Family

If Meghan Markle continues giving her father the cold shoulder, it might kill him ... or so Meghan's sister seemed to insinuate in an angry tirade.

Samantha Markle went off Tuesday evening, ripping into Meghan for allegedly shutting Thomas Markle out of her life. She said, "If our father dies I'm holding you responsible, Meg!" She also chastised Meghan for "paying tribute" to others while dissing her own blood. Meghan and Prince Harry attended a Nelson Mandela tribute yesterday.

As we reported, Thomas is vowing to continue speaking out to the media, at least until he has contact with Meghan. He told us no one is responding to the phone numbers he was given to reach her.

Samantha defended Thomas, saying ... "My father is not an embarrassment for loving his daughter. The royals are an embarrassment for being so cold."

There's plenty of bad blood between the half-sisters -- this isn't the first time Samantha's lashed out at Meghan.

Khloe Kardashian's secret to dropping tons of lbs since giving birth includes resistance bands, BOSU balls, a healthy diet and ... TRUE THOMPSON!!!

We spoke to Khloe's trainer, Don Brooks -- aka Don-A-Matrix -- who tells TMZ ... Khloe's success to sweating away 33 pounds has everything to do with True's mere presence near the end of her workouts when she needs an extra boost. Seriously.

Can't knock the scheme when it's obviously working wonders on Khloe. Sure, Don's innovative workouts coupled with two-a-days have done their magic ... but it's crystal clear Khloe draws tons of inspiration from her cute, 3-month-old daughter.

Meghan Markle's father wants some attention, or at least an acknowledgement, from the Royal Family ... and he's not going to shut up until he gets it.

Thomas Markle tells TMZ ... he's unfazed by news his Duchess daughter and Prince Harry are reportedly frustrated about his recent paid interview with The Sun, because he just wants to be involved in their lives.

He says, "I was silent for a full year and the press beat me up every day saying I was a hermit hiding in Mexico, so I gave my story. Apparently that interview put the Royal Family in their silence mode ... so, I gave another interview to break the silence. All they have to do is speak to me.”

Thomas believes the silent treatment from the Palace is silly, wishful thinking on their part that he'll just go away. He insists that's not happening -- and he just wants to be in contact with Meghan.

T.I. says the $225k whip he got his wife, Tiny, for her 43rd birthday is just one item on a long list of things he's gifted her over the years, but she's given him the best gift back.

T.I. was in the Big Apple Monday and we asked about the Mercedes-Benz S550 he had customized in less than 24 hours for his wife, but T.I. didn't feel like talking specifics.

In fact, doesn't sound like T.I. is keeping track of all the gifts he's gotten his gal of 17 years ... instead, he says he's more worried about her reaction.

As for what he's gotten in return ... T.I. delivers a seriously good answer. If you need a hint: there's 3 of them.

Matt Barnes says things are finally so good between him and Derek Fisher, he invited his ex-wife's fiance to his charity event in L.A. -- but, there was just one problem, Fisher didn't show up.

Barnes was holding an Athletes vs. Cancer fundraiser -- hoping to raise cash to provide college scholarships for kids who beat cancer ... very cool.

Fisher was on the guest list, so we asked Barnes about their relationship ... and he couldn't have been more positive.

"Yeah, we're good ... we're fine," Barnes said.

"The most important thing is to make my kids happy and we're both working hard at that."

The invite comes off the heels of Derek Fisher and Gloria Govan saying Barnes would not get an invite to their upcoming wedding. Seems Barnes is trying to make the relationship work.

Luann de Lesseps going back into rehab might have shocked fans, but the people closest to her knew she was only pretending to be sober for weeks now ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the 'Real Housewives' star tell us she fell off the wagon at least 2 weeks before Bethenny Frankel announced her 'RHONY' pal was reentering a rehab facility -- the second time in less than year.

We're told friends point to a July 2 pic Luann posted with her ex-husband, declaring she'd been sober for 6 months -- no small feat for someone in recovery.

However, the very next day things fell apart rather publicly at a charity event in the Hamptons. Our sources say Luann made a late and noisy entrance -- disrupting a piano performance -- then was seen hitting up the bar, and hitting on several guys in a very touchy-feely way.

We're told friends think there are a number of reasons she slipped. One being her Christmas Eve arrest in Florida, but more recently she was sued by her 2 adult children for allegedly screwing them out of a trust.

The Jonas Brothers reunited this week with their ladies hanging off their arms -- well, everyone except Kevin ... the only one who's actually married.

Nick and Joe Jonas were spotted hitting up the 34 Mayfair restaurant in London Monday, with Priyanka Chopra and Sophie Turner tagging along for the double date.

Everyone was looking suave as hell, including their older Jonas broski, Kev, who ironically showed up solo as a fifth wheel. He's actually married -- has been since 2009 -- and already has a couple kids with his wife, Danielle. No sign of them here, though.

T.I. pulled a fast one for his wife, Tiny, getting an Atlanta customizer to soup up a $225k whip in less than 24 hours ... so he could hand her the keys on her 43rd birthday.

T.I. hooked up Tiny with a convertible Benz S550. The ride alone costs about $130k, but Tip had another $95k in bells and whistles added.

True Cooper from Atl Custom Auto Sales tells us they added a custom black wrap with an all-black-everything finish, and put it all on 22" wheels.

They had to work fast ... True says he got the call a little after 2 PM Friday, and T.I. said he need it by Saturday, which was Tiny's birthday. A crew of three was able to complete the order by 1 PM the next day.

As for the giant Christian Louboutin bags in the backseat waiting for Tiny -- those were not included. Score a few hundred more hubby points for T.I.

Michelle Obama didn't just crash Jay-Z and Beyonce's Sunday concert at Paris' Stade de France, she cut a rug with Bey's mom, Tina Knowles, in the best seats in the house.

The former First Lady was there with both daughters, Sasha and Malia, and it doesn't look like she embarrassed them too much with her dance moves. Malia also brought her boyfriend. No sign of Barack ... because he's in Kenya.

Cardi B's baby girl won't make her public debut if her mama gets her way because, despite a flood of offers from media outlets ... she's keeping Kulture under wraps.

Sources close to Cardi tell TMZ ... multiple magazines, websites and photo agencies have reached out with offers for Kulture's first photo shoot. We're told the offers have been in the $100k neighborhood or higher.

Cardi and Offset have no desire to make a deal ... yet. We're told they won't even consider it until their daughter's at least 5 or 6 months old.

Former Prez Barack Obama got in some QT with his Kenyan fam, and showed some love for a new sports training center at the same time.

Obama's half-sister Dr. Auma Obama's charitable organization built the center, and Barack showed up Sunday for the grand opening. This was his first visit to Kenya -- his father's native land -- since leaving the White House. He was last there in 2015.

Barack and the good Doc greeted children at the center, and he also met with Kenya's Prez.

Paris Hilton -- whose great-grandfather started the globally-recognized Hilton hotels -- says she's also self-made.

We got Paris arriving at LAX over the weekend and wanted to get her take on Kylie Jenner after Forbes said she's set to become America's youngest self-made BILLIONAIRE. Paris paid the young entrepreneur her respects.

Beyonce and Jay-Z's close relationship with the Obamas is still going strong, now in full flex across the pond ... with Michelle and Sasha crashing the couple's concert in France.

The former First Lady and kid were spotted in the stands Sunday at the Stade de France stadium, where Bey and Jay are performing as part of their "On the Run II" tour.

Michelle even went beyond the front row barricades, standing alongside Beyonce's mom, Tina Knowles ... and getting her groove on as Jay rapped onstage. As mothers to very important people ... they looked like quite the duo shoulder-to-shoulder.

No sign of Barack or Malia here, but the Obama family was definitely well represented. It's no surprise they're there either -- Michelle and her 2 daughters did the same back in 2014, when B&J were performing in Chicago.

Seems like they like to catch 'em when they can. Who wouldn't?

Sylvester Stallone and his brood were living it up on the French Riviera ... making everyone who's not there extremely jealous.

Sly, along with Jennifer Flavin and his 3 daughters Sistine, Sophia and Scarlet, were the picture of beauty on yacht. Kinda goes without saying the women gorgeous. That's 21-year-old Sophia is in the copper-colored metallic bikini ... as they say in the law -- res ipsa loquitur. Look it up.

LaVar Ball says the pathway for LiAngelo Ball to get to the Lakers is a clear one ... and it runs through the new hoops league he created -- THE JBA!!

L.A. -- along with the other 29 teams in the NBA -- passed on Gelo in the draft last month ... so now the most famous Ball has a new plan to fix that -- put him in a JBA jersey with LaMelo.

"It's not even a yellow brick road," LaVar tells TMZ Sports. "It's a road that he has to take. It's nothing wrong with this."

So far ... so good for Gelo -- who dropped 53 points, 10 boards and 10 assists in his debut Thursday night ... playing in front of Lakers stars Lonzo Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

LaVar seems to concede it's probably not the most ideal route for Gelo to end up in the association ... but he says it's better than "running hills and just shooting on the machine by yourself."

Kevin "Baby Slice" Ferguson says "Black Panther" star Winston Duke playing his legendary dad, Kimbo, is knockout casting ... telling TMZ Sports Duke has already proven he can play the role.

Duke played M'Baku in "Black Panther" and a lot people who saw the movie felt like he stole every scene he was in.

It was recently announced Winston would be playing Kimbo in a biopic ... and, when we talked to Baby Slice about it, he said he was 100% behind Duke's casting.

"I watched 'Black Panther' before they did anything, said anything about the movie, and I think he played the role, that character, he played it very well, you know."

"He was serious but funny, you know. He made people laugh and that was my pops all day. He was a serious person but at the same time, he could make you laugh and he was very cool. But that big, that figure, it's like perfect."

Kevin said he hasn't talked with Winson yet, but definitely plans to be a part of the production of the movie ... even though he didn't want to play his iconic pops.