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Stefan Karl Stefansson -- the actor who played Robbie Rotten on the popular children's show "LazyTown" -- will have a performing arts academy built in his honor ... TMZ has learned.

The Stefan Karl Academy & Center for the Performing Arts will be constructed and launched next year in Switzerland. It's the actor's dream project.

Stefansson died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer ... and we're told he was hammering away at curriculum details for the academy during his final hours.

The project will be a celebration of Stefan's life and contributions to the world of humor and human expression. The academy will focus on training young people in the history and skills of expression across multiple genres. The campus will include a theater, which will host live performances.

Stefan dreamed of opening a performing arts center for years. He envisioned humor as the center piece of the academy's mission.

Stefan's wife, Steinunn Olina, will provide creative leadership in opening the academy.

1:15 PM PT -- We just FaceTimed with Post, who told us he doesn't like flying to begin with and he was super scared. Now that's he's on the ground, he needs alcohol!! Post tweeted too, saying, "i landed guys. thank you for your prayers. can't believe how many people wished death on me on this website. f**k you. but not today."

12:53 PM PT -- Post's plane just touched down safely at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, NY.

12:26 PM PT -- The plane is about to land. We're told there are 9 fire trucks, at least 25 personnel and 12 ambulances on standby.

11:31 AM PT -- Post's plane has been diverted to another airport in New York, it will continue to hover above and burn fuel until landing.

Post Malone is currently onboard a plane that's set to perform an emergency landing after two of the plane's tires allegedly blew out after takeoff.

Malone and his team left from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey Tuesday headed to London. A law enforcement source at Teterboro tells us the private plane's tires blew off during takeoff and the pilot circled back around to perform an emergency landing.

In air traffic audio -- obtained by TMZ -- the pilot makes it clear, they've lost a tire, and asks for permission to circle above ... he also makes it known there are 16 people on the plane.

Our source says air traffic control then informed the pilot to continue flight to Massachusetts in order to burn more fuel for a safer possible crash landing. We're told the plane had 3,700 gallons of fuel to burn.

A video -- obtained by TMZ -- shows emergency personnel on the ground in Teterboro in position for the plane before it was decided they should land it elsewhere.

Post performed at Monday's MTV VMA Awards with 21 Savage and Aerosmith. The rapper also won Song of the Year for "Rockstar."

Brooklyn Nets star Kenneth Faried was arrested and charged for possessing more than 2 ounces of weed on Sunday ... and TMZ Sports has the mug shot.

The 28-year-old was arrested on the Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton, New York at 1:30 AM ... after the vehicle he was riding in was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint.

A rep for the Southampton Town Police Dept. tells us the officer at the scene noticed a "strong odor of marjuana was emanating from the inside of the vehicle."

Faried was booked for 4th degree unlawful possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor. He was transported to a nearby station for processing.

The other 2 people got tickets and were released at the scene.

Cops say Faried got the harsher charge because he was in possession of more than 2 ounces.

If convicted, Faried faces up to a year in jail ... for WEED.

The Nets released a statement to TMZ Sports, saying, “We are aware of the situation involving Kenneth Faried and are in the process of gathering more information at this time.”

It's unclear if KiKi loves Drake -- but one thing's for sure ... he definitely loved one little girl's "KiKi Challenge," 'cause he made a point to visit her in Chicago.

Drake stopped by the Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Monday to meet up with 11-year-old Sofia Sanchez -- who turned 11 on Saturday. Her birthday wish -- to meet Drizzy.

She got on Drake's radar after she posted an "In My Feelings" dance video ... weeks after undergoing open heart surgery and waiting for a heart transplant.

Sources close to the rapper tell us Drake saw the video and wanted to oblige, so he swung by the hospital to meet her.

We're told he spent an hour in her room and they talked about a lot ... from his music, her love of cheerleading and their shared interests (Bieber, owls, and basketball). They even touched on her GoFundMe page.

Matt Barnes is gearing up for Baby #3 -- his model girlfriend is pregnant ... and we're told they're both stoked about it!

The recently retired NBA star has been dating Anansa Sims -- daughter of legendary supermodel Beverly Johnson, as reported by Bossip. Anansa is a pretty famous self-described plus-size model who's been featured in tons of fashion mags.

Sources tell us ... Anansa is due in December.

As for their relationship, we're told -- "They are both happy and their families and friends are super supportive."

One source close to Matt tells us, "She's just really sweet and brings out the best in him. It's a good pairing."

Anansa has three kids from a previous relationship with ex-football player David Patterson. Barnes has twins from his previous relationship with Gloria Govan.

Congrats!

Former 'Bachelorette' star Jordan Rodgers had a big bash for his 30th birthday over the weekend -- featuring friends and family ... but NOT his famous brother, Aaron Rodgers.

The family beef is well known -- hell, they even played it up during Jordan's season on "The Bachelorette" -- but people in Aaron's life had been trying to convince him to reconcile.

Doesn't seem like it worked ... because when Jordan posted pics from his birthday bash in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Saturday -- we saw brother Luke and dad Edward but no Aaron.

One source who was there confirms to TMZ Sports Aaron did not attend.

JoJo Fletcher -- the woman Jordan proposed to on "The Bachelorette" -- was there (she's in the gold wig). So was Luke's fiancee, Aimee.

If you're wondering, the Packers had a preseason game on Thursday ... so, it would have been theoretically possible for the QB to make it.

Ariana Grande broke down crying as she opened up about the impact the Manchester Arena bombing has had on her life ... and TMZ has the emotional interview.

Ariana was on Ebro's show on Beats 1 Radio Friday when he asked about her track "Get Well Soon" from her "Sweetener" album, and the importance of it to her in relation to last year's terror attack.

The singer's instantly overcome with emotion, but manages to get into how she -- and so many others -- have internal issues we're all dealing with ... and the song is meant to give everyone a hug.

But, she admits she's been deeply affected by the traumatic incident in Manchester, saying ... "It's like people are permanently affected by this s**t and it’s just like, perspective. It changes everything, changes your life quite a bit."

Ariana says she tries not to give into fear for her fans, but the truth is ... she's scared. She says she feels it when she travels and hates the extra security measures she has to take to feel safe, but that's the way it has to be now.

22 people were killed in the Manchester bombing. Less than a month later, Ariana was joined by stars like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Liam Gallagher to put on the One Love concert in Manchester to honor the victims.

2 Chainz is spending some big bank on his weekend wedding in Miami ... and he's got some big names on the guest list, too.

The rapper and his fiancee, Kesha Ward, are tying the knot Saturday at the famed Gianni Versace Mansion ... aka the Villa Casa Casuarina. We're told he and his family -- the couple has 3 kids together -- are also spending Friday night at the luxurious crib.

2 Chainz' friends Kim Kardashian West, Kanye West and Pusha T will be front and center at what's expected to be a pretty intimate ceremony ... with a bigger reception to follow.

By the way -- if you're wondering why the Versace Mansion ... Chainz LOVES rocking Versace clothes and shoes. He even teamed up with Donatella Versace to release collab sneakers at Milan Men's Fashion Week in January.

As for the cost of the nuptials ... a cool $300,000!!!

2 Chainz and Kesha also got engaged in May at the 2018 Met Gala ... while they were both wearing Versace. So ... it was just meant to be.

Ben Affleck's latest sighting shows all the signs of a bachelor lifestyle, which has us wondering ... has he broken up with GF Lindsay Shookus?

Ben was spotted Thursday night leaving Nobu Malibu rocking a very casual single-guy look -- loose jeans, jacket, t-shirt with a cig in hand -- after having dinner with a very hot blonde who's not Lindsay.

The chick is Playboy's Miss May 2018, Shauna Sexton.

It's interesting -- Affleck celebrated his bday Wednesday with his kids, and had a dinner date with Shauna last night ... but no sign of any celebrating with Shookus.

Ben and Lindsay haven't been photographed together in nearly a month. And, what's also interesting ... there was a moving van in front of Ben's home on August 9. We don't know if someone was moving in or moving out of his $19 million Pacific Palisades mansion.

We reached out to the "Justice League" star to see if perhaps Batman went through a pre-birthday breakup ... so far, no word back.

Stormy Daniels is persona non grata in the UK ... 'cause she's getting torn to pieces after bailing on "Celebrity Big Brother" after allegedly demanding and not getting more dough, but her lawyer's calling BS.

Stormy was supposed to make her reality TV debut with Thursday night's launch, but she was a no-show. There's a report out in the UK saying Stormy wanted an additional $125k on top of the $950k she was reportedly scoring from the show. 'CBB' producers supposedly balked and Stormy walked.

President Trump's alleged mistress was supposed to appear on the UK's biggest midday talk show Friday but also never made it outta the green room. One of the show's panelists said Stormy told her there was a development in her custody battle with her estranged hubby, Glendon Crain.

Stormy's attorney, Michael Avenatti, tells TMZ ... the money dispute's a joke and insists the reason his client bailed is because producers wanted Stormy to stick to a script, but she was not gonna play that game. As for the custody development ... Avenatti says it did play a factor in Stormy pulling out.

LaVar Ball's JBA league is now facing allegations from a former player that he got stiffed out of his full paycheck ... but, just last week, LaVar was adamant he's paying ALL of his guys.

Brandon Phillips -- who played for the L.A. Ballers this season -- claims he's only been paid roughly one-third of what he was promised ... and had to come out of pocket to pay for travel expenses.

Phillips told Cycle Media's Thomas Duffy that no one from the league has returned his calls regarding the 2 paychecks he never received.

But, we spoke with LaVar on August 10 -- and he didn't seem like a man with anything to hide.

In fact, he was bragging about how his league pays their players -- saying, "We ain't letting you play for free!"

Tekashi69 and 50 Cent were in harm's way during the filming of a music video, when someone opened fire.

Witnesses say someone in a white Porsche with New Jersey license plates fired at least 11 shots during filming in Brooklyn Tuesday at around 10:30 PM. Based on the shell casings it appears the shooter use a 9 mm semi-automatic weapon. No one was hit.

Tekashi and 50 were on set at the time of the shooting, along with Casanova and Uncle Murda. Sources connected to the situation believe the shooter wasn't targeting any of the rappers, but law enforcement sources aren't so sure.

Although no one is connecting prior incidents, you may recall earlier this year someone fired shots at Chief Keef, and at the time Keef was beefing with Tekashi. There's no evidence -- at least so far -- that Keef's people were involved in the latest incident.

YG was flying high even before his flight left the gate ... at least according to American Airlines, which promptly kicked his allegedly drunken ass off the plane.

YG boarded the LAX to JFK flight Monday night, but wasn't there long. The rapper was pissed off as he made that long, lonely and embarrassing walk back down the jetway. He said, "F**k American Airlines! They said I'm drunk. I'm sober than a muthaf***a!"

American tells TMZ ... YG was indeed kicked off "due to being intoxicated." After seeing his video, though, AA tried to slide into his DMs.

As he made his exit, YG made it clear he thinks this was less about booze, and more about FWB. He blurted, "Racist ass muthaf***as. I'm sober!!"

Who's hungry?!!

It's that time of year again -- the Houston Texans cheer team just threw their annual bikini BBQ (awesome) ... and TMZ Sports has all of the amazing photos and video.

You're welcome.

Every year (starting last year), the cheer team gather for some bonding, barbecue and bikinis before the NFL season kicks off.

It's a better tradition than the Masters.

This year, the ladies kicked things off with a special group strawberry-eating session (awesome) -- followed by some bubble blowing, model poses and mimosas.

As for the main course, the ladies threw some turkey burgers on the grill -- and gave us a breakdown about why they axed red meat from the menu.

So, where were the Texans players during the party? Not invited -- this shindig was "cheerleaders only" and to prevent any unwanted party-crashers ... it all went down at a "secret location."

9:58 AM PT -- Our sources say doctors have informed Aretha's family today (Monday) is the day "Aretha will pass."

Aretha Franklin is gravely ill and friends and family are gathering for their final goodbye ... TMZ has confirmed.

A source very close to Aretha and a longtime dear friend tells TMZ he was told a week ago, "Prepare yourself, she's dying." The source adds Aretha was down to 86 pounds and her health was failing. The source says 2 weeks ago everyone in Aretha's circle was told "she could go any time."

Another source -- someone who has been close to Aretha for decades -- tells TMZ she has been battling cancer.

Franklin, who is 76, has been in poor health over the last few years. She has performed, but only on a limited basis ... most recently last November at an Elton John AIDS Foundation event.

The news that her health is failing first came from Roger Friedman over at Showbiz411, and WDIV TV in Detroit says Aretha's family confirmed she is gravely ill.

Story developing ...

Angelina Jolie has returned to the U.S. with her kids, and the reason is simple ... she was ordered to do so by the judge in her divorce case.

Angelina was shopping Sunday in WeHo with 3 of her kids at Whole Foods.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Angelina was ordered to return with the kids Saturday. According to the judge's order, Brad Pitt has a right to custody of the kids for no less than 4 hours every other day on school days and 12 hours every other day on non-school days.

Brad and Angelina are due back in an L.A. court this week to hammer out more custody issues. The judge is waiting for a custody evaluation by at least one psychiatrist. In the meantime, the judge indicated he will deal with temporary custody issues while he waits for the report.