Not to be outdone by hubby Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver broke two more road rules yesterday, but again she got off scot-free.
The rebellious First Lady of California was walking out of Peet's Coffee in Santa Monica when a vigilant parking enforcement officer noticed her meter had expired. The officer pulled out his rusty, trusty "auto-cite" device to ticket the vehicle, when suddenly one of Maria's security dudes ran up to him, flashed something at the officer and did some fast talking.
In the end, the officer backed off without writing a ticket. Maria then got in her SUV, took off her glasses and began eating her muffin as the expired meter continued blinking.
Oh, and there's this .... she drove off without securing her seat belt.
A Santa Monica police official tells TMZ writing a parking ticket is "discretionary." He also said if Maria was on official business she'd be exempt from parking laws, provided she had a placard on the dash. We saw no placard and -- last we checked -- eating a muffin is not official business.
UPDATE: A Santa Monica police official now tells TMZ the parking enforcement officer was about to write the ticket when a man walked up to the officer and said he was a member of the CHP Dignitary Protection Unit. The CHP guy then said he understood the officer had a job to do but the dignitary would be gone in less than 5 minutes. At that point the parking enforcement officer backed off, but issued a warning.
As for Maria then getting in the SUV, eating a muffin and driving off without her seat belt, the parking official says his officer didn't see that.
We contacted the CHP -- they have no comment on the situation.
Running with Jerry O'Connell is a real Party ... in the U.S.A.
Rebecca Romijn's hubby went for a jog yesterday, when his iPod dropped his favorite tune -- and that Miley song was on ... the Miley song was on ...and Jerry sang along.
The creator of "Entourage"is vowing to put a stop to the gay and racial "jokes" being thrown around on the set of his show, after one of the stars revealed he's "occasionally" targeted ... and unhappy about it. Rex Lee -- who plays Lloyd on the show -- was out in L.A. yesterday, where he claimed certain members of the crew "occasionally" make fun of his ethnicity and sexuality on set. Rex added, "I try not to let it bother me."
After Lee's admission, the show's creator Doug Ellin told TMZ he's "shocked and horrified" to hear about the situation and "will be speaking to everybody before we start filming again in March. It's not something condoned or acceptable."
Ellin also told us he already spoke to Lee -- and during the convo, Rex re-confirmed that crew members had made "insensitive gay jokes."
Ellin claims he's now going to lay down the gauntlet, telling Rex if it happens again, the culprit will be fired.
A photographer who had a physical run-in with Debbie Rowe back in July is now suing Michael Jackson's ex-wife in small claims court.
It's all over an incident that went down in front of a Chinese restaurant in Lancaster, California right after MJ died -- in which a swarm of paparazzi swarmed Rowe asking about the kids. Rowe lashed out at one photog, "Are you ready to have your butt kicked?"
Now, that photog, Ed Frommer, wants $7,500 in damages from Rowe -- claiming she lied to police, telling them he scratched her face, pulled her arm and struck her in the back.
Frommer tells us, "You can see from the video, I didn't touch her face" adding, "anything that happened was not intentional."
Frommer claims his reputation has taken some serious hits from the incident and he can't get work. The hearing is scheduled for January.
By the way Johnny Depp stumbled out of a NYC restaurant last night -- and then had to be carried into his car -- it seems the guy was really into celebrating his Sexiest Man Alive victory.
Heeeeere's Johnny attempting to walk out of a bar with punk icon Patti Smith.
Anyone asking for marriage advice from Jon Gosselin must be crazier than Kate's hairstylist, but yesterday at the airport in Hawaii, a photog did just that.
Our advice: Listen to what he has to say ... and just do the opposite.
While filming a TV project in September, paddleboarding champ Jamie Mitchell got up close and very personal with a humpback whale off the coast of Australia -- and the footage is pretty incredible.
At one point, the giant mammal was literally inches from Mitchell -- who never loses his footing.
Chris Brown was the target of a nasty verbal attack last night -- as one outspoken woman unleashed a profanity-laced assault right in the singer's face.
It all went down as the convicted felon posed with fans at Footaction in NY last night -- when out of nowhere one woman in the crowd got close to him and began shouting, "f**king beater" and "I hope someone beats the f**king crap out of you!"
Chris smiled and walked right past the screaming woman -- but Brown's devoted fans defended his honor by shouting, "Smack that bitch up."
The photographer who ended up on the wrong end of Mike Tyson's fist says Mike got in 4 good punches and blood was gushing "like a water fountain."
Pap Tony Echevarria claims:
- He wasn't disrespectful or aggressive - Mike was initially in a good mood but turned sour when the pap asked about his wife - Tyson became more agitated when he couldn't find a bathroom and saw the photog shooting him
As we previously reported, Tyson and the photographer were both busted for battery.
Shanna Moakler wants one last thing from her arch-enemy Carrie Prejean -- a viewing of the infamous solo sex tape.
Moakler, who campaigned publicly to get "biblically correct" Carrie booted as Miss California USA, was at Benjamin Steak House in NYC yesterday where she said "I'm looking forward to seeing" Prejean's one woman show.
FYI, perverts, the tape has not been released.
Shanna also apologized for calling Khloe Kardashian a "donkey" -- but the apology definitely seemed half-assed.
Dennis Hopper went out yesterday for the first time since being diagnosed with prostate cancer -- and revealed he's undergoing "an experimental thing at USC" for treatment.
The 73-year-old "Easy Rider" star added that it's "no big deal" and said he "feels great."