Movies

Wrestling star Paige says she's leaving the WWE after more than a decade with the org. ... but she added that she has plans to return to the ring someday.

The 29-year-old -- whose wrestling story was so unique it actually was adapted into the 2019 flick, "Fighting with My Family" -- shared the emotional news in a statement on her Twitter page Friday.

"July 7 will be my last day with WWE," Paige said. "I'm so thankful and I appreciate the opportunities that the company has given me."

"I know after my neck injury taking me out of in-ring status, it was pretty hard to keep me around for as long as you did and for that I'm thankful too."

Paige -- real name Saraya-Jade Bevis -- made her WWE main roster debut in 2014, the night after WrestleMania XXX, and would quickly make history ... defeating AJ Lee to become the youngest Divas champion ever at age 21.

Unfortunately, her promising career was cut short after she sustained a neck injury from a Sasha Banks kick during a six-man tag team match in 2017.

The British superstar retired from in-ring competition onscreen in 2018, but later received exec roles with the org.

Paige -- who has wrestling in her blood (her parents, Julia and Patrick, as well as her brothers, Roy and Zak, were all wrestlers, and even run a promotion in England) -- said in her statement she was sad to close the chapter of her life ... but did tell her fans she'd be inside the squared circle again one day.

"Thank you to the WWE Universe," Paige said. "You guys are the most passionate group of fans I've ever seen. Hope you continue to stay on this journey with me."

Ezra Miller is NOT controlling 18-year-old Tokata Iron Eyes, at least according to Tokata ... who says she's sick of folks painting her as a victim, and not believing her side.

Tokata let out her frustrations in a video where she slams her parents and the media ... saying she's downright disappointed they're not taking her word that she's making her own decisions.

She says she doesn't have a phone by choice, and calls it "distressing that the narrative of the 'victim' in question is not being granted in trust".

Tokata adds "it's nobody's business, and no one is owed a story".

The tone of the video is interesting ... Tokata speaks at a very slow, deliberate pace, and some folks in the comments didn't seem to buy what she was saying.

TMZ broke the story ... her parents filed legal docs seeking a protective order for Tokata, claiming "Ezra uses violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions, and drugs" to control Tokata.

They're hoping a judge will see it their way, and force Ezra to stay away from their daughter.

Of course, we know Ezra has been arrested multiple times, including an incident with bar patrons in Hawaii. Tokata and Ezra have been spotted dancing at a club in Hawaii.

Jack Harlow is turning into quite the method actor -- the rapper was spotted working his ass off on the basketball court on the set of the "White Men Can't Jump" reboot.

Of course, Jack is no stranger to hoop ... but his Billy Hoyle character is a former college baller, so the dude's gotta look the part when the cameras start to roll.

Harlow can be seen backing down his defender and whizzing by him for a layup in one of the clips ... and appears to be laser-focused on immediate feedback from a trainer.

As we previously reported, Harlow has been hanging around on set in Venice this week ... as TMZ Sports obtained video of the "Nail Tech" MC walking around on a court.

Now, we get a chance to see the guy with a ball in his hand ... which will obviously be a big part of the flick.

Harlow has recently showed off his basketball skills during celebrity basketball games ... and he's got some solid range.

"New Girl" star Lamorne Morris is a couple million dollars richer ... cause we're told he unloaded his Los Angeles area home for around $2 million more than he paid to get it.

TMZ has learned ... Lamorne recently sold his contemporary Spanish pad in L.A.'s Tarzana neighborhood for $5.3 million. Pretty good return, considering he dropped $3.1 million when he bought it back in 2018.

The 6 bedroom, 8 bathroom house was on the market for less than 40 days ... and if you take a look at it, it makes sense why this bad boy was snagged fairly quickly.

Lucky for Lamorne, L.A.'s San Fernando Valley is on fire with home sales and prices in the area are really on the rise.

We're told the buyer isn't a celeb, but whoever scooped it up will enjoy a fully automated smart home with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, a chef's kitchen with dual islands and top-of-the-line appliances.

When you step outside, there's a large sparkling pool, a spa, sports court, a pool house with a bar and dining area and plenty of grassy space.

As for Lamore, we're told he's going to be renting a home in the L.A. area for now.

Amber Heard's emerged for the first time since being on the losing end of the Johnny Depp defamation trial ... trading a private jet for a chauffeured car.

The actress popped up Friday at an airfield in Washington, D.C. -- where she climbed down the stairs of her private plane and was ushered into a waiting luxury SUV. Amber's traveling party is at least four deep ... including her sister, Whitney Henriquez.

We're told earlier in the day she'd been in NYC for meetings, but caught a flight from New Jersey to D.C. and then made her way back to Virginia.

It's interesting to see Amber flying private ... remember, she's been ordered to pay Johnny $8.35 million ... and her lawyer, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, claims Amber can't afford to pay the judgment.

Of course, Amber would probably have a tough time flying commercial these days, even if she was in first class, there are a lot of Depp fans out there.

If there's any question as to whether or not brands will work with Johnny Depp again following his trial ... look no further than a resurrected Dior campaign airing in prime time this week.

Depp's face and musical talent are on display in a spot for Dior's Sauvage men's scent, and we caught it on air during "MasterChef" on FOX Wednesday night in the 8-9 PM hour.

Depp signed on with the company back in 2015 as the face of the scent, but it appears to have a resurgence as of late, given the buzz surrounding his trial with Amber Heard. The commercial was shot years ago when the campaign first launched, but for obvious reasons, hadn't exactly been in heavy rotation.

More evidence of the comeback ... Sephora also started pushing the fragrance with an Instagram ad that started popping up again in late May.

We reached out to Dior to ask if the company's purposely putting Depp's face back in play with the men's scent, but they haven't gotten back to us.

Interestingly enough, a recent report stated Sauvage sales had increased at both Sephora and Ulta -- making it one of the best-selling fragrances for the stores' online sales.

As we've shown you -- both during and immediately following the trial -- Depp's achieved rock-star status ... jamming out on stage with Jeff Beck and getting a warm welcome just about every place he goes.

Hollywood Harlow in full effect -- Jack Harlow is on set for his acting debut in the "White Men Can't Jump" reboot ... and TMZ Sports has the vid!!

As we previously reported, the "First Class" rapper landed the gig after crushing his first-ever audition ... playing Billy Hoyle, which was Woody Harrelson's role in the original film back in 1992.

The project appears to be well on its way ... as Harlow was spotted making his rounds on set at a basketball court in Venice.

Of course, Harlow is working alongside Sinqua Walls in the flick ... who was picked to play Wesley Snipes' Sidney Deane role, despite Quavo's hopes of getting his name called.

The project is backed by Kenya Barris, NBA star Blake Griffin, NFLer Ryan Kalil and Noah Weinstein of Mortal Media ... and is directed by Calmatic.

Other actors on board include Lance Reddick, Teyana Taylor, Andrew Schulz and Laura Harrier ... so some of those names were probably on set as well.

Rebel Wilson has a very special person she wants the world to meet, coming out in an Instagram post and introducing the world to her new girlfriend.

In a post Thursday, Wilson says, "I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess #loveislove."

The woman is Ramona Agruma, a clothing and jewelry designer, who owns Lemon Ve Limon, based out of Los Angeles.

While it's unclear how long the two have been a thing ... they were spotted together in Los Angeles during Super Bowl Sunday back in February, the big game was held at SoFi Stadium. The two also went to Cabo in March with a group of friends to celebrate Rebel's birthday.

Rebel's recently opened up about her weight loss -- dropping close to 100lbs -- as a personal health decision. However, she said her own management wasn't necessarily down with the decision, she spoke about their hesitation in a recent interview, "'Why would you wanna do that?' Because I was earning millions of dollars being the funny fat girl and being that person."

American actress Lori Petty was just 29 years old when she was cast as Rae Lindley -- the young and smart biologist on the journey to receiving her PhD in marine biology -- in the 1993 family/drama film "Free Willy."

Lindley shared the big screen with Jason James Richter as the orphan who finds companionship with Willy the whale, Jesse, Michael Madsen as the husband who takes in Jesse, Glen Greenwood, Jayne Atkinson as Glen's wife who shows Jesse a mothering side, Annie Greenwood and August Schellenberg as Rae's boss and Willy's keeper, Randolph Johnson.

LP is also known for her role as the bodacious surfer Tyler in "Point Break," the kid sister Kit in "A League Of Their Own" and the manic inmate Lolly in the Netflix series "Orange Is The New Black."

Anthony Edwards might have a future in Hollywood -- the young NBA star showed off his acting chops in the LeBron James-backed "Hustle" flick ... and the dude's impressive!!

The film is based on Adam Sandler's character -- an NBA scout with the Philadelphia 76ers -- who discovers a super-talented hooper in Spain in hopes of saving his job.

20-year-old Edwards spends the majority of the flick antagonizing Juancho Hernangomez's character -- Sandler's golden ticket and one of the movie's stars -- playing the villain role in natural fashion.

Ant's appearance in the movie is getting a ton of praise on social media ... with some folks saying the hooper needs to be in more movies.

The movie is filled with some of the NBA's biggest names -- Kenny "The Jet" Smith has a significant role as sports agent Leon Rich ... and stars like Julius Erving and Mark Cuban also make cameo appearances.

Trae Young, Jordan Clarkson, Kris Middleton, Kyle Lowry, Seth Curry, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle, and Tyrese Maxey also had roles in the movie.

Ezra Miller is not only a bad influence, they're a danger to the well-being of an 18-year-old woman ... at least according to her parents, who are asking a court to step in and keep the actor away from her.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Tokata Iron Eyes met a then-23-year-old Miller in 2016 -- when she was just 12 -- and the actor was visiting the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. From there, Tokata's parents say she and Ezra developed a friendship they believe puts Tokata at risk.

Tokata's parents say Miller flew her to London in 2017 to visit the studio where "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" was filmed, as she was a big fan and Miller was a star in the movie. At the time of the trip, they say Tokata was 14 and Ezra was 25.

As the friendship continued, Tokata's parents claim Ezra supplied their underage daughter with alcohol, marijuana and LSD.

Not only that, they claim Ezra -- best known as The Flash in the DC superhero films -- disrupted Tokata's schooling at a private institute in Massachusetts so much, she dropped out in December 2021.

The parents say they flew to Miller's Vermont home in January to get their daughter ... and discovered she didn't have her driver's license, car keys, bank card and other items needed to navigate life independently.

They say they also found bruises on Tokata's body which they allege Ezra caused.

Shortly after she got home, Tokata's parents say she fled to NYC to reunite with Ezra -- and from there, the pair's been traveling together to Vermont, Hawaii and Los Angeles. The two were spotted at a club in Hawaii in video obtained by TMZ.

As we've reported ... Miller got arrested several times during their stay in Hawaii, including an incident where they allegedly attacked bar patrons.

In the docs, Tokata's parents state, "Ezra uses violence, intimidation, threat of violence, fear, paranoia, delusions, and drugs to hold sway over a young adolescent Tokata." They claim Ezra's also told Tokata to solely go by Gibson ... a nickname she formerly used with family and friends.

Then there's this ... they say Ezra's decided Tokata is non-binary transgender, when she had previously declared herself "non-binary, queer, gay."

It seems Tokata is aware of her parents' concerns -- she recently took to social media to say she's mentally stable, and her "comrade" Ezra has been a help in her life. She also says she's recently gotten a therapist and is looking forward to the future.

Tokata's parents are asking the court to step in and issue an order of protection against Ezra on behalf of their daughter, and a hearing is set for next month.

Johnny Depp clearly understands the power of TikTok, but his attorneys reject the notion it had any impact on the verdict ... instead, they say it's Amber Heard's testimony that hurt her with the jury.

Camille Vasquez -- fresh off her promotion to partner in her law firm -- and Ben Chew told ABC's George Stephanopoulos their strategy was to use Amber's own words against her ... carefully crafting their questions based on her previous testimony. Vasquez believes that showed the jury all it needed to know about Amber.

As for Team Amber's claim the jury was influenced by the overwhelming support for Johnny on social media -- including TikTok, which Depp joined Tuesday -- Chew says it "played no role whatsoever," and the jury reached the verdict purely based on the evidence presented by both sides.

Remember, the jury was not sequestered, and the criticism is it would've been impossible for them to avoid the flood of posts supporting Johnny and attacking Amber.

Vasquez also shot down the idea the #MeToo movement was setback by the verdict in Johnny's favor -- saying, "We encourage any victim to come forward. Domestic violence doesn't have a gender." She added, "The facts are what they were. The jury made a unanimous decision based on those facts."

Chew and Vasquez carefully skirted a question about the possibility of Johnny striking a deal ... where he would let Amber off the hook for the $8.35 million judgment, and she would not file an appeal ... as she's claimed she intends to do.

The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial might be over, but the ridicule isn't … especially for folks who disagree with the jury, and stand by Amber.

Ruth Glenn, CEO of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, tells TMZ … since releasing a statement in support of Amber last week, the group has been besieged by Depp fans on all fronts.

She says some of the backlash amounts to impassioned commentary -- including sentiments that NCADV doesn't believe men can be abused, that real DV victims believe Johnny and even more shots at Amber … like people calling her a liar or a "psycho."

As for the people pointing out NCADV leaders are clearly pro-Amber -- their statement said they were "appalled by the verdict" -- Glenn admits that's accurate, because her org thinks Amber is the victim in this case ... despite the jury's verdict.

That being said, Glenn tells us the vitriol -- toward Amber and her supporters -- is unwarranted, and she adds even Ray Rice didn't get publicly dragged this much after his infamous domestic violence case.

As for what the future holds, Glenn says the #MeToo movement won't suffer a permanent setback, but she does think people need to rethink what it means to believe all survivors.

In the short term, though, she suspects this verdict might affect how DV victims come forward and speak on these issues.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon transformed into Phil Knight and Sonny Vaccaro for the first time on Monday ... and the moment was apparently so big, Jennifer Lopez had to pop by to show her support.

The A-list actors officially kicked off the first day of filming for their new Vaccaro biopic this week in Burbank, Calif. ... with both donning costumes to get into their roles.

Affleck -- who's playing Knight in the untitled movie -- wore a wig and a button-down shirt, while Damon got into Vaccaro character by poppin' on a polo and some khakis.

J Lo, meanwhile, was seen on set supporting her man and his best buddy ... looking on during filming and hanging with Ben during breaks.

As for the movie itself ... it's got no official release date yet, but it promises to tell the story of Vaccaro, Knight and Nike's pursuit to sign Michael Jordan to a shoe deal back in the 1980s.

If you're unfamiliar, Vaccaro -- a sneaker salesman -- ultimately helped Nike land Jordan through a relentless chase of the hoops star ... paving the way for the apparel company to become the giant in the shoe industry that it is today.

Harvey Weinstein is blaming Chrysler for being relegated to a walker in recent years ... going after the vehicle manufacturer for what he says was a shoddy braking system in a new lawsuit.

The disgraced movie producer just filed suit against the car manufacturer, claiming that in August 2019 ... he was involved in a nasty wreck near Bedford, NY while riding in one of their Jeeps -- which he says the company provided so it could make an appearance in one of his films he was working on at the time. Unclear which flick it might've been.

Anyway, per the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Weinstein says he was driving the Jeep when he had to swerve to avoid hitting a deer on the road. Weinstein claims that when he attempted to miss the deer, the brake system failed him ... and sent the car rolling.

Weinstein says he was wearing his seatbelt but still suffered serious injuries and was "rendered paralyzed" as a result of the accident.

We'd been told back in late 2019 -- before HW went to trial, and was eventually convicted -- that the reason he was in a walker now and needed back surgery was because of some car accident he'd been in that summer ... and now, we know what exactly that incident is.

Weinstein was accused of playing sick and frail for the cameras -- but according to his suit here, he's anything but ... the man insists he got this way directly because of the Jeep's defects. So now ... he's suing and wants at least $5 million in damages.

Florida-born actress Arielle Kebbel was just 21 years old when she was cast as Carrie -- the beautiful, smart and overachieving high school student plotting against the popular boy -- in the 2006 teen romantic comedy film "John Tucker Must Die."

Arielle shared the big screen with Jesse Metcalfe as the attractive jock who can get any girl, John Tucker, Brittany Snow as the cute, new girl, Kate, Sophia Bush as the promiscuous popular chick, Beth and Ashanti as the cheer captain, Heather.

Kebbel was also in the popular films "American Pie Presents: Band Camp" and "Think Like A Man."