Family

4:36 PM PT -- Blac Chyna is firing back at her baby daddy, Rob Kardashian, after he had his attorney sent a letter instructing her that their daughter, Dream, absolutely CANNOT appear on her new reality show, "The Real Blac Chyna" ... while taking some swipes at his own family at the same time.

She posted a lengthy statement Saturday, saying in part ... "Had Rob contacted me directly rather than through his attorney Marty Singer, Rob would have learned about Dream participation in the show."

She goes on to say that Dream was never going to be part of her show, and that she would never subject the kid to "long hours" on set. Further, she says she'd never let Dream be in the presence of the real drama that Chyna and her mom experienced while filming.

Chyna writes, "It is very unfortunate that Rob could not simply have an adult conversation with me 'the mother of his child,' Dream Kardashian, appearing on my show."

Then come the shots at the Kardashian family as a whole. Chyna went on to criticize the fact that Rob and co. have featured Dream on their own reality show, allegedly without ever consulting Chyna and seeing if she was good with it.

BC gets pretty nasty with her critique, writing ... "I also would have pointed out to Rob the hypocrisy of his family's insistence that Dream appear on 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' in the family's desperate attempt to boost the dismal ratings for their stale and contrived show, without my approval, including an entire scene being Dream's birthday party, again without my consent."

Chyna finished her thoughts by saying, "My show is about my life and my kids are a huge part of my life. It's really sad that everything I do to better myself or my family the same people have something to say to stop or hinder it."

Rob Kardashian's pumping the brakes on his 2-year-old daughter becoming a big TV star ... or at the very least he's making sure it doesn't happen on Blac Chyna's new reality show.

Rob's lawyer, legal pit bull Marty Singer, fired off a threatening letter to Chyna, telling her their daughter, 2-year-old Dream, CANNOT appear on her show, "The Real Blac Chyna," without Rob's consent, and he will NOT give consent.

As we reported, Rob and Chyna share 50/50 joint custody, and Singer says there's no way Dream's mother can turn a TV camera on Dream without Rob being on board.

According to the letter, Chyna sent Rob an appearance release for Dream to appear on the series, and he's not gonna sign.

We're told Rob has several reasons for withholding consent. He's seen all the drama with Chyna ... most recently, getting into a crazy fight with her former hairdresser while Dream was in the house and an explosive fight with her mom. We're told Rob feels her life is way too tumultuous and a reality show would just exacerbate the situation.

Beyond that, Rob's had his own experience with reality shows, and for the most part, the experience wasn't good. He doesn't want his daughter subjected to the long hours, the lights and the drama.

The letter ends with a threat to the network that's airing the show ... "Should The Zeus Network proceed with releasing any episodes of the Series or related materials containing Dream's likeness, it will be acting at its own peril and exposing itself to significant liability."

MLB legend Jim Edmonds says he and his wife are on the road to repairing their marriage after he admitted to texting nude selfies to another woman ... telling TMZ Sports, "I made a mistake."

Here's the backstory ... Edmonds has been under fire this week after a woman put their text message exchange online -- claiming Jim sent her explicit messages and videos last year while his wife Meghan King Edmonds was about to give birth to their twins.

Edmonds has DENIED having a physical relationship with the other woman -- despite her claims -- but seems to be fessing up to the text message part telling us, "It was just a weak moment."

As for the state of his marriage to the 'Real Housewives of Orange County' star -- Jim says he and his wife are "doing good" and definitely still on speaking terms.

When asked how they plan to get through the situation, Jim told us, "We're just gonna have to work through it."

Jim added, "It's pretty crazy in this world. People can make up stories about you and hide behind being anonymous. It sucks."

R. Kelly thinks his ex-wife has a lot of audacity telling him to get a job at Del Taco so he can pay child support, because he thinks she should get behind the counter at a burger joint to pay her own way.

The singer's crisis manager, Darrell Johnson, tells TMZ ... the "TMZ Live" interview with Drea and their daughter, Buku Abi, underscores the ridiculousness of him paying child support to an adult.

Buku's 21 and said she's got her own career and doesn't need R. Kelly's money, but it's still his responsibility to pay until she's 23.

The singer believes Drea's using child support to fund her own lifestyle, and says it's time for her to get a job ... and he suggests McDonald's and Burger King are viable options, adding she too has a responsibility to pay for their kids.

Kelly is on the hook for about $21k a month in child support, and he's currently behind $32k.

Britney Spears' former manager, Sam Lutfi, poses a serious enough threat to her and her family that a judge is now extending a court order for him to keep away from her.

A judge granted the permanent restraining order against Lutfi Thursday in L.A. County Superior Court. While Lutfi was there, Britney was not -- her father and lawyers were speaking on her behalf.

In the end, the judge sided with Britney's camp and decided they needed the protection. Lutfi has to stay at least 200 yards away from Britney, her family, refrain from reaching out to them and refrain from making disparaging comments about Brit.

TMZ broke the story ... Britney went to court seeking a temporary restraining order last month, claiming that Lutfi was attempting to harass her by getting in touch with her mom and stirring up the "Free Britney" movement, which wants her out of her conservatorship.

It's unclear if Britney fully wants out herself, but she has expressed a desire for more freedoms that she currently doesn't have ... like owning a smartphone, for example.

Either way, Britney claimed in court docs that Lutfi offered $1,000 cash to her mom, Lynne, to "disrupt and take over" the conservatorship process, which Brit's dad, Jamie Spears, oversees. She also alleged Lutfi threatened to release old items of hers from when he managed her in the 2000s.

A judge felt enough of a threat existed at the time to give Brit protection for the time being. Now, the permanent restraining order will be in effect for the next 5 years.

Can you picture R. Kelly working the register in a red shirt and an apron at Del Taco? His ex-wife can ... if that's what it takes to dig himself out of a child support hole.

Drea Kelly and her daughter, Buku Abi -- who are both on "Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta" -- joined "TMZ Live" Thursday and pretty much she said she doesn't give a damn what kinda job Kelly has to land to meet his legal obligations ... so long as he once and for all wipes his debts clean.

As we first reported ... Drea asked the court for a hard and fast deadline for Kelly to pay her the $32k he owes. Kelly's camp previously insisted the money owed is interest and not back child support ... but we've learned only $11,500 of it is interest and the rest is for unpaid child support and educational expenses.

Check out the clip ... Drea suggests the fast food joint for the King of R&B.

Kelly, of course, has hired an army of lawyers for his mounting legal troubles, which can't be cheap. This is on top of back child support he's already ponied up ... to the tune of $161,633. That money, we were told, came from a benefactor. So, you can see why Drea's worried.

"The Wendy Williams Show" has never been better -- as far as the staff is concerned -- and it's all due to her estranged husband's departure.

As you know, Wendy is going through a divorce with Kevin Hunter, who was a producer of her talk show until he left in April amid their rising relationship drama. According to sources close to the TV show ... the collective feeling about his departure was GOOD RIDDANCE.

We're told several staff members called Kevin leaving a "breath of fresh air" ... and say the work environment has been 100 percent less hostile. Our sources say Hunter was notorious for being overly controlling and unpleasant, and had employees in constant fear of being fired.

Kevin's exit has had a huge positive impact on Wendy too. We're told she seemed back to her regular, down to earth self in the final weeks of taping before the show went on hiatus ... and you'd never know she was going through a nasty divorce by the way she was on set.

Williams has been enjoying her single life lately -- especially with her new, young "friend," Marc Tomblin -- but the ex-couple have also been exchanging barbs as their divorce moves ahead.

Wendy accused Kevin of keeping her cooped up at home and treating her like a "show pony," and he fired back by calling her lazy.

There's also the issue between Kevin and their son, Kevin Jr., which isn't any closer to being mended.

All that aside, it seems like everyone working for Wendy is happy and rejuvenated, and we're told they're excited to get back to filming the show after its break ... sans Kevin, of course.

David Ortiz's wife is shouting out the man who raced the MLB star to the hospital -- crashing his own car in the process -- in the wake of Sunday's assassination attempt in the Dominican Republic.

"I want to take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Eliezer Salvador, owner of Presidente Sports, for your quick thinking and swift action on Sunday night," Tiffany Ortiz said in a statement.

"Your heroism and selflessness were the first steps to ensuring David could get the urgent care he required. For that we are eternally grateful."

Salvador runs a sports betting firm in the D.R. and was at the scene when Big Papi was shot Sunday night. When Ortiz went down, Salvador quickly put the legend in his own car and raced to the hospital because he didn't want to wait for an ambulance.

Salvador says he raced at speeds of over 100 MPH and made the trip in under 7 minutes. He later made a social media video showing that he had David's jewelry so the family wouldn't worry.

Tiffany says the quick-thinking decision may have saved David's life.

Ortiz's wife also gave props to the doctors who worked on David.

"To the amazing surgeons, medical team, and staff at the Abel Gonzalez Clinic in the Dominican Republic, there are no words to express our gratitude for the amazing care you provided."

'Without you, our story could have had a tragic ending. You will forever be our guardian angels."

As for David's condition ...

"David remains in guarded condition in the surgical intensive care following his second surgery. He continues to heal and make progress."

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley are like a broken record, and a trip to Disney World's not going to fix it ... so say sources close to the volatile pair.

We broke the story ... the 'Jersey Shore' star and his baby mama looked more like they were going to prison than vacay early Wednesday morning as they boarded a flight from Las Vegas to Florida with their daughter. They didn't sit together or speak on the flight.

We're told the separate seating was due to booking last minute -- but seeing the moody duo together definitely raised eyebrows.

Our sources tell us looks do not deceive -- Ronnie and Jen are still far from being solid in their relationship and are "on and off" on a weekly basis. We're told family and friends close to them are very concerned and fear things will take another violent turn at any moment.

Yes, even at the "The Most Magical Place on Earth."

As we've reported ... Harley was arrested last month for a New Year's Eve incident in which she allegedly threw an ashtray at Ron's face and bloodied it, the same night he allegedly ransacked her home.

Ronnie was also recorded smashing the security camera at her front door in December 2018 ... and earlier that year he got a black eye during that crazy car dragging incident.

David Ortiz sat up and walked ... his wife, Tiffany Ortiz, says -- adding that Big Papi "is making good progress towards recovery."

The Boston Red Sox legend was shot in the back on Sunday night in the Dominican Republic ... and he's undergone multiple surgeries to fix the damage that the bullet caused.

But, Ortiz's wife says he's healing up ... saying Wednesday, "Yesterday and this morning, David was able to sit up as well as take some steps."

"His condition is guarded and he will remain in the ICU for the coming days, but he is making good progress towards recovery."

As we previously reported ... surgeons in the D.R. removed Ortiz's gallbladder as well as parts of his intestines -- and he required a second surgery when he arrived back in Boston on Monday night.

Barbara Corcoran's brother was found dead in his hotel room in the Dominican Republic, and the circumstances sound eerily familiar to the 6 mysterious tourist deaths in the country over the past year ... TMZ has learned.

The "Shark Tank" star tells us her brother, John, was in the D.R. with a friend in April on his yearly vacation when he died of a heart attack. At least, that's what she was told. As far as she knows, there's been no autopsy.

Barbara says her brother's friend -- who was staying in the same suite -- discovered the body, but nobody knows exactly what happened.

Corcoran tells us John was retired but owned a successful roofing company in New Jersey. She calls him "my favorite brother" among her 9 siblings and says he had a larger-than-life personality and would have been great on TV.

We're told John loved visiting the Dominican Republic and was awaiting the arrival of his girlfriend before he died. There's been no funeral yet, but a memorial service is planned soon.

On the surface, a 60-year-old man dying of a heart attack might not be shocking ... but John's death comes amidst a bizarre and troubling trend of American tourists dying in D.R. hotels.

Six U.S. tourists have been found dead since June 2018 -- 2 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana, and 4 at various Bahia Principe resorts. Three of the deaths were reportedly due to heart attacks, but one also lists pulmonary edema -- an accumulation of fluid in the lungs -- according to the death certificate.

A recently engaged couple from Maryland was found dead in their room in late May, and an autopsy reportedly found they also had respiratory failure and pulmonary edema.

The cause of death of the other tourist is unknown.

So far, the deaths are considered isolated incidents by D.R. tourism officials, but Dominican authorities are investigating and have asked the FBI for assistance for "further toxicology analysis."

Theories are beginning to circulate on what's causing the mysterious deaths -- including poisoning -- partly fueled by 2 other couples who stayed at Bahia Principe resorts and claim to have gotten violently ill.

One couple claims there was a "moldy, mildewy smell" in the room like the air conditioning system hadn't been clean, and another is suing the resort chain claiming they were exposed to insecticides.

Katherine Schwarzenegger's life as a married woman is off to an awesome start ... just ask her stepson, who's clearly enjoying it.

Chris Pratt, his son, Jack, and Katherine had an evening out in Pacific Palisades Tuesday, including a celebratory dinner at Blue Ribbon Sushi and a movie. Since Chris and Kat just tied the knot on Saturday ... this would be their first "official" family outing.

The trio was joined by some family and friends ... probably still in town from the wedding.

As we reported ... the couple's not honeymooning just yet. They were both out earlier Tuesday working on their fitness at different spots

Chris and Katherine got married at the ritzy San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito after a wedding rehearsal the night before at Rob Lowe's massive estate.

Instant motherhood seems to suit Katherine just fine.

The Jonas Brothers are teaming up with a new fashion designer who's sure to have a huge impact on their style ... possibly for worse.

That's not a knock on the guy ... because he's Australian comedian Chris Lilley, playing one of his several characters from the new Netflix series/mockumentary, "Lunatics" -- wannabe fashion guru, Keith Dick.

It's unclear what Joe, Nick and Kevin are doing with Dick, but they were spotted walking around with him Tuesday in NYC, and based on the rack of clothing Keith's dragging along ... it's going to be interesting.

As you know ... the JoBros are so hot right now, on the heels of reuniting after a long hiatus and putting out a new album. We're told the group's in the Big Apple promoting "Happiness Begins" ... and Dick got in on the action.

Gotta admire Keith's hustle ... and his ponytail.

Wendy Williams met a young hotshot in Los Angeles ... and now she's taking him with her back to New York.

Sources close to Wendy tell TMZ ... the beloved talk show host met her new hunk Saturday when she was kicking it with Blac Chyna during her Cali vacation, and while she's not ready to jump into a relationship just yet, she likes him enough to keep him around.

Turns out, Wendy's mystery man is the same guy who was riding with her Sunday night, when a photog caught up with them at Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles. He's in his late 20s, and doesn't have any kids.

As you know ... Wendy's dealing with a lot of family drama, she's in the middle of divorcing husband Kevin Hunter and her son recently got arrested for punching his dad. We're told Wendy's feeling vulnerable right now, and being with someone new is making her feel better about herself.

Kim Kardashian just revealed her latest bundle of joy, and much like his older brothers and sisters ... the kid is cute as hell.

Kim posted a photo of Psalm West Monday morning ... the first one since his birth. She captioned the pic, "Psalm Ye" ... so guess we know what his nickname is gonna be. And, yes ... it's only a nickname. We've seen his birth certificate, and it doesn't list a middle name.

Anyway, back to Psalm's adorable mug. He's looking pretty chill in a onesie for his big public debut. We know what you're thinking, and yeah ... the Kardashian is strong with this one.

As we reported ... Kim and Kanye welcomed Psalm -- their fourth child together -- last month via surrogate. He arrived at 6 lbs and 9 oz., and was delivered by go-to Kardashian doctor, Dr. Paul Crane.

Welcome to the show, Psalm! We know he's already got a manager/grandma ... if he wants one.

Wendy Williams insists she and her estranged husband can get along for the sake of their son -- but right now the family turmoil is taking its toll, and leaving her in tears.

The beloved talk show host was wrapping up her weekend in L.A. with a Sunday night food run at Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles when a photog asked if we'll ever see her and Kevin Hunter make peace. She started with, "Please don't make me cry" ... and then spilled the tea.

Referring to the fight between Kevin and their son, she says, "Stuff happens in life" ... and "Everybody's gotta grow up."

Wendy declared that she and Kevin would not let their divorce get in the way of sharing their son's future milestones.

It's interesting ... our production sources at Wendy's show say she's been in good spirits, and been great to work with since filing for divorce. But, it's clear Wendy's going through all sorts of emotions, and they poured out Sunday night.

It's not all bad though -- Wendy had some fun in L.A. ... hanging at the Pride Festival with Blac Chyna, and even made a cameo on the TMZ Celebrity Tour bus.

She filled us in on what she didn't get to do during her West Coast swing, and shared some of her talk show host magic with the bus.

Boosie labeled American Airlines racist as hell for refusing to let him board his flight ... but the airline says the rapper's got it twisted.

ICYMI ... the rapper went on a homophobic, profanity-laced rant Sunday ... calling AA as a bunch of racist punks for refusing to let him and his kids board a flight from Charlotte to Grand Rapids, Michigan. It appears Boosie confirms he showed up late to the gate because he wrote, "The captain told you that we could be let on but you did not want us on because of your jealousy towards me."

A spokesperson for American Airlines tells TMZ ... "[Boosie's] inbound flight from Jackson, Miss., to Charlotte, NC., was delayed, and he arrived at the gate for his connecting flight to Grand Rapids, Mich., after the airplane door had been closed."

The spokesperson added, "While we understand misconnections are frustrating, [Boosie] was not denied boarding for any other reason other than he arrived after the door had already closed for departure."

The airline booked Boosie and his family another flight later that night but that didn't stop the rapper from wishing death on AA's employee and hoping for a plane crash. #RealMature.

Sounds like Boosie's jeopardized his status with AA ... the airline tells us it's reviewing Boosie's interactions with employees as well as his rant to determine his status moving forward.

So ... what was so important in Grand Rapids that had Boosie burning up after missing his flight?