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Justin Bieber started a trend with some cartoon Kobe Bryant tribute art ... and now Kobe's foundation is reaping a sizable benefit.

Here's the deal ... Justin bought some fresh Kobe-inspired artwork from Idiot Box Art owners Emily Bright and Tamara Martin, and then the artists started making and selling miniature versions for $200 a pop, with 24 percent of the profits going to the MambaOnThree Fund.

The cartoon Kobe art is pretty cool ... it's a teddy bear wearing a Mamba hoodie under Kobe's #8 Lakers jersey, palming a basketball and rocking some of Kobe's signature Nikes.

Justin dropped $1,200 for a bigger piece -- one of only 5 ever made -- and hung it up in his crib next to some skateboard decks.

Lots of folks apparently share Justin's eye for Kobe art ... because Idiot Box ended up selling 260 mini Mamba bears during a 2-day limited sale, which was enough to make a $12,480 donation to Kobe's foundation.

MambaOnThree was created to support the families of the 7 other victims, besides Kobe and Gigi, who died in the crash.

Zaya is speaking out on the announcement ... giving advice to those who may be going through similar situations.

"What's the point of being on this earth if you're gonna try to be someone you're not? It's like you're not even living as yourself, which is like the dumbest concept to me.

"It's just like, be true and don't really care what the stereotypical way of being you is."

She added, "Even through hard times, you gotta push through. It's worth it when you reach that point of yourself."

Gabrielle Union posted the video of Zaya talking about the announcement, saying "She's compassionate, loving, whip smart and we are so proud of her. It’s Ok to listen to, love & respect your children exactly as they are. Love and light good people."

NBA legend Dwyane Wade just revealed his 12-year-old now identifies as female ... saying his child asked him and his wife, Gabrielle Union, to call her Zaya.

"Zion, born as a boy, came home and said, 'Hey, so, I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward I'm ready to live my truth." Wade said on "The Ellen Show."

"And, I want to be referenced as she and her. I would love for you guys to call me Zaya.'"

Wade discussed his support for Zaya and the LGBTQ+ community in a powerful interview with Ellen DeGeneres ... saying he and Gabrielle couldn't be more proud of her.

“We take our roles and responsibilities as parents very seriously. So, when our child comes home with a question ... it’s our job as parents to listen to that to give them the best information that we can, the best feedback that we can, and that doesn’t change now that sexuality [and gender] is involved.”

Wade has been incredibly outspoken about his support for Zaya ... and clapped back at people criticizing her in a family photo back on Thanksgiving.

"Stupidity is a part of this world we live in — so I get it. But, here's the thing — I've been chosen to lead my family, not y'all," Wade said at the time.

"So we will continue to be us and support each other with pride, love & a smile!"

In fact, Union and Zaire Wade took Zaya to the Miami Pride parade back in 2019.

Wade went on to explain, “I looked at her and said you are a leader ... It’s our opportunity to allow you to be a voice. Right now, it’s through us because she’s 12 years old, but eventually, it will be through her.”

Ariana Grande walks into a bar is how you'd start a good joke, but this time it's real and ends with our girl locking lips with a mystery man who might not even be all that famous.

The singer was spotted out late Saturday night at a place called Bar Louie in Northridge, CA -- which is in the San Fernando Valley ... way on the outskirts of central L.A.

We're told she rolled into the gastropub around 1 AM with a crew of friends in tow, including this gent you see here right next to her in the booth. They popped in, sat down for a bit, and besides the water we're told AG wanted ... she was just all in on this guy's face.

As for who this fella might be -- it's unclear. We're told he wasn't instantly recognizable though ... which means he's not on Ariana's level (fame-wise, anyway).

Now, eyewitnesses tell us the group only stayed for around 30 minutes, and while some of her friends ordered wine and other drinks ... we're told Ariana wasn't boozing.

She was, however, in a chatty mood. Our sources tell us there was a DJ nearby who was actually playing Ariana's song, "God is a Woman," right around the same time she was there. We're told AG asked the guy to switch up the tunes ... she didn't wanna hear her own song.

A couple interesting things about this smooching sesh -- for one, it doesn't look like Social House singer Mikey Foster, who's been romantically linked to Ms. Grande of late ... even though Ariana's brother clarified there was nothing going on. They hang out a lot, that's for darn sure.

The second thing ... Ariana is apparently a regular in the Northridge area. She was interviewed there for a Vogue article in 2019 and has been seen out and about.

Keep your eyes peeled, valley peeps. AG is on the prowl in your neighborhood 😲

Kanye West may not like this ... Kim Kardashian says she doesn't think she can handle any more children because they wouldn't get the attention they deserve.

Kim makes the revelation on Laura Wasser's 'All's Fair' podcast ... telling the Disso Queen she's open to having more babies with Kanye but has some serious doubts about doing so.

As you know ... Kanye recently said he wants 7 kids, despite his wife saying she's ready to throw in the towel after becoming a mother of 4.

Kim says she's already got her hands full with Saint, North, Chicago and Psalm ... and she's worried about not being able to pay enough attention to all the little ones if the family expands.

While Kim admits having more kids would be nice, she says her age and her desire to become a lawyer are two major roadblocks.

It's funny ... Kim says she still hounds Kris Jenner on the daily, and that's another reason why she's got some reservations.

Laura's podcast is available on iHeartRadio today. Her website -- Itsovereasy.com -- is also available for people who are getting divorced and don't want to break the bank or wage war.

Jamie Lynn Spears' baby daddy got arrested for burglary after police say he was linked to a rash of thefts.

Cops in Mississippi busted Casey Aldridge back on Dec. 30, and he's now been charged with 5 counts of burglary of a storage house and one count of burglary of a dwelling.

Police say Casey was arrested after he was linked to the burglaries of several campsites in the areas surrounding Gloster, MS.

As you know ... Casey and Britney Spears' younger sister have one daughter together, 11-year-old Maddie.

Jamie Lynn was only 16 when she got pregnant way back in 2007. Casey was 18 at the time, and they were briefly engaged before breaking things off.

TMZ broke the story ... Casey was also arrested for drug possession last February when cops say they found him passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle.

While Casey's been on a tough streak, Jamie's the exact opposite. She's now married to Jamie Watson, and in 2018 they had a little girl, Ivey Joan, together.

Jessica Simpson was confronted by animal rights protesters who crashed her book signing Monday night -- and she came off as pretty patronizing.

The singer was on stage with Katherine Schwarzenegger at the Aratani Theatre in L.A., where she was talking about her new memoir, "Open Book," when a swarm of PETA peeps jumped up from out in the crowd with signs and chants against wearing fur.

It looks like they were escorted out by security, but check out the way JS responded to all the noise ... she says it's beautiful they stand up for what they believe in, but does so in a sarcastic tone. It comes off as pretty condescending.

Jessica actually tells Katherine she's used to this by now, and she's absolutely right. We know of at least two other anti-fur confrontations she's had as of late ... on the same day.

There was a large protest at a Barnes & Noble in NYC where Jessica was doing a book signing, and later as she was leaving a restaurant -- confronted yet again. She never engaged with them about a week ago when this all went down -- but now, she is.

Jessica's known for having worn fur in the past -- it's unclear if she still does, or what the anti-fur folks seek to gain at this point. If it's awareness, they're winning there.

Here's the best shot Bill Murray had at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am this past weekend ...

The "Caddyshack" actor wasn't playing well at all at the famous Northern California tournament ... so when a fan offered him a mid-round shot of tequila -- he downed it, and the video is hilarious!!

You can see in the clip ... Murray was walking up the fairway at one of the holes when a woman leaned over the ropes with a plastic cup full of booze.

"Hey, Bill!" the woman screamed at him. "I got a shot of tequila for you! I know you'll like it!"

Murray walked straight up to her, took the cup, slammed the drink, threw the empty and kept on walking like nothing had happened!!!

Of course, Bill's known to clown around on the golf course -- especially when he ain't striking it well -- and his mid-round shot was hardly his only laugh-out-loud moment from the tourney.

On Sunday, he missed a putt badly ... but instead of letting it settle, he redirected it in and walked straight off the green!!

It's illegal, but funny ... and, let's be honest, that's the way golf SHOULD be played!

The Texas strip club where a dancer came crashing down from a 15-foot pole is taking no responsibility for the incident ... because the CEO says they didn't tell her to make the climb.

As you know ... exotic dancer Genea Sky went viral after seriously injuring herself over the weekend when she fell from a two-story pole on the main stage of XTC Cabaret in Dallas.

But, the club is calling it an accident, and there are no plans to remove stripper poles as a result ... Eric Langan -- CEO of RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc., which owns the club -- tells TMZ.

As we reported ... Genea says she fractured her jaw, sprained her ankle and cracked some teeth in the fall, and she underwent surgery for her injuries.

Langan tells us the club is looking into helping Genea financially. One thing's for sure ... she's not a full-time employee so she can't get worker's comp. It's unclear if she has health insurance. Langan says she should worry about her health first and money second.  Really???

Anyway, the club's position -- entertainers choose their own routine, and as a company, they exercise no control over a dancer's art form, so if they fall -- it's on them.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky ain't fooling anyone at this point ... though give 'em an A for effort in trying to throw everyone off the scent.

Riri and Rocky arrived separately to The Nice Guy in WeHo early Tuesday morning. The Barbados Babe showed up just before 1 AM ... with A$AP following not long behind and arriving just after 2 AM.

Goes without saying, neither was in the mood to chitchat about their relationship. Such was the case when we got Rihanna out in NYC over the weekend. As we reported ... Rihanna flew solo for her shindig at Bergdorf Goodman in Midtown Manhattan.

No sign of A$AP there that night, which seemed odd since they've been hanging out A LOT ever since Rihanna's breakup with Hassan Jameel after 3 years of dating.

Aerosmith is ready to bring their original drummer back into the fold -- Joey Kramer's set to take the stage with his bandmates, and even crazier ... NO AUDITION NECESSARY!

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Joey's being brought on to play drums Monday night with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and the rest of the fellas for a performance at the Park Theater in Vegas, which is where their residency shows are currently being held.

We're told the band didn't wanna jerk Joey around -- they're bringing him back without holding another audition, and it's because they feel he's probably up to snuff and in good health again. Plus, our sources tell us it's an act of good faith between old pals.

You'll recall ... things were getting pretty ugly between Joey and the guys just a few short weeks ago ahead of their Grammys performance, which Joey was fighting tooth and nail to be a part of -- even taking the issue to court in a last-ditch effort, but was unsuccessful.

Hell, they even turned him away at the door when Joey showed up unannounced for a rehearsal ... so yeah, the tension's been high between these guys.

Part of the reason Aerosmith didn't feel comfortable reuniting ... Joey hadn't played in at least 6 months, and they didn't wanna risk a shaky gig with a guy who was rusty/lacked energy. They put him through the wringer with a live audition but felt he wasn't ready.

Now, it seems they've had a change of heart and are prepared to embrace an OG. Should make for a great show ... stay tuned.

Kim Kardashian West has said she has no interest in running for office, but if she changes her mind, there's one guy she should definitely ask to join her campaign team ... "Shark Tank" star Daymond John.

The FUBU honcho's pretty confident Kim can become president in 8 years or so, and gave us a laundry list of reasons to support his argument Monday night outside the Avra Beverly Hills Estiatorio restaurant.

Daymond tells TMZ ... KKW already has major notches on her belt that look good to voters -- helping free imprisoned grandmother Alice Marie Johnson, and continuing to pursue her education.

On top of that, Kim's own family represents LGBTQ, mixed relationships and female empowerment ... and she lives a clean and healthy lifestyle.

Most importantly, though ... John points out how much people like and trust the Kardashian sister and care about what she has to say -- as evidenced by her massive social media following.

Daymond suggests her following might be hundreds of millions more by the time 2028 rolls around ... and that kind of power at one's fingertips is immeasurable.

Finally, he says there's precedent for public figures making it all the way to The White House -- including the current one, who she and Kanye already have a connection with -- so it's more than possible Kim's next.

The face of Trivago ads compared all his options after getting busted for a DWI and, apparently, chose wisely -- his case has been dismissed.

Tim Williams -- the actor in the ads for the popular hotel search engine -- successfully completed a pre-trial diversion program ... although he did it overseas, despite the fact he was arrested last year in Texas.

Williams lives in Germany, and prosecutors allowed him to take the necessary classes over there, and he was prompt about it.

Nathan Beedle from the Harris County D.A.'s Office tells TMZ ... "Mr. Williams took his Harris County case seriously by diligently completing programs in his home country that were comparable to our mandatory classes, and even did more than he had to in order to make sure he was complying."

Extra credit never hurts.

As we reported, Williams was busted last April after cops say they found him passed out at the wheel with his foot on the brake while on the road. He was booked for DWI after bombing a field sobriety test and submitting a blood test.

Ed Belfour appeared to be a sloppy mess during his drunk in public arrest last month ... with the NHL legend even admitting to cops, "I was out of control."

It's all in new police video obtained by TMZ Sports, which shows 3 officers confronting Belfour on the second floor of a Bowling Green, Ky. hotel at around 1 AM on Jan. 28 after they had been called to the scene to investigate a "drunk and disorderly subject."

You can see in the footage ... Belfour -- a goalie who won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999 -- was laying on the ground clutching a curtain rod and kicking a spa door when the cops arrived.

They quickly tried to get Belfour to his feet ... but it's clear, 54-year-old Ed was having a tough time gaining his bearings.

The former NHL star crawled around on all fours ... mumbled incoherently and wrestled with officers as they tried to slap the cuffs on his wrists.

Eventually, Belfour was able to speak with the cops ... and he apologized over and over for his actions.

At one point, when an officer asked him what happened earlier in the night ... Belfour said, "I think probably what happened was I was out of control and someone called police."

The officer then said, "Why were you out of control? You been drinking tonight?"

Belfour responded by saying, "Right."

Ed was arrested and booked for criminal mischief and public intoxication. He took a grinning mug shot.

Belfour hasn't let the arrest affect him too badly ... "The Eagle" was spotted with fellow NHL legends speaking at the Saskatoon’s Kinsmen Celebrity Sports Dinner last week.

Kansas City (Missouri)-local Julia Montgomery was in her early 20s when she landed the role of the Pi Delta Pi babe, Betty Childs -- who teams up with the beefy Alpha Betas but ultimately falls for a geeky Lambda Lambda Lambda man -- in the 1984 classic college flick, "Revenge Of The Nerds" and returned as Betty in "Revenge Of The Nerds III: The Next Generation" and "Revenge Of The Nerds IV: Nerds In Love."

Julia Montgomery was cast alongside some epic actors including Donald Gibb as the nerd-hating jock, Ogre ... and of course Ted McGinley as the uber handsome Alpha male and quarterback, Stan Gable.

Three victims in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash were honored with a special memorial service at Angel Stadium.

John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their daughter, Alyssa, were remembered at a public memorial Monday ... just two weeks after Kobe Bryant's helicopter crashed, killing 8 passengers plus the pilot.

The service included speakers close to the Altobellis. There was also a video tribute.

The Costa Mesa Fire Department rolled out its fire trucks and hung a massive American flag to honor the victims. There's also a sign in front of Angel Stadium that reads "Celebrating the Lives of John, Keri and Alyssa" with the entire family pictured.

Not far from the main entrance is also a huge collage of the Altobellis.

Altobelli, of course, had deep roots in Orange County. He was entering his 28th season as Orange Coast College's baseball coach. The Pirates were coming off an incredibly successful season ... after capturing their fourth state title.

Alyssa and Gianna Bryant were teammates at the Mamba Sports Academy. She was only 14 and Gianna 13, respectively. You'll recall, Gianna had her No. 2 jersey retirement ceremony at her private school last week.

The Altobellis have 2 surviving children -- a 29-year-old son, and a 16-year-old daughter.

The confusion, or even contempt, over Blac Chyna being a guest at the Oscars proves the award show still has a big problem with people of color -- that's how she feels, anyway.

A rep for Chyna tells TMZ ... what should have been a magical and dream-fulfilling moment for her has turned into a demeaning instance of "black lash," with multiple media outlets unfairly asking, "Why is SHE there?"

In Chyna's view, she more than deserved to be there not only because she contributes to the entertainment industry as star of her own reality show, but as a black woman who "finds inspiration in supporting her friends, mentors, and other talent that has helped provide a blueprint for her career."

Chyna's rep says her Academy Awards attendance was no different from many other entertainment professionals who attended, despite not being nominated or involved in film in any way. The biggest difference, according to Chyna's team, is her background and skin color.

"Whether it be the fact that she is a reality star, a single mother, or the inevitable reminder that she was a former stripper ... it does nothing to change the narrative that just maybe the Oscars indeed are 'so white'" ... says Chyna's rep.

The rep adds, all the buzz over Chyna's attendance "further highlights the fight that many African Americans in the Entertainment Industry face; yes, even during Black History Month."

Ya get the point. Chyna's incensed and feels she's the victim of systemic racism.

We're told she still feels it was worth it to take a stand and be a role model, showing young people of color what they can achieve.

BTW, we're told she went with a music producer but secured her own invitation.