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A guy who jacked a truck on an L.A. freeway Friday morning wanted cops to know he wasn't packin' heat.

The truckjacker was darting across lanes on the 101 Freeway in East L.A. ... this after cops spotted the truck and gave chase.

The guy -- who was pretty well built -- stunned motorists who were driving to work at around 6 AM. He eventually got off the freeway as police and TV news choppers followed him. He was eventually caught.

Before Louis C.K. shocked an NYC audience with his return to stand-up, he warmed up off the beaten path by crashing a Long Island comedy club where he got a standing O ... and TMZ got photos from the gig.

The disgraced comedian hit the stage last Sunday at Governor’s of Levittown out on Long Island. Club owner James Dolce tells us Louis did about 10 to 15 minutes of material ... but no one, including Dolce, had any clue C.K. was dropping in for the set.

In the photos from the Governor's gig, you can see Louis whipped a notepad out of his pocket ... clearly refreshing himself on the new material he was trying out that night.

This set came just a few hours before Louis drove into NYC to surprise the crowd at the famed Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village. While there's been much debate about whether it's too soon for him to return after admitting to sexual misconduct last November -- Dolce says it was clear how the audience felt at his club.

They loved it. Some fans even waited for photos after the show, but Louis had bolted for the Big Apple.

John Legend picking a favorite Aretha song is like eating just one potato chip ... it's just impossible.

John was flying solo Thursday night at Craig's in WeHo, when our photog asked if one song from the Queen stood out. Check out John's answer. He probably could have gone even longer.

Aretha's funeral service is being held today, and it's like the Grammy's ... Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Faith Hill, Fantasia, Chaka Khan and on and on.

Former Prez Bill Clinton will speak.

Brett Favre tells TMZ Sports if there's one player in the NFL who deserves the biggest deal in league history -- it's Aaron Rodgers ... 'cause Favre says he's already one of the greatest to ever play!!

"I think when it's all said and done, he's a top 5 player, all time -- regardless of position," Favre says. "Quite frankly, he could be there right now."

And, get this -- remember all those reports of tension between Brett and Aaron back in the day? Favre tells us the two are actually FRIENDS, and Rodgers even came to visit him in Mississippi this summer.

"We were actually talking about how much of this contract he was going to give to me," Favre joked.

In reality, Rodgers was there to pick Favre's brain for a "Life of Aaron Rodgers" project he was doing ... and that's when Brett shoveled some serious compliments on the Packer QB.

"He made a comment while he was here, 'Hey, I'm just trying to fill your shoes,'" Favre says.

"I said, 'I appreciate that, but you've kind of paved your own way and continue to pave it.'"

As for Brett ... he's still traveling the world and getting recognized by fans -- EVEN IN IRELAND!!

Bow Wow just went nuts while shooting a segment for his TV show, attacking his camera crew and damaging thousands of dollars worth of equipment ... TMZ has learned.

Production sources tell us the rapper was shooting "Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta" Thursday night at the Westside Cultural Arts Center when he allegedly snapped. We're told Bow Wow shifted from calm cool and collected to a person no one recognized ... and it's unclear why.

Our sources say in a fit of rage -- Bow Wow started shattering gear -- busting three cameras in the process. The rapper also attacked anyone who tried to step in and stop him.

We're told cops were called to the scene ... no word yet if anyone was arrested.

The event at the Cultural Arts Center was a party for Da Brat -- who recently got off of probation -- we're told she may have been involved in the melee too.

Aretha Franklin's memorial in Detroit was a marathon of live music to honor the Queen of Soul -- and Patti LaBelle gave an incredibly moving performance.

Patti sang her hit song "You Are My Friend," and belted what turned out to be one of the best tributes of the night. Other acts including The Four Tops and Johnny Gill also hit the stage at Chene Park Amphitheatre.

We broke the story ... 23 acts were originally slated to perform Thursday, including big names like the Four Tops, Gladys Knight, Johnny Gill, Ron Isley and lots of others. Gladys' rep later clarified she wouldn't be performing, but would be in attendance.

The Four Tops performed "Bernadette," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There."

It's kind of a big deal these stars committed to the show -- 'cause they're all footing their own travel and lodging expenses, according to a document obtained by TMZ. Clearly, these folks hold Aretha near and dear to their hearts to trek out to Michigan to do this.

Aretha's funeral service is still to come Friday, which will feature headliners like Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande.

A 2-day, open casket public viewing was held this past Tuesday and Wednesday ... which had lines around the block of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

Aretha died earlier this month from pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

If you think you're excited about the inevitable sequel to "Crazy Rich Asians," you've got nothing on Singapore ... because its movie industry is poised to rake in a fortune from the next installment.

A rep for the Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority tells TMZ the first film was a huge boon to the nation's minuscule movie biz. Much of the flick -- which was shot on a relatively small $30 million budget -- was set in Singapore, and producers hired more than 300 local actors and crewmen to work on the flick.

Now -- after banking close to $100 million at the box office in just the first three weeks -- Warner Bros. is reportedly moving forward with a sequel likely based on the second book in author Kevin Kwan's trilogy, "China Rich Girlfriend." CRG will no doubt command a budget many times larger than the original ... meaning more actors, more crew and millions of more dollars for the Singaporeans involved in the film.

It may not mean much to Singapore's citizens as a whole -- the seventh wealthiest nation in the world -- but it's pretty good for the island nation's "industry" folks, who have reportedly supported a grand total of about 70 movies over the past twenty years.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece says her uncle might've actually gotten a kick out of Cardi B's 'Housewives of the Civil Rights Movement' skit, but the real-life iconic women wouldn't be laughing.

We talked to Alveda King -- whose father was Dr. King's brother -- and while she realizes the bit was all in good fun, she says it's important people know that's all it is. Alveda says Coretta Scott King and the other Civil Rights 'housewives' didn't talk like that, and never would.

Alveda seems to be fine with people laughing, as long as they don't take it seriously in a historical context. She adds, it'd be a "disgrace" if young people watching think these brave women acted this way behind closed doors.

Like we told you ... Bernice King called Cardi's take on her mother "repulsive," but then later said Cardi had reached out and apologized. Bernice's older bro, Martin Luther King III, also expressed his hatred for Cardi's portrayal and the fact it came out on the 55th anniversary of his father's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Danielle Bregoli's gonna need a serious pair of sunglasses if she keeps shining like this ... first going certified gold and now with some new bling.

Danielle -- aka Bhad Bhabie -- was in a celebratory mood after her track "Gucci Flip Flops" featuring Lil Yachty earned gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. With that in mind, we're told Bhabie commissioned celeb jeweler Johnny Dang to create some new pieces for her.

First, she got a 14k yellow gold Bhabie pendant with VVS1 quality diamonds. The enamel's a special paint mixed with 3 different colors and glitter. The second, a grill with flawless diamonds. The pieces are loaded with a total of 7 carats in diamonds.

The price tag ... we're told Bhabie dropped $45k. With sellout shows galore, it's no doubt a drop in the bucket for BB, who btw should probably also earn an award (or get a grill) for producing the funny-ass "Gucci Flip Flops" music video. Congrats!!

President Trump is defending the way he handled the death of Senator John McCain, saying he did "everything that they requested" and didn't bungle a damn thing.

The Prez sat down with Bloomberg News Thursday for an exclusive interview in the Oval Office, and reporters asked if he missed an opportunity to unite the country and made a mistake by initially not keeping the White House's American flag at half staff until McCain was buried -- an honor that's been bestowed on other senators who've died while in office.

You'll recall ... Trump ordered the flag be flown at half staff the day McCain died, but it was flying at full staff just a day later -- which pissed off A LOT of people, and reportedly caused a veterans group to personally demand that he lower it again out of respect.

Trump caved to the pressure, and eventually issued a statement praising McCain's service to the country after acting clammy at first with reporters who asked about the late statesman.

There's also this ... Bloomberg asked if he thought McCain would've made a better president than Barack Obama ... and DT refused to answer, saying "I don’t want to comment on it ... I have a very strong opinion, all right." Bloomberg notes that Sarah Huckabee Sanders was staring daggers at her boss while he said this, to which he reportedly joked that she was "having a nervous breakdown" over his response -- adding he might elaborate someday.

Smokey Robinson was a lifelong friend of Aretha's, with way too many memories to isolate just one.

We got the legendary singer/songwriter at LAX Thursday, where he was leaving for Detroit to attend the Queen's funeral.

Smokey knew Aretha since he was 8, and he reminisces about the good times they had as kids, when life was very, very different from the way it is today.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti knows all too well that people confuse Rodeo Road with the Rodeo Drive ... but that's NOT why the former was renamed Obama Blvd.

We got hizzoner at USC's Galen Center in downtown L.A. and our camera guy just had to know -- was the reason for the change that untold numbers of folks ended up accidentally going to glitzy Beverly Hills instead of south L.A. or vice versa.

Our photog's question triggered an LOL from the Mayor ... who got in on the joke before getting all presidential on us. Garcetti explained Obama made a historic visit on the Road long before he was POTUS ... and that's what triggered the move for the switch.

Watch the vid ... our guy has another trick up his sleeve in getting Garcetti to spill the beans on whether he's running for Prez in 2020.

4:41 PM PT -- Perla's attorney, Marty Singer, tells us unlike what Slash may think, ending the marriage won't be that easy. Singer says, "Slash is well aware of the significant claims that have been made by Perla as to why the divorce documents cannot be finalized at this time."

Singer says, "These include claims reflected in Perla’s court filings that there was a multi-million dollar audit settlement that was concealed from Perla, not paying in excess of $1,500,000 in child and spousal support payments, and significant advances received by Slash that will affect his future spousal and child support payments."

He continues, "Even though Slash reported over $45,000,000 of income last year, my client’s court papers allege that he refused to pay for a $1500 drum set that was requested by his son, a musician in a band, so that he could have a drum set at his mother’s home where he spends approximately 90% of his time. The other drum sets are at Slash’s home and studio where Slash does not allow his teenage son to remove them.”

Slash says his estranged wife is holding up finalizing their divorce for a bunch of trivial reasons -- the latest of which he says he's happy to help with ... if she agrees to close the book on their marriage.

The Guns N' Roses rocker filed new divorce docs responding to Perla Ferrar's latest claim in their ongoing war -- that Slash is hiding money from her, and that his new girlfriend is possibly responsible for harassing her and their kids online.

In the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Slash shoots down the notion he's concealing income, saying he's got cash coming in from multiple sources ... lots of which had been earned before they ever got hitched.

He also raises a pretty hilarious scenario -- that Perla allegedly asked him to buy one of their boys a third drum set, then bought a fourth drum set on her own ... and demanded Slash reimburse her. He says that's another reason she's holding up their divorce.

In addition to that, Slash says Perla is griping about ways they stay in contact -- insisting she be allowed to call him directly for custody scheduling or emergencies. He says they'd already agreed to use a program that eliminates the need to talk directly ... but she's insisting she be able to get on the horn with her ex whenever she thinks the need arises.

Lastly, Slash addresses Perla's accusation that his live-in girlfriend created an IG account and was posting personal info about their family that could be harmful to their kids. Slash says he was alarmed at first, but quickly realized the account was aimed at Perla, not their boys ... and that a lot of the stuff being posted was from Perla's own account.

He says he's willing to help her get to the bottom of the IG harassment ... IF she agrees to the terms they struck in their divorce deal ... and IF she finally agrees to get divorced.

Originally Published -- 8/30/2018 10:32 AM PDT

"The One Where No One's Ready" and Joey wearing all of Chandler's clothes is definitely Balenciaga's inspiration for its insanely expensive 7-layer coat -- so says the "Friends" costume designer, who's flattered.

When Balenciaga's $9,000 coat became available for pre-order sales at Barney's New York, not only did it trigger immediate Joey memes across the globe, Debra McGuire -- the costume designer who came up with the look in season 3 -- also took notice.

Debra tells TMZ "the coat is wondrously similar. I am flattered." She adds, "Bravo then to the 'FRIENDS' inspired coat!!!"

Debra says the coat was never meant to be a fashion statement -- "I remember laying out all the pieces in the [Warner Bros.] workroom and contemplating the best way to construct while making it an easy garment to get in and out of. It would open from the back and Joey would enter that way."

She adds that's the biggest difference between her and Balenciaga ... "Assuming this 2018 version is worn like a coat that opens in the front."

Funny you should ask ... Balenciaga's coat is a heavily-layered parka that's one garment made up of 7 different types of clothing ... from a hoodie and shirt to a fleece jacket. There's also a puffy coat, but nothing like the one George wore in "Seinfield."

Don't event think about it, Balenciaga.