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Ric Flair is all about putting on a show ... but he knows this is an emotional time for the Lakers ... which is why the WWE legend tells TMZ Sports he had to think twice before giving his epic intro for the team Tuesday at Staples Center.

Flair got the entire L.A. crowd pumped before the Lakers took on Zion Williamson's New Orleans Pelicans ... welcoming "the greatest franchise in all of sports" ... and his favorite player, LeBron James.

It. Was. LIT.

Naitch tells us the team asked him to help lift everyone's spirits following a deeply emotional memorial service for Kobe Bryant at Staples Center ... but he was reluctant to accept.

"I felt a little bad that close to the memorial that was so overwhelming on Monday," Flair tells us.

"But, they asked me and I said 'are you guys sure?' and they said 'Yeah, please. The crowd needs to be pumped up a little bit.'"

It was a good thing he accepted ... because the crowd clearly loved the gesture.

"Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran is missing nearly $400,000 Wednesday morning after her office was victimized by email scammers who used a tiny typo to gain the upper hand.

The scam started last week when an email chain was forwarded to Barbara's bookkeeper, a woman named Christine. Folks on Barbara's team tell us the email appeared to have been sent from Barbara's executive assistant, Emily ... and it informed Christine she had the green light to pay $388,700.11 to a company called FFH Concept GmbH in Germany.

The problem is that email didn't really come from Emily.

The scammers changed Emily's email address by removing one letter, so they were the ones actually communicating with Christine ... who did ask the right questions. For instance, she asked what the money was for, and got an email back saying FFH was designing German apartment units in which Barbara had invested.

Great cover story because we're told Barbara really does invest in real estate, and FFH is a real company in Germany. Plus, all of this looks even more legit because it appears to be coming from Barbara's assistant.

Anyway, on Tuesday ... the bookkeeper fires off the wire payment to the account listed in the original email. Afterward, she emails Barbara's assistant, Emily -- at her real address -- and it's only then that Emily uncovers the scam. She noticed her address was altered on the previous chain of emails.

Unfortunately, the money is gone, but we're told Barbara's IT folks traced the original scam emails back to a Chinese IP address, and her attorneys are figuring out their next move.

Tyler Perry's nephew appears to have killed himself behind bars -- but the answer officials are giving the family doesn't have them convinced it wasn't foul play.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the filmmaker's 26-year-old nephew, Gavin Porter, was found dead in his cell Tuesday night at a prison facility near Union Parish in Louisiana. We're told Gavin's immediate family -- which includes Tyler's sister, who's Gavin's mom -- was told by prison officials he had hanged himself with a bedsheet while in solitary confinement.

Our sources say the officials told the fam Gavin had gotten into a fight with another inmate over the weekend and was placed in solitary. We're told that around 6 PM, guards checked on Gavin and found nothing of concern.

Our sources say guards came back at 8 PM Tuesday and found Gavin dead. He had hung himself with bedsheets. We're told the family has been notified there's no foul play in the death -- but our sources say Gavin's family isn't necessarily buying the story.

Gavin was arrested for shooting and killing his biological father back in 2016 -- in front of his mother -- after cops say an argument erupted between the two. He pled no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years.

People looking to make a buck off items from the Kobe Bryant memorial will have to go somewhere other than eBay ... 'cause the company is actively working to remove all the items from the site.

As we previously reported ... shirts, pins, programs and other items from Monday's event at Staples Center hit the auction site this week. One XL shirt sold for a whopping $2,025.

But, we noticed multiple listings had disappeared from eBay over the past 24 hours -- so we reached out to eBay to find out what's up.

Turns out, eBay has a policy that prohibits sellers from profiting off of "human tragedy or suffering."

In fact, eBay sent an email to one seller explaining their position -- "Please note, due to sudden and tragic passing of Kobe Bryant - eBay has made the decision to prohibit the sale of merchandise, images and mugs relating to their passing."

"We do not allow listings that attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering."

The policy does not prevent the sale of more traditional Kobe memorabilia -- like autographs, jerseys, photos, etc -- despite the fact those items are in high demand following the NBA star's death.

The famed author Clive Cussler -- whose 1992 adventure novel "Sahara" was adapted into a film and starred Matthew McConaughey -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Cussler died Monday, according to his son. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Cussler wrote more than 2 dozen novels, including "Raise the Titanic," in his series of Dirk Pitt novels. It became a movie in 1980. By the way ... Dirk is also his son's name, and Cussler's last 3 books were co-authored by Dirk.

"Sahara" was the highest-grossing movie that was adapted from his novels. It grossed $122 million.

In all, Cussler sold more than 100 million books, and he's been published in more than 40 languages.

Cussler was internationally recognized as an expert in shipwrecks. He founded the National Underwater and Marine Agency ... an homage to naval history. One of his books, "The Sea Hunters," was so deep in knowledge, the Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State of New York, gave Cussler a doctorate and did not require a thesis -- the book was enough.

Clive Cussler was married nearly 50 years. His wife died in 2003. Cussler leaves behind 3 children. He later got remarried to Janet Horvath.

Cussler was 88.

Harvey Weinstein's got prison officials in NYC thinking twice about how to deal with him behind bars -- because their biggest fear is another Jeffrey Epstein-like suicide.

High-ranking officials at NYC's Department of Corrections tell TMZ ... there's anxiety running through the ranks about another "Epstein Incident" and the scrutiny that would follow if HW offed himself on their watch, which is why an action plan is in place.

For starters, we're told one possibility is that Weinstein will be housed in a private section of Rikers Island's North Infirmary Command, which is for high-profile inmates or guys with health issues -- Harvey fits both. He could land in the "ANNEX," with the other dudes falling apart.

Once he's there and all checked in, our sources say HW will probably get his own cell with round-the-clock surveillance cameras watching his every move. And, when he's out walking around, we're told he'll have DOC officials escorting him. There's a reason for that.

You'll recall ... Epstein's death was put under a magnifying glass when he hanged himself in his cell, while guards were supposed to be checking in periodically. That whole thing's still being investigated right now, but in any case ... officials don't want that with Harvey.

In fact, we're being told people at NYC's DOC don't even want Harvey as a prisoner -- we're told he's seen as a huge risk, and there are talks of trying to ship him elsewhere.

In the meantime, though, we're told Weinstein's milking his stay at the Bellevue Hospital he was taken to this week after complaints of chest pains. Sources tell us he's got his own room there, and that the conditions are much nicer than what's waiting for him at Rikers.

Of course, if they can't get the guy off their hands ... DOC might have to look after HW for the next several years. He's facing a minimum sentence of at least 5 years after Monday's conviction.

Lamar Odom says he REALLY misses Kobe Bryant -- because Kobe would often act as a life coach for Odom, who admits he could really use Bryant's wisdom right now.

Odom and Bryant weren't just teammates -- they were incredibly close friends. Remember, when Odom suffered his 2015 overdose in Nevada, Kobe was one of the first people who rushed to the hospital to be by his side.

Now, Odom says he's adjusting to life without his brother -- and admits the whole situation sucks.

"I'm alright," Odom told us outside of Staples Center on Tuesday ... "I miss my guy though. Real talk."

Odom says he relied on Bryant to advise him through tough situations -- and he's currently in the middle of one right now -- admitting he's getting criticism from fans who are unhappy that Odom pawned his 2008-09 and 2009-10 Lakers championship rings.

"First, I would ask him how do I get these fans to forgive me for pawning those rings?"

As we previously reported, Odom pawned the rings several years ago during his drama with Khloe Kardashian.

Clearly, Odom wants them back -- but it'll cost him. The rings recently hit the auction block where they were expected to sell for around $100,000.

There's more ... Odom says he reconnected with some of his old Lakers teammates during Tuesday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans and they reminisced about Kobe.

George Clooney's vowing to take action after an investigation linked child labor to farms used by Nespresso ... the coffee brand he's been the face of since 2006.

Clooney says he was "surprised and saddened" by the story -- which will air soon on the British program, "Dispatches," on the U.K.'s Channel 4 -- and promises "work will be done" to improve conditions.

The troubling news was reported by journalist Anthony Barnett after he and a crew were given access to remote Guatemalan farms -- which allegedly supply Nespresso, and had children working the fields. The coffee company claims to source all of its beans ethically.

In response to the report, Clooney says ... "Having grown up working on a tobacco farm from the time I was 12 I’m uniquely aware of the complex issues regarding farming and child labor."

He adds ... "That’s why I joined the Sustainability advisory board of Nespresso seven years ago along with the Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade International, and the Fair Labour Association among many others with the goal then, as it remains to this day to improve the lives of farmers."

Clooney says they've made great progress, but adds ... "With that in mind it is also imperative to have talented investigative reporters showing the board where they have yet to succeed ... Clearly this board and this company still have work to do."

Future says his alleged baby mama's treating her baby girl like an ATM to squeeze money out of him, and he even claims she's given the child a nickname ... "check baby."

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the rapper claims Eliza Seraphin has referred to the 9-month-old little girl by that phrase. Future's lawyers define the term as "slang terminology describing a child conceived solely for the purposes of extorting monies from the father of a child in the child support setting."

Translation: Future's claiming Eliza got knocked up just to get money out of him. TBH, it's a claim he's made before, but now he's claiming even Eliza cops to it.

In the docs, the rapper claims one of her friends alleged, during an online interview, Eliza had gone as far as researching the amount of child support Future paid to his other baby mamas ... just to see what she could get out of him.

What's more, Future claims that friend also said Eliza started taking fertility pills to increase her chances of getting impregnated by Future.

He says the kid only needs around $450 per month -- a number he based on a financial affidavit Eliza filed in court, detailing her monthly expenses. Anything above that is a money grab, in Future's eyes.

Jussie Smollett says the truth will set him free -- literally -- as he ramps up for a second round of fighting criminal charges in Chicago.

The ex-"Empire" star was leaving LAX Tuesday when a photog ran into him and asked to see how he's holding up. His lawyer says he's a tough cookie, but Jussie laughs it off -- it's pretty clear he's going through it, and seems to think at least that much should be obvious.

Of course ... we're talking about Jussie getting re-charged for allegedly lying to cops about the hate crime he claims was perpetrated against him by MAGA-hat wearing thugs -- this after the State Attorney's Office dropped the original 16 charges against him almost a year ago.

He's pled not guilty again, and his legal team has filed a motion for the case to be dismissed over double jeopardy -- which basically means you can't prosecute someone over the same offenses twice. Jussie and his lawyer talk about that, plus other possible defenses.

The photog asks point-blank ... which is it gonna be, JS -- telling 'em you didn't do it, or hope double jeopardy saves ya? Watch ... Jussie says there's only one thing he can count on.

A tennis legend is calling it quits ... Maria Sharapova just announced she's done with the sport for good.

"Tennis -- I’m saying goodbye," Sharapova wrote Wednesday.

"Tennis showed me the world -- and it showed me what I was made of," the 32-year-old added. "It's how I tested myself and how I measured my growth."

"And so in whatever I might choose for my next chapter, my next mountain, I'll still be pushing. I’ll still be climbing. I'll still be growing."

Sharapova was a former No. 1 player in the world ... and won five career Grand Slams -- including Wimbledon in 2004 when she was just 17 years old.

Of course, Sharapova also gained a ton of fame from her rivalry with Serena Williams ... which was more of complete and utter dominance than actual competitiveness.

In 23 career matchups ... Serena won 20 of them, including 18 in a row at one point!!

Maria, though, still won the U.S. Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open twice in 2012 and 2014.

But, Maria's career didn't come without controversy ... she tested positive for a banned substance in 2016 and was ultimately suspended from the game for 15 MONTHS.

In fact, the test caused such a backlash in the tennis world ... Genie Bouchard straight-up called her a "cheater" who deserved a lifetime ban.

Sharapova -- who battled numerous shoulder injuries throughout her career -- said Thursday of all the ups and downs in her career, "I realize that tennis has been my mountain."

"My path has been filled with valleys and detours, but the views from its peak were incredible. After 28 years and five Grand Slam titles, though, I'm ready to scale another mountain -- to compete on a different type of terrain."

Jenelle Evans says she's not back together with David Eason, but they're still doing a lot together ... like buying new pet supplies, including a dog bed.

The former 'Teen Mom' star was spotted Tuesday shopping at a Walmart in Leland, NC -- where she was leaving the big box store with whom we're told was none other than her baby daddy, DE, and a couple of her kids tagging along. As you can see, they had their hands full.

One of the kids is holding what appears to be a doggy bed or pet bed of some kind. We're also told by eyewitnesses, their bags had dog food inside as well.

In case we have to remind you ... David killed their last family dog, which led to their kids being temporarily taken away. Since then, they've gotten the kids back ... and they've also welcomed a few new animals into their lives, including at least 2 dogs and a goat.

It's unclear if they still got the hounds running around the yard, or what these supplies might be for exactly ... but when ya buy new dog stuff, you probably have a new dog around.

As for whether they're actually a thing again in the wake of their split, we'll let you decide. If it looks like a relationship and walks like a relationship, it's probably ... ah, you get it.

A few of the women on "Little Women: Atlanta" got super-mad at each other while cameras were rolling ... and they put on quite the rowdy show.

Production sources for the Lifetime reality series tell TMZ ... they were filming recently at Nouveau Bar&Grill near Atlanta for the launch of a new eyewear line by one of the cast members, Ms. Juicy.

At some point during the event -- after guzzling some alcoholic drinks -- we're told the twins on the show, Amanda and Andrea Salinas, got into an argument with Abira. Our sources say the trash-talking escalated until finally, as you can see ... a drink gets thrown at the twins.

One of the twins fires back ... and all hell breaks loose. Though the twin who threw her drink gets carried away, the other one goes on the attack and appears to trade blows with Abira.

It looks like Ms. Juicy gets caught up in the mayhem and may have been struck as well. The fight's broken up pretty quickly after that.

Kristen McDow (maiden name Kristen Rodeheaver) got a glimpse of the limelight when she was cast as the teen crush in a striped shirt -- who JB falls for during the synchronized dancing and pool-splashing teen party ... complete with silly string fights -- in the music video for Justin Bieber's 2009 single, "One Time," on his debut album, "My World."

McDow isn't to be confused with Jasmine V who played the bowling and breakdancing crush in the 2010 follow-up music video, "Baby."

Since it's creation, the pop music video has racked up over 600 million views on youtube!

The 10th Democratic Presidential debate's just moments away from kicking off and a long list of celebs are already backing their horse before the first issue is raised on stage.

We did a little digging ahead of Tuesday's South Carolina debate, and Federal Election Commission filings reveal one candidate flexed his muscles most ... when it came to celebrity donations in January -- Pete Buttigieg:
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson ($2,800)
- Chloe Grace Moretz ($500)
- Thomas Lennon ($500)

He got another $3,000, BTW, from Thomas last year.

As for frontrunner, Sen. Bernie Sanders:
- Simon Helberg ($1,500)
- Rashida Jones ($1,000)
- Danny DeVito  ($100)

Danny's a serious Bernie Bro too ... he also gave him $2,700 last year and even appears in one of his campaign ads.

Repping for Sen. Elizabeth Warren:
- Sally Field ($1,000)
- Lily Tomlin ($275)
- William Baldwin ($200)
- Yvette Brown ($328.56)

Honorable mention: Adam Scott and Elizabeth Banks didn't plunk down anything in January, but each donated $2,800 to Warren's campaign in December.

Not to be forgotten, Joe Biden got donations from Jean Smart ($340) and Josh Gad ($250) -- while Sen. Amy Klobuchar got some love from Sarah Jessica Parker ($250).