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Justin Bieber is adding to his growing cartoon art collection ... with a tribute to Kobe Bryant ... complete with imagery of the Black Mamba balling out with the Lakers.

Our sources tell us Justin's team reached out to Idiot Box Art owners Emily Bright and Tamara Martin to purchase their newest original piece honoring Kobe ... and the Biebs snagged one for only $1,200.

The cartoon art -- depicting a teddy bear wearing Kobe's #8 Lakers jersey over a Mamba hoodie and some Nikes -- is made of hand-cut wood covered in acrylic paint and finished with a coat of resin. The piece is one of 5 created, and it's 41.5 inches X 24 inches.

We're told the Kobe art sold out in a few hours ... so the artists are making miniature versions for $200 a pop, and they're going on sale February 6 and 7 with 24 percent of profits going to the MambaOnThree Fund.

This week was not just about Kobe's death ... it was about processing it. And, with the Super Bowl this weekend, well, time to put it on the line. So, we gotta ask ...

Kick off Super Bowl LIV weekend with these hot cheerleader bods!

The stars of Netflix's docuseries "Cheer" have been showing off their skills onscreen and now it's time to show off their squad-bods when they leave the mat!

We've got a challenge for you that might just top the Daytona competition ... Tumble through our gallery of the "Cheer" cast hot shots and see if you can guess which Navarro cheerleader is in the pic. Try and go full out by guessing them all!

The members of the 14x National Championship team have worked hard to make the mat and clearly have the physique to prove it!

How cool is this?!?

Sylvester Stallone is SUPER DOWN to share the spotlight in Philadelphia with Kobe Bryant ... telling TMZ Sports the city should build a statue of the NBA legend right next to Rocky!!!

"Absolutely!!!" Sly says.

It'd be an amazing tribute ... while Kobe never played for the Sixers -- he grew up in Philly and starred at local Lower Merion HS as a teenager.

Kobe never shied away from his love for Philly despite playing his entire pro career in L.A. -- even reppin' the Eagles in his final appearance at a Lakers game at Staples before his death on Dec. 29.

We broke the story ... Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, were among nine people who tragically died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. on Sunday.

Tributes have come in all shapes and sizes since the 41-year-old's passing ... with NBA teams taking shot clock violations, players writing personal messages on their shoes and Staples Center plaza being packed with mourning fans.

Now, this is awkward ... the brother of the woman who's dating the richest man in the world is suing him. Welcome to the life of Jeff Bezos.

Michael Sanchez, the brother of Jeff's GF, Lauren Sanchez, claims Bezos defamed him by falsely claiming Michael was the source of graphic texts, some containing nude images of Jeff.

Michael, who says he was Lauren's "dutiful brother and manager" at the time the texts were released, says he cooperated with authorities during the investigation but was ultimately "scapegoated."

ICYMI, the feds reportedly said last week there was evidence Michael was the source of the graphic messages and got $200k in return for his services.

Michael says as a result of Bezos' statements, he suffered substantial harm. He says he was subjected to an FBI raid at his house in full view of the neighbors, he's received backlash from friends and business associates.

And, no surprise ... Michael's suing for punitive damages, saying "in an amount appropriate to punish and make an example of defendants." BTW, Jeff made $13 billion yesterday.

He's suing both Bezos and P.I. Gavin de Becker for unspecified damages.

We reached out to Bezos' people ... so far, no word back.

Idris Elba's got some serious testicular fortitude ... 'cause his new car-stunt show really put his family jewels to the test.

TMZ's obtained the first images from the actor's new show coming to Quibi. Idris and elite rally driver Ken Block are teaming up for an 8-episode series dubbed "Elba vs. Block." They'll go head-to-head in car stunts to see who can outlast the other.

It's unclear if these are death-defying stunts, but with names like "Wall of Death," "Car Tightrope" and "Flaming Obstacle Course" it sure as hell seems like it. In one of the images, either Idris or Ken drive a go-kart through a vertical loop.

The 'Hobbs & Shaw' star has gone on record to say he loves speed and counts himself as a "wheel man" ... and no doubt this new show puts him front and center in some grueling challenges.

ICYMI ... Quibi is short for "quick bites." It's the first-ever entertainment platform designed specifically for phones to deliver episodes and movie-quality shows in 10 minutes or less.

It launches April 6 with original content from Jennifer Lopez, Liam Hemsworth, Zac Efron, Kendall Jenner, 50 Cent, Steph Curry, Chrissy Teigen and Kristen Bell ... plus our own celebrity show with a TMZ edge.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Young Thug throw you off ... stay focused and see if you can spot the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic.

Earlier this week the rapper was spotted out in Los Angeles, California and we have made some changes to this photo of him. Now, it is up to you to figure out what changes have been made! Take a really good look here and see if you can find the differences between these two super-similar snaps!

PnB Rock smashed into 3 cars and wrecked his BMW during a street race ... this according to cops, who busted him for driving under the influence.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper was arrested on suspicion of DUI and reckless driving in Burbank, CA after officers say they saw him plow into a row of parked cars. Looking at images from the crash makes ya think, PnB's lucky he was even alive to get arrested.

Our sources say cops observed the white BMW sedan -- driven by PnB Rock -- racing a blue and silver Rolls Royce Wraith last weekend on a local street, reaching speeds near 100 MPH.

The race didn't last long ... we're told the BMW crashed pretty quickly, hitting the 3 parked cars and flipping one on its side!!! There was even a woman inside of the vehicles, but she escaped with minor injuries.

Our sources say PnB Rock reeked of marijuana when police approached, and officers found some weed on him. He wasn't booked for that -- it's Cali, after all. You can possess small amounts, but driving while on it ... still not cool.

PnB was booked for DUI and reckless driving and later released on $100,000 bail.

As for the Rolls he was allegedly racing -- it made a clean getaway.

LeBron James has a new piece of body art -- a tribute to Kobe Bryant complete with imagery of a Black Mamba.

Both LeBron and Anthony Davis hit up tattoo artist Vanessa Aurelia on Wednesday looking to pay tribute to Kobe with some fresh ink.

Fast-forward to Thursday morning ... when Bron and the Lakers were working out in front of the Lakers facility in El Segundo and gave the media a sneak peek at his new art.

The tat is still under wraps but it appears he's got a black mamba snake with some words underneath. Some people in the office think it reads, "Kobe 4 Life" but it's really hard to tell.

We're told Bron plans to do a big reveal on his Instagram soon -- most likely before he takes the court on Friday when the Lakers take on the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center.

Originally Published -- 1/30 1:43 PM PT

Antonio Brown is issuing another apology for his behavior ... this time writing an emotional letter to the Hollywood PD for being a massive headache the last few months.

"To everyone who I may have offended or Disrespected at the @hollywoodflpd Of the state of Florida, I would like to sincerely give you all my apology from the top and bottom of my heart," AB wrote.

"And as a human being and an professional athlete I can honestly say that my emotions truly did cloud my better Judgment, When you all were only there to help me."

Brown has had run-in after run-in with the HPD cops ... and he even filmed himself berating officers while they were trying to ease a tense standoff between the former All-Pro and his baby mama a few weeks ago.

In fact, things got so bad, the HPD issued a statement saying they were cutting ALL ties with the guy ... and returned a donation check he had made to the police department's youth flag football league.

"We will not take money from a donor that we cannot have our youth be proud of or represent our organization," the cops said at the time.

Things eventually ended with Brown in HPD custody ... cops were forced to issue an arrest warrant for the 31-year-old after he was accused of attacking a moving truck driver outside of his Florida home last week.

But now, Brown -- who's out of jail and letting his criminal case play out in the courts -- is begging for forgiveness ... writing, "Thanks to you all who sincerely accept my Sincere apology. And we must all know that God is a Forgiving God."

Everyone who attends the Lakers game Friday night will get a free Kobe Bryant tribute shirt, courtesy of the team ... 20,000 in total.

The hard-working people at Staples Center have draped a Kobe shirt on every single seat -- half of the arena will get Kobe #8 shirts. The other half will get #24 shirts.

It's just one part of the Kobe Bryant tributes at Staples on Friday -- the first game for the Lakers since Kobe passed away on Sunday.

There will be a moment of silence, visual tributes to Kobe around the arena and we're told some players are considering addressing the crowd ... but nothing is set in stone yet.

Tickets for Friday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers are already rising in value -- with the cheapest tickets just to get in the building hovering around $800 on the secondary ticket market.

We're expecting to see a massive turnout both inside and outside Staples Center -- where Kobe played for nearly all of his 20 years with the Lakers (the Lakers previously played at The Forum).

Tonight will be emotional. In fact, Carmelo Anthony -- who was very close with Kobe -- did not make the trip because he's still mourning Kobe's death.

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have just gone on the offensive, claiming federal prosecutors corruptly withheld evidence from them, which they say proves they bribed no one, and they further say the government withheld the evidence so it could squeeze the couple into accepting a plea bargain.

Lori and Mossimo claim in new legal docs, the money they gave Rick Singer to get their daughters into USC was a payment they believed was going to the University itself.

According to the docs, for months the government claimed it didn't have any exculpatory evidence showing the payment was not a bribe to then USC Senior Associate Athletic Director Donna Heinel.

According to the docs, after months of denials, prosecutors finally and belatedly turned over evidence and testimony from Rick Singer that tends to show NO BRIBE was offered ... at least that what Lori and Mossimo believed.

The docs state, "Rick Singer has advised the government, in sum and in substance, that ... the families that do the side door ...typically do not know that Heinel is involved until the time of the first payment."

Singer further stated, "Giannulli and Loughlin thought their payment of $50,000 went directly to USC's program." And, get this ... according to the docs, "The government clearly acknowledges that Giannulli and Loughlin's alleged 'bribe payments' did not go to any USC official personally, but rather went to USC itself."

As for the rest of the money, according to the docs, Singer told prosecutors Lori and Mossimo "thought their $200,000 payment went to [Singer's charity] with some of the funds then 'going to a USC program.'"

And, according to the docs, prosecutors have internal USC emails in which they offer to "flag" one daughter's application and take a customized tour of the campus "to discuss the impact of [Giannulli's] philanthropy."

This is really a core to the case because there's nothing illegal about contributing to the University. In fact, in the docs, USC "has an institutional practice of tightly intertwining admissions and fundraising." They point to then USC Athletic Director Pat Hayden, who reportedly said Lori and Mossimo were "good for a million plus" in connection with their daughters' admission.

Lil Wayne paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on his brand new album he dropped TODAY -- laying in 24 seconds of silence on track #8 to show love to the Lakers legend.

Wayne spent years working on the album "Funeral" -- but when he learned about Kobe's death on Sunday, he connected with Young Money President, Mack Maine, and they agreed to make last-second changes to honor Bryant.

The final decision was to lay in a moment of silence for Kobe at the end of the 8th song on the album, titled "Bing James" -- 24 seconds in total. Obviously, the numbers refer to Kobe's Lakers jersey numbers, #8 and #24.

Wayne appeared on FS1's Undisputed on Friday morning and credited the producers who worked on the album for being nimble enough to change up the album just HOURS before it was released ... truly an impressive feat.

Wayne is a huge basketball fan who LOVES the Lakers -- and has been a public Kobe supporter for years. In fact, he dropped a song called "Kobe Bryant" years ago.

Wayne also shouts out "Black Mamba" in the chorus of another song on the new album -- a song called "Ball Hard."

Wayne's "Funeral" album happens to have 24 tracks -- but he told Skip Bayless that was just a coincidence.

Chance The Rapper is featured in the first-ever TV commercial for Quibi -- a revolutionary new mobile platform -- and the funny spot is hitting the airwaves during the Super Bowl.

The commercial depicts a bank heist gone wrong, leaving the robbers with just 4 to 10 minutes to spare ... which just so happens to be the perfect amount of time to watch a Quibi.

As you can see ... the bank robbers pause mid-heist to check out Chance's revival of "Punk'd" on Quibi.

BTW ... Quibi is short for "quick bites" ... and the first-ever entertainment platform designed specifically for phones delivers episodes and movie-quality shows in 10 minutes or less.

Quibi's launching April 6, with original content from huge celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Liam Hemsworth, Zac Efron, Idris Elba, Kendall Jenner, 50 Cent, Steph Curry, Chrissy Teigen and Kristen Bell ... plus our own celebrity show with a TMZ edge.

Harvey Weinstein rape accuser Jessica Mann claims he began manipulating her as soon as he met her, forced himself on her multiple times and finally raped her ... and she said it all under oath.

The former actress took the stand and gave emotional testimony Friday, breaking down in tears as she described her history with the disgraced movie mogul ... including alleged sexual assaults.

Mann testified she met Weinstein at a party about 7 years ago, and he quickly took interest in her and began offering her work. Mann claims she had several meetings with him to discuss her career, but he asked her for a massage at an early meeting ... and forced oral sex on her at a later meeting in which she thought she'd be discussing a movie role.

Mann testified she faked an orgasm to get out of the situation.

Weeks later, Mann alleges Weinstein raped her at the hotel in Manhattan after injecting his penis with erection medication. She testified that he physically blocked her from leaving the room and made her undress. She says ... "I gave up at that point."

Mann says about a year later, Weinstein told her "She owed him one more time" after she informed him she had a boyfriend ... and claims he had intercourse with her.

Weinstein's side has argued the 2 had a consensual relationship that lasted years after the alleged sexual assault, and have pointed to several emails Mann sent to him in which she expressed affection and love.

Mase, one of Diddy's biggest Bad Boy Records stars, is coming for blood ... calling the mogul a hypocrite for his Grammys speech, and for keeping him under a horrible contract.

The "Mo Money, Mo Problems" rapper went off on Diddy Friday saying it's ironic Bad Boy's honcho is calling on black artists to take back control of their art -- because Mase claims Diddy keeps his own artists "enslaved," purposely starves them and subjects them to his "horrendous business model."

On a personal level, Mase is pissed about the $20k he says Diddy paid him for his publishing rights more than 20 years ago, when he debuted at the age of 19.

As you know ... Diddy gave a 50-minute speech while accepting an Industry Icon award at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He was also at Jay-Z's Roc Nation brunch earlier that day, toasting black billionaires and black excellence.

None of this sat well with Mase, who said he offered Diddy $2 million in cash just a few days ago to buy back his catalog. He claims Diddy told him he had to match a European man's offer and "that would be the only way I can get it back."

Mase -- who signed with Bad Boy in 1996, retired in 1999 and returned in 2004 -- added, "You bought it for about 20k & I offered you 2m in cash. This is not black excellence at all. When your own race is enslaving us. If it's about us owning, it can't be about us owning each other. No More Hiding Behind 'Love.' U CHANGED? GIVE THE ARTIST BACK THEIR $$$$. So they can take care of their families."

Mase has feuded with Diddy in the past ... and in 2009 Mase tried getting out of his deal with the label.

Brooklyn MC Sauce Money, who's worked with Diddy and Jay-Z, also took a swipe ... saying he watched Diddy's speech, and "I respect the message, just not coming from him."

We've reached out to Diddy's camp for comment, but so far no word back.

Damn. Can we just run it back ...