."

Of course, there are plenty in Foxborough who vehemently disagree with JuJu ... as Jones was only 2-9 in the 11 games he started last season.

In those contests, he threw for just 2,120 yards, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His quarterback rating dipped all the way to 77.0 too.

To make matters worse for the former first-round pick, it was the second straight year he appeared to regress ... leading plenty in Patriots Nation to urge the team to move on to a draft pick or a veteran like Wilson. In fact, NFL Network inside Ian Rapoport reported Friday the team itself is exploring trading the 25-year-old.

But, Smith-Schuster made it clear to us he's hoping the ex-Alabama star -- and his backup, Bailey Zappe -- get another chance in '24.

"I'm riding with Mac," said the receiver, who signed a three-year deal with the Patriots last offseason. "I'm riding with my boy Zappe. Those are my boys. I came in throwing with those dudes."

"But, whatever happens, happens."

Jake Paul and Mike Tyson may not be the only boxing stars fighting on July 20 ... legendary pugilist Antonio Tarver says he wants to settle the score with rival Bernard Hopkins at Jerry's World before Iron Mike and The Problem Child go to battle!

55-year-old Tarver -- a multiple-time world champion -- joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show on Friday (airs nightly on FS1) where he threw out the challenge to The Executioner.

"If they want to put two other old guys on the undercard, I got a name in mind too, so we can all have fun with this," The Magic Man said.

Naturally, we asked ... who?!

"Everybody knows I got a bone to pick with Bernard Hopkins, ya know what I mean? He's a vegan, so he always stays in shape. So maybe we can support this big fight!"

Of course, Tarver and Hopkins famously fought in Atlantic City in June 2006 ... a fight Antonio was heavily favored to win.

But, that's not how it went inside the squared circle -- Bernard dominated the fight.

Antonio is looking for some revenge nearly two decades later.

FYI, Hopkins last fought professionally when he faced Joe Smith Jr. in December 2016. Tarver's last bout was in August 2015 against Steve Cunningham. Together the two legends have over 100 pro fights.

We also talked to Tarver about Jake and Mike ... and while many people have made the case that a near-60-year-old couldn't beat a guy in his mid-20s, that's certainly NOT how Antonio sees things.

The woman who went viral after attending the Warriors game this week has experienced an insane surge of interest in her luxury girlfriend services ... and it's gotten so out of hand, she's had to nearly double her hourly rate.

Katherine Taylor caught the eye of many NBA fans after she was spotted cheering on the action during Wednesday's matchup between the Dubs and Milwaukee Bucks at the Chase Center ... largely in part thanks to her wardrobe choice.

TMZ Sports caught up with the stunning blonde following her newfound fame ... and she says being in the spotlight has resulted in some serious interest in her side hustle.

Taylor -- who offers her company for compensation -- tells us she can barely keep up with all the inquiries that have piled in over the past two days ... and her website crashed due to the increase in traffic.

Prior to her appearance at the game, Taylor (who's actually a Sacramento Kings fan) was charging 900 bucks an hour for her services ... but now, it'll set ya back $1,500/hr. Ya know, supply and demand.

Bad Bunny está enojado con un fan que, según él, publicó imágenes no autorizadas de un concierto suyo en una cuenta de YouTube y ahora está demandando al tipo.

Según una nueva demanda obtenida por TMZ, Bad Bunny afirma que un hombre llamado Eric Guillermo Madronal Garrone publicó actuaciones completas de sus canciones en el canal de YouTube que dirige, MADforliveMUSIC.

Bad Bunny afirma que Garrone fue a su concierto del 21 de febrero en Salt Lake City, Utah y grabó múltiples videos de su actuación, que luego subió a su canal de YouTube.

Bad Bunny dice que el problema es que él posee los derechos de su música en vivo y Garrone no tenía autorización o consentimiento para grabar y publicar esos registros en línea para que la gente los vea de forma gratuita.

Bad Bunny dice que Garrone está utilizando el nombre del famoso cantante y su música para atraer la atención hacia su canal de YouTube, y por ende, quitándole visualizaciones e ingresos por publicidad a la propia página oficial de Bad Bunny en YouTube.

En los documentos, Bad Bunny dice que trató de emitir avisos de retirada estándar en virtud de la Ley de Derechos de Autor del Milenio Digital, también conocida como DMCA, donde le exigía a YouTube que eliminara los videos de Garrone.

Bad Bunny afirma que YouTube quitó los videos, pero Garrone presentó una contrademanda para conseguir que los vuelvan a subir, haciendo que el cantante no tuviera más remedio que presentar la demanda.

TMZ hizo algunas indagaciones y encontró el canal de YouTube al que se refiere Bad Bunny y da la impresión de que todos los videos de sus actuaciones en vivo fueron eliminados de la cuenta por ahora, a excepción de este video de la orquesta que abrió el concierto de Bunny esa noche en Salt Lake City.

Claramente, Garrone tenía una gran vista del show y algunos equipos de cámara de alta calidad y este clip de la orquesta tiene una duración de 9 minutos en YouTube.

Si Garrone estuvo grabando y subiendo videos similares durante el resto del concierto de Bad Bunny, como él afirma, parece muy distinto a subir un video de un concierto con el celular a las redes sociales como hacen millones de personas. De hecho, en TikTok hay un montón de clips más cortos de su concierto de esa noche, pero ninguno es tan largo.

Bad Bunny is mad at a fan whom he claims posted unauthorized concert footage on a YouTube account ... and now he's suing the dude.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Bad Bunny claims a man named Eric Guillermo Madronal Garrone posted full song performances on the YouTube channel he runs, MADforliveMUSIC.

Bad Bunny claims Garrone went to his Feb. 21 concert in Salt Lake City, Utah and recorded multiple videos of his live performance ... uploading the footage to Garrone's YouTube channel.

Problem is ... Bad Bunny says he owns the rights to the live performance music and Garrone did not have his authorization or consent to record and post them online for people to watch for free.

Bad Bunny says Garrone is using the famous singer’s name and music to draw eyeballs to the YouTube channel ... thus taking views and ad revenue away from Bad Bunny's own official YouTube page.

In the docs, Bad Bunny says he tried to issue standard takedown notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act -- also known as DMCA -- demanding YouTube remove Garrone's videos.

Bad Bunny claims YouTube took down the videos but Garrone filed a counterclaim to get them back up … leaving BB no choice but to file the lawsuit.

TMZ did some digging and found the YouTube channel Bad Bunny has beef with ... and it seems all the videos of his song performances are deleted for now ... except for this video of the concert orchestra that opened for Bunny that night there in SLC.

Clearly, Garrone had a great view at the show and some high-quality camera equipment ... and this orchestra footage runs 9 minutes in the YouTube upload.

If Garrone was shooting/posting similar videos for the rest of Bad Bunny's concert -- as Bunny claims -- it seems a lot different than just uploading a cell phone video of the show to social media .... as millions of people do. In fact, lots of shorter clips of his concert from that evening are up on TikTok -- but none of them are all that lengthy.

An L.A. jury says Ricky Garcia, from the boy band Forever in Your Mind, was indeed sexually abused by his former manager back when the singer was a teenager ... TMZ has learned.

The jury returned the verdict Friday, finding Joby Harte liable for childhood sexual abuse, gender violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury also hit Harte with an 7-figure judgment -- awarding Ricky $5.5 million in compensatory damages, and another $1 mil in punitive damages.

The verdict brings an end to a lengthy case for Ricky, who was 20 years old back in 2019 when he filed the lawsuit against Harte ... alleging he had groomed and assaulted him for several years, starting when Ricky was just 12.

Ricky joined Forever in Your Mind after auditioning for season 3 of "The X Factor" -- he impressed Simon Cowell enough to get an invitation to join the group. He was also a child actor, co-starring in more than 30 episodes of the Disney Channel show, "Best Friends Whenever."

But, in his lawsuit, Ricky said show biz took a dark turn for him when Harte took the band on trips he described as songwriting sessions. The singer says Harte got him drunk and he woke up naked on Harte's bed.

On other occasions, Ricky says Harte forced him to perform sex acts while he was under the age of 18. He said he was afraid he'd lose his career, so he remained silent for years ... until he and his mother confronted Harte, and then filed the lawsuit against him.

Jeremih is sitting pretty these days after selling off a portion of his catalog for a pretty penny ... which begs the question, is the writing on the wall for music industry royalties???

Joe Budden seems to think so -- per the rants in his past pair of podcasts, and Jeremih had more riddles than answers when we caught the R&B wiz at LAX Friday to weigh in on this exact issue ... but we think we can read between the lines.

Back in January, Jeremih and HarbourView Equity Partners reached a deal that signed over a chunk of his publishing rights -- his discog booming with hits, starting directly with his debut single, 2009's "Birthday Sex."

Jeremih tells us he still maintains some ownership over his records but couldn't give his full endorsement if other artists should follow suit.

He notes the musical landscape was different back then -- release a hot track and the radio took care of the rest but in today's social media era, promoting music has become more volatile and every artist has to choose the best adventure for themselves going forward.

We tried to squeeze more advice outta him -- but the "Oui" singer took an infamous cue from his "Final Lap" tour headliner 50 Cent and copped a plea ... namely, that he's hurtin'.

Fat Joe's push in D.C. to gut America's cryptic healthcare system last night peaked with an encounter with the man in charge himself -- President Joe Biden!!!

The Bronx-bred rapper came face to face with the Prez following his SOTU address that took shots at Donald Trump -- a personal invite from his good friend, House Rep. Nanette D. Barragán.

Sources close to the encounter tell TMZ Hip Hop they exchanged pleasantries inside the Capitol Building ... Joe's skills as an MC have cemented his life's legacy and even he was impressed with Biden's delivery!!!

Joe wasn't only representing Barragán, he's been in D.C. all week on behalf of the Power to the Patients org that combats hidden hospital fees and we're told Joe's stance is 100% bipartisan ... he even had Democrats and Republicans flocking to him for selfies after he dapped up Biden.

Chuck D's also fighting the power for the patients, an issue, he recently stressed to TMZ, that needs to be corrected sooner rather than later as the American people are often left in the dark about how the systems work.

Larsa Pippen will not apologize for being generous with the Benjamins for daughter Sophia's allowance ... defending her parenting, and saying her teen daughter is also earning her own dough.

ICYMI, Sophia's hefty allowance is $2,500 per month, and it became a hot topic during Thursday's reunion for "The Real Housewives of Miami." While Andy Cohen was shocked to learn the 15-year-old was getting so much, Larsa claimed that number isn't that uncommon in Los Angeles, where her daughter resides.

As the Bravo personality put it ... L.A. is a super expensive town and the massive sum gives Sophia the freedom to order food, buy presents for friends and more.

She also says a large chunk of that change is earned by Sophia, who has appeared in campaigns for both Fashion Nova and Oscar de la Renta -- like most L.A. teenagers, we suppose?

Larsa's castmate Adriana de Moura came to her defense, calling her a good mom ... but noted that the reality TV star had other faults they could focus on.

For instance, Guerdy Abraira has struggled to forgive Larsa for revealing her cancer diagnosis without her permission.

While Larsa tried to apologize again at the reunion ... Guerdy made it clear she had no time to deal with the drama.

Larsa's main supporter during the episode was boyfriend Marcus Jordan (AKA son of basketball legend Michael Jordan).

While Marcus declared his love for Larsa during the reunion ... the two have had some recent drama off-screen. Remember, Larsa and Marcus faced breakup rumors last month after they unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Larsa -- who was previously married to Michael's teammate Scottie Pippen -- said during "The Traitors" reunion, which also dropped Thursday ... "We're working on our problems."

We may need a roadmap to follow all this drama.

If Francis Ngannou pulls off the upset win over Anthony Joshua on Friday, perhaps nobody will be happier than Drake -- 'cause the rapper just bet a small fortune on the UFC fighter to get the dub!!

Drizzy showed off his betting slip on his Instagram page just hours before the match goes down ... revealing he put a whopping $615,000 on Ngannou to beat Joshua in a boxing match in Saudi Arabia.

If it hits, Drake stands to make a ton of cash -- $1,906,500 to be exact -- and based on his IG caption, he seems confident it will all actually happen.

"Betting on a scary man," Drake said.

The fight will be just the second pro boxing one of Ngannou's career -- but, given how the first one went against Tyson Fury back in October, many think he can actually win it.

You'll recall, Ngannou -- the former UFC heavyweight champ -- roughed up Fury for most of their bout ... but lost in a controversial split decision.

One loss aside, Ngannou's seemed super confident in the leadup to this next fight -- and Drake appears to be believing the bravado.

Tan Mom is bowing out of the race for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida, and, oddly, Wendy Williams -- of all people -- played a role in her decision ... TMZ has learned.

The bronzed mother of 5, whose real name is Patricia Krentcil, says in a new video obtained by TMZ that she's dropped out of the running after watching the new Wendy documentary, and comparing it to her own reality series, "Tan to 10."

Tan Mom says she realized she could end up like Wendy, who struggles with alcohol abuse and a myriad of other health issues, if she continued with all the pressure that comes along with a political run for office.

Another factor ... mass layoffs at struggling and bankrupt Vice Media.

Tan Mom says she was filming a documentary about her campaign for Vice, but the media company pulled the plug and has not paid her or her team a dime, despite a contract she says she signed with Vice.

Patricia says the Vice staffers who were working on her documentary told her team a couple weeks ago their entire department was laid off, and would try to get her paid -- but Tan Mom says the whole thing has been a waste of time and effort and greatly hurt her campaign.

She also took time off the campaign trail in November to undergo a risky medical procedure ... bypass surgery to remove a stent separating her pancreas and liver.

When she announced her Senate bid last year, Tan Mom told us she was motivated to run because of Florida's hot-button issues ... like healthcare and drag show bans.

Even though she's waving the white flag, Tan Mom says she's proud of all the work she did on her campaign -- such as a Town Hall she filmed at Hamburger Mary's supporting the LGBTQ community.

Nika King isn't letting the ups and downs of her HBO show's filming schedule get her down -- 'cause even though she says she's struggling ... she's also out here hustlin'.

The 'Euphoria' star did an interview with a pap Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, just outside her Blue Tree Cafe ... where she remained relatively tight-lipped about the bombshells she dropped earlier in the week -- namely, that the delay for Season 3 was hurting her.

The only thing she could really say on the matter was that she wasn't sure what the holdup was -- but she also seemed to be telegraphing that she's doing just fine, or so it seems.

She also says that despite the challenges she's faced, she's been busy working hard and making ends meet with the jobs she does have as a stand-up comic and at her café -- even encouraging the photog to come inside and place an order.

As we reported ... Nika plays Zendaya's on-screen mom on "Euphoria," but filming for the third season has hit some snags -- which she said has affected her ability to pay rent for the last 6 months. Nika also said she hadn't been hired for anything after "Euphoria."

Season two of "Euphoria" aired ages ago in 2022, but filming for the next one has been dragging ... mainly due to the writers' strikes and the sad passing of Angus Cloud.

On top of that, Zendaya's been booked and busy -- specifically, on her 'Dune 2' press run.

Although Jake wanted no part of Mike in 2020 when we talked to him, Paul's opinion changed a couple of years later. In 2022, as The Problem Child was promoting his scrap with Anderson Silva, reporter Blake Beasley asked JP which legend he'd like to box ... his answer? Iron Mike!

Jake Paul has come a LONG way in the sport of boxing ... 'cause what he once considered impossible has just become his next challenge -- Mike Tyson.

TMZ Sports took a peek into our Problem Child interview archives after his fight against the legend was announced on Thursday ... and it's fascinating to see the dude's growth in just a short amount of time.

When we spoke with Jake back in 2020, we asked if he'd step foot in the ring with a boxing legend like Tyson or Evander Holyfield ... and his response was an emphatic rejection.

"Look, I'm confident, but I'm not stupid." Paul -- who had two fights under his belt at the time -- told us. "I would not go into the ring with them. Nah, no chance."

Remember, this was before Jake's viral knockouts of Nate Robinson, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley and impressive wins over Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva ... when he was just a "silly YouTube kid" who wanted to handle his long list of celebrity enemies through boxing matches.

Now, he's one of the most famous fighters on the planet, a successful promoter and envisions becoming a world champion ... and will go head-to-head with Iron Mike in a massive event at AT&T Stadium in July.

He's accomplished way more than he ever expected ... 'cause in that same interview, he told us his goal in boxing was simply to prove that he's a "legitimate fighter" and to "earn people's respect."

Elon Musk apparently doesn't like MacKenzie Scott's charitable efforts ... criticizing Jeff Bezos' ex-wife for donating billions to charities supporting women and minorities.

The Tesla founder vented about this issue (in his mind) on X Wednesday ... writing, "'Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse' should be listed among 'Reasons that Western Civilization died'."

As of Thursday, the fiery post is no longer available ... so yeah, he took it down.

Elon's message was actually a response to another user's complaint about Scott's donations ... which bashed her for giving money to orgs focused on race and gender issues -- calling it "the ultimate expression of the most awful group in the US."

On its face, this seems to align with Elon's recent railing against DEI. But this isn't the first time he's spoken out against Scott's philanthropy. In 2022, he linked hostility toward his companies to "Mackenzie's donation to PACs posing as charities."

Goes without saying ... EM's stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts hasn't exactly been a secret -- and he's also faced accusations of sexism over the years to boot.

As for Scott, her philanthropic efforts have been pretty impressive. After her divorce from Bezos in 2019, she walked away with nearly $37B and pledged to donate half of it to charity. She's definitely stuck to her word ... giving away over $16.5B to more than 1,900 nonprofits, as reported on her Yield Giving website.

Chuck D has joined the fight initiated by Fat Joe and many others to tackle the U.S. medical industry's hazy pricing methods ... which he says is public enemy #1 to the average American citizen.

We kid of course, but Chuck was deadly serious while talking to TMZ Hip Hop about this issue -- which he thinks is going to bite Americans in the ass the longer it goes ignored.

The legendary rapper joined Joe, The Foo Fighters, French Montana, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Valerie June and several other music stars this week for the Power to the Patients' concert in Washington D.C. to further pressure lawmakers to pass legislation to combat the healthcare price transparency issue.

FF frontman Dave Grohl called Chuck his "hero" during their performance, noting how Chuck and Public Enemy set the tone long ago for using their platform to raise social awareness among fans.

We ask if celebrities can still sway the vote at this point in time but Chuck points out that hip hop is now 50 years old -- with rock being even older -- and both communities are well-traveled enough to speak facts. Remember, artists are voters too!!!

Chuck rallying in Washington is one of the many precursors to the 2024 election -- with all signs pointing to a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump -- two unappealing candidates from Chuck's POV.

He laughed off Trump's recent string of promos ... slangin' sneakers and shirts with his mugshot photo have caused a stir but Chuck says Americans shouldn't believe the hype, 'cause it's the same 'ol scenario.

Rashard Mendenhall, a former NFL player turned Hollywood writer, is selling his lavish estate ... which just happens to be the iconic former home of comedy legend Richard Pryor.

Rashard, who played 6 seasons as a running back with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, just put the 6-bedroom property on the market for $4,236,000.

Richard lived there for several years after purchasing the home way back in 1976 ... and it's where he once hosted Barbara Walters for a famous sit-down interview.

It's also where Pryor infamously doused himself in rum and lit himself on fire while freebasing cocaine. Pryor suffered severe burns on more than 50% of his body and referenced the incident in his comedy special "Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip."

The property is tucked away in the exclusive Sherwood Forest neighborhood in Northridge -- outside L.A. in the Valley -- with 9,000 square feet of living space on a 2.2-acre plot of land.

The main residence includes 4 bedrooms, a formal dining room, a gourmet kitchen and a library ... plus game and billiard rooms.

There's a separate guest house and a separate pool house ... each with its own kitchen ... as well as a professional dance studio/gym space that can be turned into a recording or production studio.

In addition, the sprawling property features an office, children's playhouse, 3-car garage and a kennel. The estate is also a legal horse property, for those who are so inclined.

Among the resort-style amenities ... a 65-foot pool and spa with a cascading waterfall, tennis court, putting green, sauna, wine closet and a barbeque pavilion.

The meticulously maintained grounds include a citrus grove and a vegetable garden ... and the property sits behind a wall and a gate.

Rashard bought the place back in 2017 for $2.5 million ... a couple years after he retired from the NFL and started writing "Ballers" episodes for HBO.

There's meaning behind the $4,236,000 asking price, for Rashard, at least -- his career NFL rushing total stands at 4,236 yards. We'll see if potential buyers are inclined to stick to his sentimental pricing.